Car Shopping

We need another car. Well, better said, I need another car. This whole public transit thing has got to go. I hate waiting for buses and trams, and if you want to know my feelings about Trax drivers, see Ouch. Plus, since we are moving away from the Trax lines anyway, the whole second car thing is no longer a matter of choice. So now I am left with, as the Germans say 'der Quahl der Wahl' that is, the difficulty of decision.

It would not be so bad if I just knew what kind of car we will need long-term. But I don't even know where we are moving. Will I have a long commute? Will I need a good winter car? Will we be able to do any off-roading? Will we be able to drive convertible year-round? The problem is that I just don't know. I would hate to buy a Jeep when what I need is a Civic.

So that leaves me in the position of trying to find the car for all seasons, but such a thing does not seem to exist. I want a car that is sporty, powerful, easy on the eyes and the MPG, one that I can go camping with but also drive to work everyday, 4wd options, a good stereo, and does not cost too much more than 20,000. Anyone know of a car like that?

Anyway, that is my current task. And then, once I have found the car, I will have to decide between new and used, and dicker about the price and features. Grrr.

Gripe O' the Day: People who call in to TV/Radio shows to tell the host how much they hate the show. I feel these people are fundamentally untrustworthy. I can't get past the idea that, if they really hated the show, they would not listen in the first place.

Personally, I hate liver. I hate anything even remotely related to liver. I will not eat it, period. My mom made me liver and onions once, and insisted that I eat the whole thing, and only let me leave the table after I almost threw-up after one bite. Since I hate liver, there is not a chance that I will put some in my mouth, chew it around a bit, then spit it out in disgust. It is not getting past my lips in any form,

Yet these callers seem to be doing something very similar. They hate a program, yet keep listening. Bunch of closet masochists if you ask me. My advice to them: change stations. In the end, that is the only meaningful way those people can have any effect on the hated program anyway. By calling in they are perpetuating the program, and giving people who like the program something to argue against. It just doesn't make any sense at all.