Once More, With Feeling - 2010 WRX vs. 2010 Mazdaspeed 3

So now I'm 30, and with it brings the satisfaction of being able to answer one of my current great questions; which do I want to drive next, the Mazdaspeed 3 or the Subaru Impreza WRX. Yup, I decided to celebrate the double digit flip by driving them. All three of them. I drove a Mazdaspeed 3, the WRX wagon, which the sales person assured me wasn't a wagon though we all know it really is, and the WRX Premium sedan with the SPT exhaust and short shifter.

So, the Girl and I took a ride over to our friendly neighborhood Mazda dealer and test drove the Mazdaspeed 3. I gotta say, I dig it. Before going, I read the reviews about the Speed 3. They all say that the road noise is too great and the ride is too rough. I was particularly worried about the road noise, but it's remarkably better than all of the reviews led me to believe. The interior is incredible. The technology is fun. The car is FUN to drive. When you step on the gas, you know you stepped on the gas. It GOES!

After returning the car to the dealer and learning how to open the trunk, we checked out what the tech package looks like, and what the push button starter is like, and that's frickin' awesome. I was immediately impressed with it. The speed bump test hurt a little, though. That's the only thing.

From Mazda, we drove down to the Subaru dealer to drive a couple WRXs. The first was the 5-door, bottom of the line WRX. We drove it all over. It felt somewhat sluggish. Despite the fact that I know the car is fast (even faster than the Speed 3), the response just didn't feel like it was there. The turning was a little sluggish to me compared to the Speed 3, and the interior was just bland! The clutch was quite a bit stiffer and harder to work with. All in all, I just wasn't impressed. Not at all. It felt like it took the fun out of driving a fun car. Bummer.

After we got back to the dealer, I still asked to see the WRX Premium with the SPT exhaust. While we were waiting for Subaru dude to get the keys, the Girl asked me what I thought. I asked her to tell me what she was thinking first, and she came back and told me that she could read my mind and that I liked the Speed 3 better. It's true. She can read minds. Stay away from her if you have any dirty little secrets.

Dude returned with the keys, and we got to the WRX Premium. Immediately after he turned it on, I noticed the exhaust. I love the sound of a WRX SPT exhaust. I got in afterward, and felt the clutch, and it was WORLDS better. We took it for a short drive, and it was much more fun. It was also much much louder. The exhaust boosted the cabin noise significantly. I'd consider the WRX Premium if it weren't $29,000, a full $3,000 more than the fully loaded Speed 3. The base version of the Speed 3 is even cheaper! I'm not sure that all-wheel drive and an exhaust can justify $3,000. In fact, I know it can't. Not for that interior. Not for that noise. Not when I can haul ass in a Speed 3.

The Mazdaspeed 3 is the hands-down winner. And, it's also not a car you see everywhere. I dig it. I want one...

Standard Nomenclature for Suckage

I like bad movies. It's just a part of who I am. It's the warm, gooey center that somebody eventually reaches after getting to know me for... 20 minutes, probably. I owe it to that part of myself to help bad movies.

Many bad movies are fun. Many are not. That's the problem. We need a way to classify bad movies to indicate whether they're bad fun, bad like a train wreck from which you can't take your eyes, or so bad you'd rather stab yourself in the eyes with a fork so that you won't have to continue enduring the misery.

With that in mind, I'd like to propose the following classification system for bad movies. This is my SPECTRUM OF BAD:

• Vomitously bad - The movie is so bad and not fun to watch, it will make you vomit. Who is the idiot that thought this was a good idea and actually funded it? You won't be able to watch this movie from the beginning to the end
  
• Staggeringly bad - You might make it all the way through this movie. Sometimes alcohol may help you make it
  
• Fun bad - It didn't aim to be a good movie, and it definitely isn't, but you can still watch it repeatedly because it evokes joy due to its badness
  
• Epic bad - Like fun bad, but so much better. This is one that everybody has to see, despite the fact that it isn't a cinematic masterpiece
  
• Uncanny valley of bad - Too much like a good movie, making the viewer uncomfortable liking the film since it's supposed to be bad.
  

I may amend this at some point, but this is my first stab. Yup, you'll get examples as I watch them. :-)

Next up? Gonna watch Bitch Slap.

It's True!!!

It came up in Modern Family, so it must be true. I've been saying it for years. I have my own anecdotes about it, but I have not had any hard evidence to support my theory. Today, it becomes one of the immutable laws of physics.

The quote, as it happened from Modern Family:

Claire: Haley sweetie, wake up. I need you to teach me how to use the tv.
Haley: Now? Why can't dad teach you?
Claire: Because we're married.

Now it must be true, because a prime time sitcom has recognized it to be so! You may ask now, "But Greg! Why do you know it's true?" The answer? Because I had to get somebody else to teach the Girl to drive a stick, and that's just the latest in the series.

Brew Hacking

For the first time ever (while brewing), we had too much wort. Too much wort!!! That never happens. After filling the 5-gallon bucket up to about 6.5 gallons, we still had some left over. At that point (because it's just not right to waste any beer), we had to sanitize a carboy for the leftover.

However, in going through the supplies, we learned that we were missing a piece of the air lock. It's the little middle piece that prevents the back-flow of water into the fermenting wort. We were in luck, though. Amanda, being the pack rat that she is (;-)), keeps the old test tubes from liquid yeast. She brilliantly realized that the tube fits perfectly in the outer part of the air lock. I brilliantly realized that she has a circular saw. She brilliantly realized that the test tubes are not glass, but plastic.

A couple minutes later, she cut down the tube, and then I sanded the rough edges until they were smooth like glass, and we had a complete air lock!

The process, in less sarcastic detail, is to take the yeast test tube, cut it down to about 1-1.5 inches with a circular saw (carefully). Once that's done, pick off the extra plastic bits and then use some fine-grained sand paper to polish the edges smooth. It should fit in the air lock, and you're good to go (after sanitization, of course).

Ubuntu 9.10 Networking

I just ran into a goofy problem. Every time I rebooted, I would not be able to connect to my ssh server. I finally got fed up with having to switch keyboard and mouse cables (lacking a KVM), and so I decided suddenly to tackle the problem.

Switching to TTY/1, I learned after logging in that my machine had no IPv4 address. What the hell?!? The shocking thing about this, other than its existence, was that it wasn't a firewall issue.

I logged into Gnome, checked the networking settings, and obscured somewhere on the bottom of the IPv4 settings was a little check box; it said "Enable for all users." So, apparently you can limit specific network connections to specific users. If you don't already know about it, though, it can be a pain in the ass.

Driving Randomness

Thanksgiving just happened. That's a crazy story, but it's not the only interesting story.

Did you ever wonder about parking lots full of Christmas trees? Yeah, neither did I, but I still found out how they get there anyway. It's interesting driving down the street and seeing a caravan of Christmas tree delivery trucks. Unfortunately, the picture is blurry.

Another bit of driving fun always happens when we drive to Philadelphia. Every time, on the side of the road, we see a sign for a Decoy Museum. Now, as you can probably imagine, I have to wonder whether it's a real museum, or... wait for it... just a decoy. I'm tempted to go sometime. I MUST know what's there.

Nah, I don't want to talk about Thanksgiving. Driving stories suffice for now.

OS X Tips - Tagging Contacts in Address Book

I get pretty irritated with adding and removing people from groups in my Address Book all the time. I recently found a way to remedy this situation. Now, maybe this has always been the way users were supposed to use smart lists, but it was new to me.

I like to keep lists of people for emailing for different purposes. For instance, a 'rock climbing' group, and 'bad movie' group, a 'snowboarding' group, and so on. So, what I've done is created smart groups for each of these, and then, in the notes section for each contact, I've added the tags that will trigger addition to the smart group. No more manual management when something changes! Voila!

OK, well, at least I'm excited about it...

To Whom It May Concern

Dear Maryland Drivers,

It's just rain. Get over it and put your feet back on the gas pedals.

Sincerely,

Greg

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.