Tag Archives: travel

Heat and Mileage

Posted in Biden, Electric Automobiles, EVs, Uncategorized by

I have always known that the heat will effect mileage of electric cars, or any car with air conditioning really. However, as usual, experience is a good teacher. Now that it has been hitting 95 degrees daily lately it is becoming a great deal more obvious. For this reason, the wife and I have started waiting longer before we go out.

At the end of each trip, my EV Nissan gives me a report on how many miles per KW hour I had. It is pretty normal to score anywhere from 3.0 to 3.8. However, here lately, I have been getting reports around 2.3 and 2.4. It is somewhat logical as it takes half the 5 mile ride to cool the car down.

On rare occasions, when driving at night, I get reports close to 5.0. Then the other day, in the evening, I needed very little air conditioning. It wasn’t so hot and my trip was about half in the shade. When I pulled into the drive and turned off the car, I was surprised with a 6.1 miles per KW Hour.

That tells me, I would get much better mileage if I could do all my driving in a climate of 72 degrees where the sun is not heating the cabin through the windows.

Well, I have also drawn a few more conclusions. I could drastically increase my mileage if I could always park my car with the windows wide open. If I could leave the air conditioning off, I just might be able to double my range.

I can’t imagine that others are not completely aware of what I am saying. Moreover, air conditioning does create a load on internal combustion engines, too, likely more than we want to admit. Might it be possible that AC might cost as much as 5 or 6 miles per gallon. This is particularly true when a car must be parked in the sun, pushing the cabin heat to 130, maybe 140 degrees. Likely that compressor in any car is kept running the first 3 or 4 miles.

In the old days, we just rolled the windows down which helped a lot. We just can’t do that anymore. Weather aside, too many thieves. Too much of a temptation. The cost of insurance is high enough. However, If the cost of fuel keeps going up, we might need to roll the windows down anyway and make sure we leave nothing in the car we don’t want to lose.

There are other solutions of course. I did many years ago cover my car with a reflective cover. It worked okay, but by the time I took it off the car, the sun already heated the car. Besides, someone took the cover.

My wife is always tell me, I think to much. I guess that’s true. I did consider just a couple of 4 x 8 pieces of plywood with aluminum foil. I almost did it a time or two. I also wondered if I might be able to mount the things on the car while driving. I am sure it would drive the cost of AC down, but I’m not sure it would be legal.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a piece of foam that would fit over the car and hang over the windows a little. That would not only protect from the heat but it would also prolong the life of the interior, maybe a little. The foam could be rolled up while not in use and put in the trunk. I kind of like this idea the most, if I could find a piece of foam. It would not help while driving. However, it would not take as long to cool the cabin.

My car, I guess as most cars with AC allow the driver to select to recirculate the interior air or pull in fresh air and cool it. Many overlook it. When the cabin is 120 degrees, it is better to draw 95 degree air in and cool it instead of the hot interior air, while forcing the 120 degree air out.

On the other hand, once the interior of the car has cooled blow the 95 degree outdoor temperature, it is far better to cool the interior air than the the hotter outside temperature.

My car has all kinds of automation, but I must do this manually. Moreover, I must only guess. I have no interior temperature indication, other than guess. With all the push to go green, why is this so. Nonetheless, I do my part. When I get in my car, I select outdoor. After about 5 minutes, I switch to recirculate. My guess, I’m probably off some.

Another more recent Idea I had is to get one of these battery powered leaf blowers. Roughly five minutes before going anywhere, I can roll down the front windows and point the leaf blower in one window and blow 95 degree in one window forcing he 120 degree air out the other window. I haven’t done it yet, but it does seem that it would work.

Then the blower would go in the trunk for just before I start home.

If anyone has any other ideas, I have my ears on. If the engineers don’t want to solve this problem, let’s do it for them. Incidentally, Old Joe is going to make sure we are all going to go to electric cars. Y’ll are going to be facing these problems one of these days.

The Problem With Ordering Online

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Whenever, I order pizza online to be delivered, I order through Domino’s. It all works out good. The pizza is hot and the soft drinks are cold. The one delivering the pizza is friendly.

Then, suddenly I have advertisements show up daily on my e-mail. I know the e-mail has a little box to check to turn the ads off, but why.

It may seem strange, but when I want a pizza I know how to do that. I don’t need help. And I do find it annoying to have my computer used for their ads. It just rubs me the wrong way.

I would tell them personally, but I doubt it would help. Companies like that seem to have mindsets, and not just Domino’s. It seems I order a widget and suddenly there is an onslaught of ads for widgets. I just bought the one. I don’t need anymore for a long time. You know, they do last years.

Well, I am getting a little off the intended path, but I suspect I already have a few folks agreeing with me.

But here’s the hitch for Domino’s and the outfits like them. Instead of going to Domino’s to order my next pizza, I am more apt to go to Three guys, Marco’s, or even Subway… who makes a really good personal pizza by the way.

Instead of the ads drawing business in, they just might be driving people away. I consider it the unintended consequences of doing stupid stuff. And here’s the hitch, they think what they are doing is smart.

Words of Wisdom for the Woman Who Wants to Carry (a gun)

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I was in a doctor’s office the other day and reading an article by a woman. Yeah. What can a woman tell a man who was in the Marines for nine years about guns? Plenty!

Two things specifically that never occurred to me. First, never carry a gun in your purse. Now, I don’t know why I never thought of that, other than I never carried a purse. The problem you see, if a purse snatcher, snatches your purse, then he has also has obscanded off with your gun. You now no longer have a purse or money, but you lost your gun too. Now you will need to explain that to the police.

I have a weakness as a reporter. I am bad at getting names. I should have written down the name of the woman that wrote that which I read so that I was able to write it so you can read it. Should the woman read this, send me a message so I can properly credit you.

By the way, good clean well oiled guns don’t need to be carried in not so clean pursues anyway.

As a side note of my own, if you left your gun in the car that was stolen, pretty much the same thing applies. Fortunately, at least until recently, cars are more difficult to steal than purses.

One more peace of advice for any person, especially women, if you think you want to carry a .38 special for any reason, fire 50 rounds through one before investing in one. 1 in 3 men can handle one; maybe 1 in 10. After firing 10 rounds through a rental one day, I learned that. I am not too proud to admit my wrist hurt for hours after.

They used to be carried by police, you know. Now I have a new respect for them. I suppose after four or five hundred rounds, I might get used to it, but why?

ABC 24 This Week

Posted in Abuse of Power, Crime, law enforcement, Lawyers and Representation, Liberals, Our Legal Systems, Politcal Opinion by

I watched the above show on channel 24, Memphis. The subject of discussion for the the first 15 minutes was the raising of property taxes suggested by the mayor.

First, let me say as I have before, I like the idea. Every time the Memphis city government does something stupid, the value of real estate in Desoto County increases. May I make this short reminder that Desoto County is growing leaps and bounds while Memphis population is shrinking. I might add that Memphis has been losing people to surrounding area almost immediately after the dems established firm control of the city forcing their liberal concepts upon the cityresidents.

Going back to the TV show, all three guests on the show agreed with the mayor. That says, no shouts something about the show. Considering the rebellion of the tax payers in Memphis, I would have to say that it was a very poor representation of the city population.

The Soviets had a word for that kind of journalism. Pravda, Ironically, it is the Russian word for truth. I think maybe the show spoke everything but the truth.

It is the misfortune of Memphis, the benefits for me and my neighbors, and all the surrounding communities.

Malfunction Junction

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The above is an unofficial name given to the junction of interstates 55 and 240. The reason is quite simple, or should I say complex. If you enter the junction on 55, you must exit to remain on 55. If you enter on 240, you must exit to remain on 240.

No matter if you enter the junction from North, South, East or West, if you don’t take an off ramp, you will leave the junction on a different interstate than the one you entered on.

As I consider it, it does make me think. It sort of represents how the feds do things. More specifically, it represents how Old Joe does things.

Note, if you don’t believe me, just look it up on a map or Google Earth. It’s in the southern part of Memphis. It is also a good idea to keep in mind should you need to go through the interchange during your travels.

Incidentally, US 51 passes through the same area. However, southbound, there is only an off ramp from 240 to 51. Northbound, there is only an off ramp from 55 to 51. I discovered this the hard many decades ago. Eastbound or westbound, sorry, no way to get there without going somewhere else first.

Is It Okay to Be a Little Bit Jealous?

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I am not a car race fan but, whilst looking for news, I happened to note an electric car race. Just had to look at it a while. As the cars negotiated the circuit, the camera caught an image of a bunch of boats moored nearby.

There were 2 things I noticed. The boats were huge. Likely many were over 200 feet, I’m sure. Also, there were so many in there, I simply couldn’t figure any way they could get them in or out.

One more thing I noticed, the race was taking place in Monoco, though that was of little importance to me at the time. Still, just why was it that so many yachts parked there. Were their owners there or for that matter even in the same hemisphere. Some folks who have boats like to display them for the sake of pride. Their pride, my jealousy.

I cannot imagine what it cost to tie one of those boats up for just one day. Yet, they, most of them, have no reason for their boats to be there.

It doesn’t stop there. Just to own and operate a monster like that cost in excess of a million a year. Of course, if the owner wants to take a tour around the world, you’ll need to add diesel cost to that.

I take in all that and I think of the tenth Commandment. I can’t help it. I must ask, is it okay for me to be just a little jealous.

Maybe, while one of these owners is off doing something else somewhere else, why can’t he let me take a 1 hour cruise. That way, I would be able to say I was on a 100 foot boat for one hour. Where was I going? Does it matter?

Maybe what I need to do is make sure I get stranded in a rowboat in the path of one of those monsters. Aren’t they required to rescue me. Then, I could have a ride on the boat, right.

They could take me to the nearest land and I would be sure to thank them very much. I would certainly make sure to complement them on how nice the boat looks. I think I would also be obligated to tell them how big and impressive their yacht is. I mean they were nice enough to rescue me. I wouldn’t even care that my rowboat was in splinters after the slight collision.

Oh, well. Who wants to go to sea where there is nothing but water to see anyway.

So here I am. Just a little jealous. Yet may I take this time to remind one and all of the story Jesus told of Lazarus and the rich man. For a time Lazarus did suffer. However, in the end, it was the rich man who begged for mercy.

I am certainly not saying every man with a super yacht is going to spend eternity in Hell. However, those who don’t accept Jesus as their savior, will be in the same boat, figuratively as the rich man in the story.

Now. I wonder. Does anyone out there know someone who knows someone? I’d settle for something about 75 feet.

Incidentally, I checked. There are about 5000 yachts of 100 feet or more. I suppose they just have to have them. And, by themselves, they just might cause the seas to rise, at least an inch or two.

Some People Just Can’t Think Beyond Their Nose

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As the official objective observer of Memphis, I can’t help but think those guys who live north of me can’t seem to go a day without shooting themselves in the foot.

The city government seems to intentionally be driving residents and businesses out of town with taxes and substandard schools. It would seem they are also getting help in their endeavor by the criminal element.

Surely some have already left. Others are standing ready as soon as they are ready and able.

Then, just today, I see a story about people breaking into cars in FedEx parking lots.

Please, please let me explain, warn and caution those who occupy homes north of me. If the Memphis city government and the criminals of Memphis succeed in combining their efforts at driving FedEx out of Memphis….

Stop. Please stop and think just what will happen when FedEx pulls up the anchor, some other location will greatly benefit. Memphis will have a huge problem. People will be wanting to leave by the thousands but the value of their houses will plummet.

That wonderful beautiful home you just bought will become an anchor holding you in place because, guess what. No one will buy that house at half what you paid for it.

Nearly thirty thousand Memphians will either have to leave or find some other way of making a living. Those thirty thousand spend a lot of their earnings in Memphis and the surrounding area. Apartments would be vacated decreasing rental revenues. Sales of many businesses will plumet. When you consider many of those businesses are already on the brink of shutting down already, it might be the final straw. That, in turn will cause more job losses.

Let’s not overlook the big thing concerning the city. Sales tax will drop. Real estate revenues will take a huge hit. Conceivably, the snowball effect just might be the thought no one wants to think. Yet, they better, lest it become a reality, not just a nightmare.

Consider, please? Memphis has roughly 500 thousand residents. I would guess no more than a third bring home a paycheck, many from city and county. You simply cannot cut out 30 thousand of those checks without rocking city and county governments bunches.

Actually, it would like send tremors out into Desoto and Crittendon Counties too. Many FedEx employees live in Mississippi and Arkansas.

The Definition of ‘Tips’

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During the short duration of the pandemic, it would seem the definition as well as the customs of ‘tips’ have changed. Don’t get me wrong. I do believe there are segments of our society who have and should receive tips. However, regardless, tips are not earned simply by being present. By past customs, tips were based on quality of service, not on the quality of the product. For instance, quality of food can not be effected significantly by a waitress.

As we exited the pandemic, it seems they had some success in changing that. Repeatedly, I have entered restaurants lately where tips are expected, regardless of the quality of service or even if there were services rendered. Even more, they want to collect tips before any service at all. How is it that I am supposed to base the tip on quality of service under such conditions, that is, unless I am somehow able to predict the future.

Maybe some ought to be aware that, before the pandemic, a 20% tip was pretty rare. It certainly was not the norm of the day. Nowadays, expectations start at 20% and go up and up. I have no idea how that happened. Many of us are not made of money. 20% tips just might mean a family of 4 or 5 will be eating at home, which will only reduce tip income even more. However, it certainly does not stop there.

My wife and I survive almost totally on Social Security and I am sure there are those who are worse off than we are. Should we be expected to pay 20%, or even 10% when we have to virtually beg for reasonable service. (In one case, we had to wait 30 minutes after getting out meal to get a knife and fork to eat it with. Is there maybe a reason that waitress not get any gratuity?) Should we tip at all when the only service rendered is nothing more than a beverage.

Then too, what about the family with sudden unexpected expenses. There may be medical and or hospital expenses. Just as a reminder, colleges cost can make a poor man out of almost any father. Regardless of the reason, are we going to expect the people with temporary setbacks to continue to tip at a rate of 20%.

Regardless, as I remember it, tips are not mandatory, at least not normally. Some restaurants have actually made the tip part of the bill. Incidentally, I never went to such a place nor will you ever find me in such a place, even should I suddenly become a millionaire. I still maintain that, no matter what, tips should never be mandatory. It does go contrary to my belief that a tip should be voluntary and dependent the quality of service.

I suspect those restaurants will not miss me. There do seem to be many who are willing and able to meet and exceed the new expectations. Just don’t include me amongst them. I would hope and guess that many others would take my stance. I would trust that no one would try to alter that.

And, yes I am cheap. To separate me from my money, you will have to earn it.

Bridges

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Recently, stories have been released in the news on bridges Locally, they say they will replace the current 4 lane bridge with a new one, expected to cost a billion dollars. I do hope to live long enough to see just how much the cost over runs will be. If I were a betting man, I’d have to put my bet on at least 1.3 billion. Invariably all government projects take 30% more than planned.

Truth be told, I think it is planned that way. I’ll let you speculate why. I have my own guesses.

One thing I do find interesting is that I did have some difficulty determining how many lanes it will have. Let’s face it, what is the point of replacing a 4 lane bridge with a 4 lane bridge. It seems to me it would simply be better to put the bridge somewhere else.

After some searching on the web, I found where they said they “hope” to make it at least 6 lanes. I have two concerns about that. Is it 6 lanes or not. More importantly, they will likely start pouring concrete soon. I would hope they have their minds made up by then.

As something as a secondary thought. Even if they are going to a 6 lane bridge, wouldn’t it be better to put it somewhere else? That way, 6 lanes are added instead of 2.

Even if the idea is to cease use of the old bridge, putting the bridge elsewhere removes the need of demolition of the old bridge. Well, the demolition isn’t likely that much anyway, just a couple of few million. I am sure the government can afford it.

Switching attention east. Just a simple straightforward suggestion on the Francis Scott Key Bridge. If they commenced tunneling, they might have been almost done now. Right now, I would guess they are over a month away from starting the foundation of the bridge.

On another note, it is really difficult for a ship to run into a tunnel.

That Which is Cultured

Posted in Abuse of Power, Controllers, Crime, Education, FOC, law enforcement, Liberals, Our Legal Systems, Politally Correct, Politcal Opinion, Reporters by

In general, we know that, that which is cultured grows. That which is not cultured might still grow, but not as much.

Take the farmer and his corn. He plants it, fertilizes it, waters it. He removes weeds and pests. He watches for molds and when it comes time, if all goes well, he’ll harvest a bumper crop.

The farmer is not the only one that cultures. Cultures are used for vaccines and to identify illnesses. You go into a doctor with a really bad sore throat. He might take a swab to your throat and soon, after he runs a culture, he’ll hopefully be able to give you a shot in your backside and send you home to heal.

Recently, as a nation, we have been culturing something else. Liberalism, communism, thieves, killers and mostly controllers. For those who have not read my prior posts, controllers are people who seek control of people, places or countries. Those controllers who are not stopped, seek world control.

They go by different names, kings, rulers, senators, and representatives. Most who are in the House hope to become senators. Those in the Senate hope to become president. They seek control, not for the benefit of the nation, but for themselves and their friends.

In their efforts to gain control, they will frequently culture the worst part of society.

Oddly, when voters vote for a culture (controllers), those voters seem surprised. I mean, it is what they voted for. Why should they be surprised when it is what they get.

Think. The farmer is not surprised at his crop of corn. Why should we be surprised when we culture communism. The doctor is not surprised when his culture grows staff infection? Why should anyone be surprised after culturing crime, when we find our streets full of thieves and killers?

Really, it shouldn’t be a surprise. We put power hungry leaders in charge. Why is it that we should be surprised when they abuse that power?