Kevin's Watch

That's the thing. We could spend billions to rebuild, and another hurricane could come through in 3 years and wipe it all out again.

Hmmm. That is true. I don;t know the historical frequency of cat4 hurricanes in that area, but it is certainly true that another will strike.

Where, then, is a good place to relocate New Orleans? And what would become of the industries that require the Gulf and Mississippi to move their goods?

I'd think that the shipping ports could still be there, but it just doesn't make sense having a major metropolitan area 10 feet below sea level in an area of the country that is in the middle of hurricane alley.

Plenty of room in Kansas though.

Four Dollars + per gallon!!!!

Heh. Our business manager says they'll be up to $3/gallon by next weekend.

I bet it's more.

Cho, I had to pay $3.20 this morning. I'll probobly see prices eventually reaching $5/gal!

Your BM is right. Anybody want to join me in a carpool?

Not to gloat ... ok I am gloating - it's nice to be getting 48 miles to the gallon!!

I'm getting a new catalytic converter on my truck Friday (yey!) which should up my mileage a bit. Also going to buy a cargo net and take the tailgate off - less drag on the back end. I'm aiming to get the mileage on this thing up to about 30 mpg, which is what it was on my old truck. Generally the model gets about 27, so I figure with the tailgate gone, it'll be close.

As for New Orleans, I don't really want to pay to rebuild the whole city. Sounds harsh, but logic would dictateyou don't build below sea level in a hurricane-prone area. (Then again, look at the Netherlands. It may not be hurricane alley, but the Baltic's not exactly a calm area). It is a shame to lose such a historic and popular place, but I say the government condemns whatever it has to and doesn't put anything but parks/natural areas in the lowest points. At least shift the city to where the majority of it won't get flooded more than a couple of feet if this happens again.

How long will it take just to get the water out of there? Even if they get all the pumps working and the levees fixed, I understand they can only pump out about one foot of water every twelve hours. I think we're talking about weeks at the minimum before the water is at a manageable level.

I saw on the news today that they're relocating the people in the Superdome to the Astrodome in Houston. They've cleared the Astrodome's schedule until December. It'll be months before they clear the water, and then they'll have to bulldoze every wood-frame building there. Between rot and mold they'll be worthless, not to mention all the critters (snakes, gators) that'll start calling them home. I love NO, but I think it'd probably be best to write it off.

Edit-Gas is now $3.15 at the store in front of my shop.

$3.11 here in East Tennessee.

Regular was averaging $2.89 this morning when I went to work. I was fortunate enough to buy premium for that price, at a decent quality chain. Wonder what it'll be on the way back home?

ur-bane wrote:Not to mention then where would we have Mardi Gras?

In Mobile, Alabama......the oldest Mardi Gras celebration in the country! Of course, they have strorm damage of their own to clean up first.

How has it affected me?

I got flipped off at the gas station today for just driving up... I even paid in advance like it said.

Not sure I understand TLF. No gas? You paid and still didn't get gas?

Anyway, prices here (converted to US$ for your convenience) are about 0.89 per litre (unleaded) roughly $3.56 p/gallon I guess.) 20% of that is government tax though.

It's a killer. It's costing me about 1k a month (in my currency) just to get to work.

Prices here are regulated though, and with the exception of coastal areas, where it's fractionally cheaper, the price is the same throughout the country.

And as I mentioned, all increases are planned, and we're notified of the next one at least a week in advance.

--A

Oh snap...

money.cnn.com/2005/08/31/news/gas_prices/index.htm?cnn=yes

Yeah, that's the link I posted yesterday. It's ridiculous. And once the prices hit that plateau, they'll stay there. Maybe they'll level off at $3.25-3.50/gallon, but if history is any indication, we're into this price hike for the long haul.

(At least the station by my house dropped their price to $3.00/gal from yesterday's $3.20)

Drove by the local Carmax today. The parking lot is littered with SUVs and big trucks. Everyone's dumping them, and I bet they're not getting anywhere near what they thought they would for them. The panic has begun.

The Dow started up today, now it's down, and probably will continue to drop. If you were thinking about refinancing your house, you've probably got about a week or so left before the cost of fuel and rebuilding starts to sink in and a recession starts. Expect interest rates to start seriously climbing by the end of the month.

Things are gonne get ugly and stay ugly for quite a while. Make sure you're prepared.

$3.09 here in town. Might get lucky and find it for less...but I'll waste gas looking!
Our local grocery store gives you 10 cents off a gallon for every $50 you spend on groceries. You need to go to their gas station, but their prices are just as bad as the gas station down the street. We try to wait until the end of the month and then fill up then. Just 2 months ago we only had to spend 1.08 per gallon (of course gas was less then too).

Cail, your paint colors are dreary, but the painting is not as bleak as that.

People were dumping their SUV's well before Katrina. Gas proces have been steadily rising over the summer months causing a lot of people to reevaluate what they drive. (You traded your 4Runner in before Katrina, no?)

Although the US economy took a blow, a recession is not likely happen.
Sure, we may have shortages of goods and less exports until the ports reopen, but that's hardly a recession. The US economy has been growing at a steady 3.5-4% over the past year. It's weathered storms in the past, and should do so again.

I just paid $3.099 (I've always hated that damn .009 cent!).

So let me see if I understand this right.
The gas that was sitting in the stations tanks (lets keep it extremely simple) for the past week was purchased and delivered 2 weeks ago at a certain price.
That same gas that has already been paid for at a lower price has now increased 50% at the retail level because of *FUTURE* gas purchases by the station?

How is that not unethical and not gouging?
(and I don't need the definition of gouging, thanks)