Searching for the 2010 Stanley Cup

I love stuff like this. I wonder what Google search trends show in the cities whose teams are competing for the Stanley Cup. Well, a fellow Googler in Chicago took a look. Enjoy:

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/06/searching-for-2010-stanley-cup.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FMKuf+%28Official+Google+Blog%29

Used shoes and iPods

It won't surprise those of you who know me that I bought some used shoes over the Memorial Day weekend. Yes, that is how cheap I am. The shoes cost $16 and are shown in the picture below. Incidentally, this is not the first time I've bought used shoes there...

I also picked up some used iPods (Nano, 2nd gen, before Apple changed the connectors just to f#%& with all of us who bought accessories) for my girls. They LOVE them.

Where do I buy this stuff? Unclaimed Baggage Center in Scottsboro, Alabama. It turns out that airlines lose a lot of luggage! What do they do with the luggage they can't re-unite with its owners? They sell it! But they don't want to sell it in a big city, apparently, where it would get a lot of attention. So UBC buys this luggage and sells it in an obscure location in northern Alabama.

Business Climate

The Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council recently released its Business Tax Index 2010. Check it out!

Here is the full report:
http://www.sbecouncil.org/uploads/BTI2010_2.pdf

Main drivers in the survey were personal income tax rate, capital gains tax rate, and corporate tax rate. The best and worst states won't be much of a surprise to anyone who pays attention to politics, with the possible exception of Idaho.

Get your jobs here!

Are you kidding me? The Census Bureau creates jobs by firing and re-hiring people repeatedly? This from the most ethical and transparent administration in history? (I guess that was the campaign, this is now.) Well, that's what's you have to do when you don't have any real economic policy. Which happens because your administration doesn't have anybody who understands economics...

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/two_more_census_workers_blow_the_OqY80N3DBTvL17VmxKKR0O

http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2010/05/hire-fire-hire-census-game-or-why.html

Musings on fuel mileage

I do love to get good mileage (I drive motorcycles and a four-cylinder car, and sometimes I skate to work). Here are some interesting links on this subject.

Top Ten Misconceptions About Fuel Economy
http://fueleconomy.gov/feg/topten.jsp

Gas Mileage Tip: Keeping Your Car in Shape
http://fueleconomy.gov/feg/maintain.shtml

Gas Mileage Tip: Driving More Efficiently
http://fueleconomy.gov/feg/driveHabits.shtml


More interesting to me is what other people think. Check out this this story:
http://green.yahoo.com/blog/daily_green_driving/62/six-gas-mileage-myths.html

Notice this quote:
"An amazing 65 percent of Americans surveyed support a mandated transition to a 50-mpg fuel economy standard by 2025. That's a tough standard, some 15 mpg better than the ambitious goal set by the Obama Administration (35 mpg by 2016)."

Here is a link to the original survey:
http://admin.consumerfed.org/elements/www.consumerfed.org/File/Gas_Oil_Survey_Oil_Spill_PR_5_18_10.pdf

Not sure I believe these results. I would have to know more about the Consumer Federation of America and how they phrased the question.

But ask yourself this: Why, if so many people think mileage should be increased, don't they buy higher mileage cars? Nothing is stopping them, yet they won't do it. When people answer polls like this, are they trying to make themselves look better to the nameless, faceless person on the other side of the phone line? Or are they so full of shit that their eyes are brown?


Let's go one step further: Why do people buy hybrid cars like the Toyota Prius? I believe that many people do it not only because they want good mileage but also because they want to show off what good people they are for saving the Earth. And I think the latter reason, the need to show it off and to get credit, is the more important of the two.

Toyota Prius EPA mileage:
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/2008car1tablef.jsp?id=26425

Now let's look at some old Hondas. The late, great Honda CRX HF (probably the best car I've ever owned) was rated around 50 mpg by the EPA. I got a solid 45 mpg with my CRX HF, and 50+ mpg on highway trips. Not necessarily an apples-to-apples comparison, because cars today have greater features and safety mandates, and I understand that the EPA changed their rating methodology, but still interesting:

http://money.cnn.com/2007/12/17/autos/honda_civic_hf/index.htm

http://www.automobilemag.com/green/reviews/0907_1985_honda_crx_hf_2010_honda_insight/index.html

http://cars.about.com/b/2006/05/12/what-ever-happened-to-the-50-mpg-honda.htm


Even better, what about the 1992 Honda Civic VX? I remember the window sticker of this car showing 48 mpg city and 55 mph highway.

http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.ef7f897

http://www.gassavers.org/garage/view/2458

http://www.carsurvey.org/reviews/honda/civic/r81422/


Funny, I don't remember any environmentalists lining up to buy the conventional technology Civic or CRX mentioned above...

Song of the Day: Sara Haze - Melt Into You

Wonder why I don't listen to radio anymore? Have a listen to this song, which I first heard on Accident Hash.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SC7UnlhNVeA

Here's another version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtHCvk9O78E

The feeling is mutual!

"I wouldn't trust anyone who voted me into office."

http://www.theonion.com/articles/report-majority-of-government-doesnt-trust-citizen,17459/

This is brilliant satire, in my opinion. It's funny because deep down I think it's true.


Note: Blogger, for all its virtues, simply cannot read a calendar. The dates it applies to posts are bald-faced lies. Starting with this post I have decided to manually edit the date to accurately reflect when I posted. Hence the gap in posts that you may have noticed.