Hibernation for cars with diesel engine

Well, interesting topic and I could not agree with Bernhard more!

We will also have a problem with our car, powered by a diesel engine and not having a diesel particular filter, when a ban on driving becomes reality. Thank God, that we live in the center of Graz and therefore we are not dependent on a car all the time. We just actually need it when we go to a supermarket once a week to buy all essentials for daily live (peanuts you anyway buy in the store round the corner), have to transport bulky and heavy things and in summer when we drive to our parcel on a lake near Gralla. This is also the reason for our automotive choice -> we have a Fiat Ducato with large capacity (it also provides enough room to sleep therein :-)).

So, what to do when we aren't allowed to drive with our car: In summer the problem doesn't exit and else in case of need we could do our shopping walking more often in a week, so that we don't have to carry heavily.
However I would like to know how this order should be controlled. I doubt that we have enough police to do this job.

It seems to me that the whole thing is just a new way for making money (producers of particulate filters, garages and the city treasury are already happy or rather will be when the first penalties are distributed), because the 'real producer' of particulate matter, as already mentioned by Bernhard, aren't kept in mind.

In conclusion I think we will be able to live with that, but I don't know what people who are dependent on their car and don't have enough money to refit their cars or buy a new one, or have a car for which no appropriate particulate filter exists (like Karl) will do when the ban on driving for diesel cars without a filter is enacted.

Hibernation for cars with diesel engine

It might be hard to believe - at least it is astonishing - but it’s true: I really share Bernhard’s opinions in all aspects.
I read that even the public transport companies do not know how to deal with the great increase of passengers from one day to another. May this is solved as well as the problem with the short-term parking zone. I’m really interested in that solution as I often use such zones during the night hours and it would be hard for me to go back to my car every 3 hours to buy another ticket in case that I’m not allowed to move it.
Another problem I see is, to inform the people when they are not allowed to drive. How will this work? I normally don’t read newspaper in the morning and I doubt that this would be already announced there. Also I hardly hear radio, only in my car but I’m normally driving around when I’m in there.
Nevertheless I tried to inform my self how much it would be to attach a particulate filter to my car, but I only found filters for the later versions of my car. The mail to the service centre is also not answered till now. So I played around with the idea to buy a new car powered by a petrol engine but there are some delivery problems with the car I want (the Audi R8 is available at autumn of next year earliest) and as it is not sure if those cars are allowed to drive next winter, I decided to stay with my old one…
No, seriously its not that I don’t care about the environment, but sometimes I feel already a little be tricked as a car owner. I work over 3 months a year just for my car – the original price of the car not included - just to keep it. Insurances, diesel, services and so on. The currently discussed fee for using the highway – only 5 cents per kilometre - would cost me another 780€ a year.
For me it was always kind of fun to drive around. Especially in the night, listening to some good music was relaxing. Somehow this changes now. Maybe I’ll take a day at a spa to relax in future as it might be cheaper.
I hope everybody can understand why I don’t like the idea of spending so much money for being not allowed to use my car especially as the benefit for the environment is rather questionable.

Hibernation for cars with diesel engine

Imagine you are a car powered by an diesel engine (hopefully by an very powerful one) and having no diesel particulate filter. If your home is Graz or its surroundings, you only have to hold out about 3 weeks. Then a wonderful, comfortable and stress-free period will start - you can't (have not to) drive every day (no, this is not because you are a Lada or a Mazda ;-) ).

To get to the point - we are no cars (what a pity) - but what I want to talk about is the period with possible bans on driving starting on december 15th. This bans on driving, affecting all cars powered by diesel engines without having a diesel particulate filter, will become effective after 5 days exceeding the threshold value for particulate matter emmission.
This rule affects me too, but I don't want to install a diesel particulate filter - not yet.
Well, for me there are a lot of things which should be discussed about this subject.
So statistics about the harming particulate matter emmission for people's health are mainly from the 80's (at least as per information from a big austrian driver club).
The next important point is, that only 14,9 percent of the emission are caused by road traffic - and there less than the half is by passenger cars. So the main culprits are the burning of houses (36,8 percent) and the industry (31,5 percent) (information by ÖAMTC). Why we are hearing nothing (or not much) about sanctions for them?
It seems that there only a hysteria about particulate matter emmission is created at car drivers.
In my opinion there are a lot of questions refering to this topic:
- Will there be a measurable improvement of the air quality, only if on such days some cars are not allowed to drive?
- Why there are no more sanctions against industrial firms?
- Why the lowering of speed limits on highways during the winter is also valid for cars powered by petrol engines (which are considered to be clean)?
Frankly speaking I await this new rule concerning the bans on driving very relaxed, although I think that there will be a pretty chaos. A lot of people will get problems on their way to their job, because of meeting problems:
- there are too little numbers of park and ride places
- the timetable of of the public transport companies are having a too small frequence
- and so on.

So I just look forward to the period after december 15th. Then we will see how we are able to deal with our new not existing mobility. (I'm sorry, I forgot, that there are also a lot of people who are not affected by this rule - my question to anyone of them: do you have a free place for a passenger left in your car? - then I might be reliant on you! :-) )

Elephant theory? what should I reply?

Well Karl, first of all - bla? I'm sorry that my first comment on your theory respectively your blog isn't very serious, but you can't expect serious comments on this topic.
To be honest, I don't have any whistles assembled on my car - and if you believe me or not, I had no dangerous situation with an across the street jumping elephant so far.
But maybe, I'm only a lucky fellow. :-)
So, but now let's get back to seriousness. (if it is actually possible when talking about a theory that every thing or every human being has the same size).
Maybe I have no creative mind, but I don't agree with your opinion or theory, that every human being has the same size. But if I go on thinking about this, I see also few advantages if your theory is true. If someone can enlarge his size by blowing up himself, the reverse case that someone is able to decrease his size also should be possible. People don't have to diet, if they want to look smaller, they only have to let the air out of their bodys. So... but I can try it again and again - it's impossible for me to change my size to get bigger and above all it is unfortunately also not possible for me to reduce my size (primarily my waist)... :-( In my opinion your elephant theory is to forget and so far so good - I only can remember my first comment: "bla?"

Let us declare following first. The world is round, water runs downhill, iron is harder than paper, if you have doubts only a short slap to the back of your head with both materials should convice you immediately, the fastest way between two points is the straight line, a curve can never be a straight line, the sun is bigger than the moon, the altitude of the sun has nothing to do with the intelligence of blog-writing students. Everyone knows everything. No way, you say and you are right. What I mean is that we know some things, but not all. Have the answer and the problem is solved. Right, well, maybe. The first part of problem solving is to determine what the problem is. Sometimes we are too quick in presenting answers, we belief in knowing the solution without close analysis, without having recognized the problem in all details. To be engaged in the whole details of a problem brings you to a level where you can decide whether it is a big or a small problem, whether searching for answers is indispensable to life or is to be equated with the story about the toppled down bicycle in China.
By the way, there are even some people who give us answers or try to give us answers to questions nobody on earth would raise them. As a result of this awareness and due to the fact that a story should have an end I can record following: I am more the follower of the solely true elephant theory: “You can eat an elephant one bite at a time”.

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well Bernhard, there are a couple of spaces you could fill .... start with that and don't write "bla" ;-)

Elephant – an imitator

Very nice theory - but nothing really new.

Most people don't know that the phenomenon of low tide and high tide is caused by the whales living in our oceans. They do the same thing as the elephants. In fact whales are the same size as NEMOs (clown fishes) and only pump up their body when they are bothered by big ships and motorboats.

Because of this and the fact that whales always live in big herds they are responsible for the high tide. It's proved that whales exist much longer than elephants so you can assume that the elephants only copy the behaviour of the whales.

So, that’s all I can tell you about this, but you can download the scientific paper about it from www.longLiveTheMadness.com.

@Karli: I hope that it was just a short moment of confusion when you wrote this post and that now everything is okay again :-).

Starmania - missed chance to become a popstar...

(formely existed as comment on the text of Mr. Strong Oak with strong roots)

Well - what should I say - Mr. "StrongOakWithStrongRoots"! - our carinthian friend... - your evening with Starmania wasn't as wonderful as you have expected?
Well, hm... I don't know if it's good for me if I tell you now that I also have applied for the Starmania casting 2 years ago... but that's the naked truth - I was on the way to a big popstar, but because of having no time at the casting date, my way to fame got broken... So if I were a candidate at Starmania, you can be sure, the most expensive wine would be too cheap to suit to my very special exhibitions... :-)But let's get back to reality... I was not at the castings (which was most likely the best for the audience and for me too (I don't wanted to be known as one of the "sorry, no - candidates" :-) )), I have only applied for the castings and that don't happened in a serious way... and it's the sad truth - I will never become a famous popstar :-(

(but isn't it good to know (or to be nearly sure), that all other current pseudo popstars from the Starmania show also will not become real popstars???)

Starmania - a must see (but once is enough)

Time passes by so fast and our minds are flooded by such cheap shows where starmania is no exception. Some month ago "Dancing Stars" was the best show to watch when you want to fall asleep rapidly. Before that it was Taxi Orange, before that Big Brother and before that it was something else like "Herzblatt" or "Lass dich überraschen". Same crap in another packing.

Neil Postman once wrote a book called "Amusing Ourselves to Death". It was not a real good book and I'm not recommending it to you (he really has a too negative view on TV in general) but the title is striking and watching shows like starmania I sometimes believe it is true. But honestly we are searching for this cheap entertainment, it can be relaxing not to think, just watch and look what's happening. So I’ve to admit that I see most parts of the first season and the amazing thing is: I never really liked it but didn’t stop.

To read that somebody has obviously watched the show for the first time was astonishing. Should I have respect now or is television just not that common in Carinthia yet? However: Wish you more luck next time when you open a bottle of good wine and switch on the TV-set.

The elephant theory

I personally believe that elephants have the similar size as a cat or maybe a small dog. Do you know the saurian with the ruff to seem bigger or the fishes that can pump up their body to frighten their opportunities (the Porcupinefish)? I think elephants using the same principle. Every time they see somebody, they take a deep breath and - pop - they become giant.
Therefore they are also very dangerous when you driving at night. They jump on the street and you don't see them because they are small, but when they get scared by the spotlights of your car, they pop-up and suddenly an elephant stands on the road right before you.
Even worse is that normally nobody believes you when you tell that story.
Believe it or not, I for myself have small whistles assembled on my car. The airstream blows them and the noise is displeasing for the overdimensioned and sensitive ears of elephants (you have to know that they don’t shrink or expand so they are really big in comparison to their real body). That should keep them out of my way. Up to now it's working fine, never saw an elephant on the street yet.
Hopefully I'll never meet a deaf one...

Starmania (a brummagem entertainment)

Are you kidding? It's the best show, which has ever been made by the ORF!

All joking aside, Starmania is a pure light show in the main evening program without any content. Personally, I think that such cheap programs go up in an inappropriate quantity, independent of the program category. I think of for example "Reich und Schön", "Die Super Nanny", "Tausche Familie", "Verliebt in Berlin" and so on (please don't hit me if any title is not correct).
For really good and interesting TV programs, for example some documentation, you sometimes have to wait the whole night if you want to see them.

Apart therefrom thousands of Austrians enjoy watching Starmania and properly sympathize with the candidates. They are even poised to call or send a sms for them, although they have to pay for it. It seems to me that there must be something within the show I don't recognize (maybe it's the charm of graceful Arabella or the pin sharp comments of Mr. Eder).

In conclusion I have to tell you that I don't really like Starmania, but I believe it's the best show you can watch when you come home from Campus02 at Fridays and want to fall asleep rapidly.

@Hermann: Thank you very much indeed for this unbeatable topic :-)