You know, I was going to start this post off with a rant about how much local radio really bugs me. Then, I thought better of it. I try not to do too much insulting these days.
What made me want to rant about radio? Was it the years and years of listening to the same five songs on repeat all day long? No. Was it the fact that I have to constantly change the station I am listening to in search for something that comes in better? No. Was it how I listened to cheesy commercials for about twelve minutes out of my twenty minute drive to Glastonbury a few days ago? Bingo.
I swear, they started playing commercials the minute I got on Rt. 2. When I got off Rt. 2, the commercials were still going. There is just no reason for this. I mean, if you want to sprinkle a few in here and there, that’s fine. It’s what you have to do. To run them back to back for a quarter hour, that’s just crazy. No wonder no one has anything nice to say about that whole section of media anymore.
Gee, I guess I did have a rant after all. But it wasn’t bad. I don’t hate radio, I hate the commercials. Especially the idiotic local ones. Like where a car dealer has their kid doing the talking…”My daddy wants to you come down and buy a new Subaru…” I mean, seriously?
I do like John Tesh. He’s my favorite.
Anyway, since I got so frustrated the other day, I thought I should do something about it instead of complaining for the rest of my life. I decided to order two “6ft 3.5mm M/M Stereo Audio Cables” from Amazon. They were a total of $5.86 delivered. Not bad. I got one for me and one for the lady. They arrived a few days later.
I know I talked about my new Droid’s music playing capabilities. What I didn’t know was that both of our cars have nice little auxiliary jacks just waiting to have something plugged into them. How did I miss this for a whole year? She has an iPod and we actually bought a different adapter a while back. All she needed was this cheap little wire.
6ft 3.5mm M/M Stereo Audio Cable
Auxiliary jack in 2008 BMW X5
You should have seen us out in the garage the night we got these new audio cables. We were like little kids on Christmas morning. We had both stereos up nice and loud. So loud, I jumped on one of the hoods and started dancing. Okay, didn’t happen, but it was an enlightening experience realizing the capabilities of what joy this could bring.
I listened to my Droid in my car the next day. It was perfect.
I’m not even sure I am going to head down this road. I don’t want to use too many tools offered by one company. It is a good idea though…
Here’s the problem. Google offers the tools that rock. I mean seriously. I have mentioned this before, but it’s true now more than ever. I use a lot of tools online that are offered by a variety of companies. The one company that seems to really get it right is Google. Somehow, they have gotten in my head and figured out what I want.
I don’t know how they did that.
Perhaps it’s the median age of their employees. I bet it’s the same age as I am. I also bet that many of Google’s employees like the same things I do and do what I do. We appreciate the same types of cars and read the same magazines. I suppose I am a market for them.
So, what’s Google Voice?
From Wikipedia: “Google Voice (formerly GrandCentral) is a telecommunications service by Google launched on March 11, 2009. The service provisions a U.S. phone number, chosen by the user from available numbers in selected area codes, free of charge to each user account. Inbound calls to this number are forwarded to other phone numbers of the subscriber. Outbound calls may be placed to domestic and international destinations by dialing the Google Voice number or from a web-based application.”
Kind of reminds my of Skype, except Skype has video as well, which is really cool. I bet (if they don’t already), Google Voice will have that soon too.
Well folks, as you can see, this is where things are heading. Get ready to use your cell phone with some sort of a voice app on it. Also, get ready for video calls on your cell phone. Oh wait, that’s probably already available. Where have I been?
By the way, if you are interested in getting in on Google Voice, you can click here to visit Google’s blog post with instructions on what to do.
This was an exciting day. I had trouble holding back from writing yesterday because I wanted to wait for some pictures. I guess it was worth it – now I can write everything in one post.
Okay, here goes…Laura has been driving a 1999 Honda Civic since, well 1999. The car served her well. That is, until I got in it a few days ago to go for a ride. We knew that she needed a new car, we just didn’t know she needed it so soon.
After I drove her car for a few miles, I got out and told her that the last time she drove her car was the last time she was going to drive her car. That means that the car was finished. The front end was loose, the ball joints were worn and the tires were uneven. That was that. It even made some rubbing sound when the car turned to the left. Now, this isn’t to say that the car isn’t going to have a second life somewhere else, it just means that someone else is going to have to make the necessary repairs, not us.
Since we knew a new car was in the works, we had to make a few choices. Over the months, we narrowed things down to three cars. 1. The Honda Pilot, 2. the Subaru Legacy and 3. the BMW 328ix (I thought of this one last). One thing was for certain, we needed all wheel drive. This was an undebatable must. I didn’t want to stand outside on the driveway in my boxers on cold January mornings throwing salt on the driveway anymore. I am sick of that.
Laura kind of had her heart set on the Subaru. She is the type of person who gets used to one thought and really plans on that. It’s like when we used to walk by each other in college over and over and over again. I guess I wore her down and she finally went out with me. Anyway, she had been looking at the Subaru website for a while and seemed to be content with getting the Legacy. She wanted to visit a dealer to give the car a once over, so when her Honda finally gave out, we could just run over fast and pick one up. Yeah, that was before I drove the Honda and realized that she really shouldn’t be driving it, especially in the snow and rain.
Yesterday, we went over to the Honda dealer in Manchester, CT. We talked to a sales guy and took a Honda Pilot out for a test drive. I must say, the car drove beautifully. If you are in the market for an SUV, you should really check out the Pilot. It’s quiet and roomy. I liked it and Laura liked it, she just didn’t think she could fit in some of the more “skinny” parking spaces around here and there. I agreed and figured that we already had an SUV, so why get another one. It was good to get out there and drive one though, just to get it out of our systems.
For a few days, I had been really talking up the BMW. I wasn’t really sure about the Subaru anymore, just because I had already fallen in love with the BMW brand. I don’t care, tear the logo off the damn car and toss it on the ground. The cars are awesome and it’s really hard to go back to something else once you drive one. It’s so stupid, I know.
Since we were in the test driving mood and I had her in the car, I drove her over to New Country BMW in Hartford. This is the place I bought my car. It was so exciting. I love going to this dealership because everyone is really cool and they show you all the neat cars. I even got to bring Laura back into the service area for some quick pictures of the shop. That was awesome.
When we got there, I saw the guy who sold me the X5. He no longer works in sales, but introduced me to the sales guy I had secretly been talking to on the phone. Oh they were only too happy to see me. I asked if he was in the mood to take a quick ride in a 3 series, just so I could get Laura acclimated to the feeling of driving the ultimate driving machine. He was like, “Hell yeah, let’s go.” I drove, she liked, we made an offer. The highway is the perfect place to try out one of these road hugging pieces of perfection.
I know you don’t care about all my writing. You just want to see pictures of the New 2009 BMW 328i xDrive sedan. I’d be amazed if you even got through what I just wrote.
Okay, here you go…Laura’s new car (that I get to drive whenever I want).
New Country BMW in Hartford CT showroom
New 2009 BMW 328i xDrive sedan
Back of 2009 BMW 328i xDrive sedan
xDrive logo of 2009 BMW 328i xDrive sedan
Front grill of 2009 BMW 328i xDrive sedan
2009 BMW 328i xDrive sedan leatherette interior
New Country BMW in Hartford service shop
New Country BMW in Hartford service shop huge fan
2009 BMW 328i xDrive engine
BMW logo
2009 BMW 328i xDrive sedan front end
2009 BMW 328i xDrive sedan front side view
2009 BMW 328i xDrive sedan rear side view
2009 BMW 328i xDrive sedan radio and climate control
2009 BMW 328i xDrive sedan steering wheel and gauges
Yesterday, I was humming away, working outside and minding my own business when the sky started getting dark. I kept on working until the sky was a little too dark for my liking. I grabbed my tools and walked into the garage.
About five minutes later, the sky fell. It was crazy. The wind picked up and there was like a sheet of rain falling from above. Then, the hail started. I am so glad the cars were in the garage because I am almost sure they would have been all dented up from the hail. Some pieces were really big. They were actually bouncing off the grass and rolling down the front yard.
The storm lasted for about 15 minutes and then slowed down. I looked outside and there was a complete mess. Leaves everywhere. There are now holes in many of our plant leaves because of the hail.
Everything was cool for a while and then the power went out. It just came back on this morning. Ugh. That really stunk.
Here are some pictures. I didn’t get any of the big hail, but my brother’s verbal abuse will make me remember for next time.
Just a few minutes ago, I read an article on Yahoo! about the biggest car flops in the past 25 years. If you haven’t seen it yet, I’m sure you will. Yahoo! (and everyone else these days) seems to have a little issue with rerunning old stories when the run out of current news. Actually, I think I may have written about this myself already, but I think it’s worth mentioning again.
Here is my vote for the more annoying vehicle ever created on this earth – The Chevrolet SSR. I truly apologize if you have one of these vehicles, but there is something about it that just rubs me the wrong way. I think it’s the way it looks. I really couldn’t care less about what’s under the hood or what the interior looks like because I can’t get past the exterior. I dislike this vehicle so much, I would like to opportunity to crush a few of them in a car crusher. That’s that about that.
I am a little shocked and disappointed about Yahoo!’s number one flop choice, the Vector W-2. I bet not many people have ever heard of this car, but I used to have a poster of it hanging on my wall when I was a kid. I had no idea who made it or why, but I liked the fact that it went “0-60 in 3.9 seconds.” That’s all I know. I bought it from the poster section over at Ames (when they were in business) a long, long time ago. Who knew that it would eventually become a flop in something called the “internet” many years in the future. I was so naïve.
Still, I really think someone should do something about all of the remaining Chevrolet SSRs on the road out there. While they’re at it, they may as well wipe the streets clean of the PT Cruiser as well. Yee Haw.
Faced with massive population growth, melting ice caps and the need to own an ever-increasing number of gadgets, the world needs to find sustainable solutions.
A new way of comparing ground and satellite collected data on air pollution has shown that 15 of 20 highly populated cities have air pollution levels that 5 to 10 times higher than the World Health Organization’s guidelines.
Although many Texans seem to doubt that climate change is man-made, they are still firm believers in clean energy. According to a new report released by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), Texas once again leads in wind- energy capacity and largest wind farms installed, ranking sixth in the world behind Germany…
BYD, a battery and electric car manufacturer, is led by Wang Chuan-Fu. Wang has built BYD into a global leader but still wants to be environmentally friendly. To that end, BYD has developed a nontoxic electrolyte battery fluid. “If we’re going to help solve environmental problems, we can’t create new environmental problems with our technology.”
Mostly conceived by international architects, China’s eco-cities were intended to be models of green urban design. But the planning was done with little awareness of how local people lived, and the much-touted projects have largely been scrapped.
Yesterday, I was out cruising around when a funny thing happened. The gas warning light came on.
I knew I was running low and that I needed to fill up. It’s not so strange that the gas light went on…that’s happened a million times to me. I really hate to stop for gas. The strange thing is that a warning “type” light went on in the instrument panel on the dash. For a while, I didn’t know what it was and why it turned on. Today, I made an effort to reset it and discovered a few things in the process.
Average fuel consumption indicator lamp – 2008 BMW X5 3.0si
Cruising range indicator lamp – 2008 BMW X5 3.0si
Average speed indicator lamp – 2008 BMW X5 3.0si
The light that turned on was actually the “Cruising Range” indicator lamp. I am guessing that the minute the low fuel lamp comes on in these cars, the cruising range light comes on telling the driver how many more miles they are able to drive on the fuel left in the fuel tank. I think that’s pretty nifty.
When I was buying this car, the sales guy kept telling me, “Jay, there is so much engineering in this thing, you can’t even imagine.” It’s weird, because I keep discovering things that just make sense. It’s a very intuitive vehicle.
While I was sitting in the parking lot of Whole Foods in Glastonbury this afternoon, I read all about the computer displays in the instrument panel on page 73 of the owner’s manual. There are a few options you can check out by clicking the “BC” button on the turn signal lever.
If you take a look at the photos above, you will see photos of the cruising range, average speed and average fuel consumption (not necessarily in that order) indicator lamps on the instrument panel. A while back, I discovered a few of these features in the i-Drive system, but this is like a little short-cut to the simple views.
I know this post doesn’t really make sense or good reading to many of you who might be looking at this, but I did get some response from the last post I wrote about the various features that BMW offers in their newer models. I’m just writing for the interested. Tomorrow, I will probably be back to lawn care.
This is a very exciting day for our family. Let me be the first person to broadcast this message worldwide – my nephew, Connor, won 3rd place in the Pinewood Derby. Isn’t that just cool?
You know, I used to be in the Cub Scouts too. I don’t think I can remember too much of it at this point in my life, but I do remember participating in the Pinewood Derby a few times. I can clearly recall not winning any races, but if there is any really exciting activity that Cub Scouts do, the derby is it. Well, besides camping up at Camp Siwanoy in Wingdale, NY. That camp closed, by the way. You can read about it here.
From what I can gather, the Pinewood Derby is all set up these days. They have computerized racing stats, electronic finish lines and all that sort of stuff. When I was racing in the Pinewood Derby, we had some old man yelling “Winner” at the prettiest car that went by. Not really, but you get the picture.
Ready for some Pinewood Derby pictures?
Connor’s Pinewood Derby car
The fellas watching their Pinewood Derby race
Nice selection of Pinewood Derby cars
Has it really been that long? As I sit here, I keep trying to think of what my Pinewood Derby cars look like. I have no idea. The only thing I remember is that my father drilled a hole in the back of one of them, put some BBs in the hole and then stuck an ear plug in there to seal it up. The car may have been too heavy for the regulations, but that was the right idea.
If I had it to do all over again, I would have a serious car. I’m telling you, a serious car.
So I was sitting here yesterday, nice and peacefully, working away when I received a phone call from my better half. She told me that the exhaust on her 1999 Honda Civic had fallen down and was dragging on the road. I asked if the open side was facing the front of the car or the rear. I wanted to know, because if it was facing the rear, she could drive the car, but if it was facing the front, she couldn’t. Being the smart lady she is, she had already looked and it was facing the front. Oh, lucky me.
The minute I got off the phone, I quickly put my cape on and ran downstairs to load up the car. I put my floor jack, a blanket and some string (I couldn’t find any wire) in the back of the car. I also grabbed some cutters. I raced down the road and drove for about two miles. Luckily, this all happened just as she turned off the main road, onto the back road we almost live on.
When I arrived, she was sitting in the car, chatting on the phone. She kind of gave me a smile and a wave. Man, remember the good ol’ days when people were hysterical when they were stuck on the side of the road? Not any more. Now, people pull out a lawn chair to grab a quick tan.
Anyway, I pulled my jack out and jacked up the car. I noticed that there really wasn’t anything to tie the pipe up to. The pipe was cold, so I just wrapped some string around it and pulled it towards the nearest fixture. I let her drive my car back to the house and I drove hers.
I have to tell you this…when I was pulling up the road at about 3 miles per hour, her car was very loud. It brought me back to the days when I used to drive cars like this…on purpose. What a silly time of my life. I felt like I was 16 again. I pulled in the driveway and was very happy to turn the thing off.
Earlier in the year, we made a decision that we weren’t going to fix the next big repair on this car. We were going to somehow get the car to the dealer, trade it in and buy a new one. There was a little part of my brain that wanted this to happen. I thought I had better at least look under the vehicle to see if this was going to be a big repair or a little one. One never knows with exhaust systems.
When I peeked under the car, I saw that the pipe between the one that comes down from the catalytic converter and the muffler pipe had broken in half. The pipe actually looked fine, it was the weld that rusted right through, or the area right next to the weld. While laying on the ground, I yelled out, “I can fix it!!!” I didn’t want to fix it, but I wanted the world to know that I, in fact, could fix it.
A few minutes later, I found myself on the phone ordering a new pipe, gaskets and bolt kits from NAPA auto parts down in Colchester. Everything came up to around $129. Not bad.
I told Laura about it and she thought that was just great. She really doesn’t drive the car all that much anymore, so the longer it lasts, the better. As I was sitting there telling her about it, I said, “I think it might be a good idea if I make sure I can get the old part off before I really commit to fixing this thing.” She agreed and we hit the garage.
I must tell you that working on a car in a garage is a little better than working on a car on a gravel driveway in the cold (like our old place). For some reason, every time something goes wrong with a car, it’s always during the winter. I have flashbacks of me changing the transmission of my Honda Prelude in the middle of a very cold February out in the driveway – in the dark. Those were the good ol’ days. I can still remember what sand and gravel feel like stuck to the back of my head. That really was a horrible, horrible time. Last night, working in a garage with warmth and a nice drop-light was certainly welcomed.
I had a little trouble getting the bolts off the exhaust joints. In the front, they were totally rusted on. In the back, they weren’t rusted at all, they just wouldn’t turn for anything. Good thing I had my trusted reciprocating saw. I cut the first bolt off and tried to get the second. When I realized the saw wasn’t working for the second bolt because I chewed all the teeth off the blade, I used my trusted grinder. What a treat. I buzzed that sucker right off and down fell the front part of the pipe.
Rusty exhaust resonator for 1999 Honda Civic DX
Cut exhaust pipe from 1999 Honda Civic DX
Ground down bolt from exhaust on 1999 Honda Civic DX
Rusty exhaust pipe joint with ground bolts from 1999 Honda Civic DX
New exhaust pipe attached to existing muffler pipe – 1999 Honda Civic DX
New exhaust pipe attached to existing rusty header pipe – 1999 Honda Civic DX
New exhaust pipe facing rear of car, showing rubber hanger – 1999 Honda Civic DX
The back was another story. I tried to grind the bolts off the back and they were giving me a really tough time. I got the bright idea that if I just cut the pipe and pulled the whole muffler off, I could work a heck of a lot easier away from the car. I did just that. I pulled the muffler off and clamped it down in new Wilton 5″ multi-purpose vise. I easily ground the bolts right off and was left with a nice easy project. I went inside and told Laura about my success.
This morning, I ran down to the auto parts store to pick up the parts. I came back, jacked her car up and replaced the pipe. It took about a half hour and that was because most of the time was taken jacking up the car and putting safety blocks under it. That’s always such a necessary pain in the butt. The pipe looks good though and the car is nice and quiet now. I am quite proud of myself.
Now, if that rusty front pipe goes, time for a new car. That pipe is attached to the catalytic converter and those bolts are really on there.
I recently made a little vow to myself that I would try to learn more about this BMW iDrive that I encounter every time I drive around. It is quite the computer system and it has a lot to offer. The only problem is that it has a lot to offer. I know, I just said that. I am a “get in the car and drive” kind of guy, so this whole iDrive thing goes a little against my grain.
I guess my grain is changing, because I started fiddling with some stuff the other day. I came across a really cool feature that I have been playing with ever since. It’s the “Trip Computer.” I am sure lots of cars have this, but since this is my first experience with one, I though I would share it with you.
Basically, I clicked the “Menu” button and then “Car Data.” From there, I visited the “Trip Computer.” There are three options…Start, Stop and Reset. Since there was already data stored in there, I chose reset and then start. I think they do the same thing. Then, I drove for a little while. It was really cool.
2008 BMW X5 trip computer
2008 BMW X5 iDrive controls and shifter
Yesterday, we went to Costco in Enfield, CT. I thought that the trip would be a great opportunity to show Laura the new feature I discovered. As it ends up, she didn’t express all that much interest in it. Actually, I suspect she is wondering why anyone would spend any amount of time making this feature in the first place. Funny how people like different things.
I left the house and set the trip computer up. When we arrived at our destination, I took a photo.
As you can see from the photos above, the trip computer tells you the departure time, the trip duration, the distance traveled, the average fuel consumption and the average miles per hour.
The area I like the best is the average fuel consumption. While I the highway, we were averaging over 21 miles per gallon, but things got worse when we turned on the back roads. The stop and go doesn’t do any favors. The sales guy said that some people report over 23 miles per gallon on the highway.
Now, let me assure you that this type of fuel consumption doesn’t really excite me. What does excite me is that BMW introduced its new diesel engines into the American market this year. The X5 is getting 26 MPG on the highway with the diesel engine and the 5 series gets up to 36 MPG. Now, that’s something that excites me. I just wonder how they handle the whole “diesel fuel gelling up on really cold mornings” issue.
