Iron horse to mini donkey
I apologize for the lack of posts, but I have been busy riding.
My newest endurance mount.
Cookie philosophy
Found inside my fortune cookie:
"Behavior is a mirror in which everyone shows his own image."
Time to gloat
What better way to follow up on my last post about the war monger than to gloat over my recent victory at the gas pump? I filled up the Prius for the first time last night since buying it. I have driven 520 miles and achieved 52 MPGs combined city and highway! Not bad for the break-in period and having to familiarize myself with new driving techniques particular to the hybrid.
This photograph is of the screen that tracks energy consumption over the first 30 minutes of a drive. As you travel you have the ability to regenerate power either by coasting or lightly using the brakes. The regenerative energy is stored in the large NiMh batteries and is used as supplemental power with the internal combustion engine (ICE). The small green cars in the graph are equivalent to 50Wh of regenerated power. Depending on the topography of the roads I am driving on I can coast and earn more cars, or not. There are one or two places on my route to the stables for example where I can completely recharge the NiMh battery by coasting and braking.
The third screen indicates which power sources the car is using. I use this screen to gain a feel for the transition between the ICE turning on and the other electric power sources working. The Prius has a continuous variable transmission, which means it shifts upwards and down without any perceptable jerk or sound. The only time one can feel a slight shudder is when the ICE turns on, otherwise the ride is very smooth
At speeds of 35 Mph and lower the car can be driven in all electric mode, which is what this last picture illustrates. The quiet Prius has fantastic resistance free rolling capabilities, and part of the fun of earning the best MPG is coasting whenever possible. I time my approach to stoplights so that I can glide up to them or lightly use my brakes. If I have traffic all around me I go with the flow, but as soon as I am alone on the road I'm doing my best to use my momentum and maintain the speed in all electric mode.
---See you next time for the following installment of "Prius Love."
Why worry?
An excerpt from the Sunday, June 26 Washington Post article written by Pete Baker, Washington Post staff writer. Page A01
On a personal level, Bush has spent much of his presidency fighting the advance of age with discipline. He wakes at 5:30 a.m., arrives at the Oval Office around 7 and calls it a day around 5:30 or 6 p.m. when he's in Washington. He exercises ferociously with a mountain bike, treadmill and free-weight resistance training. Yesterday, he biked for 2 1/2 hours at a Secret Service training facility in Beltsville. With a resting pulse rate of 47 beats per minute, a cholesterol count of 178 and a body fat percentage of 15.79, he remains in "superior" shape, according to his latest medical checkup.
To be in "superior" shape as one approaches the age of 60 is great. Imagine where this country could be if the same kind of discipline and dedication was applied to its welfare?
The November 13, 2000 cover of The Nation. www.thenation.com Art: Brian Stauffer/www.brianstauffer.com
Mission accomplished
60 City 51 Highway. No soldiers per gallon.
To President Arbusto: When it comes time to fill up my very economical and reliable Toyota Prius you can rest assured that I will be doing my best to find a Citgo gas station to make my purchase. Not one, pardon the pun, bloody penny will be going to the Middle East. And while I wait for cleaner diesel for my unreliable, American made pick up truck I will be participating in a campaign that will help build renewable energy sources.
Impervious to time
We had just met and I fell in love with your dark brown eyes, and long eyelashes..
One year later and I still feel the same way. 
i missed my alarm clock a person who has been acting very immature by ignoring me for the past 3 weeks spoke to me several times today i almost asked if they weren't well but decided against it my horse got his spring vaccinations the weather was beautiful with blue sky and passing clouds it was breezy and slightly cool if you stood in the shade but wonderfully warm in the sun when i got home this afternoon i made an instant coffee i poured the hot water into the mug very slowly for some reason and then was drawn to the beautiful dark brown swirls of the coffee and foam as the cup slowly filled to see me looking into the mug like that one would think that i'd never seen anything like it before i have a childlike fascination with the simplest of things i belong outside doing simple work i will pick things up in the street to see them up close i might keep them or not i often have the company of animals instead of the company of people i will listen to a song many times over if it has a base or drumbeat that i like like a moth to the light i pick up colorful moths at the stables and put them in a safe place if they are living sometimes i will take them home if they have died it seems a shame not to admire their beauty
Meet "Makena"
I am going to foster an elephant. If you want to learn more about elephants and other African animals in need of foster care, or read about a very interesting man by the name of David Sheldrick then you should go here. Bon Voyage! PHOTO CREDIT NOT KNOWN. TAKEN FROM THE WEB SITE OF THE DAVID SHELDRICK WILDLIFE TRUST.
Surfing?
Here are some new links that I have added to my side bar. I found them by browsing Illustration Friday
1. Stutler's Sketchbook A Japan based artist, he makes many of his sketches while standing in the train.
2. Sketch Crawl I didn't spend too much time at this site, but it looks like a Tokyo based group of people who contribute their sketches to this blogsite. I'm def. going back to check it out.
3. Poster Art Primarily Polish artists. I need to go back to this site as well- I was there long enough to snatch the URL and leave :)
Hope you enjoy the sites/sights.
CHICKENHAWK with gun.
Watch where you point that thing, you might shoot someone in the face. OH! you DID shoot someone in the face. You like guns? What about Vietnam- you got five deferments- Didn't want to use guns then did you?? Noooo you had "more important things to do."
Up all night
So after crafting my rap lyrics (see below), I decided I had nothing better to do with myself except go to bed -so I stayed up all night. It's nice seeing the sun come up. The dog was sleeping in my office on a pile of soft beds for his arthritic bones and the light in my room was turned down to its lowest. Cozy. Crazy? I don't know... why not stay up? I wasn't tired. Maybe it will hit me at noon today, but for now I'm going to enjoy the morning. You should hear the Cardinals singing outside my window. They bask in the sun on the Chinese holly and chirp it up!
I hope all of us have a good day today.
You down with ADD?
sing to the tune of OPP Naughty by Nature
Mallow drop a load on 'em
ADD, how can I explain it
I'll take you frame by frame it
To have you all jumpin' shall we singin' it
A is for attention...D is for the lackin' they call deficit
The last D... well that's not that simple
It's sort of like another way it's illness or confusion
It's five little letters that are missin' here (chaos)
You get on most occasions while at home or anywhere
As a situation seems I gotta start explainin'
Bust it
You ever had a day where everything was fine n' low
You get at on you buisness feelin' nuthin but mellow
Then you get back to your crib and see what you forgot
There aint no blame its on each day its how you go about
You lie down and you sleep jus so to clear it out
It's not a front, F to the R to the O to the N to the T
Its just your minds a wreck an chaos what's all about
It's ADD, time to tell your peoples what you got it
There's no cleanin' up the mess inside escapin' it
how many brothers know just what I'm getin' at
Who thinks it's wrong I'm spacin' mind erasin at
Well if you do, thats ADD and your not down with it
But if you don't, here's your membership
Chorus:
You down with ADD (yeah you know me) 3x
Who's down with ADD (every last homie)
You down with ADD (yeah you know me) 3x
Who's down with ADD (all the homies)
OPP lyrics contained herein are not used by permission. Thanks for the inspiration.
Daisy & Mallow
Said:
"Do you want a StarWars Light saber?"
Heard:
"Do you want a Starburst Life saver?"
Reply:
"No thanks I have gum in the car."
Heard:
"No thanks I have a gun in the car."
::: pause to clarify:::::
followed by the best laugh of the night.
Roadmap for living
What better way to start the 2006 blogging season than to visit blogthings and find my roadmap to life? Afterall aren't there hundreds of thousands of people in the world floundering along, seeking out complicated answers to their problems when all along the answer could be right out there on the web? Consider the possibility that the meaning of life, or the secret to eternal youth could only be a mouse click away.
No real soul searching is complete without first visiting the underware oracle. Here is what the great UO had to say about me (few grammatical changes were made by yours truly):
You have a lucky pair of underwear and you wear them more than you should. You're comfortable in your own skin - and don't care to impress anyone.
Next exit on the self discovery highway: what kind of girl are you?. Just as a side note- I'm probably too old to be considered a "girl." Never mind the little details, I'll continue to let my youthful appearance fool everyone I meet.
Yep, the "C" word. No! not that "C" word- stop listening to so much rap! The career "C" word. Those of you who know me probably fell out of your chairs laughing when you saw the little career gal picture. It's okay I understand I thought it was funny too. Actually, I stood up and yelled STFU!! at the computer but quickly realized the oracle could not hear me. After regaining my composure I read what the great one had to say:You may not be a CEO yet, but you're well on your way to success.
You take your career seriously, and you wouldn't stop working for any guy!
An independent woman, you pay for your own car, clothes, and housing.
And men appreciate that - at least, the ones as driven as you are.
After reading that I wanted to sing "R.E.S.P.E.C.T, find out what it means to me, ohhh-ohhh-ohhhh, sockittome, sockittome, sockittome, sockittome."
Instead of singing I found another oracle.
Ahh... that serene blue swirly.. it pulled me in.
You are dependable, popular, and observant.
Deep and thoughtful, you are prone to moodiness.
In fact, your emotions tend to influence everything you do.
You are unique, creative, and expressive.
You don't mind waving your freak flag every once and a while.
And lucky for you, most people find your weird ways charming!
Always a glutton for further distraction I decided I needed one more visit to the hallowed halls of blogthings.
I wondered if the soothsayers had advance warning of my arrival?***You Are 40% Weird***
Normal enough to know that you're weird...
But too damn weird to do anything about it!
With that final insight, the heavy doors to the prognostatorium* smacked me in the butt as they closed with a thud. I scarcely noticed my backside getting whacked, for I was already working on a plan, and my head was swimming with revealing personal discoveries. It didn't matter that I hadn't found the answer to the meaning of life, or eternal youth. I knew I'd return to the decaying steps of the oracle's den in a few months time... but right now, time was running out! I had to hurry -I desperately needed to get to Victoria's Secret for a new pair of lucky underware.
I close the first post of 2006 by wishing my vast audience of 5 readers all the best wishes for the new year!
*Mallowsdada wordtionary© 2006
(above images are from blogthing. Artists unknown)
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