Saturday Morning Potpourri -- There Might Be Something About the Bakken in This Post, But No Guarantee

For the Bakken, keep scrolling to earlier posts.

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EV

USA Today has a nice, a very nice write-up in today's issue reviewing Ford's all-electric Focus. Actually, "nice" is not the correct word, but I guess I'm using "nice" as in "nice writing," or "fun to read," regardless of content.

There's nothing wrong with electric cars that three times the driving range at half the price wouldn't cure.

In the case of the Ford Focus EV, that would mean about 230 miles of roaming room — not 76 — for about $20,000 — not $39,995 (or $32,495 if you qualify for $7,500 federal tax credit for driving a juicer).  

But for now, wheeling around in a pure electric car is like piloting a high-price gasoline car with only a quarter-tank of fuel that would take you several hours to refill (albeit for less money than topping off with gasoline).

On Saturdays, my wife and I generally drive up along the coast from Boston to Rockport. From our children's home in Belmont, it's a 43-mile drive according to Google Maps. Assuming we could find a re-charging station in Rockport, the trip would be doable. But, knowing how batteries "age" with time, I would worry about the "76-mile" range when I have a 50-mile trip. The writer of the linked story says as much.

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85-MPH: Only in Texas

A 41-mile stretch (within the driving range of an all-electric Ford Focus) of a Texas highway will have a speed limit of 85 mph, the fastest stretch of highway in the US. Texas State Highway 130, is a 91-mile toll road between Austin and San Antonio. (In today's print edition of the WSJ.)

Currently faster than California's bullet train.

By about 85 miles per hour.

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A Note to the Granddaughters

A  long, long story could be written about my bicycle ride throughout the Boston metropolitan area (downtown, Back Bay, Cambridge, Somerville, Arlington, and Belmont) but too busy to write the full story.

But the ride started out on a very, very positive note when I found a great little book for 50 cents at a yard sale:

• A Narrative Compass: Stories That Guide Women's Lives, edited by Betsy Hearne and Roberta Seelinger Trites

I am constantly on the lookout for books that I can share with my granddaughters, and the title of this one naturally attracted by attention.

Besides the introduction, I have only read the first two essays. The first essay by Rania Huntington was worth the price of the book even at full price: on Amazon.com, the soft cover is selling for $24; the hardcover for $65. As noted, I got it for 50 cents. Along with some genuine deerskin, horse-riding gloves (for $1.50), and a recommendation for a place to go horseback riding just 30 miles west of Boston. Wow.