Recycled

So, I've been busy for a couple months. I come back to check spray and all I see is stuff about placenta eating, politics, how smart Seattle people are, bolting and the usual. Can't someone invite Trask back to stir the shit?

No, the trick is to learn how to say it often and with variety without using those exact words.

Pussy? No, I don't think so. There are always tough choices to be made. I'm glad I didn't have to decide whether it was worth dropping a daisy cutter on a village because OBL might have been there. How many dead children would have been acceptable to you to knock off OBL. Remember, it was pre 9/11.

The 9/11 report was a pretty good read. I bought it in an airport, took it along as trip reading on a flight and remember getting a few odd looks. If I recall correctly, Clinton had several opportunities to whack OBL, but was not ready to assassinate him (though either tribal proxies or directly) unless he had a clean opening. Unlike Bush, I imagine Clinton probably gave some thought to the potential for killing civilians. He definately wanted pay back for the embassy and Cole bombings, but was cautious about inflaming the region with a sloppy assassination. It's also interesting that all the information about the ongoing attempts to locate and deal with OBL fell on deaf ears when presented to the incoming Bush team. I'm always amazed at how few people have read the report. Too many words, I guess.

Man, she's a bundle of issues. I don't think Condi is quite her thing. I'd guess she's got a thing going with Michael Moore.

I had a camper and eventually sold it for $100. They are not such a hot idea for climbers. Every time I went off-road the thing would be creaking and popping fasteners. It was a miracle I didn't lose the thing or tip the truck with such a high CG. Campers also suck when you're dealing with overgrown brush and low hanging windfalls, which describes a lot of the access roads in BC and parts of WA. It's also handy to have a shorter wheelbase when turning around on logging spurs. Turning my F250 around was a nightmare, even wth 4x4. On the positive side, campers are really comfy for hanging out in campgrounds or in open space off good roads. It just didn't work out for me.

If you look at Troopers, '89-'92 are best. Pre '88s are way underpowered. After that they followed the SUV market and turned them into fat-assed soccer mom rides.

Depend on how tall you are. I haven't had good luck fitting in Toyotas. Not only is the back too short, but I crack my head on the ceiling when doing any serious off-road driving. For tall people, Isuzu Troopers work really well. There's lots of headroom, good stock ground clearance, more cubic interior space than 4-Runners, and a bed that can comfortably fit a 6'5" person. I like mine, but I don't like having to keep a parts car to keep it running. They are also narrow like Toyotas, so they get down alder-choked roads far better than a US pickup or full-sized Bronco/Blazer.

Not to be opened at work? Huh? It is SO work appropriate - it perfectly describes some people.

No, they're emulating teenagers in Chilliwack. It's the latest thing, you know.

I see I haven't missed much. Y'all can do a lot better than Tub Girl.

They've tried that quite a few times. Doesn't seem to work...

What do you want to bet that the CIA is setting up an account for Castro right now (if it didn't already do it years ago). Prepare for the big discovery!

JayB's got some good points. I've bought and sold a lot of houses over the past 20 years and have a few more points. I'm of two minds... (Mind #1) Houses are at the peak of a cycle and it is not improbably that they might drop 20-30% in value if we hit some rocky times. Bush is heading us in that direction and any number of things could pull the plug on house values and non of them are under out individual control. If we're lucky, prices might hold steady. I think the huge capital gains that people have seen over the past few years are played out or about to be played out, and there's a BIG potential downside. (2) The other point is that maybe we are in the middle of a structure shift in housing. In the past, houses have been cheap due to a number of factors, but the bottom line has been that buying a house in the US has been relatively painless compared to people in the rest of the world. Maybe prices will keep going up and we'll see new products (50 year loans) and new attitudes (more of a multi-generational approach to gaining property)that will support higher prices. The old multiples that determined what % of income the loan guidelines will let you allocate to housing may be defunct if people value housing more and are willing to put more money into their home. The contrarian side of me favors view #1, which gets back to the advice that you should only buy a house in this market if you are thinking about a 10-15 year time horizon. That way, you won't care if your 80% LTV house drops to 70% of its purchase price. You will just ride it out and wait for the up side. I've been through two severe house price crashes: Seattle in the early 70s when the Boeing SST fell through and Bellingham around the 80s. Many people just had to walk away from their homes - they couldn't make payments and they couldn't sell because they would have to put cash in at closing. The foreclosure sales depressed prices further and the psychological value that supports property sales collapsed. It was ugly and I fully expect it to happen again. The other issue is a lifestyle issue. Working on houses really sucks when the whether is good and the mountains are calling. If you are not in nesting mode with a family, I'd give it a hard thinking through, particularly since you will be unlikely to repeat the gains experienced in the past few years. Renting is a pretty good deal at the moment. Rents have not kept pace with property values either in Bellingham or Seattle. Good luck with the decision!

You might want to check out the new B'ham Craigslist postings in addition to the usual sources. Things like this show up: http://bellingham.craigslist.org/roo/158787447.html Note: I don't have a clue who these people are - just showing an example...

Shit, that other thread popped up to the top again. Please stay here....

Thanks for posting a new topic and getting my ill-begotten thread off the top of the sensitivioso list. Now, can we get back to something useful such as debating whether Birkenstocks should or shouldn't have back straps? ( I have both kinds)

Maybe one of the college cuties you slobber on can help you solve this mystery. They're too busy driving automatics.

There's also a similar listing on the last page of this weeks Economist. I don't know why the price is different. I used: http://www.whatprice.co.uk/car/retailer-petrol-prices.php It could be that the aggregate data provided in your listing was derived from national index offices while the whatprice.co.uk is a more direct reading of retail prices. Or I could have screwed up on the exchange rate... Oh well, gas is more expensive in Europe, and not by a trivial amount.

Hey there, that's a little too close to the mark. Of course, my wife likes her TDI manual too, should I be worried?

Dru, no, I admit I haven't. Regarding current vehicles, I'd be really interested in other people's observations of manual vs. automatics in the same car, where you have a good idea of driving style and the mix of city/highway driving. And no, I'm not stuck in the 70s, I'm interested in current differentials. My impression remains that there's still a big difference, but I'd love to hear otherwise from people that know based on experience.

Today's average retail price of petrol in Britian is $6.65/US gallon (about 96p per litre). Prices in Northern Europe are higher than Southern Europe: France and Spain are cheaper.

Besides, my stick turbodiesel is hella fun

Nope, I've had a lot of vehicles and have always paid attention to comparable fuel effiency, since my first car in the 70s. I don't doubt that the differential will narrow as technology improves, but that doesn't deal with the current nationwide base of vehicles.

What this means with coal and GTL is that the Canadians will have us by the balls within a decade. US$1=CND$0.75 in 2010?