background preloader

Interesting stuff

Facebook Twitter

What am I paying for in the price of a gallon of gasoline? | ExxonMobil's Perspectives Blog. I’m asked this question a lot. And I know a lot of drivers ask themselves this question when they pull up to the pump. The answer is based on the economics of supply and demand and how products are manufactured and sold – along with what the government takes in taxes. Let’s take a look, based on the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s breakdown of the estimated average price of a gallon of gas in December 2011, which was $3.27.

Raw materials = $2.62 The cost of the raw materials used to make a product has a major impact on the final product price. Crude oil is by far the largest factor in the price of a gallon of gasoline – accounting for 80 percent of the $3.27 average retail price per gallon in December, according to the EIA. To put that in another way – about $2.62 of the average gallon of gas in this example is set before a refiner even touches the raw material. U.S. crude oil production in 2010 was 5.5 million barrels per day. Manufacturing the product How does that happen? Daily Dot. The Best Hacking Tutorial Sites - Learn Legal Hacking. SpaceCollective. "Death and Life" |Futility Closet.

Well, At Least There Was Good Stuff to Read: The Books of the Decade. Anybody remember how anxious and thrilled we were in those last months of the 20th century? When we weren't at war and we had a budget surplus and it looked like Al Gore would be president? The prospect of a 21st century filled with new technologies, new art and literature loomed large and bright. But now, as we look back at what was decidedly a shitty decade for an incredible variety of people in an equally incredible variety of ways (evictions/invasions/bombings/etc), it's surprisingly hard to be pessimistic about the books that assessed, satirized, dramatized and distracted us from the events of the past 10 years. Goethe said that the decline of a nation's literature is the precursor to that nation's fall, and with this look back at the books that defined the decade, we'd like to tell Goethe to suck it.

Almost in spite of ourselves, we're still writing, translating, publishing and even occasionally buying good books in this country. How to Plant Ideas in Someones Mind. Story about Sun Tzu and the kings’ concubines. The following story bears interesting lessons: Sun Tzu’s book The Art of War, earned him an audience with the King of Wu, who said, “I have read your books, may i submit your theory of managing soldiers to a small test?” Sun Tzu replied “Sir, you may.” The King of Wu asked “Can the test be applied to women?” Sun Tzu replied that it could, so arrangements were made to bring 180 beautiful women from the palace.

The women replied, “Yes. With great patience, Sun Tzu said, “If the instructions and words of command are not clear and distinct, if orders are not thoroughly understood, then the general is to blame.” Then Sun Tzu said, “If the instructions and words of command are not clear and distinct, if orders are not thoroughly understood, the general is to blame. Sun Tzu replied, “Having received the sovereign’s commission to take charge and direct these troops, there are certain orders I cannot accept.” Now the drums were sounded and the drill began. The first clergyman was the first rascal who met... - Quoteyard.