I have also suggested a few times that Homeruns raise prices; if I recall correctly, I believe that I wrote that I would even pay a reasonable delivery fee.  Well, ask and you shall receive is the motto of any good consumer oriented firm; Homeruns just announced some changes in ordering policy and fees:  "Beginning with all orders placed on Sunday, September 3, the minimum order amount will be $50, and a $2.50 service charge will be added to all orders.  This new, simplified pricing replaces the ten dollar delivery fee currently charged to smaller orders, and will go a long way in helping us continue to provide the high quality products, services and shopping experience that you expect from HomeRuns.  At HomeRuns, we value your business and look forward to continuing to serve you."  Please do continue on; just make sure that not a single delivery person places any ordered items on my kitchen floor unless it is an obvious "floor item" (e.g., a ten pound bag of coal).

This is likely a good move.  I believe that the average online grocer order is about $80 and that the typical profit on each order is about $-12.50 -- yes, a loss (courtesy of the Industry Standard Metrics section).  The $2.50 will not cut the loss down to $10 per order, however, it will likely help them retain employees -- who did you suppose was going to get the service fee?  This is a big test for Homeruns; I believe that very few customers will depart because of this policy change.

I visited my trusty Texaco station and purchased some premium fuel with my Priceline Gasoline card.  The tank was below one quarter full, however, it was not very close to empty.  Still, I thought I better fill 'er up before Amy went elsewhere to get gas.  The price at the pump was $1.799 per gallon; my price for each of the 17+ gallons was $1.66.  (The price was $1.699 on Friday during Texaco's ten cents off on Friday promotion that is offered at this station.)
 

Luis Castillo RBI Watch (Through August 28, 2000)

Number of Hits......Batting Average......Number of RBI......Runs Scored
......147.......................350............................10........................80

Luis went 1-3 as the Marlins  were on the losing end of a 5-2 game with the St. Louis Cardinals.  Luis leadoff the first inning by striking out looking; in the third inning, with no one on base and no one out, he strike out swinging.  He leadoff the sixth inning and walked.  In the eighth inning with one out and the bases empty, Luis hit a single.  (These data are obtained from ESPN.com.)