The leaders of industrialized nations were racing on Wednesday to shore up the global oil supply, after three ships in the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz came under attack, in a stark illustration of how the war in the Middle East is threatening to choke off one of the key conduits for international trade. Japan, Germany and Austria will release oil from their strategic reserves in response to disruptions in the supply from the Middle East, officials in those countries said on Wednesday. They made the announcements hours before a meeting of leaders of the Group of 7 industrialized nations, including the United States, to discuss jointly releasing oil in consultation with the International Energy Agency. The attacks, which occurred within a few hours of each other, marked a sharp uptick in strikes on vessels in or near the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil transits. On Tuesday, the U.S. military said that it had attacked 16 Iranian mine-laying vessels near the strait, where tanker traffic has been largely paused for days because of concerns that drones or missiles could hit merchant ships.
Oil prices rose, while U.S. stock futures were slightly lower on Wednesday amid continuing attacks on Iran and Iranian retaliatory strikes targeted at Israel and American allies in the region. Investors across the world are keenly focused on the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman that separates the world’s biggest oil and natural gas producers from their customers. The strait carries one-fifth of the world’s oil and a significant amount of natural gas. Traffic through the strait has been effectively halted because of the risk that vessels could be attacked. On Tuesday, the U.S. military said its forces had attacked 16 Iranian mine-laying vessels near the strait. Trump administration officials have suggested the possibility of naval escorts for commercial vessels to mitigate the danger.
Honest this time I won’t step in a pile of cow poop when it comes to 24 Karner Road this year, after all Lynne is going to be there to supervise so I’ll have to be on my bestest behavior. That I slept much better after I woke up in my apartment, a sweaty 70 degrees and ran to open the windows and let more fresh air.
By day break it was much cooler but I still I enjoy the fresh air. 🪟 After the landlord replaced the windows, though not the inner window wills, they are much easier to open though I’m not at all sure they actually save me money in energy bills. I think the drafty door downstairs and windows with shot seals downstairs more then make up for the bad windows upstairs. But what I do care, it’s not my building, and the county welfare rate I pay for my rent is roughly equal to whatever minimal heat I loose because I keep the thermostat down. Tonight I’ll close the windows before bed but I am going to hold off a few days before it gets well below freezing before I turn back the heat on. Hopefully that season is beyond us soon.
Busing it to work today, 🚌 going to try to catch the earlier shuttle over the Enterprise 🚀 so I can avoid the protestors and crazies over at the Capitol. Then hopefully it should be another real quiet day at work. I am going to thank the dealership for the test drive on the Holstein Godzilla and continue researching dealer inventories in Upstate NY. Honestly, it was the light gray fabric interior that was the thing that I didn’t like about that truck. If it had been vinyl or dark in color, I would have been okay. And white will be look like a yellowish Holstein cow against the white snow quickly after the kind of roads I drive. There are a lot of options out there, especially if I’m willing to consider the Minizilla and a crew cab. Gray and black are other non-extra cost Ford options, and often custom colors while an added cost really can be negogated down. Get the crew cab and long bed, and you have a 48 gallon tank. That’s a lot of fuel ⛽ which is good in sense that you can avoid gas stations when prices are high and shop around. But the crew cab with the long bed is so long. It’s tough but if I’m spending big bucks for a SuperDuty I am going to get the right one for me. I’ve worked hard to afford a nice truck without any significant negative impact on my finances.
Last night I rode out Five Rivers and hung out at the open seating, 📚 off Fisher Boulevard and watched the deer and wildlife until around dark then rode home 🏡 and had some cornmeal pancakes with kidney beans which were much better after I let them soften upw with more boiling 🍲 yesterday. It was a nice evening, but alas it came too soon with the shortening days and a bit of coolness as it’s still March. 🦌 Yet I know those days will be upon us before you know it.
They look awful naked and raw, but hopefully lupen and Pitch Pine trees will grow some day with all the restoration funds flowing in from the Pine Bush garbage dump fees.
