The masking tape anecdote:
After a while I decided that was a little to be gained by calculating the fuel every couple of minutes so I covered the fuel gauges with two patches of masking tape. At least I was not then quite so distracted. Thus, when I closed the throttle to start a cruise descent from 90 miles out I was still uncertain that I was going to make it before I flamed out and took an unwanted bath in the freezing water is at the south Atlantic Ocean.