The Adult Side of Pixar

I have been a Pixar fan for quite some time. I remember being wowed by the Tin Toy short animation in the mid 1980's. In fact, Pixar's early work helped inspire me to get into 3D animation in the late 1980's. Toy Story and Toy Story 2 to me, represent the pinnacle of the art of combining great visuals with a great story. I thought A Bug's Life was pretty cute, but was a little too kid-oriented for my taste. The similarly-themed Antz from competing company Dreamworks, which came out that same year, was better in my opinion. I never bothered to see Monsters Inc. , Finding Nemo, or The Incredibles. I understand these are very entertaining movies. It's just that they seemed again, too kid-oriented, too focused on cute characters or on bratty kid characters. The beauty of the Toy Story movies is that they beautifully blended adult-oriented humor into simple stories that children would enjoy. While wild antics of Buzz Lightyear and Woody thrilled the kids, adults could enjoy the references, themes, and even the nostalgia of toys such as Mr. Potatohead and the army men.

Michelle and I saw Cars this past weekend. We truly enjoyed it. As always, the visuals alone were spectacularly done. As one who understands what it takes to create 3D imagery, I can truly appreciate the efforts and attention to the slightest detail in the movie. The story was very straightforward. It's about an individual who is too full of himself and his celebrity status. He learns some lessons in life and by the end, is a much more rounded individual. Of course the fact that all the characters are cars is what makes it fun. It is full of car and Route 66 references (The original title was going to be Route 66). The characters see gasoline as food, tires as shoes, and racing stripes as tattoos.

One thing I noticed though, is halfway through the film, the children in the audience (and there were many) were getting bored. I heard kids shouting across the theater to one another and a lot of general chatter among them. I could see why. All the car characters were adults. There was very little physical humor as most of the humor was in the dialogue. Most kids don't know or care what a carburetor or a gasket is, nor do they understand the "Route 66 culture" that prevails throughout the movie. There's a big racing scene at the end and I noticed the kids in the audience quieted down and regained their interest as the cars sped through the laps.

I highly recommend Cars. Just think twice about bringing young children to it. They aren't going to relate to it.

Sorry...

It has always been my intention to create at least one blog entry per week and I do have lots of stuff I want to cover. I do spend time on writing my posts - often hours of writing and re-writing before I eventually post them. That's just how I do things. I'll find the time this week even though I am working 10 hours a day this week and had to work this past weekend.

I do want to comment on Ann Coulter so that will be coming up later.

Since I feel I must say something here, let me just say that if you are looking for a job with real job security, I suggest that you look into becoming a Canon printer repairman.

Da Vinci

I used to go to the movies once a month, sometimes once a week. Last year, Michelle and I went to about 6 movies and most of them were bad. The bad ones included The Phantom of the Opera, The hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Good Night and Good Luck, and Syriana. To be fair, we both enjoyed Batman Begins and Revenge of the Sith. We both somewhat liked Shop Girl.

But last year's poor showing obviously influenced us as we hadn't even seen one film this year until last week when we decided to see The Da Vinci Code. This film is stirring up the pot of religious controversy, which is not a bad thing. So let me discuss what the Da Vinci Code is.

Warning! The following material reveals the Da Vinci Code. If you plan on seeing the movie or are offended by accounts of Jesus that are not in accordance with the Bible, read no further.

After the death of Jesus, followers of his teachings continually grew in number. These early Christians were the subject of much scorn and abuse by the Romans. Eventually, Christianity became the dominant religion of Rome. This forced the Roman government to incorporate Christianity over the then, current multi-god religion (Jupiter, Mars, Venus, etc). This occurred in the 4th century. The Romans wanted to stay in control. They reviewed the scriptures and writings of the followers of Jesus and decided what to use and what to throw away. According to The Da Vinci Code, anything that humanized Jesus was tossed. Rome wanted Jesus to be a supernatural being, lest some lowly subject think they could rise to such heights as Jesus. Thus, the new testament of the Bible was created.

Now, if you believe in The Da Vinci Code, you'll believe that the tossed out scriptures were hidden in Egypt with the intention that they would never be found. These scriptures or gospels included the writings of Phillip and Mary Magdalene. They allegedly give accounts of Jesus being married to Mary Magdalene and being the father of the child she was pregnant with during the crucifixion.

The story alleges that it was Mary Magdalene who was supposed to found the church, not Peter. If the Romans had followed this, the Roman Catholic church would be a matriarchal religion, as opposed to a patriarchal one. This of course, is what the Pope and many Catholics would object to. The story goes on about how the bloodline of Jesus endured and still exists today. In fact, the holy grail or the vessel that contains the blood of Christ is actually Mary Magdalene, not the cup that captured Jesus' blood during the crucifixion.

Sir Isaac Newton and Leonardo Da Vinci were supposedly members of a secret society that knew these secrets of the church. This society was (is) known as the Priory of Sion. Da Vinci supposedly hid this truth in his works of art, including The Last Supper and The Mona Lisa.

(End of Spoilers)

Do I believe all this? No, not really because it doesn't seem that there is any definitive account of history when you go back that far. Take the Declaration of Independence signing on July 4, 1776. There are so many journals and biographical material about this event that there is virtually no doubt that it occurred. When you go back 1,700 years ago, there just isn't enough collaborative writing. Historians often have to deal with just one or two accounts of an event. This doesn't mean I rule this stuff out either. I realize some people want to insist that the Bible is the absolute truth, the book that God wrote. These people are going to have a problem with the book and film.

I have a problem with the film. It just isn't that good. It's not terrible but Tom Hanks was mediocre. The film tries to be like an Indiana Jones film but the suspense and narrow escapes are weak compared with those films.

It's About Time

I'll bet you didn't know that the U.S. economy, for the past 5 years has seen incredible, almost unprecedented growth. Unemployment has been hovering at around a low 4 percent, inflation has been almost non-existant, most stocks are rising at healthy rate (not an artifical boom like in the 1990's), and the GNP (gross national product) of the U.S. is at record highs. Going further, home sales are way up and the percentage of Americans who own their own home is at record levels. Also, salaries are up at every level of the employment scale. Minority-owned businesses are seeing unprecedented levels of success.

Yet, as I stated above, I bet you didn't know that. Why do I say that? Because the American Research Group's latest monthly survey found 59 percent of Americans rate the economy as bad, very bad or terrible.

What we see in the news today regarding jobs are stories of how are jobs are being shipped to India. Newspeople are quick to report on rising gasoline prices and how that is going to financially hurt us. Yet, these same journalists are reluctant to report any good news. They don't report that we are better off with a great economy and $3.50 a gallon gas prices than with $2.25 a gallon prices with a lousy economy.

I never want to blame a president of the federal government too much for a bad economy. I also never want to give too much credit to them when the economy is good. But come on, let's give them some credit here. It's obvious to me that the reason the media is so reluctant to report good economic news is they don't like the current administration and they don't want to give any credibility to the fact that much of this economic success is attributed to Bush's tax cuts. After all, before the Iraq invasion, the tax cuts were the principle point of attack against the president by the left. Heaven forbid they admit to being at all wrong about them.

U.S. payrolls jumped by 243,000 in February

Job Growth, Wages Send Mixed Signals

I'm starting to see at least some reports of the good economy from mainstream media sources, that includes the normally very liberal L.A. Times. Even in the Times article, though, they caution that the economic boom may be temporary, which of course it is, but they had to put some negative spin in there.

Kudos

I just want to applaud my fellow co-workers. With 2 exceptions, I, being one of them, our company in downtown Los Angeles is comprised entirely of Latinos. I am pleased that every single one of them came in to work yesterday and did his/her job. I'd like to think they realized that they were fortunate to be in this country and not coming in to work would hurt the very company that is supporting their livelihood.

As for those who did not show up for work in order to use the day to protest, you should all be fired. If you are a student and decided to take advantage of the situation and not attend, you should be held back a grade.

The Threat

Author's Note: I originally intended to submit this 2 weeks ago. Sorry for the delay, it's been a hectic two weeks.

Rising gas prices, strong anti-American sentiment in the Middle East, fear of anhiliation from weapons of mass destruction. These sound like topics of today's headlines. Strangely, enough, they were also among the top stories of 1979. Leading the headlines of that eventful year was the Iran hostage crisis.

It is 27 years later and many Americans are too young or put the ugly incident behind them. Most Iranians, on the other hand, probably still hold the resentment towards the U.S. that stemmed from the 1970's Shah of Iran.

I remember discussions in my youth of the Cold War. I remember the fear and anxiety of nuclear war. The discussion was about the Soviets bombing us. Many of my classmates were really scared that one day, the Soviet Premier would just decide to push the button and launch a massive attack on the United States. I, and a few others, didn't hold so much fear because we believed that the Soviets would know they would lose as much as we would had such an event ever occurred. I remember pointing out that I didn't fear the Soviets. I was much more afraid of a country like Iran ever getting hold of nuclear weapons. I remember the chills that ran down our collective spines at such a thought.

Farewell Luuuuuuuc!

Luc Robitaille is retiring. Like many sports greats, he probably waited 1 or 2 years too long to do so. That, in no way, limits his greatness on and off the ice.

Robitaille had his rookie season for the Los Angeles Kings in 1986 and won the Calder trophy (rookie of the year) that season. In that time when I first heard him interviewed, I felt right then that he was special. He came across as a guy in awe of what he was doing. Unlike so many sports figures, he never seemed to feel he was entitled to any special treatment just because he played professional sports. "Lucky Luc" always played with exuberance and class. He played aggressively but rarely was in fights. He scored goals prolifically and was a major component of the finest era the Kings ever had, that being the Wayne Gretzky days of the late '80s and early '90s. I, and many other fans were heartbroken when the King's traded him to the Penguins after the '93-94 season.

I have many memories of some great plays he made and great goals he scored (a spectacular game-winning goal against Edmonton in the playoff's comes to mind.) I actually think Luc Robitaille's defining moment to L.A. King fans is when he helped the Detroit Red Wings win the Stanley Cup and arranged to show the famous trophy in Los Angeles. This was clearly Robitaille showing his appreciation to his long-time fans.

They called him "Lucky Luc" but it is us fans who should call ourselves lucky to have had the privilege to watch and enjoy him.

Who are these Guys?

Spring is in the air (well, sort of, it's actually raining right now). I usually have a little more bounce in my step this time of year. It's warmer, I can smell the flowers starting to bloom, and baseball season has started. Baseball is the greatest sport ever invented (sorry if it's seems slow and too cerebral to many of you, but it really is.) Opening day was almost like Christmas or my birthday. I would count the days and could hardly sleep the night before. Why am I not this excited any more?

One reason is that I now have a life/wife. :) There's no getting around that. Sports of any kind doesn't quite rule my life the way it once did. Yet, as my interest in sports has declined somewhat, baseball has been the biggest casualty in this decline. I can really only come up with one reason: FREE AGENCY! Yes, it exists in one form or another in every major professional sport but baseball has it big time.

I remember a Seinfeld episode where Jerry Seinfeld deduces that fans don't cheer players, they cheer the uniforms. Unfortunately, there is a lot of truth to this and I, personally just can't follow sports that way. On the other hand, many fans now resort to rooting for individual players and it doesn't matter what team they are on. People who don't give a hoot about the Green Bay Packers just love Brett Favre. Even worse, some "fans" only follow individual players because they belong to their own fantasy team. I am not of this ilk either.

Call me old fashioned but I want to root for a team. I used to live and die with the 1970's and 80's editions of the Dodgers. I rooted for Sutton, Lopes, Garvey, Smith, Yeager, Guerrero, Scoscia, and Valenzuela. When Bill Buckner was traded in 1977, I was saddened and felt like I'd lost a good friend. These teams weren't always the greatest but I felt they were my team and when they lost, it hurt me and when they won, it was so great. I care so much less for the current flavor of the Dodgers because there's no one on the team I can identify with. 75% of the roster seems to change every year. I realize a lot of this has to do with the fact the Dodgers haven't been very good for a while but it's out of control free agency that is turning rosters around all over Major League Baseball. Am I supposed to like Jeff Kent now? I hated him all of his career until last year when he was a member of those filthy, slimy, maggots known as the San Francisco Giants. It's probably okay, though, he'll likely belong to another club within a year or two because that is how baseball works now.

Let's look at his in another way:

Sandy Koufax: A Dodger who has legendary status in Los Angeles.

Randy Johnson: What team(s) did he play for? What city will remember him best, Seattle, Phoenix, New York, his next team?

Johnny Bench: A catcher who hit with power and drove in a lot of runs and will always be remembered in Cincinnati. A prominent member of the "Big Red Machine" of the 1970's. (Man, I hated him.)

Mike Piazza: A catcher who hit with power and drove in a lot of runs. He was great as a Dodger, he helped the Mets get to the World Series, he is now a Padre and was briefly, a Marlin. What uniform will he be wearing when he gets elected to the Hall of Fame?

For those who follow players, who is a fan of Reggie Sanders? He's a pretty good player who has played for the Reds, Padres, Braves, Diamondbacks, Giants, Pirates, Cardinals, and now the Royals. If you're a Reggie Sanders fan, does that mean you once rooted for all these teams?

Welcome!

Time to get topical for a change

To all those who have recently entered this country, I welcome you to the United States of America. You are in a land that has been graced by a huge variety of scenic beauty. You have entered a land of a variety of cultures. You should find this country more free and full of opportunity than any other place on Earth. Virtually all of us here are immigrants or the sons and daughters of immigrants so please feel right at home here. If you are willing to work hard and obey our laws, you should do well here.

I do want to point out a few ground rules though.

1. America is a land of opportunity, not entitlement. You should expect to be judged by your actions and words and likewise, you should judge others by their actions and words, not their race, culture, religion, or family name. We don't take kindly to those who claim that their ancestors used to have this land and it was taken away. All of mainland America has been the property of the United States for 100 years or more. I ask you to understand and accept this. I understand that even though I was born in the United States, that does not entitle me to say who can and cannot live in this country as well. It works both ways.
2. While you may certainly have loyalties for your old country, you need to remember you are now in the United States. You are expected to respect the constitution and all the local laws. You are allowed to question the laws and take peaceable action to try to change them if you desire but you must obey them. It is not okay to break a law simply because you feel it is unfair.
3. Please learn the English language. If I emigrated to another country, I would feel it is my responsibility to learn the common language of that nation. Sticking to your native language only creates barriers that lead to alienation and prejudice. It hurts both you and the rest of us if you refuse to learn to speak, read, and write the English language.
4. Don't expect a free ride or special treatment. It is not okay to expect money from our government or free education or free housing. It may be very difficult at first, but success can be achieved if you are ambitious and are willing to put in the time and work. Keep in mind, as I stated earlier, most of our forefathers and mothers had to pay the price to make it in America. It was very tough for them as well.
5. There are those who don't feel as I do. Some may feel you don't belong here. You and I may feel that's the wrong way of thinking but that doesn't mean it's okay to assume that everyone feels that way. Blaming others for you misfortune does not serve any useful purpose and it can only lead to mistrust and hatred. (To paraphrase Yoda) Once you lead down this path, it will dominate your destiny and you, and possibly your children, will live unfortunate lives of despair - always blaming others for your problems.
6. Since you're here already, I don't care what means you used to get here. I do want you to understand something, though. There are people in the world who want to take our opportunities and freedoms away. Unfortunately, these people are able to gain access to our country by sneaking across our borders. To secure our nation, it is becoming much more necessary to take measures to prevent people from crossing the border without security checks. Please don't take these measures as an attack on you. These measures are needed to protect all of us.
7. Finally, as you work up the ladder and become more successful in this country. Try to encourage others as I have tried to encourage you to do things right. Try to make America a better place in your time here.

New Link

I have placed a new link on my site. In perusing other blogs, I came across one that I feel is a real gem. It's Re-Imagineering. It is a blog created by some disillusioned Disney fans who have taken it upon themselves, to try to reinvigorate some of the spirit and passion that Walt Disney Corporation was once all about.

I've always been a huge Disney fan. I love most of the classic feature movie cartoons such as Pinnochio, Peter Pan, and the Jungle Book. I also love many of the old action movies such as 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Old Yeller, The Shaggy Dog (original version), and Bedknobs and Broomsticks (which features live action with some animation mixed in.) Of course, I also love Disneyland and I even went to Disney World once in 1972 when it was less than a year old.

Like the authors of the blog, I, too have noticed a steady decline in Disney since the 1970's. Once upon a time, Disney seemed very focused on providing clean, imaginative, and high quality entertainment. Focusing on these values made Disney a household name and a symbol of an ideal way to conduct business. The company lasted for decades on these principles. This indicates to me that when you focus on quality, profits take care of themselves (Automakers take note).

Disney fell prey to the idea that if you cut a little bit of quality here and there, no one will notice and profits will increase. Unfortunately, many businesses fall into this trap and unfortunately, it seems to work for the short term. The initial success of cutting quality only leads to the notion that if it worked once, it will work again, and again, and again. At some point, the company's only focus seems to be on how much less it can spend in order to make a profit. Then, it becomes almost impossible to go back.

Disney is a special company to many people, myself included. I'd like to believe they are the exception to the rule and can go back to something like what they once were. Blogs like Re-Imagineering give me hope that maybe the executives at Disney will recognize that what made Disney great and how to recapture the magic.

AutoQuest VII - And the Winner is...

For me, car shopping is fun. I like doing the research. I like making comparisons. I even like going to the dealerships if they are reasonably honest with me. Unfortunately, I can't say that about 2 of the 3 dealerships I visited last weekend. As I left the Toyota dealer, the thought of the '05 Jeep Liberty at as "substantially" discounted price kept going through my mind. It was supposed to be a weekend to compare and reserve a decision for a later time. In fact, I had really planned on purchasing during model year closeouts in September. I also realized that maybe, there was a good opportunity here and I shouldn't pass it up.

I drove back to Southwest Chrysler/Jeep in Norco, the one dealership I had visited that treated me well. I vowed to myself that I wouldn't buy unless the price was really down and the vehicle was really good. When I got there, I found out they had sold 2 of the remaining 5 2005 Libertys left. To cut to the chase, I found a Limited (top of the line) model that I liked. What was amazing to me was that it was loaded and quite a bit nicer than the base Sport version I had driven the previous day. The Sport was a 2006 and was going to cost around $22,000. This 2005 Limited was listed at $26,500 but the dealer was willing to let it go for $19,000 because it was theoretically, a 1 year old car. The other cool thing was the 2005 had the 7 year warranty that Chrysler had reduced to 3 years for 2006. I was sold.

Here it is:

Anybody out there interested in a working and very drivable 1995 Dodge Stratus ES?

AutoQuest VI - Checking out the Rav4

Okay, so it's Sunday. I've got an early morning appointment at Cerritos Toyota. Time to check out the all new Rav4. The 2006 Rav4 replaces its predecessor and is supposed to be much roomier and, of course, now offers a V6 option. The Toyota V6 boasts 269 horsepower, which is a huge amount - probably more than anyone needs, especially for a vehicle like this. I already posted some of my concerns about modern cars having too much horsepower. You can read it here.

We drive up and park. I get the usual flock of salespeople making a beeline towards me. (It was early in the morning so there was only one, okay?) I tell him we have an appointment with Andrew New. He directs me in and I find out Andrew wasn't there but another salesperson can help me. He first tried to get me all excited. "The Rav4 is going to blow you away" he said. So he brings us out to the lot and shows us a model. The salesman points out the nifty features it has such as electric fold down seats, cupholders galore, and seats that move in 100 different directions. It was all very nice but when I looked at the sticker, I couldn't help but notice this was a 4 cylinder model. I bring this up and this is where they drop a bombshell. THEY HAVE NO 6 CYLINDER MODELS! Now, what really gets me is they called me and set up this appointment, specifically to test drive a V6 Rav4. This dealer is scum too!

I actually drove the 4 cylinder Rav4. The salesman, all the time, trying to convince me this was what I really wanted. I actually liked the car. I could find no fault with it. It was much more car-like than either the Liberty or the Tribute. It was very comfortable with good visibility. This certainly was a strong candidate. The dealership was definitely out.

They sat me down in the office and had the gall to put a credit application in front of me. They were ready to sell me a vehicle that I clearly didn't want. I finally just asked them when they would get V6 models in and what kind of price would I expect. I was told there was short supply on them and the ones they did get had every option and got top dollar, $27,000 and up. That's when I left.

Power Toyota of Cerritos will get no endorsements from me.

AutoQuest V - Those Evil Dealerships

If you are the Ned Flanders type, that is, if you keep a sunny disposition and perpetually have warm feelings towards your fellow man, you must have never dealt with car salespeople. They will make cynics out of anyone in a hurry.

I've shopped for cars before. I've done it for myself, my wife, and a few friends. I am familiar with the routines. Here are a few in fact:

• The stall: They know you picked this particular day to car shop. They will do everything they can to stall and keep you from visiting other dealers. They will offer you coffee, make lots of small talk, but most of all, they make you wait alone.
• Breaking you down: All the small talk and waiting is meant to accomplish something else. They want to lower your defenses. You become ansy, you even become slightly annoyed - not enough to leave, but enough where you start wanting to move things forward. This, of course, is where they have you. You're going to become more agreeable because you want to start driving your new vehicle, not wasting more time with these bozos.
• Good Guy/Bad Guy: The first person you talk to will be determined to be your best buddy. He/she spends time with you discussing and test driving the vehicle. He/she gets to know you and you develop a bit of rapport. He/she will discuss the price and financing you should be able to get. Then its time to sit down and start talking numbers. This is where a second person, whom you have not previously seen appears. This person will discuss numbers, not your needs or wants. The second person will tell you why you can't get the 0% financing, or qualify for the lease. Of course, person number 1 will fight for you. He/she is on your side and will go and talk with that ogre. So the two of them talk it out in another office leaving you waiting again (see above). When they return, person 1 will apologize that you can't get the deal you talked about earlier, but they will make a "special exception" for you and offer you something better than what person number 2 said, but not as good as the original numbers person 1 said.

Tomorrow, I'll talk about a real-life experience I had on Sunday.

AutoQuest IV - Next Test Drive

So, it's still Saturday. I'm driving home from Norco and I'm revising my thinking. My one car in my mind has been scratched. So, it's looking more like a small SUV is where I'm going. The other car I briefly considered was a Ford Mustang. I decided against it when I sat in one and thought the interior was made of cheap plastic that would be only suitable for young men under 25.

My next appointment is at Puente Hills Mazda. I'm going to try out a Tribute. Puente Hills is right near me so it was a quick scoot over there. Again, I had an appointment. This time it would be with Anthony. Michelle had to work so I'm alone this time. Anthony tells me he had no appointments today. I'm thinking to myself that that's a real odd tactic to pretend he didn't know I was coming or if he really didn't know, it didn't seem like a good idea to tell me. So it wasn't a good start. Anthony had me sit at his cubicle. It soon became apparent to me that his plan was to just sit and wheel and deal. When I told him I wanted to actually look at a vehicle, he sighed as if it was a meaningless formality. When I told him there was absolutely no chance I was purchasing a vehicle today, he really lost interest. Suddenly, he had "important" matters to tend to that he had "completely forgotten" about. So he assigned a lackey to assist me. At this point, I've already decided against doing any business with this dealership but I might as well see if I even like the Mazda.

They let me drive a fully loaded Tribute. This one had leather, airbags galore, a rearview mirror with about 88 different functions, and everything was black. Before I drove it, I sat in back and I was really surprised at the lack of headroom. This was an SUV with no sloping roof like a car. So why was the headroom so limited? Now, the front was pretty nice. I knew I wouldn't get the all black interior, it just wasn't for me. I did the two mile drive. It was okay but I noticed two things. I always do an abrupt turn in a test drive. While the Jeep, earlier had handled the turn nicely, I felt a slight sway in the Tribute. Neither handled like my car but it was obvious that the Tribute's limits were shorter than the Liberty's. The other thing was that when accelerating uphill on a freeway onramp, I realized I was flooring it and I wasn't getting much oomph. I don't think the 3.0 liter V6 lacked power, it just didn't downshift so I was trying to accelerate in 4th gear. Overall, it was competent, but not too exciting.

So the Tribute didn't thrill me. That doesn't look good for the Ford Escape or Mercury Mariner either. What I really hated though, is the snotty way I was treated. I just refuse to put up with salespeople who don't know anything about their product. I want someone passionate about the vehicles they sell. Anthony didn't know a Mazda from a Ferrari, it was all interest rates and financing options to him. Christina at Southwest Chrysler/Jeep claimed she owned a Grand Cherokee and was a major Jeep fan. So far, the Jeep Liberty and Southwest Chrysler/Jeep were in the lead.

AutoQuest III - First Test Drive

On Saturday, March 4, 2006, Michelle and I left the house early in the morning and headed for Norco. The Chrysler/Jeep dealership had contacted me and I had an early morning appointment with the Internet Fleet Manager. It seems that dealerships now have an appointed representative to handle people who contacted them through the Internet. Why that is, I don't know, but it seems to be the same for all the dealerships. As soon as I parked my car, We were immediately swarmed upon by eager sales people. I was armed and prepared for this, though and said "I have an appointment with the Internet Fleet Manager Christina." They reluctantly parted like the Red Sea and I was allowed to walk into the showroom to meet Christina.

Christina was friendly and helpful and willingly let me drive a few miles around in a 2006 Jeep Liberty. I liked it. It had controls and gauges that were similar to my Dodge's so it was very easy to adapt to it. I wasn't used to the tall, commanding view of the road. I realized why so many people like trucks and SUV's. I wasn't looking up at everybody on the road for a change. I was either looking down or straight across at my fellow drivers. My Stratus is a pretty low-slung car, even when compared to other sedans so this was very different. The Jeep felt strong and secure. It inspired a lot of confidence in the way it felt and handled. It wasn't as smooth a ride as a car, though. It's a body-on-frame design, where virtually all cars are unibody designs. Body-on-frame is better for strength, but vehicles with that type of design tend to jitter or shake more. It's a tradeoff and I found myself not minding it much.

After getting back to the dealership, Christina told me she had a few 2005 models left and she can discount them substantially. "How substantial?" I asked. "6 to 7 thousand less than sticker." was the reply. This interested me greatly. A 2005 model would already be, technically, a year old and have a year's worth of depreciation on it. This could be important if I only planned to keep the car a few years. If I decided to sell it after two years, I would be selling a three year old car with only two years of driving. It would be a bad deal for me. But I keep my vehicles until they're almost ready to drop. This wouldn't matter to me. I told her I would definitely consider this.

I had made it plain and clear that I was doing my comparison shopping. Christina was fine with this, which is unusual from my past experiences with car dealerships. I asked her for one small favor. I wanted to look at a Chrysler Crossfire. I can't afford a new Crossfire, so if that ended up being my choice, I would buy a used one. I felt it would be unfair to ask for a test drive, so I told her I just wanted to check one out.

There it was! On the showroom floor was a blue-steel beauty, a Crossfire, looking gorgeous as ever. It seemed funny that here was a car that was even lower than my Stratus. I would really be looking up at everyone in this thing. It was the anti-sport ute. It offered very little in the way of utility but had everything a driver could want. Speed, handling, exclusivity (how often do you ever see one of these on the road?), and not to mention, sex-appeal. I knew I wanted one and momentarily forgot all about the Liberty. I opened the door and saw a very cool interior. This vehicle looked just a good inside with nicely contoured seats and a chrome center console. I sat in it and realized my head was hitting the ceiling. "This shouldn't be a problem." I thought as I used the electric power seat switch and began lowering the seat. It hit bottom and I moved around a bit and found my head still hitting the ceiling whenever I moved. The seat lowered, but not enough. I began tilting the seat to find a comfortable position where my head wouldn't be so close to the top. No dice! I couldn't believe it. I just could not get comfortable in my dream car.

I guess I'll reluctantly have to scratch the Crossfire off my list. I'm truly disappointed.

AutoQuest II - Meet the Candidates

I had gone to cars.com and set up some appointments for the weekend. I wanted to look at and test drive the following vehicles:

Chrysler Crossfire: My guilty pleasure choice. I love the way they look. This is a two-seater that's pretty fast and is known for its razor-sharp handling and unlike some small two-seaters, it has a real trunk that actually holds stuff. It's essentially, a Mercedes-Benz SLK underneath with a Chrysler body. They are the coolest vehicles that hardly anybody has ever heard of. It costs $20,000 less than the comparable Mercedes model. I've seen some used ones reasonably priced around $20,000.

Jeep Liberty: My favorite of the smaller SUV's in terms of looks. I drove its big brother, a Jeep Grand Cherokee this past December for a week and I really liked it. The Grand Cherokee is too big for my needs but the Liberty may suit me.

Mazda Tribute: This is a highly rated semi-luxury vehicle that may suit me. I rode in one that a co-worker of mine drove and was pretty impressed with it.

Ford Escape/Mercury Mariner: These vehicles are essentially the same as the Tribute. The Ford lacks much of the luxury touches that are in the Mazda but it costs quite a bit less because of rebates that Ford is offering. I am strongly considering either of these models. It may depend on my impressions of the dealers as to whether I go Ford or Mercury.

Toyota Rav4: Toyota's reputation for durability may push me into going Japanese (Note: the Tribute is more a Ford than a Mazda). What allures me about this model is the V6 version has 269 horsepower and is rated at 24 mpg. That's pretty impressive. The Rav4 is more of a tall car than a true SUV. This appeals to me as well as I prefer the driving dynamics of cars and I'm not out to tow anything or go off-roading so this may be my winner.

Of the SUV's, I am going to look at and test the V6 models with 2-wheel drive. Again, I'm not an off-roader nor do I live in snow country. 4-wheel drive robs the vehicle of power and fuel economy. I believe in V6's however, therefore I have already ruled out several candidates such as the Honda CRV, which does not offer a V6.

AutoQuest I

I've owned three cars in my life. My first car was a 1981 Ford Escort that my parents helped me buy that I needed for my then job at Six Flags Magic Mountain. In 1986, someone decided to turn it from a 4 passenger vehicle into a 2 passenger vehicle by ramming its rear-end at high speed on Interstate 15. So, again with some help from my parents, I got a 1986 Ford Escort. That car lasted me until 1995. It was still running fairly well but I decided I wanted to get a new car all on my own. I was already becoming known amongst my friends as the "Escort guy". So I did my research and decided to take a bold chance and I bought a 1995 Dodge Stratus ES. It was loaded with a V6 engine, sport suspension, leather interior and I have been very proud to have such a vehicle since.

Now, after almost 11 years, I have decided it's time to get my fourth vehicle. My Stratus still runs well and I've had few problems with it these past 120,000 miles. Even though I feel it probably has some years and miles left in it, I'm not going to wait.

People who know me know that I'm pretty into cars. I'm not a mechanic but I have a pretty good general knowledge of what's out there in terms of cars and their differences and similarities. I decided to do something different this time and not get a sedan. I am considering something either in the sporty or small SUV genres. Tomorrow, I do my first serious looking and I'll report how that goes.

New Look

I actually liked my previous web template. The blue and gold was the color of two of my sports teams, the Lakers and Rams (and once upon a time, the LA Kings too.) It's just that it seemed to be almost everybody else's choice of blog template as well. (Does everyone like the same teams I do? :>) So, I changed it as I refuse to be part of the norm.

End of Faith

This past Christmas, my father in law informed me that he had recently read Sam Harris' The End of Faith. It was obvious to me that it impacted him greatly. So much, in fact, that he decided that the cure to most world-wide problems would be to simply destroy all religion of the world and force the entire human race to become atheists. He attempted to challenge me by asking me a question:

"Robert, you're a logical-minded guy. you don't believe in any of this faith stuff do you?"

I replied "Well, John, yes I do." John blanched, got very incredulous, and proceeded to try to convince me that any sane individual who can think would discredit the existence of God. So, in his mind, I and so many others have been brainwashed away from the truth.

I'll get around to reading the book eventually. I do occasionally read stuff that is contrary to my own beliefs. For example, political conservative that I am, I read Al Franken's Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them to gain some understanding of those who think differently than me.

So, while I will not talk about the book, per se today. I do want to share of my thoughts about the whole anti-religious movement that is going on. A common theme when it comes to politics and religion is that complicated as they can be, people want to simplify the whole argument by dividing it into just two sides. In this case, it seems to me that the anti-religion group wants to believe that people fall into two categories:

1. You are a religious nut. You reject science. Your life revolves around meaningless rituals and rules. You behave as you do because a grand reward awaits you after you die if you do what your spiritual leaders tell you is right. Therefore, if your spiritual leader tells you that strapping dynamite to your body and blowing yourself up in some bar is what your god is asking of you, then you had better do it.
2. You have seen the true light. You realize that religion is for the weak-minded. If humankind would embrace science and sensibility, the major problems of the world would be solved.

What my father in law and others don't seem to understand is that people like me can believe in creation and evolution. They really aren't mutually exclusive. It is for those who insist that every word in the Bible is the written word of God, himself, but I put people like that in the category of extremists.

So, I ponder...

Could God have started the Big Bang or perpetuated the Steady State? I ask this because I have to wonder how far and to what level science can explain the universe. If there was a Big Bang, how did it get there? If science reveals that the universe existed in some form before the Big Bang, then how did that get there?

A human being consists of a combination of chemicals put together in such a way that it moves about, breathes in oxygen, consumes proteins and carbohydrates, and has the ability to contemplate his/her own existence. A scientist can explain how it took billions of years for the process of evolution to mix the chemicals just right in order to make a man or a woman. As one of these human beings, I cannot help but wonder in the mysterious darkness and silence at night if that is really all I am. Did people before me create God to account for this or is a mysterious God really behind all this daring us not to believe in him?

Is religion a crutch? Is it an excuse, allowing us to justify bad behavior? In other words, does religion perpetuate evil? Would the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, the 9/11 bombing have occurred if religion did not exist? If not, then it would seem that religion is the bane of the human race. This is what my father in law and many atheists believe.

Those of us with faith, however, believe in moral choice. An individual chooses his/her path, whether they have religious beliefs or not. If a terrorist claims he did some evil deed in the name of Allah, the evil resides in the individual, not Allah. That goes for God, Jehovah, Vishnu, et. al.

I have faith. I have a scientific mind. It's possible, really.

Steelers 21 Seahawks 10

Crow has a very bitter taste.