Spelunking: Sweet Office Fun

It's that time of the year again when a certain madness takes over the free time in offices across the country. It's the time when a college basketball expert can feel like a fool compared to the person who filled out a bracket based on places they'd rather be (ie. Florida Gulf Coast, Arizona) or mascots that remind them of spring (Kansas Jayhawks, Louisville Cardinals, Oregon Ducks).

The college basketball expert at BAT Logistics is Steve Barnes. On Monday morning, he was tricked when he saw a co-worker's bracket with only one loss displayed on the wall. He believed it was real, but it was actually a fake one made to look like it belonged to someone who actually did not participate. He's laughing with us now.

Steve's favorite team, Syracuse, plays again in the tournament Thursday night. However, he probably should also keep an eye on the calendar- April Fool's Day is coming up.

Echo: It's A SuperTruck!

Last week, you'll remember, we were cautious about gas prices. Since then, President Obama proposed a goal to get trucks completely off oil to avoid that worry over fuel prices. And, around the same time, the SuperTruck happened.

The SuperTruck, a collaboration between Cummins Inc. and Peterbuilt, tested to have a 54 percent increase in fuel economy in real world driving conditions. While the average truck gets between 5.5 and 6.5 miles per gallon, the SuperTruck gets 9.9.

That could mean a savings of $25,000 a year in fuel costs, according to an article on the Successful Dealer website.
 
The truck is still in the testing phase.

Echo: Gas Prices Continue to Drop

Have gas prices peaked?

From mid-January to the end of February, the national average diesel fuel prices increased about 27 cents and regular unleaded gas price jumped 49 cents. When prices rise this rapidly, it makes it hard for carriers to keep up since fuel surcharges are passed on based on the previous week's prices.

Diesel gas prices peaked Feb. 25 at a national average of $4.159 a gallon. Since then, prices have started to drop- slowly. As of the last report issued March 11, the price is down to $4.088.

But, as the American Automobile Association (AAA) pointed out in a February release, gas prices have increased in March for the past nine years.

According to AAA, higher gas prices in January and February were due to refinery maintenance, which results in a smaller supply. Future prices can be affected by the switch to summer-blend gasoline.

While prices are finally lower than they were a year ago, it is still best to be cautious. Expert planning is the key to keeping costs as low as possible.

Spelunking: Go With Seuss

Most of us grew up reading the words of Dr. Seuss. He inspired us to try new things on trains and boats, told us of the places we'll go and that we can find fun everywhere. Tomorrow is his birthday.

While modes of transportation (okay, and fish) always seem to pop up in his books, one book in particular had 37. In Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now!, Dr. Seuss suggests feet, a jet and a zumble-zay as just a few ways to leave.

While we love all the creative modes of transportation, we also love the lessons we can still learn as adults from his stories. In Horton Hatches the Egg, for example, we learn the rewards of being faithful.

So, whether you have a bike, crank-car or mountain mover, get your hands on a Dr. Seuss book this weekend and see how he can continue to inspire you. Not sure where to start? Here are some of the BAT team members' favorite Seuss books:

• Steve Barnes- Green Eggs and Ham, followed by There's a Wocket in My Pocket
• Ralph Blank- Wacky Wednesday
• Lacey Carlson- One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish
• Katie Forney- The Lorax
• Marissa Hough- Oh, The Places You'll Go!
• Ashley Jankowski- Fox in Socks or Oh, The Places You'll Go!
• Joe Kier- Hop on Pop
• Cindy Moreno- Fox in Socks
• Krysten Parrish- Green Eggs and Ham
• Maureen Shea- Oh, The Places You'll Go!