New Car Update: Mitsubishi Galants, Old and New

I'm beginning month four with my new (okay, slightly used) red Mitsubishi Galant (named "Rusty").  It is slowly transitioning from my "new car" to just "my car."  That doesn't mean that I have the proper position figured out in the garage yet. I still occasionally have to start it up again, and skooch it up, so that the garage door doesn't wreck the back bumper.  I drove a Jeep Wrangler for nine years, after all, and it was significantly shorter in length than this car.

Anyway, my car is still new enough that I look for others like it when driving around. This is a fruitless endeavor, most days, as the Galant was not a huge seller.  And more often than not, I spy an edition that predates the redesign that my 2009 version got.  Each time I see one of the earlier Galants, I try to see the differences, to see what exact changes were made.  But doing so in traffic can lead to some unfortunate changes to my car, so I try not to get carried away.

Today while going shopping at Target, I happened to park right beside the earlier version (2004-2006).  So I got to take a good look, and boy did they improve my version.  That nose thing that Mitsubishi tried to make a "family look" on their vehicles in the early 2000s was a mistake.  Who were they trying to ape?  Oldsmobile? Pontiac? Saturn?  All dead.  So, while if I were the designer, I would've done something with the old-school headlamps, I for sure would have tweaked the grille. Good move. The lines of the hood are better too.  Still, it would have been way cooler for them to put the Lancer nose on this one.

In the rear, things are drastically improved. The rear window is bigger, the butt looks trimmer, and the taillights are much more modern.  Not that it matters, I suppose, since Mitsubishi Galants seem to sell about as well as. . .Oldsmobiles, Pontiacs and Saturns.  Oh well. I do like driving a car that doesn't have millions of twins out there.  And in case you're wondering, I still really, really like it.

Calvin Klein Offering "Help" to Inadequate Guys

Image from source, The New York Observer

Oh, come on! Isn't this a case of false advertising? Kind of like a male falsie? A flattering cut, I get, but extra cushion "down there?" Hey guys, if the jeans work, and you manage to snag a hottie with your new pants, you're likely gonna have to come clean at some point, right?

[Excerpt]

Something Is Getting Between Him and His Calvins

Size matters. But if you don’t have it, just trick people into thinking you do with a little cleverly constructed fabric. That’s the promise of the new Body by Calvin Klein Jeans—retail price, $79.50—with their “body-defining fit for an enhanced profile.” With some padded-fly trickery, Body Jeans presumably gives guys the optical illusion of more horsepower underneath their hood. . .

Read more at: The New York Observer

Cool Stuff: See-through Concrete!

Image from source

It's not quite the "transparent aluminum" Scotty talked about in Star Trek IV, but you've got to admit, this is pretty cool! I get to see a wide variety of unusual, custom materials in the sign industry, but nothing quite like this.

[Excerpt]

See-Through, Light-Transmitting … Concrete?!

Concrete has a sometimes-bad reputation as a harsh, rigid, cold-to-the-touch and straight-edged material. Litracon is doing a great deal to change that image of concrete through a score of creative and sustainable applications for their patented light-transmitting concrete. . .

Found at: Asylum

Looking for Cool Widgets for Blogger

This site doesn't yet get many comments, or emails to the editor, though I'm happy to say we do get lots of visits. But after nearly six months of blogging, I'm growing a little bored with my layout, and thought I'd try to get readers to suggest possible changes.

Being on Blogger, my choices are a little more limited than in some of the expensive blogging programs. But I've visited a few other blogspot addresses, and have seen some cool widgets and layouts and features that I have no idea how to implement.

Of course, I know how to work the Google, and have managed to find a few easy add-ons. I have a little Sudoku puzzle for The Other Half, a famous quotes widget too, and of course the Backwards Bush Countdown. But those were easy breezy.

What I'm looking for is less bells-and-whistles, and more user-friendly. I'd like to have a "most popular posts" widget. I'd like my "previous posts" list to be scrollable, so that it doesn't take up too much room. And I'd like my template to retain a "newspaper" feel, but have a little more oomph.

So, if you've found this site and have any ideas, drop me a line at editor@greenleegazette.com or just leave a comment to this post. I'd really appreciate it! I have the week of Christmas off, and am going to try to implement some design changes then. Thanks, all!

UPDATE: If you've found this post while looking for widgets, the ones in my sidebar should have links in them that allow you to add them to your blog with just a couple of clicks.