Adventures in buying a new car

Background

For a variety of reasons, we decided that we needed another car. And without a whole lot of detailed analysis, we decided that it should be:

• Fuel efficient
• A hatchback, or at least have folding rear seats
• Comfortable to drive on the freeway
• Manual transmission
• Safe
• New

New cowfish

During the move, we discovered that one of the cowfishes (our name for our Panda Cories, which look and act like cows) had crossed over the fish tube without our noticing and died in the new tank.

Worried that our last remaining cowfish would get lonely, we went up to Ocean Aquarium in SF last Sunday to get him some friends - two more panda cories.

They seem to be getting along well. Despite the old cowfish being significantly larger than the new ones, they are herding together. They appear more active at night, when the aquarium lights are off. During they day, they mostly swim slowly around the plant growth, but at night we've seen them going up and down the sides of the glass. They're very cute together!

Moving (again!)

Notes from moving from McFarland to Palo Alto. We got kinda tight on time towards the end, but it worked out. No U-haul van like last time, but also no furniture.

Lessons learned:

1. The G20 has a surprisingly large cargo capacity. 
2. Removing the fish from the tank makes moving them (and the tank) a lot easier. 
3. We get cranky when tired. 
4. Moving takes a long time.

Here's our notes from the process:

Sock experiment

Following on the heels (pun totally intended) of the windshield wiper experiment (which, by the way, indicates no difference between the two brands), I have started a sock experiment. My old socks developed holes in the heels, so I bought new ones:

• 6 pairs of the more expensive Hanes Premium Cushion Low Cut (78% cotton, 20% polyester, 1% natural latex rubber, 1% other fiber)
• 10 pairs of the cheaper Jerzees (a Russell brand) Low Cut (84% cotton, 13% polyester, 1% other fiber). 

The Hanes socks are identifiable by the black "Hanes" lettering (my old socks have red lettering, and the Jerzees are blank.

To remove bias in usage patterns, I will FIFO my clean sock supply (so each sock is worn exactly once between washes) and will randomize them upon queuing. Now we'll see which ones wear out first.

Japan - Tokyo 1

6/27 - 6/29 (Tokyo)

China - Shanghai

6/26 - 6/27: Shanghai

China - Nanjing

6/24 - 6/25: Nanjing and Yangzhou (picture is Shanghai Hongqiao rail station, though)

China - Beijing 2

6/19 - 6/23: Adventures around Beijing

China - Lijiang 2

June 17: Lijiang - (Snow mountain and some towns)
June 18: Travel, mainly.

China - Lijiang 1

June 16: Lijiang (bus and horse rides)

China - Dali

June 15: Dali

China - Kunming 2

June 14: rock forest and tourist traps.

China - Kunming 1

June 13: Kunming city

China - Beijing 1

June 8: Flying ANA to Beijing
June 9-12: Beijing and my grandparents' house