I have not seen or heard a comment about this but it is the most astonishing report so far about this invasion.
Apparently at checkpoints out of Mariupol refugees are actually being interrogated and asked if they are Nazis. The command structure of the Russian invaders is apparently actually devoting time and energy to finding Nazis.
I have not seen or heard a comment about this but it is the most astonishing report so far about this invasion.
Apparently at checkpoints out of Mariupol refugees are actually being interrogated and asked if they are Nazis. The command structure of the Russian invaders is apparently actually devoting time and energy to finding Nazis.
This is literal insanity. The Russian soldiers are searching for Nazis. In Ukraine! Just as MAGA heads are searching for pedophiles in pizza parlors and bamboo in ballots here. And it will wind up the same way everywhere. Here, it will be red-capped patriots in F-150's standing up for America at intersections near you.
Literally it is true humans are the same everywhere. That's why we want to kill each other-- they are exactly like us, and we are them
Poisonous evil is the music of the world and sung in arias of malice by every average man and woman. The tune is the devil's laughter. How risible the world is to him. What an opera of malice and stupidity!
Apparently, from what I have read, there actually is a neo-Nazi party in Ukraine.
In the Ukrainian parliamentary system, that party typically garners about 2% of the vote. But the fact that they even exist is probably more indicative of how terribly Ukrainians, historically, have been treated by Russia. If we were in a parliamentary system, would 2% of Americans vote for an explicitly pro-Nazi party? Probably not. In the popular American mind, Nazi=evil. But if you polled for attitudes and beliefs in the US, I am sure we could find 2% who have attitudes and beliefs that closely match those held by Ukrainian neo-Nazis.
It is an American icon. And very useful if you have to move something around. But from my observation the miles driven by F-150's carrying anything more bulky than a bag of groceries is a very small fraction. The acquisition and use of an F-150 is mostly for reasons not related to the particular functional advantage of large cargo capacity.
Every morning I drive in to work. Hundreds of other vehicles are also driving in to work. It's about 20-25 miles, and of course many vehicles are headed in longer distances.
I usually drive at about 60 mph. It typically takes me 20 minutes or so to arrive. If I drive at 70 I arrive a little less than three minutes earlier. My gas mileage degrades by more than that because the laws of physics apply instead of the laws of Congress or the State Legislature.
The driver of an F-150 at 75-80 mph, which is what the individuals who come up behind me and angrily honk and flash their lights in fury at me for having the temerity to not exceed the speed limit, has it within his power to get a 5% improvement in fuel economy -- effectively, a reduction in fuel consumption & hence fuel cost --for each 10% reduction in drag.
Drag increases as the square of the speed so an increase of speed from 60 mph to 75 mph is a 20% change in speed. The increase in drag is 1.2^2 or 1.44, or 44%. 44% divided by 10 is 4.4, so a reduction in speed from 75 mph in an F150 will save 4.4 x 5% or a 22% increase in gas mileage.
Now not owning one I don't know what the achieved gas mileage of an F-150 is, but by report (from googling) it's around 25 mpg or so at 55 and less than 20 mpg at 75. Assuming you refill the tank when it is down to 20% full, at the price I just paid for gas that's a fillup of $88 or so. So...
Reducing speed to 60 mph in the commute, for these otherwise empty pickup trucks being driven by individual communters, could save each of them almost $20 per fillup at a time tradeoff of three minutes each way. By contrast I am now paying a little more than $20 for my fillups. I do have and generally drive a smaller, fuel-efficient vehicle, but I'm also not as careful as my wife is to drive efficiently, so by comparison with hers my fuel expenditures are exorbitant. We have recorded every drop of gas we ever bought since the Jimmy Carter administration (yes, I am a wierdo) so with respect to our own habits I can base my impressions on solid numerical data.
So my point is not that F-150's are bad. But I do feel that angry F-150 (and similar vehicle) owners who want to organize national fiscal and energy policy so as to subsidize their personal transportation preferences have a lot less to complain about than they permit themselves to do. And they have it within their power to reduce their own fuel costs significantly, at minimal and even negligible cost in time and convenience, even without a capital outlay to replace their vehicle of preference with something less costly to operate. It is hard to avoid the conclusion that a not insignificant motivation for lots of people is a desire to feel sorry for themselves as hard as possible...
I loved this rational, numbers based approach to commuting. But, one can go a step further. If one considers: (a) becoming a bicycle commuter if it is safe and possible to do so between your home and workplace (a) ditching the second car and use Uber on rare occasions, (b) save thousands of dollars per year AND then invest those savings and retire earlier, thus working fewer hours - or one day, only working because you love your work, and (c) the decision to commute by bicycle, nearly always results in weight loss and improved health. The catch is the learning curve. Cyclists need to be super-defensive and learn how to find alternative residential routes that an average car driver would never think of using - which is what makes those routes much safer for cyclists. A residential street that has a 20 mph speed limit is not too slow for a cyclist. Still further, a 15 or 20 mile bicycle commute might have been seen as too long ten years ago. Not so much today with electric assist. But I caution, ten years ago, only a very skilled, experienced cyclist could average 20 MPH. That may be too fast for a new, novice commuter.
Yes. When my 40 mpg civic (at 70 mph) is passed on the highway by someone in a full size pickup or suv going 10mph over the speed limit, they have no right to complain about gas prices. BTW, I have tried explaining that drag increase is related to square of speed - lost cause...
We had a rabbit diesel in the Carter administration. We got 42 mpg. The exhaust had a bracket that kept breaking.
Now we have two Honda Fits. Mine has 220K miles. Alas they aren't' selling them here any more.
MAGA will send pickups with gun toting militias to kill me (they will anyway after the next election) but what the world needs is $10/gal gas. If we can sustain industrial civilization at those prices the hydrocarbon mafia states would be in a bind.
I have not seen or heard a comment about this but it is the most astonishing report so far about this invasion.
Apparently at checkpoints out of Mariupol refugees are actually being interrogated and asked if they are Nazis. The command structure of the Russian invaders is apparently actually devoting time and energy to finding Nazis.
This is literal insanity. The Russian soldiers are searching for Nazis. In Ukraine! Just as MAGA heads are searching for pedophiles in pizza parlors and bamboo in ballots here. And it will wind up the same way everywhere. Here, it will be red-capped patriots in F-150's standing up for America at intersections near you.
Literally it is true humans are the same everywhere. That's why we want to kill each other-- they are exactly like us, and we are them
Poisonous evil is the music of the world and sung in arias of malice by every average man and woman. The tune is the devil's laughter. How risible the world is to him. What an opera of malice and stupidity!
Apparently, from what I have read, there actually is a neo-Nazi party in Ukraine.
In the Ukrainian parliamentary system, that party typically garners about 2% of the vote. But the fact that they even exist is probably more indicative of how terribly Ukrainians, historically, have been treated by Russia. If we were in a parliamentary system, would 2% of Americans vote for an explicitly pro-Nazi party? Probably not. In the popular American mind, Nazi=evil. But if you polled for attitudes and beliefs in the US, I am sure we could find 2% who have attitudes and beliefs that closely match those held by Ukrainian neo-Nazis.
In other words, "...half a basket of deplorables..."
Got to stick up for F-150's....
It is an American icon. And very useful if you have to move something around. But from my observation the miles driven by F-150's carrying anything more bulky than a bag of groceries is a very small fraction. The acquisition and use of an F-150 is mostly for reasons not related to the particular functional advantage of large cargo capacity.
Every morning I drive in to work. Hundreds of other vehicles are also driving in to work. It's about 20-25 miles, and of course many vehicles are headed in longer distances.
I usually drive at about 60 mph. It typically takes me 20 minutes or so to arrive. If I drive at 70 I arrive a little less than three minutes earlier. My gas mileage degrades by more than that because the laws of physics apply instead of the laws of Congress or the State Legislature.
The driver of an F-150 at 75-80 mph, which is what the individuals who come up behind me and angrily honk and flash their lights in fury at me for having the temerity to not exceed the speed limit, has it within his power to get a 5% improvement in fuel economy -- effectively, a reduction in fuel consumption & hence fuel cost --for each 10% reduction in drag.
Drag increases as the square of the speed so an increase of speed from 60 mph to 75 mph is a 20% change in speed. The increase in drag is 1.2^2 or 1.44, or 44%. 44% divided by 10 is 4.4, so a reduction in speed from 75 mph in an F150 will save 4.4 x 5% or a 22% increase in gas mileage.
Now not owning one I don't know what the achieved gas mileage of an F-150 is, but by report (from googling) it's around 25 mpg or so at 55 and less than 20 mpg at 75. Assuming you refill the tank when it is down to 20% full, at the price I just paid for gas that's a fillup of $88 or so. So...
Reducing speed to 60 mph in the commute, for these otherwise empty pickup trucks being driven by individual communters, could save each of them almost $20 per fillup at a time tradeoff of three minutes each way. By contrast I am now paying a little more than $20 for my fillups. I do have and generally drive a smaller, fuel-efficient vehicle, but I'm also not as careful as my wife is to drive efficiently, so by comparison with hers my fuel expenditures are exorbitant. We have recorded every drop of gas we ever bought since the Jimmy Carter administration (yes, I am a wierdo) so with respect to our own habits I can base my impressions on solid numerical data.
So my point is not that F-150's are bad. But I do feel that angry F-150 (and similar vehicle) owners who want to organize national fiscal and energy policy so as to subsidize their personal transportation preferences have a lot less to complain about than they permit themselves to do. And they have it within their power to reduce their own fuel costs significantly, at minimal and even negligible cost in time and convenience, even without a capital outlay to replace their vehicle of preference with something less costly to operate. It is hard to avoid the conclusion that a not insignificant motivation for lots of people is a desire to feel sorry for themselves as hard as possible...
I loved this rational, numbers based approach to commuting. But, one can go a step further. If one considers: (a) becoming a bicycle commuter if it is safe and possible to do so between your home and workplace (a) ditching the second car and use Uber on rare occasions, (b) save thousands of dollars per year AND then invest those savings and retire earlier, thus working fewer hours - or one day, only working because you love your work, and (c) the decision to commute by bicycle, nearly always results in weight loss and improved health. The catch is the learning curve. Cyclists need to be super-defensive and learn how to find alternative residential routes that an average car driver would never think of using - which is what makes those routes much safer for cyclists. A residential street that has a 20 mph speed limit is not too slow for a cyclist. Still further, a 15 or 20 mile bicycle commute might have been seen as too long ten years ago. Not so much today with electric assist. But I caution, ten years ago, only a very skilled, experienced cyclist could average 20 MPH. That may be too fast for a new, novice commuter.
Excellent points, especially the safety.
Yes. When my 40 mpg civic (at 70 mph) is passed on the highway by someone in a full size pickup or suv going 10mph over the speed limit, they have no right to complain about gas prices. BTW, I have tried explaining that drag increase is related to square of speed - lost cause...
My DD (Daily Driver) is a 2001 VW diesel, about 40-50 mpg.
We had a rabbit diesel in the Carter administration. We got 42 mpg. The exhaust had a bracket that kept breaking.
Now we have two Honda Fits. Mine has 220K miles. Alas they aren't' selling them here any more.
MAGA will send pickups with gun toting militias to kill me (they will anyway after the next election) but what the world needs is $10/gal gas. If we can sustain industrial civilization at those prices the hydrocarbon mafia states would be in a bind.
The innumerate rule the world
Mine's got 59k over 23 years. Garbage to the landfill, mulch, rock, and "stuff."