MONDAY, MAY 28, 2007
Monday Edition: 'Hypermilers' -- Commuters Squeezing Every Last Drop of Gasoline
The summer driving season really begins today. I am always looking for new angles. Last week
while I was teaching at the National Writers Workshop in Wichita,
Kan., I ran into Russell Hulstine, a multimedia producer at KOTV in Tulsa, Okla. He shared a
great story idea with me.
His station produced a series of stories about "hypermilers" -- extreme commuters who do all sorts of things to stretch
every last drop of gasoline.
These are people who already drive a Honda Civic, but when
they see a red light ahead, they shift into neutral and coast with the motor
off. These folks avoid streets with stoplights. They are "ridge riders," which
means they ride close to the white line so they do not
drive in highway ruts, which they say requires more gas.
Here is a Web site
dedicated to hypermiling, including lots of tips.
Memorial Day
The Memorial Day Tribute Web site says these are some ways Americans should honor the war dead. I had not heard about the 3 p.m. moment of silence or the "half-mast until noon" bit. I suppose they mean half-staff.
'Click It or Ticket'
It would be interesting to know how
much your local government cashes in by enforcing the national "Click It or Ticket" blitz under way seemingly everywhere. I noticed that
local police departments are
using federal grants to snag unbuckled drivers. I wonder why that is
necessary. If the cops are going to write a bunch more tickets, it seems as though
the program would way more than pay for itself.
By the way, why is it such a crime
not to wear a seat belt when it is legal to ride a motorcycle without a helmet?
I don't get it. It seems to me that a
person should have the right to be a fool. Only New Hampshire agrees with me. Yes, I wear a seat belt most
of the time, but I don't like being told I have to.
Why Fold the Flag 13 Times?
The popular story is that every fold has some deep meaning.
Or that the folded flag resembles a colonial
patriot's hat. Snopes.com has the answer.
Fish Disease Spreading Rapidly
Memorial Day
weekend is a time when lots of people launch the fishing boat. But this year a
terrible virus, viral hemorrhagic septicemia,
or VHS, is showing up in the Great
Lakes, and it may be spreading. It is another of those invasive-species
problems that wildlife authorities do not know how to control. The
first big VHS fish die-offs were noticed in May 2006 in the St. Lawrence River in New York. Michigan and Wisconsin announced outbreaks
in inland waters this spring.
Earlier this month, Wisconsin issued this advisory
to fishermen:
-
Drain all water from your
boat, trailer, bait buckets, coolers and other containers before you leave the
landing or shore fishing site location on Lake Michigan, Lake Superior, the
Mississippi River, the Lake Winnebago System or their tributaries up to the
first dam.
- Do not take live fish, including bait
fish, away from any Great Lakes, Lake Winnebago or Mississippi River drainage landing or shore fishing location. This includes
tributaries up to the first dam.
- Do not use "cut" or dead bait
from other waters (except when fishing in Lake Michigan, Green Bay, Lake Winnebago or
tributaries).
- Do not use minnows unless they were
purchased from a Wisconsin bait dealer or you caught the minnows from the place you are
fishing.
The
U.S. Department of Agriculture says:
In the past, VHS was thought to be a concern only for
trout and a few other freshwater fish raised for commercial aquaculture in Europe.
However, the recent outbreak in the Great Lakes region
appears to be a new strain of the virus. This new strain is responsible for
die-offs in the following species: muskellunge, smallmouth bass, northern pike,
freshwater drum, gizzard shad, yellow perch, black crappie, bluegill, rock bass, white bass,
redhorse sucker, bluntnose sucker, round goby and walleye.
How VHS was transferred to the Great Lakes
or how long it has been in the ecosystem is not known. The disease transmits easily
between fish of all ages. Mortality is highest at low water temperatures
between 37 and 54 degrees Fahrenheit. Some fish will show no external signs
while others show signs that include bulging eyes, bloated abdomens, inactive
or overactive behavior, and hemorrhaging in the eyes, skin, gills and at the
base of the fins. Infected fish may also have lesions that look like those
caused by other fish diseases.
Great Car Deals
Bankrate.com
explains:
What you may not know is that currently there's a slew of
incentives -- from rebates to low APR financing to subsidized lease offers to
marketing support for dealers -- on more than 250 new car models, from makers
ranging from Acura to Toyota.
What's more, it's not merely the more mundane sedans getting the
bargain treatment. Convertibles, sports cars and even gas-electric hybrid
vehicles are benefiting from wheeling and dealing.
Only Ferrari, Lamborghini, Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Maserati and a
few other exotic makes have not been motivated to offer special deals to move
the merchandise.
Some of the cash-back offers are truly impressive: Ford is
offering a $7,000 rebate on certain models of the Lincoln Town Car. True, the
rebate is there because some buyers will need that sort of enticement to buy a
vehicle which is woefully outdated when compared with competing luxury,
four-door sedans. If you need a car big enough to carry six people and a lot of
luggage -- maybe go into the limo business -- now may be a good time to buy a
Town Car.
Some rebates are targeted at very narrow classes of consumers. Toyota, for example, will give you
a $500 rebate on a hybrid Prius if you're an active member of the military.
There's also $1,000 in marketing support that Toyota is giving dealers to help
move certain Prius models -- money that savvy buyers should take into account
when negotiating the best price.
It's college graduation time, so some manufacturers are offering
rebates of $500 or more to recent grads.
We are always looking for your great ideas. Send Al a few sentences and hot links.
Editor's
Note: Al's Morning Meeting is a compendium of ideas, edited story
excerpts and other materials from a variety of Web sites, as well as
original concepts and analysis. When the information comes directly
from another source, it will be attributed and a link will be provided
whenever possible. The column is fact-checked, but depends upon the
accuracy and integrity of the original sources cited. Errors and
inaccuracies found will be corrected.
Posted at 9:10:50 AM
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