Clemen's Notebook

Here are a few interesting things I learned today from The Week magaizine.

GAS
"US gas prices hit a 25-yr high last week. The average retail for a gallon of regular unleaded was $3.02.... Nationwide, the lowest price for regular was $2.77 a gallon in Charleston, S.C. The highest was $3.28 a gallon in San Diego."

Oh, yes. I read elsewhere that Exxon and other gas companies are bracing for the bad publicity when it turns out that their profits have skyrocketed. It's almost enough to make you want to get a car with decent gas milage and drive as little as possible. Do you suppose?

OBESITY AND MOBILITY
Some facts not mentioned on the same page deserve each other. Here are two I especially like.

"The direct medical costs of obesity have reached $93 billion a year in the U. S. - 9 percent of the country's health-care bill."

BTW, have you checked out the cost of your health insurance lately?
Now, you might think that stats like this would cause people to set aside their cars and get out and walk, even if it was just to wander around the nearest Mall.

You'd be wrong.

"Electric 'mobility scooters' may have been developed for the disabled ... but their popularity is surging among the lazy able-bodied. Shoppings malls, big-box stores, and casinos that provide the low-speed vehicles as a service to elderly and disabled customers are finding that many of the takers are people who can walk, but prefer not to."

Australian Wine
"A glut in the Australian grape harvest pushed the price of some decent bottles below $2, or less than a bottle of mineral water. "

Darwin was wrong
American Scientist reports that there seems to be a worldwide trend in intelligence scores declining after decades of slowly rising. It is not clear why this is, but isn't it nice to know you weren't imagining it?

A Sure Fire way to meet girls
A student at the University of Central Florida [aha!] was charged with setting fire to his dorm in order to meet female students as the building was being evacuated.