$2.97

True, I have been a bit of a hermit lately. So while I was out and about yesterday, I noticed the Valero at Date Palm and Ramon was selling regular unleaded gas for just $2.97. The lowest it had been of late was $3.07-ish, and it had started back up the last time I noticed. I had to dart right in and juice up the Jeep.

Most likely I could have saved a couple more cents per gallon had I drove another 2 miles to the Vista Chino Valero which routinely has the lowest price in town. Still, it's nice not to see the price starting with a dreaded "3". I expect we will be seeing an even more ghastly "4" sometime this summer (or sooner?).

Pendulum

For most of 2007, it was a loud refrain:  Hillary! Hillary! Hillary! Can anyone stop the inevitable Hillary !?!

Then, a hundred thousand Iowans met a few days after the New Year and suddenly it was: Obama! Obama! Obama!  New Coke has defeated the Clinton Legacy!

Four days later, the punditocracy was again screeching Hillary! Hillary! Hillary! The women saved Hillary!  All because Senator Clinton won the votes of 7,500 more New Hampshire-ites than Senator Obama.

The drumbeat got louder when Hillary! Hillary! Hillary! "unexpectedly" toppled Obama in the Nevada Caucus. Of course, this was after complaining how Obama was going to steal away votes from the "unfair" on-the-strip casino caucuses. Hillary won 7 of the 9 strip locations. 

Fast forward two weeks and the television bobbleheads are back in Obama! Obama! Obama! mode. A win is a win. But South Carolina is not America (thank god!). I dated a man from South Carolina for 6 months and was he ever screwed up.

But for the next few days, the pendulum has swung again. How long will she last?  Can she recover?  Will any other senators actually endorse her? Which pantsuit is her lucky pantsuit? What about her husband !?! 

Tuesday night, Senator Clinton will rack up her second "beauty contest" victory when she wins the no-delegates-provided Florida Primary.  That gives her two "beauty contest" wins (Michigan and Florida). In addition, each candidate will have one primary win and one caucus win.

On February 5, the pendulum will most likely swing wildly out of control. Both candidates will win delegates all across the 22 states holding either primaries or caucus. 

I wonder which bobblehead news anchor will explode first?  My bet is on MSNBC Hardball's Chris Matthews. Although I wish it would actually be Sean Hannity.  I'd pay to watch his skull explode.

Oh, and don't worry, BearlyAmused Blog will not be political all the time....

Debut

OK, I suppose the first post is supposed to be clever and witty and concise.  But that's probably asking too much.

It's the start of a new year so I figured I would dive into this blogging thing (how 2006 of me).  I expect to post about life in the Coachella Valley as well as national politics and media.

More later. And often (hopefully).