AndyO Blog

On Thursday, on my way to get car tabs, I stopped at an ARCO gas station to get gas and cash. I pulled up to the pump and inserted my debit card into the ATM. Of course, there was a 45-cent convenience fee (actually not bad for a cash machine).

After I started pumping gas, I examined the ATM a little more; it soon became clear that there wasn't an option to get any cash from this machine. I was paying 45-cents for the convenience of using ARCO's gas pump, which is odd because Shell and Chevron don't charge extra fees for using their gas pump. 

I felt a little swindled by ARCO. I think most people would agree that an ATM should include the ability to spit out some cash. Even if you pay with a debit card at Safeway or 7-11, there's usually an option to get back some cash. And they don't charge you a convenience fee.

What does ARCO have to say about this? Here's their website, which says this about how convenient their gas stations are:

Straight up convenience.

You can pay on the gas island with cash or your ATM card using PayQuick, It�s an easy way to purchase at the pump to get in, out and on your way quickly.

To avoid the 45-cent convenience fee, use your ARCO Debit MasterCard. Plus you can earn reward points when you use it!

Because I was in a hurry (and I needed cash for the emissions test you have to get in Washington state), I went inside to see if they had a real ATM. They did, but now they wanted $2.00 for the convenience of withdrawing cash.

I don't know about you, but I don't find $2.00 in fees very convenient. Which is why I won't be visiting ARCO again anytime soon. I also recommend that ARCO change the language on their pumps to be more accurate. For example:

Pay with cash or debit card

The worst part was that I did pay the $2.00 convenience fee at the real ATM, because I was in a hurry. I know that ARCO was counting on this, but you would think they'd be interested in forming a long-term relationship with me so I'd be willing to return to their store and buy snacks -- because that's where the real profit is.

Labels: Commentary, I'm mad as hell

All this talk about Avatar racing toward Titanic's record as the highest-grossing movie of all time made me wonder: If these movies (and many others) were released the same year, which would really be the biggest money maker?

Well, the results are surprising. Thanks to Box Office Mojo, you can actually see how these movies stack up when you adjust them for inflation. For example, when I saw Star Wars back in 1977, the average price for a ticket was $2.23. Today, the average price is $7.35.

So, here's the list: (^ indicates multiple releases)

So, as you can see, Avatar is nowhere to be found, but Titanic is.

The way this is calculated is through estimated number of tickets sold. For Star Wars, the number of estimated tickets is 178,119,600.

Here are the estimated tickets sold for Titanic and Avatar:

It makes you realize that while Titanic did indeed sell a lot of tickets, Avatar is making most of its money from higher ticket prices -- both from inflation and the higher cost of the IMAX and 3-D format.

If Avatar were released the same year as Star Wars, it would only have grossed $135,844,900 instead of $441,024,441. (As of 1/13/09.)

Either way, James Cameron and George Lucas are both very wealthy. And they both make pretty good movies.

Labels: Film, random

Now it's time for my annual "Gifts you should have given" list. Click to see previous lists. This year, I'm sticking mostly with items you can use around the house.

Shamwow! - OK, I finally gave some of these to my son for Christmas. He liked the idea of a towel that could magically soak up water like a vacuum. Plus it's made in Germany, so you know it's good.

iSlice - A cutting tool that won't cut you (as far as I can tell). It has a small zirconium oxide ceramic blade that barely sticks out of its housing -- but when you drag it across paper or plastic, it slices like a Ginsu knife. When you're done, you can stick it on your fridge because it's magnetic.

Mighty Putty - We broke one of the rungs on my sons' bunkbed ladder, and we fixed it with Mighty Putty. This stuff really does work. And, yes, I was skeptical.

Euro-Pro V1950 Shark VX3 Cordless Floor-and-Carpet Cleaner - This is a cordless vacuum that works almost as well as a full-size vacuum. Works well for hardwood floors, too.

Snuggie for Kids - We got one of these for our four-year-old, and (I'm not kidding) it's one of his favorite gifts. This one came with slippers, too. As much as these seem like a joke, the cashier told me they'd sold out of them several times at Bed Bath and Beyond.

Dyson DC24 Ball Vacuum Cleaner - If you want a serious vacuum, this is the gold standard. It's designed to be taken apart, so you can remove those frustrating clogs that shut down ordinary vacuums. Well worth the money (and they are expensive).

Turbo Snake - You know how it is; your sink always clogs at the worst possible time. But now you can work like the pros with this handy item.

Icy Bottle Sticks - Have you ever tried to put ice in your water or Gatorade bottle? I have, and it never fits. Well, someone finally figured out that ice can be any shape.

Labels: Gifts

Today is our last day in Kauai. Tomorrow, we board a plane and island hop from Kauai to Oahu to Hawaii, where we'll stay for another week. My parents are flying home on Wednesday.

Even after a full week and seeing so much, there are still more places I want to visit and things I want to do. This is my second visit to Kauai, and I can see why it calls people back.

As usual, I wasn't able to keep up on my daily blog. I guess I was too busy doing things and relaxing. But I'll be filling in these days in the next week or so. Until then, I'll leave you with an amazing view of the Napali Coast, on the west side of Kauai, which we visited on Friday.

Labels: Hawaii, Hawaii 2009, Travels, Vacation

I woke up to the drumming of rain outside. The TV said that there were flash floods all over the island. There was so much rain that the famous Kauai red mud was now bleeding into the ocean from the Waimea River. Here's a picture:

Brenda and I decided to go out for a bit without the kids. She really wanted to go to Wal-Mart. On the way, we stopped at Lydgate State Park, one of our favorite snorkeling spots from our previous visit to Kauai. We'd heard from Snorkel Bob's that the storm that had blasted the island a week or two before had filled Lydgate with debris and dead animals. When we arrived, we saw a deserted beach and signs posted not to swim.

The lifeguard who was on duty said it would be a month before the beach reopened. He said they had to let the ocean clean out the lagoon. It certainly looked like a mess.

Next, we drove to Wal-Mart. I've got to say that I'm not a big fan of Wal-Mart, but they do have a lot of stuff. We were mostly there to buy food, but I had to buy a Hawaiian shirt for the dinner we were going to for Thanksgiving. We also bought Lego car kits for the boys.

When we came outside, the rain had stopped and the air was muggy. Of course I started sweating right away.

Thanksgiving Dinner at Gaylord's

For Thanksgiving Dinner, my parents took us out to Gaylord's at Kilohana, a large plantation on the Kaumualii Highway, in Lihue. We sat in a covered area outside.

We brought the Lego cars for the kids to put together, but that only kept them occupied for 40 minutes.

Before long, the boys were running around on the grass. I gave Cameron the camera and he started documenting all the birds they were chasing.

We all ate a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, except Brenda and Drew. I started with a wonderful Kabocha Pumpkin Bisque and salad with arugula with Kunana chevre. Brenda had a "fabulous" fish dinner (I think it was halibut), and Drew had chocolate cake. (You read the correctly: chocolate cake.)

After dinner, which took nearly two hours to eat due to slow service, we walked around the grounds of the plantation. (I noticed that it wasn't just Gaylord's that had slow service on Kauai; I just think the pace is slower on the island, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. It just becomes a more difficult thing when you have two kids and one of them is four.)

Cameron and Drew especially loved this truck in the parking lot:

Waimea Falls

After dinner we drove to Waimea Falls, the location that was used at the beginning of the 70s show Fantasy Island. Along the way, we saw a wild boar dart from the side of the road into the brush. My Dad, who was wearing his boar's tooth necklace, was pretty excited.

The falls themselves were spectacular, especially given the amount of rain that had come down that day. But we didn't stay too long since it started raining again. 

Labels: Hawaii 2009, Kauai, Travels, Vacation