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Almost 2 years after, I still simply see no way around ASOT 198. Gahhh, 30:00 (Without you near - lyrics), 64:00 (Opus 17), 75:00 (The Day After Tomorrow), 92:00 (Out Of The Past)... and pretty much every other tune. It just never stops. You know what I mean. Infine looper.

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Everybody is nicely sleeping here, it's very quiet and I'm lost in my thoughts, contemplating these little lights that dance in the night outside.

Somewhere else in time and space, so far away it seems almost foreign now, there were these two cats that I adored very much. Eventually they got old and whatever goes with age happened, which is not always wisdom, yet I still adored them a lot. One day one was gone. She was there and suddenly she wasn't anymore, and I was not there to witness it. I still think I really lost something. On one hand I really didn't want to be there, yet I feel like I should have been there and cope with it, and overall I feel this emptiness; if I could I'd go back and do one more last thing to help, as if there was such a thing. One last nice gesture. One last call for some kind of closure.

A very long time ago, in another millennium and on another continent, someone told me I was cold and emotionless. That was as far from the truth as one can be. Yes it may look like this most of time, and it may sound like that too. But what's one to do when being totally overwhelmed? I could never find an adequate answer to that and a long time ago I decided nothing was the best choice of the worse cases. Cap your emotions and bury them in this void that you feel. Later maybe you'll know how to deal with them, unless they submerge you first. Or they may show up from time to time, back from their grave, under the form of anger, frustration or fear. The other option is to let them out first, yet I can't really allow that to happen -- I've done that once and quite frankly it didn't help, nor did people understood any better what the storm was about. It was rather devastating, and for all participants.

Another easy way to cap emotions is to rationalize them. It is as fake as hiding them under the carpet and eventually there's only so much you can rationalize.

Back to that first event there, I still feel this lack of closure. I could just burst in tears; maybe I'll do some day. But in between I can rationalize it out and just think that, relatively speaking, things could get much worse -- there are a number of people that gravitate around me that I value above almost anything, and life being what it is, I know sooner or later things will have to change, and quite frankly I'm not ready. Not now, not before and probably never will be.

And I don't think I'll be able to hold that one.

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Lately I've been using MediaCoder successfully to transcode some videos.

Of course MediaCoder is just a fancy shell over FFMPEG and a lot of over video/audio tools. It is however extremely convenient since the installer brings all these tools as Cygwin executables, whereas it's a pain to compile them oneself (I never myself managed to compile FFMPEG with x264 support under Cygwin, it's just too much pain and it's quite an unnecessary distraction when all I cared was to get some video files right away. YMMV.)

There are two problems with MediaCoder though. The first one is that it's again yet-another Cygwin-based app which installs some Cygwin DLLs (just like the NX Client for example.) So if you happen to already have Cygwin installed both MediaCoder and your Cygwin install will be broken if don't tweak it around (I haven't tried but I think doing the same trick as NX should work, that is locate the new DLLs and trash them before they run and register themselves.) The second issue, which is minor, is that it's a bit of a nagware; each time you run MediaCoder is actually opens a web browser to display its homepage and ask for a donation. I have no problem with freeware asking for donations but I find nagging to be a bit objectionable -- it screams "I make it free but really I want to get paid for it". Makes one wonder about what happened to shareware.

Besides that it's a great tool and I highly recommend it.

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From the Honda Civic's user manual list of features:

Instrumentation

Two-Tier Instrument Panel Blue Backlit Gauges: Red Tachometer

So here you have it: the blue backlit gauges are actually red. Red is the new blue.

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At the end that's the third dealership that I find nice. So far I liked Ron Price Volkswagen in South San Francisco, Grace Honda in San Bruno and finally Honda of Serramonte in Colma. I liked the place and the people.

In contrast I hated the Team Volkswagen of Daly City. I didn't like the way the guy handled the quotation, he was clearly trying to maximize his margin at every corner using the classic 4-part calculation sheet and literally laughed at me when I asked for a better deal. Not to mention that we didn't want a quotation in the first place back then because we were just trying some car and we were not decided on what we wanted.

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So yesterday I finally got the car I wanted, the one I test drove twice on Saturday. It comes in a nice blue color too.

Overall I had a nice experience purchasing this car. I compared two other models I didn't like for various reasons, and visited two dealerships for the same car.

I first went to Honda of Serramonte and test drove it on Saturday. The sales guy was nice and not pushy; I did let him know I was going to test drive another car and would only take a decision the next day. He and his boss didn't insist and just said OK. We didn't even sit down to go through the useless quote process. Overall I though that was a nice attitude and I liked it.

I then when to Grace Honda in San Bruno. The second dealership I went was more classic. The sales guy was younger. After we test drove it, he had me sit down to give me a quote, and lowered the price a bit compared to the sticker but that was not even close to what I had in mind.

Amusingly I used Edmunds' web site to request a quote over the net and when I came back home later I got a very good price directly from the second dealership, well below the MSRP, i.e. exactly at the suggested bottom line price with a 4%. So I'd say their "internet" guy is right on the spot.

In any case I did some research online during the night. For some reason Edmunds' didn't have the invoice price for this car online, so I ordered the Consumer Reports' report for this car, which gave me the bottom line price I needed. I added 4% on that, the base price for the options I wanted and some room for installation fees and that gave me a good price to match.

Next morning I went to the first dealership with Tg and the babies -- I watched them whilst Tg was test driving the car. She liked it, which is nice.

I then sat down with the sales guy. Or more exactly the two sales guys, since the one doing the quote was the sales assistant.

We first discussed the trade-in value. They would give me a little bit less than the blue book value, which I think was fair given the condition on the car. IMHO they can still service the engine and get some profit out of it since the rest of the car is in really good shape.

As for the new car, he offered the dealers' price, minus something he could shave off up-front -- obviously they just add this into the dealer price so they can remove it in front of the customer and claim they'll do it just for you. Anyhow that was way off the figure I wanted (although it was already better than the other sales guy had given me.) I asked him if that's the best he could do and gave him the figure I had in mind. He went to see his boss and came back with something closer. I told him the other dealership could do it for less and it's funny how he replied "oh please help me here" and we found a common ground in the middle. So that was about it, it took 5-10 minutes and everybody was fine with the result. In the end I got something close to the ideal price I wanted with the options on the car. Overall I think I got a good price and they won't starve either, especially since they get a bit of extra margin from the anti-theft installation. Same here the price they quoted me was better than at the other dealership and still they lowered it a bit. I'm sure they still make a descent margin on it, everyone gets a "+1" on their sales quota and I don't feel like they tried to take advantage of me.

Don't get me wrong. They run a business, not a charity. If they can shove everything full price on you, they'll do it. But they were also very polite and reasonable when I fimrly said no and we quickly got a fair deal. So yes, it pays to do some research on Edmunds or Consumer Reports.

Note that I didn't try to go see the second dealership again. The Internet quote was a tad bit lower but I liked the first dealership and the people there better. In the end that matters too.

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I tried a 2007 Mazda MAZDA3: s Sport 4dr Wagon (2.3L 4cyl 5A, 156 hp, FWD). Of course I want a manual but the dealership only had an automatic with tiptronics on the lot so at least I gave it a try. I'm not sold on the automatic + tiptronics thing, yet at least it seems to work much better than the one we have on the 2005 Jetta 1.8T. The biggest complaint I have on the tiptronics is that I don't have this natural feeling of implicitly knowing which gear I'm using. This confusion is reinforced by the automatic downshift. Anyhow, although I won't consider the Mazda 3 as bad as the image I had of it, I think it's not what I want -- I have a bad image of the Mazda 3 since I got a cheap rental two years ago and it was rather lame, underpowered, slow with unimpressive handling. The one I test drove today was nothing like that. It was a nice smooth drive, handling was OK, a bit too much over tilt in curves for my taste (i.e. your regular wagon) and power was just fine.

I test drove an 2007 Honda Civic: Si 4dr Sedan (2.0L 4cyl 6M, 197 hp, FWD). Twice.

OTOH I was nicely surprised by the Civic Si. I like the overall shape, the rear seats are rather descent and there's definitely enough power for what I need (i.e. not much.) I felt comfortable with the controls, clutch, stick and everything. I test drove it on some highway, under the rain and dry, a little bit of hills, a bit in traffic, on the bad cement roads we have here and overall I was satisfied. The ride is a bit bumpy but not as much as the 350Z and definitely much better than my aging 240SX.

The two tier display is not too bad, although the digital speed-o-meter will always remind me of the cheap Renault Twingo design -- just kidding, it's not that bad and seemed to be rather efficient in fact. So all in all I don't see any major thing I hate in there, so that will probably be my choice if I get a descent quote on it.

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I finally went to Made in France (a.k.a Village Imports) today. It was quite nice.

The place is a real warehouse, with pallets stacked on metallic frames as you'd expect in a warehouse. Registers were simply placed one foldable tables in front of the entrance. So it's quite simple but it's good enough.

I got some petits suisses, the original kind and also some fruit-kind for the babies, as well as some fromage blanc -- at first they were out but I asked and some guy went out of his way to find some, which was nice. I got some merguez and harissa for MM. Finally I got some Mamie Nova Chocolat Gourmant for Tg; I think she'll like that.

Surprisingly I didn't see any Vache qui rit but you easily find that at Trader Joes or Albertsons anyway.

It's a bit pricey, I'd say twice what you'd expect to pay for it in a supermarket in France. But then it's less expensive than having to fly there and the quality will be better than having it thaw in your luggage on the way back ;-)

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I test drove an Audi A3, well sort of.

I went to the dealership in SF; they had the 2.0T automatic/DSG on the lot and I did use that to go to their warehouse where the manual version was, the one I really wanted to try. It was only a few blocks away so it was too short of a drive. I drove the manual back to the dealership. Same, it was too short of a drive. Unfortunately this was also at rush hour so there was lots of slow traffic and it meant that getting on the highway was totally pointless. Driving 4 blocks in SF at 25 mph with a few dozen lights in the mix is not my idea of a test drive. Take the hint, dude!

At first I thought I'd come back the next day in the morning to get a real test drive, without so much traffic. However thinking about it again, I'm not so sure.

I originally liked this model because it's compact, it has a hatchback and 4 doors, the last one being that it's more practical to stick babies in there. Overall I like the shape and I liked driving it. The controls were nice and intuitive.

What didn't I like? The rear seats are not very roomy and the ceiling is kinda low over the rear seats -- when I sat there literally there was only one inch or so between my head and the roof, and I'm not even really tall. Also I hate this trend they have now of having a high trunk, which really reduces rear visibility. Oh and the clutch felt a bit weird, almost too soft.

As a side note, for 27 grands you can't even have a MP3-capable CD player with an aux input; however the 6-CD in-dash option provides that.

Sounds like I need to do some more reading and maybe in a totally different direction.

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Sometimes you have to explore alternatives before you hit the proverbial brick wall.

So I came up with these:

Image	Description/MSRP	Size	Mileage
	2007 Audi A3: 2.0T 4dr Hachback 2.0L 4cyl Turbo 6M, 200 hp, FWD $25,340	Length: 168.7 in., Width: 69.5 in., Height: 56 in., Curb Weight: 3263 lbs. Front Head: 38.1 in., Shoulder: 54.3 in., Leg: 41.2 in. Luggage/Cargo: 13.1 cu. ft., 56 cu. ft. Turning Circle: 35.1 ft.	Tank: 14.5 gal. City/Highway: 23 mpg / 32 mpg
	2007 Volkswagen Passat: 2.0T 4dr Sedan 2.0L 4cyl Turbo 6M, 200 hp, FWD $24,180	Length: 188.2 in., Width: 71.7 in., Height: 58 in., Gross Weight: 4445 lbs. Front Head: 38.4 in., Shoulder: 55.7 in., Leg: 41.4 in. Rear Head: 37.8 in., Shoulder: 54.6 in., Leg: 37.7 in. Luggage: 14.2 cu. ft. Turning Circle: 35.8 ft.	Tank: 18.5 gal. City/Highway: 23 mpg / 32 mpg
	2007 Volkswagen GTI: 4dr Hatchback 2.0L 4cyl Turbo 6M, 200 hp, FWD $22,720	Length: 165.8 in., Width: 69.3 in., Height: 58.4 in., Curb/Gross Weight: 3161 lbs., Weight: 4210 lbs. Front Head: 39.3 in., Shoulder: 54.8 in., Leg: 41.2 in. Rear Head: 38.5 in., Shoulder: 53.1 in., Leg: 35.3 in. Luggage Capacity: 14.7 cu. ft. Turning Circle: 35.8 ft.	Tank: 14.5 gal. City/Highway: 23 mpg / 32 mpg

I mostly like these 3, which are basically variations on the form factor of (mostly) the same thing, although I have a hard time deciding which one I like best.

For comparison:

Image	Description/MSRP	Size	Mileage
	1995 Nissan 240SX: 2 Dr SE Coupe 2.4L 4cyl 5M, 155 hp, RWD $2,000 - $4,000	W 68.1 x L 177.2 x H 50.8 in, 2753 lbs 4c 155 hp	21/26
	2005 Volkswagen Jetta:4 Dr GLS 1.8T Wagon 1.8T 4cyl Turbo 4A, 180 hp, FWD $20,000	Length: 173.6 in., Width: 68.3 in., Height: 58.5 in. Curb Weight: 3175 lbs., Gross Weight: 4189 lbs. Front Head: 37.6 in. , Shoulder: 53.7 in., Leg: 41.5 in. Rear Head: 37 in. , Shoulder: 52.5 in., Leg: 33.5 in. Luggage/Cargo: 34 cu. ft., 52 cu. ft. Turning Circle: 35.8 ft.	Tank: 14.5 gal. City/Highway: 24 mpg / 31 mpg
	2007 Audi A4: 2.0T Avant quattro 2.0L 4cyl Turbo 6M, 200 hp, AWD $31,340	Length: 180.6 in., Width: 69.8 in., Height: 56.2 in., Curb Weight: 3671 lbs. Front Head: 38.4 in., Shoulder: 55.1 in., Leg: 41.3 in. Rear Head: 37.6 in., Shoulder: 53.4 in., Leg: 34.3 in. Luggage/Cargo: 27.8 cu. ft. / 59 cu. ft. Turning Circle: 36.4 ft.	Tank: 16.6 gal. City/Highway: 22 mpg / 31 mpg
	2007 Honda Civic: Si 4dr Sedan 2.0L 4cyl 6M, 197 hp, FWD $21,290	Length: 176.7 in., Width: 69 in., Height: 56.5 in., Curb Weight: 2945 lbs. Front Head: 38.1 in., Hip: 51.9 in., Shoulder: 53.6 in, Leg: 42.2 in Rear Head: 36.7 in., Shoulder: 52.3 in., Hip: 51 in., Leg: 34.6 in. Luggage Capacity: 12 cu. ft., Turning Circle: 35.4 ft.	Tank: 13.2 gal. City/Highway: 23 mpg / 32 mpg
	2007 Mazda MAZDA3: s Sport 4dr Wagon 2.3L 4cyl 5M, 156 hp, FWD $17,580	Length: 176.8 in., Width: 69.1 in., Height: 57.7 in., Curb Weight: 2930 lbs. Front Head: 39.1 in., Hip: 53.8 in., Shoulder: 54.9 in., Leg: 41.1 in. Rear Head: 38.4 in., Shoulder: 54 in., Hip: 52.5 in., Leg: 36.3 in. Luggage Capacity: 17.1 cu. ft. Maximum Seating: 5 Turning Circle: 34.1 ft.	Tank: 14.5 gal., City/Highway: 26 mpg / 33 mpg
	2007 MazdaSpeed Mazda3: Sport 4dr Wagon 2.3L 4cyl Turbo 6M, 263 hp, FWD $22,240	Length: 176.8 in., Width: 69.5 in., Height: 57.7 in., Curb Weight: 3153 lbs. Front Head: 39.1 in., Hip: 53.8 in., Shoulder: 54.9 in., Leg: 41.1 in. Rear Head: 38.4 in., Shoulder: 54 in., Hip: 52.5 in., Leg: 36.3 in. Luggage Capacity: 16.5 cu. ft. Turning Circle: 36.1 ft.	Tank: 14.5 gal. City/Highway: 20 mpg / 28 mpg

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