Lately I've had a pretty tough decision to make. Does that $10 in nickels and dimes go toward gas, or cigarettes?

Yes, I'll admit, I'm addicted to nicotine and would like to go from place to place in a somewhat expedient form. You see, I live in the boonies of the Bible Belt, and they don't believe in buses here. The only way to get around is to buy into that overpriced commodity they call “gas” these days, and it's amazing what those prices do to our mood.

I remember when gas was $0.99 a gallon – and just saying that makes me feel old, but I'm only 24! Nowadays when gas goes below $4 a gallon we jump for joy. I don't get it.

Back in June on my way to a conference in Minneapolis, I visited Atlanta to catch a cheaper flight. I was appalled at the tag I saw on gas there - $4.12 a gallon. Three years ago when I delivered pizza for a living, I could fill my tank on $35. At the rate I saw in Atlanta, it would have been more than $55 for the same fill.

For most people in this region, that is half of their weekly paycheck – I'm not kidding! The job market down here is more like a flea market. Thankfully I work from home and don't have to worry about most of that mess personally, but there are literally thousands of people down here struggling to make ends meet and still get to where they need to go in order to make ends meet.

I've even seen food producers downsize to save on shipping. Did you notice there's no such thing as a half pint of ice cream anymore? There's only one company still producing that size, but everyone else has dropped the size by an ounce or two so they can ship more product in one truck.

It's amazing how gas affects everything.

You can find out more about Patricia Mayo and her other projects at Mayobrains.com or ComHacker.org.