Sensible Benchmarks

Does it make sense to measure the expanse of my remaining work years against a retirement system that won't be there by the time I'm eligible?

Some Perches Are Better Than Others

Apparently, some cats think that "on top of the breadmaker, on the kitchen-counter" is a good place to perch. I guess when trying to survey the kitchen for scurrying mice, particularly when a favored scurry-path is behind the dryer on which the breadmaker sits, it makes sense. Still... The prospect of the cats shedding into the heat-vents of the breadmaker (and the likely smell it will make the next time it's used) is less than appetizing.

Iconic Jerseys?

So, I'm watching the Flyers play the Tampa Bay Lightning. Unfortunately, NHL Center Ice had picked the Tampa coverage to carry (it seems the Philly coverage is rarely chosen - I can only guess that CSN Philly charges more for their feed than most other broadcasters).

Next year, Tampa is going to be giving season ticket holders RFID-equipped jerseys. The jerseys will act as the wearers' tickets and also be tied to their credit cards (or whatever) so that everything in the arena can be taken car of with a simple swipe over the RFID's location. Kind of neat but also rather creepy.

Creepiness aside, the thing that stuck out in this whole segment was how jazzed the ownership was about the new jersey design for next year. To me it looked like rubbish, but, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder," I guess. At any rate, the people responsible for this design were going on and on about how they were trying to achieve an "iconic design" in the class of the New York Yankees' pinstripes. All I could think was, "what a freaking joke... You're a hockey team in TAMPA: how the hell do you think you're EVER going to be as iconic as a team like the Yankees?" I mean, yeah, great thing to strive for, but, c'mon. It strikes me as one of those "world famous in Poland" kind of deals.

Thanks, Winter

I'm one of those people that keeps a close eye on my vehicles' average gas consumption rates. According to my fuel logbooks, my wife's SUV has gotten around 20.2 MPG over the last two-plus years; my sedan has gotten 24.7.

This past week, the DC area was visited by a fast-falling snowstorm that hit right around rush-hour (and, "rush-hour", in the DC area, is normally a four hour window in the morning and evening). When I go to my regular office, it's about a 19-mile commute. When traffic's sane, it's about a 35-minute trip. Wednesday, that same trip took me over 5.5 hours to complete. Normally, I get about 22MPG on that 19-mile trip when taking my wife's SUV to/from work. In addition to the five-hour snow-penalty, there was a serious MPG penalty: I got around 11.2MPG from the tank. Given that I'd already made the 22MPG morning run to get to the office, it means I probably got rather less than 11.2MPG on the trip home.

Argh. I hate driving in the DC-area during bad weather.