I love gasoline!!!

[Corry]

Yeah, prices in IL are crazy, here in the "rural" end of the state, it's running $3.99 a gallon, and for those of you in metropolitan areas, be thankful, I have 2 choices for groceries, the local IGA (and prices are about 25% higher than they should be) or drive 30 miles to the nearest city that has more than 1 grocery store.

And I used to chuckle when I'd see the Amish driving their buggies by the house, bet hay hasn't gone up all that much. So much for advancing our culture. Where I live there aren't many choices jobwise and the pay just plain sucks....Gotta love Illinois, huh?

Pretty bad when you have to choose between gas or film/chemistry. (yup, one of those crazy film people...)



erie

Where in Illinois are you from, if I may ask?

 

[Rhys]

Yeah, prices in IL are crazy, here in the "rural" end of the state, it's running $3.99 a gallon, and for those of you in metropolitan areas, be thankful, I have 2 choices for groceries, the local IGA (and prices are about 25% higher than they should be) or drive 30 miles to the nearest city that has more than 1 grocery store.

And I used to chuckle when I'd see the Amish driving their buggies by the house, bet hay hasn't gone up all that much. So much for advancing our culture. Where I live there aren't many choices jobwise and the pay just plain sucks....Gotta love Illinois, huh?

Pretty bad when you have to choose between gas or film/chemistry. (yup, one of those crazy film people...)



erie

I read that the Amish had accepted solar-powered phone boxes and that they were accepting solar-powered lighting. I wonder whether the Amish might not be quietly chuckling when the oil runs out (which is predicted for about 25 years time).

If photography were acceptable in an Amish community then it would be interesting to go to join them.

 

[epatsellis]

Where in Illinois are you from, if I may ask?

Sullivan, about halfway between Mattoon and Decatur. or as I prefer to refer to it, either "middle of f'in nowhere" or "the armpit of the universe" depending on my mood.



erie

 

[Corry]

Sullivan, about halfway between Mattoon and Decatur. or as I prefer to refer to it, either "middle of f'in nowhere" or "the armpit of the universe" depending on my mood.



erie

.

That can't be! Decatur is really freaking far from me, (I'm a little north of Bloomington) but the both 'middle of f'in' nowhere' AND 'the armpit of the universe' and right outside my door!

 

[epatsellis]

little north, like El Paso? or farther?

Perhaps you've been here?

(shot in Varna, IL)

erie

 

[Corry]

Further than El Paso. And I have family in Varna! Well, family of family.

I'm in a tiny hamlet called Wenona.

 

[Michaelaw]

Don't get me started on gas prices! Where the hell is that Escher guy when you need him....I'd get him to re-design my world so everywhere I go it's downhill!

 

[schumionbike]

Just out of curiosity, what grade of gasoline are you guys in Europe getting? It might explain the difference in prices a little bit. In the U.S, it's 87, 89, and 93 is the usual option. Sometimes you'll get 94 or 91.

 

[jlykins]

Ok here is the solution that I use. First I am an engineer for Pitney Bowes, which requires me to drive quite a bit for work. They give us .55 for every mile that we log. Now I own a ford F250, which gets in the neighborhood of 15-19 mpg. With diesel at 4.65 a gallon right now, you'd think that I would go broke, BUT I make my own for about .40 a gallon! Here is a link to the site that sells the unit to do it: http://www.homebiodieselkits.com/ Basically what you have to do is go to a local restraunt that has deep fryers. They have large containers behind their buildings that are used to store grease untill it can be removed by a removal company. This costs the restraunt money, so they will let you have as much of it as you want. The bio-diesel unit (along with some common houshold ingredients) will convert your old nasty grease into diesel you can run in your truck/car. There is NO modification to your vehicle except if you live in extremely cold climates, and even then all you have to do is add a fuel tank warmer so that the diesel doesn't gel up while sitting overnight. The main downsides to this are, 1: you have to go pump nasty used fryer grease out of the containers. 2: you have to have a garage to put the unit in to convert the diesel. 3: you smell like a fench fry heading down the road. Other than that you come out ahead. The unit that I have linked to is the most user friendly version that is out there. I have seen people on the internet that have made their own units out of old hot water heaters and 55gallon drums... At 4.65 a gallon (price on my way to work this morning) it would take you about 20 fill ups to recoup the price difference of the unit, and then the rest is money in your pocket... Just an option for you all. High fuel prices, I don't care, I make my own...

 

[KevinDks]

Just out of curiosity, what grade of gasoline are you guys in Europe getting? It might explain the difference in prices a little bit. In the U.S, it's 87, 89, and 93 is the usual option. Sometimes you'll get 94 or 91.

My friend Mr Google tells me that ordinary unleaded petrol in the UK is usually 95 octane. Chances are anyone who has quoted UK petrol prices was talking about that rather than what is sold as Super Unleaded, which is 98 octane.

My car is a 2.2 litre diesel which gives me 55 miles per gallon, and even with the much higher cost of diesel (due to higher taxation because of the additional pollution) it still makes more sense than a petrol car. Around 40% of all new cars sold in the UK are diesel engined, and given the price of fuel it's easy to understand why.

Edit: the octane value may have something to do with the price difference, but I expect it is mostly due to taxation. I have just read that 81% of the price we pay here is tax, but I think that may be wrong. In any case, it's a lot...

Kevin

 

[cesard08]

around $4.50 in Bay Area California