Survival

ygmir · Post by **ygmir** » Thu Feb 24, 2011 7:43 pm

that's part of why I've switched everything I can to diesel and propane fuel.

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Thu Feb 24, 2011 8:08 pm

Graidawg, have you considered an electric bike?
Should be perfect in London.
The petrol cost makes the payback faster too.

I just paid 3.16 for gas.
Four price increases since yesterday morning.
46 cent increase since I last got gas, not long ago.

Lassen Forge · Post by **Lassen Forge** » Thu Feb 24, 2011 9:42 pm

Gas Friday - $3.46 a gallon for super.
Gas today - $3.93 a gallon.

Yeah, shit. Ouch. I hate my commute. Worse, I can't wait until they jack up train tix to cover this fiasco.

Worse - the one stock I have is tanking right now. Glad I'm not all in to that poker game. Yeech! It will recover... but now it's a matter of when...

At least Ammo is still the same price... today.... another brick to the bins...

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Thu Feb 24, 2011 10:02 pm

They're doing ammo in spam cans again.

Lassen Forge · Post by **Lassen Forge** » Thu Feb 24, 2011 10:06 pm

I remember those, but I also remember about 1 in 10 misfires. Hope it's better than what it was. (who's making the stuff, and what bullets??)

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Thu Feb 24, 2011 10:32 pm

Russia.
The misfires may have been from age.
The old ones were often cold war and corrosive.
The process was supposed to be very thorough for humidity though.

9mm
45
223
7.62x39

graidawg · Post by **graidawg** » Thu Feb 24, 2011 11:09 pm

gyre, Â£17.80 for a weekly bus pass gets me to and from work easily enough. I have consodered an electric bike but nowhere to store it at night as i lve on the top floor of a bolck of flats and push bikes make my ass hurt. Besides i am really poor

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Thu Feb 24, 2011 11:25 pm

I can understand that.
Storage is a real problem where you are.

It's kind of like you're buying gas up front, if you get a good battery pack.
The cheap lead ones are reasonable though.
There are some good UK forums for them, and good deals on used ones.
Some people tweak the chinese ones.

One approach is using a bike to connect to train or bus.
They have bike racks on some buses here.
All depends on where you go.

There are better bike seats out there.

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Thu Feb 24, 2011 11:32 pm

graidawg wrote:gyre, Â£17.80 for a weekly bus pass gets me to and from work easily enough.

17.80? Yikes!!
Is that good deal?

On the other hand, your system works.
Our bus system is the envy only of certain unpaved parts of afghanistan.

Trishntek · Post by **Trishntek** » Thu Feb 24, 2011 11:34 pm

Yeah, that's like,,,, what,,, $26 a week? I think a MONTH pass here is $20.

graidawg · Post by **graidawg** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 12:23 am

Trishntek wrote:Yeah, that's like,,,, what,,, $26 a week? I think a MONTH pass here is $20.

I will happily move over there in fact i am working on a sponser right now but if somebody wants to help please do, at least over there i can fight back.

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 12:55 am

I hope you make it over.

Lassen Forge · Post by **Lassen Forge** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 5:22 am

In Sacramento the monthly RT pass (good for bus and light rail) is (better sit down for this) $100. A month. So Â£18 a week... is about the same as here. >>shrug<< It DOES get you all over town, tho not as well as london's system. (and they have the infamous black cabs as well... as long as they don't burst into flames when you ride them, they're surprisingly convenient, and not as overpriced as the ones here!

And I'm not even talking about my monthly Train ticket from home to Sacramento. the train trip is, um, something like 60 miles, and it works out to $4.50 a month per mile. Yikes!! Sadly, compared to gasoline, toll, and parking (not to mention wearing out the car) it's way cheaper. Go figure...

Trishntek · Post by **Trishntek** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 5:42 am

That's the thing I detest about visiting The City is parking! Is it over $30 a day yet? When we lived in Modesto, we'd go over on motorbikes,,,, much more friendly to that mode than autos.

Post by **Elderberry** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 6:35 am

Trishntek wrote:Yeah, that's like,,,, what,,, $26 a week? I think a MONTH pass here is $20.

Damn, here in L.A. I think the standard monthly pass is around $65.00. My senior pass is $14.00 a month. Just another benefit of getting older.

JK

MyDearFriend · Post by **MyDearFriend** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 7:58 am

Taking Metro to work here in DC costs me $4+ each day, so, I am in the Graidawg range too. But I can pay for that with pre-tax dollars, which helps.

Sail Man · Post by **Sail Man** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 11:42 am

Bay Bridge Sue wrote:At least Ammo is still the same price... today.... another brick to the bins...

BBS, not sure if you know of this site, thought I'd throw it out there for you and others that may not:

Ammoengine

Good place to check out who is selling what at what cost.

MisaBlue · Post by **MisaBlue** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 12:18 pm

Bay Bridge Sue wrote:Gas Friday - $3.46 a gallon for super.
Gas today - $3.93 a gallon.

It is 6.83 a gallon here for gas.

First time I was taking full gas tank in US (Houston) to my car I had to laugh, and when I said how much it is to my dad who was worried if I can afford driving car there, he was laughing too. The truth is, I was forced to drive, because public transportation was absolutely not working and when I tried to walk somewhere, people thought I am crazy, and once even police stopped by me and asked if I am ok or if I need a help

I really loved it in SF, you can walk everywhere and public transportation was good.

Lassen Forge · Post by **Lassen Forge** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 1:38 pm

Sail Man wrote:
Bay Bridge Sue wrote:At least Ammo is still the same price... today.... another brick to the bins...
BBS, not sure if you know of this site, thought I'd throw it out there for you and others that may not:

Ammoengine

Good place to check out who is selling what at what cost.

Awesome... I'll check it out once I'm outside the exclusion zone of my office ("Glocked, er, Blocked... by WEBSENSE!")... thanks!!

Trishntek · Post by **Trishntek** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 2:16 pm

Same place I bought diesel yesterday for $4 is now $4.10.

It's not so much oil getting more expensive as the $ getting weaker. What do you suppose will happen when the U.S. $ is no longer the world's monetary reserve? There are discussions among various foreign gov bankers to trade oil around the world in something other than the $. If the U.S. $ is no longer the world's monetary standard, the FED will not be able to print them any longer based on the "good faith of the USA".

The reason there is currently such a difference in the value of fuel around the world is because each country has to purchase U.S. $$ before buying oil. So the price they pay is based upon the exchange rate. That is one of the reasons the U.S. enjoys such a low price compared to other countries.

As the FED keeps printing trillions without anything more than our reputation to back them up, and as our reputation as a monetary responsible party decreases, world-wide trust in the $$ deflates while everything we buy inflates. I may be wrong, but this is the gist of what I understand from various sources.

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 2:28 pm

The current rise in oil prices are more about speculation about the supply being disrupted (Libya etc) than the dollar.

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 3:13 pm

MisaBlue wrote:
Bay Bridge Sue wrote:Gas Friday - $3.46 a gallon for super.
Gas today - $3.93 a gallon.
It is 6.83 a gallon here for gas.

First time I was taking full gas tank in US (Houston) to my car I had to laugh, and when I said how much it is to my dad who was worried if I can afford driving car there, he was laughing too. The truth is, I was forced to drive, because public transportation was absolutely not working and when I tried to walk somewhere, people thought I am crazy, and once even police stopped by me and asked if I am ok or if I need a help
I really loved it in SF, you can walk everywhere and public transportation was good.

I didn't know you got that close to me in the southeast.
In Houston in the summer, only missionaries and serial killers are on foot.

Hard to believe, but traffic in Houston used to move at 80 mph.
Of course, L.A. did once too.

Trishntek · Post by **Trishntek** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 3:37 pm

Hard to believe, but traffic in Houston used to move at 80 mph.
Of course, L.A. did once too

It still does between Midnight and 6AM

MisaBlue · Post by **MisaBlue** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 3:43 pm

gyre wrote: I didn't know you got that close to me in the southeast.
In Houston in the summer, only missionaries and serial killers are on foot.

It was in 2007 and I had no idea BM exists.

can't sit still · Post by **can't sit still** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 4:18 pm

The price of gas can be as much as 75 % tax.
http://money.cnn.com/pf/features/lists/ ... gasprices/
Oil is generally sold 27 times before it is consumed.
http://business.newsvine.com/_news/2011 ... roduction-
There is plenty of opportunity for investors and speculators to jack up the price. In the last big spike, there was $ 80 B chasing $ 2 B worth of crude.

Dr. Pyro · Post by **Dr. Pyro** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 6:53 pm

Yggy, if you're reading this that means your power must be on. But if GV gets buried and you lose power and heat, you can come down here and I can put up with you, uh, I mean put you up for a few days

ygmir · Post by **ygmir** » Sat Feb 26, 2011 7:16 am

Dr. Pyro wrote:Yggy, if you're reading this that means your power must be on. But if GV gets buried and you lose power and heat, you can come down here and I can put up with you, uh, I mean put you up for a few days

That is so kind, Doc.........thanks for the offer......and, do I need to bring my "special" tools, again? It's ok, I just want to make sure I have the right stuff.

I'm still running on backup generator power. although, the phone finally came back on.
They are saying maybe Sunday, that they'll be able to tell us when the power will come back........dang...........
We got about 18" of snow........so, I've been plowing my drive, the road, and the neighbors drives (those without 4x4 and elderly anyway)

10 chords of firewood dry, stacked and covered, 3500 gallons of propane, 1/2 a beef and a lamb in the freezer, and gravity feed water......so, mostly, all is well.

Post by **Elderberry** » Sat Feb 26, 2011 7:24 am

ygmir wrote:
10 chords of firewood dry, stacked and covered, 3500 gallons of propane, 1/2 a beef and a lamb in the freezer, and gravity feed water......so, mostly, all is well.

Now that's being prepared! Where I live the neighbors complained because I had three 20# tanks of propane sitting outside next to the grill.

JK

ygmir · Post by **ygmir** » Sat Feb 26, 2011 7:27 am

jkisha wrote:
ygmir wrote:
10 chords of firewood dry, stacked and covered, 3500 gallons of propane, 1/2 a beef and a lamb in the freezer, and gravity feed water......so, mostly, all is well.
Now that's being prepared! Where I live the neighbors complained because I had three 20# tanks of propane sitting outside next to the grill.

JK

maybe, just maybe JK...........it was the fuse you had attached?

*noting psychic vision of JK's neighbors view of him*

Major Krash · Post by **Major Krash** » Sat Feb 26, 2011 7:43 am

Trishntek wrote:Same place I bought diesel yesterday for $4 is now $4.10.

It's not so much oil getting more expensive as the $ getting weaker. What do you suppose will happen when the U.S. $ is no longer the world's monetary reserve? There are discussions among various foreign gov bankers to trade oil around the world in something other than the $. If the U.S. $ is no longer the world's monetary standard, the FED will not be able to print them any longer based on the "good faith of the USA".

The reason there is currently such a difference in the value of fuel around the world is because each country has to purchase U.S. $$ before buying oil. So the price they pay is based upon the exchange rate. That is one of the reasons the U.S. enjoys such a low price compared to other countries.

As the FED keeps printing trillions without anything more than our reputation to back them up, and as our reputation as a monetary responsible party decreases, world-wide trust in the $$ deflates while everything we buy inflates. I may be wrong, but this is the gist of what I understand from various sources.

...on the plus side, our debt is worth less on the world market too! We are spending our way to be debt free! Just like a late-night infomercial...