wow factor

and wants to be Prime Minister of Australia.

Image of the Mad Monk proudly recycled from Mr Murdoch.

1st Dec 09: By the screaming majority of ONE vote the Mad Monk is now Australia's alternative Prime Minister.

In September I purchased a low kilometere Honda Civic Hybrid sedan.

The car was delivered with a fuel average of 5.9 L per 100KM.
After nearly 3 months I'm averaging 5.5 and doubt my patience to do much better considering 85% of my trips are short and city based.

Highway driving is where this car thrives. I set the cruise control to 110 KPH on the trip to Sydney and back and did little else other than avoid braking. The car held it's fuel economy over the whole 6 hours of the up hill and down dale trip. The battery assistance was far more noticable than it is around town.

The Good:
From the driver's seat, it's a comfortable car around town and on the long haul to Sydney.
It's no big break from driving a non Hybrid unless your a fuel efficiency freak.

I've grown accustomed to the whizzes and whirs of the electric motor and the complete silence when stopped at the lights.

My driving habits have changed though I refuse to dawdle in traffic flows and usually drive close to the speed limit. I'm a lot more aware of the status and sequence of traffic lights. While the engine shuts down at the lights, it's still a lot better to avoid stopping if you can. Acceleration is the fuel efficiency killer.

The Bad:
I can't believe Honda still provide rigid "poke a hole in your pocket" car keys. The 10 year old Audi at least had flip keys.

I shouldn't have to use a key in a key hole to open the boot after I've clicked the Unlock button.

Honda's windmill laden website declares a fuel efficiency rating of 4.8 Litres per 100KM but offers little else to assist drivers get anywhere near this. They should because those wind generators have nothing to do with it.

Conclusion:
It's early days, however the 10 year old manual Audi A3 was rated at 7.7 and I'm sure it was delivering mid to high 8's. The Honda is roomier, more comfortable, better appointed and, without becoming an anal retentive driver, delivers real time 5.5 L per 100KM.
How anyone achieves Honda's rated 4.8 is beyond me.

Darryl Mason exposes Murdoch's own Klepto streak... Murdoch Media Busted Stealing Blog Content.

Movie director Edgar Wright (Shaun Of The Dead, HotFuzz, the brilliant TV series Spaced) wrote a beautiful, thoughtful ode to actor Edward Woodward on his blog earlier this week, and then today discovered his Woodward piece had been brutally re-edited and then published on the London Times website, and also in the print edition. Without his permission. Without linking to his blog. Without payment.

Via Crikey

I've been using Google Chrome (Mac) full time for the last 10 days. The only gaping hole in my browser experience has been sorely missed Firefox Extensions. That is about to change.

The Google Chrome Extensions gallery is currently in limited beta release to allow developers to upload their extensions. If you are a developer, you can upload your extension here. If you are looking to find and install extensions, please check back here soon!