Because It Is

Taking a morning off of politics...It is simply gorgeous outside here in Michigan. I've been riding the bike to work again this week, and today I decided to take my time coming in.

Oh, and I love that song as much today as the first time I heard it.

[h/t Sullivan for the video]

WTF, Sven?

So I've been aware that my '01 Volvo S60 doesn't exactly get the mileage I'd hoped when I bought it. Fuel efficiency was not at the top of the list when I made the purchase either...I had a limited budget, a short commute, and we were expecting a second child, so maximum airbaggage and safety came first—the fact that this car was really nice and I got a fantastic deal, cinched it...

Back to the mileage...First of all the tank on this car is huge. Twenty-one fucking gallons! (UPDATE: 18.5 gal.) So, with gas jumping up and down a quarter every other week, I never like to fill the car all the way up for fear of wasting five bucks if the price drops. This makes it difficult for me to keep an accurate count on the amount of gas I use. Couple that with the fact that I rode my bike to work frequently this past summer/fall, it was often weeks between trips to the gas station.

So here's my issue with this car. When I fill the car up, I try to remember to hit the old trip odometer back to 0.0 in hopes that I can figure the mileage next time I top it off (this never works because I never fill it all the way back up). But it often seems like I can go pretty far on the first quarter tank or so, and I think, "Hmm, twenty gallon tank, I've gone a hundred miles and it's still over three quarters full...not terrible." The next thing I know, I'm under a quarter tank and I've only gone another hundred miles...

What the fuck is up with that?

Last night I filled the car all the way up. It swallowed 14.595 gallons. The trip odometer read 206. That's an astoundingly Hummeresque 14.1 mpg. Now, that's in-town driving, including some early morning warm-up time, but still...that's awful. I had to drive up to Mrs F's grandmother's house and back that evening. Before getting home, I made sure to fill up again. 96 miles, 3.746 gallons...that's 26 mpg. Primarily highway driving, but an aggressive 75-80 mph. Not bad. but, that's a pretty wide split between city and highway. Or is the difference the first-part-of-the-tank factor?...Anybody else experience anything like this?

I'll be keeping closer track of this and following up. Because I know how fascinating this must be to all of you. Consider this an open thread to share what you current car is and what your mileage is, if you know.

Resting On My Laurels

So, here I am feeling all good about myself for riding my bicycle to work, and losing ten pounds, but the truth is, I'm really have another ten to lose, and I've been stuck in the mid-170s for probably a month or more. And now we head straight into the toughest stretch of the year: cold weather (less biking) plus Halloween, birthdays, Thanksgiving, and Christmas (more chowing) equals return to Huskyville...

The state of my complacency was brought to vivid light with this morning's bit of trivia from Mrs. Furious: with her steady erosion down to a fantastic 113 pounds, I now weigh more than the rest of my family combined.

By one pound.

Did I mention I have two kids? At least it doesn't include the dog.

Future weigh-ins will take place at the playground. On the see-saw. Mrs, Kid and Baby F on the other end...which way does it go?

BONUS: Searching for the photo yielded this funny post.

Miscellany

Bigfoot Possessed by Darwin
Will people never learn that drag races and car-crushing monster trucks are fucking dangerous? [via Jalopnik]

If Your Car's Not From Oklahoma, You're a Pussy!
The far-more-patriotic-than-thou Sooners have come up with an Romneyesque way to fight terror—this senses-shattering display of pure jingoistic bullshit that looks like it came straight from the fevered dreams of Dick Cheney.


I particularly love the tasteful use of the Twin Towers and the pixel desert camo. Stick this on your Hummer, and you're doing your part to fight the terrorists over there. You know, at the mall.

If you look closely, the eagle has a bit of Democrat flesh in its beak. [via proud ashamed Oklahoman Greg at The Talent Show]

I Want One of These
Which will look better with my GWOT license plate—yellow, or silver? [link]



Walking Worse Than Driving
I'm sure this "leading environmentalist" is booked on every FOX News Show possible and will be recess-appointed to head the EPA... [link]

Walking does more than driving to cause global warming, a leading environmentalist has calculated.

Food production is now so energy-intensive that more carbon is emitted providing a person with enough calories to walk to the shops than a car would emit over the same distance. The climate could benefit if people avoided exercise, ate less and became couch potatoes.

Just think! If we all stopped breathing, we could really make a difference! Actually, if this "latest serious thinker to turn popular myths about the environment on their head" would simply share the technology that allowed the car in his study to spontaneously create its own fuel, we might be on to something. Fucking hack.

00:25:29

Today was the first day of commuting by bike. It took me 25 minutes to get to work, and since I left way more time than that, I actually got to work far earlier than normal (I'm a 9:05 kinda guy).

I was like a kid on Christmas Eve last night getting everything ready to go for the morning ride. While I'm not looking as forward to the more uphill ride home in 90-degree heat, riding in definitely works—not too sweated-up, etc (change of clothes in the office), and I seem to be more energetic this morning. When I arrive home, I can always just tumble into Kid Furious' pool to cool down.

"On a Steel Horse I Ride"

Well, Alpha Hydroformed Aluminum anyway. There she folks, my new mofo commuter bike. My ticket to fitness and freedom from fossil fuel dependancy. Er, three days a week, weather permitting.

I've been trying to take Ruby (aka Kid Furious) on bikeseat-rides this summer and my old DiamondBack mountain bike had seen better days. Brought it in for a tune-up and it needed new tires, brakes, and various other things and it was going to run me like $160. I wandered around a bit in the store and started thinking about just moving to a new rig instead.

A week of test rides at lunch and obsessive online research later I made my choice—the Trek 7.3FX. Part of their "fitness" line. Sort of a hybrid, but more on the road side of things, without the drop bars and lower riding position. Much faster and lighter than my old bike, and I am confident it will serve me well as a commuter bike and dragging the kids around.

Over the last month, with smarter eating and modest treadmillin' I've lost about seven pounds, and am poised to re-enter the 170s. My target is the 160s—territory I probably haven't seen in over a decade. Hoping the new bike regimen will get me there quicker and will get me the cardio I so desperately need now that I'm pushing 40.

I just dug out my old bike threads and threw them in the washer. What're the odds they will actually still fit me? Probably should've tried 'em on first...