Was this sarcasm, or a point?? Oil companies raise prices because they can, and because people are willing to pay it. There is no way to prove that someone raised the price to cover this cost. Gas prices at the pump don't go up because barrels of oil got more expensive last night, they go up because people raise the prices, because Joe down the street did first. People don't take buses or bikes to work because they can't, they take them because the cost difference isn't worth the inconvience factor.
Exxon and the others will find ways to pass this cost on. Anyone believing otherwise is naive, and anyone pushing a bill with such an unenforceable provision in it has ulterior motives in my book.
Tax a business, their costs increase, they pass that charge onto their customers. If you are going to tax it, tax it at the pump so everyone knows about it. Provide tax relief for people who will be impacted, and get on with it.
Know why gas went to $3/gal in the US?? Because PEOPLE WERE WILLING TO PAY IT. They griped, they whined, they complained, but everyone still went down to the gas station once or twice a week and filled up. Don't believe me?? Why do people pay 5 cents more a gallon for gas when they could go across the street and get it for less?? Or 20 cents when they could drive 5 miles and get it for less?? Because they can. Oh, they'll whine about the cost, and then they'll eat Kraft Macaroni and Cheese one night a week instead of spending $25 for pizza for the family to make up for it.
My heart goes out for the minority that can't afford it, but businesses are in business to make money, not provide charity work. The funniest thing I heard was someone whining about Exxon's record profits. I didn't hear anyone offering to give them money several years ago when their profits were in the crapper.
My daughter, bless her heart, wanted a new car. She went out and bought a Yaris and now gets 40MPG. Toyota can't keep them on the lot. I bought a motorcycle a year ago and get 50MPG, so there are already means to reduce consumption.
As for those 'cheaper alternatives', where are they. Ethonal?? I've read mixed reviews, some claiming it's the answer to everything, some claiming that the resulting agribusiness pollution might be worse than what comes out of our tailpipes now. Hybrid cars?? First, they cost more. Maybe their effective MPG makes up for some of it, but the anlysis I've seen says they are still more expensive in the long run once you start swapping out batteries. Biodiesel?? There is only so much french fry oil in the country.
My fellow citizens of the USA have it easy -- just look at the price of gas around the world. This is one of the cheapest places to by it.
Poisons are bad for you. There are foods that, when eaten in certain quantities, produce elements or conditions in the body that are not as healthy as other foods. That shouldn't make them bad, it should suggest one make educated decisions about when and how often to eat them.
100% ice cream made from cream, by your definition, is bad for you. But since I only eat eat a few times a year, who cares -- it tastes WONDERFUL and is much better than a granola bar. If I eat 4 oz of steak instead of 16 like many restaurants serve, I am still able to enjoy the taste I love and decrease my fat intake by 75%.
I always found it funny when my vegetarian ex-wife would eat textured protein that was shaped and tasted like meat. Isn't that like coveting your neighbors wife?? Or a lesbian using a dildo??
Oh... almost forgot... something that details how shady and hypocritical UCS is better than I can. Pay attention to the part about how UCS takes polls and uses the results... I like that part the most. Very shady in my opinion.
And why the rant on global warming... I never even mentioned it in my post. One might think you have a hidden agenda just like UCS with irrelevant postings like that.
Why do I think it's shady?? UCS is a extreme environmental group, in my opinion. They are against all genetic engineering of food, as far as I can tell are completly against nuclear energy, and their scientists are usually biased towards environmentalism v/s business.
If they called their organization 'An extension of Greenpeace', I might buy it. But their organization's name sucks people in and forces them to dig very deep (or start gettign emails) to find out what they are really about.
I enjoy getting their emails for 'Call to Action' that they forward to politicians. I like to change them to my viewpoint before sending them out.
Kinda like how the Union of Concerned Scientists hide an extreme environmental group behind the aura that concerned scientists everywhere have the same beliefs.
Every 'side' does shady things, and everyone else knows they do it. Move on... nothing new here....
Many doors have locks are not installed improperly. Deadlocking latch bolts have an anti-jimmy mechanism (that little slidy thing on the door bolt) that won't let the bolt withdraw if they both aren't in the same position. When the door closes, this part of the lock remains outside of the hole for the bolt.
Doors with deadlock latch bolts can, with a good swift kick, be pushed far enough into the door jamb for the anti-jimmy mechanism to fall into the strike plate hole. From there, a credit card or thin knife is enough to open the door.
Many years ago, I was able to open the door at a secured facility for a friend of mine (who worked there and forgot his key) using this method. It only took a few seconds to recognize the problem and open the door. He thought it was wicked funny considering that he was testing some highly-sensitive jet fighter parts in the lab, a lab I wasn't supposed to have access to.
BR
I didn't go in.....
I wish I some mod points....this comment needs to be much higher.
I have always felt that one cause of the difference between my actions and more serious environmentalists is a matter of a convenience/inconvenience factor. An environmentalist may be willing to pedal 25 miles to work, take an hour or more, arrive all sweaty, and spend another 15 mins. taking a shower. Or spend almost two hours and take the bus(I've checked the schedule...). I am not willing to do that, and ride a 45MPG motorcycle (I live in Phoenix and do this every day because my daughter drives my truck for her much shorter commute.) I'm willing to tolerate the few weeks of 110 degree heat (in full gear, mind you), while I notice the number of bikers declines quite significantly this time of year. It appears their convenience/inconvenience is different from mine.
Chill out dude...If you can pull out of your little flame there, and re-read, I said 'perhaps finding a different recreation would work best'. I never said 'no one should use SUVs to take a little kayak to some isolated stream somewhere'. I thought if someone is concerned enough about the environment to expend all of the effort the author did, maybe searching for a way to reduce their consumption to 0 would be another consideration.
Have you ever considered a very large ACME slingshot yourself??
No one ever flew an airliner into a building on purpose before either. Although people had been saying for years it could happen.
I'm not trying to justify spending the money. I can almost guarantee that the first time a stinger is fired at a civilian aircraft on take off or landing, within a year Northrop will be very, very rich....
My apologies... I didn't read the parent post as it was modded down. It was the 'little part dies' that made me feel that way.
I agree with your viewpoint 100%. I always felt bad for couples I knew that couldn't have children, when my wife and I had two without planning. There are people that love children, and feel it enriches their lives. I was not one of them, and neither feel better nor worse for having them. It happened, we dealt with it, like the result. Who knows what my life would have been without them, so I won't offer an opinion.
The truly selfish people are those that put pressures on you for their own personal reasons and opinions. You sound strong enough to maintain your own decisions regardless of the pressure put on by others. I wish you well. Can I be a bit envious??
To claim that having a child is the single worst financial decision a woman can make is very gender biased and ignores the many couples that endure financial strains. When I was married, we (as in the two of us) raised two children who were unplanned.
Children are not expensive unless the parents make it so. It is possible for two people to have two incomes without the large overhead of day care. It is not necessary to live in a 4 bedroom, 3,000 sq. ft. home, drive two $35,000 cars, and sacrifice further to send children to private schools or college. My personal experience has shown me that the single largest impact in a child's life is the role model provided by the child's parents. Being the spawn of two relatively poor parents and forgoing many luxuries for 18 years, I can say it was worth it for me. Raising children to be honest, strong, and independent gives them the skills they need to make a decent life on their own as an adult.
I respect my friends that never had children, and envy them in a way. I can also state that now, at the age of 46, I've catching up with them. I have a beautiful home (just purchased a year ago), a great job, and wonderful friendships with my now adult kids. My retirement may not be as high, but by the time I'm 65 I'll have plenty in my 401k and won't care about Social Security or Medicare. I can now travel and look forward to the next 30 years of my life with great anticipation.
The comment about dying a little is just mean spirited. You don't die for your children, you live for them and through them. Sacrifice?? Selfish people sacrifice, generous people give without expecting anything back. My 19 year old daughter has brought more life into my life than I thought possible, and helped me to understand what it is like to feel 19 years old at my age. And laugh at those around me who die each day because they refuse to live.
By all means, if you don't like children and don't want to raise them, follow through on your desires. If you view raising of children as a sacrifice, you will probably resent them and have no end to your troubles and they will also resent you.
I set my maximum bid at a non-mod 5 value. Snipers almost always use non-mod 5 values to snipe. And they rarely get more than one shot at it since they bid at the last minute. If you bid $20, then set the max at 43, it is more difficult for the sniper to use 41 and win.
I have seen this beat snipe attempts. I have bought items using this method and seen the last minute bids come in, and my max goes up to counter them and win by a couple of bucks.
It doesn't always work, but it works enough for me.
The only thing this shows...
on
Earth Sandwich
·
· Score: 1, Insightful
...is that there are far too many people with way to much time on their hands.
Including me for reading and posting to this article.
Somone who shouldn't own a computer continues to get infected, causing them to not be able to use their computer.
Why is this a bad thing?
Re: Vonage is a scam?? No...
on
Vonage going IPO
·
· Score: 2, Informative
Why have Vonage?? I have had it for 3 years and will never give it up.
Free call from anywhere in the world to home/Vonage phones if you can get Internet access, for $6/month (softphone). 500 minutes anywhere else. I used this in Inda for a month, big savings. I also use it when I travel, there are still occasional places where I am charged roaming fees and I hate the surprise when I get my bill, even if I do charge it back to my company.
Local phone numbers so your mother/father/daughter/son/etc can call without having a long distance charge. Or 800 numbers.
For that matter, several phone numbers for one phone.
Fax service. Some people, notably real estate agents and lawyers, still need fax because they need real signatures, not electronic ones.
Several phones in the house. I have 4 phones, one in the living room, one in the kitchen, one in my bedroom, and one out by the pool. I don't have to carry my cell phone everywhere, especially around the pool. I don't mind accidentally dropping a $20 cordless in the pool as much as my cell.
Kids... a ladyfriend's daughter spends thousands of minutes a month talking to her friends in another state.
Bad cell phone coverage at home
It's not for everyone, but for those that need certain features, it's a lot more economical, convienent, and easy to use than anything else. If I was single with parents that had money and decent cell phone coverage at home and never traveled, I wouldn't have it either. But for $30/month, it is saving me more money than it is costing me. A 60 min. call from India to home paid for my Vonage for 3 months.
Many company's reach out to help their employees during natural and unnatural disasters. The airline crashes on 9/11/2001, The 2004 tsunami, hurricanes and the like all impact people. It was quite rewarding to see my company reach out to it's global employees to make sure they are OK and to offer extra paid time off, counseling services, supplies, and charitable contributions during these events.
Since all fetuses have a 20% of being a criminal, should they all be aborted? If DNA testing is done and a fetus has a 50% chance of having a serious, uncorrectable genetic defect that would cost millions to treat, should it be aborted??
The problem with reasoning is that the reason can be used for either side of the argument if looked at in a different light. I guess that is why, no matter where the line is drawn, it is still just an opinion.
Slashdot Mirror
Was this sarcasm, or a point?? Oil companies raise prices because they can, and because people are willing to pay it. There is no way to prove that someone raised the price to cover this cost. Gas prices at the pump don't go up because barrels of oil got more expensive last night, they go up because people raise the prices, because Joe down the street did first. People don't take buses or bikes to work because they can't, they take them because the cost difference isn't worth the inconvience factor.
Exxon and the others will find ways to pass this cost on. Anyone believing otherwise is naive, and anyone pushing a bill with such an unenforceable provision in it has ulterior motives in my book.
I wondered if anyone would get the lamp reference ...
Tax a business, their costs increase, they pass that charge onto their customers. If you are going to tax it, tax it at the pump so everyone knows about it. Provide tax relief for people who will be impacted, and get on with it.
Know why gas went to $3/gal in the US?? Because PEOPLE WERE WILLING TO PAY IT. They griped, they whined, they complained, but everyone still went down to the gas station once or twice a week and filled up. Don't believe me?? Why do people pay 5 cents more a gallon for gas when they could go across the street and get it for less?? Or 20 cents when they could drive 5 miles and get it for less?? Because they can. Oh, they'll whine about the cost, and then they'll eat Kraft Macaroni and Cheese one night a week instead of spending $25 for pizza for the family to make up for it.
My heart goes out for the minority that can't afford it, but businesses are in business to make money, not provide charity work. The funniest thing I heard was someone whining about Exxon's record profits. I didn't hear anyone offering to give them money several years ago when their profits were in the crapper.
My daughter, bless her heart, wanted a new car. She went out and bought a Yaris and now gets 40MPG. Toyota can't keep them on the lot. I bought a motorcycle a year ago and get 50MPG, so there are already means to reduce consumption.
As for those 'cheaper alternatives', where are they. Ethonal?? I've read mixed reviews, some claiming it's the answer to everything, some claiming that the resulting agribusiness pollution might be worse than what comes out of our tailpipes now. Hybrid cars?? First, they cost more. Maybe their effective MPG makes up for some of it, but the anlysis I've seen says they are still more expensive in the long run once you start swapping out batteries. Biodiesel?? There is only so much french fry oil in the country.
My fellow citizens of the USA have it easy -- just look at the price of gas around the world. This is one of the cheapest places to by it.
And we still whine....
That's all I really need....and this lamp....
Poisons are bad for you. There are foods that, when eaten in certain quantities, produce elements or conditions in the body that are not as healthy as other foods. That shouldn't make them bad, it should suggest one make educated decisions about when and how often to eat them.
100% ice cream made from cream, by your definition, is bad for you. But since I only eat eat a few times a year, who cares -- it tastes WONDERFUL and is much better than a granola bar. If I eat 4 oz of steak instead of 16 like many restaurants serve, I am still able to enjoy the taste I love and decrease my fat intake by 75%.
I always found it funny when my vegetarian ex-wife would eat textured protein that was shaped and tasted like meat. Isn't that like coveting your neighbors wife?? Or a lesbian using a dildo??
Nothing beats the real thing.....
Oh ... almost forgot ... something that details how shady and hypocritical UCS is better than I can. Pay attention to the part about how UCS takes polls and uses the results ... I like that part the most. Very shady in my opinion.
... I never even mentioned it in my post. One might think you have a hidden agenda just like UCS with irrelevant postings like that.
And why the rant on global warming
You need a chill pill....
Why do I think it's shady?? UCS is a extreme environmental group, in my opinion. They are against all genetic engineering of food, as far as I can tell are completly against nuclear energy, and their scientists are usually biased towards environmentalism v/s business.
If they called their organization 'An extension of Greenpeace', I might buy it. But their organization's name sucks people in and forces them to dig very deep (or start gettign emails) to find out what they are really about.
I enjoy getting their emails for 'Call to Action' that they forward to politicians. I like to change them to my viewpoint before sending them out.
I read Scottish and Irish newspapers online and I get the distinct impression they have the same impression of the Brits....
Kinda like how the Union of Concerned Scientists hide an extreme environmental group behind the aura that concerned scientists everywhere have the same beliefs.
... nothing new here....
Every 'side' does shady things, and everyone else knows they do it. Move on
Many doors have locks are not installed improperly. Deadlocking latch bolts have an anti-jimmy mechanism (that little slidy thing on the door bolt) that won't let the bolt withdraw if they both aren't in the same position. When the door closes, this part of the lock remains outside of the hole for the bolt.
Doors with deadlock latch bolts can, with a good swift kick, be pushed far enough into the door jamb for the anti-jimmy mechanism to fall into the strike plate hole. From there, a credit card or thin knife is enough to open the door.
Many years ago, I was able to open the door at a secured facility for a friend of mine (who worked there and forgot his key) using this method. It only took a few seconds to recognize the problem and open the door. He thought it was wicked funny considering that he was testing some highly-sensitive jet fighter parts in the lab, a lab I wasn't supposed to have access to.
BR I didn't go in.....
I wish I some mod points....this comment needs to be much higher.
I have always felt that one cause of the difference between my actions and more serious environmentalists is a matter of a convenience/inconvenience factor. An environmentalist may be willing to pedal 25 miles to work, take an hour or more, arrive all sweaty, and spend another 15 mins. taking a shower. Or spend almost two hours and take the bus(I've checked the schedule...). I am not willing to do that, and ride a 45MPG motorcycle (I live in Phoenix and do this every day because my daughter drives my truck for her much shorter commute.) I'm willing to tolerate the few weeks of 110 degree heat (in full gear, mind you), while I notice the number of bikers declines quite significantly this time of year. It appears their convenience/inconvenience is different from mine.
Chill out dude...If you can pull out of your little flame there, and re-read, I said 'perhaps finding a different recreation would work best'. I never said 'no one should use SUVs to take a little kayak to some isolated stream somewhere'. I thought if someone is concerned enough about the environment to expend all of the effort the author did, maybe searching for a way to reduce their consumption to 0 would be another consideration.
Have you ever considered a very large ACME slingshot yourself??
Or....if one finds that only a low-milage SUV is needed for one's recreational pasttimes, maybe finding another recreation would work best.
Nice piece though, I must commend the author for at least trying to provide a non-biased look at what impacts fuel economy.
No one ever flew an airliner into a building on purpose before either. Although people had been saying for years it could happen.
I'm not trying to justify spending the money. I can almost guarantee that the first time a stinger is fired at a civilian aircraft on take off or landing, within a year Northrop will be very, very rich....
My apologies ... I didn't read the parent post as it was modded down. It was the 'little part dies' that made me feel that way.
I agree with your viewpoint 100%. I always felt bad for couples I knew that couldn't have children, when my wife and I had two without planning. There are people that love children, and feel it enriches their lives. I was not one of them, and neither feel better nor worse for having them. It happened, we dealt with it, like the result. Who knows what my life would have been without them, so I won't offer an opinion.
The truly selfish people are those that put pressures on you for their own personal reasons and opinions. You sound strong enough to maintain your own decisions regardless of the pressure put on by others. I wish you well. Can I be a bit envious??
To claim that having a child is the single worst financial decision a woman can make is very gender biased and ignores the many couples that endure financial strains. When I was married, we (as in the two of us) raised two children who were unplanned.
Children are not expensive unless the parents make it so. It is possible for two people to have two incomes without the large overhead of day care. It is not necessary to live in a 4 bedroom, 3,000 sq. ft. home, drive two $35,000 cars, and sacrifice further to send children to private schools or college. My personal experience has shown me that the single largest impact in a child's life is the role model provided by the child's parents. Being the spawn of two relatively poor parents and forgoing many luxuries for 18 years, I can say it was worth it for me. Raising children to be honest, strong, and independent gives them the skills they need to make a decent life on their own as an adult.
I respect my friends that never had children, and envy them in a way. I can also state that now, at the age of 46, I've catching up with them. I have a beautiful home (just purchased a year ago), a great job, and wonderful friendships with my now adult kids. My retirement may not be as high, but by the time I'm 65 I'll have plenty in my 401k and won't care about Social Security or Medicare. I can now travel and look forward to the next 30 years of my life with great anticipation.
The comment about dying a little is just mean spirited. You don't die for your children, you live for them and through them. Sacrifice?? Selfish people sacrifice, generous people give without expecting anything back. My 19 year old daughter has brought more life into my life than I thought possible, and helped me to understand what it is like to feel 19 years old at my age. And laugh at those around me who die each day because they refuse to live.
By all means, if you don't like children and don't want to raise them, follow through on your desires. If you view raising of children as a sacrifice, you will probably resent them and have no end to your troubles and they will also resent you.
Just don't belittle others for their choices.
I set my maximum bid at a non-mod 5 value. Snipers almost always use non-mod 5 values to snipe. And they rarely get more than one shot at it since they bid at the last minute. If you bid $20, then set the max at 43, it is more difficult for the sniper to use 41 and win.
I have seen this beat snipe attempts. I have bought items using this method and seen the last minute bids come in, and my max goes up to counter them and win by a couple of bucks.
It doesn't always work, but it works enough for me.
...is that there are far too many people with way to much time on their hands.
Including me for reading and posting to this article.
Wow ... I didn't know that.
Now maybe you could explain sarcasm to me....
Somone who shouldn't own a computer continues to get infected, causing them to not be able to use their computer.
Why is this a bad thing?
- Free call from anywhere in the world to home/Vonage phones if you can get Internet access, for $6/month (softphone). 500 minutes anywhere else. I used this in Inda for a month, big savings. I also use it when I travel, there are still occasional places where I am charged roaming fees and I hate the surprise when I get my bill, even if I do charge it back to my company.
- Local phone numbers so your mother/father/daughter/son/etc can call without having a long distance charge. Or 800 numbers.
- For that matter, several phone numbers for one phone.
- Fax service. Some people, notably real estate agents and lawyers, still need fax because they need real signatures, not electronic ones.
- Several phones in the house. I have 4 phones, one in the living room, one in the kitchen, one in my bedroom, and one out by the pool. I don't have to carry my cell phone everywhere, especially around the pool. I don't mind accidentally dropping a $20 cordless in the pool as much as my cell.
- Kids
... a ladyfriend's daughter spends thousands of minutes a month talking to her friends in another state.
- Bad cell phone coverage at home
It's not for everyone, but for those that need certain features, it's a lot more economical, convienent, and easy to use than anything else. If I was single with parents that had money and decent cell phone coverage at home and never traveled, I wouldn't have it either. But for $30/month, it is saving me more money than it is costing me. A 60 min. call from India to home paid for my Vonage for 3 months.Hmmm...I use one playing golf, 5 ounces of Patron tequila is just about right for a 4 hour round.
It should be twice as right for a 2 hour movie!!!
- Kids go to matinees. Being in the same theaters as a bunch of rug rats suck.
- Evening shows cost $9 (or more). Have to get a keg o'Icee, another $4.
- Have to go with daughter or girlfriend, and pay for their move and stuff. Another $13-$18. Total so far, around $30.
- Netflix costs less than $20/month and the food is a lot cheaper, and I can drink beer or tequila instead of an Icee.
Just because I can afford $30/week to go to a movie, doesn't mean I want to pay it.Many company's reach out to help their employees during natural and unnatural disasters. The airline crashes on 9/11/2001, The 2004 tsunami, hurricanes and the like all impact people. It was quite rewarding to see my company reach out to it's global employees to make sure they are OK and to offer extra paid time off, counseling services, supplies, and charitable contributions during these events.
Since all fetuses have a 20% of being a criminal, should they all be aborted? If DNA testing is done and a fetus has a 50% chance of having a serious, uncorrectable genetic defect that would cost millions to treat, should it be aborted??
The problem with reasoning is that the reason can be used for either side of the argument if looked at in a different light. I guess that is why, no matter where the line is drawn, it is still just an opinion.