Just My Opinion

Now I, like many folks, have never understood how the powers in control price gasoline, heating oil, and such.  Seems like it is based mostly on whatever the market will bear, and woe to the consumer.  And we the consumers have learned to accept floating prices, pumping our own gas, paying with cash only, and even washing our own windshields.  And we can have 2 fuel stations (remember when they were known as Service Stations?) on opposite street corners with a price difference of .30 per gallon, and both will do a booming business.  Who cares about price?

I saw another good example of this on a recent trip from Central NY to the Tug Hill.  I did some running around up there, so needed to get a refill to make it back to Baldwinsville.  Not surprisingly, the mart in Barnes Corners was at $2.74.  They feed on snowmobilers, ATVers, and campers, and have a bit of a monopoly there.  I passed them up.  At Adams Center, next to Rt 81, they also were at $2.75-they cater to the unwary traveler who forgot to fill up at Watertown or the 1000 Islands.  I decided to move on down the road.

At Adams, just 4 miles further South, I found the highest price yet, $2.79.  No way I pay-still have a gallon or so left.  Finally, at Sandy Creek, I relented and pulled off and found a station-only $2.69 here.  I bought the least amount I thought would get me home.  Note that it is .10 per gallon less 20 miles down the road.  Delivery costs?

So much for that, but to my surprise, when I exited the expressway at Cicero, another 25 miles or so down the interstate, all the stations had gas for $2.49!  That is a .30 difference from Adams, or aabout 12%.  Make any sense at all?  Delivery costs?  Greed?  Supply and demand?  Who cares?  Of course there a number of retailers in Cicero, and competition of course, but I would like to know.  Wouldn’t you?

Tags: fuel, gas, gas prices, lowville, ripoff, sales, selling, Tug Hill, unhappy buyers

Here is a quick tip for those folks who, like me, use a PC but are not really technologically proficient.  A couple of weeks ago, I lost my CD drive – just disappeared from my computer like it was never there.  I could insert a CD, close and open the little door, but nothing happened.  No software, no drivers, no CD-ROM.  No music, no CD photos, no new software installation.  Hmmmmm.  I did not look forward to dealing with the usual array of Dell and Microsoft Third-World Tech Persons, but what to do?  Tried loading new drivers – would not work.  Computer said everything was ok.

Fortunately, my tech-proficient daughter was coming to visit, so I saved it for her.  She did some online research, and quickly isolated the culprit.  Seems that a while back I received an email with video attachment from a “friend”, and when I tried to play it, something called ITunes, from Apple no less, offered to download their software, which would enhance my computer’s music, video, movie, DVD experience.  I went for it.  Right!

But apparently, Apple’s programmers decided that if you had ITunes to download their movies, music, etc, (for a price, by the way), your computer had no need for those old, obsolete CD’s.  Delete.  Delete.  Delete.  Possibly there was an option box for me to uncheck during the download, but I missed it.  So, I was faced with a choice of ITunes or my CD drive.  Bye, Apple. I won’t be downloading any $.99 music, and I can play my own.  And that’s Just My Opinion.

Tags: Apple, CD, computers, Dell, downloads, foolish, ITunes, movies, music, virusi