Stupid is as Stupid Does

While the recent presidential election campaign was underway, I came across an article on Netscape News (by CNN) ranking states in order of intelligence. I had been occasionally checking the Electoral Vote Predictor and decided to compare the results. Not surprisingly, I found a correlation between intelligence and presidential candidate preference.

The election was over before I managed to conduct a full comparison so I just filed the information in the back of my head as dinner party ammunition. Then today I received an email where someone had already performed such a comparison. Here it is (highest to lowest intelligence, Kerry in blue, Bush in red):

After I saw this, I was compelled to make the comparison using the data from the CNN article which painted a similar, but less culpatory picture. Here is a ranking of highest to lowest intelligence again with Kerry in blue and Bush in red:

If you notice any mistakes or inconsistencies, please leave a comment.

Japanese Air Fare

When I was researching air fares for my trip to Osaka last May, I came across this website about Traveling [sic] Cheaply to and in Japan. The author is American, but many of the agencies he listed that offer cheap fares have Canadian versions. I tracked down the Canadian branches of those agencies and would like to share with you how to spend slightly less than a fortune going to Japan.

I tried to compare round trip fares from Vancouver, Canada to Tokyo, Japan departing on January 5th and returning on February 5th. Some of the websites did not have facilties to search for specific dates, travel restrictions vary, and some websites listed fares in different currencies. The following prices are in Canadian dollars and were converted, if necessary, using today's rates. Use the information, for which I make no guarantees, at your own risk and read the fine print from the individual websites. Caveat emptor.

Air Canada
Air Canada, bless their souls, can find it very difficult to come up with competitive rates. I know Robert Milton is doing his best and they have a very slick website and customer reward program, but a return trip to Tokyo (via Los Angeles!) will cost you:
1734.50

Travelocity
Travelocity is one of the big online discount travel agencies. I have used them for a lot of my travel ever since Expedia charged me more for a hotel room than the hotel would have charged me itself. They beat Air Canada for a trip to Japan offering a direct trip with United Airlines / Alaska Airlines, but it is nothing to write home about at:
1394.99

Tokyo Tours
I booked my trip in May with Tokyo Tours. A kitchy website lists discount air fares, but you will have to phone for details and booking. Goodbye Travelocity. Only prices from Toronto were listed but the cheapest January fare appears to be:
870.00

NaviTOUR
NaviTOUR (emphasis theirs) have perhaps the nicest website and cheapest deals listed on the main page. They also have excellent search facilities allowing you to compare prices, restrictions, and information for flights matching your travel plans. Wonderful eh? The only drawback for the average Canadian is that the website is entirely Japanese. Via San Francisco or Los Angeles with ANA, the fare I found on their site is:
850.00

IACE Travel
The International Association for Cultural Exchange has a pretty basic website, but lists some nice fares. Again, you will have to phone for details as the specifics are somewhat unclear. Also, the site is in Japanese. A trip to Tokyo with Northwest Airlines should cost you:
770.00

HIS
Highest International Standards has a website with a lot of information and nice layout despite missing a search feature. They produced the best fare I found with a United Airlines flight via Seattle. Sorry, Japanese only! It will cost you:
610.00

JTBI
Japan Travel Bureau International has a clear site, but without a lot of information. All the fares listed are from Toronto, but the site is fully bilingual and I expect you can find anything you need if you give them a call. They also offer flights from Kitchener via Detroit! Their fare (from Toronto) with JAL is pretty good:
819.00

Kintetsu
I do not know what Kintetsu is smoking. Their site has a search facility which is good, but their friendly fare listed in US Dollars and converted to Canadian is a whopping:
2925.87

Travel Cuts
Travel Cuts can be good if you are a student or under 25 years old. Sometimes they have good deals, but a search for my comparison dates and times yeilded a fare of:
1353.50

I hope that helps you save some money on your next trip to Japan or, if you have never thought about going, maybe you will now consider visiting.

UPDATE:

No. 1 Travel
"No1 Travel has been serving the foreign community in Japan for over 19 years." reads their tagline. They list some really good deals on the main page for flights originating in Japan. "HIS in English" is how Andrew, who contributed the link, described it. However, to get a flight to Japan from Canada, you will have to phone the HIS overseas departure desk (contact information on their page) during business hours.

Vaccine Supply

I normally find forwarded emails tedious, but this one I received from my Mum is worth reading (original source unknown):

In recent negotiations for influenza vaccine between a Canadian health official and an American representative, it was clear that there was a disconnect between the American government's sudden reliance on Canada for influenza vaccine despite the fact that the U.S. wants to discourage Americans from buying routine prescription drugs from Canadian pharmacies.

Not seeing the irony in the request, the American continued to press for the vaccine and then demanded to know why the United States would be charged for the vaccine when Canadians get theirs "for free." The Canadian official replied, "Oh it's not free, the government pays for it."

"Well then," the American replied, "How much will it cost us?"

The Canadian replied, "Well, we don't know...we'll let you know."

In frustration, the American replied, "Well, it's urgent, so just send an invoice with the shipment. By the way...how will the vaccine be delivered?"

After careful consideration, the Canadian official replied, "By cow. Twenty vials of vaccine will be tied around the neck of every cow that passes over the order. Now...if you want faster delivery, there are some softwood lumber trucks available..."

Drive from Calgary to London

I know you are dying to know about my trip to Boston and much less interested in the inanities of three days driving about which I have bored you in the past. The only difference between this story and the last is that it is backwards and I was flying solo. However, I have some new insight and maybe a tale or two.

You may think it is more efficient to drive in at least pairs. That way one can navigate (or sleep) while the other drives and the driving can be shared. I found that it is much easier to accommodate the biological needs (food, bathroom, sleep, sex) of one human being than it is two. Alone, I can pull over for any of the above mentioned needs and take only as long as necessary to fulfill each one.

As for navigation, I find it is easier to check the route ahead of time than it is to double back at the next interchange when the navigator announces the exit five seconds too late.

I drove across Saskatchewan on Highway 1 (the TransCanada) and when I reached Winnipeg, I headed South across the US border and drove mostly along Interstate 2 until deeking through Michigan to cross back into Canada towards London. Everything went smoothly except for the US border guards confiscating my Jamaican beef patties. The exchange went something like this:

Guard: What's in the tin?
William: Snacks.
G: [opens tin, takes out Ziploc with beef patties] What's this?
W: [looking back at the guard] Jamaican patties
G: Is that a sandwich?
W: Uh...
G: What is it?
W: Uh... Jamaican beef patties
G: Did you say beef?
W: Yeah.
G: [sternly] Didn't I ask you if you had any food?
W: No, you just asked me if I was arrested or had a criminal record.
G: [confiscates Jamaican beef patties]

Now for some statistics. The van, a 1993 Mazda MPV was entirely empty except for myself, a backpack, duffle bag, laptop, suit, and a tin of provisions. Even the middle bench seat was removed. I remembered for once to record the odometer readings as I left Calgary, Alberta and as I entered London, Ontario. The total "kilometerage" was about 3300 km.

In Canada, 213.872 L of fuel was purchased at a cost of 176.87 dollars for an average price of 82.7 cents per litre. In the United States 55.705 gallons of fuel was purchased at a cost of 114.58 US dollars for an average price of 2.06 US dollars per gallon. To compare apples to apples I will convert the prices to Canadian dollars (at 1.25 per USD) and the units to litres in the table below.

Interesting things to note:
1. Fuel is cheaper in the United States.
2. The cost per kilometer is about 9.7 cents.
3. A one way flight between Calgary and London with Westjet on a couple of weeks notice costs about 200 Canadian dollars and takes four hours.

UPDATE:
I forgot to mention that usually I stop three nights on the road. This time I made it stopping only in Regina, Saskatchewan and Grand Rapids, Minessota.