[Midessa]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Serial_Worrier', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Midessa', 'N')o SHTF here either. In fact this area is booming due to the high price of oil. There is much more traffic on the roads than there was a few years ago. I see many more new luxury cars than before and the 1980's style big 4x4s with the lift kits and large tires seem to be popular again.

I have a lake property about 100 miles away and I go down there on weekends. The highway is not congested but has a steady flow. I still see many RVs, skiboats, and jet skis.

Locally, everthing is busy. There is a real problem with getting enough workers. Housing is a problem as well. We cannot build new houses and apartments fast enough to keep up with demand.

[Serial_Worrier]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Midessa', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Serial_Worrier', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Midessa', 'N')o SHTF here either. In fact this area is booming due to the high price of oil. There is much more traffic on the roads than there was a few years ago. I see many more new luxury cars than before and the 1980's style big 4x4s with the lift kits and large tires seem to be popular again.

I have a lake property about 100 miles away and I go down there on weekends. The highway is not congested but has a steady flow. I still see many RVs, skiboats, and jet skis.

Locally, everthing is busy. There is a real problem with getting enough workers. Housing is a problem as well. We cannot build new houses and apartments fast enough to keep up with demand.

[bromius]

On Wednesday I spent about 10 hours driving around central and western New York state for my job. I didn't have to pay for the gas, it was a GORGEOUS day and I drove through a lot of beautiful country. I made a point to really enjoy it since who knows how much longer doing such a thing will even be possible.

Anywayyyy, the main point of this post is that I covered a lot of territory. In my travels I saw at least half a dozen gas stations that had closed recently. You could get a really close approximation of when they actually closed based on the prices that were still left up on their signs. Most of these were in somewhat rural areas, sometimes the only one in town. I think the places farthest from major transport corridors will be the first to see shortages.

For my age I'm pretty far ahead of the curve on preparedness, but its still hard to cope with the sense of impending doom. I feel like a skydiver who's main chute just failed to open. Praying the backup works....

[MarkJ]

Traffic, commercial and industrial growth has been growing at a steady pace in my area of Upstate New York. Plenty of luxry cars, full sized trucks, SUVs, boats, waverunners, campers, tour buses etc on the roads and in the tourist areas. More people from Canada are visiting the Lake George, Saratoga region and some local residents are vacationing and taking day-trips locally.

Low income households are driving less often, driving fewer miles and they're being priced out of many areas.



$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'O')n Wednesday I spent about 10 hours driving around central and western New York state for my job. I didn't have to pay for the gas, it was a GORGEOUS day and I drove through a lot of beautiful country. I made a point to really enjoy it since who knows how much longer doing such a thing will even be possible.

[hope_full]

When I was at the hardware store last week, I noticed that the spot on the shelf for gas cans was empty. Wonder if people are stocking up?

And then at Mal-Wart, I noticed there were no more house-sized safes on the shelves. I asked a sales clerk about them and he said, "those things sell like crazy."

[skyemoor]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Serial_Worrier', '
')Welcome to the apocalypse. If you didn't get ready for it by preparing 6 months of food, then you shouldn't complain. Also did you drive there in your big-arse SUV?

[misterno]

For the first time in my life, I saw a well dressed guy riding a small Honda bike going to work early in the morning. You can tell he has a professional job. Dressed with dockers pants and a nice shirt, nice pair of shoes yet he was driving a very small bike.

It was hot like hell outside and this is June in Houston early in the morning. Supposedly we have the cheapest gas in US, yet look at what people are driving. Although it was the first person I have ever seen, it is still a surprise to me.

[Denny]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('misterno', 'F')or the first time in my life, I saw a well dressed guy riding a small Honda bike going to work early in the morning. You can tell he has a professional job. Dressed with dockers pants and a nice shirt, nice pair of shoes yet he was driving a very small bike.

[tex123]

I wouldn't say SHTF just yet here in north Texas but there are some subtle differences if you care to notice. I spoke to the manager of the local homeless shelter and she said the number of people they are housing is up. Also meals on wheels is asking for more volunteers to deliver meals in order to spread the high cost of gas around, the county is also baulking at the idea of delivering to distant areas which they did before, I suppose those people will just have to find food elsewhere. The local walmart has been low on many items, though I have been hoping they are just letting stocks get low on seasonal items in order to have room for the next season.

These things aside, I have noticed an inordinate amount of angry drivers in large vehicles, I'd love to ride my bike to work and save some money but if people aren't afraid of running into a full sized vehicle what would happen to someone on a bicycle?

[Muckingfess]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('misterno', 'F')or the first time in my life, I saw a well dressed guy riding a small Honda bike going to work early in the morning. You can tell he has a professional job. Dressed with dockers pants and a nice shirt, nice pair of shoes yet he was driving a very small bike.

It was hot like hell outside and this is June in Houston early in the morning. Supposedly we have the cheapest gas in US, yet look at what people are driving. Although it was the first person I have ever seen, it is still a surprise to me.

[mobil1]

There's a scooter place next to where I work, and they've been very busy. I saw LOTS of boxes being opened the other day. Compared to the car dealerships it's night and day !

Keep in mind with scooters and motorbikes that the opportunities for injury and death are MUCH higher.

I've been thinking of an electric conversion for my bike. Around here they are legal on bike-paths.


Regarding SHTF in my locality, not TOO much to report here in Ottawa, Canada area. Gas thefts are up, metal thefts are up, like everywhere.

Canada losing lots of truck and SUV assembly jobs, Air Canada announced 2000 layoffs, Alberta oil is BOOMING.

Housing market is down a bit, but not too bad. Lots of new construction around here, but that will probably ease with rising gas prices. $1.32 per litre currently about $5.50 per gallon with currencies close to par.

Probably lots of things hard to notice now, at least in my busy with family and working world. I'm wondering if my local Burger King closed due to gas prices and lower disposable income ?

Still PLENTY of computer technology jobs permanently lost in the Ottawa area since Internet Bubble bust of Nortel and others. There are good, qualified people that haven't worked in the field since 2002.

Although Canada is somewhat more socialist, we've followed the US pretty well in the relative decimation of the middle class that existed in the 50s-70s. So although things are "not too bad" here, in a way things have gotten worse for the average working person the last 20-30 years or so.

[patience]

A local Amish farmer told me this week that the cost of groceries is beginning to bite them too. He has been going to the grocery about once very 4 to 6 weeks, but has cut that back to once in 3 months to save some money. He said that if food keeps going up, they will eat entirely off the farm, except for salt, sugar, coffee, etc.

[killJOY]

It's happening here slowly but surely.

Take a drive through my little town.

[energycity]

Yorkshire, UK

In my area we have a large indoor and outdoor market. You would have thought in hard times these would be thriving because people need to buy cheap. But no, several of the traders have had calls from the bailiff (debt collector). It seems the council (who took over the markets) keep raising the rent to be “inline” with other local markets they run - and it’s hurting the town's market traders badly.

The local paper predicts rising numbers of empty market stalls. Shame on the council – and they’ll get zilch in rent when no one's there.

Actually I've noticed that the stalls have been increasingly full of cheap tat from China rather than local produce. It's no surprise they are not as busy as they once were. I mean how many pink wrist watches - and inflatable santa claus do you need in your life?

[hope_full]

Natural Gas Prices Rise 35% in Hampton Roads

http://hamptonroads.com/2008/06/virgini ... costs-rise

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he 260,000 Hampton Roads customers who use Virginia Natural Gas will see a 35 percent increase in their bills starting July 1, the company announced this morning.

The increase came because the wholesale price of natural gas is approaching levels not seen since hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit the Gulf Coast in fall 2005.

But unlike those price spikes, there’s no sign these increases will go away any time soon, said Ann Chamberlain, the company’s manager of gas supply. That means customers should brace themselves for high heating bills come winter, she said.

[Rogozhin]

I've traveled through most of the state (WA) this year and the incipience of TSHFT isn't happening. It's clearly not beginning in the communities in eastern washington (Grant, Chelan, and Douglas counties are booming with large commercial infrastructure investments and large corporations purchasing and building facilities from Moses Lake to Wenatchee.

Grant county also re-signed a contract with the federal government to maintain the management of two of the columbia river dams (as well as a secured 3.7million to fund the wanapum damn upgrade).

We're well insulated from the shit storm out here.

[truecougarblue]

It just takes a while to travel from your head to your fist.

Depeche Mode

[Koyaanisqatsi]

Meals on wheels canceled here due to high gas, food prices.

Sorry, no link.

[Madpaddy]

Jesus H C,

Just look at the business headlines today on Ireland's main broadcaster.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'N')ew manufacturing low as orders slump (09:17)
BMW to miss targets after H1 drop (08:29)
GM loses $15.4 billion in second quarter (12:25)
Competition Authority to probe Heineken deal (13:28)
Turmoil almost wipes out A&L profits (08:58)
Push to secure new national deal (07:15)
Late breakdown in British Energy talks (08:05)
No evidence of campaign against HBOS (11:56)
Factory gloom for euro zone, UK (11:21)
German retail sales slump in June (11:54)

[ROCKMAN]

In Texas, in general, and Houston, in particular, no real problems other than folks complaining. But that's due to our past greedy consumption of hydrocarbons: we have a lot of fat to cut off before there is serious pain. But when the SHTF it could be very bad. We have very little public transport in the city compared to the millions that live here. Add the 25 to 50 mile round trip commutes to work that many have every day and the potential problem is obvious. Expanding public transport to a meaningful level would take decades. Beside the economic inability to move close to work the downtown housing situation is already the most expensive in the state. And like other big cities a large part of the public thrives on the service industries: restaurants, movies, etc. I expect these areas will take the first big hits and result in a big unemployment jump. We've also been in a commercial building boom for many years now. That could die over night in a sudden economic decline and throw many more folks out of work.

Fortunately for me I live across the street from the largest refinery in the US and, since I work in the oil patch, I know the secret handshake that will allow me to swing by and fill up anytime I want. If that were only true.