Why are there gaps in this blog?

Well, there have again been some gaps in time for my blog again. There are many things that I need to add but haven't taken the time to. So this one will not contain any pictures and will be short.

My last post on the electric bike really kind of a slam on Minnesota for charging fee after fee to register an electric bicycle and taking all the fun out of trying to save money. I have been tracking miles and the cost of saved gasoline. I use "Mapmyride.com" to log the miles. The shortest way to work is about 8.15 miles one way, and with my 40 mile range on a fully charged battery I am able to maintain full speed all the way home. This is a Chinese bike and I saw plenty of them while over there. The new Chevy Volt claims to also have a 40 mile range before the gasoline motor kicks in. I have made about 19 trips to and from work already and have included stops at stores on the way home. I have logged about 310 miles so far. I will ride it if the temperature is 42 degrees or warmer and not forecast to rain. I park it right next to all the Harley's (I haven't been beat up yet by those guys yet). But the total amount of gasoline saved (miles ridden, times the current cost of gas in the tank divided by the average MPG) so far is only $42.50. As gas gets cheaper, the payback time on the bike gets longer.

It is kind of fun riding it and people at work are interested in getting something like that. There are faster electric scooters that have a top speed of 40MPH (takes a motorcycle plate) or an electric motorcycle that goes over 60MPH but the cost of those and payback make it not practical to get, when you consider the number of Minnesota days in a year you can ride it. I can get up to a blazing speed of 19MPH on a flat road but only loose 2-3 MPH going up hills but gain almost 10MPH going down hills. I am not one to actually go the speed limit (usually 5 over) so riding this bike really slows me down. Oh well. I will probably make up for it on the days I am in a car. Almost all drivers I on the road with me have been very courteous and some are afraid to pass me. Stay tuned.

Electric Bike

A couple weeks ago I decided that I was going to do my part to cut back on Gasoline and oil dependence. I ordered an electric bike. It came and I put it together. Top speed is about 24 MPH. I knew that I needed to get a $6.00 license plate to drive it on the street. This is the so called Blue bile I bought (more like sky blue or aqua blue, not a real American blue).

If you live in Minnesota and are thinking of saving money by going electric, forget about it. Any good thoughts I had of getting an e-bike and spending 5 cents per day to charge it vanished as I tried to get it registered and licensed. It took a week and a half because nobody at the Brookdale Center ever did one of these. It is a sub category of a moped. They kept asking me how many cc's the engine was. I kept telling them there was no engine. It had an electric motor. Then they asked me for the title. I kept telling them I didn't get a title because it was a bicycle. They threw up their hands and said that then needed a Title or a Certificate of Origin or else I would need to supply for photos on photo paper and an affidavit proving I owned it. I called for the Certificate. When I arrived I went to get the license plate and pay them the $6. I still had to wait at the counter for about 40 minutes while they tried to figure out what to do. Since they did not know what they were doing, I think they were just making it up as they went. Since I was getting a plate I needed to pay sales tax, a plate fee, and the registration fee. Then they insisted that I needed to buy a title which also required a Public Safety Vehicle fee. I argued with them the entire time. Regular bicycles aren't licensed any longer in Minnesota, so I could buy a $3500.00 recumbent bike that goes just as fast and not pay a penny and I still have to ride in the rode. Well, when it was all done, that stupid @%$&**# MN plate cost more that the plate on our Honda Accord EX V6 that will go 150MPH. I ended up paying $112 for a $6 plate. I will be calling the State offices on Monday to get some money back because I think I was ripped off royally. So don't even think of going GREEN in Minnesota, because the state will suck every penny out of you so you won't even enjoy the first ride. And then to top it off, the plate expired in February and they said that if I waited a week and got the plate in Sept, I could have gotten it for half price.

Olympic Medal count

Here is the latest from Beijing.

Thompson picnic

On August 10 the Thompsons has a picnic to celebrate Jocelyn's birthday. The game is guess her age.
There was fun at the swings.
And there was fun at the kiddy teeter-tater.
More fun at the play ground.

Most of the participants at the picnic were awake. Wake up Josh!
Ralph, Jocelyn, Tiago, Char, Kris, Alicia, and Josh. All of them are legally Thompsons, even though the last name on a couple of them is different.
Gigi is giving a hug to one of the Dudes.
Ralph's with Grandma G. Another four generations.

Visit with Grandma G

Grandma G came to town for a visit in early August. Her goal was to see all the grand kids. I think that she was successful in seeing all who were still living in the cities.
Grandpa's phone booth, Superman's changing room, was a popular stop for many who came to my house to see Grandma G. It was all smiles and room for at least three.
" Liam, you can't leave yet! I am making a very important call to Princess Buttercup."
Here is Grandma during our back yard picnic with Kirstin, Judy and Tana.

The Barnharts were busy making Puzzle Town, something that was just found and brought back memories for Tana.
Grandma G with Kirstin and the Dudes, Logan and Liam.
Logan warmed right up to Grandma G and allowed her to hug him.
Liam, on the other hand wasn't so sure about this new Great Grandma. He kept his distance and this was about as close as he dared to get.

Here are the four generation girls: Judy, Grandma G, Lorelei, Kirstin, Tana, and always-smiling? Gretchen. What's the matter?
Grandma with the Barnhart kids, again always-smiling Gigi, My-hands-are-stuck Lorelei and Humming Joe.
Brandon and Andrew came in from Zimmerman to visit with Grandma. They are growing like weeds.
The four generation boys: Brandon, Andrew and Brett with Grandma G and Judy.

Visit with the Dudes

We had some time available on a Saturday and went to visit the Dudes and Jeff (Kirstin was off with the Girls for an overnight). Jeff at least got the grass cut while we were there. I am just trying on Nora's new hat. Fits pretty good
We went to the DQ for lunch and the Dudes had a cold treat afterwards. Grandpa, do you want a lick?
I like this so much that I decided to lick it all by myself.

Thompson Campout

Back at the end of July, all the Thompsons got together at AJ's Campground in Clearwater for a big campout. After all had arrived and setup camp we realized that it was very segregated. The Thompsons had one end and the Larsens had the other end with common ground in between. I don't think that it was done on purpose; it just turned out that way. I am trying something new by adding a slide show.