Last summer I rented a diesel Cruze while vacationing in Spain and France and it was not a bad little car. The gearbox was surprisingly good and the grunt was sufficient for travel in Europe. Of course the handling and power were pretty awful, but for an around-town car, especially in traffic or hilly areas when you need some torque, it was a downright useful car.

We do basically this, except that we use our monitors as the walls. Dual 26 inchers do the trick nicely, though adding a few more wouldn't hurt!

I am exactly the same way. I've tried highlighting and making notes, but it really just disconnects me further from the text. Long ago I realized that I can enjoy a story or even academic text far more by simply reading (and sometimes rereading) through it. All that said, I've owned a Kindle 2 for a few months and enjoy it thoroughly. It's not something I would buy to save money on reading or to replace textbooks, but I prefer my Kindle to a standard paperback. The weight and ease of page turning makes all the difference. Also, the display is amazing.

I am in a similar boat. I consolidated my loans at 2.875% fixed in 2005 and the rate has dropped to 1.875% (still fixed) thanks to 3 years of on-time payments. It's not even worth paying more than the monthly minimum at this rate. As someone else mentioned, a "don't consolidate" view is shortsighted. Check out what offers are out there, and if consolidation provides better (preferably fixed) rates, then do that. Seems pretty straightforward to me!

Whee :-P