Paige loves the camera
Monday, May 29, 2006
Racing in Fontana, NC over the weekend
We headed to Fontana, NC for the Fontana Dam Jam mountain bike race this weekend. Of course having a child there are no photos of me racing but plenty of photos of Paige. It was a nice weekend well deserved. I’ve been working like a dog for the past year and really need to refresh my sole. The race was great but probably one of the hardest single speed races I have ever done. When you have a race as big as the Dam Jam and only a hand full of single speeders are at the start line, and everyone is looking at you like you're complete crazy, you know they did something to the course to scare everyone off. Well…they incorporated every rocky major climb in the area. Fontana is known for its steep short climbs and extremely rock trails. In short…it beat me up and I was just glad to finish (4th place). It was a great training race to see how I'm setting for cross season. I think I'm were I need to be for this time of the year.
After the race Lyn, Paige, and I headed to the pool for a little relaxation. It was Paige’s first time in a pool and she loved it. Lyn showed her old talents as a swimming instructor and Paige looked like a champ!
On our way home the next moring we stopped at Tsali, NC for a mtn bike ride. Ken...I was thinking about you. I was pretty tired from the race, but still had a great ride.
Paige with her Great Grandparents Beeson
Paige with Granddaddy
Paige with one of her great gandmothers Helen "Nani" (where her middle name Helen came from).
What...more photos of Paige?
Live after five downtown Asheville
The family at live after five
Daddy adn Paige at the Biltmore
Monday, May 08, 2006
Paige Is Growing Up So Fast
Here are a few more photos my mother took when she came out to visit. I think she took something like 50 photos. Good shots Mom!
Notice the Nebraska football Steve.
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
More Gas Crap
I could not help but laugh today at an interview I heard. A government leader from Chicago had the opportunity to ask the CEO of Exxon some question about price gouging and the increase in profits. This interview made our government sound about a stupid and incompetent about gas as I have been preaching.
First – He asked the CEO of Exxon about price gouging. Of course the response was "we do not set the prices on gas. It is set through the traders".
Second – There have been something like 200 investigation on the oil companies. These companies have no room to make a mistake. They are constantly under the microscope. They have no room or flexibility to hide things like Enron.
Third – The CEO of Exxon actually tried for the first time publicly (that I’ve heard) asked why does the government tax the gas business as much as they do. Obviously no response came for the poor boy from Chicago.
Fourth – If you look at the percentage of profit Exxon makes it is within 1 % of any other big company (Microsoft, etc.) in the US. It’s just they sell more of there product which of course is going to give them more profits.
Fifth – Only 30% of Exxon’s profits come from the US. Only 30%! The rest is from foreign countries, which once again they do not set the prices.
Sixth – The reason US companies like Exxon have merged with other companies is to stay competitive with foreign governments. That’s right…not foreign companies but governments. If they would stay all independent small little American oil companies could you imagine how much more dependent we would all be on foreign oil?
Seventh – Once again I will say, I not for big oil but I’m also a businessman and I can respect someone who can make a profit. If the company is not gouging anyone, hey it’s America and more power to them to make more money.
Eight – The government has been investigating Exxon and have not been able to find any price gouging. No kidding… once again they are not in control of the price and the government for some reason cannot figure this out.
Ninth – Hey government…when are you going to lower your taxes and give us a break. You sure in %^&* don’t give back to us…you just take.
Tenth - If you decided to drive a vehicle that gets bad as mileage...that's your problem. So either sell the thing or suck it up. None of you should get any type of rebate and like my friend Ken said and I could not agree more "driving is a privilege".
I think all of this is nothing but a political game between both parties and all they (government) are looking for is votes.
First – He asked the CEO of Exxon about price gouging. Of course the response was "we do not set the prices on gas. It is set through the traders".
Second – There have been something like 200 investigation on the oil companies. These companies have no room to make a mistake. They are constantly under the microscope. They have no room or flexibility to hide things like Enron.
Third – The CEO of Exxon actually tried for the first time publicly (that I’ve heard) asked why does the government tax the gas business as much as they do. Obviously no response came for the poor boy from Chicago.
Fourth – If you look at the percentage of profit Exxon makes it is within 1 % of any other big company (Microsoft, etc.) in the US. It’s just they sell more of there product which of course is going to give them more profits.
Fifth – Only 30% of Exxon’s profits come from the US. Only 30%! The rest is from foreign countries, which once again they do not set the prices.
Sixth – The reason US companies like Exxon have merged with other companies is to stay competitive with foreign governments. That’s right…not foreign companies but governments. If they would stay all independent small little American oil companies could you imagine how much more dependent we would all be on foreign oil?
Seventh – Once again I will say, I not for big oil but I’m also a businessman and I can respect someone who can make a profit. If the company is not gouging anyone, hey it’s America and more power to them to make more money.
Eight – The government has been investigating Exxon and have not been able to find any price gouging. No kidding… once again they are not in control of the price and the government for some reason cannot figure this out.
Ninth – Hey government…when are you going to lower your taxes and give us a break. You sure in %^&* don’t give back to us…you just take.
Tenth - If you decided to drive a vehicle that gets bad as mileage...that's your problem. So either sell the thing or suck it up. None of you should get any type of rebate and like my friend Ken said and I could not agree more "driving is a privilege".
I think all of this is nothing but a political game between both parties and all they (government) are looking for is votes.
Saturday, April 29, 2006
Shirtless Cyclist
On my ride home tonight from work I saw something I wish I never saw. I could see two people on road bikes coming down the road. No big deal right…wrong! When I got into view of the two people I noticed the front guy was not wearing a shirt. He was in spandex, no shirt, did have a helmet, and the kicker...he had his hart rate monitor on. It was the worst sight I have ever seen on a road bike! After the encounter I was asking myself "does that guy actually think he looks good"? I hope I never see that as long as I live. They did wave….
Friday, April 28, 2006
Gas This, Gas That.....
I’m setting here watching C-SPAN2 and they are talking about gas prices. Boy…you can tell how exciting my Friday nights are. I just want to take a minute here to vent a little about all of this gas stuff. Now being in the gas business for almost a year I have learned several things about this business. I listen to our congress members constantly question "Big Oils" profits. They are basically saying "Big Oil" is making too much money. There is one big problem I see with these types of slanders. Now keep in mind I’m not for "Big Oil" but there is more to this story then what’s being lead to believe.
First…China and India are using way more oil then ever before. I don’t remember the growth numbers in the last 10 years but it has put a lot more pressure on the oil companies to produce more oil.
Second…I hear congress going on and on about why wont the oil companies invest their profits in growth and build more refineries? Everything I have seen, read, or heard about this can be all fired back at our government. Not that I want to build oil fields in Alaska but what choice do we have? We complain that gas prices are to high but we do not want any oil fields in the US. We complain we depend too much on foreign oil but all the environmentalists crush any idea or development in the US. It’s a no win situation.
Third…If I hear we should all boycott Exxon one more time I think I’m going puke. What the hell is a boycott going to do but hurt the retailers. Let me give a little insight on gas pricing at the pumps. For you that live in California the numbers are probably pretty close to ours here in North Carolina. These are very general numbers but they get the point across.
The quick break down on what the retailer makes on a gallon of gas:
Example: Wholesale Gas Price $2.00 a gallon
Everyone who uses a credit card at the pump to pay for gas cost the retailer between 2% - 4% on every purchase. A $30 dollar fill up will cost the retailer about .09 cents.
Fuel charges can be as high a $200 dollars per load.
Federal taxes per gallon are about .29 cent
State taxes per gallon is about .15 cents
There is another tax and I cannot remember what they call it but it’s another .05 cents per gallon
After all of this we "the retailer" make around a whopping .02 cent a gallon profit. I know there are a few retailers that are in areas that can put the screws to consumers but those are a very small amount of retailers.
The oil companies are making about .08 - .10 cents a gallon profit according to different reports.
Do you see where the real problem is? If not let me give you a hint. Whenever you buy items in a store, go out to eat, stay at a hotel, and so on there is something all of these retails have to publish. How much you paid in taxes. The only place that it is actually illegal to do so is on gas sales. Out of the above gallon of gas sold the government makes the most money at almost .50 cents a gallon. To listen to congress go on and on about what the oil companies need to do and the thing about policing retailers is going in the wrong direction. How about if the government drops the taxes by half and we could get almost a .25 cent break in the price and the government would still by far make the most money on a gallon of gas. I also do not blame either party (Democrat or Republican)….I blame them all.
Let me add one more thing. When a retailer buys gas it's paid for up front. If the retailer buys gas today at $2.50 a gallon and gets 4000 gallons and let’s say their average sell per day is 600 gallons a day. You’re looking at roughly having about 5 days (because the pumps shut off at about 800 gallons) of fuel. Lets say tomorrow the price goes way down… your not going to see a change at the pump for at least 5 days or until the next load of gas comes in because the gas that’s in the ground at the store is already paid for at $2.50 a gallon. The retailer has to sell that gas at the correct price or they will lose their $%^. And in defense of the retailer…you don’t go into business to lose money. And remember were only talking about .02 cents a gallon profit. Not much room for error or price change for the retailer.
We have built a society that depends on oil. Yes we can make more hybrid cars, better city transportation, more car-pooling, and even better bike routs, but this is going to take time to build. Our country is so dependent on oil these changes are going to take sometime. I can’t help myself but want to blame a lot of this on Eisenhower and the interstate system. Instead of building more train routes we built more roads for cars, trucks, and so on.
Once again I’m not for "Big Oil" but the government needs to come clean and help us out. We need to build more refineries in US territories, work on other energy sources, and people need to start working together and not drive as much. I did hear they are putting more limits on Detroit and making them build cars, trucks, etc with better gas mileage, which will help in the future.
I obviously do not have the answers to make gas cheaper but I do know we need to point at some of the true problems...government!
One more tidbit…please do not by gas a Citgo because the Venezuelan president owns that company and he would love to blow the US out of the water. Every time you buy gas at Citgo you put money into his pockets.
Ok I’m going to bed…thanks for reading.
First…China and India are using way more oil then ever before. I don’t remember the growth numbers in the last 10 years but it has put a lot more pressure on the oil companies to produce more oil.
Second…I hear congress going on and on about why wont the oil companies invest their profits in growth and build more refineries? Everything I have seen, read, or heard about this can be all fired back at our government. Not that I want to build oil fields in Alaska but what choice do we have? We complain that gas prices are to high but we do not want any oil fields in the US. We complain we depend too much on foreign oil but all the environmentalists crush any idea or development in the US. It’s a no win situation.
Third…If I hear we should all boycott Exxon one more time I think I’m going puke. What the hell is a boycott going to do but hurt the retailers. Let me give a little insight on gas pricing at the pumps. For you that live in California the numbers are probably pretty close to ours here in North Carolina. These are very general numbers but they get the point across.
The quick break down on what the retailer makes on a gallon of gas:
Example: Wholesale Gas Price $2.00 a gallon
Everyone who uses a credit card at the pump to pay for gas cost the retailer between 2% - 4% on every purchase. A $30 dollar fill up will cost the retailer about .09 cents.
Fuel charges can be as high a $200 dollars per load.
Federal taxes per gallon are about .29 cent
State taxes per gallon is about .15 cents
There is another tax and I cannot remember what they call it but it’s another .05 cents per gallon
After all of this we "the retailer" make around a whopping .02 cent a gallon profit. I know there are a few retailers that are in areas that can put the screws to consumers but those are a very small amount of retailers.
The oil companies are making about .08 - .10 cents a gallon profit according to different reports.
Do you see where the real problem is? If not let me give you a hint. Whenever you buy items in a store, go out to eat, stay at a hotel, and so on there is something all of these retails have to publish. How much you paid in taxes. The only place that it is actually illegal to do so is on gas sales. Out of the above gallon of gas sold the government makes the most money at almost .50 cents a gallon. To listen to congress go on and on about what the oil companies need to do and the thing about policing retailers is going in the wrong direction. How about if the government drops the taxes by half and we could get almost a .25 cent break in the price and the government would still by far make the most money on a gallon of gas. I also do not blame either party (Democrat or Republican)….I blame them all.
Let me add one more thing. When a retailer buys gas it's paid for up front. If the retailer buys gas today at $2.50 a gallon and gets 4000 gallons and let’s say their average sell per day is 600 gallons a day. You’re looking at roughly having about 5 days (because the pumps shut off at about 800 gallons) of fuel. Lets say tomorrow the price goes way down… your not going to see a change at the pump for at least 5 days or until the next load of gas comes in because the gas that’s in the ground at the store is already paid for at $2.50 a gallon. The retailer has to sell that gas at the correct price or they will lose their $%^. And in defense of the retailer…you don’t go into business to lose money. And remember were only talking about .02 cents a gallon profit. Not much room for error or price change for the retailer.
We have built a society that depends on oil. Yes we can make more hybrid cars, better city transportation, more car-pooling, and even better bike routs, but this is going to take time to build. Our country is so dependent on oil these changes are going to take sometime. I can’t help myself but want to blame a lot of this on Eisenhower and the interstate system. Instead of building more train routes we built more roads for cars, trucks, and so on.
Once again I’m not for "Big Oil" but the government needs to come clean and help us out. We need to build more refineries in US territories, work on other energy sources, and people need to start working together and not drive as much. I did hear they are putting more limits on Detroit and making them build cars, trucks, etc with better gas mileage, which will help in the future.
I obviously do not have the answers to make gas cheaper but I do know we need to point at some of the true problems...government!
One more tidbit…please do not by gas a Citgo because the Venezuelan president owns that company and he would love to blow the US out of the water. Every time you buy gas at Citgo you put money into his pockets.
Ok I’m going to bed…thanks for reading.
Monday, April 10, 2006
Monday, April 03, 2006
The Flowers Are Blooming
When we got home from our trip to Newland on Sunday there were a lot of flowers blooming. Paige enjoys the flowers and it’s so funny watching her get so serious. A great evening to finish off a great weekend.
She loves her shades
She loves her shadesDinner in Blowing Rock, NC
After hanging out in Boone we decided to take the short drive (9miles) over to Blowing Rock. It’s a really nice small town right off the Blue Ridge Parkway. Lyn was on a mission for a windsock that can handle at least a 30mph wind. In Asheville during the winter we get some pretty strong wind and every windsock Lyn has bought has blown away. You ask…a windsock big deal. Well…Paige loves windsocks so we will do everything we can and spend whatever money to get a good one.
After Lyn found the perfect windsock we decided it was time for an early dinner. We went to this nice place a few blocks off downtown. For some reason Paige decided to start her screaming session. Not a mad scream but more on the lines of look at me scream. We thought…well I guess we will order the food to go unless we could convince the restaurant to open their porch a few weeks early. It's pretty amazing what a screaming child will do in getting your way. We had a great dinner on the porch and once Paige is outside she always smiles and enjoys herself. We are pretty fortunate all we have to do is take her outside to make her happy.
Weekend Trip To Newland, NC
I have been putting in a lot of hours at work and have not been around Lyn or Paige as much as I would like to be. So we figured we would hit the road after work on Friday and go to Lyn’s family cabin in Newland, NC for the weekend. Go to the mountain...get lost for a few days....sounds like a plan! Lyn and I trade off and did some good road riding and enjoyed some good dining in Blowing Rock. We decided to head over to Boone on Saturday to walk around and check it out. We found a little pub downtown that had a deck outside so we stopped in for a drink. Paige was being herself and funny as always.
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