R remains my favorite program language. It also is a favorite of many programmers, especially in the data-analysis and processing and academia. It remains a highly popular programming language for data science, statistics, and visualization, experiencing a resurgence in 2025 by returning to the TIOBE index top 10. It also is number four now on PYPL. It thrives in academia and research-driven industries, with strong adoption in bioinformatics, finance, and data analytics, despite facing competition from Python.
PyPL March 2026
Rank
Change
Language
Share
1-year trend
1
Python
34.87 %
+4.4 %
2
C/C++
13.66 %
+6.6 %
3
Java
9.82 %
-5.4 %
4
R
6.49 %
+1.9 %
5
JavaScript
4.9 %
-3.2 %
6
Swift
3.5 %
+1.1 %
7
Rust
3.08 %
-0.0 %
8
C#
3.03 %
-3.1 %
9
PHP
2.9 %
-0.8 %
10
Ada
2.66 %
+1.3 %
TIOBE Index March 2026
Mar 2026
Mar 2025
Change
Programming Language
Ratings
Change
1
1
Python
21.25%
-2.59%
2
4
C
11.55%
+2.02%
3
2
C++
8.18%
-2.90%
4
3
Java
7.99%
-2.37%
5
5
C#
6.36%
+1.49%
6
6
JavaScript
3.45%
-0.01%
7
9
Visual Basic
2.50%
-0.02%
8
8
SQL
2.00%
-0.57%
9
16
R
1.88%
+0.94%
10
10
Delphi/Object Pascal
1.80%
-0.36%
Key Popularity Trends (2025-2026):
Rankings: As of late 2025, R has returned to the top 10 in the TIOBE Index, which measures popularity based on search engine results.
Use Cases: R is widely considered a leading language for advanced statistical analysis, data visualization, and research, often favored for its specialized, comprehensive packages (e.g., Tidyverse, Shiny).
Industry Niche: It is highly popular in data-intensive fields like bioinformatics, genomics, and financial technology (FinTech) for risk management.
Vs. Python: While Python is generally more popular for large-scale production, R is often preferred for exploratory data analysis (EDA) and rapid, specialized analysis.
Community: R has a strong, dedicated user base in academia, though it is sometimes criticized by traditional software engineers for limited scalability.
R’s resurgence suggests it remains an indispensable, powerful tool for domain experts in data-driven fields.
With gas prices going up, I’ve been thinking more about the fuel costs of a big ol’ SuperDuty gasser truck. It seems like the internet consensus is you’ll get around 15½ miles per gallon, though much lower if idle, off-road or drive in the city a lot, as big block pushrod engines guzzle gas doing all of those things due to pumping loses in the engine. Highway driving, moderately gets you maybe 17 or maybe up 19 miles per gallon depending on terrain and how easy you are on the gas pedal.
As the slogan goes, “Smiles Per Gallon, Not Miles Per Gallon” as I saw on one of SuperDuty groups I’m part of on Facebook which either reminds me of every single problem that can go wrong on a big Ford and how truly bad gas millage some people are getting. Plus some people who actually love their trucks. Driving an ginormous SuperDuty ain’t going to be much fun in the city, with parking and getting through traffic with the blind spots, but I mostly plan to use it on trips out on the open road.
Americans with their EPA-style fuel economy comparison unit, the miles per gallon, doesn’t tell you much. You bought ten gallons of fuel. You can go 155 miles. But nobody plans their lives around how far they can go on 10 gallons or even one gallon of fuel. They want to know how much fuel their truck is going to use for their 100 mile trip. At 15½ MPG that works out to be 6.5 gallons of fuel per 100 miles.
If gas costs …
$3 a gallon, then it’s $19.50 per hundred miles
$4 a gallon, then it’s $26 per hundred miles
$5 a gallon, then it’s $32.50 per hundred miles
$6 a gallon, then it’s $43 per hundred miles
If you’re focusing on smiles per gallon, namely how much it costs to drive an hour at 45 mph …
$3 a gallon, its $8.78 per hour
$4 a gallon, its $11.70 per hour
$5 a gallon, it’s $14.75 per hour
$6 a gallon, it’s a $17.70 per hour
Obviously, $6 a gallon gas is twice as expensive as $3 gallon. For a recreational trip, by definition, the trip is optional, so it’s pretty easy to calculate the likely fuel cost of any trip. So you have a set cost, and you can fit it into your budget, or not take the trip. Paying for gas for recreational driving isn’t mandatory if you don’t take trip.
Maybe these days that I make good money and are pretty frugal in most parts of my life, I am less concerned about the cost of gas. Or when i break down the cost per hundred miles of intentional driving to a recreational destination it shows what a trifling number it is. Obviously, if I was planning to drive 10,000 miles a year, it does add up at $6 gallon – a fairly steep $4,300 – but I don’t plan to do that many miles anytime soon, using my bike and city bus mostly around town. I think last year I barely put 6,000 miles on Big Red. I also doubt such high gas prices are sustainable for long, as people, myself included refrain from driving.
I know I am making excuses in my own mind for the ginormous truck that gets bad gas mileage as gas prices soar as the Middle East blows up. Still, numbers seems more reasonable when I keep it in context.
While desert sands receive the boots of war, And fuel costs climb behind the station door, While ninety thousand livelihoods take flight, And schoolyards fade into a silent night.
While Tehran weeps beneath a caustic rain, And ancient neutral walls decry the pain, As Iran crowns a voice to lead the state, And Epstein’s secrets lie behind the gate.
Across the green where manicured grasses lie, Beneath the vast and undisturbed blue sky, The man who promised ease for every home, With billionaire companions, chose to roam.
Amidst the crisis and the gathering storm, He keeps his swing in customary form.
I often think of myself as extremely mentally ill for contradicting the conventional wisdom that is not necessarily applicable for my situation. Conventional wisdom, while widespread, is often wrong. Just like the A.I. is often wrong.
When I explain my perspective to the A.I. I am told that my observation for my particular view is “spot-on”. And I mean, can A.I. be wrong, except when I point out to the A.I. that is wrong, and then it reconsiders it’s answer and spits out one I’m more agreeable to.
The primary difference between summer and winter blend gasoline is their Reid Vapor Pressure(RVP), which measures how easily the fuel evaporates at a given temperature.
Summer-Blend Gasoline
Lower RVP: Designed to be less volatile so it does not evaporate as easily in hot weather.
Environmental Impact: Slower evaporation reduces the formation of ground-level ozone and smog.
Energy Content: Contains approximately 1.7% to 2% more energy per gallon than winter blend.
Performance: Results in slightly better gas mileage for drivers.
Cost: More expensive to produce due to complex refining processes and the removal of cheap components like butane.
Availability: Mandated by the EPA for sale to consumers from June 1 to September 15.
Winter-Blend Gasoline
Higher RVP: Designed to evaporate more easily to ensure engines start reliably in cold temperatures.
Key Ingredient: Contains a higher percentage of butane (up to 10%), which is highly volatile and inexpensive.
Performance: Provides slightly lower fuel efficiency because butane has less energy content than other gasoline components.
Cost: Cheaper to produce because butane is more affordable than the additives used in summer blends.
Availability: Typically enters the market around September 15 as regulations relax for the cooler months.
Feature
Summer Blend
Winter Blend
Volatility (RVP)
Low (Slower evaporation)
High (Easier evaporation)
Butane Content
Low (approx. 2%)
High (up to 10%)
Production Cost
Higher (+$0.05 to $0.15/gal)
Lower
Fuel Economy
Slightly Better (~1.7% more energy)
Slightly Lower
Primary Purpose
Reduce smog/emissions
Ensure cold engine starts
Retail gas prices typically begin their seasonal climb in late February or early March. Historically, prices reach their lowest point during the first week of February before rising through the spring. This upward trend often continues until prices peak around Memorial Day or in the early summer months.
Key Drivers of the Spring Increase
Refinery Maintenance: In February, refineries often shut down for “turnarounds” to perform maintenance and retool for summer production.
Summer-Blend Transition: Refineries switch to producing summer-blend gasoline in March and April. This blend is more expensive to produce because it uses costlier additives to reduce evaporation in warm weather.
Regulatory Deadlines: Terminals must purge winter-blend fuel by May 1, and retailers generally must switch to summer-grade gas by June 1.
Rising Demand: Gasoline demand starts to increase in February and continues to grow as warmer weather and longer days encourage more driving, particularly during spring break and the start of the summer travel season.
Iran has been a problem country for the whole world for a very long time. It was part of George W. Bush’s Axis of Evil – Iraq, Iran and North Korea. A country run by religious zealots, who believe they are serving the will of God, they have very deep convictions on their beliefs, with many willing to fight to death if necessary to defend what they believe is right.
I don’t see how we win by stirring up a fight in the Middle East. Iran’s government, while obnoxious and a global nuclear threat, mostly was self-contained beyond stirring up trouble in Israel. Leaving them alone mostly kept the oil flowing, kept peace and order in the Middle East. And now that over, we are at war, hitting people in the pocket books in multiple inflationary ways from the gas pump to groceries and everything else that moves by truck and is produced by burning oil.
