The MinusCar Project altEnergy Stock Portfolio (McASP)

The MinusCar Project altEnergy Stock Portfolio (McASP)

The MinusCar Project is (perhaps painfully) obviously interested in seeing positive news related to alternative forms of energy. In fact The MinusCar Project finds quite a lot of hope in finding news items related to the increased use and acceptance of alternative forms of energy.

Since becoming a regular reader of Clean Break and other related websites (I’d hate to reveal ALL my sources) I’ve been interested and pleased to see that altEnergy is also gaining acceptance in financial markets.

“About $100 million (U.S.) has been invested in solar-related ventures in the first half of 2005.”

“Shares of publicly traded solar-focused companies have jumped 150 per cent over the past 12 months.”

New blog feature: The MinusCar Project altEnergy Stock Portfolio (McASP). You did this in high school economics class, right? Take $1000 imaginary (or real if you like) dollars, invest it in alternative energy stocks, see if you are able to retire when you turn 50.

My initial picks reflect my choice of solar power as being the most accessible and interesting. Future portfolio purchases will not necessarily be limited to solar powered stocks.

Buy/sell onsiderations will occur during weekends with Monday's closing price being the official transaction price. McASP progress reports will be given on Tuesdays.

Here is what I did with my $1000 over the weekend:

DSTI – 18 shares @ 14.26
ENER – 7 shares @ 39.26
ESLR – 32 shares @ 8.14
SPIR – 20 shares @ 10.17

Cash – 4.62

Here is a Yahoo! Finance link to the McASP stocks.

Allergies and Cub Scouts with Allergies

"Anything that makes them cry will be good."

The Boy 3 began attending pre-school. We performed our customary routine of meeting with his handlers to explain the allergies and the need to be careful. We agreed with the handlers that we'd send food that he could eat for snack, and we discussed things like the "sensory table" and the need to consider its contents.

It was a relief to learn that the teacher raised three food allergic kids of her own.

On day two of pre-school he took a bite of cracker. I view this similarly to him taking a swig of Drano. However they saw it differently, instead of reporting to us directly incident was relayed to us through our daycare provider.

Last week, instead of putting energy into blog posting, I put it into a missive to the pre-school. The Wife explained that it might work better for everyone involved if we behave in such a way as to maintain relationships. She’s so smart. She talked with them Monday.

The Boy 7 got sucked into scouting by the offer of a pinewood derby car. I expressed my allergy concerns to the Cubmaster and he expressed his interest in having me as a leader to be in a good position to know about food and environments.

From now on I prefer to be referred to as Den Leader…this ought to be interesting.

Report: September 12-18

Trips -
MinusCar: 9
Multi-occupant Auto: 6
Single occupant Auto: 5

Single occupant vehicle trips were high this week. Most of them involved failure to plan for daycare and school pickups. One of them was unplannable so The Wife could work late, but others involved my failure to realize that if The Boy 7 doesn't bike to school in the morning then I don't have a way to get him home without a car; which is to say I haven't mastered the school routine quite yet.

My Car Miles: 34
My Bike Miles/Hours: 93/6

The car miles were a little higher than I like and I place the blame squarely on Saturday. It was going to be a banner MinusCar day. I was going to load up the backpack with about seven different errands to run beginning with an investment club meeting at the country club. And then it rained.

I was going to represent The MinusCar Project by sitting in the country club eating breakfast with cycling shoes and mildly sweaty clothes. It was going to be great. Sitting the in the country club soaking wet and muddy after a ride in the rain wasn't going to be great.

The hourly forecast indicated that it would be mostly done raining by the time the meeting finished, so I put the bike on the car and drove thinking that I'd use the car as a base camp as I performed my errands. The rain continued for most of the day. I postponed my errands.

AND THEN...

I ran my bike into the garage when I got home.

AND THEN...

KT and I decided to go to a 9pm movie. Either I could drive so that we could be on time or he could drive and we would be late. I drove. We went to the movie. It was a very, very good movie. Funny, I just remembered, we were late anyway.

AND THEN...

I didn't really run my bike into the garage.

Viewed Media: September 9-15

9/9 – (book) Andrew Schwab, Do Not Disturb *

I think this is the second publication from Project 86 guy Andrew. It’s as tedious and painful as any high school literary magazine could be. Take that statement as an indication that Andrew succeeded with what he was trying to do. My favorite section what his accounting of being recognized while standing at a urinal. Do not disturb, indeed.

9/10 – (cineplex) March of the Penguins ***

I dragged the whole family and parts of the neighbor’s family to this, and by dragged I mean it didn’t work out. Yes it’s an awesome story about life and penguins and gives plenty to reflect upon in relation to what living on this earth could mean. But that’s not enough for three kids with a combined age of 17 who’ve already seen (been poisoned by?) Disney movies. There were some sections that kept their attention but…

9/16 – (dvd) Million Dollar Baby *****

By total coincidence this week turned in to a Morgan Freeman as narrator fest-a-thon-ival. A person could do worse, eh? I really liked this one. There are examples of community with the gym, finding and living with dignity, finding and dying with dignity and a small twist at the end.

Passenger Data: September 7-13

9/12 – 5pm – Work to Home – 8 aboard, 1 pickup, 5 drop
9/12 – 8am - Home to Work – nil, nada, nothing, zero
9/9 – 12pm – Work to Lunch – 9 aboard
9/8 - 12pm - Lunch to Work - 9 aboard, 4 pickups, 1 drop
9/8 – 11am – Work to Lunch – 4 aboard

I’m biking both ways for work so my bus trips are fewer. As you can see I’m utilizing it primarily for lunch meetings. I really like the change to a bus every 30 minutes.

Generally I think the passenger counts have been a little higher over the past couple weeks, with the exception of the 9/12 ride to work. I’ve learned from reading TransitLibrarian that the rain keeps bus riders inside and this was a wet day. Still, I was very surprised to be alone for the whole trip. I began tracking passenger counts July 18, this was the first time I’d been on a bus alone for an entire trip.

The Park/Ride has become my preferred method for bus rides to work. It’s twice as far as my old neighborhood stop (2 v. 4 miles) but a bus departs every 30 minutes, the parking is meant for what I’m doing, and I won’t have to be as concerned with snow. Have I mentioned that I really like having a bus ever 30 minutes on that route?

Gluten Free Military Contractors

It's been a very good few days in the fight to find allergen free products for The Boy 3.

First we found Enjoy Life brand foods. Their food is “formulated to be gluten-free and free of the 8 most common allergens.” We quickly ordered up a sample pack of treats.

Over the weekend we discovered My Own Meals, Inc. This company supplies MRE’s (meals ready to eat) to the military. MRE’s are packaged such that the container can be opened and consumed without cooking. We found their My Own Chicken meal at the local natural food store. They have a handful of other meals that are free of the allergens that we avoid for both the boy’s.

This is an incredible find. To be able to carry non-refrigerated meals (MEALS I SAY) into restaurants or on vacation was before yesterday UNTHINKABLE! Just wait till he finds out he’s eating food that most military personnel distain. Heh heh.

Report: September 5-11

Trips -
MinusCar: 9
Multi-occupant Auto: 6
Single occupant Auto: 2

One of my single occupant trips this week was a rain induced outing to the brand new Park & Ride Station, where I parked and rode to work. The new bus schedules and rules resulted from the assimilation of this station into the existing transit program.

There are 20-ish free parking spaces available for those who’d like to park/ride. I’m guessing (I think it’s a pretty educated one) the main intent of these spaces is for people who will park and ride the “mall circulator” that circumnavigates what I like to call Shopping Central. It is easy for me to imagine a time when there will be rule changes for these spaces to make it harder for a person like me to park there for 8 or more hours at a time.

There was one other car parked there.

My Car Miles: 13
My Bike Miles/Hours: 73/5

New in September: I’m going to keep track of the miles I ride. By this time next year it would be very cool to say I’d ridden 10,000 miles during the year. I suspect though that I’ll have to settle for something closer to 7,000.

Prairie Progressive: On Being Poor

My friend the Prairie Progressive has had a couple thoughtful posts about being poor.

The first one, September 3rd he directs his readers to this post on a different blog entitled "Being Poor." I spent a few minutes reviewing the entire blog of this author and found it quite interesting. Seems his "Being Poor" post has moved into the print world which is getting him an unusual amount of noteriety.

The second on September 6 quotes extensively from a PodCast he listens to. Having been involved in at least one group discussion (not involving PP) where racism figured heavily in the converation, his confession and guilty plea were refreshing. Plus, the idea that some of the "looters" in New Orleans just plain needed some food was a new idea for me at the time, even if the photo comparison (while even true) is cliche'.

Viewed Media: September 2-8

9/4 – (dvd) Deadwood: Season 1: Episodes 3-4 *****

I'm sold. I can't wait to see what happens to everybody in the next episodes. Hickock got shot at the end of 4. I knew it was coming, I'm very surprised it happened so soon.

9/7 – (book) Brian D. McLaren, A New Kind of Christian ***

Passenger Data: September 2-6

9/6 – 1pm – Work to Lunch – 6 aboard
9/6 - 2pm - Lunch to Work - 10 aboard, 4 pickups

I discovered an improvement under the new bus route and rules. The route that passes work now runs every half hour all day long. Previously during midday the route was hourly plus a few minutes, which meant biking or getting a ride for at least one leg of a lunch meeting trip. Now, with higher frequency it will be easier to use the bus for both legs of the trip which means being able to stay in work clothes and being able to get a full hour for lunch.

True Confessions: It's Really Just the Beginning

"It's a jungle out there, it used to be a garden." - Tonio K
"Since I gave up hope, I feel a lot better." – Steve Taylor

With all the talk of high gas prices it's hard to remember why I'm doing this...let’s try.

On January 24, 2005 I experienced what I consider to be an abnormal response to reading this news article, “Climate Change: Countdown to Global Catastrophe.” Abnormal because I believed what I read. I did the math on the ages of The Boys and began mentally preparing for The End. While part of me was going through preparations, another part of me was trying to figure out what went wrong with my mind. I knew my life had arrived in a new place when I departed my doctor’s office with a prescription for Prozac.

I found myself reluctant to medicate my situation, so I didn’t. I also found myself able to postpone preparing for the end by exploring my problem with my family and trusted friends. Thanks family and trusted friends. By May I had settled on something I could do different.

I took the red pill instead…I changed my behavior…The MinusCar Project was born.

The MinusCar Project exists because I believe people that think that the globe is warming because of human activity, specifically carbon emitting human activity, might be right. Because I think they might be right, I think humans need to change. And because I think humans need to change, I think I need to change.

And even if they’re wrong and I’m wrong, there are separate benefits to removing the automobile from my life. Many of them I've already detailed in this blog. Here’s one I’m currently looking forward to. Wednesday I will take The Boy 3 to his first day of pre-school. We will take the bus. The bus schedule has us arriving ahead of the official pre-school start time. Because of that we will spend 20 minutes together playing at a nearby playground.

Oh, and I don’t have to pay for $4/gallon gas.

For these reasons, The MinusCar Project will continue. I’m predicting a mild winter, how about you?

The End Is Here

It was late May that I began this project and identified an ending point of Labor Day, September 5. I said then the goal would be to maximize the number of times I use alternative transportation and minimize the use of my car as a single occupant.

During the project I utilized alternative transportation 104 times, I made use of my car as a single occupant 33 times, and drove or rode in a multi-occupant vehicle 77 times.

I have good history that shows prior to The MinusCar Project my car averaged 450 miles per month. Throughout this three month project my car went a total of 334 miles, or 111 miles a week average. These miles included a 180 mile trip to Nebraska and a single very high 112 mile week caused by poor planning.

The bottom lines…

I didn’t think the total miles driven would end up so high, but I’m still pretty happy with these numbers: pre-MinusCar Project 1305 miles, MinusCar Project 334 miles.

I knew I’d still need to use a car; after all I have a wife and two young kids. I’m mildly happy with these numbers: 104 MinusCar trips, 110 automobile trips.

So, to answer the big question: Surviving in the northern plains without a car...is it possible? Yes it’s possible. But it’s difficult. Did I succeed? No.

Report: August 29 - September 4

Trips -
MinusCar: 10
Multi-occupant Auto: 5
Single occupant Auto: 2
My Car Miles: 22

After a couple weeks of heavy driving I was back into the MinusCar swing of things. Single occupant auto trip 1 was when I returned the car to home from the service station. It wasn't totally necessary to drive it home, and I did leave it in my employer's lot for one night, but in the end I thought it prudent to park it in my own driveway.

Single occupant trip 2 was the previously reported trip to LifeLight, and was good for MinusCar in that it saved KT and DDD from making extra trips in their cars.

Can I Interest You in the Sidewalk? Part II

tSD wants to know: why don’t I ride on the sidewalk?

I ride my bike on the road because it is much more efficient than riding on the sidewalk. Just like automobile drivers, when I ride my bike for utility (to and from work or for errands) I’m looking to propel myself through the city as quickly as legally possible. I’m trying to get from point A to point B so that I can get my work done. Riding bike for utility is serious business…deadly serious if I happen to get hit by a car.

Not surprisingly roads exist for the very purpose of efficiently moving vehicles. The Congress approved 268.4 billion dollars recently to make roads even more efficient for travel. That’s roughly $6,000 for each average American family. This money buys a complex system of signs, lights, and laws that describe how vehicles and their operators should behave on the road to help facilitate efficient movement. In fact, the system is so complex that some public schools take time away from reading, writing and arithmetic to offer opportunities for students to learn the system. And the system is so critical that failure to follow it resulted in 115 deaths every day in 2004.

Here is what the system says about bicycles on roads:

Every person driving a bicycle shall have all of the rights and all the duties applicable to the driver of any other vehicle.

Here is what the system says about bicycles on sidewalks:

A person driving a bicycle upon a sidewalk shall yield the right-of-way to any pedestrian. A person driving a bicycle upon a sidewalk shall stop before entering a crosswalk or highway from a sidewalk and must yield to all traffic therein.

On a sidewalk I’m legally required to yield to every single person I encounter, I’m legally required to stop before entering every single intersection and I’m legally required to yield to every vehicle I encounter.

On the road I get to take advantage of a traffic system put together by experts for the express purpose of moving vehicles from point A to point B.

Where’s My Toenail?

Audioscrobbler says my favorite band is Project 86. Right behind that on the list is hed (PE). Just about five years ago KT and I headed to Sioux City for a four band concert. We skipped the opening act thinking they’d be a waste of time. The three bands we caught were Project 86, hed (PE) and P.O.D.

Interesting to me is that three of the bands at the concert became staples in my listening library: Project 86, hed (PE) and the opening act that we skipped…a small band…maybe you’ve heard of them…Linkin Park. We were idiots for missing them.

Five years later Project 86 comes through this town as part of “the biggest free Christian music festival in the country, LifeLight.” I went. With KT and DDD. It was a good show of course.

Special props to the organizers and people involved in making the festival apparently successful. For the short time I was there I found my way easily in and out and very much enjoyed the long walk through the 8ft tall corn. Hopefully it was as smooth on the inside as it appeared from the outside.

Here’s a free tip to the older people who don’t get to go to concerts very much anymore. If you aren’t going to be able to resist the mosh pit, don't wear sandals. Has anyone seen my toenail?

Big Wigs Make Good News

Tyler Hamilton (no not that Tyler Hamilton) over at the Clean Break blog highlights a Washington Post article reporting that Steve Case (yes that Steve Case) has purchased a controlling share of the Flexcar car sharing company. Lee Iacocca happens to be a director and senior advisor to the company.

A quote attributed to their website says, "If you live in or near the city and you can commute by bus, carpool, bicycle or foot, you can probably save hundreds of dollars a month by relying on Flexcar rather than a personal vehicle for your occasional driving needs." Essentially I've been running my own flexcar company since May. I am the sole owner and customer. Anybody want to buy me out?

Routine Changes

School starts, morning temps drop to 50, bus schedules change, the 24 Hours of Afton is complete for another year, so it’s time to mess with the routine. The transit system is the first casualty. Because cool morning temps minimize sweat, I'm going to ride back and forth to work as much as I can. That's one way, 7.5 miles, 35 minutes.

35 minutes seem slow? I’m on the 12mph bike! Free your right brain, ride single speed.

The best part of the new routine? Stopping at school, picking up The Boy 7 from the after school program, and biking home with him every day.

Can I Interest You in the Sidewalk?

Today a friend at work said she passed me on her drive home. I thanked her for not taking the opportunity to run over me.

She described that she was in a short line of cars that were trying to figure out how to pass me. This particular road is two lanes with on street parallel parking. It’s busy with college students. I often take up much of the lane to avoid getting doored by a student.

She said she was grumpy until she realized it was me. And then she asked…

“Why don’t you ride on the sidewalk?”

Transit Changes and Observations

The new transit rules and routes became effective a week ago. I utilized the bus Monday and Tuesday of this week. Here are some observations…

The closest stop to me is now within a half-mile, formerly it was two miles from my home. Special added bonus, the stop is a timepoint so if the driver is early they must wait at the stop to get back on schedule. In theory this means it’s unlikely I’ll miss an ahead of schedule bus, which has happened once.

The Public Transit Advisory Board minutes are now available from the city website. Within these minutes is confirmation that this route close to my home is the most under utilized in the system. Because of this the frequency of busses is less with the newly designed routes.

The new route passes within two blocks of daycare. The bad news here is the evening times that it passes: 4:40pm which means I depart work at 4:01pm which isn’t impossible but isn’t something I could make a habit, or 5:37pm which is seven minutes after my daycare provider puts the kids out on the street. (She doesn’t really do that.)

The big new rule is that the bus will stop at specially marked designated points only. I read somewhere about a two week transition where drivers will pickup anywhere but tell you of the new rule and instruct where the designated stop is. I took advantage of this after a lunch this week. The driver was none too happy when I mentioned that I knew the rule but was taking advantage of the transition period. The exchange began with him mentioning that if a driver sees me doing that again he won’t pick me up, and it ended with him saying at least he got me picked up this time. He wasn’t quite a jerk, but boy it was close.

If you look at the passenger counts you see that often there are only one or two passengers at 8am from my home. One of these passengers is often the same person. This week or maybe beginning with the new routes this person has begun bringing a bicycle along. Competition for the bus bike slots is heating up. Get yours today!

Passenger Data: August 25 – September 1

8/29 – 8am – Home to Depot – 1 pickup
8/29 - 8am - Depot to Work - 4 aboard
8/29 – 1pm - Qdoba to Work - 2 aboard, 1 pickup, 1 drop
8/30 - 8am - Home to Work - 3 aboard, 2 pickup