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CptJake wrote:I live in rural Georgia. You couldn't put in effective mass transit at anything near an efficient amount of tax payer money. The population density just doesn't support it, and it is a lot higher than in many areas. When we lived near El Paso I worked up in MacGregor Range at the base camp, easily 50 miles each way and there wasn't an acceptable way to 'live closer' nor was ther ever going to be 'mass transit' to get there.

Agreed. Many people don't seem to grasp exactly how much space is taken up by "nothingness" in farming states. There are often only a handful of people making the commute, so it would take literally decades for any sort of mass transit to pay itself off, if it ever did.

Ride a bike? The average speed of my commute is ~50mph along MD-97, and it STILL takes me 45 minutes to get to the train.

So, move closer to your job! I can't believe their isn't any housing within 10 miles of your job (easy biking distance).

CptJake wrote:

Grakmar wrote:

Deathklaat wrote:i think some of the problem of trying to ween the US off of gas is the fact that there are really no alternatives in some parts of the country.

There's always alternatives. For example, you could pay a bit more in taxes and fund the creation of a mass transit system composed of Buses and Trains. The fact that you choose not to if no one's fault but your own. (Not you, the individual, but you, the collective society that has elected the legislators.)

Deathklaat wrote:where i live i HAVE to drive to work, i cannot take a bus or a train. i have to get on the road with everyone else. places like the midwest are even worse. you really have no option other than drive and sure you could get away with a fuel sipper of a car in texas or oklahoma but try that in montana or wisconsin and you might as well not leave your house during the winter.

Live closer to work and walk? Ride a bike? Why do you "HAVE" to drive?

Deathklaat wrote:i think large cities should implement programs to encourage people to drive more efficient cars. the stop and go traffic and all of the congestion is what really contributes to the problem. granted large cities have mass transit options as well but people still drive thier big vehicles where they really do not belong.

In large cities, they don't really need that policy, as people tend not to have the big SUVs or pickups. We tend to have smaller cars (so you can actually parallel park in a small space, or fit into your garage off the super-narrow alley) and take the train. It's all those suburban people who drive the SUVs and pickups.

What asinine comments. I live in rural Georgia. You couldn't put in effective mass transit at anything near an efficient amount of tax payer money. The population density just doesn't support it, and it is a lot higher than in many areas. When we lived near El Paso I worked up in MacGregor Range at the base camp, easily 50 miles each way and there wasn't an acceptable way to 'live closer' nor was ther ever going to be 'mass transit' to get there.

Yeah, you sound like you have a legitimate use for the vehicle. Contrast that with the fact that the majority of Americans live in cities (as do the majority of SUV owners) and suddenly the SUV owning community looks a lot less legitimate.


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Grakmar wrote:So, move closer to your job! I can't believe their isn't any housing within 10 miles of your job (easy biking distance).

10 miles is not easy biking distance.

You could try a hydrogen kit. I'm not sure how reliable they are, but they've been around for quite some time.

Grakmar wrote:So, move closer to your job! I can't believe their isn't any housing within 10 miles of your job (easy biking distance).

Why should I? I like living on my family's farm, and helping my family with the daily running of the place. I loathe living in the city, and DC suburbs are either ghettos (Anacostia, for instance) or extremely expensive (Arlington). I hate the city; it's dirty, noisy, crowded and cluttered. I live on 5 quiet acres in a rural area where I don't have to hear police sirens every hour like I did when I lived in Baltimore... *shudder*

Out of curiosity, are you rural, suburban or city?

Edit: Biking 10 miles in business clothes? No thanks.

ShumaGorath wrote:10 miles is not easy biking distance.

10 miles is less than an hours cycle for a moderately fit person with a mountain bike on pavements. I used to cycle to the nearest town regularly in about 30-40 minutes and depending on where I was going in town it was between 7 and 9 miles.

If you have a road bike 10 miles is probably only 30 minutes for a moderately fit person.

We don't do exercise here in America, so biking is out of the question

SilverMK2 wrote:

ShumaGorath wrote:10 miles is not easy biking distance.

10 miles is less than an hours cycle for a moderately fit person with a mountain bike on pavements. I used to cycle to the nearest town regularly in about 30-40 minutes and depending on where I was going in town it was between 7 and 9 miles.

If you have a road bike 10 miles is probably only 30 minutes for a moderately fit person.

This also requires roads fit for bicycles to be on. My commute is mostly along highways where bicyclists would simply not be safe, even if they weren't going the full distance that I am.

Grakmar wrote:So, move closer to your job! I can't believe their isn't any housing within 10 miles of your job (easy biking distance).

Depends on how you define 'any.'

If we are talking about DC, within 10 miles of the major government centers has two types of neighborhoods. The first is the high-class areas where elected officals have apartments (Watergate, etc.) which cost an arm and a leg to live in... even by East Coast standards. The other type is the urban blight that one should be sentenced to live in, and probably would be none too safe for a middle- or upper-middle-class resident of any racial background. After all, having more makes you a bigger target, and being accessable makes you an easier target. That goes double for riding a bike....

And if you've ever lived in the humid American southeast, riding a bike any distance will require a shower at the end of the trip. Not exactly practical for a business or government communter.

There's a reason he lives that far away, and it's not because he likes spending a boatload of money on gas...

streamdragon wrote:This also requires roads fit for bicycles to be on. My commute is mostly along highways where bicyclists would simply not be safe, even if they weren't going the full distance that I am.

Yeah, this annoys me as well. I could cycle to work in about 15-20 minutes if I could go along the "highways", but instead I would have to cycle all round the houses and it would take about 40 minutes.

They really need to lay down cycle lanes alongside the main road system.

SilverMK2 wrote:

streamdragon wrote:This also requires roads fit for bicycles to be on. My commute is mostly along highways where bicyclists would simply not be safe, even if they weren't going the full distance that I am.

Yeah, this annoys me as well. I could cycle to work in about 15-20 minutes if I could go along the "highways", but instead I would have to cycle all round the houses and it would take about 40 minutes.

They really need to lay down cycle lanes alongside the main road system.

Agreed, though I think that should be pretty standard practice for all rural road systems, not just highways. I stopped taking the back roads to and from the train, mostly because I was always coming across cyclists who had nowhere else to go.

I respect that you want to ride your bike and stuff, but get out of the way!

SilverMK2 wrote:

ShumaGorath wrote:10 miles is not easy biking distance.

10 miles is less than an hours cycle for a moderately fit person with a mountain bike on pavements. I used to cycle to the nearest town regularly in about 30-40 minutes and depending on where I was going in town it was between 7 and 9 miles.

If you have a road bike 10 miles is probably only 30 minutes for a moderately fit person.

A 45 minute bike commute is gakky.

ShumaGorath wrote:

SilverMK2 wrote:

ShumaGorath wrote:10 miles is not easy biking distance.

10 miles is less than an hours cycle for a moderately fit person with a mountain bike on pavements. I used to cycle to the nearest town regularly in about 30-40 minutes and depending on where I was going in town it was between 7 and 9 miles.

If you have a road bike 10 miles is probably only 30 minutes for a moderately fit person.

A 45 minute bike commute is gakky.

Absolutely depends on the bike:



EDIT: By the way, between 52-56 MPG

SilverMK2 wrote:

ShumaGorath wrote:10 miles is not easy biking distance.

10 miles is less than an hours cycle for a moderately fit person with a mountain bike on pavements. I used to cycle to the nearest town regularly in about 30-40 minutes and depending on where I was going in town it was between 7 and 9 miles.

If you have a road bike 10 miles is probably only 30 minutes for a moderately fit person.

Just like a Brit who thinks in british climate terms. Try that crap in 105 degree heat and you're a dead man.

Doing it in freezing temps and high wind would suck too.

CptJake wrote:Doing it in freezing temps and high wind would suck too.

We may not often get extremes but our weather is some of the most changeable in the world

This morning it was freezing and the fog was so thick that you could probably use it to build houses (and given what is left of most American houses every time it gets a bit windy, maybe Americans do ), it went through some nice freezing rain, then was blazing sunshine with gusting arctic winds. We even had to open the windows in the office because it was boiling hot. Hell, there was random snowfall at the weekend with temperatures within about an hour either side being 12-16 celcius (which is pretty toasty this time of year).

At Christmas last year we had been having snow for weeks, and this year we had one of the warmest winters on record

One of the reasons that we talk about the weather so much is because you can go into a shop for a sandwich and come out 5 minutes later to totally different weather

And Frazz - don't you all ride horses everywhere? If it was good enough for your pappy, surely it is good enough for you?

SilverMK2 wrote:

CptJake wrote:Doing it in freezing temps and high wind would suck too.

We may not often get extremes but our weather is some of the most changeable in the world

This morning it was freezing and the fog was so thick that you could probably use it to build houses (and given what is left of most American houses every time it gets a bit windy, maybe Americans do ), it went through some nice freezing rain, then was blazing sunshine with gusting arctic winds. We even had to open the windows in the office because it was boiling hot. Hell, there was random snowfall at the weekend with temperatures within about an hour either side being 12-16 celcius (which is pretty toasty this time of year).

At Christmas last year we had been having snow for weeks, and this year we had one of the warmest winters on record

One of the reasons that we talk about the weather so much is because you can go into a shop for a sandwich and come out 5 minutes later to totally different weather

And Frazz - don't you all ride horses everywhere? If it was good enough for your pappy, surely it is good enough for you?

The record winter cold in the last 20 years in my home town is -25ish farenheight. The record summer heat is about 118. Having it randomly rain would be pleasant. This year we got 22 inches of snow on halloween night. It was 50 degrees three days later.

Sounds like Cold Fusion is on the horizon?

I've actually heard the fusion reactors aren't too far off, but the gov't stopped putting money into them for other matters in the midst of developments.

Samus_aran115 wrote:Sounds like Cold Fusion is on the horizon?

I've actually heard the fusion reactors aren't too far off, but the gov't stopped putting money into them for other matters in the midst of developments.

You heard wrong.

CptJake wrote:

Absolutely depends on the bike:



EDIT: By the way, between 52-56 MPG

Shiny shiny shiny. I wouldn't mind riding a motorcycle to work. Except in the winter and summer, but both are tolerable depending on where you live and the kind of jacket you have.

ShumaGorath wrote:The record winter cold in the last 20 years in my home town is -25ish farenheight. The record summer heat is about 118. Having it randomly rain would be pleasant. This year we got 22 inches of snow on halloween night. It was 50 degrees three days later.

Not bad, a couple of degrees colder than the coldest UK temperature

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/extremes/

ShumaGorath wrote:

Samus_aran115 wrote:Sounds like Cold Fusion is on the horizon?

I've actually heard the fusion reactors aren't too far off, but the gov't stopped putting money into them for other matters in the midst of developments.

You heard wrong.

Possibly. My grandfather told me. He's got a master's in Physics from UMD and currently works as a patent examiner for the patent office in virginia, but really, I was skeptical.

SilverMK2 wrote:

ShumaGorath wrote:The record winter cold in the last 20 years in my home town is -25ish farenheight. The record summer heat is about 118. Having it randomly rain would be pleasant. This year we got 22 inches of snow on halloween night. It was 50 degrees three days later.

Not bad, a couple of degrees colder than the coldest UK temperature

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/extremes/

If I count the entire state then the record is -48!

ShumaGorath wrote:

Samus_aran115 wrote:Sounds like Cold Fusion is on the horizon?

I've actually heard the fusion reactors aren't too far off, but the gov't stopped putting money into them for other matters in the midst of developments.

You heard wrong.

Specifically, every part of what you heard is wrong.

1) Cold Fusion is still really far out there and there's no foreseeable way it will work at all. There have been a few scientists that have reported Cold Fusion working, but it only works in their lab when no one is around.
2) Fusion reactors are starting to get energy profitable (meaning you get more out than you put in), but they're still a long way from being commercial viable. Most estimates put it at 40 years away (which is better than the estimates of 50 years away they were making 50 years ago).
3) The government is still putting money into research for fusion. There's an entire branch of the DoE that is dedicated to making Fusion energy possible.

Samus_aran115 wrote:

ShumaGorath wrote:

Samus_aran115 wrote:Sounds like Cold Fusion is on the horizon?

I've actually heard the fusion reactors aren't too far off, but the gov't stopped putting money into them for other matters in the midst of developments.

You heard wrong.

Possibly. My grandfather told me. He's got a master's in Physics from UMD and currently works as a patent examiner for the patent office in virginia, but really, I was skeptical.

We're still testing laser fusion ignition on a massive scale (way to large to be commercialized) and we don't have any fusion reactors yet that won't melt under the minimum temperatures they would experience. There's a lot of good progress being made, but we're far from commercialization.

ShumaGorath wrote:If I count the entire state then the record is -48!

Where abouts are you in the US?

Personally I would love less variation minute to minute in exchange for greater extremes - at least then we might get AC installed into buildings so we don't die during the summer.

SilverMK2 wrote:

ShumaGorath wrote:If I count the entire state then the record is -48!

Where abouts are you in the US?

Personally I would love less variation minute to minute in exchange for greater extremes - at least then we might get AC installed into buildings so we don't die during the summer.

I live in Maine. It's an empty frozen hellscape and I hate it. It's got impressive day to day extremes. Being in a consistent low pressure system so far up north means that we're usually chilly but occasionally it gets very warm very fast.

ShumaGorath wrote:I live in Maine. It's an empty frozen hellscape and I hate it. It's got impressive day to day extremes. Being in a consistent low pressure system so far up north means that we're usually chilly but occasionally it gets very warm very fast.

The UK is right on the border between 2 major weather systems and reasonably near to the jet stream, meaning that we have 2 weather systems fighting each other, and then the jet stream can shift and bring the north pole knocking

SilverMK2 wrote:

ShumaGorath wrote:I live in Maine. It's an empty frozen hellscape and I hate it. It's got impressive day to day extremes. Being in a consistent low pressure system so far up north means that we're usually chilly but occasionally it gets very warm very fast.

The UK is right on the border between 2 major weather systems and reasonably near to the jet stream, meaning that we have 2 weather systems fighting each other, and then the jet stream can shift and bring the north pole knocking

How are your ice storm?

Well, this was the UK last year:





Don't really have too many epic pictures, but here is a barn/industrial unit that has broken:



and another: