Pet...Troll!

As my friends who have been reading this blog would have known, I do keep fishes as pets which I lovingly look after every day. Day in and out, I feed them with dried grains which I buy from 2 fish shops along the Sungai Buloh Road. When I can, and I try to do it regularly, I give those fishes frozen redworms which I would pour hot water so that the fishes don't eat cold servings as living in the water, I think, can be cold enough already. But now, I have to think twice.

That's right, I am, like many of my fellow countrymen, am not a rich man. But even if I were, I think I'd be like the owners of those many luxury cars queuing at many petrol stations in their want to put in fuel before midnight. Petrol prices, as many would have known by now, are unlike the song Spinning Wheel, as rarely ever it comes down.

Now, I'm not going to berate about it as by now, maybe quite a number of people have already. What I would like to do however, is try to give tips - and hopefully get some too - about trying to save those precious RM's in liquid form. I also think there is no point telling people to buy a car with smaller engine capacity, as some makes of higher capacity are more fuel efficient than others, most especially the local production.

Off course, they will always be someone who would say 'no need to drive, take public transport'. Fine. But not everyone can take public transport. This would most certainly apply to people in sales and services, where many time rather than not, they would have to carry some items. Further, while public transport may save one on fuel cost, it may not hold true for time management.

OK. Foremost, make sure your engine are well-tuned - too high a rev would consume more petrol, while too low could mean a shorter lifespan.

When driving on the highway, try to get to the optimum speed - around 90 to 100kmph, depending on makes - and maintain it. Pressing and depressing the accelerator, or changing speed often, should be avoided as unnecessary fuel are being burnt.

When reaching a stop - toll booth, petrol stations, and even junctions - judge the distance, then coast your way to it. Simply means, if you are traveling about 90kmph and the distance is 200 meters aways, just lift your foot off the pedal and allow the car to carry through on its own momentum. Off course, you would have to adjust the speed with slight braking. Do not however, disengage your gear or put it in neutral! Doing so COULD mean losing control of the car and lead to mishaps.

From a dead stop, do not rev or accelerate to high speed. Rather, build up the speed accordingly - not too fast as you'll consume more petrol, nor too slow as you may be the cause of an accident. Driving slow too, does not necessarily mean you are saving fuel.

Avoid applying brakes unnecessarily. Many drivers do so due to their failure to anticipate either the driving condition, or the speed of the vehicles in front of them.

When the weather is sufficiently cooling, switch off your air-conditioner, and breathe in the fresh air...but not when driving behind a diesel transport!

Well, I guess that's all I can think of for the moment. Would appreciate anyone adding to it.

Oh, by the way, I think I misspelled the toll booth up there; believe the correct spelling comes with the letter 'R', as in Troll.

Found this 500 million Zimbabwe Dollar note at Rediff - World's Costliest & Cheapest Petrol.
Just hope our currency will never ever reach such low value.