My Best SC2 Game

I had the best SC2 game of my career this morning. Despite a bunch of mistakes I was able to hold off an early spawning pool attack from a Gold league random player on Star Station. He put on a lot of pressure early but I was able to hold it off, turtle up, and eventually out tech him on two bases. Had a moment of panic when he landed a nidus in my main but other than that felt like I played pretty well.

Really enjoying SC2: HotS so far and loving the great community around this game. Thanks to Apollo, Day9, Tasteless, and all the other great casters for amazing footage and some great tutorials and learning resources. Makes the game so much better.

You can find the replay here:
http://files.stuartthompson.net/SC2/2013-04-27%20-%20Star%20Station.SC2Replay

If my casting skills were better I’d FRAPS a replay up to YouTube, but I don’t think I can do it justice.

Vacation!

I’m officially on vacation for a whole week, starting today. Meaghan, Rowen and I shall be flying to San Diego tomorrow for a week of relaxation in the sun. Apart from a few days over Christmas this is the first vacation we’ve taken since we flew to Hawaii two years ago. Needless to say I’m really looking forward to it.

We’re staying in the Wyndham just across from Coronado island and within close range of a bunch of attractions including the San Diego Zoo and San Diego Aquarium. So far our plans consist of lazing around, soaking up the sun and enjoying time with Rowen. We figure we’ll start with that and go with whatever sounds good from there.

Meaghan’s parents are driving over from Joshua Tree to meet us at the airport, which is fantastic! We have a sneaking suspicion that the benefit of spending time with Rowen might also factor into their decision.

This will be Rowen’s first flight. The proximity of our destination definitely influenced our choice of where to go. The flight is split into two legs, each about 90 minutes. We figured we’d start with something short for her first venture.

Tomorrow evening we’ll be checked into our hotel, ready for a whole week of time to unwind, relax, and enjoy each other’s company.

Designed for Console

Designed for Console
…then ported to the PC. I get that video games are expensive to make, and ever more so cross-platform, but surely menu systems and hot-bars could be special cased. I’m really enjoying playing Dishonored but it is quite obvious where console metaphors have been adapted to also work with a mouse and keyboard.

Six Months!

Rowen is almost six months old! It’s hard to believe the time has gone by so fast, but looking back at her pictures I see so much growth and change that I’m amazed she managed to fit it all into such a short period of time.

We count ourselves incredibly lucky to have such a happy and fun person in our lives. She’s been a great challenge and a source of personal growth for me especially. I can’t wait for the next six months and the next round of changes to come. Every day brings something new to enjoy.

Speak Up

I remember a day in school where we learned about racism and the African-American Civil Rights Movement. We learned that prior to the movement racism was extremely widespread. It was a popular belief that white and black people should be treated differently. However, decades later it is unthinkable. People cluck their tongues at the thought of racism and shun those who still cling to outdated beliefs. My grandma on my father’s side is sadly still racist. We have not had a relationship for over twenty years as a result. It is unthinkable to me that she still believes the color of a person’s skin holds any bearing on how you should treat them and I find myself unable to associate with her as a result of her bigoted views.

I remember when learning about the civil rights movement finding something quite puzzling. Many of the people alive during that era are not racist today. Cases like my grandma are few and far between. Many of those people would speak out quite strongly against racism should they encounter it. So why were so many racist back then? Many of them were not. They were just going with the flow, being apathetic, or too afraid to speak up against the popular beliefs of their time. Very few would ever admit to it. There is a very special kind of shame associated with defending a view that you always knew to be wrong. Apathy and inactivity actively hurt others just as much as loud, bigoted speeches.

The same thing happens today with gay rights. Many speak out against gay marriage, saying that it is wrong. Others stand by apathetically and simply listen; too afraid to disagree or speak up. In our hearts we know that discrimination is wrong. We’ve watched it all play out before. Yet still we stay silent. Easier to let the revolution happen around us and then jump on the bandwagon when it’s all over. Yet picture yourself as someone who lives during an era of discrimination, watching friends and loved ones around them standing idly while they suffer the parroted views of an apathetic society. Waiting it out is not an answer we can be proud of.

A couple of decades from now we will all look back and cluck our tongues once more, wondering how such an educated and advanced people could have actively discriminated against another subset of society…again; puzzled as to why it took so long for such discrimination to be exiled. School children will read about the actions we take today just as I read in school about all of the racists who lived in the first half of the twentieth century. Many of those people would be appalled to think of themselves as racist today yet their actions, or rather their inaction at the time, are a part of history. Stand on the right side of history, be brave, and let your friends know that supporting gay rights doesn’t make them gay; it makes them human.

UI Confusion: Too Many Ways to Do the Same Thing

User interface confusion is something we all suffer. Using a computer and not knowing how to accomplish a task is a large source of frustration. Good user interface (UI) design allows the user to complete their tasks without ever getting in the way. It prefers to stand in the shadows only appearing when assistance is needed. However, good UI is hard to find.

Google are “pretty good” at UI design. They spend a lot of time thinking about the placement and meaning of interface elements and their products have garnered a large following as a result. Yet even them mighty giant misses in the most baffling of ways at times. One such example I encounter regularly when using GMail; their options for Forward and Forward All.

When viewing a conversation chain (one conversation consisting of multiple related emails) it is often desirable to forward the entire chain of emails rather than only the latest in that chain. The Forward All option is the mechanism for achieving this. Yet this option is not present in the menus that offer the Reply or regular Forward options. Instead it is nestled away in a list labeled “More”. Having two places to check for related functionality is confusing.

The following images demonstrate this. In the first image (below) only a single email exists in the chain, so the “More” list contains nothing to do with forwarding. The regular options list does contain a Forward link. This trains me to use the list on the right for my forwarding needs.

In the second image (below) there is more than one email in the conversation. I click the list to the left but see only a Forward link. Does this mean Forward one or all? I’m not sure. However, expanding the “More” list reveals Forward All. Note that there is no Forward in this list.

Having multiple ways to do the same thing is bad, especially when those ways contain subtle differences based upon the email or emails that are being viewed. I regularly get confused about where to look and click when forwarding emails as a result.

As an aside, the lack of a Reply All in the list on the right is another example of confusion in GMail. The Reply All link is instead buried at the bottom of the chain in light gray.

SmartPhones; “We can too”

Just caught up with the new Blackberry 10. It looks cool but the smartphone revolution wow factor has passed for me. I’m struggling to find the innovation. Touch, voice, video messaging; they don’t make me say “ooh, gotta try that” any more. I’ve had it in my pocket for five years already.

What stuck with me most though was the developer documentation: https://developer.blackberry.com/design/bb10/

If you’ve done any iOS development it’s hard not to see which paragraphs and sections they’ve copied; the icon guide especially seems eerily familiar.

The whole “we can too” revolution was an obvious step to take for many companies to take. Android and Microsoft have already copied the mighty iPhone and iPad. For BlackBerry to ape it so closely over half a decade after it was interesting though; that just smacks of desperation.

I’ve owned and own Android, Windows, and Apple phones. They each have their strengths and weaknesses, but there is no getting away from the fact that they all came from the iPhone originally. Android copied fast enough to be able to still feel innovative. Microsoft made a mess of WP7/8 with change disguised as innovation. All they have done is confuse people.

Apple have sadly stagnated, each year looking like their own worst competition. The iPhone 5 is a great device but iOS is really starting to look dated.

With BB10 though, it all just looks like a cheap knock off of iPhone 3 tech built in a basement somewhere. From a company that used to be known for its innovation, I was really hoping for more.

iPhone/iPad remain, for me, the most intuitive devices I’ve used if not always the most flexible or powerful. Android bring the most options, but with it lose some of the ease of use. Windows is the Ralph of the group, having eaten its crayon and then vomited the colors onto the start screen. BB just look tired and for a company that used to truly innovate that’s a real shame.

Fragmented Systems of Record

Similar to my post the other day on too many social networks, I also have too many systems of record for gaming achievements. When I first encountered achievements seven years ago on XBox Live it seemed fantastic. Here was a way to track the cool things you’d managed in various video games, as well as a way to discover new hidden challenges in games that otherwise would have been returned to the shelf. However, as time goes on more and more companies want to harness this data and the attraction it provides, yet instead of doing so in a collaborative fashion it has instead been approached in the “me too! We can be exclusive, see!” way. The result is that I now have records of achievements not only on XBox Live but also on Steam, UPlay, PS3 trophies, World of Warcraft, and the iOS Game Center. None of these services share data with one another (why would they?) and so the system of record is fragmented across multiple different sources. This limits its usefulness in any one location as the engagement  I might get from my friends regarding challenges we could issue to one another or work on together have to be on the same system, by the same game publisher, and sometimes even in the same geographic region. That takes much of the momentum out of the experience. When will games publishers learn to think from the gamer’s perspective and spend a little more time and effort on collaboration rather than simply trying to monopolize every area they venture into?

So Many Social Networks

I find it hard to keep up with all of my social networks these days. Between the blog, Twitter, Facebook, Steam, Instagram, FourSquare, Yelp, my D&D and board game groups, and several beer buddies, I find the amount of information available hard to consume. It’s a wonderful problem to have and I feel utterly blessed to have such great groups of friends. The challenge lies in keeping those interactions valuable. That’s something I resolved to research and monitor this year; mechanisms for both giving and receiving high value interactions with friends. The mix of in person vs virtual appears to be a crucial component; valuing the online interactions as complimentary to relationships established face to face.

Enjoying the new Gaming Rig

I’ve had my new gaming machine now for about a month and I’m loving it. My old computer was no slouch but it’s fantastic to see my old games come to life again. The immersion levels achievable with silky smooth frame rates and bright crisp graphics can’t be beat. It helps you stay in the game, in the role, longer. For me, that is an indispensable part of the experience.

Current games I have on the go include:
+ Dishonored (thanks to Meaghan as an ad hoc gift)
+ Hitman Absolution (thanks to Meaghan for Christmas)
+ Assassin’s Creed 1 (with the intent of playing through the entire series again)
+ Borderlands 1 (so I can play the first story before staring on number 2)
+ Dead Island (thanks to my awesome friend James T. for the Steam gift.)
+ Dungeon Defenders
+ World of Warcraft
+ XCOM

I’m playing a handful of others on and off. I’m a bit ADD with games this year. I still like to see them to completion but I tend to jump around a lot more than I used to. Everything is so instantly available that it’s hard to stay focused.

The price of games on Steam helps a lot too. It’s great to be able to pick up one year old titles for less than half their original price, sometimes even better. I bought a lot of games during this year’s holiday sale. Even though I knew I wouldn’t play them right away the price was too good to pass up.

Pictures of the rig coming soon.

Time Off, Board Games, and Zombies

This weekend was MLK junior day, which for me meant a day off and a three day weekend. Meaghan and I took advantage of the time to unwind and reconnect. Saturday we just sort of did our own thing, and knocked off some errands and tasks we had scheduled. I got to spend some time with Rowen (which was great!) and in the evening we harkened back to some of the “good old days” early in our relationship, camping out in my office, ordering pizza, and firing up World of Warcraft to quest through the Jade Forest (a new area in the Mists of Pandaria expansion).

Rowen had slept for nine and a quarter hours straight on Friday night, which was a new record and a source of much celebration for us. However, the record did not stand long as the very next night she went for eleven hours! We are so proud of her. Not yet three months old and already sleeping through for two consecutive nights. Imagine our adulation on Monday morning discovering that she had slept for yet another long stretch, making it three nights in a row.

My friends Kevin and Roody came over on Sunday to play some board games. We tried a new game Kevin had got over Christmas called the Lords of Waterdeep. It’s a placement game that reminded me of a mix between Puerto Rico and Ticket to Ride in that a limited number of resources each turn could be claimed by players in their efforts to fulfill a series of semi-secret quests. It played very well and on first run through took a little over two hours, including setup. Nicely balanced and recommended for anyone who enjoys Agricola or similar games, with a flavor of D&D thrown in for good measure. We finished with a game of Sentinels of the Multiverse; a card game which pits you and your friends together against a common foe. The game plays out like a classic comic book battle between good and evil and was incredibly well balanced; so much so that we decided to play a second round after narrowly scraping a victory in our first. The second was just as close. Very nail biting. Very fun.

Monday (all weekends should have a bonus day!) I finally got to crack into one of the games that my friend James gifted to me over Christmas. Dead Island sees you assuming the role of a would be hero on a tropical island caught in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. From the moment you awake in your hotel room it is clear that something is wrong. What follows is the exploration of an island infested with all manner of zombies as you attempt to rescue friends, complete quests, and uncover the mysteries therein. It plays cooperatively although so far I have only experienced single player. I can see how fighting back the hordes with a group of friends would be a blast and look forward to the opportunity to cleave, wallop, kick, and bludgeon as a group.

As is the case with all time off it came to an end all too abruptly, but not without giving opportunity for some relaxation and play time, which is good because it looks as though my next break won’t be until May.

Turning 35!

This year was a special birthday. They all are really, but for the first time in a decade and a half I was able to celebrate my turning of age with my parents and for the first time ever with our daughter Rowen!

Ellie got me this fantastic Anakin Skywalker light-saber! I love surprises and Ellie certainly managed to catch me off-guard with this one. A big well done!!

Meaghan and my parents pooled their resources and got me a new monitor to go with my new gaming machine. If you’ve never played on an IPS display at 1920 x 1200 you’re missing out. It looks absolutely fantastic and the colors are beautiful.

Thank you to everyone for the gift cards, cash, and well wishes. It’s much appreciated. I had a lot of fun playing board games, watching silly movies, and playing shuffleboard at the pub; a more intimate celebration than some years but no less enjoyable.

A Year in Review – 2012

Looking back I can hardly believe all that we have packed into this year. There are times when it feels like it is all going by so fast, and then there are moments like this; where I think about everything we have packed into the last twelve months.

San Francisco
We began the year with a trip to San Francisco, a romantic getaway for the Valentines day weekend, and also so that I could speak at a technology start-up conference. Despite the fact that it was a working weekend we had a great time walking around the city and taking in the sights. Our trip happened to coincide with the Chinese New Year celebrations, the parade for which passed right outside our hotel!

New House
The following month we found a house and began the process of applying for a mortgage. Fortunately it took only a few more weeks before we were moving into our new home. Meaghan’s family came to visit to help us get settled in and put some paint on the walls. Some of our initial energy for decorating has tailed off from when we first moved in. We managed to get the living room, downstairs bathroom, guest bedroom, nursery, and my office painted though; and I’m calling that a success. Looking forward to getting a few more rooms done this year. It’s great to be able to modify the house however we like. Having rented for over twelve years I really appreciate the freedom.

Pregnant
Almost exactly the same week as we found our new house, we also learned that Meaghan was pregnant! Fantastic news and perfect timing with the house. Everything was coming together nicely. A few short months later we found out that we were having a baby girl.

New Job
It wasn’t too long after we moved in that I started my new job at Arris. I’m now the Web Architect building their next generation workforce management software solutions. The office is located close to our new house, which cut two hours a day from my commute. Getting ten hours a week back is worth the price of admission alone. I’m also really enjoying myself there. We’re solving some great problems with a really fun team.

New Car
In part to celebrate my new position, but also in preparation for the arrival of Rowen, I got a new car; one that could fit a carseat in the back. I settled on a practical family vehicle; a Subaru Impreza STi.

China
I flew to China for a week on a business trip with Arris. It was my first visit to Asia and I was awed at the scope of both Hong Kong and Shenzhen. The cities and population there are on a scale I’m just not used to. Everyone we met was extremely friendly and our hosts spent every night of our visit showing us around their amazing city. I sampled countless different local cuisines, saw some amazing sights, and managed to capture a few great photographs.

Rowen
Of course the greatest news this year was the healthy birth of our daughter Rowen. I’ve taken many pictures already, shared some on FaceBook and on our photo site. I can already tell she’s going to be a very well photographed baby. She’s a joy to be around and Meaghan feel very lucky to have her as part of our family. She was born a healthy 8lbs 10oz, and from the moment she entered the world let forth a mighty cry; a practice she has continued ever since.

It’s amazing to watch the ways in which she has changed in just a few short months. I can hardly believe the changes in her facial expressions, her awareness of the world around her, and everything down to the small details of how her fingers and toes have grown and taken shape. Every day I see her I see something new and some of my favorite times are first thing in the morning when she wakes with a beautiful smile. I love to see her smile and it’s clear from her smiles that she’s a really happy baby.

Visitors
We’ve had a variety of visitors this year, mostly coming to see Rowen (we know where we rank!). Both sets of grandparents, her Aunt Mandy, Uncle Chris, and cousin Cole, as well as many of our friends. It’s been great to see everyone and introduce them to our new addition. My parents came to visit us in the New Year, to meet Rowen, and to help me celebrate my birthday.   Here’s looking forward to a fantastic 2013 as well!

Assassins Creed

Since getting my new gaming machine, I’ve been revisiting some of my favorite series. One of these is the Assassins Creed pentilogy. I’ve played the first two and a part of Brotherhood, but got distracted at the start of this year when we started looking for a house. Rather than picking up where I left off, I decided to start from the beginning. It has been five years since I played the original and I’d like to experience the story in one continuous flow. Hoping the momentum will carry me all the way through to the newly released AC3.

As I came upon Jerusalem I was reminded just how amazingly pretty this game can be. Aside from all of the backstabbing, flag hunting, horse chases, and general chaos, there is a wonderful and engrossing depiction of a thousand year-old land that is rich with life and culture. It’s a great experience filled with some fantastic game play.

So far I have assassinated Tamir and am now en route to Acre and Jerusalem to report to the guild masters there. I’ve been slow-playing the story so far instead spending time hunting the Templar and the various hidden flags. I’ve managed 24/60 Templar and 79/100 King Richard flags so far, which for about eight hours of play is pretty good. Hoping to continue the slow pace and savor the experience.

Far Cry 3

Far Cry 3 improves upon its predecessor in almost every way. The map, while still large, does not feel arduous to cross. There is much to see and do on every journey and the fast travel system means you spend more time in firefights and less time driving along empty roads.

The first half of the game gets a little repetitive. Liberate outpost, capture radio tower, complete side missions, rinse repeat. It is in the second half, however, where everything comes to life. The story explodes into a fantastic series of story and mission quests that build towards a very enjoyable finale. Side missions are still available and the path of the hunter quests are worth doing until equipment is fully upgraded. Sadly there is little reason to seek the hidden items apart from a minor experience boost for doing so.

The unique skills in the tattoo tree add some variety but the opportunities to use them are few and far between. More often than not you’ll find yourself picking off enemies with an assault rifle or sniper and then cleaning up with a shotgun or SMG.

One of the best aspects of Far Cry 3 are the rich characters. They have unique personalities that really stand out and give richness to interactions and their parts in the larger story. The best of these is Citra, the alluring and slightly unstable leader of the Rakyat. The contrasts drawn between her and Vaas add some entertainment between missions.

The crafting system in FC3 is accessible and the items created are very useful. Syringes provide valuable boosts and abilities and it is wise to keep a full stock at all times.

Overall I look back at the experience fondly and will remember some of the moments and action sequences for some time to come. Bravo!

New Gaming Machine

One of my best Christmas presents this year was my new gaming machine! I built a killer PC from scratch and have spent the last few days playing a variety of the best modern first-person shooters on the market.

The specs:

• Intel i5 3450 Quad Core 3.14MHz CPUs with 3MB cache
• 32 GB of DDR3 RAM (4 x 8GB)
• Twin GeForce 660 Ti in SLI
• MSI Z77 Motherboard
• 120GB SSD
• 1TB Internal 10,000rpm drive

In Far Cry 3 with all settings on Ultra and 4x Anti-Aliasing I get a solid 50-60 fps throughout the game.

Crysis is a little tougher on it, but I’m still able to pump everything to Very High and play. There are a few areas where the frame-rate dropped to 30fps but for the most part I get 60fps wherever I go.

Very lucky not only to have been able to build the machine, but also to get the time to play on it. The last few days have been a lot of fun and have really helped me recharge a bit. I managed to complete all of Far Cry 3, make good progress on both Borderlands and Crysis, and have a variety of other games to look forward to over the next few weeks: Skyrim, Borderlands 2, Crysis 2, Max Payne 3, to name but a few.

Merry Christmas all!

Merry Christmas!

This year Rowen got to celebrate her first ever Christmas. Meaghan and I dressed up our home with the usual decorations and on Christmas morning we sat around the fire exchanging gifts, listening to Christmas music, and enjoying the holiday season.

Rowen made out better than both Meaghan and I combined! I think we can tell who the star of the show was this year, and we’re guessing for many years to come. Thank you to all of our incredibly generous friends and family for the lovely gifts, cards, and holiday wishes!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Dishonored: Adventure and XBox 360 Game of the Year

Congratulations to Dishonored for winning both adventure game of the year and XBox 360 game of the year. If you’re a fan of adventure style shooters such as Deus Ex, Thief, and Hitman, you owe it to yourself to play Dishonored. It’s fantastic.

http://www.gamespot.com/best-of-2012/platform-awards/index.html?page=4

Systems Coming Back Online

It’s been almost two months since the arrival of our daughter Rowen. We’ve had a great time with her, taking pictures, observing, just learning what it is to enjoy being parents. Additionally we’re establishing a stronger routine and starting to get a few things back online.

Rowen

Everybody:
I’d like to introduce you to a new member of our family. Rowen Douthitt Thompson very recently completed a nine month journey to be with us and we’re thrilled to finally meet her.

Both Rowen and Meaghan are doing great. I’m blessed with extremely strong women in my life.

Rowen is 8lbs 10oz and 19.5″ long with a full head of hair.

Her middle name, Douthitt, is one that has been passed down through many first daughters in Meaghan’s family history.

Rowen we chose partly in homage to the Rowan tree but mostly because we really liked the way it sounded. We later learned other meanings in its etymology from the French word for “regain” and an old English meaning; “second crop”.

She’s got a lot of exciting times ahead of her and we hope that, whatever her adventures, they are full of joy.

’twas the night before c-day

’twas the night before c-day,
and all was prepared,
for a brand new arrival
needing much love and care.

Two score weeks
they’d been waiting
and working, and learning,
and buying, and building,
and crying, and yearning.

At first came a bump
with a peanut inside
that grew to a melon
all sloshed to one side.

Yet the room that they shared
came scarcer each night.
She jostled for comfort
then turned out the light.

“s’been a glorious experience,
of that there’s no doubt,
but by gosh, am I ready
to get this kid out!”

Dinning Room

Tonight we ate in the Dinning Room at the rock. Go spelling!

Busted Android Phone

As my phone approaches two years of age it is experiencing an increasing number of issues. At first I had minor problems such as text messages disappearing into the ether. Since then things have escalated to more serious issues such as being unable to place or receive phone calls, and more often than not the inability to get a response from the touch screen. It’s getting to the point where the phone is almost unusable. Today I had to restart twice just to be able to place a call. I can get to the dialing screen and even enter a number, but pressing the button to place a call completely freezes the screen. I see the call length counter increasing but other than that the phone is completely frozen. Sucks!

Worse than the inability to place a call is the inability to answer one. In these cases I see that a call is incoming, but when I go to answer it the interface freezes up. The touchscreen is unresponsive, as are the four action buttons. Even pressing the power button has no effect except to mute the ringer. I have to restart the phone to get it to respond again, at which point I’ve completely missed the original call.

Fortunately, my contract is about to expire and I’ll be able to get a new phone in October. After my unimpressive experience with Android I’m strongly considering picking up the iPhone 5. Sprint have been OK so far. I was very mad that they extended my contract by one year without warning, but other than that I’ve been fairly satisfied with their service. I’ll weigh up prices and options in the fall and pick my carrier for the next two years.

Waiting at PDX

We are preparing to receive visitors! As we sit here at Stanfords sipping on a beer and a Shirley Temple respectively, my parents are on the final leg of their long flight from England. We are looking forward to hosting them for the next three weeks, showing them the house, sharing first hand the news of our imminent daughter,

Most of all I’m just really looking forward to seeing my mum and dad. One of the hardest things about leaving England was leaving family.

Approaching 500 Miles

I’m approaching 500 miles on my new car. So far I’ve put in two tanks of gas and given it a couple of runs through the car wash. However, what I’ve taken out is an absolutely unbelievable amount of fun. This car invites you to drive it. I’m finding excuses to run errands in a manner I haven’t known since I first got my license and was taking any opportunity to give people a ride.

The STi is simply fabulous. It sounds great and looks amazing, but the real joy is in the depth of the experience you get from driving it. It feels like a go-cart, a really, really powerful go-cart. In S# mode (the “race” setting) the throttle response is so immediate that planting your right foot will take you into another time zone. You can feel yourself being welded into the back of your seat as your eyeballs fall through the back of your head. It’s spectacular.

Here’s what I’ve learned after the first few weeks of driving the Subaru Impreza WRX STi Limited:

• I like sports cars. They sound “right”.
• Worrying about gas mileage will make you feel older.
• Always get the leather trim package. Pay for all of the extras.
• People are nicer to you when you drive a nice car.
• Girls think sports cars are childish. They also find them incredibly sexy.
• Driving a “sexy” car makes their pants fall off (well, it makes my wife’s pants fall off).

I’m looking forward to hitting 1,000 miles. That’s the end of the break-in period and a kind of automotive “coming of age.” Maybe we should throw a party? I bet the STi would like that.

Update:
Just as I pulled into my spot at work a few days ago I noticed I’d hit 500 miles exactly…and what a great 500 they have been!