Good, but not Good ENOUGH!
...or, it looks like high gas prices are here to stay...

I read something in the newspaper today that made me think "huh? what?" I guess I think that quite a bit, don't I? And I went back and read the article again. And again. Even in this crazy day and age, I couldn't believe what I'd read. Have you ever done a really great job on something, and exhausted yourself in the process only to have your supervisor say, "well, it's okaaay, I guess, but do better next time, OKAY???" That's a pretty lousy feeling. And, I imagine this is the way the overpaid fatcat executives at Chevron must be feeling these days...



The article I read said that Chevron recently posted the "largest 3-month profits in (its) history", but yet Wall Street was disappointed because it expected Chevron's profits to be MORE than they were. In short, a RECORD PROFIT was not good enough for Wall Street! Evidently Chevron's price-per-share wasn't high enough for those in the financial community. This, at a time when the lowest gas prices in this area are $2.85.9 a gallon. It's no wonder that gas station is right next to a car-title-loans business. High gas prices will necessitate that there'll come a day when you surrender your car's title, in order to get a LOAN so you can buy GAS for it.

So, making money isn't good enough; record profits are needed. It's not like any of the big oil companies are going bankrupt. In the meantime, Joe Bluecollar and his family and friends are having to think twice about filling up the tank because they're worried there won't be enough money left over for groceries. I have not completely filled my tank for over a year now. I just drive less. Each time I grudgingly get gas, I fork over a $20 dollar bill and NO MORE. Could it be that conserving gas is actually COSTING us? Because the less we buy, the more they jack up the price in order to get record profits? Now, THAT sounds crazy! Or does it? Whatever the case, when its made known that record PROFITS aren't enough, I don't see gas going down anytime soon.
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Midtown evidently ain't what it used to be dept.: When I was growing up in Coeur d'Alene, oftentimes my Mom and I would go to the Salvation Army store in Midtown. Now, that building houses an antiques business. We also banked at the old Idaho First National Bank, in the building that houses "Pawn 1", near the 4th Street Safeway. But, back then, "Midtown" was considered to begin at (roughly) Foster Avenue and end at Harrison Avenue. Nowadays, it's said that "Midtown" extends all the way up to Interstate 90. I can't believe that! The aesthetics of the area north of Harrison Avenue have absolutely nothing in common with the area south of Harrison. So it just kinda throws me when people refer to Midtown as extending a good mile further north than I'm accustomed to. And the City of CDA is looking for a developer to build a multi-story in Midtown. So where would that be built? In the "800" block of north 4th. Smack-dab in the middle of what I consider to be, "Midtown".
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Sheer Irony dept.: Evidently multi-zillionaire actor Mel Gibson was recently arrested for driving under the influence. Well, he and everyone else has been advised of the dangers of drunk driving. I think ol' Mel's smart enough to know that a drunk driver can turn a car into a "Lethal Weapon" (which, of course, is the title of a SERIES, not just one, movie(s) that he's done).
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They're right on track dept.: I've posted before that I believe the Seattle Mariners will achieve no more than a .500 winning percentage this year. Well, they actually did reach .500, only to lose a few more games. But they're adding new people; they've got a great new relief pitcher and a new designated hitter, and Eddie Guardado, who "used" to save games "every day", is long gone. Carl Everett, the former DH, has been "designated for assignment" (a nice way of saying, "put out to pasture"). With these additions, the M's may yet make some headway. However, there are under 100 games left in the season now, and the M's are still "just shy" of .500. I don't really mind; I enjoy listening to baseball games, and the voices of Rick Rizzs and Dave Niehaus are an enjoyable part of my summer. Although Rizzs would be better if he quit trying to snow us all with facts and observations 100% of the time, which is also something Bob Costas does. Niehaus just lets the games flow. He's much more relaxing to listen to. And his grand-slam home run calls are something else..."get out the rye bread and mustard Grandma, 'cos it's GRAND SALOME TIME!!!"
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Great tunes heard whilst coffee-drinking dept.: I hated to leave the coffee shop today, 'cos there was so much good music (well, music I think is good) pouring forth from the speakers. Get a load of this lineup: "Pinball Wizard" by The Who, "Junior's Farm" by Paul McCartney and Wings, "Question" by the Moody Blues, "Ruby Tuesday" by the Rolling Stones, and even though he sounds like he sings with marbles in his mouth, ol' Bruce Springsteen sounded pretty good on the song, "Pink Cadillac".

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A bit of temperature relief this weekend; Coeur d'Alene wasn't the temporary Hell on Earth that it was last weekend. Last Sunday, I was afraid that my brain was gonna melt. Which probably wouldn't faze me too much, since it's already SCRAMBLED.