What's bugging you? 2021

[hawing]

Last "decision" I had to make was one of those all time great dogs and it was the week before Christmas. Pets give you a lifetime of joy and one truly awful day.

Our first cat's "decision" was made in December (17+ years ago, because we got the recently departed guy the next month) and we got the cremains on our way to Christmas Eve dinner. But it was the first time we'd had "her" with us for the holidays since we are always on the road for it.

 

Losing a pet can be as tough, but what you get out of pet companionship can be so good. I really think it at least evens out in most cases.

So I hope none of you decides against adopting a pet primarily because it'll hurt when the day comes to say goodbye.

[MrTPlush]

Used pricing has gotten way out of whack. I have bought new recently because I can usually buy for the same price as late model used if I shop around and qualify for discounts.

 

I am usually pretty anti buying a vehicle new, but that is what I am going to do. The brand new one will only cost me $4k more and has almost the same MSRP that the used one originally had. Mind you this isn't some $20k Corolla, $4k really isn't that much more in the grand scheme. I will pay that instead of a used one that has 30k miles, warranty almost finished, and a bunch of half worn down parts.

 

Wish I could just wait for sensible used car prices, but my current vehicle just doesn't fit my needs.

[Thurston Fluff]

I recently brought two of my sons (aged 15 & 16) in for a strep test this weekend. Multiple things are bugging me...

- They required a COVID test at the same time. They don't call if the test is negative...but if schools/doctors/other activities find out they had a COVID test (even me going into work), they required positive confirmation of a negative test.

- I have to sign off for them to treat my kids; I have to pay for the treatment; But because they are over 12, I can't call in find out the results of their tests. Except if it was positive, they would've called my cell phone.

- My daughter goes to a different school as those two sons. This morning I get a phone call from the school nurse inquiring about my sons' health and COVID situation (evidently they ask about the family's health as she comes into school?). Of course, if they have a pending COVID test, my daughter wasn't allowed to be in school (which obviously, we closed out the confirmation before sending everyone back in). She wants to dig into the health situation of my others sons to verify my daughter should be in school. I answered her questions, but was massively annoyed at her sticking her nose where it didn't need to be.

 

In this post you talk about two of your sons. That means you have more than two. In an earlier post you mentioned you have three daughters. Guess that puts you in contention for best farm system on BF.net.

[Thurston Fluff]

Losing a pet can be as tough, but what you get out of pet companionship can be so good. I really think it at least evens out in most cases.

So I hope none of you decides against adopting a pet primarily because it'll hurt when the day comes to say goodbye.

 

 

Nothing to add. Just thought this was worthy of two looks. It more than evens out.

[CheezWizHed]

I recently brought two of my sons (aged 15 & 16) in for a strep test this weekend. Multiple things are bugging me...

- They required a COVID test at the same time. They don't call if the test is negative...but if schools/doctors/other activities find out they had a COVID test (even me going into work), they required positive confirmation of a negative test.

- I have to sign off for them to treat my kids; I have to pay for the treatment; But because they are over 12, I can't call in find out the results of their tests. Except if it was positive, they would've called my cell phone.

- My daughter goes to a different school as those two sons. This morning I get a phone call from the school nurse inquiring about my sons' health and COVID situation (evidently they ask about the family's health as she comes into school?). Of course, if they have a pending COVID test, my daughter wasn't allowed to be in school (which obviously, we closed out the confirmation before sending everyone back in). She wants to dig into the health situation of my others sons to verify my daughter should be in school. I answered her questions, but was massively annoyed at her sticking her nose where it didn't need to be.

 

In this post you talk about two of your sons. That means you have more than two. In an earlier post you mentioned you have three daughters. Guess that puts you in contention for best farm system on BF.net.

 

Keeping tabs on me? I have 3 daughters and 3 sons. Zero hopes of putting any of them in the majors though. They inherited my coordination.

[Jimbo]

Keeping tabs on me? I have 3 daughters and 3 sons. Zero hopes of putting any of them in the majors though. They inherited my coordination.

 

But are they lefties? Future LOGGY's? How about catcher?

[CheezWizHed]

Keeping tabs on me? I have 3 daughters and 3 sons. Zero hopes of putting any of them in the majors though. They inherited my coordination.

 

But are they lefties? Future LOGGY's? How about catcher?

 

Well, my oldest daughter is a lefty, but even a pair of Wild-thing glasses couldn't help her see the plate (she is "low vision"). My oldest son did make a few nice plays in softball last year at catcher....

[GAME05]

Planned commercial kitchen? Nope, they're full. Gotta get the one 2 hours away.

Sell my hot dogs in the State Parks? Nope, state-wide email sent out saying I can't.

Trailer insurance? Allstate won't do it and it seems no other company wants to cover a trailer alone.

[Hopper]

Gas prices. Gas prices are bugging me.

When it hovered around the $2 mark for so long, you get used to it.

When it gets up to $2.60, it starts getting expensive.

Looks like it is going to continue rising, which is insane.

I guess you don't know how good you have it until a change like the current trend occurs.

Why the sudden hike at the pump?

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Gas prices. Gas prices are bugging me.

When it hovered around the $2 mark for so long, you get used to it.

When it gets up to $2.60, it starts getting expensive.

Looks like it is going to continue rising, which is insane.

I guess you don't know how good you have it until a change like the current trend occurs.

Why the sudden hike at the pump?

 

Guessing it has something to do with the freak winter storm in Texas.

[igor67]

It is also the time of year that they start switching over to summer blends which creates a repeatable shortage of sorts in supplies before normal spring/ summer demand usually drives the prices back up somewhat.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Also things are no longer nearly as locked down as they were for the majority of 2020, and people are beginning to travel more. As demand increases, prices rise.

[owbc]

It's too early for summer blend gas, this is all related to the refinery shutdowns in Texas. It takes 2-3 weeks for them to restart the refineries so I bet prices are really high in March.

 

I haven't looked at how much I'm driving but it can't be more than 250 miles/month right now. We get everything delivered now and there's nowhere to go in the pandemic.

[owbc]

Also, how much do you drive / what car do you drive that makes the difference between $2.00 and $2.60 significant???

[wallus]

Gas prices. Gas prices are bugging me.

When it hovered around the $2 mark for so long, you get used to it.

When it gets up to $2.60, it starts getting expensive.

Looks like it is going to continue rising, which is insane.

I guess you don't know how good you have it until a change like the current trend occurs.

Why the sudden hike at the pump?

 

I am leasing an electric car right now. (they are cheap) Although gas prices indirectly affect things, I am happy that they don't affect me directly anymore.

[Hopper]

Also, how much do you drive / what car do you drive that makes the difference between $2.00 and $2.60 significant???

 

Why does that matter?

If you must know, my vehicle gets between 26 and 28 mpg on my daily commute to work, which is about an hour total.

A 15 gallon tank adds $9.00 to the total bill with every fill up.

You don't find that significant?

When it goes up to $3 per gallon, and it will, that will be an extra $15 per fill up.

Maybe it's just me, but if I have to pay $10 - $15 more every time I fill up, that is significant in my world.

That is almost $40 per month at the current gas price. When it goes up to $3 I'm looking at close to $60 per month.

So yes, I do find that significant.

[Hopper]

Also things are no longer nearly as locked down as they were for the majority of 2020, and people are beginning to travel more. As demand increases, prices rise.

 

I'm wondering if shutting down our pipeline will have any effect on gas prices.

It seems if we are going to rely solely on other countries for gas, prices have to continue to rise?

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Also things are no longer nearly as locked down as they were for the majority of 2020, and people are beginning to travel more. As demand increases, prices rise.

 

I'm wondering if shutting down our pipeline will have any effect on gas prices.

It seems if we are going to rely solely on other countries for gas, prices have to continue to rise?

 

Nearly all gasoline consumed in the US is produced in the US. It is made from crude oil that is both imported and domestically produced. I'm not real sure what you are talking about.

[CheezWizHed]

Just a reminder to keep this discussion away from the politics side of it.

 

Since the Keystone pipeline wasn't operational, it wouldn't have any bearing on prices today. Any impact would be on prices 2 years from now when it would've been completed.

 

Regarding imported crude: I don't have a link, but I'm pretty sure that the US was consuming 100% domestic crude sometime in the past few years. Compared to the 1980s when we were heavily dependent on Middle East oil. The low oil prices (~$2/gallon) and the consistency of them were because we weren't reliant on the highly fluctuating prices based on what was going on in the Middle East at the time.

-Edit: Not 100% domestic yet, but drastically reduced from OPEC and the Persian Gulf (while Canada was increasing): https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/oil-and-petroleum-products/imports-and-exports.php

[Hopper]

Also things are no longer nearly as locked down as they were for the majority of 2020, and people are beginning to travel more. As demand increases, prices rise.

 

I'm wondering if shutting down our pipeline will have any effect on gas prices.

It seems if we are going to rely solely on other countries for gas, prices have to continue to rise?

 

Nearly all gasoline consumed in the US is produced in the US. It is made from crude oil that is both imported and domestically produced. I'm not real sure what you are talking about.

 

That is why I asked the question.

I didn't really know the answer, hence my question.

[Hopper]

Just a reminder to keep this discussion away from the politics side of it.

 

Since the Keystone pipeline wasn't operational, it wouldn't have any bearing on prices today. Any impact would be on prices 2 years from now when it would've been completed.

 

Regarding imported crude: I don't have a link, but I'm pretty sure that the US was consuming 100% domestic crude sometime in the past few years. Compared to the 1980s when we were heavily dependent on Middle East oil. The low oil prices (~$2/gallon) and the consistency of them were because we weren't reliant on the highly fluctuating prices based on what was going on in the Middle East at the time.

-Edit: Not 100% domestic yet, but drastically reduced from OPEC and the Persian Gulf (while Canada was increasing): https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/oil-and-petroleum-products/imports-and-exports.php

 

I wasn't speaking politically.

The pipeline being shut down is factual, not political. (well, factual if in fact it is allowed to happen)

Anyways, thanks for the reply.

[owbc]

The US is about even on imports/exports now but it varies by region. The Gulf Coast is a big net exporter while other regions are net importers. The purpose of the Keystone pipeline was to get heavy crude from Canada to Gulf Coast refineries that were equipped to handle it. A big reason the pipeline got axed was that there wasn't much profit to be made on the oil from the Canadian tar sands. Expensive Alberta oil is only going to be profitable when gas is $3-$4/gallon anyway. And the transition to electric cars will happen before that is the case. Reduction in oil demand will keep prices in check.

 

Since we're talking cars, the lease on our SUV ran out in December so we switched to a plug-in hybrid. Went from 25 to 50 mpg overall, although on local trips I run it entirely on electric. The purchase price was $9,000 more for the plug-in but after the $7,500 tax credit it comes pretty close to even. Not to mention the plug-in has more horsepower and better acceleration than the gas-only version. I'm sure it's the last hybrid I ever buy...the next one will be all-electric.

[CheezWizHed]

Just a reminder to keep this discussion away from the politics side of it.

 

Since the Keystone pipeline wasn't operational, it wouldn't have any bearing on prices today. Any impact would be on prices 2 years from now when it would've been completed.

 

Regarding imported crude: I don't have a link, but I'm pretty sure that the US was consuming 100% domestic crude sometime in the past few years. Compared to the 1980s when we were heavily dependent on Middle East oil. The low oil prices (~$2/gallon) and the consistency of them were because we weren't reliant on the highly fluctuating prices based on what was going on in the Middle East at the time.

-Edit: Not 100% domestic yet, but drastically reduced from OPEC and the Persian Gulf (while Canada was increasing): https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/oil-and-petroleum-products/imports-and-exports.php

 

I wasn't speaking politically.

The pipeline being shut down is factual, not political. (well, factual if in fact it is allowed to happen)

Anyways, thanks for the reply.

 

Hopper, Sorry, I wasn't claiming you were. But since the Keystone pipeline is a political hot-button topic, I just threw out the warning. Frankly, it was more simply because I said the name than anything you said.

[Hopper]

Just a reminder to keep this discussion away from the politics side of it.

 

Since the Keystone pipeline wasn't operational, it wouldn't have any bearing on prices today. Any impact would be on prices 2 years from now when it would've been completed.

 

Regarding imported crude: I don't have a link, but I'm pretty sure that the US was consuming 100% domestic crude sometime in the past few years. Compared to the 1980s when we were heavily dependent on Middle East oil. The low oil prices (~$2/gallon) and the consistency of them were because we weren't reliant on the highly fluctuating prices based on what was going on in the Middle East at the time.

-Edit: Not 100% domestic yet, but drastically reduced from OPEC and the Persian Gulf (while Canada was increasing): https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/oil-and-petroleum-products/imports-and-exports.php

 

I wasn't speaking politically.

The pipeline being shut down is factual, not political. (well, factual if in fact it is allowed to happen)

Anyways, thanks for the reply.

 

Hopper, Sorry, I wasn't claiming you were. But since the Keystone pipeline is a political hot-button topic, I just threw out the warning. Frankly, it was more simply because I said the name than anything you said.

 

no worries.

[MrTPlush]

Not bugging me: The snow is disappearing way sooner than usual.

 

What is bugging me: I bought a house in December, the previous owner had three larger dogs, and I don't think she was one to clean up after them. Now that the snow is melting I am being reminded of that. I tried to take care of it the best I could before it got covered in snow, but when the fenced in area they roamed was over a half acre you can only do so good. The wife was pretty ticked the day we moved in, probably because we don't own a dog, but I figured I could have been left with worse surprises day of closing.