tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35438200693183570852025-11-16T01:46:51.107-08:00Stuck in traffic. Again.Lurchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16061538007474051120noreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543820069318357085.post-74557670415104487142012-08-14T17:09:00.002-07:002012-08-14T17:09:55.385-07:00

helpful link to help keep your house cool without needing to buy expensive air conditioning

Lurchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16061538007474051120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543820069318357085.post-43476941879859079772012-05-04T16:55:00.001-07:002012-08-14T17:08:55.189-07:00

It's been a while, but I'm back! I thought I'd share an interesting site for those of you whose kids need reverse pull headgear or braces. My daughter was prescribed reverse pull headgear a while back. When we looked it up online ("what the heck is it, anyways?"), she was pretty devastated. Quite the obvious thing to wear. The dentist told us that she should wear it 24 hours a day to

Lurchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16061538007474051120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543820069318357085.post-51697615219482305552011-06-25T23:42:00.000-07:002011-06-25T23:42:01.952-07:00

Interesting idea. I've often wondered if there was some simple kinetic way of storing brake energy, rather than electric. I had been thinking more along the lines of a spring or similar, but it looks like Volvo is considering ways of accomplishing this with a flywheel. From here:

Lurchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16061538007474051120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543820069318357085.post-71859217359871637982011-06-22T23:42:00.000-07:002011-06-22T23:42:04.919-07:00

I suppose it's intuitive, but a recent Swedish study shows that longer commutes correlate to higher divorce rates. If you think about it, it's not hard to think of reasons why this might be true: guilt of being away from each other, compromises in career, increased stress, etc. It's just interesting to see a study that highlights this. I often joke that my commute kills a little bit of my soul

Lurchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16061538007474051120noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543820069318357085.post-48492332239823371092011-05-18T14:14:00.000-07:002011-05-18T14:14:32.347-07:00

I've posted my love for the Google Car before... Without further commentary:From here.

Lurchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16061538007474051120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543820069318357085.post-68135495908970755492011-05-02T23:30:00.000-07:002011-05-02T23:30:09.590-07:00

... although, as pointed out many times before, I DO like robot drivers. Yeah, yeah. I know that just the other week, I enthusiastically posted another Dodge commercial that I liked. However, the difference is recreational driving vs. utility driving (i.e. commuting). When it comes to utility driving for the daily commute, put a robot in the driving seat any day.

Lurchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16061538007474051120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543820069318357085.post-14201804152358735752011-04-14T20:48:00.000-07:002011-04-14T20:48:00.451-07:00

Part of the frustration of vehicle-based commuting is the costs: cost of the vehicle, cost of maintenance, cost of insurance, and of course, the cost of fuel. Minimizing fuel usage is of benefit financially, environmentally, and socially (costs of maintaining peace in increasingly-hostile foreign areas). Well, our friends at Eco Driving USA have a series of excellent tips that help minimize fuel

Lurchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16061538007474051120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543820069318357085.post-20060473035896126152011-04-10T23:26:00.000-07:002011-04-10T23:26:00.257-07:00

I'd theoretically consider cycling to work from my home. However, there are a number of things that make me reluctant to do so:hills a longer commute than I feel comfortable cycling with rain The Drymer trike seems to address these. It's a recumbent-style bike so there's better use of leg power, it has a battery to help with those long distances and pesky hills, and it has a canopy to keep

Lurchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16061538007474051120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543820069318357085.post-75030653424485961612011-04-09T23:53:00.000-07:002011-04-10T12:48:00.239-07:00

Presenting a guest blog post by our friend Daniel Frank, of GiveACar in the UK-- If you’ve ever been stuck in traffic surrounded by huge numbers of cars, then you will have hoped for a reduction in the number of cars on the road. However, even if we persuade people to cycle, take public transport or car share, then we still have to solve the problem of car disposal for the cars we get out of

Lurchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16061538007474051120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543820069318357085.post-21925957396382809442011-04-06T21:13:00.000-07:002011-04-07T08:44:57.144-07:00

Lurchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16061538007474051120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543820069318357085.post-79922745237021116012011-04-05T20:17:00.000-07:002011-04-05T20:17:06.796-07:00

I've mentioned the opposed-piston opposed=cylinder engines before, from Eco Motors. Pinnacle Motors seems to be playing in this arena as well (although with a less impressive-looking engine). If Pinnacle is to believed, their design will yield 30-50% efficiency. Well, recently they made the exciting announcement that they're making progress in commercialization (that's manufacturer-speak for "

Lurchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16061538007474051120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543820069318357085.post-32200661154495034462011-04-04T19:47:00.000-07:002011-04-04T19:47:51.664-07:00

To: the jerk 3 miles ahead of me who was weaving through traffic 15 minutes agoMessage: You totally suck.From: the hundreds of drivers who are behind you who are now stuck in stop-and-go traffic, all due to the fact that you erroneously thought that you could shave another 30 seconds off your commute.PS: You totally suck. Via: Car Insurance Guide  and Autoblog.com

Lurchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16061538007474051120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543820069318357085.post-16668982789348109972011-03-04T14:19:00.000-08:002011-03-04T14:19:18.883-08:00

Great image, courtesy of Bike Friendly North Shore via Treehugger.

Lurchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16061538007474051120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543820069318357085.post-78585393136588832062011-02-26T14:22:00.000-08:002011-02-26T14:22:36.292-08:00

My friends at Translogic point to a neat project to build a boat with a sub-marine pilot compartment (I'd argue against the use of the word "submarine" to describe the EGO, since the boat itself does not go under the water) I've been fascinated by the sea all my life, and have enjoyed a "submarine" ride (actually, a deep-keeled boat with sub-waterline windows) on a trip to Catalina Island. I've

Lurchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16061538007474051120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543820069318357085.post-6284364613498361752011-02-12T20:45:00.000-08:002011-02-12T20:45:29.471-08:00

I came across Telework Exchange today, which is hosting Telework Week on Feb 14 - 18, 2011. I wasn't familiar with the site, but it boasts an impressive collection of links to resources, articles, papers, etc. I don't have time right now to review all of the site content (which is considerable), but skimming it, I see that it's geared primarily to a US and Federal Government audience, which is

Lurchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16061538007474051120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543820069318357085.post-80782178486061407222011-01-27T20:35:00.000-08:002011-01-27T20:35:00.534-08:00

Distractions in the car are dangerous.Here in my neck of the woods, using any handheld electronic device while driving will get you a hefty fine and likely affect your insurance rates the following year through the "points" system they use. For example, phones must have a handsfree and have a one-touch dialer, and texting/email is totally illegal. I admit that I don't always adhere 100% to these

Lurchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16061538007474051120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543820069318357085.post-69246745870536773772011-01-22T20:18:00.000-08:002011-01-22T20:18:35.470-08:00

Hi folks, I feel I should apologize for my tardiness in posting lately. Things have been very busy this past number of months, with a death in the family, the Christmas holidays and all the chaos that goes along with that. And then, in an event that seemed entirely too apropos, given my hatred of traffic, our lives were further complicated by a traffic incident. Mrs. Frustrated was running

Lurchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16061538007474051120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543820069318357085.post-11544354203571938222011-01-22T20:07:00.000-08:002011-01-22T20:07:20.000-08:00

We reported earlier about the EU SARTRE project hitting its one-year anniversary. Now, our friends at Translogic share a video of a recent road trial on some wilderness-looking highway (albeit, with a single car in the train, and at low speed). Nevertheless, it's not in a lab, and looks promising for the future. I continue to watch this with great interest!

Lurchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16061538007474051120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543820069318357085.post-1328710660915275682010-12-11T19:38:00.000-08:002010-12-11T19:38:40.738-08:00

I get my oil changed fairly often. I feel it's the single biggest thing I can do to keep my car from dying before its time.However, I dislike changing my own oil. I know HOW to, it's just that I dislike it. It requires getting slippery and dirty in parts of the car that I'd rather not go. And oil filters are hard to get off if you don't have the proper tools. The last time I changed my oil myself

Lurchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16061538007474051120noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543820069318357085.post-40799398221028791372010-11-26T19:32:00.000-08:002010-11-26T19:32:05.065-08:00

The SARTRE project which "aims to develop, test and validate technology for vehicles that can drive themselves in long road trains on motorways" is now a year into their 3-year investigation, and have released an interesting 8-minute video highlighting where they are so far. I found it informative, interesting, and refreshing -- these are clearly smart people who are not naive about the

Lurchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16061538007474051120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543820069318357085.post-78725429338605654502010-11-19T21:12:00.000-08:002010-11-19T21:12:37.541-08:00

My friends at motorauthority.com have a great article on a smartphone app from Faurecia which custom-adjusts your seat based on your real measurements, as taken from a camera photo. I'm hoping that by the time my old POC car is ready to be replaced, this will be available in vehicles in my modest price range. I'm often adjusting my seat to get comfortable in traffic, and I'm not convinced I'm

Lurchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16061538007474051120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543820069318357085.post-36521924334362116232010-11-18T13:41:00.000-08:002010-11-19T21:13:27.233-08:00

This morning, the lovely and talented BitchCakes posted an entry in which she shares her fear of commuter disaster in a tunnel. To which I commented:In my city, I sometimes have to take a car tunnel that runs under a river. Every time I do, I have visions of that old Sly Stallone movie "Daylight". There are a lot of bad drivers in my city, so I could easily imagine one of them panicking, hitting

Lurchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16061538007474051120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543820069318357085.post-85419356617804275982010-11-05T16:33:00.000-07:002010-11-05T16:33:00.642-07:00

Stellar rendition of a great song(s), sung by Paul McCartney and some superb backup musicians. ;) Get thee home for some golden slumbers after a long week!

Lurchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16061538007474051120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543820069318357085.post-34774808821604470192010-11-03T22:45:00.000-07:002010-11-05T08:51:48.507-07:00

Image courtesy of buzzfeed.com

Lurchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16061538007474051120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543820069318357085.post-68431695013071994852010-11-01T13:01:00.000-07:002010-11-01T13:01:08.902-07:00

I sit in traffic a lot, and am very interested in ways of commuting in a way that is more efficient in terms of time, and ecological footprint. I came across this today, which is very interesting. These smart folks are working on an internal combustion engine which is more efficient, yields more power, and would allow "smart engines" where modules are turned off if idle and on when power is

Lurchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16061538007474051120noreply@blogger.com0