RichC | April 30, 2006
Congress this past week included 1.8 billion dollars of funding that would encourage more plug-in hybrid vehicles. We’ve discussed this as an excellent solution for those using a vehicle for daily commutes that could be accomplished with a nightly ‘garage charge’ and still be able to function once that charge is depleted. Senate Republicans and […]
RichC | April 29, 2006
Another day, another comment about diesel vehicles — let’s just say that I’ve been smelling diesel fumes lately. According to J.D. Power Automotive Forecasting, the number of diesel vehicles is on the rise and is expected to double over the next 10 years. In 2005, worldwide sales of diesel vehicles were 15 million; the projection […]
RichC | April 28, 2006
Americans really need to open their eyes to what the rest of the world already knows … new diesels are clean, quiet, powerful and fuel efficient. Hopefully its the ‘fuel efficient’ part that resonates as fuel prices top $3.00/gallon. As for the clean part, the the new Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD) and biodiesel being […]
RichC | April 27, 2006
There was a short conversation about the underlying US alternative fuel commodities this morning (04.27.2006) on CNBC. Corn and Soy are the two big ones with most attention in the US on corn. The question posed was that of Soy Oil — and if the demand for Soybean would rise due to biodiesel. (nothing earthshattering […]
RichC | April 27, 2006
If you’ve given any thought to hybrid vehicles, you most likely have heard discussions or asked questions about possible plug-in versions. The concept is pretty simple — they are normal hybrid vehicles, either series or parallel, that have larger (or more efficient) batteries, a different controller and a charger that plugs into your home electrical […]
RichC | April 26, 2006
In part two of ‘Fuel Prices‘ adds a little more than just the ‘fear’ and ‘greed’ theory to why we’re seeing $3.00 gasoline. Its appropriate today since President Bush is talking and getting involved with a little pressure from his party no doubt. I suspect many Republicans are having election fears knowing citizens will blame […]
RichC | April 25, 2006
Two totally different topics … “Brain Port” as described at MSNBC and a personal video. (humor me) First, a concept and device that was introduced 30 years ago by Dr. Paul Bach-y-Rita at the University of Wisconsin; it is know as “Brain Port.” Originally it was a video camera that routed images through electrodes to […]
RichC | April 24, 2006
I spotted a Volkswagen Jetta advertisement that reminds me of the Volvo ads … stressing safety.An accident can happen at anytime and that selecting a car that is light and fuel efficient might not always be the wisest choice. Realizing just how much I spend on insurance “just in case” … perhaps a few dollars […]
RichC | April 23, 2006
Mark Groves had another great VW TDI GTG on Saturday. The central location just 30 minutes from Columbus, the great weather and the many helping hands of experienced owners helped to make this “Spring Dust Off” an enjoyable event. Mark and his wife’s hospitality was appreciated by all; what a great host. (too many things […]
RichC | April 22, 2006
RichC | April 21, 2006
The JCB Dieselmax streamliner car will attempt to break the record for a diesel powered ‘land’ vehicle on the Bonneville Salt Flats this summer. In August of 2006, Britian’s Wing Commander Andy Green, will race the JCB Dieselmax car across the famous Utah desert aiming for 300 mph. Andy Green is known as the ‘fastest […]
RichC | April 20, 2006
The Tri-State Clean Fuel Network along with Ohio farm groups will be displaying the ‘SoyToy’ at the Seventeenth Cincinnati Flower Show this year. The show runs from April 22nd to April 30th this year as will span two weekends and is nationally recognized as one of the finest shows of its kind. Better Home and […]
RichC | April 20, 2006
Local resident, retired University of Cincinnati Professor and astronaut Neil Armstrong made a rare appearance along with John Glenn, family and 300 others at the Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal earlier this week. He gave a talk on the importance of natural history, geologists and the museums preserving and teaching about natural history. Armstong […]
RichC | April 19, 2006
Someone asked me a bunch of questions about running Windows XP Pro on a Intel based Mac, so instead of just answering them, I’ll include a video clip. Several of the questions were about boot speed and comparisons, while others were general install comments. The video clip should cover the speed issue and differences in […]
RichC | April 18, 2006
Since taxes are finished, I finally had a few minutes to tinker with Apple Computer’s beta software called ‘Bootcamp.’ It worked like a charm … with the only glitch being my lack of planning in sizing the Windows NTFS partition bigger than the default size. Oh well, I’ve been considering an external harddrive linked to […]
RichC | April 17, 2006
I’ll state it bluntly … “I hate paying taxes.” (but suspect I’m not alone) In an attempt to feel a little better, I’ve noticed that taxes in the US are not as drastic as many European countries and on par with the Japanese. Swedish nationals for example pay over 50% of their earning in taxes […]
RichC | April 16, 2006
The weather here in Cincinnati has take a sudden switch to summer this past week as both the temperature and humidity are as if it were July or August. As I left the VA Hospital complex in Dayton, Ohio I decided to drive the slowly through the cemetery and take the long way back to […]
RichC | April 15, 2006
Because April 15th falls on a Saturday this year, your taxes aren’t officially due until April 17th — Monday. You still have a day. “The tax Federal tax return filing deadline for Tax Year 2005 is Monday, April 17, 2006. (Residents of the District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont […]
RichC | April 14, 2006
Our area will celebrate Earth Day (April 22, 2006) downtown at Sawyers Point from 1 PM until dark. It will be an enjoyable time and a ‘less’ crowded family oriented atomsphere … with music at 6:45PM from The Knack. Check you calendars and consider spending the afternoon in downtown Cincinnati. People who care about our […]
RichC | April 14, 2006
The long awaited Google Calendar was announced today and so I thought would give it a whirl. (sort of ho-hum) I’m not sure what I was expecting, but its just another place to place and share appointments and schedules. Obviously I’m going to need to tinker with it a bit longer, but so far I […]
RichC | April 13, 2006
For those of us using the Firefox browser, there is an update available that should fix a couple issues, especially a security flaw. For those of you still using Internet Explorer, you might want to consider giving Firefox a test drive; I really like it on the PC. (Safari seems to still run faster on […]
RichC | April 13, 2006
Here’s a winner for all those teens wanting cell phones. (better link)Sprint Nextel introduced a wireless service to help parents find their children. The locator device uses a mapping system that is accurate to a radius of 2 to 100 yards. This could provide and interesting conversation when parents and teens discuss the evening events? […]
RichC | April 13, 2006
Violence with an uncomfortable reminder once again erupts in recovering Cincinnati. Just when residents seemed to be working together to mend the real and perceived problems in this racially sensitive city gunfire is heard on the steps of city hall (actually record ‘in’ city hall). Citizens, neighborhoods, city hall and the police department have all […]
RichC | April 11, 2006
The EIA (Energy Information Administration) released estimates for summer fuel pricing this morning and its not good if you are a summer driver of either gasoline or diesel vehicles. (see chart below) According the the EIA release, “continued steady world oil demand growth, combined with only modest increases in world spare oil production capacity and […]
RichC | April 11, 2006
While on the theme of hybrid vehicles, one would be remiss if not to comment on the segment leading, and third-generation improving Toyota Prius. According to British reporters at Auto Express, Toyota is to build the first production car capable of returning more than 110mpg (imperial gallons = 94mpg US gallons). In Europe the competition […]
RichC | April 10, 2006
All hybrid vehicles are green … right? — Obviously not … but that doesn’t stop marketeers from trying to make ‘hay’ by building and selling a hybrid vehicles that aren’t exactly green. The truth is that some hybrid vehicles are going to leave a ‘less than desirable’ footprint on our society and give a black-eye […]
RichC | April 8, 2006
John Neff and Chris Paukert talked at length today on their podcast about a 2003 Volkswagen Jetta TDI (diesel) vegetable oil conversion. (See Autoblog Podcast) John met with the owners in Lorain Ohio and spent some time checking out their vehicle. The two brothers, Chuck and Tom Norton, had their car converted to run on […]
RichC | April 7, 2006
I spoke to soon in my complementary post in regard to Washington DC and our elected senators last night. Today the idea of a compromise seems to have disappeared and stonewalling is coming from both parties. So much for believing there was some sanity in Washington. WASHINGTON, April 7 (Reuters) U.S. senators failed on Friday […]
RichC | April 7, 2006
Dealing with illegal immigration reform in Washington while humanely dealing with the 11+ million Central American and Mexican people in the United States is a very challenging situation. First dealing with those who are here illegally by force is impossible; we need a better solution. Second if we don’t have border security, no matter who […]
RichC | April 6, 2006
Today’s blog post is a little off the wall, but considering my father retired from the elevator business after 45 ‘up and down’ years … (groan … one) I thought he would appreciate me taking this topic to the ‘next level.’ (groan … two) If you can still bear to keep reading, the idea of […]
RichC | April 5, 2006
Oh Boy … I wish I was home today to download the brand new “Boot Camp” patch for my Apple duo-core Intel-Based Macintosh computer. This patch is offered by Apple and will allow their new Macs to run the Windows XP operating system as well as most Windows software. This has been something that many […]
RichC | April 4, 2006
Are you a stock trader — or maybe a want to be stock trader? If so, you have eight weeks to build a fantasy portfolio that grows faster than anyone else in the nation and win a $110,000 Maserati (taxes paid). I really don’t want to give anyone else a heads up on this but […]
RichC | April 4, 2006
There are some very interesting rumors floating around about the Audi R8 potentially being powered by a diesel after the LeMans and Sebring performances. No doubt they know what they are doing with TDI engines and could very well be the first to bring the diesel engine to a US bound supercar. Some speculate that […]
RichC | April 3, 2006
What do you get when you drive a 1995 Dodge Ram 3500 Pickup a million miles? A phone call and a ‘self-promotion’ book. According to Autoblog, Chrysler CEO Tom LaSorda went down to his companies call center and along with a 20-year call center employee called Robert Swan to congratulate him on driving 1,000,000 miles […]
RichC | April 2, 2006
An interesting segment on the PBS program Motorweek compared the driving style of two very different drivers. One driver was Henry Kopacz, one of the program’s staff test drivers who has a heavier foot and simulated an aggressive driving technique. The other was the director of the US Department of Energy’s Clean Cities program, Dennis […]
RichC | April 1, 2006
It’s been a long week and before I run out of steam I wanted to get this clip posted for April 1. Its ‘no joke’ and amazing these guys walked away uninjured. Click the Quicktime clip to watch the ‘rollover’ from three different angles: driver-cam, spectator video and the car mounted camera. It does makes […]