Two months gone... (part four)

The more I use this Blogger thing, the more I like it. It is nice to be able to give you narrative and pictures together without investing a lot of time or effort. It's so easy that I can blather on about anything...

Interesting but worthless sidenote: the English language has three words that are identical in their meaning and usage which are separated by only one letter: blither, blether and blather. Now, can anyone tell me why we would need three words to use to describe "talking nonsensically"? Maybe this blogspot should be blather.blogspot.com.

Back to more important things like what was being done for the past two months that was more important than blogging.

As mentioned in an earlier post, vacations were a big part of the time away from the computer. Vacations were relaxing but not particularly productive and for me, being productive is important. I am not the type to plop down in front of the idiot box and allow the airwaves to fill my face with consumerist crap. No, if I want consumerist crap I am going to work damn hard to get it!

Someone at work recently decided to buy a hybrid car. The reason they gave for looking at a hybrid was to save money on gas. Having done research on hybrids in the past, I tried to explain that the notion of saving money by driving a hybrid was, well... consumerist crap. Driving a hybrid makes perfect sense for this country to reduce greenhouse emissions and to reduce the dependence on foreign oil. Whether or not driving a hybrid is an environmentally beneficial decision is questionable (based on whether you prefer to pollute the air by driving a gas guzzling, ozone depleting tank or if you are more environmentally conscious and prefer to poison the land with all of those batteries - come on, you really didn't think that those batteries would last forever, did you?). I respect people who are making an honest effort to go green but believing that you will be saving money by paying more than MSRP for the privilege of driving a hybrid is foolish.

I started this rant by telling you that I don't like to be idle then I sidetracked to talking about hybrid cars. There is a solid train of thought here, stick with me...

After politely explaining that you can't save money by driving a hybrid, I went home and - rather than sit in front of a TV and vegitate - I created a nifty little spreadsheet that my co-worker could use to calculate the total cost of ownership of any vehicle. Keeping the thing simple, I based total cost on several known factors like number of miles driven per week, initial purchase price of the vehicle, interest rate and the price of a gallon of gas. I intentionally left maintenance costs out of the equasion because these costs are way too hard to assess before purchasing. For the purpose of comaparison, I assumed that maintenance would be similar on all vehicles.

What it boils down to is that for someone driving 100 miles per week and paying $2.50 per gallon of gas, the cost difference between owning a hybrid (at 51 mpg - paying MSRP) and any less expensive vehicle (getting over 25 mpg) is negligible. With finance and gas costs factored in, at the end of the finance period the difference in MSRP is exactly how much less it will cost to own the vehicle that gets half the gas mileage. The cost savings in gas is consumed in additional finance fees on the more expensive hybrid.

The initial comeback was, "I drive more than 100 miles per week." Well, if that's the case you really shouldn't be looking at a hybrid anyway. Hybrids work most efficiently in city traffic; if you are out on the highway you're using the gas powered side of the vehicle. So, why not just buy a vehicle that is inexpensive and gets 30 or more mpg? It's not like they are hard to find; every manufacturer has several models and most come pretty well equipped. The problem is not economy or efficiency (both are easily attainable), the problem is in the amount of consumerist crap that we mindlessly accept as fact. Two years ago you were positive that you needed the honking big SUV because nine-passenger capacity and a DVD player were essential. Now, you are convinced that driving a hybrid is going to save money. Both of these convictions were reached without ever putting pen to paper and doing any sort of math.

My point here is twofold. First, I need to keep active. Second, it's probably easier to just sit in front of the TV and believe whatever they feed us. There is something that you may have noticed and that I realize but don't often commit to print: I am one seriously anal bastard. The decision to buy a hybrid wasn't even mine but there I was doing the math and making sure that no one made a poor financial decision.

My complaint is not with hybrid vehicles but with the absurdity of the marketing and support for these vehicles. Why don't they cost less? Rather than go into this here, I will get back on topic and tell some of the other things I have done in the past two months.

I did a lot of work around the house. The yard looks great! I cleaned the pool cage, pressure washed the pool deck and the pool cover then stored the cover in the attic for the summer. I weeded and mulched the planters that surround the house (using 120 bags of pine bark and 100 bags of cypress mulch - the Element came in handy for that!). There were many other small chores completed - just check with D and look at all of the things crossed off of my to-do list.

For those of you who were expecting pictures of these accomplishments, I am sorry to disappoint you but I will make up for this shortfall in a moment.

In addition to yardwork at the house, I did yardwork at 7 Flags which, as you can see, is a little bit bigger than most subdivision lots. And although it doesn't look like much, that green spot in the center is about 2 acres and it takes almost 6 hours to mow... by hand... with a 21" Toro push mower:



Let me zoom out a little so you can get a better view:



And a little more:



It is a great spot and you are probably wondering why I just don't spring for a tractor and cut my mowing time down to nothing. There are several reasons but the bottom line is the cascading series of dependencies. It starts with the tractor. Ok, so I buy this tractor. Great, now, where do I store it? Well, to store it I will need a shed. No problem, I will build a shed. But, where should I build the shed? There's 16 acres but where on that property would be the best place to put a shed so that it won't interfere with future housing plans? Well, that means that I should design the house, lay it out, have the county approve the plans, get the building permits, develop the site then put up the shed. Oh, and while I'm at it I should probably get electric and water run... Easier to just mow by hand for a while.

The nice part about 7 Flags is that there is no one around for miles:



And miles:



And miles:



And miles:



And miles:



There is so much open space and so few uniquely identifiable landmarks that it is possible to get lost while flying. Heck, it's easy enough to get turned around and think you are flyng north along Wachula Rd when you are really heading east along Route 70 near the Desoto County line:



OK, you get the picture.

But the farm is not just work, it is fun, too. It is a place to fly:



And fly:



And fly:



And fly:



Even though there is some work involved (I'm headed out there today to sow some grass seed, hopefully the afternoon rains will help it to take root and allow it to fill in some of the bare spots), 7 Flags is a little piece of heaven: