Gas Prices Rising

[Polish_Silver]

Re: Gas Prices Rising

If you have $50k to drop on a sedan!

I am having trouble seeing the justification, unless gasoline hits $12/gallon, or something.

[ProdigyofZen]

Re: Gas Prices Rising

lek - the line is: she knows if she would sleep with you, not that she will

Right most women or men are thinking something along those lines. They are qualifying you the minute they meet you, especially on looks. This line of thinking probably slows down as you age.

[Polish_Silver]

lighter cars

I don't doubt that much higher mileage is possible, possibly with the car cost going up quite a bit, but lasting a long time.

Historically, non steel materials have had trouble being durable and sufficiently crash proof. Airplanes often use aluminum alloys ("Duralumin") the stuff has hardness and tensile strength comparable to steel, with about 1/3 the weight. However, it is subject to creep and more brittle than steel. Are there any cars on the market now, using something other than steel for thier structure?

Even using steel, I am sure weight could be reduced substantially. Honeycomb structures, more sophisticated alloys, etc.

[Polish_Silver]

It's the clothes, not what's inside them

Right most women or men are thinking something along those lines. They are qualifying you the minute they meet you, especially on looks. This line of thinking probably slows down as you age.

There was an article in the economist a few years ago, where they did some experiment like this:

Women were shown profiles of men, which gave pictures and personality information, but nothing about thier profession or income. The men all got a ranking.

Then they gave the same profiles to a different group of women, but this time the men were wearing different clothes (t- shirt vs business suite vs lab coat)


Of course it turned out the ranking depended hugely on the clothes the guy was wearing, since it was a proxy for the man's professional status.

Given these values, is it any wonder that relationships suck?


Now that women are equal, they do not need the man's money. So they should stop viewing the man as a paycheck. But it seems they are still in that mode.

[shiny!]

Re: lighter cars

I don't doubt that much higher mileage is possible, possibly with the car cost going up quite a bit, but lasting a long time.

Historically, non steel materials have had trouble being durable and sufficiently crash proof. Airplanes often use aluminum alloys ("Duralumin") the stuff has hardness and tensile strength comparable to steel, with about 1/3 the weight. However, it is subject to creep and more brittle than steel. Are there any cars on the market now, using something other than steel for thier structure?

Even using steel, I am sure weight could be reduced substantially. Honeycomb structures, more sophisticated alloys, etc.

Nanocellulose

[ProdigyofZen]

Re: It's the clothes, not what's inside them

There was an article in the economist a few years ago, where they did some experiment like this:

Women were shown profiles of men, which gave pictures and personality information, but nothing about thier profession or income. The men all got a ranking.

Then they gave the same profiles to a different group of women, but this time the men were wearing different clothes (t- shirt vs business suite vs lab coat)


Of course it turned out the ranking depended hugely on the clothes the guy was wearing, since it was a proxy for the man's professional status.

Given these values, is it any wonder that relationships suck?


Now that women are equal, they do not need the man's money. So they should stop viewing the man as a paycheck. But it seems they are still in that mode.

Silver, thanks for the post and info on that expirement. There is still that innate working of "protection" that a man offers, both physically and monetary left over from thousands of years of evolution.

How will our brains be wired in the future with this leap of evolution we have taken in the last 50 years due to technology and oil?

Most women still expect the man to pay for every meal, on average they want equality of pay, job status and treatment but when it comes to relationships most still want the man to pay for everything.

[jpatter666]

Re: It's the clothes, not what's inside them

Silver, thanks for the post and info on that expirement. There is still that innate working of "protection" that a man offers, both physically and monetary left over from thousands of years of evolution.

How will our brains be wired in the future with this leap of evolution we have taken in the last 50 years due to technology and oil?

Most women still expect the man to pay for every meal, on average they want equality of pay, job status and treatment but when it comes to relationships most still want the man to pay for everything.

Clothes make the man.

It was interesting to watch this invert during the dot-com boom days -- then, women sought after the guy wearing the t-shirt/lab coat because they figured he might be working for a tech startup and potentially worth more than anyone else in the room.

Being in the industry myself I got a first-hand view of this and many, many friends fell prey to gold-diggers. They had absolutely zero experience in handling such women.

[don]

Re: Gas Prices Rising

"As of 2011, about 250 million Americans live in or around urban areas. That means more than three-quarters of the U.S. population shares just about three percent of the U.S. land area."

As of 2000, about half the population of the United States lived in suburbs.

If the definition of urban is a city, the growth has been in the suburbs.

The migration from rural areas to the cities and from cities to the suburbs changed the face of the nation at least as much as the movement between regions. At the beginning of the century, 60 percent of the population lived in or around places with fewer than 2,500 inhabitants, and most were involved in farming. In 1990, only 25 percent lived within or in the vicinity of such small communities, and very few had any connection with farming (see page 26).

The cities grew rapidly during the first half of the century, as rural people left the land and the immigrants of the early 1900s flowed into the cities (see upper chart). The combined population of the ten largest American cities in 1900 was slightly more than 9 million. The ten largest cities of 1950 had about 22 million residents. Because so many people left the cities for the suburbs during the second half of the century, most cities experienced little growth and many actually lost population. The ten largest cities of 1998 had about the same combined population as those of 1950.


The growth of the nation’s suburbs, in contrast, continued throughout the century. The share of the U.S. population that lived in the suburbs doubled from 1900 to 1950 and doubled again from 1950 to 2000 (see lower chart). Frequently, the suburbs of one city expanded until they encountered the suburbs of another, creating suburban corridors such as those that connect Chicago and Milwaukee or San Jose and San Francisco. Some of these corridors combined to create even larger configurations. At the end of the century, a suburban/urban corridor extended more than 700 miles from Norfolk, Virginia, to Portland, Maine.


However there may be a change afoot . . .


Since at least World War II, suburbs have represented the quintessential American mode of living. That may be changing.

More than half of the country’s 51 largest metropolitan areas saw greater growth within city limits than in their suburbs between July 2010 and July 2011, according to an analysis of new census data by Brookings Institution demographer William Frey and others. As the Wall Street Journal points out, that’s a reversal of a broad trend that has held since the 1920s, when the rise of the automobile prompted Americans to flee dirty, crowded cities for greener pastures.

The question now is whether the past year’s reversal is a blip or a leading indicator of America’s urban future. If you think it’s the former, you blame the housing bust and the economy for the suburbs’ short-term slowdown, and predict that they’ll resume their growth when the market clears.

But there are deeper long-term trends at work. Perhaps the most important is a fundamental change in cities’ economies from industry to services, with loud, smelly factories moving out while bankers and tech startups move in. That has been accompanied by a demographic rebalancing: “white flight” has ended, with affluent young professionals moving back into cities and driving up housing prices. Meanwhile, immigrants and blacks are increasingly finding homes in the suburbs.

[DSpencer]

Re: It's the clothes, not what's inside them

Of course it turned out the ranking depended hugely on the clothes the guy was wearing, since it was a proxy for the man's professional status.

Given these values, is it any wonder that relationships suck?

What is wrong with judging someone based on how they decide to spend the majority of their productive life? Knowing someone's career probably tells you a great deal about their intelligence, motivation, personality etc.

Also if they are ranking SOLELY based on a picture then the choice is between trying to infer something based on their clothing or simply judging their physical traits. Which is more shallow?

[ProdigyofZen]

Re: Gas Prices Rising

If the definition of urban is a city, the growth has been in the suburbs.

The migration from rural areas to the cities and from cities to the suburbs changed the face of the nation at least as much as the movement between regions. At the beginning of the century, 60 percent of the population lived in or around places with fewer than 2,500 inhabitants, and most were involved in farming. In 1990, only 25 percent lived within or in the vicinity of such small communities, and very few had any connection with farming (see page 26).

The cities grew rapidly during the first half of the century, as rural people left the land and the immigrants of the early 1900s flowed into the cities (see upper chart). The combined population of the ten largest American cities in 1900 was slightly more than 9 million. The ten largest cities of 1950 had about 22 million residents. Because so many people left the cities for the suburbs during the second half of the century, most cities experienced little growth and many actually lost population. The ten largest cities of 1998 had about the same combined population as those of 1950.


The growth of the nation’s suburbs, in contrast, continued throughout the century. The share of the U.S. population that lived in the suburbs doubled from 1900 to 1950 and doubled again from 1950 to 2000 (see lower chart). Frequently, the suburbs of one city expanded until they encountered the suburbs of another, creating suburban corridors such as those that connect Chicago and Milwaukee or San Jose and San Francisco. Some of these corridors combined to create even larger configurations. At the end of the century, a suburban/urban corridor extended more than 700 miles from Norfolk, Virginia, to Portland, Maine.


However there may be a change afoot . . .


Since at least World War II, suburbs have represented the quintessential American mode of living. That may be changing.

More than half of the country’s 51 largest metropolitan areas saw greater growth within city limits than in their suburbs between July 2010 and July 2011, according to an analysis of new census data by Brookings Institution demographer William Frey and others. As the Wall Street Journal points out, that’s a reversal of a broad trend that has held since the 1920s, when the rise of the automobile prompted Americans to flee dirty, crowded cities for greener pastures.

The question now is whether the past year’s reversal is a blip or a leading indicator of America’s urban future. If you think it’s the former, you blame the housing bust and the economy for the suburbs’ short-term slowdown, and predict that they’ll resume their growth when the market clears.

But there are deeper long-term trends at work. Perhaps the most important is a fundamental change in cities’ economies from industry to services, with loud, smelly factories moving out while bankers and tech startups move in. That has been accompanied by a demographic rebalancing: “white flight” has ended, with affluent young professionals moving back into cities and driving up housing prices. Meanwhile, immigrants and blacks are increasingly finding homes in the suburbs.

It is switching and I dont think it is just for the reasons listed above. It is oil costs. The younger generation realizes that it doesnt pay to have to commute 1.5 hours every day to and from work. It is ludicrous. I am part of that generation and would never buy a home in the suburbs (or a house in general) just because of "better schools"

For example when I left the DC area in 2007 one of my favorite places to hang out was Connecticut Ave. Most of the clubs/bars there were latin in origin and during the week they had salsa classes etc and on weekends there were latin based clubs etc.

I go home twice every year. In the last 6 years this has completely changed. I went to a place where I know they have Salsa lessons than latin dancing the rest of the night on Tuesday.

It was now a pure bar with no dancing and a bunch of young caucasian kids in suits drinking it up until well into the night. You could tell they all worked on capital hill mostly as interns or had jobs for congressman/women.

Many caucasians are moving back into DC while the black population sells their homes and moves out.

[ProdigyofZen]

Re: It's the clothes, not what's inside them

What is wrong with judging someone based on how they decide to spend the majority of their productive life? Knowing someone's career probably tells you a great deal about their intelligence, motivation, personality etc.?

In the same token, it also shows that they could be from money and born into those jobs virtually. Always having the capital to go to the best private schools which virtually gets them into the top colleges and the top jobs. That does not mean they are the best person for that job or are a good character person overall.

We all know in our private work lives that a lot of people got the job by virtue of the school they attended not because they were the best person for the job, at least in finance.

[DSpencer]

Re: Gas Prices Rising

"As of 2011, about 250 million Americans live in or around urban areas. That means more than three-quarters of the U.S. population shares just about three percent of the U.S. land area."

Suburbs or not, it shouldn't stop someone from riding a scooter. I know an older lady that rides her motorcycle around 80 miles per day to and from work.

How much does Vespa pay you for these scooter endorsements? Just kidding with you. But how do I take my 60lb dog to the vet on a scooter?

Don't need no gasoline with this baby:

http://www.teslamotors.com/models
Perfect for the 75% that live in urbanized areas

I would love to have or at least test drive one. However, I am always irritated by the "zero emissions" claim of electric cars. It should have to come with its own wind turbine charger to say that.

[BadJuju]

Re: Gas Prices Rising

Find a service that will transport you and the dog. I don't think these one-off occasions are good reasons to keep a car. It is like my parents when they say they need a truck to haul stuff. I ask them, "How often do you need to haul stuff that having a truck is a necessity," and all they can say is that they need a truck. People are going to have wise up and face the facts that cheap oil is done for. And it isn't going to get cheaper except in a short-lived disinflationary shock. The old way of doing things is DONE and it isn't coming back, at least not for a long time.

[DSpencer]

Re: It's the clothes, not what's inside them

In the same token, it also shows that they could be from money and born into those jobs virtually. Always having the capital to go to the best private schools which virtually gets them into the top colleges and the top jobs. That does not mean they are the best person for that job or are a good character person overall.

We all know in our private work lives that a lot of people got the job by virtue of the school they attended not because they were the best person for the job, at least in finance.

I work in healthcare. I like to think it's a little harder to buy a pharmacy license or med school degree. I hope so anyway...

[ProdigyofZen]

Re: Gas Prices Rising

Find a service that will transport you and the dog. I don't think these one-off occasions are good reasons to keep a car. It is like my parents when they say they need a truck to haul stuff. I ask them, "How often do you need to haul stuff that having a truck is a necessity," and all they can say is that they need a truck.

Or the 20 or so massive dual cab trucks that sit in pristine condition in my apartment garage? Everyday I walk by and ask myself why do they need these massive trucks that I never see dirty? Do they haul things around 24/7 or go mud bogging or something?