This is going to be a multi-topic post, so be prepared to jump from subject to subject.
Mordor: No More
I forgot to post this so I'm doing it now. Back near Thanksgiving time, BabySteps informed me that we had one more area to pacify before we could truly proclaim victory over the Stink Lord of Filth: Yeasty Khan. He had meant to get it done during our second battle, but in all the excitement, he overlooked it. This area was across from the bathroom of lost souls and it was originally a small closet beneath the stairs. When the Stink Lord invaded, it became known as Alcove of Rubbish. It was more than hip deep with trash. Granted, there were a lot of big boxes but all in all we hoisted 7 bags of trash out of that tiny space. It was a putrid mess. The temporary emergence of Lake BabySteps exacerbated the smell.
I remember donning my protective overalls, boots, gloves, and mask, picking up a snow shovel, and saying, "I never thought I would be doing this again!" We cleared it out pretty quickly and hauled it to a dumpster. I'm not saying I had fun, but I am saying it felt good to know that we finally got rid of all the trash.
My ass is costing me a fortune
*This segment is not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach.
I went to the grocery store this morning to buy toilet paper and it cost me about $30.00 (USD). I got two 24 roll packs. Now these are supposed to be "double rolls". I think this will last approximately 6 months in my house. That's way too expensive. I can hear some of you starting to mumble under your breath about my choice of TP for my bunghole, but let me explain.
I don't buy the cheap toilet paper and here's why. First, cheap TP isn't very absorbant; therefore, you will use twice as much and go through a roll twice as fast. Not to mention the problem of "breakage" when you think you're wiping with paper but then you realize you've got direct skin to excrement contact. Secondly, cheap TP doesn't feel very good on the little brown eye. I think we've all had the experience of having to drop a deuce in a public restroom (be it the high school gym, the mall, or a service station) only to have the situation become even more traumatizing by having to wipe with a "TP" that is really a huge roll of adding machine tape. So, yes, while I'm in the comfort of my home I like to pamper my ca-ca canyon.
I know that the nice "TP" is a luxury and I'm paying for that in a way, but still. C'mon. The ole Papel Hygenico is still listed as the lowest grade of paper you can produce. Newspaper is the next step up. I think that what I'm paying for the marketing. Why is there a cartoon character hugging a roll of TP on the package? Who really gives a sh*t whats on the package? (pun intended) Whatever...
Airsoft update
I played airsoft on Saturday. Both my AEGs are in the shop now. My MP5 had a broken selector switch and my M4 seems to have a short. I played the majority of the day with my Glock 19 pistol. It was fun actually being able to run and have mobility. I missed being able to lay down suppressing fire though.
I got the wonderful experience of being shot in the face with a BB grenade. One of the guys from Delta Black came around a corner and I caught a face full of green gas and plastic. I wasn't cut (which was lucky) but I have a few welts on my face.
I am now officially a member of the UBCS airsoft team. They also go by the moniker of "Umbrella Corp." I have to get some tiger stripe camo pants and order an Umbrella Corp patch to put on my black top. Umbrella does security at DragonCon in Atlanta so that should be fun.
I hope everyone has a safe and happy New Year's Eve!
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I must warn you that this is a bit of a rant about unruly kids and weak parents, so if you don't want to hear it, stop reading now. Are they gone? OK.
Babysteps, the Admiral, and I went bowling last night. The Admiral beat the both of us pretty soundly, but that aside I had to yell at some kids who were in the adjacent lane. Basically, they kept congregating on our side of the ball return and on more than one occasion they picked up one of our bowling balls (Babysteps and I have our own) and would slam it down. They would also randomly get more balls off the rack and put them on the already overstocked ball return. They would take their ball off the ball return and drop it in the stand-by area. Lets not forget that they lacked basic bowling ettiquette and would throw the ball from the stand by area or start their approach even after one of us had been standing on the lane getting ready to throw. Where were the parents?" you ask. Right there doing nothing except looking shocked as I addressed their kids in my "Command Voice". That's the voice I use to get onto people during karate class.
Now let me just say a few things about the bowling industry, if I may. Bowling used to be an adult activity. When I was a kid, maybe 6 or 7 years old, I remember that my parents used to take my brother and I to the bowling alley once a week and put us in the bowling alley child drop off area. You see, they were league bowlers. My mom is/was actually quite good. In fact, they had to drag my mother away from the bowling alley when my brother was being born. It was league night and she was 9 months pregnant. Her water broke in the bathroom, but she didn't want to leave because she was in the 7th frame bowling the best game of her life. She claims that she would have broken 250 if they hadn't made her go to the hospital.
Anyway, the bowling alley was an adult place. You had smoking, drinking, and bad language. My mom still cusses when she throws a bad ball (and she very rarely swears). With all this adult activity around you couldn't have kids running around raising Cain. That's why most bowling alleys were equipped with a large open room with a tv and toys and a cute teenage girl (yeah, I was a playa back then, too!) to watch the little tykes. The room always had that weird top and bottom sectioned door so that the parents could stroll by after picking up their pitcher of beer and look to see if their kid was still in there (which we always were). There were two kinds of kids in that pen: Cryers and Accepters. The Cryers always cried when their parent walked by and the parent (who had a pitcher of beer in each hand and a cigarette hanging out of their mouth) always said, "Take it easy, Mommy will be back in a while." The Accepters would see their parent, look longingly at them, and then go back to whatever they were doing. I was an Accepter.
On the rare occasion that I wasn't put in the Brunswick School for Wayward Children, I was allowed to sit on the "observation deck" with a big glass of soda to watch the adults play. The rule was strict: DO NOT GET OUT OF THE SEAT! To do so brought public admonishment, corporal punishment, and immediate imprisonment at the Brunswick School. I only remember doing that once. To be out in the open was a priveledge and I didn't want to ruin it. As I got older, I was allowed to go to "Game Room" to play Pac Man, Space Invaders, Donkey Kong, Jr., Pinball, Asteroids, Vanguard, Zaxxon, and later on my favorite arcade game of all time: Star Wars (you know the vector graphics one where you just keep blowing up the Death Star).
As I got older, the Bowling industry changed, too. First, they put in electronic scoring, pin placement lights, and foul line sensors. No more arguing over the score. No more grease pencils and overhead projectors. Now, people who didn't understand the scoring could play. This broadened their customer base immensely. Of course, it was still an adult game at the time. After all, who is going to take a kid bowling when all they're going to do is throw gutterballs all night. I wasn't until I was in High School that I saw the next phase in developing the sport of bowling into a family recreational activity. The bumpers. Back then they were either blow up balloon type things or they were a some aluminum guard rails (three on each side of the lane) that the attendant would put up.
Now, in this world without gutters small children could play. The sport of Bowling transformed into the family activity of Rolling. Ugh. The architecture of the traditional bowling alley changed. There was no "upper deck" for observers. There wasn't a raised floor to differentiate between the stand by area and the actual bowling lane. All of these things have contributed to the degredation of common courtesy and participant safety at the local bowling alley. I say this because food and drink were NEVER allowed in the standby area. Now, it's encouraged. This means people spill things. The lack of the raised floor for the actual lane removes the sense of importance in a players turn. Its a small thing, but I think this is vital. Before, you would "step up" onto the lane, now you simply "step into" the lane. You were always careful not to step up if a player who was adjacent to you was on the floor. Now, you can be about to make your approach and have someone else start their approach at the same time or as its happened to me, step into my lane during my approach. The worst thing that every happened to me was when a kid cut off my approach and actually threw his ball down my lane. The parents were laughing, but I was livid. What I should have done was "trip" over the little bastard and crush his damned skull with my bowling ball. Oh, then it wouldn't be funny right.
I don't want everyone to think I'm an anti-family, anti-kid, a-hole. Have I taken my young nieces bowling? Yes. Did I have the bumpers? Yes. Did I teach them the rules and how to properly await their turn? Yes. Did I yell at them when they screwed around? Oh HELLs Yes!! I think it is important for families to spend time together, but I think its equally important for family time to also be a learning time. Kids need to learn about courtesy, ettiquette, and rules. I very rarely see a parent reprimanding a child for bad or unsafe behavior on the lanes and I think that's BS.
The individual proprietors need to do a better job controlling their patrons. Its only a matter of time before one of these jack ass kids gets his head crushed because he keeps sticking it in the ball return. These bowling alleys are making money hand over fist. Hell, its $4.00 a game during "peak hours". With all that cash I think that bowling alleys could reserve some lanes for serious bowlers and not just the league bowlers - I mean regular joes like myself who don't have time for a league but like to bowl a game now and then. Maybe they could designate "family lanes". They could ask a customer, "do you want a family lane?" These lanes would have bumpers. I have no problem letting kids run around willy nilly as long as they don't bother me. Let all the rollers play next to one another. If there's a family with older kids who understand the rules and ettiquette of bowling, I have no problem bowling next to them. I do have a problem when I'm trying to bowl and the people next to me are just rolling.
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Yes. I'm going to review the following video by Sketchworks entitled, "Bumpin' in the Burbs" by the Notorious D.A.D. Before you watch the video, I would like to declare the hip dash hop/gansta rap genre as officially dead. It was on life support when "Lazy Sunday" came out. Now, I'm saying that the pulse is gone and respiration has ceased. To be perfectly honest, the genre didn't have much to offer except explicit lyrics and a carefully marketed version of life on the street. Seriously, NWA's "Straight Outta Compton" is the only true Gangster Rap album. Everything else just pales in comparison. I don't care who's delivering the lyrics, there are only so many ways you can talk about police harrassment, murder, and physical abuse of women of the night before it gets really old. Its like picking up the hookers in GTA. At first its very exciting, but after killing your 50th prostitute for money, it starts to become a grind. Anyway, here's the video:
Review
I found this video to be hilarious. The lyrics are spot on funny. The bit about "public transit" is so very true. The in-chorus quips range from not funny at all to unbelievably hilarious. My favorite one is about putting on "Van Morrison". N-Dad's delivery isn't too bad. He gets a little out of rhythm at times, but he pulls it back just in time. Cadence and inflection of his voice is one part Sir Mix-A-Lot and one part Fresh Prince.
There's also a bit of visual humor in the video. His hand motions and body language when he's in front of the bus are priceless. I'll also have to say I liked the high speed footage of him kicking the kids out of the house is a throwback to a lot of '90s rap videos and has very DJ Jazzy Jeffesque flavour to it. The women in the video also did a very good job of toning down the standard "rap video girl" behaviours. The other guys in the video just looked kind of goofy but the women seemed to fit the song. One last thing, the brunnette in the striped shirt is smoking hot.
That is all.
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What was your major or field of study in college? Did you wind up working in that field or using that degree? If not, what field have you wound up in?
Submitted by sneuf.
Wow! Good question. OK, here it goes.
When I was in High School, a good friend of mine was killed by a drunk driver. He was going to Georgia Tech at the time, but he was looking to go into law enforcement. After he was killed, I then vowed to become a champion of justice and live out the dream that he could never fulfill. I, too, wanted to go into police work.
I enrolled in college and declared my major: Criminal Justice. I was "gung ho" for law enforcement work until about my Junior year. I looked around the room at all the people who were also wanting to become cops and realized that I could only tolerate 3 or 4 of them. These were the people with whom I would have to work. These were the people (or at least types of people) I would have to depend on if I got in a life threatening situation. These were the people whose actions I would have to defend and whose mistakes I would have to help shoulder the blame. I didn't like it. Not one bit. I thought they were arrogant, power hungry jackasses. I cared about upholding the law and serving as an example of good citizenship in my community. They wanted to carry a badge and boss people around. I decided to finish up with the CJ degree since I had come so far already, but I was looking for an out. Lastly, I realized that being a cop is a truly thankless job. If you give someone a ticket, you're a bastard. If you shoot a drug dealing pedophile in the face after witnessing him simultaneously selling crack and having a 10 year old boy fellate him, you're no better than the crooks. Eff it! The system's against you, the public's against you, and the crooks are against you. That's not a battle I'm strong enough to fight.
I eventually was accepted into the Masters of Education program after graduation. I wanted to help my community. Why not be a teacher? Maybe I could inspire young minds to do good rather than evil? Well, I dropped out of grad school for financial reasons, but I was also disillusioned with the entire teaching profession. Teaching in a public school would have required alot more tedious hoop jumping than I would have liked; furthermore, I would have been subjected to a "group think" mentality and I don't think my individual sense of order and justice would have cared for that. Especially, now when I see all the stupid policies being thought up by school administrators nowadays. I also believe that people should fail. You heard me. They should FAIL. You can't truly succeed if failure is not permitted.
Shortly after moving back to the ATL, I entered the professional world. I got a temp job at a paper recycling place and that was looking good. I think I could have climbed the ladder there, but then they moved their office next to the airport and I made a decision that teaching karate was more important than my personal career. Next I got a job in an HR department of a insurance company. I got tired of all the whining and complaining in addition to seeing bad employees being allowed to stay and managers riding good employees out on a rail. When a position opened up in IT I took a chance.
This led to a dark period in my life. My boss was a total dickweed. I have a hatred for him that will span the rest of my life. I'm not joking. If I saw him on the street, I would probably spit in his face and kick him in the nuts. His dickweedishness didn't come out at first, but over time I realized that he was a terrible leader who thought that he was an exemplary leader. As Babysteps says, "I wouldn't trust him to lead a group in silent prayer."
Now, through a contact in my karate class, I got a job at a college IT department. This is the best job I've ever had. So, that's my story. To answer the question, "No, I'm not working in my field."
My sister came in to the ATL from Missouri on Sunday. In case you didn't know, it was about 75 deg. Farenheit. My sister's flight was slightly delayed because they had to de-ice the plane. When we met my sister at the airport the baby had on a unitog with a denim skirt, leggings, and boots with fur on them. I told my sister to get that crazy stuff off the baby or else she would overheat.
Little S was as cute as can be. She's grown quite a bit since I've seen her in August. The problem now, though, is that she cannot be separated from her mother. If someone else attempted to hold her, she would scream until her mother held her again. It was kind of funny really. On the way back from the airport, my sister was discussing trying to "Ferberize" the baby. Bob responded by saying, "'Ferberize?' Is that a fancy word for 'abuse' and 'neglect' the baby?" To which we all laughed.
When we got to the house, my brother and his family were already there waiting on us. M and K were there and did their ceremonial shriek when they saw me and then proceeded to attack me using their little fists and feet. I asked them if they wanted to see the baby and they immediately pushed me aside to go and gawk at their cousin.
I was pretty impressed with how the 2 kids interacted with the baby. I was also impressed at how smart the baby seemed. If her mother told her not to do something, she immediately started to try and engage in the previously sanctioned activity. Her mother would scold her and say, "No ma'am!" in a firm tone. S would then start screaming and crying and then my sister would put the baby on her back and let her scream for a second or two and then ask, "Are you done?" S would then stop screaming. I have to say that I am truly impressed with my sister's ability to behaviorally modify my God-daughter.
The evening went splendidly and everyone got face time with the baby although it was very limited due to the baby's utter lack of disgust at being held by anyone other than her mother. At one point in the evening M and K told me that I was their favorite uncle. Admittedly, I had just announced my plans to go to the store to buy ice cream for dessert, but they said it none the less.
After my brother had left, I laid down on the floor and was kind of dozing when I felt the baby grab a hold of my face. She then tried to pick my head up as if it was a ball and slam it onto the ground. I heard my sister laughing and saying, "Be nice, S!" In response to that statement, S proceeded to dig her little baby claws into my scalp and face going, "Bah, bah, bah, booooo!" I guess I'm destined to be pummeled and abused by little girls for the rest of my natural life.
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I know it's been a while since I rapped at ya, but here's a video to brighten your day.
I just found out that one of my former karate instructors has left our organization. I don't have a problem with that per se, but I do have a problem with him using the name of our style. It irritates me immensely and although I respect this person's abilities I have lost respect for him has a professional martial arts instructor. Were it not for this individual, I would not have my current school. He laid down all the ground work and got things in motion, but he had to leave before things really got started. He was really someone I admired because he had strong Christian values and wasn't afraid to let people know it, thus demonstrating his strength of character. Furthermore, he is a phenomenal martial artist.
I guess I should have seen the writing on the wall. I hadn't seen him at a function for at least a year and then his attendance was spotty at best before that. He also had sent out a weird e-mail last year that indicated that he wasn't teaching our curriculum and that his people weren't joining our organization. Our co-directors and the other Shihans had a meeting with him about that and from what I gathered, he listened to what they had to say and then shrugged it off.
A long, long time ago we had an odd conversation about his career in our style of karate. He said that a lot of people thought he would go "Renegade". I asked him what he meant and he told me that people have always been suspicious of him and thought that he would break off and start his own style. Well, he just proved all those people correct. He's obviously not the first to do so. A lot of people use the name of our style but aren't part of our organization. I don't get this. If you're so good, make up your own name, kata, philosophy, logo, etc. Why cling to our name? That just shows your insecurity. They want to draw people in with the name and then do the old "bait and switch".
This is pretty much common practice. I was driving around with BabySteps one day and I saw a sign on a building that said "Karate". This was a pretty well known dojang. I say "dojang" instead of "dojo" because it was a Tae Kwon Do school. We then got into a discussion about why they have a sign that says "Karate", but they teach TKD. There are two reasons: First - name recognition. You say "Karate" and people associate it with "people wearing pajamas and kicking stuff". It doesn't matter what you're really teaching. Second - economics. What's more expensive: A 6 letter sign that says "Karate" or an 11 letter (spaces included) sign that says "Tae Kwon Do"?
Really and truly, people just don't care. You get what you want out of martial arts and you receive what you put into it. People take my class because its cheap and they don't know squat about martial arts. They stay in it because they like it, or they quit because they don't like me. This all occurs in about a 3 week time frame. I'll be honest and say I probably run the strictest class in the style - in the U.S. at least. I'm not bragging or boasting. I'm just telling it like it is. Again, let me reiterate. I'm not saying we have the best class, I'm just saying we have the most strict one. Its a combination of my personality and my environment.
By my nature, I seek harmony through order. I am very disciplined and require that of my students. Secondly, I am operating out of a rec center that pays me an hourly wage as a part-time employee. I don't derive my karate "income" from the students themselves. This means that I don't have to "suck up" to students and parents to ensure my own personal/financial success. I try not to be a total dick, but I do have a 95% dickishness rating. I pretty much tell people that I'm not here to sell anything. I'm here to teach people karate, and by doing so, I hope to better people's lives and society as a whole. My job isn't to make sure everyone gets a black belt. My job is to weed out the people who don't deserve one. I feel that I am tough but fair. If you get out of line, I'm going to yell at you and embarass you. If you don't try your best, I will motivate you. Sometimes I motivate with a carrot, but mostly it is with the stick.
Now, that I've said all that let me get back to the point. I've found that most of the people who split from GM do so for economic reasons. To be under the founder means that you must literally pay your dues. I've also observed that most of the people who split are self-absorbed smacktards. I'm not saying anything about their personal abilities because the abilities of these renegades range from talentless hacks to extremely talented people who can whip my ass. The majority of them are very skilled though which is perhaps why their ego can't take being "under" someone with whom they hardly ever communicate. In the case of Mr. F (my former instructor), I really like him as a person and I know he didn't split primarily out of mammon. I know this had to be part of it, but it seemed to me he had issues with particular individuals and policies (or lack thereof).
What's scaring me right now is the fact that I'm not having a knee jerk reaction of: "This guy is a scumbag! He's of weak character and we're better off without him!" I'm sitting here thinking, "Well, he broke off and ninjas aren't burning down his school nor is he getting sued for using our name. In fact, he is benefitting immensely and because I know him personally, I can safely say that he will probably continue to be successful. What would happen if I did the same thing?"
Everybody calm down. I couldn't do that. My loyalties are to the GM and to the co-founders of our organization. I'm just pondering a few things here. Again, my loyalty to GM is firm. I'm talking "Samurai to Daimyo" firm. Old School. If they asked me to take a "blood oath", I'd offer them a knife to cut me. Second, I'm not egotistical enough to think that I could run my own organization. Do I want to make improvements to the current one? Yes. Could I run one from top to bottom? No.
OK? Feel better? Now let's just say I wanted to split (WHICH I DON'T). This is the way you should do it and be professional about it.
1. Formerly resign my position. As a professional, I would write a formal letter of resignation and try and work out some terms with them. I would promise not to use the name of the style and to only reference it when explaining my credentials.
2. Create a new name. Yes, that's right. Picklez Do Ryu sounds good. Why choose a new name? First, if I want to establish myself as a unique martial art style or studio I shouldn't have anything that implies I'm part of another organization or style. Its bad form to do so and could lead to legal difficulties down the road.
3. Create my own curriculum. I'll need to create my own forms now. I don't need to worry about individual techniques as those are pretty much the same across the board. What I need are unique forms that are interesting yet practical. I could easily modify the basic forms and make them unique by swapping blocks, strikes, and counts. Its the intermediate, advanced, black belt level, and weapons forms that will be a little more difficult. Since I'm creating my own style, I can't base my more advanced forms on "traditional" ones that already exist. I'm going to have to start from scratch. It will be tough, but I think I can do it.
4. Create my own ranking/evaluation system. Sticking with the kyu system is the way to go, but I may add a few colors along the way so that people have to buy a new belt everytime they test. As far as my existing black belts go, all the black belts who are in my favor will receive a one rank promotion. Those who aren't will have to fulfill whatever requirements I invent. As the founder, creator, and Grand Master of the style I'm going with "no rank" for myself. That's right. Instead of trying to "legitimize" myself with certificates and proofs of purchase from old Wheaties boxes, I'm going to say I've transcended rank. This gives me the power to promote and demote anyone I wish for whatever reason.
5. Create or join a credible sounding martial arts/marketing organization. Yes. My style is completely original, but I need some kind of backing so I don't look like a crazy egomaniac. There are plenty of "professional" martial arts organizations out there I could join so I'm not too worried about it.
I'll admit that I'm being a little sarcastic; however, if Mr. F had done this rather than what he did do - which is just walk out. I'm also not sure of why he did what he did. I'm tempted to e-mail him and find out.
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You might remember them from Post #110. That particular version of "Business Time" has been removed so I'll post a new one. I think these guys are kind of funny. I'm thinking about buying their CD. They're actually a stand-up comedy/music duo. I'm hoping their CD has full orchestration rather than just them and their acoustic guitars. Here are some more of their songs.
Business Time
This is the song that got me interested in them. "Team Building Exercise '99..." LOL
She's So Hot Boom
What makes these guys so funny is that they hit so many different styles of music.
Frodo, Don't Wear the Ring
This one tools on Lord of the Rings (TM), but it has a sort of "Tenacious D" vibe to it.
Sello Tape
I'm going to slow it down a bit with this "Beatles-esque" tune.
Inner City Pressure
Rewind to an 80's frame of mind and you'll get this song.
Bret, You've Got It Going On
Here's a little acoustic pep song. You can insert the name of your best friend in place of "Bret".
If That's What You're Into
Another quick, peppy song. I love the toy piano and xylophone.
Foux Da Fa Fa
Do you like Bossa Nova using introductory French phrases? If not, you will after this video.
Something Special for the Ladies
A 70's style Bee-Geeish song. For the ladies.
Bowie's in Space
An homage to David Bowie. What's scary is that both these guys sound like Bowie.
All the Humans are Dead
Here they are in concert. I find this very amusing. BINARY SOLO: 0000001!
END OF LINE - 00000011
Just wanted to share more videos featuring Babysteps' favorite song.
You can watch a full version of the song w/video here.
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I driven my first 100 miles in my new Honda Fit. I've never really reviewed a car before so I'm going to pick out categories that I think are important and give you the positives and/or negatives of it. Before I get started, I bought the 2008 Honda Fit Sport 5 speed Manual transmission with all season floor mats, 7 year/75,000 mile warranty, and Nitro-filled tires (more on that later). You can view the full spec sheet here. Overall the vehicle cost around 17 large, but I traded in my 1996 Ford Ranger for 1 large. I signed a 72 month loan.
Appearance: Exterior
I really like the look of this vehicle. It's comprable to the Toyota Matrix and the Pontiac Vibe. It's not quite "compact" but not quite "mid-sized". Twinkletoes parked next to me in her Honda Odyssey and from one angle her car completely blocked the view of mine. I think she said it best with her statement: "Oh, what a cute little car! It's like your car wants to grow up to be like mine some day!" So, yes it looks like a baby Odyssey without the sliding door, but I'm OK with that. In fact, originally, after driving her Odyssey one time, I said I was going to get one for myself. The body of the car is very rounded off and there aren't many hard angles. The windshield is huge in comparison to my old truck. I like that because it looks aerodynamic. I also like the fact that it is small.
There's not a lot of chrome on the car either. The car has 16" alloy rims (which are standard on the Fit Sport model) and the tires are small. Hangtime thinks the wheel well could accomodate 18" rims, but I think that would be too tight of a fit. I'm wondering if I should opt for free spinning rims rather than the factory ones...
In case your wondering, this isn't a "Soccer Mom" looking vehicle or a "Gay" looking vehicle. Here's the top 10 list of "Gay" cars and I'm happy to say the Fit isn't on the list...yet. I have a feeling though that older import tuners, (read: street racers with families) are going to get there hands on this vehicle and you're going to see a lot tricked out versions of this vehicle in the near future. By the way, I chose the "Storm Silver Metallic" paint.
Appearance: Interior
The interior is done in black, charcoal, grey, and blue. This includes the instrument panel, gear shift, emergency brake, seat belts, radio, upholstery etc. I like it. The blue on the instrument panel and radio really brings it out and makes it easy to read. The seats are fabric, but I got the rubber all season mats.
Comfort: Driver
It took me a little bit of time to get used to the seat and arrange it where I wanted it. It feels like there is a lot of back support. The head rest in the front seats are slightly different from the back seat ones, but I want to say they were designed that way on purpose. To me, it is not comfortable to put my head on the head rest no matter how I adjust the height. I think that the are designed to keep your head level in such a way that you don't relax too much and fall asleep as well as keeping your head and neck in a position that will cause the least amount of physical harm if the airbags deploy in a crash.
Everything is right where you can easily reach it. The radio, environmental controls, gearshift, and drink holder don't require me to stretch or reach in anyway. One of the main reasons I got the Fit over the Toyota Matrix is that the instrumentation panel is behind the steering wheel rather than in the center of the dashboard. I understand that for manufacturing that saves a lot of time and money, but I want to look behind my wheel for important info not toward the center of the car.
Comfort: Passenger
I haven't ridden in the vehicle in any position other than the driver, but I have sat in all the seats. There is plenty of leg room even with the front seats pushed all the way back. I'm not sure having 3 people in the back would be as comfortable, but having one or two in the back won't warrant any complaints.
Storage
I first rode in a Fit in 2001 when I went to Japan the first time. I liked the look of the vehicle as well as the amount of storage and passenger space inside it. I kept waiting for Honda to release it in Japan, but they held off until 2007. The "Magic Seats" were a definite selling point for me. This allows you to reconfigure the seating to suit your needs. In the "Normal" mode I can easily open up the hatch back and fit my karate bag, backpack, and med kit with ALOT of room to spare.
You can fold the back seats down completely for "Utility" mode. It gives me roughly the same amount of space I had in the bed of my truck (with the tool box on). That means I can fit all my DJ equipment in the car (two large PA speakers, speaker stands, power box, computer, bag o' cables, handtruck, and props [for games]) and not have to worry about bad weather or rain. Yay!
There is "Tall" mode where you can fold up one or both of the back seats in an upright position. It's a perfect fit for my golf clubs or to stack up cinder blocks and breaking material so that I can open up the side door to get the stuff out rather than reaching into the back and dragging it along the backs of the seats in "Utility" mode.
The "Long" and "Refresh" modes are a little dodgy. Long mode entails removing the front passenger head rest, scooting the seat all the way forward and leaning the seat back until it is even with the back seat which is folded down like in Utility mode. Its designed for items that are 7' 10" long like surfboards or in my case planks of pine shelving. Refresh mode is the same thing except you leave the back seat in the normal position and you can kind of "lay down". I guess if I HAD to sleep in my car, I might do this. I'm sure they couldn't call it "Gettin' it on" mode but it seems like that is the true purpose.
Driving/Handling
This thing is a dream to drive. The acceleration on a flat is pretty decent, but the engine strains on even modest hills and requires me to down shift to 2nd or 3rd gear depending on my speed as I climb the hill. The clutch is very smooth as is the gear shift. The ratio is a little bit too close for my taste as 5th gear is required at about 45 mph. The temptation to skip 3rd is very heavy, indeed.
I have the standard "Drive by wire" accelerator. Other than making me vulnerable to a Cylon attack, I think this means that the acceleration is assisted by electronics rather than by traditional throttle cables. There is an ever so slight delay, but you won't notice it except when you are shifting from neutral to 1st or 2nd gear. I've driven The Admiral's Pilot and that car has a much more noticable delay in acceleration. This may be because it is a bigger vehicle or because it is an automatic.
Another reason I upgraded to the "Sport" model is for the Cruise Control. It just doesn't come on the base model. The only way you can get it on the base model is to add it with after-market parts. Weird. The buttons are located on the steering wheel and they are very easy to operate. There isn't a "Resume" button so if you touch the accelerator or brake you have to reset your speed. That's kind of annoying, but if you're really having to adjust your speed that much you should just turn the cruise control off.
Extras
I paid $119 to get my tires filled with Nitrous Oxide. What this does is allows me to huff off my wheels, but in addition to that, I'm supposed to maintain a consistent tire pressure. Here comes the science... Nitrogen molecules supposedly won't leak through the rubber the way normal air does. Also, because it is purer (at the molecular level) than normal air, it will not be affected by differences in air temperature as you may experience with tires filled with normal air. Thinking about it now, it seems like malarky, but if I go a year or two without my tire pressure monitoring system going off, I think its worth it. They also told me that if the pressure does get low, I can fill it with air and then come by the dealership and they will refill it with nitro. This only applies to my current tires, but I'm willing to bet that if I get the same brand tires when I replace them, they may fill them up for free.
I'm getting the LoJack installed in my car. It already has a decent security system, but this will protect my investment even further. Seeing as I've had my car temporarily stolen before, I think I want to take more of an interest in protecting it.
I want to mod out my car electronically in the worst way. Right now, the cost would be $2500 or more. Here's what I want to do. I hope to replace my factory radio with a 7" Navigational touch screen. This would include a 10 gig hard drive so I wouldn't have to run a DVD to program destinations or to run searches. The screen would also work my radio, CD, Audio and Video DVD, and auxilary devices (MP3 player). The $2500 cost would also include a rear view camera that would automatically engage when I put the car in reverse. I could even run a split screen while driving that shows the map one side and the camera feed on the other. I think I'm going to do it. I figure that I'm gonna be in this car a long time, so I should really deck it out and make it as friendly to me as possible.
Conclusion
I highly recommend this car to anyone looking for a fuel efficient, utilitarian, yet fun to drive vehicle. Another big selling point to me was the 24 city/34 highway/31 combined miles per gallon. Its a 10.8 gallon tank so to get 330 miles on one tank especially at the rising prices of oil is pretty damn good.
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