jaq

Test drove a few cars at the weekend. Our choice is now between Prius v and Mazda5.


more car notes

(ruled out RAV4 and Mazda CX-5)

Prius v vs. Mazda5

Price/cost -
Pv ~ $27k, M5 ~ $20k
but fuel savings catch up in ~ 8-9 years (assumes 12k miles per year, current fuel price) (…that's quite a long time…)
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find.do?action=sbs&id=31836&id=31284&#tab1

Edmunds TCO is about the same for both (5 year cost of ownership) but mainly due to higher fuel costs for M5 - we don't think we will do as much as 15k miles per year so that would be less
http://www.edmunds.com/toyota/prius-v/2012/tco.html?style=101375674&zip=02474
http://www.edmunds.com/mazda/mazda5/2012/tco.html?style=101370347

Driving -
M5 felt a little more responsive. Noticed wind noise on highway.

I prefer the digital speedo in Pv but maybe just because that's what I'm used to now.

M5 auto also has the pseudo-manual gear change, but didn't try it out. Pv has a couple of buttons for choosing Power/Eco/EV modes but also didn't try those - they seemed to be in a pretty bad place to reach while driving though.

theora mentioned the speedo being cut off by steering wheel but I forgot in which car.

Seating/space -
For normal 'around town' use, not a lot of difference. (4 passengers, good cargo space)

For trips to Maine, where do cats go? theora thinks 2 car seats + cat carrier in 2nd row in Pv but I don't think they would fit. I think there is room in the back in either car.

For trips with visitors, M5 can clearly fit 2 extra people (as long as we adjust all seats up a bit). Pv _might_ be able to fit 1 extra person alongside car seats in 2nd row but I am skeptical. (OTOH we could just take two cars). Are we going to need this often?

M5 with 6 people in will not fit much luggage. Roof rack and box would be ~ $800

Pv may be slightly wider inside trunk. Having trouble finding helpful measurements.

Other features -
M5 sliding doors can be helpful.

Audio etc. -
(These are not really a priority)
Pv has standard iPod USB connectivity http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EttWu7ZYdZU
M5 just has an aux audio jack (like our current vehicle)
Pv has bluetooth phone connectivity as standard, but we still don't think we should be talking on phone while driving… and other similar distractions.

I wrote something like this to my rep and senators:

I am writing to express my opposition to the SOPA and PIPA bills. I urge you to vote against this legislation.

SOPA and PIPA contain several provisions which are in complete disagreement with American principles of freedom and openness. It will also damage America's leadership in the technical industry.

- There will be no proof or legal process required for copyright holders to demand that content is taken down - even in cases where a court may decide it was protected free speech.
- Websites which share user-driven content will be burdened with policing that content for banned details.
- Small startup companies have been able to build business on the web and reach global audiences, but with this law they will be discouraged by the cost of needing legal counsel.

We already have laws to deal with copyright infringement, in the DMCA - and even those have already been abused to try and take down content which is protected free speech, or to take down content where the complainant is not actually the copyright holder.

Dear Lazyweb,
Looking for a DVD player which can play both Region 1 and Region 2 discs - any suggestions?
love
Jaq

theora (to me): Would you like some coffee?
$daughter: Daddy cof? Daddy cof?
Me: Yes please!
$daughter: yes plee! yes plee! yes plee!

I've been considering setting up a feed of my Twitter posts into DW/LJ, since I write marginally more on there than here. OTOH I used not to like it very much when other people did the same thing so maybe you'd find it annoying too. Do you think it would be worthwhile?

No, I'm not going to put my Twitter details in for LJ to do pingbacks. If/when I choose a system to do it, I'll check it out for privacy concerns, or maybe run something on my own server.

I repeated a previous mistake today :-(

I wrote an email like:

I want to do X. Does that sound reasonable?

Later I had to send a followup stating what the initial email should have said:

I'm going to do X at 2pm unless I hear any objections.

There, much better.

(and a Lib Dem supporter) I think it's better to see some Liberal policies and influence in a compromise government, than no Liberal policies and influence in a Conservative or Labour majority or minority government.

Maybe more comment on policies if I have time later.

My dad proxy voted for me (since I am on a different continent). Apparently the officers had to look up the registration rules. What fun.

I have an iPod and a PC. When I connect the former to the latter, I would like it to automatically copy over the most recent podcast(s) from a certain directory on the PC, onto the iPod. This should not require any user interaction after plugging in the iPod.

The PC is running Ubuntu 9.10, and gtkpod works with the iPod - but I'm tired of opening a file browser and dragging files over every time.

Any suggestions?

We got started on this season's planting.

Still need to make some fences to keep the woodchuck and rabbits out :-/

At lunch today there were hot dogs, baked potatoes, and chili. There was a table with lots of different toppings on. I had a little panic because I didn't know which toppings were meant to go with which item, so I didn't get any. (Though I managed to put some mustard on my hot dog).

In hindsight I could have just combined the foods however I liked, but never mind.

I'm a bit put off because I had a filling this morning and my mouth feels funny.

Dear Maine, You Suck.

Hugin and Munin are watching.

Yesterday was my second anniversary of being a US resident. In another year I can apply for naturalization (actually I can send in the forms 90 days ahead). I have a timeline on my whiteboard at work, which I mark off once a month.

In a perverse way I feel slightly annoyed that my child is going to beat me to being a dual national.

Despite it not feeling like that long, we've moved house twice (three times if you count the move over here). Glad we don't have to do that again for a while.

Oh noes! We mustn't have proportional representation: we might end up electing a Green candidate, and we don't want bloody hippies* speaking in our parliament.

*Get your hair cut.