600 Earthquakes Detected Off Oregon

[Asher]

Does it? I very rarely actually smell it.

I just googled it, New Jersey almost legalized self-serve but no one there seemed to want it. The reasons for not wanting it were just absurd, like "If I'm wearing a suit, I don't want to smell like gasoline".

These people clearly have no idea how simple pumping gas is, and how you don't smell like gas if you fill up your car.

They also see legalizing self-serve = getting rid of full serve.

At least over here, you've got "Full Serve" aisles in gas stations and "Self Serve" so you have the choice...

[Asher]

My favourite gas stations are actually the completely unmanned "express" stations...

They're 24/7, all pay-at-the-pump...they even accept RFID tags like the Esso (Exxon) SpeedPass. Wave the wand, pump, drive off.

Simple, and no contact with slimey gas jockeys or Engrish-speaking clerks. And very fast.

And the better ones have LCD TVs at the pumps so you can read news/sports stories.

[Wiglaf]

Self serve is simply barbaric. There have been instances where people pumping their own gasoline have set themselves on fire and have even destroyed the entire gas station due to static electricity, and the only way to avoid this is to have qualified professionals honking the gas into the tank for you.

LCDs with sports stories are a distraction that will make you forget to discharge said static electricity and endanger the lives of you, your children and everyone in the area. Oregon

[Wiglaf]

Could I be any more right you sausages?

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/07/05/earlyshow/main706202.shtml

(CBS) A man caught in the middle of a huge explosion while he was gassing up his expensive sports car escaped the flames without a scratch.

The incident was caught on tape by a surveillance video, reports Gary Horcher of KIRO-TV in Seattle.

He says it happened in Bellevue, Wash., where Derrick Walker had just started squeezing the gas hose's handle to fuel his Ferrari, when the area was completely enveloped in fire.

"I'm 34 years old. I had no idea I was that quick," remarked Walker, whose reflexes were just fast enough to save his own skin, even though he appeared to be blasted right out of view.

But Walker says he could feel it coming, almost as if it was in slow motion: "All of a sudden, I could feel the heat. I could see it. I could see the flames coming up, and I lost all my breath. It just disappeared from me."

Walker reacted, leaping backward, right out of the flash of exploding fumes.

"And then," he continued, "you see it surround me. You see it completely surround me."

At first, Walker thought he was burning, along with his car: "I was checking myself out, thinking, 'I gotta be on fire.' But I wasn't."

The rare 1977 308 Ferrari was totaled, but the fire would've been worse, had the store's owner not leaped in with a fire extinguisher and pulled the burning gasoline nozzle out.

"He's a pretty tough old guy, I think, 'cause he stepped right in there," Walker says.

It took seconds to ruin the classic collector's car, but Walker's amazed he's alive to tell the story.

"I can replace the car. It's no big deal. I mean, it is a big deal. It's gonna hurt a little bit, but I'm fine. That's the big deal for me."

[lightblue]

We seem to manage over here alright, there's no non-self service petrol stations that I know off. As long as you turn your engine off there's really not much chance for anything to happen.

[Wezil]

lightblue - Oregon and NJ are in the US. They are a different case.

[Zkribbler]

My understanding is that, in the rest of the U.S., independant stations usually have at least the owner there and sometimes some help. Big chains usually just have a cashier.

Oregon's passage of the "no non-self-serve" law makes things more even between the idependants and the chains, increases competition, and thus, actually results in lower prices to the consumer.

[Asher]

That's bull****.

I just checked out Billings, Montana vs Portland, Oregon -- randomly chosen -- and Billings, Montana is actually a bit cheaper ($3.35 avg vs $3.43 avg).

[Zkribbler]

I just checked out Regular gas at ARCOs. Eugene, Oregon $3.33. Tacoma, Washington $3.37. (I chose a midsize city in Washington to minimize any geographic differences in price.)

[DRoseDARs]

3.73 here in Reno; self-serve. Can't remember the last time I saw a full service.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Zkribbler
I just checked out Regular gas at ARCOs. Eugene, Oregon $3.33. Tacoma, Washington $3.37. (I chose a midsize city in Washington to minimize any geographic differences in price.)

Check out the gas price index sites, they have far more reliable industry-wide data that disproves your claim.

[DRoseDARs]

http://www.gasbuddy.com/

Actual people in the US and Canadiastan using their eyes to see the posted prices and their fingers to type them on Teh Intertubeses.

[Asher]

Portland prices:

Today 3.434
Yesterday 3.437
One Week Ago 3.353
One Month Ago 3.405
One Year Ago 3.014

Boise prices:

Today 3.293
Yesterday 3.309
One Week Ago 3.282
One Month Ago 3.213
One Year Ago 2.805

[Ben Kenobi]

What's with the fascination with Idaho?

I love self-serve. Just easier that way.

[Asher]

What fascination?

Portland and Boise are very similar cities in the same geographic region.

Do you need a map?