Monday, June 30, 2008

Star Tribune online poll with story on North Dakata oil drilliing.

http://www.startribune.com/nation/22707004.html

Instant poll: Do you support drilling for oil on domestic sites?
# of votes
% of votes
Yes
1136
92.6%

No
90
7.3%

Total Votes
1226

Sunday, June 29, 2008

On "Meet the Press" Sunday morning a guest commented that public utilties in Wyoming (Colorado) are filing for a 70% rate increase. It has to be either for heavily reliance on natural gas for electricity or expected natural gas increases.

Friday, June 27, 2008

Off subject but Colorado is busting gutter rainwater collection

http://www.groovygreen.com/groove/?p=3135#comment-123897

This is beyond stupid but of course Denver is requiring color coded local grown organic food from vendors at the upcoming Dem convention. With water there is usually a difference between "using" and "mining" a resource. In the case of water drilling would constitute "mining" and this might include a platted creek on a large piece of land. The roof barrels are just absurd. To give a personal example the roof "footprint" on my http://searshouse.com would be around 1200 square feet. My garage would be around 780 square feet, make it 800 for a grand total of 2,000 square foot. I won't try the math per inch of rain. Here in the Twin Cities, MN (home of the Republican Convention) they mandate storm water collection ponds on large new parking lots. The encourage these at home and also encourage roof gutter collection systems. You people are weird!

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Regarding: utility costs rising story. A story idea might be the potential for another round of foreclosures this winter. Natural Gas rates are expected to increase at least 50% this winter. I am starting to blog my ideas on this at my http://fourfiftygas.com
I don't want to personally be profiled on TV. I paid off my http://searshouse.com mortgage in under 20 years and it's fairly tight with a new high efficiency furnace. It's a one story bungalow. I sealed it up pretty well maybe fifteen years ago and added nearly waist deep insulation to the attic. A surprising effect is how it stays a lot cooler in the summer. I only use two 5,000 BTU window AC's and I haven't installed them yet (but probably will this weekend)
As close as I can figure, my $600 economic stimulus check will cover my raised energy cost for the next year. I drive 3K to 4K miles per year and my Ford Ranger gets 20+MPG in town. I might cut that by 25%. On short trips I try to use the bicycle and consolidate long trips. Yesterday, I got the oil changed in the burbs. The passenger side of the cramped Ranger cab has stuff from four stores. Trip consolidation.

I tried posting this but I don't think it took.

Utility Costs on the Rise Nationwide http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Consumer/story?id=5243717&page=1

An ABC news story on rising utility costs.

"My utility bills always have the actual meter reading. Mine also list estimates. If they seem high you can always red the meter yourself.
Her in Minneapolis, Minnesota we expect 50% higher natural gas prices next winter. That will lead to yet another round of mortgage defaults. If I get going I will try to blog this at my http://fourfiftygas.com

Summer should vary a lot depending on Air Conditioning and how much natural gas is used for electricity. Minnesota uses relatively little natural gas generating electricity but the US as a whole uses more natural gas for electrical generation than it uses for residential and small business use.

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Comment I posted on story about comutting distance and real estate

Latest must-have home feature: A short commute
In these days of $4-a-gallon gasoline, real estate agents see potential buyers turn their sights from the suburbs to the cities. http://www.startribune.com/business/20629604.html

My 2005 just turned over 13K miles
1986 I bought a nice home in the Longfellow neighborhood for $57K. It was 3.8 miles to my downtown Minneapolis job. The last couple of years I was riding the cho cho train downtown. It's a half mile to the station. with $4 gas I mostly try to consolidate trips and use the bicycle for some short trips. I try to be aware of gas costs. Last week I had to go out to Bloomington. That was a one gallon round trip. If I get frustrated I can always blog about it at my http://fourfiftygas.com/ I topped off the tank at $3.89 today. In my Longfellow neighborhood real estate prices seem to be holding up pretty well.

Monday, June 16, 2008

Welcome to the FourFiftyGas.com blog.

My place to comment and complain of the effects of high gas prices. Actually, I drive fewer than 3000 miles per year and my 2000 Ford Ranger four cylinder stick gets pretty good fuel economy. A consistent 22 MPG in town, maybe 20 MPG in the worst Minnesota cold and heat (AC). That said A lot of people I know are being badly hurt.

Mostly I drive slower, consolidate trips and use the bicycle for shorter trips. The bicycle is also exercise so that is good.