Have you ever wondered why weather is the preferred topic of conversation providing ultimate protection from uncomfortable silences? It’s the perfect topic, IMO, because the weather is never constant and well, there’s almost no chance of it offending anyone, unlike politics or religion. Nowadays, it seems as if weather has been displaced by gas as the number one topic. Whether it be work or at the checkout line at the supermarket (heard it the last two times I went to the supermarket), it’s definitely the hot topic. Why is that? Well, i suppose it’s because everyone ‘feels’ the pinch caused by rising gas prices and so everyone can relate. It’s on everyone’s minds as well (most of us have to fill-up once a week). The rising gas prices is the kind of calculus that even a high school dropout could comprehend (the same can’t be said about the whole sub-prime mess).