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It's rare to find a pump that doesn't have a latch to lock into the "on" position, but if you find one, the Gas Gripper will keep you from overexerting your forearms while filling up.
Seeing a Windows blue screen of death is fine, if annoying, if you're just balancing your chequebook, but what if you see it in more...precarious situations? Like when you're pumping gas? Reader Dave saw this at a San Diego Shell station, after which he bravely continued filling up—but not without hiding his face behind his arm to shield himself from the inevitable gas station explosions of death. You're a ballsy man, Dave. See the close up after the jump. [Thanks Dave!]
We played with Gas Cubby, the car maintenance tracking tool for iPhone, and can say that the $US5 is a pretty low price to pay if you really want to keep your ride in good condition. Among its many hardcore features are petrol price fill-up tracking and graphing, service tracking and data (insurance, VIN) storage. We all know that we're supposed to get and document regular service on our cars, but who the hell remembers? By tracking your petrol purchases (which you get much more frequently), Gas Cubby will remind you of when those tires need rotating or when filters need replacement. Pretty damn good for $US5, I'd say. [Gas Cubby]
Posted by Nick Broughall at 6:12 PM on September 24, 2008
Google gets it. They understand. While they're thinking about starting their own countries and creating a whole new mobile platform (and rolling around on rollerblades while doing it), they understand that regular folk are struggling, especially at the petrol pump.
That's why they've launched a gadget for iGoogle which tells you the price of any petrol station in Australia. They update the information twice daily - so the information is going to be fairly accurate - and you can search either by suburb, price or brand.
You can download the gadget for your iGoogle homepage here. It's a free download, so there isn't any reason why you shouldn't use it, unless of course you prefer to walk or catch public transport. In which case - kudos to you for being better than the rest of us...
Furukawa, a Tokyo-based tech company, has developed a thermoelectric conversion material that's said to be able to boost the fuel efficiency of cars by 2% by converting about 7% of exhaust heat into electricity. Unlike conventional thermoelectric conversion materials, which warm up as a whole when one side is exposed to heat, this new material generates energy via the difference in temperature between its two sides. Apparently, that makes it much more efficient. They're currently working to improve the system, but they hope to have it ready for mass production by 2011, at which point that 2% will solve the petrol crisis single-handedly. Just hang in there for a few more years! [Nikkei via CrunchGear]
Pumping gas into a diesel engine, or vice versa, is a big no-no that may well screw up your engine. We all know that, don't we? But for those, uh, "fuel-type challenged" people out there that get it wrong, there's this new Fuel Checker gizmo. You install it inside your filler flap, and touch the pump nozzle to it before filling up: it'll check the type and flash green for go, and red for no. No idea how it works, but it comes in gasoline or diesel versions. Or you could, you know... read the label on the pump and double check the colour of the nozzle you're holding, and save yourself US$40.
AU: Seriously? I drive a diesel, and I've never ever ever come close to putting unleaded in the tank. Is this a common occurrence?[Red Ferret]
Posted by Nick Broughall at 8:40 AM on June 16, 2008
Posted by Nick Broughall at 11:21 AM on May 5, 2008
Fuel's expensive. I paid $1.80 per litre for diesel the other day - it was like mugging my own wallet. The only thing that left me with that same feeling of being financially raped was when I first held the LG Prada phone - and that didn't even cost me any money.
Another thing that's quite expensive is Microsoft Office, especially when you look at Google Docs and Open Office. To help ease the financial burden that Microsoft's software package will create, they've decided to offer customers a $40 fuel voucher for anyone who purchases pretty much any of their Office suites.
The offer is valid for boxed copies purchased from May 1st 2008 up to 31st July 2008, and the fuel voucher is a StarCash Card redeemable at any Caltex or
Ampol outlet, where EFTPOS facilities are available and operational. To get your voucher, you just need to redeem it by going here.
[Microsoft - Thanks Jase!]
Before the advent of the drive-through, families on road trips were stumped by the dilemma of how to have a hot meal ready at any time during their travels. But never fear, 1930s road warrior — hook up this automatic food cooking contraption to your exhaust pipe and your car will prepare your dinners for you!
According to English Russia, this special PC is used to work on fuel "connected directly to the car's gas tank." Hmmm. Apparently "it analyses the state of the fuel and diagnoses the overall condition of the car, while consuming some gas fluid." Possibly even without detonating and killing everyone nearby. There are more pics in the gallery, shedding more light on the thing, but there's no monitor, keyboard or mouse, and you never really see the drives in action either. Even the backside looks something fishy, and there's no obvious combustion engine either. What's your expert opinion? And what are the chances that this whole brilliant scheme will at some point combust all to hell? [English Russia]
