I love This Old House and their feature Photoshop Makeover is a favorite of mine.  I am too lazy to submit a photo of our own house to them, so I just made one of my own using SketchUp!  I already had the model of the house in correct proportions.  We want to take out the 1980s wrought iron porch supports and railing, remove the unoriginal section of roof to the right on the porch and put up some period porch supports.  (I may or may not have been procrastinating working on summer internship applications when I did this. Just kidding NASA and NPS.)

I am pleased with the results.  My fears of brick columns looking out of place seem unwarranted.  Specific questions include:
1. Does the aspect ratio of the columns seem appropriate?  The brick portion is 16" square in the model.
2. Is the taper of the upper section of the columns seem appropriate?
3. We may get a new roof in the next few years.  A white metal roof would be good for our thermostat, our wallets, and our planet, but might look ridiculous on a white house.  Thoughts?

Please comment below!  Thanks!

I remember driving fast, too fast, and not being sure we would make the turn.  But we always did.  I remember downshifting into second or third and watching the tachometer redline at around 6800 RPMs.  She was slim and responsive.  I'm talking about my first car, a 1986 Mazda 626 coupe with a 2.0 L engine.  She was a 5 speed and was quite fast too, with plenty of power due to her light weight, just 2,480 lbs.  Josh pointed out that she was more than a car, she was an Agent of Fun, so that is what we called her.  For 6 years, the keys were under the floormat and if you needed a car, you used her.  If you shifted properly, you could peel out all the way through first gear and into second gear.  That's what 93 hp could do.  (Our 2010 Prius is 3,000 lbs and 134 hp.)

It dawned on me, will I ever own another stick shift?  I really hope the answer is yes, but what will it be?

Image credit: http://www.mcdonaldindustries.com/james/DSC04261R.jpg