New API webpage

I just created a new web page for my flying club that owns two Cessnas: http://www.associatedpilots.com/

More Booze in More Places

Created by Berk and me at the Winchester. Photo by Berk.

Pictures from Greece

Hypermiling

So I tried hypermiling on my last tank of gas in my 2000 Honda Civic. It improved my mileage 18%, from about 27.5 mpg on average to 32.5 mpg. While not record breaking, that is a significant improvement for a few small changes in my driving behavior:

• Aiming for 45-60 mph in the slow lane on Route 2 (instead of 75 mph in the fast lane)
• Coasting in neutral on downhills
• Coasting to red lights and stop signs
• Accelerating slower
• Shifting to higher gears sooner

These simple changes make very little difference in my commute time. At most it adds about 3 minutes to my commute, but I feel much more relaxed driving to work.

I'd really like a bumper sticker that says: Back off...I'm Hypermiling, since you do tend to have other cars following you closer.

Plus the financial incentive for simple hypermiling is strong. I use about 20 gallons per month, which equal about $1000 per year in gas. By reducing my fuel consumption 15%, I save $150 per year.

Here are 2 useful websites for more tips for fuel-efficient driving and graphs on mpg vs speed:
Driving More Efficiently from the DOT. This site also allows you to get the "sticker" mileage for your car as a baseline.

Fuel-Efficient Driving from Earth Easy.

I really wish you could get these graphs for your make and model.

It will be interesting to see if I can keep up this 32 mpg plus driving.

Fail Blog

Very Funny:

http://failblog.org/

Red Army Choir Sings Sweet Home Alabama

Welcome to the age of globalization. I wonder what the rednecks back home think of this one?



Thanks to the Wired Danger Room Blog.

Persecution in the Name of Security

This good article from the New York Times pisses me off. An artist, photographer, and US citizen is denied entrance into most State capitals in his journey to photograph all 50 state capitals.

Is there a way to lobby to get someone off the mysterious watch list? This is hauntingly similar to lists or communists in the 1950s based on false information.

California Pictures

Since adding pictures is much easier than writing a blog post, here are the pictures from my trip this weekend to California.

Pictures from NH

Pictures from San Francisco