I'm surprised that in all my searching I've not found anyone pointing out on of the MAJOR components to poor fuel economy: the way people drive.
People are so incredibly inefficient in the way they drive, it's no surprise that it's difficult to improve fuel economy (especially while staying profitable). Have you ever noticed that people love to race to the next red light? They accelerate like they're anxious about missing something, only to continue accelerating long after the point where they could coast to the light, and then slam on the brakes to stop....
What if: you accelerate slower, arrive at the next right light later, and just maybe it'll actually be GREEN when you arrive, meaning you wont need to slow down much (or at all), let alone stop.
Anytime you use the brakes you're WASTING money - both your brake pads & rotors, and the gas you're going to consume when you accelerate again. I rarely see people concerned about they way they drive in this respect, however.
One good example of how effective this kind of driving is can be found by checking out S04E04 (aired 30 May 2004) of the BBC car show TopGear - host Jeremy Clarkson drives an Audi A8 with a twin-turbo 4.2L V8 diesel over 800 miles on one tank of diesel. Granted, the driving style isn't entirely practical, but a lot can be gained without sacrificing quite as much as in the episode.
The smartest people in the world can only improve the things we use, not the people who use them.
This also keeps alive the myth that independent music is of poor quality, and only appealing to a small group of people. The truth is that a lot of people aren't aware of the struggle that most bands went through to get on the "local" corporate stations, and that they were at one point, most likely, an independent artist trying desperately to get noticed!
Anecdotal example: Death Cab for Cutie. Most people are shocked to learn that they have more than one album when I ask them which one they favour. Most people are MORE shocked to learn that the band has been around longer than their children have been alive...
For as much Windows and Microsoft bashing that goes on in this community, it sure is funny to see how eager people are to get their hands on their latest beta.
"Microsoft Beta" is a double negative, but I wouldn't count on the end result being positive...
Slashdot Mirror
I'm surprised that in all my searching I've not found anyone pointing out on of the MAJOR components to poor fuel economy: the way people drive.
People are so incredibly inefficient in the way they drive, it's no surprise that it's difficult to improve fuel economy (especially while staying profitable). Have you ever noticed that people love to race to the next red light? They accelerate like they're anxious about missing something, only to continue accelerating long after the point where they could coast to the light, and then slam on the brakes to stop....
What if: you accelerate slower, arrive at the next right light later, and just maybe it'll actually be GREEN when you arrive, meaning you wont need to slow down much (or at all), let alone stop.
Anytime you use the brakes you're WASTING money - both your brake pads & rotors, and the gas you're going to consume when you accelerate again. I rarely see people concerned about they way they drive in this respect, however.
One good example of how effective this kind of driving is can be found by checking out S04E04 (aired 30 May 2004) of the BBC car show TopGear - host Jeremy Clarkson drives an Audi A8 with a twin-turbo 4.2L V8 diesel over 800 miles on one tank of diesel. Granted, the driving style isn't entirely practical, but a lot can be gained without sacrificing quite as much as in the episode.
The smartest people in the world can only improve the things we use, not the people who use them.
This also keeps alive the myth that independent music is of poor quality, and only appealing to a small group of people. The truth is that a lot of people aren't aware of the struggle that most bands went through to get on the "local" corporate stations, and that they were at one point, most likely, an independent artist trying desperately to get noticed!
Anecdotal example: Death Cab for Cutie. Most people are shocked to learn that they have more than one album when I ask them which one they favour. Most people are MORE shocked to learn that the band has been around longer than their children have been alive...
For as much Windows and Microsoft bashing that goes on in this community, it sure is funny to see how eager people are to get their hands on their latest beta.
"Microsoft Beta" is a double negative, but I wouldn't count on the end result being positive...