81.9

     81.9     


Yup, that is what caught my eye today.
Can you guess what this number means?
It's the canadian price in cents in some Ontario, Canada Gas Stations today
advertising the price per liter of unleaded regular gasoline.
Can you imagine?
These are tough times for the management of the oil & gas companies, but sweet times to be a plain ordinary consumer!!
What is the price of gas where you live?
If you have a different local currency just add the name of the currency with today's price.
It's great to get a grip on how the gas prices are doing locally.
By the way, this blog is enjoyed all around the globe, so don't be shy to post comments from outside of North America.
Have your say, friends.

Peace,
Carla



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Are they Going to Let the Consumer Win???

I am rather over-confident that a plethora of green energy technologies are soon going to explode upon our horizon here in North America as well as around the globe. There are already many countries that are quickly adapting their nations to utilizing solar, wind, wave, and thermal energy in a multitude of efficient strategies....

To be truthful, I have absolutely NO worries at all about the technology mankind needs to go beyond using fossil fuels for our own energy sources. In fact, I believe that the best green technology already exists.
And no I am not going to say which one I think it is or will be.
The question that will need to be addressed, is how it will be introduced into the modern marketplace and who will be allowed to win?

For example.... with today's deliciously low gas prices....today I only paid 86 point something cents per liter
for unleaded regular gasoline. This is in effect ALLOWING consumers to win for a change.

We praise the Lord for this wonderful breakthrough. Consumers have needed a cut in the daily cost of living for many years. WE finally got our Christmas present. Thank you OIL AND GAS industry!

But back to my topic. When the new greener and more sustainable energies come to the foreground and the national government is emotionally and financially ready to roll them out....who will they allow to win?
If wind energy becomes so efficient that we can power our homes on $5 per week, will they allow us to win in that way? Or will they over price the wind energy so as not to upset the lucrative apple cart that is the
"utility" industry?

You see, the stock market is proving to be quite tumultuous. Most investors are looking for a "sure thing".
Even Warren Buffet has been topping up on utility stocks, because, I would assume, they have a measure of stability because they are supported by taxes and local governments. But, I really wonder, will they ever permit real and pure MARKET forces to ultimately determine the price structure of these new green energies?

To the Powers that Be in Canada: Please consider letting the Canadian consumer win in this arena.
Let the Canadian consumers, who are overtaxed and overstressed, win in this new and upcoming green tech challenge. You can let foreign investors pay a higher price for our green energy....but please let us wonderful Canucks pay a juicy low price ok?

Ask and you shall receive ")



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When You Have Too Much

Yes, I have seen it too often and experienced it too.... when one perceives that there is an uncomfortable level of "TOO much" it simply stifles the flow of hard core creativity.

For instance if someone has been sewing quilts using swatches of fabric from thrift stores, and has been happily creating quilts for friends and family for years, and all of a sudden some well intentioned donor gives her a gift card for an expensive fabric store. Does she automatically know what to do with all that extravagance? Nope not necessarily...unless her heart and mind were prepared in advance for the abundance.

It is noteworthy that how we are able to use materials and how we perceive their existence as either "simplicity" or "extravagance" really affects how well we are able to create with that particular medium.

Know how to draw? Prefer a $2 sketch pad from the dollar store? Or do you prefer a $50 set of stationary from a fine art shop?  I have discovered that I feel more free as an artist when I am not worried about the price of the raw materials I am using. That's why I love to use recycled or re-purposed materials in my art.
If they come from a low priced store that's all the better.

I even find sometimes that learning how to reduce your raw materials actually HELPS me to create MORE rather than less. It's ironic. I create MORE with LESS!

For example, have you ever opened a brand new box of pencil crayons and simply been overwhelmed by all the color choices?

But if you put most of them aside and force yourself to pick just 2 or 3 colors out of the box, you may find that you feel your creativity creep back into action again.

Never been afraid to minimize or REDUCE the number of choices when working with raw materials. Having FEWER choices forces you to make FEWER decisions and therefore you can focus more on what you are trying to say and create...

Is this making sense to you? Looking forward to reading your comments friends.
God bless your creativity.

Carla


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