17 inch Macbook Pro January 2009

The new January 2009 17 inch MacBook Pro, 6.6 pounds, under an inch thick, features a lightweight aluminum unibody, and up to 8 amazing hours of battery life. The curved illuminated keys are fitted to your fingers, and the trackpad is also the button—entirely clickable, with pinch, scroll and swipe, and configurable by you! 

320GB hard drive standard, optional solid state drive, up to 8 gigs of memory, processor up to 2.93 GHz. Glossy screen, matte optional, USB2, firewire, built-in camera, DVD read-writer, ethernet, wireless, all the standard things.  

HD-video-ready, sensationally improved color gamut—60% better, hotter contrast, game and video-production level Nvidia processor, glass display, More software than you will ever use, including the updated iLIfe 09, also has the extremely cool magnetic powercord standard, and greener than ever.

Log Tech

The technology has been around for centuries, and is still natural and beautiful and warm.  Log cabins, log houses, log homes.  Here’s a luxurious example, created by masters of the craft.

Beautiful log lodge, view from Lake Michigan

See the details for yourself, here:  http://www.hilltoploglodge.com/index.html

Are we Hypermiling yet?

Unsurprisingly, given the recent spike in gasoline prices, as well as concern over environmental damage, interest in Hypermiling has also spiked. Hypermiling means getting the best fuel efficiency, preferably above the EPA average, for your vehicle.

Everyday drivers can do it by modifying driving behaviors– accelerate more slowly, slow naturally before braking, and find the car’s best cruising speeds.

Of course, there are handy gadgets to help you here. These two connect to the onboard computer in newer cars.

ScanGauge helps you monitor such things as your best MPG speeds in realtime. Just don’t get so caught up you forget to watch the road.
ScanGauge II 3-in-1 Compact Multifunction Vehicle Computer with Customizable Display

DashDyno SPD is a more expensive and useful onboard monitor.
Auterra A-501 DashDyno SPD ProPack – Scan Tool, Performance Meter, and Data Logger

You can also change how you maintain and modify your vehicle, such as changing tires, keeping them at the right pressure and alignment, and using the proper type of fuel.

Hypermiling has also become a major recreational event, especially among hybrid car owners.

As usual, wikipedia knows a lot, and will be quite happy to tell you: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypermiling