XM vs FM

So, ever since I bought the G35, I’ve had a free subscription to XM radio with Traffic Nav.

At first, I didn’t really like it. I liked having my road updates every now and then when listening to the radio and I liked hearing the local news on the hour. But then I started playing with it more and more and I am in love with XM now. So many listening options that I can almost always find a song that fits my mood.

Traffic is a nice to have, but for some reason the G never seems to re-route me if there’s an accident or bad traffic ahead. It seems a lot of other people are having the same issues. So I’m not sure it’s worth paying for each month to get the traffic. Though, I do like being able to get in my car when I leave the office, hit “Go Home” and then have it tell me if I can expect any traffic. That way on the few occasions when there’s a bad accident, I can just re-route myself.

Its very annoying though that it can’t re-route you automatically via side streets, etc. It’s an expensive option! It should be able to do it.

Anyways, on Friday, my free subscription ran out. And I am DYING over here now. I cannot stand listening to FM radio any more. The constant annoying jabbering by the Djs, the stupid callers, etc. I just want to cut my ears out. And they are still playing music from 2 years ago and calling it. “New music from…. Snow Patrol!” blah blah blah. It’s NOT NEW any more!

I want my XM back! I’m very surprised that I did not get anything in the mail warning me that it would expire…

What a Beaut! The EX35

So, everyone knows by now that I bought an Infiniti G35 a couple months ago. It’s been a love/hate relationship so far because well, we all know I’m fucking cheap and this is an expensive car to own. Once you add up for Insurance, repairs, maint, gas and then actually paying for the car. It’s HUGE!

Anyways, I do LOVE the car itself. It’s so beautiful, it runs great, it drives great, it has all these nerdy things that I love, etc etc.

Well Infiniti just came out with a new vehicle. The EX35. This thing is just adorable and packed with fun features!

For a full overview check out the In the AutoBlog Garage article.

But basically this is just the G35 on steroids! I love that it’s got a huge trunk space, the seats fold down and it’s got a higher clearance, but it’s still pretty low and sleek looking.

My car was in for maint the other day and I sat in one and played with it. If only I had $45k to throw away on a car!

Go out and give one a test drive…. You’ll love it!

Oracle and Old computers

The other day I started trying to install Oracle on my home computer… I didn’t quite realize how old those suckers were.

Neither of my two servers have enough RAM to run Oracle server. How sad is that! I have both an AMD 64 3200+ with 512 Megs of RAM and a Pentium 4 1.6ghz with 1 gig of RAM. Both of which are RIGHT at the minimums for Oracle to run. Later that day, I was doing one of my FAVORITE past times of Stumbling. And I found this great site with a list of all the processors and the associated benchmarks. My oldest computer is the 5th from the bottom at 221 and my other computer is at 401! :'( I gotta upgrade those suckers! They are sooo slow!

I can get a Dell $500 computer which would be rated at 1,400 on that list! :'( Too bad I can’t afford SHIT anymore!

Speaking of, I was looking over my finances the last couple months and there’s about $900/month that I can’t account for. I know I’ve been spending a lot more lately then normal, but MY GOD! $900/month worth! That’s fucking insane.

I have taken actions to rein in my spending today. First, I changed my direct deposit so that savings money is AUTOMATICALLY transfered to my savings account. Second I have changed banks so that my spending and my bills account are at SEPARATE banks, the direct deposit change also changed so that these will be AUTOMATICALLY funded with the correct amounts. And lastly, I have paid off my Amex card (which thanks to the new car had ballooned to over $7k!!) and will not be using it anymore except for in emergencies and buying stuff online.

I am also creating a new rule for myself, any purchase which must be funded by a loan, must be kept and used for twice the length of the loan. IE. I financed the new car for 3 years, it must be kept for a minimum of 6 years. Although I am personally shooting for closer to 10 years, unless gas prices go crazy high.

In gas news, Congress passed the new CAFE requirements, so the average vehicle will be getting 35mpg by 2020. Personally, I think it should be 2015 at the latest, but at least it’s a start in the right direction… uhoh! There I go with the whole Pot, kettle, black thing!

This past weekend was really great, Saturday night we had the last dinner party of the year. Constantine bought the group UNO Attack. It’s SO much fun! Everyone should go out and buy it! Jason of course cooked an amazing dinner of Chicken Catchatori and I made Eggnog CheeseCake. Delicious! I was so fat buy the time the night was over!

Sunday I had a business meeting at 9am and then Constantine, Jason, Erick and I went out to Noah’s in Manhattan Beach for breakfast. I did laundry the rest of the day and cleaned the house, I emptied out all my cabinets and washed every dish I own, washed the cabinets themselves, and some other stuff.

Monday I started cooking our dinner for Wed, I made the dessert and the noodles. I’m making Constantine a traditional Black family holiday meal. Although, not as CRAZY as our real family gatherings with all the candies, and side dishes, the 800 pies and what not. Just the standard main fair of Roast, Mashed Potatoes, Noodles, Corn and one dessert! 🙂 It’s going to be delish! I can’t wait!

I also bleached basically everything in my house last night, the counter tops, the stove, the floors, the bathroom. It’s almost as if my cleaning lady had come again! Oh how I miss her! :'(

Tonight we are going to the Charles Phoenix Holiday Jubilee and before that we’re going to dinner at Philippes the ORIGINAL home of the french dip! Should be a wonderful night!

Tomorrow Constantine and I are having our holiday festivities with the previously mentioned meal, and then present opening! I can’t wait to see if he’ll like what I got him! I sure hope so, because that boy doesn’t give ANY hints about what he wants… And he’s seen how my family does christmas shopping.
“Hey mom what do you want?”
“Oh, an all in one printer”
“Do you have any models in mind”
“Not really”
“Ok, I’m going to go out and get it”

So shopping without hints was hard for me! But I feel that I got him something he’ll really like. 🙂

Car Shopping

Sooo, everyone knows I’ve been car shopping. I have been doing that for like the last 2-3 years! Well I’ve been at it again. It seems that everyone I know has either already gotten a new car, or is looking at getting one. And they all have WAY newer cars then mine already! So I feel left out. Plus my car has been acting up lately. The Check engine light keeps coming on and then going off, and it’s been making really funny sounds after I get off the freeway.

Anyways, I also talked to my mom about buying one and she was like. “Just do it already. One of these days your car is just going to die on the freeway”. Another big factor is that this is the last year you can write off the sales tax on a new car purchase, plus I _think_ that the laws this year still allow me to write off the 50% depreciation as a business expense. (I can’t remember if it was this year or last year that the laws changed on that) This year I could really use all the write offs I can get.

Well I’ve been out test driving basically anything and everything that catches my fancy, here’s the list:

1) Honda Civic Hybrid – It’s a great car, don’t get my wrong. But I don’t think it’s what I want any more. A year ago, I would have bought it. But after driving it a few times, there’s just to many little things that would annoy me. The same as with my current Saturn. There’s these wierd little bumps and cubbies that make no sense and the seats just aren’t comfortable enough for me since I spend 2 hours a day in my car.

2) Saab 9-3 – Don’t get in this car… As long as you stand on the outside, it’s great. Great looking, Great warranty, great options and free maintenance for 3 years.. Just so fucking ugly once you get in. It’s like most great looking things… Nice on the outside and ugly on the inside. And plus why did they link the ONLY way to connect your phone to the car to be that you HAVE to have verizon wireless? WTF is up with that. So once I switch away from Verizon, there’s no point in having the OnStar shit. Though they did make me a great offer. A 2007 9-3 with 4,000 miles for only $23k. A demo car that is still basically new, never even been registered.

3) Saturn Aura Hybrid – Yes. I looked at another Saturn. I thought I’d give it a try and see how they’ve done in the last 7 years since I bought my car. The Aura is pretty nice overall. But it just still feels SO CHEAP still. And I’m not sure I could trust Saturn (aka GM) to build a hybrid that will last. Plus, for the price you’re paying for a “hybrid” you really don’t get THAT much better gas mileage.

4) Toyota Camry Hybrid – Another great car. I really like this one, however, I’m just not sure I could see myself driving it. It’s so big and feels very “old man”. Also, for the premium you pay for the hybrid, it’s really not worth it. I thought I had found a GREAT deal on a slightly used one, but the dealer… HUTCH wouldn’t fucking budge on the price. So I walked away.

5) BMW 3 series – The ultimate driving experience. That’s exactly what it is, but it’s just too much for me. Plus it seems like everyone here has a BMW. I want something at least a little different

6) IS 250 – I’ve loved this car since it came out in 2006. Back then, I was nearly ready to walk into a dealer and get one. But I just couldn’t bring myself to buy one at that point because I was making a lot less back then. I went in and talked to my local Lexus dealer and got them to come down $6,000 on a fully loaded IS 250 with navigation. Which would bring it into my price range that I’ve set and at 4.9% interest. I just can’t bring myself to spend that much money even though I could easily afford it.

7) Infiniti G35 – Yes, even though I gave Constantine sooo much shit for this car. It’s amazing. I went and test drove one the other day, just to see it and play with it for myself. I have to admit, I love this car now as well. I was never planning on even seriously looking at one after everything I said to Constantine. But my local Infiniti Dealer had an IS250 listed for sale on Cars.com or one of those sites. So I called him about it. We got to talking and he was like. “We also have a brand new G35 with navigation”. The deal is though that it’s anothe demo car, 3,000-4,000 miles on it and it’s a 2007. The final price he quoted me was under $30k which is exactly what I was looking for a year ago for a price range. 2.9% interest…. It’s the exact same color as Constantine’s too. I just can’t do that, I would be the biggest asshole ever. But it’s SUCH a fucking deal too.

8) Audi A3/A4 – I’ve loved the A3 since it came out, and the A4 is just a great car. However, I have a few friends who have A4’s and they say that once they hit 50k miles they just eat money in Maint. Which ever car I’ll buy, I’m going to keep for another 7-10 years. And the more money I spend on it, the longer I will probably keep it. Plus other friends are telling me that they are coming out with a new more fuel efficient engine “soon”. So I’m not sure how I feel about these.

9) Toyota Prius – Another great car and again, I probably would have bought one a year ago. But now they are just getting so old, they are in need of a major redesign.

10) BMW 1 series, A1, etc. – Oh! they aren’t out yet! But they both look like GREAT cars!

Edit:// Sorry forgot one:
11) Volvo C30 – It’s a great little cute car.. But really? It gets the SAME MPG as the Lexus or BMW, it’s smaller, and it costs about the same with fewer options… Are you serious Volvo? Comon! I know you _think_ you can compete, but you really can’t.

12) VW Jetta – This is another car I’ve heard lots of mixed reviews about. So I’m a little leary. Though I really did like it when I drove it.

13) Acura TSX – Another great car that is tops on my list. I don’t know how I forgot it! Really nothing wrong with it!

Ugh. Ultimately, I’ll probably keep the car I have for a while longer now… I’m just too indecisive about this, I need someone to just go out and buy it for me!!

So don’t be surprised when a blog post comes out about how I’m really pissed that I was stuck on the side of the I-405 for 2 hours waiting for someone to come pick me and my busted ass car up! 🙂

WARNING: TMI!!

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING POST MAY CONTAIN TMI!!!!

1. Have you ever had sex/oral sex with someone of the same sex? – Yes

2. Ever thought about it? – Yes

3. Ever had sex that lasted only minutes? – Yes! (We were in a hurry, his sister was pulling INTO the parking lot)!

4. Have you ever taken someone’s virginity? Yes

5. Have you ever kissed or french kissed someone of the same sex? – Yes

6. Have you ever been totally naked with someone of the same sex? – Yes

7. Ever gone skinny dipping? – All the Time.

8. Have you ever mooned, streaked, flashed or been the lucky one to witness any of these? – Yes

9. Is there anyone you have simply been wanting to sleep with? – Yes

10. Have you ever had a one night stand? – Tried it once and nothing ended up happening because I chickened out.

11. Have you and your partner had sex while others were in the room? – Yes

12. Have you had sex in a public place where you could have been caught? – Yes – The Skywalks in DM and at the Lake

13. Has the sex been so wild that you broke something? – Not that I recall?

14. Have you ever had sex in a vehicle? – Yes, in a Wells Fargo Office Building Parking Lot

15. Have you ever given/received oral sex while one of you were driving? – Yes

16. Have you ever had sex on top of a car? No

17. Have you ever had sex/oral sex in an elevator, stairwell, phone booth, bathroom stall or any other small, confined public area? – Yes

18. Ever tried doggy style? – Of Course

19. Have you ever had sex for 3 hours? – Yes

20. Ever tried the 69 position? – Yes

21. Has 3 or more positions in one session ever been accomplished? – Yes

22. Have you and your partner had sex in a shower, tub, pool, hot tub or on the beach? – Shower, Tub, Pool, Hot Tub… Sadly no beach yet. 🙁

23. Ever had an entire session of just oral and other methods of sex without penetration? – Yes

24. Have you or your partner ever used handcuffs or any other form of bondage? – No

25. Ever wear sexy lingerie? – No

26. Have you ever done a strip tease? – Yes

27. Ever been cut off completely from sex because your partner was pissed off at you? – Nope. But I’ve cut them off

28. Have you ever been hung over, naked and sore and not quite sure why? – No

29. Ever wake up sore, scratched, bruised and feel proud? – No

30. Have you, had sex/oral sex in a movie theater, sporting event or any public transportation? – Yes

31. Have you ever got drunk and had sex with someone you wouldn’t have sober? – No

32. Have you ever slept beside someone of the opposite sex all night w/o having sex? – Yes

33. Ever shave yourself completely (down there)? Yes – Mostly only Trim

34. Ever shave someone else? Yes

35. Ever go to the E.R. and have to explain certain injuriescaused by a sexual act? – No

36. Have you ever cybered or had phone sex? – Yes

37. Have you or your partner had the kind of sex where you are totally fulfilled and not wanted more? – Yes

38. Have you ever used sex as a bargaining tool or weapon to get your way?- Yes

39. Have you ever disturbed people with loud sex? – Yes

40. Had sex with someone on vacation and you never saw them again? – No

41. Ever had sex in the rain? – Yes (In the hot tub too, is that double points?!)

42. Have you ever bought something from a sex shop or adult party? – Yes

43. Have you ever left the house without wearing underwear on purpose? Yes

44. Have you ever taken it in the ass? – Duh!

45. Have you ever stuck something other than a penis In your partner’s ass? – Yes (Dildo)

And the funny thing is…. I’ve only had sex with 3 people! I’m so dirty.

And is it dirty because I was listening to a Christian Rock band while filling this out?