frustratedpilot: (Default)
A Barrel of Oil is 31.5 Gallons (4032 ounces, or 56 six-packs). Don't ask me who decided this matter.

$97.88/Barrel equals $3.11/Gallon of Crude. Refine it, take stuff out of it, put more stuff in it, add sales taxes and maybe a nickle or two of profits to the individual gas station, and there you have it.

Told you it was useless.

FP
frustratedpilot: (Default)
My parents noticed a problem with the water line coming into Rather Manor, so they called the Utilities Co-Op to explain the problem and ask for help...and after they hung up our phone lines lost the dial tone. So as I couldn't access the 'Net here I decided I had to go to the Dandridge library and use their computers. And as Moonshine's tank was depleted from Saturday's Asheville trip and Monday's Gatlinburg trip, a refuel at the Dandridge BP was necessary too.

So I put $40 worth in Moonshine, scoot a dozen blocks away to the library, and check my e-mail and do a couple more things. And find that the library computers have Youtube locked out for DHS reasons, and refuse to get the latest Adobe Flash/Shockwave so logging on to Meez is impossible as well.

Once my 'Net business is done, I get back towards Rather Manor, drive past the Dandridge BP--and see that they've dropped their gas prices THIRTY CENTS per gallon! If I had waited just 30 minutes, I could have paid the cheaper price and put perhaps another two-thirds of a gallon into Moonshine.

ME: I'm torqued!

MOONSHINE: How do you think I feel?

So when I get back to the house, the Co-Op boys have already finished their repairs, the phone lines are back working and I'm wondering whether my trip was really necessary. Phooey.
frustratedpilot: (Default)
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Awareness beats speed. Take routes that avoid traffic jams, as sitting in traffic eats fuel. Pay attention to the road ahead of you and don't follow other vehicles too closely, as you can't predict the other drivers' behavior all the time. Keep your car in the best shape you can, inside and out, because a smooth-running machine uses less gas than a clunker. Don't keep a lot of stuff in the trunk, as a lighter car uses less gas than a heavy car. Remember that the most efficient driving speed is around 40 mph, not 55, not 25.
frustratedpilot: (Default)
In this case, the Sukhoj Su-25 Scorpion ground-attack jet:

ExpandDocumentary Video Behind Cut )

Back when Georgia was part of the Soviet Union, they made these planes for Frontal Aviation (their equivalent of the USAF's Air Combat Command). But even though they still have the factory, they only have (according to the video!) only SEVEN in their entire Air Force now. And that is their ONLY combat capable jet. Most of their aircraft are unarmed transport helicopters...they may still have a few gunships left, but it's doubtful. Either way, they're very much outclassed in the air compared to the Russian Federation's military. I would expect that Russia could completely overwhelm the other sides of Georgia's military too. Unless Georgia somehow gets sufficient outside help, it wouldn't surprise me if this time three weeks from now, the nation is wiped off the map.

By the way, this is really a war for control of oil. Western oil companies have been building pipelines through Georgia to Turkey the last few years in order to get petroleum from the 'Stan nations further east to Western Europe. If Russia takes Georgia, they can take over all those pipelines and do what they want to with them.

The closest American military forces are in Iraq and Turkey. While a relief effort could be mounted quickly, it would have to mean lessening the effort in that "War on Terror" thing...and the route would have to go through Kurdistan, which would pose its own problems. And with the Iranian northwest border right there, we'd have to figure the Iranians would be watching every move. And things could go wrong there.

I'd hate to be our Secretary of Defense. Georgia is our treaty ally. The oil at stake can't be ignored, especially by our oil baron Administration. It's one thing to fight a war for oil against a joke of a dictator. It's one thing else to fight a war for oil against faceless fanatic goon squads who blow themselves up in the hopes they'll take a few footsoldiers and bystanders with them. But it's a much bigger thing to fight a war for oil against Russia. Perhaps this particular August is the one I should have been dreading. Perhaps this is the hurricane the pressure ridge was warning me about.

Are you ready for the storm?

FP
frustratedpilot: (Default)
A Barrel of oil is 31.5 Gallons (4032 ounces, or 56 six-packs). Don't ask me who decided this matter.

$73/Barrel equals $2.32/Gallon of Crude. Refine it, add sales taxes and maybe a nickle or two of profits to the individual gas station, and there you have it.

Told you it was useless.

FP

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Stephen R Bierce

March 2022

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