Harry's Ruminations

I've been a Dave Ramsey follower for 9 years now.  Granted, I've never made it past baby step 3 because I'm a selfish spendthrift, but I've kept my debt load admirably low throughout that period.  We've pretty much saved-up for everything we bought in that time, aside from our Honda Odyssey, and I swore with that one that I'd let that sick, in-debt feeling stay with me so I'd never make that mistake again. Okay, that lasted right until Grace was born. Grace is my (hopefully) last daughter, born October last year.  Whitney and I rediscovered sleepless nights and random pain from sacking an infant and her jetsam around.  We also discovered that the mattress she brought with her to the marriage was on its last legs, mainly because I didn't put a third slat beneath the middle of the box spring.  That pillow-top beauty was sagging like my 401k back in 2008. So, a new mattress & box spring was in order.  We set a budget.  We shopped.  Then, we...

What do cars and electronics have in common? Pornography improves the breed.   More generally, both benefit from something that captures the imagination and drives obsessive behavior and improvements to the delivery medium.  For electronics, this was VHS, DVDs, HDtv, internet, streaming video, etc.  For cars, this was racing. Where did most of the technology we use today come from?  Rear-view mirrors, synchromesh transmissions, fuel injection, electronic engine controls, high compression/high rpm operation, turbochargers, ABS, traction control, stability control, all derived from the singular, "Racing improves the breed." So, where are the significant electric racing series?  To my understanding, there are none.  A 24 Hours of Daytona, contested by electric-only cars would be a supreme test of current technology. "I just ran out on the banking at 150 mph.  Crap, my batteries are totally depleted."  I guarantee you, regenerative braking wou...

The best feature of a Toyota Camry XV20 ?  External temperature gauge. Yes, the car's practically perfect, in that annoying Mary Poppins way, but I love clicking that button on the dash and seeing the outside air temperature.

I deactivated my Facebook account today.  Here are the reasons: It's overwhelming.  The avalanche of minutiae from my fellow human beings was too much to process.     It's irresistible.  I'd find myself checking it each morning at 5am, each night before going to bed, and during lunch each day, in lieu of actual human relationships up to and including my own wife and kids.   You Social Network--er, Facebook-- guys have done your job.  You've invented crack for the mind. It's way too easy to be a voyeur.  The visual and emotional pornography available on Facebook far surpasses any romance novel or soap opera.  Seriously, you can watch people hook up, argue, and witness their marriages dissolve in slow-motion.  It's real-life, emblazoned and sanitized behind an online profile.  For myself, that kind of drama drains me.  Which leads me to... It dissolves actual relationships.  Sure, IRC, chat rooms, AOL, an...