How I Stopped Buying A Lot of Crap I Didn't Need.

Another subject that interests me greatly is personal finance, and today I was reading the following article on The Motley Fool:

http://www.fool.com/personal-finance/saving/2009/05/29/are-you-a-compulsive-shopper.aspx

Basically it was about compulsive shopping. It was a gag quiz with suggestions at the end on how to curb unnecessary spending. The one suggestion that really stood out for me was the last one about "Thinking Lazy". It said that before you buy something think about the fact the you have to clean, store, or set-up whatever you buy. May I also add that you know what you have, and usually like it, and you don't know what you're going to get. I starting thinking like this a few years ago and its really helped me to save money.

First, I used to be a sucker for nicknack souvenirs when I would travel. I always felt like I had to come home with something to remember the trip. Secondly, I would constantly be buying new cameras and electronics. I enjoyed buying these things because I liked getting something new, taking it out of the box, and trying out all its features. Usually I'd sell my old stuff on eBay and justify the new purchase by subtracting the cash I made on eBay from the new items price. I'd be excited about it for a few days then start to regret what I had gotten rid of. (I still wish I hadn't sold my Fuji F31fd on eBay). This went on for a while and I was definitely spending money I did not have.

Then when I moved out of my parents' house I decided that I wanted less clutter in my life. I threw away a lot of little nicknacks, and now when I travel I only bring home a magnet and my digital photos as souvenirs. I'm saving money, but I also have a lot less stuff to dust and take care of this way.

It took me a while longer to stop buying new electronics and cameras though. In the year 2007 I went through almost 10 point and shoot cameras. I was paying a mortgage I could barely afford and was working 3 jobs, but I still continued to buy new electronics. I don't know what changed my mind about the whole thing. I think I just got sick of having credit card debt, but I've also learned that every time I replace something I have to learn its foibles and quirks. Now I try to hold onto my electronics a lot longer. I've had my little Canon SD850 IS for over a year now, and my Olympus E-510 for a year and a half. (This may not sound like much, but that's a long time for me). The last camera I bought was the Panasonic LX3. I waited until I had the money before I bought it though. I've learned to appreciate the Canon and Olympus for what they do, and was glad I waited to buy the Panasonic.

I'm almost out of credit card debt now, and was even able to pass up a great deal on the Fuji F100fd. (If the price gets much lower though I think I may do it...wink, wink).

Slight Change of Schedule

OK, so initially my blog was going to be about all things automotive, photography, with a bit of ranting thrown in for good measure. Sounded like a plan, but I've found those subjects limiting. So it's still going to be focused on cars and cameras with a little bit of some other subjects thrown in for good measure. Besides, I don't want to become a habitual complainer.

S/A/M - Canon, What's Going on with the A-Series?

Except for the discontinued, and hard to find, Canon A590 IS, the new Canon A-Series digital cameras have become nothing more than a cheap point and shoot. Not long ago all of Canon's A-Series digital cameras (except the very cheapest models) had full manual controls. Now they only have a program mode. Moreover, lens are of lower quality, optical viewfinders are being ditched for bigger screens, and the nice little grips they used to have are gone. For instance, the A720 IS I bought a friend for Christmas in 2007 has been replaced by the A2000 IS. The A720 IS had manual controls, an optical viewfinder, and an f2.8-4.8 lens. The A2000 IS, however, has no manual controls, no viewfinder (it does has a bigger, better screen though), and an f3.2-5.9 lens. That doesn't sound like progress to me.

When I got my first real digital camera it was an Olympus C4000 and it had all the manual modes and I never used them. Then I got a Canon a620 and never used its manual controls. Only after I replaced the Canon, and spend countless hours pouring over reviews and digital camera books, did I realized how great manual controls are. I use shutter priority mode a lot and there is nothing like being able to fine tune the shutter speed.

So I find it depressing that the A-Series, which was once the photographer on a budget's best friend, are losing the features that made them special. Sure Canon has other point and shoot models with manual controls, the G-Series and the super zooms, but the A-Series was a truly affordable line, and it's sad to see the direction Canon is taking with them.

Goodbye Pontiac.

It's official GM has killed Pontiac.

I'll be sad to see it go especially since they started selling the great G8, but let's face it, it had to be done. Pontiac has been a mess for sometime now, expect for the G8, the last Pontiac model I had any desire to own was the '88 through '03 Grand Prix. They were not wonderfully assembled, or made from premium materials, but they certainly performed well and had plenty of style.

Unfortunately, until very recently, Pontiac went crazy with body cladding and offered no real performance credentials over other GM vehicles that Pontiacs were based on. Then they created the LeMans compact, TranSport, Aztek (ugh), Montana, G5, and Torrent, these cars were hardy driving excitement. Let's not forget the Toyota in Pontiac drag, the Vibe. The first generation was a fine vehicle, but then Toyota softened the Matrix, so the Vibe got softened as well.

They've been trying to get back on track. The G6 was a nice looking replacement for the GrandAm but lacks refinement and a quality interior. The Solstice is a beautiful roadster, that performs well, especially in GXP guise, but has an inexcusably fussy top and no trunk space. The now retired Australian sourced GTO was a performance bargain but looked tame.

Finally it seemed they have a home-run in the G8. The Holden sourced G8 is a great car for Pontiac. It's got great power and handling in GT and GXP forms, handsome sheet-metal, a no nonsense interior crafted of fine materials, and a reasonable sticker price. The introduction however came at a time of high gas prices, and a weak dollar, so GM didn't spend much money marketing the car and not many knew it existed. Now, unfortunately, GM does not have the time or the resources to continue to provide Pontiac with G8 caliber cars, so GM's driving excitement division has to be shuttered.

I wish I had the cash to buy a G8 GXP (I'll take mine in blue thanks, with a stick), but like a lot of Americans today I can't live outside my means anymore. So goodbye sweet G8, we hardly knew thee!

Sony's Love of the Proprietary

I was reading an article today on C|Net that discussed The Five Most Pointless Sony Products Ever and it got me thinking about how Sony can't just go with the flow and seems to like proprietary formats. I find Memory Stick to be especially annoying. Except for Olympus, who chose to create the xD cards with Toshiba and Fuji, every other modern digital camera uses SD cards, or on the SLRs, Compact Flash. Nikon, Canon, Panasonic, Kodak, Samsung, and Pentax all use SD or Compact Flash. Even Fuji, who used to support only xD, has recently been making cameras with a combination xD/SD slot.

So, come on Sony, I'm sure you could make a combination SD/Memory Stick slot on your cameras so that people can buy the cheaper and more widely available SD cards. It might actually help your cause as more people would be willing to buy Sony cameras if they work with their existing memory instead of having to buy Memory Sticks.

Turn Signals Still Come Standard on Cars! Right?

Time for another driving rant!

Did turn signals start to become optional on cars? I know my vehicles came standard with them, but I refuse to believe that so few people are not using them by choice.

It seems that at least half of the people I encounter on the road don't signal, or signal ineffectivly. People who don't signal at all are annoying because it would be nice to know why you are slowing down all of a sudden, if you're intending to come in front of me on the highway, and to let others know what your intentions are on the road. Then you have those who signal so briefly you don't even really notice, and those who signal after they've moved, or signal immediately before a turn.

I'm not 100% turn signal infallible myself, but I try to signal well before a change of direction. This is not hard to do people.

I'm just glad that brake lights are automatic, because if we had to rely on others to push a button to indicate that they are braking we'd be in A LOT of trouble!

Anyone have turn signal stories they'd like to share? What other things drive you crazy on the road?

Scenes From a NY Auto Show - 2009

The last couple of years I've gone to the NY Auto Show. Every year I look forward to it, and every year I'm a little disappointed. Not because the cars are not great, but because there are so many people there. I feel so squished, and people never get out of the cars! Can you please move along after a couple of minutes. Some people even turn on the stereos and sit there and blast the music. The Auto Show that is held at the local community college is much better. There are hardly any concept cars there, but I can usually get up close and personal with the vehicles. They even had a Nissan GT-R at the local show that nobody seemed to notice, and I was able to sit inside! Hello people!

Moving on, these were the cars that stood out for me at the NY Auto Show this year (I'm not going to go into specs too much, these are just the cars that looked good and show promise):

1) Kia Forte Koup: The Kia Forte is Kia's answer to the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla. The Forte coupe, in particular, is a very attractive car, has good specs., and a long list of standard features. Kia is definitely an up and coming manufacturer, and I would not be hesitant to buy a Kia if I were in the market for a new car, and one of them fit my needs. Keep it up Kia.

2) Chevrolet Volt: There has bee a lot of hype built up around this car, and finally seeing it in person it is very impressive looking. The shape and detailing are nice, and the interior looks very futuristic. The price is supposed to be a little dear, but the fact that you can drive 40 miles without gas is great, many people's commutes are less than 40 miles. So theoretically, you could drive the car to work everyday and hardly ever need to engage the engine.

3) Chevrolet Cruze: The Cobalt was supposed to be a game changer for Chevy, but it wasn't. Once again I got my hopes up and was disappointed by the results. The upcoming Chevy Cruze has a very upscale shape, with tight construction and nice detailing, on both the the interior and exterior. The 1.4L turbo charged engine shows promise as both a competitively powerful engine that is also fuel efficient. Here's hoping this time it will be different.

4) Buick LaCrosse: Who knows what Buick's future will be. What I do know is that the new LaCrosse is a seriously good looking car, and promises to be a huge step up from the previous model.

5) Ford Taurus / SHO: Taurus ho! I'm not going to pretend that I don't love the Taurus. My grandmother owned an '88, '97, and '02 and I loved them all, but I could tell that the car was loosing its edge with each new model. The '88 had lots of thoughtful features and was thoroughly competitive in it's day. The '97, to my eyes, had a great shape and tried to be different, but major cost cutting after the initial '96 model let to a cheap interior and no improvements year over year. The '02 was a good value, but was a step down from previous models.

The last model Taurus was a renaming of the Five Hundred, and while the 2010 Taurus is a heavy revision of that model it looks to be a winner. The styling is much better, and the interior shows great improvement. Even the rear end of the car, which looked questionable in photos, looks great in person. Finally, the SHO is back. Granted it doesn't have a stick, but I hope that it will be a serious performance halo car.

6) Nissan Cube: I'm glad that the Japanese manufacturers are starting to bring over more Japanese market vehicles. The new Cube is cool looking, and the interior shows some amazing design detail. I especially love the ripples in the roof that surround the dome light, mimicking a stone dropped into a pool of water.

7) Audi R8 V10: The picture should say it all. (drooling)

One last note. I recently purchased a Panasonic Lumix LX3 and it was an awesome camera for the auto show with it's 24mm lens and image stabilizer.