malkav11

Well, my parents are back in the US (actually, have been for a bit now). This doesn't mean I'm living with them again, however. I think my mother would have liked to end up back here in the Twin Cities, but jobs for a GS12 in the Corps of Engineers are pretty scarce around here. What she was eventually provided with is a job down at the Rock Island, Illinois Corps branch (I think it's actually something like the regional HQ or somesuch, but since I don't recall..). And as she was explaining at a party yesterday, she could either take that job or leave government service. So they're living in Davenport, IA now, and they're in the process of buying what looks like a really beautiful 4-bedroom house there. It's apparently something like twice as big as this house and was...well, I don't know how the price compared, precisely, but the Davenport real estate market is substantially less pricy than the Twin Cities real estate market, so I *am* sure that it will cost them a lot less than a similar house would here. This house is covered by the rent the people upstairs are paying, so they don't see any immediate reason to sell. So I won't have to move in the near future, which is good.

They also managed to snag a new Toyota Prius, which is apparently a very hot item. I am not a car person, but it did look very cool. There's an electronic display which shows the MPG you're getting and whether the main engine is on or if you're just running on the electric motor, as well as battery power, and you can also call up various menus. And there's a rear digital video camera which feeds you real-time video to aid in parking. The keys are "smart keys", which use RFID so that you can just have your keys on you someplace and open the door with it unlocking automatically as you do so. And start the car likewise. No fumbling for keys. Also there's a plug for iPods. So...yeah. I have now encountered the second car in my entire life that I might have some inkling of desire for. (The first being the Smartcar. So small. So cute. Want.)

I know all this because they came up for the weekend. It's about a 5-6 hour drive, so they aren't likely to do it often, but I'll doubtless see them substantially more often than when they were a 16 hour plane trip away. I loaned 'em some good reading material and my complete series of Rahxephon, so they'll have entertainment while they wait to move into their new house..

Other, less exciting news: Picked up the second Penny Arcade book today, Epic Legends of the Magic Sword Kings. Should be fun. And I just finished watching "Brick", a classic film noir, as set in a South California high school. It's really jarring at first, but it's a gorgeous movie and very well written and acted, so before long it just flat out works. Recommended.