Satya's blog - 2007/07/

Jasonasks why we blog.

My blog is a place for me to get thoughts onto "paper". In the absence of a blog, I'd be bugging people with the same stuff, in real time (which is precious), and repeating myself (did I remember to tell you...?). It's also a place to leave notes for myself -- the future me, whether next day or next decade. Of course, I could email notes to myself instead, but, as with the Rails stuff, it's out there for the googling lost programmer to find.

And, of course, fame and fortune.

(PS: Jason, blogspot sucks and the comment captcha does not work.)

When we got back from Florida, we were almost out of gas. Yesterday I filled the tank again so now we have an accurate picture of the fuel consumption

Leg 1: Filled up on the way out of Charleston, at 21479 miles. Next filling was in Jacksonville, at 21765 miles. That's 286 miles. 8.034 gallons. That's 35.599 miles/gallon. Mostly highway driving, plus driving around Jacksonville. Some attempts at drafting. Google maps says Charleston to Jacksonville is 240 miles, city to city.

Leg 2: Jacksonville, 21765 miles, to Ft. Lauderdale. 22126 mile reading. That's 361 miles. Used 10.739 gallons. 33.616 miles/gallon. Some of that was highway, some in Jacksonville city, and some on the scenic highway. Google maps says Jacksonville to Ft. Lauderdale is 325 miles, city to city.

Leg 3: Ft. Lauderdale, 22126 miles. Filled 11.994 gallons in Miami at 22409 miles. That's 283 miles, 23.595 miles/gallon. Driving within Ft. Lauderdale/Miami area, some on the interstates. A lot of A/C was used, a lot of idling, braking, accelerating, many passengers. Could explain it.

Leg 4: Miami, 22409 miles. Filled 12.669 gallons at Titusville, approximate mileage 22779. That's about 370 miles, 29.205 miles/gallon. Driving in the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area may account for the drop.

Leg 5: Titusville, approximately 22779 miles. Filled 13.121 gallons at Charleston, about 432 miles later (google maps says 374 miles city to city -- add 20 miles driving in Titusville plus driving in Charleston). That's about 32.924 miles/gallon. Mostly interstate driving, some truck drafting, a little commuting.The interstate driving was in heavy rain. Wind may have helped, or not.

Average for the trip: 1732 miles, 56.56 gallons. 30.62 miles/gallon.

Car: Hyundai Elantra automatic.
Tank capacity: 14.5 gallons.
Extreme highway range: 380 miles with margin.
Absolute best-case highway range: 430+ miles.
City range, estimating an average 24mpg: 348 miles.
Recommended fill distance: 320 miles.
Real MPG: 30 Highway, 25 city (estimates based on real-world driving)

Update: Added city-to-city mileages from Google maps.

Last updated: Jul 22 2007 11:47

Went to various places in Florida, as far south as Miami. Drove over 1k miles (much more). Used about 5 tanks of fuel (over 60 gallons). Got 35 mpg on one leg, and an estimated average of 29. Someone (me) forgot to note the milage in Titusville.

Sunday: Left Chas southbound on 17 and then I-95. After several stops for baby, maps, etc., arrived Jacksonville. Tried to enter the Busch brewery, which was closed on Sunday. Discovered that Florida drivers don't use turn signals. Had lunch at Red Chillies on Baymeadows Rd (Ave?). Their South Indian food was good, all else sucked. Buffet. ~$10 each. Went to hotel, checked in. Drove around Jacksonville. Had ice cream for dinner.

Monday: Left Jacksonville fairly early and drove down Phillips highway. Tried to get gas, discovered my Amex wouldn't work. Used Visa. Went to St. Augustine via US1, drove through looking at stuff. Got on I-95 to Melbourne. Had lunch at Basil Leaf in Melbourne. It was okay. ~$7 each. Tried getting on A1A scenic highway. After a few dead ends, got on. Not scenic. Just hotels. Got off at Vero Beach. Took I-95 at rush hour. Much traffic. Stopped at Costco claiming to have gas, but it didn't. Got gas elsewhere. Missed the I-595 exit at Ft Lauderdale due to poor signage. Got to the hotel Hyatt late due to searching for A1A. Discovered that Florida drivers have no courtesy, will cut in front of you, and will tailgate at 75mph (speed limit 65).

Tuesday: Drove around, saw downtown, looked at the port, looked at Las Olas Blvd at night. Much driving between hotel and port. Expensive lunch and dinner -- $10 each at Siam House, ~$17 at Riverside Hotel on Las Olas.

Wednesday: Sawgrass mall, more driving around. The hotel was 10 miles from the port. Dinner: Pizza, rice.

Thursday: Took A1A to Miami. More scenic than Monday. Saw Bayshore marketplace (parking is a minimum $5 for 3 hours, 1.50 for each additional hour). Got lost looking for Old Cutler Blvd, which contrary to tourist map does not start off US1 near downtown. Saw Coral Castle (nice, but not worth the trip and price of admission -- $9, I think). Went to beach and put baby in water (he did not like it, nor the sand). Learned that Miami places (TGI Friday's and a mediterranean restaurant called Sultan -- Sultan did not have water but sold bottles for $2/bottle.) include tips in the bill. Returned to Ft Lauderdale via I-95.

Parking in south Florida is usually pay-and-park via automatic machines, or in less touristy places, parking meters.

Friday: Went to Andrew's Diner, which was closed until next week. Headed north on I-95 to Titusville, Fl. Went to Kennedy Space Center. Saw shuttle fuel tank and the tip of an SRB in the distance. 3D IMAX. Other stuff. Hid under shuttle mock-up for rain. Got completely wet. Got wetter going to car. Ate Taco Bell and went to hotel.

Saturday: Went to KSC's Astronaut Training Experience. Skipped the movie. Got into simulator, which was fun. Other activities. Aced shuttle landing simulator. Space camp must be booked in advance and lasts a week. Ate at Denny's. Left for Charleston, SC. From Jacksonville to home much rain. Traffic was down to 35mph on I-95 at some points. Still, made decent time and got home by 8.

Update: Added the prices for some of the restaurants.

Last updated: Oct 11 2007 22:05

I spent more than a week looking for a very important document (an I-94, for those who understand such things). I looked in the place it was supposed to be, about 5 times. I found it today ... at work. It was tucked away "safely" in my backup location. It even occurred to me that it may be here 2 days ago. But I started checking yesterday, even opened the "location". But then something else seized my attention: paperclips, and I forgot. Glad to find it, annoyed by the days of worry. Glad to save the $160 it would have cost to get a new one. "Grade A idiot".