This post goes out to Tampa Mark, the guru of enviro-eco-goodness. I have been working diligently to improve the gas milage of my 11 year old car. It’s a 1997 Volkwagen Jetta with a 2.0 liter, 8 valve four banger under the hood. I have made the following “mods” to improve milage:
Installed an aftermarket air cleaner and removed the stock air box
Wrapped the Mass Air Flow Sensor housing in reflective aluminum tape (to keep cool)
Wrapped the intake duct (from the MAF to the throttle body) in the same tape
Disassembled my throttle body and bored out the air track with a Dremel tool and sanded smooth to allow less restricted air flow
Increased my tire pressure to 42lbs in the front and 40lbs in the rear (32/30 stock)
Drive like an old lady and coasted in neutral as much as possible
Yesterday I put all my “mods” to the test as we drove from Memphis, TN to Austin, TX. Here is what was working against me:
Car loaded with 2 adults, 1 child and a full trunk of luggage
102 degrees outside
The Air on full blast the whole trip
Extra stops
The result, here comes the miracle, an incredible 37.1 miles per gallon! The best I had ever seen before all of my changes, on the highway, with a light load, cool air and not running the A/C was 31mpg. I am very pleased!
Wall*E Opens today and the first review I read is enough. It is exactly what I had hoped for. Tomorrow is the big day for Charlie ’cause we are so there! Here is the review from Gizmodo
Wall-E might be the most sympathetic, lovable robot ever created on film. While R2-D2 was hilarious and endearing, he had the benefit of C3PO to translate for him and a cast of human characters to carry the weight of the story. At the end of the day, R2-D2 was simply comic relief, but his descendant, whose voice was also created by Ben Burtt, is so full of humanity that you feel like your heart might just burst. Simply put, Wall-E is a masterpiece.
The first 40 minutes or so of Wall-E are almost completely without dialogue. Instead, the story is told visually, as we see Wall-E, the abandoned garbage bot, puttering around a staggeringly rendered post-apocalyptic Earth. He goes around doing his job, as he has for the past 700 years, compacting trash into cubes and stacking them into immense towers. On the side, he collects remnants of humanity to keep for his own amusement. Zippo lighters, Rubik’s Cubes, Christmas lights: these are what Wall-E surrounds himself with. Because he’s so alone (except for a little cockroach), these dirty, abandoned objects are his companions, his contact with humanity.Read more…
We rented a Dodge Grand Caravan for our trip to Washington DC. I have to say, this is probably the best family truckster ever to be bolted together! It’s part van, part transformer. The side doors slide open with a click of a button on the remote. Read more…
This one is not for small kids, please screen this before showing the little ones. It’s not what I expected but, for some reason, totally made me laugh out loud! Could it be that I have a deep rooted aversion to cell phones?
Sure, he can walk up stairs, carry a serving tray and generally be the coolest thing ever to kids like my son (and me!) but today our old friend Asimo steps it up a notch. He looks so proud doing too!
40 some odd years ago the happy lady you see in this picture, with my son, gave birth to me. That’s my mom. Mom is one awesome lady. When I think of the years of grief I put her through, especially my middle school and high school years, it is a miracle that she did not take a baseball bat to my thick skull! My Mom raised two children as a single mother. Mom busted her hump to make sure my brother and I had everything we needed. I don’t mean just the material things like clothes, food and of course a large selection of Atari games for our 2600 console system. What I mean is she made sure we were good kids. Mom kept us out of trouble and raised my brother and I to be good people who love their families and kids. When I think about the neighborhood where we lived and the friends we had AND where they are today… the miracle was the work Mom did with us. Mom’s core is a heart of gold and the soul of a warrior. My Mom is tough, takes charge in a crisis and dosen’t take any lip from anyone. Mom will also give you the shirt off her back if she knew it would help. So today, on Mothers Day, I want to tell my Mom thanks. Thanks for everything you have done for me and my brother. Thanks for all the hard work and thanks for being the greatest Mom. I love you!!!
This post goes out to Tampa Mark, the guru of enviro-eco-goodness. I have been working diligently to improve the gas milage of my 11 year old car. It’s a 1997 Volkwagen Jetta with a 2.0 liter, 8 valve four banger under the hood. I have made the following “mods” to improve milage:
