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Sunday, Nov 8, 2009
Apologies, last response to Jethro ... er, Xanthro
Really, what's with the Jethro?
First of all, I never said I DIDN'T drive an SUV.
But I don't.
No, you more than implied it. And you do drive a SUV.
A Subaru Liberty is a STATION WAGON with AWD.
Look it up.
It's a cross over SUV with all wheel drive.
While I'll grant that it's more passenger car oriented than many, it's still an SUV.
Why did you buy an AWD? Because you needed it.
Why did I buy an AWD (SUV) because I needed it.
BTW, your vehicle as almost no real off road capability. Your approach, departure and break-over angles are almost non-existence.
BTW, it's vehicle like yours than need rescuing most often. People who think it has capability and get in over their heads.
Mroron ... er, moron.
-- Morgaine16
Not sure what's that's supposed to mean either, it's as cryptic as the whole Jethro bit.
The only remote connection I can think of is the show Beverly Hillbillies, so you must be trying to insult those from the south or something.
Thanks for clearing up the fact that both you and your writing are a significant waste of space and energy.
Smarten up.
First of all, he writes for Salon. He can't even afford an apartment. Salon doesn't pay money for articles. Nobody pays for writing any more.
The only way he could afford a house, wife and two kids is if he's dealing heroin on the side. Or for that matter, the only way he could afford one of those impossible-to-fix damn yuppie Volvos. People with ordinary salaries buy Detroit Rust vehicles, or if they're very lucky, a used Toyota which will last twice as long.
Second, those supposed pangs of guilt, actually a form of humor. Somebody justifying betraying all their beliefs for the sake of comfort and convenience has been a standard tale of our generation, ever since "Super-high Super Fly's gone underground." This is just the current spin on the old tale. The only thing missing is the devil whispering reclining leather seats in the writer's ear, and the sales contract signed in blood.
You are correct. Paved roads are a breeze to bike on. However, the roads I use are unpaved, not paved. Have you been to the Siuslaw? There are no flat sections of more than a few miles. I guess I do the impossible by hauling gear on a bike on class 4 and 5 roads. Several times during the winter months (we get very little snow, but it can rain like a river) these roads are undrivable, but still bikable. By the way, although I am temporarily stuck in a suburban small city, I have generally grown the bulk of my family's food and even hauled excess into town (by bike, of course).
Again, it is so sad how physically soft our culture has become. What were once luxuries are now considered indispensable.
You are correct. Paved roads are a breeze to bike on. However, the roads I use are unpaved, not paved. Have you been to the Siuslaw? There are no flat sections of more than a few miles. I guess I do the impossible by hauling gear on a bike on class 4 and 5 roads. Several times during the winter months (we get very little snow, but it can rain like a river) these roads are undrivable, but still bikable.
Other than size restrictions, I doubt there's anything you can bike that I can't drive through, though the flip-side can't be said. But then we are really changing the definition of driving, winching is not really driving.
By the way, although I am temporarily stuck in a suburban small city, I have generally grown the bulk of my family's food and even hauled excess into town (by bike, of course).
Again, it is so sad how physically soft our culture has become. What were once luxuries are now considered indispensable.
-- human power
Here's the problem, NOBODY IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WANTS TO LIVE LIKE THAT.
Growing most of your own food, even 90%, is a breeze compared to having to do 100%.
Once again, cavemen would think us soft. Who cares?
Sorry, but the 99% of the people less fit than you and I get to live their lives as well.
The difference is, I recognize that, you don't.
to make the changes necessary to solve the dire problems of climate change. I live in Berkeley, CA, considered --wrongly -- one of the most environmentally-conscious cities in the world. SUVs abound. City garbage cans are filled with recyclable items. City hall leaves most of its lights on all night. So few people use cloth bags for shopping (rather than paper or plastic) that most clerks don't even notice my bags. I have to point them out!
When the deluge comes, of course, it will be too late.
People who lived in unincorporated territory in Montana are not the only people who benefit from SUVs. I recently moved to Chicago, and shortly after we had to ditch our '93 Accord for a '99 CRV. I was reasonably pleased until the first heavy snow, whereupon I was overjoyed, and have been every winter thereafter. 4-wheel drive is officially the greatest thing that ever happened to me in terms of driving on snow. More specifically, for parallel parking in heavy snow, wherein one must drive over drifted/plowed/packed snow to get from the curb to the street and back again. Anybody who disputes the magic of this has never experienced it or is lying or is a sourpuss or possibly some combination of the three. That is all.
It's just one guy and his vehicle. And as far as vehicle users go he's doing OK (transporting high volumes of people and whatnot). The problem expands way waaaay beyond individual car users and encompasses all of American society. He can't just be expected to do everything all stubbornly and consume his time and energy just to save a bit of gas. Sheesh.
He would, however, do the environment a favor, and still have to alter his lifestyle very little, if he went back to being a vegetarian. The global meat industry pollutes the environment way more than all the planet's car, trains, boats, and planes put together.
Much of the initial coverage about Fort Hood turned out to be wrong. Is there anything wrong with that?
The accountability imposed by another country for the CIA's kidnapping and torture reveals much about our own.
Fox News' morning show plays to type, talking about whether Muslims in the Army should face "special debriefings"
The survivor and author is upset about comparisons some on the right are making to genocide
Once seen as a lunatic fringe, reactionary anti-women groups are courting respectability
Salon headlines in your mailbox
