It’s hard to find a good car these days.  With gas prices going up, people around here are ditching their trucks and SUVs and buying up used Hondas, Hybrids, and Diesels.  Domestic car companies help to narrow down the selection, as they don’t even have a serious offering of thrifty, reliable small cars.  The closest match is the Daewoo Chevy Aveo, which consistently receives bad ratings, lacks in features, and has only adequate fuel economy for its size.  And it’s not really a domestic car.  The closest match was the Saturn Astra, but the lowest price was $18000 just to get cruise control and a car that’s rated at 32mpg.  Other than that, it is a pretty nice car but then again, it’s made mostly in Belgium and Argentina and is thus not really a domestic.  The upcoming Ford Fiesta looks promising, but it is a distant dream at this point.

After several nights of edmunds.com, Consumer Reports, visits to dealer lots, and spreadsheets calculating cost per month including gas at different gas prices, I narrowed the field down to three cars.  The Honda Fit, the Volkswagen Rabbit, and a used 2005 Honda Civic SI hatchback.  I was mainly interested in a hatchback because I love the sportiness combined with the ability to haul a lot more stuff than a sedan.  My old RSX was so handy simply because it was like having a miniature truck.  High MPG rating was also key, as I drive 122 miles each day.

I was really impressed with my test drive of the Volkswagen Rabbit.  There were a lot of cool features packed into this car and it came with a traction control program which would be good for winter driving.  However, when talking with the sales rep, I got locked into negotiating a monthly payment, varied by term, so I retreated and played the “gotta talk to my wife” card.  I learned later that the VW dealer in Lansing is notoriously non-negotiable on prices.  However, even if I was to get below invoice on the Rabbit, it would still cost $100 more per month to own than the other alternatives, simply because it gets a measly 29mpg highway with its 2.5L I5.  Why can’t VW put in the 2.0L I4 that the Jetta has?  Or, better yet, a turbo diesel engine!  The Jetta is known to be coming this fall with a TDI engine and the Rabbit is rumored to possibly come with one as well.  At up to 60mpg, a TDI would be the best choice, even at $4.50 per gallon.  Sorry, I can’t wait until fall! 

I found a 2005 Honda Civic SI at a Honda dealer outside of Detroit.  I was pumped about it because it was basically the same as my RSX, just with a taller body, cloth seats, and a strangely-mounted shifter.  When Julie took a test drive with me, we realized that the car smelled of cigarette smoke, and I was greeted with a blast of tobacco fragrance when I turned on the A/C.  Even after a 100-so point inspection, there was pop residue in the cup holders.  The dealer offered another cleaning, but it just didn’t make sense to pay $1,000 less than a brand new Fit to get a used car that will probably always smell bad and get lower mpg.  

Which brings us to the winner - the Honda Fit.  I was really attracted to the low price, the hatchback style, and the 34mpg rating.  The car is an econobox, but it has a ton of storage space and the seats fold into ridiculously awesome positions to maximize hauling room.  Just this weekend we hauled our luggage, a double-tall dorm fridge and a garden full of plants home from Illinois.  I even have more headroom than in the RSX.  I can finally sit up straight when I drive.  On my first tank of gas I averaged 38mpg.  The lowest I’ve seen is 34mpg after a tank’s worth of interstate driving at around 70-76mph.  The only downside is there were no Fit Sports with a manual transmission in Michigan.  I decided to get the base manual model, which means no cruise control.  However, the dealer did tell me that they can install cruise control for a fee.  It may just be worth it.  Since Fits and Civics are being snatched up like crazy, I wasn’t able to negotiate on price.  What really got me is that they added on a fee for having a seat cloth protector sprayed on.  When I asked if this was optional, they insisted that the protector was already applied.  Grrr!  I should have threatened to walk out then, but after days of searching and finally being at the end, I didn’t press the issue.  Now, I realize how silly it is because, supposedly, I have to take it in once a year for a few more years to get more stuff sprayed on.  If that’s the case, then I should have at least only paid for one spraying!  Oh well, live and learn.  I’m really bad at negotiating!  The last time I bought a car, the dealer didn’t even wait for a response to his initial offer before going off to “talk to his manager.”  It was so easy then…

On Friday I was on my way home from work when Julie called and told me we were having dinner with our neighbors.  I was pumped!  I continued driving home along a 2-lane highway when the car ahead of me started slowing down at an intersection.  He wasn’t using his signal and for some reason I assumed was going to turn right, so I passed him on the left as there were no cars coming the opposite direction.  Well, he ended up turning left, straight into the rear driver’s side panel.  I slammed on the brakes as I realized this was going to happen and tried to swerve away, but it was no use.  I headed straight for the ditch.  It didn’t really happen in slow motion, but when he hit me, I thought, “crap, I’m in an accident!”  As I headed into the ditch, I thought, “double crap, I’m in the ditch!”  Not in those exact words.  

The ditch was next to a farm and there was a “land bridge” connecting the farm with the highway.  I felt a thump as I landed in the bottom of the ditch and another thump as I ran into the land bridge.   Since my windows were opened, my car was filled with cattail fuzzies.  I got out and made sure the other guy was OK.  He wore a muscle shirt that said, “F— yeah” and didn’t look like someone who’d order an orange mocha frappuccino.  He didn’t seem too angry.  His Ford Escort only had a dented fender.  

I called the police and waited for 45 minutes until a trooper from Ypsilanti (30 miles away, going with rush hour traffic) could get there.  Meanwhile, a few people from work stopped by as the accident site was between work and Chelsea, where they live.    They were all very kind.  It was pretty clear I passed in a no passing zone, so I ended up with a ticket.  Just as my car was towed away, Julie showed up and it was so good to see her.  

After dinner and the drive home, I decided to go to the ER, as my chest was very sore.  Thankfully, it’s just bruised.  It’s nice to have a hospital right across the street!  Especially when I didn’t make it out of there until 12:30am.

So, no more crazy maneuvers like that!

The car is beat up, but I’m thinking it may be salvageable.  The front bumper is a bit beat up, but the radiator is pushed into the engine.  I had tried starting the car in the ditch, but it didn’t sound too good as it ran.  The driver side window is also broken.  There’s a nice dent in the rear side panel.  We’ll see how much it is to fix.  

I’m thankful to be alive!  Praise God!

This morning, on my way to work, I stopped at the gas station for a fill-up.  As is customary, I enter my milage using Twitter and MyMileMarker, which texts me back my average MPG.  My tachometer (or, taco-meter, as I like to call it) odometer [thanks, Topher!] was at 399 miles.  I was sure I’d be putting 11 or 12 gallons in, as I normally get 30-32mpg, maybe 34 on a good day.  I was utterly surprised when the pump stopped at 10.5 gallons.  I even topped off the tank just make sure it wasn’t a fluke.

A fairly recent pastime for some (following the introduction of the Toyota Prius) has been Hypermiling.  Lately, I’ve realized that by driving over 70mph every day to work, my gas milage has plummeted to around 30-31mpg.  I decided to start taking the back way home on M-52 and M-36 through Chelsea (home of Jiffy cornbread mix).  It’s all 2-lane highways through a state park and somewhat hilly farms.  It takes 10 minutes longer, but it is much more pleasant that the freeway and for when I’m not in a rush.  This change alone, going from 74mph average to 55mph average has made a big difference.

Some other things that I have done:

Shift early, accelerate slow.  The RSX has a i-VTEC engine that varies the amount of fuel injected based on RPMs.  The owners manual recommends shifting at 3000rpm.  However, I found that I can accelerate with minimal throttle when I shift at 2000rpm.  I used to be a late shifter, regularly exceeding 3000rpm.  I also found that my engine switches from 2 fuel injectors to 4 per cylinder when it crosses the 2800rpm threshold.  Keeping below 2800rpm in 5th (top) gear puts me at a comfortable 61mph.  

Coasting.  A big boost to mpg comes from coasting instead of braking.  The high compression ratio of my engine makes for more effective engine braking.  When coasting in gear, the engine uses zero fuel as it can rely on momentum to keep the engine running.  When parking, I turn off the engine early and coast into the driveway or parking spot.

Accessories.  I read somewhere that accessories consume about 2% of a car’s efficiency.  I only use the air conditioning when I need it.  I also use my iPod/headphones instead of the car stereo.

Hard core hypermilers go to lengths as great as tailgating semis and “pulsing” the engine - accelerating up to 55mph, then shutting off the engine and coasting.  That’s probably not a good idea on Michigan freeways, where people commonly whiz by at 80+mph.  

It’s been a lot of fun trying to optimize fuel economy and it’s made a 19% difference already.  

A couple weeks ago, I hit the 100,000 mile mark on my car!  It comes quickly when your commute is 66 miles each way.  My little RSX has had only one issue so far - a failed catalytic converter.  Luckily, there are no emissions requirements in Michigan, so fixing it hasn’t been an absolute necessity.  Other than that, it has been a great car.  I’m just bummed that it’s the last cool car that Acura has made.  They’re not exactly shooting for the sporty look anymore.  Our Grand Am, however has had a different story.  The most disturbing one was the factory-installed/recommended coolant that actually corroded parts of the engine.  Luckily, a lawsuit was just settled with GM that offers cash back to people (like us) who had to get repairs for that.

This month also marks a full year that I’ve lived in Michigan.  It seems like so long ago that I packed up and drove 10 hours to Lansing to meet my new landlord - who didn’t think I would be moving in that very night.  I did get a bit pessimistic about Lansing throughout the year, but as spring comes, the whole town comes alive and the weather is beautiful.  The cold and snowy winters are a high price to pay, but the summers here are great.  Not so humid as Virginia.  Our neighbor, who works for the Michigan tourism agency gave us a bag full of pamphlets about all kinds of awesome stuff to do around the state, so this summer should be fun.  We’re also making friends at church and around town, which makes a big difference.

In other news, spring is slowly creeping in - we’re now seeing 40-degree highs!

It’s pretty much official now that I’ll get to go to RailsConf in Portland, OR this spring.  I’m really pumped.  I’ve also never been to the West Coast so that will make it even more fun.

I also volunteered to help put together the Westside home tour.  It’s a cool annual event where people in the neighborhood open up their houses to give everyone a glimpse of the 20’s-40’s era architectures.  It also benefits the a local nonprofit.

I just wanted to take the opportunity to put a more positive post at the top of my blog.  I realized I may have offended some and while I would like to just delete the post, a big conversation has already started.   I do sincerely apologize if my post created any hard feelings.

A friend of mine wrote a post lately where she spoke out against California’s ruling that homeschooling is a crime.  Since I know she and her husband enjoy a good debate, and this issue is something my wife and I talk about pretty often, I have decided to chime in.

My wife and I have some acquaintances who are either homeschooling their children, plan to homeschool, or have been home schooled.  Let me just say right off the bat that even though we disagree with those decisions, we love them all and do not think any less of them.

Homeschooling is very popular among conservative, fundamentalist Christians.  There is a commonly-held view among them that some things taught in public schools (such as evolution and gender identity) are wrong or that the social interactions with other kids at school are too dangerous.  In the true spirit of American individualism, the parents choose to withdraw their children from public schools and either teach them themselves or enroll them in a private Christian school.  As a Christian who may someday have children, I can easily understand how keeping my child out of a public school would seem beneficial.  However, I keep coming back to the conclusion that doing so would be irresponsible to my child and to society.

Just as it is impractical for one to build their own roads, sewer system, and power plant, it is impractical for one to take on the duty of a child’s teacher in all subjects for every age level.  Technology and human collective knowledge have progressed to the point where we must depend on others to help us out.  This includes teaching.  I can choose not to depend on the city to provide my water, but my quality of life will be significantly lower, if not outright unhealthy.   I can choose to try and teach my son Geometry, but in reality, I will fail and end up telling him to read the book.  If he doesn’t understand the book, well, he’s just out of luck, unless he’s a genius.  Where does this leave the non-genius children who have inadequate teachers?  The homeschooler will argue that there are plenty of under-qualified teachers in the public school system.  This leads us to my second point.

Parents need to be involved with their child’s education.  For too many parents, school is “daycare with benefits.”   Not many are willing to take on the responsibility of keeping teachers personally accountable.  They’d much rather have congress whip together a No Child Left Behind Act that institutes ineffective standardized testing and sacrifices deep learning experiences for learning what bubbles to fill in on the test.  An ideal school system would involve parental and student feedback that weeds out ineffective teachers and sets policies for what is taught.  Furthermore, it is very telling that the students who typically do the worst in school are the ones whose parents are not involved.  The problems with the public school system are not going to be solved by acts of congress, just as poverty will never be eliminated through welfare programs.  It requires community participation.

While withdrawing from a social institution may seem to provide short-term benefits, the effects are always negative for all parties.  The poor always suffer the most as a result.  For example, as middle class white people withdrew from urban areas to live in the suburbs, urban neighborhoods and schools severely deteriorated.  They’re caught in a downward spiral of needing investment, but lacking the tax income to provide that investment.   The only way out is for affluent neighbors to invest.  Similarly, if all concerned parents withdraw from public schools, the majority who are left in the public schools will be left to rot in an unchecked system of under-qualified teachers teaching moral ambiguity.  Wait, that’s already happening…

Sidebar: It was interesting to me, learning about the run-up to the Civil War, to hear what the was reason for pro-Unionists to keep the South from seceding.  Their reasoning went as follows: If the losing political minority withdraws from a system of government every time a law is passed against them, the law will have no meaning because all of those who are opposed to a law are essentially choosing not to follow it.  If I am pro-murder, I will just secede from the Union and murder will be legal for me.  It’s another example of how institutions fail when no one wants to participate.

Why do we care about society?  The typical right-wing Christian mindset says that we are all sinners and that the world is hopelessly lost to corruption, violence, and poverty.  Since there is no hope for society, better for me to live in a shack in the woods where I can read my bible and live a Godly life, far away from the influence of the evil world.  I used to hold this view myself.  However, it is not what Jesus taught.

Jesus’ first recorded miracle is actually a clue to us as to what His plan is for us:

On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”

“Dear woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied, “My time has not yet come.”

His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.

Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim.

Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”

They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”

This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.

This story is very rich in symbolism and John gives us some clues.  First, the miracle happend “on the third day.”  Second, the scene is a wedding.  In the Old Testament, marriage was used symbolically to represent Israel’s (the bride) union and close relationship with God (the groom).  Third, wine was used by Old Testament prophets to represent peace, fruitful labor, and blessings - heaven on earth.  Essentially, this story boils down to servents bringing heaven on earth by following Jesus’ commands.

This story flatly contradicts the idea that the world is doomed to sinful decay.  We have a part in doing God’s will to bring heaven on earth.  Jesus initiated the moment where heaven and earth meet - are wedded - and bring hope to a fallen world.

Conservative Christians typically focus solely on their relationship with God.  They strive to fulfill the first, greatest commandment - to love God with their whole soul, mind, and strength.  However they many times miss the second part of that commandment - to love others as themselves.  I spent most of my life ignoring that commandment and then most of the rest of my life only focusing on the first part of it.  It’s easy to start a “God and me club,” but it’s hard to truly love others as God loves them.  In fact, as you read the bible, you realize that if you are to truly love God, it follows naturally that you will love what he loves - justice, healing, the orphan, the widow, and your pointy-haired boss.

This brings us back to society.  What is our mission as Christians who are trying to do God’s will and restore creation to its creator?  Do we hide in our homeschools or do we try to help steer society toward what is good?

P.S. I take no credit for that little sermonette.  It was lifted directly from what I remember from one of Rob Bell’s and from the book Walking With the Poor.

There’s a bit of a rivalry between East Lansing and Ann Arbor. I don’t know all of its nuances, but from what I can tell, U of M is the turtle neck-wearing elitist and MSU is the down-to-earth, good old boy. After visiting Ann Arbor a few times now, I can say I really like the city. It has a very vibrant downtown area and the city is brimming with entrepreneurs and high-tech companies. It’s like a tiny slice of Boston or New York was transplanted into Michigan.

Since Julie had a flight to Jacksonville early this morning and the weather reports were calling for several inches of snow, we decided to stay in a hotel between Ann Arbor and the airport instead of waking up at 3am to drive from Lansing.

While I was at work, Julie found a cool tile factory called Motawi that makes artsy tile. She got a tile that will be a centerpiece in our kitchen.

After work, we ate at Zingerman’s deli. I had never heard of it, but, apparently it is well known and is one of Jeffry Steingarten’s (the cranky critic on Iron Chef, food columnist) favorite restaurants. It’s basically a super-gourmet deli. The staff are extremely friendly and let you sample anything. We tried some cheeses straight out of France and some chocolate-covered bacon. I had the best Reuben ever. The corn beef and sauerkraut had delicate tastes and simply melted in my mouth. The cakes we had for dessert, however, were just OK. It was a great experience, but definitely not cheap, as far as delis go.

At the hotel, I enjoyed the whirlpool and then digging my car out of 10 inches of snow. Julie enjoyed being stuck on in her plane on the TARMAC for 2 hours this morning. Now she’s in sunny Jacksonville. Lucky!

The only thing that’s been difficult about my daily commute is the snow. Normally, a few inches of snow would be no big deal, but it turns out that they don’t plow the roads in Michigan. Part of it is that they’re running out of salt due to a national shortage, but it’s also because the state government is so underfunded (close to bankruptcy!) that they have a hard time paying for fuel for the snow plows. Well, the extra time spent driving just gives me more time to listen to my podcasts. Right now I’m listening to some American history lectures, the usual Mars Hill podcasts (highly recommended!), the Rails Envy podcast, MacBreak Tech, and IT Conversations.

I’m still playing soccer on the weekends and things are improving. I can now pass the ball and it takes me at least 4 minutes to get winded!

As spring approaches, the fever for home improvement has been kicking in. Our plan is to turn our main level closet into a half bathroom and re-tile/re-counter our kitchen. It’s interesting how much your perceptions of a house change after living in it for almost a year. The charm of an older house is nice, but you start to find interesting quirks over time. There are so many things that have been “hacked” or “cobbled together” by previous residents. Sometimes I get the urge to just “refactor” (read: tear apart and rebuild) some things, like the ductwork, wiring, walls, etc. But then I realize it would cost money and tons of time.

I’ve been keeping busy with various software development group meetings and watching Arrested Development. The show is absolutely hilarious! It’s so packed with puns and in-jokes.

Already, my family is planning a trip to Europe (mostly Italy) next year. I’m hopeful that it will come together. I’m feeling the need to travel again!

I’m also finding some of Michigan’s hidden gems. I’ve been extremely impressed with Ann Arbor. It really is a gem. They’ve managed to keep a lot of development within the city and there are a ton of innovative companies there. It’s a very vibrant town and is like a little slice of the East Coast. Overall though, I’ve found that I’m starting to acclimate to Michigan. Not just the cold, but the fun and interesting things the state offers. I think finding a great job has a lot to do with it. Oh yeah, and the fact that I see the sun at least once every few days now.  Next excursions: the Michigan Historical Museum and the Museum of Surveying.

A man constantly in torment over the idea of being buried alive will finally emerge from the ground at Hains Point in Washington, DC and move to Prince George’s county.  It was one of those fun little “off the beaten path” sights to show to visiting friends and family.  Awakening Giant, we’ll miss being able to see you downtown!

I’m officially sick of winter!  Tonight we’re supposed to get 3 to 5 inches of snow (with possibly a foot by the end of tomorrow) and yesterday we had a high of 12 degrees with a subzero, 25mph wind chill.

I watched the first season of Arrested Development.  Probably the second most hilarious sitcom I’ve seen (Seinfeld still reigns supreme).  I hadn’t appreciated it when I watched it a few times when it was on the air because I missed out on all the in-jokes and plot line.  It was sort of a proto-How I Met Your Mother. 

While the weather has been reluctant to change, my job situation has.  I’ve left a quasi-state government organization as an ASP.NET developer to developing tools and web applications for an anti-spam company in Ann Arbor where I get to write Ruby on Rails apps and Perl scripts on a Linux workstation!  Life is good!  The commute is an hour long, but it’s totally worth it.  I started on Monday.  I’ve also been doing some web development on the side for a little extra bonus. 

A new MacBook Pro may be in my future as well.  My 4.5 year old PowerBook G4 has a weak battery, a jury-rigged keyboard cable, a creaky case, and a damaged video cable that results in blacking out the bottom third of my screen.  With only 500MB of free disk space, it’s also groaning under the load of constant virtual memory swapping.

We spent MLKJ weekend in Virginia and got to see our friends there and see my parents (after missing them over the holidays).  It was very nice and relaxing.  It also makes me miss Virginia.  However, it’s interesting to reflect on how God’s timing for everything worked out with me finding a job in Michigan and changes in Virginia that would have been unpleasant to experience had we stayed.  The timing for this new job is great as well.  Feel free to shoot me an email if you’re wondering why I’m being so vague
Last weekend, we made a quick weekend getaway to Chicago for Molly’s birthday.  I had a BLAST playing Rock Band.  I faired fairly well on the Bass, but my drum and vocal skills are a bit lacking.  I think it’s especially difficult at 4:30am.  Julie even loves the game and we’ve tossed around the idea of getting our very own.  I just know that would be the end of my productivity and social life because not only would I be addicted to Rock Band, but I would spend additional hours playing Gran Turismo 4 (and 5 when it comes out).  Oh yeah and FIFA ‘08.