Over 2 1/2 years ago I bought a Super Scooter/Motorcycle (this means over 250cc but still an automatic..mines 385cc).
A Suzuki Burgman 400 to be exact....factory rated to go 95 mph...(too fast, Cluck, cluck}:~D) but even at 50 to 60 mph I average 62-65 miles per gallon and it has a really nice trunk under the seat that will hold a lot of groceries or other things.
It seems to run best on Mid-Grade which at the local Hess is currently $3.35 a gallon...I haven't hit the $10 mark for a weeks driving yet but I've gotten awful close.
Your example with Europe (west) is still not good enought to show how much people are willing to pay for gasoline. I come from easter Europe. And believe me - some people, especially those living in rural areas, are willing to spend as much as 25% of their income on gasoline to get to work. Thats because there is no other work nearer and they badly need to word - same as you americans. It's easy when the the average entry level salary is at 330 euros/month and the gasoline at 1,3 euro / liter ($7,4 gallon)...
So with your salaries, there is still plenty room for increasses before you even start looking around for alternatives. The gallon could equally cost $18 and you would still pomp as much as you do today...
When my local bus system expands to more outer reaches thanks to a tax levy the city asked and was passed(which is one I was in favor of)my wife and I will be taking the bus more often. These gas prices are effecting everyone except those in Washington D.C. who find it easier to ignore those who own the oil refineries and are getting rich.
Nice article! Everyone can benefit from additional ways to get our eight daily glassfuls down the hatch...
Regarding the ginger tip, perhaps clarifying whether one drinks or breathes the steam from the *boiling* water would be good? Don't want another McDonald's coffee lawsuit ;)
When I was shopping for a new place to live, one of the major search terms was proximity to my errands, because of gas prices. I chose a rental house that's 1.4 miles from a grocery store, post office, and restaurant cluster -- so when the weather's nice and I have an extra 40 minutes to spare, I walk. Sure, it's fine exercise, but the reason I carry a backpack full of food home once or twice a week is to think I'm cutting back those little expenses of small trips. When I have some money saved up, I'll get a bike with some kind of cart, and it'll be much easier and faster to make those errand trips. Luckily, I live in Nevada where the weather cooperates nine months of the year. Even in the last apartment when I was less than a mile away, I didn't walk -- because I wasn't financially motivated to. These rising prices are forcing people to travel less, to take jobs closer to home, and to not take better jobs that are farther away. I also do more telecommuting these days.
I'm taking the bus and riding a scooter when there isn't reliable bus service.
I think a major part of the problem is that our sprawling cities are built for cars, not for people. We need to start creating (and living in) walkable neighborhoods close to public transit -- not suburbs an hour away from jobs and industry.
Actually, we put conservation measures into place a year ago. We ditched our gas-guzzling SUV before it could depreciate much more and bought a Prius. We hypermile when we can, to bump the Prius's mileage up as much as possible. We telecommute when we can, and don't drive around as much as we used to. As a result, we've saved a ton of money on gas versus what we used to spend, even with the price per gallon going up.
However, we're in the lucky position of being able to have those options. Not everyone can telecommute, afford buy a new hybrid, et cetera.
Saltwater burning is no discovery of a new energy source. It's a marvelous new technique for converting radio waves into thermal energy, but the practical problem is that the energy needed to produce the radio waves still must be available in order to sustain the reaction. The laws of thermodynamics still hold.
I think this was a great post.
Wonderfully written, you always were a talented, thoughtful writer.
I'm not interested in taking this further. In a moment of nostalgia, mixed with an intense sadness and regret for some of the decisions I made in the past, I wrote that other note to you. What's sad is, I live with it, but do you? Certainly not.
By the way, I did not write all of those guest comments.
If you're still looking - depending on the size of your child, there are lots of cool options apart from trailers. My daughter is turning 5 in July. We're just transitioning from a WeeRide Kangaroo front-riding bike seat to an Adams Trail-a-Bike tandem attachment that goes on the back of your own bike (with a belted backrest).
We loved the WeeRide from 2-4, she's just now outgrown it for this spring. We used it constantly for going to her soccer games, visiting friends, going to work - all over the place in our town, it is very secure to ride with these with small children. More affordable than a trailer as well (typically less than $100).
I will continue to thank my lucky stars that I found a sweet house in easy walking distance from my office and my family member's homes, on a bus route to my daughter's schools, biking distance from the soccer field, library, art museum, zoo, and train station to Philly & NYC, that my grocery store delivers - which has allowed me to live in a non-major town (Wilmington, DE) car-free for the last 5 years.
As a non-driver, I will probably start pitching in on gas money for my mother and sister with whom I do occasionally ride to Target and elsewhere...because - OUCH.
Be grateful that you can wake up in your comfy bed everyday, and not have to look out the windows for approaching tanks or gunships!
Actually, I can wake up in my comfy bed for the next three days, but I'm not so sure about the days after that. I'm scrambling to find a place to live but on my income it's very hard.
I suppose if I end up in a fleabag flophouse (the leading prospect so far) I should be grateful for that?
If the Universe is an abundant place and there is more than enough for everyone, how does Robert explain the contimued existence of the working poor, and why aren't his tenants homeowners by now?
I've been wanting to get a bike trailer so I can take my toddler places without having to throw him in the car. Of our two cars, the one in which the toddler seat fits uses more gas--and requires premium-grade gasoline. We're paying about $3.80/gallon here in California for premium grade. Buying a lightly-used but still safe bike trailer should cost me the equivalent of two tanks of gas.
I was already considering getting a second, super-part-time job, to help pay down my car and a credit card, but it looks like I'm gonna need one just for gas to my current job. My job is in another city, about ten miles away, and while the local bus system does have one line that runs out there, it's not the least bit reliable, and I'd have no way to get home after a certain hour. Oh, to live in NYC or such, with 24-hr public transit.
The new job I have in mind is barely a quarter of a mile away, thank goodness, but I shouldn't have to resort to such a thing because, as was pointed out, there's little to no reason for gas companies to charge as much as they do.
Robert says the Universe is an abundant place, and there is more than enough for everyone.
Robert became rich through rental properties. The typical residential rental relationship is zero-sum and the tenant isn't the one feeling the prosperity.
How then does Robert say there is more than enough for everyone?
I just searched Gulf Shores, AL which I am very familiar with. The map showed a certain hotel as being beach front. When I saw the name I thought, "I've stayed there before and it is not on the beach."
I went to the hotel website and I was exactly right. It was the same one I stayed in years ago about 10 miles north of the beach. Be careful and double check before you book.
Saving won`t do it, banks pay basically no interest, you need to make money, you need to speculate, this way you make money regardless of whether the market is bearish or bullish, I strongly recommend futures in the S&P minis, once you have become acquainted with them, Check out this financial forecasting blog for tools:http://wrahal.blogspot.com/
So forget Cd's and money markets, you can get that single digit ROI in a few minutes of trading.
I've got bad news for you . . . I work in the Insurance industry in a claims department and I talked with several people in California today who have said that the gas is ALREADY at $4.00 a gallon!
The prediction in the office is that by the end of the summer - gas will be over $5.00 a gallon. Is the Hummer really worth that??
I made my first adjustment two years ago when I sold my VW Jetta with a V6 engine and bought a Honda Fit. I get 37 mpg compared to the 25 mpg I got with the Jetta.
But I'm already riding the bus to work several times a week, so that's my most recent adjustment. Not certain what else I'll do, but I'm sure there's something else.
If you have to use a bedside commode, a camping potty, or your water goes out for some reason and you still have to use your toilet, line the receptacle with a plastic bag, then put a couple inches of kitty litter in the bottom. Absorbs most of the liquid and keeps odor down. If you, er, deposit solids in the container, cover with another scoop of litter. It is much more aesthetically pleasing for the next person -- wish the Porta Potty people would include a scoop and a sack in those horrid blue outhouses. We have actually used this on several occasions, and it does work better -- and cheaper -- than the chemical stuff you can buy for the same purpose.
Over 2 1/2 years ago I bought a Super Scooter/Motorcycle (this means over 250cc but still an automatic..mines 385cc).
A Suzuki Burgman 400 to be exact....factory rated to go 95 mph...(too fast, Cluck, cluck}:~D) but even at 50 to 60 mph I average 62-65 miles per gallon and it has a really nice trunk under the seat that will hold a lot of groceries or other things.
It seems to run best on Mid-Grade which at the local Hess is currently $3.35 a gallon...I haven't hit the $10 mark for a weeks driving yet but I've gotten awful close.
~ Roland
Your example with Europe (west) is still not good enought to show how much people are willing to pay for gasoline. I come from easter Europe. And believe me - some people, especially those living in rural areas, are willing to spend as much as 25% of their income on gasoline to get to work. Thats because there is no other work nearer and they badly need to word - same as you americans. It's easy when the the average entry level salary is at 330 euros/month and the gasoline at 1,3 euro / liter ($7,4 gallon)...
So with your salaries, there is still plenty room for increasses before you even start looking around for alternatives. The gallon could equally cost $18 and you would still pomp as much as you do today...
When my local bus system expands to more outer reaches thanks to a tax levy the city asked and was passed(which is one I was in favor of)my wife and I will be taking the bus more often. These gas prices are effecting everyone except those in Washington D.C. who find it easier to ignore those who own the oil refineries and are getting rich.
Here in the UK we are paying the equivalent of over $2 for a quarter of a gallon!
Nice article! Everyone can benefit from additional ways to get our eight daily glassfuls down the hatch...
Regarding the ginger tip, perhaps clarifying whether one drinks or breathes the steam from the *boiling* water would be good? Don't want another McDonald's coffee lawsuit ;)
Was one smart dude.
When I was shopping for a new place to live, one of the major search terms was proximity to my errands, because of gas prices. I chose a rental house that's 1.4 miles from a grocery store, post office, and restaurant cluster -- so when the weather's nice and I have an extra 40 minutes to spare, I walk. Sure, it's fine exercise, but the reason I carry a backpack full of food home once or twice a week is to think I'm cutting back those little expenses of small trips. When I have some money saved up, I'll get a bike with some kind of cart, and it'll be much easier and faster to make those errand trips. Luckily, I live in Nevada where the weather cooperates nine months of the year. Even in the last apartment when I was less than a mile away, I didn't walk -- because I wasn't financially motivated to. These rising prices are forcing people to travel less, to take jobs closer to home, and to not take better jobs that are farther away. I also do more telecommuting these days.
I'm taking the bus and riding a scooter when there isn't reliable bus service.
I think a major part of the problem is that our sprawling cities are built for cars, not for people. We need to start creating (and living in) walkable neighborhoods close to public transit -- not suburbs an hour away from jobs and industry.
Actually, we put conservation measures into place a year ago. We ditched our gas-guzzling SUV before it could depreciate much more and bought a Prius. We hypermile when we can, to bump the Prius's mileage up as much as possible. We telecommute when we can, and don't drive around as much as we used to. As a result, we've saved a ton of money on gas versus what we used to spend, even with the price per gallon going up.
However, we're in the lucky position of being able to have those options. Not everyone can telecommute, afford buy a new hybrid, et cetera.
Saltwater burning is no discovery of a new energy source. It's a marvelous new technique for converting radio waves into thermal energy, but the practical problem is that the energy needed to produce the radio waves still must be available in order to sustain the reaction. The laws of thermodynamics still hold.
I think this was a great post.
Wonderfully written, you always were a talented, thoughtful writer.
I'm not interested in taking this further. In a moment of nostalgia, mixed with an intense sadness and regret for some of the decisions I made in the past, I wrote that other note to you. What's sad is, I live with it, but do you? Certainly not.
By the way, I did not write all of those guest comments.
Best wishes
If you're still looking - depending on the size of your child, there are lots of cool options apart from trailers. My daughter is turning 5 in July. We're just transitioning from a WeeRide Kangaroo front-riding bike seat to an Adams Trail-a-Bike tandem attachment that goes on the back of your own bike (with a belted backrest).
We loved the WeeRide from 2-4, she's just now outgrown it for this spring. We used it constantly for going to her soccer games, visiting friends, going to work - all over the place in our town, it is very secure to ride with these with small children. More affordable than a trailer as well (typically less than $100).
I will continue to thank my lucky stars that I found a sweet house in easy walking distance from my office and my family member's homes, on a bus route to my daughter's schools, biking distance from the soccer field, library, art museum, zoo, and train station to Philly & NYC, that my grocery store delivers - which has allowed me to live in a non-major town (Wilmington, DE) car-free for the last 5 years.
As a non-driver, I will probably start pitching in on gas money for my mother and sister with whom I do occasionally ride to Target and elsewhere...because - OUCH.
I doubt you know who I am.
If you did, you would have contacted me.
Be grateful that you can wake up in your comfy bed everyday, and not have to look out the windows for approaching tanks or gunships!
Actually, I can wake up in my comfy bed for the next three days, but I'm not so sure about the days after that. I'm scrambling to find a place to live but on my income it's very hard.
I suppose if I end up in a fleabag flophouse (the leading prospect so far) I should be grateful for that?
If the Universe is an abundant place and there is more than enough for everyone, how does Robert explain the contimued existence of the working poor, and why aren't his tenants homeowners by now?
I've been wanting to get a bike trailer so I can take my toddler places without having to throw him in the car. Of our two cars, the one in which the toddler seat fits uses more gas--and requires premium-grade gasoline. We're paying about $3.80/gallon here in California for premium grade. Buying a lightly-used but still safe bike trailer should cost me the equivalent of two tanks of gas.
I was already considering getting a second, super-part-time job, to help pay down my car and a credit card, but it looks like I'm gonna need one just for gas to my current job. My job is in another city, about ten miles away, and while the local bus system does have one line that runs out there, it's not the least bit reliable, and I'd have no way to get home after a certain hour. Oh, to live in NYC or such, with 24-hr public transit.
The new job I have in mind is barely a quarter of a mile away, thank goodness, but I shouldn't have to resort to such a thing because, as was pointed out, there's little to no reason for gas companies to charge as much as they do.
Robert says the Universe is an abundant place, and there is more than enough for everyone.
Robert became rich through rental properties. The typical residential rental relationship is zero-sum and the tenant isn't the one feeling the prosperity.
How then does Robert say there is more than enough for everyone?
Or rather, is living 45 minutes from the Grocery Store worth that?
I just searched Gulf Shores, AL which I am very familiar with. The map showed a certain hotel as being beach front. When I saw the name I thought, "I've stayed there before and it is not on the beach."
I went to the hotel website and I was exactly right. It was the same one I stayed in years ago about 10 miles north of the beach. Be careful and double check before you book.
Saving won`t do it, banks pay basically no interest, you need to make money, you need to speculate, this way you make money regardless of whether the market is bearish or bullish, I strongly recommend futures in the S&P minis, once you have become acquainted with them, Check out this financial forecasting blog for tools:http://wrahal.blogspot.com/
So forget Cd's and money markets, you can get that single digit ROI in a few minutes of trading.
I've got bad news for you . . . I work in the Insurance industry in a claims department and I talked with several people in California today who have said that the gas is ALREADY at $4.00 a gallon!
The prediction in the office is that by the end of the summer - gas will be over $5.00 a gallon. Is the Hummer really worth that??
I made my first adjustment two years ago when I sold my VW Jetta with a V6 engine and bought a Honda Fit. I get 37 mpg compared to the 25 mpg I got with the Jetta.
But I'm already riding the bus to work several times a week, so that's my most recent adjustment. Not certain what else I'll do, but I'm sure there's something else.
If you have to use a bedside commode, a camping potty, or your water goes out for some reason and you still have to use your toilet, line the receptacle with a plastic bag, then put a couple inches of kitty litter in the bottom. Absorbs most of the liquid and keeps odor down. If you, er, deposit solids in the container, cover with another scoop of litter. It is much more aesthetically pleasing for the next person -- wish the Porta Potty people would include a scoop and a sack in those horrid blue outhouses. We have actually used this on several occasions, and it does work better -- and cheaper -- than the chemical stuff you can buy for the same purpose.
When gas hits a kajillion dollars per gallon, I'll keep doing what I'm doing now...
I'll ride my bike.
Jason