not so silent (e) » car http://notso.silent-e.com Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind. - Dr. Seuss Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:20:35 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Penny’s new do http://notso.silent-e.com/2011/03/16/pennys-new-do/ http://notso.silent-e.com/2011/03/16/pennys-new-do/#comments Wed, 16 Mar 2011 17:23:35 +0000 matte http://notso.silent-e.com/2011/03/16/pennys-new-do/ Penny's new do

Penny and I had haircuts yesterday. Isn’t she cute!

I uploaded this through flickr

]]> http://notso.silent-e.com/2011/03/16/pennys-new-do/feed/ 2 Let’s hear it for Virginia http://notso.silent-e.com/2007/07/01/lets-hear-it-for-virginia/ http://notso.silent-e.com/2007/07/01/lets-hear-it-for-virginia/#comments Sun, 01 Jul 2007 18:59:31 +0000 matte http://notso.silent-e.com/2007/07/01/lets-hear-it-for-virginia/ I’m coming out of blog hiatus to post about this important bill recently passed in Virginia. It relates to my biggest pet peeve about driving. People who don’t use their signal.

Didn’t use your turn signal? That’ll be $1,050, please!

Now, if only every state decided to use this. The world would be a better place.

PLEASE USE YOUR SIGNAL!!!!

]]> http://notso.silent-e.com/2007/07/01/lets-hear-it-for-virginia/feed/ 2 Save the world… Save the cheerleader http://notso.silent-e.com/2007/04/04/stop-idling/ http://notso.silent-e.com/2007/04/04/stop-idling/#comments Wed, 04 Apr 2007 20:18:58 +0000 matte http://notso.silent-e.com/2007/04/04/stop-idling/ Cathy and I watched “An Inconvenient Truth” last weekend and it was really inspiring. Sure, it’s a glorified PowerPoint presentation but, with all apologies to Marshall McLuhan, in this instance the medium is not the message. So, I’ve tried to step up my looking for ways to help reduce my impact on our environment. My small steps may not make a HUGE difference but they’ll help and I can also help spread the word on my tiny little blog here. One thing that helps not just the environment but your pocketbook as well?

Stop idling the car!!

Studies have shown that idling the car for longer than 10 seconds is very wasteful. 10 SECONDS PEOPLE! That’s many stoplights out where I live, if I hit it right… wrong… umm, just as it changes to red. So, I’ve started to turn my car off when I think I can get away with it. The following link has more information and there’s a quaint, though low-budget (I love the squirrel), video that makes a good point as well.

(inspiration for this post) Homemade Hybrids – with the 10-Second Rule

Using this 10 second rule can even save you gas. The person quoted in the story I linked to above said he got an extra 30 miles in one month. That’s an extra gallon in my car. $3.45 saved. Per tank. I go through a coupla tanks a month. That’s big bucks.

What else am I doing?

  • I’m starting to take lightrail more often into work
  • I don’t run the water in my shower waiting for it to get hot as long as I used to. I used to shave while waiting but it gets hot enough, fast enough, that I start the shower after shaving.
  • We’ve replaced standard lightbulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs in many places, though I think I know some places where we haven’t.

Little things, but things that help. You can too. So, if you find yourself idling your car, anywhere you’re going to be longer than 10 seconds?… A long stoplight… Waiting for the kids to come out of school… Tailgating… etc… Turn it off.

PS – What’s the deal with the title? If we save our world? We’ll be saving the lives of countless cheerleaders too. I, for one, am all for that! :)

]]> http://notso.silent-e.com/2007/04/04/stop-idling/feed/ 4 Classy ride http://notso.silent-e.com/2006/07/05/classy-ride/ http://notso.silent-e.com/2006/07/05/classy-ride/#comments Thu, 06 Jul 2006 02:04:58 +0000 matte http://notso.silent-e.com/2006/07/05/classy-ride/ Classy ride

Hastily shot picture of what I saw as I left work today. The license plate said it is a 1937 Rolls Royce. Sure was pretty.

I uploaded this through flickr

]]> http://notso.silent-e.com/2006/07/05/classy-ride/feed/ 0 MY license plate http://notso.silent-e.com/2005/12/13/my-license-plate/ http://notso.silent-e.com/2005/12/13/my-license-plate/#comments Wed, 14 Dec 2005 02:57:00 +0000 matte http://notso.silent-e.com/?p=188 Just saw the MFer that took my license plate. ‘MST3000′ Drove right by him and couldn’t stop so I couldn’t take a picture and I never saw him pass me when I slowed down in the right lane.

Jerk. :)

Though I have already found it’s replacement. Haven’t ordered it yet though so I don’t wanna jinx it. It’s kinda obscure so I’m not afraid someone will take it but still.

]]> http://notso.silent-e.com/2005/12/13/my-license-plate/feed/ 0 Cat on a hot … http://notso.silent-e.com/2005/11/29/cat-on-a-hot/ http://notso.silent-e.com/2005/11/29/cat-on-a-hot/#comments Tue, 29 Nov 2005 23:13:00 +0000 matte http://notso.silent-e.com/?p=176 … well… not a tin roof. :) This is the local cat that lives at the renovated apartment complex that got turned into office space where I work.

Cat sleeping on a car hood

]]> http://notso.silent-e.com/2005/11/29/cat-on-a-hot/feed/ 0 Running on fumes http://notso.silent-e.com/2005/10/31/running-on-fumes/ http://notso.silent-e.com/2005/10/31/running-on-fumes/#comments Tue, 01 Nov 2005 07:22:00 +0000 matte http://notso.silent-e.com/?p=155 Running on fumes
Heh. Farthest down i’ve ever gone toward empty on my gas tank. Not the farthest in miles though. I’ve gone over 440 miles. Not bad for my little baby.

]]> http://notso.silent-e.com/2005/10/31/running-on-fumes/feed/ 0 My next car http://notso.silent-e.com/2005/10/19/my-next-car/ http://notso.silent-e.com/2005/10/19/my-next-car/#comments Wed, 19 Oct 2005 18:28:00 +0000 matte http://notso.silent-e.com/?p=134 Dog in the glove compartment

Next time I buy a car, I’m getting the one that comes with a dog. :P

]]> http://notso.silent-e.com/2005/10/19/my-next-car/feed/ 0 My second favorite expressway … http://notso.silent-e.com/2005/09/09/my-second-favorite-expressway/ http://notso.silent-e.com/2005/09/09/my-second-favorite-expressway/#comments Fri, 09 Sep 2005 08:56:59 +0000 matte http://notso.silent-e.com/?p=104 … is Central Expressway in the Bay Area. My favorite is the Edens Expressway in Chicago. No relation that I know of.

Central sneaks inbetween 101 and 280 and if you need to avoid either, say during rush hour, then it is dang near perfect. There ARE some stoplights at cross streets which can slow your average speed but they’re certainly nicer to deal with than stop-n-go traffic.

If I were a skunk though, I’d be avoiding it like the plague. I saw two plastered on the road within a coupla miles of each other.

]]> http://notso.silent-e.com/2005/09/09/my-second-favorite-expressway/feed/ 0 Grand prix #1 again http://notso.silent-e.com/2005/07/30/grand-prix-1-again/ http://notso.silent-e.com/2005/07/30/grand-prix-1-again/#comments Sun, 31 Jul 2005 01:01:32 +0000 matte http://notso.silent-e.com/?p=87 San Jose Grand Prix

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