Like The Popular Vote -- It Would Be Interesting To Back Out The State Of California In This Graphic -- November 25, 2018

From twitter:

It would be interesting to see this same graph "backing out" (removing) California from the data base. I can't talk to gasoline prices from DC to NYC to Bean Town but I can talk to the gasoline prices in California. One wonders to what extent the price of gasoline in California skews the national average.

In addition, the graphic confuses the reader: the "headline" is for the "Thanksgiving price" but the graphic is of the entire year -- to see just Thanksgiving, one has to concentrate on the "black dots." Removing the blue line, "tells" a completely different story than that suggested by the blue line.

A year ago, $2.53 is probably statistically and significantly no different than this year, $2.61.

$2.61 this year is less expensive than it was back in 2009 and 2010. It wasn't until 2011 through 2014 -- when we were told that we couldn't drill our way to less expensive oil -- Barack Obama -- when we saw gasoline prices appreciably higher, coming close to $4/gallon during the summer of those years -- as an "average."

The Saudi Surge -- when oil plummeted in price -- was from early 2015 to early 2017. Notice the huge drop in the price of gasoline January, 2014 to January, 2015. The tanking continued through January, 2016, when the Saudis cut back on exports.

Looking at just the "dots," the "average" price of gasoline at Thanksgiving for 2018, 2017, 2016, and 2015, were all lower than all previous years (from Thanksgiving, 2009, to Thanksgiving, 2014.

Of the ten (10) Thanksgiving prices shown, the four lowest were the last four years. 

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NASCAR

I'm watching "drone racing" in the penultimate global drone race on ESPN. It's being held in Munich, Germany. If one wants to know where younger NASCAR fans are going, watch drone racing: the younger generation is going to drone racing. This is something directly out of "Star Wars," the movie. The contestants are vying for an invite to the global championship to be held in .... Saudi Arabia.

Once they add artificial noise to the drones .... 

Interestingly, one of the big sponsors is the US Air Force.