President's Day

Today is President’s Day! Standing at 6’ 4”, Abe Lincoln probably would drive a smart if he were alive today. He’d fit comfortably behind the wheel and could park easily in D.C.

To Do LIst

I need a bath...

Original Smart Car?

What a Smart might have looked like in 1910!

Lunch with the Chicken

Today we had lunch after church at the big chicken--otherwise known as Tommy's. Actually John & Rae had lunch while I had to wait outside.

Look at that chicken! He's lots bigger than me!

Family Reunion

We've been having a family reunion this past week...such a busy time! It seems I'm always on the go! Here I am between two of my big brothers who live on the farm.

I also have a big brother Outlook that lives in New Mexico, but I didn't get a picture beside him or my other big brother that lives in West Virginia--he is an Aspen.

Doughnuts!

Today is National Doughnut Day! Guess where I'm going?

Kobe Bryant Catches a Thief in a Smart Car

This is a good demonstration of how a taller person (6 1/2 foot tall Kobe Bryant) can fit into a little Smart Car! The ad was made in China.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Since it's March 17, there's no other color for a Smart Car!

Japanese Water Powered Car

Three years ago a Japanese company named Genepax debuted a prototype vehicle that runs entirely on water and air. Their new "Water Energy System (WES)," generates power by supplying water and air to the fuel and air electrodes using a proprietary technology called the Membrane Electrode Assembly (MEA). The secret behind MEA is a special material that is capable of breaking down water into hydrogen and oxygen through a chemical reaction.

Not surprisingly, Genenpax kept the exact details of their technology under wraps, but they did say that their new process, while based on existing technology, is expected to produce hydrogen from water for longer time than any method currently available. Furthermore, WES does not require a hydrogen reformer, a high-pressure hydrogen tank, or any special catalysts to get the job done.

During the initial news conference, Genepax unveiled a fuel cell stack with a rated output of 120W and a fuel cell system with a rated output of 300W—and explained that there are plans for a 1kw-class generation system for use in both electric vehicles and houses sometime in the future. At this point, the cost of production on the water-powered vehicle engine itself is around about ¥2,000,000 (US$18,522), but they hope to drop the price to ¥500,000 (US$4600) or less if they succeed in bringing it into mass production.

I wonder what happened?

A Dog?

I just heard that Mark Zuckerberg (founder of Facebook) made a Fan Page for his new puppy. He is cute—looks a bit like one of the dogs that live at my house.

Isn’t Social Media fun?

My Big Brothers

Look at me—I’m between two of my big brothers. Jake is on the left and Noah is the red truck on the right.

Pismo Beach

We have been going to the Pismo Pier a lot this week. I have to stay in the parking lot--they don't allow cars on the pier.

In Santa Barbara

I went south to Santa Barbara for my yearly check-up. It's so neat that I only have to change oil every 10,000 miles! It's closer for me to drive to Santa Barbara out here than it would be to drive to the dealership in Omaha. It's only about 90 miles south here in California.

Look at this gorgeous weather--keep in mind it's still mid-January out here!

Santa Barbara is in the foothills--and look at those palm trees! They're everywhere!

My California Home

I've been having so much fun here in the good weather that I haven't posted much. Here I am at my California house. Not many Smart Cars can say they have a home in Nebraska and one in California!

In California

We made it to California--I've been having so much fun I haven't updated the blog! The weather here is so much better than it is in Nebraska right now. I hear they have 12 inches of snow!


Here I am along side a new friend...his name is Greens. We ate lunch at a Pizza Parlor just down the street and noticed him sitting out here all alone, so I came over to say hello. May-be we'll go back down to the beach later today....

In New Mexico

We are in New Mexico, just north of Santa Fe, visiting Rae & John's daughter Erin. Their house is built in a traditional southwest-style. Here I am parked in front of their front door.

I will be going to Albuquerque tomorrow--we will catch Interstate 40 there and go west across Arizona.

Oh No! Snow!

We have snow! And, we were supposed to be leaving for California today....The highway reports are not good, so Rae says we will try tomorrow. Check back often--I'll be writing about all my adventures on the road!

New Little Sister

I have a new little sister--she doesn't have a name yet....I'll let you know when she does! Right now we just call her little red bug...

Facebook

Rae made me a Facebook page! What fun! I can go Beep Beep all over, now!

I'm So Clean!

It was a busy day yesterday! I had two baths! I went to Kermit’s (my favorite car wash here in town) to get cleaned up for a trip to Omaha where I needed a little bit of a check-up. In this colder weather my shifter sometimes gets stuck. I’m obviously a warm-weather car! But, it got fixed—the Smart Maintenance department said I needed a new brake sensor…so they replaced that.

And, while I was in for my check-up they washed and vacuumed me out! Whoo Hoo! I am sooo clean! It even rained on the way home—I wonder if that counts as a third wash?

Big secret: I get to go on another trip in January! I just love road trips! This time I get to see new country since we’re driving west to California!

I’m just posing in this picture at Kermit’s—see little Hammie looking out the window? He’s John’s dog—he’s half Shitzhu and half Maltese, but he does like to ride along when we are out running errands, or just dropping John off at work in the morning.