July is a huge reminder about just how much money we spend on automobile transportation. The planets seem to align when insurance and registration for both of us come in at about the same time. This year I got the added joy of renewing my drivers license and smogging the RSX for the first time (I kid you not it took about 3 minutes for them to test it). All that on top of two car payments is a nice little sum of money vanishing in a short period of time. The monthly cost might not seem bad, but it all adds up to a significant portion of our income.
I’m one step closer to my bike commute though. I bought locks, rear rack and trunk bag last night which means I might be ready to make the switch in a couple weeks. The Topeak rack and bag are pretty sweet since they have a slide on mechanism for easy installation and removal. Ordered from Tree Fort Bikes which had everything I wanted at very competitive prices. Still contemplating if I want to put fenders on.
Tagged with: bikes, cars, commute, personal finance
Posted under: Life Stuff
Cell phone users tie up traffic: study
I hate bad journalism and when journalists write about anything remotely scientific they sound like friggin idiots. Case in point this remarkably dumb article trying to summarize a remarkably dumb study. The attempt to present statistics supporting the conclusion that “Cell phone users tie up traffic” is laughable:
“In medium- and high-density traffic, drivers were about 20 percent less likely to change lanes. They also spent about 25 to 50 seconds longer following slow-moving vehicles before changing to an open lane. And they drove about 2 mph (3.2 kph) slower than the undistracted drivers and took 15 to 19 seconds longer to complete the 9.2 mile trip.”
Here we are presented with 4 statements that in no way support the idea being presented by the study. Drivers changing lanes less causes an increase in traffic? Spent 25 to 50 second behind slower vehicles? Drove 2 mph slower which increases a 9.2 mile trip by 15 to 19 seconds? If I did my third grade math correctly and assumed an “undistracted” speed of 65mph, that results in a increase of 27 seconds. Assuming a target of 55mph that number jumps to 38 seconds. The use of the word “about” when presenting quantifiable facts is just plain sloppy. Funny how statistics don’t make sense without standard deviations.
Here’s a bright idea, maybe the slower moving vehicles are causing more problems than the people on the cellphones. In my observations of traffic patterns lane changes, merging, and slower moving vehicles have the greatest effect on highway speeds. 605 South approaching the 5 crawls to a stop every single day for no good reason other than people having to merge. It also seems impossible for mentally deficient California drivers to maintain their speed when approaching the “time left to destination” signs. I’m just flabbergasted about people’s inability to maintain a constant speed and drive in a straight line. Am I expecting too much from people or is it small portion of the populace ruining it for everyone else?
Our own ban on hand held cell phone use here in California goes into effect later this year in the hopes of reducing accidents. Too bad that’s a bunch of you know what. Here’s a real study with real statistical analysis and a much larger sample: The Impact of Driver Cell Phone Use on Accidents. And a quote from its conclusion:
“Our models predict no statistically significant reduction in accidents from bans on usage of cell phones while driving. Our estimates of the reduction in accidents from a ban on cell phone use while driving are both lower and less certain than some previous studies indicate.”
Cell phone bans are just another example of government wasting our money and meddling where they don’t belong.
Tagged with: cars, cell phone, government, traffic
Posted under: Political Stuff
I promised Angelo some details about my attempt at installing a new headunit and dash kit in my truck. So here’s my attempt at installing an aftermarket stereo/radio/cd player and auxiliary input for an mp3 player, Ipod or any other audio playing device in my Tacoma.
Dash Kit Info: I got the dash kit from SJ Great Deals. It is the SCOSCHE TA2052B Single DIN Color Match, they also make a single DIN in black (TA2052BLKB) and the double DIN possibly color matched (TA2053B) according to the manufacter’s website.
This is the stock stereo I had to work with. The trend has been towards completely integrating the stereo into a car’s dash, it looks great but as soon as you want to stick a nicer radio in you might be stuck. I got an aftermarket dash kit that is color matched (not exact but good enough) to the silver around the vents.
Step 1 - Rip out climate control, unbolt and remove dash and stereo, unhook everything.
Step 2 - Wire up wire harness so you don’t have to cut any of the factory wiring.
Step 3 - Hookup stereo and test to make sure everything works before putting the whole thing back together.
Step 4 - I’ve got everything in and just need to stick the climate control panel back on. Getting the head unit and hazards/clock panel into the replacement dash was the most time consuming part of the whole project. First I couldn’t get the hazards panel out of the stock dash but managed to pry it out after an hour. Secondly, the installation instructions for the dash kit were pretty brief, I guess you can consider a diagram and a few unintelligible sentences instructions. At this point I had also drilled a hole in the back of the pocket to feed the cable for the auxiliary input through.
Finish - And here is the result of all my effort. With everything put back together I actually like the look of the replacement dash kit more than the original bumpy texture (still on the climate control panel though). Audio quality is marginally better from what I can tell but I still have to tweak but at least I can hook up an mp3 player now. I’ll have to stick new speakers in to get the most out of the new unit.
Not a terribly difficult project but I’m glad I did instead of paying an installer a good chunk of change to do it. I probably got lucky since most dashes aren’t this accessible and easy to work with.
Tagged with: audio, cars, gear, install, stereo
Posted under: Geek Stuff
Posted a comment on a friends page and inspired me to post on this subject.
I wouldn’t even consider an FM transmitter and would only resort to tape at last resort.
The best option is to plug directly into your car’s head unit through an auxiliary input. Even with stock car stereos there is a chance an adapter is available. And if not, I’d try a FM modulator (different from transmitters, they plug directly into antennae on the stereo to minimize interference).
I use to have a Kenwood head unit in my old truck and I got the adapter that plugs into the cd changer port and it worked great. Just ran the RCA cable out from under the dash and up to the center console and plugged straight in.
The best list of available adapters I’ve found is at Installer.com.
So in summary:
- FM transmitters (the cheap toys you get at Radio Shack) - avoid like the plague.
- Tape Adapters - Final resort if you are strapped for cash and you actually have a tape player (which is becoming quite rare on newer cars and head units).
- FM modulator - plugs directly inline with your car’s antennae, final resort if you value sound quality.
- Auxiliary input - Stereo manufacturers are finally catching on and Aux inputs are becoming more widespread. They offer the least amount of sound quality loss and depending on your setup can be pretty affordable.
I think a lot of people view hooking up their Mp3 player the same as the headphones they use, they simply see no reason to upgrade. After dropping $200-300 on a very capable Mp3 player, most people will not spend the extra money to upgrade their headphones. This is why you see the trendy Ipod masses on college campuses walking around with their white earbuds stuffed in their ears. Spend another $35 on something like these Sennheiser PX 100’s and increase the quality of your music, unless looking trendy and “cool” matters more.
The same goes with hooking your Mp3 player up in the car, don’t spend $15 on the FM crap emitter, invest a little more and get a higher quality signal with less hassle. I look at it this way, how much is it worth to not have to listen to crappy radio music and commercials? Stick it to the man and hook your mp3 player up to your car stereo.
Tagged with: audio, cars, install, music, stereo
Posted under: Geek Stuff
Everyone is talking about gas prices, but why, I don’t see anything out of the ordinary happening. Supply is down and demand is at record levels. Pull out your remedial economics thinking cap and figure out what that means, you’re right HIGHER PRICES! People who simply believe gas prices are high because the evil oil companies are gouging us and taking food off our plate are narrowminded and ignorant. Here’s a list off the top of my head of things that could push up the price of gas:
- Increase of price of crude oil (which is not set by oil companies, thank the commodities market and OPEC for that)
- Decreased refining capacity
- Cost of transporting gasoline to stations (those big trucks run on gas too don’t they)
- Current supply interruptions, Nigeria, who supplys the US ~13% of our oil is completely shutdown because of political turmoil
- Futures market is being bid up, caused by anxiety of future supply interruptions
- Switch over from winter to summer blends (know how gas prices go up at the time leading into summer, they have to use a different cleaner burning formula, during transition it kills the productivity of refineries)
- People aren’t changing their lifestyles and driving less
- People are still buying big cars (~25% of cars sold last year had a large V8 engine)
- The government has increased excise taxes on gasoline over the past few decades, not reduced them.
That’s just off the top of my head using information gained from reading and listening to the radio.
I don’t see much changing. Hybrids aren’t an attractive alternative yet (unless you mind paying $5000 over sticker which would take a decade to make up with the savings on gas) and their isn’t enough ethanol being produced to make a dent (3.4 billion gallons of ethanol produced a year compared to the 131.4 billion gallons of gasoline used per year in the US).
So what do I think? Let the market go where it will and keep the government out of it. If people are willing to pay over a dollar for a 12 oz bottle of water then they have no room to complain about gas.
Tagged with: cars, economy, government, taxes
Posted under: Political Stuff
