Hello EVers,
Now that I live in Boulder, Colorado I have been very anxious
to get together with Bill Dube' and have an Electric Lunch. The
rigors
and logistics of moving caused me to hold off for several weeks
but a
couple of days ago the time was right and Bill and I decided that
we
should go out to lunch at a 'hippie restaurant'. Boulder has many
hippie restaurants so I asked several people what they would consider
tobe a typical hippie restaurant. Everyone I asked said "Dot's
Diner". I
hopped in my EV and drove over to NIST, where Bill works. Bill's
chip-head buddy Steve came along, so Bill climbed into the back
seat of
my Karmann Ghia. Thanks to my Optimas, I once again have a back
seat!
We rode across town to Dot's Diner and it was all we had hoped
for.
We walked in and there were hippies everywhere! The ceiling was
decoratively
festooned with seemingly hundreds of frilly aprons, some with
tiny pockets.
Steve had the roast beef, Bill and I both had meat loaf made with
turkey and
oatmeal, it was mouth-watering and delicious.
The car used it's usual less than 1Ah/mile and I hope I didn't
drive Bill crazy with my somewhat conservative driving style.
What Bill
doesn't know about is what happened to me on my way home. I was
cruising
along with traffic, "Electric Car" sign proudly displayed.
A feller in a
super
jacked up fowbufoe saw me and suddenly romped on the gas, rapidly
passing me
as we ran up the hill on Broadway toward a red light on Table
Mesa. Pulling
right beside him at the light, he started revving his engine....repeatedly,
and moving forward a bit each time. "Hmmmm, I think he wants
to race!" I
selected first gear and started pumping up my adrenaline levels
in
preparation
for the green light. When the light changed and I sped off, I
was left
wondering
if he even tried! This seems to happen to me every time! I myself,
would
never
challenge a fellow motorist to a race, it just isn't my style.
Bill has said
that I drive like a granny, and I'll admit that it's probably
a =bit= true.
I just flow with traffic and don't waste power. But when someone
challenges
me,
you would think they would have the decency to at least....try.
I think what
happens is that EVs are so quick off the line that they simply
give up.
Seeya,
John
Also, John carefully re-sealed each one of the posts on his bargain-priced Optima "leakers". He carefully grooved the plastic around each post and back-filled with JB Weld epoxy. All the posts appear to be completely sealed. Only one post showed the tiniest freckle of corrosion. These batteries are going to last John many years.
The restaurant was better than I had hoped it would be. I have worked in Boulder since 1983, and I was surprised that I had not located it on my own during all these years. The food was, indeed, delicious, plentiful, and inexpensive. All the workers were tie-dyed-in-the-wool hippies. The cook had a volumous and colorful cloth hat, obviously filled to capacity with hair. His foot-long beard was tied like a ponytail. In fact, none of the workers were clean-shaven, not even our waitress! A hippie restaurant down to the last detail.
What really topped off the ambiance' was someone in the kitchen area emptying, and then re-filling, a large number of squeeze bottles with jelly. We didn't know what was producing the very odd noise at first. I concluded that it was the "hair-ball machine" as the sound was *exactly* like a cat coughing up a hair ball. Consensus was reached at our table and soon spread to the tables surrounding us. Soon, a good fraction of the patrons were giggling each time the "hair ball machine" restarted in the kitchen.
I now have a brand-new favorite restaurant in Boulder - Dot's
Diner.
Bill Dube'
billdube@killacycle.com
check my website at:
http://www.killacycle.com