Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn., Ruben Rosario column
By Ruben Rosario, Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn. | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
I want to blurt out an MPR Kerri Miller-type response that makes me sound worldly.
"Why, I'm reading 'Think Like a Freak' and 'El Paciente' in Spanish by
Truth is, I'm no longer a voracious reader of books. I don't have the time or make the time to curl up with one on a couch with my white Persian cat,
Actually, most men I know don't curl up on a couch. Not cool. We mostly slouch or lie there. And I don't have a cat. I do have a bay window.
I am, though, a regular reader of mounting bills and junk mail on the kitchen counter. Also, largely because of the work I do, I do devour articles on current events and intriguing studies.
Two of them caught my eye last week.
THE TRUE COST OF A SPEEDING TICKET
I have received about two tickets during 23 years in
The results are eyebrow-raising. When court expenses, insurance premium hikes and other variables are factored in, the actual cost is 3.
59 times the cost of the actual ticket. For example, a
Not all drivers will face the same insurance increases. Drivers in
The online site also listed the locales with the steepest car insurance hikes over a three-year span, based on a
ARE YOU SMARTER THAN ...?
I may not be as smart as a current fifth-grader on most answers to questions on various topics that I mostly don't remember that well anymore. I prefer to say that I believe I'm as smart as most former fifth-graders now my age. So I was not that surprised by a survey released last week that found most adult Americans flunk at fifth-grade science questions.
The survey was conducted by the nonprofit
The survey found that:
-- More than three-quarters of respondents struggled to grasp the concept of a simple machine.
-- Nearly three-quarters of respondents failed to identify the most common gas in Earth's atmosphere.
-- More than half of respondents could not name the three classifications of rocks.
"Most Americans are not armed with the basic facts about science," Dr.
Now, being the wise guy I am, had Perrone quizzed me, I would have replied leaded, unleaded and premium on the gas question and album, heavy metal and punk on the rock classification challenge.
Of course, the last laugh was on me. I got five out of 10 on the survey quiz. I'm so stressed out by my performance that I may actually try that curling-up thing with a fifth-grade science textbook.
To find out the true cost of a speeding ticket, go to: nerdwallet.com
To take the 10-question science quiz, go to: accountablescience.com
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