Woozle/to do/archive/2006-2007

What Woozle Is Doing Right Now

Entries are most recent first; to read in order, start at the end.

Overview

• HyperMail so I can manage my emails
• Images for existing VBZ items

Today

16:38, 3 Sep 2005 (EDT): Chopping onions, attempting to recover files from a messed-up hard drive, interceding between a battling 6yo and 8yo... :-P

What Woozle Was Doing Earlier

2005-09-02

07:50, 2 Sep 2005 (EDT): Requiem for New Orleans:

• "In the Heart of the Night", by Poco
• "Shattered Visions", by Brides of Jesus (transplanted New Orleans funk band) (MP3 for a limited time)
• "New Orleans Ladies", by LeRoux (MP3 of live acoustic performance on the late lamented WQDR Rock)

11:57, 2 Sep 2005 (EDT): Ok, so two days ago (the day Katrina hit), we begin to hear about rising gas prices, so I take the Nissan out to Costco to fill up, in case there are shortages by the time the minivan needs a tank. However, I can't get my check card to work (Costo doesn't do credit cards except Amex, but they do take check cards -- which means you need the PIN). So I give up and go home.

Next day, we happen to be in the bank, so I have them reset the PIN to the same number as the other card, which is easier to remember. On the way out of the bank, I suddenly figure it out -- I had the PINs reversed; I was trying to use my personal card's PIN on my business card. So I have just now accomplished exactly nothing, except to have the bank send me an extra card I don't need about 2 months before they would have sent me a new card anyway. (Oops.)

Then today, in the face of continuing news of gas shortages and spiking prices, I decide I really had better get that tank filled, just in case (thus putting myself at the end of a long string of fellow gas-hoarders, I'm sure), so we drive the Nissan over to Costco -- to find that they have no gas of any kind. (Oops)

So we stop off at a Citgo station on the way, the only place we'd seen all morning that had gas under $3.29 (which seemed to be pretty universal, even at places that usually charge more; this one Citgo was charging $3.19). Being a bit out of practice at tanking up at non-Costco pumps, I pull in on the wrong side. (Oops.)

The sign says they're requiring pre-payment due to a large number of drive-offs, so I go in and give them my Citgo card, and then come back out to the pump. I stick the pump in the gas tank and squeeze the trigger -- nothing happens. Then I suddenly remember you generally have to turn the pump on at these non-pay-at-pump places, so I go around to turn on the pump; on the way there, I stumble and knock the hose over a bit, and the nozzle springs out of the gas tank filler hole, spraying a few teaspoons of (increasingly precious) gasoline on the pavement as it does so. (Oops.)

I stick the nozzle back in more firmly, switch the pump on, and it starts pumping. And then I notice that the gas I'm paying for is $3.39/gallon, not $3.19... and then I notice that the pump says "PREMIUM" on it. (Oops.)

I point this out to Harena, who so *very* wittily chimes in "well, guess there's no sense in crying over spilled gas!". About 3 seconds later, gas begins pouring out of the gas tank. (Insert rimshot here.) Apparently the cutoff-sensors at Costco deal with the pump nozzle being at a funny angle a lot better than these ones do -- and this one was, indeed, at a funny angle, because was stretching over from the other side of the car, because I had parked with the tank on the wrong side. (Oops.)

On the bright side, I just now looked at the sales slip, and for some unknown reason they actually only charged me $3.19/gallon. Maybe it wasn't really premium? (I could imagine that they might have decided to fill all their tanks with Regular, anticipating a shortage. That would seem like the kind of public-spirited thing which the lowest-priced gas station in town just might do; $deity knows they probably could have stocked up with premium, overcharged for it, and made out like bandits. But the pump clearly thought it was charging me $3.39/gallon.)

(P.S. "$deity" was copied from today's Schlock Mercenary musings and is a variable used to represent the deity of your choice.)

2005-09-01

07:22, 1 Sep 2005 (EDT): I'm being told a story.

Earlier Months

• August, 2005
• July, 2005
• June, 2005