And since the polls that I hear about on the radio or television news never seem to include anyone I know (has anyone out there actually been a part of a gallup poll, or known someone who has?), I thought it would be valuable to poll the international Mirth and Matter community.
We now have two ways to do this. First, you can sound off in the comments section as always. Second, if you are a casual reader of M & M, and haven't yet begun posting comments, you can use our new polling feature, which is now posted at the top of the sidebar at right. A third option is to vote, then expand on it in the comments section. Enjoy the experiment, and the valuable thoughts from your peers. The poll will be up for six days only!
8 comments:
It is getting to be a real crunch, although CNN reported that prices have been going down the last three days (but who knowns how long that will last..).
For my part, I just bought a much more fuel efficient car than my last one! (a '99 Infiniti for an '01 Jeep) Of course, this only came about because a drugged-out Miami women in a Mercedes totaled my Jeep in an accident, but hey, my gas bills should go down as a result of it. Thank you, super-models of South Beach!
“I’m Staying Home!” (to pull weeds and fantasize about concrete)
P.S. Congrats on the new wheels, Zach!
We just returned from a So. Oregon/NorCal tour where we didn't have much of an option in regards to gas. Unfortunately a fuel-efficient vehicle isn't an option when getting a 6-piece folk-punk band to and from places.
That's probably the extent of my traveling for this summer. I have Radiohead tickets for their Seattle show in August where I might drive, however I may also find myself taking the train instead. Actually, I'll look into that now.
Mmm. Trains. Not given as an option on the sexy poll! What's up with that?
I may end up driving to go backpacking. O, the irony.
I live on trains, both the commuter and underground variety. But for recreational travel this summer, it will be driving. Luckily I won't be going too many far away places.
Ruxton: I read an article about how gas prices are putting the squeeze on indie bands on tour for the summer. If I find it I'll send it your way, although from your comment I'm sure you are only too aware of exactly what it will say.
Zach: Also, congrats on the new wheels. I heard an interesting policy proposal the other day re: gas prices. The idea was for government to basically put a $4/gallon minimum on the price of gas. Since it is there already, it would send the message that when you are buying a new vehicle, you have to consider $4 gas as part of the equation. Most likely it won't be going down substantially below that anyways (and it might get a lot higher) so the idea could be academic. Still, even with some obvious problems it was an interesting idea. The proposal is also an interesting counterpoint to these sales where a car company is asking you to buy a gas-guzzler and they will provide cheap gas for the summer (or year).
There are some things that are still worth shelling out the cash for. I'm flying all the way out to the east coast (from the west one) to go to the 70th wedding anniversary of my wife's grandparents. 70 years—now that's something worth celebrating!
Blue-Eyed-Wonder, et al.: How could I have forgotten trains! I don't think I could update the poll without scrapping the results, but if I could I would.
Hey Zach...I'm totally feeling the crunch, and while I'm all for conservation and think we need a wake up call, it does suck when you can't afford to do what you would like. I am taking a road trip this summer with a friend, so splitting gas shouldn't be too bad. But I am considering staying home instead of driving to go camping by myself, and am wondering if I'll be able to afford to go somewhere in December when I have 3 free weeks. Airfare has finally gone up! Which is fair, they should have raised the cost a long time ago seeing as the airline industry has been losing money for 30 years! I'm sure it's not that simple, but as someone that knows very little about business, I know losing money = not good.
Just read an Article in the NY times about how high fuel prices are stimulating--for the first time in a while--the good ol' American Railroad companies. Unfortunately, they are unable to keep up with the high demand as they've been cutting back financially since the 1960's.
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