The bus journeys were often uncomfortable and grindingly boring, but my low-carbon expedition out west went wonderfully, all told. I spent some excellent time with my family during Christmas and at Yellow Point Lodge; I saw a heap of long-neglected friends during the span of a frantic night’s partying; and I got to devote a solid block of time to catching up with Emily.
It will probably take me a while to adjust to the cold (and to normal working hours), though I will be aided in the former by an excellent woolen coat my brother Mica gave me. While the return journey involved the loss of a treasured green Pilot G2 pen, the whole expedition can only really be counted as an incredible success. My thanks again to everyone who contributed to that.
Congratulations on making both arduous trips successfully. (If I had done the same trip and all I had lost on the way was one pen, I would be very proud of myself).
It was really wonderful to spend time with you, and I hope that there are lots of adventures waiting around the corner in Ottawa. I was very sad to see you go.
Thank you so much for making such an epic journey to Vancouver. It demonstrates a lot of strength of character, and maybe.. some healthy craziness. :)
Glad to hear you are home safe!
How often do Greyhound buses have those trailers?
That would affect fuel efficiency.
Welcome back, Milan.
The trailers do not “effect fuel efficiency”, at least not in the simple sense of decreasing it. Fuel efficiency is the amount of fuel required for an amount of useful work to get done. The trailer would increase fuel consumption, but also increase the amount of useful work the bus can do. Whether the trailer produces a net increase in fuel consumption depends on the opportunity cost – without it, what other method would be used to transport the cargo? Would that method utilize more or less fuel?
As I’ve said many times, the fuel efficiency of vehicles is irrelevant anyway in the long run. It doesn’t matter how much we can marginally reduce fuel consumption – we need to switch to energy sources which do not emit C02. Being thrifty with energy is only relevant because it is expensive to produce energy without Co2 emissions – if it were not, then there would be no reason to conserve energy.
Milan
You contributed so much to our very special Christmases and our time at Yellowpoint Lodge. Having all three of our sons with us at this time of year was ever so special. Also your party of the 26th brought many friends together, a number of which commented that they had not been brought together so fully since your last soiree of a similar nature. It was very special that you and Emily could join us on Ukrainian Christmas Eve the last night you were in North Vancouver.
What an effort your journey was. Sleep well. You deserve it.
Regarding ‘affect’ and ‘effect’
Affect is always a verb: “The outcome of the trial may affect the next election.”
Effect is usually a noun: “The effect of gamma radiation on cells is well understood.”
But sometimes a verb: “We need to effect a change in policy” or “The police were able to effect their search warrant.”