Watching Game of Thrones, Season 2

Recently I started watching the TV series Game of Thrones again. Recall that I took a break after watching Season 1. I was burnt out on watching a show about terrible people. More specifically, a show about terrible people who win because they are terrible, because the director believes it's "just like real life" for evil to triumph. Well, to the extent that the real world is like that— and the politics in the US of the past 7 years show unscrupulous and malicious people running circles around those with any integrity— I don't need fiction to be "More of the same, but worse."

So, why am I watching Season 2? For one, it's because it's been 6 months now. I've recovered from the psychological strain. Two, I know from osmosis about the series that people of good character do fight those of evil character, and even some of the evil ones turn on one another. I'm ready to watch some awful people get hurt.

Traveling on Points and Cash (Colorado Edition)

Our week-long trip to Colorado earlier this month was paid for, as we do with most of our trips, with a combination of points and cash. Five Things:

1. The flights, I purchased using points in one direction and cash the other. I decided that based on a complicated calculus I use for valuing when to spend points vs. earn points on Southwest Airlines.


2. The reason we flew Southwest, aside from its schedule convenience on routes such as SJC-DEN, is the Companion Pass elite benefit I've attained for the past several years. It's basically a 2-for-1 sale whenever Hawk flies with me.


3. Most of our stays were paid for with points and free-night certs. We only spent cash for two nights. Those were the two we were in an AirBnB.


4. Some of the hotel nights/certs were mine, some were Hawk's. Often we focus on using mine as I pursue earning them more, but she has a lot piled up with Marriott and IHG that we want to ensure we get value from, too.


5. Gas was a cash expense. In the past I've rarely included gas in my calculation of travel expenses, but since it's gotten so expensive lately it's become a drag on the fun of road-tripping. On this trip we drove our rental truck 1,340 miles. At an average fuel economy of 24mpg (impressive for a pickup truck!) and an average gas price of $5/gallon, that works out to $279. ...Which, okay, that's less than any one of several of our hotel nights were. Though we paid those on points.

Normal Summer Weather Here

It's been in the news for weeks that major parts of the US are suffering a blistering heat wave. Austin, Texas has seen 40 straight days of temperatures reaching 100 degrees (38° C) or higher. Meanwhile, here in the Bay Area, the summer weather is... normal. The past few weeks we've had highs in the low 80s (around 27-28° C), which is average summer weather, and more of the same is on tap all this coming week.