Fuelage, mileage, silage, signage

According to the keyring that came with my rental car agreement, I have been driving a 2013 Nissan Altima 2-door, black paint car since the 22nd of March.

I figured, since I have no vested interest in this car or the manufacturer, to investigate the car’s road worthiness.

At highway speeds, the bonnet or hood/engine cover rattles visibly.

There is relatively no difference in MPG results using either premium (91/93 octane) or regular (87 octane) graded fuel.

Examples:

Odometer reading/miles driven(City/Highway)/gallons fuel(Premium/Regular)/MPG

1003/304.6(cityC)/13.469(P)22.61
1350/346.2(H)/11.854(P)/29.2
????/498.1(H)/16.084(P)/30.97
2077/229.6(C)/10.651(R)/21.56
2477/397.2(H)/14.645(R)/27.1
2875/400.5(H)/13.718(R)/29.2

At speeds greater than 70 mph, the car tended to drift off the centerline constantly, requiring more attention than I like to give a car as a driver cruising on flat freeways.

On a positive note, the driver’s seat was quite comfortable throughout the two weeks I’ve driven the car, including the 14 hours yesterday.

Plus, I packed a whole closet and two suitcases in the trunk and backseat.

More as it develops…

Who is responsible when…?

While looking at this news story about government use of technology, I wondered:

When a computer is programmed to program its own method of moneymaking, including fraudulent means (such as income tax return claims as mentioned in the story above), and shares its profits with other computers that invest the illegal gains in legitimate business interests, where humans are finally in that system and benefiting under the full protection of the law, who is legally responsible for the criminal activity part of the computer’s self-programming?

Saw

Saw groups of snowbirds who used portable wardrobes that fit in specially-designed closets and portable kitchens for specially-designed cabinets/pantries that both accept slide-in units for winter stays in south Florida (similar for bathroom cabinets). I imagine their summer homes (condos, beach houses, mountain cabins, suburban McMansions, urban flats) have the same design so that, in essence, the snowbirds are living out of their “suitcases” year-round, their vehicles additionally delivered to their summer/winter headquarters via long-haul transport twice a year.

Annual two-stop land cruises, in other words.

Have efficiently-packed closet, will travel.

No more steamer trunks.