Checking the weekly adverts, which are readily available at each store’s Web site, seems to offer some insight. Circuit City and Best Buy both claimed stock with per-store minimums. Target and Wal-Mart did not. Funny how that works, eh?

The SlickDeals PS3 & Wii Availability Forum offered up plenty of helpful information during my search, but I didn’t find any of the plethora of “trackers” to be very useful.

2006 marked my third year in attendance at DragonCon. Here’s a few of the highlights from my experience.

• I finally made it to “Drawing Anime 101″ this year, which I managed to miss in years past. This year’s rendition of the recurring panel was headed by Kittyhawk, artist and webmaster behind the anime-styled webcomic Sparkling Generation Valkyrie Yuuki. The panel ran a bit long at three hours and it was less structured than I had hoped, but our hostess quickly proved her competence and offered a bunch of useful tips. Much of the advice offered on the panel would likely have proven useful to artists in other genres as well.

• While this year’s ART track had a plethora of interesting panels, I was only able to fit one into my schedule. “How I Learned to Stop Pirating Software and Love the GIMP” took an insightful look at the free software options available to aspiring digital artists. In a space largely dominated by pricey commercial offerings, capable free software like the GIMP and Scribus deserve due consideration. Now, if only they could help me understand the GIMP’s UI…

• Dean Haglund of the X-Files and Stargate’s Gary Jones returned this year for encore performance of their excellent improv comedy routine. Donning the mantles of Spock and Kirk, respectively, the duo put on a highly entertaining parody of the original Star Trek in this year’s panel, appropriately dubbed “An Improv Enterprise.” With audience members providing cues, Dean and Gary filled in the rest for one hilarious hour.

• “Mythbusting for Fun and Profit” was one of many panels featuring personalities associated with one TV show or another. Mythbusters host Tory Belleci did an admirable job of entertaining the crowd despite the absence of fellow hosts Kari Byron and Grant Imahara who were also scheduled to attend. Between tales of wild pyrotechnics and a fake IMDB biography, it was a thoroughly enjoyable way to spend the hour and a nice introduction to the show.

Titus, who also joined me for the convention, has posted his own thorough set of synopses for Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.

A month a half ago, I drove home with my first new car ever; it was a Volkswagen GTI. I wanted to share my impressions of all the vehicles I looked at and, hopefully, offer some insight to other new buyers through my own experience. The process started late last year when I received my first lesson on driving stick shift from my uncle and culminated in me driving home my GTI over the Memorial Day weekend.

What I was looking for…

My last vehicle was a third-generation (1987) Toyota Supra, which stands as a pure 80’s Japanese sports car and favorite among modding enthusiasts. Personally, I never went farther toward “pimping” my ride than tinting the windows, but I appreciated the car all the same. In some sense, the Supra was my starting point. I wanted something with the same basic elements that made the Supra great, but with the added benefit of some 20 years of technological innovation. With that in mind, I evaluated the Mazda 3, Subaru WRX, Scion tC, Mini Cooper S, and even the Porsche Boxster before deciding on the GTI.

Why I chose the manual…

During the process, I frequently had to explain why I wanted to go with a manual transmission car, so I might as well do it again here. It was mainly a fun-factor motivation. I had never driven a stick and it seemed like fun. Riding in a car always seems more exciting when the driver is doing more. Then, there’s the long-time association between sports cars and the manual transmission. I wanted a sports car so adding the manual to the equation was just moving me further down that path. I also looked at the learning experience as a challenge; another one of life’s checkboxes to mark off. I wanted to prove to myself that I could operate a clutch proficiently. So I took the plunge and bought my first new car with my first manual transmission.

Test-drive: Mazda 3

The Mazda 3 was my first tester. I was primarily interested in the 5-door hatchback, rather than the more popular 4-door sedan. The 3 presents itself as a nicely equipped and priced car that didn’t compromise on the sporting nature exuded by Mazda, in general.

In my driving, the car felt surprisingly powerful considering its 160HP rating and the automatic was pleasantly smooth and responsive. Handling and braking were also quite satisfactory. I also found myself liking Mazda’s interior aesthetics and I felt like the overall package was well-constructed. While the 3 certainly left a positive impression, it failed to stand out in any particular aspect, which ultimately kept it out of the running.

Test-drive: Subaru WRX

My second driver was the Subaru WRX. I actually drove a 2004 automatic and a 2006 manual, both in wagon trim, before giving up on the ‘rex altogether. Going into the process, I felt like the WRX was a sure favorite. On paper, it offered a track record of superior reliability, gobs of power, and the sporty demeanor I was after. Somehow, the real thing failed to live up to expectations.

The automatic immediately left a negative impression with its power delivery characteristics. I had heard of the term “turbo lag,” but I never truly understood what it meant until I drove the WRX. From a full stop, the WRX felt like it just dead until the turbo spooled up, which is a long enough time lapse to be quite noticeable. When the turbo does kick in, the boost is pretty ferocious, but just couldn’t get over the jarring transition during normal driving. When I tried the manual, the effect of the turbo wasn’t nearly as noticeable. I found this to be true when comparing the 6-speed and DSG on the GTI, as well.

Even disregarding the turbo lag, the WRX just didn’t impress me. I went into the Subaru dealership expecting the world from this car and it just didn’t live up to those expectations. Still, I’ll freely admit that a rather short test drive and my horrible bumbling with the clutch at this point in the process may have colored my impressions of the car.

Test-drive: Porsche Boxster

I decided to take a look at the Boxster after hearing rumors of pristine used models rolling into dealerships at asking prices well within my price range. took a look at Boxster mainly on recommendation from my parents. I soon found the prospect of owning a car that would normally be well out of reach (when new) too much to resist. I located a 2001 Boxster with Tiptronic at a nearby dealer and took it for a test drive.

The Boxster provided a positive impression in every aspect save interior space, where I ultimately felt like I would be uncomfortable using the Boxster as a daily driver. (Taller drivers, take note, I stand at about 6′4″, so adjust for your height accordingly.) The tiptronic was functional, but it didn’t prove to be as engaging an alternative to the manual as I had hoped. I found this to be true of the DSG on the GTI, as well.

The Boxster was also by far the most expensive car to insure of all the vehicles I looked at. It’s not surprising, but insurance is something of a hidden cost that needs to be considered. While a used Boxster can be had for about the same amount as the other cars I looked it, it could easily prove to be much costlier to insure and maintain.

Interlude: The 2006 AJC Auto Show

The 2006 AJC International Auto Show arrived roughly in the middle of my car shopping experience. Since my first auto show experience, I’ve felt they provide an excellent opportunity to take in the entire gamut of vehicles on the market with minimal interference from sales figures. A large scale auto show will have nearly all the manufacturers in attendance and almost every car is open to sit in and become intimately acquainted with the interior. About the only thing you can’t do at a car show is actually drive the cars.

I would advise anyone in the market for a new vehicle to attend a show if it’s reasonably convenient. You can easily expand or limit your search based on a good car show experience. I added the tC, Cooper S, and GTI to my list largely based on seeing these cars up close at this year’s AJC show.

Test-drive: Scion tC

As mentioned above, I added the Scion to my list after seeing it at the auto show. It was not initially on my list because I felt like it wasn’t as sporty as what I wanted. Unfortunately, my initial impressions of the tC stayed with me right through the test drive.

Power delivery was reasonable, though not exceptional, but I found the brakes lacking the confidence to match to match the engine’s output. The aesthetics of the Scion are probably the car’s strongest point. The interior is very well equipped for the money, with a premium stereo system and various electronic goodies. Ultimately, I felt like the tC was more flash than substance, which wasn’t what I was after.

Runner-up: MINI Cooper S

A lot of my friends tell me that they couldn’t see my in a MINI. For that reason, I find it humorous to admit that I seriously considered a Cooper S. Sure, I thoughts MINIs were downright weird at one point, but I’ve met enough satisfied MINI owners to give the marque a shot. I was ultimately quite glad I did, because I came away from the test drive supremely impressed with the car.

In Cooper S trim, the MINI was plenty fast and agile, but what impressed me more than anything was how naturally the car drove. At the time, I was still plenty ungainly with the clutch and I found the MINI to be far and away the easiest to operate of all the manuals I’ve driven to date.

Overall, I was very impressed with the MINI and I would easily look at one again. But as good as the MINI was, it didn’t impress me as much as the GTI.

The Winner: Volkswagen GTI

As I mentioned earlier, I decided to give the GTI a shot after seeing it at the AJC Auto Show. I had considered the VW at length during my early research, but concerns over reliability kept me from putting it at the top of my drive list. Obviously, I’m glad I gave the GTI another shot.

I was impressed with the VW’s interior appointments at the show and I was even more impressed with the car after driving it. The GTI immediately conveyed the feeling of agility and power that I was looking for. Turbo lag was unnoticeable with the manual transmission and only became somewhat apparent with the DSG option. Clutch feel wasn’t quite as smooth as the MINI, but not bad overall.

It’s hard to find fault with the GTI. It has aggressive swagger of a sports car and the performance to back it up. While I had lingering concerns over the long-term reliability of the car, it seems silly to discredit all the tangible benefits the car has over something that might or might not happen down the road. The GTI most closely embodied the traits that I was after and that’s the reason it has earned a place in my garage.

Closing the Deal

Once I knew what I wanted, the rest was easy, right? Not quite. I actually found the process of locating the right vehicle and negotiating with car dealers to be the most frustrating part of the entire process. I suppose that’s because I had one bad experience before I finally did get a good deal on my GTI.

The bad experience came from a dealer in town where I had first driven the GTI. I initially indicated that I was interested in a black GTI. At the time, I hadn’t nailed down the color I wanted so I picked something safe. I later decided that I actually wanted the dark gray color instead. The dealer was informed of the change, yet they decided to try to push a deal through with the black car through pressure sales tactics. The sales manager actually called me at work and dropped the asking price in $100 increments until I agreed to take the car in black that same day.

I made a mistake a this point. I caved to pressure tactics. Luckily, I gave myself time to think about the deal instead of running right down to the dealer to pick the car up. What I realized was that the price of a new vehicle is far too great make unwanted sacrifices just to save a few hundred bucks. When I realized that, I did what I had to do to get out of the deal. Yeah, I initially felt bad about breaking a verbal agreement, but looking back I don’t think that dealer had my best interests at heart. They seemed more interested in selling me what they had on hand than selling me what I actually wanted.

I did end up finding a fair deal on a GTI with the color and options the way I wanted them. While dealing with the dealer I detailed above, I did solicit offers from other dealers and the deal I ultimately took came from one of these other dealers. I had contacted the winning dealer through their internet sales manager and rejected their initial offers. Their sales manager later came back with a much better offer at the end of the month. Through monitoring their inventory online, I already knew that they still had a car equipped to my specifications so I accepted the deal. The rest of the process was pretty painless. I showed up at the dealer, took my car for a test drive, and spent the rest of my time chatting with salesmen while waiting for paperwork to go through.

Lessons Learned

I’m happy that my buying experience ended on a high note, but there are a couple lessons to take away from my experience. One is, obviously, to be aware of the tactics car salesmen will try to use to get you to buy a car. It’s in their best interest to sell what they have on hand as quickly as possible. Know what you want and commit yourself to making a decision on your own timeframe, not one set by the dealer. I know this seems like obvious stuff, but I didn’t fully understand what it meant until I had gone through the process myself.

The second thing to note is that if you’re patient, you’re more likely to end up with a deal that you’ll be happy with. Yeah, I wanted my new car sooner rather than later, but I got my best deal and the configuration I wanted by waiting it out. If I had jumped on one of those early offers, I would have paid a lot more for something less than what I really wanted.

Tsubasa #7 (cover)

First off, Tsubasa is a CLAMP title—a name I’ve come with excellence in the manga craft. The group’s artwork is some of my favorite because it is consistently crisp and clean. Tsubasa, in particular, features a slew of intricately detailed characters that show off a flare for artistry that few of CLAMP’s contemporaries can match. I can also appreciate that the group neatly ducks some of the popular themes of the anime and manga subculture like mecha and the ever-present Japanese high school setting in favor of some truly unique and interesting stories.

The basic premise of the story is that a core group of characters—Syaoran, Sakura, Fai, Kurogane, and Mokona—travels from world to world in search of Sakura’s feathers, which hold her lost memory. It’s not unlike the American sci-fi cult classic “Sliders,” of which I was also a fan. CLAMP’s take on the paradigm works well, though, because they spend enough time at each stop to flesh out a new world, introduce a cast of memorable supporting characters—which tends to draw heavily on CLAMP’s sizeable back catalog—and move the main characters forward on their path. In fact, there have been so many characters introduced in the series up to this point that a separate character guide will be published later this year just to keep track of them all.

There’s nothing particularly noteable about this volume plot-wise, but it did make me aware of how CLAMP is using the premise of traveling between worlds to redefine the rules every few volumes. Volume 7 contains some great twists that just wouldn’t work in another setting. Overall, I think this volume comes across as one of the stronger ones so far simply due to some well-executed storytelling. I’m interested in seeing where this series will ultimately go.

I like to use Netflix to view anime that I either don’t intend to ever buy or haven’t decided. One such series is Elfen Lied. The series managed to garner a lofty #3 ranking of AnimeNfo’s top 200 ranking, which doesn’t really mean a lot, but I’ve found the site useful in the past when selecting new series to watch. After the first disc, I’m not convinced the series is any better than average; maybe slightly above, but that’s about it.

The series has two features that do draw attention: blood and boobs. The first episode opens to an eerie scene where we see a masked, but otherwise fully nude, female figure slowly walking through an unnamed research facility leaving piles of bodies in her wake. We’re led to believe that she’s some sort of weapons research project gone awry, but the details are sparse.

The action is incredibly graphic, with arms, legs, heads, and blood flying everywhere. It’s easily the most graphic depiction of violence I’ve seen in animation. There’s definite visual impact in the presentation, and we quickly get the idea that the figure we see in the opening scene has tremendous destructive power.

On the flipside, Elfen Lied’s got nudity and lots of it. Most of the opening and pretty much all of the closing feature bare-breasted shots of the female protagonist and there’s plenty of the same throughout the first four episodes. Most of it is not overtly sexual, but it’s just there. The female lead, Nyu, is quickly cast as a Chii-like figure (see Chobits) without a shred of world experience or common sense, so I can only presume that we’re supposed to attribute some of the excess to that aspect of her character.

Still, cheap thrills alone won’t sell the series, at least not to me. Disregarding the aforementioned attributes, Elfen Lied doesn’t seem to have a lot to differentiate it from gobs of other series that have come before it. By the end of the fourth episode, we’ve pretty much established the familiar mini-harem scenario with three girls and a boy all living together under one roof. And with the exception of Nyu, most of those characters aren’t very memorable.

I’ll dispense with the negativity at this point. Just suffice it to say that I was expecting and lot and got something less. The animation quality is actually quite good. In particular, the scene where we first meet Yuka has some incredibly fluid cherry blossoms. Still, from what I’ve seen thus far, I couldn’t give Elfen Lied more than a C rating.

These third-party firmwares generally aim to provide functionality above and beyond that provided out of the box by Linksys, and the DD-WRT project does this as well. Most of the features are aimed at business users who want a cheap alternative to enterprise-class networking equipment sold at enterprise-class pricing. Personally, I don’t find most of the added utility very useful in my home network, but I did find a few reasons to switch over.

My favorite feature that DD-WRT and similar firmwares provide is Static DHCP. The premise is simple. You want the convenience of network autoconfiguration while ensuring that your machines always receive the same IP address, which is useful in a mixed platform setting where you can’t rely on WINS to automagically resolve IPs from machine names. With Static DHCP, you can associate an IP with a MAC address and the DHCP server (i.e., your router) will always hand out that IP address to the adapter with the associated MAC address. Nifty, eh? This feature alone made the free upgrade worth my time.

Beyond that, DD-WRT just has a slick web interface. It’s easy on the eyes while adding in the new functionality and gobs of status info; way better than the standard Linksys fare.

I should note that flashing your router with third-party firmware may void your warranty, and there’s the possibility that the upgrade process will go awry and you’ll end up with a dead router. Personally, these aren’t major issues because 1) these routers are not terribly large investments and 2) I’m reasonably confident that nothing will go wrong. Still, you’ve been warned.

There are no land routes connecting Victoria to the mainland, so we had to take a ferry from Vancouver. The 1.5 hour boat ride was relatively scenic with land near enough at hand to keep things interesting. A state-sponsored naturalist was also on board who gave informative talks during the passage. All told, it was a much more comfortable experience than your typical plane ride.

On the island, proper, we headed for the famous Butchart Gardens. The gardens were impressive enough, with gobs of botanical variety and some interesting themed sections like a Japanese garden. We also tried to tour the island in our rental car by a supposedly scenic route, but we were quickly disappointed by a monotonous ride through heavily wooded residential areas. Dinner at a local hole-in-the-wall Italian restaurant called Julia’s Place and a stroll through downtown rounded out our whirlwind tour.

In retrospect, I think a day wasn’t really enough to see most of what Victoria had to offer. We had a number of other activities planned, but simply ran out of time to do them all. This wasn’t as much of a problem in Seattle and Vancouver where took several days to do everything.

Pictures are up in the gallery. Use the link below.

My favorite activity was a 20+ kilometer bicycle trek along the perimeter seawall of Stanley Park and Vancouver’s False Creek. It proved to be a great way to enjoy Vancouver’s mild summer weather and take in the expansive waterfront. My favorite dining stops for Vancouver were Milestone’s in West Vancouver, The Boss Bakery & Restaurant in Chinatown, and the Arm’s Beach Bistro in Deep Cove.

I’ve added a selection of pictures from our Vancouver experience to the gallery (see thumbnail link).

Popular stops included the Space Needle, Pike Place Market, Woodland Park Zoo, and Ye Olde Curiosity Shop. Dining highlights included McCormick & Schmick’s, Pagliacci, and Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery. My personal favorite, though, was an exhilarating 1.5 hour sailboat ride around Elliott Bay.

I’ve added a new section to the gallery with pictures from the trip.