Recent doings - plus some tips

I've been car-hunting. Fun fun. I recently came to the decision to look for a SUV or a wagon for a few reasons. Apollo really does need the extra space. Last time we went on a short road trip, he was so grumpy afterward that he snapped at another dog that tried to mount him (domination thing, not sexual). He normally just runs away. And because I'd like the extra space for the next few times I move. And because my poor civic coupe has a hard time on dirt roads that I often have to take to get to hiking trails. Blah blah. To sum it up...time for an used SUV.

My experience so far has been pretty interesting and I want to share my experience with ya'all. The first was a couple weeks ago: a dealer had an '07 Jeep Liberty with 35k miles that had hail damage. Sticker price after taxes - just under 18k. After some negotiations, they offered it to me for 10k - tax included. At the time I wanted to look around some more, but now I wish I had taken it!

The key to getting a good deal is getting a sales guy to say this magic phrase, "We'll work with you/your budget."

Saturday, I went to a few more dealers before I found one that said the magic phrase. My first choice was a Honda Element they had on the lot, but I very quickly found out they wouldn't negotiate below 12k (priced at 14k). They did their damnedest to get me to buy an old Durango - '98, 80k miles. The sticker price was 14k. Laughable. I made them kelly-blue-book it and we discovered that the sticker should've been 7k at most. They finally offered it to me for about $6200. But when I asked for more time to think about it, the guy got a little snippy with me. So at that point, I demanded my keys back (I had given it to them for appraisal) and walked out.

Arm-twisting and pressuring is a common sales tactic. I despise it and won't tolerate it. The key, I think, is to be very patient at beginning of the negotiations and keep insisting that, no, you can't afford that. Dealers and car salesmen usually have a bottom line in mind when they negotiate. Sometimes there's not as much room - usually if the car is a popular one like Subaru Forrester or Honda Element, for example.

With the cars that aren't as highly demanded, they will usually come down little by little. Be prepared to walk, especially if they get overly aggressive. Avoid signing anything, especially a piece of paper that says you'll buy the car if you and the "boss" agree to X terms, in case you decide you want to negotiate some more or to walk. It can be considered legally-binding in court, no matter how informal the paper looks.

It was a smart move for me to walk - after I got home and logged online, I found an '05 Durango for 7k at a nearby dealer! (No I didn't buy it.) If a sales person says their offer is off once you leave the premises...leave anyway. You are likely to find a similar car for similar price somewhere. You can ask if the offer will still be good the next day, they sometimes will "reluctantly" agree. Go home after negotiations, do your research. And after you're armed with information, either go look elsewhere or come back to the table.

Remember, it is YOUR money, you have the right to be happy with the car that you buy. If you want to shop around, it's your right to do so. Don't let car salesmen intimidate you into buying it right that minute.

Right now, I have my eye on a few '03/'04/'05 Jeep and Ford SUVs. They're not fabulous cars, the gas mileage sucks, but for a couple years (at least), it will work for Apollo and me.
---
Oh, and - yesterday, I shot a rifle for first time ever. And hit a tin can on second shot! It flew into the air! I can see why so many people enjoy it.

Read more...

Hiking Tips by Jen

While ogling 3000 years old trees...

Instead of looking at the treetops while walking, STOP walking and look up.

Or you'll end up with one of these.

(shot with cellphone)

Read more...

If a hiking trail guide book says to

bring stuff for mosquitoes...Do it!

Tip: If you don't have any repellant on hand, a sheet of dryer sheet is said to be helpful. Just stick it in a pocket.

Of course, I didn't even think to grab one this morning before heading out to a hike. I'm very itchy now. ITCHY!

Read more...

Conserving power

Weather was lousy last night and because I didn't make backup plans, I stayed home to catch up on my reading. While cleaning yesterday, I found a couple magazines I forgot I had, and flipped through them.

One article in National Geographic caught my eye. It discussed energy, CO2 usage, our carbon footprint, and so on. An average two-person household's emissions is roughly about 38,000 pounds per year. America produces a fifth of world's CO2 emissions - about six billion metric tons a year. And it'll grow to 7 billion in 15 years if we don't go on a diet. Scary.

Read the article here

Last month, my utility bill gave me a sticker shock. The previous month, it was only $25 and for whatever reason, it excluded the gas utility - just had water, sewer and electricity. So of course, that missing gas utility ($20) was included in the next bill. Doesn't sound like much, but water and electricity also went up. Total? $87. Excluding gas, that was roughly 60% increase. When I imagined what my winter bills would be like, I was not happy.

The bill, coupled with the mag article, prompted me to go through the apartment looking for ways to help minimize the bill.

• Water heater - this is one of the biggest energy users in a home (emits avg 2,171-5,500 pounds of CO2/year - depends on what kind of water heater you have). I often hear encouragement to turn down the temperature, but one problem that I suspect I'm not alone in is my water heater doesn't have gauge indicating how how hot the water is in degrees. It just has "hot," "vacation," and "cold" options. Because it's summer and I rarely need hot water, other than for an occasional use of the dishwasher, I turned my dial to vacation mode. I haven't noticed a difference in the water temp during showers because I prefer lukewarm to cold water showers.
• Refrigerator - this is one of the other bigger energy sucks in a household - although the newer models are not as bad as 30 years ago (about 1,500 pounds/yr). If you have an old fridge, as I do, and are in a position to replace it, look for an energy-star one. They are much more energy-efficient and will save you oodles in your bills. If, like me, you can't replace it just yet, look inside your refrigerator and see if it has an "energy-saver" switch. Mine does, and in summers, it forms condensation along the seals; I just wipe it down regularly.
• Power plugs - they do not take up as much energy as the large appliances, but when you have as many as I do, it adds up quickly. They, even when the appliance is off or not in use, continue to draw power. I took a quick count last night and found that I could unplug at least half of what's plugged into my power strip. Camera battery charger, cellphone charger, printer and a couple others. I can't link to the exact picture but if you go here and browse through the photo gallery, there's one that shows you a heat picture of the power strip when appliances are not in use.
• Computers -I'm guilty of leaving my computer on 24/7 because it "takes so long to boot up!" But it's not that long compared with computers 15, 10 or even three years ago. And contrary to the popular belief, shutting down and starting a computer does not affect its lifespan, nor does it damage anything. It does not use more power to start up/shut down especially when you consider that you use far more to leave it in idle and sleep mode.
• Air conditioning - fortunately, I'm in a part of a country where it's not really necessary. I have yet to turn the AC on so far this summer, even on 90+ days. I did read up on ACs and was interested to find out that central air are worse in terms of energy use and cooling ability than window units. Most people don't use their entire house on a daily basis and central air cools all rooms. Waste of energy. For those of you with central AC, consider installing ceiling fans (see below). Keep your blinds drawn on the south and west-facing sides, leave the blinds up on east and north sides and open your windows to let the breeze in. That will help circulate the air.
  
• Fans - if you got fans, especially ceiling...use 'em, even with AC on. They help recirculate the air and on hot days, are a godsend. My apartment doesn't get much of a crossbreeze, so I make use of the ceiling fan and the floor fan. Even on the hottest day, it rarely goes above 80 degrees in here (unless I forget to turn them on before noon). That would be uncomfortable if I had to wear work clothes, but in shorts and tees, no big deal.

I am eagerly awaiting my next bill to see how much of a difference my efforts has made. As eager as someone can be for a bill.

Read more...

Night photography

True night photos are tough to do, unless you've got gear - or the know how. There are some easy, cheap tricks anyone can employ, especially if your camera has a flash or flash attachment.

Tripods are relatively inexpensive these days, and there are even some for digital point-and-shoot cameras.

Tonight, though, I forgot mine. Out walking Apollo, I found an interesting looking tree, which I photographed with a flash while holding the camera. This is the result...
What happened? Because it was so dim, I used the flash, then the shutter remained opened long after the flash disappeared. Because I was holding the camera, my breathing moved it - and produced a slightly blurred image where the flash did not reach. If you click on the photo to see a larger version, you'll see that the details on the bark and that dried leaf are pretty sharp - those got most of the light. I kinda like this image. A happy accident.

Here's another shot of the same tree. I opted to tweak the setting so that the light spread on the camera was different (more on that later) and the length of exposure, shorter. Shorter exposure = darker image. But this time, I put the camera on a fencepost and set the self-timer so that my finger would not jar the camera. This resulted in a much sharper, more in-focus image.

Tips:
If you don't have a tripod, place the camera on something stable and solid - fence post, rock, ground, table.
Use the self-timer so that your finger doesn't move the camera when pressing the shutter button
If you're able to, play with the f-stops, iso speeds and the light meter, to try find an ideal balance. It might take a few trial and error attempts before you hit on a good mix.

Read more...