Gas roars higher, pressuring holiday travelers (Hey Eco-Idiots, enjoy your $4 a gallon of gas!)

yahoo ^ | 5/23/2008 | JOHN WILEN, AP Business Writer

[tobyhill]

NEW YORK - As consumers began hitting the road Friday for the Memorial Day weekend, they faced the sobering reality that it now costs $87 to fill a Ford Explorer SUV, up $14 from last year, and $72 to fill a mid-sized Honda Accord, up $12.

That's because gas prices, which took another jump higher overnight, are up nearly 20 percent, or 65 cents a gallon, over the past year to average nearly $3.88 a gallon nationally. But unlike this time last year, when gas prices were at their peak for 2007, pump prices now show no signs of halting their daily assault on the record books.

"Four dollars (a gallon) is a done deal now," said Jim Ritterbusch, president of energy consultancy Ritterbusch and Associates in Galena, Ill. "We could go significantly above that."

On average, drivers in Alaska, Connecticut, California, New York and Illinois are already paying more than $4 for gas, and an increasing number of stations around the country are posting prices higher than $4. In Alaska, where the average price of regular gas stood at a national high of $4.181 Friday, it now costs $94 to fill an Explorer, and $77 to fill an Accord.

[tobyhill]

Yep. Chowin on the sushi and seal.

[wally_bert]

There was an opportunity for the public television station I was at to allow for 4/10 hour days. The ne'er do-well 6 figure director could afford it as well as the overlords who made the good money so that idea died in less than 24 hours.

A lot of stuff we did was field work so many times it made sense to go straight to where the production was instead driving to HQ and then to location and the back to HQ to go home.

One other thing about the "overlords" that might amuse people. There were those bogus "employee of the year/quarter/whatever" events a lot. Whoever "won" got up to a few grand as a bonus. Maybe once or twice, someone who actually did something useful got that. However, the winner was some upper management type responsible for disasters and employee misery. Nevermind using that money for trying to do anything for personnel or anything beneficial.

[gibsosa]

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