bettie_x
Extreme Fanatic Posts: 1570 Registered: 31/12/1969 Status: Offline
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posted on 12/5/2004 at 10:55 PM |
I was reading in the news fax waiting at a bank yesterday, and the topic
was, yes, GAS PRICES. Seems the national average is 1.80 for basic
unleaded, yet on the west coast here we are seeing NATIONAL record highs,
the cheapest I've seen is 2.09 (which just went up again this afternoon to
2.11), and they claim that the price has climbed an average of .10 over the
last two weeks. BULLSHIT. It's gone up about .30 the last two weeks here,
and about .50 in the last month. I got UNDER FIVE GALLONS FOR TEN FUCKING
DOLLARS. What I want to know is what the fuck is going on.
I know we're at "war".
I know our prez is an "oil baron"
What I don't know is how the fuck these assholes sleep at night knowing
they are bankrupting any and everyone that has to drive more than 10-15 min
to work a day?
I'm looking at a personal increase from $75 a month in gas (averaging
between 1.30-1.50 a gallon, still pretty fucking high) to almost $120 a
month. This is BULLSHIT.
I know there are websites designed to direct you to the cheapest places,
but I know the cheapest place and it's fucking outrageous.
Is this what we wanted to happen? Is this what they inteded from this
"war"? Does the goddamned "war" have anything to do with this? What I
HAVE noticed is that every goddamned time an "incident" happens in the
middle east in the last few months, everything from an outbreak of rebel
fighting, or humiliating pictures of iraqi pow's, the gas price LEAPS.
PLUS these cocksuckers have the nerve to tell me that it's going to be
WORSE DURING SUMMER! A statement was released from one of our largest
middle eastern oil suppliers who said that the occupation in the
neighboring country of Iraq would not affect the supply. Now they say
they're cutting production. Nobody gives us a reason for why the price is
up so high, they just say "get used to it, it's going to get worse."
I DEMAND ANSWERS.
Does anyone have any sort of inside scoop for me? Anyone who works in
energy or has a friend/relative in the energy industry that could make some
fucking sense of this shit? I live in washington for christ's sake, if I
want to go ANYWHERE I have to drive at least 20 min.
I've also decided to send a long overdue letter to our president. His
language, his groove, his style....
"Dear President Bush. You are a stupid head. I bet you eat your boogers.
love, Laurie"
Not that it'll accomplish fucking squat but god it'll make me feel better.
Plus, I might get a special visit from secret service checking out whether
or not I am planning an attack on the other side of the country. COULDN"T
IF I WANTED TO I COULDN"T AFFORD TO FUCKING DRIVE THERE ASSHOLES! ____________________ Trapped in time. Surrounded by evil. Low on gas. |
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Kira
Member Posts: 149 Registered: 31/12/1969 Status: Offline
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posted on 13/5/2004 at 08:03 AM |
I'm sorry, but as someone who walks/bikes/rides places 90% of the time I
think the gas prices are hilarious. I feel bad for all the average people
out there who have to depend on driving due to location - or for income -
but I think high gas prices are what this country needs to wake everyone up
as to our total dependency on oil.
I love seeing the big fashion accessory SUVs with $40.00 tabs at the pump,
or even better the stupid Hummers racking up close to $70.00 for a fill up.
Drive the largest car necessary for the work you need to do with it, or pay
the price. I feel like a smug bastard rolling up on my Vespa, which gets 80
mpg and fills up for about $3.00.
I know most people (myself included) can not afford to run out and buy
brand new electric cars or anything. But I do think it is time to start
thinking of alternatives and taking small steps away from driving
everywhere. Then again, my pessimistic side says that people didn't learn
anything from the oil crisis of the 70's, so they probably won't learn
anything now. ____________________ Wind me up and make me crawl to you, tie me up until I call to you. |
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Ironboots
Extreme Fanatic Posts: 893 Registered: 31/12/1969 Status: Offline
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posted on 13/5/2004 at 08:58 AM |
*high five's Kira*
Yep, its nice to watch gas prices go up when you ride a bike everywhere.
Hopefully more people will notice that bicycles kick ass and start riding
them. Hopefully those people will stay on them after the gas prices go back
down.
Oh, and you're wondering about when gas prices will fall? Don't worry, the
ambassador from Saudi Arabia said that they'll increase production just in
time for the election this fall... ____________________ Piggy's got the Conch! |
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Zero
Fanatic Posts: 459 Registered: 15/2/2004 Status: Offline
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posted on 13/5/2004 at 10:00 AM |
dude, unless ur talking about a bike with a motor i aint riding it any
where... everywhere i gotta go is far too far to be riding a bike....
oh yeah, i use to average about 10 bucks a week on gas...now it's 20+ that
really sux. just this past week i got payed and as soon as i cashed my
check my first thoughts were: "yes i finally get to fill up wynonna"
(wynonna is my car...yes, i named my car)..when i got to the gas station it
was 1.80....i was pissed...that's the cheapest place here.
i wish i had an answer as to why the prices have to be so high....it
doesn't make too much sense....i remember when when the pres. landed on
that ship with that sighn behind him saying "mission accomplished".....what
the hell happened....i thought we got the oil already...screw our half
assed president.....i want whole assed president
[Edited on 13/5/2004 by Zero] ____________________ "It is a fool's prerogative to utter truths that no one else will speak." ~
The Sandman, Dream Country |
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bettie_x
Extreme Fanatic Posts: 1570 Registered: 31/12/1969 Status: Offline
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posted on 13/5/2004 at 11:15 AM |
Kira I totally agree with you on the gas hogging SUV's and this country's
dependency, but our BIG problem is our dependency on EVERYONE ELSE'S.
I have the same car I had in highschool when I turned 18. I was going to
college then and the poor thing has about 166K K miles on it, and I don't
do a lot of driving. I hit the grocery store on my way home from work and
do all my "errands" all at once. It is older, so it doesn't get the 35mpg
that it used to , but I can get to work (half hour away) and a couple of
misc trips on a full tank of gas a week. Problem is that full tank is
about $25+ per week, and it used to be $15. I'm keeping the poor thing
alive so that when I get a decent job that i can afford another car
payment, I'm GOING to by a hybrid, but not driving or buying a new car is
so out of the question right now. I live between Buckley and Bonney Lake
in Washington, and even my sister from california hates coming back her
because "you have to drive a half hour just to GET anywhere". I don't even
have a convenience store that's within biking distance!
There are also several reasons why hybrid cars aren't "popular" with
america. For one, in a country obsessed with size and "roar" power,
they're small. They're CARS for hell's sake, GOOD GOD! My TWO KIDS can't
possibly ride in a CAR! Second, they make them "futuristic" looking and
kind of ugly. I don't know if the models have changed much in the last few
years, but the first ones were horrible. The biggest reason is, of course,
the oil companies. They know that should hybrids take off and become
popular, they'll lose money, as they get something like 80mpg on the
freeway. I have no doubt in my mind that someone has a tight grip on the
industry to keep it from taking off, even if it's as far as just convincing
people that bigger is better (which seems to be quit efficient in the
american mind). I've priced hybrid cars and they're not much more
expensive than a new nicer model car. They're actually about the price of
a brand new honda (and hondas get pretty good gas mileage). Plus, most
people don't know that there is a $2K tax deduction at the end of the year
for just OWNING one.
My sister has a Jeep Cheroke, which qualifies as an SUV, but not the large
scale ridiculous ones you see. She has two boys and does more than haul
her kids back and forth with it, and it's NOT a "luxury" item.
I'm currently looking for work close to home, but unfortunately there is
NOTHING right now. So I'm looking for a second part time job in addition
to my 40 hrs a week just to AFFORD TO DRIVE TO WORK.
And I"m sure that the prices will drop in time for this fall's election.
No doubt. But there is a lot of work that bush has to do to make up for
these disasterous last 4 years. Gas prices aren't just one of them.
Anyone else notice that a week after election day gas rose about 0.20 a
gallon? Apparently him just being there makes things more pricey. Whatta
ya know. ____________________ Trapped in time. Surrounded by evil. Low on gas. |
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Ironboots
Extreme Fanatic Posts: 893 Registered: 31/12/1969 Status: Offline
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posted on 13/5/2004 at 12:52 PM |
I disagree that foreign dependency on oil is the BIG problem... Whether you
buy from the dealer or make your own in the closet, you're still addicted
to crack.
And how far do you need to go? Every Saturday I ride probably 30 miles
round trip to get to Ashland. Takes me about an hour (or one cd's worth of
listening...) to go one way. I get my exercise, my sun, and get to stop and
smell the roses. Is there a bus route that goes the same way? During the
week I just catch the bus and bring my bike with me.
You could try carpooling. There's carpoolmatchnw.org, they focus on the
northwest, but there's probably one for every location. You just type in
where you need to go and when, and see if anybody's going your way.
There's lots of options...
Hell, pogo stick to work! ____________________ Piggy's got the Conch! |
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IamSquid
Extreme Fanatic Posts: 658 Registered: 27/5/2002 Status: Offline
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posted on 13/5/2004 at 01:38 PM |
A buddy of mine is converting his Datsun into a greasil. For those of yoo
who don't know, it's a deasil engine suited for vegetable oil, bacon
grease, etc. The only thing stopping him from doing it immediatly is the
fact that in a place like Minnesota yoo have to have something to keep the
feul tank above freezing otherwise yor screwed (of course, in the worst
case scenario he could always use deasil). Best of all, it burns pretty
damn clean!
One of the great things about it is that alot of restraunts have enormos
containers of grease that they PAY a service to remove for them, along he
comes and relieves them of some of their burden!
Another friend of mine was considering a propane engine. Apparently
they're fairly economical and burn pretty clean as well.
I don't know about any of this, I dont drive. ____________________
i wanted to die, and then it progressed into wanting everyone else to
die so i could watch, and then me die.
-ickgirl |
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dead-cell
Fanatic Posts: 344 Registered: 31/12/1969 Status: Offline
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posted on 13/5/2004 at 03:10 PM |
Solution
http://www.biodiesel.org/
If I'm thinking its the same one. It started out a couple years ago with
two college guys. They bounced ideas around about oil and why it was so
important to an engine. Then one had the idea to use grease. Thats right
grease; a couple experiments and some refining they got it to work. Then
tested it across country, commonly using fast food restaurant grease to
refuel.
Other stuff:
- Exhaust smells vary between donuts and french fries.
- Environmentally friendly.
- Cheap.
- Moderate to No adjustment to the engine.
- Just as good as oil.
[Edited on 5/13/2004 by dead-cell] ____________________ co-worker: "Your gay!?"
myself: "Didn't you see my rainbow pin?"
co-worker: "I just thought you liked skettles."
-(yes, it actually happened to me) |
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Anya
Extreme Fanatic Posts: 656 Registered: 31/12/1969 Status: Offline
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posted on 13/5/2004 at 03:33 PM |
Gas over here is 2.20 average. It may fluxuate in time, but it's more than
enough to get me walking as much as I can and drive as little as I can.
Besides, my 35 mile to the gallon car isn't in a condition to be driving
much, so exercise isn't that bad for me. I want to "trim up", anyway.
Just now I need to carry an umbrella while doing it to prevent an excess in
Vitamin D, if you get what I mean.
Walmart is only a 45 minute walk, so no problem there. The Asian Market is
about the same, no problem there. Ralph's, Albertson's, and Food 4 Less
are 10-20 minutes per walk, no problem there. Just got to make sure that
all shopping that involves cold foods are done in the morning, heh.
I never understood why people needed SUV's, either. Maybe if they had a
big family, but for the most part, it's too inefficient for me...especially
due to the fact that my car uses half the gas that one SUV does. |
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Ironboots
Extreme Fanatic Posts: 893 Registered: 31/12/1969 Status: Offline
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posted on 14/5/2004 at 08:44 AM |
Yeah, the diesel engine wasn't originally made to run on petroleum
products, it was supposed to run on veggie fuels like peanut oil. But in
the 20s, the oil industry got their mealy fingers on the diesel industry
and cut biodiesel out of the game.
Until now... *dramatic theme music* ____________________ Piggy's got the Conch! |
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bettie_x
Extreme Fanatic Posts: 1570 Registered: 31/12/1969 Status: Offline
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posted on 14/5/2004 at 08:53 AM |
Ironboots, it's ONE of the problems, not the whole, and I DO agree that
this country needs to decrease it's dependency on the product itself. I
don't disagree there at all.
I've heard of greasil's, my sister has seen them in california and half the
gas stations have the fryer oil available and it's DIRT CHEAP, and she says
that she drove behind one that smelled like donuts
CAN you convert a regular car engine to run on grease? Please tell me yes,
that would be worth the investment.
It would take me about 2 hours by bus the way they run around here, and the
stops are something like every 5 hours. I live in the middle of nowhere,
and in case you haven't heard, Washington's public transportation is
RETARDED. It's about 25-30 miles one way to work, which takes me 25 min
(if I'm speeding), and the store is close enough to drive to and not make a
dent in my tank but too far to walk and lug back groceries (and I just get
the small stuff there, I go to the warehouse grocery behind the mall for
most of my stuff to get it in bulk). Plus I live on the main highway, and
it's two lanes but scary as fuck, and the drivers on it are inconsiderate
and reckless and there are WAY too many accidents on it.
I have to go drive to work now, but I've got more later. ____________________ Trapped in time. Surrounded by evil. Low on gas. |
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Kira
Member Posts: 149 Registered: 31/12/1969 Status: Offline
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posted on 14/5/2004 at 11:22 AM |
I can't help but wonder if this article is related to the topic at
hand:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=573&ncid=757&
e=2&u=/nm/20040514/od_nm/crime_grease_dc
Why else would you gank vats of restaurant grease? Skin treatment? Bargain
lube? To wrestle in? ____________________ Wind me up and make me crawl to you, tie me up until I call to you. |
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Anonymous
Posts: 116 Registered: 14/4/2002 Status: Offline
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posted on 14/5/2004 at 01:13 PM |
I have a few factiods that I've heard. The United States has no new oil
refineries since the 1960's, thus all oil drilled here must be sent to the
middle east to be refined. Most American drilled oil is sent to Japan.
These people don't want to change the problems with gas prices. As far as
they are concerned we should be paying as much as Europe, especially with
our big 'fashion accessory' SUVs. |
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Anonymous
Posts: 116 Registered: 14/4/2002 Status: Offline
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posted on 14/5/2004 at 01:15 PM |
I have a few factiods that I've heard. The United States has no new oil
refineries since the 1960's, thus all oil drilled here must be sent to the
middle east to be refined. Most American drilled oil is sent to Japan.
These people don't want to change the problems with gas prices. As far as
they are concerned we should be paying as much as Europe, especially with
our big 'fashion accessory' SUVs. |
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dead-cell
Fanatic Posts: 344 Registered: 31/12/1969 Status: Offline
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posted on 14/5/2004 at 02:56 PM |
quote: I can't help but wonder
if this article is related to the topic at hand:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=573&ncid=757&
e=2&u=/nm/20040514/od_nm/crime_grease_dc
Why else would you gank vats of restaurant grease? Skin treatment? Bargain
lube? To wrestle in?
-Kira
When I read that article I couldn't help but think of Homer Simpson. Yes,
Anonymous the SUV is a middle finger in the face of the enviroment. Yes,
Bettie the grease is compatible with most engines. Engines that are not
usally need a minor adjustment that takes less than 10 minutes (if I
remember correctly). It states it on the site somewhere.
____________________ co-worker: "Your gay!?"
myself: "Didn't you see my rainbow pin?"
co-worker: "I just thought you liked skettles."
-(yes, it actually happened to me) |
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bettie_x
Extreme Fanatic Posts: 1570 Registered: 31/12/1969 Status: Offline
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posted on 14/5/2004 at 08:18 PM |
I'm so gonna look into that. I'll have the only 98 pontiac grande am with
160K miles on it that smells like onion rings. WORD.
Oh, and I forgot to mention it earlier, but I DO know why hybrid cars have
remained rather "unpopular" over the years, and why they're rather
ignored.
The hybrid car has been around for about 30 years or so, or at least
prototypes. Why have they only surfaced popularly within the last 5-10
years? Because from the 70's on, every hybrid prototype was bought by the
oil companies so that they could keep it under wraps and not have it
manufactured. True nuff. It's about as low down scumbag as the tobacco
industry used to be. ____________________ Trapped in time. Surrounded by evil. Low on gas. |
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MystryssRavynDarque
Extreme Fanatic Posts: 648 Registered: 24/9/2002 Status: Offline
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posted on 15/5/2004 at 03:39 PM |
One of the people at my dad's work knows a guy who has a greasil engine,
and my dad said he did it not because it is economical, but because he is a
hippy. *giggle* ____________________ "People always say what we are looking for is a meaning for life…I don't
think that's what we're looking for. I think what we're looking for is the
experience of being alive." -Joseph Campbell |
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bettie_x
Extreme Fanatic Posts: 1570 Registered: 31/12/1969 Status: Offline
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posted on 15/5/2004 at 06:21 PM |
*lol* true nuff. Gimmie my hemp pants and patchoulli. ____________________ Trapped in time. Surrounded by evil. Low on gas. |
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Dolorosa
Extreme Fanatic Posts: 856 Registered: 31/12/1969 Status: Offline
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posted on 17/5/2004 at 12:05 AM |
Give me a car that runs on hippies any day.
In any case, I've long ago named my car Betty, and she doesn't use gas, she
uses blood and children...great mileage too, I can get about one to one
fifty miles out of a three year old.
I think we need to go back to Horses...I mean, shit, their fuel grew on the
damned ground...they're cooler and they can wear hats! ____________________ In the valley of the Goats, the Goat Fucker is King |
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Ironboots
Extreme Fanatic Posts: 893 Registered: 31/12/1969 Status: Offline
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posted on 17/5/2004 at 11:45 AM |
Bettie: Does your Pontiac have a diesel engine? If it doesn't, then you'll
need to get one to run on grease. Gasoline engines (correct me if I'm
wrong) won't run on it.
Although horses would be good (they could do your math homework for you,
too), I'm still sticking with my pogo stick dream. ____________________ Piggy's got the Conch! |
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