December 19, 2012
My new Fiat 500 Abarth
At around the end of Aug 2001 I purchased my 2002 Beetle; around five years later I paid it off (not long after I got a surprise in the mail). Even with 6 years of no car payments, 10+ years with the same car is my limit. I went shopping two weeks ago before our trip to Austin, found this 2013 model, and quickly made my decision. My original choice was between a Fiat and a Mini which, one of Lisa's coworkers commented, are often compared in Europe. The test drive convinced me what a solid car the Fiat is, and it's nice not to add to the crowd of 7 or 8 Minis that are already parked near my parking spot at home.
First addition was a bluetooth receiver to stream Internet audio from my phone (found in this thread). Works well. Car-wise, the first week-and-a-half has been great. We have two trips to Knoxville coming up in the next week, so the trunk/back seats will be put to the luggage test.
December 1, 2012
British crime dramas we watched in 2010-2011
Was remembering these recently for some reason.
First, Wire in the Blood about a slightly eccentric psychologist who helps the police with their more disturbing cases. This is the common outside specialist trope that, if it isn't present, is replaced by a detective with equally obscure specialties. Second, A Touch of Frost about an older, unorthodox detective working in a small town. Because of his age, this had a bit of a "Murder, She Wrote" feel for me. Both series worked nicely with the relationships of a core three or four characters. Wire lasted 6 years and ToF a full 18, yet with some seasons consisting of only 1 or 2 movie-length episodes. They were a nice diversion to watch periodically since, like other crime dramas, they lacked any cliffhanging addictiveness between episodes. It's odd how long we lived with these characters in the background.