Tuesday, June 27, 2006

DMV

I have complained about the DMV before. I'm going to do it again.

I moved to the area in January, and in April I decided that it was time to get a California license and California registration. At the time, you had to make a separate appointment for each, or risk waiting in line for 2 hours. I made two appointments, and went to the DMV twice (during work hours no less). That went relatively smoothly.

Now, I bought a car. The guy selling it doesn't have a copy of the title, so we fill out a title-less transfer form. I then go to the DMV, and they say we need a bill of sale too. They say that's all I need.

So I meet the guy this weekend for that signature. Again, I go back to the DMV during work hours. The DMV then says "Oh, California has never had the title for that - Montana must have it. Sorry we didn't tell you this last time! You can't use that form, you really need the title or a copy of it!"

I'm tired of the DMV.

Friday, June 23, 2006

Goodbye, Myspace

Goodbye, Myspace. The amount of people I don't know asking to friend me, the number of invitations to events I have no interest in going to, etc was way too much.

Basically: your level of abuse is too high, and the signal to noise is really bad. I'll stick to Facebook.

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Baby blogs

Let's face it, baby blogs are the new black. Actually, babies are the new black. It's summer in the valley, and I see many, many babies. Also, I see many pregnant women.

Many of my coworkers' wives have recently had children. Most of my breeding coworkers have baby blogs. They're very trendy!

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Taxes and the DMV

The taxes on my new car cost more than the purchase price of the Thunderbird (in 2001), by about $8.

There's something about the way the DMV employees seem to treat me as meat and don't really show joy and are kind of brisk that makes me extremely nervous there.

Bill Monk @ Google

BillMonk came to Google last Friday and gave a great talk.

Who is that handsome devil introducing them?!

Try out BillMonk. It's fantastic if you ever go out with friends and split bills, or live with someone and pay utilities!

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Google News in Arabic

I'm really glad that Google is launching Arabic services lately:
Google News Arabic
Gmail Arabic
Google Translate (English <-> Arabic)

I'm sad it has taken this long to do, but part of the problem with Arabic is most programmers design pages right to left, not start to finish!

Saving money on your car insurance

I pay $164.46 per 6 months on my Thunderbird
I get a discount of $117.42 per 6 months on my Audi because I have the Thunderbird.

Yes, it makes me greatly sad that when I remove the Thunderbird, I'll save $50 every 6 months.

Anyone want to buy a used Thunderbird?

Monday, June 12, 2006

New car details!

I test drove a car from Craigslist the other day. If you're interested here's the listing.

Details:
Audi A4 Avant (wagon)
Engine: 1.8 Liter Turbo
Transmission: 5 speed manual
Year: 2002
Color: Silver with a tinge of blue
Quattro (All-wheel drive)
37,500 miles
Moon roof
Climate control

Things it has in common with the Thunderbird:
* Leather
* Moon roof
* Manual transmission
* Pressure intake (supercharger/turbocharger)

Things the Audi doesn't have in common with the Thunderbird:
* It gets 25 miles per gallon
* It will make it up to Lake Tahoe if it snows
* It works!

Jim is already trolling for rides to Ikea... hrm...

I bought a car!

Sometimes, it's just time to give it up and buy a new (used) car.

And I have.

Details to follow...

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Burbed

Burbed, the Bay Area Home Price and Mortgage Insanity Blog. Interesting read, $600k for 827 sq feet in a merely OK city. WTF, mate?

Gay Marriage ban vote

List of US Senators' votes for gay marriage ban

I suggest contacting your senators and either thank them for voting against the gay marriage ban, or harangue them for voting for the gay marriage ban.

I thanked Maine's Republican Senators for breaking party lines and said how impressed I am.

Saturday, June 03, 2006

I'm a romantic

Is it strange I tried to explain something completely non technical to my girlfriend today by talking about L1 and L2 cache?