I had my second lunch with Phil Case today. I met Phil several months ago when he was seriously considering a Prius and needed someone to nudge him over the edge of the cliff. I've had a few e-mail exchanges with him since that first lunch meeting but hadn't had the chance to see his Prius or talk with him since. Today was that chance. Seems Phil's doing great and despite maximum mpgs in the low-50s I think he's enjoying his car. Phil's commute barely gets him through the first 5 minute warm-up so it's pretty amazing he's doing as well as he is. I think I talked him into the Engine Block heater...something that could save his gas mileage this winter. I got to show of my latest mods and geek toys (Dyno-scan, back-up alert, etc). He got to show off his Zaino finish. I was also impressed with his EV button...he wisely moved the dimmer roller from the left-most slot to the inside slot and put the EV button in that outside slot. That would make it easier to reach since it can be trickly to get to it around the steering wheel. I'm taking advantage of his extensive TIVO knowledge to hack a larger drive for my home TIVO at the low low cost of a $28 lunch at a nice little Italian restraunt in Springfield. If all the Prius people in Springfield would come out of the woodwork I think we could have a really fun GTG sometime.
Phil is cool guy. We worked a short while on a project together over the summer. He invited me out that way, looking for a reason to come all the way from GA out there. I've been know to pick a random point on the Nav system and drive there, maybe that's what will get me there....
Let me know when the next time you head to Springfield might be. It's about a 2 hour drive, but it'd be fun to decide on a project that use a group could do like Dynamat etc.
