If you’re ever in up-city Helena, Montana and think you might be lost, there’s a good chance you are, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t good things to see. By “up-city” I really mean “up-hill” and I know because even though we found a cool little park to revive us, we were already worn down by our uphill trek.
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As a reader on the web, it’s pretty likely you’ve heard of computers, but did you know that computers came from somewhere and they have a history of their own? Apparently they don’t just come from the store or the Fed-Ex guy, as I had previously believed, but there was a whole mega-tastic back-story behind this technology and this museum brings it all in to focus.
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Petroleum traders have been keeping a weary eye on the news about the swine flu spreading to other parts of the world. But by now they are used to having the least amount of bad news effect crude oil and in turn fuel prices. Continue Reading

I’ve never pretended I felt anything less than total love for Missoula. It’s hands-down my favorite city in Montana, and maybe even my favorite city anywhere. They’ve got a killer carousel, the greatest public park I’ve ever seen, their public parks have squirty water features for summer play, and the people there are as kind as you’ll find anywhere in the world. So let’s add one more feather to that already-foppish cap; Splash Montana Water Park.
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The city of Missoula has really come into its own in the last ten years. I’m only five fingers, so I have to take it on faith and research (more the latter) and I’ve got to say, of all the places in Montana — and they were all great cities — Missoula is the best of all of them. Currents Aquatic Center might not be the best example of what’s great about Missoula, but it’s got to be easily in the top 2-3. Currents Aquatic Center is really fantastic.
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This week’s DOE inventory statistics came in way over expectations for crude oil stocks rising almost 4 million barrels, twice the number predicted by industry analysts. For the time being, we’ve got plenty of crude oil on hand but will it continue to be enough for the future? Continue Reading

We’ve seen so many carousels from coast to halfway-to-the-other-coast, and this one is as good as any, but better in a number of ways. Sure the one at the San Francisco zoo is the oldest, and the one in Missoula is the most unique, and the one at the roving carnie-fest was the scariest, but this one is unique for many of its own reasons, not the least of which is the ice cream parlor it hosts, and struggles to outshine.
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If you live in a city with a wide selection of professional sports, you may think of minor league games as little more than events that make parking difficult at unpredictable times for no good reason, but in pro-sports deprived cities, it can be a lot of fun. Businesses get behind it to do promotions and giveaways and attendance is strong. The people are there for the fun of it, not because they’re obsessive about baseball, but they do cheer for well-turned plays.
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I’m not sure what sort of impression we’re trying to leave you guys with about Nevada City, but in my mind it was a lot of fun, even if a bit out of the way. Though there were some real tourist leeches in town, it’s a city hit hard by the exploding (combusting?) gas prices over the summer, and it really is a town well worth your visit… that is, if you can handle the haunted piano hall.
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The May WTI crude oil price is up 35 cents to $50.33 a barrel at the close today. On the US West Coast the wholesale spot market price for gasoline and diesel went up 2 cents per gallon in concert with crude oil.

It’s another day – same old story in the petroleum markets. Continue Reading

Just west of Missoula, Montana, along the Interstate-90 corridor, drivers may notice signs for the Smokejumper Visitor Center. The name is a bit puzzling until you learn that it’s exactly what it sounds like – people jumping from planes into flames – and then the whole profession itself becomes the puzzle. I know Smokey says “Only you can prevent forest fires,” but these people take that catch phrase WAY too seriously.
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Samuel Johnson said: “Hell is paved with good intentions.” It seems that saying applies to some unhappy independent service station owners in California today. They had made it a through a down turn in the economy and are barely surviving a recession that is still taking its toll. This dilemma may not mean much to the average Montanan but what starts in California may soon spread to the rest of the country. Continue Reading

There is no shortage of reviews that show just what a terrible game can be bought in “Chicken Shoot”, but I somehow let my desire to get a good deal overcome me when I made my purchase, even though I had read the reviews, and I really did know better. It’s not so much that you should expect something spectacular for $14.99, but the real problem is that stores simply shouldn’t be carrying garbage of this sheer incomparability.
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Quoting George Santayana: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”.

The amount of money being poured into commodities investments was $1.5 billion in the first quarter of 2009; almost triple that of the end of 2008. That amount of money was being invested significantly when oil dipped below $50. Investors in commodities have a great influence on crude oil prices as the lessons from the past years have taught us. Continue Reading

One of the biggest, best, baddest and oldest sites in the satire / spoof news game has stepped back up fron their former glory back to the prominence they once held. The site is Glossy News, and they’ve run more articles than almost any of their competitors, and done it with a degree of heart and cooperative help that makes it obvious why they’re back up to full speed just as the mainstream news outlets are left fumbling and stumbling to find their way through the fiscal valley of the dark.
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The van der Valk Gas and Diesel Price Advisory for 4-6-09 — The average prices on the West Coast went over $2.30 per gallon for gasoline and $2.45 per gallon for diesel. These prices reflect the latest increases in the wholesale spot market prices for both of those products since the first of the year. This morning the spot market pipeline prices actually did come down 2 cents per gallon for gasoline and diesel but that may not last given the current geo-political conditions in the world. Continue Reading

On our first run through Montana, we drove right past the Mineral Museum on the university campus in Butte (on purpose) to head for the World Museum of Mining. I can’t pretend that the World Museum of Mining isn’t plain fantastic (worthy of recommendation to friends and strangers alike) but we didn’t just miss the Mineral Museum, we really missed out, and we didn’t know so until we swung back through our second time. It’s pretty darn good in fact.
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On April 3, 2009 the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil price dropped to $52.51 a barrel, down 13cts from the day before but almost the same price as the week before. Investors were driven to the commodities market this week by the weakening of the US dollar. Continue Reading

If you’ve got some extra time in Missoula, Montana, or you want to learn the most about the natural history of the region, there are two great places in town to do it. One is the Elk County Visitor Center and the other is its less attractive cousin, the one that resides on the other side of the tracks, the Montana Natural History Center.
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