Goals

The ACTUAL Cost of an Electric Car

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

So the The U.S. Department of Energy has just released an online tool that allows you to see what the amount of electricity necessary to drive an average electric car as far as a gallon of gasoline would cost where you live. They call this the ‘eGallon’, and the U.S. average is $1.14. It goes as low as $0.83 in North-Dakota and as high as $3.69 in Hawaii where electricity is most expensive.

You can see the tool HERE.

But wait a minute. That can’t POSSIBLY be correct. I’m a big fan of EVs, but that site is a flat-out lie.

Let’s look at some numbers:

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Dead Tree Books, eBook, Self Publishing, Writing

From ALLi: What Successful Self-Publishers Do Well

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

ALLi is the Alliance of Independent Authors, the professional association for self-publishing writers.  They host an EXCELLENT self-publishing advice blog HERE.

Dr. Alison Baverstock and Alli are working together to come up with what is its that SUCCESSFUL self-publishers do well.  From the article:

Some months ago, ALLi worked with Dr Alison Baverstock on her most recent investigations into self-publishing, the findings from which will be published soon. Here she gives us a sneak peek at what the research revealed about indie authors.

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Patriotism

Happy 236th Birthday, American Flag!

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Today is Flag Day!

On this day in 1777 the United States of America adopted the American flag through the Flag Resolution at the Second Continental Congress: “Resolved, That the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.”

236 years later, the number of stars has increased to 50. The American flag remains a shining symbol of freedom throughout the world.

Self Publishing, Writing

HuffPost-UK’s Polly Courtney takes issue with John Green over self-publishing

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Polly Courtney believes that John Green got it wrong.  I agree.  He seems to not understand what ‘self-publishing’ actually is.  But he does like to talk about how ‘they’ are always holding him up as some kind of example.  I’m not sure who ‘they’ are, but someone is floating his ego up to heights where he seems kinda less like a self-publisher and more like a self-centered publisher.

From the article:

What John Green has failed to recognise, however, is that self-publishing is not about trying to take on the jobs of editors, warehouse employees and librarians. Self-publishing is not about trying to do everything yourself.

Self-publishing is about staying in control of your destiny as a writer and having a say in how your book is packaged, produced, distributed and promoted. It is about making your own decisions, in collaboration with the experts (and in some cases, fans) to ensure that your work reaches readers in the way that is right for you.

You can read the whole post HERE.

News, State Parks

California state parks officials plan to install ATMs for park admission

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

California park officials are planning to speed up the park entrance process by installing ATMs that will allow visitors to pay fees by debit or credit cart. Funding for the new equipment was set aside by legislation which provided $750,000 to “modernize the system in hopes of increasing revenue.”

From the article:

Plans call for the automation to be installed soon at about a dozen locations, including Emerald Bay State Park at Lake Tahoe, Point Mugu in the Santa Monica Mountains and the San Luis Reservoir State Recreation Area near Pacheco Pass. The machines are equipped with encryption devices to deter ID theft, Stearns said.

The new machines will allow park visitors to pay for admission hourly or part days.

You can read the whole article HERE.