Wolvie... I sympathize man. I really do. I have been broke. I lived in a house for almost a year without electricity. Living on beans and mac and cheese. My wide and I actually had an arguement once about the fact that I spent $.50 on a can of pop. Things are better for me now. I am an HVAC designer. I work in an office, and I make a comfortable living. Substantially less than my wife. (Which is cool by me)

People do what they have to do to make ends meet. In Indianapolis, the housing market is booming. We have more mexicans here than you could swat with a fly swatter all day long. They are framing houses, finishing drywall, laying block, and working in agriculture. The going rate for them is $10/hr. I have a friend that runs his own framing crew. He starts laborers at $10/hr and most of the guys on his crew make $15. Granted this is without benefits.

Dude I know it's tough, and I know you don't want to move. If you're in a home that you own... that is really tough... if you are renting... find a job somewhere else, pack your stuff and move there. Thats sucks... but sometimes life sucks. The economy has become global. We have to compete with the mexicans now. It's a fact. Why WOULD a company want to pay an American worker $15/hr plus benefits when they can pay a mexican $3/hr without?

As bad as that deal is... you have to deal man. If I was elected benevolent dictator for life, one of the 1st things I'd do is clamp down on the borders and send the illegals out. But I am not... so we have to live with what our pansy leaders are doing, or not doing rather.

As far as writing them... you, in NY, have some sucky senators. Keep trying to get them fired... but you are pretty much at the mercy of NYC.


Jabba

All Well said Bro,...
 

I am on your level as I am with Fabs,..
I guess I am just more ticked off then some and now it is coming down to alot of losses,...and I am just really,REALLY tired of losing!! You know what I mean?!

I have worked hard in my life as well as others have,...I am 42 yrs old,.. I can`t wait for or hestitate in anyway to get my life "BACK" on track.
And NY has done this to me.
Alot of my friends tell me to go back to driving big truck,...15 yrs ago,...sure I sure would consider it,...but now!I just don`t know if that would help or hurt me and my family.?

It looks at this point as soon as I can raise $500.00 I will be moving to Ohio and leaving my girlfriend who owns this house we live in,...She just can`t give up what she got crippled for and I can`t ask her to do that.
So not only do I lose a good home and life with her, I lose her as well.
I can get a job in Ohio,..that pays (to start),$11 to $12.50 an hr), and that`s with no experience.
But the same job here in NY only pays $10.50 an hr and is harder then Hell to get into.I have applied at least 7 times in 6 months.I had 2 interviews and that was it,...another place couldn`t allow me to stay employed because ,.GET THIS CRAP! , I didnt have a bank account for "Direct Deposit".
I was like WHAT!!!!
I spent like $450.00 to go to the classes,.money I didnt even have , I sold my side job,..my riding mower to go do this crap,..and they gave me that BS,...So I took a cashier job , can u believe that SH$$ !!! A cashier! and only to have my hours cut to 29 hours a wk.at $7.00 an hr.
I pay out $100.00 a wk for child support,..then there`s taxes,..If I would have stayed there i would have been bringing home a $35 to $45.00 pay check.Who in the -------- can live on that?!!!

I tell you all,..I have worked harder looking for something then I have actually worked.
It is hard and the COLD HARD Truth of it all,...I have to do what i gotta do,...I gotta move to where the work is,..and SUCK on it!!

I tell you all this as well,....I PRAY and BEG and PLEAD for God to allow a war in this country,...So I can get my justice,...on those who have oppressed me and my family and friends,..I know i sound crazy,...BUT I am venting,...and I just cant understand how this country is going to the dogs and theres nothing anyone of us can do about it.THAT just SUX!!

I am very sorry everyone,....I needed to RANT and VENT,..even though it will do no good,...I hope that no one is or was offended by what i said,..and I would not blame HuntChat Mods if they deleted this POST or even kicked me out,...but i am an American ,.and like the other Millions of Americans I am just so drained on losing.

Later All
SAFE HUNTIN~

Send me your Pay-Pal account. I'll chip in.

Leaving the woman does not have to be permanent either.


Jabba

Wolvie,

No problem with the ranting, but you might want to turn it into positive energy instead of all this negative stuff about war and life being miserable.

A little over three years ago, I quit the law firm that I was working for, figuring that I would take the client I had in the interim to make money from and interview at other firms. I got a $70,000 offer from a firm that was over an hour drive away, and I turned it down because of the drive and the area where it was located (i.e., I didn't want to move there).

I spent the next six months sending out more resumes than I can remember and going on more interviews than I can remember, all for naught. Didn't get a single offer from anybody other than the first one. So, I continued going it on my own and got lucky enough to pick up a personal injury case that I settled later for $300,000, of which my fee was close to $100,000. Picked up another personal injury case that I settled for $50,000, of which my fee was a little over $18,000. Right before I settled both of those cases, I did get a $50,000 offer from a guy close to where I live, and he was willing to give me 1/3 of what I brought in. Now, looking at what I settled just shortly thereafter and the fees I brought in, I would have been working for this guy for free the first year. Since then, which was January of 2003, I have been picking up clients over time and working my tale off ever since, and I am trying to make sure that I never have to work for another firm again. Sometimes, the money has been slow and others it has been good.

You just need to figure out a solution for yourself and keep plodding ahead. Complaining about things won't help you and a war definitely wouldn't help you. Who would you be fighting, the US government?

However, if you want somebody to talk to about anything, I am here for you and will try to give any advice I can.

Edited to add:

I didn't know about the girlfriend situation, so maybe moving isn't an option. However, why can't she sell her house and use the money to buy a house some where else? Is she just attached to the house you guys are in right now?

Jabba and Fabs,....ur the best Bros,...
 

Jabba,.. I appreciate the offer bro,.....but I think I am just a little more upset then I probly should be,...
After taking some time to think and breath,..I got a phone call.
So I am trying for a bus driver position with a local school,..BIG School District.Upscale at that!
As for my girlfriend being attached to the home we live in now,..yes she is.She had worked for a slate company,..and she stacked ,and punched slate for years,...until she hurt her back,...then one night shortly(about 4 months later), after she hurt her back she was out and some guy that she wouldnt go out with ran her over with his car,sending her over the hood ,onto the roof and off the back side of the car.

She won a settlement,..and bought her house.
We tried moving to Ohio and renting the house out,.but the people we rented to just tore this place up.
It took us well over $6,000.00 to fix everything,..and we basically just got finished with the worst stuff.
Now we have other things that need to give attention to,like the roof and so on,..regualr wear and tear stuff, that has now caught up with us.
Mary ( my girl),...is good people,and dont ask for nothing,..we just deal with it on the fly and hope that we dont get caught with our pants down around our ankles.lol
Now she is going through this credit card thing ,that we thought was the state trying some crap for us ordering cigs.That wasnt the case,....So there alot that has happened in just the past week, and it hit us like a ton of STEEL,..(not bricks)lol,...
I was only considering moving to Ohio because I need to have money,...I live for money and since I have lived in this state I havent had it.
Bros and sis`s I have never been without.
I always had bows,guns,crossbows cars and camper,and 2 boats,and food in the house.

NY SUX! that`s the plain and honest approach here,..and I have to deal with it.We cant sale the house,..she got it through a goverment deal (HUD) , I believe and she still has to do a certain timeline thing I guess.
We have however been talking about renting it out again,..but I will have to find a way to do background checks and reference checks before I would even consider renting it out again.

But I want to say,...THANK YOU!!!! for being good people and caring enough to help and offer even more then I would have ever expected.
I consider you all my Bros/Sis`s and would be there for any of you if asked.

As for war in this country ,...who would I go after,...(and I am in a good mood,not being crazy here)lolol,..

Your right Fabs,... the goverment,...the suits that sit and take our Freedom and our lively hoods from us a little more every day.
And maybe some ex-bosses lol.

Ok all,...Later All
SAFE HUNTIN~

Peace on ya brother.

Good luck with the Bus driving gig.

Jabba

Thank Ya Bro!!!!

Later All
SAFE HUNTIN~

Wolvie,

Good like with the bus position and I hope you get it.

As far as the government guys are concerned, it is really hard to blame them. Try being in their shoes and making everybody happy.

Just to give you an example of what I am talking about, I used to give referees a tough time and thought a lot of them were terrible. That was until I had to referee a intermural basketball game in college as a condition of being in the league. I had guys giving me hell for calling fouls and others giving me crap for not calling a foul. Everybody thought they were playing fair and that everybody else was breaking the rules. That was a tough situation and I no longer give refs a tough time.

As far as the house is concerned, here is some advice I give to my clients with rental property. Do a credit check on the prospective renters and find out how long they have been employed by their current employer. Get an attorney to draft a lease. Lastly, and probably most importantly, video tape a walk through with them right before you give them the keys to the place. Later on, if anything is damaged, you can sue them for the damage. If they have a good job, you can garnish their wages. This prevents a lot of headache later on.

Here is what I am talking about in the Middle East. Russia and China are very wary about the US military presence in the Middle East. Time for a new resource for energy.

WASHINGTON - The Central Asian nation of Uzbekistan has ended its agreement allowing U.S. military aircraft and personnel to use an air base that has been an important hub for American military operations in Afghanistan, administration officials said Saturday.

ADVERTISEMENT

No reason Uzbekistan was evicting U.S. forces from Karshi-Khanabad air base, commonly referred to as K2, was offered by either the State Department or the Defense Department. The Washington Post, which first reported the eviction notice, said no reason was given by Uzbekistan and that U.S. forces would have six months to leave.

The New York Times reported Saturday on its Web site that a State Department official cited the abrupt action as a response to a secret United Nations operation to take hundreds of Uzbek refugees from the region. The official said most of the 450 refugees who had fled to Kyrgyzstan after an Uzbek uprising in May had been airlifted to Romania and other countries on Friday despite the Uzbek government's desire that they be returned.

The U.S. Embassy in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent received the diplomatic note terminating the agreement late last week, State Department spokeswoman Nancy Beck said. A Pentagon spokesman, Glenn Flood, said the notice was received Friday.

"This is a bilateral agreement between two sovereign nations, and under that agreement either side has the option to terminate that agreement," Beck said. The State Department had no further comment, she said.

The Uzbek government in recent months had tightened restriction on use of the base, including banning night flights.

"We have to step back and look at our options now and see where we go from here," Flood said. "That airfield has been very important for our operations in Afghanistan" — humanitarian as well as military.

K2 has been a critical staging point for U.S. military operations in Afghanistan since the earliest days of the war, which began in October 2001.

More recently, the base has been used to move supplies, including humanitarian aid, into northern Afghanistan. It also is a refueling point for transport planes.

The eviction notice came just days after Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld returned from a Central Asia visit to two Uzbek neighboring states, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Officials in Kyrgyzstan affirmed to Rumsfeld that U.S. forces can continue to use Manas air base for as long as the Afghan war requires.

U.S. forces do not use any bases in Tajikistan, which shares a long border with northern Afghanistan. The Pentagon has an arrangement that permits U.S. planes to refuel there under certain circumstances.

During his trip, Rumsfeld said he did not believe U.S. operations in Afghanistan would be hurt if the Uzbek government denied continued use of K2 because there are other air base options in the region.

"We're always thinking ahead. We'll be fine," Rumsfeld said on Monday.

In early July, a regional organization led by Russia and China issued a statement calling for the U.S. to set a timetable for withdrawing its forces from Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.

Uzbekistan's ties with Washington have deteriorated after the Bush administration joined other Western nations in urging an international investigation into the suppression of a May uprising in the eastern Uzbek city of Andijan.

Uzbek government troops fired on protesters in the city after militants seized a prison and a government building. Authorities denied that troops fired on unarmed civilians and said that 187 people died in the unrest; human rights groups put the figure as high as 750.

Uzbekistan's president, Islam Karimov, who has ruled for 16 years and tolerates no dissent, has blamed the violence on Islamic militants.

He has rejected the demands for an outside inquiry, and, facing Western criticism, has found a strong support in Russia and China. Both of them are wary about the U.S. military presence in the strategic and resource-rich region.

****UPDATE*****& Statement,.....
 

****GAS PRICES : NY Upstate,....wk of 7/31-8/6 2005 at this time (7.31.05) prices are $2.37 - $2.47 for reg Unlead and $2.87 - $3.02 for Super unleaded.

As for Fabs articial,....I agree that the U.S. needs to find another way to get around so to speak,...or just open our reserves,...and our refinnerys our pipe lines and what ever else needs to be done.
But let`s stop this BS war ,which is nothing more then a witch hunt anymore,...and let`s get down to puttin Americans back to work,..and allowing them to enjoy their freedom,...and lives!

Give Us Back Our Lives Mr. Bush !!!!!!!
And stop taking the lives of our ,Brothers,Fathers,Sons,Mothers,Sisters,and Daughters,....Bring em home ,.........NOW!!!!!!!!!!


Later All
SAFE HUNTIN~

Calm down Wolvie.

President Bush hasnt drove up your fuel prices or taken your job or made your girlfriend blow off a credit card several years ago that got you in a jam now.

Im gonna be kinda blunt here, but dont take it personally Wolvie. I agree with you that NY sucks. I have never lived there, but from what Ive seen of it, it sucks, no doubt. Cant be too good, its full of democrats and they elected another Clinton. But is Ohio the Mecca or what? Seems like you got it in your head that if you go to Ohio, somehow things are magically going to turn around and your life will be all better.

Sorry, but Im afraid you dreaming. Ohio is a fine place, dont get me wrong, but if you struggle one place, chances are, your gonna struggle other places as well. Same with the other way around.

Dont take it personal Wolvie. I think your a bascially good fella thats workin himself into a tizzy over nothin. Slow down and take a deep breath.

At least if you were in Ohio, you wouldnt be in NY. Thats a plus no matter how you look at it.

Andy

From what I have been reading, the economy isn't doing too bad.

Greenspan believes the economy is strong and that has been the reason for his interest rate hikes over the past year. He needs to keep inflation down. Home sales hit a record high last month; that was not on NEW home sales, but all home sales.

If people are out there buying homes in record numbers, the economy cannot be all too bad.

As far as what Bush is doing with the war, it is kind of like a witch hunt because we do not know who the enemy actually is. The enemy is not an entire nation, as it was in World War II with the Germans, Japanese, and Italians. This war is more like the Vietnam war where you don't know if the muslim next to you is friend or foe.

When I flew back from Vegas, I had three muslim looking guys in the row next to mine. I can assure you that it wasn't easy to sleep, especially when one tried to get up when the seatbelt sign was on. However, we made it home safely and there were no other incidents with them. Were they friend or foe? Who knows?

That is the problem with this war. It is a war to create a better life for these people in the Middle East so that they can stop hating America. Granted, we did the same thing for Japan after World War II and then they started clobbering us in the trade department.

Life isn't cut and dry Wolvie, that is for sure. I am sure Bush is dealing with our economy as well as the war. If you don't already know this, he instituted a bunch of tax cuts over the past two years, and they were mostly a result of him and his administration, not anybody else. Those tax cuts have helped a bunch of my clients; however, a person has to make money before he can take advantage of the tax cuts. There is also something called the Earned Income Credit, but you probably make just a little too much money. Talk to your accountant about all the tax matters that might apply to you and see what can help you.

WOW ?!
 

I dont know what you guys(Fabs & Andy L), are talkin about,....But I am chilled ,..and calm, or was,....

As for Ohio , I lived there for 38 yrs,...and it was all good except for an exwife that was and still is (but not as much now), a pain in the Azz,...As for Earned income credit ,..who gives 2 SH*$ about it,...I have 5 kids and can only claim 1 on taxes and i dont get it anyways,...she does.

And Bush and the rest of the goverment should do something,we sure as hell didnt make this life,...we are here and we are stuck with whatever our RULERS want and want to do!

So I will ask that anyone who thought I was UN-Calm,...and Un-Chilled You were wrong,..I was being or trying to be uplifting or a patriot to my country and fellow Americans.

life Sucks all over , I know that,...i am 42 yrs old I know more of this world then I am being giving credit for.
Trust me,...
And as for my girlfriends credit history ,...I was appreciative of advise and so on.But dont allow this to be a forum of dropping hints of BS ,...I am not that type of guy to set back and read of someone judging me or my family or friends.
judge yourself,...Again I do appreciate the advise and the rallying,..but PLEASE dont sit there and think I am some interent idiot,...or someone looking for smpyathy,...thats not what i am all about.
I voice my concerns and experiences,...like everyone else,...if I am not allowed to do that then I guess there are other forums and other places to do so.
Just let me know!
And remember this I was calm and chilled,...but dont rattle my cage if you dont like my GRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

LOLOL!!! I must say ,..that was very liberating,....I am only acting here,...Do you think I am worthy of an Oscar?!

"Don`t Always try to read what your reading,...cause it`s only words until you hear them". (QUOATED BY: Wolvie)


Later All
SAFE HUNTIN~

Wolvie:

You should cut the whining. Bush didn't make your life, you did. Your "rulers" don't make your life, you do. Fabs, Jabba and Andy have all given you good advice, take it and make the most of it.

You're all over the place on this. One post you're clammoring for a war, then later you're whining about US casualties in the war that we do have going.

News flash! Bush does not make the economy worse or better. He does not create jobs. Productive businesses and productive employees do that.

The economy is doing fine. Home building and the housing market arre going great guns. Unemployment is very low right now. Interest rates are favorable. Life really is not all that bad.

But then, life is what you make of it.

Hawkeye

GAS INFO UPDATE,.....
 

Prices here in Upstate NY for this week, are rounding out about $2.33 for the cheap stuff and about $2.84 for the high end stuff.


Sorry if everyone thinks I am a little crazy here so I will stick to the update part,...

But I do appreciate the constructive critizim,...and advice.

Later All
SAFE HUNTIN~

******UPDATE******
 

UpState NY gas prices are at $2.51 a gal for the low grade stuff,....and about $2.90 and I seen one place at $3.01 a gal for the high stuff.
Deisal fuel prices are gettin as bad as well,...$2.69 a gal at the local truck stop off I-87, Exit 17N.

And that`s the updates for this area,

What is your prices for gas going for in your area?

Later All
SAFE HUNTIN~

$2.49 for 87 octane

$2.49 yesterday, 2.39 today.

I'm headed for Reno tomorrow, and on the western side of Nevada, it's 2.99 for regular. OUCH!

It's 2.24 here in Ogden, Utah and last week I bought some at 2.06 in Wyoming.

I'll be happy if it ever gets below $2.00 again. I remember when I was in undergrad and it was 87 cents. Once it got above $1, I was hoping to see it at 99 cents again.

Right now, it is $2.23 here.

One semester of college, there was a gas war. Gas was 50 cents for about the whole semester. That was great.

I thougth a few years back that if it would stay around 1.25 I would be happy. I guess I would now for sure. :rolleyes:

Who the hell knows where this is going.

What happened to all the oil fields out west in the 70s? If I remember right, they helped us out of another (false) bad situation. And created alot of jobs. I know alot of guys around here went west to work the oil fields and made alot of money. And, there is always Alaska. Lots of oil and could be more jobs like the old pipeline days. And, isnt there a runnin ton of oil off the NE coast of the US that is supposed to rival the middle east?

Whats goin on here? Are we completly at the mercy of the rest of the world now?

I still say we need to toughen up a bit. To the victor goes the spoils. We have pretty much saved the Iraqi people and the Kuwatis. No matter what the media says. Ive yet to have a person I know that went over there and fought that didnt think we were accomplishing what we needed to in a great fashion. Totally opposite the media. Good news wont sell or get Hitlary elected. But, with those two oweing us favors, shouldnt we have cheap oil? By favor or force.

I know of our oil right under our soil, if I knew what to do, I would love to mow around an oil well......

Andy

Rocky:

Notice the children are talking again? Remebering gas at less than a dollar a gallon? Hell's bells, I remember gas at three gallons to the dollar!

Hawkeye

Yeah, yeah, yeah,

and my dad remembers it at 10 gallons a dollars (i.e. 10 cents a gallon).

Hawkeye6,

That post of yours had me laughing pretty good. I would give a lot to be the age I was when gas was less than a dollar.

******UPDATE******
 

Upstate Ny REPORT :
It looks like the trend for rising gas prices are still in affect for this part of the world or U.S.

$2.61 a gal. for low grade stuff,...and over $3.05 a gal. for the Super stuff.

I myself would like to see a drop in prices on gas , but i dont think that is likely to happen,..and if so not anytime soon.


Later All
SAFE HUNTIN~

Hey! I ain't so old that I cain't still do math!

Yesterday morning, $2.40.

This morning $2.59

This noon/early pm $2.55

Pretty typical of the way things go around here.

OK, so what'r y'all doing about it?
 

Gas prices are going up. Still reasonable comapred to 10 or 20 years ago and general inflation. But what are you doing about it?

One of the reasons that gas prices can continue to creep higher and higher, or even jump is that, so far at least, the demand is very inelastic. That's an economics term and basically means that the demad for gasoline does not appear to be affected by its price. The price goes up, and yet people still consume jsut as much as they did at the lower price. In fact, the demand may actually be increasing as the price increases.

So, what are you going to do to become more energy efficient? Anything?

Here's what I've done. This was not a knee jerk reaction to the recient price trend but something that I've been giving some thought to for several months. I went out yesterday and traded my Suburban in on a Subaru Outback (a used one but newer tahn the Suburban with about half the miles on it) My average mieage should go from ~15 or 16 mpg to ~26-30 mpg. (I'll report back on the actual in the future.) Did not really cost me much to do so and I ahve a much newer vehicle to boot.

I realize that that's not an option for everyone, but it worked for me. I had the Suburban for about 5-6 years and my live-at-home family has gone from 6 to 4. We also traded my wife's Toyota 4-Runner in on a Toyota van this spring. (Another increase in mileage). with the van we certainly do not need the Suburban, although I will occasionally miss the capacity, I'm sure.

What else? Well, my wife and I both want to get more exercise, so shen she gets home from vacation, I'm going to suggest that we try riding our bikes to the grocery for at least one trip a week (on the weekend). Its only about 6 miles RT soe it should be doable, weather permitting. Also, that she send me the shopping list for the local Aldi (discount grocery) since its accross the street from where I work. I can go there after work once a week or so and save her/us a ~15 mile RT.

None of this is going to make a major diference, but incremental changes on a mico basis could have a macro effect if we all tried something.

Its all about being open to changes and trying to find a postiive response.

I read an article that said if all Americans traded the vehicles for vehicles that get 5 mpg better gas mileage, we would have almost no reliance on oil from the middle east.

The wife and I are planning our next car/suv to be a hybrid, but that won't happen for a while. She drives a Hyundai Sonata and I drive a Ford Taurus and both of them get about 27 mpg highway, which almost all the driving we do.

Fabs:

I've read some of the same stuff, too. I would never advocate making wholesale changes that don't fit with your lifestyle, but when and where its appropriate... My younger son has been looking at getting a hybrid after he graduates next year. From what I've seen of them they are fine for one or two people, but I'm not sure whether they would work well for more than that.

H.

Hawkeye,

When you say the hybrids are fine for one or two people, do you mean for hauling one or two people?

The wife and I have been looking at the Ford Escape Hybrid because we would be able to take future children and other cargo down to Florida with us to visit her parents. Is the problem with the hybrids the fact that they lack horsepower? I have heard that hybrids have plenty of torgue from the electric motor helping them accelerate out of the hole. I am a leery about this stuff because it is new technology and I don't want to get stuck with something that will be a disaster 5 years down the road. That is why we are going to wait a while to see what develops and to see if Ford offers the Explorer or Expedition in a hybrid later.

When you say the hybrids are fine for one or two people, do you mean for hauling one or two people?

Fabs:

Yes, that's pretty much what I meant. I have not done any extensive research on them, just some superficail reading. but they did not seem to really meet the kind of needs that I reasonably anticipate with a family of 4, tow of whom are on the verge of their teen years. I'm not even sure the OUtback's rear seat will give them comfortable leg room for a longer drive.

I also kind of question the economics of hybrids. My understanding is that they are currently commanding a premium over similar sized and equipped gasoline-only vehicles. And that the premium is too large to be readily offset by a reduction in fuel costs, even at the higher prices that we are seeing now. (And will only get worse if the predictions that gasoline will drop back into the near $2 range in 12 to 18 months come true.)

I hav eheard that there are moves afoot for some tax credits from various States and also that the HOV lanes may be opened to hybrids even if the driver is solo. If that ocmes to pass, there may be some non-economic incentives in certain areas of the country. Like out where you live. But out here in the rural heartland we don't have HOV lanes.

H.

I too have read articles stating that it is very hard to recoup the premium price on a hybrid unless you drive it a lot and keep it for a long time. I think the car had to be kept for over 7 years with the national average of miles driven on it before you would recoup the additional money spent on it.

Of course, here we are thinking about what is good for us instead of what is good for the country and for our children. Less oil consumption means less reliance on the middle east and a cleaner environment for our kids and grandkids.

Regarding HOV lanes out here, they are pretty much all around me. I have one on I-270, another on the Dulles toll road, another on I-66 going into and out of downtown DC, and there are plenty more. There is mention of making the HOV lane a toll lane and/or allowing hybrids to drive on them solo. If that is the case, the wife and I will both be buying a hybrid.

i think the main reason for not tappin' into our oil in the u.s. is so when everyone else runs out the u.s. can make the companies go for broke . The main problem i see w/ this is by the time the middle east runs out all the cars on the road will prob. electric so it would all be for nothin'. In other words another backfired plan in the future for this country. Just my two cents.

There is a rumor here in nebraska that a couple of transit buses are runnin' on used veg. oil. Now if it is true how long before this tries to be a new trend.

I don't know what's goin gon in Nebraska, but there's nothing new or surprising aobu that. Diesels have ben known to run on some oddities like that for a while. Hmm, could that make all of a city's busses moving adds for Mcdonalds and Burger King?

I read an article in Backwoods Home a year or so ago aobut a fiamily that had pretty well converted to providing their own fuel for the farm vehicles (all diesels, including pick-up trucks driven for family use) by some of the plants they cultivated. I've forgotten the bean they raised, but htey had a pres system set up to squeeze the oil out of it and captured it for use in their vehicles. I think they used the left of pressed cake for an animal feed.

Fabs:

Of course, here we are thinking about what is good for us instead of what is good for the country and for our children. Less oil consumption means less reliance on the middle east and a cleaner environment for our kids and grandkids.

Yep. but if you notice, my post is predicated on you doing what makes sense for you, your family and your lifestyle.

Things don't seem to be that desparate yet that eveyone needs to convert to hybrids. Those that want to and can afford the vehicle can do so. If they decide that's the right thing for them to do, that's their choice. Ah, the beauty of a free market economy. You are free to choose a hybrid or an Escalade!

H.

Just my 0.02 from Canada's only border city. Whomever can do the conversion for me.........98.9cents/liter for 87octane. So even up here in the boonies gas sux(especially when my Bronco has a 125Liter tank :( )

Drew:

Just multiply it by 4. That will be close enough. Of course, that would be in Canadian Dollars.

Here in the States, I think prices (especiallyfor gas) are generally higher in the "boonies" than in certain other areas. Has to do with transportation and lack of ocmpetition I'dd guess.

H.

Hawkeye,

You should see how much gas is in Bethesda, Maryland. It is $3.00 a gallon for regular because it is the high rent district. By my parents it is $2.61 for regular and by me it is $2.41 for regular. I guess I am the lucky one. Diesel by my is $2.55 probably because the station is right next to I-270. However, at my parents diesel is $2.45.

What I do not understand is how there is no competition between Middle East oil companies or the gas stations in the US. Or is it just that oil costs that much.

I kind of understand the inelastic demand curve, but isn't competition supposed to have a little impact on it. Also, even if demand is inelastic, there is always supply side.

*****UPDATE*****
 

UPSATE NY UPDATE: $ 2.73 a gal for 87 Octane

The upward trend is still in an upward motion.

As for hybrid,The fight for gas and oil now in the middle east ,..will probly go to fighting with Japan because of electronic parts and etc.

America needs to have their own techno stuff going on,...so that way we dont have to depand on other countries.

That`s just me talkin`

Later All
SAFE HUNTIN~

Word here is 3.00 by the end of the weekend. I don't know if i believe it. 2.49 right now that would be a pretty big leap.