Blog

Short blog posts, journal entries, and random thoughts. Topics include a mix of personal and the world at large.

Liquid gold

Say what you want about the ongoing Iran war (or not war), but it’s doing major devastation to gasoline prices. Those of us in California suffer even more due to a dependence on imported crude, and State environmental refining laws. Didn’t this President promise to lower petrol prices? Candidates in the CA governor race should promise to do something about this…

Thankfully I don't have a car commute. What I won’t enjoy however is the bustling lines at Costco gasoline - typically the cheapest available. I never get gas at my local Costco, but unfortunately it’s all filtered through the same road. The logjam of cars waiting for a fill up will absolutely hamper shoppers that only wish to park and get into the warehouse. This will be the reality until the war (or not war) is over.

First world problems, eh?

Speaking of privileged problems, I’ve been though many a Keurig device since 2020. For some reason, the K-Slim model that I buy cannot seem to last. And I think I’ve found the reason: the control panel is right on the lid. A lid that opens and closes constantly for loading and disposing of coffee cups. This inevitably causes irreparable stress on the electrical connections. The one I currently have has an annoying tendency to stop dispensing mid-stream like a man with a colon problem.

The definitely of crazy is doing the same thing and expecting different results. So once this K-Slim - embarrassingly, my third - dies completely, I am going to buy a model with controls that isn’t on the lid. The venerable original K-Classic should suffice nicely. The unit my parents have is going strong on eight years now.

Seven dollar mark

Not even during the height of the initial Ukraine situation did gas prices breach the magical seven dollar mark. Quite a few times the cost of premium at my local Chevron station rested at $6.999, but never above that. Until now. For reasons I can only find as “refinery issues” - it’s always refinery issues - the signpost at that Chevron now reads $7.099 for a gallon of 91 octane. I’m so glad I filled up at $6.959 just the week before.

For a car that sits stationary for most of the week. I’m fortunate that I can walk to work during this period of insane inflation. I cannot fathom what it’s like for people who have to commute by car. What can they do but pay up, honestly? It’s not like they can simply stop using their cars. Public transportation is notorious not great around here. Buses arriving in 10 minute intervals in considered optimal during commute hours!? And that is if the bus even comes on time.

This isn’t Japan, where rush hour trains arrive in three minute intervals, and almost always on time.

No one is going to subject themselves to the public transport experience once they are so used to driving. Being stuck is traffic is still better than longingly waiting for a bus that may never come. Not to mention, you’re going to be late. Grumble they may about high fuel costs, but there’s really no other option. Buying a more fuel-efficient car or a fully electric-vehicle isn’t the solution, either. Because you have to account for the entire cost of the whole car. Imagine how many gallons of gas (let’s say) $30,000 can buy!

Good news is our union have negotiated a one time 7% raise for its members. Bad news is all of that new money will go towards covering the existing inflation. It’s not just gas prices, right? Practically everything purchasable have increased in price. Except for the new iPhones, which curiously have stayed the same price as the previous years. Lucky me.

Road trip? Nah...

I spent much of Sunday evening watching two road trip videos. One from the boys at Gears and Gasoline, the other from duo at Everyday Driver. Both teams drove thousands of miles across America to reach their destination. During this period of insane gas prices! Worse, the cars driven here are sports cars that return miles-per-gallon in the high teens. Gears and Gasoline spent some $6,000 on petrol to get from Florida to Alaska. I don't think I’ve spent that much total on any one trip.

I’ve got a whole week off coming up the week after this, and I’ve been thinking about taking a road trip. Watching the two videos was suppose to inspire me to go. However, after seeing how much was spent on gas, I am not so sure. Prices have come down recently (thanks, Biden!) but around San Francisco, 91 premium remains in the high five dollar range. That only seem cheap coming down from the high six dollars just a few weeks back. The $5.99 per gallon I paid this past weekend is still insanely high.

So yeah, I am not going anywhere. I’ll take a few drives in the local mountains during the week off, and that will be it. Now is not the time to drop a few hundred (or more) on gas simply for the sake of driving wanderlust. Because there's also lodging to think about. Having recently booked accommodations in Austin for end of October, hotels are absolutely not cheap during these times. Everybody is trying to escape and go somewhere.

I’m going to hunker down and wait out this initial travel rush. Save some money in reserve while doing so, and hopefully wait out this current high gas price phase as well. More work to do yet, President Biden!

Too damn high!

Just when we thought gas prices can't get any higher, they have! I am so glad I don't have to drive hardly ever. This past Sunday I put in $75 dollars' worth of petrol in my BMW M2. Not since owning the 911 GT3 have I spent that much on a tank of gas. Only problem is: the GT3 had an extended range 23 gallon tank. The M2's tank is 10 gallons shallower.

I'm paying the same for less gas!

Those of you with a hardy commute in a car: how do you do it? Your fuel cost have basically doubled. I bet your paycheck hasn't moved any higher. I feel bad for my coworker who has a drive from San Jose to San Francisco (and back). At least she has a Honda Fit that sips regular 87 octane at a conservative rate.

Totally unlike my BMW M2 that gets 19 miles to the (91 octane) gallon on a good day. Needless to say I've completely eliminated all extraneous car travel since the high gas prices have started. No more driving on the mountains simply for the sake of pleasure. Doing so I was able to extend my refueling intervals up to once every three weeks. I guess $75 isn't too bad once I extrapolate outwards, but man the sticker shock at the pump is there nonetheless!

If I didn't love cars, I probably wouldn't even own the M2 right now. Not only are gas prices high, and so are insurance costs (premium German automobile, after all). I'm definitely spending way more money in return for not a whole lot of utility. Sometimes I do wonder if I should sell, but then I'd take a look at the car parked outside my window, and promptly decide to keep. For a long time.

Gas prices, batman!

Holy hell have gasoline prices shot up seemingly overnight. I filled up the M2 the weekend prior at $5.25 a gallon premium (thanks, California), and this past Friday it’s already changed to $5.75. At 10 gallons on a typical fill up, that’s a ~$5.00 increase for me. Not too terrible in the grand scheme of things, because I don’t commute. I get gas at most about every two weeks. But for those who do: this sudden increase has got to hurt.

As evident of the long lines at Costco - known for the cheapest petrol in town - of drivers queuing for gas. Delaying the rest of us from getting to our parkings spots and on with our shopping. Even if you’re entirely supportive of the Ukrainian fight against the Russian regime, you can equally hate the second-order effects at the same time.

Hey, it doesn’t cost gas money to drive virtually on Gran Turismo 7! The latest version of the famed racing game - celebrating its 25th anniversary - came out last week. And I won’t be getting it, at least for a while (super sad face). It’s just physically impossible for me to position my steering wheel controller setup in front of the TV (there’s a whole bed in the way). I don’t want to use the regular controller to play. Hopefully when PlayStation VR 2 comes out, GT7 will be a supported title.

At least reviews for the game are looking good. Seemingly a return to form of GT4, arguably the best title in the series, and the last Gran Turismo I played through seriously. It’s a true celebration of the automobile, at a time when electrification threatens the existence of our beloved internal-combustion engines. Disappointingly, my BMW M2 Competition is not featured in the game. Neither is my previous car, the 991-generation Porsche 911 GT3.

I guess I’ll just have to buy a Toyota GR86 to be able to play a virtual copy of my actual real-life car.

Let's take a walk

The Whole Foods at the local mall a few blocks away is finally opening up soon. I am one step further to having absolutely everything I need within walking distance. Of course, I don’t have the paycheck to afford a frequent Whole Foods habit, but let’s just gloss over that for a second. I can walk to a Whole Foods in less than 10 minutes! The hot foods section will be my sanctuary.

What would be clutch is if the same mall with the Whole Foods also had a post office, and either a UPS or Fedex store. I seldom send boxes out, but when I do, it currently still involves in getting into a car. Functionally I guess I can walk to the nearest USPS: the plaza is about 30 minutes away by foot. Same plaza also has a UPS Store and a Fedex Office. A bit of a walk isn’t so bad, now that I’m typing about it.

These days I really loathe to get into a car for anything. Coming out of the pandemic, drivers on the road are far too aggravated. Even on an early Sunday morning when everything is supposed to be relaxed and joyful, there’s still drivers who are too willing to tailgate, too willing to weave through traffic. What’s the bloody hurry, honestly? Way too many crazies out there that I can’t get truly comfortable in my M2. I’m always on high alert.

Leisure drives on a winding mountain road would counteract that, but have you seen gas prices lately? Two weeks ago I filled up on 91 octane at $5.25 a gallon! At that price, I actually wouldn’t have been able to fill up my old 911 GT3’s 26-gallon tank in one go. The one time maximum at most pumps is a measly $100 dollars. No such problems with the M2’s relatively tiny 13-gallon fuel tank. Gas prices would have to reach near the $10 dollar mark for that to happen.

Our European cousins would say to our gas prices: “That’s nothing!”

Suffice it to say then, I’m not driving all that much lately. Having almost everything within walking distance is truly a luxury, and a real stress reducer. An Asian city style of living that I adore so much.

There is a small FedEx drop-off point at work…

Mechanical sculpture

It’s somewhat ironic that there’s a Chevron gas station just a few blocks down from where I live. The convenience and proximity is very nice, obviously, but I don’t commute to work! It would be nice in theory to be able to fill up before I set off on another slogging drive. Thankfully, it’s only a 10 minute walk to campus; my daily two miles of exercise.

And thankfully I don’t drive very much, because gasoline prices have gone through the proverbial roof recently. A gallon of 91 octane at that corner Chevron station is currently at $4.75, which is rather high. I joked that if I did have to commute, I’d have to get rid of my BMW M2 and its ~20 miles-per-gallon average fuel mileage and get something way more efficient. Or perhaps a fully electric vehicle.

But then the question becomes: could I really afford to own a particular car if higher gas prices will force me to sell it? That’s a deep-cut into my spending numbers that I don’t really want to go into. It’s scary. Besides, the reality of the situation is: I can drive as little as I want. Just enough to keep the engine healthy by running it periodically if I have to.

That’s why I can afford to keep the M2 around. At present moment, car ownership is more symbolic than anything. Sure I use it at least once week to visit my parents, but other than that, the M2 simply sits. It’s more living room decoration than kitchen utensil. Admittedly, the mere fact I own the car is a large part of the whole experience. I get a sense of joy just seeing it parked outside through the window of my room.

All this is to say: gas prices are too damn high, but it hasn’t affected me much at all.