Efficient Vehicles in HOV Lanes: Why not VW TDI’s?

California wants to change federal law to allow states to determine HOV lane traffic. Contrary to how the EPA tests (and therefore how the dealers advertize), here are some average real life numbers for a few of the new gasoline-electric hybrid cars:

  • 40 mpg for the Honda Civic Hybrid

  • Mid-40s mpg for the Prius

  • 50 mpg for the Honda Insight

Hmm. I drive a 4-cylinder diesel car. I get mileage like that. Why won’t I be able to drive in the HOV lane? Especially if my emissions are clean from running on biodiesel. Isn’t the whole point of this legislative change to encourage buying fuel-efficient vehicles? It’s only a mater of time, once this passes, that a TDI owner gets ticketed driving alongside these gas-electric hybrids and takes the matter to court, fighting the hybrid-biased legislation on the basis it’s unfairly biased or something like that.

Randomism on Suckiness

OLD TIMER
I haven’t seen anything suck so bad
since the Hoover adminstration.

YOUNG MAN
Really, and what was that?

OLD TIMER
The Hoover adminstration.

Noisy Neighbor Be Gone!

Dear neighbor in apartment 33,

Please turn up your music! I love those loud, wall-shaking, hip-hop beats, especially at 12 am when I have class the next morning. But as it stands now, I can’t make out the words. It’s just a nondescript thudding sound, unless I’m sitting in my favorite chair next to the wall where I can sometimes make out those wonderful and witty lyrics. So please, turn it up. Wake me up from my boring slumber and don’t think about the welfare of your neighbor. That’s okay. When you hear that thump-thump-thumping noise at 12 am but it doesn’t go with the beat, that’s me at the door. Oh, I’m not angry at all. I’m coming over to politely ask you to turn it up even more, so all of our responsible and studious graduate student neighbors can share in the wonders of your stereo system. Turn it up because the walls are too thick and too well insulated to transmit any kind of sound. And while you’re at it, leave it on even longer. Four hours per day is certainly not enough of your diverse musical tastes.

Osophy on Math Systems

There are 10 kinds of people in the world: those who understand binary and those who don’t.

Longevity Osophy

Life’s too short to worry about everything. In fact, it might just be too short to worry about anything.