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#181
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Your route sounds like an even better candidate for a bicycle
commute. Yes, if you live in the south. Bikes only work about half the year here in northern PA. What causes them to cease functioning the other half of the year? If you meant "it's too cold to ride", consider about twice as many people regularily commute by bicycle in PA than in GA... http://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/survey/commuter.htm |
#182
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JohnH wrote:
Your route sounds like an even better candidate for a bicycle commute. Yes, if you live in the south. Bikes only work about half the year here in northern PA. What causes them to cease functioning the other half of the year? Snow and ice mainly and the road salt would likely ruin a bike in now time at all. I can just see the alloy parts after two weeks of riding in road salt. If you meant "it's too cold to ride", consider about twice as many people regularily commute by bicycle in PA than in GA... Cold is a problem also. I live 22 miles from where I work and it takes me 90 minutes to ride that far in the summer (hint: it isn't level where I live). That would be a long ride wearing a lot of clothes at zero or below. http://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/survey/commuter.htm I'm not surprised. Most northerners are a lot tougher than southerners. :-) Matt |
#183
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![]() "Dave S" wrote in message nk.net... Matt Barrow wrote: WHINE !! BITCH!! MOAN!! NOT IN MY BACK YARD!! I want gas! I want cheap gas!! I want this I want that! Grow the **** up, America!! Matt, let me know when you can debate something without resorting to personal attacks or insults, then I will debate it with you. Well, Dave, my apologies because my last point was a general take, not directed to you (notice I said' Grow up America", not "Grow up, Dave"). I notice you have very strong leanings and understanding toward free markets. I'm not concerned about you selling short :~) I do know I tend to lose it when people make foolish caveats especially ones that are logical fallacies such as "without all this regulation we'd be in (insert Armageddon class crisis)". And.. I don't work in academia. I actually work for a living. That helps, but those in academia consider that they "work for a living", too. What's more, working for a living is no basis for understanding how markets work. Even many managers don't "get it". Many are hired for their political acumen, not for their knowledge or leadership qualities. I also dont consider myself whining about prices for gas. I pay for it as I go. Its nice to have enough disposable income to do so without flinching. The refineries ARE in my back yard. They pay their share in property taxes to the localities and school systems. They also provide jobs to the economy. I'd love for them to expand, and provide more capital to our infrastructure here. But not at the cost of polluting unnecessarily. Yes, indeed. Thing is, like so much of life, regulation stopped having a goal (reduced pollution) and became a goal in itself (i.e., self-serving bureaucracies). For example, years ago, when the coal fired power plants were first required to install "scrubbers", they regulations stipulated levels caps for emissions. They were also ordered to install specific equipment to reach those levels. As it was, the equipment mandated was egregiously costly and maintenance was enormous. It also created a lot of toxic waste to be disposed of. It turned out that emissions could have been as good or better using other means of emissions reductions with less cost and less maintenance. That's why I'm very skeptical of the fallacies that "without all these regulations, ...blah, blah, blah). Anyways, unless you have something meaningful to contribute to this rather than unwarranted insults, I will leave you to your rant. My rant addresses so many people that become enamored with a pristine world and completely miss the points that, first, every advantage has it's costs, that actions have consequences including "Unintended Consequences". I also notice a strong propensity for those who demand a risk free life, a pristine world, and great prosperity, are often the most vocal when their actions play out. It's an attitude that is understandable for children, but inexcusable for adults. Hence my admonishment to Americans in general to "grow up". Such childish perspective is becoming the rule, rather than the exception. That there is no Santa Claus is apparently missed by wayyy to many. Rant to continue later :~) Dave, I consider you an ally, not an adversary in this topic. If my take was fuzzy (duh!), my apologies. -- Matt --------------------- Matthew W. Barrow Site-Fill Homes, LLC. Montrose, CO |
#184
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![]() "Mike Rapoport" wrote in message ink.net... (You mentioned that refining capacity has grown despie the reduced number of actual refineries) (18.6 Mbbl in 1981 vs 16.8Mbbl today) http://www.investors.com/editorial/I...0051010&view=1 /excerpt Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., falsely claimed that the "major oil companies haven't even tried to build one single new refinery in this country in 30 years" and that they "do not really want to expand refinery capacity because it would cut into their record-setting profits." The fact is they increased capacity and use at least on a refinery-by-refinery basis. In 1981, the U.S. had 324 refineries with a total capacity of processing 18.6 million barrels of crude per day. Today just 149 refineries have a daily capacity of 16.8 million barrels. The refineries are doing more than ever, but their numbers are dwindling and no new ones are being built. The reason is not greed, but cost and regulations. From 1994 to 2003, the refining industry spent $47.4 billion not to build new refineries, but to bring existing ones into compliance with environmental rules. That's where those "profits" go. The last refinery built in the U.S. was in Garyville, La., in 1976. Twenty-nine years later, approval of a new refinery could require as many as 800 different permits. And just where would you build it? After Hampton Roads Energy Corp. proposed a refinery near Portsmouth, Va., in the late 1970s, environmental groups and local residents fought the plan. After court battles in front of federal and state regulators, the firm gave up and canceled the project in 1984. /end excerpt |
#185
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Cold is a problem also. I live 22 miles from where I work and it
takes me 90 minutes to ride that far in the summer (hint: it isn't level where I live). That would be a long ride wearing a lot of clothes at zero or below. Then don't ride a bike if it's too hard for you; not everyone is capable of it. I'm not sure how you felt this was directed to you anyway; I was simply pointing out to Jay that a 4 mile commute is usually quite practical via bicycle. If it's really bad weather, use another means or better yet stay home or at the inn. http://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/survey/commuter.htm I'm not surprised. Most northerners are a lot tougher than southerners. :-) In which case a 22 miler ought to be a piece of cake for a tough northerner like you! :-) |
#186
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On Mon, 10 Oct 2005 02:40:56 -0400, "Morgans"
wrote: "JohnH" wrote But even if you were completely adverse to riding in bad weather (not *cold* mind you), what does that really reduce your # of cycling days by? A couple weeks a year? OOOOhhhh. You haven't spent much time in Iowa, have you? There is also a factor of arriving to work so sweaty in the summer, that nobody can stand getting near you for the rest of the day. Also, it does get really hot there, and you can't take enough off to stay cool, unlike rutting more on for the cold. Cold is also a real excuse, when you talk about getting frostbite from a half hour outside, in the wind. Oh, did we mention that it gets windy there? One year, my wife and I took our road bikes to Oshkosh. We were able to ride them on the grounds until about 3 days before the fly-in proper opened. We then took them out to the stand "On the hill" by the bus stop. When ready to fly home, we put them on the "welcome wagon" for a ride to the Deb. We stayed in town. Weather was near 100 most of the time, but for two days where it was cold, windy and rain. Riding in 100 degrees wasn't all that bad. It was when you stopped it got miserable. Did I mention I came down with one of the worst colds I've ever had the night after we arrived? Every place I've worked had showers. Even when I worked 18 miles from here we had one younger guy who rode his bike nearly every day unless the weather was *really* bad. Really bad means thunderstorms and wind too strong to ride, or ice on the roads. He didn't ride when the temps got much below 15 degrees, but he'd ride in rain so heavy my windshield wipers would hardly take care of it. He'd get to work, shed his rain gear, take a shower and head for the office. When I worked at the main plant here in town we had a number of people who rode in, including some upper management. I know one who was making well up into the 6 figure range. Normally they'd all head for the showers as soon as they made it to work. If Midland were laid out differently I'd bet we'd have hundreds of workers riding into town. The problem is the town is bisected by a river with only two bridges. A third river coming in from the WSW joins the first river right between the two bridges. No place in town is more than about 6 miles from me with the airport only being a tad over 4, but it takes 10.6 to get there. The shortest route is via suicide alley where no one with an IQ over 70 would ride. The safest is across the other bridge which is only about 3/4 of a mile from the first, BUT you have to travel 5 to 6 miles farther to get to it. There's another river in the way and that can only be crossed 4 miles west of town where you then have to go nearly 3 miles south and then 3 miles back north to get to the bridge. If you live north of the express way (US-10) there is no safe route into town via bike. Heavy traffic on narrow streets/roads with no, or almost no shoulders. No place to be on a bike. They really are working on making our streets bicycle friendly. and plans call for bike lanes although we'll have to watch for impatient drivers passing on the shoulder. We have a very long way to go before getting any where near as bike friendly as Boulder Co. OTOH my wife is getting rid of her 37 MPG mini, mini van and replacing it with a Prius. Now if I could get that kind of gain with a replacement for the 4-Runner which gets 18 MPG around town. Anyone make a SUV that gets 36 MPG that I can afford? Some have mentioned losing jobs to low cost labor, but several corporations have mentioned opening plants in other countries due to low energy costs compared to here. Depending on the product, a high tech chemical company doesn't save nearly as much on cheap labor as they do with cheap energy. In our specific area we don't have all that many unskilled jobs as most of the work around here is high tech due to the nature of the work, not that we can get labor cheaper some where else. We do have a lot of farms that could use unskilled help in the summer, but try and find someone who'll work out in the field. Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member) (N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair) www.rogerhalstead.com |
#187
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"Roger" wrote in message
... Snip He'd get to work, shed his rain gear, take a shower and head for the office. When I worked at the main plant here in town we had a number of people who rode in, including some upper management. I know one who was making well up into the 6 figure range. Normally they'd all head for the showers as soon as they made it to work. Would that be the Dow plant? If Midland were laid out differently I'd bet we'd have hundreds of workers riding into town. The problem is the town is bisected by a river with only two bridges. A third river coming in from the WSW joins the first river right between the two bridges. Snip Ahhh, "The Tridge", I remember it well... Jay Beckman PP-ASEL Chandler, AZ - CMU grad 1984 - Former intern in Dow Chemical's PR Dept - Married to a Mount Pleasant "townie" |
#188
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![]() "Matt Barrow" wrote: ... I tend to lose it when people make foolish caveats especially ones that are logical fallacies such as "without all this regulation we'd be in (insert Armageddon class crisis)". ....or "without all this regulation we'd be in (insert free market Utopia)." -- Dan C172RG at BFM |
#189
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You still don't get it. The number of refineries doesn't matter...the
output does. Actually, we do a agree on that. -- Jay Honeck Iowa City, IA Pathfinder N56993 www.AlexisParkInn.com "Your Aviation Destination" |
#190
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It is they who have suffered the brunt of the crazy, over-blown
environmental regulations. That smell you and I haughtily disdained was the smell of money to them and their families. Right, cost of labor has nothing to do with losing all those blue-collar jobs. And it probably really was environmental regulations that led to the average American hourly labor rate of $18 plus benefits versus about $1.50 in China. Of course, there are many facets to the problem -- wages being one of them. But that's a different thread. -- Jay Honeck Iowa City, IA Pathfinder N56993 www.AlexisParkInn.com "Your Aviation Destination" |
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