I just bought a new computer - well, a month ago, August 18, 2007. It was 3 days before my birthday which is as good an excuse as any.

The first thing you notice about this new machine is that when you press the power button, it is instantly 'On'; there is no waiting for things to rev up; it is ready to go. It is perfectly soundless; you hear absolutely nothing; the only way you can tell that it is on is by the light on the button and that both screens, both 'desktops', are lit up. There is no mouse but one screen is a 'touch screen' so you just tap a selection with the tip of your finger and things happen. It also has a 'joy stick' that really gets things going. If you move the stick to 'R' then the main screen in front of you shows an 'R' with a circle around it while the touch screen suddenly displays a wide-angle view of everything in back of you. It also has a footpad. When you press it lightly, you and the entire system move backwards, still perfectly silent. You hear nothing while you watch the action on the screen. It is surreal; if you didn't see it with your own eyes, you wouldn't know anything was happening.

One observation of this phenomenon occurred when I took it to the local shop for the requisite physical. I watched from the waiting room as the techs checked it out. They were obviously both enthralled and startled by this new technology; not quite knowing what to make of it. One tech was standing adjacent to the computer but facing away from it as the other tech sat at the console and tentatively moved the joystick and footpad. Silently the system began to move as the other tech leaped into the air and exclaimed what I can't repeat here but ending with “… I didn't hear it!?!”.

That is because there was no engine running. At that speed, it was operating entirely on its battery pack, not the 12 volt battery under the hood, but a package of 28 batteries (aka: 'cells'), 7.2 volts each or 201.6 volts total, under the rear cargo area. Only when you firmly press the accelerator does the engine cut in and power the vehicle (and charge the battery pack). The battery pack is also charged by the brakes and as you coast or decelerate. That is efficiency. The engine does not idle; it is either on or off. When you stop at a light it is off before you even get there. That is economical. The car comes with a 3 year warranty, but the battery pack comes with a 10 year warranty. That is generous. I am in love.

My beloved classic '92 Caddy Deville that we had bought 4+ years ago in Yucca Valley was indicating a need for some expensive work. I was at that point where you have to decide whether to repair it or to trade it in. I definitely did not think that it could survive another 3000 mile trip, or at least I did not want to take the chance. That is why I had rented a car the last two trips. However, Quicken was telling me that the annual trip was in fact a major expense, regardless. The increasing price of fuel was simply locking that reality in, whether by rental or by Caddy - and the lovely old lady did tend to gulp it down. Add in my ever present underlying sense of guilt and shame for doing my part to worsen our increasingly sensitive environment.

The Green Car

Almost all of the vehicles I have owned in the past have been guzzlers and by their very nature heavy polluters. It was time to get serious about a vehicle with good mileage and minimal impact on global warming. Comfort and luxury would have to take second place, as would the need for space to carry lumber and plywood. I had a rack on top of the Caddy for that and my Dodge Ramvan permanently parked in Joshua Tree had been purchased for that purpose. However, both consumed megabucks at the gas pump. It would be cheaper to pay the lumber company for the occasional delivery.

I began with Consumer Reports' 10 Top Picks 2007. I zeroed in on their top 'Green' car right away, the Toyota Prius Hybrid. I had assumed that these vehicles would be extraordinarily expensive so I was surprised at how reasonable the price was, especially this time of year when they need to make room for the 2008s. I read other reviews online, both professional and end-user, and they all raved about it. The only pseudo-negative comment was that Toyota had overstated the projected mileage as being between 43 and 69 MPG depending on conditions. CR said that the Prius averaged 44 MPG in their tests. I could live with that.

I then submitted a request for bids online through Yahoo Auto. I received a response from McGee Toyota in Hanover and Falmouth Toyota in Bourne. I emailed back and forth between the two over the next 3 days until they both hit the same bottom price. They were great to deal with; no pressure, just the facts. What made the difference was something I had not expected, the “Documentation Fee”. McGee required $289 while Falmouth required $65. I went with Falmouth. Their being nearby was also nice. I purchased the car the following morning and we drove it home that evening.

My Dodge averaged 11.44 MPG this year. A fill-up of its 30 gallon tank was about $75 in California, though this included considerable idle time.
My Caddy averaged 20.11 MPG this year. A fill-up of its 20 gallon tank was about $50 here on the Cape.
My Prius averaged 47.74 MPG. A fill-up of its 11.9 gallon tank was $28.19 with 1.3 gallons still in the tank.

It was uncanny going for over a month before needing a fill-up of that tiny tank. Now, knowing the above figures, I am realizing that the next time the gas 'gauge' beeps and blinks at me, I can still go another 50 miles. (Don't worry; I have a AAA card.)

The purpose of having the van in California instead of a smaller more economical car has been to haul supplies, serve as an extra bedroom, store stuff, house an inverter for charging everything that needs charging, and even to serve as a solid but movable anchor for winching and/or dragging big rocks around. Since the charging of various gadgets and lamps uses up the van's battery, it has to be run fairly often just to charge itself. Thus it is getting zero MPG while still burning fuel which contributes to the low MPG mentioned above.

On our last visit we traveled about 3100 miles while in California. Let's say that the van really gets 15 MPG. That's 207 gallons of gas. Over the same distance the Prius would consume about 65 gallons. At $3 per gallon, that is a savings of $426. According to iGoogle's 'Local Gas Prices', gas is about 22 cents more per gallon there then it is here on the Cape. It will be good having the Prius to get around and go places. Oh BTW, it is a hatchback so it will carry lumber 8 feet comfortably. Actually longer with the red flag stapled to the rear end.

Newsflash

I guess it is safe to say that I am fairly computer literate and wise in the ways of online matters, avoiding dubious web sites and deleting questionable emails that purport to represent a reputable institution. I have seen many pretending to represent various banks, Paypal, Ameritrade, etc. - the so-called phishing scams. They simply do not get by me and I wonder at the fools that get sucked into these scams.

Today I received an email claiming to be from the US Department Of Justice Victim Notification System saying that I had been victimized and that I should click on the included link - right, they think I would fall for that! We don't click on included links because it is probably a hoax and will make bad things happen to good people. Before deleting it I decided to go through a back door and just check it out. I copied some relevant info from the email and pasted it into a Google search box to see what would turn up.

Well, guess what! The email was legit and I am indeed a victim. In 2005, I had donated to the Katrina relief fund online through The Salvation Army. Turns out it was not The Salvation Army. It was Bartholomew Stephens and Steven Anyanwu Stephens, two low-lifes who had set up an elaborate fraud with a phony web site containing a heartfelt message and a link to PayPal. Thank God they used Paypal. Not only does Paypal protect my identity when making purchases, but they also watch out for this kind of thing. Paypal turned them in and the FBI put them away, though by then they had accumulated $48,000 through that website.

Copyright © 2007, Van Blakeman