Monday, March 14, 2011

getting more due to higher gas prices

TIPS ON PUMPING GAS
I don't know what you guys are paying for gasoline.... but here in California we are paying up to $3.75 to $4.10 per gallon. My line of work is in petroleum for about 31 years now, so here are some tricks to get more of your money's worth for every gallon:
 
Here at the Kinder Morgan Pipeline where I work in San Jose, CA we deliver about 4 million gallons in a 24-hour period thru the pipeline.. One day is diesel the next day is jet fuel, and gasoline, regular and premium grades. We have 34-storage tanks here with a total capacity of 16,800,000 gallons.
 
Only buy or fill up your car or truck in the early morning when the ground temperature is still cold. Remember that all service stations have their storage tanks buried below ground. The colder the ground the more dense the gasoline, when it gets warmer gasoline expands, so buying in the afternoon or in the evening....your gallon is not exactly a gallon. In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and the temperature of the gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, ethanol and other petroleum products plays an important role.
 
A 1-degree rise in temperature is a big deal for this business. But the service stations do not have temperature compensation at the pumps.
 
When you're filling up do not squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to a fast mode If you look you will see that the trigger has three (3) stages: low, middle, and high. You should be pumping on low mode, thereby minimizing the vapors that are created while you are pumping. All hoses at the pump have a vapor return. If you are pumping on the fast rate, some of the liquid that goes to your tank becomes vapor. Those vapors are being sucked up and back into the underground storage tank so you're getting less worth for your money.
 
One of the most important tips is to fill up when your gas tank is HALF FULL. The reason for this is the more gas you have in your tank the less air occupying its empty space. Gasoline evaporates faster than you can imagine. Gasoline storage tanks have an internal floating roof. This roof serves as zero clearance between the gas and the atmosphere, so it minimizes the evaporation. Unlike service stations, here where I work, every truck that we load is temperature compensated so that every gallon is actually the exact amount.
 
Another reminder, if there is a gasoline truck pumping into the storage tanks when you stop to buy gas, DO NOT fill up; most likely the gasoline is being stirred up as the gas is being delivered, and you might pick up some of the dirt that normally settles on the bottom.
To have an impact, we need to reach literally millions of gas buyers. It's really simple to do.
 
I'm sending this note to about thirty people. If each of you send it to at least ten more (30 x 10 = 300)...and those 300 send it to at least ten more (300 x 10 = 3,000) and so on, by the time the message reaches the sixth generation of people, we will have reached over THREE MILLION consumers !!!!!!! If those three million get excited and pass this on to ten friends each, then 30 million people will have been contacted!
 
If It goes one level further, you guessed it..... THREE HUNDRED MILLION PEOPLE!!!
 
Again, all you have to do is send this to 10 people. How long would it take?
 
 
 
 

N.C. respite program may get second life

N.C. respite program may get second life

Related

·         Facility for adults to close in Kill Devil Hills - Feb. 20

 

By Erin James
The Virginian-Pilot
© March 13, 2011

POWELL'S POINT, N.C.

There's a bounce in her step as Gail Sonnesso moves from room to room flicking light switches.

Beaming, she opens a door to reveal a handicap-accessible bathroom. Better yet, the office suite has tons of space to exercise. A piano sits by the wall, waiting to perform songs like "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" and "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean."

Just a few weeks after announcing that the GEM Center must close its doors because of a lack of funds and participation, Sonnesso said she has found a way to breathe life back into the therapeutic respite program for adults with mental disabilities, particularly dementia. If all goes as planned, this spacious office suite in Powells Point will soon be the program's new home.

Soon, but not yet.

Sonnesso, GEM's executive director, who holds a master's degree in vocational evaluation and rehabilitation counseling, said she needs at least six participants before she can afford to open the doors.

Despite a decade long history in Dare County, the program struggled financially in recent years, as Sonnesso searched unsuccessfully for a permanent space to host daily activities for older adults with dementia whose quality of life can deteriorate as their disease worsens. As grant money to pay for the program has disappeared, so too have the participants.

But the new location on Caratoke Highway - about eight miles north of the Wright Memorial Bridge in Kitty Hawk - is the fresh start GEM needs, Sonnesso said.

The move north means GEM can expect to serve parts of Currituck and Dare counties.

Not wanting to see the program disappear, an anonymous benefactor has offered GEM rent-free space for a year. The program remains the only one of its kind in the area.

Sonnesso said she'll begin hosting office hours April 15. Meanwhile, she will also go ahead with plans to expand GEM's educational offerings, including caregiver classes and in-home consultations.

For more information, call the GEM Center at (252) 480-3354.

Erin James, (252) 441-1711, erin.james@pilotonline.com