Alternative studying methods and gas prices

[firefly124]

A couple of articles caught my eye in this morning's NYT. First, a comparison of Bill Gates (Windows) and Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook) and their time at Harvard. I found Zuckerberg's approach to studying for a class he hadn't bothered to attend rather amusing

Comments

[veradee]

A quasi-European approach were if you had to pay about $8.50 per gallon. ;)

[firefly124]

Well, yes. Hence the quasi.

Bad enough as it is. I've no idea how anyone can manage the prices over there, except that most of Europe does, in fact, seem to have real public transportation. Very few places here do. Locally, pretty much Boston and New York. Neither of which are in the state where I am, so that's a rather broad definition of "locally."

I'm almost close enough to work to bike it, which I've periodically considered except that we're required to have our vehicles with us in case we need to transport a client. So that's out.

[veradee]

Well, when it comes to public transportation, I can only speak for Germany, and here it's a matter of where you live. The bigger towns are fine, although you can't compare the service to the ones in London or Paris, but the more remote the area is, the worse the public transportation gets.

If I'm honest, I don't know how the living costs and wages compare between Europe and the USA. Perhaps our petrol prices are just fine, but in a direct comparison to the US ones they appear to be much higher.

[firefly124]

The standard of living seems higher over there as well, at least to go by my flist, which is an admittedly skewed sample considering the fact one has to have a PC and net access to do the LJ thing. But maybe it is just that you lot make more.

So far, the only thing increasing to keep pace with the price of gas is prices of other goods, not wages. We've just been told the state of CT* has no intention of granting us a cost of living raise. (Last year it was something like 2%, which didn't match the cost of living increase then either.) I really don't know how they think we're supposed to manage.

*The agency I work for is a private non-profit, and yet the state gets to determine our salaries because many of our programs are funded by state grants anyway. And yet actual state employees doing the same job for the equivalent state agency (theoretically - from what I see, we provide much more in the way of service) get paid lots more. Yeah, that makes sense.

[dacian_goddess]

Heh, I did the quick price conversion and nearly gave in to the panic that, at 2.7 eur, you lot paid twice as much as we do. Until I remembered my gallon conversion and all was well with the world. :P

Well, a quick check of the Brussels public transport website tells me a monthly pass on the public network (bus + tram + tube) is about $65, so less than or probably equivalent to one full tank. Things look about $10 more expensive for the Paris metropolitan pass, but that includes trains afaik.

How have I tangled up the retractable cord on my new mouse already?

Hee! Always knew those things were trouble. :P

[firefly124]

Well, a quick check of the Brussels public transport website tells me a monthly pass on the public network (bus + tram + tube) is about $65, so less than or probably equivalent to one full tank.

That'd be just under two tanks for me, so about 2 weeks of to/from work and school with not much other driving. I'd love to be able to get by on that for a month!

Hee! Always knew those things were trouble. :P

Perhaps, but the little touch pad started making me nuts within the first hour. Especially while writing. I learned how to turn it off quickly so my wrist would stop moving the cursor to some random part of the document.

[dacian_goddess]

Definitely ... And the buses here come pretty much every five-ten minutes.

Oh, wait; school -- student -- I just remembered: our uni has, for the past three years, had a contract with the agency, and about twelve thousand students get a yearly pass for $60 every school year. It's first-come, first-serve, too, so no special conditions as far as I remember.

Hee! No, I know, I hate touch pads as well; I just meant the 'retractable' portion is the one that's all trouble-giving. Good luck with the untangling, though!

Ooh, ooh, non-sequitur: I just started reading the Vorkosigan saga. Am ridiculously excited by said fact.

[firefly124]

There are some programs for students, at least in the bigger cities, but you have to be full-time to qualify, which lets me out. And still with the every two hours and not going where I need them to, alas. :-(

Ooh, happy reading!

[saracen77]

Public transport is OK, providing you don't want to go anywhere after 6pm, or on Sundays, or Bank Holidays... Or, actually, like guarantee that the thing will actually come... Oh, and to go any distance on a train, it might be best if you bring the Sultan of Brunei to sub you the fair, otherwise you are into re-mortgage territory...

Petrol is a very sore point over here at the mo. We are paying up to £1.20 per liter now, plus the govt are shafting us on road tax as well, so we are being beaten off the roads little by little every day. And for some trips, we just cant be without the car.

I can't physically get the kids to the hospital they need to get to on public transport, Hubby can't get to work at the right time, and I remember once looking into the possibility of getting a train to go to work in Wrexham... I live in Cheshire. They wanted me to connect in Glasgow to go back to Wales again. I nearly fainted...

[firefly124]

Public transport is OK, providing you don't want to go anywhere after 6pm, or on Sundays, or Bank Holidays... Or, actually, like guarantee that the thing will actually come...

Hey, that sounds like Eastern Connecticut's idea of public transport!

They wanted me to connect in Glasgow to go back to Wales again. I nearly fainted...

Wow. That's a truly special kind of insanity.

[saracen77]

I think outer Mongolian yak carts are actually more reliable than most public transport in England...

Wow. That's a truly special kind of insanity.

I'm glad you appreciate that! I literally boggled at that one...

Retractable mouse cord? I have never even heard of one of those before! You need a cordless one!

[witchchild]

Really, Connecticut, some places do manage actual mass transit systems. That means buses that run more than once every two hours. Look into it already.

You speak heresy.
It'd also help if this state could find some way to enforce a schedule and not keep people driving who are consistently late.

[firefly124]

It'd also help if this state could find some way to enforce a schedule and not keep people driving who are consistently late.

Definitely!