Ohio finally gets with the program!

When I went to check my EZPass account the other day, I saw this news headline:

The Ohio Turnpike Commission joined the E-ZPass network October 1, 2009.

This is great news for those traveling Interstate 80 in Ohio, especially those who drive through the state and have thus far been unable to use their EZPass to pay the tolls. I personally don't make that drive but once every few years—the last time being June of '08 when I drove to Indiana for a cousin's wedding.

I'm actually a little surprised that it took this long for Ohio to get EZPass. It's a program that's been embraced by a good many states, and I learned of the benefit very quickly when I first used it. But nevertheless, it's still very good to see that Ohio's finally gotten with the program.

The best car chases

I found an article on CNN.com this morning listing the top 10 movie car chases. The list essentially goes like this***:

10. Cannonball Run
9. Death Proof
8. The Fast and the Furious
7. Mad Max II: The Road Warrior
6. Vanishing Point
5. Gone in 60 Seconds
4. The French Connection
3. The Italian Job (the Michael Caine original)
2. Ronin
1. Bullitt

***Green indicates what I've seen, red indicates what I haven't seen.

I'd personally rank The French Connection's chase over Bullitt's, not only because I found The French Connection to be a better movie, but largely because the elevated train chase had a much greater feel of realism, grittiness, and spontaneity to it. Ronin definitely deserves the #2 spot for its intense BMW/Peugeot pursuit. Though I'm surprised that none of the chases from the Bourne movies made it onto this list, as the chase through Moscow at the end of The Bourne Supremacy was one of the best I've seen.

Ronin chase

The French Connection chase (or at least a small chunk of it)

Bullitt chase

Introducing Fritzmobile 4.0

It was with a heavy heart that I recently had to retire my 2000 Chevy Malibu. Because after five years and many good miles covered, the time came to trade her in for a newer, more reliable vehicle. (Two tows to PA might have had something to do with it, too.) So I spent my Back Friday browsing a couple auto dealers in Harrisburg, and come 5:00 that night, I was the new owner of a 2006 Chevy Malibu.

May Fritzmobile 4.0 bring me as many good miles and memories as all her other predecessors have!

Mustang Sally: the Hamme version

This weekend, I drove a convertible for the first time! My girlfriend Christina works for Enterprise Rent-a-car, and on Saturday she rented a Chrysler Sebring convertible for us to drive around that weekend.

The experience was actually better than I had expected! It was an absolutely beautiful weekend weather-wise, though a tiny bit on the chilly side. But not once was it difficult to talk to each other, for my main concern would be that the wind rush would be so loud that neither of us could hear the other. But somehow it was actually a little quieter than if we'd have been driving with the windows down.

We took quite a long drive on Sunday, actually, driving to and from White Marsh, then visiting some of the million-dollar homes in the outskirts of Bel Air and Harford County. All the beautiful country up there reminded me of central PA and the lush landscapes I remember from growing up there. But driving around in a convertible made it so much more enjoyable, because we could mingle with nature while we cruised, and I highly recommend the experience!