Buying gasoline these days cuts such huge holes in people’s budgets it’s no wonder that feeding the family car is contributing to the tanking of the economy.

In urban Honolulu, we’re not yet near the $3.95 a gallon seen elsewhere, but prices are quickly rising to those nose-bleed levels.
So while we’re all in the mind of saving on gasoline, I thought I’d review the sites that can help ease the pain.
GasBuddy.com taps into the wisdom of the crowd by listing the cheapest gas around the country. People contribute by reporting the price of various grades of gas at different locations. For Honolulu, Costco, Aloha and the 7-Eleven location at School Street and Kam IV Road were reported as selling the lowest-priced gas at $3.32 for a gallon of regular this morning.
Elsewhere in Hawaii, the Waipio Costco was selling the cheapest gas at $3.37.
You can search these prices by communities and type of stations, just in case you are particularly loyal to the Big Gulps at 7-Eleven. And, if you are civic-minded, which I know you all are, you can contribute to the listings in your neighborhood.
So time to share. What have you been doing to cut down on your gasoline consumption? Has your carbon shadow been haunting you to act locally?

It’s downright fascinating to me to watch Microsoft, the corporate giant that once ruled the world, flailing about for a strategy that will ensure its future.
This company was such a perceived threat that whole governments felt compelled to prosecute it occasionally, just so it wouldn’t get so cocky.
In its latest scramble for survival, Microsoft has made an unsolicited bid for Yahoo! which is reacting like it’s been asked to the spring prom by the school nerd. It’s busy trying to find another date so it’ll have an excuse for the night.
Microsoft vs. Yahoo! isn’t just a dry business story. It’s all about how you and I will do computing in the future. Very soon if the stars align, we won’t need to buy overpriced, underdeveloped computer software on CDs or in downloads to our computers. We’ll just hop on the Web for the apps we need.
Already some amazing Web-based services are available, often free, and this so-called cloud computing is getting better all the time.
Try Google Docs or the photo editing site Picnik and you’ll see what I mean.

Microsoft knows what’s happening and it’s figuring maybe it oughta get positioned for this Internet thing. If it swallowed Yahoo! it just might get it, or maybe not.
OK, your turn: what’s your favorite Web-based service? What site can’t you live without?

Of all the super powers one could be endowed with, splitting oneself in two strikes me as the most practical.

None of this walking through walls or racing trains stuff for me. I want the molecular transformation that will allow me and myself to simultaneously compare the price of bananas at Foodland and Safeway. Given a split personality, Sandee #1 could be working on that overdue project at work while #2 checks out the shoes at Nordstrom Rack.

No more indecision, either, since I can always whack some sense into me.

Unfortunately, science has yet to announce breakthroughs in remaking us into Spidermen and Wonder Women. So when it comes to being in two places at once, we have to settle for Apple TV, Tivo and Netflix.

The idea that you can watch TV shoes and movies on your own schedule is among the most far-reaching developments of the decade, IMHO, second only to Beard Papa’s. I’ve had Tivo for a couple of years now and this week Apple TV stepped fully into the time shifting arena with the release of its Take 2 update.

The Apple TV interface is quite easy and looks like a more elegant version of Tivo. Apple’s offerings, including its HD movies, are somewhat limited now, but promises to increase with time. A significant count against Apple is its requirement that, once you start watching a movie, you have just 24 hours to finish it. Apple’s attempt at curing attention deficit disorder has been universally disparaged, and for good reason.

Tivo’s strength is in the way it can grab TV shows automatically and queue them up for showing when you are ready. I don’t worry about missing TV shows; instead, I worry about my daughter deleting my CNET tech programs off the hard drive to make room for her cartoons.

Netflix, which has long kept its place in the market with a large movie section and fast mail service, is stepping up its game by serving movies online. But its adherence to a service that only works with Windows is wrong-headed. Again, IMHO.

What’s your favorite way of time-shifting? How do you manage to keep on top of your TV shows and films?

I don’t know how to describe this phenomenon that I’ve been noodling over other than to call it Facebook envy.

Several of my friends’ Facebook pages are filled to overflowing with announcements and chatter and all manner of add-ons. By comparison, my page looks like I died sometime in November, leaving very few mourners.

Every once in a while, I make a half-hearted attempt at pumping up my inadequate presence on Facebook, where the winner is the guy or gal with the most buds. But lacking the staying power of some of my more focused friends, I retreat after a few futile minutes of searching for anyone who graduated from Farrington High School in the 70s.

I’m convinced they all moved to Antarctica and sadly lack wi-fi.

But I’m not ready to give up on my page because more than a virtual social club, Facebook can and does serve as an effective marketing tool for individuals and businesses.

One of my friends, a job recruiter, recently came out with a book that he’s promoting on his page and he’s got a ready audience for it. Another friend is in the consulting business so his page serves as his calling card.

Facebook has a more strait-laced reputation than MySpace, so if you are in the job market, a well-developed page could help you land that plum position, provided you take down the picture of your belly with the Jack Daniels tattoo.

Do you have a Facebook page and how are you using it to market yourself or your company?