Monday Musings

Just a few random thoughts and news notes from over the weekend...

• If the Redskins don't get a pass rush, they might end the season 6 - 10.


• I have a small rant. I will admit up front I am a bit of a lead-footed driver, and I've written about that before, more than once. But why is it when motorists drive past speed cameras, they slow down below the speed limit? It drives me insane. People who are tooling along at 40 in a 35 mile-an-hour zone will slow down to 25, when they'd be perfectly fine if they had just stayed at 40. The law in Montgomery County states that the camera will be triggered only for drivers going 10 or more miles over the speed limit. As these cameras mature, you have to wonder how effective they are. Everyone knows where the cameras are, so one-block stretches of roadway are being protected. Beyond that - not so much.


• I filled up my minivan for 30 dollars yesterday at the Costco in Frederick, where the price for regular for $1.89 a gallon. I've been trying to remember the last time I paid this little for gas, and I just can't. I know this is a really bad indicator for the economy, but at the moment I just don't care. I can't wait to fill my Civic for less than 20 bucks! You can't help but wonder what shape the US auto industry would be in if this plunge had happened a year ago instead of now... But then again, if this had happened a year ago, a whole lot of things about the economy - and perhaps the outcome of the election - would have been different.

Finally - A video for you that harkens back to the days when jet fuel was cheap, but jet travel was not. A time before baggage fees and sardine class seating - when people would wear their Sunday best on planes, instead of their pajamas. It's Pan Am - 1958!