Progressive's "Flo" sucks, but Snapshot is cool

I just signed up for Progressive's "snapshot" program in hopes that I will get a discount on my car insurance. They mail you a little device and you plug it into the port in your car. It monitors speed, distance, time, & breaking. You can qualify for discounts if you drive during non-peak hours, limit "hard" braking, and drive less than the average for people in your area. I'm a good candidate for this program because some days I drive less than 10 miles - that's to work and then back home. I've also been told that I drive like a 70-year-old woman (or, at least that's what I gather from the number of people who ride my ass in the 20 mph school zone). Since the device doesn't have GPS they can't compare speed data to the speed limits. In my case that kinda sucks, since I usually drive within the limit and would *love* Progressive to know that and give me a discount.

You can log into your account and check your driving stats, which is super cool. Here's some data from my ride to work:

A visual of my morning commute to work. Yes, I drive a Subaru like everyone else in Colorado. 

See those tiny bumps at the beginning where my speed fluctuates between 3 and 10 mph in a very short span? That's me driving over about 18 speed bumps in the parking deck at my apartment. It takes me three and a half minutes to get from the fifth level to the exit gate. This is especially trying if i am running late, because there's really nothing you can do about it. 

Now let's look at the graph of the trip Andy & I made last weekend to Keystone ski resort:

Took us 2.5 hours to travel what usually only takes 1:15 (80 miles).  As you can see we spent a lot of time in bumper-to-bumper traffic. We forgot it was X Games weekend. Oops. Thank you, I-70, for the proper initiation. 

And if you're wondering what a "hard brake" is, here's how Progressive presents the data - Andy was driving during this period and he's in big trouble with me:

 Bastard. But at least the hard braking was during the low-risk time.

Ok, I'm done plugging my auto insurance company. Now on to a few other random things:

• "Paper Planes" by M.I.A - worst and most annoying song ever. You've heard it, you just didn't know what it was called.

• I finally dropped AT&T as my cell carrier. Since I don't have a smartphone and don't talk much, it really didn't make sense for me to have a plan with them. Now I'm with Virgin Mobile on a pay-as-you-go plan. Seriously, I feel like an idiot for not switching to them like, 2 years ago. The phone cost me $50 and it's kinda crappy, but it does the same stuff my last phone did and I actually get a stronger signal inside my apartment than I did using AT&T. 

• WTF is the appeal with Pinterest? That's all I heard about these days. I've never looked at it. I guess I know what it is on a basic level, but apparently women are obsessed with it and it sounds pretty dumb.  My understanding is that you can display and share craft ideas, recipes, and other bullshit that looks pretty around the house. This sounds lame to me. I feel that crafting is pointless (unless it's for halloween), nor do I care what other women are cooking for their perfect families or making or using to organize their homes. When I get home from work, I plant my ass in front of the tv with a bag of wheat thins. When I'm done doing that, I bitch about having to cook something for dinner, but also bitch about getting takeout because I don't want to leave the apartment again (well, mainly b/c I don't want to put a blemish on my Snapshot record, see above). I'm lazy at times, and it's great. If I'm having a get-together, my guests are eating veggies & hummus, followed by an inexpensive meat that Andy's in charge of grilling. They're drinking whatever beer is in the fridge. Some people (women) go to a lot of trouble and spend money on stupid stuff that doesn't matter, and it seems like Pinterest is playing into this. Damn, why couldn't I have thought of that?