Amazon Daily

Since I have already set the precedent of responding to online articles in a completely un-timely way, I may as well respond to the Vehix.com article "Prepare to Get Scared: Top Ten Ugliest Cars in American History." The article ran more than a month ago, so I obviously have my finger firmly on the pulse of the automotive blogosphere.

Author Nathan Adlen does a nice job in producing a well-written riff on pretty familiar theme. Bashing ugly, terrible, and generally unpopular cars is fertile ground for a writer. I have read a bunch of articles on the subject over the years, and I own a few books that do the same--despite my bias towards defending bad cars, these books and articles are usually good for a few good chuckles. And, of course, if taking easy potshots at bad cars is a crime, I'm guilty. Adlen's piece is little different from that standpoint. It's witty, and he gets in some well-turned phrases. No, my beef is with his choice of cars.

Specifically, Adlen singles out such Car Lust favorites as the Yugo GV (No. 3), AMC Pacer (No. 5), Chevy Citation (No. 7; no foolin', a future Car Lust), the AMC Eagle (No. 9), and the Chrysler K-car (No. 10). The smears against the Eagle and Pacer already had me disgruntled, but then the AMC abuse just goes too far. In a blatant shot across the Car Lust bow, Adlen ranks the 1974 AMC Matador X Coupe the ugliest car in American history.

Says Adlen:

"Some say it has character. I say (it) better have a hell of a personality, for the looks will drive dates away in hordes. This car was so screwy to look at that it made an ideal car for James Bond bad-guy, Francisco Scaramanga (The Man with the Golden Gun). I’ve driven one … unfortunately it looks better than it drives."

In the words of pop divas everwhere, oh no you di'int.

When I look at the Matador Coupe, I see pure loveliness expressed in sheetmetal and glass. The proportions are low and feline; the fastback is well-executved, the front and rear fascias clean and uncluttered. The overall look is smooth, sleek, and purposeful. Even the white character stripe looks good, and accentuates the rounded haunches. Had this sheetmetal been wrapped around the mechanicals of a 1970 Chevelle SS454 and marketed by GM during the muscle car heyday, I suspect it would be remembered as one of Detroit's classic designs.

Like a hunk of finely-aged blue cheese, the Matador's appeal is both strong and very complex--and like the gourmet cheese, it's an acquired taste. I can definitely understand that.

But I have always believed that cars, like people, must be judged by the times in which they lived--and the Matador's long, graceful lines and delicate front and rear detailing made it an instant classic in its era. In an age of big cars with long overhangs and excessive decoration, the Matador was a restrained, classy design.

Plus--and for me, this is an important factor--the Matador was a knockout in race trim, especially in Team Penske colors and with Bobby Allison behind the wheel.

The ultimate test of in-its-era appeal? Car and Driver dubbed it the best-looking car of 1974, and I couldn't agree more. The ugliest car in American history? Absolutely not.

Mr. Adlen, I mean no offense. The article was entertaining, and I enjoyed the read. But let the record show there's at least one AMC nutcase out here willing to defend the Matador. Now the Toyota Echo, on the other hand ...

Thanks to CascadeRamblers.org for the top picture, Howstuffworks.com for the second, and MatadorCoupe.com for the third.

--Chris H.

After a couple weeks of little exciting news, this week brought about a number of discussion-worthy items that range from new software updates for the iPhone/iPod touch and Apple TV and a kerfuffle over the discovery that High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) has been added to the new crop of MacBooks. Ars Technica reported that the HDCP copy protection prevents many movies downloaded from Apple's iTunes site from playing back on "non-compliant" TV monitors and projectors via a Mini DisplayPort-to-VGA adapter, throwing up an error dialog to let you know that your purchase will not work. Ars also notes that it's not a consistent spanner in the playback:

Strangely, only some iTunes Store movies appear to be HDCP-aware, as other purchased media like Stargate: Continuum and Heroes season 2 play through the projector just fine. Attempts to play Hellboy 2 or other HDCPed films through the projector via QuickTime also get denied.

Also noted in the Ars article, this has been an issue for Apple TV users who don't use a pure HDMI digital connection (component video output isn't covered by HDCP), as was discovered by Jeff Carlson as he was writing the second edition of his Apple TV Pocket Guide (which I helped out with). Michael Rose comments at TUAW:

In this case, 'compliant' means HDMI or recent-vintage DVI, but even monitors or TVs that support HDCP may not properly negotiate with the DisplayPort connector to give iTunes and QuickTime the all-clear signal (if so, quitting and relaunching iTunes once the display is hooked up may clear the playback hold). Equally annoying: HDCP is only supposed to apply to 'high-value' digital streams, meaning standard-def purchases and rentals on the iTunes store should be out of scope... but some reports indicate that both the HD and SD instances are flagged, blocking playback on anything but the laptop's internal display or a straight-thru HDMI connection.

Cory Doctrow over at Boing Boing chimes in:

But copyright law isn't violated when you watch a movie on an "unapproved" monitor. This isn't about enforcing copyright law, it's about giving a small handful of movie companies a veto over hardware designs.

Very early Friday morning, Apple released the long-awaited iPhone 2.2 OS update (also compatible for iPod touch models) with goodies including Maps enhancements (with Google Street View), over-the-air podcast downloads, and some functional additions such as the ability to turn on/off auto-correction in Keyboard settings. TidBITS has an excellent rundown of the new features, which was quite handy since I couldn't figure out how to get Street View working:

To use Street View, you must drop a pin, and then examine whether a tiny Street View icon - an orange person - is tinted fainter or at full intensity. If at full intensity, you tap the tiny icon, and the Maps application rotates into landscape view to display a navigable image.

A small circle shows the current cone of sight and street location. You can drag, pinch, and expand, while tapping an arrow moves the view to the next street slice. There's no warning when data runs out; an empty "holodeck" image appears instead.

As you can see from the screenshot that I captured, the street view image can be a bit fuzzy. I recently became a convert to Street View (after pooh-poohing it as just being an excessive wow feature) when I used it to determine a playground I was heading to (with toddler) did indeed have climbing equipment. (Unfortunately, if you're an iPod touch user, you don't get the Maps update, which also includes transit information and walking directions.) I also tried the OTA podcast download, and got a 6 MB file downloaded over my old-and-slow EDGE connection in just about 5 minutes. Note, however, that OTA downloading only pertains to podcasts (no music yet).

• As is customary with these updates, if you're an iPhone jailbreaker, you're cautioned to hold off on updating until the iPhone Dev team can come up with a workaround.

• Another big update release came for the Apple TV this week, which enables you to stream music stored on the Apple TV wirelessly via AirTunes Streaming to an Airport Express Wi-Fi plug-in (or to another Apple TV, just in case you have more than one), the addition of playlists (for movies, TV shows, music, and podcasts) and music volume control, and support for third-party remotes (in case the spartan Apple Remote isn't doing it for you). Over at iLounge, they've quickly put together one of their very detailed Instant Expert overviews of the new update, and included this tidbit about streaming:

  As an additional caveat, the Apple TV’s performance when streaming to remote AirTunes speakers can be extremely sluggish, even on a fast 802.11n or wired Ethernet connection between the devices. Playback performance is acceptable, but the remote control input seems to become unresponsive, making browsing the Apple TV while listening to content a frustrating experience at best.

• However... installing the 2.3 update will break the Boxee hack that Aric wrote about earlier this month. Check out the second half of this post at The Apple Blog for more info on what to do to keep Boxee running if you've installed it on your Apple TV (hint... don't install 2.3). I was hoping to install it last weekend, but toddler duty prevented my hacking, so I guess I'm glad that my time wasn't wasted. Hopefully the Boxee team will get a workaround available soon.

• Rumor Watch: The Macworld Expo is less than a month-and-a-half away, and rumors of new hardware releases are flitting about, with TUAW reporting that the iMac might get a quad-core processor boost. Also, based on a slide shown at the Large Installation System Administration (LISA) conference in San Diego last week, it looks like we might be seeing the release of Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard in the first quarter of 2009 (via Macworld).

• Bad news on the Flash front from MacNN:

  The iPhone is unlikely to carry Flash even if its hardware technically supports it, a report claims. Although Flash is in widespread use on the Internet, running everything from animation to full applications, Wired notes that section 3.3.2 of the iPhone SDK specifically prohibits the downloading and use of interpreted code in apps, unless the APIs and interpreters are already preloaded. This by definition bars third-party plug-ins, whether from Adobe or any other developer.

• According to iPodNN, Electronic Arts will release an iPhone version of SimCity.

• Cult of Mac is into DIY clip binder stands for the iPhone, and a reader submitted an even sturdier model than their inital stab (check Instructables for the step-by-step)

  

• And finally, how many apps do you have on your iPhone? At last count, I had 43, and was thinking I needed to pare that down a bit. But that's nothing compared to Flickr user Sigalokos, who has 8 screens (with a 9-screen limit) full of apps (via Textually).

  

--Agen G.N. Schmitz

Our ancestors knew a thing or two about preparing for the future that we would be well advised to learn.  I’m not talking about retirement accounts or simple IRA’s, I’m talking turkey.

Select a bird that is a bit larger than you need and you will have an abundance of turkey in the days after the holiday.  There is something endearing about a plate of cold turkey slices waiting in the fridge for your inspiration. 

For years I made turkey pot pies for dinner on the Saturday night after Thanksgiving.  Now that I am making paninis for lunch, I barely have enough!

Don’t skimp on the relish and be sure to serve it with plenty of napkins!

Turkey and Stilton Sandwiches with Cranberry-Orange Relish

1 cup (about 4 ounces) crumbled Stilton or other crumbly blue cheese
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
Four 1/2-inch-thick slices country hearth bread
12 thin slices (6 ounces) turkey
1/2 cup Cranberry–Orange Relish or any cranberry sauce or relish

Heat a panini or sandwich press according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Combine the Stilton and mayonnaise in a small bowl and stir until well blended.

Spread the cheese mixture on two of the slices of bread. Top with the turkey. Spoon the relish on top of the turkey. Top with the remaining slices of bread.

Put the sandwiches on the press, pull the top down, and cook until they are browned and crisp, 4 to 7 minutes, depending on how hot your machine is. Carefully remove from the press and serve immediately.

--Daniel Leader

My daughter loves dolls.  She has played at being a mommy since her first doll was given to her at her first birthday party.  She put that baby in her little stroller and ran up and down the sidewalk- back and forth- until she was summoned inside for cake.  It was the best gift she received that birthday and she continues to play with "E-baby" to this day (Yes, that is what she named that doll, we also have "Lulu" "She-Lop" and "Lucia-Baby".  She's a creative baby namer).
Our newest doll, "Sleeping Beauty-Ballerina" is a doll from My Twinn.  My Twinn custom makes dolls that look like your child.  They have the same hair color, eye color, haircut, and skin tone.  Check out the video below to see my daughter's reaction to opening the My Twinn doll.

My Twinn Doll Gift Package...

Obviously, it was a hit.  I was surprised to see how big the doll was in person, and the quality of the product.  They really did a great job copying my daughter's haircut (which is tricky since it is shorter in the back than the front) and her facial features. 
The process to get the doll made was very easy.  We received the packet that had our special code, instructions, and a catalog.  It also contained a special bracelet for my daughter, and a matching one for her twinn.   My little one loved the catalog and spent a lot of time talking about what she wanted her twinn to wear.  She finally settled on the Disney Princess dress (natch.) and was also very excited to pick the hair color that was closest to her own (this involved a lot of running back and forth to the mirror and asking her father and I to approve of her choice).  We then went online, picked out the outfit, the eye color, hair color, and if we wanted dimples or freckles.  We also attached three pictures of my daughter as instructed.  In four weeks, our doll arrived and as you can see by the video, my daughter was instantly smitten with "Sleeping Beauty- Ballerina".
Rating System: On a five star scale, one being horrible, five being wonderful.

Quality: 5 stars, The doll is very large, and her arms, legs, and feet all move.  She is bigger than an American Girl doll and I would judge the quality to be the same or even better.  Her hair is really nice and soft and attached well.
Fun Factor: 4 stars,  Dolls are dolls, they only do what you actually make them do.  This doll is such a great size and quality for an older child that will play pretend.  My daughter likes to make her sit at the table while they have a snack, and sit next to her while they read books.  It is nice to have a doll that she can pose, but it is still huggable.
Educational Factor: 2 stars, not educational- but again, as I always say, pretend play is learning play.
Novelty Factor: 5 stars, This is about as unique of a toy that  you can get.  There are no other dolls out there that are like my daughter's Twinn doll, because there is no one out there that is like my daughter.  She loves that it looks like her, and is very proud to show other people the doll she made on the computer.

--Laura McMullan