I’ll be honest, I bought my car based mostly on horsepower and handling.  That it was relatively fuel efficient, was an added bonus at the time.  A 300% increase in gas later, and I’m extra appreciative of my VW’s efficiency.

My car has a display that shows my average MPG for the current trip, and I’ve always paid attention to it.  On my daily commute I used to average about 28 MPG.  It’s a pretty easy commute with no traffic to speak of, so I thought 28MPG was pretty darn good.  Well, I’ve been trying some new “techniques” to get the absolute most out of my $4+ a gallon gas.  It’s turned into a kind of competition to get better and better gas milage each day.  Well, I broke all of my records last week.  I was so proud, I had to snap a picture when I pulled into the garage.

This from a car that is rated at 29MPG highway!

Granted, to get mileage like this I’m driving a little more “mild”, but I’m not driving like a 90-year-old or doing anything unsafe.  You can learn all about “hypermiling” techniques here.

My point to all this, is that by some minor changes to your driving, you can dramatically improve your mileage.  I read a great article recently that said they should pull all these MPG meters out of Priuses and put them in pick-up trucks and SUVs.  If drivers could see what was happening every time they slam on that gas pedal, they might do something different.  Evidently, if you drive a Prius hard enough, you get crap for mileage too.

Don’t get me wrong, I love driving fun cars in fun (or scary according to Shannon) ways, but at the right time.  I get more pleasure on my daily commute knowing I’m saving a ton of gas.

This is a family blog, but I feel compelled to bring up two “political” issues.

The first one is for all those out there who (wrongly) assume that for whatever reason Republicans support the military more than Democrats.

President Bush vetoes military pay raise: President George W. Bush vetoed a measure giving pay increases to U.S. troops because of a provision he said would expose the Iraqi government to lawsuits for crimes committed under Saddam Hussein.

Lautenberg said today the provision isn’t aimed specifically at Iraq and noted that Iran has been targeted in lawsuits, including one seeking damages for the 1983 bombing of U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut that killed 241 servicemen.

“My language allows American victims of terror to hold perpetrators accountable, pure and simple,’’ he said.

I guess my fellow service members aren’t working hard enough to deserve that pay raise. This isn’t the first time Our Dear Leader has suggested we don’t deserve the raise.  Now the democratic congress is working to override the veto. I’m not trying to suggest that one party supports the troops more than the other, rather the opposite. There are more ways than one to “support” us and NO party has the monopoly on that. The actual difference in pay is not that important to me, but it says a lot about our country’s priorities.  I’m very disappointed in the veto (especially if the dispute is with protecting middle eastern wealth). If you are too, write your congressman or the president himself.

The second issue is Michael Moore’s Sicko. Shannon and I saw it over the weekend. If you have not seen this movie yet, do so now. I’m not one to promote anything from Moore, but I feel Sicko was an important work. There are some of his usual theatrics there, but there’s too much good stuff in there to miss it. I challenge anyone to watch that movie and not be furious at the health insurance industry. I have the luxury of socialized health care as a Marine, but we saw the challenges and difficult choices others had to make during Sonia’s stay at CHOP. The idea that these companies make their money by denying needed care is disgusting. Just go see the movie. If you have issue with “supporting” Michael Moore, just steal the movie. Moore even encourages it. If you can’t deal with that, let me know and I’ll pay the rental fee for you.

OK, I’m off my soapbox now. I hope everyone had a happy new year.

I’m on my way to Philadelphia today to see Shannon & Sonia.  I’m spending my layover time at the USO in Charlotte and it brings to mind something I feel strongly about.

Throughout my years of traveling across the world via commercial air, I’ve always tried to stop at USO’s in airports.  They are a huge benefit to being in the military.  For our active duty and retired readers, I highly encourage you to seek them out when you travel.  In recent years I’ve particularly noticed that the specific facilities have gotten much nicer.  Many of them have taken over airline “Admiral’s Club” locations and have great amenities.  At the very least, you get free food, drinks, and a quiet place to relax.

For me, it’s just a nice place to spend time when I travel, but for the men and women heading to or from Iraq and other not-so-fun destinations, it must be an incredible oasis during a long and emotional trip.  When you walk into a USO, you feel like a top executive.  A far stretch from the rest of the time, especially for those of junior rank.  I spent 16+ hours at one while I awaited a flight to Japan.

This is only one of the many, many services the USO provides.  In my experience, they have always gone the extra mile for service members and ask for little to nothing in return.

Why am I going on about all this?  Something that frustrates me is the trend (mainly since 9/11) of people broadcasting that they “support the troops” via a bumper-sticker, magnet, or t-shirt, yet never really do anything to support anyone other than a retailer.  Well, if the issue is with not knowing how to go about that, here is a perfect outlet.  Make a donation to the USO.  There are a lot of ways to offer support, like writing a service member or sending a care package, but before you spend another nickel on a bumper sticker, put that money to real use and help those who help us.

As a recovering full-size truck owner, I had to post this picture of my tough little GTI.  That little 200hp V6 towed a little over 1000lbs from Northern Virginia to Pensacola, FL and didn’t struggle once, even in the steepest of hills.  In fact I had a big smile as I passed some larger vehicles on those very hills.

[getting on soapbox] I’m no “tree-hugger”, and I’m sure there are plenty of people who have a genuine need for an SUV or a 4wd vehicle, but I would be willing to be that at least half of the Ford Excursion-driving mom’s out there would be much better served by a reasonably sized car (and the roads would be a much safer place). [off soapbox]

Anyway, I just wanted to show what one tough little volkswagen can do.