Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Technoneers
So the current rental I have is a Chevy Impala. I don't like the radio and it is very sluggish in driving. I get 30 days worth of use till they close the case. It is a newer car that takes flexFuel. Meaning it can drive on Ethanol(85) and any other fuel as well. By sheer cooincidence our house is located near a Kroger which has an ethanol pump. It is always 10-15 cents cheaper than regular gas. Like regular is 2.45 and I am paying 2.35 for my gas. Alot of newer cars take flexFuel. I like how it is cheaper but wonder if I am getting the same MPG as regular gasoline. That would be the trick.
Of course this all makes me think about electric cars. I hear next year will be the big release of many new conventional electric cars. Ones that go 100 miles on a single charge and can go normal speeds and don't cost an arm and a leg. Right now cheap electric cars can sometimes get up to 40mph and are not allowed on highways. I was thinking about how much money you can save by buying an electric car. Say you spend $40 a week on gas, which we do. If we didn't have to buy gas then we could save $160 a month. So say your car payment is $500 a month for a $28K Nissan Leaf. Subtract $160 and you've got a nice car for $340 a month. That is pretty good. Electricity costs are negligable and could equal 5 cents a gallon.
That is just the first generation of cars. Eventually they will become cheaper and will be commonplace. Then green energy will become commonplace as well. I think our economy is spending enough money on green technology that in the next 5 years we are going to see major breakthroughs in energy, nanotechnology and personal power plants. Where is this all headed? Well in Brennon's lifetime there will no longer be traffic. He will go to work at home, be surrounded by whatever information he needs on flexible screens. He will be able to talk to anyone at anytime just by speaking the name out loud. He will be able to multi-task and enjoy things and work at the same time. He will have robotic assistants for mundane tasks. He will laugh at my 80s movies that are 2-dimensional and music that is in stereo. The stuff we value today will be the trash of tomorrow. Just like hifi tape recorders were built back then are worthless now, so will all our stuff be. With free electricty and cheap computers the world will become completely connected. That will be cool. For now though, we are the technology pioneers, the technoneers. I wonder if I should get an electric car next year?
Of course this all makes me think about electric cars. I hear next year will be the big release of many new conventional electric cars. Ones that go 100 miles on a single charge and can go normal speeds and don't cost an arm and a leg. Right now cheap electric cars can sometimes get up to 40mph and are not allowed on highways. I was thinking about how much money you can save by buying an electric car. Say you spend $40 a week on gas, which we do. If we didn't have to buy gas then we could save $160 a month. So say your car payment is $500 a month for a $28K Nissan Leaf. Subtract $160 and you've got a nice car for $340 a month. That is pretty good. Electricity costs are negligable and could equal 5 cents a gallon.
That is just the first generation of cars. Eventually they will become cheaper and will be commonplace. Then green energy will become commonplace as well. I think our economy is spending enough money on green technology that in the next 5 years we are going to see major breakthroughs in energy, nanotechnology and personal power plants. Where is this all headed? Well in Brennon's lifetime there will no longer be traffic. He will go to work at home, be surrounded by whatever information he needs on flexible screens. He will be able to talk to anyone at anytime just by speaking the name out loud. He will be able to multi-task and enjoy things and work at the same time. He will have robotic assistants for mundane tasks. He will laugh at my 80s movies that are 2-dimensional and music that is in stereo. The stuff we value today will be the trash of tomorrow. Just like hifi tape recorders were built back then are worthless now, so will all our stuff be. With free electricty and cheap computers the world will become completely connected. That will be cool. For now though, we are the technology pioneers, the technoneers. I wonder if I should get an electric car next year?
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