One Man’s View of the World
Archive for April, 2006
TSX Status
Apr 27th
Tuesday I found out the dealer was getting in on Wednesday a dark gray with gray interior TSX, in a 6-speed. On Tuesday evening Olessia and I checked out the shade of gray and concluded neither of us really liked it (we’d both take the black over the dark gray). So I visisted the dealer on Wednesday and talked to the sales manager (both my sales guys were out that day). He checked the colors I was interested in (blue, silver, white, black) and found only 2 silver cars and 1 black car (all with black interiors). I told him to I’d be interested in the silver. Wednesday evening he told me he was able to get one. Hopefully today I’ll find out when it will be in. It would be awesome if it came in today.
Update: My TSX will be coming in to the dealership on Friday and I can take delivery on Saturday!
Update:
The www.honda.co.uk website is a lot of fun. The Acura TSX doesn’t exist outside of the USA. Outside, its better known as the Honda Accord.
TSX in the near future?
Apr 23rd
The “Teg” is holding up great. The time has come where I could use a 4-door. At the same time, I want something that is reliable, fun, and looks professional. Having some bells and whistles would be great too!
I’ve been keeping a watch on the Acura RSX when it came out. I always wanted one. The RSX replaces the Integra. And I’ve had a TON of fun in my Integra. I’ve driven the RSX (both the base RSX and the RSX-S). Fun cars.
Then one day, I had my Teg in for some work. The dealer loaned me a 2004 Acura TSX. Wow. It looks sharp (inside and out). Its a blast to drive. And its the right size for me. I’ve driven the Acura TL for a week which is also an awesome car, but too big and expensive for me. The TSX on the other hand is just right for me.
The Civic has been another option. The 2006 Civics look sharp too. I’m not sure I’m sold on the front end design. I do like the design of the back end – the lines are very sleek. Comparing numbers, the Civic is about the same size as the TSX (with the TSX being a few inches longer, I believe). The Civic has a handful of bells-and-whistles while the TSX has everything, standard. I’ve also owned a Civic and it was a great car. But I want something different.
So I’ve been keeping an eye on Acura’s website. They have a financing deal going on and it looks like I can take advantage of it. I played with the numbers and they all add up. I put a little bit of money down on Saturday for a 2006 Acura TSX, manual, no navi (as they call it – there’s an optional navigation unit available). The dealer I went to had only one TSX with a manual transmission and it was a black car. Black is ok, as I told the dealer, but I’ve had black cars for the past 8 years would like to try something different. Locating a manual transmission TSX is going to be tougher than I thought. Many dealers only have a few TSXs and the ones they have are mostly automatics. What was nuts is they had the color combo I really wanted, on the show room floor, but the car was an automatic. The automatic is actually really nice. It lets you drive without thinking, or you can micro-manage the shifts. But the manual is really smooth and effortless. It makes driving the car a blast.
So here’s the colors I’m looking for, in order of preference:
The blue and silver cars can have a black or gray interior and my choice is the gray (or “quartz” as they call it). The white and red cars come in black or tan and my choice there would be with the black. I know. I know. Black is hot. It is. But tan makes me sick in my stomach.
The goodies? There’s plenty:
- 2.4L 4 cylinder engine
- 205hp @ 7000 rpms, 164lb torque @ 4500 rpms
- Leather seats, front seats heated
- Power everything, including the seats
- Bluetooth hands free phone (although it may not work with my phone
- 2 auxillary audio jacks (glove compartment and center arm rest) for MP3 players.
- XM radio (which I could care less about)
- Trip computer (finally!)
- Lots of safety – I think there’s about 8 air bags (2 front, 2 back, 2 side, and 2 curtain), traction control + ABS, good crash ratings.
I should find out this week if the dealer can get a car in the colors I’m looking for. If not, no worries. The Teg is still doing great. If I get the TSX, the Teg will go to Olessia and Olessia will sell her Civic (think we found a buyer already).
More >
Powder update
Apr 1st
Powder is back at the vet. He was peeing blood this morning. He hasn’t pee-ed all day and will be staying over night at the vet.
More >
Access to the internet minus T-Mobile’s ‘net plan
Apr 1st
I’ve got a Nokia 6600 phone. Nice phone. T-Mobile has a bare-bones internet plan which gets you out and on the ‘net. Its nice, but there’s a lot of ports being blocked and any app that requires an internet connection fails. T-Mobile has an internet plan, but its Crazy Expensive™ per month. I haven’t been able to find a work around either.
Then the other day it hit me: Persuade the phone to use a dialup connection. Here’s how to do it.
1. You’ll need a phone which can do this. A Nokia 6600 works. I would think other phones can do this too, but maybe not.
2. You’ll need a dialup internet plan. There’s some pretty cheap ones out there. I get mine from the university I go to.
3. Go to Settings -> Connections -> Access Points. We want to add a new access point.
4. Give it a name and specify the data bearer as “data call.” Then enter the dialup number and user name and password. For authentication, I left it as “normal.”
5. When you use your favorite app, tell it to use your new access point you setup.
There are some drawbacks to doing this like it uses your phone connection and ties up your line. But the advantage is you have full ‘net access and all the ports are open.
By using this technique, I was able to use Putty, AgileMessenger, and several J2ME apps which hadn’t worked with the simple t-zones plan.
