Video: A Ride Over The New Indian River Bridge

I had an errand in Fenwick Island yesterday, so I took advantage of the ride down to film my first crossing of the new bridge over the Indian River Inlet. I had made a similar video about a month ago, before the new span was completed.

It's only partly finished. At this point, traffic north and south shares what will eventually be the two lanes of the southbound side. Still, it's pretty cool.

I Am a Huge Geek #25

I have added a smaller version of the Feully "signature" banner (above) to the left-hand column of the blog. Fuelly is a social-media site designed to allow users to track their fuel economy over time, share that information, and trade fuel-saving ideas.

I've added every fill-up of my Scion to a Fuelly profile since I started driving it in July. Over 18 fill-ups, I'm averaging 32.5 miles per gallon. My best performance has been almost 36 mpg, back in the summer. I go about 300 miles between fill-ups.

As noted above, I am a huge geek.

Another Way to Save Gas and Reduce Air Pollution Emissions

I've been looking for ways to off-set the effects of the larger amount of gasoline I'm burning now that I have shifted from a Prius to a Scion. I think I have found it in the state van-pool system.

As of August 6, I have become a member of a van-pool that runs between Five Points, about a mile and a half from my home, and downtown Dover. I don't expect to ride it every day, but I have been keeping track and find, so far, that I ride the van a bit more than three quarters of the time. (I'm curious to see whether or not the pie chart at right will update here as I enter new data in mycrocosm; adding it as a graphic here is partly an experiment)

UPDATE: The mycrocosm site has recently added the ability to post linked dynamic versions of these charts. I have replaced the old static version with the linked version at right. Though it is bigger, and technically dynamic, I am interested to note that the ratio of Car to Vanpool is just about what it was when I first posted this.

There are (I think) 14 members of this van-pool; we've never all been on the van at the same time, at least not in my brief experience. The members share a $525 monthly rental fee that covers the van, gas, roadside assistance and a guaranteed ride home (if something odd happens). A subset of members pay a bit less but share the driving chores. My cost is about $40 a month.

I have averaged 33.3 miles per gallon in the Scion over the first 1,488 miles I've driven. My cost, not counting oil and other maintenance, has averaged eleven cents a mile. My commute is about 80 miles round-trip. That costs me about $8.80 a day. Allowing a little leeway for the few miles I drive to the van-pool pick-up site, I figure that I've saved my monthly cost to take the van after the first five days I ride the van. The rest of the month is profit.

I'm also pleased to think that when eight or ten of us ride together it means 7 or nine fewer tailpipes adding to our air quality problem.

And I can read, or listen to music, or doze, or chat with my fellow passengers,

There is some irony, though. As a result of a reduction in the percentage of my driving time in the Scion that is highway driving, I'm seeing a slight drop in fuel mileage.

New Wheels. No, Not a Hybrid

I've bought a new car, a Scion xD. We've become a three-driver family this summer and so now have a third car. This will be my car, and it is not a hybrid; that is a major change for me.

I've driven Toyota Prius hybrids for most of the present century. My first was a 2001, the first version that was available in the US. I was, I think, the second or third to have a Prius in Delaware. I replaced that with a second generation Prius in 2004.

I love our 2005 Prius, it is a roomy, comfortable, efficient and clean car. But we are at a point where we need a car for our daughter to drive. We could have found her a used car at one of the dealerships, and we looked a bit. But I didn't really want to buy a used car (my personal bias, I guess). And, if I'm going to buy a new car, it won't be for the young driver; it's going to be for me. We recently replaced Karen's car, by the way.

So I started looking for a small, efficient, and inexpensive car for my commute. I did some research, test-drove a few models, and settled on the Scion. It presents a nice balance between efficiency and features. The Scion is a sporty little thing but you sit up fairly high, which I like. The styling is sharp; a colleague described the front view today as like a Japanese anime character. I can see that.

I'm pleased with the stereo and its integration of both satellite radio and the Ipod. I think this will be a nice place to spend my commute.

I'm a bit sad that there isn't a new version of the Prius, or something even cooler, ready for me to buy this year. I like having cutting edge cars and now that so many Priuses are on the road I feel a bit overtaken (of course, it is a good thing to have more hybrids out there).

Why can't I have an all-electric car, with a big battery, lots of energy recapture technology (regenerative breaking and such) and a skin made up entirely of photovoltaic cells? I don't need hydrogen, thanks, and I'm ready to start ending my dependence on oil (not "foreign oil," mind you, all oil).

I'm here, I'm not queer, but I do like to buy cars. Who will sell me my real e-car? Anyone? No? I guess I'll have to wait. I'm happy to play in my little blue Scion for now.

Seen From a Train

I took the train to Albany, New York, this afternoon for a two-day USGS-sponsored meeting of State GIS coordinators. The train was no more expensive than flying and it was easier and more comfortable to take the train from Wilmington than to drive to BWI or Philly and deal with the full airport drill.

The second part of the trip was a ride up the east side of the Hudson River. It was late afternoon and I had a nice view of the river and the many bridges that cross it between New York City and Albany.

Despite the dirtiness of the window I was next to, I decided to spend the trip grabbing what photos I could. There was a series of bridges, there were boats, a castle, and views of the river.

It was a very pleasant few hours.

99,999 ... and ... 100,000

I reached 99,999 miles on my 2005 Prius this morning at about 7:20 and just south of the St. Jones River on my way into Dover. I pulled over to take the traditional odometer-graph.

I have to say that I am most impressed with RSmitty, who predicted that I'd hit 99,999 on this very date in the Fun for Math Heads contest on Delaware Liberal back in November. There's no mention there of a prize, but we should all now do that polite little clapping noise your hear in golf broadcasts.

RSmitty used the data about miles per day that I've been tossing into these mileage posts to calculate his remarkable estimate. So here's the updated data: it took me 130 days to drive the 11,111 miles between 88,888 and 99,999. That's 85.5 miles per day, on average. It had been 145 days between 77,777 and 88,888.

I was so pleased with reaching this milestone that I immediately set out to reach 100,000 miles. By carefully driving another mile over the next few minutes, I was able to bring up a sixth digit on my odometer.

So. What should the next milestone be? An additional 11,111 miles from 99,999 would be 111,110 and my particular mania would insist on 111,111. On the other hand, I think 101,010 would look really cool given the way my odometer forms numbers. Based on what it looked like at 91,088, I think it would say "10 10 10."

88,888

I reached 88,888 miles in my Prius today. I was on my way home from dropping the girls off at the Sussex Dance Academy for a Nutcracker Ballet rehearsal.

It has been 145 days since I reached 77,777 miles, back in June. I averaged more than 76 miles each day over that stretch. I had calculated an average of almost 87 miles a day during the run from 66,666 to 77,777.

The difference, I think, is that the 4 months between the 6s and the 7s was all during the school year, when I do a lot of driving running the girls back and forth from dance classes in the evenings. About half of the nearly five months between the 7s and the 8s was in the summer, when I don't do quite as much girl-running.

And, yes, I do realize how sad it is for me to be so obsessed with this stuff. But I treasure my silly habits.

Stepping Back Into the Walkability Discussion

A post on mileage in my Prius earlier this year sparked a discussion about the relative walkability or non-walkability of our lives. I was just thinking about that when I wrote my latest mileage report a few days ago.

I had a sense of irony, therefore, when I saw a link this morning to a web site called Walk Score which asks "How walkable is your house?" The site uses Google maps and geospatial data on the locations of things you might need to get to to determine how close things like schools, grocery stores, restaurants and other destinations are to your house and to determine the extent to which you could get by without a car.

Not too surprisingly, even though I live within the City of Lewes, the score for my house is a lowly 34 out of 100. That's in what Walk Score calls the "Not Walkable" range; "Only a few destinations are within easy walking range. For most errands, driving or public transportation is a must."

Downtown Lewes itself is a fairly walkable place, but we are on the outskirts. Of course, I do want to point out that there are schools, a grocery store, doctors, restaurants and the library all within half a mile of my home.

The site is pretty open about what its limitations are. It is not set up to include in its measurement my commute, which is longer than it should be. On the other hand, I do make my drive to and from Dover in a very clean car.

My work location is more walkable, scoring an 84 out of 100. I'm lucky enough to work in the historic center of Dover and can do almost all errands, once I'm there, on foot.

Today, for example, I held a walking meeting with a colleague, on our way to a downtown restaurant, then walked over to DNREC to confer with a few of the IT folks there before walking back to my office to end the meeting. Very pleasant.

So. How walkable are your life's locations?

Prius' Progress

I reached 80,000 miles on my 2005 Toyota Prius this evening. The blink-over conveniently came just as I was pulling up to the 5-Points traffic light to make the left from Route 1 to Savannah Road.

It's been 42 days since my last milestone report, on June 20, when I passed 77,777 miles. That blog post sparked a discussion of my commuting habits.

I calculated then that I had averaged nearly 87 miles per day in the Prius over the 4 months between 66,666 and 77,777. Today I calculate that I've averaged almost 53 miles each day since June 20. I should note, though, that for two full weeks, while we were up north, the Prius sat quietly in the garage.

By the way, I've taken enough of these odometer-graphs now to create a Prius' Progress flickr set. I'm so proud.

Vacation Report #1

We've returned from just under two weeks up north. We got back early yesterday afternoon. We hugged our cats, unpacked, started lots of laundry, mowed long grass, took the carrier off the roof of the car, and went off to see the new Hairspray movie (which was great).

We started our wanderings on Tuesday, July 10. We drove north, taking I-95 out of Delaware, I-76 past Philadelphia, and I-476 north through Pennsylvania to Scranton, where we picked-up I-81 to New Milford, PA, where there is a large truck stop and a small Holiday Inn Express.

The truck stop was a Flying J. We had an excellent dinner there and wandered around the store for a bit. The food was wonderful, plentiful and inexpensive, though it might be a challenge to eat healthy there on a daily basis. Clearly, the Flying J folks use their great and low-priced fare to attract business for the fuel and supply sales.

As we ate, we heard the public address system calling out reservation numbers for the showers. The truckers -- who came in all shapes, sizes, colors and genders -- entered tired, hungry and rumpled and left rested, sated, clean and ready to go.

Keep an eye out for Flying J's when you travel. They are pretty cool.

One Approach to Collecting Really Large Things

I've started a new collection to add to my collection of collections of not-really collectible objects: benchmarks, cornerstones and water towers.

This time, I'm collecting images of the container ships, tankers, ferries and other large watercraft that steam about on the Atlantic Ocean and Delaware Bay near my home in Lewes.

Sometimes I'm able to get clear, close-up shots. More often, I'm capturing images hazy with distance through thick, humid seaside air.

I like ships and boats. I like the sea. I like the work-a-day-ness of these ships. They bring cargo and cars and rust and people from all over. It's part of the joy of living where land and sea meet.

And I like the distance and mystery of these photographs. At first I was disappointed to not get sharper images. But after living with them a while, I realize that they have a ghostly quality that only deepens their attraction for me. Now, the farther out towards the horizon, the more interested I am in the ship.

Lucky Sevens?

This evening I reached 77,777 miles on my Prius. I knew I'd reach this point today; I could see it coming last night. I rolled into all those sevens a bit past 5:00 p.m. I was just north of Milford.

I pulled over, with flashers on, to take the picture.

It has been just over four months since 66,666.

One of My Favorite Web Companies is Tweaking My Favorite Car

I saw a posting on the Official Google Blog yesterday that got me excited about what might be my next car.

In a posting called "A clean energy update," Google launched an effort to enable the development of a plug-in hybrid. As regular readers may know, I love my 2005 Prius and am waiting with some anticipation for the next really cool new green car. This might be it, though it's not yet at "regular product stage."

I thought about posting on the topic yesterday, but held off. This morning, however, I have found another write-up in the project. This one lists the grants that Google is making under its RechargeIT project. One of them will go to the University of Delaware's Will Kempton "for megawatt scale vehicle-to-grid research and implementation planning."

That's one of the cooler aspects of this approach; the idea that excess electricity from the hybrids could be sold back to the grid. And, it's neat to know that part of that work will be done here in the First State. And I think I probably have met Professor Kempton, somewhere along the line. (The name is certainly familiar.)

Too bad this wasn't on the market in time for Father's Day. Maybe next year.

Karen Was Right

When we're out on the road, and some other driver is being an aggressive jerk, Karen always warns me against going macho/testosteronial with the admonition "you don't know; he may have a gun."

As it turns out, she is right. An aggressive jerk driver was arrested by state police today.

A loaded handgun and prescription drugs were found in his car, according to police.

The drugs were Valium. If only he'd had a few, he might not have been so aggressive.

A Road Runs Through It

There's a new study published in the journal Science that looks at roadless space in the continental United States. It finds the remarkable fact that no point in the continental US is more than 22 miles from some sort of road.

The Science magazine website is by subscription, but the abstract of the study, Roadless Space of the Conterminous United States, notes that the authors have created a new way to measure roadlessness:

We introduce a metric, roadless volume (RV), which is derived from the calculated distance to the nearest road. RV is useful and integrable over scales ranging from local to national. The 2.1 million cubic kilometers of RV in the conterminous United States are distributed with extreme inhomogeneity among its counties.

The map image above shows RV by County. The scale ranges from high RV areas, shown in blue, where there are more areas without roads, to low RV areas, in red, where there are more roads.

Discovery News presents a longer overview of the study (Roadless Space Uneven Across U.S.) which discusses the relationship between this new measure of roadlessness and habitat fragmentation, and notes that the study found that, in some areas, we seem to build roads in the wrong places:

And when the scientists compared the roadless space with the number of people in a given area, they sometimes found a mismatch: that is, too many roads for too few people.

The study's abstract, by the way, offers a lovely example of scientific obfuscation. That poetic phrase "distributed with extreme inhomogeneity" means, I think, "not in any regular way that this highly trained scientist can see."

Milestone

I rolled 66,666 miles on my Prius yesterday during the Commute from Hell. I knew I would. But I also knew that I was not going to want to try to catch the moment of sixes with my camera, given the weather and the state of the roads.

So, while I sat, stopped dead in traffic, south of Dover, I took a blurry shot of 66,652 miles. I figure we can all agree to mentally add 14 when we see this photo.

Can I Have One? Please?

Here's what greeted me when I left my office building at lunch today: a purple, three-wheeled, all-electric vehicle. I had to check it out.

The Myers Motors NmG is technically a motorcycle, but drives like a car. It is said to have a range of around 30 miles and an ability to go up to 70 miles per hour. NmG? Stands for "No More Gas."

The car was in Dover, visiting from its home in Ohio for a meeting of the Governor's Energy Advisory Council. They wanted hear a bit more about it, apparently.

Poking around on-line this evening, I find that the NmG is a resurrection of the Corbin Motors Sparrow. A few hundred were built out in California in the early part of this century, but company didn't make it.

Now, apparently sensing a renewed market opportunity, the Myers folks have bought out the Sparrow and redesigned/re-designated it as the NmG.

This thing looks very cool. It is a single-seater, but looks comfortable and has a cargo capacity of one shopping cart-full. I was intrigued by a set of golf-ball-style dimples on the backs of the front wheel covers and on the back of the vehicle itself. I assume they perform some aerodynamic function.

A range of 30 miles is not quite enough for my life in Delaware, but if I lived and worked in the same city, I can see this as a perfect commute-car. I can also see it as a courier car in a city.

I am tempted, though.

I've long wanted an electric car. I bought my first gas/electric hybrid Prius in 2001. I'm now on my second Prius.

I love my Prius, but there's still a spot in my imagination for a completely electric vehicle.

55555

This afternoon, driving home from work, I rolled 55,555 miles on my Prius. I rolled 50,000 back in June.

I've made a habit -- or tried to -- of snapping pictures when the digits line up. I caught it at 44,444. I missed 33,333. I captured 22,222, but I don't think I managed 11,111.

Maybe with the next car I can be a bit more obsessive.

Now It's Half Way

I rolled 50,000 miles in my Prius on my commute home the other day. I was just coming into Five Points and was able to take this photo while waiting in the left-turn lane to head towards Lewes.

I figure I'll keep this car until just before I hit 100,000 miles. It has taken me about 20 months to roll 50,000. Next Prius in 2008?

This mileage stone isn't as fun as when I hit 22,222 or 44,444, but worth noting anyway.

I Used to Be Unique

A report from R. L. Polk & Co. confirms what I've been seeing out on the road:

Nationwide registrations for new hybrid vehicles rose to 199,148 in 2005 -- a 139 percent increase from 2004 according to R. L. Polk & Co. For the second year in a row, Toyota Prius led the segment commanding 52.6 percent of new registrations. However, with more models entering the market, hybrid share for any given vehicle is being challenged.

I used to be one of the only folks out there in a Prius. Lately, there are more and more of us. I don't mind; I think it's good to have more low emissions vehicles out there.

I do miss that sense of being special, though.