Drew Dowdell

Uh... no.

In case you hadn't noticed, we are a group of UNITED states, of which Mexico is not a member. We are a team. Do you ever route for the home team? Balthazar: CSpec feels that everything in this country should be outsourced to the lowest bidder... and that doing so will make things so cheap that we'll be able to afford them easier (it's his way of saying we're richer) which is good since we'll all be unemployed and collecting a check from the government that was borrowed from the Chinese. CSpec doesn't believe there is ever such a thing as too much outsourcing, or even a tipping point where outsourcing of work could actually cause a cascade effect in the economy. If your job has been outsourced, you can just get another job as a Walmart greater....

So you're saying I'm entitled to Paris Hilton's money even though I was born on the wrong side of the mansion walls? brb, need to make a phone call. I'd like to see immigration throttled dynamically based on employment rate. (but we need a substantially better measure of unemployment than we have today.) Very low unemployment and the door can open wider, high unemployment and the door closes.

I like pie

Competition and getting the routes of passenger traffic out of Congress's hands is what I tried to propose in my other rail thread. The auctioning off of time slots was actually a response to Airlines running lots of smaller aircraft instead of fewer big ones. The landing fee was based on the weight of the aircraft, so it ended up cheaper to run a bunch of partially full ERJs once an hour than it was to run partially full 737s once every other hour. This is a big part of what was causing gridlock at the bigger airports. Anyway, back on topic. I thought you were all for choice and competition. If I'm going to get felt up by a random stranger, I at least want it to be someone hot with his shirt off at a club. If I choose to ride Amtrak instead due to the actions of the TSA (and it sounds like many people are seeking alternative travel methods), why hold that choice against me if I can make it work for my schedule? I don't want backscatter OR a hernia exam. I choose NEITHER.

don't you want to hand rotate it 180 degrees and let the oil soak more first?

I'm not entire sure that "cost per passenger mile" is the appropriate measure here, but we'll run with it. Airports are often huge money sinkholes for local governments. They keep them operating because of prestige and other benefits to the local economy that are difficult to trace directly to the airport's operation. That said, something stinks in Denmark with the "penny per passenger mile" statistic. I believe it's just a way of masking the true subsidy. TSA costs aren't mentioned. Additionally, landing fees are regulated by the FAA and have little to do with the actual cost at the airport but are instead used as a way to regulate traffic through the airport.

I like when you don't even bother to try and stay on topic. Anything in there about AIR travel being highly subsidized? Here's a small, and incomplete list. TSA Airport Security (usually separate from the TSA, in Pittsburgh it's paid for by the county) Air Traffic Control and FAA Airport construction (paid for by the state or county) Airport maintenance (paid for by the state or county) Customs

That people are already trying to slum way below their pay grade and still not able to find work

The airlines are already plenty subsidized thanks. It's just that the Feds do less of the subsidizing and the states and counties do a whole lot more. That said, why am I'm not allowed to make that choice for myself? The airlines declared their passengers the enemy years ago (with the possible exception of Southwest, but I don't like that you can't pick your seat ahead of time). They are already in cahoots with the TSA to try and inflate checked baggage charges and otherwise "up sell" you. (i.e. every time I go to check in, I'm invited to spend an extra $15 for expedited security screening). In the case of the trip to Chicago, I actually save time overall even though I spend more time traveling because I can sleep on the train in an actual bed.

There are middle management people out there who can't even get jobs as secretaries. Computer programmers who can't get work mowing lawns. Landscapers who... can't get work.

I'm just going to start taking Amtrak much more often. Two of the three autoshow trips are now scheduled around Amtrak, and we're going to use Amtrak on our next vacation. Drive to Albert's sister's in Virginia and visit with them for a day. Load the CR-V onto the AutoTrain the next day. Take the train to Orlando, spend a few days at Disney or Universal Drive to Miami and spend a week with my parents. Drive back to Orlando and take the Autotrain back to VA. Spend a night in DC. Drive back to Pittsburgh. Total Amtrak cost for the two of us, full size sleeper room, and the CR-V is $1100 round trip. Considering a rental car would run us near or over $500, round trip airline costs are $300 each, that's a fairly good price, and we get to include some extra family time with the Virginia/DC stopovers. I've also worked out how to include all but one of the remote offices I travel to for work into an Amtrak itinerary.

BTW, you'll also probably need some of this.... it'll take those rust spots right off all the shiny bits of metal. <iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=cheeandgear-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&m=amazon&f=ifr&md=10FE9736YVPPT7A0FBG2&asins=B0014IGAWO" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe>

How "original spec" are you worried about keeping this? A quick and relatively easy upgrade would be changing the distributor to a later HEI style..... since you're probably going to have to rip that whole thing apart anyway, might as well put something in that will allow for easier starting if you're not concerned about originality. The resources for the Quadrajet I have are all reference material which I'll get you when I have a few less martinis in my system. One thing about the QJ is the idle control solenoid.... just start hunting for it now. Just assume that is something that needs to be replaced like vacuum lines and hoses...... because even if it works today, it likely won't tomorrow.

Found it on ebay. If you use this link, C&G gets a small kickback for it. <a target="_blank" href="http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?icep_ff3=2&pub=5574850503&toolid=10001&campid=5336741951&customid=&icep_item=170568234045&ipn=psmain&icep_vectorid=229466&kwid=902099&mtid=824&kw=lg">GM Heat Valve Lubricant</a><img style="text-decoration:none;border:0;padding:0;margin:0;"src="http://rover.ebay.com/roverimp/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?ff3=2&pub=5574850503&toolid=10001&campid=5336741951&customid=&item=170568234045&mpt=[CACHEBUSTER]"> That looks like a QuadraJet Carb. If so, I have some resources to share with you that you will eventually need.

uh... check that employment improving statement.

Neato... so new unemployment claims is only just under 450k per week average. that's on top of the 100k plus a month that are added to the job pool from population growth. So we're still falling behind on employment. And rail car loads are up from 2009... which is good since the bottom was in 2008 I believe. What were carloads in say... 2005 or 2006? still, I don't see the growth yet.... we haven't even made up the lost ground to get us back to pre-crash levels.

all of the growth cited by CSpec is corporate profits....... so basically it's the rich getting richer again.... yet.. Still, most economists say the current growth rate is far too slow to recover the considerable ground lost during the recession. “The economy is not growing fast enough to reduce significantly the unemployment rate or to prevent a slide into deflation,” Paul Dales, a United States economist for Capital Economics, wrote in a note to clients. “This is unlikely to change in 2011 or 2012.”

ugh.

by what measure and by how much?

or even just stays the same..... (as .0001 % GDP growth sounds like)

In your world the pie only grows..... what happens when the pie shrinks?

In the U.S. site, Cruise control is available on the Cruze Eco as part of the USB/Bluetooth/Cruise package for $505, From the Chevy website: Connectivity Plus Cruise Package, includes cruise control, Bluetooth for phone, USB port located in center console, steering wheel-mounted audio controls, leather-wrapped shift knob and leather-wrapped steering wheel. Required with 6-speed automatic transmission is ordered. Conversely - if you select the automatic transmission, you must also select the connectivity package.... effectively making cruise standard on automatic Cruzes.

Cruise is not standard (or available) on the Jetta S. It's available on the Jetta SE which is $2,100 more than base. Cruise is only available as part of a $1,700 option package on the base Elantra Cruise is only available as part of a $505 option package on the base Corolla and only on the Automatic version which is $1000 more than the manual. Cruise is not at all available on the base Sentra. The minimum package for cruise on a Sentra is the S model - which is roughly $2,000 more than base. where's the outrage?

I've driven both and a Sienna recently. No the CTS isn't as smooth as the Toyota V6, but it's also not gutless off the line either. It's much smoother than the Camaro.