Get Your Grump on Thursdays - Was (What's chapping my @ss today?)

[Mabouya]

But my real grump is when, oh when, are we going to stop assuming people that drive big SUV's are less of a person, or worse drivers, than someone who drives a, I don't know, Honda Accord. Are there statistics out there backing this up? Why aren't drivers of full sized pickup trucks called out? The gas mileage can't be much different. I'm on the road a lot. I'm not seeing the obscenely huge SUV's, and the people driving them, acting any different than the other traffic.

A few days ago it was hot and humid in St Louis (imagine that!). As I walked out of a store I saw a Yukon (another offender in my book) just sitting there in the parking lot idling, all the windows up and the A/C on. I looked really hard through the tinted windows and didn't see anyone in the front seat. There may have been someone in the back seat, I don't know. Anyone who does this is in my book a not-very-good person. The only excuse is if the person in the car is your 95 year old mother who can't take the heat nor can she walk into the store. I'm guessing that the vast majority of the time this is not the case. I haven't collected data on this, and maybe it's my imagination, but typically the vehicles I've seen idling in the parking lot are more likely to be gas guzzlers than Prii.

[mg2ride]

A few days ago it was hot and humid in St Louis (imagine that!). As I walked out of a store I saw a Yukon (another offender in my book) just sitting there in the parking lot idling, all the windows up and the A/C on. I looked really hard through the tinted windows and didn't see anyone in the front seat. There may have been someone in the back seat, I don't know. Anyone who does this is in my book a not-very-good person. The only excuse is if the person in the car is your 95 year old mother who can't take the heat nor can she walk into the store. I'm guessing that the vast majority of the time this is not the case. I haven't collected data on this, and maybe it's my imagination, but typically the vehicles I've seen idling in the parking lot are more likely to be gas guzzlers than Prii.

After reading this I went out front and I'm having all 4 of our cars in a 3 driver family idle in my driveway for 30 minutes before I go to bed.

Being told how I should live my life is what Chaps my A$$

[Mark Kelly]

In Australia we are paying equivalent to $5.70!

Actually USD $3.20 per US gallon*: don't forget the US gallon is 8 pounds of wine, not ten pounds of water like an English gallon. A surprising number of units are based on wine because it was such an important trade.


*That's at AUD $1.20 / litre which is what I paid last time I filled up (a couple of weeks ago).

[Mabouya]

Being told how I should live my life is what Chaps my A$$

FYI, life is with people.

[mjbabcock]

Being told how I should live my life is what Chaps my A$$

You're insinuating that every freaking decision you've ever made haven't been informed by implicit or explicit messages about how you should live your live...Perhaps the fact that you have that many cars was informed by people (parents, marketers, neighbors, your kids classmates, etc.) subtly letting you know you don't have enough cars...or the car companies informing you of the fact that a little car is indicative of small penis size.

[seanile]

After reading this I went out front and I'm having all 4 of our cars in a 3 driver family idle in my driveway for 30 minutes before I go to bed.

[devlin]

Actually USD $3.20 per US gallon*: don't forget the US gallon is 8 pounds of wine, not ten pounds of water like an English gallon. A surprising number of units are based on wine because it was such an important trade.


*That's at AUD $1.20 / litre which is what I paid last time I filled up (a couple of weeks ago).

Hmmm... I thought it was 4.4 litres. A quick look tells me 1 US liquid gallon is 3.78 litres. We pay $1.30 minimum up here sometimes up to $1.45 so that's minimum $4.90 per gallon. Just to be pedantic :-)

[robin3mj]

Hmmm... I thought it was 4.4 litres. A quick look tells me 1 US liquid gallon is 3.78 litres. We pay $1.30 minimum up here sometimes up to $1.45 so that's minimum $4.90 per gallon. Just to be pedantic :-)

U.S. Gallons are smaller than UK (so presumably, other commonwealth country) gallons.

[EricKeller]

Being told how I should live my life is what Chaps my A$$

the big empty truck idling in the parking lot thing seems to be a redneck protest against reality. I look at those people and feel pity for the people that have to live and work with them. When I am using my walker to shuffle to the mostly empty grocery store in 25 years, I'm going to be cursing all the idiots that burned as much gas as they could because, "aint' nobody the bossa me." It's the mentality of a spoiled 5 year old. Only thing is, if there is a gas crisis, these are the people that are going to be hardest hit because they generally drive more than the rest of us. Because they want to live where nobody is going to boss them around (i.e., they can be the biggest bully).

[Mark Kelly]

Hmmm... I thought it was 4.4 litres. A quick look tells me 1 US liquid gallon is 3.78 litres. We pay $1.30 minimum up here sometimes up to $1.45 so that's minimum $4.90 per gallon. Just to be pedantic :-)

As stated, calculation based on AUD $1.20 / litre, which is what I paid last time I filled up. That's currently USD $0.847447*, at 3.78 litres to the US gallon that's USD$3.203 per US gallon. The OP stated prices in $USD per US gallon so that seems to be the valid basis for comparison.

It's all moot anyway, Oz petrol prices are where they are because of import parity pricing and the Hawke / Keating era Petroleum Resources Rent Tax (PRRT), the odd thing to me is how the Henry / Rudd Mineral Resorces Rent Tax was shot down in flames while the PRRT has held for almost thirty years.

*Exchange rate downloaded from XE.com

[Mark Kelly]

U.S. Gallons are smaller than UK (so presumably, other commonwealth country) gallons.

As stated, a US gallon is the volume occupied by eight pounds of wine while an English gallon is the volume occupied by ten pounds of water.

They must have been using a very sweet wine as that corresponds to an SG of 1043, I've shipped and weighed off literally millions of litres of wine and never had one close to that, even for the US market (we always add extra sugar and reduce the acid level on wines exported to the USA, the industry euphemism is "rebalancing")

[devlin]

As stated, calculation based on AUD $1.20 / litre, which is what I paid last time I filled up. That's currently USD $0.847447*, at 3.78 litres to the US gallon that's USD$3.203 per US gallon. The OP stated prices in $USD per US gallon so that seems to be the valid basis for comparison.

It's all moot anyway, Oz petrol prices are where they are because of import parity pricing and the Hawke / Keating era Petroleum Resources Rent Tax (PRRT), the odd thing to me is how the Henry / Rudd Mineral Resorces Rent Tax was shot down in flames while the PRRT has held for almost thirty years.

*Exchange rate downloaded from XE.com

I was going to do the exchange rate bit but struggled wrapping my head around whether that mattered. As you said moot point. We are screwed for price on everything here.

[nrs5000]

As stated, a US gallon is the volume occupied by eight pounds of wine while an English gallon is the volume occupied by ten pounds of water.

They must have been using a very sweet wine as that corresponds to an SG of 1043, I've shipped and weighed off literally millions of litres of wine and never had one close to that, even for the US market (we always add extra sugar and reduce the acid level on wines exported to the USA, the industry euphemism is "rebalancing")

I reckon Port was a lot more popular when the US gallon was invented.

[davids]

I didn't have time to whine yesterday because:

The IRS. Telling my daughter she owes four figures because she took the earnings on her 529 account as income.

I spent several hours assembling a paper trail that explicitly shows that the earnings (like the principal) went directly from her 529 accounts to her college: Reports from both of the 529 institutions and statements from both of the 529 institutions that clearly show they paid the college. And a corroborating report from her college that ties out, payment by payment, to the other reports. A total of seven backup documents, all tied together by a cover letter, which she is sending to the IRS via certified mail.

And don't even try to get someone on the phone. They have erected immense barriers to prevent conversation about a problem.

The truly annoying part is that, although I know that we are totally in the right on this one, it will almost certainly take a year or more to resolve. Did I mention this was her 2013 tax return?

[joosttx]

2 months in a cast :(

[becomingblue]

Anyone who does this is in my book a not-very-good person.

PM sent.

[Jonathan]

Lightning took out my vertical mill. I'm not looking forward to replacing the motor.

[dashDustin]

Been in Vegas since Friday. I'm now back in my office. [/endgrump]

A lot of good stuff happened there...a little really, really bad stuff happened, as well.

[mmoore]

Lightning took out my vertical mill. I'm not looking forward to replacing the motor.

does your insurance cover your tooling?

[Tom]

So... its going to be 60 at night, 80 during the day and largely calm up around Lake Placid for the Adirondack 540 this weekend. Been pointing to the 270 all summer, have a plan and all ready to go.

Work schedules for this weekend the annual disaster recovery test where we certify with the regulators that we can continue to extract money from our customers and keep the wheels of commerce grinding the unfortunate beneath them. You don't fail these unless you really like being taken to the woodshed.

Yeah, like I'm going to write the support rotation for my team and then say "See ya, I'm gonna go ride my bike."