After burning my first complete tank of gas in my new car, I was wondering exactly how much fuel capacity the 1994 Civic has in comparison to my previous 1996. With the 1996, I was typically able to drive 300-350 miles on the 11.9-gallon tank. During periods of Interstate travel to, for example, Tallahassee or Jacksonville, it was not uncommon for me to be able to get 400 miles from that tank of regular unleaded gasoline. The record mileage for that car was made at some point when I was living in Jacksonville and drove back up from Orlando. I remember fuelling at the Kangaroo Gas Station on Wilson Boulevard right off of I-295 and noting I had hit 416.8 miles on the single tank of gas.



Anyway, because I had already been leafing though it here and there, the owner's manual was already inside the house and ready for use. An interesting note about said manual: it is not for my car. While similar in nearly every sense, the included manual is for the 1993 Civic EX. Regardless, the information indicated that the tank is also an 11.9-gallon one. When I stopped to get gas the evening before, I put 10 gallons in the tank. My trip odometer indicated I had driven just shy of 350 miles. That is good gas mileage, especially considering the driving I have been doing has been local, around town trips. I am sure that come Monday, my new regular schedule of to and from the office will degrade my ability to get such prime mileage from each tank, but it is understandable.

How do you like how I slipped that one in, right in the middle of a non-related story? Before I hopelessly digress any further from the inspiration of this writing, let me get to the point. Whilst looking through the rest of the owner's manual, I discovered the usual information, instructions and warnings. As with any guide of this sort, the authors have to aim for the lowest common denominator, which ends up providing the rest of us with some entertaining, if not blatantly obvious reading materials. Here are some observations: Information on how to start and drive the vehicle is located in a chapter called "Driving," located just after the chapter entitled "Comfort and Convenience Features" which covers such important topics as how to operate the cigarette lighter, air conditioning and audio system.

• While suggesting their avoidance all together, Honda reminds us: If you use a liquid air freshener, make sure you fasten it securely so it does not spill as you drive.



• From the short-but-sweet category: Your car is not designed to tow a trailer. Attempting to do so can void your warranties.



• More brilliance, this time from the "Driving in Bad Weather" section: Be very cautious when passing, or being passed by other vehicles. The spray from large vehicles reduces your visibility, and the wind buffeting can cause you to lose control. There is even a little picture of a little Civic passing an 18-wheeler in what looks to be Hurricane Andrew.



• Finally, my favourite. The following was stated in the aforementioned "Driving" chapter in a box with a large, yellow WARNING box header: Rapid slowing or speeding-up can cause loss of control on slippery surfaces. If you crash, you can be injured.

Yes, I will be starting my new job on Monday. As I alluded to before, I will have a dual-responsibility, one of which will be the on-staff IT support for two offices. The other will allow me to delve into something I have only ever touched upon before, real estate. As a transaction coordinator, I will assist real estate agents in the daily processing that is necessary when listing, showing, selling/buying and closing a home. I am looking forward to this new opportunity with a growing, however firmly established company from which I can both learn and teach. The owner of the company also has, on multiple occasions, expressed his specific elation that a younger person will be joining his team, allowing for a different, "fresher" perspective.

Now to wrap-up what must be the most non-topic specific entry yet, I must brag about the coding I did this morning. Using the existing setup as a guide, I successfully (and on the first try, no less) created a new shortcut to be used within the forum software.

I am very pleased with this addition, as not only does it reflect more accurately my aesthetic desire for this type of blockquote output, but also it requires no manual entry of HTML, CSS or other code. Admittedly, it was not the most difficult thing in the world to accomplish, but I was amazed after looking at the files exactly how simple it really is to add custom code shortcuts.

Update: All previous instances of block quoting have been replaced with this new version.

Have a great weekend everyone!