Our Place

Hi Gas Cat: Just missed you. It rained yesterday and is currently raining at this moment, with temperatures a bit cooler compared to last week. However, the sunshine should return by Tuesday. The Japanese Cherry blossoms seemed to have survived the wet stuff as most of the petals are still on the trees. So hopefully they'll continue to make a splendid display when the sunshine returns.

We woke up to record breaking gas prices this morning. We are now in new territory as far as prices are concerned. A perfect storm of two refinery maintenance shut downs, low Canadian dollar, higher oil prices, and the pipeline issue is causing the prices to soar.

At the moment, I wouldn't feel too comfortable if I had a truck or SUV as some thieves are targeting these vehicles to drill the gas tanks for fuel. I guess the trucks are high enough for one to squeeze underneath. Didn't know this, but most fuel tanks are plastic these days, so I guess the thieves aren't worried about sparks, although the cordless drills can cause a spark.

Enjoy the hockey!

Gas Cat: I'll put it into perspective as to why thieves are going after gasoline. Prices have been hovering around $4.55/gallon ($1.63/litre) for regular grade. It's the highest ever and by the third week of May, prices are expected to go up $1.66/litre as that will be our first summery long weekend of the year (camping season begins).

AS far as SUV & trucks go, I think Ford is the only one that is reducing the manufacture of cars. They are gambling on what they think is the current (and future) trend towards SUVs and trucks. Having driven both types, the vantage point is much better for looking ahead and of course, there's more room. Based on my observations, some drivers do require more room due to their physique, so these types of vehicles will be more accommodating.

On the other hand, there are others who look at owning these vehicles for status. At the end of the day, the "foreign" makes (manufactured both in US and Canada), will fulfill the needs as their sedans have constantly earned high rankings (Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, etc...).

One area I'm hoping that all manufacturers spend some R&D on are the EVs. I think that is the future.

NHL playoffs have been most enjoyable in the second round as all of the remaining teams are quite capable of going into the third round as the games are evenly played.

What I found interesting yesterday was seeing the area where I bought my first house. It has changed so much in character. I could tell the ethnicity had changed by looking at the names of the business and the specialty stores. Some day I might just ride over by myself and drive into the development to see what my old house and street now looks like.

Waiting for the winner of the Washington vs Pittsburgh series. The Lightning will get a few days of extra rest to heal-up some. But last time there were "rusty" in they first game.
The area looks more congested then it did when I lived there. Yep, they call it progress.
Wonder where Alaric and VanKY and Lightning are?

New car should be here Thursday or Friday. 

Actually my current car is a 2005 and, well, I really, really wanted all the new safety features. Plus, the insurance on the car was about half the price of what I am selling the car for. Guess it was just time. Probably be another 7 to 10 years before I buy another car. Don't know.