eRandomBlather

KERS and the common Prius

2009-09-15T08:18:00.000-07:00

Formula One racing this season has endorsed and allowed Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems (KERS for short) for the 2009 season. The systems have been used with some success by Ferrari, McLaren and Renault this season. I won't go into detail about the systems allowed in F1, but there is plenty of information available here. The main idea behind the systems is to capture energy while braking, store it in a battery or flywheel, and release it to aid the performance of the racing cars. F1 cars using the KERS system get an 80 HP boost from their electric motors, but can only use the extra power for about six seconds each lap. Drivers press a button in the cockpit to engage the system.
In the past, many advancements from motor racing have been used to add safety and performance to road-going vehicles. rear-view mirrors, active suspension and quick-changing manual/automatic transmissions are all examples of this. The idea of using a kinetic energy recovery system through regenerative braking, however, is not an idea created by racingteams. It has been used for several years now in production hybrid cars and trucks.
I had never driven any sort of hybrid, but had an opportunity recently when my mid-sized rental turned out to be the very popular Toyota Prius.
I must admit that I was excited to see the cars available for hire at the Hertz agent at the San Jose, CA airport. As I came onto the lot I spotted special Hertz-liveried Corvette ZHZ models, as well as new Camaros and Mercedes C-Class vehicles. Since I was going to be driving on Highway 1 along the scenic California coast, I was salivating at the thought of using a high-performance car for the duration of my trip. When I arrived at the counter, they gave me a high-performance car of a different type. After only three minutes or so of pressing buttons and looking for directions, I was able to get the car to turn on and move out of the lot. The start up procedure is not intuitive, but simple once you understand the steps.
Since the Pruis uses a sort of KERS system, I thought I would give the car a fair shake. The biggest thing I dislike about the Prius (before driving) is the self-righteous attitude of the drivers and of the manufacturer about how good their car is for the planet. The commercials show Priuses driving around emitting only flowers and rainbows, and the fact is that while it does use a bit less petrol, the manufacturing process for the batteries offsets any eco-karma generated by lowering emissions. But this does not seem to diminish owner enthusiasm for them and there are many on the road. On at least three occasions while in my Prius, I was in a "train" of at least three Priuses in a row.
After driving some friends from Los Gatos to Monterey, I was happy that for the most part, it drove like a normal car and achieved pretty impressive fuel economy. The car seated the three of us comfortably (though I wish the seat went back a bit further) with all of our luggage and some of the party favors for a medium-sized wedding.
I woke early the next morning to wring-out the Toyota and the explore the scenic California coastline.
Any motoring enthusiast would surely love to see a sign indicating 74 miles of twisty road and I was no exception. I was nearly the only vehicle on the road when I set off, and the speed limit was a very reasonable 55 mph for most of the 60 mile stretch of Hwy 1 I drove.
The technology of the Prius has been written about ad naseum, and I am not going to go into how it works, but will instead give my take on its utility and function. Suffice to say the Prius electric motor does not provide quite the performance benefit of F1's KERS.
I set out to drive the car hard. I sped past the sign pictured nearby indicating 74 miles of curvy road. When I saw the sign and decided to take a picture, I wasn't shy about jamming on the brakes, pulling onto the gravelly verge and flooring the car in reverse to get myself back in position to take a shot. The brakes on the car have a two-phase operation. At the first tough of the brakes, the power regeneration system activates, and if more stopping power is required, the conventional hydraulic brakes operate. There is a jerkiness to the two systems that requires some getting used to. The car skidded around a bit as I pulled it onto the shoulder of the road. Upon shifting into reverse, a back-up camera turns on and shows on the display on the dash. As I found in a parking lot, the camera is great for locating the lines of parking stalls, but bad at letting you know how close you actually are to objects behind. The fish-eye lens of the camera gives no sense of distance to the objects in the camera. Also, there is an annoying beep inside the cabin any time the car is in reverse. The beeping is not a radar-type parking assistance device with beeps that get more frequent as you get closer to what is behind you--it is just an annoyance letting you know you're in reverse.
After snapping the pictures, I sped off from the verge, spinning the inadequate tires as the traction-control icon lit on the far-away dashboard.
The display in the center of the dashboard can be switched to show information about performance/economy, climate systems and audio. I found the climate system to me non-intuitive, and it required a bit more distraction from the road to be able to accurately adjust the temperature and fan settings. The radio controls were even more frustrating. There were seemingly three ways to adjust the volume for the stereo. There buttons on the steering wheel, a knob on the dash, and buttons on the LCD touch screen. The knob on the dash never seemed to work to control volume, but the dash controls were the only way to scan the radio. I was never able to turn the radio off, only down.
I really tried to go just about as quickly as possible down the highway. I was braking late and jabbing the go-pedal to get maximum thrust out of the corners. Driving this way I was surprised that the battery stayed at near-maximum charge. It is apparently easier to charge the battery than drain it this way, as there were lots of short bursts of maximum acceleration and lots of heavy braking. For my taste, Toyota could have put a bigger electric motor in the car to provide more of a kick. The acceleration did not come quickly, but instead came on quite oddly, due to the continuously variable transmission (CVT). I'd never driven a car with a CVT, and I'll say I'm not anxious to do so again. The engine stayed at a near constant rev while speed increased, which is a bit of an odd sensation. But I'm sure the computers were doing their best to give me maximum power.
The information display on the Prius provides a bar-graph history of the last 30 minutes (in five-minute increments) detailing both fuel economy and power captured through regeneration. In normal driving the higher regeneration numbers would mostly correspond to higher MPG numbers. However, as I was trying to wring-out the Prius, regeneration numbers were quite high, but MPG numbers were pretty low (below 25 MPG). The one thing I think the display is missing is a figure to show how much electricity the motor is using, in addition to showing how much is generated. Again, with how slowly the battery seemed to discharge during spirited driving, I think a more powerful electric motor would definitely help the car's enjoyment factor, and it seems it would also be able to power the car to a cruising speed of 30 mph or so before the gasoline motor kicks in. (The gas motor seems to kick in at 10-15mph in normal operation.)
After 60 miles of driving south on Hwy 1 and passing through Big Sur, I turned onto Nacimiento Road. Nacimiento Road was barely more than a paved donkey path that wound its way up a steep mountain. The bottom part of the road was covered fog, and there were blind curves the enitre way up the mountain. The bottom three-to-four miles were paved, with steep gravel edges that plunged into a deep canyon and out to sea. Near the top of the ridge the road turned to dirt and grew steeper, and potholes were common. I shortly entertained ideas of rallying the Pruis, but the car's small wheels and tires, combined with the deteriorating road conditions led me to turn around.

By the time I reached the top of my climb, the battery was nearly depleted, and the engine was running non-stop to recharge the battery, even when the car was not in motion. Indicated mileage for the duration of the climb was in the 10-12 mpg range. Indicated mileage on the descent was much better. Almost all acceleration I used on the trip back down the mountain was taken care of by the electric motor. By the bottom of the hill, however, I had pretty substantial brake fade, and the smell of hot brakes permeated the car.
Overall, the Prius drove about as I expected. On hard, skinny tires the car would plow through corners if I tried to carry too much speed. Needless to say, I did not have to deal with any wheelspin on corner exits. I was craving the ability to press a button on the steering wheel and gain another 80 HP, if even just for a few seconds. The car seemed rather well-balanced, and I think that if the car had better tires and about twice the power, it could be useful and entertaining to drive.

Wisconsin Weather

2008-11-09T09:31:00.000-08:00

Well you know I never blog about the good weather in Wisconsin, so it must be snowing again... I almost posted last week with temps in the 70s at the start of November, just because it was so nice, but I didn't. However, it was in the 70s for three days in a row, then the 50s, and now we're on out third day in a row of flurries. Not flurries of sunshine. So far nothing sticking, but it is supposed to get more frigid, and maybe get up to an inch or two over the next couple of days.
Soon on tap also is replacing the brake pads and rotors on the Volvo. It would have been better when it was in the 70s!!!
And with this talk of snow, I'm looking at more of the 700c Nokian Hakkapeliitta W106 35mm tires for Dr. Katie's bike.

House guest (guest worker program) Part Two

2008-11-03T14:31:00.000-08:00

So on the second day we took on door number two. This was the door from the dining room to the screen porch. We found a great replacement that looks like this one at Menards, and put it right in. This was probably the easiest door of the three. While we had the old door out and were preparing to put the new one in, it started snowing!

Later that day, after mom left for her conference and Katie left for work, dad and I decided to try to clear some leaves out of the vent pipe from the downstairs bathroom. The outlet for the vent is almost even with the deck, and there is very little access to the duct. There was no cover on the vent to keep things out. We had to take off the first deck board in order to access the vent, and that was a chore in itself. Many of the deck screws were stripped, and others had broken off. Dad had to use the Dremel tool to make cuts in the top so we could use a slotted driver to remove the screws. When we got the deck board off, we discovered that not only were there leaves, but there was a lot of dirt and rocks in the pipe as well. Some sort of critter had made its home in the pipe, and had made it so that the air had nowhere to go as it was trying to be pushed out by the bathroom fan. That could help to explain why we had some mold develop in the basement during the summer. We cleaned the duct out, and the next morning went to the local Ace hardware store and got a bunch of stuff, including a damper/dryer vent style flapper to try to keep out whatever had been living inside.
At the Ace we also bought electrical stuff to wire up some switches downstairs so that we don't have to pull strings to get the lights to come on.
On Wednesday, the day before dad left, we replaced the front door. This one had a higher degree of difficulty, since we did all of the work from the inside in order to not have to completely take apart the trip work outside the front door. Here is the new front door getting ready to go in:

We really got a lot done while my dad was here. (by we I mean he got a lot done). We replaced three doors, wired lights downstairs to come on with a switch, cleaned out and insulated around the bathroom vent duct, poured a cement "transition" from the driveway to the garage where there had been a bit of a ditch, and measured for a bathroom project that he can work on next time he comes, provided that he ever wants to come back, since all he does is work when he is here. But I'll let him have a day off next time.

Thank you dad!!!!

House guest (guest worker program) Part One

2008-11-03T14:13:00.000-08:00

So last week my parents came to town! It was nice to see them, although I only saw mom for a few hours between conferences in Chicago and New Jersey. But my dad was here from Saturday afternoon through Thursay morning. He initially didn't want to stay for that long, but we convinced him that there would be enough to do while he was here, and it turns out that we were right. There was plenty to do!
Saturday night we had a flank steak on the grill, blogged about the wine we had, and planned out the rest of the week.
We got up on Sunday morning and headed out to the Home Depot to get what was needed for the projects. The primary project would be to replace the three doors coming into the house. They were old and fairly drafty. We were not too happy with the choice of doors at the Depot, so we decided to head to Menards to see if they had a better selection. Boy, did they ever! I think I now have a new favorite home improvement store.
Here are three pictures of the first door we did, from the garage to the house. When we pulled out the old door, we found a void beneath the threshold, and needed to poor some cement in to support the door.
The second picture shows dad using the screwdriver from the Volvo tool kit to chisel out the recess for the strikeplate of the new lockset. Not having the right tools for the job was a primary mantra for the week.

The first door finished:

My mom arrived just as we finished this door, and then we made dinner, a pork roast with a somewhat spicy gravy. But at least now I know how to make gravy. Thanks mom!

Auto Shop Class

2008-10-23T11:28:00.000-07:00

So, I didn't really have too much time to get this car stuff done, but the Volvo needed it. Especially since the T5 is now our only automobile. Tuesday I came home and pulled her up on some makeshift ramps and changed the oil. It was not too messy, but while I was under there I noticed that some oil had leaked, and is dripping slowly from the turbocharger. The cause is as yet unnown, as my ramps were not high enough to get all the way under there. I think the oil change went okay, but I inda wreced my thumb when the drain plug finally loosened and my hand slammed into something on the bottom of the car. Well, it wouldn't be working onthe car if you didn't hurt yourself, right?
So, since that Auto Shop 101 project was done, it was time to get started on 102 and maybe 103. Here is what arrived last week from IPD: Spark plug wires, spark plugs, distributor & rotor, torx tool set, brake fluid & brake pads (not pictured).So I removed my bike from the garage and pulled down the workbench to get started.First step was to remove the spark plug cover, which is the black piece on the engine that proudly says "Volvo 20 Valve." I noticed while taking it off that one of the special Torx screws that holds it on is missing, and another is stripped. The rest are corroded, so I'll need at least two, but may as well get all six new. They're $1 each from IPD.

I removed the spark plug cover and was surprised to see oil sitting in the indentations on top of the engine. It looks like oil somehow seeps up out of the oil fill cap, and then trickles under the cover. That is a bit of a relief, since I was a little concerned about the old oil on the back side of the engine, and I'm sure this is where it is coming from, not from a bad gasket.

So I replaced the spark plugs one at a time with Denso Iridium plugs. I'd had Bosch Super plugs, which were copper. I've actually heard conflicting reports. But it sounds like if you are driving a Turbo and really pushing it a lot, Iridium plugs are not as good as copper, since they run hotter and Turbocharged engines generate lots of heat. But they actually do better where you are in a lot of traffic or colder climates where the engine does not achieve as high of temp. Sadly, I don't take many spirited drives in the T5 these days, so I think these plugs will be good.

After changing each plug, I went through and replaced the wires with a higher-quality upgrade. The routing of the wires was a bit of a pain, especially trying to get all of the clips back in place. I did it pretty well, but then lost part of a clip that clamps down on all five wires where they exit the spark plug cover. It sprung out of my hands while I was trying to force it onto a wire, and fell behind the fuel injector rail, and then out of sight.

Here are the new wires installed. I decided not to do the rotor and distributor last night, because I had a lot of other stuff to do and was tired of working on the car!

So what is next? Brake pad replacement and brake fluid flush need to be done, and maybe my dad will be able to help with that while he is in town. Also I need to take the car in to have somebody look at the turbo oil leak and at least tell me what the problem is. I've also started to notice some noise coming from the fuel pump, which is located under the back seat/cargo area. Hopefully that doesn't go out!

Finally, a weather report: Bring clothes for rain/snow/wind if you are coming to Wisconsin on Sunday.

One Car Family!

2008-10-13T16:19:00.000-07:00

We sold the Honda! It took less than 12 hours. We're now a one-car, six-bike family...
1994 Honda Accord Wagon. 127.5K miles.
Bought: 2003 for $4500
Sold: 2008 for $1700.
That is about the same return you'd get on a stock in the same period, maybe better. :)

The Garage Project

2008-10-13T07:39:00.000-07:00

So I've had the goal since we moved into the new house of being able to park my Volvo in the garage. The garage is not big, and besides the car we want to keep bicycles and the lawn mower inside. There is a low ceiling in the garage, and I'm pretty sure it is not structural. The ceiling supports run perpendicular to the roof beams. I'm not sure what exactly is holding up the roof, but it doesn't seem like it would be these ceiling beams. Before I started this project, I took out some shelves that extended two feet out from the back wall of the garage.

I cleared out the attic area on the small side of the access, and removed the floor boards. Then I used my new reciprocating demo saw and cut out the beams. This allowed me to hang the bikes up higher, and park the car below them.

I saved the lumber, and removed all the nails. Too bad I don't have room to put any shelves in the garage!

Here is a picture from the "attic" looking down through the narrow access.
In the Next photo, I've taken off the "floor" boards.
Now, I've used the new sawz-all and taken out two of the beams!
There is a much better view into the "upstairs" storage area.
Success! It fits! But the car is so leafy and dirty...
Here is where we will keep the commuter bikes for easy access.
Notice that in this picture the car is clean, and in the garage so hopefully it will stay that way!

I back the car into the garage so that I can open the door to get out. There is no passenger-side access to the car while it is in the garage. The garage is quite narrow, and as I'm backing in, there are only about 3-4 inches to spare between the mirrors and the garage door frame. My brother won't be allowed to move the car in or out of the garage!
This project is pretty much done. I need to mount a support for the commuter bikes to that they don't fall over while propped on the wall, and I think I'll repair the concrete where the garage meets the driveway. There is a pretty decent curb there now.
The next projects will be car-related, as I need to work on brakes, oil change and spark plugs and wires.

My New Commuter

2008-10-13T07:07:00.000-07:00

So, finally I've found time to post about my new cycle. It has disk brakes, an internal 8-speed transmission, and I put on a custom carbon fork to make it lighter and smoother. I also added a luggage rack on the back to hold panniers, and fenders to keep myself clean and dry in inclement weather. All-in-all, it is a pretty nice ride. I'd like to maybe get some longer cranks (they are only 170mm, but I have 175mm on my other bikes, those these feel like small circles). It was $750 for the bike, $45 for the rack, $45 for the fenders, and $200 for the new fork. It brings the total up to about what Katie's commuter bike cost. But we save about $50/week by not driving to work, so they bikes pay for themselves.
My total is now five bikes. Four in Madison, and my old mountain bike back at my parents' house. I will be getting rid of Ol' Red sometime, which will leave me with just the nice road bike, the fixed-gear (regatta bike), and the commuter.
This step of adding more bikes has led us to the decision to get rid of the Honda. If you are in the market, look at this on Craigslist.

Game On...

2008-10-09T14:45:00.000-07:00

I've got the essentials on order:

Spark plugs
spark plug wires
distributor cap & rotor
brake pads
brake fluid
brake bleeder
oil
oil filter

Next up is clearing the garage, washing & waxing, and when it arrives, getting to work. When I'm not at work.
Also today we got a new battery for the Honda. We hadn't driven the car in 2+ months. The battery was dead, but fortunately we got a pretty good exchange fomr Sears on it, since it was less than 2 years old. Katie washed it today, and we're putting it on Craigslist! Goodbye Honda!

Mr. Handyman

2008-10-06T17:28:00.000-07:00

So I have the goal of fitting my car into the garage for the winter. However, that has not been possible. There are lots of shelves and other stuff in the garage. And we also want to keep our bikes (at least the commuters) in the garage. (that is actually a whole 'nother post: I got a new commuter bike! Check back soon...) The garage is not too big, either. It is a total of 10.5 feet by 18 feet.
So one step I had to take was to re-arrange the (road) bicycles. I moved them from the wooden rack/stand that had held them in the apartment to newly installed hooks parallel to the wall. I would say the far wall, but it is actually quite close. There is also a ladder hanging along the wall.
On the wall opposite the bicycles was a workbench protruding two feet from the wall. Not a ton of space, but enough to work on small projects. Above that are some long, narrow shelves. So I decided that I would like to clear up the space. I bought a reciprocating saw from the Home Depot, and cut the bench about four inches from the wall, then put on some hinges, and attached legs with another set of hinges. I then added a safety straps so that. Just in case. It latches with a sliding bolt into a hole in the shelf above.
I'm the first to admit that it is not pretty, but it actually looks better than it did before. And it enabled me for the first time to pull the car all the way into the garage!!! (But the camera batteries died before I got a picture.) I will need to take out another set of shelves in the back of the garage (about 28 inches deep) and find a new home for the lawnmower in order to make it work to keep the commuters and the car inside, but each weekend I'm getting closer.
I'll be posting more blogs now that I'm doing more around the house. Be sure to check back for pics of the new commuter bike, pics of the Volvo in the garage and updates on the T5: oil changes, brake fluid changes, new brake pads, new plugs and wires and the exterior treatment.
Finally, check out the link on the right for the Three Dollar Connoisseur. We know the posters (Poseurs?)

House Pics. Front door, then garage, then window wells

2008-08-31T15:59:00.001-07:00

Here are pictures of the garage back door

Here are pics of the window wells. the pics are a little mixed, but there are a total of three pics of the "good" window, and the rest are of the bad one.

Could it be? Snow?

2008-03-09T10:49:00.000-07:00

What is less surprising than bleach-blonde women driving German SUVs thru the drive-thru at Starbucks and a parking lot full of Toyota Priuses at the local Whole Foods market? That's right: snow in Madison.
I know, I hear you saying " It is March! Average high temps should be in the 50s and lows should be in the mid 30s!" Well, never mind that stuff. It is still below freezing, and we're getting more of the white stuff.
The end (or at least a respite) could be in sight. We are slated to get above freezing this week every day, starting tomorrow. Night time temps will still be freezing, however. We won't be headed for any records as far as length of ice cover goes unless the ice sticks around until June 3. The latest date for the ice to clear is May 6, and that was in 1856! If it takes until the end of April we will be at 127 days. The average date for the ice to break up over the past 50 years is March 31st. Since 1990, the ice has been clear no later than the 11th of April.
Even though we are only nine days into March, I'm not apprehensive in my prediction that the ice won't break until April 15th.
One more thing about ice: most of the side streets in town are horrible. Many are deeply rutted with ice "medians" and kerbs. Once you are in the rut, there is no getting out. most of this is from snow that fell 2 or more weeks ago.
Bring on Spring!!!

Ice Bike 2008

2008-03-08T17:17:00.001-08:00

The rain last weekend cleared much of the snow off of the ice on the lake, and made it tempting for me to head out onto the lake. Many days there are hordes of ice-fishermen in the middle of the lake, almost forming a small town. I'm not sure why, but they tend to clump together. Maybe these guys are just always taking them to the same place.

Part of the ride on the lake was on a tin layer of crusty snow which provided pretty good traction. The rest was on bare, slick, shiny ice that would have made a zamboni driver jealous.

It was a bit tricky at times where the ice was shiny, but not smooth, on the way back to the path I rode at a pace no quicker than a walk. but I did stay upright. I probably could have gone faster, but I'm old and afraid of falling...

So, how long does the ice usually last? Check it out here...

Ugh. Winter is not over

2008-03-03T18:42:00.000-08:00

Well, it should not have really come as a surprise, but winter is still here. Last night when I went to bed it was 48 degrees. When I woke up it was 28 degrees and there was about 1.5 inches of snow. The temps dropped all day, and it is now about 20. But it was a nice weekend and the temps should be in the 40s again this weekend!

Road Trip!

2008-03-02T18:44:00.000-08:00

Okay, So after a tough week of colder weather and without somebody sweet nearby to inspire me to expound upon the ins and outs of Wisconsin weather and culture, I'm back with a new post. As I write it is 48 degrees!!! It is raining, but this "warm" rain is supposed to turn to freezing rain, then sleet and snow and we should get another 3-4 inches...

This weekend brought warmer weather and a road trip to "The Bays" (Green Bay and Sturgeon Bay). Sturgeon Bay is located in "Wisconsin's Scenic Door County", which is "the finger" of Wisconsin sticking into Lake Michigan.

I drove by Lambeau Field, and saw both Lombardi Ave and Holmgren Ave. Green Bay is pretty unique in that it is a town of 102,313, but it is home to an NFL team. I would bet that there is not other town/metro area with an NFL team that is less than one million people. I would also bet that there are fewer than 10 of those NFL players who live there year round. Green Bay is very much a working-class town with small homes, rusty cars and lots of factories making cheese, paper and steel. Now that I've been there, Green Bay is no place I need to go again.

We drove on Sautrday to Sturgeon Bay, located in Door County. Dor County is sort of like Cape Cod or Nantucket for the midwest. There were lots of cars from Illinois (FIBs). There are lots of vacation homes and resorts in Door County, and, tellingly, many wineries. I don't know if many grapes are grown on the finger, but people up there have figured out that the rich tourists will pay good money to go to a winery and taste some local wines. There were also lots of expensive stores selling "fashionable" clothes for older women at high prices.

It seems that Sturgeon bay is a popular spot with the legions of boaters who cruise Lake Michigan in the summers, but there was definitely no boating going on this time of year! There were lots of people out on the ice, but they were in fishing tents or on snowmobiles. It was pretty impressive to see that much water frozen thick enough that people were confident (foolhardy?) enough to take their power equipment onto the lake.

In news more close to home, ice on Lake Mendota was 30 inches on Saturday, reaching the upper limits of the boring tools most ice-fishers use to reach the lake.

Another new record!

2008-02-21T09:21:00.001-08:00

Statement as of 4:30 am CST on February 21, 2008

... Record low temperature at Madison...

At 318 am CST... the temperature at Madison Truax Airport fell to 15
degrees below zero. This ties the record of -15 previously set in
1873.

Since sunrise is at 647 am CST this morning... the temperature may
become even colder over the next two hours. If a new record of -16
or colder is reached... another record report will be sent out.

Finally, a recreational bike ride!!

2008-02-20T16:20:00.000-08:00

It warmed up to about 10 degrees today and it was sunny and not too windy. Also, I got some new windproof biking tights in the mail (thanks punkin!). Finally, my friend Amy had some pictures of the bike trail from a ride shed taken yesterday (it was part of her daily commute). The conditions were good (not like my normal commuting bike path) so I decided to go for a ride. So I rode for about 13.5 miles on the singlespeed Raleigh with studded tires. There were definitely spots on the the ride where the studded tire saved me. While the southwest commuter trail itself was great (I'd say "groomed" would be the best description, and it was groomed nice and tight, so there was maybe 1/4 inch of packed snow. There were only a few places where there was shiny ice, and those were out past the beltline highway. Once I got out to the Capitol City Trail, I took a left and rode out to the Seminole Highway before turning around. I saw a fox on the trail where it goes through the forest near the marsh.
On the way back I went by the stadium, and followed the path along the lake, which is my normal commuting route. The lakeshore path was horrible!! Much of it was shiny ice, cast in the shape of footprints and bike tracks. The effect was as if they tried to make a hockey rink, but put in uneven mounds the size of golf balls and baseballs. It was pretty hairy. My bike bounced dangerously along the path, the tires sliding into ruts and struggling for traction. But the studs dug in and found their way and I stayed upright the whole way. The ride was 13.6 miles and was pretty enjoyable apart from the rough quarter mile or so.
My pricey gloves worked well, and my fingers stayed nice and toasty. The new tights did an admirable job. I'm pretty sure they weren't designed for riding when it is 10 degrees. I'm pretty confident they'll keep me warm when it is 40. I could still use better face protection and a better jacket, though. Tonight is supposed to be -14, so I won't be riding in the morning.
Thanks to Amy for the pictures!

The Brits are taking steps to make people active again

2008-02-20T07:06:00.000-08:00

This story from the BBC details ways to encourage people to be more active in their daily lives--essentially undoing all of the "progress" made since the 1950s. I am a big fan of this. Encourage people to walk or bike instead of driving, and they'll help their own health, and benefit the environment and use fewer natural resources.

Drive? Bike? Crash? Fall? Ice.

2008-02-19T15:50:00.000-08:00

The roads today are the worst that I've ever seen them here. The rain and snow that fell on the weekend have frozen solid, and the city didn't act fast enough to get the stuff off of the roads, so it is like an ice rink on most the roads, even the big ones. A section I drove on this morning was actually like driving on Disney's Autopia on ice. I would have slid to the kerb if the big rail of ice between the wheels had not been keeping me headed in the right direction. There was ice in the ruts and everywhere else. People were sliding all over the place, and I had trouble directing the car in the right direction on several occasions (this should be figuring into car selection, I know). In the end I made it home without incident, but decided that I didn't want to deal with the conditions and traffic on the way home, so I decided to bike into the office.
It was around zero degrees as I headed in this morning, and conditions were better suited for crampons than biking. Ice was forzen in the shape of footprints and tire treads betweeen a trace and up to one inch thick on the roads and paths. In most places the ice had some snow, which gave it a bit of grip and texture. On one stretch of road the snow was like heavy sand, and a bit greasy-feeling, making riding in a straight line difficult. The ride in was not too bad, overall.
The ride home was a different story. In many places the ice had been heated by the sun, melting the surface and eliminating the texture that had been there in the morning. There were many more places with smooth, slippery ice, and it was a much more nervous ride on the way home. It will be several days before the roads are better. It will be Thursday or Friday before the temperature rises above the magical 15-degree mark where salt will be able to melt the ice and make the roads grippier. The normal high temperature for today is 32 degrees. Today we reached 6.
No crashes or falls took place for me.

OMG The Weather!!!!!

2008-02-18T16:58:00.000-08:00

The Weather: Wow, we've had (we're having) a heckuva winter. This season keeps on giving and doesn't look like it is getting stingy with the good stuff any time soon. Although the "weather event" over the weekend didn't give us as much snow as advertised, it made up for it with rain, freezing rain and slush. But it was plenty cloudy, the whole town shut down, and there is snow in the forecast more often than not. Today it is tough to find a road that is not ice-covered. And we're heading back below zero tonight.
With that said, I am actually enjoying this witer much more than those I have spent here before. At least when it is cold, we have snow. (we have it nearly daily). But the snow makes each trip an adventure of sorts, as you don't know what sort of idiot driver you'll be stuck behind next. The same Camry drivers who can't find the gas pedal when conditions are dry treat the accellerator like an on-off switch in the ice. They spin endlessly to try to gain the grip to go. I've so far only seen two slide right through intersections.
But I like biking in the snow and I like that I get to practice my E-brake turns.

The car search: So here is what I'm looking for: Sporty, fun to drive, roomy on the inside, and it sould get great mileage. I'd like something like a diesel TT Quattro, or a comfortable Subaru WRX that was comfortable to drive (yeah, I said it twice) and that hadn't been driven like a rented mule. It should be small outside and not cheapy-looking. Maybe an A3 Quattro Diesel? Maybe a used Mini? I hear they are popular in the family. Oh yeah, it should be cheap and reliable, too. (too bad the USA can't get the 3-door)

New car research

2008-02-17T06:25:00.000-08:00

So, since we're having freezing rain and another 6-12 inches of snow today, we won't be going out anywhere to run errands. They've cancelled almost everything in town today, including bus service and even the casinos are closed. Each storm system seems to be worse than the one before it.
So, some stats on cars I've been researching:
(I looked primarily at model year 2000 cars, just to get an even comparison)

Year, Make, Model, HP, EPA Economy, Agerage cost
2000 Mazda Miata (base),140HP , 25/29mpg $6715
2000 Mazda Miata (LS),140HP , 25/29 mpg, $8034
2000 Mazda Miata (Special Ed.),140HP ,25/29 $9234

2000 Honda S2000 240HP, 20/26MPG $13,693

2000 Audi TT FWD, 180HP, 22/31 $9550
2000 Audi TT Quattro, 180 HP, 20/29, $10,375

2000 Porsche Boxster Base, 217 HP, 19/27MPG, $15,200
1997 Porsche Boxster Base, 201 HP, 19/26MPG, $11,818

1996 Honda Civic Del Sol S, 106 HP, 30/39MPG, $3518
1996 Honda Civic Del Sol Si, 125 HP, 30/36MPG, $4008
1996 Honda Civic Del Sol VTec, 160HP, 26/30MPG, $4369

2000 Toyota MR2, 138HP, 25/30MPG, $8874

What am I forgetting?

New car?

2008-02-14T19:05:00.001-08:00

So we're thinking of getting something new, and I have been told (thankfully) that I'm the one in charge and we can pretty much get whatever I feel is best. We need a city car--something for running errands, commuting the few miles to work. Said vehicle would have to be fuel efficient and cost efficient to purchase and operate.
I'd been thinking about about maybe a car with all-wheel drive, but don't need something at big as the Volvo (we'd hang onto the Volvo and get rid of her Honda).
So I was thinking of maybe an A3 Quattro. But those are pricey and don't get great mileage. Then I thought of maybe a Subaru Impreza, but the seats in Subarus are really uncomfortable, and they are not really that nice inside.
So last night I started thinking on a new path. What about getting something that would be easy to drive around town, cheap to operate, but also really fun to drive? What about an older Mazda Miata or Honda S2000?
The Miata can be found relatively cheaply, and there are plenty of them around. I bike/drive by one regularly, and the driver has winter tires on some decent looking rims. I think that would be fun, but I'm concerned about fitting in the car. I know that I have tried to sit in these cars before and been sad that my legs are too long. But I think I could either move the seat back (and the tracks it is mounted on), or replace the seat with an aftermarket seat.
Costlier options for a fun car like this would be the Audi TT or Prosche Boxster. There are some of those that are getting old enough that they may be coming into the right price range. But It definitely would be cheaper to go with something like at Miata or (here it comes) an old Saab convertible. I don't think it would be worth going back to anything from BMW, as I think the mileage wouldn't be where my target is.
I dunno, what to you think? Will my long legs let me fit into one of these cars?

New car sighting

2008-02-13T15:50:00.000-08:00

In a place where cool car sightings are few and far between, I saw something pretty new today: a smart cabrio.
It was red, and I was behind it in traffic. It was interesting to note that it had what looked like backup sensors. You'd think that in a car that small you'd be able to reach out the back of the car with your hand to see if you can touch the car behind you. Of course, since it was only 18 degrees, the top was up...

New web toys

2008-02-11T18:58:00.000-08:00

Well, I was looking last week at the site and visitor statistics and looking at where people were visiting from. Well, looking at people's random blogs today, I found a company that lets me see where all of my visitors are on a daily basis. I think it lets you look also. I've included the map in this posting, but its permanent location on the blog will be on the left side, below the links to other blogs.

Create your own visitor map!

Ethanol is a sham

2008-02-11T12:25:00.000-08:00

A recent story on Autosavant.net has blown the lid off all of those lies about the greatness of ethanol.
Wanna cut down on greenhouse gasses? Take public transport or ride a bike! (That will leave less of you on the road to get in the way of my Volvo.)

BRR Cold...so cold...

2008-02-10T18:58:00.000-08:00

It dropped from 30 degrees yesterday to -8 this morning. I can't bear to go outside, so I've spent much of the day on the internet. I'm looking for the perfect songs to play at the wedding (everything has to be perfect for the wedding, including the songs) but I've also been looking at this and that, much of the eRandomness that abound on the internet.

I came across Sacramento's Velocab. The drivers are independent contractors. They rent the cab and the company cell phone for $5.00 and then hits the street. Fares are $2.00 for the first block and then $0.50 for each block afterwards. All fares go to the driver. (I think the cab owners make their money thru advertising). So the question is, how much money do you think a cabbie earns in an average day? They're only in operation from 10am-6pm, so they can't really cash in on the happy hour or late night crowd.

I wonder how it would go in the snow.

Speaking of snow, more is on the way!!!

New Cycling links added

2008-02-10T09:17:00.000-08:00

So Kevin L. sent me a link to a VeloNews story about a cyclist in Milwakuee who almost got hit by a plow while riding. The guy had some video cameras on his bike and took them to various agencies in town to at least get some sort of apology. The video is pretty scary, but not any more so than almost being hit by any vehicle while cycling, which happens far too often. People just don't leave enough room. I'm lucky that my bike commute (when I bike) is only about two miles, and is mostly on paths instead of roads, but on the longer rides we take when Wisconsin finally warms up, people just don't leave enough room.

I've included a link (on the right of the page) to a couple of bike-specific links, and a few more may becoming. Jeff's bike page also has some good links to other Wisconsin riders. They all appear far more motivated to ride in the winter, as it seems they have been taking longer rides all winter! And Jeff is even riding on a Cannondale not much newer/older than Ol'Red.

Analytical Site Statistics

2008-02-08T09:20:00.001-08:00

So a while back I signed up for Google Analytics, a program designed to track usage on the site. I thought it would be interesting to see how many visitors see my ramblings about bikes, Swedish cars, and the weather in Wisconsin. The results are presented with big colorful graphs and maps.Over the last month I've had 286 visits from 39 countries! I've had 191, 15, 11 and 8 visitors from the USA, Canada, the UK and Germany respectively. Mostly domestic, but the rest of the world is starting to catch on. So how do they get to my site?
About 90-95% are referred from Google. Images.google.com referred 25%, google (organic) referred another 16%, and google.ca referred all 11 of my Canadian visitors (3.85%). sixteen percent of people type in the address directly, and another nine percent are directed to the page from another blogger.com site. Minimal referrals come from saablog.blog.com, auto-snob.blogspot.com, autosnob.blogspot.com and forums.sweedspeed.com. The rest come from worldwide google sites.

So what keywords are people searching for that land them on the site? Various combinations of "Madison," "earthquake," and "icequake" make up 12 of the first 30. Fields Auto Group comes in at number three though, so don't think that my ranting and raving has not been heard! Most of the rest are various combinations of "Volvo," Tailgate struts," "running costs" or "madison snow." Only a couple about bikes.

So what does this all tell me? Well, not too much, but it does tell me that although not too many people see these pages, a few people from all around the world do see the site. It also tells me that since most google hits came from images.google.country, having pictures in the blog is the way to draw more traffic. Pretty soon, I'll be an internet superstar!

BRRRRRR!!!

2008-02-07T19:09:00.000-08:00

Now that we've had the snow, it is time to get cold again!!
Statement as of 8:41 PM CST on February 07, 2008
... More Arctic air on the way for Saturday afternoon into Sunday... A strong Arctic cold front currently over western Canada isexpected to blast into the Dakotas Friday night and acrossWisconsin Saturday. Temperatures will plunge below zero Saturday night and Sunday morning as a result. ...Winds gusting 35-45 mph will generate blowing snow and wind chill readings will be 20-30 below zero.

Record snows in Madison

2008-02-06T15:34:00.000-08:00

We've received approx. 13" of snow today (It has actually been snowing since yesterday), and that makes it the biggest snow event for this part of Wisconsin for 18+ years! In addition, we're about 3.5 inches away from the all time record 0f 76" for a season. The university closed down this afternoon, and the city pulled all of the busses off of the road. I was glad I rode my bike as I saw cars skidding all over the place and creeping slowly down the poorly plowed main streets. It took me a few minutes longer to get home tonight, but it was no longer than if I had driven. Snow is in the forecast for most of the next 10 days! When will it end!??
From the forecast for tonight: Snow , Definite Snow , Definite Blowing Snow

Update: Up to a foot of snow coming

2008-02-05T12:18:00.000-08:00

That's right! Up to another foot of snow. And we still have 6 weeks of winter left!

Snow depths are now at 60.3", only 16" away from the all-time seasonal record of 76.1" set in the winter of 1978-79.

At least I'll be able to say I was in Madison for the snowiest winter on record!

Earthquake in Madison!!!

2008-01-31T15:45:00.000-08:00

Well, if not an earthquake, it was an icequake:
Seismograph image
Posted Thursday --- January 31, 2008
UW-Madison geologists record ice quake near Lake Mendota

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- The shaking some University of Wisconsin-Madison staffers and others felt Thursday afternoon near Lake Mendota was most likely an ice quake.
UW-Madison geologists say they recorded a tremor at 12:50 p.m. that last a few seconds.
UW-Madison seismologist Cliff Thurber says ice quakes are caused by large shifts in ice and often triggered by drastic temperature changes -- similar to those seen in the past few days.
Thurber says a fresh break or pressure ridge may be visible on Lake Mendota after Thursday's event.
Ice quakes are usually accompanied by loud cracking noises, and the university says a number of people called UW police and facilities workers Thursday asking about the rumbling.

You can find it on the web!

2008-01-27T09:54:00.000-08:00

Looking for information about my "new bike" I found all sorts of enthusiast information about the Raleigh Super Course, including this brochure page:

Finally- A bike with snow tires!

2008-01-25T11:59:00.001-08:00

When I first moved to Wisconsin I purchased some studded snow tires (700c Nokian Hakkapeliitta W106 35mm) from Nokian, a Finnish tire manufacturer.
I was very excited to put these tires on my red Cannondale. Ol' Red is a bike I purchased used for $350 in Seattle. I raced the bike a few times in Seattle, and when I moved out to Wisconsin I started using the bike as a commuter. I added lights and fenders, but otherwise kept the bike pretty much the same. It is a fairly quick commuter, but is essentially a race bike from the early 1990s. It is kind of like using a sports car for your commute. It is not too practical or roomy, and the ride can be harsh, but it is light and fun to ride. There are no eyelets for fenders or racks, so I've improvised with some cheap clip-on fenders, but I get muddy if it is wet and my cargo capacity is limited by the size of my bag.
When the studded tires arrived I was disappointed to find that they would not fit on the bike. The low-clearance nature of a racing bike did not allow clearance for such large tires on the bike. There was not enough room at the top of the fork or in the rear triangle.
So, since my $50 tires would not fit on the bike, I started looking for a new bike. I couldn't really afford to spend too much money on a new bike, so I delayed and delayed buying a new bike, and eventually spent two and a half winters riding, still on the same slick tires. If conditions were too treacherous I wouldn't ride (I mean, I have a nice car) but I would ride when there was snow. (Here is Ol'Red with the racing tires (trying to ride on the lake).)

This mostly worked out for me. I have become a pretty good rider by learning to stay on top of a bike and making it go the direction I want it to, even when conditions are pretty tricky. I had a pretty good record of not falling. I fell once on black ice in December of 2005, but then not again until November of 2007. Both of the falls in November were on ice, and there was no warning. Each time I fell I slid 15-20 feet on the path after falling. It was slick!!

I had kind of given up on winter cycling. Especially because Madison has had an extra-snowy winter thus far and the city and the university have done a poor job of clearing roads and paths. So just as I had resigned myself to a winter of driving, I received the gift of a new bike!! My friend Amy had an old Raleigh road bike frame from 1979 or 1980. It was a 10- or 12-speed with working shifters, but no wheels. She told me I could have it if i wanted it, so iI told her I'd take it if my snow tires would fit. I took the bike home after returning from Peru, Dallas and Cocoa Beach (It had been 80 in Cocoa Beach and 10 below when we got to Madison) and found out the tires would fit!

I bought some new wheels (single speed w/ flip-flop rear) and took off the shifters and dérailleurs. I bought some new brake levers and bar tape, and spent a couple of days cleaning the bike up and putting everything back together.

The new bike is heavier than Ol' Red, by a long shot, but it almost feels like driving a bulldozer in the snow. The traction is (obviously) far superior to that provided by the slicks. Also, the gearing is a little bit heavy for the tires and conditions. I will probably need to get a smaller chain ring for the front, as I am currently running 42X18. The fixed gear side is only a 14 tooth cog, so that will be tough even with slicks on!Here are some pictures from riding my bike on the lake on the way to work today (about 1000m on the lake). The snow was deep enough that my feet were in the snow on the bottom of each pedal stroke! The gearing was a bit heavy, and I really had to work to keep momentum up. Disconcertingly, I rode over a couple of places where the snow was slushy underneath. (The lake is frozen solid, but it warmed up to about 15 degrees today and this causes some of the salt compounds to melt and run off into the lake (or on to the lake in this case).) It was a lot tougher to ride where the snow was slushy. I was considering a ride across, but it has started snowing again, so the ride home will be enough of an adventure!

That coffee tastes like poop..

2007-12-11T08:44:00.001-08:00

http://www.usatoday.com/news/offbeat/2004-01-20-civet-coffee_x.htm

Travel season is upon us!

2007-12-09T13:56:00.000-08:00

The weather in Madison has turned cold. In the last week we've had 10-12 inches of snow, so winter is definitely upon us. The lakes in town are on the verge of freezing for the season. This would be about 3-4 weeks ahead of when they froze last year. Fortunately, air travel allows (relatively) quick and easy access to warmer environs.
So, now we're into travel season. I journeyed home to Renton for several days over Thanksgiving and enjoyed nice weather, with sun every day. I helped to put the lights on the roof, and actually did it in the sunshine and was so warm I had to remove a layer of clothing! I have a clause in my contract that says I will only put up the lights if it is raining, freezing or dark, but I decided to do it anyway, since I won't be home for Christmas. (I think my parents have pictures of this)
Just before the snow came to Madison last week, Katie left for the west coast. She endured wind and rain in Seattle and Portland, but missed out on the snow and ice in Madison. From there she went to San Francisco. Temps were in the 50s, with sun.
So with the weather turning cold and Katie gone to the Best Coast, I was more than happy to get out of town and go to Miami. Miami was unlike anyplace I'd been before. It was still Florida (all the nuts roll downhill and end up in Florida) but it was definitely not like Cocoa Beach. It seemed at times like a tropical paradise, and 85 degrees was a lot better than neg. 5 degrees in Madison! I could definitely get used to that sort of climate. And the Cuban food and Mojitos also helped make Miami enjoyable. And people-watching on Lincoln Ave in South Beach was something everybody should experience. There were lots of people spending lots of money, wearing fancy clothes and driving cars that were more expensive than most homes in Madison. Fast cars, big boats, big money and big boobs in tiny tops does a good job of describing Miami. It was a good place to go for a weekend, but it was all a bit much for any longer. So after a bit of a delay (and several miles of walking in the Miami and Chicago airports) I'm back in Madison.
Katie should get home either late Monday or early Tuesday, and we're already getting set for our next adventure to warmer temps: Peru and Dallas. Then after two days in Madison, back to Florida (two weeks in Cocoa Beach.) In Peru we will live like movie stars. In Dallas and Cocoa, it will be more like normal folks.
And here is one bit of news from the gross-out file: Minn. Slaughterhouse Workers Fall Ill

Must be time to talk about the weather...

2007-11-05T14:18:00.000-08:00

I guess we've been lucky here so far this fall in Wisconsin. But the good times are past. Even as we had temps around 70 last week, today we've had our first snowflakes of the season. We'll have flurries and 25-25 mph wind tonight, and a "hard freeze" in the middle of this week. Brrr. At least I got some new gloves. Working outside my hands have been getting cold (because when I'm working outside, I'm pretty much the only one not working hard enough to stay warm....)

Now onto one of my other favorite topics. I was walking to my car today and as I walked past the back, I noticed that my rear bumper had been tagged by some idiot, scraping the paint off of the corner. Pretty typical for the clientelle around here. We have a few really nice Euro rides in the lot, but quite a few dumpy Japanese cars in various states of disrepair. I'm pretty sure one of them pulled in and didn't quite make it past my car.

In other Volvo news, the old "R" wheels I used to have on my car were sold this weekend. I have had the standard "Turbo" wheels on since the fall of 2004. It was pretty sporty with the old ones, but I couldn't find tires for them that were up to the challenge of carrying the heft of the Volvo.

On a last note about the Volvo, I purchased petrol today for the first time Sept. 30.

Stay thin to cut cancer risk

2007-10-31T07:37:00.000-07:00

Well, I'll give it my best. This article on bbc.co.uk lays out ways to cut your risk of cancer. Top recommendations:

Limit red meat
Limit alcohol
Avoid bacon, ham, and other processed meats
No sugary drinks
No weight gain after 21
Exercise every day

No sugary drinks and no bacon, huh? That and all you have to do is never gain weight after you turn 21...

When you say Wisconsin...

2007-10-10T11:57:00.000-07:00

You've said it all... (yum)

Three things...

2007-09-20T18:43:00.000-07:00

These three topics could not be further apart:

Alicia Silverstone has an ad promoting vegetarianism. It was too provocative and was pulled from Comcast Cable in Houston. Was it the beef manufacturers, or the bible belters?

Blackwater USA has posted a classified ad (#18370, posted 9/19 )on a popular rowing website (www.row2k.com) looking for personal trainers for Navy SEAL candidates.

And French President Nicolas Sarkozy declared that "France doesn't want war." LOL! With 600 years of French military history, I can see why.

Cost Calculators

2007-09-19T08:15:00.000-07:00

Here is a really simple tool for figuring petrol cost per mile, adjustible for the current price of gas. It puts me at about $0.15/mile at today's prices ($3.20) but was about $0.10/per mile at $2.00, which it was not so long ago.

As far as determining cost per mile, the IRS give $0.405/mile for tax purposes, so based on raw numbers, I am still (amazingly) ahead of that, but that is figuring in depreciation as well. When I figure depreciation (I paid $14,565 and dorve 73,396 miles, the car is now valued at near $3848) this comes to $0.146 per mile.

So, figuring that my average price put me somewhere around $0.12 per mile, the depreciation at $0.146 per mile and repairs at $0.158 per mile, total cost per mile is $0.424.

The AAA says that it costs $0.522 per mile. Here is a guy who says he did it for $0.375 driving 20,000 miles per year in his FoFo. I don't really trust his judgement too much because he has another post in which he says "I’ve always wanted a Toyota Camry V6 XLE!" Arrgh!

I guess that I have generally overlooked the obvious here. The key to the whole cost per mile problem is that as mileage goes up, cost per mile goes down. Time to start piling on the miles!!!

Fuel mileage

2007-09-18T09:23:00.000-07:00

So, I've kept track of fuel consumption since my trip from Chula Vista to Princeton in March of 2003. On that trip I used 106.75 gallons and drove 2701.7 miles for an average of 25.878 mpg.

This picture was taken just before the start of that trip. And I took the picture because I thought prices were super-high!!! Since the start of that trip I've used 1,932.534 gallons of petrol. I've driven 42,786 miles in that time, earning a total of 22.139 mpg over that time.
Best one-tank total: 28.936 mpg
Worst one-tank total: 13.220 mpg I will not add up the total cost of the fuel, because I don't have all the receipts. And I don't want to know.
Maybe somebody could figure out what the average price of premium fuel was over that time frame, but it has gone up quite a bit. It used to be less that $40 per tank, now it pushes $50. An average of $42 per tank over the 130 or so tanks in this record would come to $5460 at roughly $2.62 per gallon.
Depending on the cost of gas and the mileage, it comes out between 10-14 cents per mile.
Maybe I should buy a Camry hybrid and, like a typical Camry owner, never make repairs. It would be much cheaper, and since it is a hybrid, I'd save scores of cash on fuel. Probably I'd just plug it in. Left lane, here I come!

Volvo Running Costs, breakdown (pun intended)

2007-09-18T08:25:00.000-07:00

Here are the cost, broken into categories to spare you having to sift thru the vast data:

Planned Service (60K, 90K, 120K, 130K service): $3288.48
Unpanned Service (thermostat, rear main seal, A/C fix): $2389.19
Tires & Wheels (3 sets tires, one set wheels): $2146.69
Suspension repair/Upgrade: $1860.11
Oil Changes: $703.36
Accessories: (Roof Rails, Spare Key, Car Cover): $664.82
Mileage since I bought the car: 73,396
Cost per mile (excluding petrol & insurance): $0.1588

It might be cheaper to run a Ferrari!

Volvo Running Costs

2007-09-17T17:53:00.000-07:00

A staggering $11662.28 over 68 months for an average of $171.50 each month.
I spent an hour making a table with each line item, but it *poof* and disappeared. Maybe I'll do it again later. Maybe not.
It was seen as a performance car for me, and some of the costs were modifications I made to enhance performance (air filter, brakes), some were to enhance its hauling capacity (heavy duty springs, shocks and struts). Some were repairs due to overuse or overestimating capabilities.
Several times I just got bent over by the shop.

This Old Car

2007-09-16T15:07:00.000-07:00

Well, if the saablog's author can lament the 900, I feel able to do the same about the 855 T5. His car was bought about 15 months ago for $800 for a fun project. Mine was purchased in 2002 for $14,565 for tong-term transportation. The 1997 Volvo is now past its 10th birthday, and starting to show it. Today I waxed the roof and hood and discovered that the paint is not in the best of shape. It has several rock chips on the hood which need to be filled (I need to go the dealer and get some, since the container I had exploded in the golve box last year.) The roof is another story. It is covered, or maybe pitted, all over with black spots. Maybe other cars of mine have had blemishes like this, but it shows more on the Volvo since the car is white. The waxing I did today did nothing to solve the black-spot problem. It just put a shine over the top of them. I expect that I need to get some sort of semi-abrasive rubbing compound to get a bit deeper into the finish, and then get another wax job. But I would probably need to get a buffer to do it, since it would take some serious rubbing to get the paint back to good. The biggest problem is that I don't have a good place to do the work where I could plug in the buffer. I'm not really supposed to do it at work. Another thing the Volvo needs is new spark plugs, and probably fuel injectors. I'll have to check the service recommendations and look at the last time these things were done. The car has definitely lost a step.

Of course all of these things are in addition to the sunroof leak (previous post). I have ordered a new weatherstrip seal to hopefully fix the leak problem. That is not a project I'm looking forward to.

I just saw a commercial for the new MB C-Class. I like the looks of that! But if any new cars are in the future it will likely be somthing more economical (but likely still something German.) I'm thinking that long-term maybe Katie and I will get a small two-seater for in the city (maybe Smartcar, maybe something sportier like a Miata, S2000 or Boxster) and then something bigger (wagon or hatchback) to put all of our toys onto or into. But that is still a year or two away. It doesn't make too much sense to me to get something else without a garage to put it in to keep it nice, anyway.

Some mileage notations:

February 2002: 59,147 (Seattle)

Mar 29, 2002: 63,130 (Princeton)

Oct 29, 2002: 71,309 (Princeton)

Oct 27, 2003: 83,283 (Princeton)

Mar. 26, 2004: 90,610(Chula Vista)

Sept 16, 2004: 103,371 (Princeton)

Mar. 27, 2005: 110, 925 (Renton)

Sept. 6, 2005: 118,043 (Renton)

Apr 3, 2006: 125, 568 (Madison)

Sept 10, 2006: 128,439 (Madison)

Mar 29, 2007: 131, 089 (Madison)

Sept. 3, 2007: 133,346 (Madison)

I definitely don't drive the Sprotswagon as much as I used to. Maybe that is why I feel more like spending money on bikes than on the Volvo. Also, since I don't use it as often, I feel like I neglect the car, and am unsure of what maintenance it needs regularly.

German Town Scraps Street Signs

2007-09-13T18:28:00.001-07:00

Time to lay on the horn and stab the gas!! Anarchy rules on the streets. Crazy Germans. I guess the Dutch tried it too. I don't think it would make much difference in Madison, since nobody seems to obey street signs anyway.
As an aside, I can now blog in Hindi: एरिक'एस फ़ोन ब्लोग हस चंगेद तो एरंदोम्ब्लाठेर!

From Russia with Love

2007-09-12T17:07:00.000-07:00

*in best Russian accent* "You have the mother of all bombs? Ha ha ha, I now build the father of all bombs, four times bigger than zis mother bomb... " And all this just after Russia resumes the long range bomber sorties. Well, now maybe they won't have to carry nukes. Well, at least Russia has a stable government. But wait...

In other happy news from Russia, President Putin dissolved the government today. He then named an obscure cabinet official "loyal technocrat Viktor Zubkov" to be the next prime minister, and Putin's likely successor at the end of his term. I have my doubts he'll go away so quietly. My bet is Putin's hand gets tired from flapping the gums of his puppet. But then again, we saw how jacked Putin is, so maybe he won't get tired.

Finally, the love part of the posintg. The governor of a Russian province has urged his citizens to take the day off and have sex in order to have babies born in nine months on Russia's National Day and increase the overall Russian population.

So in summary, Russia has a new big bomb, has resumed long-range bomber runs, had it's government dissolved by a power-hungry ex-KGB man (at least GW hasn't tried that yet, although I'm sure he has pondered it) and is trying to increase its population. All this not long after the ex-KGB spy poisoning and the resulting diplomatic fallout with the UK. Russia is definitely stepping up their global presence and global show-of-force, and Putin is trying to recapture much of the power that Russia lost with the collapse of the Soviet Union. In order to be seen as a major player in world politics, Putin feels it is necessary to rattle his sword a little bit and show the world that Russia still means business. Now with its state-controlled oil business, Russia has the funds to finance the military machine that sunk the USSR.

Swimming in Volvos

2007-09-10T19:16:00.000-07:00

Oohhh. Looks like I will have some work to do on the 855. The more it rains, the more it gets wet in the car due to the sunroof. I'll need to check the drains, and make sure they are not clogged, but I believe the culprit to be rust on the metal frame which supports the sunroof glass. This allows water to seep between the glass and the frame. If unmolested, the water then will either stay put and drip into an area feeding the drain, or the sun will come out tnd the water will evaporate. However, if I move the car (specifically, turn the car) the water spills out of a channel in the metal frame and onto one or the other of the front seats--it depends on the direction of the turn. It does not yet drip onto the headliner and does not drip into the interior of the car when the car is not in motion.
The fix seems to involve removing the glass from the sunroof, separating the metal from the glass, removing the rust and repainting the frame, sticking the metal and glass back together again, and then re-installing the glass and fine-tuning its position once in place. Details here: Sweedspeed.com...

Emmy winning Video

2007-09-10T14:12:00.001-07:00

Featuring Music Superstar Justin Timberlake:
http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/#mea=51414

Too funny to pass up

2007-09-10T06:48:00.001-07:00

Ahh, the joy of the corporate blog...
The coments are hilarious to this toyota.com blog posting...

What is funnier: The fact that there are corporations paying somebody to bolg, or the fact that there are so many people who are taking the time to bash the company?

Goin' to the Races!!!

2007-09-09T15:16:00.000-07:00

So Katie, Kevin and I went to the local bullring racetrack on Firday night. Madison International Speedway is a 1/3-mile paved track, with a 1/4-mile smaller track running around the inside. I was drawn in by the prospect of "Trailer Races" and the fact that it was "Tribute to America" night right here in the middle of the US of A.

Well, they had all sorts of racing on tap for the thousands of spectators drawn to the buggy, smoky racetrack set in the middle of rolling farmland. Qualifying was underway when we arrived for the Wisconsin Challenge Series Late Models, which are kind of like NASCAR cars, but cheaper and slower. The qualifying gave each car 3 laps around the track, and the top qualifier had an average lap time of 101.something MPH. So we had that to look forward to.

So after the invocation ("Thank you lord Jesus for letting us live in the US of A, the best country in the world...") (it was Tribute to America night, after all) and the National Anthem (Complete with Fireworks) we were treated to the "heats" of some of the lesser events, all running around the very short track.

The first cars out were the INEX Bandoleros. These looked like they should have Shriners with their fezes coming out, but they were mildly entertaining to watch. The class was for kids under 14 or something, and there was some okay driving (and one good crash). Then came the INEX Legends, then the hilarious Roto-Rooter Bandits, and finally the Hobby Stocks.

The Bandits need to have roll cages and racing harnesses, an $850 claim value, and no suspension modifications. "Any American or foreign made 1980 to 1996, front wheel drive
standard production automobile offered with a three or four cylinder EFI engine allowed.
Wheelbase maximum is 104 inches. No Honda CRX, convertibles, T-tops, two seat,
sports cars allowed. All wheel steer cars and special manufactured cars allowed only
with prior approval."
Claim Rule: The track may purchase any car for $850.00 after any event. The amount
is for the complete car except for safety equipment. If the winning driver refuses the
claim, he loses all prize money and points for that race meet and the car is barred from
further competition. Claimed cars may be disposed of by auction or by any method at the
track’s discretion.

The Hobby Stock is even better: "Any American OEM full body rear wheel drive passenger car, 1964 or newer, full frame or unibody. Frame must match body. Minimum 107.5 inch wheelbase, maximum one inch difference from side to side."

The Bandits and Hobby stocks were very similar, except that the hobby stocks were big RWD American cars, and the Bandits were smaller FWD American and import cars. They were definitely DIY (do-it-yourself) projects that people could get into for about the same price as getting something cheap to autocross (although you can't drive these on the road). Both the hobby stocks and bandits were really beat up. It looked like the cars and drivers were trying to love up to some scene from Dukes of Hazzard. Lots of rubbin', lots of mangled body work!

Anyway, we stayed through the heats and finals of these four classes, ( they ran the four classes, took a break, and then ran them all again) but then it was late and there were a lot of mosquitos, so we left before the main event (100 laps) and before the highly-anticipated trailer race.

Kevin said he'd only go again if somebody paid for his ticket and bought him a couple of beers. I'd go again just for the heck of it. It was a good time!

My Camera didn't take good pictures, so I've taken some from the internet...

When you Say Wisconsin...

2007-09-07T11:20:00.000-07:00

You've said it all...

Odds & Ends

2007-09-05T14:12:00.000-07:00

I don't really have too much to say on any one thing, so there will be a collection of not-really-connected ideas and items I've come across.

At the cottage over the weekend, we came up with several questions that needed answers and there was no internet to find the answers, so now that we're home, here they are:

How do you make Soy Milk? (scroll way down for recipie)

How much water do fully loaded barges draw? (thanks to Kevin L for that)

How do you use the adjective "salty"?

Next, I thought I had won the netherlands postal code lottery, but when I googled the bank information, I found out that somebody was trying to scam me... I guess there is no such thing as a free lunch...

Last week Todd sent me a map of his bike-thru-Norway. Wow, that looks like a long way!

Finally, plans are afoot to buy a European beach house in ten years. If you have any experience buying houses on beaches in Europe, please let me know. Italy, France or Spain are the most likely spots at this time, although I won't completely rule out Greece, Croatia or Macedonia.

Todd's new bike

2007-08-28T17:27:00.000-07:00

So my friend Todd just finished his thesis research/bike trip down the coast of Norway from Nordkapp and Svalbard to Egersund and then a ferry across to Denmark and ride into Copenhagen. (No, he didn't really ride all the way to Svalbard, he took a ferry) The picture at the left is of Trollstigen, a famous series of switchbacks northeast of Bergen. From Todd's blog (there is a link on the right of this page) here are some stats:

total--2141 km (1330 miles)
avg speed--16.5 kph (10.3 mph)
total ascent--72,836 feet
broken spokes--8 (+ one complete wheel rebuild)

He had quite a trip. He met some fellow nomadic travellers from around the world, and spent lots of nights frezezing and wet camped by an icy stream in which he bathed. Any time he paid for a campground or hotel (electricity and hot water) he felt really guilty about it. He went for the first month of the trip without a trailer, but realized that his bike was overloaded, so he bought one for the last two weeks of the trip to try and avoid getting any more broken spokes (although he had already made it through the most remote parts of his travels and the majority of the trip before he broke down and dropped the kroner on the trailer). I can't wait until he posts some pictures!

Anyway, he'll be in Copenhagen completing his studies thru February so he deccided to get a new carry-all bicycle for his in-town sojourns. He got a new Nihola! I'd never heard of it, but there are a lot of euro companies making bikes like this. He says that he has been riding around the city with his fiancee in the front taking pictures of the city. They even put a doggy door in the front of it for their whippets. I guess that if Todd is going to be a pedicab driver, it is a good thing he got himself in shape by pedalling the length of Norway!

Saablog

2007-08-27T12:56:00.000-07:00

I thought since I had driven the BSOS race car, I'd put in my own saablog entry! I recently vacationed in the Pacific northwest, and had two of the coolest "loaner" cars available: The BSOS 900 racer, and the Volvo V70R. I didn't get to town in time to participate in the Track Day festivities in the V70R, but I'll make sure to next year!

My week started out in the V70R Sportswagon. It is an enjoyable car to drive, with 300 HP, AWD and a 6 speed manual transmission. The down side to driving this car, is that my brother got it new, and is still very protective of it, so I am afraid to have much fun with the car, lest I somehow damage it, spill something in it, or get a door ding by parking in the wrong spot. So far I've been lucky and none of those things have happenned. We took the car to Roslyn, and we were going to have out road bikes with us, but they were somehow delayed by FedEx, so we didn't have them available to put onto the roof of the Volvo. It was a fun drive over the pass thru rain and drizzle at 80mph plus. Then in Roslyn we drove on some gravel roads and I was quite nervous about the poor off-road characteristics of the car. It has AWD, but very poor ground clearance, and I was plenty nervous driving around potholes at 5 mph! So we Hiked and mountain-biked in Eastern WA, then returned to the west side. We drove into Seattle and collected a parking ticket at the University of Washington (don't worry, we've paid it already) and then drove it up to Everett to see Nana. It is wonderful on the freeway and has plenty of power and is very confident on the road. The next day we traded it for the BSOS 900.

After five days in the V70R, the 900 was a positive joy to drive! With all the windows and the sunroof open there was a feeling of being very in-tune with my surroundings (maybe that is not the right word for it when you are cruising thru the I-90 tunnel at 60 mph--drowned out is more correct!). But there is a certain joy of driving that comes with the Saab. Some of it is related to the fact that I don't feel the need to be so uptight when driving an $800 car, and some of it is the view over the hood with the stripes and the "vintage" feel of the interior. You can feel like you are pushing a lot harder and using more driving talent when cruising around in the BSOS 900. To display the same amount of talent in the V70R, you, have to be exceeding the speed limit by a good percentage, and I am generally too risk-averse for that!

So now I'm back to the 855 T5, and it is a combination of the driving experiences in the BSOS 900 and the V70R. It is probably the least agile of the three, with power and acceleration closer to the R. It is equipped with interior features and accommodations somewhere in between the other two, and provides a joy-factor somewhere below the other two, but still holds a high-enjoyment factor for me. As much as I wish it was, it is not the BTCC wagon pictured here!

Thanks brother!!!

The worst car care town in America

2007-08-17T17:54:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty sure that Madison is the worst place to try to get a Volvo worked on in the USA. Or any car for that matter. I was driving home from a missed dentist appointment yesterday morning (I showed up a day late for a 7:00am appointment) and drove past a tire store. I had noticed that I have a really slow leak in one of my tires, and the place was open, so I decided to stop. They couldn't fit me in immediately, but I could come back at 10am. Fine. As I left the tire store I drove past the Jiffy Lube from a previous post where the moron there though I was driving a Saab ("Saab, Volvo--They're the same thing!") and they had a sign out front readin "Qualified Technicians Wanted." Indeed.
So anyway, after giving my friend Amy a jump-start in her P.O.S. 1990-something Isuzu Trooper/Nissan Pathfinder crappy old SUV I drove over to West Town Monona Tire. I re-affirmed my request that they find the leak and repair it, and then also rotate the tires. I've had the tires for maybe 6000 miles, and they should have been rotated already. The fronts are showing a fair bit of wear at the shoulders. They said that there would be no problem!
So I went into the cramped waiting room which smelled of old coffee and old people and started reading a two-day-old copy of the Wisconsin State Journal. Not much of a paper, but the best there is around here.
So after a little bit more than half-an-hour, they come and get me from the waiting room and tell me I'm free to go, as the guy is processing my payment, he confirms that they have patched a hole in the tire which was from a screw in the tread, and he confirmed they had rotated the tires. $48.00 or so.
So I left the West Town Monona Tire and went to see my friend the Octopus. It had been a long time since I'd had the Volvo washed (I would wash it myself, but I don't have a place to do it.) So $10 to the Octopus and I get home and look at the car, and I'll be switched if the tires with the balding shoulders aren't still on the front!! So I look closer, and yep, the good ones are on the back. Damn.
So I head back out to West Town Monona Tire and walk into the shop and ask them how they normally rotate the tires. I know how you should do it, but maybe they "rotated" them side to side or some crap like that. Nope. It should have been swapping the fronts and rears with the fronts switching sides. "Oh, well let me ask Teddy if he rotated them or not." Walks out. Walks back in. "Uh, no, he didn't rotate them. We'll, uh, rotate them right now. Do you have your keys? I'll pull it in right now. So I paced back and forth in the lobby for another 15 minutes while they actually rotated the tires.
I'm not sure if they did it on purpose, (most Camry drivers wouldn't notice probably) or if they just "forgot" to do half of the service I asked for. They certainly didn't forget to charge me for it.
Don't go to West Town Monona Tire.

New World's Tallest Man

2007-08-17T08:40:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know that I am a little bit late on this story, but I was busy dealing with the rules and intricacies of socialist Canada and was unable to post for a while. Also, I'll admit I was a bit sad to see Bao Xishun, the Chinese superhero stripped of the title. Bao saved the dolphins, and here you can see the new World's tallest man, Ukrainian Leonid Stadnik with Ukraine's president Viktor Yushchenko. Leonid must not be too much of a superhero, because you can see he was unable to do anything about the 2004 poisoning of President Yushchenko.

While we are on the topic of Eastern European leaders, some new photos came out of Russian President Vladimir Putin. He was on a fishing trip in Siberia with Prince Albert of Monaco and soon afterwards released a whole bunch of photos. Let's hope that world diplomacy doesn't come down to a battle of wits or hand-to-hand combat between world leaders. Of course, maybe that would teach GW a lesson. Putin holds a 6th-dan black belt in the Japanese martial art of Judo. I think he could slap around most world leaders even with one hand tied behind his back and without that huge knife on his hip!

We're part of the next big thing!

2007-08-01T07:28:00.000-07:00

Having our own tomato and pepper plant put us at the forefront of a new movement.
Now if we can only keep it alive long enough to eat a tomato...

New blog entries on Todd's Norwegian adventure

2007-07-31T08:15:00.000-07:00

Fun stuff, Todd biking in Norway, gets a broken spoke in the middle of nowhere!

Sustainable toilet systems

2007-07-31T07:43:00.001-07:00

Move over little flush-flush, we're going back to squatting over a little hole in the ground.

Ex-F1 champ takes driving lessons

2007-07-31T07:28:00.000-07:00

Yeah, but I be he stays right unless he is passing somebody...

When you say Wisconsin...

2007-07-31T07:27:00.000-07:00

You've said it all...

12 Hours-Bottle-to-Throttle

2007-07-26T13:32:00.000-07:00

Well this piece of news would seem to answer for some of the NASA mishaps. Maybe the ice damaging the shuttle's thermal tiles was coming from the astronauts emptying their drinks before they climb aboard...

Bao Xishun is at it again!!

2007-07-13T13:25:00.001-07:00

World's tallest man meets world's shortest man

Okay, I got the scoop reading another blog, but twice in as many days Bao Xishun is in the news!! Just a dew days after his traditional Inner-Mongolian marriage ceremony, Bao has met He Pingping, who has petitioned to be recognized as the world's shortest man at just 74cm tall (less than 2.5 feet!!).

I have found a picture of Bao saving the dolphins as well...

Can you guess it yet?

2007-07-13T13:00:00.001-07:00

The coat of arms of Peru contains the escutcheon or shield, consisting of three elements: the top left section shows the vicuña, the national animal, on a light-blue field, representing the fauna of Peru; the tree in the top right section is the cinchona tree (the source of quinine, a powerful anti-malarial drug and the key flavorant in "tonic water," used in making gin-and-tonics), on a white background, representing the national flora; and the bottom cornucopia with coins spilling from it, on a red field, represents the mineral resources of the country.

Machu Picchu was constructed around 1450, at the height of the Inca empire, and was abandoned less than 100 years later, as the empire collapsed under Spanish conquest. Although the citadel is located only about 50 miles from Cusco, the Inca capital, it was never found and destroyed by the Spanish, as were many other Inca sites. Over the centuries, the surrounding jungle grew to enshroud the site, and few knew of its existence. It was "discovered" in 1911 by Yale historian and explorer Hiram Bingham.

A map of Peru.

My Favorite Chinese guy

2007-07-12T12:49:00.000-07:00

I love seeing Bao Xishun in the news again. I think he is like the Chinese version of Paris Hilton. (haven't seen too much of her in the news since she went on Larry King after getting out of the slammer, huh?) Anytime Bao makes a move, it is in the news. First, he was certified "World's Tallest Man." Then he saved the dolphins with is super-long arms. Then he got married in a civil service, and now he is in this "traditional" ceremony. I can't wait to see what this hero does next! Hopefully they put him in charge of cleaning up Chinese food! He can use his massive feet to kick some serious ass!

2007-07-10T15:45:00.001-07:00

Who needs frequent flier miles?

Modes of transport

2007-07-09T13:05:00.000-07:00

I've given a clue to my brother on the mobile phone. I've told him that the native peoples of the land I'll be visiting had no wheels in their "olde tyme" civilization. For whatever reason, the wheel was not an idea which would have given them much advantage. There are many climates and topographies where a wheel would not be too helpful. Imagine pulling a cart through sand, across rivers, through thick mud, or up a steep, narrow mountainous trail. (Or down a steep, narrow mountainous trail!).
The country is roughly ten times the size of England.

Nobody has guessed correctly...

2007-07-07T17:54:00.000-07:00

At least not the country. The state has been mentioned, and is one where I have driven my own vehicle, and a state-owned vehicle. If
As for the country
Clue #1: It is not an island.
Clue #2: It has mountains and an ocean.
Clue #3: It is the only place in the world we could get tickets to, but the few tourists who have venured there and have returned said it was amazing...

With more guesses, you'll get more clues...

Which of these vehicles will we encounter on Vacation?

2007-06-28T07:21:00.001-07:00

Which of these vehicles will we use or see on our trip? (make sure to guess the location--see 6/26 post)

We're going on Vacation! Where in the world...?

2007-06-26T17:20:00.000-07:00

So we're going to another country on another continent, in another hemishphere. Then we'll be visiting a US State. We've both been to the state before, but not together. This will be at Christmas time. Any guesses?p.s. I'll bet you've never been there!

A High-Class Wisconsin Weekend!

2007-06-26T16:57:00.001-07:00

In order to celebrate Katie's completion of school this year, we had a heckuva weekend, Wisconsin style. Friday night was spent at the Memorial Union Terrace, the only student union in the country which serves beer. We shared some pitchers with Katie's brother and some other friends. On Saturday morning after work, five of us went on a biking tour of some of the busier highways in southwest Wisconsin. Kevin and I don't really know our way around too well, so we hit all the main roads in the first half of the ride until DJ took over and showed us the "normal" tranquil biking roads. In the evening, Katie and I went to the movies and saw "Knocked Up."
Sunday morning we got up and hit the grocery store (I know sounds like fun!!). After that we hit two of the cultural gems of the area: Cave of the Mounds and the Mt. Horeb Mustard Museum. Due to some problems with my phone, pictures are not currently available, but I did get some mustard. Yum!

UW scientists procliam ethanol isn't the answer!

2007-06-21T07:31:00.000-07:00

Although i don't know how making fuel out of fruit is any better than making it out of corn, as it relates to food prices, the fuel at least does contain more energy. Finally some news from Wisconsin that isn't something for the tabloids!

Thank God! The roads will be safer!!

2007-06-20T07:44:00.000-07:00

Finally! The Vatican is making driving safer!

"Who has the Saab out here?"

2007-06-19T08:43:00.000-07:00

Okay, so maybe I'm not an over-the-top auto snob. A real auto-snob probably would not take their car to Jiffy Lube to get an oil change. The reason I did so is that there is no good Volvo shop in Madison. (I mean, why would there be, it is such a rare, exotic FOREIGN car!). I refuse to go back to that horrible dealership. So last time I had the oil changed was at the Volvoeria when I had the suspension work done. And I do need to find a place to get work done and get some new spark plugs and fuel injectors installed.
But since I was going to go up to LaCrosse over the weekend, and i knew Jiffy Lube offered Mobil1 Synthetic oil, I decided to go. Besides, I found a $5 off coupon!
So I drove to the Jiffy Lube and told the "technician" that I wanted the oil changed and I wanted the Mobil1 put in. So I go into the waiting room and pretend to read a magazine while watching the service on my car. As they pulled my car into the work bay the driver turned off the car and searched and searched for the hood release. It is in the same place on the Volvo as in just about every other car I've driven, sort f below the dash next to the side of the car. And you'd think that at a place like Jiffy Lube, they'd be pretty good at finding the hood release lever, since it is something they have to find on every car that comes into the place! Well, finally after only 30-45 seconds of searching, he found it and was able to access the engine compartment!
The next step was to vacuum the car and wash the windows. When I pulled up I only had the driver's door unlocked. So vacuum guy came up and vacuumed the driver's seat area, and then tried the back door on the driver's side. It was locked. So he went back to the driver's compartment, and looked and looked and looked and looked for the "unlock" button. He looked on the door, between the seats, on the dashboard, and a host of other places. He was looking as long for it was his friend was looking for the hood release! Finally, defeated, he gave up and climbed across the front seat and pulled the lock pin on the door to release the lock. Then he reached around the b pillar and got into the back seat. Mission accomplished! Great job, Brownie!
So the other technician, the one I had initially talked to had been looking at his computer, going over the specs and whatnot. He'd been looking at the computer for quite a while, and there were some other cars in the shop, so I didn't know if he'd been looking at my car or another one. So he comes into the waiting area and proclaims, "Who has the Saab out here?" No response. "Who has the the white Saab 900?" Still nothing. "Whose is this white station wagon right here?" (pointing to the car) Oh, my car? The Volvo? "Yep, that's mine," I said.
The "tech" looked at the car again as we were walking back out the door to the magic computer where he found all the pertinent info about my "Saab". He looked real close and said "Oh, I guess it's a Volvo, well, it's the same thing anyways!" Hardy har har. What a maroon!
so he takes me over to the magic computer where, sure enough, it has all the service-related up-sells for a Saab 900 of questionable vintage. The first thing he tried to sell me was the high-mileage oil, even though I'd specifically asked for the Mobil1. After his minute-long sales pitch I told him, "I think I'll still just go with the Mobil1, thanks." "Oh yeah, gosh, I'd forgotten about that! Duh!" Awesome. After that he tried to sell me a coolant system flush, a tranny flush and some sort of other service, all of which were recommended maintenance for a Saab like mine. I declined all other services. I watched them put the oil in (at least they get the Mobil1 out of new cans, so it is not just coming out of an anonymous hose filled with who-knows-what!) and then I cashed in my $5 coupon and left.
I phoned my brother on the way home and told him about my adventure and he said that my midwestification must be complete if i was so brainwashed as to take my car to a jiffy lube. I'm still looking for any sort of recommendation about a decent Volvo shop in Wisconsin.

Plug in Prius!!

2007-06-19T08:38:00.000-07:00

Look, I told you you plug in those Prius things. But this one is "magical," giving energy back to the grid!!! Hogwash.

More baby birds

2007-06-15T17:10:00.000-07:00

I just saw on Sunday that we have a nest in the other plant! One egg has hatched and another is cracked and hatching right now!

When you say Wisconsin...

2007-05-25T07:54:00.000-07:00

You've said it all...

The birds are growing

2007-05-22T10:31:00.001-07:00

They are growing bigger but they aren't very noisy or active. I hope they are getting enough to eat.

Now we have baby birds

2007-05-19T08:13:00.001-07:00

New Today.. Little tiny birds.

All my eggs in one basket

2007-05-06T13:44:00.001-07:00

We have a birds' nest in our new flowers. Last Sunday we went to the Home Depot and got some flowers for our deck. We got two hanging baskets, and then some other flowers to plant in some pots we have on the deck. By Sunday afternoon our fuschia already had a new admirer, a small red-headed bird and his/her brownish mate took a liking to our balcony. On Monday afternoon when we were watering the plants, there was already an egg in the plant. There was not too much of a nest. Over the last week the nest has been improved, and there are now four eggs. The hanging pot is blowing around like crazy, so I'm surprised that the eggs are not scrambled! I was afraid to water the plant, because the first egg was pretty much just sitting in the dirt, and I didn't want to drown the egg. But I was convinced to water it, and now the nest is better, so I think that they'll make it. I'm still not sure about the plant. I'm afraid of getting my eyes pecekd out by the birds which may or may not be in there when I go to water...

Finally some new blogs...

2007-05-03T11:54:00.000-07:00

The Saablog has been updated, as has the European. The Kevin hates running blog has been inactive, but Kevin hasn't been running, so I guess that is why.
In my particular avocation, wind is not too helpful, and can pretty much ruin an otherwise good day. Fortunately wind has been at tolerable levels, and we have been able to get some work done. Today a TV cameraman from a local station came out to videotape the current project, so I'll let my throngs of fans know if, when and where they can see it. (It may only be available on channel 27 tomorrow night at 6:00pm).
A few weeks ago at a local park, i met with a local celebrity, and this picture was taken with my phone... Bucky was really impressed that i was wearing his name on my shirt...
I am alone now during the weeks, as Katie is in LaCrosse, WI. It may not be the middle of nowhere, but it is pretty darn close! Fortunately her rotation is only in clinics, and not in the hospital, so she has good hours and can come back to Madison on the weekends.

Bike Race?

2007-04-18T17:12:00.000-07:00

Huh, maybe I'll do a bike race this Sunday. I have been on my bike 5 or 6 times in 2007(including three in California just after the New Year), so it should be a piece of cake. Marathon-trained Kevin talked me into it. Katie did one last weekend and did well (after Kevin and I goaded her into it). Last year I did this exact race and worked hard, but not so smart. I led a lot of the race and got left in the dust on the last lap. We'll see if I've learned anything.

The Busy Season

2007-04-18T07:54:00.000-07:00

The busy season in my line of work is the springtime, and I have been quite busy. I have been out of town a lot, and busy playing catchup when I have been in town. We went out of town to New Jersey. and had one nice day of weather there before a huge storm came, flooding roads and causing our flight back home to be late. Nothing like getting in at 2:00 am monday morning to start the week off right!
Really the reason I'm posting is to do some more complaining about the weather. I said that Springtime is my busiest time of year, but it has been more like winter here. Last week my bro and his family came to town for spring break and it was cold. We even had a blizzard! I think next year they'll probably go back to Mexico. They got to drive the 855, which was a lot of fun for his family, I'm sure (Uk's Volvo!) but has now left me with a new noise to chase down, this one coming from the left rear spring on my ever-satisfying suspension. Do you think I should take it to the local Volvo-eria? I don't think so. Fortunately, I get to stay in town for a little while, and hopefully get caught up and maybe I'll try to learn the guitar again.

Arrgg!!! Don't go to Fields Auto Group!!!

2007-03-24T14:10:00.000-07:00

Never a good sign...Work to be done.

So the local Volvo had been Smart Volvo Toyota. They got rid of the Volvo part of the dealership and decided to sell only to Toyota customers. I guess they didn't want the high-end business brought in by the Volvo customers. They sold it to Fields Auto group. Smart was so-so about service. They only liked working on Toyotas, but it seemed like maybe they had some decent techs who at least knew their stuff about Volvos. Fields just opened up in Madison with a Jag/Land Rover/Volvo place. Volvo is sort of displayed in the Janitor's closet. There is definitly no independent Volvo shop in Madison.
Anywho, to get to the point of the story, I've been chasing down a mystery rattle/clunk sound that sounds like it has been coming from the right rear of the car. It has been driving me crazy. I took the whole back end of the car apart when I was replacing the tailgate strut to see if I could track it down. So today I had Katie drive while we were going to the store so I could try to get a better handle on where it is coming from. On the way home I sat in the back seat. It was less pronounced while I was there. So then I moved to the rear, driver's side. I could hear it again. It sounded like it was coming from under the carpet. So we got home and I looked under the car at the suspension. The very same suspension that was removed from the car and had some new parts put on in December. The bolt holding the end of the "delta-link" suspension was nearly half an inch out and loose!! These fools didn't tighten the bolt all the way! This is besides the fact that they were supposed to replace the bolts with new ones. So this rattle that I have been chasing for the last 2-3 months has been this damn loose bolt. I guess I'm lucky that the suspension didn't just rip off of the car... Pictures shortly...

My New Toy!!

2007-03-22T09:19:00.000-07:00

I'd say my style is mostly Eagles/Willie Nelson/Johnny Cash/Nirvana/Metallica/two-year-old-banging-on-a-pot. It just got a lot harder for Katie to study...

When you say Wisconsin...

2007-03-22T09:17:00.000-07:00

...You've said it all

Already a bike ride, on March 18

2007-03-18T18:09:00.000-07:00

Today I went on a bike ride!! It was better than running or erging (it kept me entertained for a longer period of time). I rode out to Paoli. In a 10-15 mph headwind. I thought I was out of shape before, and the headwind really convinced me of that. I was going maybe 16 mph with a 160 heartrate. And then some dude on a Litespeed passed me. And I didn't care. I put up a little fight and tried to get back on his wheel, but he was gone. He pushed away until he got to the end of Fitchburg road and turned right to go up by the trailer place. I reeled him in (a crosswind now, not a head) and then just hung on the guy's wheel. The way he was going bananas before, I figured he could pull me for a mile or two. Well, after about a minute he noticed I was there, and ubruptly put on the brakes, so I went around him, and maybe a second later I heard a car horn. The guy had pulled a U-turn right in front of a car! Fortunately the Honda minivan was able to avoid him. So then the minivan pulled up to me and asked me what the guy was doing. I was able to tell the couple that I had no idea, and I was sorry for the scare the guy gave the drivers. They were happy I apologized, and I was happy to not have another run-in with an angry driver. The guy was lucky he didn't get taken out!
Eventually I arrived in Paoli (after 50 minutes of riding) and grabbed a drink of water. The way back was WAY better. I think my average on the way out was 15.3 mph, and I averaged 19.7 on the way back. On the way back I rode by some dude walking his Orbea up a hill. When I asked, he said he didn't need any help, but the hill was not that big...
All in all a good ride. It was only 45 degrees, and windy and I overdressed and sweated like crazy. But it was fun to go on a ride again. The bike is now a little dirty, but not too bad. I am definitely in worse shape than last year. I guess this is how you get old.

Erik doesn't like running too much either...

2007-03-17T16:01:00.000-07:00

Since I did a take-off on the Saablog, I figure a take-off on Kevin Hates Running should be next in line.
Last year I did a fair amount of working out while I was coaching, mostly due to the fact that the coach thought I could be best used as a "coach in the boat." It was fun to row with the team, and it made it pretty easy to stay in shape, since I could work out regularly with a team. Also, as I discussed with my friend Simon, there was the issue of pride. I wanted to beat as many of those guys as possible. So I had a reason to work hard. Now, I don't really seem to have a reason to work hard at any sport. I can beat my team this year quite easily, whether I work out or not. I don't find myself racing the men very often. and I really don't like erging all tht much. I have tried challenging myself to do various workouts on the erg, or at least do certain amounts of mileage, but it isn't that fun. When it is warm, I'll row some and bike some, especially during the summer when I shouldn't really have that much to do during the days. I do miss being in shape, and I don't want to "get old" because I'm not working out anymore. I don't need to be at a national-team level, but I don't want to be a couch potato.
So katie has been trying to get me to run. I am not too big on running. Unlike rowing or cycling (or even erging) you don't get any free run. You can't sit and rest a little while and still make progress. It is not that I am not good at running, I just don't enjoy it. Kind of like erging. So katie has been trying to get me to run with her, and for three weekends she has been successful. I went 23 minutes the first time, then 33 minutes last weekend, and today went 43. She has kept going after I have stopped each time. So it is fine. I think the pace today was maybe 6:55 or so, which is okay. Maybe one of these times I'll run with Kevin and see if I can keep up.
Today on the run we were maybe a minute from out place when Katie decided it would be a good idea to tick off some foreign guy in a Honda. This guy pulled out onto the sidewalk/driveway while leaving Whole Foods and cut off our path maybe 5-10 feet before we got there. He wasn't looking. So we ran around the back of his Accord Coupe and as we did so Katie slapped her hand on the trunk lid of the car. This guy didn't take kindly to it. He drove around the block and was irritated with "whoever hits my car." "I should hit you...But I don't...but next time I hit you." He pulled up and walked towards us on the sidewalk, and we ran around him and he was yelling "Why you hit my car?" and so I told him that we were running, and if he wanted to talk to us he should catch up to us. So he ran and caught us, and we stopped and talked. We should have kept runnning and talking, because it would have been a short conversation. But he said he was looking left at traffic and was not concerned because we should be watching out because we are on the sidewalk. We tried to convince him that he should probably look right for pedestrians, and he said that he was looking for traffic and did not hit us, so we should not be mad and be hitting his car. Whatever, dude. It is a Honda. Now whenever I run I have to look for a crazy dude tracking me down to try and hit me with his car...

The weather again...

2007-03-15T08:27:00.000-07:00

Dang it! After three days of decent weather (temps in the 50s two days, and then nearly 70 on Tuesday) yesterday grew colder all day long. It was in the 50s in the morning, and then it was 33 by the time I went to bed. There was even some rain and snow mixed in. I thought maybe we'd be rid of the ice soon, but there is still a way to go...

VolvoBlog...tailgate struts

2007-03-14T16:42:00.000-07:00

Following the content of the ever-popular Saablog I decided that my blog needed some car-repair stories to spice things up. So I will detail my project.

My rear hatch on the Volvo had been a bit saggy. The struts were able to hold the gate open under most conditions, but if the car was facing uphill or the weather was particularly cold, I would generally need to hold the hatch open in order to keep it from crashing down onto my head while I was getting my cargo from the cargo area. I asked my brother for replacement struts for my birthday, and he got some for me. I looked up instructions on Volvospeed and they seemed very straightforward. The trim seemed easy to remove, held in place by plastic clips and one screw on each side. It was removed more easily than I had anticipated.

Here is the original strut in place. At this point, it started to rain, so I went to my place of employment so I would be able to work on it inside. I would also have access to more and better tools from the shop. If I could find them.

The next step was to pry the old strut off of the car. Struts are held in place on each end by ball and socket joint. The ball is on the car, and the socket is on the strut. Removal was quite straightforward. Installation is the same as reverse...

So I got the first strut out, and it took not long at all. When only one strut is on the car, you need to prop the hatch open with a broom or something. While it was propped up, I was pretty nervous about it falling down and breaking my leg or skull...

So now installation. Should be easy. The first end went on...

So then the other end should be easy, right? Hah!!! The thing was seemingly too long. I could not raise the hatch high enough to get the socket over the ball. It was maybe 1/4 inch too long!!!

So, lets look at the struts. Old one on bottom, new one on top...

So, They're the same, right? They look the same. But I tried and tried for more than an hour to get the back end on. I used clamps, cables, zip-ties and pliers, but there was no way I could shorten up the strut and make it fit on. So, I'm looking and looking, and it looks like maybe the new one is just a touch longer. So I'm looking at the new one that is not on the car, andI notice that the silver end is loose. The ends are just screwed on. Look at the ends... The new one is on the left, the original is on the right.

The new one is that much longer and won't go on the car!!! So I just swapped the ends, and bing, bang, boom--it is on the car!! The right side took 2 hours, the left side took 5 minutes.

So while I was screwing around in the back of the car, I decided to see if i could figure out what the rattling was in the back. I ordered an anti-rattle kit for the hatch in the hopes that it would help. I got the interior of the back hatch off. I broke a couple of the clips holding it together. At least they should be included in the kit I ordered.

Here are the bits I broke off while removing the interior of the hatch. I hope I get some more! And then to add insult to injury, when I got the hatch off, I found that the upgrade for the anti-rattle had alerady been completed!!! The one thing I did find out was that the rattle was not coming from the rear hatch. With the hatch cover off, driving around the rattle that has been driving me crazy was still there. Arrgg!!! I'll be taking more parts off and driving around until I've removed the rattle!!!

The One thing I didn't want for my birthday...

2007-03-06T13:23:00.000-08:00

Temperature this morning was 7 degrees F. Now, more snow...

Snow Totals

2007-03-02T08:25:00.000-08:00

February saw 22.3 inches of snow fall in Madison, making it the 2nd snowiest February in the history of Madison (or at least the 2nd snowiest since they began keeping track of those things in the 1880s.) So far the seasonal snowfall is 46.6 inches. But not to fear, it is snowing again today and tomorrow, and it looks like we'll definitely top out above 50 inches for the season.

Today is the 8th day in a row of snow here in Madison, and I am grudgingly looking again at a car which needs to be cleaned off before I can drive it. (Fortunately I got the headlights put in last night!) I saw a story on the local news here that said that 8 of the city's 50 snowplows are out of commission from working lots of long days. They definitely are not keeping up with it. Which means that I get to go sliding around town (usually intentionally).

I know, it snowed in Seattle yesterday, and boo hoo, I'm crying big tears for everybody out there.

Ahh, remember when?

2007-03-01T13:22:00.000-08:00

I was on Row2k today when this picture came up. Yes, that is me in the bow of the near boat. We are in the lightweight eight racing against the Heavy eight and the heavy quad. I think it was probably a few weeks before worlds in Lucerne. Based on the splash, it looks like I was rowing pretty short on the front end or missing, since there is still a decent splash and my legs are nearly down. It also doesn't look like there is too much bend in the shaft. Maybe we were getting the boats even here (and we had to slow down and let the heavies catch up...)
Remember when you could look at a lake and see boats and rowers and water? Me neither.
now all I see is snow and ice and people sitting in little tents trying to catch fish. And the end of the season is now just 3 months away! I hope we can get on the water soon. My prediction is March 24. What is your prediction for when the ice will break?

Michelin snow man

2007-02-27T08:59:00.000-08:00

So this phone to blog thing worked pretty well the first time, but now it can take days to upload. I sent this on Sunday, and it is now finally posted on Wednesday. I know, it was really worth the wait. Since it did not go thru the first time, I sent it again. So it is up twice.

The Blizzard of '07

2007-02-26T13:27:00.000-08:00

People are digging out from the massive blizzard that dumped more than a foot of wet, slushy snow in the Madison area. Much like Seattle, the plows could not keep up and the roads were a mess. Buses stopped running, businesses shut down, and people blew their backs and hearts out while shoveling the heavy snow. It has continued to snow wet, warm snow all day today, and the bike ride to work was treacherous, but fun. Temps are supposed to be in the low 30s in the days, and mid 20s at night. They are calling for another big storm on Wednesday or Thursday, and they say that it will bring a lot of precipitation, but they're not sure if it will fall as rain or snow. Fun!! As an aside, this guy said his tractor goes 0-60 in 5.5 seconds in the summer. Also, he has the only tire chains in Madison.

Michelin snow man

2007-02-25T15:29:00.000-08:00

What blew in with the storm

Snow Tornadoes Imminent!!!

2007-02-24T08:30:00.000-08:00

A Blizzard Warning is in effect for most of Wisconsin. From the National Weather Service: "This will be a very dangerous situation. If you leave the safety of indoors... you are putting your life at risk. Travel is not recommended tonight and Sunday" Wow. That is saying something. There were no warnings like that when it was -15F. This is serious. Deadly serious. Coming in with the snow will be deadly snow tornadoes, and penguins with bows and poison-tipped arrows, riding fire-breathing ice-horses. They will be hunting any humans foolish enough to step outside. There is a chance you will be sucked up in a giant snow tornado and swept away to either Saskatchewan, or the moon. If you look closely at the radar image, you can see the face of the devil himself...

I'm going to be hiding under the bed with a bike helmet and a stuffed polar bear.

Live Free or Die!

2007-02-23T10:39:00.000-08:00

Ah, the motto of New Hampshire. I bet they don't have too many rules and regulations up there in the Granite State. Here in Wisconsin, it is a whole 'nother ball game.
Last night I noticed that I had a head light out. It was easy to notice, because I have an indicator on the dashboard to inform me of the problem. So this morning I went to my local auto parts store to procure a replacement. Last time I bought lights, I went with Sylvania's Cool Blue. I was pretty happy with them. They are more white than blue, and more white than the traditional "yellow" headlamps. I have been looking in auto magazines, and noticed that now they've come out with an even brighter white light. it is Sylvania's SilverStar Ultra. Here is a comparison between the different types. So I thought obtaining these lights would be about as easy as going to the local auto-parts-eria and picking some up. But when I got there all they had were the el-cheapo lights. (Also, the first place I went to smelled very much like the inside of the 1979 Toyota pickup my brother and I used to drive--old cigarette smoke covered up with vanilla.) I bought one and decided to go somewhere else. The next place had the same crap. When I told the guy behind the counter what I was looking for he told me, "Oh, they don't sell those in Wisconsin. They're illegal." Huh? Headlights are illegal? On the website they are advertised as "100% street legal in Canada and the USA." So i know how to beat that system: amazon.com.
I had a similar problem last summer when i tried to buy a recharge kit for my A/C system. I was in LaCrosse, WI and they told me to drive across the river to Minnesota. What do you know, they had it! So I think I have found another reason that helps to explain why so many people in Wisconsin drive crappy cars: There are laws against improving them. A/C goes out? you can't fix it yourself. Bad headlight? Keep putting in the dim off-brand ones. I think that Wisconsin also has some sort of embargo against fashionable clothing, so most people just default to wearing Badgers and/or Packers gear. I'll have to go to the mall and see what sort of clothing is not available...

Health and the Midwest

2007-02-22T11:25:00.000-08:00

When I think of the typical midwesterner i think of somebody aged 50-60, overweight, high cholesterol, high plood pressure, waddling along main street USA ready to get in their rusted GM transport. But after living for barely more than a year in the Midwest, my perception has changed. Or at least my health has. I have determined that living in the midwest is bad for your health. Whether those old farmers eat cheese and sausage omelets or flax seed oatmeal makes no difference. They will have failing health. It is either in the air or the water, or maybe both, but even somebody seemingly healthy like me can come down with a whole medical dictionary full of problems upon arrival here. I've gone from being an elite athlete to having an enlarged heart, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. I'm betting that it has something to do with the wind. It is always either blowing in Dust, fertilizer or ice melter. When it is not blowing (maybe 2 days/month) it smells like manure. That can't be good for anybody's health.
Now the doctor who always makes me wait (today was only 18 minutes in the lobby, a new record) wants me to go on Lipitor, a drug to lower cholesterol. I' think I'm way too young for it, but I have aged about 12 years since moving to Madison. Maybe I'll try something a little more natural.