For a while now the price of gasoline at the Camden Point exit along I-29 has been $2.85 per gallon. The price of gas along I-29 in Platte City, roughly five miles south, is $2.99 per gallon.
Even more interesting is that the outlet along I-29 at Camden Point with $2.85 gas is a Trex station. Meanwhile, a Trex station along I-29 at Tracy, just a few miles from Camden Point, is $2.99.
This probably won’t come as a surprise to most of you but I’m confused by the logic or the process. What else is new, really.
It is curious, is it not, that the price of gas in Platte City is almost always higher than most surrounding communities, and higher than the average in the KC metropolitan area, which is $2.96 per gallon.
Gas prices in Kansas City are 87 cents higher per gallon than a year ago at this time, in case you were curious.
“Average gas prices saw a slight boost over the last week as the rising price of crude oil continues to push prices up. While the rise was fairly tame, some states still saw slight declines. Gasoline demand, aside from motorists filling up ahead of the weekend storm, has been lackluster,” say the experts at GasBuddy.com. “The real pain at the pump will start in about 4-6 weeks,” says Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysts for GasBuddy. “Oil prices continue to edge higher as oil production remains a concern due to unrest in Libya and Kazakhstan, however, some improvement in the latter situation could lead to oil prices being more subdued.”
So we have that to look forward to, everybody.
Super Wild Card Weekend, which some of the pundits are calling the new NFL playoff system which includes seven teams per conference instead of the previous six, was kind of a dud.
There were six total games. Four of them were complete wet firecrackers, at least from a competitive standpoint. Total blowouts. And the other two were listless for long stretches until getting exciting in the closing moments.
So, there’s your NFL update. Let’s do better this coming weekend, shall we? Four games on tap, including the climax featuring the Chiefs against Buffalo on Sunday night.
If you want a further update on my upcoming weekend, barring a blizzard I’m headed to the Little Apple. As in Manhattan. As in Manhattan, Kan. Also known as Manhappenin’ to a friend of mine who believes the little city on the doorstep to the Flint Hills is da bomb diggity.
And honestly, Manhattan does have a cool district for restaurants and bars, if you’re into that sort of thing and whatnot.
Anyway, I’m headed there to catch up with former Landmark facilities manager Kurt Foley, who lives in Manhattan and is on the K-State payroll. We’ll be hitting up the KU v. K-State basketball matchup. I’ll try to wave to you if the TV cameras pan our direction.
Speaking of the NFL, it’s time to show some love to a lot of you who took part in our first-ever season of Landmark Pick’em. Landmark Pick’em is the NFL prediction contest we held each week of the regular season on our website at plattecountylandmark.com. It’s a production of our tech guru, affectionately known not by his real name but rather by Tech Man Schneider, maybe because he has warrants or something, not sure.
Anyway, Schneider is a tech genius and he put tougher the easiest pick’em app you probably have ever seen. A total of 120 of you football fans signed up to play and it was a great time.
I gotta brag on the football knowledge of some of our Landmark staffers. We kinda dominated for most of the season. Guy Speckman, yours truly, and Todd Shifflett, who is yours truly’s son-in-law, each won the weekly title twice during the course of the 18-week season.
Also, special shout out to local attorney Bob Shaw, who had a great pick’em season. Using a point system based on correct game predictions as well as over/under picks for each game, I believe Bob finished with more total points than anyone, though he won the weekly title only once during the year.
Tech Man Schneider came up with a couple different ways to rank players for the season, so if you have trouble with these lists you’ll have to take it up with him. I don’t mess with the tech meister’s magic potion.
Some of the names in here are simply screen names that our players chose to use for themselves. Some folks prefer to play with relative anonymity.
Rankings in the category of weeks won:
1. Todd Shifflett, two weeks won, 183 correct picks, 290 tiebreaking points. 2. Ivan Foley (I know him!), two weeks won, 175 correct picks, 285 tiebreaking points. 3. Guy Speckman, two weeks won, 166 correct picks, 259 tiebreaking points. 4. Robert Shaw, one week won, 183 correct picks, 298 tiebreaking points. 5. Cowman1999, one week won, 172 correct picks, 287 tiebreaking points. 6. Brad Carl, one week one, 170 correct picks, 283 tiebreaking points.
Ranked by category of “by finishes” (points awarded for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place finishes each week):
1. Todd Shifflett, score of 16, with 77 tiebreaker points. 2. Guy Speckman, score of 10, 41 tiebreaker points. 3. Ivan Foley, score of 10, 36 tiebreaker points. 4. Corla Dawson, score of 9, with 47 tiebreaker points. 5. Tom Taulbee, score of 8, with 39 tiebreaker points.
Thank you to our sponsors Tony Farr Real Estate Group, Nick and Jake’s of Parkville, and Ten & Two Coffee Bar in Parkville.
The contest will return next fall. Jump in.
(Get happenin’ in Manhappenin’ with Foley, or simply email him at ivan@plattecountylandmark.com)