Haha, well, the carrier battle groups aren't too much of a threat floating out there in the ocean.. the main threat would be from the fighters carried on-board. Then again, what kind of threat are they to a groups of rebels in Kansas? Sure, there are land-based fighters that could attack Kansas, but consider that those fighters are based out of somewhere. They have to land eventually. On land, they can be attacked and even captured. Hard to do if you're just a small group of rebels, but if you enjoy say 20-30% popular support, or more, then it's pretty much a lost cause for the powers that be. You can't kill a carrier battle group with a rifle or handgun but you can sure can ambush a group of soldiers or invade an Air Force base. If you got buddies with assault weapons permits then you have even more effective goodies to choose from. Combine this with the vast multitude of homemade weapons and IEDs that you can construct, and you can be a formidable opponent.
I would like to report that the Epson all-in-one peripherals seem to work fine. I installed opensuse on a spare laptop to give it a try and I liked it. I then plugged in my friend's epson scanner/printer and suse recognized it and configured it automatically. It only took like 2 minutes from plugging it in to printing and scanning. I was very impressed to say the least. I have since learned that Epson in general has excellent Linux support.
Basically everywhere. In San Francisisco it wouldnt even be considered middle class at all. Maybe in Kentucky $60k/yr is a decent family income, but you would be hard pressed to afford a $200k house on that.
Uh, not quite. In Alabama, which is a very nice place to live, $60k/year is damn good income. That's middle class to upper middle class living. A $200k house? That's pretty much a mansion here, or it's located on prime real estate. Most good housing in a good neighborhood is under $100k here, with plenty of decent houses available in the $40k-$50k range. A three bedroom house in a subdivision is around $130k-$140k max. Quiet, beautiful forest land is abundant and good land goes for $2500-$3000/acre.
This is just Alabama. You're forgetting about Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Iowa, Ohio, etc, etc, etc.
The problem with evoting is that computer systems are, as any/.r knows, an easy lay.
shhh! quick, take that back! geez, next thing you know there will be an influx of geeks in the emergency room after unexplainable accidents involving their dicks and various pieces of computer equipment
I am also from the U.S. I used to work for this one company where they needed about twice as many people for the amount of work to be done, but refused to hire them. The other two guys in my dept. would spend every evening and every weekend dialing in to do work and they were always stressed out to the point of becoming physically ill. I came in at 9:00 AM and left at 5:00 PM, M-F, and I'd be damned if I was going to do any work outside of that time frame. They had the nerve to call me one Friday evening when I was out enjoying a relaxing dinner with my friends, asking me to dial in and fix some problem. Haha, yeah right. But that's just me, I'm stubborn and too idealistic for the whole corporate mindset. The root of the problem is most people just go along with it and give in to the pressure. And they wonder why people are so unhealthy these days, why road rage is so rampant, why domestic violence is so widespread, etc? People are on their last damn nerves and stressed the fuck out, that's why. If people would just stand up for themselves against the tyranny of their corporate overlords, this problem would cease and I have no doubt that a large number of social problems would vanish overnight.
I don't understand all the uproar. All you geeks think you should be able to buy something, jab a screwdriver into it and then expect the manufacturer to support it.
You missed the point.
The point is Apple does not have right, morally or legally, to break your iPhone on purpose after you have modified it.
f you buy a car from GM, install an after-market modification (some kind of performance chip, etc.), it is quite possible that they may issue a recall that would either a) be denied b/c of your after-market modification
Why would GM deny a RECALL because of an aftermarket modification? A recall issued to fix a widespread inherent flaw in the product. Now, it's quite possible that GM may try to deny a WARRANTY CLAIM due to an aftermarket modification. They frequently get away with it too, but this practice is illegal. If taken to court GM would lose unless they could prove or show convincing evidence that the aftermarket modification CAUSED or CONTRIBUTED to the failure.
b) cause your modification to stop working or c) cause your car to stop working.
Sure, GM only *intended* to fix a product flaw, but unfortunately their modification (in conjunction with an aftermarket modification which was already present and clearly visible to the technician) caused my $300 MSD ignition box to fail or caused my engine to sling a rod through the oil pan. Guess I'm just out of luck, and they have no liability, right? Regardless of their intent, my car was running fine before I took it to be serviced and now it's broke. You think a judge won't find GM liable? Yeah right. You think a judge wouldn't find Apple liable if my modified iPhone was working just fine one day then suddenly quit working due to a forced firmware update from Apple which I did not approve or consent to? Yeah right.
... then you can design your nice tabled based pages in Photoshop/Dreamweaver and I won't have to spend a week converting them to a CSS based Joomla template.
Why are you using tables instead of CSS? CSS can be a pain in the ass sometimes, sure, but its advantages far outweigh the trouble.
[i]I am a great programmer, and I've debugged and solved the craziest of issues. My boss hasn't fired me precisely because I'm such a valuable asset. Just he has an issue with how I go about solving problems, and working.[/i]
Oh come on. You think this is a uniquely female problem? This problem affects every human being to varying degrees as far as I can determine. It has certainly affected me my entire life. I learn best by listening and absorbing, so I never (ever) took notes in school. I aced every test but I still caught flak all the time for not taking notes. You see the "culture" of school is that people take notes. When I didn't, that bothered people.
Another example: every time I get in a situation where me and a group of people are learning to operate a piece of equipment, the rest of the group invariably gets pissed off at me. You see, I learn by doing-- flipping switches, trying console commands and observing the results, etc, while they all apparently learn by rote memorization and following step by step procedures. An hour later I'm pretty much an expert on the equipment and know it like the back of my hand, and they're all CRYING about how I didn't do things their way.
Maybe the "culture" of IT is that people do things a certain way, but you do things differently and that bothers people. I don't know what the solution to your particularly situation is. Mine is this: I do just enough of the "right" things to get by, meanwhile working to start my own business so that I can do things my way without having to explain or report to anyone.
On cars, the computers keep the engines from over reving or running on too rich a mixture, both of which can damage the hardware. If you mod the software in your engine's computers you void the warrantee. Yeah, but when your power window motor quits functioning, or front fender falls off, they don't void the warranty because you modified the PCM. In fact, U.S. law states that vehicle modifications *will not* prevent a failure from being warrantied unless said modification was the cause or a contributing cause of the failure.
I have to assume here that you didn't move to, or remain in, Alaska because of the excellent quality of the communications services..
Hey buddy, people didn't move to, or remain in, Georgia because of the cold climate, either. I guess if the power goes out for a week and all the air conditioners quit working in the middle of the summer then they have no right to complain?
These assholes are jumpin all over you, ain't they? Fuck 'em. Let 'em whine and cry. Oh, you're such a terrible person for doing what you got to do to watch your favorite shows. It's culture, man, music, entertainment, it's all culture, and it's the human way to participate and share culture freely. I'm watchin the fuckin show-- the question is, how badly does NBC want my money? If they want my money bad enough they'll offer to sell me the shows in a medium and at a price that's acceptable to me, otherwise I'm gonna tell 'em to piss off, and just download it off the Pirate Bay. Seriously, it's like calling a thirsty man a thief for drinking water out of someone's fountain. You can bitch about it all you want, and cry about how he should have died of thirst rather than *GASP* drink someone's water without paying, but it's human nature, we're gonna do we want to do. And it ain't like the folks decrying your philsophy haven't deliberately and knowingly broken a law or three in their lifetimes either. It's just human nature.
I think you overlooked the word "intrinsically", or were not familiar with its meaning. His statement makes perfect sense when you realize what he is really saying: just because a change is artificial does not automatically categorize it as better or worse than a natural change.
It took us, what seventy five years? to begin putting the broadcast entertainment onto cable, and stop actually advertising our existence. It won't be much longer, and our planet will be nearly invisible.
What? There are thousands of satellites in orbit, and the number grows ever year. I assure you there is plenty of RF radiation being beamed out into space.
Ain't that the truth. I'm in the military, and I don't know why, but the DoD LOVES acronyms. There is an acronym for *everything*. Even the most mundane, obscure objects/ideas have acronyms associated with them. It's ridiculous, and honestly, it makes even the simplest concepts complicated as hell and difficult to wrap your mind around.
Aside: Suddenly I'm reminded of a joke from the Space Quest IV manual about a condition known as "CHAOS", aka "Collective High-Tech Acronym Overexposure Syndrome". There was another good one in the FAQ section where one of the questions was "I got Space Quest on a 3.5 disk, but only have a 5.25 drive. How do I get a bigger disk?" The reply went to great length explaining that creams and pills won't work, and neither will any fancy gadgets, and the best solution is just to be satisfied with... "oh wait, did you say DISK?":D
That's an excellent idea; however, there are a few roadblocks preventing that from happening.
First, when you mention the word 'diesel' to the average American, he immediately pictures a loud, clanking engine with pitiful acceleration that smokes up the neighborhood everywhere he drives. That's an understandable image because that's traditionally what diesels have been like here in the US; not sure about elsewhere. With today's common rail direct injection systems and turbochargers, diesels are nothing like they used to be, but it will take a while for the public image to change.
But there's still the problem of emissions that you can't see which your naked eye. One problem is our diesel fuel has a MUCH higher sulfur content than elsewhere; this is great for keeping diesel fuel systems lubricated, but not so good for emissions. In particular, it thwarts any attempt to use a catalytic converter. Now that ultra low sulfur diesel fuel has been mandated and is now just about the only thing available most places, it's possible to design diesels with catalytic converters that drastically lower emissions, particularly NOX, and reducing sulfur compounds that form sulfuric acid (acid rain.) Emissions has typically been the major roadblock to widespread diesel production in the US; with this development, it will be much easier for automobile manufacturers to have car and trucks designed approved with diesel engines.
Third, one reason why GM in particular is shy about diesel engines is because of the fiasco that was the introduction of the Olds diesel engines in the early 80s. Due to an unfortunate combination of engineering oversights and fuel contamination, these engines died frequently and catastrophically, often requiring complete engine replacement. These engines REALLY damaged GM's reputation and finances and they have shied away from diesels ever since. Recently, however, with the great success of their strong and reliable Duramax truck engine, I suspect that GM may be warming up a bit towards diesels.
The thing everyone needs to understand is this: yeah, Americans are pretty wasteful, but it's not completely our fault. We recognize the problems and we're trying to fix them, but it's a slow and difficult process, so give us a break!
...and another snooty European weighs in. I'm sure your comment makes perfect sense from the perspective of your armchair, but when you throw in a few actual FACTS about America, it doesn't make much sense at all. Do yourself a favor and go out in the world, come visit America and educate yourself. You Eurotrash insult us all the time saying we Americans as a whole don't know anything about the world, yet you don't know a damn thing about America and you insist on making ignorant comments regardless. Come here and see for yourself why your tidy little European armchair solutions for the US (how thoughtful, thanks!) simply ain't gonna work.
When you see how big this place REALLY is, you'll shit yourself. $3.50/gallon (US gallon) might be cheap in the UK, but it is NOT cheap in the US. Do you know how many goods (vital goods, even) are transported cross-country by diesel truck at 12 MPG? Do you know how many people are forced to drive an hour (50-60 miles) to work each day because the only other options are to a) get a much lower paying job closer to home or b) move to a crowded, polluted, dirty, restrictive, crime-laden, expensive city? When (not if, but when) fuel gets up to $9 gallon, our economy will likely collapse.
Yeah, I think it's stupid how a lot of Americans choose to live with their mortgages and SUVs and high debt, but that's besides the point- it is how it is, and it's not going to change overnight just because some European thinks it ought to. It's going to take a significant emotional event to effect the kick in the ass this country (in my opinion) so desperately needs.
What "benefits of society" are you suggesting the GP is giving up? I've lived in the country most of my life, and I love it. I've been to plenty of cities (big and small), and they are nice places to visit, but I damn sure wouldn't want to live there.
Out here in the valley, I could shoot assault weapons in the dead of night, have a big drunken bonfire, take a piss off my front porch, or basically do whatever the hell I want to do without anyone being around to know or care. I could paint my house pink, drive a rusted out Pinto, or have 18 cars up on blocks if I wanted to without some neighborhood nazi calling the cops. At this point you might criticize saying that only "low class" people do that sort of thing, but you're missing the point. The point is I can be low class, high class, middle class, or whatever the hell I want, and nobody can say a damned thing about it. That's freedom, buddy.
I've got 93 acres of forest land, which isn't much, but it's a hell of a lot more than I could own in a city without being fabulously wealthy. Plus there is no pollution: the sky is blue, the grass is green, the air is clear and my well water is the best water you've ever tasted. And best of all, when I walk outside all I hear is DEAD QUIET, or maybe some birds chirping. No trucks, cars, people yapping, construction noises, trains, horns, traffic, or anything, just peace and quiet.
I leave my house unlocked 24/7, leave the doors on my car unlocked with keys in the ignition, and have never had anything stolen from me.
I live in a cabin that I built myself, using trees from my land, sawing them into lumber with my neighbor's sawmill, all for less than $5k. No mortgage. I drive a Mustang that I built (including cost of car) for less than $2,500, which runs low 12s in the 1/4 mile. No car payment and cheap insurance. I have a $50/month power bill, $50/month cell phone bill, $30/month DSL, and occasionally I have to pay some (very reasonable) land taxes. Then there's misc. expenses like clothes and grocery, which aren't much because I don't live lavishly. I had a $34k/year job recently and I was living like a king on that salary, but I left it in favor of an $150k/year overseas job I'll be leaving for shortly. $150k ain't much in Seattle or Los Angelas, but here in the South that's enough cash for me to build one hell of an automotive business.
Having said all that, let me come back to the original subject. As you can see, I'm not doing so bad out here without all the "benefits of society". Now let's say some disaster befalls the nation/world which seriously impacts the infrastructure which supplies you with food, water, electricity, etc. If you're like many city folks, you might not even have a car to get out of town with. What are you going to do?
If the power goes out here, I fire up the old Lister diesel generator, and I've got enough fuel reserves to run it for a quite some time until I can secure more. If the grocery store closes down, I'm still eating steaks and drinking beer because I can grow and produce my own food. The water ain't going to go out as long as I have power, since I have a well with an electric pump, but if power fails I can still get water out of the creek. If someone attempts to threaten any of these resources I can stop them with deadly force. I can make my own clothes, I can build things, I can survive. And I know plenty of good ole boys who, while being as self sufficient as I am, would still be glad to band together to ensure our survival. Again I ask: what resources do you have available to you, and what are you going to do when the shit hits the fan?
That day might never come, but in the event it does, I am more than prepared, and it sounds like the GP is thinking along the same lines. I think it's pretty ridiculous of you to criticize him for thinking ahead and planning for the worst.
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Haha, well, the carrier battle groups aren't too much of a threat floating out there in the ocean.. the main threat would be from the fighters carried on-board. Then again, what kind of threat are they to a groups of rebels in Kansas? Sure, there are land-based fighters that could attack Kansas, but consider that those fighters are based out of somewhere. They have to land eventually. On land, they can be attacked and even captured. Hard to do if you're just a small group of rebels, but if you enjoy say 20-30% popular support, or more, then it's pretty much a lost cause for the powers that be. You can't kill a carrier battle group with a rifle or handgun but you can sure can ambush a group of soldiers or invade an Air Force base. If you got buddies with assault weapons permits then you have even more effective goodies to choose from. Combine this with the vast multitude of homemade weapons and IEDs that you can construct, and you can be a formidable opponent.
I would like to report that the Epson all-in-one peripherals seem to work fine. I installed opensuse on a spare laptop to give it a try and I liked it. I then plugged in my friend's epson scanner/printer and suse recognized it and configured it automatically. It only took like 2 minutes from plugging it in to printing and scanning. I was very impressed to say the least. I have since learned that Epson in general has excellent Linux support.
Basically everywhere. In San Francisisco it wouldnt even be considered middle class at all. Maybe in Kentucky $60k/yr is a decent family income, but you would be hard pressed to afford a $200k house on that.
Uh, not quite. In Alabama, which is a very nice place to live, $60k/year is damn good income. That's middle class to upper middle class living. A $200k house? That's pretty much a mansion here, or it's located on prime real estate. Most good housing in a good neighborhood is under $100k here, with plenty of decent houses available in the $40k-$50k range. A three bedroom house in a subdivision is around $130k-$140k max. Quiet, beautiful forest land is abundant and good land goes for $2500-$3000/acre.
This is just Alabama. You're forgetting about Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Iowa, Ohio, etc, etc, etc.
The problem with evoting is that computer systems are, as any /.r knows, an easy lay.
shhh! quick, take that back! geez, next thing you know there will be an influx of geeks in the emergency room after unexplainable accidents involving their dicks and various pieces of computer equipment
GD38AD
.. haha made you look!
-1 off topic? WTF? stupid mods, look it up on google!
I am also from the U.S. I used to work for this one company where they needed about twice as many people for the amount of work to be done, but refused to hire them. The other two guys in my dept. would spend every evening and every weekend dialing in to do work and they were always stressed out to the point of becoming physically ill. I came in at 9:00 AM and left at 5:00 PM, M-F, and I'd be damned if I was going to do any work outside of that time frame. They had the nerve to call me one Friday evening when I was out enjoying a relaxing dinner with my friends, asking me to dial in and fix some problem. Haha, yeah right. But that's just me, I'm stubborn and too idealistic for the whole corporate mindset. The root of the problem is most people just go along with it and give in to the pressure. And they wonder why people are so unhealthy these days, why road rage is so rampant, why domestic violence is so widespread, etc? People are on their last damn nerves and stressed the fuck out, that's why. If people would just stand up for themselves against the tyranny of their corporate overlords, this problem would cease and I have no doubt that a large number of social problems would vanish overnight.
How is this insightful?
I don't understand all the uproar. All you geeks think you should be able to buy something, jab a screwdriver into it and then expect the manufacturer to support it.
You missed the point.
The point is Apple does not have right, morally or legally, to break your iPhone on purpose after you have modified it.
f you buy a car from GM, install an after-market modification (some kind of performance chip, etc.), it is quite possible that they may issue a recall that would either a) be denied b/c of your after-market modification
Why would GM deny a RECALL because of an aftermarket modification? A recall issued to fix a widespread inherent flaw in the product. Now, it's quite possible that GM may try to deny a WARRANTY CLAIM due to an aftermarket modification. They frequently get away with it too, but this practice is illegal. If taken to court GM would lose unless they could prove or show convincing evidence that the aftermarket modification CAUSED or CONTRIBUTED to the failure.
b) cause your modification to stop working or c) cause your car to stop working.
Sure, GM only *intended* to fix a product flaw, but unfortunately their modification (in conjunction with an aftermarket modification which was already present and clearly visible to the technician) caused my $300 MSD ignition box to fail or caused my engine to sling a rod through the oil pan. Guess I'm just out of luck, and they have no liability, right? Regardless of their intent, my car was running fine before I took it to be serviced and now it's broke. You think a judge won't find GM liable? Yeah right. You think a judge wouldn't find Apple liable if my modified iPhone was working just fine one day then suddenly quit working due to a forced firmware update from Apple which I did not approve or consent to? Yeah right.
... then you can design your nice tabled based pages in Photoshop/Dreamweaver and I won't have to spend a week converting them to a CSS based Joomla template.
Why are you using tables instead of CSS? CSS can be a pain in the ass sometimes, sure, but its advantages far outweigh the trouble.
Of course they can afford professional translators; but why would they hire 5 professional translators when they can have 20,000 translators for free?
We're talking about the same Google that MADE those billions by using thousands of cheap/free Linux computers.
[i]I am a great programmer, and I've debugged and solved the craziest of issues. My boss hasn't fired me precisely because I'm such a valuable asset. Just he has an issue with how I go about solving problems, and working.[/i]
Oh come on. You think this is a uniquely female problem? This problem affects every human being to varying degrees as far as I can determine. It has certainly affected me my entire life. I learn best by listening and absorbing, so I never (ever) took notes in school. I aced every test but I still caught flak all the time for not taking notes. You see the "culture" of school is that people take notes. When I didn't, that bothered people.
Another example: every time I get in a situation where me and a group of people are learning to operate a piece of equipment, the rest of the group invariably gets pissed off at me. You see, I learn by doing-- flipping switches, trying console commands and observing the results, etc, while they all apparently learn by rote memorization and following step by step procedures. An hour later I'm pretty much an expert on the equipment and know it like the back of my hand, and they're all CRYING about how I didn't do things their way.
Maybe the "culture" of IT is that people do things a certain way, but you do things differently and that bothers people. I don't know what the solution to your particularly situation is. Mine is this: I do just enough of the "right" things to get by, meanwhile working to start my own business so that I can do things my way without having to explain or report to anyone.
... record low temperatures recorded in Hell ...
NBC, is that you? Nice reply, Anonymous Prick! -1, Troll
I have to assume here that you didn't move to, or remain in, Alaska because of the excellent quality of the communications services ..
Hey buddy, people didn't move to, or remain in, Georgia because of the cold climate, either. I guess if the power goes out for a week and all the air conditioners quit working in the middle of the summer then they have no right to complain?
These assholes are jumpin all over you, ain't they? Fuck 'em. Let 'em whine and cry. Oh, you're such a terrible person for doing what you got to do to watch your favorite shows. It's culture, man, music, entertainment, it's all culture, and it's the human way to participate and share culture freely. I'm watchin the fuckin show-- the question is, how badly does NBC want my money? If they want my money bad enough they'll offer to sell me the shows in a medium and at a price that's acceptable to me, otherwise I'm gonna tell 'em to piss off, and just download it off the Pirate Bay. Seriously, it's like calling a thirsty man a thief for drinking water out of someone's fountain. You can bitch about it all you want, and cry about how he should have died of thirst rather than *GASP* drink someone's water without paying, but it's human nature, we're gonna do we want to do. And it ain't like the folks decrying your philsophy haven't deliberately and knowingly broken a law or three in their lifetimes either. It's just human nature.
I think you overlooked the word "intrinsically", or were not familiar with its meaning. His statement makes perfect sense when you realize what he is really saying: just because a change is artificial does not automatically categorize it as better or worse than a natural change.
It took us, what seventy five years? to begin putting the broadcast entertainment onto cable, and stop actually advertising our existence. It won't be much longer, and our planet will be nearly invisible.
What? There are thousands of satellites in orbit, and the number grows ever year. I assure you there is plenty of RF radiation being beamed out into space.
That was a ploy used by Reagan to worry and bankrupt the Soviets. (It worked.)
How about "professionally"?
Ain't that the truth. I'm in the military, and I don't know why, but the DoD LOVES acronyms. There is an acronym for *everything*. Even the most mundane, obscure objects/ideas have acronyms associated with them. It's ridiculous, and honestly, it makes even the simplest concepts complicated as hell and difficult to wrap your mind around.
... "oh wait, did you say DISK?" :D
Aside: Suddenly I'm reminded of a joke from the Space Quest IV manual about a condition known as "CHAOS", aka "Collective High-Tech Acronym Overexposure Syndrome". There was another good one in the FAQ section where one of the questions was "I got Space Quest on a 3.5 disk, but only have a 5.25 drive. How do I get a bigger disk?" The reply went to great length explaining that creams and pills won't work, and neither will any fancy gadgets, and the best solution is just to be satisfied with
How about we work to cure the problem instead of trying to cure the symptoms?
That's an excellent idea; however, there are a few roadblocks preventing that from happening.
First, when you mention the word 'diesel' to the average American, he immediately pictures a loud, clanking engine with pitiful acceleration that smokes up the neighborhood everywhere he drives. That's an understandable image because that's traditionally what diesels have been like here in the US; not sure about elsewhere. With today's common rail direct injection systems and turbochargers, diesels are nothing like they used to be, but it will take a while for the public image to change.
But there's still the problem of emissions that you can't see which your naked eye. One problem is our diesel fuel has a MUCH higher sulfur content than elsewhere; this is great for keeping diesel fuel systems lubricated, but not so good for emissions. In particular, it thwarts any attempt to use a catalytic converter. Now that ultra low sulfur diesel fuel has been mandated and is now just about the only thing available most places, it's possible to design diesels with catalytic converters that drastically lower emissions, particularly NOX, and reducing sulfur compounds that form sulfuric acid (acid rain.) Emissions has typically been the major roadblock to widespread diesel production in the US; with this development, it will be much easier for automobile manufacturers to have car and trucks designed approved with diesel engines.
Third, one reason why GM in particular is shy about diesel engines is because of the fiasco that was the introduction of the Olds diesel engines in the early 80s. Due to an unfortunate combination of engineering oversights and fuel contamination, these engines died frequently and catastrophically, often requiring complete engine replacement. These engines REALLY damaged GM's reputation and finances and they have shied away from diesels ever since. Recently, however, with the great success of their strong and reliable Duramax truck engine, I suspect that GM may be warming up a bit towards diesels.
The thing everyone needs to understand is this: yeah, Americans are pretty wasteful, but it's not completely our fault. We recognize the problems and we're trying to fix them, but it's a slow and difficult process, so give us a break!
...and another snooty European weighs in. I'm sure your comment makes perfect sense from the perspective of your armchair, but when you throw in a few actual FACTS about America, it doesn't make much sense at all. Do yourself a favor and go out in the world, come visit America and educate yourself. You Eurotrash insult us all the time saying we Americans as a whole don't know anything about the world, yet you don't know a damn thing about America and you insist on making ignorant comments regardless. Come here and see for yourself why your tidy little European armchair solutions for the US (how thoughtful, thanks!) simply ain't gonna work.
When you see how big this place REALLY is, you'll shit yourself. $3.50/gallon (US gallon) might be cheap in the UK, but it is NOT cheap in the US. Do you know how many goods (vital goods, even) are transported cross-country by diesel truck at 12 MPG? Do you know how many people are forced to drive an hour (50-60 miles) to work each day because the only other options are to a) get a much lower paying job closer to home or b) move to a crowded, polluted, dirty, restrictive, crime-laden, expensive city? When (not if, but when) fuel gets up to $9 gallon, our economy will likely collapse.
Yeah, I think it's stupid how a lot of Americans choose to live with their mortgages and SUVs and high debt, but that's besides the point- it is how it is, and it's not going to change overnight just because some European thinks it ought to. It's going to take a significant emotional event to effect the kick in the ass this country (in my opinion) so desperately needs.
In Soviet Russia, TV watches YOU!
What "benefits of society" are you suggesting the GP is giving up? I've lived in the country most of my life, and I love it. I've been to plenty of cities (big and small), and they are nice places to visit, but I damn sure wouldn't want to live there.
Out here in the valley, I could shoot assault weapons in the dead of night, have a big drunken bonfire, take a piss off my front porch, or basically do whatever the hell I want to do without anyone being around to know or care. I could paint my house pink, drive a rusted out Pinto, or have 18 cars up on blocks if I wanted to without some neighborhood nazi calling the cops. At this point you might criticize saying that only "low class" people do that sort of thing, but you're missing the point. The point is I can be low class, high class, middle class, or whatever the hell I want, and nobody can say a damned thing about it. That's freedom, buddy.
I've got 93 acres of forest land, which isn't much, but it's a hell of a lot more than I could own in a city without being fabulously wealthy. Plus there is no pollution: the sky is blue, the grass is green, the air is clear and my well water is the best water you've ever tasted. And best of all, when I walk outside all I hear is DEAD QUIET, or maybe some birds chirping. No trucks, cars, people yapping, construction noises, trains, horns, traffic, or anything, just peace and quiet.
I leave my house unlocked 24/7, leave the doors on my car unlocked with keys in the ignition, and have never had anything stolen from me.
I live in a cabin that I built myself, using trees from my land, sawing them into lumber with my neighbor's sawmill, all for less than $5k. No mortgage. I drive a Mustang that I built (including cost of car) for less than $2,500, which runs low 12s in the 1/4 mile. No car payment and cheap insurance. I have a $50/month power bill, $50/month cell phone bill, $30/month DSL, and occasionally I have to pay some (very reasonable) land taxes. Then there's misc. expenses like clothes and grocery, which aren't much because I don't live lavishly. I had a $34k/year job recently and I was living like a king on that salary, but I left it in favor of an $150k/year overseas job I'll be leaving for shortly. $150k ain't much in Seattle or Los Angelas, but here in the South that's enough cash for me to build one hell of an automotive business.
Having said all that, let me come back to the original subject. As you can see, I'm not doing so bad out here without all the "benefits of society". Now let's say some disaster befalls the nation/world which seriously impacts the infrastructure which supplies you with food, water, electricity, etc. If you're like many city folks, you might not even have a car to get out of town with. What are you going to do?
If the power goes out here, I fire up the old Lister diesel generator, and I've got enough fuel reserves to run it for a quite some time until I can secure more. If the grocery store closes down, I'm still eating steaks and drinking beer because I can grow and produce my own food. The water ain't going to go out as long as I have power, since I have a well with an electric pump, but if power fails I can still get water out of the creek. If someone attempts to threaten any of these resources I can stop them with deadly force. I can make my own clothes, I can build things, I can survive. And I know plenty of good ole boys who, while being as self sufficient as I am, would still be glad to band together to ensure our survival. Again I ask: what resources do you have available to you, and what are you going to do when the shit hits the fan?
That day might never come, but in the event it does, I am more than prepared, and it sounds like the GP is thinking along the same lines. I think it's pretty ridiculous of you to criticize him for thinking ahead and planning for the worst.