spending a bunch of money on a cute, furry Chow Chow puppy like this.
The cinnamon colored pup on the left is the one we bought. Her name is Meggy and my wife is threatening to call here Meggy May every now and a then. I plan on teaching her not to scare the neighbors too badly...apparently Chows bond very tightly with their Masters, to the point of barking up a storm if a stranger approaches.
She is 6 weeks old and is already bonding very well to Daddy. See? Now I don't have that several hundred dollars she cost to spend on Willcox, AZ's lowest ghastly price, which is $3.71/gal for 87 no-lead. Am told we have some of the lowest ghastly prices in the nation right now.
Hummm....more toys for the Chow baby I spose. :shades:
I'm gonna head over to that thread and try and post my picture there. Please head over there in a few minutes and let me know if the picture shows up, OK? I don't get why it shows up on my computer and as an evil red x on this thread.
The pic is cached on your computer and that's why you can see it. When we look at the properties of the posted pic, it's not a valid photo URL - just goes to Live.com.
You can always post it on your CarSpace page and link from there.
Governor Palin knows how to stick the old knife into the other governors that have pissed away their tax money.. Good for her and good for the RESIDENTS of Alaska. They deserve every penny they get. My kids up there will be happy to get it.
I am not thrilled with the high price of gas. I would not wait in line 2 hours to save a $1.40 per gallon. I won't get in line at Costco if it is more than 2 vehicles waiting. Then the long border wait can really be bad. You leave your car idling because you shut it off and the guy in front of you moves someone jumps in front of you. You have to be 6 inches from the car in front of you all the time. I have not gone down for years because of the border mess. It was before 9/11, never since then...
One shining quality I have is persistence. The puppy on the left is Meggy. She's only 6 weeks old and she is Daddy's Doll, our new Chow Chow.The puppy on the right is another Chow they have for sale, a rare white male. He is $100 more than our Chow was. She is bonding with me more than she is with my wife. The other two dogs, Cotey and Rocky, both Pomeranians and males, are solidly bonded to my wife. Evidently the male canines bond most with the female humans and the female canines bond most with the male humans.
Chow Chows are from China and are remarkably similar to the dogs in artwork depicting the dogs guarding their shrines from way back. They are documented to be one of the oldest dog breeds. Your guess is as good as mine how they would determine which breed is the very oldest. Kind of bordering on archeology, I spose. They are fiercily loyal to guard the property of their Master. But they can be trained to be nice, and to not bite. They will bark up a storm in the meantime, while you're deciding what to do with these strangers at your door. Another fascinating fact is, according to our breeder, they come from an encounter between a bear and a wolf. OK, I know, but I would believe more strongly that they come from an encounter between a wolf and a Spitz dog way back when. I don't know though, when Meggy lays down on her belly she puts her legs back behind her and her paws are facing straight upwards. And yes, they do closely resemble a bear's paws. He may very well be right, then.
Our challenge now with Meg is to get some chew-stuffs to satisfy her. She is favoring chewing on our living room shade-strings right now. She loves to tug on them.
Anyhow, this new puppy already got(purchase price) and will continue to get our $3.71/gal money for fuel for a while yet, as we work on assimilating her in to our pack.
They are cute now. When they get big and woolly they will be hard to keep cool in that AZ sunshine. Cost you a fortune in gas to get them shaved every week at the groomer.
you're right, and we are steaming hot right now. The day we bought her in Tucson the '08 Lancer's thermometer read 115 degrees outside. Yeah, I am still a Seattleite but living in SE Arizona, gag.
I wear my Seattle Sonics and Seahawks jerseys and my U of Washington Husky shirt, etc. Oh, we didn't buy the white male, BTW. Just the cinnamon-colored female on the left there in the pic. Sure has caught my heart.
You're right, though, we're gonna need to open a glad-handin' account at a groomer here in Willcox to keep this Chow Chow's fur trimmed down. Or she will bake. The monsoons are about here. The flies are buzzing and the humidity is slowly but surely rising. These dogs, like Poms, do take your time and money to properly take care of them, oh yes they do. I'm up for it.
Staying indoors for the last 4 days of over 100 degree weather. I go out early and water all that is not on the sprinkler systems. The reason I worried about your chow dog. The guy that owns the emissions test station lost a malamute last year on a very hot day. I think the chows have heavier fur than the malamute's.
I am saving gas not driving anywhere. The electricity for AC will be more than driving the car I am sure.
Saudi Arabia Boosts Oil Supply, May Pump More Later
June 22 (Bloomberg) Saudi Arabia's commitment to government and business leaders to pump 9.7 million barrels a day next month came after crude rose to a record $139.89 in New York on June 16. Saudi King Abdullah said at today's summit that his country, the world's biggest oil exporter, seeks ``reasonable'' prices. OPEC President Chakib Khelil said a Saudi boost is ``illogical'' because refiners don't need more crude.
Saudi Arabia's capacity will be 12.5 million barrels a day by the end of 2009 and may rise to 15 million after that if necessary, he said.
Speculators Blamed
The president of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Khelil, blamed $135 oil on speculative investors, the subprime credit crisis and geopolitics, rather than a shortage of supply. Khelil, who is also Algeria's oil minister, today dismissed the argument voiced by consuming nations that possible supply shortages are driving up prices.
``The concern over future oil supply is not a new phenomenon,'' he told reporters in Jeddah. Asked if oil prices would fall after the meeting, he replied: ``I don't think so.''
More than 35 countries, seven international organizations and 25 oil companies took part in today's summit in the Saudi Red Sea port, including U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown, U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman and Exxon Mobil Corp. Chief Executive Officer Rex Tillerson.
OPEC Divided
The Saudi King and other producer-nation officials including Kuwaiti oil minister Mohammed al-Olaim also called for greater regulation on oil market investors. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission is currently investigating the role of index-fund investors in the doubling of oil prices during the past year.
OPEC itself is divided. While Saudi Arabia is boosting output, other OPEC members including Libya, Algeria, Iran, Venezuela and Qatar are opposed to higher production, saying refiners aren't asking for more crude.
Libya's top oil official, Shokri Ghanem, said after the meeting ended that the Saudi output boost wouldn't affect the oil price, and yesterday said his country may have to cut its own production in response to the Saudi move.
Venezuelan Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez, also asked whether the oil price was likely to fall after the Saudi move, said: ``I don't think so because it's not a problem of supply.''
Kuwait, OPEC's fourth largest producer, said it's ready to join neighboring Saudi Arabia and raise output, if needed.
U.S. Energy Secretary Bodman rejected calls to put greater control on markets, and said a shortage of supply was responsible for high prices. He disputed the view that speculators are leading the markets to record levels.
The market needs between 3 million and 4 million barrels a day of spare oil production capacity, compared with the 2 million barrels a day currently available, Bodman said. OPEC says the world's spare capacity is about 3 million barrels a day, with two-thirds of that in Saudi Arabia.
``Market fundamentals show us that production has not kept pace with growing demand for oil resulting in increasing, and increasingly volatile, prices,'' Bodman said in a speech today.
Sounds like our government is trying to hold the price high not OPEC. How can they sell anymore than there are refineries to accept the oil. You cannot leave it sitting in tanker ships off the coast till needed.
WE ARE BEING LIED TO. The question is by whom and why.
Today I made the mistake of ordering a mediocre overpriced pizza, and it was delivered by a guy in a 94-96 Caprice. Seems a bit thirsty with gas prices today.
Seems like a natural to me. Funny how it spread and became a nuisance after being introduced ( unintended consequences ) but now it may actually be a savior in some parts if it can be converted to celluosic ethanol ( really unintended consequences ).
Not so much being lied to regarding available supplies, more like being gamed by the speculators.The Opec Secretary-General El Badri stated that the price of oil was not being driven by supply & demand.Evidence seems to back him up as their is more oil being produced on a daily basis than current world consumption. Indeed anecdotal evidence seems to verify that as well. There are no gas stations limiting gasoline sales. Now as to the price.... El Badri stated that world consumption of oil was 87 million bpd yet the amount of financial instruments being traded on that same oil was 1.36 billion bpd.
""We are not very happy with this increase in oil prices," said El-Badri during his visit to Ecuador.
"Volatility has nothing to do with the fundamentals. It has nothing to do with world demand," he said, stressing that a dropping dollar was driving prices higher.
Once again he said the market is well supplied with oil, adding if there were shortage of oil in the market the oil cartel would not have hesitated to raise production.
"But today we are convinced that this price has nothing to do with the market, there is a lot of oil in the market, there is no shortage whatsoever, the stocks are very high, at comfortable levels and the main problems are speculators."
1stpik wrote: "You're correct about Wall Street's "own agenda." However, instead of a faux recession, I believe we simply get faux economic numbers from the government. "
Right on, We went from from a cpi in the '90's ( originated in the '50's) that overstated oil, it counted both home heating oil and gasoline to one that excludes food & energy. What a joke. Btw, no one in finance gives any credibility to the BLS ( Bureau of Labor Statistics) or CBO ( Congressional Budget Office). Neither one has ever issued a report that hasn't been revised multiple times in the quarters that succeded. Also btw when I was taking economics the definition of a recession was 3 quarters of declining gnp. Inflation seems to be rearing it's ugly head now as the accepted definition is now 2 quarters. What next ? One? A bad week? My comment on the faux recession derives from that the major investment banks starting calling for a recession last October when the reality of their , "sublime "problems became evident. In January , Merrill Lynch announced we were in a recession because the BLS unemployment number came in at 5%.Anyone remember when that used to be considered full employment? Two days prior to that ADP announced that nonfarm payrolls had increased by 470,000 jobs a figure much higher that was expected. But what the heck do they know. They only run payrolls.
China's top economic planner announced Thursday night the country will raise the prices of gasoline, diesel oil, aviation kerosene and electricity, revealing an unprecedented broad plan to raise energy prices. How do you think of it ?
"If GM,Honda and Shell are promoting hydrogen fuel cars, how can that be 'cow puck'?"
I searched for the cynicism icon and didn't see it. You can't be serious. OK, $2 "a gallon". A gallon of what? How far can you go with it, and at what cost to acquire the vehicle? Where does the hydrogen come from, and how much energy does it take to produce the hydrogen equivalent of a gallon of gasoline?
How many years would it take to create a hydrogen infrastructure? What are the environmental costs? What are the dangers a carrying around a tank of hydrogen in your car?
Within the answers to these questions and others, lies the answer as to why we will never see hydrogen as personal transport fuel, even if GWB wishes it would happen.
Who is lying to us? Oldfarmer50 replied the fat cats but let's be more precise: Our Government, Wall Street, and the oil companies. According to this Business Week article we have so much gas that refineries are cutting production or closing. Unlike the situation in the 70s and 90s I haven't seen any gas stations closed with out of gas signs or waited on a line for a 10 gallon maximum purchase.
I drove my '76 LeMans, 350-4bbl, up to Carlisle PA for the GM Nationals this past weekend. Started off with a full tank. Drove up to the fairgrounds Friday, then back to the place I was staying. Then out and back again Saturday. That was majority highway, but some time spent in local traffic, especially when we had to take an alternate route when there was construction on one of the highways. I filled up Sunday morning, going about 225 miles. Fuel economy for that tank was about 16.1 mpg. Now that may sound like awful economy, I think that's the best I ever got on a tank! I was trying to drive a bit more gently than usual, sticking to around 55-65, right around the speed limit. And not gunning it unless absolutely necessary.
On Sunday, I drove out to the fairgrounds, hung around for a bit, and then came home. Drove the car in to work this morning, and just filled up. 156.2 miles, just about pure highway. I tried to stay around the speed limit, but when I hit the part of I-270 where it opens up to 4 lanes, I just couldn't bear it anymore, and kicked it up to around 70-75, when conditions permitted. And on the stretch of the DC beltway, probably around 65-75, again depending on traffic conditions. Interestingly, on this stretch I managed to get around 17.4 mpg!
Again, that's horrible by today's standards, but I guess pretty good for the era and age of the car. Still, the total fuel bill for that trip, at roughly $4.30 per gallon for premium, was about $100! Thankfully, I have a short commute to work, and this beast is not my sole source of transportation!
Is that carb in good maintenance? Is the float level high? Do I recall that the needles could be replaced with larger ones for less fuel flow to adjust the mixture? Are the rear jets leaking gas through due to age on the seals?
It might be worth talking to a QuadraJet expert at a cruisein or shop that knows how those could be tweaked and how they deteriorate/change with age.
Today I made the mistake of ordering a mediocre overpriced pizza, and it was delivered by a guy in a 94-96 Caprice. Seems a bit thirsty with gas prices today.
Next time, order an excellent reasonably-priced pizza delivered by a guy in a 1968 Dodge Dart! :P
The most amusing I saw the other night was a guy getting out of a car carring the hot bag....the car? a current generation 5 series BMW. I had to ask... turns out it was the parents' car. His Civic had failed inspection, and was in the shop, but he still had to work.
Bring on the BMW 1 series and 3 series diesels. The 1 Series we rented over in Germany is rated at around 60mpg...and we got it.
A BMW that gets 60 MPG in reality is something to get excited about. We are not allowed to have that much fun. It is not allowed by the EPA and or CARB. How much longer can the politicians and their lobbyist keep these cars out of the USA?
That article says a lot about our Congress, President and appointees.
One wonders if verifiable facts ever get in the way of this administration's statements on issues that are critical to the average American's wellbeing. After all, last time I checked, when politicians are elected to public office, or appointed, as is Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman, they must take an oath to the American people before assuming their new positions. How can they forget a sacred oath so quickly? Were they daydreaming when they took it, so it never meant anything to begin with? Maybe it's just another promise you have to make to get into office: When you're securely incumbent you can ignore even solemn oaths you took.
Obviously, the two quotes that led this article came from discussions concerning the current high price for oil on the futures market. Bodman appears to be protecting the speculators in oil, as opposed to looking after the interests of all Americans. President Bush, apparently, has never talked to the Energy Dept.'s Energy Information Agency to see whether gasoline demand is actually up. More troubling, the writer of that particular Associated Press article obviously didn't look up the EIA's numbers to verify the President's assertions. They weren't accurate.
1. There Is No Shortage
Gasoline reserves on hand are at the highest levels since the early 1990s, which is remarkable considering the nation's refineries have been cutting back on the production of gasoline because their margins have declined. In fact, average gasoline reserves on hand have risen since this past October, while oil reserves in this country have gone up virtually every week this year—and only fog in the Houston Ship Channel that kept oil tankers from unloading their crude one week kept it from being every week.
In the same Bloomberg article that quotes from Bodman's CNBC appearance on Mar. 4, he also said that it was thanks to ethanol that the gasoline problem isn't even worse. He then added that the fact that making ethanol is forcing up prices of other farm commodities, including hog and chicken feed, is "nowhere near as important as trying to relieve pressure on [gasoline] supplies."
Of course, there is no pressure on gasoline supplies in this country as of today, but Bodman's statement must have made eyes roll among the executives at Pilgrim's Pride PPC; the Pittsburg, (Tex.) poultry producer announced 1,100 layoffs on Mar. 13, closing one processing plant and 6 of their 13 distribution centers because their company's outlay for chicken feed went up $600 million last fiscal year and was on track to increase by another $700 million this year.
Bodman is protecting the oil speculators and ethanol industries, NOT the American publc!
I thought my fuel gauge was broken in my 1989 Cadillac Brougham, but it only used 6 gallons from the Lawn Plaza of the PA Turnpike to Carlisle and back to the Sunoco on Rhawn and Verree in NE Philly which is 3/10 mile from my house!
Doing the math:
Lawn Plaza to Harrisburg = 9 miles Harrisburg to Carlisle = 20 miles Carlisle to Philadelphia = 108 miles
Total distance = 137 / 6 = 22.8 MPG!!!
What did they know in 1989 that they don't know now? How could they get a huge car like a Cadillac Brougham to get that kind of mileage back 20 years ago and they can't do it now? I swear the Brougham does better than my new car!
WASHINGTON (AP) - Sen. Barack Obama on Sunday said as president he would strengthen government oversight of energy traders he blames in large part for the skyrocketing price of oil.
The Democratic candidate's campaign singled out the so-called "Enron loophole" for allowing speculators to run up the cost of fuel by operating outside federal regulation. Oil closed near $135 a barrel on Friday - almost double the price a year ago.
"My plan fully closes the Enron loophole and restores commonsense regulation as part of my broader plan to ease the burden for struggling families today while investing in a better future," Obama said in a campaign statement.
Obama's campaign blamed the loophole on former Sen. Phil Gramm, a Texas Republican who serves as Republican candidate Sen. John McCain's co-chairman and economic adviser. The Obama campaign accused Gramm of inserting a provision into a bill in late 2000 "at the behest of Enron lobbyists" that exempted some energy traders from government oversight.
Houston-based Enron collapsed in scandal in 2001 when it was discovered the company had vastly overstated its income.
McCain spokesman Tucker Bonds said McCain has supported efforts to close the loophole and noted the bill in question was signed into law by former President Clinton.
"The fact that Barack Obama is attacking John McCain, despite McCain's leadership on the issue, shows that Barack Obama is driven by the partisan attacks that Americans are tired of," Bounds said.
McCain's campaign supplied a copy of a letter Gramm wrote to Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., on June 13 in which the former senator denied charges that the adoption of the bill was a "secret maneuver." Gramm said he had "nothing to do with the writing of the provision" on regulation of energy trading.
Obama's plan was outlined Sunday by New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, former chairman and CEO of Wall Street investment firm Goldman Sachs, during a conference call with reporters. Corzine said the volatility in the price of oil "is absolutely indicative of speculation in the markets."
Congress already has acted to close the loophole, including a provision in the huge farm bill that passed earlier this year. But Obama's campaign said the candidate would go further by requiring that U.S. energy futures be traded on regulated exchanges.
Obama also would ask the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to consider whether traders should be subject to higher margin requirements. He also would work with other countries to regulate energy markets and press the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice to investigate possible market manipulation.
The campaign said Obama's proposal is part of his broader energy strategy that calls for reducing oil consumption by 35 percent by 2030.
"My plan fully closes the Enron loophole and restores commonsense regulation as part of my broader plan to ease the burden for struggling families today while investing in a better future," Obama said in a campaign statement.
I'm all ears. How can he/we control the market in the UK or Dubai?
One of the biggest factors in high oil prices, according to many experts, is that investors, such as hedge funds and investment bankers, can use loopholes in commodities law to manipulate the market and drive crude oil, heating oil, gasoline and diesel fuel prices to new heights.
Congress is aware of the problem and lawmakers recently passed legislation to address the “Enron Loophole,” one of the major loopholes that opens the door to abusive trading practices, but the law didn’t go far enough.
Unfortunately, other loopholes exist that allow energy trading on completely “dark” exchanges. For example, the “Foreign Markets Loophole” allows American energy commodities to be traded overseas – exempt from U.S. oversight.
These so-called “Dark Markets” – commodities markets that are not policed by U.S. authorities provide for an open the door to manipulation, even outright control of the markets.
For example, speculative investors can buy and sell millions of barrels of U.S. destined oil and other energy products every day in the United Kingdom and even in Dubai but are not made subject to the transparency and accountability laws that govern exchanges here in the United States!
Additionally, through the so-called “swaps loophole,” financial investors can “game the markets” for pure profit by buying up positions in the energy markets, without any limitation on the size of the positions they can take. One recent estimate suggested that they now control one third of the commodities markets, or $150 billion - a 1,000% increase in less than five years!
Some experts believe that as much as 60 percent of the cost of a gallon of gasoline or heating oil can be attributed to pure speculation and abusive –even manipulative – trading practices, yet most trading is “dark” and federal authorities can neither fully police or see the data in the majority of the trading markets.
Is that carb in good maintenance? Is the float level high? Do I recall that the needles could be replaced with larger ones for less fuel flow to adjust the mixture? Are the rear jets leaking gas through due to age on the seals?
I really don't know much about carbs, but the car does seem to run pretty well in general. It idles a bit low and tends to rumble, and it's always cranky on the first start of the day. That could be a choke problem, though? Or just a "they were all that way" 70's type of thing?
It might be worth talking to a QuadraJet expert at a cruisein or shop that knows how those could be tweaked and how they deteriorate/change with age.
Next time I have it in to the mechanic, I'll have him check it out. In August I'm taking it to another car show near Allentown, PA, and that trip's about 190 miles each way. The car behaved itself fine on the way to the GM show at Carlisle. I was using that as sort of a test. But I figure the further away from home I go, the more likely something will act up on it. :sick:
I'll bet that car can do much better.
Really? You think something of this vintage/size/displacement could really do better? I was actually pretty impressed with the 17.4 mpg! IIRC, you had a '76 or so Cutlass Supreme with a 350-4bbl that was fairly economical, but remember, mine has a Pontiac engine. They were good engines back in the 60's, but by the time the 70's came around, I don't think they were that efficient. They didn't take well to emissions controls, and in 1977, California actually banned the Pontiac 350/400. Possibly the 301, as well. They'd substitute Olds 350's and 403's, and I think for the 301 they'd substitute a Chevy 305.
I'll see if the mechanic can do anything to tweak it, though.
What did they know in 1989 that they don't know now? How could they get a huge car like a Cadillac Brougham to get that kind of mileage back 20 years ago and they can't do it now? I swear the Brougham does better than my new car!
Well, nowadays, I'd think a Crown Vic or Lincoln Town Car should be able to get mid 20's on the highway if you don't push it too hard. I think they were EPA rated around 17/24, until the dumbed-down 2008 numbers came out. And I'd imagine that your new car would get good economy too, if you didn't try to find out what its top speed was. :P
Oh, BTW, you won first place in your class again at the GM show, so congrats! They'll probably mail you your trophy within about a week.
What did they know in 1989 that they don't know now?
Low specific displacement and tall gearing to produce tolerable fuel economy and ponderous performance from what was for all practical purposes '50s tech.
Ethanol is just another bubble waiting for the needle to burst it. Problem is we the tax payers have guaranteed most of those construction loans. So it is no real risk to the ethanol producers. Hopefully Renova is a wildcat operation not protected under our lame Energy Bills.
My bet is on guys like Soros and his Quantum Hedge fund based off shore with NO oversight by the Federal Government. Just one of dozens of such hedge funds. If Obama goes after those guys he may end up under ground. They do not play by any rules but their OWN.
About two months ago, when I was in West VA, I saw an old 80's Dodge Ramcharger (the big, C/K Blazer or OJ Bronco-sized brute) being used to deliver pizzas! I shudder to think how much of that guys tips were being devoured by the fuel?
Lately, I've been seeing more sensible-sized cars being used for pizza delivery, like Honda Civics, an old Protege, and a little black Yaris hatchback. If I ever had to go back to it, I guess I could tolerate my Intrepid's economy. But I'd never be able to do it in those 11-15 mpg beasts that I used to drive, back when gas was around $1-1.25 per gallon.
Mostly though, I guess I just don't get why so many are in such a hurry. I still just like to take my time. I'll get there. I'll go the posted speed limit on a highway.
Good point. Why don't people just leave a little earlier. The amount of time "saved" in average commutes by going 10 over the limit is just a small amount of minutes. And, what do people do with the "saved" minutes that is so valuable.
Perhaps it is just poor management of their lives. Maybe watching tv late, then sleeping an extra amount of time, then driving too fast to make up for leaving the house later than they should have. After work, driving fast, over the limit to get home and do what? Would arriving home minutes later cause great problems?
Gas can be saved by driving no faster than the limit, with perhaps less stress on the body and heart. And, you are safer at lower speeds.
Perhaps it is just poor management of their lives. Maybe watching tv late, then sleeping an extra amount of time, then driving too fast to make up for leaving the house later than they should have. After work, driving fast, over the limit to get home and do what? Would arriving home minutes later cause great problems?
LOLOL
Some people eat too much chocolate cake because they were deprived as children, others do because, well, because they LIKE it.
Some people drive too fast (or rather, faster than the posted limits) because they are short, and have issues, others do, um.... because they LIKE it.
Point is, not every behavior has a pathological reason.
The school system's diesel costs have more than doubled in four years, from $3.6 million in fiscal 2005 to a projected $7.9 million for fiscal 2009, which begins next month. It's a hardship shared by the Fairfax County school system, with more than 1,500 buses; the Prince George's County system, with 1,285 buses; and other area systems that transport tens of thousands of students daily and are paying more for fuel than the average parent at an Exxon pump on Rockville Pike.
They are breaking my heart. Let em pay for the kids to ride the bus as we have in San Diego for years. Just raise the price to cover the fuel charges. That is what our school districts are doing.
The San Dieguito Union High School District in Encinitas will raise the cost of an annual bus pass from $400 per student, the highest in the county, to $500 this fall.
i saw a grand cherokee v8 being used as a pizza delivery vehicle the other day. gas under 4.30 a gallon is tough to find. you might get lucky and find 4.299.
2024 Ford F-150 STX, 2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
Comments
There's a post on there about using kudzu to make biofuel. If that worked out, we'd be awash in gas, at least south of the Mason-Dixon line.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
The cinnamon colored pup on the left is the one we bought. Her name is Meggy and my wife is threatening to call here Meggy May every now and a then. I plan on teaching her not to scare the neighbors too badly...apparently Chows bond very tightly with their Masters, to the point of barking up a storm if a stranger approaches.
She is 6 weeks old and is already bonding very well to Daddy. See? Now I don't have that several hundred dollars she cost to spend on Willcox, AZ's lowest ghastly price, which is $3.71/gal for 87 no-lead. Am told we have some of the lowest ghastly prices in the nation right now.
Hummm....more toys for the Chow baby I spose. :shades:
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
But you might need to get a pitbull to keep people from cutting in line in front of you at the gas pumps if supply gets weird! U.S. motorists brave Mexico border violence for fuel (Yahoo)
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
You can always post it on your CarSpace page and link from there.
One shining quality I have is persistence. The puppy on the left is Meggy. She's only 6 weeks old and she is Daddy's Doll, our new Chow Chow.The puppy on the right is another Chow they have for sale, a rare white male. He is $100 more than our Chow was. She is bonding with me more than she is with my wife. The other two dogs, Cotey and Rocky, both Pomeranians and males, are solidly bonded to my wife. Evidently the male canines bond most with the female humans and the female canines bond most with the male humans.
Chow Chows are from China and are remarkably similar to the dogs in artwork depicting the dogs guarding their shrines from way back. They are documented to be one of the oldest dog breeds. Your guess is as good as mine how they would determine which breed is the very oldest. Kind of bordering on archeology, I spose. They are fiercily loyal to guard the property of their Master. But they can be trained to be nice, and to not bite. They will bark up a storm in the meantime, while you're deciding what to do with these strangers at your door. Another fascinating fact is, according to our breeder, they come from an encounter between a bear and a wolf. OK, I know, but I would believe more strongly that they come from an encounter between a wolf and a Spitz dog way back when. I don't know though, when Meggy lays down on her belly she puts her legs back behind her and her paws are facing straight upwards. And yes, they do closely resemble a bear's paws. He may very well be right, then.
Our challenge now with Meg is to get some chew-stuffs to satisfy her. She is favoring chewing on our living room shade-strings right now. She loves to tug on them.
Anyhow, this new puppy already got(purchase price) and will continue to get our $3.71/gal money for fuel for a while yet, as we work on assimilating her in to our pack.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
I wear my Seattle Sonics and Seahawks jerseys and my U of Washington Husky shirt, etc. Oh, we didn't buy the white male, BTW. Just the cinnamon-colored female on the left there in the pic. Sure has caught my heart.
You're right, though, we're gonna need to open a glad-handin' account at a groomer here in Willcox to keep this Chow Chow's fur trimmed down. Or she will bake. The monsoons are about here. The flies are buzzing and the humidity is slowly but surely rising. These dogs, like Poms, do take your time and money to properly take care of them, oh yes they do. I'm up for it.
Are you lounging in San Diego right now, gagrice?
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
I am saving gas not driving anywhere. The electricity for AC will be more than driving the car I am sure.
June 22 (Bloomberg)
Saudi Arabia's commitment to government and business leaders to pump 9.7 million barrels a day next month came after crude rose to a record $139.89 in New York on June 16. Saudi King Abdullah said at today's summit that his country, the world's biggest oil exporter, seeks ``reasonable'' prices. OPEC President Chakib Khelil said a Saudi boost is ``illogical'' because refiners don't need more crude.
Saudi Arabia's capacity will be 12.5 million barrels a day by the end of 2009 and may rise to 15 million after that if necessary, he said.
Speculators Blamed
The president of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Khelil, blamed $135 oil on speculative investors, the subprime credit crisis and geopolitics, rather than a shortage of supply. Khelil, who is also Algeria's oil minister, today dismissed the argument voiced by consuming nations that possible supply shortages are driving up prices.
``The concern over future oil supply is not a new phenomenon,'' he told reporters in Jeddah. Asked if oil prices would fall after the meeting, he replied: ``I don't think so.''
More than 35 countries, seven international organizations and 25 oil companies took part in today's summit in the Saudi Red Sea port, including U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown, U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman and Exxon Mobil Corp. Chief Executive Officer Rex Tillerson.
OPEC Divided
The Saudi King and other producer-nation officials including Kuwaiti oil minister Mohammed al-Olaim also called for greater regulation on oil market investors. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission is currently investigating the role of index-fund investors in the doubling of oil prices during the past year.
OPEC itself is divided. While Saudi Arabia is boosting output, other OPEC members including Libya, Algeria, Iran, Venezuela and Qatar are opposed to higher production, saying refiners aren't asking for more crude.
Libya's top oil official, Shokri Ghanem, said after the meeting ended that the Saudi output boost wouldn't affect the oil price, and yesterday said his country may have to cut its own production in response to the Saudi move.
Venezuelan Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez, also asked whether the oil price was likely to fall after the Saudi move, said: ``I don't think so because it's not a problem of supply.''
Kuwait, OPEC's fourth largest producer, said it's ready to join neighboring Saudi Arabia and raise output, if needed.
U.S. Energy Secretary Bodman rejected calls to put greater control on markets, and said a shortage of supply was responsible for high prices. He disputed the view that speculators are leading the markets to record levels.
The market needs between 3 million and 4 million barrels a day of spare oil production capacity, compared with the 2 million barrels a day currently available, Bodman said. OPEC says the world's spare capacity is about 3 million barrels a day, with two-thirds of that in Saudi Arabia.
``Market fundamentals show us that production has not kept pace with growing demand for oil resulting in increasing, and increasingly volatile, prices,'' Bodman said in a speech today.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=agZ1gqbuhxpo
Sounds like our government is trying to hold the price high not OPEC. How can they sell anymore than there are refineries to accept the oil. You cannot leave it sitting in tanker ships off the coast till needed.
WE ARE BEING LIED TO. The question is by whom and why.
The fat cats of course. Why? So they can keep us fighting amongst ourselves while they keep us poor. :mad:
I'm getting ready to vote for the Commies. At least you know where they stand.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
If GM,Honda and Shell are promoting hydrogen fuel cell cars, how can that be ''cow puck''?
At $2/gallon for hydrogen a lot of our transporatation problems would be solved.
Someone somewhere had unbelievable foresight.
Indeed anecdotal evidence seems to verify that as well. There are no gas stations limiting gasoline sales. Now as to the price....
El Badri stated that world consumption of oil was 87 million bpd yet the amount of financial instruments being traded on that same oil was 1.36 billion bpd.
""We are not very happy with this increase in oil prices," said El-Badri during his visit to Ecuador.
"Volatility has nothing to do with the fundamentals. It has nothing to do with world demand," he said, stressing that a dropping dollar was driving prices higher.
Once again he said the market is well supplied with oil, adding if there were shortage of oil in the market the oil cartel would not have hesitated to raise production.
"But today we are convinced that this price has nothing to do with the market, there is a lot of oil in the market, there is no shortage whatsoever, the stocks are very high, at comfortable levels and the main problems are speculators."
"You're correct about Wall Street's "own agenda." However, instead of a faux recession, I believe we simply get faux economic numbers from the government. "
Right on, We went from from a cpi in the '90's ( originated in the '50's) that overstated oil, it counted both home heating oil and gasoline to one that excludes food & energy. What a joke. Btw, no one in finance gives any credibility to the BLS ( Bureau of Labor Statistics) or CBO ( Congressional Budget Office). Neither one has ever issued a report that hasn't been revised multiple times in the quarters that succeded. Also btw when I was taking economics the definition of a recession was 3 quarters of declining gnp. Inflation seems to be rearing it's ugly head now as the accepted definition is now 2 quarters. What next ? One? A bad week? My comment on the faux recession derives from that the major investment banks starting calling for a recession last October when the reality of their , "sublime "problems became evident. In January , Merrill Lynch announced we were in a recession because the BLS unemployment number came in at 5%.Anyone remember when that used to be considered full employment? Two days prior to that ADP announced that nonfarm payrolls had increased by 470,000 jobs a figure much higher that was expected. But what the heck do they know. They only run payrolls.
How do you think of it ?
I searched for the cynicism icon and didn't see it. You can't be serious. OK, $2 "a gallon". A gallon of what? How far can you go with it, and at what cost to acquire the vehicle? Where does the hydrogen come from, and how much energy does it take to produce the hydrogen equivalent of a gallon of gasoline?
How many years would it take to create a hydrogen infrastructure? What are the environmental costs? What are the dangers a carrying around a tank of hydrogen in your car?
Within the answers to these questions and others, lies the answer as to why we will never see hydrogen as personal transport fuel, even if GWB wishes it would happen.
http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/apr2008/bw2008041_945564.htm
On Sunday, I drove out to the fairgrounds, hung around for a bit, and then came home. Drove the car in to work this morning, and just filled up. 156.2 miles, just about pure highway. I tried to stay around the speed limit, but when I hit the part of I-270 where it opens up to 4 lanes, I just couldn't bear it anymore, and kicked it up to around 70-75, when conditions permitted. And on the stretch of the DC beltway, probably around 65-75, again depending on traffic conditions. Interestingly, on this stretch I managed to get around 17.4 mpg!
Again, that's horrible by today's standards, but I guess pretty good for the era and age of the car. Still, the total fuel bill for that trip, at roughly $4.30 per gallon for premium, was about $100! Thankfully, I have a short commute to work, and this beast is not my sole source of transportation!
It might be worth talking to a QuadraJet expert at a cruisein or shop that knows how those could be tweaked and how they deteriorate/change with age.
I'll bet that car can do much better.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Next time, order an excellent reasonably-priced pizza delivered by a guy in a 1968 Dodge Dart! :P
A BMW that gets 60 MPG in reality is something to get excited about. We are not allowed to have that much fun. It is not allowed by the EPA and or CARB. How much longer can the politicians and their lobbyist keep these cars out of the USA?
One wonders if verifiable facts ever get in the way of this administration's statements on issues that are critical to the average American's wellbeing. After all, last time I checked, when politicians are elected to public office, or appointed, as is Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman, they must take an oath to the American people before assuming their new positions. How can they forget a sacred oath so quickly? Were they daydreaming when they took it, so it never meant anything to begin with? Maybe it's just another promise you have to make to get into office: When you're securely incumbent you can ignore even solemn oaths you took.
Obviously, the two quotes that led this article came from discussions concerning the current high price for oil on the futures market. Bodman appears to be protecting the speculators in oil, as opposed to looking after the interests of all Americans. President Bush, apparently, has never talked to the Energy Dept.'s Energy Information Agency to see whether gasoline demand is actually up. More troubling, the writer of that particular Associated Press article obviously didn't look up the EIA's numbers to verify the President's assertions. They weren't accurate.
1. There Is No Shortage
Gasoline reserves on hand are at the highest levels since the early 1990s, which is remarkable considering the nation's refineries have been cutting back on the production of gasoline because their margins have declined. In fact, average gasoline reserves on hand have risen since this past October, while oil reserves in this country have gone up virtually every week this year—and only fog in the Houston Ship Channel that kept oil tankers from unloading their crude one week kept it from being every week.
In the same Bloomberg article that quotes from Bodman's CNBC appearance on Mar. 4, he also said that it was thanks to ethanol that the gasoline problem isn't even worse. He then added that the fact that making ethanol is forcing up prices of other farm commodities, including hog and chicken feed, is "nowhere near as important as trying to relieve pressure on [gasoline] supplies."
Of course, there is no pressure on gasoline supplies in this country as of today, but Bodman's statement must have made eyes roll among the executives at Pilgrim's Pride PPC; the Pittsburg, (Tex.) poultry producer announced 1,100 layoffs on Mar. 13, closing one processing plant and 6 of their 13 distribution centers because their company's outlay for chicken feed went up $600 million last fiscal year and was on track to increase by another $700 million this year.
Bodman is protecting the oil speculators and ethanol industries, NOT the American publc!
Doing the math:
Lawn Plaza to Harrisburg = 9 miles
Harrisburg to Carlisle = 20 miles
Carlisle to Philadelphia = 108 miles
Total distance = 137 / 6 = 22.8 MPG!!!
What did they know in 1989 that they don't know now? How could they get a huge car like a Cadillac Brougham to get that kind of mileage back 20 years ago and they can't do it now? I swear the Brougham does better than my new car!
By JOHN DUNBAR
WASHINGTON (AP) - Sen. Barack Obama on Sunday said as president he would strengthen government oversight of energy traders he blames in large part for the skyrocketing price of oil.
The Democratic candidate's campaign singled out the so-called "Enron loophole" for allowing speculators to run up the cost of fuel by operating outside federal regulation. Oil closed near $135 a barrel on Friday - almost double the price a year ago.
"My plan fully closes the Enron loophole and restores commonsense regulation as part of my broader plan to ease the burden for struggling families today while investing in a better future," Obama said in a campaign statement.
Obama's campaign blamed the loophole on former Sen. Phil Gramm, a Texas Republican who serves as Republican candidate Sen. John McCain's co-chairman and economic adviser. The Obama campaign accused Gramm of inserting a provision into a bill in late 2000 "at the behest of Enron lobbyists" that exempted some energy traders from government oversight.
Houston-based Enron collapsed in scandal in 2001 when it was discovered the company had vastly overstated its income.
McCain spokesman Tucker Bonds said McCain has supported efforts to close the loophole and noted the bill in question was signed into law by former President Clinton.
"The fact that Barack Obama is attacking John McCain, despite McCain's leadership on the issue, shows that Barack Obama is driven by the partisan attacks that Americans are tired of," Bounds said.
McCain's campaign supplied a copy of a letter Gramm wrote to Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., on June 13 in which the former senator denied charges that the adoption of the bill was a "secret maneuver." Gramm said he had "nothing to do with the writing of the provision" on regulation of energy trading.
Obama's plan was outlined Sunday by New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, former chairman and CEO of Wall Street investment firm Goldman Sachs, during a conference call with reporters. Corzine said the volatility in the price of oil "is absolutely indicative of speculation in the markets."
Congress already has acted to close the loophole, including a provision in the huge farm bill that passed earlier this year. But Obama's campaign said the candidate would go further by requiring that U.S. energy futures be traded on regulated exchanges.
Obama also would ask the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to consider whether traders should be subject to higher margin requirements. He also would work with other countries to regulate energy markets and press the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice to investigate possible market manipulation.
The campaign said Obama's proposal is part of his broader energy strategy that calls for reducing oil consumption by 35 percent by 2030.
I'm all ears. How can he/we control the market in the UK or Dubai?
One of the biggest factors in high oil prices, according to many experts, is that investors, such as hedge funds and investment bankers, can use loopholes in commodities law to manipulate the market and drive crude oil, heating oil, gasoline and diesel fuel prices to new heights.
Congress is aware of the problem and lawmakers recently passed legislation to address the “Enron Loophole,” one of the major loopholes that opens the door to abusive trading practices, but the law didn’t go far enough.
Unfortunately, other loopholes exist that allow energy trading on completely “dark” exchanges. For example, the “Foreign Markets Loophole” allows American energy commodities to be traded overseas – exempt from U.S. oversight.
These so-called “Dark Markets” – commodities markets that are not policed by U.S. authorities provide for an open the door to manipulation, even outright control of the markets.
For example, speculative investors can buy and sell millions of barrels of U.S. destined oil and other energy products every day in the United Kingdom and even in Dubai but are not made subject to the transparency and accountability laws that govern exchanges here in the United States!
Additionally, through the so-called “swaps loophole,” financial investors can “game the markets” for pure profit by buying up positions in the energy markets, without any limitation on the size of the positions they can take. One recent estimate suggested that they now control one third of the commodities markets, or $150 billion - a 1,000% increase in less than five years!
Some experts believe that as much as 60 percent of the cost of a gallon of gasoline or heating oil can be attributed to pure speculation and abusive –even manipulative – trading practices, yet most trading is “dark” and federal authorities can neither fully police or see the data in the majority of the trading markets.
http://www.stopoilspeculators.com/
Not doing a very good job of it then:
Idaho ethanol plant owner files for Ch. 11 protection (KTVB)
I really don't know much about carbs, but the car does seem to run pretty well in general. It idles a bit low and tends to rumble, and it's always cranky on the first start of the day. That could be a choke problem, though? Or just a "they were all that way" 70's type of thing?
It might be worth talking to a QuadraJet expert at a cruisein or shop that knows how those could be tweaked and how they deteriorate/change with age.
Next time I have it in to the mechanic, I'll have him check it out. In August I'm taking it to another car show near Allentown, PA, and that trip's about 190 miles each way. The car behaved itself fine on the way to the GM show at Carlisle. I was using that as sort of a test. But I figure the further away from home I go, the more likely something will act up on it. :sick:
I'll bet that car can do much better.
Really? You think something of this vintage/size/displacement could really do better? I was actually pretty impressed with the 17.4 mpg! IIRC, you had a '76 or so Cutlass Supreme with a 350-4bbl that was fairly economical, but remember, mine has a Pontiac engine. They were good engines back in the 60's, but by the time the 70's came around, I don't think they were that efficient. They didn't take well to emissions controls, and in 1977, California actually banned the Pontiac 350/400. Possibly the 301, as well. They'd substitute Olds 350's and 403's, and I think for the 301 they'd substitute a Chevy 305.
I'll see if the mechanic can do anything to tweak it, though.
Well, nowadays, I'd think a Crown Vic or Lincoln Town Car should be able to get mid 20's on the highway if you don't push it too hard. I think they were EPA rated around 17/24, until the dumbed-down 2008 numbers came out. And I'd imagine that your new car would get good economy too, if you didn't try to find out what its top speed was. :P
Oh, BTW, you won first place in your class again at the GM show, so congrats! They'll probably mail you your trophy within about a week.
Low specific displacement and tall gearing to produce tolerable fuel economy and ponderous performance from what was for all practical purposes '50s tech.
Lately, I've been seeing more sensible-sized cars being used for pizza delivery, like Honda Civics, an old Protege, and a little black Yaris hatchback. If I ever had to go back to it, I guess I could tolerate my Intrepid's economy. But I'd never be able to do it in those 11-15 mpg beasts that I used to drive, back when gas was around $1-1.25 per gallon.
Good point. Why don't people just leave a little earlier. The amount of time "saved" in average commutes by going 10 over the limit is just a small amount of minutes. And, what do people do with the "saved" minutes that is so valuable.
Perhaps it is just poor management of their lives. Maybe watching tv late, then sleeping an extra amount of time, then driving too fast to make up for leaving the house later than they should have. After work, driving fast, over the limit to get home and do what? Would arriving home minutes later cause great problems?
Gas can be saved by driving no faster than the limit, with perhaps less stress on the body and heart. And, you are safer at lower speeds.
LOLOL
Some people eat too much chocolate cake because they were deprived as children, others do because, well, because they LIKE it.
Some people drive too fast (or rather, faster than the posted limits) because they are short, and have issues, others do, um.... because they LIKE it.
Point is, not every behavior has a pathological reason.
Check your profile email address. I sent comments there to help keep this discussion "on topic."
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
They get on CarSpace and post. :shades:
They are breaking my heart. Let em pay for the kids to ride the bus as we have in San Diego for years. Just raise the price to cover the fuel charges. That is what our school districts are doing.
The San Dieguito Union High School District in Encinitas will raise the cost of an annual bus pass from $400 per student, the highest in the county, to $500 this fall.
gas under 4.30 a gallon is tough to find. you might get lucky and find 4.299.