Steve Clunn wrote: > Thank you for caring. We are back together... I feel we will be > closer than ever (15 year so far)... She has felt that I'm too > wrapped up with these EVs. I feel like I'm lowering life boats > on the Titanic and she wants to dance as the band plays their > last song.
I think we all care. I'm sure that most of us other "EV addicts" understand how you and your wife feel. Whenever you do anything outside of the mainstream, you are going to get huge amounts of criticism from people who think you should give up and be just like them. To keep your focus and sanity, I think it is absolutely essential to have someone who cares about you and supports what you are doing. But, there are two sides to this support. You also have to support those who support you -- look after their needs, and help them achieve their goals as well. When it works, both of you can achieve more than either one by themself. > I found someone to drive the Mazda truck... on the third day, she > told me she couldn't do it any more without air conditioning... That is fixable. Add air conditioning. Can you rig a v-belt drive to the traction motor to run a regular auto A/C compressor? > neighbor has this Triumph Spitfire for sale... I tell him about my > Porsche 924 and he says he has one right behind the tree... I can > have them both for $500... Here's an idea we discussed on the EVware list. Think of the number of people who want a car, but can't afford one. They could get a dead car for virtually nothing (usually due to a bad engine), but don't know how to fix it, don't have the tools, and repair parts are very expensive. Perhaps you've heard of Habitat for Humanity? It's become the world's largest low-cost home builder. Suppose you need a home, but can't afford one. You join your local HFH chapter, and they put your name on a waiting list. You help build houses for whoever is on the top of the list. The more work you do, the higher your name goes on the list. When the house is finished, the top person on the list gets it FREE OF CHARGE! No loans, no mortgage; it's yours, free and clear! You've learned new skills; you know how to fix and maintain it, because you helped build it. You've stuck to it long enough to show that you care. I think something like this could work for EVs. Perhaps you'd charge for an EV class to demonstrate how to convert an EV. In the class, you convert a car, using the money paid by each student. At the end of the class, the best student gets to keep the car. If you set it up as a non-profit corporation, you can collect charitable donations (cash or materials) that donors get to write off on their taxes. You can pay yourself a salary as the teacher, or rent for the tools or workspace if it's in your garage. > He works for Florida Power and Light and they have a few EVs... > Don't they find the new technology interesting? Don't they feel they > are good for the environment? He say they don't care about none of > that; they "drive the piss out of them" and just want their pay check. This is the usual outcome when people are forced to drive EVs. They will *make* them fail so they can get their gas car back. In several cases, employees actually sabatoge the EVs or deliberately wreck them. -- Lee A. Hart Ring the bells that still can ring 814 8th Ave. N. Forget your perfect offering Sartell, MN 56377 USA There is a crack in everything leeahart_at_earthlink.net That's how the light gets in - Leonard Cohen
