Or maybe like the Covanent, in Halo, where Humans don't worship their God(s?) and therefore must be infidels, and therefore, must be exterminated ("I must now kill you.").
Seems like the *most* likely possibility to me. A peace-loving alien civilization won't survive long, because the war-loving one will kill them. Stands to reason, there's probably ONE vast empire of genocidal warriors out there, and they just haven't found Earth. Yet.
Also, the federal government anyway operates with a budget surplus,
well, that's because you don't spend as much as the US on a well-trained, exemplary professional army that would never do anything to violate the Geneva Conventions.
I wouldn't call a $65 fuel filter (see thepartsbin.com) "low maintenance costs".
A casual check of TDIClub.com will show you that these engines are not without their problems. Not diesels in general, just the VW. From MAF unreliability, to timing belt longevity issues, to intake clogging (WTF exactly is the air filter for, anyway?).
Don't get me wrong - I love my TDI Jetta, but it's not by far a miracle car. I'm looking forward to the Honda diesel being sold in America. But with all the hubub from the oil companies about low sulfur diesel fuel, I'm wondering if there's any future for diesel cars in the US.
HEre's the deal. In California, we have the CARB (Clean Air Resources Board - or something to that effect) - which dictates California EPA standards for cars. Several other states have adopted California emissions standards.
CARB has dictated that diesel cars must improve their emissions by 2006 to a certain level. Diesel cars produce less CO and CO2 than gas cars, but more NOx, and particulate matter (the particulate matter is up for debate - some gasoline engines are far worse than diesels at the med range of their RPM range typical to highway driving, under load - which does not get tested in EPA emissions testing - plus there are new technologies like zeolite traps that trap the particulate matter, it's nasty stuff so we DO need to get rid of it). The problem is - in order for 2006 diesels to MEET those requirements, a new set of emissions equipment needs to be phased in, which will not work with diesel fuel that has a high sulfur content. Currently, the oil industry is fighting the effort to get low sulfur diesel fuel tooth and nail, by blaming the "boutique formulation requirments" for price rises and supply shortages. They do not want to have to go through what they went through in the 1970's with Lead.
Because of this, many manufacturers have backed away from diesel, because they're afraid that they won't be able to sell them in CARB states. Already, you can't get 2004 diesels in California. I had to go to Arizona to buy a 2003 TDI Jetta, to register it in California.
The Honda diesel interests me. Because the Jetta has a pretty bad reputation as far as reliability issues goes. I'm hoping that the diesel fuel and emissions issues will be worked out so I can sell the Jetta and get the Honda in a couple of years.
I hope so, because I *STILL* refuse to participate in the "online music" industry until prices go below $.25 a track.
That's been my stance since 1995. I'm still waiting. (I sat out the whole Napster thing, because from day 1, I knew that it was just a matter of time before the RIAA whipped out the lawsuits - it took them MUCH longer than I imagined).
. . . well, what they didn't say (because as we all know, conflicts of interest DO exist), is that bit of age-old wisdom that each of us learns shortly after buying that $5 cheap plastic toy car that breaks after saving up lawn-mowing money to buy it: Cheap is nice, but ultimately, you get what you pay for.
The electric motor on the Prius has 295 lb ft of torque at 1200 rpm,
rilly? Learn something new every day. But what can the SUSPENSION handle? The Prius is a very slight, tiny little thing, from what I've seen. Looks like it's got like 10" wheels. I know what I *can* pull with the Jetta. Thought it *IS* true that VW does not publish a tow-capacity for the car.
(the new mini-SUV hybrids are reported to have been rated at 1000 lbs towing)
Say what? The #1 reason most people give me for justifying an SUV (over a wagon or sedan) is towing capacity. If a half-ton is the limit, then I would expect about zero sales.
In California truckers are striking as we speak because of high diesel prices (well, because high diesel prices are undercutting their profits, they want a raise).
That's exactly what I'm talking about. Though I don't think it's because they "want a raise" - it's because the big trucking companies buy their fuel on the futures market, and the little guys are getting crowded out of their industry because they have to buy it on the spot market (at the pumps), and it does cut into their profits, and makes their venture uncompetitive with the big trucking companies.
What they're really lobbying for, though, is an end to diesel formulation requirements. Because THAT is what the oil companies are using as an excuse to prop up prices, because they know high prices are unpopular, and if they can frame that belief in the minds of voters, they can do away with the formulation requirements, and once again fill California's skies with acid-rain causing sulfur fumes. (and they would very much like this to be the case with Gasoline as well).
Me Too - But the other reason I chose Diesel over Hybrid - well COST was not an insignificant factor!!!
But diesel fuel is that which is used by trucks and trains. The LIFE BLOOD of the US economy. (well, that and jet planes). If there's a serious problem with the diesel fuel supply, you can bet there will be a serious noise made by industry lobbyists. And there will be a serious response. I've got the teamsters on MY side in this.
When a gas pipeline ruptures, and gasoline prices go up, our Texaco President says "no collusion here, nothing to see, move along" - and you gas burners take it in the shorts. When diesel prices go up, the truckers get pissed and block freeways.
I am certain that long after the gasoline stops flowing, there will still be diesel.
And as a final reason - the TOWING capacity of a Prius or Civic Hybrid, is something on the order of 600 pounds. I've pulled 2000 lbs in my Jetta TDI at 80 miles an hour. No problemo. Diesel=torque baby.
That said, Hybrid technology is still largely in it's infancy. There's a lot more to go, in terms of more efficient short-term energy storage for regenerative braking, getting rid of losses from the damn torque converter in the damn automatic transmission, not to mention the damn differential which should NOT be needed at all in an electric car. Maybe someday Hybrids will be a viable answer, and it's up to you early adopters with deep pockets to "Make It So." While I'd like everyone to go out and buy a diesel so that the oil companies stop cracking oil to produce more gasoline, and start using the more efficent method of producing a higher ratio of diesel from crude, I'd much rather see more successful deployment of hybrid technology - because the Diesel solves MY particular cost and resource supply issues - but it does not solve ALL of our air-quality issues. Neither do hybrids - but these technologies will, some day, when they evolve further.
Maybe the problem is that we competed so well, for so long, and all of our competitors were so thoroughly beaten down for so long, that we grew complacent. In a grand scale, maybe what needs to happen is we need to lose our dominance. Then we will need to start competing again to catch up, when THEY get complacent.
Bush has been in office for ~3 years. Explain again how this is his fault...??
It's not Bush's fault per se. It's the result of a policy trend, which Bush's administration personifies, and has continued, and in my opinion, has rapidly accelerated.
So, no, I don't blame Bush or any one individual, but I do blame the neoconservative ideology, and the millions of complacent, arrogant, and weak-minded Americans that support it.
The typical geek (and i may get flamed for this but oh well) is somewhat scared/timid, and will retreat to that which they know best and get better at it, and shrink from the rest of the world. In order to change the stereo type, we need to fit in and get better at what we're not good at..
CONversely, the typical JOCK is intellectually scared/timid, and tends to shun, and retreat from situations where any mental demands are placed upon them, and on BOTH sides, some who are "Best at their own game" use that superiority as a tool to vie for social dominance. However, the smart geek is not going to be successful at luring a meathead linebacker into an humiliating game of Scrabble. But the meathead linebacker can EASILY force the smart geek into a test of physical prowess, by picking a fight with them. Along with that, goes a social stigma of "brainiacs" - (perfectly personified in a lot of today's conservative radio talk show, the disdain shown for so-called Liberal Elites). The intellectualism is berated, belittled, and scorned. Attempting to use logic or reasoning fails, of course, because while Enlightenment will always win - a complex case can never be defended in a world of sound-bites and short attention spans.
Professor Porsche knew back in 1910 when he built his first boxer engine, that it would be ideal for race car use, due to it's low profile. Lower profile means better aerodynamics, and lower center of gravity for better handling.
The principle was proven in the prototype VW beetle, the Porsche 356, and nearly every Porsche produced since then (excluding, of course, the 928/944, which were not really Porsches, they were Audis. The 914 was more of a Porsche than those front-engine monstrosities.)
Other technologies don't have the capability to wipe out all life on the planet.
One thing is certain. You can sit a representative of every nation on the planet down, and let them talk about it until they're blue in the face, or until they "agree" to some peaceful future.
Within 5 years, that agreement will have either been violated openly, or in secret, or the group of representatives you started with now exclude a whole range of new "players".
We've proven this over and over again, with nuclear weapons, and pollution controls, diseases, etc.
In short, this race is pathetic, and deserves to extinguish itself. The sooner the better.
Slashdot Mirror
. . . and SWEDISH government contracts get an even more special version of windows, complete with the NSAKey library. . .
I put my white Apple sticker on my Volvo 760, which I got rid of like 5 years ago.
There's a USMC sticker on the back of the Jetta. (Previous Owner)
Then they should produce ONE formula that satisfies ALL requirements. DUH.
But they don't want to. If they could, they'd pump it out of the ground directly into your tank, making it clean is "your problem".
Or maybe like the Covanent, in Halo, where Humans don't worship their God(s?) and therefore must be infidels, and therefore, must be exterminated ("I must now kill you.").
Seems like the *most* likely possibility to me.
A peace-loving alien civilization won't survive long, because the war-loving one will kill them. Stands to reason, there's probably ONE vast empire of genocidal warriors out there, and they just haven't found Earth. Yet.
Also, the federal government anyway operates with a budget surplus,
well, that's because you don't spend as much as the US on a well-trained, exemplary professional army that would never do anything to violate the Geneva Conventions.
Well, I drive like an asshole, and I get great milage in my Jetta TDI.
It's not the Turbo that solves the soot problems. It's the Direct Injection method.
I wouldn't call a $65 fuel filter (see thepartsbin.com) "low maintenance costs".
A casual check of TDIClub.com will show you that these engines are not without their problems. Not diesels in general, just the VW. From MAF unreliability, to timing belt longevity issues, to intake clogging (WTF exactly is the air filter for, anyway?).
Don't get me wrong - I love my TDI Jetta, but it's not by far a miracle car. I'm looking forward to the Honda diesel being sold in America. But with all the hubub from the oil companies about low sulfur diesel fuel, I'm wondering if there's any future for diesel cars in the US.
HEre's the deal.
In California, we have the CARB (Clean Air Resources Board - or something to that effect) - which dictates California EPA standards for cars. Several other states have adopted California emissions standards.
CARB has dictated that diesel cars must improve their emissions by 2006 to a certain level. Diesel cars produce less CO and CO2 than gas cars, but more NOx, and particulate matter (the particulate matter is up for debate - some gasoline engines are far worse than diesels at the med range of their RPM range typical to highway driving, under load - which does not get tested in EPA emissions testing - plus there are new technologies like zeolite traps that trap the particulate matter, it's nasty stuff so we DO need to get rid of it).
The problem is - in order for 2006 diesels to MEET those requirements, a new set of emissions equipment needs to be phased in, which will not work with diesel fuel that has a high sulfur content.
Currently, the oil industry is fighting the effort to get low sulfur diesel fuel tooth and nail, by blaming the "boutique formulation requirments" for price rises and supply shortages. They do not want to have to go through what they went through in the 1970's with Lead.
Because of this, many manufacturers have backed away from diesel, because they're afraid that they won't be able to sell them in CARB states. Already, you can't get 2004 diesels in California. I had to go to Arizona to buy a 2003 TDI Jetta, to register it in California.
The Honda diesel interests me. Because the Jetta has a pretty bad reputation as far as reliability issues goes. I'm hoping that the diesel fuel and emissions issues will be worked out so I can sell the Jetta and get the Honda in a couple of years.
For what it's worth, my 1972 Karmann Ghia with STOCK 1600cc carbed engine gets 35 mpg highway. (somewhere around 18 mpg stop-n-go).
The advance in fuel efficiency in cars has been pathetic.
My TDI Jetta gets 47 mpg highway. (haven't had the opportunity to test stop-n-go performance).
What destroyed 85% of the Market Value of "software" companies (dot bombs)?
CEO fraud. Not Open software.
Supply constraint doesn't work on free software. Find something else to sell. Like talent.
Then GO for it!!!
I hope so, because I *STILL* refuse to participate in the "online music" industry until prices go below $.25 a track.
That's been my stance since 1995. I'm still waiting. (I sat out the whole Napster thing, because from day 1, I knew that it was just a matter of time before the RIAA whipped out the lawsuits - it took them MUCH longer than I imagined).
. . . well, what they didn't say (because as we all know, conflicts of interest DO exist), is that bit of age-old wisdom that each of us learns shortly after buying that $5 cheap plastic toy car that breaks after saving up lawn-mowing money to buy it: Cheap is nice, but ultimately, you get what you pay for.
The electric motor on the Prius has 295 lb ft of torque at 1200 rpm,
rilly? Learn something new every day. But what can the SUSPENSION handle? The Prius is a very slight, tiny little thing, from what I've seen. Looks like it's got like 10" wheels. I know what I *can* pull with the Jetta. Thought it *IS* true that VW does not publish a tow-capacity for the car.
(the new mini-SUV hybrids are reported to have been rated at 1000 lbs towing)
Say what? The #1 reason most people give me for justifying an SUV (over a wagon or sedan) is towing capacity. If a half-ton is the limit, then I would expect about zero sales.
In California truckers are striking as we speak because of high diesel prices (well, because high diesel prices are undercutting their profits, they want a raise).
That's exactly what I'm talking about. Though I don't think it's because they "want a raise" - it's because the big trucking companies buy their fuel on the futures market, and the little guys are getting crowded out of their industry because they have to buy it on the spot market (at the pumps), and it does cut into their profits, and makes their venture uncompetitive with the big trucking companies.
What they're really lobbying for, though, is an end to diesel formulation requirements. Because THAT is what the oil companies are using as an excuse to prop up prices, because they know high prices are unpopular, and if they can frame that belief in the minds of voters, they can do away with the formulation requirements, and once again fill California's skies with acid-rain causing sulfur fumes. (and they would very much like this to be the case with Gasoline as well).
Me Too -
But the other reason I chose Diesel over Hybrid - well COST was not an insignificant factor!!!
But diesel fuel is that which is used by trucks and trains. The LIFE BLOOD of the US economy. (well, that and jet planes). If there's a serious problem with the diesel fuel supply, you can bet there will be a serious noise made by industry lobbyists. And there will be a serious response. I've got the teamsters on MY side in this.
When a gas pipeline ruptures, and gasoline prices go up, our Texaco President says "no collusion here, nothing to see, move along" - and you gas burners take it in the shorts. When diesel prices go up, the truckers get pissed and block freeways.
I am certain that long after the gasoline stops flowing, there will still be diesel.
And as a final reason - the TOWING capacity of a Prius or Civic Hybrid, is something on the order of 600 pounds. I've pulled 2000 lbs in my Jetta TDI at 80 miles an hour. No problemo. Diesel=torque baby.
That said, Hybrid technology is still largely in it's infancy. There's a lot more to go, in terms of more efficient short-term energy storage for regenerative braking, getting rid of losses from the damn torque converter in the damn automatic transmission, not to mention the damn differential which should NOT be needed at all in an electric car. Maybe someday Hybrids will be a viable answer, and it's up to you early adopters with deep pockets to "Make It So." While I'd like everyone to go out and buy a diesel so that the oil companies stop cracking oil to produce more gasoline, and start using the more efficent method of producing a higher ratio of diesel from crude, I'd much rather see more successful deployment of hybrid technology - because the Diesel solves MY particular cost and resource supply issues - but it does not solve ALL of our air-quality issues. Neither do hybrids - but these technologies will, some day, when they evolve further.
Never mind how three years ago, SciAm changed hands, and was dumbed down to the level of Popular Science.
I dunno.
Maybe the problem is that we competed so well, for so long, and all of our competitors were so thoroughly beaten down for so long, that we grew complacent. In a grand scale, maybe what needs to happen is we need to lose our dominance. Then we will need to start competing again to catch up, when THEY get complacent.
Bush has been in office for ~3 years. Explain again how this is his fault...??
It's not Bush's fault per se. It's the result of a policy trend, which Bush's administration personifies, and has continued, and in my opinion, has rapidly accelerated.
So, no, I don't blame Bush or any one individual, but I do blame the neoconservative ideology, and the millions of complacent, arrogant, and weak-minded Americans that support it.
The typical geek (and i may get flamed for this but oh well) is somewhat scared/timid, and will retreat to that which they know best and get better at it, and shrink from the rest of the world. In order to change the stereo type, we need to fit in and get better at what we're not good at..
CONversely, the typical JOCK is intellectually scared/timid, and tends to shun, and retreat from situations where any mental demands are placed upon them, and on BOTH sides, some who are "Best at their own game" use that superiority as a tool to vie for social dominance. However, the smart geek is not going to be successful at luring a meathead linebacker into an humiliating game of Scrabble. But the meathead linebacker can EASILY force the smart geek into a test of physical prowess, by picking a fight with them. Along with that, goes a social stigma of "brainiacs" - (perfectly personified in a lot of today's conservative radio talk show, the disdain shown for so-called Liberal Elites). The intellectualism is berated, belittled, and scorned. Attempting to use logic or reasoning fails, of course, because while Enlightenment will always win - a complex case can never be defended in a world of sound-bites and short attention spans.
Professor Porsche knew back in 1910 when he built his first boxer engine, that it would be ideal for race car use, due to it's low profile. Lower profile means better aerodynamics, and lower center of gravity for better handling.
The principle was proven in the prototype VW beetle, the Porsche 356, and nearly every Porsche produced since then (excluding, of course, the 928/944, which were not really Porsches, they were Audis. The 914 was more of a Porsche than those front-engine monstrosities.)
Well, jeez, the research was done in the UK because of the Christian Taliban here in the US banned it.
Next time, think before you vote. All of you.
Other technologies don't have the capability to wipe out all life on the planet.
One thing is certain. You can sit a representative of every nation on the planet down, and let them talk about it until they're blue in the face, or until they "agree" to some peaceful future.
Within 5 years, that agreement will have either been violated openly, or in secret, or the group of representatives you started with now exclude a whole range of new "players".
We've proven this over and over again, with nuclear weapons, and pollution controls, diseases, etc.
In short, this race is pathetic, and deserves to extinguish itself. The sooner the better.
Cowboy Bebop has survived for like 2 years on Cartoon Network with only 24 episodes.
.. . What a worthless TURD of a show. Good riddance.
Now bring back Firefly.
Bastards.