Archives November 2011

Homey sent me some info today on one of my most disliked companies, Sirius/XM.  Evidently they announced a few months back that they plan to raise their monthly subscription rates an additional $2 starting in January 2012.

Of course the idea of paying more for a service that gives me less and less of what I want (Stern content) is not going to go over well. But what really sets my blood boiling is this quote from CEO Mel Karmazin. “Sirius has never increased its base price of $12.95 since its service launched about a decade ago”.  That is pure unadulterated BULLSHIT.

To me, the “rate” is what gets deducted from my credit card each month and that amount has gone up over 50 fcking percent since I signed on with these assholes.  Mel conveniently omits the “music royalty surcharge” that was added a couple years ago along with charging subscribers another fee to listen online, something that used to be included with the $12.95 subscription.

I HATE Sirius.  This has all but cemented the fact that when my annual subscription on my one remaining radio expires I am done with these idiots.

One of the things that kept me pushing my Camaro purchase back were the added geek features that came about with subsequent model years. For example I decided I wanted a 2011 when I found out it came with a HUD (heads up display) and the ability to be remotely managed with your Iphone.  Then the 2012 models were announced with rear back up cameras integrated into the mirror, another reason to wait.

Well back in 2005 they didn’t have all of this cool stuff in most cars, including the SSR.  It’s one of the small compromises I had to make by getting a 6 year old vehicle, or maybe not.

During my research into upgraded radio options for the SSR I realized I can have my cake and eat it too.  I can get one of the cool touch screen units that does it all, cd’s, dvd’s, MP3/Iphone interface, Bluetooth, rear back camera, satellite radio and gps turn by turn navigation.   It would basically geek out my SSR to the level of the Camaro, almost.  I still wouldn’t have HUD but the Camaro doesn’t have an in dash video/nav system either.

Of course all this tech would not come cheap but I am happy to save up my fun money to handle that.  I was also happy to discover that ripping apart the dash to install such a unit is something that should totally be in my wheel house.  It doesn’t seem that bad at all.  I am pretty excited about the possibilities.

I have found SSRFanatic.com is a fantastic resource and filled with very knowledgeable, friendly people that are happy to help.  The forum got me hooked up with a guy that runs the parts department at a Chevy dealer out west that gives SSR owners a break on part costs.  For example a part that I was quoted as costing $50.56 from the local Chevy dealer will only cost me $31 from this place.  A $147 quote from the local dealer was $94 from the same SSR loving source.

I forgot to mention that we had exactly zero Halloweeners this year, just like the 5 or 6 years prior.  Oh well, we’ll keep buying the small bag of candy just in case.  The first few years at our house we had a few kids stop by but for whatever reason it all dried up.

After the short novel yesterday I’d like to keep things simple. Let me first share this video with you as one of the reasons I find Bubba entertaining.

Once again this week Ali will be able to not start her work week till Wednesday, I know she is enjoying the more relaxed schedule.

I really feel like a weight was lifted off my back now that I am no longer having to weigh the pros and cons of buying a new Camaro.  I am 100% satisfied with my “new” wheels which I drove to work for the first time today.

Of course I opted to park up high in the parking garage instead of my normal spot in the lot in front of our building.  Parking in the garage provides protection from the brutal sun as well as decreasing exposure to careless people that don’t give a shit if their door slams into the side of your vehicle.  My Tacoma has a bunch of wounds from such people.

I have now started the process of identifying things I want to do on the SSR.  First up I want to address some of the broken items in the interior like the dash cup holder and ashtray door.

Down the road I have some more ambitious ideas like an upgraded (meaner sounding) exhaust, less restrictive air intake, an in dash navigation system, addressing the pitting on the wheels and maybe some upgraded trim pieces here and there.

My average fuel economy in the SSR since I reset it over the weekend has been 14.7 mpg.  Oh well, I can’t be all green.

I noticed last night that the cleaning people broke the blinds in one of the front windows.  I can’t say I am surprised after watching their technique to clean them.  They take a brush and strum the slats like they are guitar strings, hard.  There is absolutely no caution observed.

I emailed the main cleaning lady and told her about the damage.  A new set of blinds will cost me a few bucks, I didn’t break them, I shouldn’t have to pay for them. Plus I am annoyed that whichever one of them did it, knew they broke the blinds and said nothing to us.

Last night Ali and I watched It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown for like the 30th time.  It still invokes smiles after all of those views.