Posted: May-10-2008 07:55AM

"if you go thru the self checkout"

NEVER use those things...ultimately you will cause someone to loose their job!  If you will notice, lots of stores are doing this and will have one or two cashiers working.  The line backs up and they encourage the folks in the long lines to use the "self checkout".  Keep this trend up and you will soon see NO cashiers on the registers.  BTW, (other than in NJ) how many full service pumps do you see anymore?  Originally they did Self Service at a few cents discount--the grocery stores/superstores won't even do that (give a few cents discount) for doing your own checkout.  Pity.  They can't outsource the cashier's jobs to another country so they get you to do it free.  I will stand in line 30 minutes or longer to make them do it.

"Retired:  No Job, No Money, No Wife!  Will travel anywhere for Minis"

hockey91dad@hotmail.com

Posted: May-10-2008 07:47AM

BTW, Candy bars are not 79 cents now, just looked today at buying some hershey bars to take to the UK, 99 cents, The sky is falling, the sky is falling, haha. Peter

Then you are shopping at the wrong stores or buying king size.  That 1.45oz (41g) HERSHEY'S (R) Milk chocolate with Almonds is 75 cents at the local Publix - so add some tax come up with 79 cents.  But at WalMart that same candy bar is 58 cents or if you go thru the self checkout it rings up as 3 for a dollar.  When minimum wage was $1.15 an hour it sold for 5 cents.

Posted: May-10-2008 07:24AM

A good number of the topics being discussed here are not (or should not be) Federal Government functions per the Constitution.  If you are concerned, take action locally and insist that your state take action.

Be responsible for your own welfare; don't wait on "help" from Washington that all too often comes at an unreasonably high price...

Posted: May-10-2008 07:20AM

Okay, what does that mean? I vote. I drive economical cars. I live below my means. I save what little I can. I think of myself as a responsible citizen, yet I'm stuck with the same set of sleaze bags in government on all levels as you are. Most honest & sensible people don't run for public office. You're lucky to get honest people on your local school board, much less as President.

We need honest, inspirational, and courageous leadership (and usually a general crisis) to bring about worthy change. Otherwise these "change" gurus are re-arranging deck chairs on the Titanic. A severe crisis usually forces politicians to do the right thing. Until we have one, I have little hope of any advancement. Unfortunately, our leadership is too myopic to recognize a crisis until it has already happened.

One thing that needs addressed most is the lobbyist situation in DC and the revolving door between lobbying firms, business and Congress. Until that vipers' pit is cleaned little will be effected.

Make it idiot proof, and someone will make a better idiot....

Posted: May-09-2008 08:30PM

When it comes to ordering food we usually order one meal and me and wife split it. The portions at some of these places are ridiculous. The U.S economy,in my opinion, is going down the toilet .  I was losing alot of $ in the stock market until I moved most of my investments into international type stocks. It is sad but true  .  And from what I see in our presdential candidates its going to get worse before it gets any better.

"If anyone could own one, then every one would own one"

Posted: May-09-2008 05:16PM Edited:  May-09-2008 05:19PM

You guys are a riot.  I figured I'd stop by and see what's been going on since I left the site and it's still the same. 

I paid $8.72 per gallon of gas today when I filled my little Fiat Cinquicento (small and boxy, but still manages 42 mpg [U.S.] highway).  A Snickers bar costs just over $3.00.

I don't need new friends, so here are my unsolicited 2 cents:

The problem goes much deeper than mere gas and donut prices.

Who remembers the ceaseless advertisments from the '70's revolving around things "made with pride in the U.S.A." ?  Smokey the Bear advertisments?  What about the American Indian with the tear running down his cheek as he stands among the garbage left behind by some careless individual?  Whatever happened to the proud American?  Fact of the matter is, you've all gotten (myself included) soft and lethargic.  We talk the talk, but can't seem to walk the walk - our thighs rub together.  (Look at your parents' wedding pictures.)  We can't seem to give anything back, just whine and moan about not getting.  Until someone grows a pair, nothing's going to change one iota.  It has to start from the ground up - you can't honestly believe that the politician du'jour is going to make a difference until a group of villagers (typically seen in films as having bad teeth and clad in brown and grey) band together with pitchforks and torches in hand demanding and initiating reforms.  You've got to take control - become the leaders, become the producers, become the innovators; otherwise you've pissed away the responsibility entrusted to you by the Founding Fathers.  Building a stronger, more secure nation requires pride and discipline which I suspect is sadly eroded away by political correct and touchy-feely, conflict-shy gluttons.  I suppose that China and India will be laughing loudly when they control every aspect of American society.  Conquest sans bloodshed - nice strategy indeed.

Edit:  I'm glad to read what bluedragon wrote whilst I was typing this archaic rant.

Posted: May-09-2008 04:48PM

Unfortunately, most of the replies on this thread have one thing in common - they all try to blame the world's problems on one culprit. Conspiracy theories play well, because people don't like or want to think about what is really going on, and prefer to have their simple answer. Blame the govt! Blame the liberals! Blame the conservatives! Blame Big Oil! Blame the environmentalists!

This is where politicians gain their power. As long as you and I have the power to vote, and have the power to discuss these matters freely and openly, we are not powerless. We become powerless the instant we become lazy and sign on for "simple" solutions to complicated problems. If a politician gives you a detailed treatise on oil prices and demand elasticity,"you" tune out and look for a politician that gives you the feel good message - i.e. "you" aren't at fault for this problem, it's some other faceless group and by Heaven, if you elect them, they'll take care of those rascals!

As long as people want simple answers to all their problems, they have no one to blame but themselves for "bad government."

DLY

Posted: May-09-2008 04:38PM

Here's an interesting and knowledgable insight from a former Energy Department Official, and a good friend of mine (I've made a few edits for clarity):

We have no energy strategy and we have no energy policy.  

Lousy as Bush is, we’ve *never* had either one; he’s just the latest in a long line of nincompoops.  

There were none in the Carter administration during the first gas price spike, and there have been none since, even under the venerable Al Gore, whose slimy friends were all over the Department of Energy.  

Each year (or so; I doubt that it’s been done in a long time in this god-awful administration), the Energy Department prepares an “energy policy.”  It’s vacuous and designed to please everybody, which largely means it pleases no one.  

Not that it would matter anyway.  As a friend once said, “budget is policy, and all else is bullS***.”  

You can look for a serious resurrection of the nuclear power industry, though.  

And it will force a Donnybrook over Yucca Mountain. That won’t be pretty.

Many people think we are running out of oil.  We’re not.  

We’re running out of cheap oil.  There are huge amounts of oil all over the place, but it’s getting more and more expensive to get it because of its location or circumstance.  

Additionally, the rate of recovery is declining because we lack the technology to recover it at a rate commensurate with the increase in demand.  

We are likely to see a significant run-up in oil prices in the next twenty years as oil that is easily recoverable runs out.

 The Saudis have largely depleted their cheaply recoverable reserves.  Some people want them to pump more to meet demand, but they really can’t do that without destroying their fields.  (They get it by pumping brine into the field to force remaining oil out.  Do that too much, and they’ll contaminate the field irretrievably. Virtually all of their oil is gotten this way now that they’ve tapped out everything that was under natural pressure.)

No one wants to sacrifice, and no politician wants to be seen as an energy nanny.  

We’re headed for a wreck, and I don’t see anything on the horizon to turn that around. My wife and I have abandoned plans to build a house out in the country about 25 miles from DC, because of gas prices. I doubt that they will ever come down appreciably, and will almost certainly continue to rise, albeit perhaps at a slower rate.  

I’m exploring solar electric for the house.
 

Don't be too impressed. My avatar picture was taken on a 'good' day, and improved with Photoshop.

Posted: May-09-2008 02:49PM Edited:  May-09-2008 05:04PM

eriod=72&Areas=NewBrunswick,,&Unit=CAN%20c/L" alt="" width="670" height="305">

Guess my piccie ain't (can I say AIN'T?) showing up.  It's a graph showing that the cost of

gas has nearly doubled in the last 5 years.

       ~ 30 minutes in a Mini is more therapeutic than 3 sessions @ the shrink. ~

     Mike  NB, Canada   

Posted: May-09-2008 01:02PM

KRA,I didn't say it was all rosy in the UK haulage industry. yes,you have Eastern European drivers working for a pittance compared to UK drivers,and doing longer hours for it as well. In Europe we have a Tachograph which records your speed and driving time. If you imagine a Round card 5" with Rings marked every half inch from the centre outwards.The faster your speed it pushes a needle in the Tach towards the outer ring,as you slow down it drops back towards the centre.It is traced indelibly on the Waxed surface,so if you are pulled for speeding,the evidence is there for all to see.The card is also sectioned off into 24,representing hours per day.As soon as your wheels start rolling it puts a HEAVY trace on the waxed card. So...the authorities are able to tell at a glance when you last had a Break and how fast you've been going. Oh, I should say that we are also restricted on Top Speed to approx 55 mph...60 if you are a light truck. That was the OLD technology,we now have to use a Digital Tachograph,the card is the size of a Credit card and the police etc can download it on their mobile computer and see EXACTLY what you've done for the last 12 months.Big brother really is watching in the UK. I'm glad I'm off the road now as it really is not worth the hassle. One thing I will say about some of the Better European Countries drivers...they have to serve an apprenticeship in their own country,before being sent overseas. The young drivers in the UK are a totally different breed from the OLD school. I would hazard a guess that 97% would struggle to change a Wheel on their Semi. Try and fix something mechanical? Ha! Pigs will fly. Because of the Rip Off charges on the Motorways,all the European drivers carry Spares,and know how to change them. There are law abiding Countries but the Eastern Europeans,Turks,Greeks tend to bend the law more than most.Just my observations of 40 years pounding the Superslab.

"Come to the Edge"he said,"I'm afraid"I said,"come to the Edge"he said, I did...and he pushed me off,...and I FLEW.

Posted: May-09-2008 12:04PM

It was my impression that basically verything in the UK is twice the cost as here in the U.S.

Yes, you are correct, costs are rising in the U.S. and we that are here would maybe not readily see is as one would coming back after being gone for a time.  I would imagine that UK or any Europeon visiting the U.S. would find the costs to be realatively cheap as compared to what they are use to.

Posted: May-09-2008 11:38AM Edited:  May-09-2008 12:12PM

  We can’t blame the government? Who has completely ignored this country’s infrastructure for the last 30 years? We face a real problem of not being competitive in the next 20 years. As India and China improve their ability to produce, our ‘Hollywood” politicians do absolutely nothing. We suffer with no redundancy in the oil refining business and why? Special interest does not want any refineries built? It sure creates a useful reason to run prices up when the urge arises? Now they’re warning us about the cost of water. In 2005 my house in So Cal received 48” of rain in 3 months and today we don’t have any water left, but when was the last dam built to store water? Population is climbing is it possible we might need to store some extra water?  Is this how a proactive government governs? Maybe we can clone some of the politicians from the past and assign them the task of  rebuilding this country’s infrastructure because the special interest serving clowns of today are useless. I become more skeptical each season and I wonder if we’ll ever see the day when the politicians will represent the needs of the many instead of the desires of a few. Democracy  indeed.  

Doug

Posted: May-09-2008 09:53AM

Yeah but hershey's are worth it!

We had a Toastmasters meeting yesterday (people in the corporate world might know what this is) and one of the table topics (basically a unprepared commentary) was your first car and current gas prices and I got called up. So I was lost at to what to say but in the end I said well I have three Minis and I can't complain because they treat me well and the funniest thing is the one that is the oldest in the bunch by about 40 years gets the best mileage. I closed with I don't see how people can complain about gas when they are driving 4 wheel drive SUVs when they live in the city and don't NEED that big of a vehicle. Until we change our way of thinking about things then it will be very hard for this country to have a REAL change. Needless to say I probably didn't make many friends as I notice there are a heck of a lot of SUVs/trucks in our lot for all our soccer moms to drive.

My next speech topic is for visual aids (power point) and I am doing my 67 Mini (60's "green" car) VS the Smart car (current "green" car) My Mini will win of course but that is another topic.

Posted: May-09-2008 09:50AM

Right now Scottish Power,the local Electricity provider,is building a HUGE wind farm on the top of the hills 3 miles from me. They reckon it will generate enough power to supply the Industrial Central belt in Scotland.It will be the biggest in Europe. The nuclear solution has obvious problems when you come to de-commission the old plant. I've also heard that Las Vegas are taking delivery of 50 Buses which run on Battery Power,with a small engine to charge the banks of Batteries. Change is coming,it's just taking it's own sweet time about it.

Regarding the price of food in US. I think Florida must be the cheapest place to live. There just seems to be so much competition looking to get your Dollars.Even allowing for the extra haulage costs of trucking supplies down the Florida peninsula. Once of a day,British truck Drivers were envious of the High wages paid to the US trucking industry.Not any more.Shortage of drivers in the UK has seen wages here rocket. An Average driver can get $16 per hour easily in the Midlands,and even higher around London where the Cost of Living is higher. Perhaps because of the Influx of Immigrants willing to work for low wages,Florida is the last place I'd want to be in the Haulage Industry. It must be TERRIBLE right now for Owner Drivers trying to make a living with fuel costs spirraling out of control.Glad I'm retired out of it now.

"Come to the Edge"he said,"I'm afraid"I said,"come to the Edge"he said, I did...and he pushed me off,...and I FLEW.

Posted: May-09-2008 09:26AM

No more cars left, Westpaminis is now just a memory, Good luck to all those hard working dealers left out there, We can tell you its not easy. We have fully enjoyed meeting all the fine folks we have in the business.