The Gas Rant.........

[~kaos~]

Can you believe the fn gas prices?? It's only a matter of time before the thuglets start car jackin' people for their gas rather than their cars.... I was talking with my wife and told her when it got to that point I was just gunna install a remote incinerary device under the gas tank (joking of course *wink-wink*). That way if some asswad car jacked my ride I'd just let 'em have it..... and then I'd really let 'em have it! Yeah, I know at first thought the idea of car jacking someone for their gas seems like a joke but people are already taking a beating for alot less. Remember the "Starter Jackets" or the "Nike-Air" tennies beatdowns. Pretty soon guys the term gas wars will take on a whole new meaning.
In the meantime tho what are some of you doing to combat the prob?

[shiftycastro]

driving a 89 nissan sentra ..... parking the cherokee

[_MaD_]

It's getting pretty crazy and it doesn't seem like it's going to quit anytime soon. Thankfully I only like like 7 miles from work.

[~kaos~]

It's getting pretty crazy and it doesn't seem like it's going to quit anytime soon. Thankfully I only like like 7 miles from work.
That's a good thing.... it's also one of the reasons I think that alot of Euro's aren't getting as bent about gas as us Yanks. In a lot (not all) of countries overseas people tend to live and work in the same town. And if you happen to live in a larger city you tend to have a bike, motorcycle or use more public trans. The Euro lifestyle (as well as middle east & far east) is just different.... many people live and work in the towns they were born in, and they don't generally drive 1000+ miles on a 3-day weekend to vacation. So yeah, anyone that can live & work in the same area and travel less than 5-10 miles isn't gunna be so effected. However there are those of us that commute and those of us that drive as part of our jobs.... Shifty drives for UPS and I drive all over Phoenix from job to job (servicing/installing HVAC). At some point in this gas fiasco drivers like Shifty are gunna become a target because the general population knows that those big brown trucks need lots & lots of gas to deliver all those packages. (same with FedEx, DHL, etc.) Having all delivery trucks switch to diesel fuel might lessen car jacking for personal use but I won't be surprized if it still occures due to a Black Market for fuel..... Yeah it sounds like something outta a movie but that's where nutz come up with many of the hair-brained ideas we hear about.
As for my vehicles, I have a 4-cyl s-10 I'm working on and my wife still drive the Cherokee to work... thank God it's a 6 cyl. We're also thinking about possibly buying a Hyundai Accent or Toyota Yaris (then selling the Cherokee)

[NIMROD]

Hey big boss man:I drive a Hyundai Accent 07 my mpg is like 27city
32-34hiwy.
I filled up on monday and drove from Austin to San Antonio twice and to work
home and didnt fill up again till thursday.
I can fill the tank up for$32 at $3.79 per gallon.
I love my car:) :);)

[usagi_tetsu]

Actually, the big personal theft item in the last couple of years have been iPods. The white earbuds give you away, so if you're in a big city and have one of Apple's products, switch out the headphones for some aftermarket brand.

We were having a semi-related conversation at work the other day. Did you know that the 55mph speed limit back in the late '70s/early '80s was actually enacted to help conserve gas? That's right, can't remember the exact figures, but it's something like every 10mph slower you drive, your fuel economy goes up 5%. Now, interesting fact numero dos - America is one of only two countries in the world who do not use the metric system. How do these two facts go together? One of the main reasons that the metric system has failed to catch on is the ad campaigns have gone about it all wrong. Here's mine - "Hey America, would you rather drive 70mph, or 100kmh? Change over to the metric system, and watch the speed limit change to 100kmh!" You average John Q America does not know that 100kmh is actually slower than 70mph, all they know is that 100 is bigger than 70, and they'd be all for it. So, not only would we be able to join the rest of the world in the enlightened future of a base 10 measuring system, we'd also enforce some gas savings on America. Less demand for gas (caused by the higher efficiency of all) would mean that gas prices would start to even out of their suicide climb to $20/gallon, maybe even go down some.

My odd, random thought for the month.

[~kaos~]

Yeah I remember..... I had my license less than a year when the speed limit change went into effect in California. (1972) I was on my way back from my dad's house when I got pulled over for 'speeding' on Hwy 17. The CHP wrote me out a speeding ticket for doing a blazing 58 miles per hour in the newly 55 mph zone. I went to court on it and the judge threw it out and told the CHP officer he didn't wanna see another case like this or else..... the 'bs' they were feeding us back then for the change was to reduce traffic fatalities. The slogan was "55 to stay alive". (catchy aint it).

[bakerboy4679]

All I've got to say is I love my Honda ;)

[Spitlebug]

You guys think you have it bad. It's $1.279 a liter here which equates to $4.84 a US Gallon.

[~kaos~]

You guys think you have it bad. It's $1.279 a liter here which equates to $4.84 a US Gallon.
Spitle, I don't mean this as a personal attack but I could give a flying fuck if people in Europe, Japan or elsewhere are paying $50 per gallon right now. That's comparing apples to oranges. Most of those countries aren't sitting on large untapped oil sources like we are. Most people in those countries have lived many generations working & living in the same small cities, communities, and/or countries. Many live like they did 50-100 years ago. People in my family left Scotland & Portugal over a 100 years ago to come to this country for a BETTER life.... not so they could live here like they did in the ol' country. We have a whole different lifestyle here, any of us rarely walks or rides a bicycle to work however in many many countries it's the norm. OK, maybe I'm spoiled.... or maybe I'm the perfect example of the "Ugly American" but I don't expect my country to lay down and take it in the ass! This country was built by people who didn't quit when they were told that's the way it is and you can't do anything about it. They said Bullshit and did something about it!! The reason we're paying these outragous prices is because we've been brainwashed to except it..... Fuck that!!
I don't live in some other country so I'm not gunna pay what they pay for gas. My country has the abilities and resources to retrieve the raw product and produce the fuel, they need to do it. Our country, as well as others, also has the technology to produce a vehicle that travels on something other than gasoline, they need to get it on the road and quit taking $$$ from the oil companies. I don't mean to come off as some asswad isolationist but if my country would quit going around the world trying to fix eveyone elses clusterfucks and work on our own first for a change maybe I'd be a little less pissy......

[Spitlebug]

No, I certainly don't take that as a personal attack. I am glad you don't buy into the whole "Jingoism" philosophy as a lot of American citizens do.

The previous statement about the conversion from Liters to Gallons is more about an observation in the switching in the 60's from Imperial to Metric. You see, Metric traditionally has smaller comparative working units than Imperial (Centimeter vs. Inch is a prime example). Canadian citizens have been led by the nose into small gasoline price changes, but when you actually look at the big picture (Liters vs. Gallons) we have really been shortchanged. Were it that we still used the Gallon as a measuring unit for Gasoline we too would be outraged at the price increases. In fact, my Grandfather rants about this very idea all the time. Seeing as our currency is nearly par, would you pay $4.84 a Gallon?

I think both of our countries have a lot to work on. For example, we have universal health care, but it really isn't all that universal. In many ways we are better off than U.S. citizens, but in a lot of ways were are not. For example, medication may be cheap but the actual cost of dental health care is outlandishly expensive and is not covered under our health care system which requires Blue Cross or some other health care plan. This, coupled with the fact that it is compulsory to pay a premium for health care at a very low wage ($10/hr or more) makes our health care system beneficial for those who make a high wage or those who make very little. Those that do make very little may find that the health care system is very lacking.

Often times, I feel my Government is a bunch of Socialist fucks. Hell, if France decided to invade and take Quebec back, we would hand it over to the French willingly. Heck we might even throw in Newfoundland as a consolation gift. :P

[Edwin]

Yep----prices do suck.
17 in the city about 27 cruising down the highway.

[~kaos~]

Yep----prices do suck.
17 in the city about 27 cruising down the highway.
Damn Edwin..... don't run on too much about it. Hey are you still doing the rat shoot in Montana? (or Dakotas)

[Dances with Tribals]

Lets see, what am I doing about the gas prices? I moved 45 miles away from work, and my dumbass bought a 98 camaro to go along with my mustang. So I only get 23 mpg max. I spend $100 on gas a week, but at least I have fun doing it!

[r a b]

I have a BIG ass gas guzzler! 12 mpg normal and 6mpg pulling the 5th wheel. $100 every 3 days! Yummy!

[Edwin]

Damn Edwin..... don't run on too much about it. Hey are you still doing the rat shoot in Montana? (or Dakotas)

Unfortunately I can't rant too much about prices as I serve the Oil Field Industry. Secondly, work pays for my gas. :cheer3od: so I don't directly feel the prices. C. My car gets pretty good gas mileage.

Yep had a good time killing things this year again!!!:DevilGri:
Here is a link to a quick HTML page I made "Right Click" and "Save Target As" please instead of running from my server.

http://http://www.tribal-paintball.com/edwin247/Montana.html

The Rock Chuck Massacre is new this year.....

I am still trying to find time to edit the Gopher shots.....

[~kaos~]

Unfortunately I can't rant too much about prices as I serve the Oil Field Industry. Secondly, work pays for my gas. :cheer3od: so I don't directly feel the prices. C. My car gets pretty good gas mileage.
I understand it's not good to bite the hand that feeds, but it still will effect you in other ways. ie; I just got back from grocery shopping a couple hours ago, the high cost of gas is being passed on directly to the consumer. Since it now cost more to ship food from point "A" to point "B" the cost to purchase that food has now increased.... quite a bit.

[Spitlebug]

Gas went up to $1.419 a liter yesterday. That's $5.14 a US Gallon.

[warpedmephisto]

I stopped driving as much. I've got summer classes (I live about a half hour away from school) and I'm staying at my girlfriend's apartment which is on campus pretty much the majority of the week. I only travel back home about two or three times a week in order to conserve on fuel.

What we really need to do to fix this problem is A) stop relying on foreign suppliers of oil B) take advantage of our own reserves and C) work towards finding an alternative fuel for automobiles (and don't even think about ethanol). Hydrogen is an ok choice for fuel for vehicular use, but it takes a large amount of energy to produce hydrogen as well as a lot of the actual fuel to make a vehicle travel decent distances. I feel that directly using stored electricity and possibly using new generation solar panels on roofs, hoods and trunks of cars is really the way to go. Then you don't have to worry about producing, transporting, storing, etc. a new fuel source. If we expanded our nuclear power program as well as renewable sources like hydro, wind and solar we wouldn't have a problem having cost-effective charge stations set up around the country just like gas stations today. We could make the big switch to producing and using "clean" electricity for autos and other industrial applications, but government bureaucracy and Big Oil still stands in the way of positive movement. Electric cars may not be as efficient or as convenient as gas cars up front, but they could certainly be cheaper and "greener". The technology is there, it just needs a larger market and more refinement.

I've really been on an alternative energy kick lately, so that might be coming out of me... don't take it personally.