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You may have seen an e-mail that is making the rounds, urging you to purchase gasoline in the morning hours when the fuel is at its coolest. The e-mail says cold gasoline is more dense, so you get more fuel for your money if you get gas in the morning. When you pump during the heat of the day, especially in the summer, the argument goes that you are buying more vapor than when the gas is cold.

This sounded crazy to me. I mean, the tanks are underground -- how much heat or cold could actually get into them? But in 2006, The Kansas City (Mo.) Star investigated the story and found it to be rooted in truth. Temperature really does have something to do with gasoline density.

In fact, it could amount to a few pennies per gallon that motorists get shorted in the summer. There are some who argue that pumps should be temperature-adjusted as they are in Hawaii. NPR picked up the story this summer.

If all of that is true, it seems as though in the winter, those of you living in the coldest areas would benefit from the weather. The gasoline industry says any benefits it gets in the summer are wiped out in the winter. But what about areas like Florida, Texas, Nevada, California or Arizona, where it gets real hot but not real cold? The tilt goes to the gas station, not the customer.

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Social Security Disability Cases Drag On and On

Three quarters of a million Americans are waiting for a federal judge to hear their appeal to be considered for Social Security disability payments. The average wait is 500 days. Two-thirds who can last long enough to get to court win their appeal.

The New York Times did a great public service with this story, exposing the painful wait that people are enduring while waiting for the wheels of government to slowly grind.

The Times reports:

There are 1,025 judges currently at work, and the wait for an appeals hearing averages more than 500 days, compared with 258 in 2000. Without new hirings, federal officials predict even longer waits and more of the personal tragedies that can result from years of painful uncertainty.

As the Times points out, the people who await hearings sometimes lose their homes, declare bankruptcy or die in the time it takes to get a case through the court system. 

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Companies Tone Down Holiday Parties and Bonuses

USA Today reports:

As for year-end bonuses, 35% of employers have a December holiday or gift program, a survey to be released this month by benefits consulting firm Hewitt Associates shows. Ten percent of companies that had such a perk have ended it.

Fort Collins (Colo.) Now reports:

A nationwide study, The Daily Labor Report, conducted by The Bureau of National Affairs, showed that 44 percent of employers planned on handing out holiday gifts, cash or bonuses, a drop from 49 percent last year. The Year-End Holiday Practices Report was based on interviews with 210 human resources and employee relations executives.

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Editor's Note: Al's Morning Meeting is a compendium of ideas, edited story excerpts and other materials from a variety of Web sites, as well as original concepts and analysis. When the information comes directly from another source, it will be attributed and a link will be provided whenever possible. The column is fact-checked, but depends on the accuracy and integrity of the original sources cited. Errors and inaccuracies found will be corrected.

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