Summer is a time when, with many media contacts on holidays, reporters often bide their time waiting for something odd or outstanding to happen.

Among the things catching my attention of late is the price of gas.

As I drive to work each morning, I glance up at a large sign for the corner gas station, where the dayB次元官网网址檚 price is posted. ItB次元官网网址檚 a rather fatalistic exercise, kind of like watching the stock market to make sure my investments arenB次元官网网址檛 going into the toilet.

On more than a few occasions in the past month or so, IB次元官网网址檝e sat at the light shaking my head. How can gas go up 10 cents per litre one day, go back down eight, then jump up another 10? (At the time of writing, regular gas sat at $1.29.9 per litre.)

So who sets local gas prices? For stations that are independently owned and operated, including those branded by an international company, the operator sets the price. For corporate-owned stations, the company sets it B次元官网网址� but in both cases, the market dictates the maximum price.

The fact consumers are very sensitive to gas prices keeps most stations at the same level. Operators watch each other like hawks because of that sensitivity and no one wants to be left behind when someone drops their prices. Who wants to watch their competitor across the road do great business while youB次元官网网址檙e left dusting off the pumps and tidying up the chocolate bar aisle?

Checking out the past few monthB次元官网网址檚 prices (www.bcgasprices.com) in Victoria and B.C., our line on the graph resembles a seismographic needle during a major earthquake. We dropped to around $1.12 per litre in mid-June after three months straight between $1.27 and $1.31, and the price has bounced up and down like a rubber ball since.

We have, however, had more of a respite from the high prices than the rest of B.C. The provincial average has slowly declined from a high of nearly $1.35 per litre in early May to the current $1.28 or so.

So what does that mean to those of us driving around the Capital Region? Are our retailers more likely to throw out a loss leader now and again, perhaps to boost sales of other products at their stations? Perhaps. But since the vast majority of money spent at most service stations is for gas, such a strategy can only be seen as trying to build customer loyalty for the time gas prices return to normal market levels.

While itB次元官网网址檚 great as a consumer to be caught in the middle of a mini gas war, itB次元官网网址檚 rather frustrating trying to guess what the real market price is and what is simply a price blip.

For people who do a lot of driving, either as part of their job or during their commute, major changes in the price of gas can make a significant difference. Filling up say, a regular cab pickup truck with a roughly 100-litre fuel tank from near empty would have cost $10 less on Sunday than Monday.

Even with my compact Mazda, the amount I save on a tankful in such situations is enough to cover the cost of two morning coffees. Is timing everything? Maybe not always, but it sure can save you money at times.

The current state of gas jockeying has turned many of us into market watchers. The big difference is while we can certainly buy low, we donB次元官网网址檛 have the option of selling high.

B次元官网网址�     B次元官网网址�     B次元官网网址�

Maybe IB次元官网网址檓 just getting crankier as I near 50, but some things just bug me.

This week I read about a local artist who is one of 15 people up for a $25,000 national prize being offered in the RBC Canadian Painting Competition.

Great, more recognition for the local arts scene, right? But a white spray-bombed sheet of flat aluminum with 10 sides? Shut the front door. IB次元官网网址檇 rather have seen Jose over at LimaB次元官网网址檚 Autobody enter a repainted front left quarter-panel off a 1991 Chevy pickup truck.

I know that art often reflects the inner turmoil and the spirit of the artist, and that pieces are frequently designed to be controversial so as to evoke strong feelings in the observer.

This one sure did for me. It makes Mowry BadenB次元官网网址檚 much-maligned B次元官网网址淩ock, Pavilion and ShellB次元官网网址� in front of Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre look like creative genius.

I suppose this is yet another instance of contemporary art proving that itB次元官网网址檚 not intended for the average person B次元官网网址� even someone who loves art B次元官网网址� to either understand, or enjoy.

Don Descoteau is the editor of the Oak Bay B次元官网网址.

editor@oakbaynews.com