I remember a discussion about this a long time ago, late 70's I think. The idea was a little scary: if you drove a VW Bug, and got really close behind a big rig, the draft would literally pull you along. Then you could drop into neutral and just coast the whole way. At least, that's how the story went...
Of course it's practically suicidal - you'd have to be within a dozen feet or less for it to work, with no gears engaged.
I've sometimes wondered if driving *next* to a truck, maybe next and a little behind, would have a similar effect. It would be irritating as hell to the truck driver, but at least not quite so dangerous.
I would rather spend a bit more for gas and drive safely. When you are behind a big truck your field of vision is blocked and that is very dangerous. 3 seconds or 240ft behind a truck is not enough of a space cushion to prevent a crash.
AAA says "at highway speeds, a 2- to 3-second following distance will not give you enough time to stop if the road ahead is suddenly blocked. At 55 miles per hour, you would need at least 4 to 5 seconds to stop the vehicle to avoid something in your path of travel. Therefore, your position in traffic should be based on availability of escape routes."
AAA further says "If your vision is blocked by a large vehicle such as a SUV, van or truck, increase your following distance to 4 seconds. This extra distance will give you better visibility."
"Drivers must learn to look at least 20 to 30 seconds ahead. At highway speeds of 50 to 65 miles per hour, the 20- to 30-second visual lead time translates to one-third to one-half mile," says AAA.
Cool idea! I've knocked off a couple of the Olive Garden soups such as the pasta bean and the zuppa toscana. Tribute is a nice way to think about it, as someone went through the effort of creating and testing the flavor combinations . . .
One of my issues with the way the economy has gone is that what is "good" for the economy is not necessarily good for most individuals. Our debt-based economy is such that it is "good" when Americans carry balances and have enough debt that they can't get out of it, but enough that it crushes them. With the subprime mortgages, that line was pushed too far.
At any rate, I agree that what would be best for the INDIVIDUAL is to sock it away into some savings. Or at least pay down some debt. But the government just wants us to spend, spend, spend. And really, "they" are hoping that you'll use your tax rebate as a down payment on something bigger.
Another thing to consider: Where is all this money coming from? It has to be borrowed. We'll be paying it back with interest down the road.
I love to do knock offs when I can. I have one for the Planet Hollywood chicken crunch fingers that is pretty right on. Not something I have time to make often, but when I do it sure is tasty.
I'm going to try out some of the clone links you provided, for sure. Thanks, Thursday!
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I still haven't figured out the etiquette of reusable bags. I usually turn beet red and stammer something while I shove the bag at the cashier. Some totally understand. Some roll their eyes, so I bag the items myself.
I've found a grocery store nearby that offers the bring-your-bag credit (5 cents each) and I often see others bringing bags, so I feel less... abnormal there. At another store, at least one cashier knows that I bring my own bags, and last week prompted me when I didn't have it out by the time she finished ringing me up. I have one of the tiny ones that I can tuck in my purse.
So far, repetition has made me less timid, I'm less flustered each time, and I've learned to be as polite and firm as I can. It helps the cashiers in the express lane if I bag, since there are so many styles of reusable bags, it takes them a moment to figure them out.
At this point, I have to remember that even though this is my 30th time at this store with a cloth bag, it may be the cashier's first time, so I try to be clear about what I want, and why.
A couple of those sites are ones I had not found before, including the Olive Garden site. Red Lobster had recipes last time I looked also. I bought a bunch of the various Todd Wilbur Top Secret books a few years ago and still use them for quite a few things. IIRC some of the other big recipe sites like AllRecipes and cooks.com have copy cat recipe sections.
Your also usually avoiding a ton of food additives making these things at home.
This is great advice. I try to do this a lot - when I can't find a recipe online, I try to make my own. Then I post them on my blog so hopefully someone else looking for the same thing will be able to find it! Plus, when you make it at home you can modify it to make it even better :)
Ive been ranting about this since it first came up: this is no tax rebate, its deficit spending. Its just more we/our kids/ grandkids will have to pay back in the future.
FYI, if a seller sends me something packaged in newspaper (dirty) or shredded paper (gets all over the house), I will not be ordering from that seller again.
Libraries are another great place to get boxes. Really, anyplace that orders "stuff" - liquor stores, grocery stores, pet stores, copy stores, etc.
I have to admit, I agree with the weirdness of using reusable bags... that's why I was so excited to hear that a Walmart in my area was giving out the bags for free. We haven't been offered many of the reusable bag options that so many other stores (Target, etc.) have supposedly been offering in other areas. So this will kind of be a first for us.
The only concern I can see is the potential for shoplifting confusion. We already have big signs at many of our stores asking us to leave totebags and backpacks outside of the store. It must be due to the level of shoplifting incidents, I'm not sure. Plus, if you bring anything in Walmart plastic sack into the store, they check it and put a little smiley face sticker on it to show that you are bringing it in legally. I wonder if they will need to do that with all the little recycled bags?
As far as the logistics of whether you empty your own bag for the cashier, I suppose it would be the same as when you use a little handled basket. I usually just set my basket down for them to empty. They are much quicker than I am, and with 4 kids usually along for the ride, I just seem to get in the way!
Just this to inform you that Denmark has more soldiers in Afghanistan than any other nation pr. capita.
Denmark has also had the most UN peace keepers pr. capita.
And one other thing - security isn't just about soldiers. You can promote security through other means. Denmark gives more foreign aid pr. capita than any other nation with the exeption of Norway.
Heck, you da person for setting that one guy straight, no one is telling anyone what to do. I think the big problem is that a lot of Americans say they don't want to be told what to do but boy are they suckers for being sold something. If they're sold a bill of goods or a high interest loan or a bad stock or a burger that's bad for them or a quasi Keynesian shot in the arm, they'll go for it if it has good theme music or fancy wrapping or has t he word rebate in it. For all the anti-reds out there, what do you think the Federal Reserve buying into a private enterprise to keep it from failing is, or better yet what do you think this fiscal rationing is? And while you're whisltling dixie and singing the star spangled banner, the government is selling your kids' future to the communists. How you like them apples. Yeap China's currency resever just went up to $1.7 trillion and having just gotten back from there I can tell you they ain't buying subscriptions to Maxim, they're gearing up for this to be their century. This is America and I don't want to tell you how to spend your money at all. But I would be unAmerican to not try to be the Paul Revere of bloggers and tell you that somewhere down the road, the redcoats are coming.
Listen DMF... Going around your agent is taking food off of his/her table. If you can sleep at night go ahead. I could never do that plus you never know what you are getting into without having someone represent you. Think you are saving money?? HAHA think again...
Ok. I have been wanting to get out some of my vast collection of tote bags, and start toting them to the grocery store and Walmart, but I just never do.
Why?
Cause I feel weird!!!
First of all, I've NEVER seen ANYONE use a cloth bag before. NEVER. Not at ANY stores, ever.
I don't mean I feel weird, like self conscious or worrying about what people think of me. I could generally care less.
I mean, that when you get to the register, you'd have to quick wrestle the bags out of your cart, and hand them to the clerk.
Now, does that make their job harder? Do YOU bag your own stuff in that case, or do THEY put each bag up on the bag handle holders, and fill them?
I just don't know. It's strange, I know.
But until I get the urge to bring my own bags, I HAVE been taking my extra plastic bags to the bag recycling receptacles! And I use plenty over again, too.
(why pay for lunch bags, when you got Walmart bags?)
Actually, if plastic shopping bags become a thing of the past, I'll sure miss them! I use them probably daily, for all sorts of things, like picking up dog poop in the yard and during walks, putting my Husband's lunch in them every day, for trash in the car, to line my small trash cans in the house, (why pay for those tiny ones?) and to transport all sorts of stuff for me and the kids.
One thing I won't miss, though, is that one, lone, stupid plastic Walmart bag that seems to make it into the tree behind the alley on our block, EVERY season!! There's always a bag stuck in the top of the tree, blowing in the wind for months!
See, you're exactly the person who needs to get this message, and a boot upside the head. What Jabulani's saying, and what the government's saying (or are expecting) are totally opposite.
This stimulus package is a a mind-game they're playing. They're giving us some funny money to pump up the economy long enough for a longer-term economic upturn to kick in at the end of the year.
What they are hoping is to delay that moment when people feel really crappy because something goes wrong: a job is lost, there's a temporary layoff, businesses close, banks fail, whatever. With that delay, people won't be bummed out and holding off on spending for more than a few months, so their unemployment benefits won't run out, and it won't become "malaise".
Like Jabulani, I'm a cold-hard-facts guy, or try to be, or at least I try to appreciate the occasional slap-in-the-face to get me in gear. But most people aren't like this. Nope. Fatnhappy, richnlazy, unabletosave, or whatever, they're just going along.
They don't have the means to survive the pain of a recession. So they could be the first domino to fall, to put fear into people, and cause an extended period of consumer loss-of-confidence. Then we enter into a period of overproduction, or extended unemployment, and then price depression.
So, while my personal behavior is closer to the authors, my thinking is more along the lines of our deceptive government. People need to feel some pain, but not all at once, and not in such a catastrophic, collective way.
Then again, maybe not. A severe downturn would be a boon to communist organizing -- our far-left sects would see an uptick in membership as people find themselves eviscerated by the system that they have trusted for so long.
You a probably talking about us1camera...usacamera never plays games about online purchases. we are small and only have 3 online ordertakers and I personally (as the owner) won't stand for game and dishonest employees. We stand behing all of our orders and that everything is on the up and up. BTW there have been several companies with similar names...but non with usacamera.com
My supermarket gives me 5 cents back when I use my own bag. The bag cost me 50 cents. So it's an okay deal. If they really want to see reusable bags gain popularity, they could raise the cost of a plastic bag to 25 cents, and drop the cost of the reusable one to 25 cents. Everyone would use reusable bags.
I realize this article is a few months old, but I just read it this evening.
In "Steeltown, USSR" (1991) Stephen Kotkin mentions the rapidly rising obesity rate of citizens of the USSR. Production shortages and anti-coop laws (from selling food in a farmers' market to repairing radios in your living room) meant that it was extremely rare for there to be a variety of food choices - including healthy food choices. Stores carried bread and other cheap options, but vegetables and fruits were rare indeed. USSR obesity rates rose steeply as a result.
Your rant leaves much to be desired, it really doesn't make much sense. Except when you state, "I know it's pinko communist talk". Yea, that it is.
Unlike you, I dislike being told what I have to do by other people but, especially, by the totally inept government. Without your help, and certainly without the help of incompetent bureaucrats, I'm doing just fine.
I remember a discussion about this a long time ago, late 70's I think. The idea was a little scary: if you drove a VW Bug, and got really close behind a big rig, the draft would literally pull you along. Then you could drop into neutral and just coast the whole way. At least, that's how the story went...
Of course it's practically suicidal - you'd have to be within a dozen feet or less for it to work, with no gears engaged.
I've sometimes wondered if driving *next* to a truck, maybe next and a little behind, would have a similar effect. It would be irritating as hell to the truck driver, but at least not quite so dangerous.
I would rather spend a bit more for gas and drive safely. When you are behind a big truck your field of vision is blocked and that is very dangerous. 3 seconds or 240ft behind a truck is not enough of a space cushion to prevent a crash.
AAA says "at highway speeds, a 2- to 3-second following distance will not give you enough time to stop if the road ahead is suddenly blocked. At 55 miles per hour, you would need at least 4 to 5 seconds to stop the vehicle to avoid something in your path of travel. Therefore, your position in traffic should be based on availability of escape routes."
AAA further says "If your vision is blocked by a large vehicle such as a SUV, van or truck, increase your following distance to 4 seconds. This extra distance will give you better visibility."
"Drivers must learn to look at least 20 to 30 seconds ahead. At highway speeds of 50 to 65 miles per hour, the 20- to 30-second visual lead time translates to one-third to one-half mile," says AAA.
Be safe on the roads!
Cool idea! I've knocked off a couple of the Olive Garden soups such as the pasta bean and the zuppa toscana. Tribute is a nice way to think about it, as someone went through the effort of creating and testing the flavor combinations . . .
When ever I copy a dish I call it a tribute ;-)
You're so right.
martin.avidson@gmail.com
One of my issues with the way the economy has gone is that what is "good" for the economy is not necessarily good for most individuals. Our debt-based economy is such that it is "good" when Americans carry balances and have enough debt that they can't get out of it, but enough that it crushes them. With the subprime mortgages, that line was pushed too far.
At any rate, I agree that what would be best for the INDIVIDUAL is to sock it away into some savings. Or at least pay down some debt. But the government just wants us to spend, spend, spend. And really, "they" are hoping that you'll use your tax rebate as a down payment on something bigger.
Another thing to consider: Where is all this money coming from? It has to be borrowed. We'll be paying it back with interest down the road.
I love to do knock offs when I can. I have one for the Planet Hollywood chicken crunch fingers that is pretty right on. Not something I have time to make often, but when I do it sure is tasty.
I'm going to try out some of the clone links you provided, for sure. Thanks, Thursday!
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I still haven't figured out the etiquette of reusable bags. I usually turn beet red and stammer something while I shove the bag at the cashier. Some totally understand. Some roll their eyes, so I bag the items myself.
I've found a grocery store nearby that offers the bring-your-bag credit (5 cents each) and I often see others bringing bags, so I feel less... abnormal there. At another store, at least one cashier knows that I bring my own bags, and last week prompted me when I didn't have it out by the time she finished ringing me up. I have one of the tiny ones that I can tuck in my purse.
So far, repetition has made me less timid, I'm less flustered each time, and I've learned to be as polite and firm as I can. It helps the cashiers in the express lane if I bag, since there are so many styles of reusable bags, it takes them a moment to figure them out.
At this point, I have to remember that even though this is my 30th time at this store with a cloth bag, it may be the cashier's first time, so I try to be clear about what I want, and why.
Duh anyone with half a brain would know what to do to get boxes.
Some good investment advice to consider. Thanks.
A couple of those sites are ones I had not found before, including the Olive Garden site. Red Lobster had recipes last time I looked also. I bought a bunch of the various Todd Wilbur Top Secret books a few years ago and still use them for quite a few things. IIRC some of the other big recipe sites like AllRecipes and cooks.com have copy cat recipe sections.
Your also usually avoiding a ton of food additives making these things at home.
This is great advice. I try to do this a lot - when I can't find a recipe online, I try to make my own. Then I post them on my blog so hopefully someone else looking for the same thing will be able to find it! Plus, when you make it at home you can modify it to make it even better :)
Ive been ranting about this since it first came up: this is no tax rebate, its deficit spending. Its just more we/our kids/ grandkids will have to pay back in the future.
FYI, if a seller sends me something packaged in newspaper (dirty) or shredded paper (gets all over the house), I will not be ordering from that seller again.
Libraries are another great place to get boxes. Really, anyplace that orders "stuff" - liquor stores, grocery stores, pet stores, copy stores, etc.
I have to admit, I agree with the weirdness of using reusable bags... that's why I was so excited to hear that a Walmart in my area was giving out the bags for free. We haven't been offered many of the reusable bag options that so many other stores (Target, etc.) have supposedly been offering in other areas. So this will kind of be a first for us.
The only concern I can see is the potential for shoplifting confusion. We already have big signs at many of our stores asking us to leave totebags and backpacks outside of the store. It must be due to the level of shoplifting incidents, I'm not sure. Plus, if you bring anything in Walmart plastic sack into the store, they check it and put a little smiley face sticker on it to show that you are bringing it in legally. I wonder if they will need to do that with all the little recycled bags?
As far as the logistics of whether you empty your own bag for the cashier, I suppose it would be the same as when you use a little handled basket. I usually just set my basket down for them to empty. They are much quicker than I am, and with 4 kids usually along for the ride, I just seem to get in the way!
Happy responsible shopping, everyone!
Just this to inform you that Denmark has more soldiers in Afghanistan than any other nation pr. capita.
Denmark has also had the most UN peace keepers pr. capita.
And one other thing - security isn't just about soldiers. You can promote security through other means. Denmark gives more foreign aid pr. capita than any other nation with the exeption of Norway.
Heck, you da person for setting that one guy straight, no one is telling anyone what to do. I think the big problem is that a lot of Americans say they don't want to be told what to do but boy are they suckers for being sold something. If they're sold a bill of goods or a high interest loan or a bad stock or a burger that's bad for them or a quasi Keynesian shot in the arm, they'll go for it if it has good theme music or fancy wrapping or has t he word rebate in it. For all the anti-reds out there, what do you think the Federal Reserve buying into a private enterprise to keep it from failing is, or better yet what do you think this fiscal rationing is? And while you're whisltling dixie and singing the star spangled banner, the government is selling your kids' future to the communists. How you like them apples. Yeap China's currency resever just went up to $1.7 trillion and having just gotten back from there I can tell you they ain't buying subscriptions to Maxim, they're gearing up for this to be their century. This is America and I don't want to tell you how to spend your money at all. But I would be unAmerican to not try to be the Paul Revere of bloggers and tell you that somewhere down the road, the redcoats are coming.
Jabulani Leffall
Monetary Gadfly, Common Currency
00000 Broke Blvd. Kitchenette #68 & 1/2
Lowcash, CA 90000-0000
Listen DMF... Going around your agent is taking food off of his/her table. If you can sleep at night go ahead. I could never do that plus you never know what you are getting into without having someone represent you. Think you are saving money?? HAHA think again...
Ok. I have been wanting to get out some of my vast collection of tote bags, and start toting them to the grocery store and Walmart, but I just never do.
Why?
Cause I feel weird!!!
First of all, I've NEVER seen ANYONE use a cloth bag before. NEVER. Not at ANY stores, ever.
I don't mean I feel weird, like self conscious or worrying about what people think of me. I could generally care less.
I mean, that when you get to the register, you'd have to quick wrestle the bags out of your cart, and hand them to the clerk.
Now, does that make their job harder? Do YOU bag your own stuff in that case, or do THEY put each bag up on the bag handle holders, and fill them?
I just don't know. It's strange, I know.
But until I get the urge to bring my own bags, I HAVE been taking my extra plastic bags to the bag recycling receptacles! And I use plenty over again, too.
(why pay for lunch bags, when you got Walmart bags?)
Actually, if plastic shopping bags become a thing of the past, I'll sure miss them! I use them probably daily, for all sorts of things, like picking up dog poop in the yard and during walks, putting my Husband's lunch in them every day, for trash in the car, to line my small trash cans in the house, (why pay for those tiny ones?) and to transport all sorts of stuff for me and the kids.
One thing I won't miss, though, is that one, lone, stupid plastic Walmart bag that seems to make it into the tree behind the alley on our block, EVERY season!! There's always a bag stuck in the top of the tree, blowing in the wind for months!
See, you're exactly the person who needs to get this message, and a boot upside the head. What Jabulani's saying, and what the government's saying (or are expecting) are totally opposite.
This stimulus package is a a mind-game they're playing. They're giving us some funny money to pump up the economy long enough for a longer-term economic upturn to kick in at the end of the year.
What they are hoping is to delay that moment when people feel really crappy because something goes wrong: a job is lost, there's a temporary layoff, businesses close, banks fail, whatever. With that delay, people won't be bummed out and holding off on spending for more than a few months, so their unemployment benefits won't run out, and it won't become "malaise".
Like Jabulani, I'm a cold-hard-facts guy, or try to be, or at least I try to appreciate the occasional slap-in-the-face to get me in gear. But most people aren't like this. Nope. Fatnhappy, richnlazy, unabletosave, or whatever, they're just going along.
They don't have the means to survive the pain of a recession. So they could be the first domino to fall, to put fear into people, and cause an extended period of consumer loss-of-confidence. Then we enter into a period of overproduction, or extended unemployment, and then price depression.
So, while my personal behavior is closer to the authors, my thinking is more along the lines of our deceptive government. People need to feel some pain, but not all at once, and not in such a catastrophic, collective way.
Then again, maybe not. A severe downturn would be a boon to communist organizing -- our far-left sects would see an uptick in membership as people find themselves eviscerated by the system that they have trusted for so long.
You a probably talking about us1camera...usacamera never plays games about online purchases. we are small and only have 3 online ordertakers and I personally (as the owner) won't stand for game and dishonest employees. We stand behing all of our orders and that everything is on the up and up. BTW there have been several companies with similar names...but non with usacamera.com
My supermarket gives me 5 cents back when I use my own bag. The bag cost me 50 cents. So it's an okay deal. If they really want to see reusable bags gain popularity, they could raise the cost of a plastic bag to 25 cents, and drop the cost of the reusable one to 25 cents. Everyone would use reusable bags.
I realize this article is a few months old, but I just read it this evening.
In "Steeltown, USSR" (1991) Stephen Kotkin mentions the rapidly rising obesity rate of citizens of the USSR. Production shortages and anti-coop laws (from selling food in a farmers' market to repairing radios in your living room) meant that it was extremely rare for there to be a variety of food choices - including healthy food choices. Stores carried bread and other cheap options, but vegetables and fruits were rare indeed. USSR obesity rates rose steeply as a result.
Interesting.
Your rant leaves much to be desired, it really doesn't make much sense. Except when you state, "I know it's pinko communist talk". Yea, that it is.
Unlike you, I dislike being told what I have to do by other people but, especially, by the totally inept government. Without your help, and certainly without the help of incompetent bureaucrats, I'm doing just fine.
Please leave me alone!