June in Carolina

We are preparing for a family day at the lake.  Washed the F150 yesterday.  It is my Dad's 82 birthday.  Got the turkey thawing and the peanut oil sitting beside the cooker.  We are going to deep-fry the turkey.  I need to charge my camera's battery.  More later. 

Gas Prices Dip After Memorial Day Weekend

Today, gas in Whiteville, NC was $2.99 per gallon.  Still it’s way too high for a V-8 F-150.  I pumped 26 dollars worth in this afternoon on the way home from the gym and my gas needle barely made it above a quarter of a tank.  I need to trade it in on a diesel engine and have it converted so it can run off biodiesel.  I have seen the fuel processors and think I could make the fuel without any problems.  As a certified chemistry teacher, I know all the hazards of working with the components of the process.  I could buy gas for a while, even at $3.00 per gal for a long time from the amount I would have in all the stuff.  I am not sure we will be able to get enough used french fry oil.  They will start selling it soon so the cost of bio will be high too.



I laughed when I read today that our teacher's pay is only going to increase this coming year 6%.  Hello, but has anyone bought groceries lately?  If fruit and cereal continue to go up, I will have to making my own corn flakes.  I am definitely going to plant some fruit trees.  I am thinking about buying an apple, pear, peach, and plum tree.  I need to research this topic.



The more I can save on other stuff, the more gas I can afford for my gas hog truck.



Things on my budget cut list:

• Internet / DSL- I am going to reduce the speed I have to cut costs.  I am not downloading stolen music or movies, so I can stand to wait a little longer.  So, this is one item that will get hit soon.
  
  
• Going to the movies- Most movies are so sorry, I can just wait until they come on NBC or CBS.
• Satellite TV- Ok, our current provider has one big problem- no local stations, and no NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, or Public TV.  Dishnetwork has tried, but they just don't have enough clout.  I am moving to DirectTV, so I can watch my local channels.  I would use cable, but the suckers won't offer me service because of the road I live on.  I have given up on them.  Hey, if they don't want my business, I am not going to lose any sleep over it.  As for TV, I just want the basics.  I may consider buying the package for the ACC basketball game coverage.  We shall see.
• Cell phone- I have been having a fit for a smartphone, but let's get real about this.  I do not have a circle of friends that I have to call every hour.  I hate "texting".  I never even check my voice mail.  If someone needs to call me, like my daughters or wife, they know how to get up with me.  I am not impressed with 1 mega pixel cameras, or 2 or heck 5 meg cell phone cameras.  If I want to make a photograph of a chicken crossing the highway, I have nice digital camera handy at all times.  Oh, I do not have to pay for a data plan to send photos to a server using a slow cell phone connection.  So, I am giving up on the smartphone dream and focusing on paying for my gas.
• Eating out- this one hurts, but it cost money to drive around buying lunch, when I can live off a cold piece of chick between a couple of slices of whole wheat-high fiber bread.
• Buying books- I have never liked reading novels.  I majored in chemistry because I hated reading old thick books about dead people.  When you read my blog posts you will see that I did not major in English.  Sentence structure, punctuation, spelling, and such have never been a strong point of mine. So, I can say without hesitation, I am not buying any books.  (This will not help increase my gas budget, but it gives me an excuse to not read).  Oh, and it cost money to drive to the library and back to return it. 
• No motorcycle- Well, I have whined about wanting a motorcycle for a couple of years.  I am getting too old to ride on anyway.  My reaction time is nothing what it was, and it was never worth a darn to start with.  Sure, they are good on gas, but I can drive a few weeks for $15,000 I would put in a Harley.
  
  

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