this may save me over $400

One gripe I've had about the Garmin StreetPilot c340 since day one is that the screen glares like crazy when the sun hits it, making it almost unreadable. Especially in Florida sun. Now while it's true Garmin has (oh-so conveniently enough) introduced the c5* series which has a "daylight readable screen", I didn't exactly want to spend over 400 bucks just for a screen.

The solution is to get a visor. I found one on eBay that was selling for sixteen bucks. Yes, I know it's way too expensive just for a visor, but when you consider that it's either pony up the sixteen or spend 400+ for a new unit, the sixteen seems like a much better option. :-)

I have no idea whether this will work or not, but I figured it was worth the sixteen to find out. If it does in fact do what it claims (as in "dramatically reduce glare and increase visibility"), then hey, good deal, I won't have to buy a new StreetPilot. And if not, well, I won't cry a river over losing sixteen bucks. :-)

up, up and away

Shot this from inside (obviously) the Continental 737 out of CLE heading back to TPA.

See the video here: Continental flight taking off from CLE (Cleveland Hopkins International Airport)

not exactly 1.21 jigowatts, but brighter nonetheless

1.21 jigowatts.. Great SCOTT!

I changed almost all my bulbs to CFL's in my apartment. After all, there is no need to waste electricity and it can save you a few bucks on the light bill. There were 3-pack sets of Sylvania 15-watt CFL's on sale at K-Mart for ten dollars each. That's a very decent price, so I bought two sets. I was able to change every bulb except for my ceiling fan because it uses one of those itty-bitty bulbs - so I'll be picking up one of those mini bulbs later.

Strangely enough, a 15-watt CFL shines more light than a standard 60-watt incandescent bulb. (I bet you didn't know they were called that, did ya? Read my blog and you learn stuff. Who'da thunk it?) Hopefully they'll last a while.

Tip: If you want to use CFL's that most resemble standard bulb light, get the ones that have a 2700 Kelvin temperature, which is "warm white". Anything above 2700 has a different color, from yellow-ish (3500) to stark white (4100) to really stark white (6400). It doesn't matter what the wattage is; Pay attention to the Kelvin temp.

Funkin' Go-nuts

I stopped to get a coffee at a local Dunkin' Donuts on Busch Boulevard. They still have one of those old-old signs that shows both the old and the current DD logo, so I snapped a pic of it (as you can see here). The coffee I ordered tastes okay.. nothing great.. just okay. DD coffee just isn't what it used to be. I got one more or less thinking it would taste great seeing that I haven't had coffee from there in a long time. I was wrong.

But I will drink it. Cost me almost two bucks!

it'll cost a buck but it's worth it

I've decided to traverse the Sunshine Skyway Bridge today. Cost: A buck (for the toll). I'm leaving now and hopefully traffic won't be too bad.

For those interested in putting this in your GPS, the coordinates are (in decimal longitude/latitude) 27.62222 -82.65703.

seized

I was going to save writing this for later, however I'm writing it now so people stop freaking out about me. No, I am not dead.

[looking at old photo of a school class, speaking to students] They're not that different from you, are they? Same haircuts. Full of hormones, just like you. Invincible, just like you feel. The world is their oyster. They believe they're destined for great things, just like many of you, their eyes are full of hope, just like you. Did they wait until it was too late to make from their lives even one iota of what they were capable? Because, you see gentlemen, these boys are now fertilizing daffodils. But if you listen real close, you can hear them whisper their legacy to you. Go on, lean in. Listen, you hear it? - - Carpe - - hear it? - - Carpe, carpe diem, seize the day boys, make your lives extraordinary.

-Robin Williams as Professor John Keating, Dead Poets Society

I am alive and well for the most part. Physically I'm fine. Emotionally I'm somewhere between elated and going into shock. But I'm fit enough to write on my web site, so I guess that means I'm okay.

Right now I am staying at a hotel somewhere in Florida. I say "somewhere" because I'm not exactly sure what town I'm in. However, I do know where I'll be going tomorrow - and that'll be Tampa. I just got a lease on a very tiny little studio apartment over there. It may be small, but it's mine.

Over the course of the next few days and thereon I will be acclimating myself to the area. So far I like it. Here a palm tree, there a palm tree. I like palm trees. In New England you never get to see those. They're interesting - especially when the wind is blowing through them. They just seem to have a very distinct sound when that happens. Very calming but at the same time a bit on the eerie side - only because I'm not used to it.

I'm elated because I am 100% out of New England. For good. Florida weather is obviously very nice, the people are well tempered, the roads are better and of course there's the aforementioned palm trees. I am happy to be here.

I'm going into shock because I just did the following:

1. Packed everything I own into my truck - by myself.
2. Drove 1500+ (not a misprint) miles from Maine to Florida - solo. That's a two-day trip. I did it in a little over one. Now I know what a truckers do day in and day out. I passed through every state on the East Coast of the USA with the exception of Rhode Island. For those keeping score, that's Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and finally half way through Florida to the town of Tampa. Twelve-and-a-half states. That, dear readers, is one long-ass drive.
3. Grabbed an apartment the day after I arrived in Florida.

...and that's where I am now. Well, tomorrow because that's when I move into my new place. In my next article or two I will post some photos I took and write about the more pleasant parts of the journey. You could say I did a cross-country trip, but "cross" usually means from east to west and vice versa. I went north to south. Regardless of what direction I traveled, I'm fairly certain that no one would argue that I did travel the classic definition of cross-country.

I am also in the in shock mode because I know absolutely no one here. Not a soul. It will be up to me to make do and hash it out as best I can. I am walking the high wire with no net to speak of.

Some people who read this might think I'm crazy. Others might be envious. Maybe your opinion is somewhere in the middle. Maybe not. Maybe you have no opinion at all. I'm not the boss of you.

Regardless of what you may think, over the past few days I have definitely lived. Carpe Diem. I got out there and thensome. Yee-haw indeed.

Now the Big Question: Why did I move to Florida?

The obvious reasons:

• More sunshine (proven, even scientifically, to make one happier and feel more centered)
• Better opportunity (more jobs, more choice of jobs)
• No state income tax (hallelujah)
• No snow (I threw out the ice scraper I had in my truck)

The not-so-obvious reasons:

I thought, incorrectly, that I would be able to start my life over in Maine. Wrong. It was a step backwards. I went from the least known area of CT to an even lesser known area of Maine. It also doesn't help that the entire state shuts down for five months out of the year (November thru April) due to snow and hunting season. I'm not particularly fond of snow and I don't hunt. Double whammy.

I needed to be somewhere that was completely different from where I was, and Florida was it. Maine and Florida are as different as night and day. I wanted to stay on the east coast of the USA and go somewhere that would present me with some more options, and I wanted to do it alone - which I did.

So anyway... tomorrow I focus on moving into my new place, getting the phone turned on, learning the layout of the land and so on. Thanks to my trusty GPS, getting around is easy. I would say that even those without GPS wouldn't have too much of a hard time figuring Tampa out. Everything is laid out in a straightforward pattern. The only thing I consider "shocking" is the 70mph speed limit on I-75. That takes some getting used to.

Once I get used to everything, I'm just going to settle in and take it easy for a while, work work work, pay some bills and so on. I think I've earned it. ;-)