Gas Price

I very willingly admit I don't know much about a lot of things. And a lot of things confuse me. Lately I am perplexed by the constantly rising gas prices.

Sometimes I listen to Rush Limbaugh on WBAP-AM, out of Dallas, because that is the only station my cheapo headphone radio will pick up. Rush Limbaugh gets quite riled when people blame the oil companies for the rising prices. Yesterday he went on and on and on along the line of what would we do if the nice oil companies didn't supply us with gas.

I took an economics class, maybe two, in college. I did not get good grades in those classes. I did learn, though, that the price of a commodity is determined by supply and demand. If you have a high supply and low demand, the price is low. Low supply and high demand, the price is high.

I get it that China and India, with their supposedly booming economies, are sucking up a lot more of the world's oil than they did a few years ago. I believe the supply of oil being pumped has increased. Has the demand jumped by an amount that explains the price increase? How would I know? But it seems unlikely.

Rush Limbaugh thinks the oil companies deserve every penny of their multi-billion dollar profits, as do their CEO's deserve their huge salaries and bonuses. This from a man who makes over $30 million a year yapping on the radio for 3 hours a day, 5 days a week, with a lot of time off. Among the many things I don't get, is if demand is outstripping supply and forcing the price to rise, how is it that the oil companies, like EXXON, report quarterly profits in record breaking amounts? Isn't that sort of capitalism run amok?

The airlines are struggling to make a profit. For some reason they can't increase their fares hugely and suddenly have quarterly multi-billion dollar profits. But, for some reason the oil companies can increase the price of their product and get away with having huge profits. The airlines need money to invest in new planes and keep their existing stock in good shape. But they struggle along, while the oil companies make record breaking profits.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't the oil companies generating enough money to cover their operations, and it is the excess cash flow that is being accounted for as a profit? So, EXXON is charging Joe Driver 4 bucks for a gallon of gas. Of that, part goes to pay EXXON's cost of operation, including acquiring the oil, part goes to taxes. The rest is profit.

Doesn't that sort of indicate they've been charging a tad too much for gas and the over charging is showing up as record breaking profits?

Now, Rush Limbaugh will say that these profits are what the oil companies use to hunt for new oil, drill it, refine it and bring it to market. Well, if they are spending money on doing so, how are they reaping such huge profits? Like, in the last quarter if EXXON was plowing $8 billion into some new refineries, where are the new refineries? Isn't a profit, just that? A profit. It's not investement capital, is it? Or are they using these huge profits for something good other than plumping up stockholder's pockets? If so, why don't they let us know? Because these record breaking profits combined with record breaking prices are making people cranky.

Another thing I really don't get is how do the gas stations decide when to raise the price? In my zone there is a QT, a Chevron, a Shell, a Conoco and several other gas stations. Two days ago the QT was $3.85 a gallon, yesterday, when I bought a gallon, it was $3.89. Today I drove by QT and it is $3.95. Now, I know they did not get fresh gas trucked in 3 days in a row. Usually the Chevron is the most expensive in my zone. Today it was $3.92, making it cheaper than QT. By tomorrow I'm guessing Chevron will be back being the most expensive.

How does this work? This constant changing of the price at all the random gas stations. Do they get a call from someone telling them to up it a nickel? QT sells a lot of gas. There is a small independent station across from them. When QT goes up, the other station goes up. Why? Did the supply change? Did the demand change?

I just as well try and understand nuclear fission, or is it fusion, than try and understand how the gas pricing system works.

ABC's The Bachelorette 4 Again

Go here for this morning's blogging about last night's Bachelorette final episode.

Monday night I popped a bowl of popcorn and needed something to watch on TV. I channel chased and landed on ABC and The Bachelorette. I've mentioned previously how appallingly absurd I find these Meet a Mate Reality Shows.

My longtime reader may remember me saying I'd made it through the first 15 minutes or so of this show's premiere before my gag reflex kicked in.

So, on Monday the extremely desperate to marry, long-suffering girl named Deanna was down to 6 or 7 or was it 8 guys. During my popcorn time she was out on a double date with 2 sort of pudgy guys. They all seemed very very boring.

At the end of the double date Deanna said to one guy she can't give him a rose because she finds him unattractive. He was then banished. She may have worded it differently. Apparently one must be given a rose on this show or one is banished. Then she did the same thing to the other guy, because she also found him unattractive.

Meanwhile, back at the place where the guys are living, they all seem to be having a good time. They refer to their domicile as "The Outhouse." Later I was to learn that some guys get to live in Deanna's house while others are exiled to "The Outhouse." Now, if I were on some stupid TV show, competing for a wife and she put me in "The Outhouse," I don't think I'd wait around for the moment she decides not to give me a rose. I think I'd just go home. But not before letting her know I found her unattractive. I don't believe one needs to be a gentleman to someone who put you in an outhouse.

When I'm confused by a TV show, like the plot of LOST, I often go to this website called Survivor Sucks where erudite discussions take place on the important subject of TV shows. It is very educational.

Here are some snippets from the Survivor Sucks Bachelorette thread:

"Okay, I sort of watched and came to the conclusion that the men are more into bonding with each other than with her. Then again she has the personality of a small gnat."

"As for the guys in The Outhouse, they blab more then the girls ever do. They share every single detail of their dates. Who comforts who & when she changed to get comfy. I thought girls were supposed to be the catty ones but WOW, these guys take the cake. They even analyze personalities & possible connections."

"Ok, ladies of the D/FW area, Brian is free!!! I've never been happier for my fav not to get a rose since DeAnna just bugs the crap out of me!"

(Durango Texas talking: Oh my, apparently she booted a D/FW boy. The Star-Telegram must be crushed.)

"I think she realized that the reason Brian was closer to the guys is because he's gay. He seemed to protest too much about being 31 and unmarried."

(Durango Texas talking again: Now we learn the booted D/FW boy apparently isn't free for the ladies of the D/FW area.)

Wow! I just watched some of this crapfest online.. she is a total bore! I think in 10 years she'll be a Big Fat Greek Hausfrau. I think she wants everyone to be open because, well, there is nothing she has to offer... she is a desperate woman, wanting to get married. No interests, hobbies, career or even friends. Just family, who will clearly treat her like the Greek Goddess she is under the mistaken impression she is.

(Durango Texas talking yet again: Enough of this. I need to find something other than TV to do when I have a bowl of popcorn.)

Fort Worth and Cabela's

A few years back a business calling itself the "World's Foremost Outfitter" came calling in Fort Worth. Cabela's wanted to open a store. Like a suitor come a courting, Cabela's made all sorts of promises. And like an Old Maid desperate for company, any company, Fort Worth agreed to all sorts of tax incentives if Cabela's would call Fort Worth home.

That is the Fort Worth Cabela's above.

Fort Worth was told that their Cabela's would be the "#1 Biggest Tourist Attraction in Texas." The local co-hort in this type propaganda, known as the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, repeated this nonsense ad nauseum, with the number of tourists varying between 5 to a high of 8 million.

At the same time that Cabela's was busy courting, successfully, Fort Worth, it was also courting the town of Buda, down by Austin. Also in Texas. I do not know if Cabela's ran their '"Biggest Tourist Attraction in Texas" scam, down in Austin. Austin may be a bit more sophisticated, overall, than Fort Worth. With, possibly, a more responsible newspaper of record.

I don't know why it was never mentioned in the Star-Telegram, during the courtship, that Cabela's was also building a store down by Austin. You'd think Fort Worth would feel sort of jilted.

Fort Worth ended up giving Cabela's $60 million or so in tax incentives. There were some strings attached in the pre-nup. Cabela's had to meet some performance goals. How hard could that be with those millions of customers turning this store into the #1 Tourist Attraction in Texas?

Well, Cabela's did not live up to its performance estimates and is having to give Fort Worth back a lot of money. And Fort Worth has had to come to terms with the fact that it does not have the #1 Tourist Attraction in Texas.

Cabela's does not always run their "Biggest Tourist Attraction in the State" scam on every place they want to build a store. Cabela's must do some pre-proposal research to determine the level of rubeness they are dealing with. Cabela's does always try to get tax breaks. Sometimes, like in Idaho, they are told if it doesn't economically make sense for you to open a store here without tax breaks, then don't build a store. In Idaho there are now 2 Cabela's. Neither the Biggest Tourist Attraction in the State.

Cabela's opened in Lacey, in Washington, last year. They got some small tax breaks. Cabela's did not run their "Biggest Attraction in the State" scam. They used a variant, as in Cabela's will be "One of the Biggest Attractions in the State." It's interesting how Cabela's seems to know where not to use their #1 con, knowing if they did it in some places it would make them appear like clueless, foolish snake oil selling con-men. Like when Cabela's came to a Phoenix suburb in the state that has the Grand Canyon, they did not run the same scam that worked so well for them in Old Maid Fort Worth.

That is the Lacey Cabela's, above, with the rain drenched, empty, parking lot. It does not appear near as elaborate as the Fort Worth version. At least on the outside. In Lacey, Cabela's likely had less land to work with, so there is no lake, river or waterfall. Just a wet parking lot.

Beached Whale Killed on Texas Gulf Coast

Alma, the Songbird of the South, just emailed me with a story from her zone, that being the Corpus Christi, Port Aransas zone. On Mustang Island, yesterday, beachgoers came upon a stranded 30 foot long, 10 ton sperm whale who had run itself aground on a sandbar.

Whales do this when something is badly wrong, as in an illness, or just old age. Onlookers surrounded the whale as it thrashed about. Eventually people from the Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network showed up. It was decided to tranquilize the whale and then haul it to shore before euthanizing it. And then perform a necropsy to learn what was wrong with the whale.

Alma also included a link to Texans' comments about the stranded whale with Alma commenting about the comments that "some people are obviously insane."

Some of the comments-----

"Bad tomatoes?"

"Bad fillet."

"Bad sushi"

"They did not use euthanasia for the whale....they gave it tranquilizers and then bled the animal in the surf."

"They should try blowing it up like in the one video on the internet were a whale beached its self and there was no way to remove it so they used dynamite to blow it up in to smaller pieces but used to much and the whole thing just blew into a bunch of small chunks and got a whole lot of people covered in whale body parts."

"THING IS, THESE IDIOTIC SPECTATORS AND THEIR KIDS ARE STANDING TOO CLOSE TO THIS STRICKEN WHALE WHEN THEY COULD'VE GOTTEN INJURED. PARENTS, WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO LEARN?"

"Under what authority exactly did the police and lifeguards have to "clear the area". If people want to take the risk of getting close to a stranded 30 foot sperm whale in a public area, they should be allowed to do so."

"LOL go play in the freeeway."

"Well, that's American's for you!"

"It was Bush and the Republicans fault!"

"Hey dudeI just wanted a few steaks for the bbq. As Homer would say "MMMMMMM Whale burgerrrrrrrr.......", the whale died, its tragic, people are curious, and if it were up to me I would have eaten him."

Obama Smoking Again

This morning I was peacefully pedaling my bike on the River Legacy Mountain Bike Trail, listening to Rush Limbaugh til my batteries wore out. But before that happened I learned that Barack Obama is back smoking again. Cigarettes.

Apparently people have been noticing him smelling of the nasty weed on the campaign trail. Today Obama told reporters in St. Louis that he's fallen off the wagon and smoked in the past months.

Obama had become a Nicorette chewer when he gave up the coffin nails after promising his wife he would do so if he ran for President. What with needing to set a good example, among other reasons.

Apparently, prior to quitting Obama had been a very heavy smoker. It is hard giving up an addiction. I'm addicted to coffee in the morning. I've tried to give it up. But then I get coffee withdrawals. So, I remain an addict. There is no Nicorette type thing for coffee addicts, as far as I know. Just de-caf.

Leavenworth and Lulu

Yesterday I mentioned Lulu and her aversion to the Washington tourist town of Leavenworth.

I got an email from one of my 2 readers asking what this Leavenworth place was that I liked and Lulu didn't.

Well. Leavenworth is a town on the east side of the Cascade Mountains in Washington state. It's located in the Wenatchee River valley at the east end of Steven's Pass, that being one of the mountain passes one drives to get over the Cascade Mountains.

Steven's Pass is very scenic. It's my favorite of the 3 main mountain passes in Washington. Mainly because Leavenworth is at one end of it.

Way back in 1962 Leavenworth had fallen on hard times. City leaders knew something had to be done or they'd end up a ghost town. So, Project LIFE (Leavenworth Improvement For Everyone) was started. It was decided to transform Leavenworth into a Disneyesque Bavarian Village.

Project LIFE succeeded far beyond anyone's expectations. Leavenworth is now busy year round, with many festivals, including the largest Oktoberfest outside of the original in Munich. I've been to the Leavenworth Oktoberfest. It is a spectacle.

The A & E Network named Leavenworth the Ultimate USA Holiday Town.

Now, a few weeks ago, Lulu was doing her Fremont Street Market and a couple from Dallas showed up at her booth. Lulu and the couple chatted and at some point the Dallas couple asked what else they should see when they were in Washington. They mentioned to Lulu that they'd heard Leavenworth was fun. Lulu told them Leavenworth was silly and not to bother, to go to see the Pacific or ride a ferry instead.

Now, when I heard that she'd told the Dallas couple this I was appalled. I mean, they are from Dallas. No matter how strong a telescope they might have they can not see a mountain from Dallas. Texas has saltwater and ferries. But there is nothing in Texas like the Cascade Mountains, Steven's Pass or Leavenworth.

Leavenworth has fun shops, restaurants, brew pubs, bakeries and even a Bavarian style Starbucks. That's what the photo is at the top, the Leavenworth Starbucks. That's Wanda and Wally having expensive coffee. We went to Leavenworth when I visited a few years back. Prior to the coffee we'd been to a real good outdoor hamburger grilling place.

Click here to see a multi-day fast forward look at Leavenworth's main street.

Go here for a look at Leavenworth and the Cascade Loop.

Go here for other pics I took of Leavenworth with Wanda and Wally.

Go here for the Leavenworth Chamber of Commerce website for good photos and video. And where to eat and sleep info.

Go here for the Leavenworth Oktoberfest website.

Go here for the City of Leavenworth website.

Lulu & the Golden Corral

My dear ol' friend, Lulu, up in Tacoma, has always had impeccably refined tastes when it comes to most things, especially food. She has the snout of a truffle sniffing pig when it comes to finding a random good place to eat when in some random town on a road trip.

Lulu is not snooty or pretentious when it comes to food stuff. It just has to be good. Over the years Lulu has become somewhat of a buffet aficionado. I've lost count of the number of buffets we've done in Vegas over the years. Usually 2 a day during a Vegas stay.

On our first group visit to Vegas, Lulu's first husband, Pulitzer winning photographer, Geff, dubbed us Buffet Sluts after one particularly spectacular stuffing at the original Luxor buffet, during which one member of our party had so overstuffed himself that he began to sweat profusely. That buffet has since gone to the basement in both meanings of that word. Soon after Geff labeled us Buffet Sluts he started one of his many Cool Site of the Day websites. It was about mountain bikiing. He called it Mudsluts. This has since become the term Pacific Northwest mountain bikers are known by.

This past weekend Lulu was in Spokane for something called The Farm Chick Antique Show. Lulu is a well-known Pacific Northwest antique artsy person. So, the Farm Chicks invited her to their show. You can see Lulu at the Farm Chicks Show by going to her blog.

Lulu blogged from the Farm Chick Show. In her first blog from the show she said something that shocked me, shocked me, I tell you, totally shocked me. When I read it I feared Lulu had had some sort of breakdown.

On the first night of the show, Lulu went out for dinner at a buffet. The Golden Corral. A franchise operation that is all over the country. I've been to the Golden Corral a few times. I don't care for it.

But, Lulu has declared the Golden Corral in Spokane to be the best buffet she has ever been to. In her blog she said it was last meal on earth worthy. When I talked to Lulu on the phone she waxed poetic about the Golden Corral's banana pudding with vanilla cookies. That overly sweet dessert is a staple here in the South. I'd not had it prior to my exile here.

Lulu told me she'd make the 500 mile roundtrip to Spokane just to eat again at the Golden Corral. She threatened to take me there when I'm up north this summer. I'd only agree to that if Lulu agreed to go to Leavenworth. Lulu has some very disturbing ideas about Leavenworth. Leavenworth is one of Washington's top tourist attractions. But its charms, for reasons unfathomable to me, are lost on Lulu. I've always liked Leavenworth.

Distorted thinking regarding Leavenworth, and now this Golden Corral thing. I am in fear of what else I'm going to be shocked by, via Lulu, when next I see her.

Dennis Kucinich: Impeach Bush

Last night Dennis Kucinich introduced 35 Articles of Impeachment against President George W. Bush. Each of Kucinich's articles seemed much more serious than the Articles of Impeachment that were brought against Bill Clinton.

Or even Richard Nixon. No one died due to the supposed high crimes and misdemeanors of Bill Clinton and Richard Nixon. Or Andrew Johnson.

It's long been a mystery to me why there have not been any impeachment moves against our Dear Leader. Til now. Or at least investigations. We suffered through laboriously long investigations into Watergate, Iran-Contra and Monicagate. But there's been no special investigation, with live TV coverage, into Bush's various shenanigans. Why?

Also a mystery to me is why it's pretty much a foregone conclusion that Kucinich's Impeachment attempt will go nowhere. Granted he is a bit of a goofball. But at times he can make a lot of sense. Like with his Articles of Impeachment thing.

Below is video of Kucinich introducing his Articles of Impeachment to the House of Representatives.

Gennifer Flowers & Paula Jones

That's a pair of names that belong in the last century. Unfortunately they resurfaced this morning. The pair of Bill Clinton's ex's have teamed up in a business venture.

They are offering Internet users graphic details of their Bill Clinton encounters for a mere $1.99 per viewing of one of their videos describing their rollicking times with Hillary's first hub.

Speaking of Hillary. Yesterday I came upon some YouTubery about Hillary. It is so easy to forget the many Clinton scandals. This YouTube video is about that long ago scandal regarding Hillary and Hollywood and a massive fundraiser whilst she was still First Lady and running for Senator from New York.

The video is in 2 parts. You have to get a couple minutes in for it to get interesting. It starts off sort of goofy. This video sort of relates to the most recent Clinton dust-up, that being a week or so ago when Bill got all huffy over an article in Vanity Fair.

United States Flag and Religion Day

I've had me a day so far. I'm sort of recovering from pedaling 20 miles yesterday and ending up with my first bad sunburn in a long time.

I thought a nice peaceful non-hilly walk would do my aching aging bones good. About 3 miles from my abode there is a nice park called Indian Village Park. So named because before the invaders ran them out of their town it was the site of one of the biggest Indian Villages on the continent.

But, before getting to Indian Village I had to go to the Post Office. And was surprised to see the state of the flag waving in the wind. That's it in the photo. This was at the Handley Post Office. Aren't there some rules and regulations regarding displaying a flag? Or maybe this tattered flag has some significance of some sort.

I'd not been to Indian Village in quite a while. It's the time of year when it's a lush jungle, with really big trees. I saw my first armadillos in a long long time, 2 little ones. My last armadillo sighting was a couple years ago at River Legacy Park when in one day I saw 3 separate sets of baby armadillos. I used to see armadillos at River Legacy all the time, but ever since a huge flood a couple years ago I've seen no armadillos and way fewer snakes.

Right after I saw the armadillos I saw this older lady in a moo-moo heading towards me. She asked if I'd seen 3 boys with fishing poles. I said no, but I just saw 2 armadillos.

She asked if I walked here often. I said no. She asked what parks I go to. She liked learning that River Legacy now has a mountain bike trail. She said something about praying about the blessing of taking her kids walking at River Legacy.

And then she asked if she could give me her testimony. This is only the second time this has happened to me in the Buckle of the Bible Belt. The other time was Gar the Texan giving me his religious testimony. But his was of a different sort, I suspect, than the type testimony the moo-moo lady wanted to give me.

I indicated I did not want to hear her testimony. She then asked if she could say one verse to me. I said okay. She then said that bible verse you hear all the time that goes something like "God sacrificed his son so anyone who believed in him would have everlasting life." I wanted to ask what sort of father would do such a thing? And if Jesus didn't really die and was back alive and in heaven 3 days after being murdered, then, really, where is the sacrifice? And why does believing this somehow give you everlasting life?

As I started to walk away the moo-moo lady insisted I take two little pamphlets. One is called "THIS WAS YOUR LIFE." The other is "DO YOU KNOW FOR CERTAIN THAT YOU HAVE ETERNAL LIFE AND THAT YOU WILL GO TO HEAVEN WHEN YOU DIE!"

That second one is disturbing for asking a question, but ending the sentence with an exclamation point.

I thought I'd made my escape, quickly crossing the bridge. But the moo-moo lady started hollering at me, something about a bird. So, I turned around and headed back towards her. She was pointing at something, but all I saw was a turtle. And then the bird appeared. It was very exotic looking. I'd not seen one before. Then the bird flew away. I started thinking the moo-moo lady has strange powers.

She then told me she'd seen a mountain lion just ahead. She said people didn't believe her. I told her I believed her because I've seen one too. She pointed to a bench and said that's where it happened, that she was kneeling and praying and looked up from her praying to see a mountain lion 6 feet away. She started screaming "Save me Jesus." The mountain lion backed away.

The moo-moo lady went home and called the police. Animal control was sent. They found signs of a mountain lion. Later that day a Dallas news helicopter got footage of the mountain lion near River Legacy Park. I remember when this was in the news.

The moo-moo lady was really easy to listen to with a classic lilting Texas accent. If only she didn't mix in that religious stuff.