$3.499?

Was driving home yesterday and noticed that nearly all the gas stations were selling their gas for $3.499/gallon. Except for the Swifty on Needmore Rd. which still had it for $3.099....and had a long line. My car has a 10-gallon tank (or thereabouts), so I would have saved $4 for an I-don't-know-how-long wait.

In the States, we have a holiday weekend coming up, so it's likely that the oil companies intentionally raised prices in order to take advantage of the holiday travelers. Gotta deliver those dividends to the stockholders, y'know?

But that's the job of a corporation: to make money.

BTW, the CEO of ExxonMobil isn't interested in alternative energy sources. (Read the interview with him in the 4/27/07 issue of Fortune magazine; it's the issue with this year's Fortune 500.)

Should I stay [at home] or should I go?

It's Memorial Day weekend, aka Marcon weekend. And I'm debating whether or not I should go up to Columbus for Saturday. In the past few years, I ghosted the con, hanging out in the hallway and seeing folks I knew. I know I can't afford to stay there all weekend, and haven't for years. (And I know firsthand how much of a bottleneck the elevators at the Hyatt can be on Sunday morning.)

With the cost of gas, and a $35 rate for Saturday only, I'm thinking about whether or not I can truly afford to go. I got child and spousal support to pay.

I've also realized a while ago that it doesn't serve me to continue to live out an escapist fantasy, as some SF fans typically do. I want to touch people's lives. And it's probably too late for me to be on a panel this year.

If I don't go, who's gonna miss me?

Shout-outs: Happy birthday to billroper and clydar! And a happy belated birthday to filker0!