Aren’t you jealous!

It’s Friday afternoon and in a few short hours the masses will be turning off their computers, donning their driving gloves, and heading away from work. Now while the weather in my part of the world might is not currently the best, for those of you blessed with sunny afternoons and a little free time, let me make a suggestion:

Take a detour.

We humans are creatures of habit, and for good reason – it allows us to employ our minds with other tasks while still accomplishing life’s routine. Unfortunately, habit is boring. That’s why I decided to change up my drive and find a different way home. My drive was instantly transformed from mind-numbing (and somewhat dangerous) to relaxing and enjoyable. I wasn’t driving across some intriguing Martian plain or through lush mountain valleys – just good old Georgia back roads, but the result was noticeable. My mind was engaged and I was able to slow down, enjoy the drive, and not battle the drooping eye lids of a days’ work. I also happened to take snapshots while driving (probably not the safest idea, but whatever), so I captured some of Georgia Highway 219 for the gallery. From behind the wheel, of course. Oh, and Google is your friend – try the “avoid highways option,” or drag the route adjustment handle for new ideas. Of course there’s always plain simple experimentation though better suited for those with an innate sense of direction (and perhaps a GPS).

So let me encourage you to shake things up. Take a detour. Try something new. You never know what you might find.

“I heard that they just passed this new law that gives you a like $200 ticket for talking on your cellphone without a hands free device and that they will pull you over if you are more than 3 MPH over the speed limit, instead of 9 MPH.”

This sounded a little fishy to me, but what do I know; I don’t watch the news or read the papers (they’re usually full of the same old BS day after day, it tires me). However, I do believe in perusing the “internets” for my information.

According to Snopes and the Georgia DMV, this (circulating email rumor) is FALSE. The fines have not been increased, etc etc. Oh, and you can be pulled over for 1 MPH over the speed limit, but it has always been like that – it’s up to the officer.

Now get in your car and go do a little speeding – please talk on your celly while doing it, okay?

Read this if you wanna know more about Georgia laws.

I want some new wheels (somewhere in the neighborhood of 18″), a sport suspension (that also drops the car about 2″), tinted windows, clear corners, xenon headlights and projectors, angel eyes, etc etc etc. The window tint I can probably do pretty soon… the wheels, suspension, and lighting upgrades… well that’s another story all together.

Oh and perhaps a supercharger. Maybe I should have looked for an M car instead.

If you were paying close attention, you will notice something rather ironic – I want to lower this vehicle. That would be the exact opposite of what happened to my last vehicle. Of course you must agree that a BMW with 3.5″ of lift would look a little odd.

I’ve also noticed that the sport of BWM modification is a bit pricier than Jeep modification. Oh well… stay tuned. I’ll be doing a writeup on my quick ‘n dirty subwoofer installation soon.

1. Drive within 5-10 mph of surrounding traffic

2. Try to stay in the middle of the pack

3. Find a “rabbit”

4. Do not change lanes frequently, tailgate or otherwise drive aggressively

5. Avoid the fast lane

6. Watch for cut-outs and modulate your speed accordingly

7. Don’t speed when you are the only car on the road

8. If it’s ok legally, get a radar detector

9. If possible, drive a nondescript vehicle

10. Be aware that appearances count

If you would like any further explanations of these tips, check out AOL Auto.

Link (via)

For my birthday (and Christmas, and birthday after that), I bought myself a 1999 BMW 323i (no I’m not spoiled, I’m paying for this one by myself). Of course, the real reason for the purchase is the cost of gas versus the low gas mileage of the Jeep. However, don’t worry – I’m not selling the Jeep! It has found a new (temporary) home at my parents’ house, until I have time to do a little much-needed maintenance.

I’ve had the BMW for a little over a week, and am quite pleased with it so far. I need to do a little maintenance on it, such as changing the oil and fixing a few small details. The performance is nice, the ride smooth, and the fuel consumption quite pleasing (I got 27mpg on the interstate last week, and around 22mpg in town).

As I delve further into this new project, I’ll keep everyone informed.

Full quality download coming soon.