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Today's topics:
* Incandescent that avoids upcoming ban - 1 messages, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living/browse_thread/thread/93eae1e9abcb4fb3?hl=en
* Gas Prices - 9 messages, 5 authors
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living/browse_thread/thread/0ee1641a39c5a013?hl=en
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TOPIC: Incandescent that avoids upcoming ban
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living/browse_thread/thread/93eae1e9abcb4fb3?hl=en
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== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Sun, May 4 2008 9:32 pm
From: don@manx.misty.com (Don Klipstein)
In <sh0t149v089q55d9h2t75gbf1hpl9aj5hj@4ax.com>, Paul M. Eldridge wrote:
>Hi Don,
>
>Our firm is pretty much using 5,000K exclusively now; mostly Osram
>Sylvania XPS. I wasn't initially convinced it was appropriate beyond
>the shop floor, but it's been very well received right across the
>board -- at the risk of making this sound like a laundry detergent ad,
>everything looks "fresher", "cleaner" and "brighter".
>
>I use 6,500K in outdoor applications (they, in turn, makes the 5,000K
>lamps look somewhat dingy) and I'd be curious to see how they'd look
>in a commercial setting. I'd also like to try out the new 8,000Ks
>too, but my partners are not as keen on the idea.
>
>FWIW, I use SPX30s in my own home (living areas) and SPX50s in the
>utility room.
I have seen a few retail establishments with 6500K.
I remember recently seeing one that still does. Now, doggone it, I
can't remember who/what/where! But I'm pretty sure it was T8 6500K.
Then there are two others that I remember better as to who they were and
where they were. One was a copy shop using 6500K "Daylight"
(halophosphor) lamps. They moved to a nearby location and did not take
6500K with them; now they use 4100K. The other is a jewelry store that
used 6500K triphosphor (uncertain about bulb diameter however), but they
recently went out of business - my speculation is the owner(s) retiring.
All of these places appeared to me icy and at least slightly "stark",
and the one with the halophosphors also had some "dreary gray effect".
In my experience, 6500K lamps are more bluish than most overcast sky,
even though that is widely said to be 6500K. I seem to think that
overcast sky should be close to the color temperature of sunlight in
space, and I see varying numbers for that - with 5780K appearing to me to
make a good case there.
- Don Klipstein (don@misty.com)
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TOPIC: Gas Prices
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living/browse_thread/thread/0ee1641a39c5a013?hl=en
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== 1 of 9 ==
Date: Sun, May 4 2008 10:02 pm
From: The Real Bev
Larry Caldwell wrote:
> user132384@aol.com (caloo calay) says...
>
>> Small cars are less safe than big cars. Get whacked in a small car
>> and have a llifetime of pain. No fun.
>
> Not according to Consumer Reports. In crash tests, SUVs and light
> trucks were significantly more dangerous to drive than a conventional
> compact car.
More rollovers?
--
Cheers, Bev
================================
Eat right. Stay fit. Die anyway.
== 2 of 9 ==
Date: Sun, May 4 2008 10:06 pm
From: The Real Bev
Larry Caldwell wrote:
> In article <bosTj.239$yg5.119@newsfe06.lga>, bashley101+usenet@gmail.com
> (The Real Bev) says...
>
>> Amex has gone back to giving 5% off gas. One more damn card to carry.
>> My stack is half an inch thick now. No, they're not all credit cards.
>> There's the library, the laundry, medical stuff, a couple of
>> gift-certificate cards and more.
>
> I have gone to two wallets. One is just essentials - cash, my ATM card,
> auto insurance card, etc.; stuff I don't want to be without. The other
> wallet is for everything else. Often times, it stays home. When I
> carry it, having two wallets evens out the lumps in my pockets.
My handbag weighs 7 pounds; an extra wallet would just add a couple
more ounces. There are times I've gone out with only keys, a credit
card, my driver's license and a $20 bill, but it just feels WRONG.
I really like those indestructable nylon wallets with the velcro
fasteners, although eventually the velcro gives out. What I don't
understand is why they don't make the flaps longer to allow for stuffing
that sucker with cards and change.
--
Cheers, Bev
================================
Eat right. Stay fit. Die anyway.
== 3 of 9 ==
Date: Sun, May 4 2008 10:07 pm
From: "Rod Speed"
William Souden <souden@nospam.com> wrote
> Rod Speed wrote
>> William Souden <souden@nospam.com> wrote
>>> Rod Speed wrote
>>>> George <george@nospam.invalid> wrote
>>>>> Jim Elbrecht wrote
>>>>>> Terri <Terri@micron.net> wrote
>>>>>>> Paul M. Eldridge <paul.eldridge@ns.sympatico.ca> wrote
>>>>>>>> I believe it has to do with the VISA and MasterCard
>>>>>>>> pre-authorizations (I'm not sure if this is still the case, but
>>>>>>>> the MasterCard limit per transaction was set at $75.00).
>>>>>>> That makes sense. (Even if using a credit card to buy gas doesn't.)
>>>>>> Makes more sense than ever. I get 3% off for using the card. 3% of $4 gas is better than 3% of the $1 gas I was
>>>>>> getting when I signed up.
>>>>> Not really, you (and everyone else who purchases stuff) is paying
>>>>> for your "rewards" because the merchant has to charge more.
>>>> Nope, the card companys get it from the interest they charge
>>>> the fools who dont pay off their cards in full every month.
>>> And they get a percentage of each sale from the merchant.
>> Much smaller percentage than they get from the fools who dont pay off their cards in full every month.
> So anyone with a bill such as car repair or a family emergency who can not pay in full is a fool?
What was being discussed was paying for GASOLINE, you stupid race track bum.
== 4 of 9 ==
Date: Sun, May 4 2008 11:07 pm
From: SMS
Terri wrote:
> That makes sense. (Even if using a credit card to buy gas doesn't.)
Why would you think that?
The cheapest place to buy gas in my area is Costco. Not only doe the
Costco Amex card give a 3% rebate(consumer card) or 5% rebate (business
card), you can't pay with cash even if you wanted to. It's debit or
credit card (only Amex) only. At $3.80 a gallon, that 5% rebate is a 19¢
per gallon rebate.
In fact, even though Arco has the cheapest gasoline after Costco, you
have to pay cash, or pay a fee to use a debit card, so Arco ends up
being more expensive than some of the other stations that take credit
cards at no extra fee. Since Arco limits the prices that their
franchisees can charge for gasoline, it would be impossible for them to
take credit cards with the gas prices so high because the credit card
fees per gallon are nearly equal to the retailer's mark-up per gallon
(which is a fixed amount per gallon over the wholesale cost, not a
percentage). All the money is being made by the refineries, and the
lessees of the oil fields, not by the retailers.
== 5 of 9 ==
Date: Sun, May 4 2008 11:11 pm
From: SMS
h wrote:
> Umm, the rewards are from the credit card issuer, not the merchant. I'm a
> merchant, and I have no idea who uses a rewards card and who doesn't.
> Rewards don't affect merchants' costs one bit, unless the merchant is also
> the issuer of the card (Sears, etc.)
I noticed that some credit card processors process rewards cards at a
higher rate than non-rewards cards, so it does cost the merchant extra.
I.e, "http://www.novainfo.com/costco/index.asp". It may be that the
processors that charge higher rates for _all_ cards, don't differentiate
between rewards and non-rewards cards.
== 6 of 9 ==
Date: Sun, May 4 2008 11:12 pm
From: SMS
George wrote:
> You have to mark up your prices to cover the costs of credit cards. And
> either by law in some states and typically always in your merchant
> agreement you can't offer a cash discount
Cash discounts are fine. Surcharges for credit cards are not. I've
noticed a lot of independent gas stations have started having lower
prices for cash again, something that went away for quite a while.
== 7 of 9 ==
Date: Sun, May 4 2008 11:24 pm
From: SMS
The Real Bev wrote:
> Amex has gone back to giving 5% off gas. One more damn card to carry.
> My stack is half an inch thick now. No, they're not all credit cards.
> There's the library, the laundry, medical stuff, a couple of
> gift-certificate cards and more.
The Amex card is also a Costco card, so it's really not an extra card. I
try to cut back on cards periodically. One Amex/Costco (5% on gas/1% on
everything) and one Visa (2% rebate on everything) seems to be
sufficient for credit cards, at least domestically. For international
use, I use a Visa card where the bank isn't adding any extra fees on top
of Visa's 1% fee, and there are only a few Visa card issuers that don't
add those extra garbage fees.
== 8 of 9 ==
Date: Sun, May 4 2008 11:49 pm
From: William Souden
Rod Speed wrote:
> William Souden <souden@nospam.com> wrote
>> Rod Speed wrote
>>> William Souden <souden@nospam.com> wrote
>>>> Rod Speed wrote
>>>>> George <george@nospam.invalid> wrote
>>>>>> Jim Elbrecht wrote
>>>>>>> Terri <Terri@micron.net> wrote
>>>>>>>> Paul M. Eldridge <paul.eldridge@ns.sympatico.ca> wrote
>
>>>>>>>>> I believe it has to do with the VISA and MasterCard
>>>>>>>>> pre-authorizations (I'm not sure if this is still the case, but
>>>>>>>>> the MasterCard limit per transaction was set at $75.00).
>
>>>>>>>> That makes sense. (Even if using a credit card to buy gas doesn't.)
>
>>>>>>> Makes more sense than ever. I get 3% off for using the card. 3% of $4 gas is better than 3% of the $1 gas I was
>>>>>>> getting when I signed up.
>
>>>>>> Not really, you (and everyone else who purchases stuff) is paying
>>>>>> for your "rewards" because the merchant has to charge more.
>
>>>>> Nope, the card companys get it from the interest they charge
>>>>> the fools who dont pay off their cards in full every month.
>
>>>> And they get a percentage of each sale from the merchant.
>
>>> Much smaller percentage than they get from the fools who dont pay off their cards in full every month.
>
>> So anyone with a bill such as car repair or a family emergency who can not pay in full is a fool?
>
> What was being discussed was paying for GASOLINE, you stupid race track bum.
>
>
Still holds true. Some people who, unlike you, work and have bills
can not pay in full each month.
Welfare boy, did you see the Derby? Did the customers look like bums?
William Souden
sales fool/ race track bum
== 9 of 9 ==
Date: Mon, May 5 2008 12:09 am
From:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> Jim
> I guess I still don't get it then. I use cash to buy my gas. The guy
> down the road charges two prices for gas. The price for cash paying
> customers such as myself is less than those using credit cards.
Interesting. That's not legal where I live.
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