Imagine you want to travel from Los Angeles to San Francisco and back again. For argument's sake, let's say a round-trip plane ticket cost $150. Would it be cheaper if you drove?
To figure this out, you need know the cost of driving. And I don't just mean the cost of gas. There's also the cost of maintenance and deprecation. Well, some of the depreciation.
This is a trickier subject than I expected when I started considering it. For one thing, note that the cost of driving is different than the total cost of owning a car. Just to own a car, you need to pay registration fees and insurance. But those are (mostly) fixed costs that vary little, if at all, with how much you drive. Should they be part of the "cost of driving" calculation?
There are various web pages that will give a rough estimate of the cost of driving. But I really wanted to know my specific cost, for my car, right now. I own a 2011 Hyundai Santa Fe with 101,000 miles on it. What is it costing me?
Gas: Fuel may be the easiest cost to calculate. My car gets about 22.5 miles per gallon, according to the readout on my dash. This is an average, of course -- on the open road, the MPG will go up; while idling in city traffic, it will go down.
When I bought gas the other day it was $3.39 per gallon. Divide the the cost of gas by the MPG, and we get ... 15 cents per gallon. That's my driving cost for gas.
Oil changes: I get an oil change about every 7,000 miles. These days it costs about $42 each time. That works out to 0.6 cents per mile. Not much.
Tires: How long do tires last? This varies widely, but in my experience, I get about 70,000 miles on a tire. (Your mileage may vary. Literally.). And how much do tires cost? Angie's List members reported an average cost of $637 to replace all four tires in 2015. Four years later, I'm going to say $700. This works out neatly. Divide $700 by 70,000 miles and you find that tires add one penny per mile.
Other maintenance costs: Cars need maintenance. Things break and need to be fixed. Brakes, belts and fluids need to be replaced. It's hard to figure all those, so I'll take a shortcut: AAA says that a medium-sized SUV like mine incurs maintenance costs of 8.6 cents per mile. That would include the oil changes and tires I listed above. (You might wonder why I figured those items separately if I was just going to add them into the general maintenance cost. I'm wondering that, too.)
Depreciation: Things get tricky here. Each mile that drive your car lowers its value and takes you closer to the out-of-pocket cost of buying a new car. But your car also depreciates even when you're not driving it.
Depreciation will vary widely depending on the age and value of your car. But I'm only interested in my car.
I went to Edmunds.com and found that my car currently has an estimated value of $5,675 in a private party sale. Then I added a fictitious 20,000 miles to the car's mileage, and Edmunds reduced the value of my car by $532. Divide $532 by 20,000 miles and I find that the depreciation is 2.7 cents per mile.
That's much less than I expected, but looking at the numbers I see that age, regardless of mileage, is a separate factor in car value. For instance, just by adding a year to the age my car -- but not changing the mileage -- the value drops from $5,675 to $4,940.
Conclusion: Remember that my goal was strictly to discover the cost of driving. The additional costs of ownership (insurance, registration and part of depreciation), are important, but they're not the subject on the table.
The cost of driving my car is 15 cents per mile for gas plus 8.6 cents per mile for maintenance plus 2.7 cents per mile for depreciation. Total: 26.3 cents per mile.
Driving roundtrip from L.A. to San Francisco is 764 miles. That's $200.94 in driving costs. That's more than the air fare. But if you're thinking of flying, remember to figure in the cost of getting to and from the airport!
Tuesday, April 9, 2019
Sunday, April 7, 2019
Review: Hotel Rose Garden in San Jose, California
My daughter and I spent last night at the Hotel Rose Garden in San Jose. The hotel just sent me an email asking me to review our stay. Thanks for asking, Hotel Rose Garden!
Location: The Hotel Rose Garden is located on a broad, busy street (The Alameda) just outside downtown San Jose. A mix of businesses, homes and large trees inhabits the neighborhood. It's a pleasant-looking area, but doesn't offer much in the way of restaurants or grocery stores.
The hotel is quite close to San Jose Airport -- but not so close you hear the jets -- which is one of the main reason we stayed there. It is just a few blocks off Interstate 880.
Check-in: We were little thrown upon arrival when we found the hotel doesn't have any parking spaces for people checking in. Still, we found a spot a bit further away without a hassle.
The woman at the desk was quick and efficient in checking us in.
The room: Our room smelled of cigarette smoke despite being labeled a "non-smoking room." The room was of comfortable size, and the TV worked. The door on the bathroom jammed and was hard to close. The shower worked and the water got suitably hot.
Noise: This was the worst characteristic of the hotel. The walls were so thin that we continually heard barely muffled voices and TV program sounds from other rooms. From above, we heard every footstep in the room above us. This sounds and noise continued sporadically through the night. While this noise wasn't exactly loud, it was constant enough to be annoying.
I also noticed that the hotel had a 2nd floor bar which had its door open, and its music could be heard throughout the courtyard of the hotel. We weren't that close to the bar, so didn't hear much of this music, but I think it would have been annoyance for anyone in a room nearby.
Beds: The beds and pillows were comfortable, but the blankets were very thin.
Wi-Fi: Free and it worked.
Breakfast: The hotel had a waffle maker, cereal, and bread for toast. There was also juice and some fruit, but the bananas were turning black. No eggs, bacon or sausage. The eating area was quite small, but we lucked out and had it to ourselves.
Overall: The Hotel Rose Garden gets some things right, but fails in areas that are most important to travelers. The smelly room, noisy environment and thin blankets meant the hotel was only minimally tolerable. I was glad we only stayed one night. I can't recommend this hotel.
Hotel Rose Garden, 1860 The Alameda, San Jose, CA 95126
Location: The Hotel Rose Garden is located on a broad, busy street (The Alameda) just outside downtown San Jose. A mix of businesses, homes and large trees inhabits the neighborhood. It's a pleasant-looking area, but doesn't offer much in the way of restaurants or grocery stores.
The hotel is quite close to San Jose Airport -- but not so close you hear the jets -- which is one of the main reason we stayed there. It is just a few blocks off Interstate 880.
Check-in: We were little thrown upon arrival when we found the hotel doesn't have any parking spaces for people checking in. Still, we found a spot a bit further away without a hassle.
The woman at the desk was quick and efficient in checking us in.
The room: Our room smelled of cigarette smoke despite being labeled a "non-smoking room." The room was of comfortable size, and the TV worked. The door on the bathroom jammed and was hard to close. The shower worked and the water got suitably hot.
Noise: This was the worst characteristic of the hotel. The walls were so thin that we continually heard barely muffled voices and TV program sounds from other rooms. From above, we heard every footstep in the room above us. This sounds and noise continued sporadically through the night. While this noise wasn't exactly loud, it was constant enough to be annoying.
I also noticed that the hotel had a 2nd floor bar which had its door open, and its music could be heard throughout the courtyard of the hotel. We weren't that close to the bar, so didn't hear much of this music, but I think it would have been annoyance for anyone in a room nearby.
Beds: The beds and pillows were comfortable, but the blankets were very thin.
Wi-Fi: Free and it worked.
Breakfast: The hotel had a waffle maker, cereal, and bread for toast. There was also juice and some fruit, but the bananas were turning black. No eggs, bacon or sausage. The eating area was quite small, but we lucked out and had it to ourselves.
Overall: The Hotel Rose Garden gets some things right, but fails in areas that are most important to travelers. The smelly room, noisy environment and thin blankets meant the hotel was only minimally tolerable. I was glad we only stayed one night. I can't recommend this hotel.
Hotel Rose Garden, 1860 The Alameda, San Jose, CA 95126
Wednesday, February 27, 2019
Book review: "Educated" by Tara Westover
"Educated" is a fascinating how-to book for parents interested in raising a child to become a scholar at Harvard and earn a PhD at Cambridge University.
Here's the "Educated" formula:
and a mother who never questioned her husband, despite never going to school before college, despite a brother who took pleasure in inflicting pain on her, Westover went on to become a successful historian at Harvard and Cambridge.
Based on "Educated," she's also a pretty good writer.
You can't help but be pulled into Westover's story because her upbringing was so bizarre. She was raised in southern Idaho by parents who were continually preparing for a coming apocalypse. Her Book of Mormon-thumping father was an impatient metal "scrapper" whose recklessness contributed to a spore of accidents -- falls, car crashes, burns -- that injured almost everyone in the family.
She was so naive that as a teenager she wondered if she might be pregnant even though she had never even kissed a boy. She had never heard the word "Holocaust" before college. She never learned even rudimentary standards of cleanliness, much to the dismay of her college roommates, who were frustrated that Westover's habits contributed to a foul odor in their living quarters.
"The apartment looked fine to me. So what if there were rotting peaches in the fridge and dirty dishes in the sink? So what if the smell slapped you in the face when you came through the door? To my mind the stench was bearable, the house was clean, and I extended this philosophy to my person. I never used soap except when I showered, usually once or twice a week, and sometimes I didn't use it event then."
"Educated" has many similarities to "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls. Both books tell of a weird childhood that was almost comical. Both books turn darker and more serious as they progress. Both books are testaments to the resilience of humans to blossom and succeed despite an upbringing that seemed fated to hold them back.
Westover tells her stories with vibrant detail and is honest enough to admit that in some cases her memories differ from others who were present at the same events she is describing.
One of the difficulties in reading this book is grasping why Westover continues to engage with her family -- going home for holidays, allowing her parents to come and stay in her tiny Harvard dorm room -- even after it's clear they are abusive. Westover, with the blessing of time and age, writes with such maturity that it's hard to fathom why she doesn't just cut them off.
Halfway through the book I was mentally screaming at the pages, "Get out! Just get out and never come back!"
But it's easy for an outsider to say this. It's not my family. And much of the challenge in telling her story is for Westover to show us how deeply her father's beliefs and her family culture is engrained in her. For her first 17 years, that was the only lifestyle she knew.
In the latter parts of the book, as her family division grows, she describes how some family members accused her of having a fault grasp of reality. Around the same time, she describes a series of emotional and mental breakdowns. Given that the entire book is told by Westover, I started to wonder: Is she a reliable storyteller? A want to believe so, but unless some of her relatives come forward to publicly confirm her story, it's hard to say for sure.
Here's the "Educated" formula:
- Do NOT send your children to school. Keep them home and have them work in the junkyard out back.
- Do NOT teach them history, personal hygiene, or anything about human reproduction.
- Do NOT vaccinate your children or take them to a doctor.
- Teach them to fear the government and, well, everyone outside your family.
- Let an older sibling physically abuse them (repeatedly sticking the younger child's head in a toilet is one suggested option)
Based on "Educated," she's also a pretty good writer.
You can't help but be pulled into Westover's story because her upbringing was so bizarre. She was raised in southern Idaho by parents who were continually preparing for a coming apocalypse. Her Book of Mormon-thumping father was an impatient metal "scrapper" whose recklessness contributed to a spore of accidents -- falls, car crashes, burns -- that injured almost everyone in the family.
She was so naive that as a teenager she wondered if she might be pregnant even though she had never even kissed a boy. She had never heard the word "Holocaust" before college. She never learned even rudimentary standards of cleanliness, much to the dismay of her college roommates, who were frustrated that Westover's habits contributed to a foul odor in their living quarters.
"The apartment looked fine to me. So what if there were rotting peaches in the fridge and dirty dishes in the sink? So what if the smell slapped you in the face when you came through the door? To my mind the stench was bearable, the house was clean, and I extended this philosophy to my person. I never used soap except when I showered, usually once or twice a week, and sometimes I didn't use it event then."
"Educated" has many similarities to "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls. Both books tell of a weird childhood that was almost comical. Both books turn darker and more serious as they progress. Both books are testaments to the resilience of humans to blossom and succeed despite an upbringing that seemed fated to hold them back.
Westover tells her stories with vibrant detail and is honest enough to admit that in some cases her memories differ from others who were present at the same events she is describing.
One of the difficulties in reading this book is grasping why Westover continues to engage with her family -- going home for holidays, allowing her parents to come and stay in her tiny Harvard dorm room -- even after it's clear they are abusive. Westover, with the blessing of time and age, writes with such maturity that it's hard to fathom why she doesn't just cut them off.
Halfway through the book I was mentally screaming at the pages, "Get out! Just get out and never come back!"
But it's easy for an outsider to say this. It's not my family. And much of the challenge in telling her story is for Westover to show us how deeply her father's beliefs and her family culture is engrained in her. For her first 17 years, that was the only lifestyle she knew.
In the latter parts of the book, as her family division grows, she describes how some family members accused her of having a fault grasp of reality. Around the same time, she describes a series of emotional and mental breakdowns. Given that the entire book is told by Westover, I started to wonder: Is she a reliable storyteller? A want to believe so, but unless some of her relatives come forward to publicly confirm her story, it's hard to say for sure.
Wednesday, February 6, 2019
Racist scholarship of the week: Bernard Harris
If you're a hard-working high school student with good grades who is looking for a way to pay for college you might be attracted to the Bernard Harris Scholarship Program. This program award $5,000 each to four students who are interested in pursuing a degree in science, technology, engineering or mathematics.
"To be eligible for the scholarship, the applicant must have a minimum 3.0 unweighted grade point average and have been accepted as a full-time student at a four-year institution of higher education," program materials say. That seems straightforward.
But if you happen to be Native American, Asian, or white, forget it. The Bernard Harris Scholarship Program will not give you anything, no matter your grades and no matter how badly you need money for college. This program is only for African-Americans and Hispanics.
Did I miss a memo? Is it now OK to discriminate based on race?
"To be eligible for the scholarship, the applicant must have a minimum 3.0 unweighted grade point average and have been accepted as a full-time student at a four-year institution of higher education," program materials say. That seems straightforward.
But if you happen to be Native American, Asian, or white, forget it. The Bernard Harris Scholarship Program will not give you anything, no matter your grades and no matter how badly you need money for college. This program is only for African-Americans and Hispanics.
Did I miss a memo? Is it now OK to discriminate based on race?
Monday, January 14, 2019
Book review: "Ten Hours Until Dawn: The True Story of Heroism and Tragedy Aboard the Can Do"
It would not be surprising if anyone who read "Ten Hours Until Dawn" refused to ever again get in a boat.
This 2005 book by Michael J. Tougias offers a pulse-rattling collection of disasters at sea. There are huge storms, sinking ships, terrified sailors, and people tossed into churning waves. Some people die despite daring rescue attempts. Some people survive thanks to their own grit or the heroism of others.
And, just so you don't get too comfortable in your easy chair, Tougias throws in a few disasters on land, too.
Make no mistake: "Ten Hours Until Dawn" is filled with riveting stories that will keep you engaged and hurriedly turning pages. That said, Tougias' book doesn't quite hold together. This is partly because each story yanks the reader in a different direction, and also because there's not enough suspense in the main story.
The central story surrounds Frank Quirk, the owner and operator of the Can Do, a 50-foot-long pilot boat that plies the waters of Massachusetts' Gloucester Bay. When a nearby tanker calls for help amid a monster storm -- the famed "Blizzard of 1978" -- Quirk and four other men take the Can Do out into a night of ferocious seas.
Tougias -- a wonderful writer who has done thorough research -- tells the story of the Can Do minute by minute as the peril facing the men on board grows through the night. The author also interjects other stories, some from the same night, and some from centuries ago, that show similar perils and dangerous situations.
Tougias is perhaps my favorite writer. Three of his books I absolutely loved: "Overboard" (2010), "A Storm Too Soon" (2013), and "Fatal Forecast" (2006). I liked his "So Close to Home" (2016) a bit less than the others, but it still told a good story.
For all its merits, I can only rate "Ten Hours on Dawn" as good, not great. One issue is that while Tougias doesn't say it outright, it quickly becomes apparent that the Can Do and all those aboard are doomed (a big clue: While Tougias quotes almost every person who has survived a perilous situation at sea in the modern era, there are no "post-game" quotes from Quirk or his crew). You realize halfway through the book that it's not realistic to hope for them to survive. Much of the latter part of the book is just a long sad slide toward the inevitable.
Tougias also faces a similar situation to what Sebastian Junger faced when writing "The Perfect Storm" -- neither the author nor anyone really knows what happened aboard the doomed ship. There's a lot of speculation, and Tougias does his best, but he can never quite close that narrative gap.
"Ten Hours Until Dawn" is an impressively detailed book, and you can't help feeling pain of the mourning families at the end. Still, not all the stories Tougias shares fit together, and some would maybe be better off in a book of their own.
This 2005 book by Michael J. Tougias offers a pulse-rattling collection of disasters at sea. There are huge storms, sinking ships, terrified sailors, and people tossed into churning waves. Some people die despite daring rescue attempts. Some people survive thanks to their own grit or the heroism of others.
And, just so you don't get too comfortable in your easy chair, Tougias throws in a few disasters on land, too.
Make no mistake: "Ten Hours Until Dawn" is filled with riveting stories that will keep you engaged and hurriedly turning pages. That said, Tougias' book doesn't quite hold together. This is partly because each story yanks the reader in a different direction, and also because there's not enough suspense in the main story.
The central story surrounds Frank Quirk, the owner and operator of the Can Do, a 50-foot-long pilot boat that plies the waters of Massachusetts' Gloucester Bay. When a nearby tanker calls for help amid a monster storm -- the famed "Blizzard of 1978" -- Quirk and four other men take the Can Do out into a night of ferocious seas.
Tougias -- a wonderful writer who has done thorough research -- tells the story of the Can Do minute by minute as the peril facing the men on board grows through the night. The author also interjects other stories, some from the same night, and some from centuries ago, that show similar perils and dangerous situations.
Tougias is perhaps my favorite writer. Three of his books I absolutely loved: "Overboard" (2010), "A Storm Too Soon" (2013), and "Fatal Forecast" (2006). I liked his "So Close to Home" (2016) a bit less than the others, but it still told a good story.
For all its merits, I can only rate "Ten Hours on Dawn" as good, not great. One issue is that while Tougias doesn't say it outright, it quickly becomes apparent that the Can Do and all those aboard are doomed (a big clue: While Tougias quotes almost every person who has survived a perilous situation at sea in the modern era, there are no "post-game" quotes from Quirk or his crew). You realize halfway through the book that it's not realistic to hope for them to survive. Much of the latter part of the book is just a long sad slide toward the inevitable.
Tougias also faces a similar situation to what Sebastian Junger faced when writing "The Perfect Storm" -- neither the author nor anyone really knows what happened aboard the doomed ship. There's a lot of speculation, and Tougias does his best, but he can never quite close that narrative gap.
"Ten Hours Until Dawn" is an impressively detailed book, and you can't help feeling pain of the mourning families at the end. Still, not all the stories Tougias shares fit together, and some would maybe be better off in a book of their own.
Saturday, January 5, 2019
Moore Leauge Showdown: Who has the best boys basketball website?
By Scott Wilson
In this installment of Moore League Showdown, we're assessing which school has the best boys basketball website. This time around, no one gets an A while one school gets an F..
I've been doing this series for a year and a half and I continue to be amazed at how few schools and coaches recognize the importance of a strong online presence. A team's website is the face it presents to the world. A good site can engage and inspire fans, who may then buy tickets or otherwise financially support the program. It can also win over the parents of students, drawing talented new athletes to your team. .
I continue to be puzzled why teams find it so difficult to report results of their games on their own websites. When I was coaching 9-year-olds (for free) in AYSO soccer, there was a simple process to post game scores on the league site. It took about 20 seconds. Why is it so hard for high school coaches (who are paid) to post their scores?
(To be fair, some teams in the Moore Leagues do have excellent web pages. One is Wilson's baseball website.)
A couple notes: First, this is a review of official team pages, not commercial sites like MaxPreps or fan sites. Also, websites change, so this review can only capture a "snapshot" at this time. Tomorrow, any one of these websites may be better or worse, or even disappear altogether.
The ratings:
Wilson
Grade: B
The Bruins "win" this competition basically by not losing. Their boys basketball page
includes a practice schedule and game schedule (for all levels), both
current. There are no results, but there is a clearly labeled link to
find scores on MaxPreps. The head coach's name, email
address and phone number (nice!) are prominent. That's good for the basics, and there are no obvious errors, but there's almost no other content. There are no rosters, no other coaches' names besides the head coach, and only two pictures, both years old.
Jordan
Grade: B-
Jordan High School does a lot right with its boys basketball pages, but it needs to pay more attention to detail to get that A grade.
Jordan's official page on the school website has the name of all the coaches, with the email address and even phone number of the head coach. There's a link to MaxPreps for those who want results, but it's not labeled and could easily be missed.
There's also a prominent link to a separate Jordan basketball website. This is where things get interesting -- and weird. The good-looking Wix-based website has both hits and misses.
Jordan's is the only Moore League boys basketball site to include current rosters of the varsity, JV, sophomore and freshman teams. It has a game schedule but no results. The front page features announcements of two upcoming events, but also one that is outdated. On the separate "announcements" page, everything is from last season.
Under "Latest News" is this:
I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It’s easy. Just click “Edit Text” or double click me and you can start adding your own content and make changes to the font. Feel free to drag and drop me anywhere you like on your page. I’m a great place for you to tell a story and let your users know a little more about you.
You see what I mean about attention to detail?
One of the best things on the site is a "Parent Basketball Handbook" that spells out many of the standards and expectations for the program. For instance: "The Student-Athlete must refrain from the use of profanity or resorting to illegal tactics. He must learn that both winning and losing are a part of the game and that you have to be a good loser as well as a gracious winner."
If I was a parent considering whether the Jordan program would be good for my son, I would be heartened to see such a clear statement of the team's principles.
Lakewood
Grade: C
The official page for Lakewood boys basketball has a schedule for the current season, plus the coach's name, his email address and a picture of him. That covers many of the fundamentals, but fans and parents will want more. How about some results? Pictures? Rosters? What about schedules for the freshman and JV teams?
Long Beach Poly
Grade: D
Poly usually has the best, or one of the best, boys basketball teams in the Moore League, but its website is not going to win any awards. The school's official page has many pictures, but none from current season. The coach's name, along with an email address, is shown, but I wouldn't blame anyone for being confused. First, the page misspells coach Shelton Diggs' name as "Shelton Digg." Second, it also lists Sharrief Metoyer as "Teacher / Boys Basketball Coach." One problem: Metoyer hasn't been a Poly coach for four years.
The page has no schedule, no results, no roster. Persistent fans might eventually find themselves to the semi-official Poly Sports site (there's no link to it from the school site). But even if they do, they'll be disappointed. There is a schedule, and some results there, but they're incomplete. And there's nothing else.
Millikan
Grade: D-
Those who come to the boys basketball page on the official Millikan High School will find two things: First there's a link to a game schedule for last season (just the schedule, no results). Second there is a link that leads to the boys basketball page at the separate Millikan Athletics website. And what will they find there? This: "Error 404: The page you're looking for either doesn't exist or can't be found."
Most people will stop there, concluding that Millikan is too lame to have even a single decent basketball page. Prospective players will choose other schools; fans will find other teams to support. A few people, if they persist, might click around and find that there actually is a schedule -- a woefully incomplete one -- for the varsity team, with some results . But that's it. There are no coaches' names, much less a way to contact them. There are no pictures, no roster and, for the JV and freshman teams, absolutely nothing.
Fans can find more information -- not that the bar has been set high -- at the Millikan boys basketball Facebook page (it's unclear who the creators of this page are). There are some photos, videos, and game results, but it still is far from complete. The events page is filled with items that are over four years old.
Grade: F
If you go to the Compton High website and click on "Varsity Teams," you will come to a page that says "Varsity Teams" -- and nothing else.
There is a separate "Schedules" page that claims (falsely) to offer a link to last year's schedule for the "Boys Varsisty Basketball" team. Spelling aside, the link actually goes to MaxPreps, the national high school sports site. MaxPreps is a decent website, but by not publishing anything about its own team on its own site, Compton High is showing how little respect it gives its basketball program. Why should fans, parents, and sportswriters care about your team, when you don't?
See also
Moore League showdown: Who has the best baseball website?
Thursday, November 1, 2018
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