tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-279915472024-02-20T21:00:15.581-05:00The Gallon RaceNick Goddardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05678356188413507308noreply@blogger.comBlogger84125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27991547.post-71954539962512122892011-06-29T14:29:00.000-04:002011-06-29T14:30:16.860-04:00This program was supposed to improve my security<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVpiYy2HdzmXc37Wj95upQmjofHX14j7deOfgPDCCR_4JEMimYH8ivlQo6nmX9yTQWz9ex9_FYIos2M4NvcoejUrlR4PDCUa_plGuKoqktxI210dgEgW1MuWfEHVDaMT5PwovV1A/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-06-29+at+2.25.32+PM.png"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 386px; height: 176px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVpiYy2HdzmXc37Wj95upQmjofHX14j7deOfgPDCCR_4JEMimYH8ivlQo6nmX9yTQWz9ex9_FYIos2M4NvcoejUrlR4PDCUa_plGuKoqktxI210dgEgW1MuWfEHVDaMT5PwovV1A/s400/Screen+shot+2011-06-29+at+2.25.32+PM.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623710829626911826" /></a>Nick Goddardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05678356188413507308noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27991547.post-81023124059108740112011-06-29T13:07:00.001-04:002011-06-29T13:08:30.098-04:00Sriracha changed color<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><i>My coworker Evan wrote Sriracha and asked why our latest bottles have been orange rather than red.</i></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></span></div>---------- Forwarded message ----------<br />From: <b class="gmail_sendername">Customer Service</b> <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:customerservice@huyfong.com" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">customerservice@huyfong.com</a>></span><br />Date: Wed, Jun 29, 2011 at 11:08 AM<br />Subject: Re: Sriracha has changed color<br />To: Evan <<a href="mailto:evan.frohlich@controlgroup.com" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">evan</a>@><br /><br /><br />Dear Evan,<br /><br />Thank you for your interest in our products! We strive to produce the best sauces using quality ingredients in every bottle.<br /><br />We value the opinions of our customers, and appreciate your comments. We would like to note that because we use fresh chili peppers in all of our sauces, there will occasionally be variations on our final products. Because of the unusually cool weather last harvest season, not all the fields of the chili pepper crop completely ripened or turned red. As you have seen, some of our products this year contain chili that was in the process of maturing into red chili. The color of the chili progresses from green, to dark purple or chocolate, then to red upon maturity. Therefore, these 'dark' specks that are seen in the Sambal Oelek and Chili Garlic are actually green chili pepper that has not ripen and are not 'spoiled' chili. With the Sriracha, this mixture of these colors has resulted in a brown/orange colored sauce. To avoid a shortage of product, as experienced in the past, we had to accept the bi-color chili last year. Therefore, it has been a challenge this year to produce a uniform product.<br />The taste of the products should still remain unchanged. Unfortunately, because our products are natural, there can be many variables that can change the product’s color, as well as the heat or spiciness of the sauces.<br /><br />Again, thank you for your comments. If you have any further questions or comments please do not hesitate to e-mail us.<br /><br />Sincerely,<br /><br />Customer Service<div><div></div><div><br /><br /><div class="gmail_quote">On Tue, Jun 28, 2011 at 6:02 PM, Evan <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:evan.frohlich@controlgroup.com" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">evan@</a>></span> wrote:<br /><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left-width: 1px; border-left-style: solid; border-left-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); margin-top: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex; "><div bgcolor="#FFFFFF"><div></div><div>Hi,</div><div><br /></div><div>Why has my favorite sauce chained color? Sriracha used to be bright red and now it's orange. Why? </div><div><br /></div><div>Can't find a red bottle anywhere in NYC...</div><div><br /></div><div>Thanks</div><div><span>-Evan </span></div></div></blockquote></div></div></div></span></span>Nick Goddardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05678356188413507308noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27991547.post-1178149979941812842011-05-11T10:52:00.003-04:002011-05-11T10:59:22.627-04:00Vespanomics is wrong...<div>Vespa has a <a href="http://www.mint.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/110411-VESPA.png">graphic</a> on their <a href="http://www.vespausa.com/why-where-how/vespanomics.html">Vespanomics page</a>. Unfortunately, lots of the math is wrong so the graphic is totally misleading.<div><br /></div><div>Here's the same graphic, but with the math corrected. If you want to combine two vehicles to increase gas mileage, you can't just average the mileage of the two vehicles...</div></div><div><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGCbD7_kPbtJkpUwuGDeMkEoIRyay4GCa7NwfqB37GB8a8v-bNCRnoR-eCgMdr6nIIJcmY3u-onhmP1LY4Ty21SkLsRNofw4TW_NFxQrDLSXB8dqopa3dg98PcvbHl7frG-OJ4_w/s1600/vespanomics.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGCbD7_kPbtJkpUwuGDeMkEoIRyay4GCa7NwfqB37GB8a8v-bNCRnoR-eCgMdr6nIIJcmY3u-onhmP1LY4Ty21SkLsRNofw4TW_NFxQrDLSXB8dqopa3dg98PcvbHl7frG-OJ4_w/s400/vespanomics.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5605472578321829138" /></a>Nick Goddardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05678356188413507308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27991547.post-36077522005888716872011-03-14T21:09:00.010-04:002011-03-15T10:10:23.654-04:00My Online Privacy ConcernsI'm finally worried about privacy on the internet--normally, I go on and on about products that are made in China, the poor performance of traffic lights or the silliness of speed limits. I've spent the last two hours trying to carve out a little privacy online and I am now almost sure that I am going to fail. Today I learned of a project called <a href="http://panopticlick.eff.org/">Panopticlick</a> (check it out. It is one click and inspired this entire post), which can probably tell who you are, even though you might not have cookies enabled, and even though you might have your browser set to "Private Browsing Mode, and even if you're using a proxy (If you want to see some other things about you, and you use Google, log in, <a href="https://www.google.com/dashboard/?hl=en&pli=1">click here</a>, and have a look around).<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgD9I3L2CRrzL4gPiYes7W3YscXRaqnPCbPMKhvzwrWrphbLDgHOwvUe0d3wYct0quaJw7kZ6_js3PUVPazObCOT5eUEU0PBeHjl2b8yJ0dVaqtXubd7wAUmu5rYoa-hU7qGe3iw/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-03-14+at+9.27.47+PM.png"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgD9I3L2CRrzL4gPiYes7W3YscXRaqnPCbPMKhvzwrWrphbLDgHOwvUe0d3wYct0quaJw7kZ6_js3PUVPazObCOT5eUEU0PBeHjl2b8yJ0dVaqtXubd7wAUmu5rYoa-hU7qGe3iw/s400/Screen+shot+2011-03-14+at+9.27.47+PM.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584114176761375538" border="0" /></a></div><br />A little over 200 years ago, an English philosopher named Jeremy Bentham came up with an idea for a prison called a <a href="http://www.cartome.org/panopticon1.htm">Panopticon</a> (<a href="https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Panopticon">Wikipedia</a>) It is a bank of prison cells wrapped around in a circle with a slit-windowed guard tower in the center. The guard(s) in the tower can watch any of the prisoners, and so each prisoner does not know whether or not he is being monitored. After a while, the guards don't even need to be in the tower all the time--the prisoners police themselves.<br /><a name='more'></a><br /><br />Anyway, Panopticlick is a project by the Electronic Frontier Foundation to show how much information you give up when you visit a website--perhaps enough that the internet can identify your specific browser, based on the version of your browser, the fonts it has, your screen resolution, etc. It's pretty spooky stuff, and it means you don't know when you're being watched (does that remind you of CCTV's you see in grocery stores, street corners... How about the cameras that nearly everyone carries now just waiting to capture embarrassing or tragic moments).<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://panopticlick.eff.org/"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 276px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEsrzbgAUOSggatruqwfWtIjyFnR9HVJcyrJE5FdOBruG1tPoiO3BJ6no8ywUf5faXj3iSrJv1rAZr7EX607Q2oF2ApliZSmRT91HY_Y7dX7uH7YBdn-yL5KbpkFn6pbdymcgMRA/s400/Screen+shot+2011-03-14+at+9.19.42+PM.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584111081526021858" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br />Here's what I've changed...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Firefox extensions:</span><br /><ul><li><a href="http://adblockplus.org/en/">Ad-Block Plus</a>- blocks nearly all ads online, which is nicer visually, and better for anonymity. Highly recommended even for non-privacy nuts.</li></ul><ul><li><a href="http://www.torproject.org/">Tor</a> - a traffic-anonymizing plug-in for Firefox that trades security for anonymity</li></ul><ul><li><a href="http://www.google.com/#sclient=psy&hl=en&q=better+Privacy+extension&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=46d4fac9fac222e1">Better Privacy</a> - Deletes Flash Cookies (Local Shared Objects), which are cookies that aren't deleted when you delete cookies</li></ul><ul><li><a href="http://noscript.net/">NoScript</a> - Prohibits javascript from running unless you want it to. I don't know how well this is going to work but I'm going to give it a try.</li></ul><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Browsing habits:</span><br /><ul><li>Using <a href="http://duckduckgo.com/">duckduckgo.com</a> rather than Google. Duckduck go doesn't <a href="http://donttrack.us/">store or leak</a> (cool visual guide) your information (at least that's what they say)</li></ul><br />I also don't like that Google Instant knows exactly what you're typing, even before you click submit (and could save your unsubmitted searches). That's a huge invasion of privacy.<br /><br />Someone out there is gathering this colossal database of information about me, and it's valuable. At the very least, companies are going to dig deeper into my pockets by giving me really targeted advertising (at worst something will come back down the line to bite me <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704648604575620750998072986.html">for insurance</a>, or <a href="http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/googles_second_transparency_report_us_info_request.php">legal</a> reasons). If they're good enough at it, it could be bad. Here are some great products:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cars</span> - so cheap and appealing that people boat around in them until they are way overweight<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sriracha</span> - tasty enough that you try it on non-asian cuisine and wind up ruining the flavors of whatever is being eaten<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">smart phones</span> - so good people don't need to know how to use maps, and don't need to remember phone numbers or facts...<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">SecondLife/World of Warcraft </span>- these games appeal to human instincts so heavily that people prefer the online world to real life<br /><br />What if advertisers really start digging into my pockets and change my behavior as drastically as the products above change behavior? What if they figure out exactly how to target me by appealing to my basest desires? I won't be seeing Victoria's Secret and Noxema ads online, but my wallet will be rent asunder by ads for used 2-stroke KTMs and used Miata swaybar endlinks. For me, the ultimate advertising would be if a fourth column of Drudge report had a craigslist feed with sub-2k motorcycles/bikes/scooters for sale nearby. What would the ultimate advertising be for you?<br /><br />Some <a href="http://www.cartome.org/panopticon1.htm">great writing</a> on the Panopticon (same link as the one way above)--this is exactly how internet usage seems to me after today.<br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" ><br /></span>Nick Goddardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05678356188413507308noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27991547.post-39964381129631061642011-02-05T17:49:00.007-05:002011-02-05T20:51:43.065-05:00Mercedes SLS Superbowl Ad - flashing headlightsI watched Mercedes' new Superbowl advertisement that features Puff Daddy and there's a shot where the 2011 Mercedes cars all turn on their headlights. The SLS lights flash one by one, and it's a pretty cool effect. I wonder if they are trying to ape the behavior of the SLS F1 Safety car and its flashing lights (On the production SLS, it looks like the parking lights come on before the headlights, then the left parking light turns, then the right light turns off).<br /><br /><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/XSkMwMnUVgI#t=1m20s" width="400" frameborder="0" height="325"></iframe>Nick Goddardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05678356188413507308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27991547.post-85875372293221951972011-01-31T16:54:00.004-05:002011-02-05T18:02:11.838-05:00Blast from the past-I saw this a long time ago and just thought of it. Try looking at your keyboard when you're done.<br /><br /><iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/vzSRVgF501M" allowfullscreen="" width="400" frameborder="0" height="325"></iframe>Nick Goddardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05678356188413507308noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27991547.post-4950523901011377552011-01-30T19:59:00.004-05:002011-01-30T20:06:25.337-05:00Weird cars in New YorkCan you spot what's weird about these cars I saw in NYC this week? Hint: the VW has no snow on it--also, apologies for the shoddy camera-phone picture quality.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_6PFqMTXu_R_w3P870mj4MtJWSq93Z490t1S-L6MB8UI_Ct9PStfHfYwrHCed9cnz4c0XwnoV8POm8mkPfWKXR7RHzGEuAlrZR2gL86BI4GPJlES0EkWeBFS5JT3hw4lF35jpcA/s1600/-3.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_6PFqMTXu_R_w3P870mj4MtJWSq93Z490t1S-L6MB8UI_Ct9PStfHfYwrHCed9cnz4c0XwnoV8POm8mkPfWKXR7RHzGEuAlrZR2gL86BI4GPJlES0EkWeBFS5JT3hw4lF35jpcA/s400/-3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568149176321005138" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMl2kDiK0PDm32V6mECwTPD9jxAETikyYAn7l1JZpkAIY2GHxvlpaR6Q0LUxolYNPGYHWCu8F8kMbyiZvGmq3ksvCWIatMluDnXmedkRQjmnbIrlv0YGLBenQFotm7mVmogrS2xg/s1600/-2.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMl2kDiK0PDm32V6mECwTPD9jxAETikyYAn7l1JZpkAIY2GHxvlpaR6Q0LUxolYNPGYHWCu8F8kMbyiZvGmq3ksvCWIatMluDnXmedkRQjmnbIrlv0YGLBenQFotm7mVmogrS2xg/s400/-2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568149179553437362" border="0" /></a>Nick Goddardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05678356188413507308noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27991547.post-36708771287040843052011-01-29T15:28:00.002-05:002011-01-29T15:44:08.431-05:00More snowy motorcycles<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpDwgTIPdFNHnacdjsmHiZqslr_yOZOcUdGkY-0NqayvdJEJ6X1lf1Jk6l5o5xsX7-bKkzWko4yXBiDU7NfRVGSWtpHlzpEWSd4Ps_9g2euSsJklR6qV5uAskbYnSrCawUISk3XQ/s1600/Day2-2.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpDwgTIPdFNHnacdjsmHiZqslr_yOZOcUdGkY-0NqayvdJEJ6X1lf1Jk6l5o5xsX7-bKkzWko4yXBiDU7NfRVGSWtpHlzpEWSd4Ps_9g2euSsJklR6qV5uAskbYnSrCawUISk3XQ/s400/Day2-2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567707749519518946" border="0" /></a>I've been having a ball riding around in the snow this week--an article I wrote about it appeared on <a href="http://hellforleathermagazine.com/2011/01/riding-ny-in-the-snow/">Hell For Leather</a> (subscription) and <a href="http://jalopnik.com/5746041/riding-new-york-in-the-snow">Jalopnik</a>. Thanks to Wes for publishing it.Nick Goddardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05678356188413507308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27991547.post-51847068615654521882011-01-26T20:36:00.008-05:002011-01-26T20:56:28.386-05:00Riding a motorcycle in the snow<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWudRkpJwGDAkF9GwcfbmUcSiBueYoBG931m5F9tBU9HIvhVGtu6SaPg7TgxpI8dAAsXhL3NTX7CB9eku6TkaKGtaxQ1tzDZvJAxqlUCV_VC14ie3NG-vtVQ3k1iMD3CE7fs-Lmg/s1600/IMG_8644.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWudRkpJwGDAkF9GwcfbmUcSiBueYoBG931m5F9tBU9HIvhVGtu6SaPg7TgxpI8dAAsXhL3NTX7CB9eku6TkaKGtaxQ1tzDZvJAxqlUCV_VC14ie3NG-vtVQ3k1iMD3CE7fs-Lmg/s400/IMG_8644.jpg" alt="1980 Honda C70" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5566674987702134658" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYHkyIQW_bVCWlS0-jR8o2mgxiTcyQYA5iS4YSa9U4ER7knABHkBaE8JZVN9ay9pacic34tCwl6M2sOy2ufWh9aghLnqoKLrWmoR_Aoc3TDkYKjN1yfmPqwFXzXVXlw2ew62Ri9A/s1600/IMG_8646.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYHkyIQW_bVCWlS0-jR8o2mgxiTcyQYA5iS4YSa9U4ER7knABHkBaE8JZVN9ay9pacic34tCwl6M2sOy2ufWh9aghLnqoKLrWmoR_Aoc3TDkYKjN1yfmPqwFXzXVXlw2ew62Ri9A/s400/IMG_8646.jpg" alt="Honda C70 Snow" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5566674990420794674" border="0" /></a>I was elated to see snow on the ground this morning and rode to work in the snowiest conditions yet. Michelin's Gazelle is not a good for snow; the carcass is far too stiff to take advantage of low pressures and its tread pattern is hopelessly conservative for the winter. I reckon some trials tires would be much better, but can't bear the thought of taking the Gazelles off; I popped 2 tubes getting the rear one on.Nick Goddardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05678356188413507308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27991547.post-28772024250380515462011-01-26T20:25:00.005-05:002014-07-03T15:43:27.969-04:00Jalopnik stole my electricityThe case of the missing electrons has been cracked. Mike Spinelli and Ray Wert (both of Jalopnik fame) had rented the very same Volt that's in the previous post, drained it's battery, and dropped it off back at Hertz just before my dad and I picked it up.<br /><br />Here's a picture Jalopnik took of the navigation screen displaying trip info:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi66EKadiPu3QejNxPv_yu0MIywVzRP3WQjtX6kqYOcPB668kic-KzINwVhwVjEAu1_hxcWwFyQ1EVFAkYNwOpaIMRlpgSpPHhXOdqLH8NRQba56VHP4toPsmd5G-wTgz-Vfb_SvQ/s1600/hertz_chevy_volt_012.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi66EKadiPu3QejNxPv_yu0MIywVzRP3WQjtX6kqYOcPB668kic-KzINwVhwVjEAu1_hxcWwFyQ1EVFAkYNwOpaIMRlpgSpPHhXOdqLH8NRQba56VHP4toPsmd5G-wTgz-Vfb_SvQ/s320/hertz_chevy_volt_012.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5566672398658653890" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Photo from Jalopnik.com</span><br /></div><br />And here's a picture I took, hours later:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJLYRpTspO-DvZoqRjUZ3j276vZQQA6SwqHFZkF6Kttd-5Sx_JsCyg6Sj8VQvv-9o0gfsKupo8Ej0_I9p-kzIe8cf_XHFdIc_wha-IgYYlcovVLqndq8e3Sjs1VuiyXlGaA90ROQ/s1600/a-same+electric+distance.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJLYRpTspO-DvZoqRjUZ3j276vZQQA6SwqHFZkF6Kttd-5Sx_JsCyg6Sj8VQvv-9o0gfsKupo8Ej0_I9p-kzIe8cf_XHFdIc_wha-IgYYlcovVLqndq8e3Sjs1VuiyXlGaA90ROQ/s320/a-same+electric+distance.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5566672811634439186" border="0" /></a>Note the 29.9 miles travelled by battery in each, and the decrease in miles per gallon as the batteries ran out and the engine came into play.<br /><br />The Jalopnik <a href="http://jalopnik.com/5741987/new-york-isnt-ready-for-electric-cars">article</a> was called "New York Isn't Ready for Electric Cars," but since Hertz didn't bother to charge the Volt before renting it again, I'm not sure they are either!Nick Goddardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05678356188413507308noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27991547.post-53000532439369542092011-01-23T19:32:00.008-05:002011-01-24T11:47:58.912-05:00Hertz Chevy Volt Rental: Potential for Disaster<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixX_-nzPv8pEUkLePlMIWaBjm6NzYGBajn8-mf20_J5RYErUoSOBFHusGWc2qPKO5-Mwzkt4A047m9BdrdkILE56XRHY6-2hyxfVyUupGk6VlMdw4oB4i83qtAjP2KhyphenhyphenAejnTjqA/s1600/04-Plug.jpg"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi16-TTKnocOt35vKC8oWvIbIeLz2p9Svm_qar98cVuKwuWTBgCGTXF3MlMonsEq8-ITDX6Dx_2OOGhXJAKLUVndaOBozYiuxBaNpKVTxXJ5emsr4aXia2bq-29Y63mIRZ2Gn_qig/s1600/IMG_0016.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 193px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi16-TTKnocOt35vKC8oWvIbIeLz2p9Svm_qar98cVuKwuWTBgCGTXF3MlMonsEq8-ITDX6Dx_2OOGhXJAKLUVndaOBozYiuxBaNpKVTxXJ5emsr4aXia2bq-29Y63mIRZ2Gn_qig/s400/IMG_0016.jpg" alt="Hertz Chevy Volt" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565553178090400066" border="0" /></a>Is the Chevy Volt a hybrid? Nope--but it is the exact powertrain configuration I dreamed of during my <a href="http://onegallon.blogspot.com/2011/01/driving-nissan-leaf.html">previous</a> <a href="http://onegallon.blogspot.com/2011/01/connect-by-hertz-smart-ed.html">all-electric</a> Hertz rentals. The Volt is an electric car with a small gas generator that keeps the car moving if the battery runs out. A car like this can get away with a light-weight battery pack because its range of 40 miles covers, say, 80% of trips, and on longer trips the gas motor kicks in (a <a href="http://onegallon.blogspot.com/2011/01/driving-nissan-leaf.html">Nissan Leaf</a> has to have a huge heavy battery for a 100 mile range). You also aren't married to the idea of charging a dead battery if you have to head out. Awesome, right?<br /><a name='more'></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixX_-nzPv8pEUkLePlMIWaBjm6NzYGBajn8-mf20_J5RYErUoSOBFHusGWc2qPKO5-Mwzkt4A047m9BdrdkILE56XRHY6-2hyxfVyUupGk6VlMdw4oB4i83qtAjP2KhyphenhyphenAejnTjqA/s1600/04-Plug.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixX_-nzPv8pEUkLePlMIWaBjm6NzYGBajn8-mf20_J5RYErUoSOBFHusGWc2qPKO5-Mwzkt4A047m9BdrdkILE56XRHY6-2hyxfVyUupGk6VlMdw4oB4i83qtAjP2KhyphenhyphenAejnTjqA/s400/04-Plug.jpg" alt="Chevy Volt Charger" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565550626384236706" border="0" /></a>We rented a Volt from Hertz today, and found out that the gas engine doesn't charge the battery. When the battery is at 0% the car goes almost feels broken--you find yourself staring at a full tank of gas and an empty battery, and wondering why the battery won't charge--and wishing it would so you can glide along in electric-only stealth mode. You have to remind yourself that it is an electric car with gas backup.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMt_s39Ik5yYa4OoWHpU8TguCUvo4VqPQuSgdCuLsgqluQOJ7FiXjCEA8wX_xYARQlnGpq1nD6yCXW7ozCIVzzCLHEYU73w8daG5iZaH2SBQcMUoHdtsQAMPg_6hHGRSx4VDomOA/s1600/01-Empty+Battery.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMt_s39Ik5yYa4OoWHpU8TguCUvo4VqPQuSgdCuLsgqluQOJ7FiXjCEA8wX_xYARQlnGpq1nD6yCXW7ozCIVzzCLHEYU73w8daG5iZaH2SBQcMUoHdtsQAMPg_6hHGRSx4VDomOA/s400/01-Empty+Battery.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565550610918716210" border="0" /></a>The Volt looked swish, but was not plugged-in when we arrived at the Hertz Location, and as I feared, the battery was at 0% charge. The gas engine had to run for the duration of our rental (except at stoplights and when coasting), and the battery gauge didn't move from 0% (the car has less power when it has 0% batteries--the gas engine only makes 84bhp). This was a pity, since the whole point of renting the car was to let my dad drive an electric vehicle, and my personal car sat parked at the Hertz location during our rental.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhciR7bU4SNiu02rNjlRq3nhoBPVggJjjYae6Stb5z5GpaS4agfc6x-NvnrLltxY4M8XRrg1kZbXkYdJkA_LfSAcnPGshuCdGW7gVDRQh9Fw9HPS0SDewD6qqRiSH1Ll0Kb7MvX3A/s1600/02-Powertrain.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhciR7bU4SNiu02rNjlRq3nhoBPVggJjjYae6Stb5z5GpaS4agfc6x-NvnrLltxY4M8XRrg1kZbXkYdJkA_LfSAcnPGshuCdGW7gVDRQh9Fw9HPS0SDewD6qqRiSH1Ll0Kb7MvX3A/s400/02-Powertrain.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565550619140345170" border="0" /></a>The fact that you have to plug the Volt in seemed like news to the Hertz reps, and they didn't rush to plug it in for the next renter, who was slated to arrive at 17:00. A pity, since that person--like me--is probably renting it solely because it has an all-electric mode.<br /><br />The Volt needs to be treated as an electric vehicle when deciding on how many charging stations are needed at a Hertz location, and Hertz employees need to look at the battery gauge when the vehicle returns, in order to determine whether or not it needs to be charged--it's a lot slower when it is out of batteries!<br /><br />People who are used to hybrids will evaluate Volts by renting them through Hertz, but there is a financial disincentive for Hertz to charge the cars before renting them (since electricity costs money, but renters pay for gas). The renters could be severely disappointed if the battery starts and stays at 0%, and that's a big problem for GM.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpKVltpH6JjzmHM1r6CCvO0_ogImjklA9maoHYjzkrqcEUsllXR3nb2p_KbakUtgkUW393puaTrCnKV7TAOS5tb7mvuUKCfmdnt7Pz8QTRrf74xAZxSWZ4eQI5GypP3O5dGda0gQ/s1600/03-Hours-to-charge.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpKVltpH6JjzmHM1r6CCvO0_ogImjklA9maoHYjzkrqcEUsllXR3nb2p_KbakUtgkUW393puaTrCnKV7TAOS5tb7mvuUKCfmdnt7Pz8QTRrf74xAZxSWZ4eQI5GypP3O5dGda0gQ/s400/03-Hours-to-charge.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565550621682429410" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVb7-gyQCdxrhJl33RAzyxhmWPbzQtRZgm2cZJTu_j9dCG1gqKuvI41Z0nMRUyOzNQUDP7gf7FcqU_4KtZMca8nVR_-Y2i7B-vEk5EORQovxEUIu0SZ5IvKV1IFjHnNCJswdmmDw/s1600/05-Battery-screen.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVb7-gyQCdxrhJl33RAzyxhmWPbzQtRZgm2cZJTu_j9dCG1gqKuvI41Z0nMRUyOzNQUDP7gf7FcqU_4KtZMca8nVR_-Y2i7B-vEk5EORQovxEUIu0SZ5IvKV1IFjHnNCJswdmmDw/s400/05-Battery-screen.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565550635176669714" border="0" /></a>Nick Goddardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05678356188413507308noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27991547.post-55731752463855895872011-01-08T14:44:00.009-05:002020-08-30T13:47:44.387-04:00Parallel Parking Tips<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSBnWuB1rc90L0LR8JAzaAjx3vTH9pEysZYMJG3pnqfGAvQAyMHNw7dqu8o_M4Hc2J-0V8KrDtYKDTqDtw0w78Ab4j-YeQf3gvmvPWjFGmqoHPr4yl7pST_vUA2lob2EH80s8zbQ/s1600/main.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559904251632102322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSBnWuB1rc90L0LR8JAzaAjx3vTH9pEysZYMJG3pnqfGAvQAyMHNw7dqu8o_M4Hc2J-0V8KrDtYKDTqDtw0w78Ab4j-YeQf3gvmvPWjFGmqoHPr4yl7pST_vUA2lob2EH80s8zbQ/s400/main.png" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 305px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br /><div>Studies by Transportation Alternatives have shown that 15%-45% of drivers in Manhattan are trolling for parking, and observation suggests that a lot of those drivers pass up spots that they could fit in—just because they lack parallel parking skills.
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Manhattan has miles of unmetered street-parking, which provides an incentive to drive a small car—larger cars can only fit in the largest spots that appear.<div><br /></div><div>When I owned a smart fortwo, it was a doddle to park quickly—I never had to look for more than three blocks to find a spot. Drivers of longer cars can spend more than an hour looking for on-street parking.
Driver skill is the other, more easily improvable factor that determines what spots a car can squeeze into. Sadly, New York’s New Driver Study Guide provides precious little instruction on the science behind parallel parking, offering little more than “plenty of practice is the only way to improve,” and a lengthy version of the old “crank it all the way to the right, then all the way to the left” method.</div><div><br /></div><div>In contrast, England’s driver training programs explain the process as a straightforward, formulaic routine, and in minutes had me consistently parallel parking in tight spaces. Just what was I taught about parallel parking during my several £50/hour driving lessons in the UK?</div><div><br /></div><div>The first thing was to look all around the car. Eye the space as you drive up to it. Before reversing, look over both shoulders, in both mirrors, and through the windshield of your car. And remember that the front of your car swings out into the road when you’re parking. If everything looks good, then it’s on to the magic formula. We’ll leave the reader with the trivial task of figuring out which way to turn the wheel.
1. Drive alongside the car in front of the space—and leave two feet of space between the cars—until your rear bumpers are even.</div><div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZngaQ2ZOvhl0cZ30GvEbcpFjhdOmV2_AmbZk6zeeAxambwg7IDJAx2oAdwtNO8G6dDP4wSdRx4MbLtMoIaENwTOMct45-IpuQC1KLok9WxILDdNPRBi7xqyjY4LNqBAuc0Firiw/s1600/1.png"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559903963007982738" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZngaQ2ZOvhl0cZ30GvEbcpFjhdOmV2_AmbZk6zeeAxambwg7IDJAx2oAdwtNO8G6dDP4wSdRx4MbLtMoIaENwTOMct45-IpuQC1KLok9WxILDdNPRBi7xqyjY4LNqBAuc0Firiw/s320/1.png" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 244px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Step 1.</span>
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</div><div><br /></div>2. Turn the steering wheel one complete revolution toward the space. Reverse until your nearside mirror is level with the rear bumper of the other car.</div><div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKMHVtrK-xUJde_BsxiZivfJaPcxkIWq3a-n8ZtviSlcwWy40VDtboIToJZ9VTBbUsSADtSJn4T19OMPTS9qH9mCPy5Nfkzm0YcUbuvaWMWz4LThW7UF4NDiw_paLyFvSUjNNwBA/s1600/2.png"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559903969110021362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKMHVtrK-xUJde_BsxiZivfJaPcxkIWq3a-n8ZtviSlcwWy40VDtboIToJZ9VTBbUsSADtSJn4T19OMPTS9qH9mCPy5Nfkzm0YcUbuvaWMWz4LThW7UF4NDiw_paLyFvSUjNNwBA/s320/2.png" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 244px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Step 2.</span>
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3. Straighten the wheel and reverse until your front bumper is level with the rear bumper of the other car.</div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEittcXafuw9TOFg26EG8a7ytrtQchdnlYnfhURvcDDNUSHKnJwJ0mInFR9smSlb4FUmJWhvvDpi8fRDfRuviOhkgpjUwyBuDm20vt8XpiH0-Zmt2D7B0Pm5FR_EdiwOmD3AByVGHg/s1600/3.png"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559903973284696034" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEittcXafuw9TOFg26EG8a7ytrtQchdnlYnfhURvcDDNUSHKnJwJ0mInFR9smSlb4FUmJWhvvDpi8fRDfRuviOhkgpjUwyBuDm20vt8XpiH0-Zmt2D7B0Pm5FR_EdiwOmD3AByVGHg/s320/3.png" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 244px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Step 3.</span>
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4. Turn the wheel one turn away from the space and reverse until your car is parallel in the spot.</div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6mnrycjx4c6SmtFVP9TQpxj-98XMsGJtf9f3VNisE5BS8cJTXZOtT8QxC8RVHmHVe2RWYlyFNV4jecFodXiAYmr3gyHUtQPLy647gSADN_858TQ4XUIyF47p5PZZ60maDyhv5Wg/s1600/4.png"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559903982735409314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6mnrycjx4c6SmtFVP9TQpxj-98XMsGJtf9f3VNisE5BS8cJTXZOtT8QxC8RVHmHVe2RWYlyFNV4jecFodXiAYmr3gyHUtQPLy647gSADN_858TQ4XUIyF47p5PZZ60maDyhv5Wg/s320/4.png" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 244px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Step 4.</span>
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That technique will work for many of the spots that give people pause in Manhattan. When confronted with a tighter spot with less than 2-3’ of extra space, parking becomes less formulaic and a bit more strategic.
Parallel parking depends primarily on getting the rear wheels where you want them—there is no way to move the back of the car left or right without pulling out and back in again. But in very tight spaces, you can’t place both the front and the rear of the car in a single S-shaped maneuver.</div><div><br /></div><div>Pull up alongside the car in-front, look through the rear windscreen and begin reversing, turning the wheel to aim your license plate just curbside of the center of the front bumper of the car that’s behind you (your car wont hit the curb because it’s trajectory will change as the car swings in), and begin thinking about the nose of your car even before it clears the rear bumper of the car in front.</div><div><br /></div><div>Ideally, you’ll have your car on full-lock before you clear the rear bumper, and just barely miss the car in front with your nose. You’ll run out of space before the front wheels are next to the curb—and so it is necessary to “walk” the front of your car into place (steer toward the curb and creep forward, then steer away and inch backward). This is the only time (ever) that it can be necessary to turn the front wheels when the car is stationary.</div><div><br /></div><div>To summarize:</div><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Pull up just alongside the car in front, leaving 2 feet of space, until your rear bumper is about a foot ahead of the other car’s rear bumper.</li><li>Turn the steering wheel one complete revolution and reverse, then adjust the steering to aim your rear bumper just curbside of squarely at the front bumper of the car behind yours.</li><li>Straighten the wheel and reverse, adjusting the wheel until your front bumper is nearly touching—and level with—the rear bumper of the other car. </li><li>Turn the wheel hard (even all the way) and reverse until your car is as close as possible to the car behind you. Then “walk” the front of your car into the spot by steering toward the curb and inching toward the car in front, turning the other way and creeping toward the car behind you, etc… </li></ol>There are a few other secrets to impressive parallel parking. If you can find your reflection in a glass storefront it will help you with the last few inches. Concentrate, turn off the radio, crack the window, and undo your seatbelt. Don’t be afraid to hop out to eyeball the spot. If there is a puddle by the curb and you have a passenger, park as close as you can to the curb by turning the wheel a little extra in the first and last steps. If you’re parking a huge vehicle with zero rear visibility, perform an ocular patdown as you drive past the spot to judge the excess room, then make sure not to get too far from the car in front at any point during the parking process.</div><div><br /></div><div>Mechanically sympathetic drivers avoid turning the steering wheel when the car is stopped. Master hill-starts in forward and reverse if you are going to be parking a manual. Finally, remember that the nose of your car swings out into traffic when you parallel park. Neglecting to account for this crucial factor netted me one “Major” error during my English driving test and prevented me from getting a full UK license.</div></div>Nick Goddardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05678356188413507308noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27991547.post-5174550576788853662011-01-08T14:16:00.011-05:002011-01-23T20:12:48.678-05:00Driving the Nissan Leaf<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsvAgtrBwXkB4pCwQ4dCb4HF7GFJgHrg5y7_hf1mgoXkkl-Z-jfkk1dktrI46LdqpAhYIDDrPmpnOLthcQ3Cl9vLBEJAcLRIXQ_z4hvWEVWh6TBMlrv99VT7h3HDgqkNEu14gIEA/s1600/IMG_0001.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsvAgtrBwXkB4pCwQ4dCb4HF7GFJgHrg5y7_hf1mgoXkkl-Z-jfkk1dktrI46LdqpAhYIDDrPmpnOLthcQ3Cl9vLBEJAcLRIXQ_z4hvWEVWh6TBMlrv99VT7h3HDgqkNEu14gIEA/s400/IMG_0001.jpg" alt="Hertz Nissan Leaf" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559901630078612578" border="0" /></a><br />I was invited to drive one of the Nissan Leafs that Connect by Hertz is planning to start renting from 60th street sometime in February. After being charmed but a little underwhelmed by their slow Smart ED on Tuesday, I was excited to have a go in a car that had been designed from the ground up as an electric vehicle.<br /><br />The Leaf looks a like a fat Yaris with bubbly headlights-it doesn't make you ache like a Corvette, it doesn't mimic the appealing techno look of the new Prius, and it isn't adorable like the smart.<br /><a name='more'></a><br />There isn't much about the car that hints that it is a special vehicle. In fact, when you factor in the tire roar and motor whine (and noise from nearby cars in our Manhattan test drive), it doesn't feel shockingly quiet compared to a 7-Series or even a Mazda 3.<br /><br />What it does do is an excellent job of "playing car." You could toss someone the key fob and they might not realize that the car was electric for a long time. The Leaf accelerates briskly and goes on to 95mph (although the FDR was clogged and I'd be surprised if we touched 45), and it looks like the fat cars everyone already drives anyway. That it needs no excuses is a huge feat.<br /><br />Still, there are a few puzzling things. During our test drive in 35 degree weather, turning on the heater made the range gauge instantly drops by a third, from 100 to 69 miles. Sureley some part of the motor gets too hot to touch and could supply some heat. Maybe not. In any case, a third of the range being lost through heat seems unlikely. Maybe a heated steering wheel and heated seats would be a better use of heating elements. The car does use HID lights and LED's everywhere though, so maybe the heater is really the major drain. Is my regular car losing so much energy to heat? If so, I want years of my money back.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi12kzrf2O0CF0Mq77WVYgJlSQEQLKfecyWntquxZPquFWyLTMYOAu5brb7u6KIj0rxgqD3ZmcGwiZ29BjMlhFHvOgeCoTZ-ZzKjJtGPHyh4_qK_AmA4Bnhe09I-v31ezFsMtZxHQ/s1600/IMG_0002.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi12kzrf2O0CF0Mq77WVYgJlSQEQLKfecyWntquxZPquFWyLTMYOAu5brb7u6KIj0rxgqD3ZmcGwiZ29BjMlhFHvOgeCoTZ-ZzKjJtGPHyh4_qK_AmA4Bnhe09I-v31ezFsMtZxHQ/s400/IMG_0002.jpg" alt="Nissan Leaf interior" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559901635114399330" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Apologies for the static pictures, I was with a Connect rep and didn't want to go overboard taking pictures</span><br /></div><br />The car also has a pointlessly weird shift knob that slides right for park and then wobbles around in the left position for RND and "eco", which dulls the car's performance using throttle-by-wire trickery. There is also a reverse camera that shows lines on the road that bend as you turn the wheel to indicate where the car is going to go since it isn't easy to see over the high trunk panel.<br /><br />Hertz' Leaf comes with a "electricity card" that you can scan at charging stations for a free charge, and as the Leaf's final trick, the navigation has a list of local charging stations.<br /><br />The car I drove had controls for the headlight angle, suggesting that it is a foreign market car. I am surprised that Hertz is renting non-DOT approved cars but apparently they can bring them in and rent them for 3 years.<br /><br />After putting nearly 100 miles on two electric cars during the past week, I've realized that there is nothing to be afraid of, that electric cars drive just like normal cars (the smart's lazy pace notwithstanding), can be charged slowly anywhere and rapidly at an increasing number of locations, and the range seems to be the tradeoff you give for almost no maintenance until the battery eventually dies, and the ability to charge anywhere for cheap.<br /><br />The wierdest thing is that these cars are more "normal" than normal cars. They don't run on a highly flammable liquid and there isn't thousands of explosions worth of pandemonium under the hood each minute. Electric cars just whirr along in relative peace. I was expecting to be blown away by... something, but wound up missing the character of the raspy engines I deal with on a regular basis.<br /><br />And I'm not sure the cars help save the world just yet, since the elements in the batteries come predominantly from China, and the electricity is probably coming from coal-fired powerplants. Electric cars still keep kids from playing hockey in the street, won't reduce the 33k deaths a year on our roads, still make for loud highways, and their drivers can still lay on the horn.<br /><br />Still, well done Hertz for renting V8 mustangs, Corvettes, and now, electric cars. I just wish they would rent Miatas with manual transmissions and some twist-and-go scooters that I could take on one-way trips around Manhattan.<br /><br />Maybe someone will invent a video bumper sticker that just plays on loop and says<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:180%;" >I'd rather be in one of these:</span><br /></div><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Vg3WCsDKZTg?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Vg3WCsDKZTg?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="385" width="480"></embed></object><br /><br />I'd slap it on the back of my Leaf.Nick Goddardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05678356188413507308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27991547.post-14553686941757075542011-01-08T13:56:00.011-05:002011-01-24T11:05:55.440-05:00Connect by Hertz' Smart ED<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgObma2cWRCoOHZN9MLwtG9tRo26VZUfwa4vDSnnzQDWt6BbhP61R4byC1ge_S3zbQc0BbXuWIp9QNktkUVBZw-PiJ4byaJL1IcSPRsh9ucEGuwhTtoYQiE9tJPOMevO4yih4hamg/s1600/02-bay.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgObma2cWRCoOHZN9MLwtG9tRo26VZUfwa4vDSnnzQDWt6BbhP61R4byC1ge_S3zbQc0BbXuWIp9QNktkUVBZw-PiJ4byaJL1IcSPRsh9ucEGuwhTtoYQiE9tJPOMevO4yih4hamg/s400/02-bay.jpg" alt="Hertz Electric Smart" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559894435480137250" border="0" /></a><br />Last Tuesday, I rented a Smart ED from <span style="font-style: italic;">Connect</span>'s 50th street location in Manhattan. I drove the car Westchester County Airport for a Civil Air Patrol meeting. The total distance of the journey was 63 miles, and I started with the battery gauge on 100% but returned it with what you can see in the picture--maybe 1% on the gauge (a representative called me in a panic when it got below about 3%, but everything was okay since I was so close to home). I used the heater on the return journey, because it was freezing, and I there were a few times when I used the full 30kW power to keep up with traffic.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9HF9DgeR89wP17smHHfsIEhIkwY7hagflw-Bed4-zADtXcPfu9qYti_3Clf0b6yHnO6T3jG_zpSFwpUWKeDmMLjbmI63jQ1YOpThz-42gVJK4yng0naB4n6BXVteckb9FTHwaeQ/s1600/IMG_0005.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9HF9DgeR89wP17smHHfsIEhIkwY7hagflw-Bed4-zADtXcPfu9qYti_3Clf0b6yHnO6T3jG_zpSFwpUWKeDmMLjbmI63jQ1YOpThz-42gVJK4yng0naB4n6BXVteckb9FTHwaeQ/s400/IMG_0005.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559895010832178626" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Using the full 30kW</span><br /></div>My overwhelming impression of the car is that it is really slow at highway speeds, not unusably slow, but probably the slowest car in the entire Hertz fleet. It struggles to go 58 up hills, and is harshly limited at 65mph. When the car runs into the red zone, it becomes even slower.<br /><br />Because the car is "throttle by wire", there is no direct connection between the pedal and the motor. The computer decides what is best for you, and accelerates in a very soft way even if you floor it, using a maximum of 20kW. But if you push past a final "click" in the accelerator pedal, it realizes you want to go quickly, and gives you the full 30kW on the gauge, and you make a little more progress. When you are in the red zone, the car goes into limp mode and will use only 15kW even if you push past the "click" in the pedal.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSzqC_8l6JkOKj_PvtTu5oJsmwx6qzqWPO7n0NIn7tkdQT6wRDbOG0WTt2UP7XgauPdN_AUwY7av-hQ2jY9Olw9RX0ihfTGJrMEd4y-4yNgdE9TMXV8vzYkFqDfb5NuEqbHplEFg/s1600/01-empty.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSzqC_8l6JkOKj_PvtTu5oJsmwx6qzqWPO7n0NIn7tkdQT6wRDbOG0WTt2UP7XgauPdN_AUwY7av-hQ2jY9Olw9RX0ihfTGJrMEd4y-4yNgdE9TMXV8vzYkFqDfb5NuEqbHplEFg/s400/01-empty.jpg" alt="Electric Smart Car" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559894014907987170" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Returned it with 1% charge</span><br /></div>It wasn't so quiet as I expected at highway speeds; there is a fair amount of whine from the electric motor, and of course wind noise and tire roar. When crawling around, however, it is ghostly.<br /><br />When I picked the car up, the lot attendant ran after me and said I needed to come in the little room to get my ticket, and then sheepishly realized that it was a Connect car. Someone else then ran after me to get a copy of my driving license. The car was dirty (understandable considering the recent snowstorm) and had a broken center armrest on one of the two seatbacks, but otherwise the experience was excellent. I really enjoyed driving such a great distance on battery power.<br /><br />As for range anxiety, I get a thrill from it. I enjoy running my cars right down to empty. If you think of the smart EV as a car with a 3 gallon gas tank, then I think that might really bother some people. But you do have options--in a traffic jam, no energy is used. You can use the parking brake when you're stopped so the rear brake lights don't spill energy, and of course, you can charge it at your destination. Had I charged the car for the 2 hours I was at my Civil Air Patrol meeting, I would easily have been able to make it back with a 25% charge. I guess the best thing to tell people is that the battery gauge is pretty linear, it doesn't suddenly fall quickly once it gets past 20%. Also, I imagine they calibrated the gauge so there is some reserve below zero, although I didn't get to find out.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw7k5nc13EVnIoCAAU4PeOoIziG1AQ3aqU299NaYwz9zJTj2nIyIFNH1ShqEGixgKhux0XjgbizksHN0OA87mLMUh1MnnWRBgBqc13aW13FQ7YEUPFeDvNvekysNHXTShM19yVLQ/s1600/IMG_0011.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw7k5nc13EVnIoCAAU4PeOoIziG1AQ3aqU299NaYwz9zJTj2nIyIFNH1ShqEGixgKhux0XjgbizksHN0OA87mLMUh1MnnWRBgBqc13aW13FQ7YEUPFeDvNvekysNHXTShM19yVLQ/s400/IMG_0011.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559895015510093330" border="0" /></a><br />I am excited that Hertz is renting these electric cars. I find electric cars and their quirks fascinating, and this is my only opportunity to experience them.Nick Goddardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05678356188413507308noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27991547.post-1172098494986682702010-07-22T10:13:00.000-04:002010-07-22T10:14:46.798-04:00Dream bike of the day:<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglQ69ajtmnCnynlSgROSu18R-3lCY0ui4t-cwBPSmYZKuum1S7ivdkk7tHE2fPLJJkj54Oq59RPY2oXse2KKYj8RN5Bo89L9AFZt66e8fCO-_WvLrplwB2PqzoDuZ2m4oRn4QAjw/s1600/mystery.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglQ69ajtmnCnynlSgROSu18R-3lCY0ui4t-cwBPSmYZKuum1S7ivdkk7tHE2fPLJJkj54Oq59RPY2oXse2KKYj8RN5Bo89L9AFZt66e8fCO-_WvLrplwB2PqzoDuZ2m4oRn4QAjw/s400/mystery.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496733828692212546" /></a>Nick Goddardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05678356188413507308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27991547.post-46781854596863482082010-04-20T18:42:00.003-04:002010-04-20T18:59:50.194-04:00What keeps a train on the track?Last night was old-bike night. Today it's time to look back at Richard Feynman's enthusiasm for science. I like to watch this series of videos, where he explains these really complicated concepts using everyday thoughts. I'll let him do the talking.<br /><br /><object width="400" height="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/1qQQXTMih1A&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/1qQQXTMih1A&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="320"></embed></object>Nick Goddardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05678356188413507308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27991547.post-56775295388839414152010-04-19T22:59:00.003-04:002010-04-19T23:18:19.348-04:00Daydreaming about old bikes<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirWMoAPkD0_B-hfHIvvjLxLBBLJkQ3ilgXVdZ5_AgD1uJz5OO8Xt3T_2ylhiu2ZulGS_LLlDoeyVH0X6R3GfoIOY_QJdpMLKrlUlXetYkSyCfyJniIKprObxDvIH91NAf6dQDVDA/s1600/IMG_1232.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirWMoAPkD0_B-hfHIvvjLxLBBLJkQ3ilgXVdZ5_AgD1uJz5OO8Xt3T_2ylhiu2ZulGS_LLlDoeyVH0X6R3GfoIOY_QJdpMLKrlUlXetYkSyCfyJniIKprObxDvIH91NAf6dQDVDA/s400/IMG_1232.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462053631594757186" /></a><br />New York's streets overflow with track bikes, and while there is some tasty stuff out there none of it is complex enough to be really interesting--no freewheels, no suspension, and no wild brakes. This Nuke Proof Reactor is a bike I've never seen in person, but it has those awesome steel Sweet Wings cranks, and a Rock Shox rear shock... in the head tube! Ironically, this is probably one of the more serviceable old forks--I'd rather try to get parts for it than a Manitou I or a Headshok--surely there are tons of rear shocks you could stuff into it.<br /><br />From<a href="http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?p=517354&sid=08e22be3e9c7dbb425ed094135abacf3">Retrobike</a>Nick Goddardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05678356188413507308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27991547.post-70566768820895538022010-04-16T22:46:00.002-04:002010-04-16T22:49:14.050-04:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjcnpIvwAz-28lJjBBbsPTDwPozCbmAoqfpie2K71hAZYtZqA1-kdZS6YbpkrWC5FE8B_HCbfsusjDrjUm6WIYDreZenAZL4CMUDfVtm_oVf1uXKb79B-nzYRrUBxp-Jl2guMQ1g/s1600/Street.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 296px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjcnpIvwAz-28lJjBBbsPTDwPozCbmAoqfpie2K71hAZYtZqA1-kdZS6YbpkrWC5FE8B_HCbfsusjDrjUm6WIYDreZenAZL4CMUDfVtm_oVf1uXKb79B-nzYRrUBxp-Jl2guMQ1g/s400/Street.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460932657403850834" /></a><br />Sometimes, I wonder if the cars that magazines have me dreaming about have nothing to do with the cars I'd dream about on my own.Nick Goddardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05678356188413507308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27991547.post-65388711265666516012010-03-22T19:07:00.006-04:002011-01-24T10:51:58.509-05:00The richest man in the world<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://specials-images.forbes.com/imageserve/062V5jO2887HO/406x.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 406px; height: 261px;" src="http://specials-images.forbes.com/imageserve/062V5jO2887HO/406x.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Bill Gates is still the richest man in the world, per pound.<br /></div><div><br /><br /></div><div><br /></div>Nick Goddardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05678356188413507308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27991547.post-38373281735576763112010-02-04T17:31:00.006-05:002010-02-05T18:55:36.485-05:00How to get Zero Cavities!Today, for the first time in a year-and-a-half, I went to the dentist. He took a full set of x-rays before congratulating me on having no cavities at all. It wasn't a shock; I've been fastidious about my oral hygeine since I learned two importing things. These are they:<div><br /></div><div>1. Flossing stinks - Years ago, my friend Alexis and I happened to be talking about flossing. "Of course I floss," she said, "if you haven't flossed for a while and then you do, it stinks!" I was disgusted and intrigued; I ventured a whiff the next time I flossed. If whatever is in between your teeth actually stinks, then you're probably better off without it. From then on, I was a little sicked out about kissing people who don't floss.</div><div><br /></div><div>2. Bacteria, not sugar, rots your teeth - I'm not Nick D.D.S., but I do know that it isn't sugar that rots your teeth. It's the acidic byproduct the bacteria in your mouth produce as they feed on sugar--sugar meaning any carbohydrate, including otherwise non-sugary foods like bread or even Grape-Nuts. When you're trying to clean your teeth, don't imagine scrubbing sugar off of them, imagine scrubbing all the food away so bacteria have nothing to eat. You want them to be spotless, bacteria are microscopic and can live on tiny amounts of food.</div><div><br /></div><div>Then rinse with mouthwash. It starves the bacteria by rinsing out all the minute food particles you dislodged with floss and your toothbrush. Mouthwash also makes your mouth inhospitable to bacteria like S. mutans, which is one of the first bacteria to attack your teeth, and actually has special receptors to bond to them. </div><div><br /></div><div>Tooth decay is a chronic infectious disease - it isn't just sugar rotting your teeth. Treat it as such, and use your toothbrush, floss, and mouthwash--every morning and night, at least--to make your mouth as inhospitable as possible to bacteria. These procedures are nothing new, I just wanted to shed some light on the mechanics of tooth decay--visualizing it this way (the actual way) helped me be more careful about my oral hygiene.</div>Nick Goddardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05678356188413507308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27991547.post-67373754882283070732010-02-04T11:28:00.003-05:002010-02-04T11:35:46.088-05:00360 in a Car!I finally did it. After years of watching stunt drivers do 360's, and even asking Autocar how to do it (they didn't know how), I've done a 360.<br /><br /><center><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/BIVeO3mea2g&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/BIVeO3mea2g&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></center><br /><div>For the record--handbrake turn in neutral at above 40mph (75+ if its dry pavement), release the handbrake brake and turn the wheel the other way when you're nearing 180--- car should do a reverse flick (dab the footbrake here if you're having trouble) and you're on your way again...</div>Nick Goddardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05678356188413507308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27991547.post-82616572683069824842010-02-03T22:26:00.007-05:002010-02-03T23:55:48.941-05:00Cold Air Balloons - 3M Window Film<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTwPO0dCf02e0fh5qclZh_LfL_Rz7cSeQbvLLA-XkjyNTstdSMSBoeLoKRGiu1rCeCNrd0UJcffTPc1og9t-EVvrDzY5Pv1AYdYwa_1qv_CtbARFboY0stoKctnVAbLQ1hjHykWw/s1600-h/IMG_7228.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTwPO0dCf02e0fh5qclZh_LfL_Rz7cSeQbvLLA-XkjyNTstdSMSBoeLoKRGiu1rCeCNrd0UJcffTPc1og9t-EVvrDzY5Pv1AYdYwa_1qv_CtbARFboY0stoKctnVAbLQ1hjHykWw/s400/IMG_7228.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434242210130667842" /></a><br />It may be a little late in the season to begin thinking about insulation, but when I learned about window films I couldn't resist trying them. The windows in our apartment are double-hung, double-pane, and metal-framed--and they look absolutely top-notch. Even so, it is possible to feel a draft around the top of the bottom pane and the bottom of the top pane. Cue 3M's Window Insulator Kit.<div><br /></div><div><div>The "kit" is just a giant piece of plastic film and a few rolls of tape. After all, its only objectives are to seal any of the window's leaks and to capture a layer of insulating air. That little piece of film can more than double a window's insulating ability. Of course, if windows aren't the main source of drafts, then doubling their effectiveness might not make a difference. But they are and it does (other possible sources are the hole around a ceiling fan, a dryer vent, or even wall sockets facing exterior walls). </div><div><br /></div><div>Have a look at 3M's <a href="http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/WindowInsulatorKits/Products/">Calculator</a> to see what you might save with a bit of film...</div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhODxOa7ZL6vHwTjBxCKq9O30CzShttDOZs8NAh6wYUJNFquqd-qjqcsjG4Ay__zU6tHZYdQz3rnWTYRh0JI9kqMlw6VY2g6xxdeQL360Q1Rl_sLpk9a4sa1j42DwOvjgvuPlY8-Q/s1600-h/Picture+5.png" style="text-decoration: none;"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 332px; height: 384px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhODxOa7ZL6vHwTjBxCKq9O30CzShttDOZs8NAh6wYUJNFquqd-qjqcsjG4Ay__zU6tHZYdQz3rnWTYRh0JI9kqMlw6VY2g6xxdeQL360Q1Rl_sLpk9a4sa1j42DwOvjgvuPlY8-Q/s400/Picture+5.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434224903885933154" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>But the best bit is seeing the film puff up after you've installed it (I'll try to get a picture). I reckon its the dense, cold air pushing in past the window frame. It's like a cold air balloon. My window films are bulging 3" at the center of the pane (see top picture)... I can't wait to see the difference it makes to the bill.</div><div><br /></div></div>Nick Goddardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05678356188413507308noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27991547.post-35244657273611033162009-04-23T10:24:00.006-04:002009-04-23T10:35:42.802-04:00The Cub made it to the BBC!<div>The BBC called me up a week or so ago and asked me to chat about unemployed people in New York reinventing themselves. Perfect, right? So we wound up doing a short film about the Honda Cub, a 100mpg step-through motorcycle which is the most-produced vehicle in the entire history of the world.</div><div><br /></div><object width="425" height="333"><param name="movie" value="http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/emp/external/player.swf"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><param name="FlashVars" value="config_settings_showUpdatedInFooter=true&playlist=http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/emp/8000000/8006700/8006714.xml&config=http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/emp/config/default.xml?1.3.105_2.10.7938_7967_20090406152952&config_settings_language=default&config_settings_showFooter=true&config_plugin_fmtjLiveStats_pageType=eav6&config_settings_showPopoutButton=false&config_settings_showPopoutCta=false"><embed src="http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/emp/external/player.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="425" height="333" flashvars="config_settings_showUpdatedInFooter=true&playlist=http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/emp/8000000/8006700/8006714.xml&config=http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/emp/config/default.xml?1.3.105_2.10.7938_7967_20090406152952&config_settings_language=default&config_settings_showFooter=true&config_plugin_fmtjLiveStats_pageType=eav6&config_settings_showPopoutButton=false&config_settings_showPopoutCta=false"></embed></object><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Here's a <a href="http://blog.wired.com/cars/2008/05/honda-sells-its.html">link to a Wired article</a> about the 60 millionth cub being sold, and here's a little video about what makes it so great. Don't know why they tried to wreck it though-- seems to me to be in poor taste.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: pre; font-family:Arial;font-size:10px;"><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/aaeKrqJJqm0&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/aaeKrqJJqm0&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></span><br /></div>Nick Goddardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05678356188413507308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27991547.post-56684854744893618992009-04-04T00:00:00.009-04:002009-04-04T01:04:44.661-04:00The Unemployment Olympics were a great success!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRG63c0ULnTskRWs1IrEa2yssXCJ_0Lu-p7vpIn8UbY-DYeX9BvZxZWbKRcoQVEP9Z24liccs7Tsa8_Kq7nu_lTXy6yfO3r_gKst_ZLe4DEWgaQ1yXpHkoftghrfa3upVWj1UQsg/s1600-h/olympics.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRG63c0ULnTskRWs1IrEa2yssXCJ_0Lu-p7vpIn8UbY-DYeX9BvZxZWbKRcoQVEP9Z24liccs7Tsa8_Kq7nu_lTXy6yfO3r_gKst_ZLe4DEWgaQ1yXpHkoftghrfa3upVWj1UQsg/s400/olympics.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320461517702281250" /></a><br />I lost my job in February after nearly three years at a computer firm in downtown Manhattan- It was liberating-- I walked out and into a chilly day holding a big bag off stuff, but the day felt fresher, and I knew that many adventures were ahead. That night, or the next day, I wondered aloud to a friend about how great it would be to be able to compete in athletic events to win prizes--"The Unemployment Olympics", I would call it.<br /><br />A few weeks later I decided to create and host the Olympics. I applied for a permit at New York's Parks and Recreation office, and submitted an event listing to Time Out. I put out a press release, and <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/video2/video08.html?maven_referralObject=4083557&maven_referralPlaylistId=&sRevUrl=http://www.foxnews.com/">FOX NEWS</a> called and asked if I'd come on their show. It was a huge thrill-- you can check out the bit <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/video2/video08.html?maven_referralObject=4083557&maven_referralPlaylistId=&sRevUrl=http://www.foxnews.com/">here</a>-<br /><br />A whirlwind of making stuff, getting more donations, planning events, responding to the RSVP'ers, and just generally freaking out later...<div><br /></div><div><div>And check out how it turned out! Everyone had a ball, and it got news coverage from LA to Montreal, Australia and Shanghai--</div><div><br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/01/nyregion/01olympics.html">New York Times</a><br /><a href="http://gothamist.com/2009/04/01/new_york_gets_the_2009_unemployment.php">Gothamist</a><br /></div><div><a href="http://joannagoddard.blogspot.com/2009/04/unemployment-olympics.html">Cup of Jo</a></div><div><br /></div>Here is some video from the New York Post and The Associated Press...<div><br /><br /><object width="480" height="295"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/kdWb1Ta4g3U&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/kdWb1Ta4g3U&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="295"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/TCGyFWE9bZk&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/TCGyFWE9bZk&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /></div></div>Nick Goddardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05678356188413507308noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27991547.post-92156555991108255462009-04-03T23:50:00.001-04:002009-04-04T00:57:34.673-04:00Fiesta movement winners being picked-Ford has been contacting the agents of the Fiesta Movement for the past few days-- If you want to see a list of those chosen so far, check out <a href="http://forums.focaljet.com/join-fiesta-movement/603616-first-fiesta-movement-winners-picked.html">this thread</a> at <a href="http://focaljet.com/">focaljet</a>.<br /><br />I spoke with Leslie today from Ogilvy PR in Manhattan, and she confirmed that there are still a few agents who have not yet been contacted/selected. Check out this video below (and my Fiesta Movement video posted 3/25) and keep your fingers crossed that I am one of the remaining few to be contacted...<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Kz7RC1Kn4Wc&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Kz7RC1Kn4Wc&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Nick Goddardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05678356188413507308noreply@blogger.com0