HAWAII!

YES! I am finally going!

Idaho's Adventures in La-La Land

My adventures in LA come to a close today. I am a little disappointed at some of the things I missed – the Hollywood sign, the LA nightlife, etc – but I did have a nice 5 mile run on Venice beach.
After the beach, I went straight to a restaurant/bar right next to the beach. I simply wiped the sand off my legs and threw on a shirt. While waiting for my food I met a Hollywood still photographer. He was friendly and invited me to come hang out.
I didn’t post any tantalizing pictures of Venice beach babes, because I didn’t want to be the one pervert on the beach sneaking up to unsuspecting women with my camera phone. Mostly, because the women were not unsuspecting; women eye single guys on the beach walking around like each male who passes could potentially be a rapist.
I did stare at this one woman and her husband more than common courtesy allowed because I thought she looked like Courtney Cox and he looked like David Arquette. Singly, I wouldn’t have made the connection to either one, probably because they were both a little out of shape and didn’t quite have that Hollywood body. But together, I began to wonder if somehow Courtney and David Arquette had simultaneously gone on binge diets. So I approached and asked and they weren’t. Too bad.

To Blog and Die in LA

I am not going to have time to explain the reference in the title because I am blogging with a scant 39 minutes of battery life in my laptop. I am definitely in LA now. I am a little surprised and disappointed because I expected the streets to be filled with beautiful people, but alas, the streets are not teeming with movie star potential.
I am holed up in a hotel in what I suspect is China Town or at least near it. The majority of the hotel staff are Asian and the rest are Hispanic. Fully half of the guests are Asian and speak something other than English. Strange...
Expect the moblogging to continue.

Blogging from the rest stop again

I am at the Donley County rest stop again blogging but this time I printed off directions to my location, Fairfield, California. The quality of the print is low but tolerable for my purposes. Other states should get with the program.

Neat Firefox trick

Here's a reason to download Firefox and dump Internet Explorer: RSS feeds. You can see an example of why Firefox is cool if you try this on a computer with Firefox installed. When you visit my page in Firefox look for the orange icon at the bottom right of the page. Clicking on the icon gives you the option of subscribing to my ATOM or RSS feed. Subscribing to my feed will add the blog to your bookmarks and allow you to browse new posts from your bookmarks folder. Cool huh?
You can also subscribe to my blog manuallyby going to "bookmarks" on the toolbar and clicking "manage bookmarks". Once there, click the "File" menu on the toolbar and select "New Live Bookmark". On the menu that pops up add "my website with this RSS feed url: http://feeds.feedburner.com/WhoIsIdahosaEdokpayi?format=usm.

Site maintenance

When I put in the new blog template, I neglected to put in the RSS and ATOM syndication. (Those of you with news readers know what I am talking about.) I also didn't bother to make sure that permalinks were working. (Permalinks are the permanent links to each blog post. This way users can link individual posts) I have fixed all that. Enjoy the improved interface!

Pretty people in ugly clothes

Just as Awful Plastic Surgery presents many pretty (or not so pretty) people with awful plastic surgery, Go Fug Yourself presents many of the same people in "fugly" clothes. "Fugly" is a slang term meaning "freaking ugly", well perhaps "freaking" is a little milder than the actual word but I am sure you understand. I think it is all hilarious. Check out the section devoted to Britney Spears.

I have a dirty mind

This ad I saw at a blog called the "Gothamist" made me double-take. I admit to keeping my mind in the gutter a significant portion of the day. But what would you think?

I'm Rachel Wacholder

I will Lay Out
For Every Last Ball

What was she thinking

Jennifer Connelly, movie star, recently said something interesting. I thought it was a publicist's job to keep stars from saying things like this:

I do like to read a book while having sex. And talk on the phone. You can get so much done. If the room’s dark enough, I like to do some online shopping

I saw the story at Huffington Post, a website so unerring and boringly elitist and liberal that I feel guilty for even linking to them.
The quote came from here. Maybe it's a hoax or maybe her husband, actor Paul Bettany, is even more embarassed than she is.

Email Forwards

Stuff that people would email to everyone in their address books, I just post on my blog. These videos made me laugh so hard, I snorted embarrassing little snot bubbles up. Ok, maybe I didn't laugh that hard but the videos are hilarious.
Gem Sweater is the first video, an inspired bit of hilarity about tacky clothing set to a beat.
Beat Dazzler is more of the same.

Photos of the Road Trip

I don't aspire to photojournalistic greatness since my photography technique is "fire and forget". Many of these photographs were taken from the Jetta at 70+ mph with the camera held in one hand and haphazardly aimed at items of interest. I like the pictures though and thought you might too. Check them out here.

Texas Rest Stops Are Cool

Rest stops in Texas have Wi Fi. How cool is that? The last picture in the mobolog is actually the rest stop I am posting from now.
I just drove 400+ miles I think I should go crash. (I meant sleep; not actually crashing my car!)

Double Secret Blog

There is a poster at Huffintgon Post who has a secret blog. He says everything I think about Huffington Post (admittedly I don't read it much). The delicious part about the whole thing is that he works for Huffington Post! I am sorry, I just love it when employees dish about their bosses.

Lend a Hand?

Liberal interest groups complain volubly about the war in Iraq but conveniently ignore the things they could do to help the people of Iraq. Why aren't more feminists talking about women's rights in Iraq? Why isn't the ACLU helping support an independent Iraqi judiciary? Why don't we hear more about humanitarian groups sending their support?
I know it is dangerous - I was there. But you don't have to be there to help. Many American troops would be glad to do certain tasks and there are surprisingly many relatively safe areas that humanitarian groups could work from. Put your money wear your mouth is.
Christopher Hitchens had this idea first and argues more effectively than I have in an article at Slate.com.

Female Army Captains win Beauty pageants

Two female Army captains won the Mrs. Texas International and Mrs. Virginia America pageants. And they said that all the pretty girls joined the Air Force.
http://www4.army.mil/ocpa/print.php?story_id_key=7696

Burn! Hollywood Burn!

There are certain people who are worried about Hollywood being in a "Death Spiral". Do I think that Hollywood is in danger? Yes. Am I worried? (Insert R rated expletive here) No! Nothing would make me happier than Hollywood crashing and burning like the Hindenburg blimp. In fact, I think we should help it along. The article in Slate outlines the problem and a few possible solutions or stop gaps to keep Hollywood's aging business model on life support. I would like to outline a possible sabotage tactic.
The danger Hollywood is in is self-imposed. First-run movies are in trouble because DVD's are sold so soon after the movie premieres. Hollywood used to have a 6 month moratorium on video sales after a movie premiered. DVD's and specifically children's DVD's changed that. Now studios often target peak retail periods by releasing movies to the home video market as soon as 3 months after a box officer premiere, robbing the box office of vital dollars. The studio makes more money overall but at the expense of their movie distribution departments and the major movie theater chains. The major movie studios cannibalized the box office market for a quick buck. Now the major studios fear that their treasured box office is in jeopardy. WHO CARES!
I think a small but determined group of movie-goers could push the situation over the brink with one simple rule: Never see a movie in the first week. Studios depend on huge blockblusters with ridiculously profitable opening days to make money. I don't have specific numbers but I am willing to venture that 50% of a movie's box office gross comes in the first week and much of that in the first day. If the studios were denied that initial influx of profit they would likely panic. Movie-goers could continue all their usual purchasing habits and the studio executives would still stagger out of their high-rise offices in consternation.
The fear in major studios circles is that the demise of the box office would damage marketing and promotion. Studios believe that even the home video market is dependent on the box office to promote the DVD's they sell. I think anything that undermines the movie industry as it stands now is a healthy thing. I for one am already standing breathlessly, waiting in line for the next "Austin Powers" sequel and I think that the executive who greenlighted the project "Dude, Seriously Where is my Car" deserves recognition for his daring and genius.
I just need to come up with a way to spread my idea. I have ideas though...
Here is the first part of the article about the "Hollywood Death Spiral" and here is Part 2.

Check out my car!

This is my car!

Guerilla War Negotiation Tactics Guide to Buying a Used Car

I recently bought a used car and I want to gloat about the great deal I got. I also want to share some of the techniques I used to get that great deal. I want to note two things before I begin: I would never buy a new car. New cars are terrible investments because of the immediate depreciation. I hate owning something that isn't worth what I am paying. New cars do have a slight reliability advantage (warranty) and come with that new car smell. Someday when I have too much money to care if I waste a little I'll start buying new cars. Most likely, I'll be too old to enjoy my purchase, and will be buying tiny red sports cars to boost my sagging ego. Second, I would never buy a car outright with cash because if I had that much money to spend, it would probably be best spent elsewhere. (A down payment on a house for instance)

1. Plan your Attack: Those of you who read this blog know that I recently returned from Iraq. The austere living conditions allowed me plenty of time to think and I was able to spend this time thinking about what I would do when I returned. I used the extra money I was earning at the time to pay of some old credit card bills I accrued in college and I managed to save up a little money. I even loaned my brother some money to pay tuition at college. (I am not however an angel, I spent the majority of the rest of the money on DVD's, XBox games, and expensive designer clothes. A shout out to my favorite online retailers Amazon, Bluefly, Levis, The Gap, and Figleaves. I should own stock in those companies considering how much I have meant to their bottom line.) Having good (well ok, fair) credit and a large down payment widen your options and allow you to operate from a position of strength.
2. Decide what you want: It is helpful to know what one is looking for in a car in terms of performance, gas mileage, price, mileage, etc before arriving at the dealership. One can quickly eliminate most of the cars on the lot and concentrate on just the ones you want. It is even more helpful to have a make and model already picked out. Even if you don't purchase the Porsche 911 you had your heart set on, the dealer can still get you a sweet deal on a car just like it since he has a good idea of what you like.
3. Take advantage of the kindness of strangers: Dealers offer various enticements to get you into the dealership. Take everything you can. I am not sure how eating free pizza or bumming a ride from employees of the dealership helped me buy a car but I had fun doing it.
4. Have no loyalty: If you have an existing relationship with lenders or dealers by all means take advantage, but you shouldn't hesitate to bolt if you can find a better deal.
5. Arrange financing beforehand: I lucked out on this one (because I didn't do it!) but knowing where the money is being borrowed from is an important part of negotiating from a position of strength.
6. Realize that your smiling salesman/saleswoman is probably a scumbag: If you trust the dealer and his sales staff too much they will take advantage. They have to. Sales personnel only make money when you buy a car and will do everything they can to sell you one. Dealerships are looking to maximize profits on every car sold and have no qualms about making a buck off of an unsuspecting customer. Besides, you should be intensely suspicious of someone who is always smiling. Especially, if his smile reminds you of a shark.
7. Do research: I got an assist on my brother on this one, but doing research will give you a definite leg up in negotiations since the dealer will have more difficulty swindling you of your hard earned money with bogus claims about the lemon sitting in his lot. The internet is critical for this since it is a large repository of impartial (ok maybe not impartial but at least you didn't get it from the dealer) observations about cars. You will want to compare prices for vehicles with similar mileage and age.
8. Take a friend or at least a cell phone: It is great to have a friend to play devil's advocate. When negotiating stop at intervals to go confer with your friend. Even if you are just discussing baseball, the sales personnel will get nervous and feel pressured to sweeten the deal. Your friend can interject at inopportune moments with comments like "I saw that car for a grand less at the dealership next door. I think we should leave." What can be even more effective is bringing a cell phone along. When negotiating terms for purchasing my car, I would call my brother up to confirm details the salesman gave me and compare prices. I even had him pay for a twenty-five dollar membership at Carfax.com so I could check the history of a car I was considering. The salesman actually thought I was talking to another dealership when I would call him to compare prices; I should have let him continue to think that.
9. Comparison shop: Once you zero in on the car you want, you will want to know if you can get a better deal elsewhere. There will almost always be a car with a lower price somewhere else. You can try this gambit: Choose the cheapest car you you can find within 25 mi. Of your zipcode on Autotrader.com. There will most likely be car several thousand dollars cheaper than the one you are looking at. This car will most likely be a lemon. That is fine. You can still use it as leverage during negotiations. The dealer most likely will suspect that the car is a lemon too and try to dissuade you from considering the cheaper car on these grounds. Make a show of checking out the car (Carfax.com!) and reporting that there is nothing wrong with it. Remember that just because you check a car on Carfax doesn't mean it can't be a lemon. Cars often have serious problems that go unreported. (A friend told me that one important thing to check for is rust. Have the dealer raise the bottom of the car so you can inspect the underbelly for rust). If the cheaper car is not a lemon and the dealer is reputable you can always save time by just buying the cheaper car. Or if you are a sadist like me and like to see grown men and women squirm you can wait around longer and continue negotiations. The object of any negotiations with a dealer should be to find the lowest price he can sell to you for. Your offers should be realistic but low enough to force a favorable compromise. Start with the price of your lemon or a random lowball offer and work up slowly. Ignore the sales personnel's petty tricks; my sales man tried to sneak a higher offer by me by offering a proposed deal that included monthly payments but omitted the most important detail - the overall price.
10. Be unconventional: Dealers resort to cheap theatrics all the time. Do not be afraid to use some of your own. I walked off the lot during negotiations no less than three times. I yakked on my cell phone to my brother about car prices in full view of the sales staff. I used a car with bald tires, a beat up paint job, and a rusted underbelly to force them to lower their asking price. I had fun doing it too.
11. Be ruthless: Negotiating to buy a car is like negotiating a peace treaty with the North Koreans. Neither side really trusts the other and has good reasons not to. You shouldn't feel bad about hardball negotiating tactics as long as you do not do anything overtly dishonest or illegal. The dealer is doing the same thing you are. All is fair and love and war; guerilla warfare and used car negotiaions are the worst.
12. Have fun: If I thought I could get away with it, I would sell the Jetta and buy a new car everyday. Just don't start gloating until you leave the parking lot. Car dealerships look askance at people doing victory dances in the back of someone else's pickup truck.

Have leave form will travel

I can't say with absolute certainty due to security restrictions on military space available travel but I am going to be sitting on a beach in Hawaii very soon.

MoBlogging!

I am a moblogger now! There might be a SNAFU with the picture, but I do have a camera phone from which I can post pictures.