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Recent Posts Tagged With 'Driving'
Lunch Bits – Edition 34
We went to Tri-Village Irvine. It was a warm sunny day when we talked about: Paternity Leave. The company allows for 3 weeks of paid leave. But the State of California also adds partially paid paternity leave for upto 6 weeks (with exceptions)!Â...
Top Gear: Season 13
Once again, my favorite show from the UK is back! Season 13 started two weeks ago, and there will be (only) 7 episodes. In Top Gear tradition, they started off wonderfully, with fun challenges (racing with a coal powered steam train), and testing ...
Lunch Bits - Edition 29
We went to Islands last Wednesday. It was a warm sunny day when we talked about: The golf game at Dad Miller Golf Course. It was my annual outing for my friend’s birthday. We seldom play, so our progress is stagnant. Possibly going golf ...
Traffic Delays - Redux
I’ve written a post about driving delays caused by people pressing the brakes too much. I described the problem with freeways coming to a crawl, with no apparent cause. Stephen J. Beard1 and Rich Exner2 came up with a traffic shockwave illust...
No Oil Change Yet
I bought my Civic 2008 in August 2008, and just yesterday I drove it past the 5,000 miles mark. Today I took the car into Hardin Honda for an oil change1, because it has traditionally been recommended by the dealer to get an oil change every 5k mil...
Hydrogen Cars No Longer a Pipe Dream
I was one of those people who were skeptical about the future of hydrogen powered cars. It’s mostly due to the many empty promises from the big automakers like Daimler-Chrysler or Ford to deliver one to the mass market. The research (red ta...
Lunch Bits - Edition 28
We went to Maggiano’s Little Italy, last Friday. I was a sunny day when we talked about: The lunch menu: Caesar Salad, Calamari, Chicken and Spinach Manicotti’s, Stuffed Mushroom, Eggplant Parmesan, Linguini with clams, Lasagna, Tirami...
Top Gear is back! Yay!
Season 12 of Top Gear has just started in the UK. Episode 1 is looking very good so far, with funny bits like Jeremy Clarkson’s pajamas, and the Rig Stig. As usual, there are fast cars to review, like the Lamborghini LP560-4 and Porsche GT2...
Hybrid Car Reality
I’ve always said it and will continue to say it: I’m a Hybrid car fan. The fuel economy (whopping 45 MPG city driving), the quiet auto-stop, the smooth acceleration, the electricity regeneration braking system, or simply the concept o...
What My Car Looked Like After the Accident
Almost a month since my Honda Civic Hybrid 2003 got into a major accident, and now deemed totally useless by the insurance company. Sad day indeed. The car had at least 3 more years of life. It could’ve saved me a bunch of money in gas, main...
Lunch Bits - Edition 23
We went to Avilas El Ranchito today and McDonald’s yesterday. The days were sunny and warm when we talked about: How to bargain in Chinese stores. Russell Peters explained it very well. Alkaline Ionized Water purifier for drinking. It do...
Accessorizing the New Car
It’s time to add more stuff into my new car.  I don’t go overboard with the customization and accessories. No fancy racing stripe. No F-1 spoiler. No engine modification. Instead, I thought about some modest additions like: Wind...
Got a New Car!
After many hours of searching, I finally got my new car. It’s a 2008 Honda Civic LX. I chose it mainly for fuel economy at 36 MPG. I also like the design, both inside and outside. The specs are quite impressive for a compact car. The ...
OC’s Public Transport: Not There Yet
Everyone’s been warning me: Don’t use the public transport in Orange County. I was taking their word for it, but I had to try it out myself. Last Friday, I discovered people’s dislike of the public transportation system is justi...
Wrecked My Car
Yesterday was a significant day in my 23 years of driving: my first major car accident. I was in my usual commute home from work, a 25 minute trek on side streets to avoid late afternoon rush hour on the highways. Traffic was reasonable until I was...
Lunch Bits - Edition 20
We went to Fukada last week. It was a warm sunny day when we talked about: Russians in China - after 1950’s, Russians speak fluent Mandarin. ie. Harbin or Northern China. East Germany’s economy is still struggling to catch up with Wes...
Hybrid Woe - IMA Battery
Every car owner worry about spending money to repair his/her car due to regular wear and tear. An equipment with so many moving parts will require a lot of maintenance work. It’s a necessary evil. With an electric-gasoline hybrid cars, th...
Lunch Bits - Edition 18
We went to Panera Bread. It was an overcast day when we talked about: Co-worker looks like Rick Yune. Kobe Bryant is the 2008 MVP for Lakers. But is he to blame for Laker’s loss to the Celtics? Our opinions were split evenly. Co-worker s...
Lunch Bits - Edition 17
We went to Curry House this week. It was a very warm day when we talked about: A co-worker likes sprint car racing. Pretty expensive hobby, but it looks like a lot of fun. The laugh out loud movies: Dumb and Dumber, Borat, Harold and Kumar, and ...
Hypermile
A few people around me are talking about doing a “hypermile” with their cars. In a nutshell, hypermiling is a fuel economy maximizing behavior, or a set of tricks to gain more miles per gallon. For the most part, the recommendations a...
Fuel Saving Techniques - Smart Driving
Gas price is now averaging $4/gallon in United States, and may hit $7/gal by 2010. It’s important that everyone knows how to maximize their fuel consumption by driving intelligently. I found these driving efficiency tips from Martin Lewis’...
Everyone’s Turning Hybrid - I Really Think So
A co-worker once told me that I was crazy to buy a Hybrid car back in 2002. He listed a bunch of bad reasons and we used to argue about them regularly. Below are the list of his gripes and my rebuttals (with a little hindsight thrown in): Gas pri...
People Need Public Transportation
When I lived in Toronto years ago, I used to enjoy using their public transport system: the TTC (Toronto Transit Commission). It’s the city’s main public transport system; a vital service for millions of people living in the city. I use...
Lunch Bits - Edition 14
We went to Foothill Ranch and Avila’s El Ranchito in the past two weeks. The days were warm and sunny when we talked about: Wii multiplayer over the internet: Here’s an illustration why it’s not there yet. Xbox Live has a good ne...
Tesla Roadster - THE reason to take out a second mortgage
There were a lot of talk about company trying to invent a sports car claiming to be able to do 0-60 in 4 seconds, entirely with electric power! That company is Tesla Motors. After all of the hype and controversy, they are actually delivering! The c...
Catalytic Converter - do I need it?
I love my 2003 Civic Hybrid. It’s reliable. It gets me from A to B, safely. It’s fuel efficient. It has an 80 HP engine on gasoline and additional 30 HP on battery electric power. Not much requirement for fossil fuel. When I stop ...
Holding Attention With A License Plate Frame
I’ve been driving for a long time and get stuck in traffic a lot. It gets boring and frustrating, so my mind wanders from time to time. Luckily, there are moments when the car in front of me provides something to think about. I’ve see...
Driving Delays and Distractions
photo credit: fredcamino I saw this “Shockwave Traffic Jam” article and then the video on Jason’s site the other day. It got me thinking about other people’s driving habits and how I could relate to them. I’ve been driv...
