Since I am in the car for nearly 4 hours a day, I have to make the most of my time there in order to keep away the demons of boredom and sloth. Initially I found myself listening to music, but I don't really have a large selection on my iPod, so this quickly became monotonous. Next I discovered podcasts, and I tried to keep up with the latest news and other NPR programming thru this medium, and for the most part, it was entertaining and enlightening. I even tried the first 25 episodes of a wonderful program of Radio Lingua where I hoped to teach myself Spanish, but I realized, months later, that this would require some home-study, and I don't have time for that, so my Spanish education stagnated. Finally I remembered that our local library has a selection of books on CD.
This started when Shirra pointed out that we had an audio version of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." I gobbled up that book and quickly ventured over to the library. In less than two months, I've devoured audio books at a rate of about two per week. Without further ado, my list so far:
1. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams). Hysterical.
2. Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar (Cathcart). Very funny; a great source of jokes, most of which were new to me.
3. Blaze (Steven King). Similar to "Of Mice and Men" but from the viewpoint of the retarded man.
4. Carrie (King). Awesome -- much better than the movie. Sissy Spacek read the book version, by the way.
5. The Gunslinger. Not my cuppa.
6. the curious incident of the dog in the night-time (Mark Haddon). I had read this book 3 times and still love the story enough to hear it again.
7. Bare Bones (Kathy Reichs). This is the first book in the series that led to the "Bones" show on TV. It was a fun read but is quite different from the television series.
8. Undead and Unreturnable (Davidson). This was an ultra-hip book about the modern vampire; quite sexy.
9-12. The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency (Andrew McCall Smith). I've now listened to five of the books in this wonderful series, tho not in order. The books stand alone and are just as fun out of sequence. I think the best of the bunch is "Blue Shoes and Happiness, which is one of the later ones.
Who knew that driving could make a person so literate?
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Smart Car: First 50 Fillups
I've now filled the car with gas on just over 50 occasions. I've recorded each visit to the pump:
miles driven
gallons replaced
price per gallon
date
What I've learned thus far is that the car, the way I drive it, has averaged nearly 45 miles per gallon, with the first 20 tanks averaging about 42 and the next 30 averaging about 46 mpg. I tend to get nearly 320 miles between fillups, with two tanks taking me over 400 miles and quite a few getting me about 365 (and keep in mind that the tank only holds 8.7 gallons). The average cost of a gallon has come out to over $4 due to the high costs we all incurred over the summer, but my last fillup, yesterday, came in at only $2.98 for 93 octane.
My car has its faults, and they seem to be related to the electrics. The brights flicker, and while I rarely use them, it's always annoying when I do. I've also had some similar problems with the radio/CD player turning itself off and on again. Undoubtedly there is a loose wire. Worse yet is the driver-side door latch that fails when the car is too hot, but since it's now the chilly season, I can have this fixed before it affects me again.
I'm thrilled about the car, on the whole, and can't imagine a better way to get into Manhattan. It's faster, door-to-door, than the bus (even tho I drive only about 57 mph while buses usually zoom by at about 73) and it's a lot cheaper. Taking the bus is about $140 roundtrip per week. Gas for the car comes to less than half that amount.
miles driven
gallons replaced
price per gallon
date
What I've learned thus far is that the car, the way I drive it, has averaged nearly 45 miles per gallon, with the first 20 tanks averaging about 42 and the next 30 averaging about 46 mpg. I tend to get nearly 320 miles between fillups, with two tanks taking me over 400 miles and quite a few getting me about 365 (and keep in mind that the tank only holds 8.7 gallons). The average cost of a gallon has come out to over $4 due to the high costs we all incurred over the summer, but my last fillup, yesterday, came in at only $2.98 for 93 octane.
My car has its faults, and they seem to be related to the electrics. The brights flicker, and while I rarely use them, it's always annoying when I do. I've also had some similar problems with the radio/CD player turning itself off and on again. Undoubtedly there is a loose wire. Worse yet is the driver-side door latch that fails when the car is too hot, but since it's now the chilly season, I can have this fixed before it affects me again.
I'm thrilled about the car, on the whole, and can't imagine a better way to get into Manhattan. It's faster, door-to-door, than the bus (even tho I drive only about 57 mph while buses usually zoom by at about 73) and it's a lot cheaper. Taking the bus is about $140 roundtrip per week. Gas for the car comes to less than half that amount.
Friday, October 17, 2008
No Pressure, No Pressure
It's all good when it comes to our water.
First we suffered thru a few days of grey water. This problem quickly went away when the contractors repaired the pipe they'd accidentally axed. Then even better news: As a result of their recent work, the contractors noticed and fixed a problem with our water pressure.
Time was, we could take a shower or wash our laundry, but not both at once. But now we have enough water for both at the same time. Woo hoo!
Now maybe we can get the to dig a bit deeper.... Maybe they'll find oil!
First we suffered thru a few days of grey water. This problem quickly went away when the contractors repaired the pipe they'd accidentally axed. Then even better news: As a result of their recent work, the contractors noticed and fixed a problem with our water pressure.
Time was, we could take a shower or wash our laundry, but not both at once. But now we have enough water for both at the same time. Woo hoo!
Now maybe we can get the to dig a bit deeper.... Maybe they'll find oil!
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Fire Prevention Week, 2008 Edition
Once again it was Fire Prevention week, and as I hope I can do for the rest of my life, I signed up for all five days. The timing is perfect for me since all of our school visits take place from 9:30-11, and even with the necessary clean-up and after care, we're still free long before I need to be in NYC for the afternoon. But the main draw for me is getting to be in schools and day care centers with little kids once again. I'll never outgrow that.
The big days for some are when we visit the big schools (Duzine and Lenape) which put us in front off over a thousand lower schoolers all told. The lieutenant does an outstanding job teaching the kids all of the important points, and clearly they love his presentation. I really enjoy seeing Emmett with all of his friends. My favorite school visits, however, are those we make to the small day care centers. It may seem challenging to perform in front of 170 third graders, but it can be equally challenging to get up in front of 15 tots while the air is infused with a bulging Diaper Genie. It's funny how diapers are harder to withstand once your own kids are out of them.
Trickier than the smell is the challenge of teaching little ones about fire safety without causing them to freak out. Last year it seemed that many of the children became upset when they saw the fire fighter disappear into an face mask as we demonstrated what we look like when we go 'on air.' This is important since kids need to recognize the looks and sounds of a fully geared-up fire fighter, but it's hard for little kids to understand that the nice person standing up in front of them is still there when the mask comes on. Psychologists call this 'object permanence.' Shirra suggested that one of the fire fighters enter the room while on air, as this had apparently worked with Emmett's 3's class back in Brooklyn, but we seemed to get the same results either way: Most kids were fine, and a few were a bit scared.
In addition to helping kids recognize what a fire fighter looks like, our main role is to teach the children about fire, smoke, smoke alarms, meeting places outside the home, and other safety tips. But the part of the day that they might remember best is when we let them sit in the fire truck.
Tomorrow is our last day of this year's safety week. I'll miss the time spent with the little kids and will be looking forward to October of 2009.
The big days for some are when we visit the big schools (Duzine and Lenape) which put us in front off over a thousand lower schoolers all told. The lieutenant does an outstanding job teaching the kids all of the important points, and clearly they love his presentation. I really enjoy seeing Emmett with all of his friends. My favorite school visits, however, are those we make to the small day care centers. It may seem challenging to perform in front of 170 third graders, but it can be equally challenging to get up in front of 15 tots while the air is infused with a bulging Diaper Genie. It's funny how diapers are harder to withstand once your own kids are out of them.
Trickier than the smell is the challenge of teaching little ones about fire safety without causing them to freak out. Last year it seemed that many of the children became upset when they saw the fire fighter disappear into an face mask as we demonstrated what we look like when we go 'on air.' This is important since kids need to recognize the looks and sounds of a fully geared-up fire fighter, but it's hard for little kids to understand that the nice person standing up in front of them is still there when the mask comes on. Psychologists call this 'object permanence.' Shirra suggested that one of the fire fighters enter the room while on air, as this had apparently worked with Emmett's 3's class back in Brooklyn, but we seemed to get the same results either way: Most kids were fine, and a few were a bit scared.
In addition to helping kids recognize what a fire fighter looks like, our main role is to teach the children about fire, smoke, smoke alarms, meeting places outside the home, and other safety tips. But the part of the day that they might remember best is when we let them sit in the fire truck.
Tomorrow is our last day of this year's safety week. I'll miss the time spent with the little kids and will be looking forward to October of 2009.
Water, Water Everywhere, and Not a Drop to Drink
I haven't written in a bit too long -- darn, that unicycle elbow -- but even if I have to peck this one out with the index finger of my right hand, this one is just too rural to wait until my tendinitis has fully abated. This is a blog, after all, about moving to New Paltz and about what surprises await those who make that move.
The economy may be tanking, but my mom managed to secure the last loan from some bank just before it went under. I imagine some huge, dying dragon getting out the word "approved" just before snorting its last fiery breath. Cash in hand, she paid off a few big debts of her own and lent me enough to fix up our cottage. The previous owners had canabilized the water and gas pipes when they built the newer house a few years ago. Since they were landscapers, this trick saved them a few thousand dollars but ended up costing us more than we could float on our own, and since that time, we've used the cottage as storage and as a place to set up Fiona's drum set. It's been home to spiders, insects, and a few snakes, but now, after nearly two years of dormancy, the old house is about to come back to life.
We hired a couple of really good local men to install the pipes and give the cottage a kitchen once again, and they began work this past week. Yesterday we got a big surprise when Shirra flushed the toilet and discovered that the water looked worse afterwards. It was pure grey, the color of a liquid hairball. Even our Britta filter didn't make an improvement. Running the sink for a few minutes didn't help things, either, and Shirra's trip to the basement didn't lead to any answers. When we checked with the men, we learned that one of them had accidentally put an ax thru a pipe. I'm not sure what had contaminated our well water for a day, but it's all better now. The Dow Jones may have fallen back into the 8000s, but we can drink our own water once again. Phew.
The economy may be tanking, but my mom managed to secure the last loan from some bank just before it went under. I imagine some huge, dying dragon getting out the word "approved" just before snorting its last fiery breath. Cash in hand, she paid off a few big debts of her own and lent me enough to fix up our cottage. The previous owners had canabilized the water and gas pipes when they built the newer house a few years ago. Since they were landscapers, this trick saved them a few thousand dollars but ended up costing us more than we could float on our own, and since that time, we've used the cottage as storage and as a place to set up Fiona's drum set. It's been home to spiders, insects, and a few snakes, but now, after nearly two years of dormancy, the old house is about to come back to life.
We hired a couple of really good local men to install the pipes and give the cottage a kitchen once again, and they began work this past week. Yesterday we got a big surprise when Shirra flushed the toilet and discovered that the water looked worse afterwards. It was pure grey, the color of a liquid hairball. Even our Britta filter didn't make an improvement. Running the sink for a few minutes didn't help things, either, and Shirra's trip to the basement didn't lead to any answers. When we checked with the men, we learned that one of them had accidentally put an ax thru a pipe. I'm not sure what had contaminated our well water for a day, but it's all better now. The Dow Jones may have fallen back into the 8000s, but we can drink our own water once again. Phew.
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