What a show!

My wife and I went to the Auto Show today. More precisely, it was the North American International Auto Show, in Detroit, Michigan. For the past week, only journalists and dignitaries were allowed to attend, and the local newspapers have been filled with pictures of the concept cars, and stories about the new models. Apparently, sixty new car models from manufacturers all over the world were unveiled this week to journalists. Today, the show opened to the public. I've been to many of these shows, but this is the first year I've gone on opening day.

In several ways, going to the show on opening day was quite different. First and foremost, the crowds are unbelievably large, and the models/spokespersons have not had the opportunity to practice their performances. We witnessed more than one flubbed line... but the funniest moment was when one of the models closed the door on a concept car, and the sideview mirror fell off! I think that by going on the first day, the spokespeople were fresh - not yet jaded by the throngs, and seemed more willing to talk about the cars, and their reactions to being in close proximity, than they are to do this after eight or nine days of working the show.

It's a given at all these shows that the most exotic cars are safely stowed behind barriers. The message is clear - look, but don't touch. This year, the Ferrari people (at least on this night), did something I've never seen before. They allowed people from the audience to enter the enclosed area, two people at a time - each escorted by a company representative - and get close enough to the car to touch it, open the doors, and take personal photographs of the vehicle and its interior. Mind you, the line to get in to the exhibit was so long, there was no way I was going to stand there. Still, the gesture was appreciated. None of the other supercar manufacturers allowed anyone to approach their cars.

While on the subject of supercars, I got the chance to see some supercar concepts from Chrysler (the ME412, my main reason for going to the show, was worth the price of admission all on its own), Mitsubishi, Mercedes, Volkswagen, and Acura. The Acura NSX was on display, but couldn't hold a candle to their concept car. There were some very exotic (non-sportcar) concept cars, including one from Volkswagen that resembled a dune buggy in its body sculpting and suspension, but with doors that pivoted up like the ones on a Lamborghini. I got a good look at the Maseratis, the Bentleys and the lone Rolls-Royce. The model/spokesperson in the Rolls Royce exhibit was asked about "optional equipment". Her reply: "There are many choices, but no options". That was my favourite line of the afternoon.

I didn't see the Ford GT today (I looked, but didn't see it, despite the fact it was there, somewhere), though I did get a very close look at the new Shelby Cobra, which reportedly has a 650bhp engine. Spokesmen from Ford indicated the GT would be released as a production car next year, at a selling price of $150K (US), and that it would be the fastest production car in the world. That may be the case, but when the ME412 gets on the road, all bets are off. Published specs on the ME412 have it pushing out an incredible 850 bhp from its Mid-Engine 4-turbo V12 engine. It is designed to do 0-60 in 2.9 seconds, with a top speed of 400kph (248mph). My understanding is the GT has a top speed somewhere around 200 mph.

I'm rambling, but only because this show was a feast for the senses. Ironically, of all the awesome production and concept cars I saw today, the one that surprised me the most was a concept from Hyundai. It looked like it was just a year or two from production - didn't look far fetched at all - but it sure didn't look like any Hyundai I've ever seen. I imagine it would be the model for the next generation Tiburon. Even though it's only been a matter of hours since seeing the Hyundai concept car, I don't recall the grille being as pronounced as in the linked picture. The front end seemed smoother to me. Then again, I guess there has to be somewhere for air to get to the engine!

If you can't be at an auto show this year, and are interested in cars, this summary from AutoWeek magazine should fill your need for speed.

Not much happening (beyond everyday stress)

There's not much happening around here. Work is a bit stressful lately, with assignments dragging on far longer than I or my boss feel is reasonable. I've just had the most unbelievable string of bad luck - running into limitations with the programming tools I have at my disposal. It's nothing that a good training course couldn't fix, but what business has money to send people for training these days! It's so much easier for the boss to just lose his cool, fire you, and get someone else to take your place.

I'm normally not too concerned with my bosses' opinions, but since 1/5 of the staff has been let go since I moved back home, it's something that's on my mind.

The holiday's over

I've been working most of the holiday, with time off only for Christmas Day and New Year's Day. My wife, on the other hand, has been off for two straight weeks, and since I work from home, having her around has been almost like me being on vacation. Eating meals with her... having her wander in to my office to give me a peck on the cheek... and participating in short phone conversations that normally take place between family and friends during the holiday season - these things helped bring a little holiday spirit into my work day.

Today, she heads back to work. So, despite the fact I've been working most of the past two weeks, I guess it will feel like the holiday is finally over.

Dead man flapping

This news item seemed kind of gross! Whether the 81 year old victim was a prowler, or suffering from alzheimer's and simply lost his way home, it's still a weird way to go.

They arrived - but not in time for Christmas

I had ordered hand-painted reproductions of well-known paintings as a Christmas gift for my wife. They were ordered at the beginning of December, and I had hoped they'd arrive in time for Christmas. Due to a shipping snafu, they were sent to Ontario, New York, instead of Ontario, Canada. Needless to say, they floated around in limbo for a while before actually making it into Canada. Then, they were stuck at Canadian Customs over the Christmas holiday. We finally got them on Dec. 30th. After the paintings were ordered, I started searching for people who could do a good job of stretching and framing the work. I finally found someone, and today, we dropped off the paintings at the framer's gallery. They should be ready within the next two weeks.

Here are JPG's of the art we purchased:







We like the artist's work so much, we've already placed an order for an additional painting:




This could become an ongoing obsession, since my wife and I have similar tastes in art.

Year in Review

Overall, I've had a good year. The best thing to happen was moving back home and being allowed to telecommute. What's it like to be home? This should sum it up pretty well...



I know, I know... I'm pretty lucky to have such a fantastic family - a wife who loves me (and who I absolutely adore), great kids, fantastic grandkids. And the list goes on.

I hope everyone out there has a great new year, full of nothing but the best life has to offer. From my family to yours

Have a Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas Canada

In a move sure to win the hearts and minds of their customers, my ISP has delivered a really swell Christmas gift!

Tragic Earthquake

As a Jew, I have a distrust of mideast governments who make no bones about their feelings towards Israel. Still, as a human being, I am heartbroken when natural disasters cause widespread death among innocent civilians. I hope the government in Iran accepts help from any quarter, even Israel.

Update
The news keeps getting worse.

Update #2
I guess it was too much to expect.

Family Pride - Part 2

I just received the email below as forwarded by my sister. She's obviously proud of her son, Aaron, and I am too.

Update
The content of the email has been removed at my sister's request, but suffice to say he got a promotion.

It's just the latest step in his journey.

Merry Christmas and Happy Channukah

It's not that often that my wife's Christmas and my Channukah holidays coincide. I don't celebrate Channukah - I haven't since I was a kid. But I am still aware of its arrival, and having it come at a time when my wife is in full Christmas spirit makes things somehow a bit more tolerable. Don't get me wrong. I always love getting Christmas presents, and I'm usually as surprised as the recipient when people open gifts from me. It's just that much more enjoyable when I can mentally point at the calendar and think "this day is officially for me too".

Anyway, whatever your religious (or non-religious) persuasion, hope you have a good holiday season.

Walk like a man

I can walk! Oh sure, until this morning, I could hobble. But now, I can walk. I can perform the task of walking well enough to fool most people into thinking I always could! But you and I know better. It's been three weeks since I started taking the medication, and it seems to have done the trick. Most of the past two weeks have been relatively pain free (except when I over-reached my capabilities). Now, I think I should be able to climb stairs without much difficulty, having been able to successfully rise from a squatting position a short while ago.

Nigeria calling

Who here has not been spammed by "Nigerians" claiming that, with a small investment of your time and money, you will be rewarded with a huge windfall? Of course, nobody falls for this... or do they?

Can you imagine the greed of some people to actually believe this stuff?

Off to see the wizard

In a few minutes, I hit the road for a short trip to Toronto. I have to spend some face-time with my boss and colleagues, so what better time to go than coincident with the Christmas party?

See you back here Friday evening!

A leg up

My legs have not yet healed. Pain in the first knee (the one that has been sub-par for more than two weeks) is all but gone, even under stress. However, the additional stress placed on the remaining leg has taken its toll. Normally the weaker of the two legs, I had previously commented that it was now required to do much more work than it had ever done; and it has finally given out. My ankle on the other leg is so inflamed I can barely put weight on it, even as the knee on the other leg is just about ready to bear signicant weight. The net result is that my ability to walk is nearly as compromised as it was two weeks ago.

I write this as I wait for my wife to return with dinner. I couldn't muster enough energy to make it into the car.

Good news for Iraqis

Saddam has been captured. What better news could there be for this country where fear of retribution has kept some of the population from embracing peace and change. Ironically, I discovered the news of the capture through someone else's blog and thought it was a joke until I saw it confirmed on a news wire. I can't think of a better way to end the year.

Link Updates

Since changing my blog template, I've noticed the right-hand column has more room for longer blog names. So, I've decided to use the proper name for Warrior Princess' blog - "Pretty girl in the corner". Also, from Lux's blogroll, a new entry on my list... Anne ... straight from the hip.

As usual, enjoy!

This is a job for Nocho-man

Technical discussions in this household are always a hoot. As a professional in the IT industry, I tend to be somewhat more aware of the proper terminolgy than say, my wife. Don't get me wrong. She's unbelievably talented and for someone who is completely self-taught, her IT knowledge is impressive. But there are those times when she'll just pull a word out of the air to perfectly describe a situation.

Today's discussion revolved around digital cameras. We have never purchased software such as PhotoShop to process our images; relying instead on the bundled shareware utilities delivered with the camera. In comparing our Canon Powershot S400 Digital Elph to the Kodak Easyshare CX4230 my wife uses at work, she made the point that the Kodak's flash is weak, and pictures tend to come out underexposed. According to her, this camera so routinely takes underexposed pictures; she doesn't even bother to look at them until they have had compensation applied by the photo software. In describing this process, she matter-of-factly stated that each snapshot requires "two notches on the notchometer".

Bless her heart!

I kneed to be alone

Thank you to those who've left comments about my leg and it's recuperation. It's Saturday, the day I thought I'd be back to normal. And I am much better than I was on Thursday; but I still can't use the bad knee to lift myself out of my chair. To be precise, the injured leg was the stronger of the two. The other leg just wasn't accustomed to the leadership role.

It's funny how we take things for granted. When climbing stairs, for example, I'd always lead off with the stronger leg, to get that boost to start things going. Now, I'm finding stair climbing difficult, because the current strong leg is barely up to the task of being the leader. What's worse, is that when I'm in a period of absolutely no pain, I forget about the bad leg, and use it the way I normally would. Instant, debilitating pain stops me in my tracks, reminding me I have some way to go.

What all this is leading to is that this weekend, instead of visiting with my sister and her hubby or my in-laws, I think I'll just try to take it easy on my own.

Give me some credit

I got a letter from Visa in yesterday's mail. They were writing to inform me that my credit limit had been raised (I was only using about 1/10th of my available limit as it was); and the letter included some "cheques" that could be used to transfer balances from other cards. According to the letter, these transferred balances would get a preferred rate for the next 6 months.

These letters come all the time, but last night, I was just in a bit of a funny mood, so I decided to write back to the sender. In my response, I used a mixture of humour and light sarcasm to characterize the love-hate relationship I've had with credit-card companies over the past 30 years or so. It seems those companies love the fact that I carry a high balance and always make my payments on time. And I hate the fact that, despite my perfect payment practices, I get lumped in with the statistical masses and have to pay exhorbitant interest rates.

So, in my letter, I asked for a break. I suggested they should be perfectly happy to get a guaranteed return of 4.9% annual APR from my account, without having to worry about being stiffed; and I'd be happy to get a reduced rate. I'll let you know what they decide.

Slowly he turned...

My leg is improving. Day-by-day, I can feel the improvement, as the constant, excrutiating pain has given way to stabs of pain when I turn my leg too suddenly, to a dull pain that can be tolerated unless I forget my leg is still sore.

I can now get out of my chair without aid of crutches, though I still can't put much weight on the bad leg while the knee is bent. When fully straightened, my leg is well enough to hobble on, without much discomfort. I must have just been beyond the threshold where pain begins, which explains why I'm feeling better after only a few days on meds. At this rate, I should be back to normal by Saturday. Meanwhile, I know that the overall cure won't be effective unless I finish the entire course of treatment.