When a penny isn't a penny

I came across this article today. It's interesting, and the fate of the penny is at stake:

At 1.4¢, that's a pretty penny
Zinc, not copper, is costing nation a mint
John Faherty
The Arizona Republic
Apr. 27, 2006 12:00 AM

The penny is being pinched by the rising cost of production.

It could now cost 1.4 cents for the U.S. Mint to make each penny.

The first thing you need to understand is that the penny is not what it seems.

The coin is 97.5 percent zinc; copper plating makes up the remaining 2.5 percent.

Last year, the Mint produced each penny for 0.97 cent. That was before the price of zinc more than doubled.

The Mint says it is not possible to nail down the cost of each coin right now but acknowledged the lowly penny has grown more expensive.

"Yes, the costs are going up," said Becky Bailey, public-affairs director of the Mint.

There is no talk at the Mint of stopping production.

"That would be up to Congress," Bailey said.

The mere thought of a country without pennies makes some people uncomfortable.

"If we did away with the penny, what would I put in my loafers?" asked George Diaz Jr. of Phoenix.

Light blogging

I know I've been neglecting this.

I'm still getting over my latest screw up with celiac.

Saturday night, boyfriend wanted to take my Dad out to dinner to thank him for his help with the "toy truck". I chose an italian chain that offered a gluten-free menu. A nice bonus is that it offered wine in small carafes that came out to two glasses for only $3 more than a single glass.

After boyfriend and I drove around east valley for things for the "toy truck", we headed back to parents home for drinks. Boyfriend made Tequilla Sunrises, and I had four of them BEFORE heading out to restaurant.

Then I had a small carafe of white wine with dinner. My gluten-free dinner was good. But boyfriend just HAD to get clams and mussels with pasta and his choice of sauce.

Boyfriend had gotten me to like clams and mussels the last weekend we were in San Diego. So I just had to have a mussel from his plate.

After I ate it, he commented "I'm sure you're not allowed to have the sauce."

Too late.

A moment on the lips, four days of gut cleansing to recover. Gut cleansing for celiacs involves no absorption of anything you eat. So I'm so tired and draggy. Fortunately, my appetite doesn't go up since the stomach doesn't know any different.

Today, I woke up at a more "normal" time for me. And I'm feeling a bit stronger. So I guess all is getting better.

I gotta stop making rash decisions about food after lots of alcohol in my system....

Adventures in public transportation

I decided to do my part to pressure the gas companies and reduce my fuel useage by taking the bus instead of driving to work. I looked up the SunTran's bus schedule and a bus is supposed to show up every 10 minutes.

Easy.

Well, walked out the door at 7:50AM. A bit later than usual, I was dead tired and had slept in a bit. Waited 11 minutes for a bus by reading a book. Halfway to work, I realize that I had left my ID card in my car. Decided that by the time I'd get to work, someone in the office can let me in. Walked into the lab at 8:42AM.

Left the lab at 3:43PM because I wasn't feeling good. Waited only 4 minutes for a bus. But I only paid attention to the route number. I need the #4 bus to take me along Speedway. So there's a #4 Golf Links, and a #4 Harrison. Great.

This bus turns south at Kolb to go to Golf Links. WTF? So I get off at Kolb and wait 18 minutes for a #4 Harrison bus to take me the rest of the way home. Finally walk in the front door at 4:45PM.

Total cost: $3. However, in time I wasted, it wasn't worth it. I'll elaborate:

It takes me 11-15 minutes to drive myself to work. When the students and the last of the snowbirds depart in the next three weeks, I can probably do that in 10 minutes. What my hourly salary is, this already isn't a cost saving measure.

For whatever reason, it takes 15-25 minutes to get home. Afternoon traffic no matter what time I leave sucks worse than the drive into work. But then if I decide to stop by Target, it's only 1 mile out of my way. But since it took an hour to take the bus home with no errand running afterwards, I'm wasting even more time to walk to my car and drive back the way I came to Target.

I tried. It isn't worth it. I won't even go into details of the conditions on the bus....