Next HURRICANE 3rd largest ever recorded...life will drastically change.

[Charger_Fan]

Well sheesh...where did THIS thread go wrong?

Did you really think it wouldnt?

2 years ago it was the war.
Last year it was the election.
This year it's the gas prices.

Im as giddy as a schoolgirl to know what people will be fighting about next year.  

I'm thinking by next year we'll be onto the high price of un-stained underwear.

[Old Moparz]

Well sheesh...where did THIS thread go wrong?

Did you really think it wouldnt?

2 years ago it was the war.
Last year it was the election.
This year it's the gas prices.

Im as giddy as a schoolgirl to know what people will be fighting about next year.  

I'm thinking by next year we'll be onto the high price of un-stained underwear.

Maybe, but I think the used ones will always cost more.

[Ponch ®]

Maybe, but I think the used ones will always cost more.

the government should step in. Anyone with me for a boycott of "Fruit of the loom"?

[volk68]

I, too am worried about the potential effects of these hurricanes.  That may seem insensitive for some, but I think it is perfectly reasonable.  I feel for those who have lost everything in Katrina and those who may lose everything in Rita, but their suffering doesn't deligitimize the suffering of others. 

In my area, gas is still above 3$ a gallon.  The economy here is tourist based (rafting in the summer, skiing in the winter), and that has taken a steady hit since the fires of 2002 ravaged Colorado.  The only growth here has been from retirees and trust funders which have artificially raised housing costs well beyond the average wage rates.  More and more people have moved outside of the community itself and have a substantial commute into work because housing is completely out of reach with local employment. 

What all that means is that I commute 70 miles a day to get to work.  I have held my job for 8 years, and have lived reasonable well until this year.  Overall cost of living has almost doubled with the gas hikes...but the economic depression on our local economy has frozen wages since 2002.  My expenses have doubled, but I haven't earned a single cent more, and won't until the general economy improves in the area.  I can't afford to move closer to work because of local housing costs, and changing my job would require a substantial move, which would require the sale of my existing property which has been in my family forever.  That's just my situation, but there are scores of others in similar positions.

I am not being alarmist, just stating that the current situation is a little tenuous already...a major gas hike to $4-$5 a gallon with any longevity might just do a lot of folks in.  I am hoping this hurricane fizzles out before it can do this kind of damage and I am not really worried about the scenario above too much, but if the worse were to happen, my life and many others will take a dramatic change, and it isn't going to be good.

[Charger_Fan]

Maybe, but I think the used ones will always cost more.

the government should step in. Anyone with me for a boycott of "Fruit of the loom"?

Sure, why not? Their commercials have gotten kinda lame anyway...they have obviously been hoarding profits for themselves instead of putting it back into quality advertising.

[volk68]

Maybe, but I think the used ones will always cost more.

the government should step in. Anyone with me for a boycott of "Fruit of the loom"?

Sure, why not? Their commercials have gotten kinda lame anyway...they have obviously been hoarding profits for themselves instead of putting it back into quality advertising.

[NHCharger]

According to the local news channel this morning the economy in New Hampshire has already taken a hit because of the high gas prices. Lottery ticket sales are down 4.1%, it's the beginning of the end i tell you. People can't afford to gamble. What's next, cut back on cigarettes, illegal drugs, alcohol.

[Steve P.]

I'm one of the guys that USES a big, gas guzzling truck.. I've owned this truck for only about 6 months and have put over 18,000 miles on it. It's been cross country three times picking up old mopars and a trip up North for a funeral. In the past few weeks I have hauled 7 cars to the junk yard with it and pulled 3 of them out of the woods..

I gassed up today and figured out that all this yanking cars through the woods has taken my milage down to 9.94 mpg.. This makes me sick.. Over the road towing a total of about 5000 pounds, I have done as well as 13mpg. Just the family going over the road we got around 14.6 at best.. (I had a duelly like that too)..    I can tell you that I have been looking for a Dodge w/cummins. I also plan to burn veggie oil.. It'll cost me next to nothing and be better on the environment..

Maybe a Megggggga cab..........

[Badbob]

It just ain't the same without TK73.

More will die in the traffic jam than from the hurricane.

[Brock Samson]

 Seems to me we could all volunteer locally,.. Senior centers, battered women shelters... (Many "tastless"Jokes to follow I'm sure..  ya bastards!  ),
maybe even help the homeless, lots of single women with children and older disabled Vets living waaaaaay below the poverty line. I'm sure your local church has something productive you ca do.. without a magor shift in lifestyle, or outpouring of funds.
  Personally I have faith that the Lord will see us trough, as a species, and individualy. 
  but that's me. 

Bill,..  what's up with those awsome Graphics you was workin on?. 

[bull]

Or you and this "poor little rich kid" (dunno where you got that) could just NOT bury the hatchet.   Whatever you want.

I just fail to understand how you see my divergent views as tantamount to "not caring" about anything like gas shortages or damage or unemployment, etc.   Up is not down and black is not white; you don't have to explain to anyone, including me, that these are problems.   Where I differ from you is that I believe that the free market devises its own solutions to problems - economies have been literally killed by the "kindness" of government meddling in order to "fix" things (see, Great Depression, modern France, etc.).   Like I said, if I've been exasperated and snippy, I'll try to work on that if you care to meet me halfway and not accuse me baselessly of being an uncaring, spoiled little prick.   'Cuz frankly, I'm not.

I suppose it should make no difference to me, especially if you'll just discount everything in textbooks as automatic BS and resort to whining whenever you sense things aren't going your way.   You may be older than me (a fact which you readily pointed out), but I'm not seeing the maturity.   Feel free to surprise me.

Your divergent views are not what I'm basing my opinion on. It's the phony empathy in your 3rd post here in response to Bill's concerns that's so disingenuous it's almost laughable. You've worked a 'few years' and now you seem to claim you understand the plight of the common worker. Give me a break. You have no idea what it means to have to support a family, and given the way you brag about the meaning behind your user name from time to time I doubt you ever will have the guts to put someone else's needs before your own. It's apparent to me that most of your ideals have been plagiarized right out of the latest economics textbook because the only part of life you seem to have experienced thus far is one of ease and privilege. How does one afford to restore a classic car, pay for six years at USC and do nothing but fart around and chase skirts the rest of the time if they don't have lots of cash flowing in from dad? I don't need or want you regurgitating the info from your latest class onto people who routinely experience more of real life in one week than you have in 20+ years. The reason I occasionally attempt to put you in your place is because I do not like arrogant, 22-year-old know-it-alls, who've done almost nothing to contribute to society, tell those who have contributed their entire lives that they just need to suck it up and pay more because that's just the way it is. Basically, I find you clueless and annoying and I've grown tired of trying to penetrate your Kevlar-coated noggin with the facts of life, so I'll stop trying. Have a nice day.

BTW, here's a little psyc to go with the econ: http://www.ptypes.com/narcissisticpd.html

[ChargerBill]

I see a few blown fuses over this topic...so I guess I'm not alone. As of this afternoon I have made a deal to get rid of my truck. I will take a hit on it in the short run (slightly upside down), but will make out in saved gas $$$ in the long run. I found a 1996 Intrepid for real cheap and in great shape...sure it has 150,000 miles, but those V6's are supposed to last a while. Even if I only get 2 years out of it I STILL will be WAY ahead. I also decided to go get my '56 pick-up from my moms yard and get it running again so that I have a truck to use when needed. I also went to the Honda dealership today and found a 2002 CRX 400 for $1,800 and a '98 CBR 600 for $3,800. I would rather have the street bike but $1,800 would allow me to keep my Charger....besides, when i mentioned to the salesman (also the dealership owner) that I was considering selling my Charger he nearly had a heart attack. He said he would help me find a decent bike that would allow me to keep my car...very cool guy.

OK, my disclaimer on the next statement is that it is NOT meant to bash anyone...period. It is only PERSONAL observation. When I was 5 I needed mom and dad to wipe my nose and make my plate at dinner time. When I was 12 yo I knew still needed them but didn't want them to know it. When I was 20 yo I thought I knew more than I really did and I was only worried about getting some, drinking beer and graduating college. When I was 24 I had a daughter as a single parent - sole custody even, and I was still self centered, thought I knew everything and had an answer for everything that I really knew very little about. At about 25 or 26 I realized that I was a self centered idiot and changed my ways...my perspective as a parent trying to make ends meet and care for a child made me realize how much I really didn't know after all - the FIRST time I ever realized this (in my experience most under 25 still need to come to this realization). It put me in touch with the reality of those who had been struggling while I was a simple and immature self centered "young adult". At about 30 I realized that I was STILL learning about life (man, I thought I was done learning...LOL), and about myself and my short comings, and how to deal with others and disappointment and strife and reality...reality actually DID bite at times...I finally understood what that meant. I also realized that   I was the only one who was going to look out for me and my daughter...period. At about 34 or so I came to understand what true compassion meant...and what empathy REALLY felt like. That life ISN'T cut and dry...everyone has a story, a hardship, anxiety, insecurities, shattered dreams, a need for friendship, understanding, love and compassion. Compassion took on a new meaning...it didn't mean "I will solve your problem"...it meant "I'm here for you bud, I can't fix this or even completely understand it, but I care about you and will do anything I can"....and a real man stands by that promise..to help, to be there, to give what they are able to help someone in need. And THAT is how you grow as a person...you become selfless in a sense...you recognize that you are a blip, not even a footnote...and that all you contribute in this world is what you give of yourself to others. You realize that scholars, professionals, encyclopedias, text books, pundits and pontificators don't know everything...and sometimes know nothing of reality...or the plight of the real man. You realize that love is the single most sincere and unselfish emotion...it is the only pure feeling we as humans are capable of, and love in the form of compassion is about as selfless as it gets. The catch is that you don't learn these things until you have experienced certain things in life...not so much as a result of duration, education or age, but a result of heartache, of being broken down and coming back stronger for it, of losing everything and starting over, of experiencing disappointment at the deepest level, of seeing strife first hand, of feeling pain so deep you cannot even utter a sound....and screaming isn't even possible. It is also a result of seeing triumph that is inexplicable...triumph of the heart in the face of insurmountable odds, a result of seeing joy in the face of doom, a result of seeing real life miracles happen...miracles that go beyond explanation by experts, scientists and scholars, a result of climbing out of the pit of despair and reaching the next mountain top once again. And it is my sincerest belief that while most are capable of coming to this point in life, many will not simply because they choose to suffocate the God given spirit within that will allow them to feel...and possibly feel too much..sadly they want to avoid the pain so they then also miss all the joy. They bury their heads in books and facts and equations and try to solve the problems of the world in some board room or on some laptop instead of actually going out and seeing the world for what it is with their own eyes, and lending a hand...their own hand. They wall themselves off from the suffering of people at the most primitive and true level..the level at which they ALSO will suffer, bleed, sweat and cry...both tears of joy and tears of sorrow. Until you do that, until you feel the pains of life, the sadness of friends, the fear of losing the roof over your head or the burning gut from hunger...until you cry with a friend over THEIR loss, until you hug that lonely parentless child or look into the eyes of a sad and frightened rest home resident, until you grab that stranger laying on the ground needing a sandwich and a blanket and help them to their feet...until you experience any, many or even all of these you will not experience life. For once you know these things the triumphs will also take on a new meaning. They are sweeter, brighter, more joyous, more triumphant...the shadows prove the sunlight.

Yes, I am a Christian...at 25 I renewed my commitment to the Lord. I made many mistakes before then, I have made a few too many mistakes since then, and I will unfortunately make many mistakes in the years to come. But you see, I don't have to be perfect... I am a work in progress and the good Lord loves me despite it...and probably even for it. Being a Christian doesn't mean that God shelters you from pain and strife, but it does mean that when these adversities come you will know that there is more...a bigger picture, a greater purpose to it all. I am definitely a better person now than I was then, and hopefully by the grace of God I will be a better person tomorrow and in the years to come.

[Steve P.]

   In a nutshell life is shit. Until you've walked for miles in life's shit, you don't know SHIT........

[Mopar440+6]

Well said Bill! 

I too share the sentiments of Bill, Volk and Strat. Although I do not have a family to care for I do pay my own bills. I am living on my own at 19 years old. Its hard enough to start out on your own while working a full time job. It is harder yet to be living on your own, working only part time, and trying to go to and pay for college. With the current spike in the prices of EVERYTHING, I honestly don't know how I'm going to make ends meet. I'm not an alarmist but this is getting a little scary. A large spike in prices might just put alot of the little guys under...

Steve P.- I'm with ya on looking for the Ram Cummins and VO

AllBlue- Around here the majority DOES use their truck. Granted I live in PA but if you buy a truck here its most likely going to be used and used hard. My dad just bought a brand new F-250 about a week before Katrina hit and it gets used everyday out of necessity. There is no unscratched paint left on the inside of the bed.

Todd- I'm with you on the roadwarrior thing 

[derailed]

Steve, i wish i had known you were looking for one, my friend just sold his 96 extended cab 8 ft, cummins in real nice shape pretty cheap, he just got laid off.

[Ponch ®]

. How does one afford to restore a classic car, pay for six years at USC and do nothing but fart around and chase skirts the rest of the time if they don't have lots of cash flowing in from dad? 

dont forget that he also affords to work out with AC Slater from Saved by The Bell.

[Vainglory, Esq.]

bull, you say that I have a lot to learn, but you pass all these judgments on me without having taken any time to learn about me yourself.   Your judgments aren't correct, but they're also not productive to the thread.   You're obviously not willing to move beyond ad hominem bashing of me, and I'm not willing to continue responding to mostly false accusations.   So I'll stop here.   You can continue bashing me if you like.   Have fun, and have a nice day.

BTW, if you ever feel like learning how I afford what I do, and what experiences I base my actions on, feel free to PM me.

[NHCharger]

BTW, if you ever feel like learning how I afford what I do,

I've heard you make all your money by pimping mojo out to fat bored house wives.

[RD]

bull, you say that I have a lot to learn, but you pass all these judgments on me without having taken any time to learn about me yourself.   Your judgments aren't correct, but they're also not productive to the thread.   You're obviously not willing to move beyond ad hominem bashing of me, and I'm not willing to continue responding to mostly false accusations.   So I'll stop here.   You can continue bashing me if you like.   Have fun, and have a nice day.

BTW, if you ever feel like learning how I afford what I do, and what experiences I base my actions on, feel free to PM me.

i would pm to ask you, but you blocked me matter of fact i believe your words were "your a nutcase"

[Vainglory, Esq.]

actually, it was wacko - I didn't take too well to proselityzing.

[RD]

actually, it was wacko - I didn't take too well to proselityzing.

i dont take well to those who have to be constantly told their right in order to stroke their ego's. especially when their vanity blinds them from the truth.

but.... that is all i will say on that matter.  dont need to hijack this thread anymore than what it is.

[Shakey]

. How does one afford to restore a classic car, pay for six years at USC and do nothing but fart around and chase skirts the rest of the time if they don't have lots of cash flowing in from dad?  

dont forget that he also affords to work out with AC Slater from Saved by The Bell.

[Shakey]

bull, you say that I have a lot to learn, but you pass all these judgments on me without having taken any time to learn about me yourself.   Your judgments aren't correct, but they're also not productive to the thread.   You're obviously not willing to move beyond ad hominem bashing of me, and I'm not willing to continue responding to mostly false accusations.   So I'll stop here.   You can continue bashing me if you like.   Have fun, and have a nice day.

BTW, if you ever feel like learning how I afford what I do, and what experiences I base my actions on, feel free to PM me.

Hey bull, maybe you should read his blog about an "American in Paris", I am sure it won't read like a Doris Day movie script, or maybe it will.

Lighten up boys, we're here for some fun aren't we?

My  22 is still very young, lots to learn yet!

[Steve P.]

Hey Drailed,, Thanks for the thoughts. I hope your buddy gets back to work very soon.. I hate being out of work.. People tell me all the time, (I wish I could stay home, do nothing and collect a paycheck).. I want to kick their asses!! Some people just have NO IDEA what they say or what they are even saying.. An yes, their is a heartless, brainless asshole here on this very thread that thinks he is paying all his tax dollars for me to just sit home and collect ALL HIS MONEY!!!   


Did I just rant off to another subject??   So sorry....

I'll find the right truck eventually.. I'm gonna find one for Bull too.. We can start a revolution from one corner of the States to another. Hahaha.......

[Plumcrazy]

BTW, if you ever feel like learning how I afford what I do, and what experiences I base my actions on, feel free to PM me.

Why not enlighten us all?