Hi all. Still in the hospital. Right now, the major issues are my extremely high blood sugars - well over 300 (100 is normal) due to the steroids they are giving me. Some kidney and liver function are off, so they are investigating the cause. Also doing a thyroid test.
@abacomike - let me add my desire for you to have a speedy recovery.
Both my folks are in the hospital. Dad went in last Friday with breathing issues; mom was admitted on Saturday with multiple issues - high blood sugar and low blood pressure among them. Now she's trying to get rid of a kidney stone.
May have to fly to CA once they're released to make sure everything is OK.
That's incredibly tough. Prayers sent your way.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
Hi all. Still in the hospital. Right now, the major issues are my extremely high blood sugars - well over 300 (100 is normal) due to the steroids they are giving me. Some kidney and liver function are off, so they are investigating the cause. Also doing a thyroid test.
Still pretty sick. But still plugging along.
Mike, thanks for checking in today, even while not feeling well. Hope you are back to normal soon.
Agreed....just saw Mike was not feeing well. Get well soon!
Data question folks...on a smartphone, is 4G LTE much better than 3G? I bought a new unlocked Samsung Galaxy Grand Premium at BrandsMart for a excellent price and come to find out the sales guy was wrong, it's only 3G and not 4G LTE capable. It is returnable, so he said, and am trying to keep it pristine just in case. If the data speed and all isn't a big deal, will probably keep it but just need to know the whole data scoop here. I know there are a lot of techy people here which I am not one so really have no clue. Help!!!
The Sandman
Think of it this way:
3G = black and white TV 4G = Color High Definition TV
3G = VHS 4G = Netflix
Go for the 4G LTE. Not only is it better, but companies are starting (or will start soon) the process to turn off their 3G networks.
Here's something for you enthusiasts. Even has a stick.
"The Focus RS brings it, with the performance that this segment expects, starting with the 2.3L EcoBoost® engine that will produce well in excess of 315 horsepower. This engine will be coupled to a 6-speed manual transmission. But the car is more than brute power. The engineering team developed a new Ford Performance all-wheel-drive system to take handling and traction to the next level. That includes dynamic torque vectoring to maximize traction and corner handling, while minimizing understeer."
So it is basically the STi hatch that Subaru took away from us. Good for Ford. Hopefully they can keep the price down.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
Here's something for you enthusiasts. Even has a stick.
"The Focus RS brings it, with the performance that this segment expects, starting with the 2.3L EcoBoost® engine that will produce well in excess of 315 horsepower. This engine will be coupled to a 6-speed manual transmission. But the car is more than brute power. The engineering team developed a new Ford Performance all-wheel-drive system to take handling and traction to the next level. That includes dynamic torque vectoring to maximize traction and corner handling, while minimizing understeer."
So it is basically the STi hatch that Subaru took away from us. Good for Ford. Hopefully they can keep the price down.
So Mazda needs to hurry up and bring the new Speed 3 here ... also rumored to have 300HP and AWD.
Here's something for you enthusiasts. Even has a stick.
"The Focus RS brings it, with the performance that this segment expects, starting with the 2.3L EcoBoost® engine that will produce well in excess of 315 horsepower. This engine will be coupled to a 6-speed manual transmission. But the car is more than brute power. The engineering team developed a new Ford Performance all-wheel-drive system to take handling and traction to the next level. That includes dynamic torque vectoring to maximize traction and corner handling, while minimizing understeer."
So it is basically the STi hatch that Subaru took away from us. Good for Ford. Hopefully they can keep the price down.
So Mazda needs to hurry up and bring the new Speed 3 here ... also rumored to have 300HP and AWD.
The RS looks awful tempting. All I hear about the MS3 is that it will launch in 2016 as a 2017 model. If I could get an RS for around $35k with heated seats and HIDs it would be tough to say no...
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
I removed the Tacoma from my profile (some time ago) and it no longer shows there, but it still shows up when I post. What gives? No biggie, just curios.
A tv reporter is hoping to interview a family that is currently shopping for a new car in the NY, Boston or DC metro area, and has not yet been approved for a car loan.
Please email PR@edmunds.com before Friday, February 6, 2015 to share your story.
signature is separate from profile. Poke around. Go into your account profile, then select edit profile, then signature settings.
Thx stick, that worked ! Saw a commercial last night where these good looking women were saying that a man driving a pick-up was more sexy that a man driving a car. I want my Tacoma back !! My wife hounded me until I sold it. Now I know why. And yes, I believe all the commercials I see.
Here's something for you enthusiasts. Even has a stick.
"The Focus RS brings it, with the performance that this segment expects, starting with the 2.3L EcoBoost® engine that will produce well in excess of 315 horsepower. This engine will be coupled to a 6-speed manual transmission. But the car is more than brute power. The engineering team developed a new Ford Performance all-wheel-drive system to take handling and traction to the next level. That includes dynamic torque vectoring to maximize traction and corner handling, while minimizing understeer."
Oldfarmer.....that is absolutely incredible!
Not the car....the fact you are posting pictures!
Short memory driver. I've been posting pictures since last fall.
What I'd like to learn is how to post videos like that one of the pickup towing the tractor-trailer.
Well, no discharge out of the hospital today. I am on the 6th floor of the hospital and my window faces south. I looked out the window an hour ago and saw my car parked in a handicapped spot in the ER entrance downstairs. At least I can check on it now when I get antsy for my get-away.
They diagnosed me with acute bronchitis caused by some bacterial infection in my lungs. It was not viral in nature. So they give me solumedrin through my IV twice a day and the levaquin once a day IV. Both medications cause my blood sugar sky high. Still in the 280-320 range which is pretty high.
i might be able to get out of here tomorrow. I've had enough of hospitals since October to last me a lifetime.
farmer, what ever happened with the Eclipse? I'm pretty sure you still have it, but did you ever get anyone interested or any offers? Did you take it to a Carmax or some sort of dealer for a buy bid?
What I'd like to learn is how to post videos like that one of the pickup towing the tractor-trailer.
When I come across a video in a story, often the video has an icon to go to the youtube URL for that video. I go there, highlight the URL in the line at the top of the browser, copy the youtube address with a right-click, and then I paste the URL into my post here. I do not use the picture posting tool: I just past the URL from the youtube video address line in the browser.
I often put "click here to play video" so that people know it's a video rather than a picture post.
Short memory driver. I've been posting pictures since last fall.
Your right....I did forget!
What I'd like to learn is how to post videos like that one of the pickup towing the tractor-trailer
.
Me too!
Imid: Thanks for the instructions...I'll have to try it tomorrow.
Mike: Glad you can watch your car from your room. Back home hospital parking is a rip off, $1.50 a half hour, maximum $20 day. It has become a way for hospitals to make big money...and the companies that operate the parking lots.
$0.83 a gallon for regular gas? Yes, this is not a misprint. Using my Stop & Shop card I got a $1.30 off each gallon of Shell RUG.
Speaking of gas and gas taxes I was reading a Wharton Business School newsletter that talks about a research study that suggests that the best way to reduce carbon emissions is to increase the gas tax rather than to increase the CAFE standards.
In a nutshell, they concluded that when MPG increases, motorists drive 10% more miles. But here is the unintended consequence; as automakers improve their technology to increase MPG they are selling these vehicles at higher and higher prices. New cars, however, represent only a small fraction of vehicles on the road and some 94% of all vehicles are one year and older.
The net result is increased carbon emissions (which is contrary to CAFEs intent), as the price of gas is too cheap allowing used cars to stay on the road longer since owners cannot afford the new higher MPG alternatives. I did not think of the unintended consequences of increasing the CAFE standards from 25.4 today to 54.5 mpg by 2025. But it does make a compelling case to raise gas taxes but politicians do not have the guts to do so.
Well, no discharge out of the hospital today. I am on the 6th floor of the hospital and my window faces south. I looked out the window an hour ago and saw my car parked in a handicapped spot in the ER entrance downstairs. At least I can check on it now when I get antsy for my get-away.
They diagnosed me with acute bronchitis caused by some bacterial infection in my lungs. It was not viral in nature. So they give me solumedrin through my IV twice a day and the levaquin once a day IV. Both medications cause my blood sugar sky high. Still in the 280-320 range which is pretty high.
i might be able to get out of here tomorrow. I've had enough of hospitals since October to last me a lifetime.
bwia....that article sounds convoluted. Either you can afford another (presumably new) car or not. To me, if you can afford a new car, it's better to get your old "more emissions" car off the road for a new "less emissions" car. If someone drives more, the more likely and sooner their oid, decrepit emissions spewing car will likely die, and a new one, with less emissions takes its place.
Just one small example, but Los Angeles has cut emissions by 98% over the last 50 years....through times of less expensive gas, and more expensive gas. Didn't matter. Lots of factors go into that. But, LA is one of the car dense cities in the world.
I've never heard any consumer ever think that lower gas prices were a bad thing.......EVER!
Bottom line, the reports I'm reading from the usual sources....WSJ, Business Week, etc, all of them tout what a boon lower gas prices are to a still recovering economy. We're seeing the effects of it already. Economy is getting stronger and stronger. Raising taxes is never a good thing.....NEVER. Any gain for infrastructure repair will be quickly squandered either by inefficiencies or glad handing by friendly state contractors.
I will NEVER vote for any politician who calls for a higher gas tax. No one in my family will, either. We, as consumers, have had oil companies, gov't, etc hands in our pockets for way too long, taking way too much over the crazy oil game.
They keep trying to come up with new ways to prop up gas prices. Sounds like they're still at it. But, their reasoning becomes more and more convoluted the more I hear them.
The biggest reason to keep oil prices at a more reasonable level (like now), is we no longer have to sacrifice lives to keep peace in nations who really don't want us around except to buy their oil. We've got out own. We don't need to ship it across an ocean and bare that expense. It's right here. We're oil independent. That's a good thing.
No need to read the entire thing, but the EPA has put out an executive summary about the drop in emissions and the increase in MPG over the last 30 years. In short, it doesn't support what Wharton says.
Well, @graphicguy, that report is all well and god but it does not reflect the economic cost of achieving that. As you said, new vehicles are being sold at higher and higher price points. There are many reasons for that but the cost of achieving these kind of emissions & FE numbers surely plays a major role. Now, I'm not arguing in favor of more emissions - but I would argue that having so much of the market consisting of pickups, big SUVs, performance cars, etc., that have tech to let them meet the sometimes conflicting goals of low emissions and high HP output is not a good thing for the planet. I know that is not a universally popular sentiment. But the way I look at it, having all those folks driving their Hemi Ram 4x4 to Kroger or their Enclave to Walmart to pick up a few things makes little sense. I grant you that right now it is their choice to do that. But part of that is because we are not recapturing the cost of all that fuel consumption. I support a significantly higher gas tax to encourage the market to move towards more rationally-sized vehicles and to start to collect something closer to the full cost of our oil use and maintaining our road infrastructure.
ab...appreciate the comment. BTW, I love Nova Scotia. If our friends to the North want, as you put it, significantly higher gas taxes, more power to you. We view things a bit differently down here.
Time and again, those of us in the U.S have said, we like to drive what we like to drive. We DO NOT like anyone, any gov't entity, dictating to us what we can drive....whether via gas taxes to affect our decisions, or some sort of tax on vehicles that are perceived to be something we should not be allowed to have.
What's a rationally sized vehicle? Is it a Smart car? Is it a Ford Explorer? And, who determines what is rational and who it is rational for? Why should NYC be penalized with higher gas taxes because he needs to drive an F-150 for his plumbing supply business? Wouldn't that mean the cost of a faucet goes from $100 to $250 because of the extraordinary cost for the manufacturer to deliver it to the distributer, who in turn has to deliver it to NYC, who in turn has to haul it to the end user? That's not good for anyone, is it?
In short, that's a very slippery slope when you try to dictate what kind of vehicles consumers should have based on a few peoples' ideas of what a rational or right vehicle should be.
Bottom line, emissions have NEVER been lower (and continue to drop) and MPG has never been higher (and continue to rise) than right now. Let's not look a gift horse in the mouth. Let's work to keep gas prices low, to fuel a healthy economy, and reduce the amount we spend on having a defense system that for the last few decades have had to guard our interests in oil producing nations. We have the opportunity to severely curtail those activities. That's a blessing.
Would be even better though if we were energy independent. Low gas prices means scaling back on drilling. That even hurts us in NM since we get about a quarter of our tax revenue from oil and gas. So my gas price goes down but my ox gets gored in other ways. Ain't no free lunch.
There is big bulge right now in the CUV market, so I think there's a move away from dinosaurs like the Expedition and Suburban--which I think will now serve the livery trade. And we have some very nice intermediate size pickups coming down the pike.
What's interesting to me is that things can change so fast in society. What happens I believe is that people with a certain set of ideas, ---what we call "normal" state of mind right now---they don't "change their minds" and abandon their mind set---what happens is that the generation right after them installs THEIR "normal" as the present generation passes away.
So ideas and habits and prejudices and even heartfelt belief systems we see 'entrenched' right now could be swept away in a decade. Station wagons went extinct, and floaty Cadillacs almost did--why not big SUVs?
ab...appreciate the comment. BTW, I love Nova Scotia. If our friends to the North want, as you put it, significantly higher gas taxes, more power to you. We view things a bit differently down here.
Time and again, those of us in the U.S have said, we like to drive what we like to drive. We DO NOT like anyone, any gov't entity, dictating to us what we can drive....whether via gas taxes to affect our decisions, or some sort of tax on vehicles that are perceived to be something we should not be allowed to have.
Oh, I know. Canada and the US seem rather similar on the surface but the mindset of citizens of each is very different. You described the US, while if I could describe Canadians, it is a society that likes govt intervention in our collective lives, in things not just like healthcare but the social rules that play a role in that. So we spend billions on anti-smoking, anti-drinking, pro-exercise, pro-healthy eating initiatives because people see it as good for the healthcare system, despite whatever infringements it makes on personal choice. We also have a decent welfare system, a decent educational system, etc. Where it all tends to fall apart is in the paying for all that. I never fail to be amazed at how many people up here fail to connect the dots between, for example, the much higher price of a case of beer here ($20-25 Cdn per 12-pack) versus in Florida and the cost of delivering all those govt programs. Same with the price of gas (currently floating around $1 Cdn per liter) or the level of general sales tax or income tax or whatever. Taxation here is far higher than in the US and it is the price we pay for all those services, along with some limitation on personal choices.
I dint care how they do it but after decades of neglect the roads bridges and tunnels need massive attention. In the NE the network is crumbling. Just the potholes alone are a nightmare. I also expect bridge collapses or closures due to imminent failure to become an epidemic soon.
stever....what you're asking for is FREE energy. It's out there...wind, solar, water. If you're willing to pay an upfront charge to harness it (and you can), it costs next to nothing. Electric car, powered by the outlet in your garage, with stored energy produced by your solar roof panel and your backyard windmill. Voila....cheap and (almost) free energy.
AB.....for decades many in the U.S. have wondered why we can't have universal health care as you do in Canada. Well, we're moving in that direction, and the backlash is pretty severe. Not going to discuss if it's right or wrong, just that it's moving in that direction with most kicking and screaming along the way. In short, as you point out, we want certain things (free healthcare, free education, etc). We just don't want to pay for it.
You really want to send the U.S. into a tizzy? Try selling all 12 packs for $25. That's the exact reason you'll see pickups with gun racks.
I'm not a smoker, but the amount of time and effort that has gone into the anti-smoking campaigns could have had much greater effect if it was poured into heart disease research, for example. Besides, the trend for smoking has been going down for decades. There was actually a spike in smoking when the commercials began airing showing those with terrible maladies as a result of smoking. People in the U.S. just don't like to be told what to do. Eventually, we figure it out on our own.
So, about 4 liters equals a gallon, right? That means $4/gal gas. We're half that right now....even with the vast majority of that cost going for taxes. The question always is....are the roads better in Canada? Is the education system better? IS healthcare better? If there are no clear cut answers, then what are you paying all that extra for?
Don't get me wrong. I love Canada. I have relatives who live in Toronto. I've spent a lot of my travels doing business in Montreal. Vancouver is one of my favorite places on earth. But, I sometimes wonder if I had to live there, would I feel better about my standard of living?
stever....what you're asking for is FREE energy. It's out there...wind, solar, water. If you're willing to pay an upfront charge to harness it (and you can), it costs next to nothing.
No free lunch there either. Storage is the issue. You got potholes? Everyone is dependent on a power grid that's inefficient and also needs big time maintenance and is a big target. The grid needs to go away (maybe a city-wide one would be okay, I'd prefer ones limited to neighborhoods). Meanwhile we've all conserved so much the utilities are screaming for rate increases and surcharges on solar users. Kind of like how pols want to do a per mile tax since we aren't burning enough gas to pay for the road building.
Our off-grid friends are visiting tonight. Love their house but they don't have a dishwasher or a microwave. They could get more panels but their battery room is about maxed out.
Their storage batteries are Rolls btw. But no relation to Rolls Royce afaik, even though they use a similar script in their logo. They are made in Nova Scotia however.
The biggest reason to keep oil prices at a more reasonable level (like now), is we no longer have to sacrifice lives to keep peace in nations who really don't want us around except to buy their oil. We've got out own. We don't need to ship it across an ocean and bare that expense. It's right here. We're oil independent. That's a good thing.
We have our own but not at prices under $75 a barrel. At levels below that, the new oil sources are not profitable.
Kind of like how pols want to do a per mile tax since we aren't burning enough gas to pay for the road building.
Actually, approximately 1/3 of the gas tax is diverted to other things rather than maintaining roads and bridges. Need to just have all of it go to roads and bridges and if someone wants to build walking trails or useless urban street cars, let them use other tax monies for that purpose.
Raising taxes is never a good thing.....NEVER. Any gain for infrastructure repair will be quickly squandered either by inefficiencies or glad handing by friendly state contractors.
I will NEVER vote for any politician who calls for a higher gas tax. No one in my family will, either.
I think taxes should be kept low and raising them in not good thing, except ... when agreed by the community directly affected (e.g. local tax on a particular project). However, your absolute way of thinking bothers me a bit. The tax receipts from gas tax are projected lower in short and midterm, exactly because dramatic increase in fuel efficiency that was mandated and partially forced by the price spikes. Yet, we still need new capacity on the roads and we need even more money to maintain the existing capacity, as well.
You see, in my 15+ years here I noticed that Americans are very quick in constantly demanding more government services - they want total security at airports, best schools in the world, even better roads. When asked how to pay for all of that, they almost always say "them, the rich people", or answer with "cut the government waste".
The government waste is a fact of life, inherent to the government. We should stride to limit it and believe it or not, USA is doing fairly decent job in that. But a magical belief that we can somehow increase the efficiency to the point of closing the deficit gap, or better, starting paying off the debt, is simply believing if magic and financial fairy tales. For a voter "waste" is usually defined as something they don't use right now. "Cutting the waste" end up being giving up $5 latte in face of $100,000 debt and calling the day.
Half of the voting people in this country think that Pentagon is not wasting a single cent ("we need a strong defense"), the other half believes that all those Social Security and (especially) Medicare promises can actually be kept to the letter ("we keep our promises"), in fact even expanded (we are so rich, so why ... fill here the blank perceived "injustice"). Even worse, majority of current senior citizens truly believe that they already "paid" for the Medicare service they are demanding. If they only bothered to check how much money they actually paid into the system over their lifetime (I did), they'd shocked to learn that it's often not even a tenth of the promised benefit. It's often not enough for even one major procedure, not to mention chronic illness care and medication. Even with money paid by those deceased, who never had a chance to collect, it's still laughable.
Somebody, somehow will pay. Since you, your family (and millions of others) seem to flatly refuse to acknowledge there is even a problem, the only politically palatable solution will be screwing you (and all of us, of course) out of any savings we may have by inflation, preferably slowly so we won't notice. You see, I'd rather pay upfront, so I know how much, can I choose when and moreover, know that I actually keep the rest. Seems the rest would rather have it taken away from them with an illusion that they actually kept it.
Pols like new bridges and new roads and new buildings. They never like paying to maintain them. They'll get their name on a paving project sign to fix the potholes, but that goes away in a few months and they don't get a brass plaque, so we're plagued with potholes. Simple solution is to just pay to fix existing stuff - no new bridges to nowhere.
And why encourage increased capacity on the roads? The emphasis should be on moving people - everyone out there already has a car and a half in their garage. Automous cars will help a lot in making parking lots useful for something besides storage.
Generally agreed - maintenance is always better. There are regions, where new capacity is justified (e.g. Florida), by increase of the population and traffic. For many "old" states, the maintenance is the way to go.
"Why should NYC be penalized with higher gas taxes because he needs to drive an F-150 for his plumbing supply business?"
Funny you should mention that. Before I punched my CCBA card with the Subaru, I tried (I know master Yoda says: there is no try. only do or do not, but I think he would even say I made a valiant effort) to talk my Dad into buying (or leasing) a pickup truck for me so we'd have a smaller vehicle to make deliveries with and get around a little better. Commercial vehicles are only allowed to travel on Expressways (Interstate Highways), not Parkways here in the city not to mention the other un posted travel restrictions. We decided that its use would be so limited because so many times we LOAD up out 14' Box Truck (2006 Mitsubishi FUSO FE180) with bathtubs, toilets, vanity cabinets, 10' lengths of pipe, 5 gallon buckets of compound, cases of garbage bags and the truck would be much more for MY personal (commuting) use and we couldn't legitimately write it off with a straight face, so no truck for me:(
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2025 Camry SE AWD
Taxes are like crack cocaine. You get the high, but once is not enough. You keep coming back for more. I am absolute when it comes to raising taxes on gas. We hire/elect officials to administer what resources they have....not to continuously ask for more resources. Hell, anybody can do that.
I'm betting any difference in the price of oil between domestic and OPEC derived oil equals out once you consider the cost of shipping what looks like cheaper oil from the Middle East. Those shipping charges across the Atlantic ain't cheap.
Taxes are like crack cocaine. You get the high, but once is not enough. You keep coming back for more. I am absolute when it comes to raising taxes on gas. We hire/elect officials to administer what resources they have....not to continuously ask for more resources. Hell, anybody can do that.
I'm betting any difference in the price of oil between domestic and OPEC derived oil equals out once you consider the cost of shipping what looks like cheaper oil from the Middle East. Those shipping charges across the Atlantic ain't cheap.
I was looking at "Gas Buddy" to see what effect rising oil prices have had on the gas stations I buy gas from. Costco has gone from $242.9 a gallon for PUL to $2.53.9 in the last 3 days. Also prices are up on Chevron and Shell. They sure go up in price much faster than they come down in price - par for the course.
Funny thing about cutting budgets. People freak out, predict a calamity if cuts happen, then once they do, everything works out fine after they adjust to the new reality. And much easier to never have than to take something back.
Working in govt for most of my career, I have some insight into how it works and how taxes get used. Right now the city I live in is experiencing a bit of a boom and the revenue is flowing in from all kinds of new development. Of course they are spending every dime of it on all sorts of useless things, because they can, and because they can say "we didn't raise taxes!" because of the increase in the property assessment roll giving them a ton of new revenue. Soon enough that boom is going to play itself out and then I don't know what the are going to do. Actually, I do - they will have to actually raise taxes to pay for their bike lanes, affirmative-action office, executive-level bloat, etc etc. That's how govt generally works - the entity expands to use up the available revenue. It is all bass-ackwards of course, but special interests demand their wheels get greased in the good times, and god help you if you try to cut back when things aren't so good.
The contrast with the provincial (state) govt is striking. They are responsible for funding health care, education, roads, and social services. The provincial economy is not growing and revenues are stagnant. They are having a terrible time trying to fund everything, and some cuts are being attempted. The screaming from the public-sector unions and the opposition parties is something to behold. But if it was a business, people would be laid off, poorly-performing divisions would be sold or closed, etc., without a whole lot of drama. That kind of mindset simply does not fly in government. As to @graphicguy 's question about the quality of healthcare, education, etc, it is very hit and miss. In case of urgent illness you usually get taken care of. For less urgent things you can wait and wait and wait. Education is a bit of a mess because there is little direct control over the way schools and universities are run, so govt has a hard time extracting any efficiencies. Personally I think the universities here are a money pit and are spending like fools, but any attempt to change how they do things opens up a debate that govt never wins. The need to get re-elected every 4 years means politicians never want to do unpopular things even if they are the right things.
That is a very honest and interesting article. To sum up, it says that if you build new roads the traffic will increase to fill those new roads, so building new roads are useless in preventing congestion.
I wonder if anyone ever did a study like this on taxes and spending. If they did, I am sure that they would come up with the same conclusion. Give the gov. an extra windfall dollar and they will spend two...then scream they have to raise taxes to make up for the deficit.
Comments
Michaelll - thoughts are with you. Been there. It ain't easy.
2024 Genesis G90 Super-Charger
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
3G = black and white TV
4G = Color High Definition TV
3G = VHS
4G = Netflix
Go for the 4G LTE. Not only is it better, but companies are starting (or will start soon) the process to turn off their 3G networks.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
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2015 Subaru Outback 3.6R / 2024 Kia Sportage Hybrid SX Prestige
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
Michael, I hope things work out with your parents.
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Please email PR@edmunds.com before Friday, February 6, 2015 to share your story.
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
I wouldn't be surprised if that car got front end problems very quickly...sure seems to be a lot of weight over that overhanging front end.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
What I'd like to learn is how to post videos like that one of the pickup towing the tractor-trailer.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
They diagnosed me with acute bronchitis caused by some bacterial infection in my lungs. It was not viral in nature. So they give me solumedrin through my IV twice a day and the levaquin once a day IV. Both medications cause my blood sugar sky high. Still in the 280-320 range which is pretty high.
i might be able to get out of here tomorrow. I've had enough of hospitals since October to last me a lifetime.
Thanks for all your well-wishes.
2024 Genesis G90 Super-Charger
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
that video. I go there, highlight the URL in the line at the top of the browser, copy the youtube address with a right-click, and then I paste the URL into my post here. I do not use the picture posting tool: I just past the URL from the youtube video address line in the browser.
I often put "click here to play video" so that people know it's a video rather than a picture post.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Me too!
Imid: Thanks for the instructions...I'll have to try it tomorrow.
Mike: Glad you can watch your car from your room. Back home hospital parking is a rip off, $1.50 a half hour, maximum $20 day. It has become a way for hospitals to make big money...and the companies that operate the parking lots.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Speaking of gas and gas taxes I was reading a Wharton Business School newsletter that talks about a research study that suggests that the best way to reduce carbon emissions is to increase the gas tax rather than to increase the CAFE standards.
In a nutshell, they concluded that when MPG increases, motorists drive 10% more miles. But here is the unintended consequence; as automakers improve their technology to increase MPG they are selling these vehicles at higher and higher prices. New cars, however, represent only a small fraction of vehicles on the road and some 94% of all vehicles are one year and older.
The net result is increased carbon emissions (which is contrary to CAFEs intent), as the price of gas is too cheap allowing used cars to stay on the road longer since owners cannot afford the new higher MPG alternatives. I did not think of the unintended consequences of increasing the CAFE standards from 25.4 today to 54.5 mpg by 2025. But it does make a compelling case to raise gas taxes but politicians do not have the guts to do so.
Read more at:http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/unintended-consequences-ambitious-fuel-economy-standards/
Just one small example, but Los Angeles has cut emissions by 98% over the last 50 years....through times of less expensive gas, and more expensive gas. Didn't matter. Lots of factors go into that. But, LA is one of the car dense cities in the world.
I've never heard any consumer ever think that lower gas prices were a bad thing.......EVER!
Bottom line, the reports I'm reading from the usual sources....WSJ, Business Week, etc, all of them tout what a boon lower gas prices are to a still recovering economy. We're seeing the effects of it already. Economy is getting stronger and stronger. Raising taxes is never a good thing.....NEVER. Any gain for infrastructure repair will be quickly squandered either by inefficiencies or glad handing by friendly state contractors.
I will NEVER vote for any politician who calls for a higher gas tax. No one in my family will, either. We, as consumers, have had oil companies, gov't, etc hands in our pockets for way too long, taking way too much over the crazy oil game.
They keep trying to come up with new ways to prop up gas prices. Sounds like they're still at it. But, their reasoning becomes more and more convoluted the more I hear them.
The biggest reason to keep oil prices at a more reasonable level (like now), is we no longer have to sacrifice lives to keep peace in nations who really don't want us around except to buy their oil. We've got out own. We don't need to ship it across an ocean and bare that expense. It's right here. We're oil independent. That's a good thing.
No need to read the entire thing, but the EPA has put out an executive summary about the drop in emissions and the increase in MPG over the last 30 years. In short, it doesn't support what Wharton says.
http://www.epa.gov/fueleconomy/fetrends/1975-2014/420s14001.pdf
And yes, I can't believe I'm saying that.
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
Time and again, those of us in the U.S have said, we like to drive what we like to drive. We DO NOT like anyone, any gov't entity, dictating to us what we can drive....whether via gas taxes to affect our decisions, or some sort of tax on vehicles that are perceived to be something we should not be allowed to have.
What's a rationally sized vehicle? Is it a Smart car? Is it a Ford Explorer? And, who determines what is rational and who it is rational for? Why should NYC be penalized with higher gas taxes because he needs to drive an F-150 for his plumbing supply business? Wouldn't that mean the cost of a faucet goes from $100 to $250 because of the extraordinary cost for the manufacturer to deliver it to the distributer, who in turn has to deliver it to NYC, who in turn has to haul it to the end user? That's not good for anyone, is it?
In short, that's a very slippery slope when you try to dictate what kind of vehicles consumers should have based on a few peoples' ideas of what a rational or right vehicle should be.
Bottom line, emissions have NEVER been lower (and continue to drop) and MPG has never been higher (and continue to rise) than right now. Let's not look a gift horse in the mouth. Let's work to keep gas prices low, to fuel a healthy economy, and reduce the amount we spend on having a defense system that for the last few decades have had to guard our interests in oil producing nations. We have the opportunity to severely curtail those activities. That's a blessing.
Would be even better though if we were energy independent. Low gas prices means scaling back on drilling. That even hurts us in NM since we get about a quarter of our tax revenue from oil and gas. So my gas price goes down but my ox gets gored in other ways. Ain't no free lunch.
What's interesting to me is that things can change so fast in society. What happens I believe is that people with a certain set of ideas, ---what we call "normal" state of mind right now---they don't "change their minds" and abandon their mind set---what happens is that the generation right after them installs THEIR "normal" as the present generation passes away.
So ideas and habits and prejudices and even heartfelt belief systems we see 'entrenched' right now could be swept away in a decade. Station wagons went extinct, and floaty Cadillacs almost did--why not big SUVs?
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
AB.....for decades many in the U.S. have wondered why we can't have universal health care as you do in Canada. Well, we're moving in that direction, and the backlash is pretty severe. Not going to discuss if it's right or wrong, just that it's moving in that direction with most kicking and screaming along the way. In short, as you point out, we want certain things (free healthcare, free education, etc). We just don't want to pay for it.
You really want to send the U.S. into a tizzy? Try selling all 12 packs for $25. That's the exact reason you'll see pickups with gun racks.
I'm not a smoker, but the amount of time and effort that has gone into the anti-smoking campaigns could have had much greater effect if it was poured into heart disease research, for example. Besides, the trend for smoking has been going down for decades. There was actually a spike in smoking when the commercials began airing showing those with terrible maladies as a result of smoking. People in the U.S. just don't like to be told what to do. Eventually, we figure it out on our own.
So, about 4 liters equals a gallon, right? That means $4/gal gas. We're half that right now....even with the vast majority of that cost going for taxes. The question always is....are the roads better in Canada? Is the education system better? IS healthcare better? If there are no clear cut answers, then what are you paying all that extra for?
Don't get me wrong. I love Canada. I have relatives who live in Toronto. I've spent a lot of my travels doing business in Montreal. Vancouver is one of my favorite places on earth. But, I sometimes wonder if I had to live there, would I feel better about my standard of living?
Our off-grid friends are visiting tonight. Love their house but they don't have a dishwasher or a microwave. They could get more panels but their battery room is about maxed out.
Their storage batteries are Rolls btw. But no relation to Rolls Royce afaik, even though they use a similar script in their logo. They are made in Nova Scotia however.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
You see, in my 15+ years here I noticed that Americans are very quick in constantly demanding more government services - they want total security at airports, best schools in the world, even better roads. When asked how to pay for all of that, they almost always say "them, the rich people", or answer with "cut the government waste".
The government waste is a fact of life, inherent to the government. We should stride to limit it and believe it or not, USA is doing fairly decent job in that. But a magical belief that we can somehow increase the efficiency to the point of closing the deficit gap, or better, starting paying off the debt, is simply believing if magic and financial fairy tales. For a voter "waste" is usually defined as something they don't use right now. "Cutting the waste" end up being giving up $5 latte in face of $100,000 debt and calling the day.
Half of the voting people in this country think that Pentagon is not wasting a single cent ("we need a strong defense"), the other half believes that all those Social Security and (especially) Medicare promises can actually be kept to the letter ("we keep our promises"), in fact even expanded (we are so rich, so why ... fill here the blank perceived "injustice"). Even worse, majority of current senior citizens truly believe that they already "paid" for the Medicare service they are demanding. If they only bothered to check how much money they actually paid into the system over their lifetime (I did), they'd shocked to learn that it's often not even a tenth of the promised benefit. It's often not enough for even one major procedure, not to mention chronic illness care and medication. Even with money paid by those deceased, who never had a chance to collect, it's still laughable.
Somebody, somehow will pay. Since you, your family (and millions of others) seem to flatly refuse to acknowledge there is even a problem, the only politically palatable solution will be screwing you (and all of us, of course) out of any savings we may have by inflation, preferably slowly so we won't notice. You see, I'd rather pay upfront, so I know how much, can I choose when and moreover, know that I actually keep the rest. Seems the rest would rather have it taken away from them with an illusion that they actually kept it.
2018 430i Gran Coupe
And why encourage increased capacity on the roads? The emphasis should be on moving people - everyone out there already has a car and a half in their garage. Automous cars will help a lot in making parking lots useful for something besides storage.
2018 430i Gran Coupe
Fundamental law of road congestion (journalistsresource.org)
Funny you should mention that. Before I punched my CCBA card with the Subaru, I tried (I know master Yoda says: there is no try. only do or do not, but I think he would even say I made a valiant effort) to talk my Dad into buying (or leasing) a pickup truck for me so we'd have a smaller vehicle to make deliveries with and get around a little better. Commercial vehicles are only allowed to travel on Expressways (Interstate Highways), not Parkways here in the city not to mention the other un posted travel restrictions. We decided that its use would be so limited because so many times we LOAD up out 14' Box Truck (2006 Mitsubishi FUSO FE180) with bathtubs, toilets, vanity cabinets, 10' lengths of pipe, 5 gallon buckets of compound, cases of garbage bags and the truck would be much more for MY personal (commuting) use and we couldn't legitimately write it off with a straight face, so no truck for me:(
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2025 Camry SE AWD
I'm betting any difference in the price of oil between domestic and OPEC derived oil equals out once you consider the cost of shipping what looks like cheaper oil from the Middle East. Those shipping charges across the Atlantic ain't cheap.
2024 Genesis G90 Super-Charger
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
The contrast with the provincial (state) govt is striking. They are responsible for funding health care, education, roads, and social services. The provincial economy is not growing and revenues are stagnant. They are having a terrible time trying to fund everything, and some cuts are being attempted. The screaming from the public-sector unions and the opposition parties is something to behold. But if it was a business, people would be laid off, poorly-performing divisions would be sold or closed, etc., without a whole lot of drama. That kind of mindset simply does not fly in government. As to @graphicguy 's question about the quality of healthcare, education, etc, it is very hit and miss. In case of urgent illness you usually get taken care of. For less urgent things you can wait and wait and wait. Education is a bit of a mess because there is little direct control over the way schools and universities are run, so govt has a hard time extracting any efficiencies. Personally I think the universities here are a money pit and are spending like fools, but any attempt to change how they do things opens up a debate that govt never wins. The need to get re-elected every 4 years means politicians never want to do unpopular things even if they are the right things.
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
I wonder if anyone ever did a study like this on taxes and spending. If they did, I am sure that they would come up with the same conclusion. Give the gov. an extra windfall dollar and they will spend two...then scream they have to raise taxes to make up for the deficit.
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460