Stats Redux - May 14, 2010

Here's an update on stats first posted in November 2005, and updated on January 2006, June 2006, October 2006, March 2007, November 2007, August 2008, and January 2009. It's been quite some time since our last update on these stats

Price of Gas: $3.19 per gallon (crude oil prices are down to a three-month low of about $71 per barrel, but the price at the pump remains over $3. gallon; is it the gargantuan oil spill in the Gulf that's responsible?)

Price of Milk: Down to $2.99 for a gallon at Trader Joe's (not that different from the price in January 2009)

Bridge Toll: $4 since January 1, 2007 on all Bay Area bridges except Golden Gate Bridge (which is $6 cash and $5 FasTrak as of 9/1/08), but tolls are set to rise on July 1, 2010 to $5 on all State bridges (with Bay Bridge prices going to $6 during morning and evening commute peaks, $4 other weekday times, $5 on weekends and $2.50 toll for carpoolers)

Today's High Temperature: 74 degrees F (overnight low of 51) and sunny/clear skies

Dow Jones Average: 10,620.16 close today (up almost 1600 points since January 2009)

Shopping Days to Christmas: 223 days (http://eclecticesoterica.com/xmas_cnt.html)

Dinner Tonight: Dorothy and Naomi are gone for the weekend, but here was a discussion from earlier today that led to today's dinner:

Ryan: Can I have Wendy's for dinner tonight?
Mom: You're going to have to take this up with dad tonight; I'm gone.
Ryan: But I know that he'll say, "No."
Mom: You'll have to check with him.
Ryan: McDonalds is okay too.

The Wendy's is still closed for remodeling so we went to McDonalds in downtown Walnut Creek.

Average Commute Time: just over an hour in mornings including pick up/drop off times (down to a 2-person carpool TU through FR; 3rd member of our carpool was a casualty last summer of slow economy; no carpool on MO because my carpool partner telecommutes)

Cost of Area Homes: median price of area homes is just over $400k

Movie Ticket: tough times means new, lower prices for movies of $8.25 for adults; last movie that we saw as a family was "How to Train Your Dragon" in 3-D (add $3 to prices)

Time with My Kids: played Connect 4 with Ethan while Ryan was at his friend Gabe's bowling birthday party; I was able to win only half the time (apparently, he and 3 friends have a Connect 4 game club at school for rainy days when they have to stay indoors)

Ryan just had a Star Wars themed 6th birthday party complete with a Death Star pinata!

Stats Redux - January 2, 2009

Here's an update on stats first posted in November 2005, and updated on January 2006, June 2006, October 2006, March 2007, November 2007 and August 2008.

Price of Gas: $1.85 per gallon (down from a high of about $4.49 this past summer when crude oil prices pushed past $140 per barrel)
Price of Milk: Down to $3.29 for a gallon at Trader Joe's (from $3.99 in August 2008)
Bridge Toll: $4 as of January 1, 2007 on all Bay Area bridges except Golden Gate Bridge (which is $6 cash and $5 FasTrak as of 9/1/08)
Today's High Temperature: 55 degrees F (overnight low of 35) and raining (the last entry in this space in August 2008 shows a low of 56)
Dow Jones Average: 9034.69 close on 1/2/09 (down almost 2300 points since August 2008)
Shopping Days to Christmas: 355 days (http://eclecticesoterica.com/xmas_cnt.html)
Dinner Tonight: Blondie's cheese pizza on the run to Cal basketball game for me; the rest of the family had chicken nuggets, fish sticks, mozzarella cheese sticks, corn casserole, carrots and apple slices
Average Commute Time: under an hour in mornings due to holiday driving conditions (carpooling to restart again this next Monday; two fellow carpoolers work for tech. companies that go into hibernation between Christmas and New Years; new carpooling will have 3-person carpool MWF; 2-person carpools on TuThu)
Cost of Area Homes: the value of homes in immediate area is down to around $500k
Movie Ticket: $10 to see movies in Seattle last week; saw "The Spirit" and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Time with My Kids: played card game Golf this evening

Ethan will be 8 in less than 2 weeks.

Stats Redux - August 2, 2008

Here's an update on stats first posted in November 2005, and updated on January 2006, June 2006, October 2006, March 2007, and November 2007.

Price of Gas: $4.19 per gallon (down from a high of about $4.49 earlier this summer when crude oil prices pushed past $140 per barrel; Costco price this week was under $4/gallon)
Price of Milk: Still $3.99 for a gallon at Trader Joe's (unchanged from November 2007)
Bridge Toll: $4 as of January 1, 2007 on all Bay Area bridges except Golden Gate Bridge (which is $5 cash and $4 FasTrak with these rates to increase to $6/$5 on 9/1/08)
Today's High Temperature: 88 degrees F (overnight low of 56) and sunny!
Dow Jones Average: 11,326.32 close on 8/1 (down over 1400 points since 11/07)
Shopping Days to Christmas: 144 days (http://eclecticesoterica.com/xmas_cnt.html)
Dinner Tonight: It'll be a meal on the run, due to Swim League Meets ongoing and Naomi's evening class
Average Commute Time: under an hour in mornings due to summer driving conditions (in a 3-person carpool MWF and now a 3-person carpool TuTh; added 1 person to TuThu carpool)
Cost of Area Homes: the median price for Contra Costa County has dropped to below $500k for the first time since 2004
Movie Ticket: recently paid $10
Time with My Kids: good summer days with kids

Naomi just turned 9 and got braces.

Stats Redux - November 22, 2007

Here's an update on stats first posted in November 2005, updated January 2006, June 2006, October 2006 and March 2007.

Price of Gas: $3.39 per gallon (up $0.26 since the March 2007 check-in; the price has held steady for the past week or so with crude oil prices hovering around $100 per barrel; reports yesterday indicated that the price go up another $0.75; and another sign of the times perhaps: one of the new sit-coms this year is one about carpoolers)
Price of Milk: $3.99 for hormone free milk at Trader Joe's ($1.00 price increase since March 2007)
Bridge Toll: $4 as of January 1, 2007 on all Bay Area bridges except Golden Gate Bridge
Today's High Temperature: 64 degrees F (overnight low of 38) and sunny!
Dow Jones Average: 12,799.04 (up 688.63 since March 2007); and this is with a 211 point drop yesterday
Shopping Days to Christmas: 32 days (http://eclecticesoterica.com/xmas_cnt.html)
Dinner Tonight: Thanksgiving dinner (turkey, ham, asparagus dish, salad, corn casserole, rice, and soup to name a few items)
Average Commute Time: still over an hour (in a 3-person carpool MWF and a 2-person carpool TuTh; added 1 person to MWF carpool and TuThu carpool is a new one with a fellow employee)
Cost of Area Homes: the median price has dropped from $620,000 to $556,000 in Concord since March of this year
Movie Ticket: still $9.50;
Time with My Kids: visit with Santa planned for tomorrow

Also, today is my parents' anniversary. Happy Anniversary to Mom and Dad!

Stats Redux - March 18, 2007

Here's an update on stats first posted in November 2005, updated January 2006, June 2006 and October 2006.

Price of Gas: $3.13 per gallon (has fallen a few pennies over the past week, but still near an all-time high; election season must be over; saying that it's due to changing of blends)
Price of Milk: $2.99 for hormone free milk at Trader Joe's ($0.30 price drop since June 2006, but no change since October 2006)
Bridge Toll: $4 as of January 1, 2007 on all Bay Area bridges except Golden Gate Bridge (first month remained at $3 for FasTrak users; FasTrak now available at retail outlets like Safeway and Costco)
Today's High Temperature: 72 degrees F (overnight low of 48)
Dow Jones Average: 12,110.41 (up 162.71 since October update of these stats); and over 1200 since first 2006 trading day
Shopping Days to Christmas: 281 days including Christmas Eve (there are web sites that have this stat, believe it or not)
Dinner Tonight: Carnitas burrito for me, enchilada plate for Dorothy, 2 older kids had rice and bean burritos and the little one had a cheese quesadilla
Average Commute Time: still over an hour (in a 2-person carpool MWF and a 3-person carpool TuTh)
Cost of Area Homes: the median price rose just 0.3% from $618,000 to $620,000 in February 2007; but the number of homes sold slipped by 7.9% to 6,305 for the 9-county Bay Area (the lowest volume for any February in 11 years)
Movie Ticket: $9.50 ($6.25 matinee); still NetFlix customer too, but cut back to one movie at a time recently (just haven't had time to watch the movies that we had)
Time with My Kids: testing the world of Tee-ball with my oldest son; trying to just keep up with our 2-year old who is testing boundaries; and helping my daughter with her math homework

Stats Redux - October 12, 2006

Here's an update on stats first posted in November 2005, updated in January 2006 and in June 2006.

Price of Gas: $2.41 per gallon (and falling; it must be election season)
Price of Milk: $2.99 for hormone free milk at Trader Joe's ($0.30 price drop since June 2006)
Bridge Toll: still $3 on all Bay Area bridges except Golden Gate Bridge (very satisfied FasTrak user now)
Today's High Temperature: 81 degrees F (overhight low of 52)
Dow Jones Average: 11,947.70 (up 95.57 today); and about 1100 since first 2006 trading day (wow!)
Shopping Days to Christmas: 72 days including Christmas Eve (definitely recommend doing Secret Santa to minimize shopping)
Dinner Tonight: Pork Chops w/Tomato & Barley and Green Beans (spinach still recalled due to e-coli)
Average Commute Time: still over an hour (in a 3-person carpool; travel time +10 minutes due to new pick-up in Dublin)
Cost of Area Homes: still over $600,000, but properties are moving more slowly than ever (home on our street moved to "pending" status, but now back on market again)
Movie Ticket: $9.50 ($6.25 matinee), thumbs up to to Jet Li's Fearless (still NetFlix customer too)
Time with My Kids: Practicing forward rolls and skin-the-cats with my son; playing Trouble with all 3 (okay, Ryan really cannot make it through a game yet)

Stats Redux - June 20, 2006

Here's an update on stats first posted in November 2005 and then updated in January 2006.

Price of Gas: $3.02 per gallon (after reaching highs over $3.40 per gallon)
Price of Milk: still $3.29 for hormone free milk at Trader Joe's (price drop even with higher gas prices)
Bridge Toll: still $3 on nearly all Bay Area bridges (still need to sign up for FasTrak)
Today's High Temperature: 92 degrees F (hot and dry)
Dow Jones Average: 10,974.84 (up 32.73); but only +127 since first 2006 trading day
Shopping Days to Christmas: 187 days including Christmas Eve
Dinner Tonight: Baked Salmon, Broccoli and Rice
Average Commute Time: still over an hour (in a 3-person carpool)
Cost of Area Homes: still over $600,000, but properties are moving more slowly than ever
Movie Ticket: assume that it's still around $9, although it's been some time since we've watched anything but NetFlix rentals
Vacation with My Kids: roadtrip to Seattle!

Stats Redux - January 3, 2006

Here is an update on our stats from November:

Price of Gas: $1.95 per gallon and holding steady (can't believe that the price of gas is higher in Seattle and Portland)
Price of Milk: still $3.79 for hormone free milk at Trader Joe's
Bridge Toll: still $3 on nearly all Bay Area bridges, although they will go going up to pay for overruns on bridge replacements/repairs
Today's High Temperature: 57 degrees F (with rain)
Dow Jones Average: 10,847.41 (up 129.91 on the 1st trading day of the new year)
Shopping Days to Christmas: only the department stores know this one now
Dinner Tonight: Salmon Pie (also now known as Ethan's Super Salmon Pie in the Walnut Creek Presbyterian Church Cookbook, but originally Mom's recipe)
Average Commute Time: still over an hour (in a 3-person carpool)
Cost of Area Homes: still over $600,000 but unchanged
Movie Ticket: assume that it's still around $9, although it's been some time since we've watched anything but NetFlix rentals
Vacation with My Kids: an Adventure

By the way, Happy New Year!

Stats for Today - November 17, 2005

Here are some stats for our household and locale:

Price of Gas: $2.37 per gallon and falling for the moment after reaching a high of about $3.07
Price of Milk: $3.79 per gallon and holding
Bridge Toll: $3 (except on the Golden Gate where it is already $5)
Today's High Temperature: 73 degrees F
Dow Jones Average: closed at 10,766.33 (up 46.11)
Shopping Days to Christmas: 37
Thanksgiving Dinner Item: Ham
Average Commute Time: 1 hour and 10 minutes (in a 3-person carpool)
Cost of Area Homes: $600,000 plus
Movie Ticket: $8.75 and higher
Time with my Kids: Priceless

How do these numbers compare with yours?