“These boys take a regular course of study and are trained by men….”
“… women are very crazy that way.”
Author: Jonathan Blundell
I'm a husband, father of three, blogger, podcaster, author and media geek who is hoping to live a simple life and follow The Way.
Going green
Found several examples of folks getting creative with green energy sources for transportation today (mostly thanks to the MAKE blog).
Andrew, a 17 year old in Michigan has already constructing two EV (electric vehicle) cars.
He’s converted a 1988 Mazda B2200 to electric, as well as his current project, a 1992 Toyota Tercel. He get a top speed of 55 mph out of the Mazda and can get around 40 miles out of a charge. He’s hoping to get closer to 80 mph on the Tercel. You can read more about the projects on his blog.
Another cool project is the SUNN vehicle that was designed and built a guy and several high school students in Maine as a hobby project but is now also available through the SUNN Solar Electric Kit. The car can be charged with solar panels or being plugged in directly to a wall and gets an average of 20 miles per charge. The top speed is 20-25 mph. There’s even a cool 14 min video on YouTube showing the car in action during the day and at night.
Finally, there’s the steam powered micro-car and motorbike (moped).
I also read last week about a community that told their 15 year olds they couldn’t get a driver’s license until they were able to create a vehicle that runs on something other than oil/gas based products. So they built a pickup truck that runs on burning mesquite wood.
I wonder, if we keep putting our heads together like this, what will we discover in the next 5 years? What if the next big thing in transportation is steam powered vehicles, or maybe a waste powered vehicle? What waste product can you think of would be better suited for powering the vehicles of the future?
Whether is for environmental or economical reasons, I think we’re all beginning to agree, something must be done to reduce our dependence on foreign oil.
Coyote Ridge HOA
We had an HOA meeting tonight. Interesting, not super informative but I don’t know what else they would have told us. Anyways we went over some of the budget in a basic spreadsheet format. Thought I’d put some nice images to them because after all – it’s all about the presentation and clarity.
Coyote Ridge HOA 2007-2008 Budget
So there you have it. As you can see landscaping and General and Admin budgets are the largest parts of the budget for sure in 2007. The 2008 budget gives it primarily to General and Admin – 42.27%.
$9,600 of that goes to the Professional Management Firm (aka Premier Communities) in 2008, up from $8,400 in 2007.
Makes the numbers a lot more interesting when you throw those pretty pictures in doesn’t it?
Biblically fit
Just how far and seriously are you going to take your faith?
My weight, eating habits are one area I keep falling down on. Over the last 3 years I’ve lost close to 30 lbs., but I still have a good 20 lbs to go and I’m still stuck in the same rut/spot.
But maybe this will help inspire me… from Tripp Fuller’s Doctor
“it’s hard to consume 2000 more calories than you need and large amounts of meat that took even more energy to produce when our sisters and brothers in Christ are starving around the world.â€
I missed the gym on Saturday and yesterday due to other things on my schedule – better do everything I can to get back to the gym tonight – and better get me a new workout strap for my Zune so I have some motivation while I’m working out.
Maybe I should put the photo that really kicked start my weight loss a few years back on my Zune as well. Let me tell you – I was a fatty McFatty.
I don’t have that photo online yet – but here’s a photo just a few months before the other one was taken:
Quote(s) of the day
“So often we see the victor as the one who does violating the best and God has become the victor by joining the victims.”
– Tripp Fuller Homebrewed Podcast
“And the event, the tour (website) is deepshift.org and don’t forget the f.”
A different sort of evening
Had a fun evening with my life and friend Eric Lidji tonight.
Laurie picked me up from work today and we started the evening off with an enjoyable time shopping at Gap Body. It definitely wasn’t because of what they sell at Gap Body – but because of who I was with.
After we left, we browsed several other shops in the Mockingbird Station area before heading to Light Fantastic.
I remember going to Light Fantastic several times with my dad when I was growing up and he owned his own electrical business. He would go there from time to time to pick up lights and chandeliers for his customers. This time it was window shopping for us – or at least what we might like in the somewhere distant future.
After light shopping we made a visit to World Market where Laurie grabbed a couple different bottles of wine (both apple flavored) and I grabbed a “Make Your Own Six Pack” of various beers. A bottle of Shiner Black Lager, a couple different bottles of St. Arnolds and two brands I was unfamiliar with.
After our shopping trip we headed over to Cafe Brazil (an old favorite of mine – and one of the places Laurie and I went to on our first date) and we met up with Eric who was in town from Alaska for his sister’s Bat Mitzvah.
Eric and I worked together for more than a year at the Waxahachie paper.
Always enjoy conversations with Eric, either in person or now usually via the Interweb. He has great insight on things and great perspectives.
We talked national and local (Ellis County) politics, the newspaper business, the oil business (which he now covers in Alaska) faith and general catching up.
It was a great time only made better by the Chicken Chipotle Enchiladas I had for dinner.
And as the conversation wound down, Laurie and I headed back to Red Oak for a quiet wrap up to the evening.
Tomorrow – we meet with the Home Owners Association to figure out what they’re doing with all the money they get in our neighborhood. Should make for another interesting evening.