If you're in the market for a new vehicle--and by new, I mean a more recent vintage than what you're currently driving--now's a good time to jump on a purchase, if you can swing it. I'm just saying.

Back in 2000, when we were expecting Fairy Girl, we sold my Chevy Blazer and bought a '98 Dodge Caravan with low mileage. That minivan, despite the uncool factor of being a minivan, served us well over the years. Had to rebuild the engine a couple of years back, true, and little things like the air conditioner and battery demanded attention, but overall we got our money's worth out of it. And we have been antsy for a replacement for a while now. You just want something newer after a while, something more dependable that isn't going to demand semi-constant attention.

So, when word came via the miracle of the internets a couple weeks back that our IRS tax refund was on the way, we decided it was time to pull the trigger. Place the old Caravan up on Craigslist and maybe it'd sell in a couple of weeks. Combine that with the tax refund and we had a not-insignificant down payment. So The Wife puts an ad on the local Craigslist, and we set the price several hundred dollars above what we actually want for it, to give us some flexibility in negotiations. A response comes within the hour. They want to look at the minivan that night. And will we accept cash?

Twelve hours later we wander across the Bluebonnet Chrysler-Dodge dealership in New Braunfels, cash in hand. All of it. The buyer of our old minivan took it as-is, no haggling. We're somewhat stunned by the development. Equally stunned by the uber-low mileage of the '08 Grand Caravan sitting in front of us with enough whistles and bells to stage a Rice MOB halftime show. A semi-loaded minivan that's roughly half the price of an identical new model sitting across the lot. It drives great--more truck-like than the old Caravan, but this Grand Caravan is a safer, more comfortable vehicle that gets better gas mileage than the old one. And it's bigger, too.

But we don't have the tax refund yet. Not a problem, the Bluebonnet folks insist. Let them run some numbers. The results: A five-year note at 5.5 percent interest. My jaw hits the floor. Add on a dirt-cheap extended warranty that will cover the car for pretty much as long as we'll own it (24 hour roadside assistance included) and wer'e still paying less than 200ドル a month. At this point, Wells Fargo calls my cell phone telling me we'd been approved for the same loan, minus the roadside assistance, at 9.1 percent interest. Obviously, I declined Wells Fargo's generous offer.

The long and short of it is that we've got a new vehicle that we've yet to figure out all the buttons on. Yes, minivans remain exceedingly uncool, but with three kids it's the only real practical option. And goodness, the deal we got on it. Car dealers are desperate to move stock, be it new or used. If you've got a job and even a token down payment, you can pretty much squeeze blood from the car dealer's stones.

Ten years from now, though, we're trading in this minivan for a candy-apple red '67 convertible Mustang for The Wife. After all those years of driving a minivan, karma's got to balance somehow, right?

Now Playing: Jimmy Buffett Boats, Beaches, bars & Ballads

Well, it's over and done: after 18 consecutive years of attending Aggiecon--making it as dependable a harbinger of spring as anything in my experience--I've now missed it two years running. In 2008 I wasn't invited. This year I was invited, but six months of radio silence from the convention and emails going unanswered didn't do much to reassure me. Ultimately, family obligations forced me to offer my regrets to the con, but my cancellation was never acknowledged and indeed, I have no idea if anyone at the con even noticed my absence.

From scattered reports surfacing online, it's looking like I didn't miss a heck of a lot. Todd McCaffrey is a great guy and a talented writer, but no convention is going generate much buzz by bringing him back as the sole author guest of honor year after year. Despite repeated warnings from myself and others that turning Aggiecon into a media con (ie paying B-list celebs to attend and charge money for autographs) lies the way to financial ruin, the students still seem hell-bent on charting this course. Repeated offers to put them in contact with authors, artists and comic book creators of their choice have been met with profound silence.

If attendance was as bad this year as rumor has it, maybe the few remaining Cepheids will take the hint and take the steps necessary to save the convention. More likely, with the Memorial Student Center set to undergo massive renovations next year--forcing the eviction of the convention from the home of the con for the vast majority of its 40 year run--I fear that this year marks the final chapter in that event's storied history. It's like Obama told GM and Chrysler today: Yes, you made some effort to right the sinking ship; but no, it's not nearly enough.

Ironically, I don't think many will miss it once it's gone. Once there was only Aggiecon and Armadillocon for Texas fandom. Now, there are two great conventions in the DFW area with FenCon and ConDFW, while in Houston Apollocon has grown into a very enjoyable event. As always, Armadillocon remains the gold standard. Still, anyone who knows me knows I have a profound emotional investment in Aggiecon and would hate to see it go. If any of next years' concom has any desire to solicit my advice, for what it's worth, I'm easy to get ahold of.

Now Playing: Pink Floyd Animals

When was the last time I featured Supertramp on Friday Night Videos? Never? Well, that's too long!



Previously on Friday Night Videos... REO Speedwagon.

Now Playing: Various artists Native American Currents

Hey kids! I've got a new chapter of Memory up at No Fear of the Future for your reading pleasure. That brings us up to 35 installments total, with no end in sight. Shouldn't I get a cookie or something?

Flavius tried to stand only to find a vine had managed to wrap around his thigh, holding him down. Every time he moved, the hairy spines gouged a little deeper into his flesh.

“Goddamnit,” he muttered, sawing at it with Memory. The vine parted, but not before giving a fierce constriction. “Yeow!”

He leapt up and kicked his leg free. He found Acaona a short distance away, held fast by a knot of the vines. Flavius could see now they were definitely moving, and not as a result of Acaona’s struggles.

“Lassie, what kind of garden have we landed in?” Flavius demanded as he hacked away at the tendrils coiling around her.

Oooh! Killer plants! Things don't look too good for Flavius right now, do they? Give it a read and find out if he survives or not. Or, better yet, start at the beginning!

Now Playing: Joanne Shenandoah & Lawrence Laughing Orenda

Rob Blake tagged me with this on Facebook, so, since it's either do the meme or actual work, the meme wins out.

Here's what you're supposed to do: Create a new note, copy and paste this message, delete my answers and type in your answers. Then tag a few good friends and family INCLUDING the person who tagged you. The theory is that you will learn a lot of little known things about your friends and family. Have FUN!

THREE NAMES I GO BY

1. Jayme
2. Daddy
3.

THREE JOBS I HAVE HAD IN MY LIFE

1. Sports reporter
2. Media relations specialist
3. Bus boy

THREE PLACES I HAVE LIVED

1. New Braunfels
2. Columbus
3. College Station

THREE TV SHOWS THAT I WATCH

1. Battlestar Galactica
2. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
3. Coupling (yeah, the last two are on DVD. Haven't started watching a new broadcast show in a long time)

THREE PLACES I HAVE BEEN

1. The Grand Canyon
2. Uxmal
3. Cahokia Mounds

THREE PLACES I WANT TO GO

1. Australia
2. Germany
3. Rome

THREE OF MY FAVORITE FOODS

1. Freebirds World Burrito
2. TexMex (extra spicy)
3. Crawfish jambalaya

THINGS I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO

1. Taking the kids to Disney next year
2. Vacation on the beach in Rockport this year
3. Stealing a weekend away with The Wife in New Orleans some day

THREE PETS THAT YOU HAVE OWNED

1. Sigfreid Sebastian Bach, the greatest beagle who ever lived
2. Spartacus, a black emperor scorpion
3. Ocho, a figure-8 puffer fish

THREE FRIENDS WHO WILL REPLY

1. I have friends?
2.
3.

THREE FAVORITE BANDS/ ARTISTS

1. The Kinks
2. Billy Joel
3. Pink Floyd

THREE FAVORITE TEAMS TO WATCH

1. Texas A&M Aggies
2. Houston Astros
3. San Antonio Spurs

THREE FAVORITE DRINKS:

1. Beer, preferably homebrew
2. Iced tea (black and green tea mix) with lemon and passion fruit juice
3. Diet Dr Pepper

Now Playing: Earth, Wind & Fire The Eternal Dance

Went to Columbus yesterday to check on/visit my mother. A good time was had by all. Well, maybe with the exception of your truly. Mom's house is in a mild state of disrepair due to about 20 years' worth of neglect of upkeep, so my brothers and I are piecemeal trying to arrest any future decay so we can, at some point in the future, implement full-scale renovations (or a facsimile thereof).

Yesterday, I patched the roof. That roof is in serious trouble. Two huge old live oak trees were allowed to grow over the years without any pruning, the result being that heavy branches rubbed sections of the roof for years. In those sections, not only are the singles gone, but so is the underlying tar paper, exposing the wood underneath. This is not good when it rains. There were other sections where individual or groups of shingles were peeling up and away. Individual nails popping up. Lots of places where rain can seep in. Unable to afford the full cost of a new roof, I climbed up there with a bucket of liquid asphalt and a broom. I think I spent close to four hours working up there. My back and shoulders ache today to no end, and my hands have black smudges on them from where no amount of scrubbing could clean the asphalt away. But I'm amazed at how sore my feet are. Had I not been there and seen the shoes on my feet, I'd have sworn I worked up on that roof barefoot. It's like I walked around on that rough surface unshod for the entire time. Weird.

What stinks is that despite my efforts, the patches are temporary at best. And I know I missed smaller leaks that simply aren't obvious to the eye. Every single shingle is in a bad way, with dime- to quarter-size holes forming in their surfaces. A few more years, and the elements will have it stripped bare.

After I finished with the roof and caught my breath for a bit (hey, I'm pushing 40. give me a break) I went around the side of the house with my ax and chopped up a bunch of aggressive poison ivy that'd taken to growing up an old, dying sycamore tree. I did this a couple of years ago to positive effect, but poison ivy's persistent. Then I spent the remainder of the afternoon stacking dead limbs and branches that've been falling from the sycamore. My family'd already begun a pretty big pile of dead limbs, but more had fallen in the interim. Fortunately, even thick branches lose a lot of weight after they die and dry out in the sun. That whole tree needs to come down, but that's a project for another day.

Now Playing: Earth, Wind & Fire The Eternal Dance

So, the finale of the reinvented Battlestar Galactica series aired last night. Because of scheduling conflicts, I had to watch the 11 p.m. airing, and didn't get to bed until late. After all the seemingly bizarre and make-it-up-as-you-go plot twists that have permeated the last couple of seasons, I really had to wonder if they could pull off a decent wrap-up. The first half of this final season did not give me hope. The episodes devolved into melodramatic soap opera territory, and the epic seemed to persistently grow smaller rather than more grand. After a hiatus lasting the better part of a year, the final episodes kicked in and gave me reason for optimism. The two-parter dealing with the Gaeta-led mutiny aboard the Galactica was the best in a long, long time. They were dealing once again with concrete moral issues, rather than woo-woo mysticism or Apollo being a wuss or whatever. Gaeta's motivation was muddled, however, since his pathological hatred of the Cylons which ostensibly drove him to mutiny against Adama came off as tenuous, at best. Yes, he suffered under the Cylons, but no more than anyone else. The loss of his leg, which remained an obvious anger issue for him, wasn't caused by by the Cylons but rather by Colonials who attempted mutiny on a mission led by Starbuck. Participating in Baltar's Cylon-collaborating algae planet government--albeit as an informer to the resistance--almost got him killed. So yeah, Gaeta had issues and motivation take drastic action, but the justification for turning against Adama, rather than extracting vengeance against those who legitimately wronged him seems thin. I was also disappointed with the final appearance of Tom Zarek. After playing the former terrorist for the entire series as a ruthless yet almost idealistic agitator for justice, in his last act he turned into a simple thug, violent and brutish in his greedy quest for power. Murdering the Colonial Quorum? That was too far. Zarek always worked best when his despicable methods were morally justified to some degree. Abandoning that ambiguity at the very end in favor of a cheap, two-dimensional villain to hiss at was beneath the dignity of the show. I'm not arguing to change the fate of either Zarek or Gaeta, but the writing definitely fell short. Which is too bad, because otherwise the mutiny two-parter harkened back to the greatness of the series' first two seasons.

The string of episodes that followed were average at best. They served mostly to fill out random plot points, bring back Ellen Tigh, lay out that the Galactica is too structurally deficient to continue much longer before breaking up, stuff like that. Treading water, essentially, setting up the pieces for the final endgame in the series finale.

So, how about that finale? In my opinion, "Daybreak" was far better than it had any right to be. Certainly more satisfying than Galactica 1980. Better than the entirety of The X-Files' final season. I did expect them to find our "Earth" at the end, an Earth that was not the same as the nuke-blasted 13th colony populated by Cylons. I did not expect it to happen 150,000 years ago, although in hindsight this does appear to be their only real "out" and--unlike the majority of the plot twists introduced these last couple of seasons, strikes me as one that was in place at the time the miniseries aired all those years ago. I even remember seeing some media feature that made mention of the fact the fleet isn't going to seek Earth, because it had been blasted in a nuclear war centuries before--a hint that someone on the production team let slip a plot point by accident during initial promotion efforts. Finding indigenous humanoid life extant on the planet with fully compatible DNA was just a tad too convenient, however, particularly since if Hera is going to be a mitochondrial Eve figure the timing's off. Because 150,000 years ago, Homo sapiens had already evolved. They claim the homo species has no language, but does have tribal society and buries their dead, but even Neandertals had these traits. The hominids discovered would have to be Homo erectus, but the Galactica would've needed to arrive almost 100,000 years earlier to interbreed with that species and give rise to Homo sapiens.

Of course, all would be forgiven if two colonial refugees named Arthur and Ford were overheard bemoaning the fact that most of the colonials were unemployed telephone earpiece cleaners.

There was an egregious over-use of flashbacks, as well as a pretentiousness and a hubristic display of "we're making an important show" syndrome throughout the final three hours. Flashbacks worked well for Ron Moore in the Star Trek: The Next Generation finale "All Good Things..." but those flashbacks (and flash forwards) were fluid and integral to the plot. Here, the flashbacks are just that, serving as elements of character development that should've happened throughout the series run, rather than being shoehorned in at the last minute.

The Big Battle with the Cylon colony was okay, but too easy. There was none of the awesomeness of the Galactica-Pegasus tag-team match against the Cylons over New Caprica. That no-holds-barred imagination was missing this time out. And The whole business with the Dean Stockwell-led Cylons felt very unfinished. Yes, there were comments made that they faced extinction with resurrection technology and/or dissecting Hera, but having all the evil Cylons die off safely off camera was a cheat. Sending the sentient Centurions off in their own basestar was better. That, at least, leaves the door open for future, different follow-up projects.

Starbuck's fate sucked. Just awful. Starbuck didn't know what she was, and neither did the writers. So they make her disappear. WTF?

Ditto for the Baltar and Caprica Six "angels." These hallucinogenic figures most assuredly did not start out as such, and their elevation to benevolent supernatural status felt very much like an 11th-hour workaround to a problem nobody had a solution for.

There were a lot of 11th-hour workarounds on display here. That's a consequence of making things up as you go along with no real concern for existing continuity or how everything will resolve in the end. I have to give Ron Moore and writing staff for pulling... well, maybe not a rabbit out of the hat, but certainly not a stinking turd. The plot holes and gaps in logic have been papered over, and as long as you don't look too closely the thing is pretty and entertaining.

I'm glad I saw it, and I don't feel ripped off or betrayed (certainly not like all those LOST fans are going to in another year) but I've no real desire to see "Daybreak" again. If I've got an urge to take in three hours' worth of a SF series finale, I'll pop in my DVD of Farscape's "The Peacekeeper Wars."

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