Fallacy; The Troll's True Vulnerability

I agree that doing your own part is what matters.
Be the change you want to see in the world.

We each have our own priorities. And for most people, saving fuel is not top of the list.

 

Couple of years ago, Charles Duhigg wrote The Power of Habit (see How Habits Work - Charles Duhigg) .... need to Google the author's name to get the book, as the title is semi-generic.

As much as 60% of what we do daily is routine, autopilot, or habit. You don't get rib of habits - you replace them. I'm trying to go back from Diet Coke back to ice water for instance. Habits are important. Do you really want to meditate on how to get your car out of the driveway like in driving school again? We would never get anything done and our heads would explode.

The habit I refer to is speeding. Many speed among other things simply out of habit.

Eric, people that drive leaner (not enough of them) for different reasons. Saving fuel. Saving money. Avoid emissions. Not in every instance, but the same kind of driving usually accomplishes all three.

 

Just to clarify a few points:

Actually it is not that hard to engineers which is why I was pleased that Wayne paired up with an engineer for his multi-state drive. Engineers simply apply the physics and math to the problem.

For example, Pulse and Glide simply means the average speed drops to the average of the peak and minimum speed. So if one is doing pulse and glide between 25 and 40 mph, the average block speed is (25+40)/2 ~=33 mph. The proper way to evaluate the effectiveness of Pulse and Glide is to compare it to the same steady-state speed. This was what the SAE paper attempted and I independently did.

Wayne was easy after he ran off to form CleanMPG but some of his followers adopted his practices not only at GreenHybrid.com but I also see their finger prints at Ecomodder.com. They can be as pleasant to deal with as the old 'Hari Krishnuts' and 'Nuclear power' cultists who used to hang out at the airports . . . and just as intolerant of any criticism.

We pretty universally hate SPAMers who come to a site to sell some trash. But when someone like TH comes selling his anti-Prius nonsense, it is any better tolerated? Or someone coming as a missionary for CleanMPG?

I am OK with a book that includes the analytics, the engineering, behind the 'hypermiling' techniques. Just many of us who predate the term were practicing them a long long time before this term was used to hijack them. But a good book title, "Behind the Green Curtain, Hypermiling." <grins>

Now if you'd like to make an original contribution, consider the multi-humped, distribution of mileage seen in the EPA and FUELLY records. I see four distinct, local peaks in the ZVW30 data. It may be these reflect unique 'problems' whose performance could significantly improve once they were diagnosed. Let me give an example from work.

One of my co-workers has a wife with a 2010 Prius. They were a little surprised at my MPG as they were in the mid-40s. Then I explained how they could let the car run for 60 seconds before driving off,"Start the car first and then get the seat belt, radio, and temperature controls. Or if frost on the windows, start the engine and then scrape it off." He later reported 'she is getting about a 5 MPG improvement.'

When I was at GreenHybrid.com, I once contacted the outliers, those with the best and worst MPG to find out what was going on. What this taught me:

• Some people live in pathological bad locations - bottom of a valley in a cold climate
• Some people have higher priorities than saving gas - a physician
• Some people live in great locations - top of hill with their job on another hill top in a mild climate
• Some people have a low stress life - retired, no need to rush to the grave

But tossing P&G at them as if that is all it takes . . . well that is ultimately self-defeating. Perhaps we should start a fresh thread about this subject.

We're kind of wandering off from the subject of the thread, dealing with trolls. To me, they resemble SPAMers who are simply trying to sell another 'bill of goods.' TH does it by omission to sell his anti-Prius rants. I do it by selling an engineering approach to reality.

Bob Wilson

 

Bob,

I think this should be split into another thread as this topic has a life of its own.

FYI, I left CleanMPG some time ago. My life has changed and don't have the time to pour energy into it that was being wasted. I still advocate hypermiling and anything that moves towards saving fuel. I can talk layers of driving, starting with the frequent reckless drivers in US metro areas...not much debate on that.

 

I am not "anti-Prius" but let's assume for a second that I am...... hating an inanimate object hurts no feelings. It has none. Hating on a person (as some of ye do) is despicable. Take Presidents Bush and Obama: I disagree with them strongly, but I don't hate either one.

(1) I'm not intelligent enough to invent a story like "guy threw wet rag at my prius". Something like that would never occur to me. (2) You drive on Southern California interstates, and you too will have stories. By the way I don't do drafting or P&G or taking turns without braking. I just set the cruise to whatever CalTrans has designated interstate 15's "minimum speed" (45). This is what the engineers have determined to be safe.

 

Troy Heagy just said enough to make it clear his mpg claims are bogus...it's more than using the cruise control that's a red flag. Ask any hypermiler about a cruise control and they will LOL because this kind of fuel economy is too hands on to use such a device. EPIC FAIL.

This is not a very good impersonation of a hypermiler and a mockery of one at that.

 

Many thanks to those ignoring the troll. He seems to be getting more desperate - in a way that's comical.

In another way what are the demons that keep him going? Most of us would not hang out at a forum we are friendless and unwelcome, but that does not stop him. Some else that determined in a positive sense might be Time's Person of the Year. Him - he looks even more mental.

 

We had national uniformity for a very long time. Many people hated it.

As a result of the 1973 fuel crunch, the 55 speed limit was imposed nationwide by President Nixon and Congress in January 1974. This was relaxed a bit in 1987, then abolished in 1995.

 

Almost put this on the Robin Williams thread.

Twitter Will Finally Crack Down on Social Media Abuse After Disgusting Trolls Ran Zelda Williams Offline | E! Online

Robin Williams' daughter - Zelda quit Twitter and Instagram after vicious trolling after her father's death.

The appropriate action should be banning these trolls and exposing them to the public, friends, and employers. No rationalization of trolls don't kill or physically harm. No nation on the face of the Earth tolerates absolute free speech to the extent it condones it in a harmful way like this - a line must be drawn and get rid of their autonomy.

 

how many members here have you noticed quitting?
Quitting a social site is not the end of the world, maybe more should try it and see what they are really made of.

It would be nice to eliminate net trolls, poporozzi, most of the big business factory drool, etc. we are all exposed to every day.

bisco?

 

you'll never get rid of me. i'll haunt you until the end of time...

 

Yeah I was afraid dat.
trick or treat

 

Robin Williams is being remembered for making our life's happier with his words - humors us.

What if you have someone the opposite of Robin Williams that spends his time attempting to get people unhappy and argumentative? Who do you get? Troy Heagy - humors only himself.

Lately, he's been attempting to say employers have the right to make employees say things on the air that could be questionable - hate speech....he's talked a lot on that topic for years on that topic as a professional troll. Of course there is no absolute free speech - people like him abuse it.

 

After taking a break thanks to "ignore user," I checked to see what was going on with our own 'Captain Obvious'. He was one of three selected because he brought nothing new or useful to our musings. Sure enough, same old stuff as before, useless drivel, but the pattern was . . . obvious.

Still, I have more interesting amusements.

Bob Wilson

 

I have and do advocate use of "Ignore User" option because sometimes you just have to tune out the noise. So I was amused to see a 'stalker' troll announce they were going to "Ignore" me. Amused because so many times in the past, I've seen other who were unable to actually use the feature. More amused because sometimes I wish there were a 'hide me from' to keep stalker trolls from stomping in my sandbox. <grins>

But Doug has pointed out that sometimes they serve a useful purpose . . . a 'straight man' for our quick wit. They also keep some of us humble to make sure of our facts and data.

Bob Wilson

 

I'd just like to thank everyone that ignored the previous troller. He was a lot of trouble at many forums and tried very hard to make PC his latest victim.

Thanks to many of you, he failed.