De Ronde

After watching two episodes of the De Ronde, it is time for action. Episode one was a whirlwind of introductions: the accident, the divorced Flemish nationalist, the cycling fan who got bumped from the car by a snotty director and his wife who could care less about the race, the driver of the company car, the ex cycling champion hired to chauffer vips, and so on. I was getting a little dizzy about all the story lines being set up within a single show. Having lived in the US for a while now, I prefer more simple shows. And it is not looking good for a happy ending either. It is time in part 3 of the show for some clarity and action.

When buying a car

We recently had to replace our old car. I had been secretly on the look out for a replacement car. However, with the deadline to re-register our old car coming up, and the need to fix a few things to pass the smog check, we decided to buy immediately.

The selection process
I made a check list with features we wanted in a car. My wife and I both check of whether it was important, nice to have or a don't car.

Looking around us every day, we had settled on three or four candidate models: VW Jetta Wagon TDI, Subaru Forester, Toyota Rav4 and the Honda CRV. All were good brands. It was time to check them out closer and we spent two Sundays on the Auto-row. We test drove the Subaru and the Honda CRV and with some internet resource, we paired it down to the Subaru Forester.

Now finding the model, color and price we wanted. This is always the part most dreaded when buying a car. And we wanted to trade-in our old car. Upon a great tip from a friend, we tried autobytel.com and got some initial internet pricing. Sending emails back and forth between dealerships within a 50 mile radius, the price kept on dropping, from about $26500 to $22400 for the same model and options. You might have to be flexible on the color. At the end I never had to have the one on one conversation with the car salesman in his office, going back and forth with 'his manager' on the price. We did have a great price in hand when we drove up to the dealer, about 50 miles from here.

The trade-in was simple. The trade-in was negotiated at the dealership. First of all, I made it clear that the deal was {trade-in,new car}, and not new car alone. I was willing to leave if I didn't get a good price on the old car. We had a price in mind and when their offer was about dead on, we felt we might be able to get something more. We negotiated about a few options on the new car and kept the trade-in price fixed. For example, a new back bumper protector is $80. However the cost for the dealer is much less, so it was easy for them to throw in such items.

Lastly, although it is said, that financing the car is beneficial to the dealership and you might be able to get a cheaper price (as some of it is recovered by the dealer in loan-recruitment-fees), it didn't appear to have a difference or our final price. Having cash on hand helps in my opinion.

Thus, negotiating over the internet and willing to drive a few miles has made buying a car fun and without too much hassle.

Counting Down

De zes koersen van Flanders Classics:

zat 26/02 - Omloop Het Nieuwsblad

woe 23/03 - Dwars door Vlaanderen

zon 27/03 - Gent-Wevelgem

zon 03/04 - Ronde van Vlaanderen

woe 06/04 - Scheldeprijs Schoten

woe 13/04 - Brabantse Pijl

(PS - That's European date notation)

173K

Oh, we parted with our beloved and trusted little 1998 Honda Civic EX today. It was time. We spent many great times in this car. From the trips to Mount Shasta and Crater Lake to a hasty trip to Los Angeles to the Argentine embassy. We brought our first born son home in this car. And our second born daughter. We moved many boxes in it when we moved to San Mateo. It has been a great commuter car every day up and down highway 101 to Mountain View. A testament to the reliability of Honda. 

But now at one hundred and seventy three thousand miles, it was time to part with it. We traded it in when we bought a Subaru Forester. In what must be a weird scene at a car dealership: we posed for pictures with the kids next to a green little and since recent smog puffing monster. 

Adieu, you served us well. 

The green little monster

Impressions from Belgium

Summer project - the deck

This summer has been a busy one around the house. For much of it we have been camping in our living room while we fixed up the kitchen. I'll share the details and lessons learnt in another post. Yesterday I completed refinishing the deck. The last time it got sanded and painted was about five years ago. While resting my back today I can claim victory and have a nicely painted deck, ready for the rains in the fall.

Worldcup summarized

• Best team in the final: España!
• Best goal: Giovanni Van Bronkhorst, Tevez against Mexico and Forlan against Germany
• Best teams: Germany and Uruguay
• Best team to watch: Germany
• Most exiting finish: USA - Algiers
• Best channel to watch the game: Univision, Republica Deportiva con Fernando Fiori
• Most cursing, loudest cheering and most tears in a single game: Argentina - Germany
• Best sideshow: Diego Armando Maradona
• Best Off-FIeld Distraction: Sara Carbonero
• Worst karma from celebrity supporter: Mick Jagger
• Best beer tasted during the worldcup: Bersalis, Beersel, Belgium
• Best quote during the world cup: "nice iPad", my son. (while the adults at the party where checking out worldcup WAGs on the iPad)

The case against basketball

Waka Waka! This time for Africa. The first games of the FIFA World Cup in South Africa, with true world participation, are behind us. The important results in our household: Argentina won against Nigeria and USA equalized with England. The best game so far was Serbia - Ghana.



At the same time, the Los Angeles Lakers were trying to win Game 5 of the NBA Finals in Boston against the Celtics. I caught the last 1:15 minutes of the game. And somehow felt that I hadn't missed much. I used to play several years basketball in high school in Belgium. I followed the NBA closely. We were all big fans of Magic and Bird. I even got a small backpack from the LA Lakers, a rarity at the time in Belgium. So how did my enthusiasm dwindle for the big NBA teams? Especially now that I live in the US, with easy access to watch the games on television, or even watch the Golden State Warriors in person at the Oakland coliseum.

My admiration for the game still exists, especially for a well executed pick-n-roll, a fast break or a full court press. However, it is the flow of the game which makes the game less attractive for me. (Unless of course you are playing in the game.)

This is not a soccer game where anything can happen any time, so you better don't miss it. The same is true for the america's favorite pass time: baseball. What is often heralded as excitement is actually the contrary: a high scoring basketball game can be more boring that watching a bowler throw strike after strike.

You only have to watch the first 2 minutes and the last 2 minutes of a basketball game to catch the excitement or lack thereof. Either the game is close and it will be decided over a 10 minute period during which the 2 minute game clock is stretched by time outs and fouls. Where's the excitement in that? Or the game is long been decided and one team was obviously the better of the other, and you didn't miss anything either.

NBA games need a little more unpredictability, like the NCAA basketball tournament. Until then, I'll be waking up early to catch The Netherlands beat Denmark tomorrow morning in South Africa. Waka Waka!

No Treasure

View of San Francisco from Treasure Island

During this Memorial Day weekend, we visited unexplored San Francisco territory: Yerba Buena island and Treasure Island. Yerba Buena island is a real island in the middle of the Bay Bridge, which connects San Francisco with Oakland. Connected to Yerba Buena island, you find Treasure Island, a man made island. Treasure Island has a long history, including having served as an airport and home to several movie sound stages. Most importantly, it was known as a US Naval Base during and after world war II.

We had never visited Treasure Island. And after having heard for years, after it had been decommissioned as a Naval Base, how it is being transformed, we decided to stop by. From what it looks, we are about 10 years too early. The place looks like a dump. Many buildings are in shambles with all its windows broken. You can tell in some sections, baracks have been converted into low income housing. However living there must not be easy, as the island appears to lack a lot of infrastructure. For example, from the main roads I could not find a single (grocery) store.

The masterplan (sftreasureisland.org plan) (sfgate.com article) looks promising, yet so far into the future.

Count down to April 4th

Counting down to April 4th 2010: De Ronde Van Vlaanderen - http://www.rvv.be.