I grew up driving automatics but I buy myself six-speeds now. It has made be a safer and more conscious driver, while making driving so much more enjoyable. I feel much more engaged with my driving and suffer way fewer lapses of attention. Right now I drive a 2009 Mazda 3, probably will go for the RX-8 next unless I can affort a Tessla Roadster in 3 years.

I'll go back to automatics if I ever have kids, so that I can have my shifting hand free to cuff them in the head. Little punks!

To tread the sharp edge of a sword
To run on smooth-frozen ice,
One needs no footsteps to follow.
Walk over the cliffs with hands free.

its 2 big annyone who has ever owned a big phone knows that a large phone is anoying. it needs to be the same size as one of the smaller ipods do be good as a phone. its like poket gamers consoles thay are just to big aside from the game boy micro. i have a p900 and its gr8 fun can install just about annything on it watch films play music chat on msn chat on irc play doom but its just to big to use as a practical phone can always feal it in your pocket and it hurts to hold it to your ear for more than 15 minits. and you cnt exspect people to use blue tooth hands free all the time as that forces you to carry cables ore adapters around with you. allso untill you can use a phone as an afordable device that can download mp3s ore vidos,podcsts byitself using its own internet conectoin at a resnable price, then the device is stupid becuse u have to keep downloading of your main pc to it.

Nga Phe Kyaung Monastery in Myanmar. This place is a famous tourist attraction. From a nice article in the LA Times here: http://travel.latimes.com/articles/la-tr-myanmar20mar20

"The Intha are known for the strange way they propel their small wooden fishing boats. The fisherman stands at the stern, balanced on one leg, and rows with the other leg by wrapping it around the oar, leaving both hands free to work the net.

Although this method of fishing is unusual and something to see, it's starting to be overshadowed by some unlikely local residents — Madonna, Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and Tina Turner, among others.

Our driver cut the longboat's engine, and we glided gracefully toward Nga Phe Kyaung, the abode of these local celebrities. Nga Phe Kyaung, an 18th century Buddhist monastery built from teakwood on stilts over the lake, is known more affectionately among its visitors as "the jumping cat monastery." For more than 20 years, the monks here have trained their cats to jump through hoops.

U Nan Da, a young Buddhist monk, met our boat. He led us inside the temple, where Chinese green tea, roasted barley and bananas are served to those who visit.

As I sat on the teakwood floor sipping tea, a feeling of peace prevailed. Beams of light streamed through the open windows, and the eyes of 64 golden Buddhas seemed to watch me from every angle. I sensed another pair of eyes, those of a curious cat, but when I turned to look, it had disappeared.

"That's James Bond," the monk said.

I laughed, but he assured me he wasn't joking.

"He is a very secretive cat," he said. "He likes to watch, but if we try to catch him he always escapes. So we call him James Bond."