Archive for December, 2006

As it turns out, quite a bit..

20 feet x 4 feet x 18 inches, all sitting on top of 6×6 pressure treated planks. Took me 2 hours to stack.

I’m unsure how to protect it from the elements. The little kids on the internet claim that you need to season it for 8-10 months, by shielding it from the rain and allowing existing moisture to escape. I’m going to attempt the greenhouse method, implemented with tarps (pics to follow).

My splitting maul, and a pile of wood that succumbed to my will.

Being a homeowner sort of sucks. I’ve had to learn all this stupid stuff that I really never wanted to learn about, like wood seasoning and splitting and creosote and rodent control… and it never really seems to end.

A few weekends ago Eric came up to CT for a visit, driving a brand new fully loaded 2007 Mercedes CL550. Kelly Blue Book lists the car at about 1 hundred grand, MSRP. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a car that fancy or expensive before, so I was curious exactly why someone would want to spend that kind of money on a car.
A shot of the dash.

Obviously, a fully integrated navigation system with built in hands free cellphone. Getting into the car was a little awkward, because the seat was really far back and it didn’t feel right. When I turned it on (keyless ignition), the seat folded in around me, and fit perfectly. Very cool.
This dash photo sort of stinks because my camera’s flash was on, but it’s basically a well laid out LCD display, and it’s very slick.

The car has some pretty sophisticated features, like night vision, and cruise control that integrates with the braking. That seems a bit scary, but Eric assured me it worked really well. Basically, the car has built in 360 degree sonar. If you are at highway speeds, and the car in front of you brakes, it senses that the other car is braking and throws on the car’s brakes. When the car ahead of you speeds up, the car resumes it’s previous speed. I don’t think my mind has evolved to the point where I would trust a machine to make that sort of decision for me, but for all I know, it can probably react quicker than I can.
The car, parked in my driveway. Really nice styling.

The mug shot.

Again, a very nice profile.

The engine in this car is just sick.

I think it’s a V8 5.0 Liter, but I don’t remember the horsepower (it’s very high). It makes my hybrid look like a sewing machine. I did notice that there is a 1000 dollar gas-guzzler tax on the car if you buy it in CT. Somehow I don’t think that matters to the type of person that would make this type of purchase.

Optional features aside, the biggest thing I noticed about the car is that anything that opens or moves seems to be driven by either motors or actuators or pistons. I mean EVERYTHING. The amount of detail they put into the car is breathtaking. Even the front hood closes with a very subtle but satisfying woosh-click. I think I like the woosh-click the best.

My overall reaction is very favorable. Is it worth a hundred grand? Who knows. I really can’t tell, it’s hard to determine the value of something that is just so vomitously over my price range.

For a weekend though, I imagine it would be a lot of fun to play with.

This year, for the first time, we cut down our own christmas tree from a local farm about 3 miles from our house.? A 6 foot tall blue spruce(daggerus painicus maximus).? Here’s Karen with our tree, before we cut it down.

Here’s me sawing away.? The tree’s needles are just super duper sharp.? I have dozens of little puncture marks on my arms that I got when I tried to carry it.

Karen gives it a go.

We got it home, and had it in the stand in no time.? To date, it drinks anywhere between 4 and 6 quarts of water per day, and it’s lost almost no needles.? And as an added bonus, our entire first floor smells like cheap pine cleaner.

You WILL wear your cute santa hat and beard Franky, even if you hate it.