Guess What?
Turning to other news, the Sun set in the West tonite ....
Posted by Oink
10/17/2005 at 06:01 PM
I need to find a way to capture my own natural gas. Of course then the price of beans would go up.
A friend called me tonight all excited that he had filled his truck at $2.37/gallon today. He realized the incongruity, but having topped $3.00 around here it was a deal. Of course, I asked where he got such a deal.
Might be worth the drive.
I saw a special on tsunamis tonite—one of the Discovery Channels. There was this island, very close to the epicenter of the Indian Ocean earthquake and consequent tsunami. No one died. They had the knowledge, passed down from their grandparents, to head for the hills the second that the shaking stops. Knowledge: the ultimate protection.
P.S. But sometimes the only thing you can do is die. No one is too poor or uneducated not to do that well.
Posted by Oink
10/17/2005 at 10:19 PM
Diesel is over $3.00/gallon here. Saw one today for $3.26/gal. Truck stays parked while motorcycle gets ridden. Hard to pass up 33 MPG.
Bean counters at the oil companies decreased storage capacities and saved money and got themselves promoted. Regulations and environmental pressures slowed any new construction and sometimes delayed even refurbishing existing facilities. NIMBY folks got new construction squashed, too.
Now all an aspiring futures speculator has to do to make money is get up in the morning and see clouds on the Carribean satellite photo. He buys a bunch and then waits until the afternoon or tomorrow morning to pick up his profits which he splits between his habit, mistress, and family.
Guess I just worked in the wrong end of the oil patch, huh?
That’s about the size of it, Bowshot. I know damn well that there’s a lot of speculation built into this price, too.
Only 33mpg? Must be a big-ass bike.
The futures market is so instantaneous that watching a weather map is futile. Folks on the floor of the exchange are watching too. It might work if you had a personal space station in geosynchronous orbit over the Caribbean. Most successful (and unsuccessful) futures traders use computer execution based on strictly technical data. i.e. they just look at charts. To succeed you must have systematic discipline and a huge bankroll against initial losses. I encouraged my clients to avoid the middleman and throw their money straight into the trash can.
Posted by Oink
10/18/2005 at 05:16 AM
The other “secret” price gouging orgy was on batteries. During the peak of the oil companies’ feeding frenzy, the normal $3.99 price for a 12-pack of Alkaline AA cells soared to $5.79, at the local stupor market chain. Now they’re “on sale” at $3.99… Greedy bastards, all of ‘em.
I mostly agree with RatMan*: It’s infuriating to see price gouging during a real crisis like 911 or a hurricane. However if there is an ongoing situation, say a coffee bean blight, and prices go up, tought titty, thatsa market.
There was a petition being passed around a USMC blog against high gas prices.People were to sign it and send it to The Pres. Why not send him a petition against hurricanes? Education Education Education
* no offense, I’m a big fan of ‘The Stand’
Posted by Oink
10/18/2005 at 08:19 AM
A Golden Oldie Rerun: “I asked the gas station attendant for $2 worth of gas; he farted and handed me a receipt.”
I think OCM yearns for modern technology with with old-tyme small government and wide open spaces. Maybe future technology, with a super-battery that’ll store huge quantities of solar generated electricity in a hurry.
Sounds great to me.
Posted by Oink
10/18/2005 at 12:46 PM
Wasn’t able to get back here until just now. Local ISP took one of it’s little “holidays.”
Big bike and also needs tune-up. It and another oil change happening soon. 1500CC with 54K miles.
I know there’s more to the futures thing than I said, but it just aggravates me that they are really what’s driving the prices. Guess I shouldn’t be, but....
Just remembered a study they did while we were trying to get a raise out of the “old double cross”. Salaries and benefits figured out to be about $0.03 on the price of a gallon when it was costing $1.25/gal.
Anyway, I’d rather be on the bike.
bowshot: Bikes popular here in S. Indiana in the late Spring & Summer-Fall, not so in Winter. I loved mine, long ago. Unquestionably dangerous & not necessarily because of the drivers of the bike.
The futures thing was a warning to anyone who read about folks getting rich, not just you.
Oil/gas prices are political, not entirely free market,
Posted by Oink
10/19/2005 at 04:46 PM
