Monthly Archive for June, 2008

Make the Most at the Pump: Tips and Tricks to Make Your Commute Cheaper

Got this article emailed to me.  I found it somewhat useful, hopefully you would too.

It’s everywhere—all people can talk about, all over the news, and, unfortunately leaving its mark on your wallet: rising gas prices.  According to CNN, the price of gasoline has risen yet another ten cents in the past two weeks alone.  The national average is now at a staggering $4.10, and there is no end in sight.  It’s almost impossible to avoid feeling the burden of the increase in oil prices, and this problem can be especially acute for those who have a daily commute to work or to school.

How can you get the most for your money when you’re at the pump? Here are a few helpful tips:

Fill up in the morning or the evening. The colder the ground, the more dense the gasoline.  Since gas pumps are set to measure the volume of the fuel you are pumping rather than the density, if you pump gas in the daytime, you may not be getting the full amount you are paying for. Even 1 degree can make a difference!

Fill your tank all the way. Although people often try to save money by only putting $10 or $20 in their tank at a time, it will save time and money to fill your tank up all the way when you refuel (typically refuel between ½ and ¼ tank…don’t wait until it reaches E!)

We cannot control the rising price of gas.  We can, however, make sure to regularly check our cars.  Simple maintenance to your vehicle can increase your car’s fuel efficiency:

Check your air filter, alignment, and tire pressure regularly. Many people do not check these often enough.  Not only will these steps improve your car, but you can also save over 44 cents a gallon!  Also check that your engine is properly tuned for additional savings.

Make sure that your gas cap is securely tightened each time you refuel. This small step can save you 2 cents per gallon (and that adds up!)

Finally, there are a few ways that you can save gas as you drive! Try these money saving tricks on the road:

SLOW DOWN! For every 5 mph that you reduce on the highway, you can save 19 cents per gallon! This will also help you to drive more smoothly, and avoid sudden stops and starts (which can save you even more!).

Take a brake. Riding with your foot on the brake not only can cause damage to your car, but also decreases your fuel efficiency.  You can save up to 96 cents per gallon if you give your brakes a break!

(Information adapted from www.thedailygreen.com)

Another great way to save money is to find alternative ways to commute!

Avoid high prices at the pump by taking SEPTA or NJ  Transit!

Did you know that Drexel has a discount program with SEPTA, and is rolling out a new discount program with NJ Transit this fall? Take advantage of this great opportunity! Check out these websites for more information:

http://www.septa.org/

http://www.drexel.edu/compass

http://www.njtransit.com/

The Commuter Ride Board is another great resource to save on gas and make a new friend. Go to www.drexel.edu/offcampushousing. If you do not already have a profile, create one and login. Under “Use Discussion Boards,” you will find a group just for students looking to share a ride, the “Carpool Board”.

You are pretty

“You’re a pretty girl. Don’t act dumber than what you are.”

Oh boy! New Plasma toy!

Pure coolness!!!

And for just $15.  Nice!

Read more on Gizmodo.

Let’s agree to disagree?

This story on Google’s new favicon claims that Google is google and belongs to the people.

I disagree!

Google is a giant monster of a company that hopes to consume all of world’s information, stop time, and lock the universe onto itself. Google is an ego-centric monster!

But, alas, their competition is even worse. Thus, I am a gmail user; I search using Google; etc.

I hope that some strong competition would continue to exist so Google would continue to improve (which I have not, personally, seen in a while).

Amazing new toy from Adobe — Acrobat, online!

This article on Adobe’s new toy that I found on Computerworld led me to www.acrobat.com.

And let me tell you… WOW!

This thing seamlessly imports my big 40-page Word 2007 document in seconds!  Formatting is all there.  WOW

Adobe has yet to announce pricing for the Acrobat.com collaboration service, which will be sold on a subscription basis.

… the company hopes to woo subscribers by combining the Web-style collaboration capabilities of a Google Docs with the fine-grained document layout and presentation capabilities of Microsoft Word

No sh*t?  Awesome!!

As-is, the toy looks amazing.

Definitely subscribe and try this.

Home’s where you make it

Interesting article I’ve read.

Makes me want to travel.  Makes me want to experience new things, roll in the mud, camp, have to catch my own food for today, etc.

We board the plane with our own pillows, blankets and inflatable cushions. We bring ear plugs so we don’t hear anything and a sleep mask so we don’t have to see. If you want to bring your own air, you can buy an “ultra-mini air supply” for $129. Also there is a concoction we can spray the surrounding area and the surfaces because we might be contaminated by a virus. Now we are ready to travel to an exotic destination and feel we are in home in bed.

When we arrive at the hotel, we can bring our own bedding for those who are obsessed about who was the person who slept in the bed the night before. Also there is a $79 Nano-UV Disinfection Light to kill bacteria, complete with remote control. I guess that is so we can stand at the door and zap lavatory surfaces, bedding and telephones rather than look at the spectacular view from our windows — which don’t open so we can’t hear or see or smell anything outside.

Well, I’ve booked a ticket to Chicago yesterday.  Then I’ll be off to New Hampshire.  Then I’m not yet sure, but I’m sure I’ll find something good.

New toy from Griffin

Oh, this is nice!

My girl and I both have iPods.  Now imagine if we had iPhones, too.

We’d have to kill eachother over who gets to use the charger first.  Also chargers all over the place ain’t pretty.

This toy seems to be all that we need.  Ebay out the now-useless chargers.

Cool!

So, I hear the new iPhone’s underway

June 9th, they all say.

The Telegraph published a short story of what they think the new toy would look/talk/walk like.

I have mixed feelings about this…  I’ve been a Microsoft supporter for quite some time and really I see no true reason to consider a switch.  Although, I’ve been quite annoyed quite a few times by the lack of EASE of access to the functionality that’s embedded into my phone (Mot Q 9C).

My phone’s quite advanced.  Really, one of the latest additions to the market when I got it a few months back.  Many megapixel camera, video everything, etc.  But all this is NOT easy to use.  I love iPhone’s smoothness and it’s ease of access to everything.

Although, for emails and texting a normal keyboard with push-down-keys is better than iPhone’s tiny on-screen keys.

Plus the Exchange connectivity…  But I heard Apple promised to fix that, right?

All-in-all I’m not as excited about the new toy as I hear others are.

Will wait and see.