Of Bathrooms and Bolivia

Last week, with no apparent warning, it was time to paint the master bath. It was looking a little raggedy, and I never did like the mirror the previous owners left us.

Diane picked the color - "Hint of Olive" it's called - and I painted the walls and trim. (You can see the old color, the color our bedroom still is, on the right edge of the photo.)

The mirror is new, too. Bought the glass at the Home Depot on Saturday, and I made the frame.

What does any of this have to do with Bolivia? Nothing. But we got word today that Bolivia is where Gina will be going with the Peace Corps. Reports for training in mid-January. Her tour ends in late April 2010.

Coolest Car Ever?

Here's my new dream car. It is a BMW, but not the new M3 or 1-series or even an M6.

It's a 1939 328 roadster.

The chances of my owning one of these are about nil, but I have to wonder - would a Nova frame be about the right size? Or maybe a PT cruiser?

Now that would be a project!

Buying Local, But...

I believe in buying local. I prefer shopping at the local Ace Hardware in Arnold, and at the local Napa Auto in Arnold. Not only are they close, but I'm willing to spend a few bucks more to support stores - and people - in the area.

So today I'm feeling guilty.

We need tires on our rigs. Diane got 72,000 miles on a set of BF Goodrich Long Trail TAs, and I got 40,000 on Bridgestone Duelers. (I'm considerably less enamored with the Bridgestones...) There's a tire shop here in Avery and I've had repairs done there and like the guy and went to price tires there today, knowing that he probably wouldn't be able to beat, say, Costco's price. (I'm not a big Costco fan, but Diane is so we are members.)

Both the local guy and Costco guy recommended Michelin LTX's highly, and so do consumer review sites. I'd spend $50 or $60 more per car to shop locally, I really would. But with a special coming up Oct. 8 at Costco, the difference is $185 - per car.

That's just too much money to leave on the table, so as much as I hate to say it, Costco got the order.

(By the way, this is a slightly different font than I usually use. What do folks think?)

More Top Gear Madness

For folks who don't get BBC America, Top Gear, the show referenced in my previous post, does have a website, www.topgear.com, and on that website has video clips of different show segments. Here's a typical example: Cadillac CTS clip

Also check out the Cool Wall, where you get to decide if a particular car is seriously uncool, uncool, cool or subzero, and pop-up Jeremy tells you if, in his not-so-humble opinion, you're right and why. It's worth putting cars in different places just to see the pop-ups. (His discription of the Jeep Wrangler, for instance, notes that it was made in the Stone Age. By monkeys. Another car he describes as, "ugly and serves no descernable purpose. Like Wales."

Some Say He is Stumped by Clouds....

I have a new favorite TV show. Or am I supposed to call it a program?

It's Top Gear, a BBC import. They test and review new cars (and some very high-end cars indeed...) and do dumb automotive-related stuff. Some lines from recent episodes:

"This is what it'll be like for me in hell: A TR, a racetrack and a pedantic Scotsman..."

"Odious little man."

"I'm on fire..."

To an audience member: "Have you seen your ears?!" (He really did have big Dumbo ears...)

This one is a conversation:

"It's on fire."

"It can't be on fire. (looks) It's on fire."

"Run!"

We get it on BBC America, and if you haven't seen it (and enjoy sharp-witted British humour) check it out!