and I'm glad you brought them up wildgift. #6 is being discussed in my community right now as the community college is asking for additional funds. One candidate says that now is not the time to ask for more money; another says that the community college is central to solving economic difficulties. I am pro-education but there also have to be jobs in which to place the graduates; of course, companies won't move or expand here if they don't have a pipeline of able workers.
Also, I remember hearing how one town outlawed raising chickens in the backyard b/c of sanitation concerns, so regulations, town planning, etc. all play a role in encouraging self-sufficiency.
As someone who is working a retail job, I can tell you that our holiday hiring is pretty much done. Other retailers may still be hiring, so move quickly if you're considering this at all.
I found a great blog that covers these points plus practical tips on how to actually do the job. It's called Mystery Shopping Demystified. It's less than a year old but the shopper has been at it a while and has some good tips.
The article does qualify as a frugal-living article, in my humble Guest opinion. Our choice of elected officials affects our financial condition far more than most small-scale things we can do to save money. It's rare that one vote makes the difference in an election, but this article probably had more readers than the Governor Gregoire's margin of victory in the 2004 Washington election, which is one of many close elections that we could use as an example. Deciding what to do with our votes can affect our government in a way that affects our finances.
So who is the best choice? If you make a quarter-million or more a year (and then you shouldn't need to read frugal-living articles), McCain probably has a better deal for you on taxes (except that Congress isn't likely to let him have his way). If you make less than about half that, Obama definitely has a better tax deal for you. If you're in between those figures, your choice isn't likely to affect your tax bill much.
But there's more to the choice than taxes. If you work in a line of business that generates a lot of pollution, your job might be safer if McCain wins. If your job is at risk of being moved to another country, your job is almost certainly safer if Obama wins. For that matter, most jobs are likely safer if Obama wins, because he's not caught up in the deregulation ideology that got us into the current economic mess.
There's more to the choice than job security too. If your job survives, you still have to worry about health care. Obama's health care plan is better than McCain's for pretty much everyone except health insurance companies. Even the rich are better off with Obama's health care plan, unless they're rich because they own a health insurance company.
So choice of vote really does make a difference in a person's financial situation. And this latest nonsense about socialism appears to be the last gasp of the campaign to make life a little better for the super-rich, at the expense of everyone else.
Thats not counting all the ones people have asked me if i've needed, or i've already thrown out, and the 2 people i was going to split with, have nearly 3-4 times as many as me and we all need the same exact ones. This game i think is seriously bullshit, we've hit up at least 8-10 different mcdonalds in our area for these. O well tho, its a risk, does anyone know tho, if the pieces cross years?
I'm amazed at the negative reactions to this article, and the ignorance of most of the complaints. Those who complain that it's off-topic for the site's frugal-living core focus are right, but I really doubt that they're complaining because it's off that topic -- they're complaining because the word "socialism" freaks them out, unless it's in a context like "evil socialism."
The fact is that every country with a functioning government has a blended economy, with capitalist elements and socialist elements. Some are more socialist -- Sweden, for example. Some are more capitalist -- the US, obviously. Best practice is to socialize things that are best monopolized by government (military force, food safety regulation, basic science research, management of health care), privatize things that are best left to private business (all sorts of things).
Another point missed by the complainers is the difference between economic system and type of government. The US is a capitalist-leaning blended economy with a democracy-leaning government. Sweden is a socialist-leaning blended economy with a democracy-leaning government. Today's China is a capitalist-leaning blended economy with an authoritarian government. The former Soviet Union was a socialist-leaning economy (officially socialist, but the underground economy was quite capitalist) with an authoritarian government.
As for the difference between Obama and McCain, it's nothing but different shades of capitalist-leaning economy. If we count corporate welfare as an intrusion of socialism into our economy, McCain is probably more socialist than Obama.
I have decided to jump into home made bread for the first time and this was the first article I Stumbled Upon. I will be shopping tomorrow, great post!
You're welcome, I'm glad that some of what I wrote was helpful.
Regarding not having financial goals with your partner, it's worth realizing (as I'm sure you do) that financial goals are intricately linked, and to some degree subordinate to, more personal goals in one's relationship. I know that in my own life, money conflicts or misunderstandings ahve shown up "cracks" in other parts of my relationship, where my partner and I are not or are not yet in adequate alignement in our expectations and intentions. It can be tricky to sort out, but often money issues do shed light on areas in our relationships that need working out/clarifying.
1. Make sure open space is maintained.
2. Support education.
3. Make sure the government job exists.
4. Make sure that the local laws allow raising chickens at home.
5. Make sure zoning laws are appropriate.
6. Make sure community college is funded, and cheap.
7. Make sure you have the right to squat.
8. Work to help reduce outsourcing.
9. Share.
Wow, hotel shops, that sounds nice. I belong to one service, and every once in awhile they list a shop for a certain toy store that's conveniently located to me. I jump on it and manage to get one or two birthday presents out of the shop every time. I would do that one even without the fee. The other job they offer over and over pays the same fee, but you have to return the stuff. Ugh! I did it once and it was so awkward.
It's both amusing and sad to read the gripes about this "game". McDonald's is in the business of providing a food product for a segment of the population at a popular price and with free choice everybody wins. You might prefer something else most of the time. (Some currently popular politician's wives insist on lobster for a snack unlike us peasants.) When you prefer something else, there are other choices. Viva la free choice!
The "game" is only a method of hopefully increasing revenue for McD by increasing business and providing amusement for no additional cost to the customers. Educated customers know that there is no free lunch and any of the winnings are a bonus and thus must be rare. If you are there to gamble, spend an extra dollar for a lottery ticket. (for each $1 ticket, about 20 cents goes to prizes. Sweet! right? Look it up!) Otherwise just buy what you would normally want and save your sanity and waistline and your money.
Nobody in their right mind would buy something they don't want for the next to nothing chance of getting something for nothing.
Unfortunately that is way too common and keeps casino and lottery players poor and stupid and likewise permits politicians to buy the idiots votes by giving them a very few of the dollars from the booty they steal by taxing the "rich." The dirty little secret these politicians don't want you to know is that when taxes are high, the economy slows and tax revenue drops and EVERY body suffers, even those on welfare. Then the political class get power and $$
Study the great depression of '29. Recovery was happening by '31 when the "rich" (those making over &100,000/ year) were heavily taxed to make voters feel better and the economy tanked and everybody, especially those making less than that, suffered a great deal for 10 years. This was the worst depression in this country and lasted until WWII.
It can happen again. The crying over this "game" shows that many have a mindset that will permit this to happen again.
Inform yourself and vote. If you vote your greed, everybody loses.
Good info! I've been trying to write a post about this for a long time, but I was overwhelmed with the amount of stuff that I wanted to include. You did a great job of summarizing it.
The vehicles we fear most on the road, are you 4-wheelers... especially you soccer-moms in your SUV's, talking on your cell phone, and feeling invincible.
In the winter time, whenever the roads get too slippery, without fail, the kinds of vehicles we see spun off the road the most, early on, are the SUV's... we'll see probably a dozen of them, before we start seeing other vehicles get taken out as conditions get worse...
Anyways, just a mini-rant there.
You all need to understand... we're not the unsafe drivers on the road... we go through several weeks of training, before we even climb into a rig and spend several more weeks of road-training with a trainer before we're let loose by ourselves...
Any idiot can get a license for a 4-wheeler, with 75% or 80% on the test, which is usually only 20 questions.
These idiots will do just about any stupid thing you can think of on the road.
One recently, as I moved into the left lane to pass a slower truck, a white SUV (>sighs<) was racing up in the right lane to try and get through before I caught up with the slower truck, and just didn't make it and had to slam on his brakes when he ran out of space between us just as he got up to us... once I finished my pass and moved right again (only after the passed truck, signalled to me that he was cool with the space he had in front of him), the idiot in the white SUV raced past, flipping me off as he did, like I was the idiot.
If you spent time watching the trucks on the road, especially when they interact with each other, you'll start to notice that there is a lot of communication happening with each other. A lot of it is over the radio, sure. We usually know of an accident, a closed lane, a blown tire in the road, even a 4-wheeler changing a tire on the shoulder, miles in advance before we get there. (we also know of the idiot drivers coming up behind us, miles before you get to us... you know who you are.)
The radio communication is only about 1/4 of the communication happening tho.
Most of the non-verbal communication is in the light-codes we use with each other. We tell each other when they can come back in after completing their pass, thanking each other for what the other driver did earlier, if they have a problem with their securement and should pull over, if they are cutting in too close, and even if we're about to make an evasive maneuver for something we see in the road ahead, if it is a tire carcass, chair, or dead deer in the road, or emergency vehicles or broke down vehicles on the shoulder.
We know what to expect from each other, and we know, the other big-rig drivers know what to expect from us.
Even something as subtle, on a 2-lane highway, as the truck in front, moving in his lane, a foot to the right, can signal to the truck behind, that the road ahead is clear for him to make a pass, while, if we're hugging the left side of the lane, he sees an oncoming vehicle, or something else making the pass unsafe. He's basically letting you see past him, or blocking your view. We'll do the same thing for 4-wheelers behind us. Some of us will also flash our running lights on and off after the last oncoming vehicles comes by to signal the road is now clear, and make your move. Not all drivers do this signal tho.
We also, have larger stopping distances. I mention this, for the 4-wheelers that have a habit of pulling in front of a truck, with the 'safe' distance that would be ok if it was a 4-wheeler.
Big rigs, take a MINIMUM length of a football field to come to a complete stop from 55mph, on level ground, with perfect road conditions, and a heavy load which makes their brakes work most efficiently. This isn't a nice stop. This is an emergency stop. One that has a good chance of dislodging the load. Even more so if the load is coils or bundles of pipe.
Running past the truck just to jump in front of him to try and make that ramp you're about to miss, scares the hell out of truck drivers, as the 4-wheeler doing this maneuver, usually slams on their brakes as soon as they're in front of us, to make the ramp. When this happens, I'm simultaneously slamming on my brakes (which take at least a second to activate... air-brakes aren't as responsive as hydraulic brakes), and hitting my hi-beams, signalling TOO CLOSE!!!
The particular event I have in mind, I couldn't even see the back of her... yes... another SUV... I only knew she was on her brakes when the middle light at the top came on, and if she hadn't darted out of my way onto the ramp when she did, she'd be getting cut out of her SUV a while later.
If we're empty, it takes us longer to stop. Seriously.
Our brakes are most efficient with a heavy load. That's what they're designed for. When we're empty, it doesn't take much for us to lock our brakes up, and lose our stopping power, jacknife, fishtail the trailer, or even roll over.
Ok, I went off on a few tangents, I'm sorry, but I was inspired for a few minutes.
Back on topic... :)
When I find a 4-wheeler tailgating me, my response is simple.
Every few seconds, I tap on my cruise control, dropping my speed by 1mph every 10 seconds or so, until the drafter gives up and goes around.
A 4-wheeler getting on my good side? If I'm passing one, and when I'm ahead of him and ready to move in front of him, if he flashes his headlights at me (on and off, not high-beam to low-beam... high-beams mean danger, remember?), that simple act of road-frendliness tells me he's a driver that gives a damn about his driving, and respects the other vehicles on the road. Even the particular needs us big-rigs have. That 4-wheeler will earn our appreciation, and even a little bit of our respect, for driving like a professional. And, we may just acknowledge that, and say so, by giving him our flashing running-light code back at him, in thanks.
-- Smoovious
(currently at a truck stop in Salinas, CA)
i have parks place, i just need board walk. i knew this was rigged before, no places just give things away besides trainn.org and you always have to do SOMETHING for it.
I don't mean to sound anti-American at all. I'm talking about policies, not individuals.
It's hard to watch Americans criticize Canadian policy when we're suffering because the US managed to create a financial crisis.
As for dismantling constitutional rights... You're right about that one. It amazes me that people are still more concerned about socialism than civil rights. So many of my Canadian friends are against Sarah Palin because her views are detrimental to the rights of women. Yet all we seem to hear about is how Obama is an evil socialist. Go figure!
Thanks for the nice article about one of the perils of shopping. I have fallen prey to the same syndrome in the past, although to a lesser extent than the subject of your tale.
I thought I would share my method that I use to keep my shopping impulses under control.
I have taken to keeping a long list of all the things I am considering buying. almost anytime I see something I would like to have but which fits outside of my usual weekly spending of groceries and household supplies (from my shopping list), instead of buying it, I go home and put it on a list of "stuff I'd like to buy". I keep this list in a section of my utility notebook (where I also keep a list of immediate, mid range, and long range to-dos and projects that I am either planning or considering) and believe me, it's a long list list!
Usually I end up deciding to defer the purchase, sometimes permanently. Other times, after evaluating them against my criteria. My criteria and dialogue go something like this: (HMMM. what a cool thing! ok, do I need it? can I get by without it? do I REALLY want it? if so, do I have the cash on hand (not credit) to pay for it up front? yes? well, do I want to spend that cash? yes>>go buy it no>>don't buy it. Maybe leave it on the list.
no? I don't have the cash? do I want to save up for it? yes>>ok, let's look at my monthly budget and see where I can pull the money from)
this process is actually a lot of fun now that I have it down. It feels kind of like shopping, but mostly without the spending part most of the time. And I'm doing a much better job staying on budget and just using money I've already earned and have on hand instead of going outside to the fantasy of buying on debt.
to be clear, I still use my credit card--I have one for monthly purchases--but I pay that one off every month because I am just using it to buy things that are already budgeted for, then the budgeted cash pays off the credit card two days after the statement cycle ends.
I apply the same method to ideas for projects or simple to-dos. I put them on the list for consideration, and if I decide they are something I want to go for I put them on my schedule on the "hot seat." I'm not totally consistent about this, but I find that even doing it 50 or 60% of the time makes a big difference in my habits and effectiveness in getting things done and staying on budget too.
Some random thoughts. One of the Wisebread bloggers mentioned a while back he'd reread "Possum Living" every so often. I borrowed it through interlibrary loan. Quite a mind bender. (It's also available free on line). The writer and her dad kept rabbits in the cellar for meat. (The family also made moonshine, but that's a bit over the top for me.)
Big gardens are still a good possibility most every where and the square foot gardening method works well in more limited space. We've been doing beans and tomatoes these past few years but plan to expand and freeze more.
Having skills and trading services is another time honored money saver. Older folks have mentioned eating wild things like strawberries and greens during the depression. This summer we tried purslane for the first time and it's quite nice.
There's a lot to think about given our current economic climate. Thanks for priming the pump.
Just a note. Keeping the oven closed or open after cooking doesn't really matter. The heat will all still dissipate into your house. With the door open, it will just be quicker.
I also use a sleeping bad (0 degree rated), and find it much warmer than my comforter.
Yeah, I have the same problem.
This is my first year playing McDonald's
Monopoly game and I've been hooked since
the very first game piece. My brother and
I have managed to collect all the game pieces
except the rare ones above and decided to
split any prize 50/50. We pathetically keep
all our games pieces in a zip lock baggy.
We've pretty much given up by now, but any
time we get to eat out, mcdonald's is our
only choice. Ahh..I can picture the winning
moment over and over in my head. Casually
ripping a game piece and to my surprise
winning and screaming at the top of my lungs.
It's quite pathetic but completely addicting.
What a smart marketing technique for MCD'S.
and I'm glad you brought them up wildgift. #6 is being discussed in my community right now as the community college is asking for additional funds. One candidate says that now is not the time to ask for more money; another says that the community college is central to solving economic difficulties. I am pro-education but there also have to be jobs in which to place the graduates; of course, companies won't move or expand here if they don't have a pipeline of able workers.
Also, I remember hearing how one town outlawed raising chickens in the backyard b/c of sanitation concerns, so regulations, town planning, etc. all play a role in encouraging self-sufficiency.
This is SOO cool it even works on different browsers such as opera and safari. THANK SO MUCH!!!!
As someone who is working a retail job, I can tell you that our holiday hiring is pretty much done. Other retailers may still be hiring, so move quickly if you're considering this at all.
I found a great blog that covers these points plus practical tips on how to actually do the job. It's called Mystery Shopping Demystified. It's less than a year old but the shopper has been at it a while and has some good tips.
My bad on my last post, lol i have (0) vermot, (1) Oriental, its 7 am tired as hell
Afterthought to my message, number 58.
The article does qualify as a frugal-living article, in my humble Guest opinion. Our choice of elected officials affects our financial condition far more than most small-scale things we can do to save money. It's rare that one vote makes the difference in an election, but this article probably had more readers than the Governor Gregoire's margin of victory in the 2004 Washington election, which is one of many close elections that we could use as an example. Deciding what to do with our votes can affect our government in a way that affects our finances.
So who is the best choice? If you make a quarter-million or more a year (and then you shouldn't need to read frugal-living articles), McCain probably has a better deal for you on taxes (except that Congress isn't likely to let him have his way). If you make less than about half that, Obama definitely has a better tax deal for you. If you're in between those figures, your choice isn't likely to affect your tax bill much.
But there's more to the choice than taxes. If you work in a line of business that generates a lot of pollution, your job might be safer if McCain wins. If your job is at risk of being moved to another country, your job is almost certainly safer if Obama wins. For that matter, most jobs are likely safer if Obama wins, because he's not caught up in the deregulation ideology that got us into the current economic mess.
There's more to the choice than job security too. If your job survives, you still have to worry about health care. Obama's health care plan is better than McCain's for pretty much everyone except health insurance companies. Even the rich are better off with Obama's health care plan, unless they're rich because they own a health insurance company.
So choice of vote really does make a difference in a person's financial situation. And this latest nonsense about socialism appears to be the last gasp of the campaign to make life a little better for the super-rich, at the expense of everyone else.
(3) Park place
(0) Boardwalk
(4) Arches
(0) Golden
(2) Indiana
(2) Illinois
(0) Kentucky
(2) Atlantic
(4) Marvin Gardens
(0) Ventnor
(3) North Carolina
(2) Pacific
(0) Pennsylvania
(1) Vermot)
(2) Conneticut
(0) Oriental
(5) States
(5) St. Charles
(0) Virgina
(3) St. James
(3) New York
(0) Tennessee
(3) Electric
(0) Water
(5) Baltic
(0) Mediterranean
(1) Reading RR
(3) B&O RR
(4) Pennsylvania RR
(0) Shortline
Thats not counting all the ones people have asked me if i've needed, or i've already thrown out, and the 2 people i was going to split with, have nearly 3-4 times as many as me and we all need the same exact ones. This game i think is seriously bullshit, we've hit up at least 8-10 different mcdonalds in our area for these. O well tho, its a risk, does anyone know tho, if the pieces cross years?
I'm amazed at the negative reactions to this article, and the ignorance of most of the complaints. Those who complain that it's off-topic for the site's frugal-living core focus are right, but I really doubt that they're complaining because it's off that topic -- they're complaining because the word "socialism" freaks them out, unless it's in a context like "evil socialism."
The fact is that every country with a functioning government has a blended economy, with capitalist elements and socialist elements. Some are more socialist -- Sweden, for example. Some are more capitalist -- the US, obviously. Best practice is to socialize things that are best monopolized by government (military force, food safety regulation, basic science research, management of health care), privatize things that are best left to private business (all sorts of things).
Another point missed by the complainers is the difference between economic system and type of government. The US is a capitalist-leaning blended economy with a democracy-leaning government. Sweden is a socialist-leaning blended economy with a democracy-leaning government. Today's China is a capitalist-leaning blended economy with an authoritarian government. The former Soviet Union was a socialist-leaning economy (officially socialist, but the underground economy was quite capitalist) with an authoritarian government.
As for the difference between Obama and McCain, it's nothing but different shades of capitalist-leaning economy. If we count corporate welfare as an intrusion of socialism into our economy, McCain is probably more socialist than Obama.
Nice writing, Ms Dickson.
Oh, well done! :)
Love the article. Self-promotion is incredibly hard for me.
I have decided to jump into home made bread for the first time and this was the first article I Stumbled Upon. I will be shopping tomorrow, great post!
You're welcome, I'm glad that some of what I wrote was helpful.
Regarding not having financial goals with your partner, it's worth realizing (as I'm sure you do) that financial goals are intricately linked, and to some degree subordinate to, more personal goals in one's relationship. I know that in my own life, money conflicts or misunderstandings ahve shown up "cracks" in other parts of my relationship, where my partner and I are not or are not yet in adequate alignement in our expectations and intentions. It can be tricky to sort out, but often money issues do shed light on areas in our relationships that need working out/clarifying.
Best wishes and good luck to you both,
--steve
1. Make sure open space is maintained.
2. Support education.
3. Make sure the government job exists.
4. Make sure that the local laws allow raising chickens at home.
5. Make sure zoning laws are appropriate.
6. Make sure community college is funded, and cheap.
7. Make sure you have the right to squat.
8. Work to help reduce outsourcing.
9. Share.
Wow, hotel shops, that sounds nice. I belong to one service, and every once in awhile they list a shop for a certain toy store that's conveniently located to me. I jump on it and manage to get one or two birthday presents out of the shop every time. I would do that one even without the fee. The other job they offer over and over pays the same fee, but you have to return the stuff. Ugh! I did it once and it was so awkward.
I blog at www.shopliftingwithpermission.com.
It's both amusing and sad to read the gripes about this "game". McDonald's is in the business of providing a food product for a segment of the population at a popular price and with free choice everybody wins. You might prefer something else most of the time. (Some currently popular politician's wives insist on lobster for a snack unlike us peasants.) When you prefer something else, there are other choices. Viva la free choice!
The "game" is only a method of hopefully increasing revenue for McD by increasing business and providing amusement for no additional cost to the customers. Educated customers know that there is no free lunch and any of the winnings are a bonus and thus must be rare. If you are there to gamble, spend an extra dollar for a lottery ticket. (for each $1 ticket, about 20 cents goes to prizes. Sweet! right? Look it up!) Otherwise just buy what you would normally want and save your sanity and waistline and your money.
Nobody in their right mind would buy something they don't want for the next to nothing chance of getting something for nothing.
Unfortunately that is way too common and keeps casino and lottery players poor and stupid and likewise permits politicians to buy the idiots votes by giving them a very few of the dollars from the booty they steal by taxing the "rich." The dirty little secret these politicians don't want you to know is that when taxes are high, the economy slows and tax revenue drops and EVERY body suffers, even those on welfare. Then the political class get power and $$
Study the great depression of '29. Recovery was happening by '31 when the "rich" (those making over &100,000/ year) were heavily taxed to make voters feel better and the economy tanked and everybody, especially those making less than that, suffered a great deal for 10 years. This was the worst depression in this country and lasted until WWII.
It can happen again. The crying over this "game" shows that many have a mindset that will permit this to happen again.
Inform yourself and vote. If you vote your greed, everybody loses.
I'm not allowed to take in boarders.
Good info! I've been trying to write a post about this for a long time, but I was overwhelmed with the amount of stuff that I wanted to include. You did a great job of summarizing it.
I drive a flatbed 18-wheeler...
The vehicles we fear most on the road, are you 4-wheelers... especially you soccer-moms in your SUV's, talking on your cell phone, and feeling invincible.
In the winter time, whenever the roads get too slippery, without fail, the kinds of vehicles we see spun off the road the most, early on, are the SUV's... we'll see probably a dozen of them, before we start seeing other vehicles get taken out as conditions get worse...
Anyways, just a mini-rant there.
You all need to understand... we're not the unsafe drivers on the road... we go through several weeks of training, before we even climb into a rig and spend several more weeks of road-training with a trainer before we're let loose by ourselves...
Any idiot can get a license for a 4-wheeler, with 75% or 80% on the test, which is usually only 20 questions.
These idiots will do just about any stupid thing you can think of on the road.
One recently, as I moved into the left lane to pass a slower truck, a white SUV (>sighs<) was racing up in the right lane to try and get through before I caught up with the slower truck, and just didn't make it and had to slam on his brakes when he ran out of space between us just as he got up to us... once I finished my pass and moved right again (only after the passed truck, signalled to me that he was cool with the space he had in front of him), the idiot in the white SUV raced past, flipping me off as he did, like I was the idiot.
If you spent time watching the trucks on the road, especially when they interact with each other, you'll start to notice that there is a lot of communication happening with each other. A lot of it is over the radio, sure. We usually know of an accident, a closed lane, a blown tire in the road, even a 4-wheeler changing a tire on the shoulder, miles in advance before we get there. (we also know of the idiot drivers coming up behind us, miles before you get to us... you know who you are.)
The radio communication is only about 1/4 of the communication happening tho.
Most of the non-verbal communication is in the light-codes we use with each other. We tell each other when they can come back in after completing their pass, thanking each other for what the other driver did earlier, if they have a problem with their securement and should pull over, if they are cutting in too close, and even if we're about to make an evasive maneuver for something we see in the road ahead, if it is a tire carcass, chair, or dead deer in the road, or emergency vehicles or broke down vehicles on the shoulder.
We know what to expect from each other, and we know, the other big-rig drivers know what to expect from us.
Even something as subtle, on a 2-lane highway, as the truck in front, moving in his lane, a foot to the right, can signal to the truck behind, that the road ahead is clear for him to make a pass, while, if we're hugging the left side of the lane, he sees an oncoming vehicle, or something else making the pass unsafe. He's basically letting you see past him, or blocking your view. We'll do the same thing for 4-wheelers behind us. Some of us will also flash our running lights on and off after the last oncoming vehicles comes by to signal the road is now clear, and make your move. Not all drivers do this signal tho.
We also, have larger stopping distances. I mention this, for the 4-wheelers that have a habit of pulling in front of a truck, with the 'safe' distance that would be ok if it was a 4-wheeler.
Big rigs, take a MINIMUM length of a football field to come to a complete stop from 55mph, on level ground, with perfect road conditions, and a heavy load which makes their brakes work most efficiently. This isn't a nice stop. This is an emergency stop. One that has a good chance of dislodging the load. Even more so if the load is coils or bundles of pipe.
Running past the truck just to jump in front of him to try and make that ramp you're about to miss, scares the hell out of truck drivers, as the 4-wheeler doing this maneuver, usually slams on their brakes as soon as they're in front of us, to make the ramp. When this happens, I'm simultaneously slamming on my brakes (which take at least a second to activate... air-brakes aren't as responsive as hydraulic brakes), and hitting my hi-beams, signalling TOO CLOSE!!!
The particular event I have in mind, I couldn't even see the back of her... yes... another SUV... I only knew she was on her brakes when the middle light at the top came on, and if she hadn't darted out of my way onto the ramp when she did, she'd be getting cut out of her SUV a while later.
If we're empty, it takes us longer to stop. Seriously.
Our brakes are most efficient with a heavy load. That's what they're designed for. When we're empty, it doesn't take much for us to lock our brakes up, and lose our stopping power, jacknife, fishtail the trailer, or even roll over.
Ok, I went off on a few tangents, I'm sorry, but I was inspired for a few minutes.
Back on topic... :)
When I find a 4-wheeler tailgating me, my response is simple.
Every few seconds, I tap on my cruise control, dropping my speed by 1mph every 10 seconds or so, until the drafter gives up and goes around.
A 4-wheeler getting on my good side? If I'm passing one, and when I'm ahead of him and ready to move in front of him, if he flashes his headlights at me (on and off, not high-beam to low-beam... high-beams mean danger, remember?), that simple act of road-frendliness tells me he's a driver that gives a damn about his driving, and respects the other vehicles on the road. Even the particular needs us big-rigs have. That 4-wheeler will earn our appreciation, and even a little bit of our respect, for driving like a professional. And, we may just acknowledge that, and say so, by giving him our flashing running-light code back at him, in thanks.
-- Smoovious
(currently at a truck stop in Salinas, CA)
i have parks place, i just need board walk. i knew this was rigged before, no places just give things away besides trainn.org and you always have to do SOMETHING for it.
I have park place! :)
I don't mean to sound anti-American at all. I'm talking about policies, not individuals.
It's hard to watch Americans criticize Canadian policy when we're suffering because the US managed to create a financial crisis.
As for dismantling constitutional rights... You're right about that one. It amazes me that people are still more concerned about socialism than civil rights. So many of my Canadian friends are against Sarah Palin because her views are detrimental to the rights of women. Yet all we seem to hear about is how Obama is an evil socialist. Go figure!
I just wanted to cheer on my fellow sleeping-bag user "over- the cubicle wall!
PS if you haven't tried it, it's totally worth it to get a matching bag and zip them together for extra roominess!
Thanks for the nice article about one of the perils of shopping. I have fallen prey to the same syndrome in the past, although to a lesser extent than the subject of your tale.
I thought I would share my method that I use to keep my shopping impulses under control.
I have taken to keeping a long list of all the things I am considering buying. almost anytime I see something I would like to have but which fits outside of my usual weekly spending of groceries and household supplies (from my shopping list), instead of buying it, I go home and put it on a list of "stuff I'd like to buy". I keep this list in a section of my utility notebook (where I also keep a list of immediate, mid range, and long range to-dos and projects that I am either planning or considering) and believe me, it's a long list list!
Usually I end up deciding to defer the purchase, sometimes permanently. Other times, after evaluating them against my criteria. My criteria and dialogue go something like this: (HMMM. what a cool thing! ok, do I need it? can I get by without it? do I REALLY want it? if so, do I have the cash on hand (not credit) to pay for it up front? yes? well, do I want to spend that cash? yes>>go buy it no>>don't buy it. Maybe leave it on the list.
no? I don't have the cash? do I want to save up for it? yes>>ok, let's look at my monthly budget and see where I can pull the money from)
this process is actually a lot of fun now that I have it down. It feels kind of like shopping, but mostly without the spending part most of the time. And I'm doing a much better job staying on budget and just using money I've already earned and have on hand instead of going outside to the fantasy of buying on debt.
to be clear, I still use my credit card--I have one for monthly purchases--but I pay that one off every month because I am just using it to buy things that are already budgeted for, then the budgeted cash pays off the credit card two days after the statement cycle ends.
I apply the same method to ideas for projects or simple to-dos. I put them on the list for consideration, and if I decide they are something I want to go for I put them on my schedule on the "hot seat." I'm not totally consistent about this, but I find that even doing it 50 or 60% of the time makes a big difference in my habits and effectiveness in getting things done and staying on budget too.
Some random thoughts. One of the Wisebread bloggers mentioned a while back he'd reread "Possum Living" every so often. I borrowed it through interlibrary loan. Quite a mind bender. (It's also available free on line). The writer and her dad kept rabbits in the cellar for meat. (The family also made moonshine, but that's a bit over the top for me.)
Big gardens are still a good possibility most every where and the square foot gardening method works well in more limited space. We've been doing beans and tomatoes these past few years but plan to expand and freeze more.
Having skills and trading services is another time honored money saver. Older folks have mentioned eating wild things like strawberries and greens during the depression. This summer we tried purslane for the first time and it's quite nice.
There's a lot to think about given our current economic climate. Thanks for priming the pump.
Just a note. Keeping the oven closed or open after cooking doesn't really matter. The heat will all still dissipate into your house. With the door open, it will just be quicker.
I also use a sleeping bad (0 degree rated), and find it much warmer than my comforter.
Yeah, I have the same problem.
This is my first year playing McDonald's
Monopoly game and I've been hooked since
the very first game piece. My brother and
I have managed to collect all the game pieces
except the rare ones above and decided to
split any prize 50/50. We pathetically keep
all our games pieces in a zip lock baggy.
We've pretty much given up by now, but any
time we get to eat out, mcdonald's is our
only choice. Ahh..I can picture the winning
moment over and over in my head. Casually
ripping a game piece and to my surprise
winning and screaming at the top of my lungs.
It's quite pathetic but completely addicting.
What a smart marketing technique for MCD'S.