Geek Habitat

Reposted from Twitter because I’m too pissed off to want to blog it –

* Sigh. The tire we had patched last saturday (and left a camping trip early TO patch)? It’s FLAT.

* There’s a RAZOR BLADE in my tire. I am beginning to think I need to check behind and under my car anytime I park it. F*ck

* I drive a hybrid and it’s stuff like this that makes me get sooo paranoid. I have had a DOZEN tire punctures but this is the 1st RZR BLADE:(

My brother and I left our folks’ house after visiting with them this evening to a genuine “WTF?” moment as we caught sight of both of our vehicles. Thomas’ Sonic Blue Mustang looked like a bucket of especially watery red slime had been thrown over it repeatedly, and mine looked like it’d been in a wind tunnel test involving mud with a high water content. With the Ford Escape Hybrid, I at least have a rear window washer and wiper so I didn’t have to resort to washing it off before I could leave the folks’ driveway.

Reposted from jurvetson’s Flickr photostream (check out his blog, too!) –

jurvetson released this photo under CC 2.0 Attribution.

My folks just turned me on to a new reality show (now in its second season) called “Living With Ed” that follows Ed Begley Jr. and his wife and their “green”/energy independence lifestyle, and their energy audits of their fellow Hollywood stars. I haven’t seen the show yet, but I love the concept and think it’s terrific that people are putting their money where their mouths are. It’s one thing for a star or politician to show up to some events in a Toyota Prius or mention s/he drives a Prius; it’s another for them to improve their energy and water usage, etc. by actually “going green”. And have no doubt about it, he is definitely going green — he generates so much power through solar and wind that he actually resells it back to the public utility.

This isn’t a gloat, just an observation–
The downside of owning a hybrid gasoline-electric vehicle? When the gas prices continually rise, it’s especially jarring because you only refuel once a month (if that, depending on your commute), which means the price you last paid, and the price you’re paying today, are often quite far removed from one another.

…when I tell Justin that, based on how people drive around here, I want to get some of that reflective “STAY BACK 200 FEET” tape for the rear liftgate window of my Ford Escape Hybrid, coupled with a so-big-as-to-be-gaudy radioactive symbol. I’m tired of being a poster-child for hybrid drivers locally, and would rather people just stay the hell away from my vehicle when I’m underway!