Driving 55 mph: I'm lazy, I'm not going to do it unless somebody makes me do it.

x2

the more you do it the easier it is. i was recently driving with some friends and they wanted me to hurry up, so i set the cruise @ 55mph.

you'll get a line of people behind you wanting to go a little slower, too. a little moral support helps.

 

The problem is using fossil fuels is hurting people so no you do not have "the right" to do whatever you want in this circumstance and it is not just your business. This is not even taking global warming into consideration. If you do not understand the dynamics of fossil fuel use and smog generation then I suggest doing a bit of reading. EPA Transportation and Air Quality

As for removing old growth, I'd really like to have you explain that one. Removing old growth is not beneficial in nearly any circumstance.

 

The point is, if I was out working in my garden in scruffy clothes then chose to get in my old car (I have a 1968 Toyota) and went to the mall to buy a big screen TV someone would likely look at me and think I was spending money I don't have which would be untrue. My card is paid off every month without fail and I make all my purchases over $10 with the card because I use the interest free period of the card to increase slightly the interest on my savings.

It is best not to make assumptions that a person using a credit card is on a downward spiral into a pit of debt.

 

so i should feel bad? should i trade in my prius/truck/jeep/quads for a nice bicycle? give me a break, this country runs on oil and so does my business

because we need the lumber. a lot of the ones we removed were felled and not even bucked. you'd be surprised how much cleanup there is from lazy logging practices. it can all be ground up and used to power the mills.

 

I recently road tested a pickup truck drag reducing device on my 2003 Toyota Tundra V-8 to test for mpg increase from Tifton, GA to SouthEast Florida traveling @ a nearly constant 55mph (cruise controlled and as brakeless as humanly possible) on both I-75 and the Florida Turnpike.

I was in the right lane of those roads 95% of the trip and can tell you that many automobile/SUV/pickup truck/van and semi drivers who were behind me for any portion of the trip would finally whip out to one of the other "faster" lanes and either give me a dirty look, the horn or the finger or all three as they passed by.

In hopes of avoiding on on-the-road reprisal, I finally put on my hazzard blinkers around Lakeland, Fl!!

Several semi truck drivers along the way inched their way up to within a couple of feet of my rear bumper, flashed lights and/or blew horns, and generally tried to intimidate me out of that lane for several miles before using one of the faster lanes to whip by.

On second thought, maybe those semi drivers were drafting me?

Interesting but somewhat unnerving experience...

 

Now see, that is completely selfish and an unsustainable viewpoint. You live in a community and your views hurt everyone when you act upon them. I guess since you feel it is ok to pollute my lungs with your BS then it should be perfectly fine and legal for me to follow you around and blow cigarrette smoke in your face or beat you in the head with a bat. It is the same thing in the long run. You contribute to a decline of societal health and specifically my own and you can bet your nice person I will retaliate by any means neccessary. If it means voting to take away your precious rights then so bet it. So while some people consider slow driving (speed limit) discourteous, I consider driving agressively at 85mph in a gas guzzler the utmost in rude behavior since it is not a personal issue, it is a global issue. Must we play connect the dots with everyone???

I'm now assuming you you did not mean "old growth forest" and simply meant downed wood derived from a monocultured forest. Since I do not know the full details of the work you do I'll be careful not to critisize since not all logging and forestry work is bad but I do hope you understand the importance of forest diversity. This includes old growth, clear spots, logs, snags, underbrush, etc. It is too hard to judge forestry personnel as some are very educated in forest dynamics and ecosystems while others are completely clueless and think that a forest full of 2 pine species is perfectly ok (spruce sp. and Douglas-fir). lol Sustainable forestry practices involve selective harvest and leaving enough snags, logs, and detritus on the forest floor to help replenish the soils and avoid a degradation of humus. In practical terms there are areas where we should probably set up timber farms but to do this all over the place is irresponsible. Just look to our Sierra Nevada as a good example of wrong doing. It's time for the uneducated on both sides (timber folk and environmentalists) to study a bit more and bicker a lot less and find solutions on common ground.

 

A while back, they were thinking about raising the speed limits here in Wisconsin. Some people at work were talking about it. I asked them whether they were also going to raise the speed limits for deer.

 

i consider is rude because of the risk to human life, not because they're burning their own fuel.

sorry i didn't make myself more clear, i did not mean clearcutting old-growth forests.

i am in complete agreement with you.

i don't want to clog up this guys thread anymore that i already have. i hate it when people do that to me.

 

Sounds good to me. We half-way disgree one the first part but we completely agree on the 2nd part. I can live with that.

On Topic:

Driving under the speed limit on California freeways/highways is a bit un-nerving for me. I generally stay at the speed limit or at worse 5mph below it depending on traffic conditions. This is why I take the backroads whenever possible. I used to be one of those idiots flying passed you at 80mph and passing 10 cars on a 2-lane highway at mach 2. Somehow I lived and got over such stupidity and I am thankful not that I survived but that I did not harm anyone else. Nowadays i feel so much more relaxed driving the speed limit and maxing out my MPG #s.

With that in mind, please be aware of how bad road rage is getting now. I keep hearing of people getting into arguments on the freeway and ending up dead due to gun fire. In some cases pulling over to let the guy go may be the best course of action (when safe to do so of course). This coming from the guy who has gotten into more road-side brawls than I care to remember.

 

just because credit cards were originally made for people who had PLENTY of money, and you use them as they were intended to be used is good for you.

i do the same. i have 3 cards simply because they all pay different amounts of rewards or cash back options. my amex pays 3% on gas and restaurants, my visa pays me 3% on groceries, and my mastercard pays 3% on hotels, recreation (movies etc.)... so i use each card to maximize my cash back. i have never paid a penny in interest (at least not in the past 15 years).

credit cards were invented by and for the ultra-rich...iow, people who NEVER had to borrow money... it was so they did not have to carry around ridiculous sums of money... it was years later when credit card companies realized the bonanza that could be made by playing on american greed and self-righteousness.

so credit cards are not for everyone... as for me... i spend less than $50 in cash (pretty much only use cash to buy lottery tickets since you cant use a credit card to buy them)

 

I guess there's not a lazy bone in my body. On my 19.5 mile commute, some weeks, I take side streets all the way to work. It adds another 2.5 miles to the drive, and takes an extra 20 minutes. But the mpg's go up from 60mpg, to THIS:



So now that fuel is heading for $7 gallon, YOU do the math.

 

wow good job!

i'm assuming P&G, and if so what's your delta?

 

Patsparks, I wasn't making an assumption about anyone. I was reporting a statistic. Did you click on the link? If you want me to make an assumption, I will. I assume you didn't click on the link. There. Are you happy now? I made an assumption.

On the 55mph speed-limit rollback concept, I think we should have different speed limits for different lanes. On a four-lane per side highway, the two right lanes should have a 55mph speed limit, and the two left lanes should have a 65mph speed limit. That's only my proposal. If I was a supreme dictator, there would be a far right lane for 40mph and a far left lane with a 95mph speed limit.

 

I think it was your assertion that a majority of Americans are incapable of managing credit cards that tipped some of us.

 

I deliberately go into work early, so I don't bug fast drivers. On the road @ 4am. Slight decline going to work, I P&G from 35 to 25 (because I stay in stealth so long the batterys will depleat). Going home at 1:15pm I P&G only if traffic permits. Otherwise, my route has a 50mph speedlimit, 2 lanes, stay in the right and only do 40, but the roads aren't yet crowded. So far, folks just 'go around'.

 

When I drive during off-peak hours; when there are few cars on the roads, it's a lot easier for people to go around. When traffic is heavy, it makes it more difficult for people to go around. Also, when following distances are greater (light traffic), it's a lot easier for people to "weave" in and out of traffic. When traffic is heavy and following distances are close, people can't easily make lane changes, so they expect everyone to go with the flow.

To save on fuel, I have also started driving during off-peak hours.

 

Well, for the record, I think they shouldn't be on the freeway at all (No vehicle should that can't do the speed limit and doesn't have safety gear for all its passengers) but that's a bit off topic so I refrained from getting into it