Speaking of grilling - any recommendations for a relatively inexpensive gas grill? Maybe $200-$300 or so?

The one I got as a wedding gift (in 2000) is getting old and at a minimum the grilling surface needs to be replaced. I think my wife would be open to getting me one for my upcoming birthday. I don't grill too often, mainly steaks, chicken, burgers, and sausages during get-togethers, etc.

What should I look for?

From what I gather, porcelin-coated or stainless steel grilling surfaces are the best.

I found this:

http://bbq.about.com/od/gasgrills/tp/aatp042403.htm

Any other suggestions or recommendations?

WHERE THE FUCK IS MY FLYING CAR?

And exactly how is taking a car and making it FLY using less energy than rolling it around on little rubber wheels???

There's a difference between sparse studies reaching various conclusions and a great majority reaching the same conclusion.

Yeah, except if the underlying assumptions on all their calculations are wrong to begin with.....

Look, I agree, we need to move forward finding better ways to power our stuff. But wind and solar only get you so far. Nuclear has some pluses, but also requires incredible amounts of fossil fuels in construction and transportation.

We get it, you are afraid of fire. But until we have alternatives, it's what we have to use.

It's like complaining that in WWI they didn't have MRI and CAT scan machines. OK, I'm sure they wish they were available then. But they weren't. So you just deal with it and move on and develop technology as quickly as possible....

I wonder if Toyota would replace rocket hybrid batteries under warranty at 1/2 the distance to the moon if they fail?

You see, there's this Vast Liberal Conspiracy consisting of the media, politicians, and scientists with the goal of destroying the American economy. George Bush and Fox News are the only ones out there looking out for us.

I guess it never occurs to some that maybe, just maybe, some of us like to have facts and data before leaping off assumption cliff into conclusion pond. First it was global cooling in the what, 70's? Then global warming became the rage on apparently preliminary at best assumptions and calculations and now that seems to be incorrect as well.

It has nothing to do with right-wing vs. left-wing. It's the "sky is falling" attitude while ignoring that wildly varying temperature swings have been recorded in global history, long before the industrial revolution. Sun activity likely has more to do with this than greenhouse gases.

Do we need to do a better job with pollution? Of course. Does the wild theatrics do anyone any good? No.

Well, that explains it, I've never bought anything from Itunes.

The only reason I did was because I had a gift card for them.

Again, we own the CDs for all the music we listen to and ripped them to iTunes for putting on the iPods we got for Christmas.

It also is pretty easy to burn MP3 CDs for use in the car.

I don't like Apple in general, but my iPod has been a product I have been pretty happy with so far. iTunes has a little learning curve to it on how to do some things, but seems to work pretty well so far for most things. I will be buying all my songs from elsewhere, though. I think I have about $10 left on the gift card, maybe I can find a movie to buy....

if you burn the song to disk while in itunes, it will then prompt you to import it. do that and the file should be burnable as a mp3 file. it's an option within the burning tab in itunes. PITA, but it works.

I tried that last night as well, but maybe I missed a step because it still wouldn't let me import it as an MP3 because it was protected.

It's really not a big deal for one song, but it would be nice to be able to do this on occasion when isolated instances like this pop up.

Edit - thanks nin, I'll try it.


This comment was edited on Mar 24, 11:08.

If I'm not mistaken, if you right-click on a song it gives you the option to "convert selection to MP3", but I'm also a noob and there's probably an easier way.

Actually, that really does not work for the protected files you buy from iTunes. I tried.

Thanks nin, I was hoping for a specific recommendation. I hope that something free is floating around, as it's only for one song at this point....

Any tips on the easiest way to convert iTunes songs to MP3s? The factory head unit in our new Civic can play MP3s and I have a song or two from iTunes I'd like to convert over and put on a CD. 99.9% of the music I have is ripped from the original CDs anyways, just a lone M4P that I'd like to add to those.

Thanks!

Everyone!

I still say you should have looked at the Hyundai Sonata though.

We did, but it was a little bigger than we needed and wanted to squeeze into the garage.

We drove the Elantra (slightly smaller version) and it was the other car we were seriously considering. It actually had more features and a longer warranty; frankly it looked a little nicer to my eyes, too. But I liked the way the Honda drove better and the comfort of the seats. Since this is mainly a commuter car, that was a little more important than the rest. It also had the highest mpg, which is nice.

Eh, we probably would have been fine with either. I think the Honda was probably the smarter buy for long-term use, which is what this purchase was all about.

Picked up a new Honda Civic LX (automatic) today for my commute - gets over twice the gas mileage as my truck. Will also keep the miles off the truck so it will last a LOT longer.

The two Hondas we have had in our families (my sister and her folks) have both lasted over 250,000 miles, so we're hoping for similar luck. It cost a few thousand more than some of the others we have looked at, but hopefully it lasts a lot longer as well.

We are taking off for a 4-5 day vacation (probably no internet), so if I don't pop in for a few days, don't be alarmed.


This comment was edited on Mar 16, 23:43.

I did a little surfing around last night on an Elantra forum, and most seemed to expect theirs to start having problems at the end of the warranty period if they were not having problems already. Does not inspire confidence.

I need to do some more looking around/research.

Hyundai is nicely priced, and also has a great warranty and with the 4cy I think you can get the mpg you are looking for.

Actually, the Elantra is looking like it is right up my alley. I like the performance of the Mazda3 more, but the Elantra has more room, better gas mileage, more features, is cheaper, and a longer warranty. Also, a somewhat local dealer has them on sale for about $12,500 in the paper! I don't think that's an automatic, though - I need to call in the morning and check. Even if I just pay the amount I got quoted today, that's still over $1,300 cheaper than the Mazda. Still need to drive the Honda and Sentra first to check them out as well.

I'd look into a that Jetta, but get the 2.0L TDI engine (140HP 236TQ) instead. The TDI wont be available until later this year though

Any idea on cost? Any idea when?

I think the iron is hot right now, if you know what I mean....

I find it funny that you are so concerned about price, yet buying new, its the biggest waste of money since you lose 20% of the value just driving it off the lot

True, except for a couple things.

Looking at 1±year old cars, the price difference has not been 20%. Not the ones we have seen. If you shop the ad specials and not the MSRP, the price differentials are much lower.

20,000 miles is quite a lot of mileage to lose when you plan on keeping the car for a long time. We are not planning to sell it but run it into the ground as a commuter car.

Some used cars have been driven like shit and not maintained. If I get it new, I ensure that proper maintenance is done, which is one of the largest problems with making a car last.

I like the new car smell, even if it is killing brain cells.

My wife and I cannot stand the smell of smoke. Sometimes it is hard to tell from a quick test drive if a smoker has used the vehicle, but in long term use it will become evident. We have run into this with rental cars before.

Because we can afford a new car but want to still get the best deal possible.

Because the warranty lasts longer when buying new vs. a used car with 1/3 the warranty miles used up already.

I drive a 07 Nissan Versa

Well, in all honesty, I doubt any of these are going to win a beauty contest.

In looking at the Hyundai Sonata GLS with the 4 cyl - a local dealer has them on sale for just under $16k. 32 mpg, good horsepower and torque, lots of standard features, and free oil changes and tire rotations every 3,000 miles for as long as you own the vehicle. I'm going to go look at that. Thanks Bats - I missed the 4-cyl vesion when scanning through them earlier and the V6 wasn't something I was looking for. Might be a winner, especially with the 100,000 mile warranty on the powertrain.

More of higher price for a rapidly changing technology with questionalble long-term payout. I can get about 35 mpg in a conventional vehicle, or slightly less with a little more "pop". I am not spending $8,000 (or whatever it is) more for maybe 5-10 mpg better and yes, questionalble long-term repairs/maintenance.

I will look into the Hyundai you mentioned.

Thanks.

Edit - looks like the Hyundai 4 cyl does get decent mileage. I am going to stop to look at the Mazda on the way home and it looks like the same dealership carries the Hyundai as well. I can check them both out....


This comment was edited on Mar 14, 16:31.

Wife and I might get a car for me to use as a commuter car and save the miles (and gas $$$) on my 2006 F-150.

Looking for something with better than 30 mpg, no hybrid (just a 4-cyl gas engine), sedan, auto, air, pw/pl, cruise control. Nothing too fancy. Looking new right now, probably in the $17,000 range.

So right now we are looking at things like the:

Honda Civic LX - 36 mpg
Toyota Corolla S - 35
Ford Focus SE - 33
Nissan Sentra S - 33
Nissan Versa SL - 33
Mazda3 i Touring - 31
Saturn Astra XE - 30
Chrysler Sebring LX - 30
Dodge Caliber SXT - 30
VW Jetta S - 29

I think we are going to drop the Caliber and Astra right away because my wife hates hatchbacks. Ditto for some others not listed (Matrix, etc).

The Versa seems too cheap quality-wise when the Sentra is about the same price.

The Sebring and Jetta are a little low on the mpg, just brushing 30. The Mazda3 isn't much better.

The Corolla has relatively low HP and torque (122 and 126, respectively), as does the Versa with 122 and 127. Not that I need a speed racer, but that just seems a bit wimpy.

Anyways, I am leaning towards the Honda, but want to look at the Mazda and Sentra. The Focus is just kinda hanging in as well.

Anyone have any input on these or any others I might want to look at?

We do not want any of the subcompacts. The Chevrolet Cobalt doesn't have enough headroom in the back seat. I looked at the Hyundais, etc, and just wasn't all that interested based on cost and features (on the internet).

Thanks!

I really wish there was an alternative to Ticketmaster for buying tickets. I hate paying $5-10 more per ticket (or whatever it is) just because they have a monopoly. Shit pisses me off. A few bucks, yes. I have spent upwards of 30% of face value to Ticketmaster to be able to get the tickets. I try to get them directly from the facility if I can, but that is not always feasible.

I couldn't care less about what time the sunrise and sunset is, I simply don't want to have to deal with the time change.

Agreed wholeheartedly. Just set it at one time and stick with it.

And yes, I am up at 5:30 every (weekday) morning and see the sunrise.