roy

It feels damn good to leave Vegas with money in your pocket. I hadn't intended on gambling this time around (went for a Christmas party), but finding myself back on the road at 1230, I decided to take a three-hour pit stop at Treasure Island for some blackjack. Left happy as a clam - having that extra cash in your bank really helps when you got a couple of deadlines on those 0% APR credit cards looming in the horizon... (wedding travel really takes its toll on ya).

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I'm curious to one day meet a traffic engineer (one who studies computer models) to get a couple of questions answered: (1) is it true that speeders actually optimize traffic efficiency? and (2) what are the optimal number of lanes? It struck me as I was speeding back from Vegas (I'm not a speed demon - I averaged a safe 78mph the trip back), that the two lanes of US-15 (which turned into three lanes for steep climbs and downgrades for trucks) was quite efficient at channeling traffic. Contrast that to the 6-lanes in Atlanta, which I never feel is very optimal - there has to be some law of diminishing returns on lanes as people trade in the extra lanes for extra car-lengths in front.

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My car averaged 33mpg for the Vegas trip (yes, I keep accurate records of my gas consumption for kicks - I'm weird like that)

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I love driving back at night on the freeway, cause it gives you a chance to belt out some really awful songs. During the daytime, people might see you and think you're crazy... but nobody can see you alone at night as you sing along to Kesha's Tik Tok:

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But the drive isn't all foolishness - I had to start figuring out some things for MindTouch for 2010. I'm making slow progress, but I'm starting to piece together the different parts. Let's see if I can put it into a coherent roadmap - that's been my biggest weakness thus far - communicating the roadmap. I know what the roadmap looks like, and I can execute on it in small pieces, but I really need to be able to communicate it much better than I have been in the past.

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Figured out New Years - Hawaii! (No Christmas plans - I'll probably just spend it quietly in San Diego planning out Q1 2010) Delta missed out once again, as I chose to fly with US Airways - another moral victory for me! (Delta/Northwest has now missed out on two flights cause they decided to be jackasses - oooooh)

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Went to Shouthouse with some in-town guests from NC last week - I need to go there more often. $1.50 domestics on weeknights, no cover, and awesome piano music. I think my flood of guests ends next week - one more guest this week... then quiet solitude until the New Years!

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Came back, found a note on my door, and my place is lowering my rent for 2010 - sweet! I didn't even have to ask! How awesome was this weekend?!