I have a tiny mineral royalty holding in Nolan County Texas.  The
recent sale of 217 bbl was at a price of 104$US/bbl  per the Texas
Railroad Commission records and Sheridan Production Company.  That was
executed on 4/30.

My portion of the sale netted a pre-tax 217$US just enough for 3.5
tanks of regular.

So when those titzonaritz folks on CNN/FNN tell you that crude is at
130, that's futures.  Your friendly local Shell/Chevron/Exxon/BP
adjusts their gasoline prices for the futures thereby profiting
obscenely from the actual vs futures price.  Even more slimy is the
fact that the gasoline you bought today was manufactured using crude
purchased at LESS than the 104$US/bbl.   Bend over, here it comes
again.

I hear tell that folks are locking up their 'fry oil' containers in
the northwest.  Visit the NYtimes website for more details on that sad
state of affairs.   For those considering the free fry oil and bayou
diesel, those days are gone for the most part.

In the short run, a daypass on RT here in Sacramento is still 2.50 for
an all day E ticket ride, complete with a reality dip into the lower
social strata and the opportunity visit locales one would not
ordinarily frequent.   Fine entertainment and inexpensive transport.
Now of course you have to figure out the bus schedule/lightrail
schedule to find your way to your destination, but hey, beats sitting
in traffic and the comprehensive guide is only a buck.  Beats sodoku
by a mile.

I have required that the cat get a day job to subsidize the increased
cost of hairball fuel due to rising transportation costs.  The cat is
thus far unimpressed, however as rations run short I'm sure the
attention level will rise.

pensioner