Winds are howling just a bit this early Tuesday morning along California’s northern coast, though nothing like last week, the noise is still an ominous weather rattling.
And rain is now heard tapping, tapping against the roof, trying to build to the onslaught of those previous storms, but forecasters prediction nothing like it — some parts north of San Francisco could get another five inches in this run, but well down from the 10 to 20 inches that swelled up over the weekend.

National Weather Service meteorologist Dan Keeton: “It’s going to be significant, but less impactful. There will be some isolated impact in certain areas, but nothing as widespread compared to what we saw late last week. This was a down payment on our winter water supply accumulation.”
One example of rain-water in action near Honeydew, south of where I’m at, can be seen here.

Even in the wet, however, we still get out in it and pump gas.

(Illustration found here).

The weather hasn’t stopped traffic, at least not up here, unless it’s in some of those low-lying regions around the mouth of the Eel or Mad rivers, also further down the hill and south of where I’m located — here in Mckinleyville we’re nearly 200 feet above sea level, which allows us a lot of flooding room.
Even in the rain, gas-pump prices keep falling — early last week in anticipation of these coming storms, I put another $20 of gas in my old Jeep at $3.99 a gallon for regular.
Still at the same spot as last time.
Oil prices are still down, too.

Due to the “fiscal cliff” nonsense, crude oil prices continue to slide — this morning: New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in January delivery fell 18 cents to $88.91 a barrel and Brent North Sea crude for January shed 14 cents to $110.78.
Still, pump prices are high.
At the end of November (via USAToday):

Gasoline prices are poised to turn in a record annual average price in 2012, as drivers faced their own fiscal cliff at the pump.
“Gas prices in 2012 are likely to be the most expensive ever on an annual basis,” Michael Green of the American Automobile Association said in an interview with MarketWatch.
With just over a month to go, the national average in 2012 is $3.63 a gallon, outpacing 2011’s annual record of $3.51, Green said.
That’s in spite of the fact that it has cost less to fill up in recent weeks.
The average price of a gallon of gas in November is on track to be the lowest month since July, Green noted.

Bad weather doesn’t stop the criminal element.
The Union 76 gas station down the street where I always pump that valuable $20 worth of fuel every so often was robbed yesterday — no one was hurt, but shit!
From the best local news source around here, the Lost Coast Outpost:

The victim told deputies he was alone in the gas station when two males entered via an unlocked rear door.
The males were wearing black masks and gloves.
One of the males had a dark colored handgun which he pointed at the victim and immediately ordered him to give them all the money from the safe.
After the victim gave the suspects the money, he was ordered to lie on the floor.

That via a sheriff’s press release, hence all the ‘male/males‘ bullshit.

Oil, rainwater and guns.
Somehow, all part-n-parcel of the American Dream.

And on top of all that shit — apparently I’m gonna have this dang thang in my brain all day — 30 years!