If you don’t already know the Tesla Motors is a California start up that has just started selling an electric battery powered sports car. They are much too expensive for the average car buyer, but hopefully the research that has gone into these will move into less expensive models someday. Tesla’s specs are pretty impressive for a electric car, it goes 0 to 60 in less than 4 seconds with a top speed of 125 MPH. It also can go around 200 miles in a single charge.

Top Gear’s review is a bit mixed, but overall they seemed impressed. Pretty good considering they usually bash “eco” cars.

Phoenix light rail is almost completed and will be a great way to get around if it happens to be going where you need to be. With all the trains running we’re all going to have one more thing to watch out for in the streets. I’m not sure what city this light rail video is from, but it’s a good reminder to be aware of your surroundings and where the tracks are located. Don’t become part of Phoenix’s installment of Metro’s Greatest Hits.

Here’s a really cheesy video produced to educate Arizonan’s on safety and the new Phoenix light rail system. I did learn what some of the new signs mean, so you can actually get some good info out of it.

ASU has begun constructing a solar power plant on top of its Apache parking structure (stucture 1). This installtion is expected to produce around 1.4 million killowat-hours a year or enough to power 115 average homes. Another great benefit is that the top level of this stucture will now be shaded from the sun which is a nice perk in the summer. I’m especially excited about the shade because I park my car in this stucture everday. Check out the picture below of the progress so far. I will post more pictures when the project is completed.

More info Here: asuwebdevil

This is pretty neat, a company called Change to E85 is selling kits to allow non-flex-fuel vehicles to run on E85 ethanol. These kits are basically a small computer that tricks a car’s computer to adjust the fuel injection system for E85. This actually works and I know of a guy that has been running this in a Prius with no problems. If you have been wanting to run E85 in your vehicle, but it’s not flex-fuel you might want to check this out. The video below show how easy it is to install, you basically just have to plug it in to your fuel injector.

There’s been a lot of debate about biofuels lately, so before you swith you might want to learn more about it and decide for youself if E85 is better than gasoline.

That picture is of our darling girl, Kaylee. She is part chow, part golden retriever and 100% love. She is one of our furry children and she is a rescue. She didn’t have any back story at all, she is young and full of love and life yet she ended up at Rescue a Golden, AZ. Some folks don’t realize this happens. Fabulous dogs and cats for random crazy reasons end up at shelters, the shelters are over run (spay and neuter!) and so they don’t get much time to find a home before they have lost their lives.  It is no fault of the shelter, it is a lack of funds, a lack of space, and just too many critters that necessitates this unfortunate strategy which leads to 4-5 million deaths of cats and dogs each year.

Here are some interesting numbers from the Humane Society:

The problem is obvious, there are too many abandoned animals and not enough money to care for them. More funds are needed to support animal shelters which gets me to the point of this post. Most everyone is struggling financially right now.  Abandonment rates are up as people surrender loved pets they cannot afford to care for any more. Shelters are feeling the sting of the recession, too, as people close their wallets to donations and charity. In comes a contest that will award much needed funds to deserving animal rescues based on your votes!  Here is the information I recieved:

How the contest works:

Anyone can visit Care2.com/animalsheltercontest and select their favorite animal shelter or rescue group. Then, you can tell neighbors and friends to do the same! The shelter or rescue group with the most votes wins $10,000.

In addition to the grand prize:

• Second and third place winners will each receive $1,000. The groups that place 4th through 20th will each win $500.
• Every week, a randomly selected participating group (five or more votes that week) will win $500.
• The 20 contest participants who recruit the most friends to vote for their favorite shelter will receive a $50 gift certificate for pet products as special thank-you gifts.

So, get started voting and spread the word!

Click here to find your favorite shelters in your state.

Click here for Arizona Animal Shelters.

This picture is of our kitty, Fia. We rescued her from the Arizona Animal Welfare League six years ago. She was a little scrawny stray. She was so brown and matted up they had to shave her so we thought she was a short hair. When we brought her home… *poof* her beautiful snow white mane and onyx black tail exploded into all its fluffy glory.  She is the queen of the house, our very first critter and we adore her.  Arizona Animal Welfare League will definitely get our vote as our other rescue (Rescue a Golden, AZ) is not listed.

Rescued animals come in all shapes and sizes with all different temperments. They are just like people, everyone has their own personality.  It is ridiculous to me to think that someone would purchase an animal from a pet store (most of which support puppy mills) or from a breeder for hundreds or even thousands of dollars when so many wonderful dogs, cats, and other little critters need homes, too.

This is your chance to support a good shelter by casting your vote. Also, with the holiday season coming up consider donating to your favorite shelter in your loved one’s name rather than purchasing gifts.  Those lonely dogs and cats need it more than your husband needs a new gadget or your wife needs that designer purse.