On Sun 11 Sep 2005 09:45:25a, Ward Abbott wrote in rec.food.cooking:

> On Sun, 11 Sep 2005 15:54:59 GMT, Dog3 > wrote:
>
>>I use my debit card at the pumps so I don't see why you couldn't use a
>>credit card. The debit card is easy, pick the pay here option, poke in
>>the card, enter your PIN, pick your poison and pump it into the tank.
>>Get receipt and take off.
>
> I use my Visa debit card and punch credit at the pump...no PIN
> required...

And also no 35-50¢ surcharge for using debit instead of credit. Most pumps
here in AZ will tack on this additional charge if you punch debit. They
don't charge for using credit cards. With credit cards, however, we have to
also punch in our zipcode.

--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
____________________________________________

Okay, okay, I take it back! UnScrew you!

In article . com>,
"Sheldon" > wrote:

> OmManiPadmeOmelet wrote:
> > In article >,
> > JimLane > wrote:
> >
> > > sf wrote:
> > >
> > > > You don't buy so many gas hogs if you can't afford the price of gas.
> > > > He can afford it, but if he's in sticker shock - he will switch over
> > > > to the Miata or the VW. Since he's a car collector, I predict he'll
> > > > buy a hybrid if prices stay up too long.
> > >
> > > Before the gas prices went up 100%, the rubric was that you would have
> > > to own that hybrid for ten years just to break even on the price
> > > differential for the same-model non-hybrid.
> > >
> > > Now it is down to five years.
> > >
> > >
> > > jim
> >
> > A bigger issue with hybrids is not so much the initial outlay,
> > but the repair costs......
> >
> > My sister tried to convince me to get a hybrid, but my Chevy S-10 pickup
> > that I drive is paid for. Sure it now has 100,000 miles on it (it's a
> > '98) but I'm not making car payments! And it's been very reliable, the
> > only trouble I've had with it was a clogged fuel filter at about 80,000
> > miles.
> >
> > It would take one hell of a lot of fuel savings per month to equal a car
> > payment at an average of $300.00 to $400.00 per month.
> >
> > Right now my gas bill has doubled. I used to pay about $60.00 per month
> > but now pay closer to $120.00 per month.
> >
> > It's still cheaper to keep what I have than to purchase a hybrid.
>
> At $3/gal you're buying 40 gallons a month, say 10 gallons a week...
> 18mpg for a full size pick up is probably within range... you're
> driving less than 200 miles a week, or only 10,000 miles a year.

This is actually a smaller truck, but it's all I need.
I mostly commute to work with it which is just under 40 miles per day, 5
days per week so the above is a good estimate. Average mileage is around
20 mpg. depending on how good my time management is and whether or not I
have time to go the speed limit on the freeway. <G>

> With
> your kind of mileage and if repairs are any indication you're an
> extremely cautious and careful driver, you don't abuse your vehicle.

<cough> My family would disagree on me being a cautious driver. <lol>
OTOH it's been a good 19 years since I had a wreck, and that one was
because the other driver ducked out from BEHIND another vehicle to dash
thru a yellow light! She hit me broadside at an intersection when I was
turning left.

As for me taking good care of my vehicle, yes, I do. Full synthetic
every 5,000 miles for oil changes and it goes to the shop for those to
get full preventive maintenance, as well as the 20,000 mile checkups
etc. Those can get expensive but it's cheaper than repairs. :-)

> You don't need to even think about a new vehicle for at least another
> ten years. And if you think fuel is high wait'll you take a look at
> new pick up prices... I recently looked...

I've not looked but I've heard. :-( I got this one for 14K (NEW!) with a
2K rebate that I used for the down payment. I understand this same type
now is up to over 20K. <sigh>

> I'm keeping my 16 year old
> Landcruiser. I couldn't buy a new Landcruiser for twice what I paid
> for this one in 1990 (drove it out the door, fully loaded, for $27,500
> - now goes for 65K),

Ick! That's more than what I owe on my house and property!

> can't even buy a full size pick up now for under
> 30K). My mechanic says Landcruisers are the least expensive vehicles
> on the road, they can easily last 50 years or 1 millon miles with
> nothing other than basic maintenence.

I agree! As long as you get a good vehicle (I'm really fond of Chevy
after being eaten alive by the cost of maintaining a VW and seeing the
pain my housemate goes thru with Nissan's) and take good care of them,
they can last a very, very long time.

I won't replace this truck until it starts costing me more to maintain
per year than car payments. ;-) The VW was doing just that! I gave the
damn thing away to the local recycler...

It was a Passat wagon and only had about 120K on it. :-P

Cheers!
>
> Sheldon
>
--
Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-bitch." -Jack Nicholson

L, not -L wrote:

> Maybe then we'd even invest in, and use, good mass transit - like many
> Europeans and asians. If the marketing people who are so successful in
> selling Hummers as substitute male genitalia would apply their evil genius
> to marketing mass transit solutions, gasoline consumption and prices
would
> drop tremendously.


Outside of older large metro areas mass transit is simply not a feasible
option in the US (cost and practicality - wise). The US will continue to be
a car - based society for many, many years to come...

It's not like we are Holland or some other small place...a century ago most
every town of any size in the US was connected to the rail system. Where
are all those passenger and freight trains now? Motors succeeded rail and
for a good reason - motor vehicles are more efficient and flexible for such
a huge nation as the US...

--
Best
Greg

On Sun, 11 Sep 2005 04:29:24 GMT, "Edwin Pawlowski" >
wrote:

>Of course the lawyers opposed it, Now they will have to go chase ambulances
>again to make a living. Legitimate bankruptcy in a situation like this is
>far different than the ones caused by people that just don't know how to
>control spending. I fail to see how the government is "screwing over"
>people like that.
>
Ed, my husband is a bankruptcy lawyer, one of the most thoroughly
respected lawyers in Orange County, if I do say so myself. There are 3
types of bankruptcy filings and the only ones that this bankruptcy
bill really nails are Chapters 7 and 13, which is what is filed by
most consumers, so the bankruptcy lawyers will continue to do well,
esp. as the economy tanks taking businesses large and small with it.
And the 11s, which is where the biggest bailouts are to be found,
won't be touched: the corporate bailouts of United Airlines, KMart,
Mirant, oh, and let's not forget Enron. Consumer bankruptcies are a
fraction of the loss of revenue through bankruptcy to creditors. The
only ones who gain from this bill are secured lenders, such as
automobile lenders. This bill does nothing to aid and everything to
damage a consumer's ability to regain financial health.

How are the victims of Katrina supposed to "control spending"? Under
the new bankruptcy bill, if Joe Citizen's house was destroyed in the
hurricane, he still has to pay his mortgage. If Joe Citizen's car was
destroyed in the hurricane, he still has to make his car payments. If
Joe Citizen's job is now a wet memory, along with his health
insurance, he had better not get sick, b/c the health care industry
can dun him into his grave to get paid. And if Joe Citizen has lost
all his worldly possessions, he had better not rack up any new bills
on his Visa, as his credit card company can likewise chase him into
the next lifetime. And they won't have the required pay stubs for the
past six months, 1040 forms, bank statements, etc., which will cause a
bankruptcy filing to be automatically dismissed: and there is
absolutely zero discretion to the plea that Katrina drowned the
debtor's documentation. No discretion on the part of either judge or
trustee.

All this administration is lacking to really round out this new bill
is a provision for debtors prisons.

Terry "Squeaks" Pulliam Burd
AAC(F)BV66.0748.CA

"If the soup had been as hot as the claret, if the claret had been as
old as the bird, and if the bird's breasts had been as full as the
waitress's, it would have been a very good dinner."

-- Duncan Hines

To reply, replace "spaminator" with "cox"

On Sun, 11 Sep 2005 13:36:08 -0400, "Nancy Young"
> wrote:

>I gather now you just swipe the credit card, get your receipt
>and go. The guy is off setting up some other person's
>gas pump ... we don't have self service here. Who knows,
>maybe I have it all wrong, I still just pay cash, old habits
>die hard.

Uh, Nancy...do you, perhaps, live in New Jersey? One of our kids lives
there now and I learned that it is *illegal* to pump your own gas
there. What's up with that?

Terry "Squeaks" Pulliam Burd
AAC(F)BV66.0748.CA

"If the soup had been as hot as the claret, if the claret had been as
old as the bird, and if the bird's breasts had been as full as the
waitress's, it would have been a very good dinner."

-- Duncan Hines

To reply, replace "spaminator" with "cox"

"Terry Pulliam Burd" > wrote in message
...
> On Sun, 11 Sep 2005 13:36:08 -0400, "Nancy Young"
> > wrote:
>
>>I gather now you just swipe the credit card, get your receipt
>>and go. The guy is off setting up some other person's
>>gas pump ... we don't have self service here. Who knows,
>>maybe I have it all wrong, I still just pay cash, old habits
>>die hard.
>
> Uh, Nancy...do you, perhaps, live in New Jersey? One of our kids lives
> there now and I learned that it is *illegal* to pump your own gas
> there. What's up with that?

I guess it's for safety reasons, whatever. So long as they keep
it that way. I can see with the old pump nozzles and the customers
smoking, whatever, it might have been dangerous. Also, I know
there is at least another state where it's true, Oregon maybe?
Someone mentioned it.

nancy

On Sun 11 Sep 2005 05:41:36p, Terry Pulliam Burd wrote in rec.food.cooking:

> How are the victims of Katrina supposed to "control spending"? Under
> the new bankruptcy bill, if Joe Citizen's house was destroyed in the
> hurricane, he still has to pay his mortgage. If Joe Citizen's car was
> destroyed in the hurricane, he still has to make his car payments. If
> Joe Citizen's job is now a wet memory, along with his health
> insurance, he had better not get sick, b/c the health care industry
> can dun him into his grave to get paid. And if Joe Citizen has lost
> all his worldly possessions, he had better not rack up any new bills
> on his Visa, as his credit card company can likewise chase him into
> the next lifetime. And they won't have the required pay stubs for the
> past six months, 1040 forms, bank statements, etc., which will cause a
> bankruptcy filing to be automatically dismissed: and there is
> absolutely zero discretion to the plea that Katrina drowned the
> debtor's documentation. No discretion on the part of either judge or
> trustee.

Poor, poor Joe.

--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
____________________________________________

Okay, okay, I take it back! UnScrew you!

----------------------------------------

BY POPULAR DEMAND!!!

I've made a poster-sized image of this graphic, and it is now available
at Cafe Press.

Can we wait even a SECOND longer?

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/9/9/153437/6364

-----------------------------------------

JimLane wrote:
> Petra Hildebrandt wrote:
>> jmcquow wrote
>>
>>
>>> I had to run out to pick up something. The price dropped from
>>> $3.09/gal two days ago to $2.99/gal. Yay!
>>
>>
>> *getting out my calculator* we're paying 1,46 Euro per liter - that's
>> approx. 2 Dollar per liter or roundabout 8 dollar a gallon
>>
>> Petra in Hamburg, Germany
>
>
> And that perfectly illustrates why $3/gal doesn't bother me at all.
> Anyone who has been offshore knows just how good the US has it.
>
> Personally, I would like to see gas at $4 because then all the morons
> driving SUVs just because they are cool would have to get back to
> reality and drive cars they can actually parallel park.
>
>
> jim

Forget about parallel parking, how about just parking in general? They seem
to feel they must take up two parking spaces. Wouldn't want their precious
SUV to be dinged by a door! Funny, too, how they seem to think they own the
road and can drive any way they darn well please, as fast as they please -
especially when they have children in the vehicle.

I don't understand the SUV thing. Sport "Utility" Vehicle has now become
the soccer-mom's vehicle of choice. Maybe because soccer is a sport? For
years, nay, even decades, people were concerned about buying smaller, more
economical cars. You can still fit 4 kids and a dog in a vehicle that isn't
an SUV. And don't get me started on Hummers... no one needs a Hummer.

Jill

On Mon, 12 Sep 2005 10:34:29 -0500, "jmcquown"
> wrote:

>JimLane wrote:
>> Petra Hildebrandt wrote:
>>> jmcquow wrote
>>>
>>>
>>>> I had to run out to pick up something. The price dropped from
>>>> $3.09/gal two days ago to $2.99/gal. Yay!
>>>
>>>
>>> *getting out my calculator* we're paying 1,46 Euro per liter - that's
>>> approx. 2 Dollar per liter or roundabout 8 dollar a gallon
>>>
>>> Petra in Hamburg, Germany
>>
>>
>> And that perfectly illustrates why $3/gal doesn't bother me at all.
>> Anyone who has been offshore knows just how good the US has it.
>>
>> Personally, I would like to see gas at $4 because then all the morons
>> driving SUVs just because they are cool would have to get back to
>> reality and drive cars they can actually parallel park.
>>
>>
>> jim
>
>Forget about parallel parking, how about just parking in general? They seem
>to feel they must take up two parking spaces. Wouldn't want their precious
>SUV to be dinged by a door! Funny, too, how they seem to think they own the
>road and can drive any way they darn well please, as fast as they please -
>especially when they have children in the vehicle.
>
>I don't understand the SUV thing. Sport "Utility" Vehicle has now become
>the soccer-mom's vehicle of choice. Maybe because soccer is a sport? For
>years, nay, even decades, people were concerned about buying smaller, more
>economical cars. You can still fit 4 kids and a dog in a vehicle that isn't
>an SUV. And don't get me started on Hummers... no one needs a Hummer.
>
>Jill
>
Well speaking of hummers....never mind ~

L, not -L wrote:
> On 10-Sep-2005, JimLane > wrote:
>
>> And that perfectly illustrates why $3/gal doesn't bother me at all.
>> Anyone who has been offshore knows just how good the US has it.
>>
>> Personally, I would like to see gas at $4 because then all the morons
>> driving SUVs just because they are cool would have to get back to
>> reality and drive cars they can actually parallel park.
>
> Maybe then we'd even invest in, and use, good mass transit - like many
> Europeans and asians. If the marketing people who are so successful
> in selling Hummers as substitute male genitalia would apply their
> evil genius to marketing mass transit solutions, gasoline
> consumption and prices would drop tremendously.

I'd use mass transit except for one thing - there are no bus routes, trolly
lines or commuter rails in the outlying area where I live. It's not
feasible to run them out here in the "country". If I lived downtown or even
midtown, I'd take a bus or a rail, or walk or ride a bicycle. Some of our
cities are larger than some European countries.

Jill

Craig Welch wrote:
> On Sun, 11 Sep 2005 09:15:08 -0400, "Nancy Young"
> > wrote:
>
>> I used to charge everything as I was notorious for never carrying
>> cash. So long as I paid it off, it did no harm. But I never charged
>> gas because it was such a pain in the neck ... I gather the
>> transaction is much smoother today? I might charge it then just so
>> it doesn't wipe out my walking around money.
>
> Petrol is one item for which I always use a credit card. It's just
> as 'smooth' as any other transaction ... swipe, sign, thank you.

Where Nancy lives they can't pump their own gas/petrol. Where I live (west
Tennessee) if you want to use a credit or debit card, there's a slot on the
pump where you insert the card - nothing even to sign.

Jill