but having a new car every few years is important to them.

This is one of the aforementioned circumstances -- getting a new car every few years is one of the upsides of leasing.

Having a car that'll get me from point A to point B in relative safety, and which I'll have for the longest amount of time and the lowest amount of money,

Yeah, you want a nice "certified, pre-owned" vehicle. Used, but not too used.

If you're not sure you're going to replace the car, don't lease. I leased, fell in love, and bought it. Way too expensive, but that's love for you. Won't lease again -- I'll just do the up front work to make as sure as possible I won't want to replace it after three years.

Having a car that'll get me from point A to point B in relative safety, and which I'll have for the longest amount of time and the lowest amount of money,

See, that's such a benefit. I had Sherman for almost 5 years *after* he was paid off. That's 5 years without a car payment, which, let me tell you, helps a lot. And I plan to have the still-unnamed-Echo for a long damn time as well, since I have 4 more years on the loan.

the still-unnamed-Echo

You didn't like my suggestion of Bob (-ob -ob -ob)?

the still-unnamed-Echo

You didn't like my suggestion of Bob (-ob -ob -ob)?

It's not *me* -- nothing is sticking as The Name. "Sherman" was just one of those things where it happened and I realized "Well, OF COURSE his name is Sherman!" That hasn't happened with the Echo yet.

We only got a few inches of snow, but I took [link] this picture of the Episcopal Cathedral from near my home.

This [link] is a pic of my home from the same spot, if I swing the camera 90 degrees to the left.

I took more, but the cathedral one was the first I've played with of the batch. Photoshop is a time sucker.

Oooooo...pretty snow pictures, Daniel.

Mmmmmmm...chili!

Sail, backflung.

(psst, Teppy, call your car Batman. Fandom, you know, and echolocation)

Got it, Sparky.