So, after reading Mike's interesting post, I'm going to have to rant about something.

Today's Topic:
Gas station lines and how people are stupid.

Okay, so let me set the scene. Gas is really high right now... that tends to happen when you buy most your gas from the other side of the world from a family that supports terrorism, but that's a whole other issue. It's in the $2.30-2.40 range, which is just about as high as its been (got close the last "hike").

In Tualatin there are two gas stations right next to each other... a "Shell" station and a "FastTrack" pump. Shell gas was $2.399, FastTrack was $2.3599, so it was four cents less. It normally is about three or four cents, so nothing out of the ordinary. Except that fact there was a HUGE line of cars waiting to get gas there. We're talking about ten cars infront of you to get to a pump. Meanwhile, the Shell station has very little activity, a few people are getting gas.

What people fail to realize is that four cents is NOTHING. How many gallons are you going to buy? Let's go with 15, which is high for a lot of people, low for some, but right about in the middle. Okay, 15 gallons times four more cents per gallon.. that's sixty cents! I knew this calculus stuff would come in handy. So you save sixty cents by going to the FastTrack.

Sixty cents. How much of a gallon is that? At 2.35 a gallon that's... .255 gallons. A quarter of a gallon. But, to get that extra .255 gallons, how much do you use? I wouldn't doubt if those people are in line for 20-30 minutes. I'm pretty sure, even though their engine is idle, they're going to burn that much. They were just sitting there, polluting the air to save a few cents.

Okay, stop being such a hippie Thomas you say. I realize some people might be on a really tight budget... but then again, how much gas are you wasting in line? Turn off your engine and restart it everytime someone moves, fine. I don't know how much gas that takes, but how valuble is your time? Anyways, yeesh people, it's simple math. Petrol is really high, but four cents isn't going to break the bank.

In other news, the Blazers actually won last night! It was against the worst team in the NBA, but hey, a win is a win! I really hope they lose out so we get a good lottery pick.

I've also been selected to go to FBLA Nationals because #1,2,4,5,6, and 7 defaulted their spots. I might go, it would be $500 out of my pocket because my parents will pay half. It's in Orlando and I'd get to go to all the theme parks and beaches though, so it might be fun. I have to decide by tomorrow. Yay!

Also, I bet you're wondering why I said petrol. You reread it a couple of times and said "wtf" in your head. Don't deny it.