Hypermiling........How my driving is.....

Ok, so I'm surfing the net the other day and I come across a video on CNN.com about some dude that's getting 50mpg in his non-hybrid Honda Accord. This interests me as I have to drive pretty far to work every day and I'm spending about $500/month on gas. So I put it to practice. I tried it out for a complete tank of gas and increased my fuel economy from about 20mpg to 27mpg by simply changing my driving habits. This was my first try and my goal is to average 30mpg in my 2007 Mustang. It's easy and you can do it in any vehicle. Follow a few simple rules and save 25-30% on gas. Even if you're driving a gas guzzler that only gets 10mpg, isn't 15mpg better? All of this adds up to between $125-$160/month savings for me. Plus I'm carpooling with a buddy which saves me another $100/month. Not exactly chump change. Here are the basics to hypermiling.

Drive like Grandma: Drive the speed limit or a little below. I never drive more than 60 mph now and that's only on the freeway. This from a speed demon who never drove below 85mph on the freeway. Then I read that for ever 10mph over 60mph you're adding 53 cents per gallon to your gas bill due to wind resistance. That woke me up really quick since I'll drive out of my way to save 5 cents/gal on gas. BTW in case you didn't know, your car is most fuel efficient while going as slow as you can in the highest gear. For me, since I have an automatic, my car shifts into overdrive at about 40mph. So my best fuel efficiency is at around 40mph.

Accelerate like Grandma: Ok, I piss some people off a little with this one, but I accelerate like I'm doing my very best to make the speedometer needle move upward as slowly as possible. HUGE gas savings on this one.

Keep moving. This is the part where you get to drive like a racecar driver and not a Grandma. Surprisingly it's your brakes rather than your accelerator that's your worst enemy. Your Goal is to keep your momentum going. You paid good money to get up to 55mph. Every time you hit the brakes you have to pay more money to get back to 55. Take curves and corners with as much speed as possible, thereby lessening the amount of gas you need to get back up to speed.

Avoid Idling at all costs. Time your lights and stop signs. If you can see the red light from far away or a green light you know is about to change, throw your car into neutral, turn off your engine and coast up to the light. This also works for long downhills. Keep your momentum going. Even if that means slowing down early and crawling up to a stop light so that you don't have to come to a complete stop. Starting from a complete stop kills your gas mileage. Even if you're only going 2mph, it's much better than starting from a complete stop. And if you do have to come to a complete stop, at least you're not getting 0mpg by idling at the light.

Here is a video and an article about hypermiling if you're intersted.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/06/03/btsc.hypermiling/index.html?iref=newssearch#cnnSTCVideo

http://features.csmonitor.com/innovation/2008/06/11/squeezing-the-most-out-of-a-gallon/

Cuda

Vasectomy update #2

All done. Wasn't a completely psychologically scarring moment in time. The procedure itself wasn't a big deal. Just a little tug here and some pressure there and it was all over. Now as I lay in bed with a bag of frozen peas, it feels like the after affect of being kicked in the nuts about two days ago. Just a dull ache. Doc prescribed me some Darvocet variety pain killer but I'm going to stick with 800 mg of Advil for now. I'm not a big fan of narcotics. They make me nauseous.

Anyway, not much to it. In and out but I did think it was funny when the (pretty cute) nurse told me that there can't be any saliva in my semen sample in 6 weeks. I was like, thanks a ton. LOL.

So me and my peas are going to watch a movie.

Cuda

Vasectomy Update.

Ok, shaving your junk is just wrong on so many levels. I keep things trimmed up down there anyway, but this is just torture. Plus I've never tried the "Batwing" procedure before and let me just say, it was horrifying. I was just waiting to nick myself. Luckily everything is (somewhat) smooth and I'm psyching myself up for the procedure. My dad is taking me in to get it done because Missy had to use her last sick day to go to my Grandfather's funeral. Sooooo............that should be awkward.

So Dad, do you ever get that not so fresh feeling?

Cuda

Snip snip snipperoo..............

No, that's not Snipe. It's Snip. As in I'm going to go and get snipped today. I've finally determined that I'm no longer of the baby producing mentality and I'm off to get the bullets taken out of the gun today. As Jeff Foxworthy would say, now I can just wave it around and point it at anybody.

So, that being said, I'm facing up to the procedure that is about to be inflicted upon me. They actually prescribed me a Valium. LOL. I guess some guys get a little tense with the thought of sharp objects around the junk. I'm really not nervous about it at all though. For one, I'm ready for my fiance to get off birth control. That'll save us $30/month and get rid of the three day mood swings (i.e. post PMS) that comes with the start of her BC cycle. Not to mention her sex drive sky rockets when she's not on BC. Woohoo!

So anyway, wish me luck. I'm going to veg out for a few days. Who knows maybe I could actually get some Halo in, if the frozen peas don't get in my way.

Here's some useful info.

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=5sQL-B0-4jY[/youtube]

I still can't get this Youtube shit to work. You tell me what I did wrong.

Cuda

Hmmmm.........Blogging.........

Well, I guess this will be my first go at this. People have asked me why I don't have a blog. I don't know what it will turn out to be. This could be my one and only entry depending on how I feel about it later. Who knows?

And if you've entered here expecting the promised land of scantily clad women, I'm not sure that's what I want this to be. It may turn out that way, but I think I've turned a bit of a corner (much to everyone's dissapointment) now that I have a stable life with a wonderful woman who treats me like gold. I don't really need as much of the attention I was seeking when I first entered 2old2play. A lot has happened since I first stepped foot on these hallowed grounds. I've been divorced, changed job titles, lived the rowdy bachelor life, moved three or four times, been to two incredible LAN's, had some great gaming times, found the afore mentioned beautiful woman, and now ready to get married again. I still like scantily clad women. Don't get me wrong. I'm still Cuda. LOL. I just don't know if that's what I want to be known for anymore. But if that's what you're looking for, Durty's blog is a gold mine. Head that way.

So, all that being said, I lost my grandfather this past weekend. I hadn't told anyone on the site before now. His name was Wilburn Fisher and he was affectionately my Papaw. It seems strange to write that now seeing as how I've never lost anyone close to me until now and I'm about to be 34 years old. Most people don't have the fortune to be able to know their grandparents for 30+ years and my grandmother is still healthy as a horse although this has been hard on her. My Papaw had Parkinson's Disease and this last Christmas begged her and my father not to put him in a nursing home. He knew he was going downhill and we all knew that that Christmas would be his last. So my Grandmother (Mamaw) did everything possible to keep him at home and she succeeded. She nursed him day and night until the time came as we all were there to watch him take his last breath. I look at her differently now. I've seen true love. 57 years of marriage and a terrible yet beautiful ending.

Wilburn Fisher 1932-2008 Go rest high on that Mountain.