Tank 202 - 2 August 2009

I had the unfortunate pleasure/mistake of refueling at the World's
Slowest Gas Pump yesterday. It was so slow that I stopped at the first
click. It was so slow that the guy who pulled up at the opposite side
pump actually swiped his credit card, punched in the ZIP code, started
pumping, decided it was too slow, replaced the pump, got his receipt,
and drove away before I was done with one gallon. It was torture.

To make it even worse, after 11.782 tedious gallons and 414.3 miles, it
was only 35.16 miles per gallon. This was an unusually large amount of
gas for this car.

How I dislike the local Valero.

On another, more positive note, the Cash Cab was also refueled recently,
and after that vehicle went 382.6 miles, the trip computer reported 23.4
miles per gallon. We squoze 16.486 gallons in there, making for an
actual mileage of 23.21 mpg, which is pretty good both for the minivan
and also as a correlation with the trip computer.

How to Stop Rubbernecking

http://www.cockeyed.com/science/rubbernecking/rubbernecking.php

Tank 201 - 22 July 2009

39.91 miles per gallon after going 448.2 miles on 11.230 gallons.

I refueled on July 22, 2009. On July 22, 2008 I also refueled, but that
was my 22nd tank of the year, and yesterday was my 23rd tank of this
year. I have gone about 400 more miles so far this year than last year,
although I have spent about $270 less on the gasoline I have used.

It's been a pretty good stretch of mileages recently, with my last 5
tanks averaging 39.43 miles per gallon. Gas only has cost about 6 cents
per mile, or about 18 miles per dollar of gas. So my 33 mile commute
costs under two dollars each way. I remember days in the past when I
had to work for half an hour just to earn enough money to pay for the
gas I used to get to and from the job. It's nice those days are in the
past.

How to stop cell-phone use behind the wheel. - By William Saletan - Slate Magazine

http://www.slate.com/id/2223277?nav=wp

American drivers should learn to love the roundabout. - By Tom Vanderbilt - Slate Magazine

http://www.slate.com/id/2223035/

Tank 200 - 13 July 2009

Thanks to the 4th of July Holiday, I made it two full weeks between
fill-ups this time. Plus, I managed to eke out 452.7 miles before
refueling, which is the third longest distance I have gone on a tank of
gas.

I filled up at the legendary Woodbridge Exxon with 11.516 potent gallons
of gas, making for 39.31 miles per gallon on this tank.

All of this greatness could be too much for me to handle.

Recently, I have been noticing, or wanting to notice, that certain
brands of vehicles tend to be aggressive asses on the highway. In
particular, I notice, or want to notice, that all (not "most," but each
and every one I see) BMWs tend to be aggressive asses who drive fast,
erratic, and unpredictable.

So I think I will shortly start tracking another statistic on my way
home: the AAI, or "aggressive ass index," if you will. Currently I am
contemplating how to categorize aggressive ass behavior, and how
detailed I want to get with the breakdown.

I am aware that sometimes I behave like an aggressive ass as well, so
I'll do my best to document the times I behave in such ways that offend
my fellow commuters.

My goal here is to see if in fact more BMW drivers are aggressive asses
than other brands of car drivers.