Time for a New Car

Pretending to drive Karl Muth's Lamborghini, Chicago, Sept. 2004No, I didn’t get in a wreck. I leased a car for the first time in August ’07 and that lease ends next month.

Yes, after owning a couple black 2-dr Civics in my life I grew up and went for the “adult Civic” — the Acura TSX.

Now that my lease is coming to an end I’ve begun looking around and I see 3 potential scenarios panning out:

  1. Lease a new Acura TSX
  2. Buy or lease a sportier, fun 2-door
  3. Buy a clean diesel or hybrid
      a. Hold out for a 2011-model green car

Interestingly enough, I faced an almost identical three-pronged dilemma three years ago but this time — as with everything new — is different. Let’s play out the pros and cons:

Option 1: I lease a new Acura TSX. Not a very adventurous decision but a logical one.
36 mo. Lease (Estimated): $2,000 down + $325 – $350 / mo.

  1. I enjoyed my TSX and never (reeeaally) wished I had a different ride
  2. The latest model is nicer and is also available as a V6
  3. BUT… it’s a bigger car. More like the old TL. A little too big.
  4. I test-drove the v6 and it had pretty obnoxious (read: noisy, wasteful) pickup
  5. The 4-cylinder TSX has the same drivetrain and “power” as my current car but is (and feels) bigger and therefore slower

Conclusion: I’d feel like a slightly older man in a bigger car but would enjoy and trust it though i’d probably end up opting for the v6 for more zip.

Option 2: I’m 35, single, and may as well have a fun, sporty, and relatively pimpin’ ride
36 mo. Lease or used financed (Estimated): $2,000 down + $400 – $550 / mo.
Continue reading “Time for a New Car”

FIFA World Cup™ Kick-Off Celebration Concert Video Playlist

Ah, embedding is disabled so you’ve gotta go here or to the VEVO link below.

via the Control Room YouTube channel. Also available at VEVO.

Spring Cleaning

springtime on the patio

It’s already been an incredible spring with some good stories to tell, but to shake off the cobwebs I thought I’d give the little bloggy a minor makeover. New theme, in with some new plugins, out with some old. So help me out here – play around with the Facebook social plugin stuff — if you’re into that — unfortunately I won’t be customizing my content for you but I might look into sending your grandma a new pair of shoes if you’re nice. And thanks to Facebook’s concern for your privacy, her shoe size should only be a couple clicks away. But really, if you happen upon this old, neglected blog-o-mine, I do appreciate any and all honest comments and criticism. This has always been more of a testing ground for me than anything else — a place to play around before I bring things to the big stage (or any level of greater accountability).

But seriously, spring is here, I’ve got some time, and a whole lotta ambition. Let’s shake things up, start something new, and rock out in the sun. You ready? (P.S. if you’re on Spotify, I a made a little mix for this right here.)

Tweet Cloud: What do you Twitter?

The new Tweetcloud generator at tweetcloud.icodeforlove.com is, quick, sharp, and telling, not to be confused with less-extensive tools of yesteryear. All the more reason to think while you tweet (and vice versa). If you don’t follow me on Twitter, you have no idea what you’re missing perhaps you’ve enjoyed the relative silence here at netzoo.net. Curious?

Below is my Tweetcloud for the past year — the larger the word the more I’ve tweeted it between December 2008 and 11/30/09. My top 5 words were live, time, thanks, media, love — 5 words I definitely live with. A great feature of this Tweetcloud web app is its use of Twitter’s OAuth API, which allows it to naturally index your friends as well.

Tweetcloud Andy Sternberg

My primary interests are all noted in the top words (see below), however, tweets of mine containing photos or links to songs would heavily boost the relevance of both photography and music. My top two adjectives are free and awesome, which would seem to indicate that I’m not only a cheapskate, but have the vocabulary of a 7th grader. My six-month tweetcloud differs slightly – Obama had already been inaugurated, not as much Cubs excitement.

What does your tweetcloud say about you?

Continue reading “Tweet Cloud: What do you Twitter?”