Road Trips, Crocked Teachers, and Crack Dealers

If you happened to be driving south on I-95 or west on I-4 last night between 2 AM and 4 AM, I apologize if I swerved into your lane.

The wife and I drove down to see her family last night, Friday, April 14. We make this drive pretty often and each time we talk about flying the next time. I am not going to hold my breath until that happens. However, given that I had to pay $2.89 for gas in SC last night, I might take the under.

Last time we made the drive from NC to FL, I noticed at one of the gas stations that you could "rent" books on tape or cd. There is a company that has a network setup where you can rent a book at one place and return it somewhere else down the road. Very convenient, yet quite pricey. We rented Prey by Michael Crichton, and A Painted House by John Grisham. Both were decent books, but I wouldn't say I was happy I paid $15 to hear them.

I was telling a co-worker about renting books and listening to them in the car on road trips. She promptly informed me that I was a sucker and I was took by the man. Well, she didn't say those words, but that's what she meant. She told me about this site, Audible, where you can download audio books. Audible is currrently offering you one free download if you sign-up. Previously, they were offering three free downloads for setting up an account. Luckily, she still had a link to the sign-up page offering the three free books.

So, I set-up an account and downloaded my first book, Freaknomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner. The subtitle for this book is "A Rouge Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything." We listened to the first four chapters on the way down. It is very thought provoking. They ask questions like "What do school teachers and Sumo wrestlers have in common?" and "If drug dealers make so much money, why do they still live at home with their parents?" The answers are based on data, and are pretty impressive. If you have not read this book, you should check it out. If you are going on a trip soon, let me know and you can borrow my cds. Or, you can go here and get your own three books.