Month of May 2024 (Nat’l Avg $3.663)

From last of April, transferring to May:
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Yesterday: 1:50PM, 56degF.....The weather forecast just gets nicer, today being spectacularly lovely..... By Thursday, temp could be 62 degF.
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May 1, 2024: 7:25AM, 41degF.....Prediction is still for nice weather, today topping at 59degF by 5PM. Forecast for Thursday continues to be good. Morning chills to mid-30degF with high temperature towards mid-60 degF.

 

My niece sent me this snapshot of the dash in the 2024 Trax, showing the numbers from the end of the road trip and today's commute...

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That's not the ghost of Audrey Hepburn in the reflection, that's my niece.​

And she said earlier the second half of the trip was in torrential downpours, so what's shown here isn't bad at all considering the challenges thrown in during the drive.

 

As stated, I've been walking because the price of Pacific Northwest gasoline is too high. BBB-UUU-TTTTTT, I can read about cars in Car&Driver 2024 Buyer's Guide.
Looking at all the car's I can't afford.......
Well, I says to myself, "Let''s look at the expensive stuff". There's the Aston Martin Valhalla that would cause any Viking to trade in his longship. With 937HP, giddy-up is about 217MPH. However, the more expensive Aston Martin Valour is $1.5 million, with look-back styling AND ONLY equipped with a MANUAL TRANSMISSION. The Ferrari 296 has a twin-turbo 3liter V-6, that with the hybrid system, outputs 819HP & drives to the quickest ever C&D rear-wheel 0-60 time of 2.4 seconds! Another throw-back is the Ferrari Daytona SP3 with naturally aspirated V-12 & 829HP. In the know drivers smile most with the engine near the 9500rpm screaming redline, meaning that engine noise is a major encouragement to blowing on the vehicle, $2.2+ million. Not a throw-back price at all. Of course, Doug DeMuro's usual car excitement on U-tube, gets turbo-boosted over this non-turbo vehicle, readily pointing out the optional large hand-painted Ferrari Icon that costs an extra $14,000+.....more than my last new automobile cost! Ferrari has some up-dated cars too, one being the 4 wheel drive SF90XX Stradale(maybe that's Straddle, yes, no?). With a sub-thousand HP V-8 engine, 3 electric motors gains the car a total 1016HP, warping C&D drivers from zero to 60MPH in 2 seconds. People pay over half a million for warp capability. My favorite, the Lamborghini Huracan is ending its sales after 2024. Why is it that I am always 2 months away from being able to afford what I want? Of course, there is the Lotus Evija, able to reach 186MPH in 9 seconds. But no! It has a paltry sub-2000HP set of 4 electric motors for the going price of $2.3 million. Alas, for anyone who can get by with less than 2000HP AND wants to save, you can keep $100,000 in your pocket with the Rimac Nevera. Four electric motors making 1813HP.
Oh, as I said, "Next year".

 

7:34AM, 40degF.....Weather continues to remain beautiful, said to rise above 60degF today & to mid & higher 60's tomorrow. Oh, oh. Possible rain on Saturday. Under the clouds, will temps reach to the 60's? We'll see.

 

Prediction is Saturday won't reach even mid-50's.
I've never liked Veggie-Burgers, which they're having at the Senior Center. Took one to the apt. to test it out & its..... OK. The SC chefs dressed it up with lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, relish & mustard. I added some ketchup. Yes, its OK. My doctor would be proud.

 

Today,61 deg F in Naperville , 63 in Elk Grove.

Wind W 3

33.4 miles, fcd = 53.0 MPG

 

From 5-2-24:

5:10AM, 41degF.....Temperature will NOT lower into the upper 30's this morning, & will get as high as 70degF later today. Sweet! Also, tomorrow Saturday morning may remain above 50degF. More sweet! However, incoming clouds, which could give the Pacific Northwest some rain, will suppress temperatures to only rise to the mid-50's. Yeah, the yo-yo beautiful weather will continue to spin, but will hold at the Saturday bottom, during the supposed rain & clouds.

PS, 10:10AM, 59degF.....On schedule, the temp is rocketing, with a high today of 71degF., not unexpected because the sun is 15+ degrees north of the Equator.
Funny. Every parking place is registered for every residence of this apt. complex. Thus I try to park carefully, placing my vehicle so the most room could potentially be given to other parking vehicles between tree & plant spaces. I am not surprised tho, when I see temporary big construction vehicles, first, driven too fast in the lots & second, sloppily parked at an angle, that not only take up the width of a parking lane, but actually block off two parking spots. Many americans that drive big vehicles have this mentality, "that I have the big truck that I drive high, wide, & too fast, & can do as I want".

 

A van carrying 4 Zebras stopped on a Freeway east of Seattle. The Zebras escaped the van. Three of the Zebras were rounded up by good samaritans, but the fourth Z is being seen in the area, but still not captured. Also, a 5 Magnitude Earthquake occurred in the Pacific Ocean about 300 miles west of Seattle.

 

That sounded like a bar joke that starts "4 zebras walked into a bar..." I was looking forward to a punchline or rest of the joke.

 

5:18PM.....Well Gord, I was going to say if any CleanMPG drivers from Massachusetts or Chicago in their wide-ranging driving, found themselves east of Seattle, they could keep their sharp eyes open looking for 1 lost Zebra, but thought no one would laugh at that. The early thickening of incoming clouds is blocking people from seeing the Zebra. Meanwhile, predicted chance of rain for Sunday is doubled, making Zebra searching even harder. We'll see.

 

7:13AM, 50degF.....Even, grey clouds now & rain chance is only in the single digits, but rising to the mid-30's by the time I take my walk to the 9AM church breakfast(radar shows some rain coming). I'll take my small umbrella. Predicted high temperature which was in the mid-50's, now is said to get to low 60's. So that is nice.
Wonder what the breakfast will be. Probably something my doctor will frown about. My doctor said if stuff can be defined as food, I can't have it.

PS, 11:30AM, 59degF....85% chance of rain right now, but no rain. Tho completely cloudy, its nice & bright.

PS, 3:25PM, 60degF....Well, sometime it started raining, while I watched TV or read. & the brightness went away.

PS, 9:30PM....Best chance for a non-rainy walk is early tomorrow. Get back in time to see the early TV leading up to the Miami Formula 1 race. Unsurprisingly, Max Verstaffen won the sprint race today.

Oh yeah. The 18-1 shot Mystic Dan won the Kentucky Derby by a short nose. Anyone putting a big bet on him to win, place or show, would have made some money.

 

6:30AM, 50degF....Predictions continue that Pacific Salish Sea(Puget Sound) rain chance may start around 10AM. Warm temperature will rise only to 52degF.

PS, 1PM, 52degF....Rain is falling good right now. Glad I'm inside & ready to watch the Miami Formula 1 race. Of course, no rain in Miami. Max Verstaffen has won 53 Formula 1 races out of the last 106. He & RedBull have been fantastic. He had one recent streak that he won 9 races in a row, till mechanical problems broke the streak. As of now, he has 7 pole positions in a row.

 

Today, 49 deg F in Naperville and Elk Grove. Had to take a longer route to avoid waiting
for a slow freight train.

Wind ENE 4

34.8 miles, fcd = 52.2 MPG

 

Driving the HEH again and got the pleasant reminder why it's such a great commuter. Repaired Kia Soul was in the low to mid 30s, and this morning, the 18.2 mile trip at 57F showed 67.1mpg on the FCD. It will hit 17k on the odometer in the next day or two.

 

7AM.....How can the Chicago region & the Salish Sea(Puget Sound) area have the same problems?
The weather report said the cloudy skies would become partly cloudy. That surprised me. Then I got up & looked out the window, looking slightly south. Ah, I see blue skies appearing west of the western ridge. Well, how about that.

 

It's a fine machine.

 

5-5-24, Yesterday:
Wow! Out of the blue, Lando Norris of Mclaren, for the first time, won a Formula 1 race, the Miami! Was not expecting that......
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5-6-24: 8:40AM....Reviewing the qualification laps for the Miami Formula 1 race, there was one hint that Lando Norris might have a good outing in the Miami. Generally, when Max Verstappen won pole positions in Formula 1 race qualifications, he would win over 2nd position drivers by one quarter to one third plus of a second. This time Max was only one seventh of a second faster than 2nd place position & other drivers had tight qualification runs. As stated, Norris qualified 5th, But he was only 0.35seconds behind Max, not half a second or more, like most 5th position drivers.