Monday, December 31, 2012

Best Update Ever!

Why didn't I think of that before?  a road template.  anyways....

Hope U R driving safely, soon coming are preventions and maintenances for winter driving.  thanks. for . reading. /^^\

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Friday, November 30, 2012

Don't clock me clockers!

Here in a college town like Fargo/Moorhead, hosting more than 7 colleges and business schools, seems there are alot of bad drivers.  I don't mind that so much, but what REALLY gets on my nerves are "clockers". 

Let me explain.  You arrive at a light, or a 4 way, and there are cars that are LITERALLY going 30mph to 45 mph and then screeching to a halt on their brakes right at the end of the stop or light. 

What this creates is the possibility (in your mind, and sadly, in real life) that they are going to hit you, they don't see the light.

bUT RIGHT at the last second, they stop. 

it's so annoying, not to mention they waste gas.

Ironically, maybe they are trying to keep their momentum to go through the light or stop.

But even with this, a true hypermiler wouldnt' be exceeding 25 mph. 

so it's annoying.  I call them clockers as a quote from the early 00's video game "Dance Dance Revolution"  one of my fave songs was "Don't Clock Me".  so hey Clockers, Don't Clock Me!  /^^\

Saturday, November 17, 2012

That Energy Drink Tastes Like Coca Cola!

Well, since we hypermilers are not like those Cars-R-Coffins guys, aka we do drive an automobile every once in awhile, you MAY end up at a gas station.  Get used to it, I suppose, it's the American way.

Finding a way to enjoy your trip to the gas station is more important than it looks.

You may not remember, but there have been times when you went to a gas station, and waited in line for almost 5 minutes.  TOO LONG!

So find (I recommend) a local gas station chain and get to know 1 or 2 of the workers there.  Also, get a beverage every now and then!  You CAN since you've been saving so much money from Hypermiling, right!

I recently got a Monster Energy Drink and I must say, that company does a great job.  5 hour energy is good too, but my weakness is energy drinks that TASTE GOOD.  5 hour energy doesn't.

Anyways, I got the Monster "Cuba-Lima", and it tastes JUST LIKE A GOOD COCA COLA!  I'm not sure why.

So you end up with a coca cola AND energy.  what a win-win!  /^^\

WWW.MTURK.COM


Monday, November 5, 2012

Postaholic, HomePagePays

As you can tell, I'm not at that point yet where a blogger says "oh no I haven't updated my page in two months, okay, here's some crap about saving the whales, there you go".  I like to leave my readers with 1.  education about hypermiling and 2.  ways to make an extra buck on the internet and IRL.

my newest one, I have a good feeling about this:

http://edelweis.homepagepays.com/

It's a European site, and seems streamlined and ready to go.  I WILL update you guys as to the "minimum payout", a device I use to make sure that sites are 1.  legit and 2.  Have a positive impact on YOUR life, not just feeding the coffers of internet moguls.  /^^\

 http://elecstorm83.homepagepays.com/

I'm not giving up!  but my initial opinion is not great.  I don't see a payout, or even a way to buy a gift card or something, so this site doesn't score many points SO FAR in my book.  more info to come.

SITES THAT I DO LIKE FOR WEISURE:  making an extra buck:

Mturk.com

Donkeymails.com

banner test

The strength of Donkeymails IS the no miminum payout.  Get in, make a buck, get out, get on with your life.! oo and then come back and keep up with those paid e-mails bc do you REALLY need to be spending more time on facebook?  c'mon. /^^\

Effecacious

In a world full of things that people claim will work, it's nice to find things that really do work.

One of the ways that I know things work is from feedback from my friends.

Sure, I may be some "hypermiler megalomaniac", so I try to hear the opinions from my friends.

Out of the ways to make an extra buck, one of the best is Mturk, as confirmed by said friends.

https://www.mturk.com/mturk/dashboard

and then, why not stop there, try out some other things.

 http://www.donkeymails.com/pages/index.php?refid=elecstorm83

Is this MLM?  well, maybe a bit, but its not hard to try, and it doesn't cost anything.  Let's compromise, let's say it's "on the better half of MLM".

and last, BUT NOT LEAST!  Hypermiling. I think THE BEST thing I like about hypermiling is being able to drive past a police officer and remember the days when I used to think, OH GOSH that cop will pull me over because I am speeding.  WHEN YOU ARE A HYPERMILER, THOSE DAYS ARE OVER. 'nuff said. /^^\


Sunday, November 4, 2012

My coat! My coat! no need for it on certain days

Some coats nowadays, mainly parkas, can way up to 20 lbs!  not only is that excess weight when you are hypermiling, it's heavy!  Solution:  your car heater

Maximizing on your car heater is the way to go.  This is best done when the weather is a bit cool, not extremely cold.

Simply put your heater  a little lower than it's max output, and stay warm.  When you are walking to your shopping location or outing, you can still park far away, just turn up your heat.  That parka, and jacket in general, is not needed.

And as I have mentioned earlier, the EASIEST apparel item to go light on is socks.  wear socks that cut off at the ankle, you don't really need the rest.  When you integrate this into your daily routine, the extra weight really adds up!

But c'mon Generally, you don't need that parka everyday!  it's excess weight!  hypermile yo! /^^\

Monday, October 29, 2012

Winter Driving and Crass = it works

I'm excited about some new developments.

Being motivated by the "make $50 in addition to taking 100 lbs out of your car", I have been looking at EZ ways to make money.

I'm not the official expert on these things, but I DO have my own ways to do it.

Basically, everything starts with what is known as "Weisure", or work plus leisure. 

I'll get into what Weisure is in a bit, but it all started when people were checking there facebook accounts at work = getting paid to have fun.

Weisure takes many forms, and I've found other things that work.

I'm going to rate five "weisure" sites in order from left to right.  The further left, the more fun you have, but the less money you make.  The further right, the more money you make, but the less fun you have

-Facebook - Updown.com - Clixsense - Donkeymails - Mturk.com

some details about each: 

-Facebook- is part of life now.  It's possible to make a little money with advertising, but this seems to take alot of effort

-Updown.com  A well designed virtual investment site.  Problem is, it's really hard to get enough to get a payout.  More fun, less money

-Clixsense- you can be practically braindead and make money off of this site.  Having said that, it does take some time to make the $8 payout. 

-Donkeymails- my new favorite of the week, the site is organized poorly but YoU GET PAID real fast. 

http://www.donkeymails.com/pages/ptp.php?refid=elecstorm83

and GoOD OL M:TURK:

I've made $1800 on mturk to date, its very legit, but sometimes it is monotonous, and after you've made like $10 a day you REALLY feel like a robot. /^^\

LONG POST!

Winter driving:  i just wanted to say briefly that winter driving can be good for hypermilers.  Reason:  EVERY DRIVER has to drive slower.  They will respect you more when you decide to drive 40 mph on the highway, and even though the possibility of accidents increases, people are generally more aware of other drivers.

coming up next:  "Clocking"


Saturday, October 27, 2012

Haulin'

Seems like everyone and your mother drives a Honda today, or a Smart Car, or the like.  Those are great cars, I'm glad that some people can get like 70 MPG and stuff.  I'm not against that.  But if it's my choice, I like to hypermile AND save money!  "Love the one you're with"

You can hypermile ANY vehicle.  The idea is to get better gas mileage, not unrealistic gas mileage.  Again, I'm' not against the Honda and electric car drivers, I wish I had one myself, I just wonder if something like this happens.

"Hey Rick, I hear you can get 70MPG in your new Honda Electric"
"Sure thing Steve"
"How much did it cost you to get that Rick"
"30 K"
"OOHHHH (why didn't Rick just get a Honda Accord from 93 or 96 or something and save money?) 

answer:  because he loves not being dependent on foreign oil THAT MUCH!

I think Rick's attitude is a bit outdated.  Even since the 2008 "recession", we need to think in economic terms.  To me, Rick is thinking in 2007 or 2008 knowledge.  That's fine for Rick, but for Steve, he wants to "love the one your with" and get like 5% to 10% more gas mileage, not 100-200% and have to make large monthly payments.  It's your choice! /^^\

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

The $50 a year trick

The government agencies are FINALLY getting in on some hypermiling techniques.  In my state, we see an ad on television that says, (accurately) "every 100 pounds of extra stuff that you take out of your car will save you $50 a year in gas".  This is true, but it's just the beginning.

This post cannot be completed yet, because I want to get legitimate ways to "match the $50" from hypermiling techniques, and a little spice of my own I call "ways to save money".  You see, for the true hypermiler, "$50 a year just isn't enough".  I need at least $100 a year saved, maybe $200, maybe $300.

So to be perfectly accurate and clear, I will be listing 3 areas that will earn you $50 a year in savings.  As noted, this will be updated later to make sure that it is legit.  50 bullet points divided into 3 areas of "light hypermiling", "average hypermiling", and "extreme hypermiling" will be listed.  We begin.

"Light hypermiling" ways to save money = 33 pounds of weight = $16.50 a year saved.

-Drive slower
-drive when there are less cars on the road, usually at night
-clean your air filter
-properly put air in your tires, usually I like to recommend 5-10% above the car's PSI rating in the side of the door

"Average hypermiling"
-record your MPG in the summer and winter, and then think of ways to achieve the better gas mileage in the season that had the best (I will explain this in later blogs).
-vacuum out your interior = reducing weight by about 3 lbs = good.
-Tell your friends who drive your car that you are a hypermiler, so they shouldn't speed excessively or accelerate too fast

"Extreme hypermiling"
-catching a draft from semis on the interstate (this is not for the faint of heart, even I don't do this, it's very extreme
-lose weight yourself big boy!
-don't wear a coat , even in winter, and use your car heater instead
-wear lightweight socks and/or shoes
-ask your friends for gas money

Monday, October 22, 2012

For me, Adsense=no, Clixsense=yes

If you're a hypermiler like me, when you hear about things like "lose 100 pounds in your car, save $50 a year", you try to find ways to find $50 here and there.  Let's call this section of hypermiling "finances".

When you have financial control, at least even a little bit, it will help out your hypermiling.  This i most seen in gas prices, and even Bus fare.  We've all been there when you want to completely fill up your tank to get a free hot dog or something, but it costs like $45 and you only have $40.  Arggh!  I wish I had more money!

And it does seem to just be those small amounts, the nickels and dimes.

Well, you can make up for those nickels and dimes in ALOT of ways.

Hypermiling in itself saves loads on gas.  But once you've gotten over the "honeymoon period" of hypermiling, you might be looking for other ways to make EZ cash.

I thought Google Adsense would be one of those ways, but i've personally had trouble with them ever since I tried to link to a Facebook account.

Not to fear!  There are legitimate ways to make a few extra bucks a month!



This is getting longwinded, but here are my favorite three:  Mturk, recycling, and Clixsense (  http://www.clixsense.com/?4708454


OO looks like I'm showing my noob side to blog posting.  sry about this underline, I will try to edit this later.  BUT I MUST TELL YOU ABoUT MTURk!

1.  Mturk.  Standing for "mechanical turk", this website lets you do small tasks, usually ranging from $.01 to $5.  Once you get approved and realize how easy it is, you can definitely make at least $30 a month doing these sorts of things.  I've made $2000 to date, which does help at the end of the month when bills are coming, etc.

2.  Recycling cans.  Why not make some money and help the environment?  In my state you can get paid for recycling aluminum cans, roughly 30 cents or so per pound.  maybe every 2 weeks I end up with 10 lbs or so of cans, and there you go!  $3

3.  Clixsense.  As I have more experience with MTurk, I'd recommend 70% of your online time go to Mturk, and the other 30% go to Clixsense.  But there is that moment when you've been working on Mturk I call "hitting the wall", when you really Do start to feel like a robot, and may want to go to something more visually pleasing like Clixsense.  I just started this, and I am excited, more news to come.  

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Math

One of my favorite books, Blue Like Jazz, uses imagery and satire to talk "unreligiously" about Christian Culture, mainly in the U.S.  Donald Miller is on the whole easy to digest, however his critics might do well to compare him to Chuck Klosterman, in that sometimes it's an acquired taste, and sometimes you think the guy goes off on tangents like an ADHD kid in a candy store. 

Though I can't quite put into words the power of symbols, similarities, and simulacra, I think a good hypermiler has a "renaissance man" side to him.  One drives a car, goes to work, but uses science, math, shop skills, and other "intellectual tools" to help his car and the planet.  Though this blog focuses mainly on my view of successful hypermiling, a big component of hypermiling knowledge of your car - is- wait for it-math. 

Math.  Some of you love it, some of you love to hate it.  The Least you need to know to be a hypermiler and use math is your MPG.  I personally find no shame in computing your MPG change over the course of a few months.  It's just communicating what you are doing to your loved ones that comes to task, makes hypermilers look like a niche market.

What you do is fairly simple, and even fairly important.  Take your Trip calculator, and the next time you COMPLETELY fill the tank with gas, reset it to zero.  At the end of the month, or whenever you do run out of gas in your tank, check out the trip calculator.  (here is the only moderately tricky part.  Some used cars don't come with manuals showing you how many gallons your gas tank holds.  If this is the case:  Easy solution:  record the amount of gallons in the tank NEXT TIME or when you filled up as it is listed on the meter at the gas station.  Hard solution:  go online to find a pdf or other file for your make and model).  After having done that, take the miles traveled, and divide that by the amount of gallons in your tank.  WHALA you have your MPG.

As previously mentioned, recheck your MPG to see how your car is holding up, especially in the winter.  I'll get to some winter driving techniques when winter arrives. /^^\

QuESTIONS?  COMMENTS?  /^^\

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Slow food is amazing!

http://www.slowfoodusa.org/index.php/slow_food/

I get it!  It parallels hypermiling in that you are trying to make a difference in this world, and help others. 

CHEESE! say hi!

Well, recently have a bit more time on my hands.  A favorite "blog" of mine who I respect dearly because of his snarky humor is Ishkur.com  He's been around awhile, but whenever he posts, it's like gold.   I guess, to be blunt, for me, I'm going more "for quantity rather than quality".  Nonetheless, what I'm trying to say is, expect alot of posts in October, i think...

BTW SAY HELLO!  I"m getting pageviews.  Even if you "dislike" hypermilers, tell me why, it makes for GOOD CONVERSATION FODDER! /^^\

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Cars passing you= you're doing it right

On the highway, and on 40mph streets, cars regularly pass me.  Though the first week of hypermiling you may think this is bad, but after you get used to it, you begin to enjoy it.  This is because it is a reminder that not only are you driving to a destination, you are doing it smart.  Later on I will talk about how hypermilers are HYPER AWARE of the road.  Generally, what is going on is that when you drive at these lower speeds, you can perceive what is going on around you  better.  This has two main benefits that I see:  1.  You "worry" about getting a speeding ticket and/or getting pulled over is dramatically reduced.  2.  You begin to relax on the road, and eventually, relax more in your life.  That is, you begin to plan your destination more closely, and feel more in control of your vehicle and your life. /^^\

Google Adsense HEEELLLP!!!

though I do enjoy talking about hypermiling, something I was HOPING to integrate on this blog was google adsense.  That's because Hypermiling and google Adsense go hand-in-hand.  They both are easy and effective ways to save/make money.  It's all the same.

My big problem is currently, on some websites, like the google adsense website, when i go to the Google Adsense home via Blogger, nothing shows up.  This happens for my PC that runs-XP on about 5% of all websites.  HELP!  I will try to research how to get it to work, and I will keep posting FOR THE GENERAL KNOWLEDGE ABOUT HYPERMILING FOR MANKIND, but it would be nice to get SOME compensation.  if you have any ideas on how to get Adsense to work, just comment, and I check this blog weekly, so will get back to you.

Also, if you have ANY questions or comments about Hypermiling, or horror stories or whatever, comment as well. thanks

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Hypermiling with a side of Anecdotes

Hello, name's Jon.  I am a true Hypermiler now for 12 months.  I'm excited to share my hijinks with you and your friends.  This is my simple way to help fight global warming, save the planet, be less reliant on foreign oil, and EVEN HAVE SOME FUN!  I hope to update quite often, as the topic of hypermiling is full of rants, raves, and wonderful ways to save money.