Two Days of Ridiculousness

The last couple days have been something on the insane side...

Over the weekend, we had lots of guests. On the fourth day of rain, I saw that the basement sliding glass door frame was wet again. So, the Girl and I got an estimate today to replace our sliding glass doors, since (I have previously confirmed) they are the source of the problem. I hate spending money.

This follows yesterday, which was to be the day I returned to climbing, but instead became the day I (shock) spent money. I had been considering joining Earth Treks ROAD class, which is a general cross-training climber's program. It's only drawback is that it costs money, but hey, that's kind of necessary for getting in shape, I suppose. I hope I can do it. I'm mildly concerned. If I don't die, I should be pretty ripped in eight weeks. I like ripped. It's been awhile.

2010 Mazdaspeed 3 vs. 2009 Subaru WRX: Head-to-Head Comparison

Since this doesn't really exist online, I figured I'd make it so that I had something at which I could look when considering what I might buy at some point.

	2010 Mazdaspeed 3	2009 Subaru WRX
MSRP	$23,945	$24,995
Engine
Engine Type	2.3L DOHC DISI turbo 4-cylinder with VVT	2.5-liter DOHC intercooled, turbocharged aluminum-alloy 16-valve 4-cylinder horizontally opposed SuBaRu BOXER® engine.
Power	263 hp @ 5500 rpm	265 hp @ 6,000 rpm
Torque	280 lb-ft @ 3000 rpm	244 lb-ft @ 4,000 rpm
Compression Ratio	9.5:1	8.4:1
Max Boost	15.5 PSI	14.2 PSI
Drivetrain
Drivetrain type	Front-wheel drive (FWD)	All-wheel drive (AWD)
Transmission	6-speed close-ratio Manual Transmission	Fully synchronized 5-speed manual with Incline Start assist
Turning Diameter	36.1 ft	35.4 ft
Fuel
City FE	18	18
Hwy FE	25	25
Combined FE	22.5	22.5
Required Octane	91 Premium	91 Premium
Other
Curb Weight	3221 lbs	3174 lbs
0-60	6.1 sec (C&D says 5.6 sec)	5.0 sec (C&D says 4.8 sec)
Quarter Mile	14.4 sec. @ 99.5 mph	13.7 sec. @ 98.7 mph
Breaking Distance	113 ft.	107 ft.
HP/Weight Ratio	0.08165	0.08349
Tire Size	P225/40R18 Y-speed rated	225/45 R17 summer-performance

I also read some of the reviews on each of these cars to see what professional drivers think of them.

On the Mazdaspeed 3, Edmund's noted that it's not as quick from 0-60 as the previous generation. The reason, apparently, is that Mazda tried to do something to dampen the torque steer inherent in the Mazdaspeed 3. As a result, it doesn't shift as quickly. They also say that won't rotate off-throttle. It is very stable in turns, and handles very well.

On the Subaru WRX, Edmund's says that turning is a little "doughy," but that you can rotate off-throttle and get good grip when exiting a turn. It seems from the comments that, despite not being the most precise handling, Edmund's likes it.

It's worth noting, however, that Motor Trend got wildly different numbers in some cases. They had the Mazdaspeed 3 at 5.6 seconds 0-60 mph, and the WRX at 4.8 seconds 0-60 mph.

In any case, it looks like the Mazdaspeed 3 has stiffer, more responsive suspension and costs less, whereas the WRX is faster in general, with more "give" in the drivetrain.

Configuring them to be as identical as possible, the WRX would cost $27,041 to have the same base feature set as the Mazdaspeed 3, and would not include a navigation system or a premium sound system. The Mazdaspeed 3 with the tech package includes those features, and costs $26,040, but lacks all-wheel drive. Objectively speaking, that's the difference. I haven't driven either, though, so I don't know which I would like better subjectively. The Mazdaspeed 3 has a better feature set. For $1,001 more, the WRX has all-wheel drive and is generally faster.

Top X Movies By Category

I have just been looking through movies, and I decided I'd try to finally capture a list or (or two or ten) of my favorites, potentially by genre. That's hard, though, since a lot of them span genres, so some mixing and matching may be involved...

Western

• The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
  
• Once Upon a Time in the West
  
• The Wild Bunch
  
• The Magnificent Seven
  
• My Name is Nobody
  
• Unforgiven
  

Sci-Fi

• Aliens
  
• The Day the Earth Stood Still (the old one)
  
• Predator
  
• Blade Runner
  

Horror

• Jaws
  
• The Birds
  
• The Thing
  

Drama/Suspense

• Casablanca
  
• The Shawshank Redemption
  
• Rear Window
  
• Reservoir Dogs
  
• Apollo 13
  
• The Professional
  

Comedy

• State and Main
  
• Dogma
  
• Hatari
  
• Snatch
  
• The Princess Bride
  
• Army of Darkness
  
• Space Cowboys
  

Kung Fu (it deserves its own category)

• Enter the Dragon
  
• The Seven Samurai
  
• Yojimbo
  

Action/Adventure

• V for Vendetta
  
• Die Hard
  

Mystery

• The Usual Suspects
  
• Bullitt
  
• North By Northwest
  
• Vertigo
  

War

• The Great Escape
  
• Letters From Iwo Jima
  
• Where Eagles Dare
  
• Memphis Belle
  
• In Harm's Way
  

These lists I came up with in the span of about 20 minutes. The pressure of thinking of them has probably caused me to forget a few. So, when I come across some that should have had on here, I'll just come back and change the lists :-)

And, I didn't do top X because some have more than others, clearly.