Gadling

The gas station sign might have touted $3.43 a gallon for premium, but the pump had other ideas.

According to this msnbc article, customers at a Citgo station in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin hit pay dirt when they put the nozzle in place and depressed the lever to let the gas flow.

Instead of the pricey amount they were expecting, customers were treated to a $.349 cents a gallon. That's right. Less than one quarter and one dime.

One customer, who usually spends $100 to fill her gas tank, drove away after only spending $8.85 for 25.36 gallons.

At first, the gas station attendant had no idea why there was the sudden interest in the gas station. The party ended after 90 minutes of a pumping flurry.

At least the economy worked in some people's favor this week, although, I'm sure the gas station owner is not too happy. I'm wondering, though, why no one told the attendant that something was amiss--or is it that people became confused and thought that gas prices were behaving just like the Dow Jones?

Today is the first day that OpenSkies' new route between JFK and Amsterdam. As of 4PM this afternoon, the inaugural flight from Amsterdam should have landed, and the return flight departs in just a few hours.

In light of their new route (and perhaps a little bit because of the economy), the airline has also announced that they're extending their fare sale for Prem + seats to an additional 1,000 customers.

It's probably a smart move on their part. With the economy in the toilet I have very little doubt that demand for premium air service across the pond has gone south as well. By extending their fare sale, they now can get a little more face time on their product and cajole a few wafflers to purchase a ticket.

Anyway, if you're still curious about the product that OpenSkies has tailored, you can check out Gadling's review of the airline here, and even enter to win a few premium tickets on the airline. We're drawing a winner this friday (two days away) Good luck!

Pizza. Is there any food more symbolic of New York? Sure, Chicago's got some pretty awesome deep dish at places like Pizzeria Uno and in California you can easily find a pie with toppings like goat cheese and duck sausage. But no pizza seems to have as great a hold on the American food consciousness as the New York style pie. Say what you will about your own local specialty, but there's something about that thin, crispy New York crust, the flavorful sauce, some milky mozzarella and a few fresh basil leaves that always gets my mouth watering like nothing else.

Yet in a city as big as New York, finding the best pizza spot is a source of controversy. Ask a hundred New Yorkers where they go to get a great New York slice, and you're likely to get hundred different answers. Strong opinions are offered. Questions arise. Which Ray's is really the original Ray's Pizza? Does Brooklyn have better slices than Manhattan? Is it the New York tap water that makes it so good? Is Grimaldi's worth the wait?

There's enough uncertainty out there that visitors might find themselves paralyzed with indecision. Want to know where to find some of the best pizza spots in New York? Click on through below to get our take on New York's top five spots.

With Halloween and Day of the Dead just around the corner, even travel takes a ghoulish turn. Over at Concierge, Ralph Martin put together the article Deadly Hotels, perfect for the vacation where you want to stay in a truly haunted house. Although I can't say the thought of staying in a hotel where murders and famous deaths have taken place really appeals to me, 'tis the season.

Just where should you head for a freaky Halloween? Here are just three to get you in a spooky mood:

• Hotel Chelsea, New York - The hotel is well known on its own, but it's also famous for being the spot where former bass player for the Sex Pistols, Sid Vicious, killed his girlfriend Nancy Spungen. If you're a believer in ghosts, don't hang out in room 100, which is where Spungen was found dead on the floor with a knife wound in her abdomen.
• L'Hotel, Paris - It's a classy boutique hotel nowadays, but once upon a time it was where Oscar Wilde came to die.He was quoted complaining about the decor, "My wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death. One or other of us has got to go." Wilde's spirit might still roam the halls, but at least they're covered in new wallpaper.
  
• Landmark Motor Hotel, Los Angeles - An LA trip wouldn't be complete without a stay in the place of a celebrity's last hurrah and this hotel happens to be where Janis Joplin died of an alcohol and heroin overdose.

Read about the other deadly hotels, which include the murder of an empress and a visit by the Manson family, here.

Sure, some retired airplanes are converted into super-chic hostels, but what about the rest of them? It'd be nice to think that they go to some airplane heaven, or are recycled into something useful, but as this piece from WebUrbanist shows, many planes are simply left to rust and decay when they're finally put out of commission.

Especially in places like northern Canada, Alaska, and remote parts of Russia, where flying conditions are often difficult and plane crashes are more common, mostly-intact planes will often be found dotting the landscape due to the difficulty of retrieving the wreckage.

Go here to see more. (Pictures courtesy Abandoned but not Forgotten)

There's a novel by American author James Still titled River of Earth. This photo by miggiddymatt reminds me of Still's writing.

Still, who died a few years ago when he was well into his 90s, was an adventurer and traveler who settled in the mountains near Hindman, Kentucky, a tiny town in the southeastern part of the state. He wrote about the Appalachians with an ear that perfectly captured the cadence of place.

Even though this photo is of the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina, the colors and ripples evoke a memory of a day I drove to the end of a road near Natural Bridge State Park to overlook such wonder. When I saw the view, I thought that the earth did indeed look like a river that went on and on forever.

If you have a shot of wonder, send it our way at Gadling's Flickr Photo Pool.

In today's product review I'm going to introduce you to BodyGuardz.

BodyGuardz are a device protection film designed to stick to your phone, PDA or MP3 player, safeguarding it from scratches. The film is made from a special kind of plastic film that is virtually indestructible, it is the same plastic used in the automotive industry to protect the front of your car from rocks and other abrasive elements.

The film is specially cut to fit the exact dimensions of your device, and is applied unlike any other protection film I've ever used. To apply, you use the included spray (which is a mix of water and baby shampoo). The first step is to clean your device, then you can apply each piece of film one at a time.

If you have ever applied a screen protector to your PDA in the past, you'll know that it can be a massive pain in the backside, but because the BodyGuardz films go on damp, it is extremely forgiving.

In fact, if you completely mess up and apply the film crooked, you can simply slide it around to get a perfect fit or remove it and try again.

My daily deal for today is for the SwissGear computer backpack. This stylish backpack has compartments for your laptop computer, MP3 player, water bottle, books and more.

The SwissGear computer backpack has an MSRP of $100, but usually retails for around $60. Amazon.com currently has it on sale for just $34.25.

Amazon has not posted too many details about the bag, but the comments on the product page have quite a bit of information, and most customers seem very impressed with the quality and the amount of storage space.

Since the bag is over $25, you'll get it shipped for free.

I've written about the scam that is international roaming charges in the past, and I mentioned briefly how you can bypass paying an arm and a leg to talk to the folks you left behind. But in this article I'm going to tell you what I consider to be the best phone on the market for international travelers; The T-Mobile Blackberry Curve.

Why the curve, and not the sexy iPhone? Well, the Blackberry Curve has 2 very interesting features you won't find with any other carrier, or any other phone. One is unique to the phone itself, and one is unique to T-mobile.

The Blackberry Curve (as well as several other T-Mobile Blackberry smartphones) comes equipped with Wi-Fi. And while that may not be very special, the Wi-Fi in these phones supports a mobile calling system called "UMA". UMA is essentially a method of connecting to the mobile network using Wi-Fi and the Internet, instead of cellular towers.

What this means, is that as long as you can get the phone connected to the Internet over Wi-Fi, you'll be able to use it just like you do when you are back home.

With prices at the pump down so much over the past few weeks, people are starting to wonder why the savings have not been passed on to airline passengers. Well, British Airways finally responded to the halving of crude prices by dropping their fuel surcharge £10 to £68 on domestic flights and £109 to £96 on overseas routes. Virgin Atlantic will also institute similar price cuts. The cuts come on the heels of a price fixing controversy involving BA and VA execs. The two airlines were fined over £120 million after admitting to fixing prices on fuel surcharges.

Gadling's favorite airline CEO (because he's always saying something outrageous), Michael O'Leary, tried to irk BA last week by criticizing them for not dropping their fuel surcharge after they dropped a similar charge for freight. "BA is using these high and unjustified fuel surcharges as a scam to rip off its passengers." Surely, O'Leary's comments didn't cause BA to drop the surcharges, but with the price fixing scandal still in the rear-view mirror, England's big two had to do something to get back on the good side of their customers.

[Via Sky News]