for 13 SEP 07: THE RIGHT STUFF
The price of crude oil went above 80 dollars a barrel for the first time Wednesday, closing at $79.91. I guess that'll teach me. I didn't e-mail a thank you card to OPEC, for announcing an increase in production....
The current price of gas across Columbus is higher than it was a year ago, when there was a series of big drops during September. I'd like to think the price will drop again before law - because football fans don't have as much reason to drive to Auburn on Saturdays, or Atlanta on Sundays.
I've tried my own experiment in fuel savings this summer, inspired by a news story I saw about United Parcel Service. Did you know UPS instructs its drivers NOT to make left turns? Of course, critics would say it merely reflects corporate conservatism by the management....
The theory is that United Parcel drivers burn fuel needlessly, when their trucks sit waiting to make left turns. So drivers receive computerized routes, to make sure they only turn right while making deliveries. And in this era of GPS devices, the home office probably can print computerized map of where the driver REALLY goes -- to catch him taking overly long lunch breaks.
If this fuel-saving idea works for UPS, I said to myself, why can't it work for me? So I started applying the "no left turn" rule on all my trips -- and I quickly found it can be challenging to do in Columbus. But at least it keeps me in the right lane of traffic, so all the speeders can hurry by.
I discovered getting to work from my home is as simple as making two right turns. But it meant turning onto 13th Street downtown during morning rush hour. I added one more car to the crowd which is already there, and added a few minutes to my commute time. The regulars on 13th Street will be pleased to learn I only take that route on holidays now....
The modified current route to work has me turning right at 11th Street, then winding around from there to go up Wynnton Road. This way, the only slowdown is for a school zone at St. Luke School - not counting the days when my 13-year-old car doesn't really want to up the hill to Buena Vista Road.
Getting home from work turned out to be an even bigger challenge. Driving downhill on Wynnton Road can lead to a forced right turn from 11th Street to Sixth Avenue. That points me in the wrong direction - and the only way to get back in the proper direction without turning left is to use Linwood Boulevard and Tenth Avenue. Is a 14-block detour really a savings in fuel?
After only one of those long side trips, I declared an exception to the "no-left" rule. I made ONE left, at Eighth Avenue near Recorder's Court. But to get home after turning onto Tenth Street, I still had to make right turns around a block - and that meant driving a block on Broadway. On many weekend nights, this could mean dodging assorted party animals.
(As one local TV newscaster explained the UPS approach: "Three rights make one left." In fact, I think that used to be the formula for callers to TalkLine on WRCG.)
So now the road home from work has not one exception, but two. I reasoned since Tenth Street is one-way westbound, a left turn toward my neighborhood would NOT require waiting on other cars. And on most summer afternoons, I've found you also never have to wait on any pedestrians.
Other trips around Columbus are a bit less cumbersome under the UPS method, but still curious. To go north on Veterans Parkway from my neighborhood, I have to make right turns around a block at Fifth Avenue. I've learned one interesting thing from doing this - the Ma Rainey House has hardly any visitors.
Driving to Phenix City is different as well, when you try to avoid making left turns. I turn right at Second Avenue, directly onto the Oglethorpe Bridge and the 280 Bypass. Based on the complaints I'm hearing about the renovation of Broad Street, maybe more people should try it.
But I've found there are times when occasional left turns still are necessary. When I'm leaving the Columbus Public Library, it's absolutely required - because otherwise "around the block" wound mean taking Interstate 185 from Macon Road to Buena Vista Road to go downtown.
(It's interesting that Atlanta-based United Parcel Service would develop a policy where drivers might have to go around the block - because if you've driven in Atlanta at all, you know it's almost impossible to go around the block in most parts of town.)
So what about the payoff? Is my gas mileage better? Comparing several receipts from this summer with last summer, there seems to be a difference. My humble Honda is up more than one mile per gallon in city driving, and 2.4 miles on the highway. So don't sit there and be skeptical - "right thinking" might be worthwhile after all.
E-MAIL UPDATE: Tuesday's main topic brought this, uh, special offer....
Richard..If you are in need of increasing your X rated vocab.just walk down the halls of any local high school..If these words were included on the SAT scores would improve.
Uhhhh - that's OK, thanks. I faced some of that when I was in high school, three decades ago. A group of us was heading to a debate tournament, when a provocative guy in the back seat asked me about condoms. I responded by asking why he was talking about condominiums - and the guy's mother who happened to be driving was so stunned, she almost ran off the road.
BIG PREDICTION: They'll need an extra game, but the Columbus Catfish will win the South Atlantic League title at home by Friday night. Then the city will try to arrange a victory celebration, similar to what the Northern Little League All-Stars had - only to find it can't fill one side of the Civic Center with fans.
Now let's take a trip around the Wednesday news bases....
+ The evening news reported Fountain City Coffee downtown will expand to a second location, and begin a partnership with Bruster's Ice Cream. That's just what java addicts have been waiting for - a double-shot double-dip.
(The news about Fountain City Coffee came as the Columbus Chamber of Commerce launched the second year of its "iWow" program, where small businesses are paired with successful mentors. So is this done like fantasy football - and if so, who wound up drawing the Amos family at Aflac?)
+ Georgia's Governor announced the Chinese construction company Sany Heavy Industry will build its first U.S. factory in Peachtree City. It's now accepting contributions of lead-based paint, for the walls and doors.
+ Instant Message to WRBL's Heather Jensen: Somebody's gotta ask it, so (ahem) -- why do you part your hair on one side on days when you anchor the news, and the opposite side on days when you report? Is this your idea of being fair and balanced?
(BLOGGER'S NOTE: We're posting extra-early so we can keep the Biblical Feast of Trumpets/Jewish New Year. A happy holy day to everyone keeping it!)
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