tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72266535491429959452024-03-04T21:36:34.306-08:00Tiki Dreamsmondotikihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13305164300604923511noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7226653549142995945.post-90080424371828102072015-07-28T14:43:00.000-07:002015-07-28T14:43:40.067-07:00Drive a REAL Train<div>
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Have you ever wanted to drive a real train? That's what I did while volunteering on the McKinney Avenue Transit Authority (MATA) trolley line in Dallas, Texas.<br />
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MATA trolley cars are operated by full-time and volunteer motormen and women and offers free rides in Dallas' Uptown. They run several cars from the early 1900s. Two of my favorites are the huge Australian "Matilda" and "The Green Dragon", pictured here. "Rosie" and "Winnie" are the other trolleys running on the line. There is even a little speeder, "Miss Daisy", that is used when track inspection and repair is needed. </div>
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I found out about the motorman opportunity in a model railroading magazine. The ad said something like "mine is bigger than yours". Instead of just operating a model train, you could be a part of a real railroad.</div>
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I filled out a volunteer application at MATA's Website (<a href="http://www.mata.org/volunteer.shtml">http://www.mata.org/volunteer.shtml</a>) and their training coordinator contacted me with training details. He coordinated the times that were good for me with who was available to be my on-the-job instructor. I took the video training and it was absolutely awesome when my instructor let me take over the trolley controls - totally supervised in case I messed up. </div>
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mondotikihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13305164300604923511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7226653549142995945.post-14028215043110374732015-07-28T13:56:00.000-07:002015-07-28T13:56:32.357-07:00ZenFone 2 Great Features at Great PriceMy iPhone 4 was getting a bit long in the tooth, so I started looking at an upgrade. All the ads for the iPhone 6 had me heading that direction, but I just couldn't justify almost $800 with a two-year contract for the 64 GB version, and the cheaper 16 GB like my old 4S just doesn't have enough storage for all my music, videos, photos, and apps. <div>
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But then I saw the Asus ZenFone. I've liked the Asus products ever since I used their motherboards for modding computers years ago. My wife swears by her Asus tablets, unlike her Samsung tablet which she swears at.</div>
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The ZenFone 2 had the right price and features. At $299 for an unlocked phone without a contract and with 64 GB internal storage, a fast graphics processor and an Intel chip, they knew how to get my interest. Plus you can add a 64 GB microSD card to really boost your storage.</div>
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It is Android-based, so no porting of my hundreds of iPhone apps. But they did have Android versions in the Google PlayStore of most of the apps I use on a regular basis. It also came with the latest version of the operating system, which you couldn't say about most of the other Android phones. And like the new Apple campaign says, if it's not an iPhone, it's not an iPhone. (Somewhat less than stellar creativity in an ad campaign.) </div>
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But on the plus side, it wasn't an iPhone. I have grown weary of the glitches introduced by several of the iOS updates. Find my iPhone stopped working because an update stopped the GPS from working properly. This also wreaked havoc with some other location based apps including navigation and searches. And don't forget about Apple booting Google Maps off and replacing it with their own fiasco of a map app. They received plenty of free press for that one. </div>
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The inefficiency of our local Apple Store helped drive the final nail in the new iPhone coffin for me as well. I was told that no one could see me today about the problems on my iPhone and iPad, and the earliest they could make an appointment for me was in two weeks. No working you in for a couple of minutes. Sheesh.</div>
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A great price on the Android-based Moto360 smartwatch at $150, as opposed to the iWatch Sport's ugly rubber look at $400, the ZenFone 2 was a Go.</div>
mondotikihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13305164300604923511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7226653549142995945.post-10509114105305448202011-10-16T15:43:00.000-07:002011-10-16T15:43:54.368-07:00Photon Flash for iPad / iPhoneLast time I reported on a Flash browser for iPad called iSwifter. However, Photon has replaced it as the best Flash browser for iOS devices.<br />
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iSwifter continues to have problems with slow connections and timeouts. This is probably due to overloaded cloud servers.<br />
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While Photon also uses a cloud browser infrastructure, response time is short and reliable. Another great benefit is that Photon is available for the iPhone, providing full-screen viewing pleasure.<br />
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One of the websites I tested this browser on was CBS.com.I played several Flash clips from "Big Bang Theory" and "Mike & Molly". They played smooth and seamless with no buffering.<br />
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The great performance and reliability of the Photon browser really makes it the browser of choice for iOS devices.mondotikihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13305164300604923511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7226653549142995945.post-46694745519559090412011-08-14T07:24:00.001-07:002011-08-14T07:24:05.158-07:00Tablets: Flash, Storage and More<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>I have an iPad Classic, but I'm not an Apple purist. I am practical. If the iPad 3 doesn't deliver then I'm switching to a smarter tablet like the Android Transformer.<br/><br/>Why? Several reasons: flexible storage, camera quality, Apple's exorbitant charges to developers and booksellers and other Apple Big Brother rules, and Flash.<br/><br/>A disappointing iPad 2 once again had no capability for memory expansion. Many of the latest androids let you add external drives or other storage devices. Some have built-in card readers and USB support. <br/><br/>iPad 2 added cameras front and back. Yea! Both cameras have very low picture quality. Boo! While you want to keep the front camera pixels low for bandwidth, you want a higher quality rear-facing camera for better pictures. Next generation Androids typically have 5 MP or better for the rear camera.<br/><br/>Apple is really putting the screws to developers and ebook sellers like Amazon and Barnes and Nobles. This lunacy is passed on to the iPad owners. Often you'll see apps and ebooks cheaper on Android and higher on the IPad. One recent magazine I was looking to purchase was $3.99 on Android and $6.99 on iPad.<br/><br/>Don't want to surf the most popular sites and your favorite products and retailers on the web? Then iPad is probably OK for you. The problem here is the lack of Flash support on the iPad thanks to their tiff with Adobe. Yes, HTML5 offers site developers opportunities to redo everything they already did in Flash, but there still aren't that many takers. It's too expensive for them to do it. iPad users lose again. <br/><br/>One third-party Web browser that allows iPad users to surf Flash sites, play Flash games, enter Flash-enabled contests, and do other Flashy things is iSwifter. This is an essential app in any iPad user's kit. It works by feeding your site to their Flash cloud server to process and return to you. Sometimes their servers get overloaded or become unavailable and so does the site you are trying to access. It's still the best alternative on the iPad.<br/><br/>So while iPad was the first to successfully make the tablet market viable, they have a lot of catching up to do with Android. Quite frankly, they've moved so far away from their grass-roots user-centered business model and closer to the classic Microsoft-style profit above all else business model to pull it off.<br/><br/>If iPad 3 doesn't deliver, I'll get a superior product like the Asus Transformer, and keep the iPad classic around for the occasional app that's only available for them.</div>mondotikihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13305164300604923511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7226653549142995945.post-2712189287504981512011-08-08T13:54:00.001-07:002011-08-08T13:58:58.819-07:00Tablet Printing Tip<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>Tablets and smartphones are great ways to surf the web, read email, and get social. But sometimes in the wealth of viewable information you just need to simply print.<br/><br/>Printing should be easy, but until smartphone and tablet makers improve the process, you can follow this process to make it happen.<br/><br/>First download a printing app. One excellent print app for Android and iOS is Print n Share. Next, start the Print app and then open the app you want to print from like your browser or photo album.<br/><br/>Tap the print button when you find what you want to print. For example, in the iPad Safari browser you tap a rectangular box with an arrow pointing to the right at the top of the tool bar. Then tap Print. <br/><br/>The Printer Options window pops up. If the Printer selection says Print via Print n Share then tap the Print button. If it doesn't then you'll have to go back and open Print n Share and come back to your browser to try again.<br/><br/>When the "ready to print" window pops up, tap the View button. If your printer shows up in the next Print window, tap Print. Hopefully, you will get a Now Printing window and hear your printer printing. <br/><br/>That's all there is to it! If anyone finds a shorter process please let me know. <br/><br/>Have a fun day!<br/><br/><br/></div>mondotikihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13305164300604923511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7226653549142995945.post-90459513837303176102011-07-26T06:47:00.001-07:002011-07-26T06:47:03.995-07:00Choosing a Tablet<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>Are all tablets equal? The media blitz tells you they're not, and they are right.<br/><br/>So what should you look for when choosing a tablet? First you have to pick your operating system. The key players are iOS on iPad and a variety of Android OS tablets. Blackberry has been trying to break into the tablet battle as well, but they don't have enough of the market share to be considered seriously.<br/><br/>If you want the largest variety of applications (apps) for your tablet, iPad and Android are good choices. The problem that has surfaced for Android, however, is that not all of these tablets have the full Android app Market collection available. Two Androids that come out on top in this arena are the Galaxy Tab and the Asus Transformer.<br/><br/>If an app linked to your favorite retailer, restaurant, media outlet, or hobby is important to you, then you may want to go with the iPad. An iPad app is usually the first these companies launch. It may also be the only one they develop.<br/><br/>That's it for now. We'll address Flash in the next blog entry. Have a fun day!</div>mondotikihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13305164300604923511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7226653549142995945.post-80174522795190276252011-07-22T15:23:00.000-07:002011-07-22T15:26:15.540-07:00The Find<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXRtlIAS69_uqSaGQdAFxrBP4nVRTdyUBCTso94crVwHbi3yUIpImHHx7lU8v_HhCeFplUkT-angXzV5emn2XShKze90AjjhvoOL3JdFIiFQxiK8fH9g1yBbJaYrH81lVaPG5uS0UTmSPu/s1600/avionr23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXRtlIAS69_uqSaGQdAFxrBP4nVRTdyUBCTso94crVwHbi3yUIpImHHx7lU8v_HhCeFplUkT-angXzV5emn2XShKze90AjjhvoOL3JdFIiFQxiK8fH9g1yBbJaYrH81lVaPG5uS0UTmSPu/s320/avionr23.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Here is the old silver trailer we finally found. It is a 1959 Avion R-23 travel trailer! So, we have a new project (like we need another one!) We are just thrilled.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">We spotted this one in Bryson, Texas. Although it is livable right now, you have to be hooked up to electric power. All the batteries, propane and associated wiring and lines were removed before we purchased it. We'd like to put all this back in and add solar power so we can use it anywhere and in case of power outages. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">We haven't decided if we want to restore it to factory original, or just to a 1950s or early 1960s style. In any case, it makes a great little guest room right now. We found the pink flamingo at a local resale shop, so we are ready to go!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
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We caught the fever several years ago and always stop to look at or take pictures of these time capsules.<br />
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There are certainly bigger travel trailers with room elements that slide out and have ample space for big screen TVs, couches and all the extras. But they don't capture the imagination or the fascination like the silver classics that turn adults into children with the wonder and visions of far away lands. <br />
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In the 1960s and early 1970s you were just as likely to see Avions and Airstreams in Holland, Mexico, Africa and Egypt as you would on the road to Yellowstone Park. The travel clubs kept the roads (and railways and ships) hot with adventures for owners of these silver beauties.<br />
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After years of searching Airstream dealers (with new trailers that cost $40,000 and up), eBay, Craigslist and other long-distance leads that were still too pricy for us or too far away, we finally stumbled across one about five miles from home. With only $500 and a challenging escapade to get the title and license transferred to us, our 1959 Avion R-23 was ready to come home with us.</div>mondotikihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13305164300604923511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7226653549142995945.post-36561446340021805152009-09-07T17:15:00.000-07:002009-09-20T19:43:42.586-07:00Duck Becomes a Swan<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1DILyjACOn163bV0qNsYcunHyVPTjgBMNMY5GKw1xufYfPYH6w5mB2FDauK_DrIGJwDt8kYRO7eWoZFRO1lCZ3_ODoBja7zCfyic_R16FbIWVBqcTh3F_Sf2_hxQf-he1sNt88-sFvUmk/s1600-h/sinbad_lilduck_sm.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1DILyjACOn163bV0qNsYcunHyVPTjgBMNMY5GKw1xufYfPYH6w5mB2FDauK_DrIGJwDt8kYRO7eWoZFRO1lCZ3_ODoBja7zCfyic_R16FbIWVBqcTh3F_Sf2_hxQf-he1sNt88-sFvUmk/s320/sinbad_lilduck_sm.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378886895449409714" border="0" /></a><br />Just like the fairy tale, "Duckie" may actually be a swan. She's about three weeks old now, slightly bigger than an adult duck and still has her down and a few pen feathers.<br /><br />She has a fuzzy toy duck and a toy sheep she likes playing with, and she pecks at the duck when it makes duck noises. She may be cleaning the duck. Her favorite pillow is a fuzzy toy dog.<br /><br />We think Duckie is a tundra swan. Her bill, coloring, size and calls fit the profile. However, we are keeping an open mind until someone who really knows geese and swans can tell us what we have.<br /><br />We've been calling our gosling Duckie after Dr. Drake on the NCIS TV series. However, we are thinking about changing it to something like Sinbad and maybe keep Duckie as her nickname. (What do you think?)<br /><br />Duckie took her first swim a few days ago to my surprise. I took her out for a walk and filled up a shallow litter box for her to bathe in. But when I sat her in it she totally freaked out and promptly jumped out of the box.<br /><br />The next day, we went for a walk and passed the litter box I had emptied the water out of, but she pecked at it like she wanted me to fill it. While I was pouring water into the pan, she jumped into a nearby water tub from which the dogs had been drinking.<br /><br />She flipped water on herself and swam around while yaking up a storm. Then she dove under the water and swam around and around, kicking with her flipper feet.<br /><br />Duckie is getting a bit better at catching her own grasshoppers, but she prefers just pecking in the dirt and snacking on tender greens. She also loves the occasional romaine lettuce leaf.<br /><br />Since we are going through a lot of newspaper and Timothy Hay, we are checking into a diaper harness. Diaper a goose? It does sound a bit daft, but some people say it really works and makes ducks and geese ideal indoor pets. The Goose's Mother carries harnesses and diaper holders at <a href="http://www.thegoosesmother.com/id47.html">http://www.thegoosesmother.com/id47.html</a><br /><br />So, it appears I was a bit hasty when I said that ducks are not good house pets. At least to a degree. You don't want to just grab a wild duckling or gosling away from it's mother. I don't believe you can actually house break them like a dog. They also won't use a litter box like a cat (although we have a goat that did). The diaper harness is a great solution, but it does take a bit more attention than changing a litter box.<br /><br />A pet of any kind is a commitment. Ducks and geese may live up to 40 years and that is a big commitment. On the plus side, ducks and geese are supposedly allergy free and don't get diseases common in other pets.mondotikihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13305164300604923511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7226653549142995945.post-44561705441482467112009-08-25T16:14:00.000-07:002009-08-27T11:51:23.755-07:00Duck Duck Goose<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuYi14PlX6QlbU-rk3f5DuxP9sq60CUMUcI3htwwI4A6KS7hK1HSfwipUtW99uoHN8awLKPiqoIsMVZpg79sTadwjIw-38ANmsKCLTcFn6BfhS6Y5rJvz7B9-lPweyGRqnPHaR26LfC8a5/s1600-h/0825091456a_sm.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 229px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374718060040942178" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuYi14PlX6QlbU-rk3f5DuxP9sq60CUMUcI3htwwI4A6KS7hK1HSfwipUtW99uoHN8awLKPiqoIsMVZpg79sTadwjIw-38ANmsKCLTcFn6BfhS6Y5rJvz7B9-lPweyGRqnPHaR26LfC8a5/s320/0825091456a_sm.jpg" /></a><br /><div>Did you know that toes look like fat juicy grub worms, and fingers look like tasty grasshoppers? Well, they do if you're a baby goose!</div><br /><div><br />Beth brought us an orphaned gosling that she found in Fort Worth this week. First, she made sure that it wasn't just separated from it's mother before bringing it in. The gosling had a small abscess at the beak root, but the vet said that since it wasn't affecting her eating habits or activity to just leave it alone and it will take care of itself.</div><br /><div><br />We are feeding Goosie a diet of 50/50 birdseed and grit, grass, grasshoppers, and crickets. She gets really excited when we bring in the grasshoppers! However, it sure is hard catching the little buggers. Maybe a butterfly net would help?</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>We keep calling her a "she", but we really don't know for sure. How do you determine sex in a gosling? I don't guess it really matters at this point anyway. We'll just keep her well fed and happy. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>A veterinary technician told us that Goosie (formerly called Duckie) was a goose instead of a duck. She said that you can tell because the bill and feet are different. The tech has raised a lot of ducks, so she was a great person to ask.<br /><br />A baby goose is a lot like a puppy. Both require a lot of attention, they yelp (or quack) a lot at when they can't see you, and neither come house broken! Small dogs or cats make good house pets. Ducks and geese? Not so much. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>A lot of people pick one up for a pet after seeing a movie with baby chicks or ducks in it. Easter is a holiday that sells truckloads of bunnies, chicks, and ducklings. Hamsters are the big thing this season with the new <em>G4</em> movie and its fuzzy little talking spies. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Goosie was probably someone's pet, since she is so people friendly. She may have either escaped, or someone got tired of her and just let her go. Domesticated animals don't make the transition to the wild that easily and many don't survive. That's true for dogs, cats and other pets, too. It's always better to find another people home for a pet or to take it to an animal rescue group that will know what to do.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Little Goosie is happy and healthy now. She has a little cardboard scratching pad she likes to sleep on when she's not sleeping on the grass we bring in for her. Now all I have to do is find those grasshoppers that got under the bed!</div><br /><div></div>mondotikihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13305164300604923511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7226653549142995945.post-49730460671762244682009-08-15T16:26:00.000-07:002009-08-16T16:10:24.332-07:00GPS for Treasure and Fun<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsv0BnT6oe9gWQaZZ-KWO2OA9F8S787PK4Oleypaut6k6q0vuYcgN_zM2Sw3STW4GU5TzilaCBmO-xDRRjCW9GNQkK4I5nYAUh8h8P5A_Au2nHIzLGnhvdOwYGlo8dEWx4BSVunUjrg9jW/s1600-h/oregon400t.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370646435684500130" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsv0BnT6oe9gWQaZZ-KWO2OA9F8S787PK4Oleypaut6k6q0vuYcgN_zM2Sw3STW4GU5TzilaCBmO-xDRRjCW9GNQkK4I5nYAUh8h8P5A_Au2nHIzLGnhvdOwYGlo8dEWx4BSVunUjrg9jW/s320/oregon400t.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><p>If you want to add an extra dimension of fun to your travels or everyday routine, try a little GPS treasure hunting, or geocaching. When you find a cache, you take an item, leave an item, and sign the cache's logbook. There are caches close to just about everyone and the whole family can get involved.<br /><br />The two things you need for a successful search are a GPS and cache coordinates. The main website for finding coordinates and clues for caches nearby and all over the world is Geocaching.com (<a href="http://www.geocaching.com/">http://www.geocaching.com/</a>). You can make a printout of the cache information and maps to take with you in your adventure. </p></div><div></div><div>If you don't want to use printouts but still want to play, you can get a GPS that handles paperless geocaching. One excellent example is the Garmin Oregon 400t (pictured here). The Oregon is my favorite GPS yet for geocaching. It comes preloaded with topographic maps for all of the United States or Europe. Road maps can be accessed with an optional micro-sd card. The newer Garmin 550t has the added benefit of a 3.2 megapixel camera. (<a href="https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=145">https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=145</a>)</div><div></div><div></div><div><p>The Oregon is a high-end GPS, but caches can be found with a GPS that costs under $100. I started my adventures with a GPS utility on a Pocket PC. On the low end, I used a Garmin Etrex Legend. If you have a GPS-enabled phone, you may already have what you need to start your adventure. Groundspeak even has a new iPhone geocaching application.</p></div><div></div><div></div><div><p>On a recent trip to Baltimore, I decided to see if there was a cache I could pick up nearby. The cache had to be within walking distance, since I didn't have a car. I popped over to Geocaching.com, entered my hotel's address, and downloaded the results directly to my Oregon. The closest coordinates took my wife and I a few blocks over to the Inner Harbor where we found a big cache. </p></div><div></div><div></div><div><p>What did we find? A Hello Kitty watch for my wife and a fallen soldier memorial trackable tag (Pfc. Sam W. Huff) for me. There were probably about 100 items, but we liked these the best. We left some Colombian coffee, a Disney Hero card, and an Eagles Football card.</p></div><div></div><div></div><div><p>Now, it's your turn to go over to Geocaching.com and start your adventure. Who knows what you will find!</p></div>mondotikihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13305164300604923511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7226653549142995945.post-89433417264965682482009-08-10T04:29:00.000-07:002009-08-10T07:56:43.490-07:00X-Prize Goal Over 100 MPG<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCq8rDFRYFmDv_jjfjePX4fsZoKiDGEcvPOJhvMy1ZQ8jMjMFQAm-hUf0DVPQxQWm3lQhchwqpM5KQ1t6DMaUOt2Ozt2ugpXCAuiyKLgHnKA6Ns9zOKhfJGPdBwAZNLECeHPfTlKBWz1B9/s1600-h/enertia_1.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 300px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 193px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368296327102580706" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCq8rDFRYFmDv_jjfjePX4fsZoKiDGEcvPOJhvMy1ZQ8jMjMFQAm-hUf0DVPQxQWm3lQhchwqpM5KQ1t6DMaUOt2Ozt2ugpXCAuiyKLgHnKA6Ns9zOKhfJGPdBwAZNLECeHPfTlKBWz1B9/s320/enertia_1.jpg" /></a><br /><br />Automakers say they are struggling to get the improved gas mileage the government demands. If this is true, how can there be 90 teams that say their production designs will get over 100 mpg?<br /><br />Visit any car dealership in 2009 and salesmen brag about how many cars they have that get over 20 mpg. Some models may even get gas mileage in the 30s. <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">Ooh</span>, wow.<br /><br />My 2002 PT Cruiser gets over 30 mpg and a Ford Escort Sport I had got over 40 mpg over 10 years ago. So, car makers haven't been able to make any improvements and have even gone backwards in the last 7 years?<br /><br />The big automakers are struggling to grasp the idea of an electric car because the concept is so new. Well, no it isn't. I remember seeing an electric car at a fair in the 1960s called the Mars III. It was about the size of a Corolla with an electric motor under the hood and a bunch of lead batteries in the trunk. Almost 50 years later and there hasn't been very much progress for electric production cars. Was it just technology issues or kickbacks to the automakers from the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">petroleum</span> industry that hampered the progress?<br /><br />Some independent companies have come up with production electric cars. However, most of these are really meant for short hops away from the house charging plug, making them not very practical for most of us, especially in Texas. I have a 160 mile round trip just for work each day.<br /><br />Size is another issue. One way to boost <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">gas</span> mileage or the electric <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">equivalent</span> is to create little cracker boxes like the Smart car. You can almost get two small people in one of these and maybe a couple of bags of groceries.<br /><br />Hybrids like the Honda <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-error">InSite</span> and the Toyota <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-error">Prius</span> have made the most headway. However, the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" class="blsp-spelling-error">Prius</span> only uses electric when it is in city style driving. That's good from an urban <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_7" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">pollution</span> point of view when you have a lot of idling or low speed driving. However, most of my driving is on the highway, so there is very little benefit for commuters like me.<br /><br />The hybrids and <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_8" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">pseudo</span>-hybrids still only get you mileage in the 40s, so there has to be a better solution. The Progressive Automobile X-Prize organizers and participants agree.<br /><br />While many of the teams competing in the X-Prize have concentrated on dinky vehicles like the Smart car or smaller, others have gone for a futuristic design. The latter are pretty exciting, but what really caught my eye was one participant that uses a full-size 1960s car design.<br /><br /><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_9" class="blsp-spelling-error">Enertia</span> Motors' <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_10" class="blsp-spelling-error">biodiesel</span> electric entry has a 1960s <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_11" class="blsp-spelling-error">Avanti</span> (see picture above) with a <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_12" class="blsp-spelling-error">Kabota</span> diesel engine and an electric charging system. The car is classic and big enough for real people. But this is where it gets interesting. Their entry is designed to get 100 miles on a single charge and then go over 100 mpg on <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_13" class="blsp-spelling-error">biodiesel</span> or diesel you get at the pump. Now you are talking practical green.<br /><br />All of the entrants have been tasked with achieving over 100 mpg <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_14" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">equivalent</span> in whatever power they choose. They also have been told that their design must be able to go into mass production to even compete.<br /><br />Some other full-size cars include the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_15" class="blsp-spelling-error">Avion</span>, the Tesla Roadster, and the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_16" class="blsp-spelling-error">Poulsen</span> Hybrid. The X-Prize winner will be announced in 2010, but you can check out these and other innovative 100+ mpg car designs at <a href="http://www.progressiveautoxprize.org/">http://www.progressiveautoxprize.org/</a>. (Photo by Enertia Motors)mondotikihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13305164300604923511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7226653549142995945.post-547049663980051152009-08-08T17:58:00.000-07:002009-08-11T20:07:26.134-07:00Baltimore<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1MOOZQjI0VApw-QWo0wiFs-zyvwo2ge7RgmsgEECfjX-rbV1Q5x9fhyphenhyphenb9_URqFDrvnYAtwkOk4EQdScHcQBnmsLzwz7-No2s8Zrdw_XO6Yt7LoMTFIBbDOsxYMuXcuTLXQc5ugFI26WWi/s1600-h/P6240033.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367771956497412994" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1MOOZQjI0VApw-QWo0wiFs-zyvwo2ge7RgmsgEECfjX-rbV1Q5x9fhyphenhyphenb9_URqFDrvnYAtwkOk4EQdScHcQBnmsLzwz7-No2s8Zrdw_XO6Yt7LoMTFIBbDOsxYMuXcuTLXQc5ugFI26WWi/s320/P6240033.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div>I was actually hoping for a conference in Orlando (Micky Mouse and pixie dust) when I got the news that we were going to Baltimore. So, what's to do in Baltimore? Well, actually there was quite a bit.</div><br /><div></div><div>For one thing, we were lucky enough to have the conference in a hotel on the inner harbor just in time to board two tall sailing ships in the visiting ships program. One was a Brazilian ship and the other had an all-girl crew. Is that great or what?</div><div></div><div><p>The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Cisne</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Branco</span>, or "White Swan", was a beautiful ship with a fun crew. They had a great band that played festive music and kept everyone happy. </p></div><div></div><div></div><div>The Unicorn was part of the Sisters Under Sail program and crewed by all young women. The program helps girls learn teamwork, responsibility, self-reliance and improve self-esteem. <a href="http://www.tallshipunicorn.com/index.html">http://www.tallshipunicorn.com/index.html</a></div><div></div><div></div><div><p>A third tall ship, the USS Constellation, is a permanent fixture of Baltimore and gives you the feel of boarding a ship from the 1800s with a crew in period sailor uniforms. You feel the ship move and the boards creak. You may even get to feel what it was like to be part of the crew - load a cannon, pull the cord and ***BOOM***. <a href="http://www.constellation.org/welcome_vid.html">http://www.constellation.org/welcome_vid.html</a></p></div><div></div><div></div><div>Aside from ships, there was plenty of crabs and other seafood. Another highlight were singing fudge men at the Fudge Factory. (Maybe they were the Fudge Man Group?) But more on this another time! (Photo by Mike <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Sessums</span>)</div><div></div>mondotikihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13305164300604923511noreply@blogger.com0