Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Gasoline Prices Part 21.....

This is topic Gasoline Prices Part 21..... in forum Film-Yak at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 08-20-2003, 04:13 PM:

Prices shot up again. About 5 cents per gallon almost overnight. This, coupled with the extra 5 cents gasoline tax in the State of Washington is now producing a "double whammy." The prices of gasoline in some California locations are now almost 10 cents cheaper than we are.

Supposedly, it is being blamed for a pipeline failure in Arizona. BAH!!! If you believe that, you will believe that the moon is made out of owl urine.

Another thought was one of the refineries up here is shutting down for 30 days for preventative maintenance. Just in time for the Labor Day Holiday. How ironic! An idea was needed to spike the gasoline prices, so this should indeed do the trick!

I took four pictures of signs today. The first one in the below quad picture is a reference. The picture in the second panel was 1.2 miles from the first. The third panel was 4.8 miles from the picture in panel 2. The fourth panel was 4.2 miles beyond that. Here is the picture:

An intertesting note I discovered in the news today: I presume this was for California. It'll probably move its way up here in due time. Folks, close the hatches and stand by for a ram.

quote:
Authors of a state-commissioned study affirmed Thursday earlier predictions that California's plan to ban the fuel additive MTBE by the end of this year will result in gasoline shortages that will send prices soaring as high as $4 a gallon.

It is getting cheaper to stay home instead of fiddling around with part-time jobs.

It seems to me the government is not controlling the oil companies. It seems the oil companies are in complete control of the government. This is the highest I have ever seen gasoline prices in the Pacific Northwest.

My brother's wife sent me this today. I thought it is quite fitting for this subject. It goes like this:

A little boy goes to his dad and asks, "What is politics?"

Dad says, "Well son, let me try to explain it this way: I'm the head of the family, so call me The Prime minister Your mother is the administrator of the money, so we call her The Government. Your here to take care of your needs, so we'll call you the People. The nanny, we'll consider her the Working Class. And your baby brother, we'll call him the Future. Now think about that and see if it makes sense."

So the little boy goes off to bed thinking about what Dad has said.

Later that night, he hears his baby brother crying, so he gets up to check on him. He finds that the baby has severely soiled his diaper. So the little boy goes to his parent's room and finds his mother sound asleep. Not wanting to wake her, he goes to the nanny's room. Finding the door locked, he peeks in the keyhole and sees his father in bed with the nanny. He gives up and goes back to bed.

The next morning, the little Boy say's to his father, "Dad, I think I understand the concept of politics now."

The father says, "Good, son. Tell me in your own words what you think politics is all about."

The little boy replies, "The Prime minister is screwing the Working Class while the Government is sound asleep. The People are being ignored and the Future is in deep shit."

Posted by Ian Price (Member # 14) on 08-20-2003, 04:43 PM:

Regular in Santa Rosa, CA is running between $1.92 to $2.17.

Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 08-20-2003, 04:45 PM:

I have been told that gasoline in some Los Angeles areas was running about 1.79 per gallon. That's what ours was 2 days ago. Ian, I'll almost bet we will be in the same price bracket within a few weeks. [Frown]

Posted by Dan Lyons (Member # 1454) on 08-20-2003, 04:54 PM:

quote:
Authors of a state-commissioned study affirmed Thursday earlier predictions that California's plan to ban the fuel additive MTBE by the end of this year will result in gasoline shortages that will send prices soaring as high as $4 a gallon

Choking... [puke]

I hope that isn't true. I've not heard about that. If something like that were to happen... oh boy, trouble! Rape, murder, and gas stations on fire would occur I'm sure.

Danny

Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 08-20-2003, 04:57 PM:

In New York City I am paying $1.72 for Premium. Prices have been fairly steady for the past two months.

Posted by Pete Evans (Member # 1823) on 08-20-2003, 05:02 PM:

Jesus, I wish it was that cheap over here......we're paying about $6.00 a gallon for the stuff. It'll soon cost more to fill the tank than the car's worth!

Posted by Jeff Stricker (Member # 224) on 08-20-2003, 05:44 PM:

Just drove from Cleveland, Ohio back to central Indiana this morning. Regular is running $1.69, except one truck stop in Ohio that has a lot of competition where I got it for $1.59. The same station had it for $1.55 on my trip there on Monday.

Posted by Floyd Justin Newton (Member # 1316) on 08-20-2003, 06:33 PM:

With all the problems we have here is Arizona/// here's
another one: A gasoline pipeline East of Tucson had a blowout.
NOW gas is selling for $4.00/gal at some places in Phoenix.
Oh well... the rich get richer etc !! [bs]

FJN

Posted by Mike Heenan (Member # 392) on 08-20-2003, 06:34 PM:

There actually IS a gas shortage here in AZ, but whether that has anything to do with regional prices, I don't know. Every single station I've passed by in the past few days has a very long line of cars waiting for gas. Right now I've read that prices are hovering around $2 for a gallon, anywhere on up to $4.50 for some sleazebag in Phoneix somewhere. Places charging around $3.50 report shorter lines I think. From what I hear, they are relaxing the gas restrictions on Phoenix (we have some special type of gas but I'm not sure what kind), and normal gas is on it's way to us. I can see how prices might spike up in CA and the other western states because we're taking gas from other sources, but again I don't know how that all works. Luckily I filled my tank the day before the shortage happened so I haven't had the unpleasant experience of sitting in 115 degree weather for an hour just to get gas.

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 08-20-2003, 06:47 PM:

In the past week I have watched the gas prices here in my part of Oklahoma go from $1.39 for regular unleaded (the 87 octane stuff) to $1.49 and now $1.55. Forecasters say the prices will jump at least another 10 to 15 cents within the next week or two.

These price hikes are really nice considering I am about to drive up to Colorado for a much needed vacation within a couple days.

Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 08-20-2003, 07:52 PM:

Yeah, Bobby. The next time I travel to North Dakota might be by air. It is getting just too damned expensive to drive anymore.

Mike, I don't think there has ever been a gasoline shortage. All this crap about it is just too (shall I say) convenient???? If there was, it was something that was "created" by Big Oil or sleazy dealers all in the name of a buck! Add to that a panic by the customer, and we have big trouble.

Although there are no refineries in Arizona, one pipeline bringing gasoline in from California remains in operation. The pipeline that was shut down brings gasoline in from Texas by way of Tucson. Gasoline from that pipeline is now being trucked in. It might be slower, but there is no "shortage."

The gov of Arizona urged residents to stay calm. She said, "Keep cool, take a deep breath, don't top off your tank."

Apparently the "panic" going on in Arizona which is causing 2 or more hours of wait in the gasoline pump lines is severly adding to the problem. Hundreds of cars idling their engines with the air conditioners running while waiting in line is burning too much gasoline and it is just plain stupid.

Mike, you guys are being gouged by the greedy wholesalers, retailers, truckers, bulk plants, and Big Oil. They see it as a quick way to make a buck, and to hell with everyone else. Then factor in the governments (State, local and federal) jackassing up fuel tax and you really have a mess.

Posted by Chris Hipp (Member # 1788) on 08-20-2003, 08:10 PM:

It's prices like that that make me love my motorcycle more.

Posted by Mike Heenan (Member # 392) on 08-20-2003, 08:15 PM:

Well maybe there's not a shortage per se, but from what I understand, a pipeline broke or something like that. And, also I understand we have some special gasoline that's unique to Phoenix which is another cause for delay, but I heard they relaxed restrictions and now "normal" gasoline is being trucked in. I don't believe there's a shortage though. I love how the governor gets on TV and tells everyone not to top of, but says nothing about price gouging (at least what I've seen or read). Supposedly the attorney general is looking into making an anti-gouging legislation though, so that might be good news. But, there's no way in heck I'm going to not leave the AC on when I have to wait in line, it's simply unbearable heat!

Just curious if anyone remembers the gas "shortages" from the 70s. A friend of mine who had a relative who was a trucker said that the truckers were told not to deliver the gas or told to remain stationery, in an obvious attempt to hike prices. Not sure if this really happened or not but was an interesting tidbit.

Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 08-20-2003, 08:19 PM:

Mike, let's [fu]

them all and ride a damn bicycle...just like we did 50 years ago. [beer]

I am thinking of that...maybe an electric scooter that has a range of 40 miles or so without charging the batteries. OOOOOO---how I wish I had my old Cushman Eagle I rode in the 1950's... [Smile]

Posted by Chris Markiewicz (Member # 1415) on 08-20-2003, 09:08 PM:

$2.29 - 2.30 for regular here in Kamuela for the last couple of weeks. Costco in Kona is about $2.06!

Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 08-20-2003, 10:00 PM:

Chris, as I recall, gasoline was always expensive in Hawaii. Even in the '70's. It looks like you guys have held the line. [Smile]

It sure went "Able Sugar" here stateside.... [Frown]

You are at a real advantage there. One tank of gas would last almost forever. There is no place to go.....it is like being on a rock in the middle of nowhere. Over here, a person has to drive 50 miles ot more to find intelligent life. [Big Grin]

Posted by Matt Hale (Member # 1518) on 08-20-2003, 11:37 PM:

Right now in the Vancouver area where there are only 4 major brands, gas is C$0.869/L or roughly US $2.35/gal for regular. Earlier in the year it was more like 0.679/L (about 1.83)

A few years ago there was a major price war here (thank-you Arco!) and things went down to about 0.369/L (99¢/gal) though I saw it as low as 0.275/L (74¢/gal) and stayed there for many, many months.

After the price war ended I got in the habit of driving to Blaine, WA every weekend to fill up on the cheap stuff. Then the border guards decided I must be some sort of drug mule and started searching my car (and sometimes me) every trip. Not fun.

Posted by Stephen Furley (Member # 1277) on 08-21-2003, 02:38 AM:

Pete wrote:

quote:

Jesus, I wish it was that cheap over here......we're paying about $6.00 a gallon for the stuff. It'll soon cost more to fill the tank than the car's worth!

Pete, it's not that bad. I don't buy the stuff, so I tend to get out of touch with the prices, but I passed three petrol stations on my way to work this morning, and all three were charging 79.9 pence per litre; call it 80. That converts to about $1.27. US Gallons are smaller than the ones we used to use, about 3.8 litres, so we are paying the equivilent of about $4.83 per gallon at the moment.

There are other factors which you also have to consider, and which may alter the real cost either way; average earnings in the US and the UK, road tolls, various taxes, cost of buying vehicle, and of servicing it etc. American cars tend to be bigger than ours, therefore the fuel consumption is probably higher, possibly offset by the lower out of town speeds over there, and I suspect that the average American driver has to travel a greater distance each year than the average British one.

There's a lot of 'average', 'probably', 'possibly', 'tend to be' etc. in the last paragraph; it's not easy to make a comparison of the true costs.

It is also difficult to compare public transport costs, as they vary widely from place to place, and from mode to mode.

Posted by Peter Kerchinsky (Member # 1098) on 08-21-2003, 04:20 AM:

Good evening all:
Just remember when you vote next for President of these here United States of America to forget the name of George W. Bush. I truly believe that bum has something to do with all of this gas price hike crap. (Sorry if this is political and doesn't belong here, but just stating my opinion. Let's dump the oil barons ASAP). [sex]

Thank You.

Posted by Bill Gabel (Member # 1105) on 08-21-2003, 10:16 AM:

California gas prices have risen an average of 22 cents a gallon since a Arizona pipeline ruptured.

http://www.nbc4.tv/automotive/2417851/detail.html

Anyone remember the odd/even days from the 70's???

Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 08-21-2003, 12:46 PM:

My car was even and wife's was odd...so we were always on a line
[beer]

Posted by John Spooner (Member # 1565) on 08-21-2003, 01:24 PM:

In Adelaide, South Australia where I live, petrol (gas) price is currently $1-00 per litre. The price of LPG (autogas) is currently 33.9 cents per litre.
John Spooner.

Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 08-21-2003, 01:36 PM:

I think high fuel prices and a lousy economy is really taking it's toll. If one walks into a car dealership showroom, there is nobody there - except the salespeople. There are plenty of them....but no customers.

Posted by Mike Heenan (Member # 392) on 08-21-2003, 02:09 PM:

Unlike the commercials where there's people walking all over the showroom huh? Ha ha.

Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 08-21-2003, 02:49 PM:

Not up here, Mike. [Big Grin]

By the way, the picture of panel 3 in my orginal post...Well, it went up another 4 cents last night. The picture of panel 1 is going up an additional 4 cents tonight.

I told the boss at the radio station just a few minutes ago that if something breaks, just call me. However, I cannot afford to make "courtesy calls" anymore. It costs me 4 bucks to make a round trip. If I worked 1 hour, take that wage and subtract all the "taxes" and factor in the gasoline cost, insurances, etc. I lose! Otherwise, I am going to have to set a minimum "fee" to make the trip.

It is time to park my vehicles and stay home as much as possible.

Posted by Peter Kerchinsky (Member # 1098) on 08-22-2003, 04:14 AM:

Bill;
I lived in Oregon in the 70s when the so-called "gas shortage" hit. I spent lots of time switching license plates on company cars so we could get $2.00 worth of gas at 5:30 am.
Damn, don't want to get into that anymore.
Goodbye GW

Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 08-22-2003, 04:21 AM:

....at least we were able to top off the tank if it was considered a "commercial vehicle" up here during that time. But that was up to the station owner. It was not a law. It was strictly done in "grace" by some gasoline station owners.

In view of the economy, I agree...goodbye, GW! [thumbsup]

Y'know, I worked in a gasoline station in the early to mid 1960's. That was when the Alaska Pipeline promotion was in full swing with the selling point of "there will be plenty for all."

Bullshit. It turned out to be a big blow job. They got their damned pipeline built at the expense of the public through a bunch of lies.

Within a year or so, the price of patroleum started to rise, and big oil was basking in huge profits for themselves. [Mad]

The owner of that station mentioned that big oil's target for gasoline prices then was a buck a gallon. How true it turned out to be. Now it's two bucks or more.

Trust Big Oil???? In a pig's ass I will... [fu]

Geeze...I should be careful on what I say before a pipe bomb winds up sitting on the exhaust manifold of my car. [Roll Eyes]

Posted by William Hooper (Member # 71) on 08-22-2003, 06:28 AM:

I don't understand all this uproar.
Paul needs a cheaper way to get around, Josh needs to start running cross country again. Just mount one of those papoose brackets on back of Josh. This is not the hardest engineering problem in the world!

Posted by Lindsay Morris (Member # 1430) on 08-22-2003, 07:42 AM:

Petrol in Perth Australia has just hit $1 per litre which equates to $4.55 per gallon so by the time you convert that to US$ it equates to almost $7 US. But as a US Gallon is a little different to an Imperial gallon it probably works out a bit less.
So I reckon you guys are getting your fuel cheap at $2 a US gallon.
Does not seem to stop folks moving about here, plenty of caravans on the road with Eastern States plates I see. So I guess we just learn to live with it.
I have got an interesting trip coming up in a few weeks.. taking a couple of portable 35mm machines by road about 1100kms north of Perth to do a series of screenings for a new Aussie film release. Going to cost us around $700 (Australian) in fuel alone and about a week all round to get there, setup, screen and then drive home again. Should be a fun trip just hope we do not run into a kangaroo on the way as there are plenty up north at the moment.
Lindsay

Posted by Paul Cassidy (Member # 951) on 08-22-2003, 07:45 AM:

This reminds me of the time my wife's cousins were here from LA and as we past a Gas station they mentioned "Wow your gas prices arent too bad " the Prices showing were around $1:10 on the signs , I had to reply yes the price is good ...if we were talking Gallons , but the price was fo a Litre . [Big Grin]

Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 08-22-2003, 02:28 PM:

Arco jacked their prices up another 4 cents a gallon last night in Oak Harbor.

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 08-22-2003, 05:02 PM:

Europeans pay a lot of money for gasoline, but Europe is also pretty well served by other alternate means of transportation, such as lots of high speed and commuter rail networks.

Japan is very similar. My father is a retired Marine and we lived in Japan for three years. We got around fine without a car. Just pedal your bicycle a short trip to the train station and you can go just about anywhere in the country. The bullet train is pretty cool.

Here in America the political lobbies for the automobile industry, airline industry and highway industry do a great job killing lots of commuter rail and high speed rail efforts.

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 08-22-2003, 10:13 PM:

And you blaim GW for all of this...how? You all over-estimate the power of the President and the speed at which the economy swings.

The US generally pays the cheapest gas of anyone...it is a place where supply and demand don't seem to work for gas prices.

Perhaps fewer restrictions on where oil can be drilled would lower your prices and also reduced the dependance on foriegn oil.

Steve

Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 08-22-2003, 11:27 PM:

Gasoline prices are going up everywhere. In Milwaukee WI, I have had reports of gasoline is now 1.80 per gallon and going up from that.

What is the price of a barrel of crude oil today? According to bry.com the price as posted on August 18 was $25.50. Now why has gasoline shot up over 50 cents a gallon in the last 30 days? Who is "minding the store?"

Who is trying to fix our broken economy? Who is pre-occupied with another Viet Nam in the making?

Bobby, I agree. In the days of old, the electric trolley system in cities of this country were very profitable. GM bought them up, forced them to lose money, scrapped the entire system, and replaced them with Diesel busses. There was a documentry on PBS several years ago about how and why GM did that. It was not very pleasant to watch.

I suppose light rail and other alternate forms of commuting will work in conjested cities such as in Steve Guttag's area, as well as other large metropolitan areas as well. However, it won't work in the area where I live.

Some examples: Do you think I can "carpool" to an appointment with the doctor at the NAS Whidbey Hospital? I think not.. Do you think I can carpool to a part time on-call job 22 miles away to fix stuff that is broken? I think not. Do you think I am going to carpool to the supermarket 7 miles down the road to buy groceries? I think not.

Public transportation is this country is a joke unless you live in the sprawling big cities. Then it is only a partial joke.

Here is a situation: When I bought my Ford Escort, I had to get it home myself. Bus stop for public transportation is about 3/4 of a mile away. So I leave early to walk to the bus stop so I don't miss the bus. Bus runs 5 minutes late. Board the bus....sit down and take a sightseeing tour of the area while the bus is cover all the bus stops. The closest drop point to the car dealership is a mile away. So I walk another mile. When I get to the dealership, jump into the car, and drive it home. Time it takes to drive it home is about 15 minutes. Time it took to get to the dealership from home via public transportation was about an hour.

These are the same complaints one hears about public transportation in Seattle. It simply takes too long to get from point "A" to point "B." Many do not use carpooling or public transportation for that reason. Public transportation and HOV lanes up here are a joke! People are not going to jazz around several extra hours or more to try to get to and from work.

Steve, we need someone to take care of the needs of this country and it's people. Apparently that does not appear to be what is happening. All you have to do is look and see how the people are buying. They are not! Businesses are dropping like flies. Our deficit is the highest in history. Unemployment is out of this world. No jobs to be had for many people who are struggling to stay alive and feed their families. I think it is deplorable when the kids are competing with their parents to get a job at a fast food joint.

Posted by Peter Kerchinsky (Member # 1098) on 08-23-2003, 04:53 AM:

Paul
Amen, amen and amen.
In other words, I agree.
Steve, wake up and smell the coffee!!!
We, the good ol' US of A are going to hell in a handbasket because of good ol' boyus like George W.
May he rest in piece.

Posted by Aaron Mehocic (Member # 15) on 08-23-2003, 02:51 PM:

Sorry Steve, but I'm agreeing with Peter and Paul. Here in Pennsylvania prices shot up over 20 cents overnight in some areas and bigger increases are expected. The Bush Administration is responsible for the increased prices! Here is why: First the President is intimintly connected with "Big Oil" given his past as well as that of the Bush family in general. Second, many top administration officials including the Vice President, Secretary of Defense, and the Chief Political Advisor (Chaney, Rumsfeld, and Rove) are major stock holders in companies such as Shell and B.P. Third, increased oil prices now equal big dollar returns to private accounts after this bullshit like serving the people is over. You are correct in stating there are too many limitations on which companies can drill for oil, but even if every one of those limitations were repealed prices would continue to rise. New excuses like infrastructure development and/or higher wages for oil workers are fall-back items used to pull the wool over the eyes of "sheepeople". But hey, what the hell do I know . . . I'm just a dumb shit American with 2 shitty jobs working all hours of the day just to make the povertry line.

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 08-23-2003, 04:48 PM:

One of us should have moved this out of here a long time ago. As a general guideline, any topic that is going to bring in why the government/president is or is not doing their job properly belongs in the political forum.