New Car Part 1

Yes, I have a new car.  Details and photos to follow - it's a 2018 Honda Fit EX.   Am I happy about getting a new car?  Yes.  Am I intimidated by the amount of technology you get in cars now?  Yes.  Am I disappointed that my car doesn't have a CD player, but I shouldn't be since I can just download all my music onto my iPod or iPhone?  Yes.  Do I hate going to a car dealership and dealing with slimy car sales people?  Yes.  Do I think I probably overpaid?  Yes.  Do I think the car buying experience should be more simpler, more straight forward and more transparent?  Yes.  Hopefully I won't have to do this again anytime soon.

Rice Cooker

I bought an automatic rice cooker several months ago, yet still haven't used it once even though I've had plenty of opportunities.  Clearly I'm a creature of habit.  And afraid of change.  Jeez, I'm even starting to sound old.

Monopoly

Another day, another tidbit from the internet.  This concerns Monopoly – a game I’ve apparently been playing incorrectly for 30+ years.  Probably much like the rest of the world.  This is in the official rules:

- According to Monopoly's official rules, when you land on a property space and you choose not to buy it, the property must be auctioned off by the banker, and the other players can bid on it.

I don’t think I’ve ever played it like that.  That makes the game decidedly quicker, and potentially more strategic – and hence more appealing.  Though nothing beats Stratego – the best board game ever.   

Logical

An interesting logical puzzle that wasted way too much of my time at work today:

Imagine that these six words have been written on a chalkboard: cat, dog, has, max, dim, tag. Three students—Albert, Bernard, and Cheryl—receive a piece of paper with a different letter written on it. Each letter is included in the secret word, which is one of the words on the board. The students need to determine, using logic, what the secret word is.

Their teacher asks Albert if he knows the secret word. After looking at his letter, Albert says yes. Bernard takes a moment to think, and then says yes, he also knows the secret word. Cheryl is the last to say yes. Which one is the secret word?

DON’T READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU WANT TO TRY TO WORK IT OUT FOR YOURSELF.















My logic goes as follows (with NO help from the internet – HONEST!):

Albert must have a letter that is unique across the 6 words.  Therefore the magic word CANNOT be tag – which has no unique letters.

The magic word also CANNOT be max.  If it was, then Albert must have had an x, in which case Bernard must have had an m or an a.  But if Bernard had an m, then he wouldn’t know if the magic word was max or dim.  And if Bernard had an a, then he wouldn’t know if the magic word was cat, has or max.  Therefore max cannot be the magic word.

The magic word also CANNOT be dim.  If it was, then Albert must have had an i, in which case Bernard must have had a d or an m.  But if Bernard had a d, then he wouldn’t know whether the magic word was dog or dim.  And if Bernard had an m, then he wouldn’t know if the magic word was max or dim.  Therefore dim cannot be the magic word.

This leaves the potential magic word as either cat, dog or has.

If the magic word was cat, then Albert must have had a c and Bernard must have had a t, in which case Cheryl must have had an a.  If the magic word was has, then Albert must have had an h or s and Bernard must have had an h or s, in which case Cheryl must have had an a.  But if Cheryl had an a, then Cheryl would not know whether the magic word was cat or has.  Therefore, by elimination, the magic word has to be dog.

Car Decisions

My totaled Ford Fiesta was towed today, so I am now officially - but hopefully only temporarily - without a car.  Though I am driving a rental - a Nissan Sentra, which in theory is a compact but which seems more like a mid-size car to me.  Which is why, when it comes to a new car, I think I will go for a sub-compact much like the Fiesta.  But not another Fiesta - because the transmission sucked.  I am remarkably unsure about what budget to give myself for a new car, and which year, make and model to go for - do I even consider a pre-used car, or specifically a certified pre-used car, in the hope of saving a bit of money?  Or do I even consider upgrading to a compact - I have been looking at the Honda Civic, which has remarkably good reviews.  This may be a performance upgrade from a Honda Fit, which is what I have also been looking at and which I think is still my first choice, but I think I prefer the size of a Fit - for example for squeezing into the tight parking spots in the work garage.  But I don't have much time to make a decision - insurance will only pay for 10 days of car rental - so I really need to decide, find, haggle and buy a car this week.  Fun. 

Darts

In an unexpected and welcome development, it seems that there may be at least one Christmas tradition I might not miss out on this year.  I saw a trailer on BBC America for World Darts!  As long as it's the PDC World Championship, and not the far inferior BDO World Championships, then I am happy.  I know that Sky show the PDC, and BBC show the BDO (do they still show it - does the BBC even broadcast any sports any more?  I don't know and I don't care) - but I wouldn't read anything into the fact that BBC America is broadcasting it here - the fact that they advertised it starting in December implies that is the PDC.  Which is great.  Only thing is that if they show it live, then all the matches will be during mornings.  When I'm at work.  And there is a good chance I will be out of town between Christmas and New Year, with no guarantees of staying somewhere with access to BBC America.  So who knows how much I will actually end up watching, but good to know it is being broadcast here.  That is more than can be said about the Ashes currently going on.

Movember

I gave a lot of consideration to not shaving my upper lip this month for Movember.  But I just couldn't bring myself to doing it.  I have spotty facial hair growth at best, and there is no way I would be capable of sculpting a decent looking mustache - and certainly not in combination with a goatee or suchlike.  And although it would be for a good cause, it's a bit too hipster-ish for my tastes.  And I hate hipsters.