Car buying tip - 1 (BMWs)

Are you looking to buy, or thinking of buying a BMW in a year or so? If so, there's a small secret; join the BMW Car Club of America; members with over a year's standing get a nice discount that can range between $200 - $1,500 per forums, depending on the car you bought, of course.

But definitely try negotiating for a discount yourself first, before pulling out this card.

Car Review - BMW 335i Convertible (1)

Part (1) of my review of the BMW 335i hard-top convertible:

Disclosure - I liked this car so much, that after test-driving over 50 cars from December - March, I bought one myself. I wanted a build that wasn't commonly available, so had to order one from Germany... which gave me the chance to drive a lot more cars before mine arrived.

So this part of the review is the summary. And the summary is.... its AWESOME!! No ifs, ands or buts. This car is the bomb! To misappropriate a quote from Jeremy Clarkson - its like a sharp Armani suit, but one you can put on all day every day.

Want to spend a very pleasant 10 - 20 minutes? Try building your own 335i Convertible!

Pandora, bookmark songs and artists

Pandora is allowing users to bookmark favorite songs and artists.
Check out profile pages
This is incredibly powerful - not only does it add a lot of value to the users (obviously, and very late in coming), but also in the wealth of data that Pandora can mine.

Earlier, all they had were thunbs-up or thumbs-down marks that a user could give when a song played on a station, thereby helping Pandora's algorithms in refining the station. Now there is a second level of preference available - which songs, among those the user already liked, does he/she like enough to bookmark for the future?

And as an aside, there is also the more plebian opportunity to ask users if they want to buy these songs...

Game Review - Wii Fit

Kosmix now has a Wii Fit at the office. It was interesting, but nowhere near as addictive as the original Wii sports.

Will it help people get fit? My 2 cents on this - Wii Fit will not be for those who go to the gym or work out even thrice a week. You could burn a lot more calories much faster at the gym... and cardio machines today do have some distracting stats displays to satisfy that need.
For those who don't work out regularly, or are busy, lazy, or not near a gym, the Wii Fit can be a good motivator to get some exercise while having fun, and charting performance.

Forecast - look for women aged 35 - 50 to be the primary users.

And finally, a funny video courtesy of Dan Hendricks - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iYBmAVuBns

I'm Steve Wiebe

Tom's hot sauce has dethroned me. Fallen down the corporate ping pong ladder.
Time to stop working and practice day and night!

King of Ping Pong

I've been at the top of the Kosmix Ping Pong ladder for about a month now (with one week where Bruce Wright temporarily dethroned me).
The party is over; Tom Luong, one of the top players, challenged me today.

2nd day of serious workouts

Triceps yesterday; 4 exercises of 4 sets each. Followed by 50 laps (25 round-trip laps) in the 24-hour fitness pool, then the spa, the jacuzzi, the sauna.

The 24-hr fitness pool isn't the cleanest in the world. I took a Zyrtec just to be sure when I was done!

Weights today - biceps

A briskly cool Sunday evening, so instead of trying to swim I started with working out my arms (biceps) today. Light weights with fast reps, little rest between sets.
4 exercises of 4 sets each. Its a good beginning, but I had too much energy left when I finished.

Getting fit

I've let myself go over the last few years, so once again, without the stimulus of a New Year's Resolution, I'm going to try to get fit again. Key methods:
- Table tennis every day (ooh, sounds so soul-crushing)
- Weights 5-6 days/week
- Swimming and other cardio workouts as permitted by my knee

GAme Preview - Gears of War 2!!

Gears of War 2 is coming out soon!! Saw an in-game demo, that looked better than the original game. Cliffy B might suck menthol, but looks like he'll deliver again.

I can't wait!