Daily Dirt: Ho! Ho! Ho! Up go the gas prices … and what is going on in Texas?

Daily Dirt for Nov. 17, 2021

If you’re like me you’re getting a little more irritated each time you go the corner gas station for a fill-up. We’ll talk about that and a couple of other items in today’s three thoughts in Vol. 130 of the Daily Dirt.

1. This is the time of year when we all start getting those warm-and-fuzzy feelings.

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and Christmas is in the not-too-distance future. All of those holiday-themed family gatherings are also on the horizon. What could possibly ruin this time of the year? Well, I’ve got two words for you:

Gas. Prices.

Consider:– Last week in Los Angeles County, Calif., gas reached $5.99 a gallon — for regular.– Gas prices, as a whole, have risen almost 43 percent over the past year and are at a seven-hear high.– Those who watch such trends, such as GasBuddy.com, feel the prices will continue to inch higher.

Why is all of this happening? Jennifer Christ, manager of consumer and commercial goods research for the Freedonia Group, has a theory:

“Early in the pandemic, many of the countries that produce crude oil — which in turn is used to make gasoline — curtailed their production when lockdowns prevented travel,” Christ wrote on the rd.com website. “Then the prices started going back up again as people started taking road trips — it felt like a safe way to travel.”

Christ said oil producers were caught off guard with the resurgent demand and raised prices to compensate for a low supply.

“While production is slowly increasing, oil-rich countries are wary of resuming pre-pandemic levels only to weather another sudden collapse in demand,” Christ said. “In addition, domestic gas production was briefly halted when Hurricane Ida hit Louisiana’s Gulf Coast in August and nine oil refineries were temporarily shuttered.”

Well, whether or not Christ is correct on her assumption(s), those rising gas prices look like they are about to put a damper on the holidays.

Bah, humbug.

2. The most disappointing college football teams this season? How about the following:

1. Texas: What in the world has happened in Austin? Five straight defeats for the time since the Civil War (I exaggerate, of course, but not by much), including an overtime loss last Saturday to (gulp!) Kansas.

2. Florida: Samford — not Stanford — scored 52 on the Gators. This bunch is in total freefall and Dan Mullen is likely on the unemployment line come the first of the year.

3. LSU: The Tigers are a dismal 4-6, but at least they’ve remained semi-competitive under lame-duck coach Ed Orgeron.

4. Stanford: Speaking of Stanford (see No. 2), the wheels appear to have come off this program, but we’ll give the Cardinal a pass — even though the program is 7-15 over its last two full seasons. Coach David Shaw had a brilliant run going before that, so there’s little or no pressure in Palo Alto.

5. Florida State: Another trying year for a program that not too long ago was among the nation’s elite. How bad is it in Tallahassee? The Seminoles have had four straight losing seasons and have not been to a bowl game since 2017 when they finished 7-6.

3. My five favorite menu offerings at the Village Inn in Quincy:

1. Strawberry Crepes combo: It’s like a combination of breakfast and dessert, all rolled — literally — into one. The only problem is keeping the strawberry syrup out of the hash browns.

2. Pick-4 breakfast: My favorite combo consists of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage links and white toast, accented by strawberry jelly (or maybe it’s jam).

3. Signature skillets: There’s a lot going on in these things, and the combos are almost endless. Ham, cheese, onions, peppers, bacon, sausage … I think you get the idea.

4. All you eat fish fry on Fridays: Great way to start the weekend.

5. Free pie Wednesday: An exclamation point for an otherwise mundane middle of the week.

Steve Fact O’ The Day Steve once drove by M.M. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg, Miss., home of the Southern Miss Golden Eagles. Southern Miss is where quarterback Brett Favre first made a name for himself.

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. If you smell what Steve is cooking.