Sheena Talks...About Energy Conservation While Driving

For those of you who couldn't figure it out from the title, this edition of Sheena Talks...is full of subject matter that I have NO knowledge of. I decided to do a little research, though, after hubby mentioned it as the reason he was driving like a maniac!

Something about coasting - no gas - energy conservation, blah, blah, blah.

Here's what I found out:
-it's technically called Ecodriving
-you basically take care of normal maintenance on your car and change your driving habits and you get improvements in fuel economy (15-20%) and reduce carbon dioxide emissions
-don't step on the brakes (well, not unless you have to stop) - something about the kinetic energy you have being transferred to the brakes (and that's bad because you lose energy to move forward - silly me, I thought that's what the gas peddle was for) - SO optimal use requires you to drive so that you don't have to use the brakes
-don't be a speed demon (lookin' at you hubby) - steady speed, low RPMs
-close the windows while you're driving on the highway - something about the car's aerodynamics being disturbed and causing it to be less energy efficient

Ok, that's all I can stand on this subject. Hope you learned something today, kids. If you want to know more, call my hubby.

Sheena Talks...about Integrity

This is my apology. I am not apologizing because I care what most of you think about me or my blog (that you have probably never read until this post). And I am not apologizing because I feel like there was anything untruthful in the post. I am apologizing because it is my act of obedience to God and because I DO still actually care about people’s spiritual well-being – the same well-being this post seemed to be hindering. It was not my intention to hinder anyone’s walk, so I am removing the story from this post.

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When you are responsible for the well-being of others (and we are as Christians), choices you make do indeed affect others. When our beliefs, our words, our actions do not line up...people notice! It's called integrity - or a lack of (depending on if yours are lining up or not).

Proverbs 11:3 says, "The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity." Integrity it vital in the Christian walk. Things can look so good on the outside but our public lives are only as authentic as our private lives. Integrity is when what you say, what you do, what you think and what you believe all line up.

Billy Graham said, "Integrity is the glue that holds our way of life together. We must constantly strive to keep our integrity intact. When wealth is lost, nothing is lost. When health is lost, something is lost. When character is lost, all is lost." Oh. How. True. Character matters. Integrity matters. Without integrity, ministering to others is impossible.

Note: Girlfriends in God can spur a lot of thoughts. If you're looking for a daily devotional check it out at BibleGateway.com

Sheena Talks About....Torque Vectoring and other racing stuff?

So, yesterday I decided that I was going to start doing posts about things I really have very little knowledge of but most certainly have opinions about. It's gonna be crazy, but perhaps we'll all learn a little something here. Today it's racing stuff.

It started with Precious talking about how the new Ford Focus has torque vectoring (which according to Precious is impressive because that's typically only found in expensive sports cars). I know. I know. You're thinking, "What the crap is that and why do I care?" Here's the scoop in Sheena speak: Torque Vectoring allows different amounts of power to be sent to each wheel - one wheel can practically stop turning while the others keep turning - it helps with the control of the vehicle in tight corners. A downhill skier shifts his weight through turns to help with balance and stability. Torque vectoring allows one wheel to get a little brakage (yep, that's my word) and keeps it from slipping in corners. Here's why you care: oh, who are we kidding? You don't care and neither do I except for the fact that my car doesn't have it and I NEED IT on the days that I want to pretend to be a race car driver! Hello.

So, the torque vectoring conversation led to him telling me that torque vectoring has been banned in Formula 1 racing...for very ridiculously stupid reasons....mostly Ferrari is a whiny, cry-baby racing team (my opinion after the conversation). The people who were complaining were the ones who were losing. Boo freakin' hoo! Get a better team. Build a better car.

So, there was this other thingy - looks like a HUGH snow blower fan on the back of a car.

This one actually makes me laugh a little. The car was designed by Gordon Murray (some important racing guy on McLaren's team - all unimportant information when Sheena talks...). It was a like a vacuum, sucking the car close to the track and making it faster than everyone else. Other teams whined that they were getting pelted with crap from the track blowing out of the ginormous fan on the back of this car. Result: BANNED.

I personally think that these teams should be rewarded rather than punished - like if they beat everyone else by a landslide, they should get a bonus or something. If they're smart enough to come up with a way to  make their car faster than everyone else's - good for them! They're gonna win...DUH! And I personally don't think that banning their ingenuity and creativity is just wrong!

Nascar - your "car of tomorrow" sucks! For the love of all things racing (which I really care nothing about), you have taken all of the artistry out of Nascar. Stop punishing smart people for being smart and creative. Let them make better cars and win and let everyone else suck it up!

Ok, Sheena's done talking now. Tune in next time. Crystal's hubby wants me to talk about astroid mining. We'll see.