Oil drops to $111 a barrel and my Mom's house is still for sale

Both of these tidbits are good news. But first, a recipe:

Lentil Tabouli
1 c. French lentils
1/3 c. dried chick peas
4 c. water
1 c. parsley chopped well
1/2 c. fresh mint chopped well
6 T. fresh lemon juice
3/4 c. olive oil
1 med. yellow onion chopped fine
3 cloves garlic chopped fine
Salt and pepper to taste
(1 t. curry powder, 1 t. cumin)

Boil the lentils and the chick peas in the water until soft. Drain well.
In a big bowl, mix the parsley, mint, onion and garlic
Add the lentils and chickpeas
Add the oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper and optional spices
Mix well and refrigerate for at least three hours before serving.

So yes, now a tank of gas costs roughly $55 instead of $75 as it did three weeks ago. That was brutal. But since we are heading to the election the gas prices need to drop so the candidates can build confidence for the consumer, even though they have nothing to do with the price drop. One of those funny bits of psychology. I don't really care, I just want Obama to win and the price of EVERYTHING, just about, to drop.

My Mom's house not selling is a good thing because a. they do not own it and b. they do not want to move. Nobody wants them to move but the reason it is not selling is because all the other houses around them that are for sale are foreclosures. It is ugly out there in real estate-landia and it is not going to get better anytime soon. All that carefree lending has caught up with us. Can't pay your mortgage, can't do a refi, can't buy anything else. I feel sorry for everyone who is losing their house, but I might have said it before, once or twice, but you signed the papers and made the commitment, didya think maybe they would hold you to that promise, huh? You are not buying a house, you are buying a mortgage, it helps to know the difference.

Databases. Not a ton to report there. Just delivered one I built a year ago and have been feeding and nurturing since then. Not a problem, just a client who kept putting off the ultimate delivery, she's been busy. It, the database, is two mostly complete seasons of wet weather flow into certain select places to measure for overflow and ultimately pollutants into the system. Actually a useful database and shit howdy, did I learn a lot. Now, waiting for feedback.

The current database is being built. I should be ready for a first pass review by the end of the week. The scope changed a little or a lot depending on who you ask. Ultimately the larger/global effort of this thing, also related to a sewer system, but pipes this time, will be good.

More sooner or later...