Optimizing my commute III

[asterroc]

I was reminded by mathsex people that (1) if I assume gas mileage and speed are equally important, that I could just average the optimal speed for both and I get around 65mph for the ideal driving speed, or (2) a potential way of giving a more realistic value to my time as compared to the gas mileage is to put a dollar value on my time - according to my salary that's around $20/hr. More math to come...

Comments

[zandperl.livejournal.com]

Hey kiddo, don't sweat it. Of the four people posting here other than you one's a physics prof (me), one's a physics grad student, one I met through nerd camp, and the last does accounting (also super math heavy). You're the most normal of us all! :-P And if I can infect you with a love of math/science, I will rest happy.

BTW, how's your bird (was his name Jomei?) taking your absence? Gabe grew in one extra flight feather last weekend and OMG she's had *such* a blossoming of personality. ^_^

[hitchhiker.livejournal.com]

didn't know you were a physics prof! that's pretty damn cool :)

[zandperl.livejournal.com]

"Assistant Professor of Integrated Science / Physics"

I'm at a community college (aka junior college, aka 2-year school) which means in practice I teach physics, astronomy, earth & space, physical science, and occasional random other things, all at the freshman level, when not lower. :-P One of our mutual friends (I think the_xtina) told me to read your LJ in one of those memes b/c apparently we have some things in common. I seem to recall you're a math grad, but I could be mistaken.

[hitchhiker.livejournal.com]

Physics semigrad (was doing a PhD in high energy physics, took a terminal MS and got out). If I go back, it'll be in CS, not physics - much as I love the subject I don't think I have a PhD's worth of interest in it. (Then again, I might just have been stupid to go into high energy because Rice didn't have anyone working in the area I was really interested in - should've taken a year and reapplied for a transfer to other schools)

[always-going.livejournal.com]

Jomei and mom seem to be doing very well. Often I will get voicemails of "Hello! Hello! How're you!? Shower?"

It is, however, mostly my mom squawking.

I get to see them on the 22nd, though! I'm going home for a couple days :]

It's all right about the math, I'm pretty excited about the class. Next we're doing some Crypto. And then map color theory (I forget the fancy name). Should be excellent :] I think at some point we're going to mess with Latin Squares...it's either that or graph theory!

[zandperl.livejournal.com]

That actually sounds like a fun math class. :) Doing little bits of everything interesting, rather than math just for the sake of math. I've done bits of all those, but only got to do them after taking all the hard and boring stuff.