Car World: Mazda Miata

Well, as my senior year goes on, I naturally have to look at a vehicle for myself. I was blessed to have a vehicle to drive; a Nissan Frontier 2001 XE Crewcab. Sadly, it simply won't meet my needs for college and the future.

1. It's a gas guzzler. It gets 15 miles per gallon average due to the factory lift and large tires.

2. The rear-row seat, while nice to have, is useless space to me, since I never ride around many people.

3. A truck isn't something I need, as I do not have a need to use a trailer or carry things.

4. It has terrible insurance premiums.

The simple solution. Sell it, and use that money to buy a small, two seat car. The Mazda Miata meets my requirements.

1. Small and compact. This makes it easy to park, and it gives me better coordination with the vehicle.

2. Decent gas mileage. While Civic would scoff at 25 miles per gallon on an in-line 4, that's pretty good for city driving. Certainly not Jetta or Civic material, but the gas mileage is satisfactory.

3. Cheap. The first generation used ones have excellent equipment (many have leather seats and CD players plus premium sound) and rarely cost over 7,000. Not many good looking roadsters are that affordable. The second generation run about 10 to 13,000 on average. Too much, but still cheaper than alot of new cars which only have basic equipment.

4. Convertible. This is very important, as I love driving with the top down in a car. Not only that, but they are hand-powered, not motorized, which makes repair jobs much cheaper.

Overall, I think I want a Miata. I'm still shopping around, but it's difficult to find a roadster for so little money. Here's to the future. :)

Challenges We Face Issue 1: Russia and the 2nd Cold War

Challenges We Face is an editorial column I am starting to show my feelings on the current challenges America and the West face in this new phase of world politics. This first details our current "Cold War" against the new Russian Republic. Enjoy.

Challenges We Face
Issue 1
Russia and the Second Cold War

On December 8th, 1991, the World breathed a sigh of relief as the Communist juggernaut, the Soviet Union, officially died. The Soviet Union had been involved in a "Cold War" with the West (America, Britain, Canada, and others) since 1947, and the death of the Soviet Union allowed people who once feared nuclear destruction to live in peace.

However, the Cold War had not ended. It had simply evolved (or devolved, depending on personal opinion) into Phase 2.

In place of the old Soviet Union was the CIS, or Commonwealth of Independent States. In reality, they weren't very independent; the old Russian hierarchy still controlled most of the ex-Soviet states.

At the head of the new "Russian Republic" was Boris Yeltsin. Mr. Yeltsin was a rather chubby fellow who drunk so much that even a Sailor would cringe. That said Yeltsin was considered the savior to the West; he was Christ to nations who suspected Russian foul-play in the ex-Soviet sphere. In reality, Yeltsin, while having good intentions, was a pretty sloppy president. He was good friends with President Bill Clinton, which begs me to ask; did they share interns?

Following ol' Boris' decision to leave the presidency due to poor health, he picked Vladimir Putin as his successor. I have to question the man's sanity. Yeltsin risked his life in 1991 to bring about the coup that brought down the Soviet Union. He risked his life and the lives of countless supporters. Now he decides it's a bright idea to pick a major in the now-defunct (although not unofficially dead by any means) KGB? Brilliant idea, Boris. Let's pick a guy who loved Communism and fully supported it to lead the new fledgling Russian democracy.

Putin took over in 1999 and was elected to a full term in 2000. Putin is a suspicious fellow; as an ex-KGB Operative, Putin knows how to play his opponents. Putin began a slow, yet not entirely hidden restructuring of Russian laws. Every year, Russia's freedoms slowly crumble, fading into the nothingness of old Soviet rule. It's a slow process; Putin can't get "caught" (everyone with half a brain knows he's doing it, but this is Bush and other Western leaders we're talking about) lest he get criticism from his "allies" and his people. Still, the man is a great poker player; he knows how to fool people.

Russia, under Putin, has sold Iran nuclear technology over the past few years. That's pretty much common knowledge, although Putin still won't come out and say it. He hints, but he knows better than to say it. Even President Bush, the most hopelessly idealistic fellow who's had the White-House in over a generation could turn his back on Putin if Putin officially said Russia was supplying Iran with the technology to build a nuclear weapon.

Unlike old Poland or East Germany, Iran is pretty independent and must pay Russia. Naturally, the backwards Persian nation can't afford the technology it's buying. It's the only country I can think of with enough oil to supply itself for over 2 centuries, yet has to ration gasoline out to its people. Iran can't pay, Russia is ticked naturally. Fortunately for the Iranians, Putin is playing them as his trump card against the United States in the Middle East. He can't very well try invading (that worked wonderfully last time) so why not have a proxy do it for you? Granted, he probably knows Iran would turn on him in an instant if all other nations were conquered, but this is Putin. He's smart, but shortsighted.

Russia is also playing cards in the Americas. Not only does the house that Putin built still keep relations with Cuba (will Castro ever die?) but they're reaching out to Venesuala, who is more than happy to oblige. It's ok that roughly 2/3s of the population live in extreme poverty, but yet the country can come up with the money to buy defensive missiles from ol' Putin. Doesn't make much sense, but the fact is that Putin wants to extend Russian influence into the region. Like Egypt in the 1960's, Mr. Chavez doesn't realize he's being played. Eventually, a sensible president will get in power here in the States and deal with Chavez. When that happens, Russia will turn its back on Venesuala because it doesn't really need them. They are like Escalades, very nice, but not a requirement.

Even Europe isn't spared Russia's craziness. President Bush decides to put up a defensive missile network through Poland and Czechoslovakia and suddenly its World War III. Forget the fact that the system isn't even designed to counter Russian ICBMs (which would simply walk on through unimpeded) or that the system could protect Russia from Iran (which Putin is either ignoring the threats or is just stupid). It's a freakin' defense system. It isn't like Poland is asking the US to deploy Titan missiles in its borders.

But, Putin knows that a missile defense system, despite being rather useless against his ICBM arsenal, is still an impediment on Russia's plans to take back Eastern Europe. People say it can't happen, but it will. It's a matter of when.

As of now, Russia is economically too weak to maintain its old Soviet foreign policies. It does have a stockpile of ICBMs to play, but in terms of other military items, it's sorely lacking numerical value. Their weapons are great, but they're economy is still recovering.

But, when they are ready, they will move. The fact is this; will America and the West be ready?

Future Games I Want to Play

E3, the largest game convention of the year in the Americas, has officially ended. The convention showed off tons of new games along with new hardware. Here is the list of things I'm anticipating and my thoughts on them.

1. Halo 3: The 3rd Halo game tops the list. I've been waiting for Halo 3 for a long time, and with a 360, I can play it when it comes out in September. With new weapons like the Spartan laser and the Brute Grenades, the game is being changed up considerably. That said, I'm extremely hyped for the game I support every change made so far to the Halo game engine.

2. New PSP: Granted, I own a PSP and I don't play it, but the new PSP seems cool. I don't really want to buy one, but I'm stoked for it none-the-less. It seems like a good improvement on good hardware. Video-Out, a non-spring loaded UMD drive, and a thinner profile are nice improvements. Keep it up, Sony.

3. Fable 2: Fable was an ok RPG. It didn't deliver the promises that Peter Molyneux made, but it was still a good game. That said, Fable 2 seems like an improvement on the formula. Fable had a great foundation, but it wasn't built very well from there. Simply double or triple the game world, add tons of new armor and features, and allow greater customization and you have a great AAA title.
4. Starcraft 2: It's Starcraft. Nuff' said.

5. Final Fantasy Tactics Advance 2: I love the original Final Fantasy Tactics; in terms of storyline, it's my favorite game ever. The second title, Advance, was an improvement from a gameplay perspective, but it lacked the complex, adult-aimed political storyline of the original. While the new Tactics game is based more on "New" Ivalice (Tactics Advance, Final Fantasy XII) they are improving the storyline and making it more complex. Hopefully Square-Enix will succeed.

6. Super Mario Galaxy: What can I say, I love Mario. Don't have a Wii, but I'm hyped none-the-less.

7. FEAR 2: The sequel to one of my favorite FPS games ever, thus I'm stoked.

Overall, this E3, being the first of the new style, wasn't as great as the previous ones. It still had plenty of new stuff, and thus it was a great convention overall. It's time to wait for the Tokyo Game Show now.

See ya next mission!