http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/6/12/231419/292 At one time, you could go to a <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.calmis.cahwnet.gov/file/occguide/AUTOSERV.HTM">Service Station</a> (some call them call them "gas stations", "petrol pumps", all depends where you live).  This was back when gasoline cost ~30-cents/gallon.  A strapping young lad would come out, fill your tank, check your oil, clean the windshield, and check the air in your tires. en-us Mon, 16 Jun 2008 08:42:08 EST Thu, 19 Jun 2008 13:46:33 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/6/12/231419/292#33 Yup.  My mixed son gets treated a lot better than my white stepdaughter.  And the bitches at the DMV are incredibly rude to me.  Most government jobs are filled by various ethnic groups and us Haoles get a taste of what it's like at the back Thu, 19 Jun 2008 13:46:33 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/6/12/231419/292#32 Most of the racism I experienced at the station was fairly harmless. One customer expressed genuine shock to see my boss wearing a Christian cross on her neck, because she thought she "was buddhist or something" to which my boss, with mild annoyance, told Thu, 19 Jun 2008 09:05:25 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/6/12/231419/292#31 Wet sand the area beneath your gascap and then throw a couple coats of clear on there.  The gas actually doesn't do that much damage to clear, but if it starts getting fucked up you'll notice it and it's easy to fix (wet sand and another quick shot of Thu, 19 Jun 2008 04:40:45 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/6/12/231419/292#30 If you think whites are racist against Asians, you should do what I did and live for a couple years in Hawaii.  Or maybe Korea.  Just don't go to Waianae after dark (or before dark).<p> If I hadn't been already vehemently opposed to racism, livin Thu, 19 Jun 2008 04:30:15 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/6/12/231419/292#29 [Note:  none of this is a personal attack.]<p> I don't know man, I think little entry-level/unskilled jobs are always a good thing.  Jobs for young guys, students, the elderly, and the slow.  Hell, I had a 6-figure job lined up with a teleco Thu, 19 Jun 2008 04:17:52 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/6/12/231419/292#28 When I used to go to a sketchy* locally owned grocery store across the street from my old apartment they didn't feature self checkout. What they did feature was surly cashiers who would accessorize by wearing sunglasses or 50lbs of bling while at work. Any Wed, 18 Jun 2008 06:39:59 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/6/12/231419/292#27 <p> <i>TV on the bus?</i>   That would seriously chap my ass.<p> Full service gas stations  haven't meant much since they stopped checking under the hood and airing your tires.  My idea of full service is when I meet my husband at Costco and Wed, 18 Jun 2008 03:45:07 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/6/12/231419/292#26 <i>You can't just cut someone off driving the same way when you can when walking.</i> <p> Maybe you can't ;-) Wed, 18 Jun 2008 02:10:02 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/6/12/231419/292#25 <i>When I lived in NJ I hardly ever pumped my own gas/diesel</i><p> Having lived in NY for the better part of my adult life, I actually don't even know how to pump my own gas.<p> And furthermore, I would say I actually really don't know how to drive, not r Wed, 18 Jun 2008 00:24:45 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/6/12/231419/292#24 I initially wasn't even thinking about the fully self-serve check out lines. They do have those at Home Depot around here and the only reason I don't like them is because the people using them in front of me are always completely incompetent at getting thr Tue, 17 Jun 2008 18:55:49 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/6/12/231419/292#23     Well, since I only visit two stores on a regular basis, my personal sample is rather limited. But the anecdotal evidence, and what I've seen on vacations, is that the number is higher than zero, and rising. Now, consumers may have reached the Tue, 17 Jun 2008 18:37:46 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/6/12/231419/292#22 Are you saying fewer stores are bagging groceries for you? I hadn't noticed this at all and I'm one who frequently goes out of my way to bag for myself. Tue, 17 Jun 2008 13:45:17 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/6/12/231419/292#21 I, personally, love the self-checkout line at the grocery store as well.  I can almost always scan and bag faster than the cashier, and I can make sure that things are bagged appropriately (i.e. no the heavy orange juice bottle does NOT go in the same Tue, 17 Jun 2008 13:44:42 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/6/12/231419/292#20 In my gas-pumping experience, I had many customers complain that we were one of the last true full service pumps in town (most still had attendants, but the attendants only pumped, and everything was up to you). This was right in the middle of the switch-o Tue, 17 Jun 2008 13:40:07 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/6/12/231419/292#19     Thanks for the additional reference. I don't drive, so the issue isn't one I have strong opinions about in either direction. <p>     My comment, btw, was supposed to be for the queue, not the main page. I must have posted right when Tue, 17 Jun 2008 13:17:31 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/6/12/231419/292#18 Yes, one of those guys who gave you attitude, did a shit job washing your windows, and spilled gas all over the side of your car.<p> No, actually I took a bit of pride in working hard (it was my first job, after all) and my bosses (who were also my neighbo Tue, 17 Jun 2008 10:00:47 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/6/12/231419/292#17 <i>I can't really remember what the problem I had with it was.</i><p> Well, in Oregon, my two main problems are:<br> <ol> <li value="1">They don't fill the tank up (annoying to head out on a long road trip and realize you only have 3/4 of a tank)<br> <li Tue, 17 Jun 2008 01:33:28 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/6/12/231419/292#16 <i>"anyone have any personal anecdotes?"</i><p> I'll add one.  The service station I went to when I first started driving was run by a Bohemian named Ed Ratajczak, and whose home was right behind the station.  He had a young man (and smart-as-a-w Tue, 17 Jun 2008 00:15:01 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/6/12/231419/292#15 Or Japan.<p> It's been about 2 years since I pumped my own gas.  And it had been 2 years when I did it then too.  :)<p> For some reason when I first started driving here, it used to annoy me that I couldn't get out an pump my own gas.  But, Mon, 16 Jun 2008 23:32:30 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/6/12/231419/292#14 Yeah, believe or not the worst part about it is honestly the programming...they show the weekend weather all the way until the following Tuesday plus things like tips on child rearing that amount to little more than don't leave your kid in the car on a hot Mon, 16 Jun 2008 19:59:20 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/6/12/231419/292#13 You folks have friggin' t.v.s on the buses!?  That has got to be one of the signs of the endtimes.  <p> Hell, I thought it was bad when Shaws market installed t.v.s in the check-out line. Mon, 16 Jun 2008 19:49:51 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/6/12/231419/292#12 No, only the ones I don't go to anymore, thank god. They're nearly as offensive as the televisions on the bus. Mon, 16 Jun 2008 19:44:38 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/6/12/231419/292#11 Ye gods...do all of the stations in your area have that crap? Mon, 16 Jun 2008 19:38:03 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/6/12/231419/292#10 That's just one refinery. There is another you can see from the Turnpike, just south of exit 12, but you can't see much except in the winter when the leaves are off the trees. Well, except for the gigantic flame, which you can see at night. Mon, 16 Jun 2008 19:24:03 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/6/12/231419/292#9 Apparently your self-serve pumps don't come equipped with branded, looped television screens. "Go inside and buy some candy! Watch this latest Britney news!" Talk about a shitty attitude to have to deal with... Mon, 16 Jun 2008 18:03:26 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/6/12/231419/292#8 We've got "mini-serve" and "full-serve" islands here in Oregon. Supposedly, the latter will have someone checking your oil, but there're very few places if any that do that anymore. The mini-serve is supposed to be just a fill-up only, but some places will Mon, 16 Jun 2008 17:28:29 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/6/12/231419/292#7 A self-serve pump never tried to up-sale me, never read my oil level wrong, and never once gave me attitude. Mon, 16 Jun 2008 17:08:04 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/6/12/231419/292#6 <i>I've never been particularly comfortable with things that require me to be served (if you could get good food there, I'd definitely prefer cafeteria style or buffet style restaurants, for example).  The relational aspect of it makes me uncomfortabl Mon, 16 Jun 2008 16:12:55 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/6/12/231419/292#5 I've never been particularly comfortable with things that require me to be served (if you could get good food there, I'd definitely prefer cafeteria style or buffet style restaurants, for example).  The relational aspect of it makes me uncomfortable - Mon, 16 Jun 2008 13:18:33 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/6/12/231419/292#4 It is my feeling that the direction taken by motorized vehicles in the 20th century (which continues in the current 21st century) was fundamentally wrong.  This direction, the emphasis on internal combustion engines, seems to have been based upon seve Mon, 16 Jun 2008 11:13:18 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/6/12/231419/292#3 <i>Strangest thing was that gas, on average, was about 10 to 15 cents cheaper in New Jersey than it was in Delaware or Pennsylvania even though the only way you got gas in your tank in Delaware or Pennsylvania was if you pumped it yourself.</i><p> Not that Mon, 16 Jun 2008 10:32:31 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/6/12/231419/292#2 Yes, children. There was a day when you could get full service at almost all gas stations, when gas was 30 cents a gallon, smokes were 39 cents a pack, when strapping lads (who amongst us didn't have porn music playing in the back of their noggins when th Mon, 16 Jun 2008 08:54:15 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/6/12/231419/292#1 Go take a vacation to Oregon (or New Jersey) if you want someone to pump your gas. Mon, 16 Jun 2008 08:47:27 EST string http://www.treesandthings.com/search/