B.C. by Mastroianni and Hart for August 09, 2022

All downhill from here

How to drive from coast to coast.

I remember my old Volkswagen with the lever you were supposed to kick over…and then remember that you had already kicked it.

Last time I ran out of gas, I was a block from a gas station. At the station I found out that “Weights and Measures” was inspecting and calibrating the pumps and I could not get gas there. I had to walk a half-mile to the next station.

The coastline isn’t always the same. The coastline varies depending where you are, what direction you’re going, and what the weather (traffic) is like.

I didn’t know I ran out of fuel once. I knew I was close but I got to the pump, filled up and went to start it. No start. I took the filter off and I had to prime the old diesel to get her running again. Used up all of the tank, the lines and the fuel filter and was running off of what was in the injection pump. I could have driven another 15 seconds or so.

Better hope there’s a ATM at the station or that your credit card is paid in full when you pull in. I use to remember with fondness my teens when gas first went to a dollar and the pumps couldn’t do that. So they set the pumps up so they showed 50 cents for every dollar you actually owed (good thing we were actually taught how to do math in our heads back then). Now I just look fondly back a couple of Novembers ago when I could fill my truck for well under 100 dollars instead of well over 200.

I once ran out of gas at the top of a hill and coasted to a gas station about half-way down the hill…

Here’s a topical anecdote I’ve shared before, just in case you missed it: My daughter was just saying, “Mom fills up at 1/4 tank, when do you fill up?” when there was a sudden silence. So I replied, “When the engine stops.” Fortunately, we were on the “coastline” – a long, gentle decline, with a gas station in the distance. We rolled to a stop beside the pumps without touching the brake; and it was a Shell station, the only gas I could use in my old 1970 Pontiac.

Put it down to the high coast of living.

You know, that line left of the “E”…

So THAT’S what the red line means!

I think this happened to me one time…LOL

I had some scuba tanks with a reserve setting on the valve. I never trusted it.

What about the electric car?

I remember as a teenager borrowing my brother’s car to go visit a friend. The tank showed over a quarter full, so I wasn’t concerned. Well, I got concerned when it just stopped on me. I called my brother after walking the rest of the way to friend’s house, and then brother told me that his gas tank gauge was stuck and he forgot to tell me it might be totally empty. Myself, I tend to go almost as long as possible before filling up. I had a car that at 12 miles left on a tank it would switch to “—” and that drove me nuts. That was when I really needed to know how many miles I had left. My goal is to fill up between half and quarter, but I rarely meet that goal.

Gliding is the only way to flight today with Avgas at over $7.51 per gallon.

My grandson relies on his car letting him know how many miles of gas he has. It lied yesterday and he ran out of gas.

Sure.. so long as you don’t get held up by a platoon of dinosaurs crossing the road.

I had one car a ‘71 Ford Capri (German import actually) that had a fuel gauge that was precise. When the arrow hit E the car died for lack of fuel. I couldn’t believe it.

And gas pump sticker shock, but not the first time … the 1970s had a worse period of empty gas stations, and double digit inflation to boot.

How about the brake line the line you cross when your warranty expires and everything brakes

One’s state of mind along the coastline can be borderline.

The coastline is just above the pushline.

Has anyone come up with a theory for BC, akin to Game Theory, Movie Theory, etc. ’cause this proves something fishy is going on…

The dictionary is from the future.