Passionflower is planted, should take over the balcony by summer ;)

Luggage for a family of four fits entirely in the trunk

Clockwise from back left: one extra large suitcase on its side, one large suitcase also on its side, one huge carry on standing, one regular carry on, one backpack, and I added another backpack and a valise on top.

When I pulled up to the house, the family tried to send me away because they thought I would never fit all their luggage. I promised it would fit and they did, sitting comfortably in the passenger area, car seat and all, no luggage in laps or anything :) if I was a car dealer I think I could have sealed a sale by the time we went got to the airport :D

Best un-utilized building in the area

I was told this beautiful Gothic building was the offices of Pacific Gas Company originally. Same guy said it was one solid concrete pour! Hard to imagine. More fun to imagine this as a venue you get to off the river :)

Idle wanderings led me to a nice surprise at Melt Sandwiches

I walked into Melt not having any idea what to expect. Right next to coffeetime on 21st, this space has been many things, last I think it was a soup and smoothie shop. But I walked in and it looked utterly different. Super stylish, good music, friendly service, interesting and tasty menu, and the modest size is a welcome change from the other neighborhood establishments. Great place to share a conversation, a beer and a little table with a friend or two.

The photos show my house-pickles veggies, HUB Lager and tasty parmesan fries. Yummy!

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Lovely evening in the South Park blocks

After taking this photo I took the same shot for someone visiting Portland to work at OHSU. His name is Mocket like they say market in Boston and he came all the way from South Africa. I'm glad it wasn't rainy the one evening he could walk around :) in fact it was awesome.

Funny stencil seen on a truck a few weeks ago

The perfect amount of "unexpected"

Could probably fit another one...

Blue sky with a fluffy glaze of clouds

Beautiful sunrise today!

Jaxicab's Appraisel of the Prius as a Taxi

After the first couple weeks of driving the Prius as a taxi, both Xopher
and I agree that there is no going back from a hybrid; the design is
perfect for driving, perfect for taxi service. You can say a lot of good things about the car, but let's face it; the
real appeal is in how it affects the bottom line. So check this out:
Taxis do a lot of city driving and the Prius gets 50+ mpg city or
highway. If all goes well and we can drive this car 200,000 miles, we
should experience an incredible amount of fuel savings. For instance,
over that many miles, at $3.95 a gallon, our Prius will be $36,800 LESS
expensive to fuel than the car we retired, all the while generating the
same income! Win!

Besides winning at the pumps, the Prius has other benefits:

- The regenerative braking system is basically the electric motor
running backwards. That not only means you can slow down without
friction, (no need to replace brake pads etc) you even generate
electricity. Wow. - Most frequently I am driving alone, or have a single passenger; now I
feel much more efficient than before because the vehicle matches my
load.
- I've driven some big, tall people already. One guy sat in the front,
must have been 7 foot, 300+ pounds with his 5 inches of spiky hair, but
he fit, got the seatbelt on and everything. I don't think the car could
have handled anyone else, and we were both glad he was alone, but our
fleet has some huge vans that would be more ideal for extremely tall
customers. Those Scion xB's have a lot of headroom too...anyway the
Prius can handle the other 90% of taxi business perfectly :)
- The hatchback allows more flexibility in cargo space. I can put the
seats down and have room for a bike in the back and the rider in the
front. I've even lugged a vintage dining room table and two chairs to a
storage space! Couldn't ever do that with a standard sedan. - Taxi drivers get paid to idle. In a Prius, I am still paid the waiting
time without wasting gas.
- It is so quiet! Passengers appreciate the quiet as well.
- Being smaller and shorter with a better turning radius, the car is
much more navigable and extremely easy to park. - The joystick (yep, I'm calling the gear shifter a joystick) is a
futuristic trackball-like device on a control panel, making the driving
experience feel more like operating a moving computer than driving a
car. - The built-in Ecodriving meter is responsive and informative, making
gas saving easy. The statistics make it a game to try and stay in
electric drive and get the best efficiency. Not a bad thing to be
encouraged to do but easy to ignore if I just want to get somewhere
quickly :)

The list can continue, and when I think of more I'll add them :)

Overall it is stylish, comfortable and has been getting really good
reception from all age groups and demographics, even people who have
previously avoided hybrids for "political" reasons but like it and seem
shocked I tell them it is a hybrid. Quite a few people have said they
began to consider purchasing one of their own during the ride :)

My friend James Kelly from LivingTheGreen.tv shot a video with me and
the new taxi, I get to see the finished product tomorrow! I'll post a
link as soon as I can :D We took some high quality photos as well that I
am excited to share, stay tuned :)

Jackson Cafazzo

New Leaves on Couch

It was a quiet stoplight, me in the Prius with a Nissan Leaf in front and beside me :)

Blooms spreading in Laurelhurst

For Mawuli Ware who's photo got me inspired to take a shot too :)

The blooms spread along the bush like it is catching on fire :) neat :)

Spring snow and a spontaneous apple

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The Rhoadies are beginning to bloom :)

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