As if we didn’t know that just about everything costs more, the AP reports that for the first half of this year, things are indeed pricier than ever.
Here’s a snapshot:
And for good measure, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is at its lowest level since fall of 2006. Just think – in October, the Dow hit a record 14,000.
Anybody else’s 401(k) been reduced to a 201(k) as I heard the other day?
Kinda funny. And kinda not, either.
You probably have friends who take their kids “traveling” for various sporting activities throughout the year. Baseball, softball, soccer, etc.
I know plenty who do, but never experienced it myself until this past weekend, when I took my 6-year old to the American Taekwondo Association World Championships in Little Rock.
And it wasn’t cheap:
• Gas – $132 for two fillups
• Hotel – $110
• Tournament registration – $75
• Tournament “goodies” – $154
• Food and drink at tourney – $18
• Food and drink to and from Little Rock – $83
TOTAL: $572
Big smiles, a trophy, time with family and friends, and one happy kid: PRICELESS
In other words, it was all worth it. And besides, we put money back into the economy.
The following aerial photos of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Mississippi are courtesy of Jack Savely of Mossy Oak Properties Pontotoc. Highway 78 runs along the bottom of the first photo. The Toyota site is at the top of the second photo, with Highway 78 running up and down the photo. Click here for more pictures of the site.
Click on the pictures for a bigger version. They were taken June 18.
This picture shows the road construction.
New Albany, New Albany. If only you could teach other gas stations your ways. Gas is $3.74 in the birthplace of William Faulkner.
It’s $3.79 in Pontotoc, Fulton and Sherman. Sam’s Club members can get it for $3.82. Kroger has it for $3.92, cheaper than the going rate of $3.99 around town but still entirely too much. It’s $3.95 in Starkville and $3.87 in Oxford.
Most expensive: Tupelo, Baldwyn and Houston at $3.99. West Point came in a close second at $3.98.
Check Sunday’s Business and Money section for more gas prices, including diesel. Read previous gas prices here.
Kyoto Japanese Steakhouse and Sushi Bar (previous coverage) opens for dinner tonight. The restaurant will serve dinner but NOT lunch tomorrow. Regular hours start Sunday. For more info, call the restaurant at 620-8157.
And, the “diner” sign (picture) has been changed to “dinner.”
We also we spied a new fire hydrant out in the dirt by the edge of the parking lot. The dirt road leads out to the development that supposedly will house a retailer and several hotels.
Here’s one restaurant I won’t be going to anytime, well, ever.
It’s in Beirut (Lebanon, in the Middle East, for the geographically challenged) and it’s called “Buns and Guns.”
We’ll let the Associated Press tell this one:
…. the chefs wear military helmets, the food is wrapped in camouflage paper and the advertising slogan is “a sandwich can kill you.”
The fast food eatery with a tongue-in-cheek military theme opened three weeks ago in Beirut’s Hezbollah-dominated southern suburbs and is drawing in residents proud of the Shiite militant group’s battlefield successes.
Done up like a military outpost, the restaurant is located in the heart of a neighborhood heavily pounded by Israel during its 2006 war with Hezbollah …
There has been some speculation – some dating back to the Feb. 27, 2007, when Toyota announced it was building a plant near Blue Springs – that a second phase will bring additional jobs and another vehicle line.
And when Toyota said last month that it was going to produce the Highlander in May of 2010 rather than late 2009, some wondered if it was time to go ahead and get that second phase going.
Well, we just spoke to Lacy Luckett, who has the unenviable task of dealing with media types like us. She’s the external affairs specialist for Toyota Motor Manufacturing Mississippi, as the plant will officially be called, and said there’s no Phase 2 in the works just yet.
“We have to get the first plant built first,” she said with a chuckle.
Now, we’ve visited the TMMMS site, and, yes, there is room for a second phase – and the area has even been pointed out to us. However, as Toyota officials have maintained: let’s get Phase 1 built first.
The buzz’s take: A second phase will be coming; we just don’t know when. And what will be built there? Oh, any number of vehicles.
So there you have it.
It’s not all doom and gloom in the automotive industry.
The Associated Press reports today that Japanese automakers, particularly Toyota and Nissan, reported “generally solid growth” in global production and exports last month, powered by high demand in Asia and emerging markets.
Excerpts of the AP report:
Toyota Motor Corp. said overall global production rose 3.6 percent from the previous year to 805,948 vehicles on strong output in Asia.
Toyota’s overseas production gained 4.3 percent to 400,749 vehicles, while production in Japan expanded 2.9 percent to 405,199 units.
The company said its exports from Japan advanced slightly to 221,396 vehicles — the eighth consecutive month of increase — mainly due to shipments to Asia and Oceania.
Atlanta Bread (previous coverage) on South Gloster started serving food today, but it is on an invite-only basis for friends and family. Same goes for tomorrow. The restaurant opens to the public at 6:30 a.m. Friday morning.
I did a walk-through with co-owner Kip Tigrett today and saw a few things I wasn’t expecting – namely a gas fireplace in the center of one of the dining areas. Very very cool – or hot. The picture below shows some of the baked goods. The baker starts working at 10 p.m. and by 5 a.m., she’s done all the bread for the day. Read the story in Friday’s Daily Journal for more info.
Here’s this interesting bit o’ news, courtesy of Jimmy Smith of Ripley. Our thanks for his submission. But before you get your hopes up about ditching the gas pump, read this story that says the car is too good to be true.
A Japanese venture company, Genepax, has unveiled a car on that runs on water. All it requires is a litre of water. In fact, any kind of water to be exact, whether its river, rain, sea water, or even Japanese tea. Its an electric powered car that runs solely on hydrogen dioxide.
“The main characteristic of this car is that no external input is needed. The car will continue to run as long as you have a bottle of water inside for you to add from time to time,” said Kiyoshi Hirasawa, Chief Executive Officer of Genepax, after he proudly announced the company’s invention.
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