One of my favorite songs!
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Cheap genuine Toyota extended warranty (Extra Care platinum Zero Deductible Warranty)
For my past two Toyotas (Rav4 and Sienna) I bought the extended warranty from Jerry Johnson from Midwest Toyota. This is 100% Toyota factory warranty and good at any Toyota dealers. The price he offered is one of the cheapest I can find and usually way cheaper than local dealers. For example, I bought the 7 yr/100k warranty for Sienna for only $889. The entire process is very smooth too. As reliable as Toyotas' are, IMO it's still worth getting warranty if it's cheap. In fact, one of my Rav4's sensor failed right after 3 years and it'd cost me $350 to fix if I didn't had the warranty.
Jerry's information:
Jerry's information:
Jerry Johnson
Warranty Manager
Midwest Toyota
Midwest Ford
Midwest Superstore
1100 east 30th
Hutchinson, Ks 67502
Phone 800-530-5789
Cell 620-664-8844
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
2014 Subaru Legacy journey begins..
So back on 7/9/2013 I had a car accident on 3M campus. No one was really hurt but my Toyota Rav4 was totaled as a result. So for the next two weeks I've been shopping for a replacement car.
First I was looking at some small sedans because I already have a Toyota Sienna and thought maybe it's time to downgrade to a a smaller commute car. Being just in an accident, my one and only criteria is the car has to be safe, and this includes the relatively new small gap test administrated by Insurance Institute by Highway Safety (http://www.iihs.org/ratings/frontal_test_info.html). I also prefer Japanese and European cars and in the end I tested drove 2013 Honda Civic and 2013 Subaru Impreza Hatchback. Both cars drive well and I especially like Civic since it offers quite a few amenities (blue tooth, backup camera etc) at the base trim level (LX $18300 ish) and is a good $2000 cheaper than Impreza Hatchback.Unfortunately, I felt the backseats on both cars were a bit smaller than what I like, so I started looking for a mid-sized sedan instead.
The choices of mid-sized sedan are simply overwhelming. Looking at small gap test I first ruled out 2013 Toyota Camry. Ruled out 2013 Nissan Altima (serious CVT issues) and 2013 Hyundai Sonata (sensitive steering) after reading user reviews on edmunds.com. In the end I test drove the following: 2013 Honda Accord, 2014 Mazda 6 and 2014 Subaru Legacy.
2013 Honda Accord
This is a really nice car. Looks good and very spacious. The handling is good and ride is smooth when I test drove. The noise is also well controlled. Base trim (LX) comes with many standard features such as bluetooth, backup camera, alloy wheels, dual zone climate control etc and there's really no reason to go higher trim. The cheapest initial price quote I received was $21290 with Honda 0.9% at 36 months financing. Although the price is good I felt with 2014 model due to arrive really soon (a month or so) the price should be better. In addition, I was a bit concerned about reliability because this is the first year Accord with the new CVT transmission. In the end I didn't take the car.
2014 Mazda 6
The best looking car out of the three, drives the best too. The styling is simply gorgeous and interior is very classy. The handling is very good. Ride is a bit firm but not harsh. The standard features on the base trim (Sport) is similar to Accord sans climate control. The backseats are a little smaller than Accord and Legacy. Unfortunately there's very little stock around town in the trim level (Sport) and color (blue) that I want. The lowest price quote I received was $22290 with Mazda 0.9% @ 36 months financing, and it'd take few weeks if I want new delivery.
2014 Subaru Legacy
Living in Minnesota means it's almost a given that Subaru would be one of my choices regardless due to the long winter we have. It's basically the only reasonably priced sedan that has four wheel drive. The current generation of Legacy dates back to 2010 so the styling and interior felt a bit dated compared to Accord and Mazda6. The handling is good and the car feels more substantial than the other two and more 'planted' on the road. Ride quality I'd say is between Mazda6 and Accord. You can definitely feel the road but it's not overly harsh. Legacy is also the most spacious of the three. Standard equipment on the base trim is a bit lacking compared to the other two (no rearview camera for instance). Stepping up to premium trim then it's more comparable (no rearview camera but has power driver seat, weather package etc). Price was about $22500 for premium trim with 0.9% at 48 months financing.
In the end I picked Legacy due to the fact that I can get a premium trim with moonroof package for $23000, a good $3000 below MSRP and quite a bit more features compared to the other two for a bit more money. The fact it comes with 4WD is also handy during winter time. So far I've put 200 miles on it, and with 30/70 city/highway driving I am getting 28 mpg which is much better than the 20 mpg I'd get with my old Rav4. The acceleration obviously is not as good as my old Rav4 v6 but it's adequate. The only real minor complaint that I had now is the CVT droning sound at low speed, but most of the time that's not an issue. Overall it's a good car and I am happy with my purchase.
First I was looking at some small sedans because I already have a Toyota Sienna and thought maybe it's time to downgrade to a a smaller commute car. Being just in an accident, my one and only criteria is the car has to be safe, and this includes the relatively new small gap test administrated by Insurance Institute by Highway Safety (http://www.iihs.org/ratings/frontal_test_info.html). I also prefer Japanese and European cars and in the end I tested drove 2013 Honda Civic and 2013 Subaru Impreza Hatchback. Both cars drive well and I especially like Civic since it offers quite a few amenities (blue tooth, backup camera etc) at the base trim level (LX $18300 ish) and is a good $2000 cheaper than Impreza Hatchback.Unfortunately, I felt the backseats on both cars were a bit smaller than what I like, so I started looking for a mid-sized sedan instead.
The choices of mid-sized sedan are simply overwhelming. Looking at small gap test I first ruled out 2013 Toyota Camry. Ruled out 2013 Nissan Altima (serious CVT issues) and 2013 Hyundai Sonata (sensitive steering) after reading user reviews on edmunds.com. In the end I test drove the following: 2013 Honda Accord, 2014 Mazda 6 and 2014 Subaru Legacy.
2013 Honda Accord
This is a really nice car. Looks good and very spacious. The handling is good and ride is smooth when I test drove. The noise is also well controlled. Base trim (LX) comes with many standard features such as bluetooth, backup camera, alloy wheels, dual zone climate control etc and there's really no reason to go higher trim. The cheapest initial price quote I received was $21290 with Honda 0.9% at 36 months financing. Although the price is good I felt with 2014 model due to arrive really soon (a month or so) the price should be better. In addition, I was a bit concerned about reliability because this is the first year Accord with the new CVT transmission. In the end I didn't take the car.
2014 Mazda 6
The best looking car out of the three, drives the best too. The styling is simply gorgeous and interior is very classy. The handling is very good. Ride is a bit firm but not harsh. The standard features on the base trim (Sport) is similar to Accord sans climate control. The backseats are a little smaller than Accord and Legacy. Unfortunately there's very little stock around town in the trim level (Sport) and color (blue) that I want. The lowest price quote I received was $22290 with Mazda 0.9% @ 36 months financing, and it'd take few weeks if I want new delivery.
2014 Subaru Legacy
Living in Minnesota means it's almost a given that Subaru would be one of my choices regardless due to the long winter we have. It's basically the only reasonably priced sedan that has four wheel drive. The current generation of Legacy dates back to 2010 so the styling and interior felt a bit dated compared to Accord and Mazda6. The handling is good and the car feels more substantial than the other two and more 'planted' on the road. Ride quality I'd say is between Mazda6 and Accord. You can definitely feel the road but it's not overly harsh. Legacy is also the most spacious of the three. Standard equipment on the base trim is a bit lacking compared to the other two (no rearview camera for instance). Stepping up to premium trim then it's more comparable (no rearview camera but has power driver seat, weather package etc). Price was about $22500 for premium trim with 0.9% at 48 months financing.
In the end I picked Legacy due to the fact that I can get a premium trim with moonroof package for $23000, a good $3000 below MSRP and quite a bit more features compared to the other two for a bit more money. The fact it comes with 4WD is also handy during winter time. So far I've put 200 miles on it, and with 30/70 city/highway driving I am getting 28 mpg which is much better than the 20 mpg I'd get with my old Rav4. The acceleration obviously is not as good as my old Rav4 v6 but it's adequate. The only real minor complaint that I had now is the CVT droning sound at low speed, but most of the time that's not an issue. Overall it's a good car and I am happy with my purchase.
Monday, April 1, 2013
Some nice development add-on for Visual studio
Just want to keep a note on some of the add on tools (extensions) I've been using with Visual Studio 2010/2012.
- NuGet - don't think this need explanation..
- GhostDoc - very nice commenting/documentation generation tool
- Productivity power tools - very nice add-on offers many tip and tricks
- Razor Generator + Razor.Template nuget package - excellent way of using Razor template in non-MVC developments.
- NiceVS + Visual Studio 2012 Color Theme Editor - Hate the ugly looks of Visual Studio 2012? These two extensions can make it a lot prettier..
Monday, February 18, 2013
How to fix Directv ipad app cannot find receiver problem.
Over the weekend I had Directv came out to install new service at my house. I got a Genie and a mini client. After installation the receiver and client worked fine, but I had problems with scheduling recording from the web as well as my ipad Directv app not seeing my receiver at all! After some searching on the google I found the follow solution that seemed to work well.
1. Login to directv web site.
2. Go to my account -> my receiver. You should see the Genie or some other receiver listed.
3. Click on the location link and simply change the location to a different one or a different name.
As soon as I did the above steps the receiver showed up on my ipad and I was able to schedule recording on the website.
1. Login to directv web site.
3. Click on the location link and simply change the location to a different one or a different name.
As soon as I did the above steps the receiver showed up on my ipad and I was able to schedule recording on the website.
Friday, February 8, 2013
Canon PowerShot S100 12.1 MP Digital Camera $250 at Amazon.com
Canon PowerShot S100 12.1 MP Digital Camera with 5x Wide-Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Black) $250
Very good price for an excellent compact camera. From what I know the difference between this and the newer model (S110) is minimal.
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Installing Windows 8 on Panasonic Toughbook CF-W8
So I just got a brand new SSD and finished installing Windows 8 Pro 64 bit on my Panasonic Toughbook CF-W8. Win 8 was able to detect and install most things but there are still some steps I had to take to make everything work, mainly sound, hot keys and touch wheel. I mostly followed the instructions here.
We basically need the following files (mostly from CF-XS2 model)
1. Panasonic Misc driver [Link]
2. Hotkey settings utility [Link]
3. Touchpad driver [Link]
4. Wheelpad utility [Link]
5. Hotkey appendix utility [Link]
6. Hotkey driver [Link]
Install files in the following order
1. Misc driver
2. Touchpad driver
3. Wheelpad utility
4. Hotkey driver (you might have to install through device manager).
5. Hotkey appendix utility.
6. Hotkey settings utility.
If after installation the speaker isn't working, take a look at this FAQ by Panasonic [Link].
We basically need the following files (mostly from CF-XS2 model)
1. Panasonic Misc driver [Link]
2. Hotkey settings utility [Link]
3. Touchpad driver [Link]
4. Wheelpad utility [Link]
5. Hotkey appendix utility [Link]
6. Hotkey driver [Link]
Install files in the following order
1. Misc driver
2. Touchpad driver
3. Wheelpad utility
4. Hotkey driver (you might have to install through device manager).
5. Hotkey appendix utility.
6. Hotkey settings utility.
If after installation the speaker isn't working, take a look at this FAQ by Panasonic [Link].
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