Mad Newz

I wish I had something really inspiring to write about, as the blogging has gone stale over the last month or so. Care to send some inspiration my way?

The UMES retreat was last weekend, and was a great time. We have a great group of people, and there’s a lot of potential for good things next year. Photos are available, and should capture the spirit of the event.

Work also continues to plod along. I’m becoming better friends with the biggest, most complicated piece of software I’ve ever seen, though I feel more like an accountant than an engineer for doing so. And despite my learning, it still feels like I’m standing at the base of a tall building, knowing what the office looks like that I want to get to, but having no idea how to get from here to there, if it’s even possible. Majorly frustrating.

Finally, the time has come for me to get a car it seems. I’ve been looking at new cars thus far — the possibility of a warranty is rather appealing. I’ve so far been looking at the Toyota Echo Hatch and Matrix/Pontaic Vibe. I’ve test-driven the latter two, with interesting results: the Pontiac Vibe & Toyota Matrix are the same car with a different shell, yet they are very different. To be cliché, the devil’s in the details, and the Toyota comes out on top. Unfortunately, they’re fairly expensive when well equipped, so I may have to lower my expectations or turn my sights elsewhere. That’s where the Echo Hatch comes in, but more on that when I actually get to drive one.

Later, y’all…

2 Responses to “Mad Newz”

  1. Matt Says:

    You can drive mine sometime if you want – can you drive a manual? It’s way more awesome than the automatic, in the most technically mechanical engineering sense.

  2. steev Says:

    I can drive standard — just not very well. I actually learned how to drive on stick, but then haven’t driven it for five years or so. When I went to test drive the Vibe, I actually tried the standard out and was able to go without stalling but didn’t feel confident enough with it to take it out of the parking lot.

    I’ve heard that standard is also way more awesome than automatic in the fun sense. I’m leaning in that direction for whatever I might get. Does the constant use of both hands while city driving ever become a problem (like when drinking a slurpee?), or do you just have to make more liberal use of your cupholders, stay off the cellphone, etc?