It's the circle of life, in an automotive sense.

I'm tired of swapping through cheap cars every 6 months. It's too much hassle for this point in my life.

I've settled down with another VW (2000 gti), basically back where I started when my car luck turned downhill a few years ago (the disappeared-into-thin-air Jetta). It's newer, more reliable, and has ABS and new tires, to hopefully keep it away from other cars.

Here it is: http://img206.imageshack.us/my.php?image=gtisb4.jpg

8 days until vacation.

Spring!

While I'm mostly a Winter person - love the snow and cold and hardship and Sigur-Ros soundtrack stuff - there really isn't any of that in NC, so I'll have to be content with what I get.

Currently that is spring; it is rather nice. I've almost forgotten the need for a car. It has been excellent walking weather for the last week.  For someone that's trapped inside all day at the job there is nothing better than being able to go for a walk at lunch and after dinner and just enjoy the wind and the non-fluorescent/CRT light.

Walking also slows me down, which is really necessary.  I've been running from task to task for weeks now - work, classes, trying to find waterproof transportation, selling all of 

entropysquared

's random old computer parts, fixing the house, so on,  there hasn't been much free time. Example: It's Friday and I was just able to finish watching the F1 race from last Sunday ( Raikonnen is finally in an apparently reliable car - he should walk over everyone this season - about time ) while getting ready for work this morning.

All of this being-an-adult stuff really makes me realize how accurate Office Space was - sometimes the best time spent is the time doing nothing.

(That movie provides surprising amounts of mental clarity/guidance on how to survive in IT. I also blame it for some of the odd choices I've made recently. I know I'm doing all the normal 'young professional' adult things - corporate job, house, import car, blah blah. But I have this mental aversion to doing things the easy, normal, boring, soul crushing way. Thus the modernist barn and Vespa and Berlin Wall era  German cars. If I'm going to live in the Office Space world, I need some creative outlets to remain sane )

It'll be a bit of a rush to finish two weeks worth of homework this weekend, but the payoff should be worth it - cruising along the Pacific coast in a week. That and In-n-Out Burger.

Supporting buggy hardware/software. Never a dull moment.

More fast food bashing.

About the new McDonald's 1/3lb hamburger:

"

The paper quoted McDonald's franchise owner Scott Frisbie as saying that he approached the company about two years ago with the idea that the McDonald's menu needed a premium burger to remain competitive.

Developed by McDonald's executive chef Dan Coudreaut, the burger comes on a denser bun, which Frisbie said has more of a "roll flavor," the report said.

"

So why don't they put this fancy new hamburger on an actual roll, kaiser, onion, etc, instead of some bread-like-substance that has 'more roll flavor' .... ah, this made me laugh.

How hard can it be to mass produce a quality hamburger? Five Guys makes excellent cheap burgers, as do a host of independent places in Charlotte.

One more reason I don't miss large-chain food - except for the Wendy's Frosty - yes it's a sad excuse for a chocolate shake, but somehow it's a good long distance driving snack. This may be due to the lack of air conditioning in some of my recent cars though. It may fall out of favor once I get a ride that works.