The Right Hand Rule

I just heard a facinating bit of news; but first, some history.

Two years ago Yoli and I watched a phobia show on cable, where a lady in London had a phobia of making left hand turns while driving. So I tested this out one afternoon in Folsom with my co-workers Mark and Greg - both of whom are also electrical engineers. We had to get from the office to Jenny's Palace (read: Chinese food) -- making only right hand turns. We did make it, although we had to navigate through two Folsom neighborhoods and a supermarket parking lot.

So it is that cheap foreign oil permits us Merikans the opportunity to squander energy in such foolish pursuits! Horrors!

Or...is it?

Cut to the present. Diesel is now about $4.50. As it turns out (pun intended), right hand turns are more energy efficient as left hand turns usually involve mandatory stopping at lights and in most cases require the clearing of traffic in both directions, not just one, as a condition before beginning the turn. So it is that I learned today that UPS uses complex algorithms to plan truck routes that maximizes, among other things, right hand turns.

What can Brown do for you?