January 24, 2006
My future in Grease
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| The future home of a grease car system? You betcha! |
I did something very strange this week. I bought a car. Via e-mail.
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| Complete with Pump Düse |
I have been searching for a Jetta Wagon TDi for about 8 months now. A few slipped through my fingers as they usually were sold before dealerships even listed them in the paper. I even tried (unsuccesfully) to haggle with a local dealer over a diesel Golf (not exactly what I wanted, and he wouldn't budge on the price). I guess I get the last laugh -- this Jetta is totally decked out with everything from a sun roof to heated leather seats to a mad crazy stereo. And, in the spring, I will modify it to run on used vegetable oil...
After doing enough environmental damage driving my pickup back and forth to work every day, I figured I should sacrifice some of my paycheck for a little environmental kindness. Why not a Prius or a Civic or something? Simple: no standard transmission. The '05 model was the last year that Honda made a civic with 5-speed (and they had super weak motors), the Prius never came with a standard. I definitely dig the hybrid deal, don't get me wrong. Especially when considering how much particulate the TDi tosses into the air. But grease is better, eliminates reliance on non-renewable resources (yes, you can argue that, if every car on the planet were a grease car, we wouldn't be able to grow enough vegetables to produce enough grease to keep them going), and, heck, is just a fun car.
sa-weeeeet! ;-)
Posted by: kaitl on January 24, 2006 07:56 PMWhat about brewing or buying biodiesel rather than converting the car to run on raw grease? That way a) the car doesn't have to be modified, b) you can blend biodiesel/dinodiesel at a whim, c) you can still have fun by brewing potentially hazardous liquids in your back yard! Plus, when you're in the DC area you can fill up with 100% biodiesel at Ft. Myer.
Posted by: Dan on January 24, 2006 08:04 PMCool! Glad to see another grease car in the Outing amoung the outing club alumni. I'm on my third TDI.. but agree it might be fun to try making or buying bio diesel.. I'd hate to see that car get greasy!
www.protectourtrees.com/car/golf
--later,
Mark
Perhaps drive it to OTR this fall?
It's a beautiful car and so very cool that you will make it run on grease. jeff used to work with a guy who had a grease car, it sounds like the way to go. Me, I think someday I will try to get a hybrid, as I love civics and can't drive stick.
Posted by: erin on January 25, 2006 09:17 PMhttp://stcwa.org.au/journal/220106/1138243260_27714.html
Posted by: brad on February 2, 2006 08:41 PMPost a comment
Further back...
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Previous Trips...
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Hiking Mount Whitney, 2007 
Spring Break in West Virginia, 2005
New Year's in Paris, 2003-2004
Coming to America, 2003
Protesting in Berlin, 2003
Prague Bier-Tour, 2002
Dresden, 2002
Recent Reading
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Stealing the Network
I first bumped into the Stealing the Network series when reading the exploits of Joe Grand, one of the book's many hacker authors.
The 'Stealing the ...' series of books follows a rather disparate group of computer hackers as they help a former NSA spook (many of them unwittingly) gather the money he needs to retire.
The stories themselves are not fantastic fiction. The writing is uneven and choppy, the characters are stereotypical and not very well thought-out. What is fascinating about this book series is the technical accuracy of the exploits (at some points *too* accurate, with screen shots and step-by-step instructions).
It's a great series to read if you're a system administrator, or just getting into the wonderful field of computer security.
Rated 
by reid
on March 06, 2011
by reid
on March 06, 2011
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Close to the Machine
Ellen Ullman is one of those authors that somehow avoided my radar. Until now...
Close to the Machine is less a book than a collection of loosely related personal anecdotes from Ellen's time as a very rare thing -- a successful female bisexual independent computer programming consultant.
In the course of her work and relationship life, she learns hard lessons about programming, running a business, being lonely, and loving the wrong people. I found it particularly poignant being a crypto-nerd with difficult times in relationships and a more-or-less NDA'd, secret work life.
This book is a must-read for anyone into running their own business, programming, or anyone dating a person that is a business-a-holic or programmer.
Rated 
by reid
on November 23, 2009
by reid
on November 23, 2009
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The Long Trip Home
I had the joy of dining with the author in Florida. We went to a little Brazilian BBQ where he spoke with our waitstaff in (what I can only assume was) flawless Portugese.
Brian Wyllie spent 1969-1971 living in Brazil working for the Peace Corps. His recent book outlines his trip back to the United States via Bolivia, Peru, and the Carribean chain, by way of bus, train, and sailboat. The format comes spattered with observations from the modern day, and makes me think, "this must be what John McPhee's journal looks like."
The trip sounded like a fantastic one, but I was left wanting more detail...where did the gun (being snuck through customs in a variety of places, no doubt) come from? And how did Geneve's hair smell? Alas, we'll have to wait for another book to find the answers.
Rated by reid
on April 16, 2009
by reid
on April 16, 2009
are you going to get the golden retriever/black lab and the 2.3 kids to go along with it?
Posted by: henry on January 24, 2006 07:34 PM