LittleJoe

Drove the smart car today

We've decided that the smart car is not for us. Today the "street smart" road show came to Tampa, so we finally had the chance to each take a very short test drive. But that was enough to make a decision.

Good stuff: The cars they had available are all the US model ...the slightly larger body, US engine and transmission ...the only changes that will be made prior to 2008 release will be slightly different wheels, a speedometer that displays speed as miles per hour, and an enhanced shifting system. I drove the car in 'manual' shift mode, which means I could either use paddle shifters at the steering wheel, or the stickshift to change gears on the clutchless system. The released model will have a changed gearshift. And I thought the acceleration was ok, the cars look very cool, and it was quite comfortable and roomy inside.

Bad stuff: The steering wheel position does not adjust. The horn is not easy to activate; I like to have my thumb resting on the horn button to deal with these crazy Tampa drivers, but I'd have to move my hand to get the horn on this car. And with a car this small I do want to be able to hit that horn very quickly. We've got an order in already for a Yaris and that will be primarily my car. The smart would have been primarily Shirley's car, and she wants an automatic transmission. The smart is pretty unresponsive in automatic mode. And Shirley felt that some portions of the interior and the inside door handles were a little "cheap". And she also did not like having to move the hand so much to hit the horn.

So we decided that for about the same money, we should be able to get a different car that has better performance, more storage, still be pretty small, and get about the same mileage. So far we've driven the smart, a Hyundai Accent, the Toyota Yaris, and a Honda Fit ...and have looked at a Nissan Versa.

It's a little bit of a bummer giving up on the smart, but we know we'll find something that will fit our requirements.

Communing with the Ant1chr1st

Years ago, someone at work gave me a little button that said, "Decaf is the Antichrist". I thought that was so cool - because that's pretty much how I felt. Well, there have actually been a few times in the past year or so when I've had a cup of coffee late at night and it has (gasp) affected my ability to sleep! That's not at all always the case, mind you. Often I've been able to have a cup of coffee at 10pm, go to bed at 10:05, and sleep like a baby (a happy one, not a colicky one).

So I mentioned to Shirley that I was starting to consider possibly thinking about maybe looking into getting some decaf coffee beans. And bless her heart, when she was at the store the other day she picked up about a quarter pound of decaffeinated Columbian coffee. We've had a spare burr grinder for some time, since Shirley used to drink decaf. And tonight I pulled out the spare grinder, ground up some of those Columbian beans, and brewed myself a decaf Americano.

And it was good. What is happening to the world?

Kucinich may surprise some folks :)

Support for Dennis Kucinich continues to grow. This is very good news! I was at a gathering for a local campaign on Sunday and was chatting with some of the folks there. When folks were mentioning support for Obama (or any other national candidate), I'd mention that I really like what Dennis Kucinich is saying. Every single one of the folks to whom I said this agreed with me. Thinking back, I wish now that I'd asked why they weren't more vocal about their support for Kucinich.

Regardless, even here in what some think of as conservative Florida, the fact is that:

• support is strong for getting out of Iraq
• support is strong for universal healthcare
• support is strong for fiscal responsibility
• and support is strong for Dennis Kucinich

What surprises me, however, is that people seem to be reluctant to voice their support. Some months back, I asked for and was given a list of the voter registration for our precinct. It surprised me to learn that there are more Democrats and Independents than Republicans. I recently learned that in our county there are more Democrats registered than Republicans. People seem to somehow be intimidated - reluctant to state publicly what they readily share privately: that they recognize how horrible it is that we invaded Iraq, that the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are wasting precious lives and bankrupting our country, that it is time to STOP torture, it is time to STOP these illegal wars, and it is time to catch up with the rest of the industrialized world and offer everyone the right of basic health care.

So we will see. Faux News and the other media hacks can continue to pronounce Hillary as the forgone conclusion for the Dem nomination. Of course they want her to get the nomination, since she would be the easiest one for them to campaign against. But the PEOPLE are disgusted with the war crimes of Bush and Cheney, the lies that the neoconservative owners of the current Republican party foist on the masses, the endless brutality and senseless slaughter from the wars the Bush regime perpetuate. The PEOPLE are yearning for peace, for basic human rights, for a compassionate and logical leadership, and the PEOPLE are wise to the bull$h1t that seems to spew ceaselessly from the corporate media.

The fact that one of my conservative friends has commented on my earlier Kucinich post, calling Kucinich a 'dingbat', rather than ignoring him, confirms that the right-wing is fearing Kucinich. And with good reason!

Our banana tree has fruit!

I was out mowing the lawn Saturday and when I was mowing by the side of the house I noticed that our dwarf banana tree has babies! The first banana tree we ever saw was in Hawaii. Next was in the Cook Islands. So to me, seeing bananas growing just screams that we are in the tropics. I've no idea if these babies will ripen into something tasty, but I sure hope so. There's not much to compare to picking and eating fresh fruit and veggies from your own plants. Hmmm... I bet with a fresh banana or two and some rum and maybe some coconut and pineapple ...I think we may be doing some recipe experimentation in the not-too-distant future :)

Gator after chomping bird in pond at work

Here's a pic of the gator I saw when I was leaving for lunch today (click the thumbnail image to see the larger pic). When I saw him he had just chomped one of those big black birds that sit near the water's edge with their wings fanned out. Another two chomps and the bird was gone. It's not the greatest pic (taken rather quickly with the BlackBerry from the car ...but you can make out the gator.

So there is the illustration of why one should not stroll too close to the water in Florida. I saw a gator in one of the other ponds at our building a year or two ago, and another gent told me he had seen one crossing the road a while back. It's rather odd to see such an ancient species in the midst of our 'modern' culture!