My wife and I skipped over to Milwaukee yesterday and found out that gas prices averaged about $2.29 a gallon! Unbelievable!
At Half-Price Books in Milwaukee, I bought one item for $2.98. The sales clerk started to tell me about the return policy. Nicely, I said, I live in Madison and wouldn't be returning it at $2.29 a gallon for gas. He got my point right away.
We didn't buy any gas and returned to Madison hoping for better prices. I was able to buy gas for $2.09 a gallon in Madison. Most stations were at $2.11 a gallon. Why Milwaukee was 20 cents more is beyond me. We are starting to see more gas stations mix ethanol into their gas here in Madison.
Because of high prices, we're already rethinking our driving patterns. For example, we will probably cocoon ourselves: order more pay per movies or possibly download (legally via Charter) movies on the internet. I have a fast connection and it's possible to do that now. We may expand our cable offerings. For example, ordering HBO, so that we don't have to drive to Blockbuster to get and return a movie. There are also some new services that mail you movies/video and then you mail them back. And in the near future, a video phone may not be such an expensive item after all. And who knows, maybe my company will let me work at home.
Last year, we bought a new, used car: a Honda that has given us great mileage. And if gas prices get much higher, I'll start looking at buying a small motorcycle. I'm only 7 miles from my job. There are too many hills. So, a moped wouldn't have enough power.
Rising gas prices could have a huge impact on our lives, culture, and economy. Anyway, we'll have to rethink all of this.
Monday, March 21, 2005
Justin's Valentine's Card
Just so it's clear, the card Justin sent me (below) was drawn by Justin. What talent he has!D
Monday, March 14, 2005
Catch Up 3-15-05
Due to a busy schedule and the flu, I haven't updated this in a while.
I'm over the flu, but once in a great while, I still cough.
Wendy never got the flu, which is good: one of us has to stay healthy and conscious.
Watch List: Deadwood, the HBO series. I rented the first season. I liked it, but when I watch it, the room turns blue. (That's an old saying which means that there is a lot of swearing.) Most of the language on this show goes like this: hand me the #$%^^^ $#@%^ hammer, you #@$#%%^^^^. Since Wendy and I went to Deadwood, S.D., last October, it's interesting to see what the town was like back in the 1870s. It was rough. The show is based on the tried and true ensemble (think "Star Trek" or "Gunsmoke"): there's a doctor, sheriff, saloon keeper, and a lot of interesting characters. I would rate this as X: so don't let your children watch it.
Oscars: I was cheering for Jamie Foxx for best actor, and he did receive an Oscar for "Ray." And I wanted "Million Dollar Baby" to win for best movie, which it did. Although I thought "Million Dollar Baby" is the best movie I've seen in years, it is a dark movie. And I loved the photography: Hollywood sets now seem too well lit: I suspect so that you can always see the actors' faces. In "Million Dollar Baby," when the actors were standing in the shadows they were actually standing in the shadows. Why Clint Eastwood, the director, is making these dark movies in this stage of his life is a mystery to me (unless he's an angry, mad depressed person). Look at his previous movies: "The Unforgiven" was a movie about an old, washed up gunfighter, who loses his wife, and kills almost everyone else in the movie. "Mystic River" is an extremely dark and sad movie about the human condition (I don't want to spoil the movie for you. So, I won't go into details here.).
Missy is working hard during her second year of Veterinarian school. During her spare moments, she goes to the movies and eats sushi (sometimes with me). Kids are easier to raise after they're 22 years old. Who would have known.
Wendy is scrapbooking when she's not nursing me back to health.
The dogs are getting cabin fever. So, we need warmer weather soon. Or they may just find my bones in the recliner.
Medical Note: during my bout with the flu, I took a medicine called Mucinex. It makes you cough more often but I do think it helps. A younger guy at work took longer than I did to recover. I also had a flu shot this year. Did that help? Who knows.
I'm over the flu, but once in a great while, I still cough.
Wendy never got the flu, which is good: one of us has to stay healthy and conscious.
Watch List: Deadwood, the HBO series. I rented the first season. I liked it, but when I watch it, the room turns blue. (That's an old saying which means that there is a lot of swearing.) Most of the language on this show goes like this: hand me the #$%^^^ $#@%^ hammer, you #@$#%%^^^^. Since Wendy and I went to Deadwood, S.D., last October, it's interesting to see what the town was like back in the 1870s. It was rough. The show is based on the tried and true ensemble (think "Star Trek" or "Gunsmoke"): there's a doctor, sheriff, saloon keeper, and a lot of interesting characters. I would rate this as X: so don't let your children watch it.
Oscars: I was cheering for Jamie Foxx for best actor, and he did receive an Oscar for "Ray." And I wanted "Million Dollar Baby" to win for best movie, which it did. Although I thought "Million Dollar Baby" is the best movie I've seen in years, it is a dark movie. And I loved the photography: Hollywood sets now seem too well lit: I suspect so that you can always see the actors' faces. In "Million Dollar Baby," when the actors were standing in the shadows they were actually standing in the shadows. Why Clint Eastwood, the director, is making these dark movies in this stage of his life is a mystery to me (unless he's an angry, mad depressed person). Look at his previous movies: "The Unforgiven" was a movie about an old, washed up gunfighter, who loses his wife, and kills almost everyone else in the movie. "Mystic River" is an extremely dark and sad movie about the human condition (I don't want to spoil the movie for you. So, I won't go into details here.).
Missy is working hard during her second year of Veterinarian school. During her spare moments, she goes to the movies and eats sushi (sometimes with me). Kids are easier to raise after they're 22 years old. Who would have known.
Wendy is scrapbooking when she's not nursing me back to health.
The dogs are getting cabin fever. So, we need warmer weather soon. Or they may just find my bones in the recliner.
Medical Note: during my bout with the flu, I took a medicine called Mucinex. It makes you cough more often but I do think it helps. A younger guy at work took longer than I did to recover. I also had a flu shot this year. Did that help? Who knows.
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