Showing posts with label gasoline. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gasoline. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Monday, October 20, 2008
Monday's Video Roundup
Drill Here, Drill NowDirect video link.
A Lifetime of Experience
Direct video link.
Joe Biden Predicts "International Crisis" if Obama Elected President (10/19/08)
I'm not sure that's what I would call a good reason to vote for Obama/Biden.
Direct video link.
The Experience Factor
Direct video link.
Comparing Obama to Ayers, Side By Side
Direct video link.
No Executive Experience
Direct video link.
Is Obama A Natural Born Citizen? UPDATE
Direct video link.
Your comments?
Joe
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Concluding the Fasting
One week ago, at church, Pastor Scot Longyear challenged the congregation to a one-week fast, based upon the teaching of Jesus. His challenge was not necessarily that we fast for the entire week, if we felt we couldn't fast for such a period of time, but that we observe some sort of fasting for the week (actually eight days) from last Sunday until this Sunday evening.
That fast has now ended, and I wanted to share my experience, and my thoughts, with you here.
I chose to observe two types of fasting over the week. First, and this might seem simple, but I chose to abstain from all forms of commercially prepared and packaged soft drinks for the entire week. My wife and I drink quite a bit of Coke Zero, and I felt that this would be depriving myself of a drink that I enjoy very much. I did not allow myself any form of commercially prepared or packaged soft drinks. In fact, I drank only coffee, water, milk, and Kool-Aid. It could be argued that Kool-Aid is a commercially prepared soft drink, but based on the fact that it's just flavoring in a packet that has to be combined with sugar and water in the home, and the final product was not commercially packaged, I allowed myself Kool-Aid on two occasions during the week.
Second, I chose to fast completely from any type of food from midnight until dinner time every day (skipping breakfast, lunch, and all snacks in between). Furthermore, I did not allow myself to have dinner until after 6:00 pm, making the daily fasting period at least eighteen hours long. I began my soft drink fast first thing Sunday morning, and began the meal fast on Sunday evening.
I have tried to fast before for a full day, and have only succeeded on one occasion. It's not an easy thing to do, and takes a great deal of determination and commitment. This week's fast took the same type of commitment, as I had to discipline myself to follow some very strict rules about eating and drinking every day for a full week. Now, I know that there are some people in the world who have to follow stricter rules about eating without choice, simply because they don't have the resources that I have. That's the point: to deprive myself of something by choice, for the purpose of learning discipline and getting closer to God.
That fast has now ended, and I wanted to share my experience, and my thoughts, with you here.
I chose to observe two types of fasting over the week. First, and this might seem simple, but I chose to abstain from all forms of commercially prepared and packaged soft drinks for the entire week. My wife and I drink quite a bit of Coke Zero, and I felt that this would be depriving myself of a drink that I enjoy very much. I did not allow myself any form of commercially prepared or packaged soft drinks. In fact, I drank only coffee, water, milk, and Kool-Aid. It could be argued that Kool-Aid is a commercially prepared soft drink, but based on the fact that it's just flavoring in a packet that has to be combined with sugar and water in the home, and the final product was not commercially packaged, I allowed myself Kool-Aid on two occasions during the week.
Second, I chose to fast completely from any type of food from midnight until dinner time every day (skipping breakfast, lunch, and all snacks in between). Furthermore, I did not allow myself to have dinner until after 6:00 pm, making the daily fasting period at least eighteen hours long. I began my soft drink fast first thing Sunday morning, and began the meal fast on Sunday evening.
I have tried to fast before for a full day, and have only succeeded on one occasion. It's not an easy thing to do, and takes a great deal of determination and commitment. This week's fast took the same type of commitment, as I had to discipline myself to follow some very strict rules about eating and drinking every day for a full week. Now, I know that there are some people in the world who have to follow stricter rules about eating without choice, simply because they don't have the resources that I have. That's the point: to deprive myself of something by choice, for the purpose of learning discipline and getting closer to God.
How did I get closer to God by fasting? Because I could not have done it without Him. By doing it for Him (because He says "when" you fast, not if), and relying on Him to give me the strength to get through it, I found myself calling upon Him to help me through the tough times. The toughest of which was today.
It was an interesting and valued experience. I will certainly do it again in the future, and probably place stricter rules upon myself.
This week's fast was to end with a special Communion service at church. Our old church in Terre Haute, that is. As the price of gasoline skyrocketed in the wake of Hurricane Ike, my wife and I decided to continue our church shopping here in Indianapolis rather than making the ninety minute drive back to Terre Haute. We decided to continue our fast until the time that we would have taken Communtion (approximately 7:00 pm).
I am happy to report that we may very well have found ourselves a new church home in Indianapolis. We both left there feeling that we may just be done with our search finally. More on that tomorrow, I hope.
Jesus Christ on Fasting:
Your comments?
Joe
I am happy to report that we may very well have found ourselves a new church home in Indianapolis. We both left there feeling that we may just be done with our search finally. More on that tomorrow, I hope.
Jesus Christ on Fasting:
"When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Your comments?
Joe
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Church Shopping -- So To Speak
This isn't a review, though it will probably sound like one by the time I'm done with it. It isn't a review because I don't think it would be proper for me to "review" a church. After all, if they're doing the work of the Lord, who am I to judge the way in which they do it?What it is, however, is my story of our latest endeavor to find a church we can call home in Indianapolis. My family and I moved from Terre Haute, Indiana, at the end of December. In the months preceding our move, my wife was Baptized at Maryland Community Church in Terre Haute, and we both had begun to feel quite convicted about becoming more involved and solidifying our walk with God. Then we moved.
Since our move, we have driven back to Terre Haute most Sundays to attend church and visit with my wife's parents. With gas surpassing the $4 a gallon mark, we decided that maybe it was time to cut back to making the trip every other week and finding another church home in Indianapolis. Today, we visited our second new church in Indy.
I won't say the name of the church here because, as I've said, it is not my position to judge the service or the participants. I only want to share my experience, and my frustration with the difficulty of finding a church home where we truly feel at home.
So we went to [name of church withheld] this morning, which is only about 20 or 25 minutes from home, so the drive was nice -- much shorter than the trip to Terre Haute. At first, it was overwhelming. They have services at 8am, 9:30 and 11am. This means that when you're going in for either the second or third service, the attendees of the prior service are on their way out at the same time. This is chaos. And being that it was our first time at a new church, we didn't quite know where to go. Having people going in all directions just added to the confusion.
We made our way into the church and found a sign that said “NURSERY.” Needing to drop the kids off at the children's ministry, we stopped at the Nursery desk. “We've never been here before,” I said. The response was far from enthusiastic. At first, there seemed to be no response. My wife looked at me and smiled out of discomfort with the situation. Finally, the woman at the desk began to ask the ages of our children and told us what to do and where they were to be taken. We signed our daughter in, dropped her off and picked up a pager that would go off if they needed us for some reason.
We then took our son to the Preschool desk. There was no one at this desk at all, so we entered the room behind the desk and went to a table that had preprinted names of children who are obviously regular attendees. A man came out and we told him we had never been there before. He was a little nicer than the first and asked how old our son was. When we told him, he directed us across the room to another table, where we went through a ritual similar to that we had been through when we dropped our daughter off. These people were a little nicer than the first.
Then we headed into the sanctuary. People were milling about everywhere, and the sanctuary seemed to be about half empty. At first I thought maybe we had chosen the least attended service of the three. We found a pew (yes, a pew -- we've become accustomed to the theater style seating in our regular church in Terre Haute) toward the rear and took our seats as a countdown timer on the screens ticked down to the start of the service.
Thirty seconds before the timer expired, five people came out onto the stage, accompanied by various instrumentalists donning their respective equipment. The five people were all vocalists. As the five vocalists and the instrumentalists that made up the "Worship Band" begun playing, people began flooding into the sanctuary and taking seats. We assumed that the woman in the center of the five vocalists was the Worship Leader. We turned out to be correct, unfortunately. Every church has one, and she was the one at [name of church withheld] -- the overbearing woman who thinks she has to sing louder, longer, and higher than everyone else so that her voice can be heard above the masses. Of the five vocalists, we never even heard the voices of the two men, though they had microphones in their hands that they appeared to be singing into.
Communion was odd, though the Pastor did say they were going to do it a little differently today. They passed the bread and cup and asked everyone to hold it and take it all together, which we then did silently – presumably because the Pastor had seen the same thing done in the past week in an Uzbeki underground church. Nothing wrong with that, just different from what we've become accustomed to.
After some singing and Communion and offering, the Pastor began his sermon. He spoke about Abraham and how he had obeyed God's command to take his son Isaac and sacrifice him. I actually enjoyed the sermon, and thought that the Pastor did a very good job of relating it on a level that everyone should be able to understand.
After the sermon, the “Worship Band” returned to the stage and began singing – more of the same. At the same time, some people were Baptized. That was an unusual situation, because the only way you could observe the Baptism was to watch it on the big screens. The name(s) of those being Baptized were displayed on the screen, and the silent image of them confessing their faith and being Baptized was displayed. Unless, of course, you crowded around the Baptismal, as many seemed to do, to get a closer look. That, to me, seemed weird. Also, it seemed weird that the act of Baptizing these individuals seemed to be second in importance to the high vibrato wailing of the worship leader and her band.
When it was all over, we picked up the kids and returned to the car. On the trip home, we asked our son if he thought he would want to go back. He said, “No.” Later when asked again, he said the same. I guess it just wasn't the same for any of us as we're used to at Maryland. Why does it have to be so difficult to find a church that feels like home?
We would really love to find something closer to Indy for those Sundays when we don't make the drive to Terre Haute. While I would be okay returning to today's visited church on occasion, if my son -- who really enjoys church -- isn't interested in returning there, we probably won't. We're a family, and while I, as the father, am the spiritual leader of the family, what kind of leader would I be if I forced my family to attend a church where they didn't feel comfortable.
If you have any suggestions, or would like to invite us to visit your church, please let me know. I may mention the experience here, but I would never identify the church, unless the experience was such a moving and inspirational one that I felt the need to share it.
Joe
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Pay Before You Pump? Not Me!
How annoying is this? You pull up at the gas station needing gas. You want to fill up the tank, but you want to pay in cash. Pay at the pump is great if you're using a credit or debit card, but you can't pay at the pump with cash. (There used to be a gas station here in town with a bill acceptor that would allow you to pay at the pump with cash, but they removed the feature because of reliability issues.) So you want to fill up your tank, which at $2.99 per gallon will cost you what? $20 plus? Sure.
Then you see the sign on the pump: PAY FIRST, THEN PUMP. Okay, now you have to be some kind of Stephen Hawking or Merlin the Magician to fill up your tank, because they want you to PAY for the gasoline you're going to buy before you even know how much you need.
I can't tell you how much this practice annoys me! You can go inside and give them a twenty dollar bill, but when the pump shuts off at the twenty dollar mark you'll have somewhere between half and three quarters of a tank. Not what you wanted if you wanted to fill it up. Or, you can give them two twenties, pump your gas, then go back inside and ask for your change. Inconvenience. Again, not what you wanted.
How about a little contrast, or comparison. I'm a Retail Store Manager. What if you walked into my store and an Associate met you in the foyer. "I'm sorry, dear customer, but you'll need to pay before you shop. How much would you like to buy today?" Any idea? Do you give them a twenty dollar bill and limit yourself to twenty bucks as you shop? Or do you trust them with a hundred and expect change when you leave?
Neither, I'm guessing. Instead, you probably would do the same thing I do when I pull up to a pump that asks me to pay before pumping: I go to another gas station that trusts me to pump my gas BEFORE I pay.
I know that drive-offs can be a problem, but so is shoplifting. Prepay is, in my opinion, not an acceptable way to prevent theft. You don't ask a customer to prepay at a store or restaurant as insurance in case they should decide to take something without paying for it. You shouldn't be able to so at a gas station, either.
You know, there was a time long ago when the gas stations actually had employees that would come out to your car, pump the gas for you, and collect your money without you ever having to leave the comfort of your vehicle (many of you have probably never experienced such a thing). They would even clean your windshield and check the oil for you while the gas was pumping. Imagine that! They used to be called Service Stations, not gas stations. Customer service was great, and I'll just bet you that there were virtually no drive-offs then. Now that the gas station owners have decided that they would rather not provide such exceptional (and what should be expected) service to their customers, we have to do their job for them.
We get out of the car. Go inside. Make a guess on how much gas the tank will hold. Pay them some money. Go back outside. Pump the gas. If our guess was wrong (which it most likely will be), we either leave with less than we expected, or go back inside for our change.
Not me. I don't pay before I pump. If you trust me to pump before I pay, I won't drive-off. I'll pump, then pay. But if you require me to pay first, I will drive-off, straight to another gas station that hasn't forgotten that they are there to provide a service to their customers. Gas stations are a dime a dozen, and it's time they start giving us what we pay for, and at three bucks a gallon, we're paying for more than just gasoline!
Joe
Then you see the sign on the pump: PAY FIRST, THEN PUMP. Okay, now you have to be some kind of Stephen Hawking or Merlin the Magician to fill up your tank, because they want you to PAY for the gasoline you're going to buy before you even know how much you need.
I can't tell you how much this practice annoys me! You can go inside and give them a twenty dollar bill, but when the pump shuts off at the twenty dollar mark you'll have somewhere between half and three quarters of a tank. Not what you wanted if you wanted to fill it up. Or, you can give them two twenties, pump your gas, then go back inside and ask for your change. Inconvenience. Again, not what you wanted.
How about a little contrast, or comparison. I'm a Retail Store Manager. What if you walked into my store and an Associate met you in the foyer. "I'm sorry, dear customer, but you'll need to pay before you shop. How much would you like to buy today?" Any idea? Do you give them a twenty dollar bill and limit yourself to twenty bucks as you shop? Or do you trust them with a hundred and expect change when you leave?
Neither, I'm guessing. Instead, you probably would do the same thing I do when I pull up to a pump that asks me to pay before pumping: I go to another gas station that trusts me to pump my gas BEFORE I pay.
I know that drive-offs can be a problem, but so is shoplifting. Prepay is, in my opinion, not an acceptable way to prevent theft. You don't ask a customer to prepay at a store or restaurant as insurance in case they should decide to take something without paying for it. You shouldn't be able to so at a gas station, either.
You know, there was a time long ago when the gas stations actually had employees that would come out to your car, pump the gas for you, and collect your money without you ever having to leave the comfort of your vehicle (many of you have probably never experienced such a thing). They would even clean your windshield and check the oil for you while the gas was pumping. Imagine that! They used to be called Service Stations, not gas stations. Customer service was great, and I'll just bet you that there were virtually no drive-offs then. Now that the gas station owners have decided that they would rather not provide such exceptional (and what should be expected) service to their customers, we have to do their job for them.
We get out of the car. Go inside. Make a guess on how much gas the tank will hold. Pay them some money. Go back outside. Pump the gas. If our guess was wrong (which it most likely will be), we either leave with less than we expected, or go back inside for our change.
Not me. I don't pay before I pump. If you trust me to pump before I pay, I won't drive-off. I'll pump, then pay. But if you require me to pay first, I will drive-off, straight to another gas station that hasn't forgotten that they are there to provide a service to their customers. Gas stations are a dime a dozen, and it's time they start giving us what we pay for, and at three bucks a gallon, we're paying for more than just gasoline!
Joe
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Almost There?
As I said in an earlier post, I've been talking with a potential new employer, and things seem to be looking pretty promising. I'll be meeting with the Divisional Manager (Vice President?) on Friday. Whether that meeting will result in an immediate or future job offer, I can only speculate. Here are some of the reasons I'm looking at making this change:
And if that wasn't enough, I recently had my integrity called into question by one of the District Managers. I'll discuss that more once I'm no longer employed here, but if they have any reason not to trust my word about something, then they really shouldn't feel comfortable with me running a store for them. I know I don't feel comfortable with it anymore.
Joe
- My daily commute would go from four hours round trip to 30 minutes (resulting in less money for gas and maintenance and more time with my family)
- My medical benefits (which I've mentioned before here, and here) will begin immediately, and be traditional rather than an $800 annual fund for a family of four;
- My current employer has reduced the hours for each store, causing us accomplish the same (and sometimes more) tasks in less time with fewer people;
- I've been directed to convert two full time employees to part time this month (one of whom has been with the company for ten years), in order to cut costs;
- My company has given away over $150,000 in a stupid internal contest that involves answering a quiz question each day;
- My District Manager will receive a $20,000+ quarterly bonus check this month;
- My company recently spent millions of dollars to sponsor what turned out to be a very unsuccessful sporting event
And if that wasn't enough, I recently had my integrity called into question by one of the District Managers. I'll discuss that more once I'm no longer employed here, but if they have any reason not to trust my word about something, then they really shouldn't feel comfortable with me running a store for them. I know I don't feel comfortable with it anymore.
Joe
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Gasoline Gripin'
Sometimes a gripe just starts to build up in me as a day progresses. It might hit me early in the morning, and I'll try to deal with it and suppress it throughout the day, until
It just explodes out of me because I can't keep it in any longer. Take this morning, for example. The first gas station I passed was selling 87 octane gasoline for $2.159 a gallon. Just three days ago, I filled up my car for $1.819 a gallon -- 34 cents a gallon less. How can they justify an increase of almost 20%?
I know that in his State of The Union Address this week, President Bush talked about hydrogen cars, increased ethanol production, and lowering our dependence on foreign oil, but this is ridiculous!
I've griped quite a bit about gas prices, but there just seems to be no end to the fluctuation of the price at the pump, and seemingly no reason for it.
Every time I gripe about the price of gasoline, somebody comes forward in defense of the big oil companies. Any takers?
Joe
BAM!
It just explodes out of me because I can't keep it in any longer. Take this morning, for example. The first gas station I passed was selling 87 octane gasoline for $2.159 a gallon. Just three days ago, I filled up my car for $1.819 a gallon -- 34 cents a gallon less. How can they justify an increase of almost 20%?
I know that in his State of The Union Address this week, President Bush talked about hydrogen cars, increased ethanol production, and lowering our dependence on foreign oil, but this is ridiculous!
I've griped quite a bit about gas prices, but there just seems to be no end to the fluctuation of the price at the pump, and seemingly no reason for it.
Every time I gripe about the price of gasoline, somebody comes forward in defense of the big oil companies. Any takers?
Joe
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Just a quick thought about the price of gasoline. Tuesday, September 26, 2006
And So It Goes
Alas, it didn't last for long, did it? Back up over the $2 mark, it looks like gasoline might be on the rise once again. I guess it was nice while it lasted.Joe
Monday, September 25, 2006
$2 Gas Again?
Did you ever think you would see this again: gasoline below the $2.00 mark? Here it is, in living color, just as I saw it this morning on my drive to work.Will it go back up? Or can it possibly go even lower? I'm sure it could do either. The question is, who will have the most influence on the price: Big Oil, Big Governmemt, or little consumers?
Only time will tell. Stay tuned. ...
Joe
Monday, September 11, 2006
9/11 Remembered - 6:10 pm
September 11, 2001, Tuesday, 6:10 pm (Indiana East)They just reported on the local news that one Amoco station in town is charging $4.50 a gallon for regular unleaded.
9/11 Remembered - 5:57 pm
September 11, 2001, Tuesday, 5:57 pm (Indiana East)I just walked outside and looked at the sign for the Speedway gas station about a block away. Their price for unleaded has gone up from $1.39 to $1.99 since 3 pm.
Monday, August 21, 2006
The Daily Gripe #27 - Pricing Disparity
It's time for The Daily Gripe, from Average Joe American.
I gripe about the price of gasoline quite a bit, don't I? It may have something to with the fact that I spend more money on gasoline in a month than on electricity, water, heat, and cable combined. I spend more money on gasoline in a month than on food. And it just really gripes me to give so much of my money to these price-gouging, profit-hoarding oil companies, especially when I see what I saw yesterday.
We drove from Indiana to Ohio to see my family and take my pug (whom I miss terribly still) to live with my father. When I left work on Saturday evening in Indiana, I paid $2.919 per gallon of gasoline to fill up the car. It seemed like a bargain to get it for less than $3. When I left Ohio on Sunday to return home to Indiana, I filled up in Ohio for $2.559 per gallon. That's a difference of thirty-six cents a gallon, at gas stations less than two-hundred miles apart. When I arrived back home in Indiana, the price had dropped two cents to $2.899.
I want to know two things:
Joe
I gripe about the price of gasoline quite a bit, don't I? It may have something to with the fact that I spend more money on gasoline in a month than on electricity, water, heat, and cable combined. I spend more money on gasoline in a month than on food. And it just really gripes me to give so much of my money to these price-gouging, profit-hoarding oil companies, especially when I see what I saw yesterday.
We drove from Indiana to Ohio to see my family and take my pug (whom I miss terribly still) to live with my father. When I left work on Saturday evening in Indiana, I paid $2.919 per gallon of gasoline to fill up the car. It seemed like a bargain to get it for less than $3. When I left Ohio on Sunday to return home to Indiana, I filled up in Ohio for $2.559 per gallon. That's a difference of thirty-six cents a gallon, at gas stations less than two-hundred miles apart. When I arrived back home in Indiana, the price had dropped two cents to $2.899.
I want to know two things:
1- How do they justify such disparity in pricing?The oil industry has a stranglehold on the American motorist! You can tell me that the local station doesn't make anything on selling the gasoline itself, but that just means that it's not just the consumer being plundered, but also the retailer, and it's the supplier -- the oil companies -- doing the plundering! Time for another Boston Tea Party?
2- When will the madness end?
Joe
Monday, August 14, 2006
The Daily Gripe #22 - Stir Sticks
It's time for The Daily Gripe, from Average Joe American.
Yesterday my wife and I drove to Indianapolis. On the way, I had the urge for a tall, hot coffee, so we stopped at a Thornton's gas station.
Now this may seem petty, but I class this with a group of irritants that I like to call the "Somebody Wasn't Thinking" gripes. Okay, I just made that up, but you'll see what I mean soon enough.
I don't drink my coffee black. I like to add a little sugar so it tastes just a little better than used dish water. I grabbed a thirty-two ounce disposable coffee cup and, like most people would do, I filled it up with coffee. Then I tore open a couple of sugar packets and poured them in. I'm a sugar man -- no artificial sweetener for me. That just makes coffee taste like last night's used dish water.
As I dumped my trash in the receptacle, I looked for a stirrer to mix my sugar into the coffee. They never seem to make these things easy to find. In this case, they happened to be disguised as miniature straws, each individually wrapped. I tore free the paper wrapping, plunged the stirrer into my hot coffee, began stirring, and burned my fingers! This thing was at least two inches too short to reach the bottom of the cup, which was where all of the sugar had settled to by the time I found the stealth stirrers. That really gripes me!
Do they think only people who like their coffee black buy the large cups? They certainly can't expect you to stir while you add creme and/or sugar with as well as they have hidden the stirrers. You'd think with the huge profits the oil companies have been leaching from us since 9/11 that they could afford to buy stirrers just two inches longer. Or real spoons, for that matter.
Instead, I poured some of the coffee from my cup, stirred again, then nursed my poor fingers back to health as we made our way down the highway.
Joe
Yesterday my wife and I drove to Indianapolis. On the way, I had the urge for a tall, hot coffee, so we stopped at a Thornton's gas station.
Now this may seem petty, but I class this with a group of irritants that I like to call the "Somebody Wasn't Thinking" gripes. Okay, I just made that up, but you'll see what I mean soon enough.
I don't drink my coffee black. I like to add a little sugar so it tastes just a little better than used dish water. I grabbed a thirty-two ounce disposable coffee cup and, like most people would do, I filled it up with coffee. Then I tore open a couple of sugar packets and poured them in. I'm a sugar man -- no artificial sweetener for me. That just makes coffee taste like last night's used dish water.
As I dumped my trash in the receptacle, I looked for a stirrer to mix my sugar into the coffee. They never seem to make these things easy to find. In this case, they happened to be disguised as miniature straws, each individually wrapped. I tore free the paper wrapping, plunged the stirrer into my hot coffee, began stirring, and burned my fingers! This thing was at least two inches too short to reach the bottom of the cup, which was where all of the sugar had settled to by the time I found the stealth stirrers. That really gripes me!
Do they think only people who like their coffee black buy the large cups? They certainly can't expect you to stir while you add creme and/or sugar with as well as they have hidden the stirrers. You'd think with the huge profits the oil companies have been leaching from us since 9/11 that they could afford to buy stirrers just two inches longer. Or real spoons, for that matter.
Instead, I poured some of the coffee from my cup, stirred again, then nursed my poor fingers back to health as we made our way down the highway.
Joe
Thursday, August 10, 2006
The Daily Gripe #19 - It's Not Over, America!
It's time for The Daily Gripe, from Average Joe American.
It's been another fine day in the middle of Indiana's corn country. Nothing major to gripe about besides the rain -- and man did it rain!
We went to Indianapolis today to pick up a new vehicle. I have now returned my wife's gas guzzling SUV to her, and I must say that I'm glad to be rid of it. I put a thousand miles on it over the past week, and spent a bundle on gasoline. It'll be nice to spend a little less time at the pumps for a while.
I guess there is a gripe for today, and it's been all over the news: another terror plot against the U.S. has been discovered, and foiled, thanks to our staunchest allies, the Brits. And so close to the anniversary of 9/11.
It's not over, America. There is a real reason that we're fighting a war in Iraq. Whether you believe invading Iraq was necessary or could have been avoided, we were attacked some five years ago, unprovoked and unjustified by any measure! A swift decisive response was required, and I, for one, support President Bush and our troops fighting to put an end to the kind of cowardice that was uncovered today by our brothers across the pond. Like it or not, we are at war, and that war was brought to us. We have only two choices: fight first and win, or stand down and die. Would you rather die for freedom, or tyranny? It really gripes me that so many spineless Americans (and others) would rather bow to terrorism than stomp it out. If you're one of those without a spine, maybe should click on out of here and over to Oz and ask The Wizard for a spine!
Joe
It's been another fine day in the middle of Indiana's corn country. Nothing major to gripe about besides the rain -- and man did it rain!
We went to Indianapolis today to pick up a new vehicle. I have now returned my wife's gas guzzling SUV to her, and I must say that I'm glad to be rid of it. I put a thousand miles on it over the past week, and spent a bundle on gasoline. It'll be nice to spend a little less time at the pumps for a while.
I guess there is a gripe for today, and it's been all over the news: another terror plot against the U.S. has been discovered, and foiled, thanks to our staunchest allies, the Brits. And so close to the anniversary of 9/11.
It's not over, America. There is a real reason that we're fighting a war in Iraq. Whether you believe invading Iraq was necessary or could have been avoided, we were attacked some five years ago, unprovoked and unjustified by any measure! A swift decisive response was required, and I, for one, support President Bush and our troops fighting to put an end to the kind of cowardice that was uncovered today by our brothers across the pond. Like it or not, we are at war, and that war was brought to us. We have only two choices: fight first and win, or stand down and die. Would you rather die for freedom, or tyranny? It really gripes me that so many spineless Americans (and others) would rather bow to terrorism than stomp it out. If you're one of those without a spine, maybe should click on out of here and over to Oz and ask The Wizard for a spine!
Joe
Wednesday, August 9, 2006
No Gripes Today
Would you believe I don't have anything to gripe about today? Just a few thoughts and notes, but no real gripes.This morning I drove to work at the same time as usual: "Oh Dark Thirty," as we said in the Army. And it rained. And I drove to work in the rain. I drove to work in the rain this morning for the first time since my accident (in the rain) one week ago yesterday. And I did it in the dark. It was kind of an eerie feeling, really. I was driving my wife's car, which is an SUV, bigger, boxier, and poorer handling than the Ford Focus I slid off the road in last week. Signs haunted me for most of my drive, at least until the sun started to peek over the horizon and shed a little light over the road that lay before me. Sharp turn signs. Icy bridge signs (luckily not a threat in Indiana in August). Deer Crossing signs (always a threat in Indiana). I must say it was probably the most cautious I've been making this drive over the past two years. It's funny what a little shake-up will do to you. Maybe I've learned my lesson. Though I've been thinking about the cause of the accident, and I think it was less a result of my speed and the road conditions and more a result of the condition of the back tires on my car. I had brand new tires on the front of the car, and have been in need of new tires on the rear, as well. I intended to get new rear tires before winter. I guess I didn't think I'd encounter any treacherously slick roads over the summer. Again, I learned my lesson.
Things will hopefully be back to normal soon. I hope to have a new car soon, so my wife won't be stranded at home anymore and I won't be paying $25 a day to put gas in her SUV just to get to work and back. It'll be nice to be back to normal.
Joe
Friday, August 4, 2006
The Daily Gripe #14 - $3.099
It's time for The Daily Gripe, from Average Joe American.
Today I paid the highest price I have ever paid for a gallon of gasoline: $3.099. I know the price has been that high or higher in many parts of the country already, but I have luckily managed so far to always find it somewhere below the $3.00 mark. Not anymore.
I wrote last week about the record profits reported by ExxonMobil for the second quarter of the current fiscal year. I wrote recently about the huge compensation packages paid to executives in the oil industry. And I've written several times about the high cost of gasoline and other petroleum products.
Earlier this year, the federal government considered imposing a windfall profits tax on the oil industry. The plan was to take at least a portion of the proceeds from this tax and return it to American consumers in the form of a tax rebate. Of course, big oil lobbyists convinced the powers that be that such a move would be ill advised.
I say it's time that some serious action be taken to put a stop to the gouging of American motorists that happens every day at the gas pumps. Call your Senators and Congressperson. Buy gas from only a locally owned gas station, and ask them who they buy their gasoline from. And don't support ExxonMobil. Haven't they taken enough of our money already?
Today, that tank of gas at $3.099 cost me $51.00. And now that I'm driving a Jimmy to work instead of my Focus, I don't get such great gas mileage. That really gripes me, and it's time we as Americans do something about it!
Call your Senator today!
Joe
Today I paid the highest price I have ever paid for a gallon of gasoline: $3.099. I know the price has been that high or higher in many parts of the country already, but I have luckily managed so far to always find it somewhere below the $3.00 mark. Not anymore.
I wrote last week about the record profits reported by ExxonMobil for the second quarter of the current fiscal year. I wrote recently about the huge compensation packages paid to executives in the oil industry. And I've written several times about the high cost of gasoline and other petroleum products.
Earlier this year, the federal government considered imposing a windfall profits tax on the oil industry. The plan was to take at least a portion of the proceeds from this tax and return it to American consumers in the form of a tax rebate. Of course, big oil lobbyists convinced the powers that be that such a move would be ill advised.
I say it's time that some serious action be taken to put a stop to the gouging of American motorists that happens every day at the gas pumps. Call your Senators and Congressperson. Buy gas from only a locally owned gas station, and ask them who they buy their gasoline from. And don't support ExxonMobil. Haven't they taken enough of our money already?
Today, that tank of gas at $3.099 cost me $51.00. And now that I'm driving a Jimmy to work instead of my Focus, I don't get such great gas mileage. That really gripes me, and it's time we as Americans do something about it!
Call your Senator today!
Joe
Sunday, July 30, 2006
The Daily Gripe #9 - Big Daddy Oilbucks
It's time for The Daily Gripe, from Average Joe American.
I originally planned to skip the gripe today. I'll be away at a birthday gathering, and didn't expect to have the time to post.
In March of this year, the oil industry reported the biggest profits for a single quarter ever. In fact, ExxonMobil at the time reported the greatest single-quarter profits of any company ever in history. Congress "investigated" while consumers complained, but three months later we're still paying three dollars a gallon for gasoline.
Fast-forward to July and the second quarter profits reports, and what do you think happened? ExxonMobil broke it's own record! I'm going to spell this number out for you, because it's just a little too large a number to really get the full impact when written numerically. Brace yourself. Are you ready?
Ten Billion, Three-Hundred-Sixty Million Dollars in profit was reported by ExxonMobil for the second three months of their fiscal year. Go ahead, catch your breath, I'll wait.
. . . . . . . . . .
Feel better now? That huge number translates to $79,000.00 in profit per minute! Can I get you a glass of water or something? Okay, I'll wait.
. . . . . . . . . .
There's one more number I have for you. First, I want you to think about your own paycheck. Think about how much you make a week, if you will, and how much of that pay you throw away at the gas pump. Now try this on for size: ExxonMobil's second quarter profits were a staggering $1,316.00 PER SECOND! Most Americans don't make that in a week, and many don't see that much money in an entire month! Need a few minutes again? Why don't you just bookmark this page and you can pick up where you left off later, because I don't expect you'll recover quickly from that one.
A Reader posted a comment to my first Daily Gripe entry on July 22nd defending the local gas station owner for raising his price a full twenty cents per gallon just in time for weekend driving and summer vacations. Frankly, I don't care how much profit the local pump jockey takes in. That's between him and Big Daddy Oilbucks. My only concern is how much of that $1316.00 per second is coming out of my wallet.
And to put it just a little more into perspective, we're talking about profit dollars here. That's free and clear money after the bills have been paid. How much of your paycheck do you have left after your bulls have been paid? The oil execs will no doubt cite reinvestment in research. How about a little reinvestment in the average consumer? I mean, $1316.00 PER SECOND?! D.B. Cooper didn't even get away with that much money!
That really gripes me! Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go fill up the car for work tomorrow. One thing is certain: I won't be filling up at an Exxon station.
Joe
I originally planned to skip the gripe today. I'll be away at a birthday gathering, and didn't expect to have the time to post.
In March of this year, the oil industry reported the biggest profits for a single quarter ever. In fact, ExxonMobil at the time reported the greatest single-quarter profits of any company ever in history. Congress "investigated" while consumers complained, but three months later we're still paying three dollars a gallon for gasoline.
Fast-forward to July and the second quarter profits reports, and what do you think happened? ExxonMobil broke it's own record! I'm going to spell this number out for you, because it's just a little too large a number to really get the full impact when written numerically. Brace yourself. Are you ready?
Ten Billion, Three-Hundred-Sixty Million Dollars in profit was reported by ExxonMobil for the second three months of their fiscal year. Go ahead, catch your breath, I'll wait.
. . . . . . . . . .
Feel better now? That huge number translates to $79,000.00 in profit per minute! Can I get you a glass of water or something? Okay, I'll wait.
. . . . . . . . . .
There's one more number I have for you. First, I want you to think about your own paycheck. Think about how much you make a week, if you will, and how much of that pay you throw away at the gas pump. Now try this on for size: ExxonMobil's second quarter profits were a staggering $1,316.00 PER SECOND! Most Americans don't make that in a week, and many don't see that much money in an entire month! Need a few minutes again? Why don't you just bookmark this page and you can pick up where you left off later, because I don't expect you'll recover quickly from that one.
A Reader posted a comment to my first Daily Gripe entry on July 22nd defending the local gas station owner for raising his price a full twenty cents per gallon just in time for weekend driving and summer vacations. Frankly, I don't care how much profit the local pump jockey takes in. That's between him and Big Daddy Oilbucks. My only concern is how much of that $1316.00 per second is coming out of my wallet.
And to put it just a little more into perspective, we're talking about profit dollars here. That's free and clear money after the bills have been paid. How much of your paycheck do you have left after your bulls have been paid? The oil execs will no doubt cite reinvestment in research. How about a little reinvestment in the average consumer? I mean, $1316.00 PER SECOND?! D.B. Cooper didn't even get away with that much money!
That really gripes me! Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go fill up the car for work tomorrow. One thing is certain: I won't be filling up at an Exxon station.
Joe
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
The Daily Gripe #4 - Gasoline and Range Update
It's time for The Daily Gripe, from Average Joe American.
But first, an update on The Daily Gripe #1. I promised to let you know what happened to the price of gas this week after it jumped twenty cents at one station just in time for the weekend. I predicted that the price would be back down by today. Yesterday, the price had dropped two cents to $2.979. Today came the big shocker: $3.059 for a gallon of eighty-seven octane. I guess I was wrong.
And now, today's Daily Gripe.
My wife's new stove was delivered today. Once again I left work early so I could be here for the delivery "after five." They were supposed to call before delivering, so I raced home through country traffic -- I don't care what anyone says, country traffic is just as bad as city traffic. Ever get stuck behind a farm implement on a busy two-lane highway going less than twenty miles an hour? I rest my case. I raced home, my speed ranging from twenty to seventy-five, and pulled in the driveway at 5:10. My wife informed me that the delivery people hadn't called yet, so I began to quickly change clothes. With my belt undone and my zipper down, my wife called from the front room to say they had arrived.
That really gripes me! Do they not understand that people with pets and/or small children need a few moments to prepare before taking such a delivery as a major appliance? There's more: I asked them to move the old stove (range, whatever) onto the back deck because we're going to give it away. They hesitantly agreed, as if I had asked them to deliver the stove to another address for free. So after the new range was hooked up and in place (I had to level it myself after they left), I offered them a five dollar tip for their troubles. To their credit, they politely refused, but I insisted. "Take it for moving the old stove," I said. After seeing them off and locking the gate, I returned to the house to find the five dollar bill abandoned on the kitchen table. Why? Was it too small a tip to be worthwhile? Or are they not permitted to accept tips? If that's the case, they could have told me so.
Nevertheless, the new stove is in and my wife is breaking it in with a special dinner.
Joe
But first, an update on The Daily Gripe #1. I promised to let you know what happened to the price of gas this week after it jumped twenty cents at one station just in time for the weekend. I predicted that the price would be back down by today. Yesterday, the price had dropped two cents to $2.979. Today came the big shocker: $3.059 for a gallon of eighty-seven octane. I guess I was wrong.
And now, today's Daily Gripe.
My wife's new stove was delivered today. Once again I left work early so I could be here for the delivery "after five." They were supposed to call before delivering, so I raced home through country traffic -- I don't care what anyone says, country traffic is just as bad as city traffic. Ever get stuck behind a farm implement on a busy two-lane highway going less than twenty miles an hour? I rest my case. I raced home, my speed ranging from twenty to seventy-five, and pulled in the driveway at 5:10. My wife informed me that the delivery people hadn't called yet, so I began to quickly change clothes. With my belt undone and my zipper down, my wife called from the front room to say they had arrived.
That really gripes me! Do they not understand that people with pets and/or small children need a few moments to prepare before taking such a delivery as a major appliance? There's more: I asked them to move the old stove (range, whatever) onto the back deck because we're going to give it away. They hesitantly agreed, as if I had asked them to deliver the stove to another address for free. So after the new range was hooked up and in place (I had to level it myself after they left), I offered them a five dollar tip for their troubles. To their credit, they politely refused, but I insisted. "Take it for moving the old stove," I said. After seeing them off and locking the gate, I returned to the house to find the five dollar bill abandoned on the kitchen table. Why? Was it too small a tip to be worthwhile? Or are they not permitted to accept tips? If that's the case, they could have told me so.
Nevertheless, the new stove is in and my wife is breaking it in with a special dinner.
Joe
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
