Gas Price Update

The price of gas has now come down to $2.59. Only 60 cents to go!

UPDATE: Now down to $2.39. Only 40 cents to go!

UPDATE AGAIN:  Now down to $2.09.  Almost there... almost there...

Fun Facts About North Carolina

I love living in North Carolina, and I love the proud history of this fine state.  Did you know:

Pepsi Cola was invented right here in North Carolina in 1893?  Did you also know that it was originally called Brad's Drink?

Krispy Kreme is also a native of North Carolina and still provides the best, hot doughnuts to the country.

Texas Pete, the best hot sauce on the market, was also invented right here in North Carolina (not Texas).  Originally the sauce was called "Mexican Joe" but the inventor's father insisted that it have an American name, and thus Texas Pete was born.

Oh, and lastly, Hardees restaurant (home of the Thickburger) is a North Carolina original. 

The Police and Segway Scooters Don't Mix

Segways seem to have found a niche lately with the police.  I'm beginning to see a lot of cops at different events riding around on them.  What's the deal here?  Are these guys out there to make the cops on bicycles feel more manly?  They look ridiculous.

When it comes to fierce looking cops, just about everything outranks the Segway.  Personally, for me, a cop on a horse is pretty bad ass.  Heck, even a cop just walking is more intimidating than a guy on a Segway.  And look at the helmets those guys are wearing?  Yeah, I'm feeling really safe with these guys zipping around the city at 6mph.

Come on already.  Maybe if we brought back the billy club that they could twirl, this wouldn't be an issue anymore.

More From the Potty Training Front

Kasia is one strange bird.  As our war with potty training continues, one thing has become very evident.  Kasia has absolutely no problem using the potty when we're out in a public restroom, but she absolutely hates using the potty at home.  Isn't it usually the other way around?  Isn't it supposed to be that she's supposed to be comfortable with the warm, familiar potty and be afraid of big, cold, scary public restroom?  Apparently not. 

So to solve our problem, we're installing a public toilet in our house, and we're never going to clean it.  I figure with that, Kasia will be potty trained in no time.

Festive Festivals A Plenty

We've been keeping busy the past couple of weeks by filling our weekends with fall festivals to celebrate the autumn harvest.  

First, we went to the Hunt Club Farm Fall Festival.  That was a more traditional fall festival that included pumpkins and hay rides.  There was also a little petting zoo and a whole lot of giant inflatables for Kasia to play on.  Suffice it to say, she loved it.  It took her a little while to get over the scary factor of some of the inflatables, but once she got them down, we couldn't get her away from them.  In fact, when it was time to leave at the end of the day, she screamed and cried because she didn't want to leave (of course, she was also extremely sleepy as well).  

Kasia picked out her own pumpkin and then we went for her first hay ride.  It was also the first hay ride that both Kara and I have taken in a number of years.  Though there was something off about the whole festival for me.  I think that when you compare it to the Peach Festival we went to earlier in the summer, this one was just too structured.  You may remember the Peach Festival where the guy operating the roller coaster had the cigarette dangling from his mouth.  That kind of attitude just didn't fly at Hunt Club Farms.  No, here there was strict structure to everything and proper supervision.  We even got yelled at while we were on the hay ride because we gave Kasia some crackers to eat.  No eating on the hay ride, the man said.  There were signs posted apparently to warn us against it.  At the Peach Festival, we could have brought a slab of ribs and a six pack of beer and it would have been totally fine.  

That's the difference of the laid back lifestyle we enjoy here in North Carolina versus the nanny state of the big city.  The rides at the Peach Festival were what they were.  If you thought they were unsafe for your child, then don't let your child ride.  As a parent, we had to make that call.  We gambled that she'd be fine, and we won.  At the Hunt Club Farm, it didn't really matter.  She would have been strapped in with double seat belts and had someone watching her the entire trip.  Sure it's safe, but where's the fun in that?

Then last week we went back up to our old stomping ground and went to the Virginia Children's Festival at Town Point Park.  This was just a big festival that centered around kids and toddlers.  It was just perfect for Kasia.  There were pirates and storybook characters walking about.  Kasia got to have a little tea party with Alice in Wonderland and her friends.  She got her picture taken with Darth Vader, and listened to a story read by Mother Goose herself.  We also had a really good time at Play-Doh Island and Lego Land.  It wasn't really a fall festival per say, but it was a lot of fun for the little one, and in the end, that's the main reason we go to these things.

The inner geek in my got a big kick from the following picture:

End of Line.

(if you don't get it, relax, it means you're not as geeky as me)

The Verdict Is In

Kasia has never been allowed to watch Barney.  I think one of my biggest fears of being a father was that I was going to get drowned in a sea of Barney.  I didn't want this to happen to our family, and so Kasia has always been under a strict Barney quarantine.  Inevitably though, she finally saw it.  And she loves it.

The strange thing is that I don't mind it so much.  I mean, yeah sure, he's a big purple dinosaur that's kind of creepy and annoying, but then isn't most of children's television?  He's a lot less creepy than the Wiggles.  And as far as the annoyingness factor goes, Dora the Explorer puts this guy to shame.  I'd rather watch a days worth of Barney than one episode of Dora in which she shouts through the whole thing.  If Dora were writing this post, she's use all caps because SHE ALWAYS TALKS REALLY LOUD!  ISN'T THAT RIGHT, BOOTS? 

So the final verdict is that Barney isn't as bad as I had always feared.  However, if I had a son instead, then I would have a bigger problem with it.  I wouldn't want my boy watching all that huggy kissy garbage that Barney spouts out.  But for Kasia, I don't mind it so much.

Making Progress

So far, so good.  Gas prices by us have now come down to $2.79.  If it drops another $1, I'll be happy, or at least not all that mad that my investments are now worth nothing.

A Request

Now that the Dow is down to the level it was at back in 2004, can we now have gas prices return to their 2004 prices as well? I don't think that's too much to ask for.

And for those of you who can't remember what they were charging for a gallon of gas way back then, on May 18, 2004, the national average for a gallon of gas had surged to $2.01 a gallon. It was a record price at the time, and Americans were feeling the pinch.

According to a CNN article, "Still, some consumers are starting to feel the pinch at the pump. Nearly a third of Americans are cutting back on vacation and travel plans for later in the year, and 27 percent are cutting back on eating out because of record high gas prices, a retail survey found Tuesday."

Oh, and of course, you can't talk about anything without blaming Bush. "Meanwhile, the Bush administration has been criticized for not taking action to find consumers some relief at the pump."

Kasia's Best Friend

Kasia has a new best friend.  A few weeks ago, we had a new family move in next door.  After a long "feeling out" period, Kasia finally went up and started to play with little six year old girl name Aisslin (or "Ais" as Kasia calls her).  Now it's impossible for us to even think about going outside without Kasia standing next to our house and shouting at the top of her lungs "AIS!!"  It would probably be easier to just walk up to the door and ring the door bell, but her way seems to also produce the desired effect.  

Now, the two occupy their afternoons by drawing with sidewalk chalk and learning to roller skate.  I think it's great that Kasia finally has someone who lives close by to play with.  And in another month, another little girl who is the same age as Kasia will be moving in two doors down.  She'll soon have friends coming out her ears.