“We’re like the Cleavers…except we’re religious…and we like to fool around.”
Rev. Eric Camden; “7th Heaven”
Yes…that kind of “fool around”… What a show… I certainly never thought it’d last 11 seasons…and I certainly never thought I’d hear a pastor say such things…
Keep in mind, he was also in “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” and became a non-corporeal life form…
Well, time to buy another car… Now that Brooke has a job, we can afford to replace her 1995 Nissan Altima with something a tad bit more reliable, and something that gets better mileage. Well, up until tonight, she was dead set on getting a 2007 Toyota Yaris. The draw to these cars is that they are said to get at least 30 mpg in city driving conditions and approach 40 mpg on the highway. Obviously, it’s a very small car, but it’s relatively cheap and, being a Toyota, it is reliable and has high resale value.
We went to Lou Fusz Toyota tonight because they had a Yaris sedan that we could test-drive, with automatic transmission (neither of us know how to drive a manual…more on that shortly…). They didn’t have a hatchback (which is what Brooke wanted) and they probably wouldn’t have one for 4 – 8 weeks because they’re in such high demand. The sedans are easier to come by, so we figured that we’d better test-drive one while we could. Brooke liked it, overall, and it had all the features we wanted, but no amenities like power locks/windows.
I asked the salesman about the Scion xA (’cause they sell both), as far as value goes. Essentially, we found out that the base model Yaris, without manual transmission, is $12,500. The sedan we test-drove, with an automatic transmission, was more like $13,500. That’s just for the automatic, not including things like power windows and locks, and various other amenities (seats, shocks, etc.). However, if we looked at an xA, you get a four door car (rather than two), automatic transmission, power locks, windows, nicer interior, better stereo system, and anti-lock breaks…for about $600 more.
So, we test-drove an xA that they had and Brooke liked it more. Honestly, the car had a smoother ride to it, the seats were more comfortable, the display was a little better, and there’s more room, due to the four doors. That, and the mileage ratings are almost equivalent to a Yaris (slightly worse…but what’s 1 mpg?). Also, Scions are tending to get higher re-sale value than a comparable Toyota…if you look around online, you’ll see that frequently, you can buy a new xA for the price of a used xA…usually because people have done some “upgrades” to theirs, but still…
Long story short, we put a down-payment down and they’re going to get us an xA. It’ll take about four weeks to get here (maybe a little less) and we’ll have the opportunity to test-drive it and decide for sure, so we’re not obligated to buy it…but we 90% will… The one pictured above is similar to the one we’re getting, minus the wheels and “spoiler”…
Hopefully it comes sooner so I can drive my Elantra again… 😛
So, I was flipping through ArsTechnica yesterday and saw their article about a survey being run around the Senate Commerce Committee regarding Net Neutrality. From the article:
The poll also found that many Americans have no idea what net neutrality is, or why they should care; only 7 percent said that they had even heard or seen anything about net neutrality. When pollsters introduced the concept to poll takers, they described it solely as “enhancing Internet neutrality by barring high speed internet providers from offering specialized services like faster speed and increased security for a fee.” When presented this way, 19 percent of respondents said that net neutrality was more important to them than “delivering the benefits of new TV and video choice,” which received a 66 percent backing.
Now, since I know the majority of you don’t know what Net Neutrality is, let me give you the Wikipedia definition:
The phrase Network Neutrality was coined by Columbia University law professor Tim Wu to describe networks that don’t favor some classes of application (for example the World Wide Web) over others (such as online gaming or Voice over IP).
You can read the full article for further information, and there are plenty of news articles around, but here’s the key: Net Neutrality is essential for keeping the internet as it stands today. The legislation is built to allow internet providers to allot certain speeds to certain services.
Let me explain this as simply as I can. The internet is finite: there’s only so much of it. Right now, if I want, I’ve got access to 100% of the internet. If the internet was not “neutral,” as it is now, then companies like AT&T and Verizon could say: “hmmmm…let’s just allow Andy to use 20% of the internet and use the other 80% for whatever we want, like telephone and television services.” Or even better, “hey, why don’t we have Amazon and eBay pay extra so they can each have 10% of the internet, while forcing everyone else to use and share 20% between themselves.” Why is this bad? Well, because my internet will be slower, and any new companies would be forced to use that limited amount of it until they could afford the premium to venture into the rest of the ‘Net.
Essentially, using the “Information Superhighway” metaphor, it’s like letting big companies with their semis full of products drive across the country on I-70 with no speed limit, but forcing the entire US population to drive along Route 66 (including all the stoplights).
Net neutrality is an important issue. Perhaps not as important as gay rights and an illegitimate war, but important just the same. You need to vote in November so that the internet stays the way it is, rather than favoring the large corporations, thus stifling any and all creativity and competition.
I leave you with a quote from the guy running the Senate Commerce Committee, Ted Stevens:
“They want to deliver vast amounts of information over the internet. And again, the internet is not something you just dump something on. It’s not a truck. It’s a series of tubes.”
Seriously…this is they guy “leading the charge,” so to speak.
Mom called with a bumper sticker she saw on the way home:
“Somewhere in Texas, there’s a village missing their idiot.”
This, of course, inspired me to look for more of the like, plenty of which can be found at the end of a simple Google search:
“‘God’ is not spelled G.O.P.”
“Nobody died when Clinton lied.”
“My child is an honor student.? My President is a moron.”
“Annoy a Conservative.? Think for yourself!”
“One nation, under surveillance.”
“Don’t blame me, I voted with the majority.”
“Re-Defeat Bush in 2004!”
“If you can read this, you’re not the President.”
“My border collie is smarter than your President.”
“Osama still has his job.? Do you still have yours?”
So, I was sitting in class this morning and we were learning about the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system(s). Overall, these are part of the autonomic nervous system, which includes the parts of the body that are not under our control, including the heart and the lungs. Generally, the circuitry is relatively simple in concept, yet does include some more complicated features. As in, depending on the system, the sympathetic side of the system will be excitatory (as in, turn “on”) while the parasympathetic will be inhibitory (as in, turn “off”).
My word choice of “circuitry” was on purpose, of course, and that brings me to the point of the posting… I find it rather interesting how I developed interests in two radically different things that are completely related in function: computers and the brain. I’ve been interested in all things “tech” for many a year now, building new computers, installing alternative operating systems, etc…and now I’ve begun a graduate school journey largely focusing on the central nervous system and its function within the body. Just as computers talk in “1s” and “0s” (i.e. binary), the nervous system works very similarly where connections are either made or not made, allowing for basic functions like movement and memory.
I guess I just don’t know whether my interest in these seemingly disparate subjects came from. Was I first fascinated by computer circuits or neuronal circuits? Or, was my interest in some facet inherent to both? Or, on a larger scale, is this how all our interests and hobbies come together? Do people get interested in one subject and then learn about a related one…or do they get interested in some concept that ends up leading to the two different subject areas?
…or maybe this is just a stupid question… Regardless, these are thoughts I had in class and figured I’d share them… 😛
P.S. The subject heading is, of course, a Star Trek reference, where the “Borg” are a synthetic race of cyborgs representing the perfect marriage of organic life and machine. The more I learn about the nervous system, the more you realize that Man and Machine are more similar than we would otherwise realize…
For those of you who missed the Daily Show a few nights ago, and have seen the new Geico commercial with Little Richard, you should check out his interpretation of George Bush’s 9/11 speech…
Secondly, there’s apparently a show in Britain called “Extras,” about extras on TV shows who try to get their scripts read by famous actors… Well, they did a bit with Patrick Stewart, and it’s amusing…
Mom, you should watch both… Actually, everyone should watch the first one, and anyone who cares about Capt. Picard should also watch the second…
Sorry…it just had to be said…hehehe… Although, to their credit, the Dixie Chicks aren’t nearly as appalling as Toby Keith and the like…
Then look no further! Joe, Luke and I make use of this page frequently when we were managers at ITS a few summers ago…? The page is known as FilmWise Invisibles. The basic idea is that you are given a picture and you have to identify the movie. The problem is: they’ve erased the people within the picture, so you have to guess what movie it is based on the scene and clothes the actors are wearing. Some are really obvious, and others are really obscure… Anyway, they have a new one posted every week…and they’ve been doing it for 301 weeks now…
So yeah, if you like movies and wanna kill some time, give these a try… They’re surprisingly addictive… 😉
Apparently, it’s accurate to 0.01 BAC and it doubles as an FM transmitter. It’s $50 and comes in black or white.
Now…no more excuses for drunk driving… 😛
Apparently, Facebook is listening to the complaints:
“They’ve shared all right. And Facebook is listening. On Sept. 7, the site is ratcheting up privacy protections, the result of around-the-clock coding. On their privacy settings page, people will be given greater control over what items will or won’t be included in news feeds. ‘We are giving people the control they’ve been asking for,’ says Facebook spokeswoman Melanie Deitch.”
