Gasoline Discount

Started my day in the usual way, dropping Kyle off at the bus stop just before 630am, and that’s when I notice the cars fuel gauge is on empty.  It’s no mystery that I wish I could plug in and never stop at another gas station, or maybe stop at one once in a while.  Until I get a hybrid, a plug-in hybrid, or some really fuel efficient car, I will be making my one or twice weekly stop to fill up.

After work, I was planning on picking up Kyle at home and making my way to the gym with him early.  Last night, we went to the gym together and it was so crowded that all the treadmills and most of the ellipticals were already taken.  Well that didn’t work out, since soon as I hit the door, Kyle said he needs a ride to Sachem East later to go see a basketball game.  Sue tells me that Kyle and Luke are getting haircuts, so why not eat dinner first and then go to the gym later.    

Pick up Justin and Billy (Kyle’s friends), and then drop the guys off at Sachem East and head to the gym.  I get a treadmill right away so no frustration, and proceed to knock out 4 miles in 39 minutes.  Not bad for an old man.  Better get home to write the blog.   As I walk in, Sue and Luke are heading to his soccer practice.  Look at the bright side, at least Kyle is getting a ride home from the high school later.  Crack open a cold beer and chill out in an empty house with the History Channel on…Dad gone wild !!

This day in history “On this day in 1901, a drilling derrick at Spindletop Hill near Beaumont, Texas, produces an enormous gusher of crude oil, coating the landscape for hundreds of feet and signaling the advent of the American oil industry. The geyser was discovered at a depth of over 1,000 feet, flowed at an initial rate of approximately 100,000 barrels a day and took nine days to cap.”

Crude oil, which became the world's first trillion-dollar industry, is a natural mix of hundreds of different hydrocarbon compounds trapped in underground rock.  Within a year, there were more than 285 actives wells at Spindletop and an estimated 500 oil and land companies operating in the area, including some that are major players today: Humble (now Exxon), the Texas Company (Texaco) and Magnolia Petroleum Company (Mobil).

The world just wouldn’t be the same if it weren’t for oil.  The rest is history, but this thick dirty liquid is not as abundant as it used to be.  Enormous profits still being made by the big oil companies.   Our appetite is insatiable and the peak production is already in the books.  The world needs to seek energy solutions elsewhere or risk screwing up the environment with leaks and spills.  Fracking or fracturing to get oil from shale formations is a desperate attempt to fill the gap, with repercussions that few realize.  NIMBY - Not in my back yard......  I have supplemented my consumption with renewable resources, how about you ?

Since I cant afford a new car yet, or a hybrid for that matter, I am forced to keep consuming oil.  Today I caught a break, thanks to an alliance between Stop and Shop and Shell.  Discounted gas price for buying food at Stop and Shop to the tune of 10 cents off per gallon for every $100 spent.  With a lot of meals cooked at home, we rack up the points pretty fast.  Bonus coupons are in the paper too, so I used a 300 bonus points (30 cents off) coupon last week.  Today saw 60 Cents off per gallon.  Instead of $3.69 Gallon, I got $3.09....ka ka ching !

Photo of the day “Gasoline Discount”