http://www.pleonast.com/user/joeduren recent pleonast.com entries by user joeduren en-us http://www.pleonast.com/user/joeduren?l=5&entryID=593155 This has got to be one of the worst engineered cars I've ever seen.........and it's mine all mine. Twelve hours spent on this.......I fixed Joanna's in 45 min earlier this year. That's pretty much what I did all of last weekend. I can't say that I enjoyed much of this. 2008-10-30 http://www.pleonast.com/user/joeduren?l=5&entryID=585472 2008-10-09 http://www.pleonast.com/user/joeduren?l=5&entryID=579509 So it's probably about time for a new post. As everyone knows I had an accident at work. I was throwing away a piece of glass in the dumpster and somehow it split, and half of it came down on my forearm, close to where your elbow bends. It was about a 4 inch gash all they way to the bone. Lot's of blood.....you know, the typical gash symptoms. I was rushed to the ER and had surgery right away. The "right away" part was awesome. I didn't even have to check in or do the usual 4 hour wait most people experience. There were even doctors in surgery with other people who stopped their surgeries to fix me up. Now thats what I call service! There were three surgeons who worked on my arm. One for the nerves, one for the artery and veins and one for muscles. The doctor thinks I won't have feeling in my middle finger again, but that I should regain use of my hand fully. I am getting back a little movement in my index finger which is exciting. The rest of my hand works fine e... 2008-09-24 http://www.pleonast.com/user/joeduren?l=5&entryID=557400 Well here's the fruit of our labor from the garden this year......yup that's it. Can anyone guess what it is. ok, ok. I'm sure your all exausted from thinking about this but I'll give a hint. It is a Fruit!.! Ok I'll tell ya....It's a watermelon, and that's all that grew this year.....sad. yes. 2008-08-01 http://www.pleonast.com/user/joeduren?l=5&entryID=553867 Whenever there's a hurricane in the vicinity of texas, I tend to watch it real close because that's an interest of mine. Today I was watching the radar and was thinking about this huge swirling ball of chaos and how amazing it is that it forms from nothing, into this completely organized wrecking ball of a machine, and then fizzles out into nothing again. Just the tip of the iceberg of God's amazing power. Very awesome. 2008-07-23 http://www.pleonast.com/user/joeduren?l=5&entryID=550817 So who wants to buy me some Bill Cosby Tickets........come on, don't be shy....you know you want to. 2008-07-15 http://www.pleonast.com/user/joeduren?l=5&entryID=549738 So I filed up my Ford Probe first on June 5th. My tank is empty on July 12th. Minus our 5 day vacation and that is 4 weeks and 5 days. I was hoping for 5 weeks but I know I'll get it on my next run. I drove 548 miles on 13.3 gallons. That equalls 41.2 miles per gallon. On average I drive 18 to 20 miles a day. The EPA rating for my car is 23/30mpg. I always would get around 27mpg. So, from my previous best of 27 to 41 is a mpg increase of 34.5% Since this is my first time doing this it has been a learning process. I really believe I can hit 45+ on my next tank. That is not too far short from a Toyota Pruis. Here are some of my techniques that I use. Driving like this actually keeps you very focused on what your doing and always being aware of what's going on around you. Coast in neutral down hills Try and time lights so you don't have to use your brakes Take turns a little faster so you don't use your brakes Drive 55 or under on the highway ... 2008-07-12 http://www.pleonast.com/user/joeduren?l=5&entryID=548176 So last night I decided that it was time for the full beard to retire itself in the shadows of memory lane. Before the shave I decided to shave just one side. Now......I have done this before to see if Shannon would notice, but never before has she noticed. This time though it was the full beard and then nothing on the other. You get the picture. I thought that the contrast was super obvious. So I sit down in the living room with shannon and watch tv a little......nothing.......then we play a board game together for an hour and she's right next to me ........still nothing.......3 hours later I say...."Do you notice anything strange?" She started laughing so hard she cried. She couldn't believe that she didn't notice. I should have took a picture but didn't think about it. 2008-07-08 http://www.pleonast.com/user/joeduren?l=5&entryID=544615 Banana plant a year ago Banana plant now I'm still hoping for some Bananas this year 2008-06-28 http://www.pleonast.com/user/joeduren?l=5&entryID=543597 Well I can't hide my excitement anymore. The final results of my first tank of gas while hypermiling are not in yet due to the gas lasting way longer than I thought. So......if you want to save some serious mooola then this definitly works. I do have some early estimates at half of a tank.........Yeah thats right, you heard right....half a tank (6.5 gal) in three weeks, 315 miles. If things hold up I'll be getting around 40 -50 miles per gallon in the same car that has an EPA rating of 26 mpg on the highway. Usually I get 3 weeks in a FULL tank. So, does this mean I will now get 6 weeks on a tank of gas........I hope so. Here's my car's statistics from a MPG calculator : "Your car is getting 46.2 miles per gallon. On the average you use 0.31 gallons per day. At that rate of consumption you will burn 113 gallons per year at a cost of $434.96 per year. In addition, that produces 2187 pounds of CO2 in one year" So......moral of the story... 2008-06-26