The Color of New Money

You have entered 139,662 Bills worth $360,573
Bills with hits: 10,693 Total hits: 12,059
Hit rate: 7.66% Slugging Percentage: 8.63% (total hits/total bills)
George Score: 1,283.96
Your rank (based on George Score) is #174
(out of 47,976 current users with a George Score. [99.6 Percentile])
Your State Rank in Florida is: 16 out of 8,077 [99.8]
Your initial entries with hits have traveled a total of 5,674,981 miles.
They have averaged 476.5 miles per hit and 199.15 days between each hit.

Since I usually get singles, I was beginning to wonder if I’d ever get to see a 2009 bill. The first bills to come out as Series 2009 were the $20 bills. Next came the $1 bills. Despite occasionally getting twenties from ATMs, I have yet to see either. Now, according to The Bureau of Engraving and Printing’s production report page, there are now going to be Series 2009 $100 bills.

It looks like the Series 2009 will be of a new design. I don’t see anything on exactly what it will look like. I guess we’ll have to wait until next month to find out. I guess this means that the BEP is producing them, but will be holding off until next month before releasing them.

For now, I’ll just have to keep going through the $1 and $20 bills to be able to enter a Series 2009.

Series 2009, where are you?

You have entered 138,792 Bills worth $358,997
Bills with hits: 10,606 Total hits: 11,952
Hit rate: 7.64% Slugging Percentage: 8.61% (total hits/total bills)
George Score: 1,282.98
Your rank (based on George Score) is #174
(out of 47,860 current users with a George Score. [99.6 Percentile])
Your State Rank in Florida is: 16 out of 8,067 [99.8]
Your initial entries with hits have traveled a total of 5,622,420 miles.
They have averaged 476.4 miles per hit and 198.56 days between each hit.

Series 2009 $20 bills came out last month, but I have yet to see one. This has to do mostly with the fact that I don’t usually get twenties. It looks like Series 2009 $1 bills have entered circulation, as it’s now possible to enter them on Where’s George. (The 2009 option isn’t at the top, which makes it a little hard to see, but I’m not complaining.)

I have been getting twenties from the casino whenever they can’t give me all singles. I have yet to get a 2009 $20 bill. When I went to Publix yesterday to get some bills, they gave me new bills, which I was hoping would be 2009. No such luck; again, they were 2006.

It seems like whenever a new series comes out, they try to get rid of the new bills from the last series before releasing the newest series, so I can probably expect to see a lot more of the new, sequential 2006 bills before seeing any 2009. It also doesn’t look like the Atlanta branch of the Federal Reserve Bank has requested any new bills, so it will probably take even longer for me to see one.

Things Forgotten

You have entered 138,508 Bills worth $358,524
Bills with hits: 10,478 Total hits: 11,811
Hit rate: 7.56% Slugging Percentage: 8.53% (total hits/total bills)
George Score: 1,281.76
Your rank (based on George Score) is #168
(out of 47,912 current users with a George Score. [99.6 Percentile])
Your State Rank in Florida is: 15 out of 8,055 [99.8]
Your initial entries with hits have traveled a total of 5,529,167 miles.
They have averaged 473.9 miles per hit and 197.63 days between each hit.

I realized that there were a couple things I’ve forgotten to post here. One is a Nantucket Limerick. That I had wanted to post with what I was saying about not having a hit there. The Limerick is as follows:


I once got a hit in Nantucket
From Miami, an hour by bucket
----In my heart I could feel
----That the hit wasn't real
But it's my only Nantucket ducket


I also don’t seem to have posted anything about ZIP code 33309. I had noticed that I have two hits there, but couldn’t think of how I had come to enter 2 bills there. I had assumed that I had intended to enter them in 33009, which would have been Hallandale Beach. (Basically, two bills I had gotten at Gulfstream Park.)

Someone in the chat room showed me how to look up bills that haven’t gotten any hits yet and it appears that one is a twenty and the other is a five. It looks like I may have been up in the area and broken some bills for someone, so I think the hits may be legitimate.

I know it’s not much, but I am setting a goal to post at least three times per week.

You have entered 138,451 Bills worth $358,467
Bills with hits: 10,450 Total hits: 11,783
Hit rate: 7.55% Slugging Percentage: 8.51% (total hits/total bills)
George Score: 1,281.52
Your rank (based on George Score) is #175
(out of 48,107 current users with a George Score. [99.6 Percentile])
Your State Rank in Florida is: 15 out of 8,049 [99.8]
Your initial entries with hits have traveled a total of 5,507,388 miles.
They have averaged 473.1 miles per hit and 197.47 days between each hit.

Gulfstream Park Racing and Casino recently finished building a shopping area. As part of the shopping area, they put in some wi-fi. Being that the Hallandale Branch library was closed, I decided to give it a try.

The first thing I noticed was that there really isn’t much privacy except for the fact that few people were in the area. If someone saw you with a wad of cash, it would be a little obvious. Fortunately, it never got that far. The wi-fi wasn’t working today. I asked and it wasn’t just me. Apparently, others were complaining about it, as well.

I was lucky that they even had tables for me to use. I hate having to put my netbook to the side to use it. I’ve been wanting an Apple iPod Touch for this very reason. It would be much easier and possibly less conspicuous to enter bills at Gulfstream with one.

It seems to work only in a very limited area. I’m wondering if anyone will use the wi-fi at all. I can’t see people dragging laptops around a racetrack’s shopping area, although people do it at the mall. Whenever I go back, I’m going to take a look if anyone’s using it.

I ended up entering the bills in Hollywood. I don’t need that ZIP code, but it was nice to get a few more bills entered there. It’s a little far up to go over there and back, but it’s not too bad. At least I had some privacy there.

For some reason, I was getting a lot of new bills from the ticket-redemption machines, so I went back to the casino afterwards to get rid of them. Good thing I did because I was able to hit someone’s bill. I wouldn’t have gotten it if I didn’t go back.

I’m going to call it quits here before I start rambling. I’ll try to post more tomorrow.

Good news

You have entered 138,279 Bills worth $358,295
Bills with hits: 10,432 Total hits: 11,763
Hit rate: 7.54% Slugging Percentage: 8.51% (total hits/total bills)
George Score: 1,281.33
Your rank (based on George Score) is #173
(out of 48,123 current users with a George Score. [99.6 Percentile])
Your State Rank in Florida is: 15 out of 8,049 [99.8]
Your initial entries with hits have traveled a total of 5,489,852 miles.
They have averaged 472.5 miles per hit and 197.39 days between each hit.

In my search for places to enter bills and/or get change, I went to the North Shore branch of the Miami-Dade Public Library System located at 7501 Collins Avenue. I have to say that it’s the smallest library I’ve ever been to, but I now have 40 bills entered in ZIP code 33141. One good thing is that they have a second floor that has a few tables, one of which I was able to share with someone. They also have free Wi-Fi and lend out computers for people to use, although I don’t know what the requirements are for getting a computer. I had mine, so I didn’t need one.

The only major downside is that the nearest parking was metered. (I don’t know what employees do.) Miami Beach seems to be big on metered parking. It stinks that a public library doesn’t have its own parking. In fact, I think it’s The Beach that gets the money, so the funds don’t even go to the library system. (I guess you could say that the city pays into the library system, so it does get the money indirectly.)

When I go to the casino now, I usually enter bills, cash out and go to the Hallandale Branch of Broward County’s public libraries. They have a larger library there and work stations that offer a little more privacy. Speaking of which, I had $10 in free play to use at Gulfstream Park Racing and Casino today. I actually walked out with $45 that I didn’t have before.

In other good news, it looks like I’ll be working for the Census Bureau. I’ll be going in next month for training. I do know that it will be an office job, which is good. However, I really don’t know any other details like how many hours I’ll be working or how much I’ll get paid. It is work, which means more bills to enter, hopefully. At the very least, it means a bigger bank account.

Drug deals

You have entered 137,292 Bills worth $357,059
Bills with hits: 10,101 Total hits: 11,393
Hit rate: 7.36% Slugging Percentage: 8.30% (total hits/total bills)
George Score: 1,278.03
Your rank (based on George Score) is #180
(out of 48,012 current users with a George Score. [99.6 Percentile])
Your State Rank in Florida is: 16 out of 8,009 [99.8]
Your initial entries with hits have traveled a total of 5,296,774 miles.
They have averaged 470.6 miles per hit and 195.73 days between each hit.

I signed up with the Census Bureau to take a test to see if I can work for them. The pay looks good, but it’s temporary. At least it’s a paycheck. I keep hoping for something more permanent, but it’s hard. Everyone keeps saying that unemployment is up. People are looking for work. All I know is that I don’t have a job right now and my savings account won’t last forever. Hopefully, I’ll end up with some more bills to enter.

I think someone else may be thinking along similar lines, but reached a different career objective, as per this hit. I think that’s the second hit I’ve gotten that’s referenced a drug deal. Again, I don’t know how serious they are. I’m thinking that it’s a joke. I wouldn’t think you’d want something like that where people can see it.

I got this one last week. It seems to have gone all over the place. I kind of like it when it does that. The distance between the endpoints is way smaller than the total distance traveled. (I also have a weakness for vectors and vector sums.)

That’s all for now. I’ll post more when I have it.

Massachusetts elects a Republican senator and I still can’t get a hit in Nantucket County

You have entered 136,916 Bills worth $356,541
Bills with hits: 9,948 Total hits: 11,226
Hit rate: 7.27% Slugging Percentage: 8.20% (total hits/total bills)
George Score: 1,276.51
Your rank (based on George Score) is #186
(out of 48,163 current users with a George Score. [99.6 Percentile])
Your State Rank in Florida is: 17 out of 7,989 [99.8]
Your initial entries with hits have traveled a total of 5,228,361 miles.
They have averaged 471.5 miles per hit and 195.68 days between each hit.

For those that don’t know, Nantucket is an island county off the coast of Massachusetts. There are several things that make getting a hit there difficult. First, you have to take a ferry over. From what I can see, the fares aren’t cheap. I don’t think a lot of people would go over just for the heck of it.

The other thing is that there don’t seem to be a lot of malls or Starbucks there. (There is a Starbuck Road, though.) Don’t get me wrong. There does seem to be retail there. It’s just that Nantucket doesn’t strike me as the kind of place that would like chains. So, even if I spent the $40 to get over there, I don’t know that there would be many places for me to spend my bills.

Now, I’m not saying that you should just hit my bills. I don’t want to be selfish. All I’m saying is that if you happen to be on Nantucket Island and you happen to find a marked bill, please enter it regardless of who originally entered it.

For that matter, you’re always welcome to start a bill’s history. If you have money, just enter it on Where’s George. Someone has to start the bill report. That’s not even considering all of the unmarked bills out there. I’m sure that there are a lot of other georgers out there that would greatly appreciate the hit. It seems that if someone needs a county in Massachusetts that the county they need is Nantucket.

Of Sanibel and Haiti

You have entered 136,519 Bills worth $355,822
Bills with hits: 9,889 Total hits: 11,164
Hit rate: 7.24% Slugging Percentage: 8.18% (total hits/total bills)
George Score: 1,275.92
Your rank (based on George Score) is #187
(out of 48,291 current users with a George Score. [99.6 Percentile])
Your State Rank in Florida is: 17 out of 7,980 [99.8]
Your initial entries with hits have traveled a total of 5,191,871 miles.
They have averaged 470.7 miles per hit and 195.44 days between each hit.

I actually found an interesting app for the iPhone that I’d use. The USPS has its own app that, among other things, allows you to know which ZIP code you’re in. This is very useful to someone who needs to know which ZIP code their bill is on before entering it on WG. The app also lets you track packages and know where the nearest Post Office is, both things that I could see using.

Yesterday, I went to a place in Florida called Sanibel Island. When I got back, I found that I had two hits related to Sanibel. One was actually hit there. The second simply refers to it in the user note. I did spend 11 bills there, but neither hit is from any of the bills that I spent there. Odd that it should take so long for one bill to make it over there and end up there on the same day that I did.

I also got a hit on a bill that was apparently intended to help Haiti. Yes, it looks like it was deposited, but it was just one bill. I’m assuming that the actual donation was much larger.

That’s all for now.

New Florida County

You have entered 134,556 Bills worth $352,623
Bills with hits: 9,616 Total hits: 10,864
Hit rate: 7.15% Slugging Percentage: 8.07% (total hits/total bills)
George Score: 1,272.98
Your rank (based on George Score) is #196
(out of 48,755 current users with a George Score. [99.6 Percentile])
Your State Rank in Florida is: 16 out of 7,962 [99.8]
Your initial entries with hits have traveled a total of 5,054,793 miles.
They have averaged 470.9 miles per hit and 194.74 days between each hit.

I got a hit in Gulf County, which brings the number of Florida counties I have up to 60. I’m now missing only seven counties in Florida.

I did get a few other interesting hits over the past month or two. This one was found on the ground in Las Vegas. (I just love the scrolling text.)

This bill Was waiting two years to be entered. I don’t know which is more frustrating: The fact that the guy held on to it for so long or the fact that it was at a local airport, potentially waiting to go out of state.

This one, I can’t say I understand. I just thought I’d share.

That’s all for now.

Cash FTW

You have entered 133,611 Bills worth $350,883
Bills with hits: 9,380 Total hits: 10,606
Hit rate: 7.02% Slugging Percentage: 7.94% (total hits/total bills)
George Score: 1,270.48
Your rank (based on George Score) is #197
(out of 49,500 current users with a George Score. [99.6 Percentile])
Your State Rank in Florida is: 18 out of 7,932 [99.8]
Your initial entries with hits have traveled a total of 4,955,361 miles.
They have averaged 473.7 miles per hit and 194.95 days between each hit.

I saw two articles today that indicate that I should expect more hits. The first says that fewer people are using credit. The driving force seems to be that people don’t want it incur unnecessary debt, which is good advice in any economy. Not only will people have less debt but the stores don’t have charges associated with having the transaction processed.

The second article is reassuring people that cash won’t slow down checkout lines. Not only does it take about the same time, but not enough people are doing it that anyone has to worry.
Either way, it means that more of my bills will be given out as change.

And now for something completely different

You have entered 131,155 Bills worth $346,299
Bills with hits: 9,205 Total hits: 10,419
Hit rate: 7.02% Slugging Percentage: 7.94% (total hits/total bills)
George Score: 1,268.43
Your rank (based on George Score) is #199
(out of 49,660 current users with a George Score. [99.6 Percentile])
Your State Rank in Florida is: 19 out of 7,924 [99.8]
Your initial entries with hits have traveled a total of 4,879,028 miles.
They have averaged 474.9 miles per hit and 194.41 days between each hit.

For those of you that think that math has no real-world application, I present to you a case of statistical sampling. Very often, I will enter 100 or more bills at a time. Once in a while, I’ll have entered fewer bills than I should have. This means one of two things: either I was shorted a bill or I missed one.

Since I deal with banks and casinos, I’m dealing with people that are a bit paranoid about money and thus not likely to short me a bill. When I’m missing a bill like that, it means that I’ve skipped over one. You may ask how I can find one missing bill among 100, 200, 300 or more. Do I have to go through each bill?

I used to do that until I realized that I didn’t have to. That’s where statistical sampling comes in. Let’s say that I have 250 bills. I think I’ve entered all of them only to discover that I’ve actually entered 249. I count off 10 bills at a time and check the top bill against the recently entered bills.

The top bill on my pile should be the most recently entered bill. If I count off ten bills, the next should be the eleventh most recently entered. When I find one that doesn’t match, I’ve effectively narrowed it down to a range of ten bills; my missing bill should be in there. (If it’s not, I’ve probably miscounted.)

I know this may well be boring to most, but it is an example of how paying attention in math class can help.

Hits and profiles and really large numbers

You have entered 123,555 Bills worth $328,764
Bills with hits: 8,822 Total hits: 10,009
Hit rate: 7.14% Slugging Percentage: 8.10% (total hits/total bills)
George Score: 1,263.54
Your rank (based on George Score) is #199
(out of 51,518 current users with a George Score. [99.6 Percentile])
Your State Rank in Florida is: 19 out of 7,888 [99.8]
Your initial entries with hits have traveled a total of 4,669,903 miles.
They have averaged 473.1 miles per hit and 193.98 days between each hit.

Someone in the Where’s George forums pointed out that the profiles have new stats. (Here's a link to my profile.) These are stats that are normally available on my profile, as indicated above, but are now available to all each time I refresh.

I also have an interesting comment to report. Since the person commenting knows the full name of the person, I doubt that Alex Mozeak really is a crack head. (For those that point out that it’s obvious, I do have liability to worry about; there are one or two other people that read this blog every so often.)

Then there’s the three-year sleeper. The one thing I wonder about a hit like this is if the bill traveled around the world only to end up 14 miles away. I know that it was probably sitting in a bank vault somewhere, but it’s impossible to tell as there were no hits for more than 40 months. It could go either way.

Finally, I’ve just gotten hit number 10,000. (As of this posting, the page isn’t showing the actual hit number; I had to count backwards from hit 10,009, so there’s a slight possibility that it’s one off.) At the rate I’m going, I may get to 20,000 within two years.

Updates

You have entered 119,194 Bills worth $320,218
Bills with hits: 8,606 Total hits: 9,760
Hit rate: 7.22% Slugging Percentage: 8.19% (total hits/total bills)
George Score: 1,260.50
Your rank (based on George Score) is #216
(out of 51,840 current users with a George Score. [99.6 Percentile])
Your State Rank in Florida is: 18 out of 7,870 [99.8]
Your initial entries with hits have traveled a total of 4,577,277 miles.
They have averaged 475.7 miles per hit and 194.22 days between each hit.

With the demise of Geocities, it appears that the Top Toms list had to be moved. It’s now being hosted at a more permanent location. It looks like my status hasn’t been updated in a while, so I’m going to have to send in my current stats.

There’s also a link there to the Tom Supply Network. I should probably add that to the links section. I’ve just registered there and will later add some banks in the Miami area to the list.

I’ve also noticed that the profiles on Where’s George now have additional stats like overall rank and state rank as well as the number of wilds hit.

I just thought I’d add the updates.

Interesting user comments

You have entered 114,306 Bills worth $309,936
Bills with hits: 8,391 Total hits: 9,522
Hit rate: 7.34% Slugging Percentage: 8.33% (total hits/total bills)
George Score: 1,257.42
Your rank (based on George Score) is #218
(out of 52,519 current users with a George Score. [99.6 Percentile])
Your State Rank in Florida is: 19 out of 7,845 [99.8]
Your initial entries with hits have traveled a total of 4,488,478 miles.
They have averaged 478.3 miles per hit and 193.99 days between each hit.

It looks like it’s time to post some bill reports. The first is one of those comments that I’d love to see the bill. Sometimes, if I get a little of the red ink on my finger, I may get some of it on the bills if I touch them. I wonder if that’s the ‘blood stain’ that the comment refers to. It could also be that they’ve got an strange sense of humor. It’s still an interesting comment.

This one I speaks for itself. For those that don’t know, check out the Scarlett’s web site.

This one, I’m wondering if they still have it. They actually held on to it and then entered it? Why?

In the Poor Concept of Time category is this bill. They hadn’t used the shorts in six months, but it’s only 80 days between entries. Maybe someone slipped it in their pocket.

Who is Mr. Yuck?

This is another one I can’t figure out. Is the New York?

Those are the more interesting ones I’ve gotten recently. I’ll post more as I get them.

No more SunPass only

You have entered 110,168 Bills worth $301,266
Bills with hits: 8,213 Total hits: 9,322
Hit rate: 7.45% Slugging Percentage: 8.46% (total hits/total bills)
George Score: 1,254.75
Your rank (based on George Score) is #220
(out of 52,612 current users with a George Score. [99.6 Percentile])
Your State Rank in Florida is: 17 out of 7,840 [99.8]
Your initial entries with hits have traveled a total of 4,412,318 miles.
They have averaged 480.6 miles per hit and 193.67 days between each hit.

Last week, I went through a toll plaza that took both SunPass and cash, which surprised me. A few days ago, my father found a job listing for a toll collector, which also surprised me. I had been operating under the assumption that the cash option had been phased out.

After filling out the application today, I asked about the cash option and the job opening. The guy said that the SunPass-only toll booths never came to pass. I guess that’s a good thing because it not only means that I don’t have to worry about getting a SunPass, but I may get a job out of it.

Blood stains and other markings

You have entered 109,444 Bills worth $299,436
Bills with hits: 8,082 Total hits: 9,178
Hit rate: 7.38% Slugging Percentage: 8.39% (total hits/total bills)
George Score: 1,253.10
Your rank (based on George Score) is #216
(out of 52,355 current users with a George Score. [99.6 Percentile])
Your State Rank in Florida is: 15 out of 7,835 [99.8]
Your initial entries with hits have traveled a total of 4,362,204 miles.
They have averaged 483.1 miles per hit and 193.53 days between each hit.

I actually made it to #15 in Florida, but I don’t know how long that will last. There are a few people below me that haven’t refreshed in a few days. When they refresh, I’ll be knocked back down.

I also found this bill today. I don’t know what the deal is with the red and green markings other than Christmas decorations. It’s going to be a little difficult to mark with my Biscayne Park stamp or any similar stamp, for that matter. I may have to simply mark it on the edges.

First a drug bust. Now this. What is it with blood stains and drugs in South Florida? I really need to move somewhere else and soon.

Sexy

You have entered 109,065 Bills worth $298,709
Bills with hits: 8,035 Total hits: 9,126
Hit rate: 7.37% Slugging Percentage: 8.37% (total hits/total bills)
George Score: 1,252.48
Your rank (based on George Score) is #214
(out of 52,692 current users with a George Score. [99.6 Percentile])
Your State Rank in Florida is: 17 out of 7,834 [99.8]
Your initial entries with hits have traveled a total of 4,342,316 miles.
They have averaged 483.7 miles per hit and 193.25 days between each hit.

I hit a bill today that had the URL in really small print. If you’re going to handwrite the URL, make it big enough for people to see. The only reason that I hit it is that I enter almost everything I come across.

At least I have a picture to post. I came across this five at the casino. I’m not sure how they got it, as the machines have a tendency to reject anything that’s marked this much. I still have it, but I don’t know if I should hold on to it until I return to the casino or if I should just try to spend it somewhere.

When I get a bill that’s marked like this, I’m usually a little worried about the looks I’ll get. It’s not a particularly attractive design. The thought of Abraham Lincoln in drag with the word ’sexy’ even kind of gives me the willies. But, what can I do?

Maybe I should start walking more

You have entered 107,426 Bills worth $295,589
Bills with hits: 7,896 Total hits: 8,969
Hit rate: 7.35% Slugging Percentage: 8.35% (total hits/total bills)
George Score: 1,250.53
Your rank (based on George Score) is #222
(out of 52,475 current users with a George Score. [99.6 Percentile])
Your State Rank in Florida is: 18 out of 7,820 [99.8]
Your initial entries with hits have traveled a total of 4,279,035 miles.
They have averaged 485.4 miles per hit and 193.32 days between each hit.

I know I seem to be a bit anti-debit when it comes to a lot of things. I’d like to think that it’s more about having choice. I read in today’s Miami Herald that Miami-Dade Transit wants to do away with paper transfers. (You can read the article here.)

For those that don’t ride the bus, transfers allow people to use two buses on the same trip without having to pay two full fares. In Miami-Dade County, full fare is $2 and a transfer is 50¢. (Service is so bad that it was overpriced at half that amount.) In order to be able to pay 50¢ for a transfer, you’ll have to buy an EASY Card.

According to the article, the cards will be free for a limited time. If you’re not quick enough to get one, you’ll have to pay $2 and load it online, at Metrorail stations or certain other locations. At least they’ll still be taking cash, so someone that doesn’t have access to the Internet can at least get to one of the machines at one of those select locations.

I generally don’t like situations like this. It seems to me that Miami-Dade Transit Authority is simply trying to get more money out of people. You either have to pay $2 for the card or you have to pay full fare for each bus ride. It seems to me that they’re trying to make it just a little more difficult to take the bus.

I’ll use tokens as an example. Back when bus fare was $1.25, tokens cost 10 for $10, or $1 each. When fare was raised to $1.50, the cost of ten tokens went to $14.50. Yes, that’s right. You saved a whopping 5¢ per trip. If you decided to go downtown to buy some, you’d have to buy five or 10 rolls to make it worth the trip. I think that’s why they were phased out.

What are tourists supposed to do if they want to take our transit system? Are they supposed to donate $2 (per person, no doubt) to get a card that won’t be worth anything when they leave? This is exactly why I started driving.

You have entered 103,618 Bills worth $287,846
Bills with hits: 7,783 Total hits: 8,840
Hit rate: 7.51% Slugging Percentage: 8.53% (total hits/total bills)
George Score: 1,248.55
Your rank (based on George Score) is #235
(out of 52,544 current users with a George Score. [99.6 Percentile])
Your State Rank in Florida is: 18 out of 7,805 [99.8]
Your initial entries with hits have traveled a total of 4,215,497 miles.
They have averaged 485.0 miles per hit and 192.93 days between each hit.

I really have to admit that the Bank of America in Aventura has great service. I went through the drive through yesterday to get change. Before I could put the money in the container, the teller actually came over the intercom and asked if I wanted $2 bills. For some reason, I don’t normally ask for $2 bills in the drive through. I don’t always ask when I go in. But for them to recognize me and ask is great. I really like going to that branch. (To boot, I got two red-seal bills in the batch that they gave me.)

In other news, I got two interesting hits. I don’t know if this first one is true. If it is, it’s pretty interesting. To think that I got the bill and it couldn’t last two weeks without being noticed by law enforcement. It was nice of them to enter the bill.

The second one is more of a novelty. They seemed to get the website right the first time to enter the bill, but put where’sbill.com in the user note. I don’t get that.

Why you need a car in Miami

You have entered 102,018 Bills worth $284,170
Bills with hits: 7,699 Total hits: 8,746
Hit rate: 7.55% Slugging Percentage: 8.57% (total hits/total bills)
George Score: 1,247.25
Your rank (based on George Score) is #242
(out of 52,687 current users with a George Score. [99.5 Percentile])
Your State Rank in Florida is: 18 out of 7,794 [99.8]
Your initial entries with hits have traveled a total of 4,169,053 miles.
They have averaged 484.6 miles per hit and 192.95 days between each hit.

I actually went through the drive-up lane at the bank yesterday to get change. I think that the reason I never did was that when I was learning to drive, the bank drive-up lane was somewhat difficult, especially in a minivan. When I got to the bank yesterday, it was a few minutes after closing. Since so many Publix locations don’t want to give me change, I figured I might as well go through the drive-up.

Yes, I’ve been driving for over a year and this is actually the first time that I’ve gone through the bank’s drive-up. I did go through a McDonald’s drive-through once, which I also managed to survive. I think another part of the reason is that drive throughs are so confining. You have to follow a very specific path and, at least with fast-food places, once you’re in, you’re pretty much committed. You cant get out until you’ve gotten your food.

Once you have a car or two behind you, it’s pretty much the same thing at the bank. You just have to sit there until there are no cars in front of you. This is why I generally prefer going in, and will continue to go in given a choice.

I think that the drive ups at banks are unfair. When I went to the bank yesterday, several other people were walking up to the door after me. One guy had to make a deposit, but didn’t seem to have a problem using the drive up. There was a woman, though, that didn’t drive. When that happens, what do you do if you need change? (Basically, you need to go to the nearest Publix and hope they’ll have the change for you.)

This is why you need to drive in Miami. We’re not set up for people without cars.