Fuel Standards for Work Trucks?

Guys,

Barack Hussein Obama has decreed that work trucks of all sizes will have their first ever mileage standards imposed on them.  Work trucks can be anything from pickups to big rigs to anything in between.  I don't see how this is a workable standard, and here's why.

Trucks of all sizes, even the smallest ones, offer far more options for customizing than typical passenger vehicles do.  There are multiple transmission choices; there are multiple engine choices; and there are multiple cab configuration choices, which change the size of the vehicle.  I have a few problems and questions with this proposal.

One, unlike car companies, most truck companies allow the buyer to choose multiple engines from different manufacturers.  For example, if you were to buy a Freightliner, Peterbilt, Kenworth, or other heavy truck, you may choose a proprietary engine (if available), or you may choose a Detroit, Cummins, or Caterpillar engine.  That is to say that when one buys a heavy truck, one will choose the make, size, and horsepower of the engine to power the truck.  This depends on how the vehicle will be used, where, under what circumstances, etc.  For example, if a truck won't be traversing the mountains on a regular basis, the owner of the truck can outfit it with a smaller, more fuel efficient engine.  The same applies to transmissions, axles, differentials, and so on.  To get an idea of how much choice a customer has, here's the spec sheet to the Peterbilt 587.

As you can see, outfitting a work truck is far different than outfitting a passenger car.  Passenger cars are usually offered with two to four trim levels, which determines what optional equipment, engines, and transmissions will be offered with the vehicle.  For example, when buying a Toyota Corolla, there are three trim levels: base, LE, and S.  The trim level determines what engine and transmission you get.  While Ford offers more choice with their models, the options pale when compared to those faced by truck operators and manufacturers.  That is to say that work trucks do not offer the degree of standardization that is found in passenger cars.

All these choices will affect fuel economy.  Different transmissions and axles will affect the gear ratios.  Without getting complicated, the gear ratio determines how many engine revolutions are required for each wheel revolution.  The gear ratio determines the acceleration, speed, and fuel economy of any vehicle.  Since trucks have so many CHOICES with components that affect the overall gear ratio, does it not stand to reason that setting a fuel mileage standard is well nigh impossible?

I have a few more questions to ask.  Isn't the way the truck is used going to determine fuel mileage?  If a truck is used to haul light but bulky things like cardboard boxes, will it not get better fuel mileage than a truck hauling heavy, steel beams?  If a truck is often used in the mountains, will it not get worse mileage than a truck used on flat terrain?  If a truck is set up for traversing the Rocky Mountains, will it not have different engines, transmissions, axles, and differentials than one that isn't used in the mountains; even if that truck is used on flat ground, it'll get worse fuel economy than one set up for flat ground.  Ergo, how can one set any fuel economy standard for work trucks?

I have some more questions to ask.  Don't you think that truck owners and operators would want the most fuel efficient truck they can buy?  Since fuel represents a huge operating cost (a big rig, at today's fuel prices, costs MORE THAN $1,000 to refuel!), does it not stand to reason that truck owners and operators would want the most economical vehicle they could get?  Furthermore, does it not stand to reason that truck manufacturers would WANT to offer fuel efficient products?  Wouldn't the manufacturer of the most fuel efficient work trucks have a huge competitive advantage in the market place?  WTF is the gov't doing meddling in something they know nothing about?!

The proposed fuel economy standards for work trucks are unworkable.  Given the amount of choice truck owners and operators have when fitting out their vehicles; given the customizing choices a truck buyer has; given the variation in between two trucks of the same model; no two trucks will get the same mileage.  Ergo, a fuel standard cannot be set, let alone enforced, for work trucks.

This is yet another case of know-nothing, idiot government bureaucrats trying to regulate something that cannot be regulated!  Those proposing this (our notorious 'president' among them) have no clue; they know nothing about the real world; nor do they know anything about the real world in which most of us live.  I wish someone would bomb Washington, D.C. (aka the District of Criminals)!  Government officials don't know their asses from a hole in the ground!

I'm out of here.  Have a good day now.  Until next time...

MarkyMark

An Opinion of an Old Turd, by Christopher in OR

Guys,

Though many of us in the blogosphere have encouraged Christopher in OR to start his own blog, he hasn't as of yet.  However, he's done the next, best thing: post his thoughts on Happy Bachelors.  This is a topic he started.  I thought my readers would enjoy it, so here it is...

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Gentlemen:

(And I am assuming you ARE gentlemen.) I would like to take a moment to offer an opinion based upon my forty-nine long years of blessed bachelorhood.

I realize that 49 sounds like a lot of years. Maybe it is. Sometimes it even surprises me that I've lived this long. It doesn't seem excessively long to me-not really. But I can understand that, to someone who is in his twenties, I probably seem genuinely old. Possibly you think that such an old fossil is so removed from your generation, that he can't have any relevant advice to offer you on dating and marriage. Well, you'd be wrong.

I would like to touch on an issue that is a constant source of friction even for bachelors. The issue is this: are there any truly decent women left?

My answer would be this: It makes no difference.

What do I mean? Even if you find this elusive, virginal woman you have been dreaming about in the back of your mind, she ain't gonna marry YOU. The good ones, if they even exist, are so rare they are going to be snapped up rapidly by successful, professional men with a very high income. These men know they have economic power you probably don't have, and they wield it accordingly. They get what they want-for the moment.

This rare woman, if she exists, knows her value, and sets her price accordingly high. Why not? Why should the grocery store start selling lobster for a nickel a ton if they can get twenty bucks a pound? Does that anger you? Tough. Supply and demand. Simple economics. Get used to it.

So, forget about finding such a woman. Unless you win the lottery, or are prepared to spend eight years in medical school.

So what's left?

Sluts, skanks, whores, tramps, pigs, junkies, drunks, fat slobs, white-trash, black-trash, degenerates, bisexuals, reformed lesbians, religious maniacs, frigid nuts, man-haters, trans-gender freaks, green-card-hunters, maniacs, bi-polar, borderline-personality-disorder, schizo's, STD-riddled, women-in-poor-health and other assorted undesirables.

So, what in the heck is the point of this old fart?

My point is two-fold.

Firstly, and I've stressed this initially, you are NOT going to find and marry a nice, sweet, loyal, faithful girl that will stand by your side through all of life's troubles.

It is absolutely NOT going to happen in your lifetime, so forget about it.

My second point is this:

In the long run, it doesn't matter.

But, whatever do I mean? It's simple, really, and the point has been stressed over and over. Yet, repetitive learning is often the most effective, so I'll repeat what has so often been stated.

A woman's physical beauty, her charm, all fade so quickly. This is something a man simply can't fully grasp when he is in his twenties. The allure of the pussy is just too strong, even if a man isn't getting any. Nature endows women, as Schopenhauer said so long ago, with a super-abundance of beauty for a short time. But, that's it. After that, what do you have? A braying jack-ass that serves no purpose? A fat woman that bears a striking resemblance to Jabba The Hut? A religious maniac that will view you with contempt because a "good Christian man" would never expect his wife to do "THAT"? A wife that say "Don't touch me!"? A woman that didn't bother to tell you about her monthly Herpes outbreaks, and now expects you to pony up the $500 a month she needs to buy Valtrex?

That's what this commercial, a Montavit water advertisement, features as its theme.  I did some brilliant analysis of that ad too; it was some of my BEST work ever, and it only received a measly 15 comments!  Seriously though, in a mere 30 seconds, we get the message that the young, desirable coquette you see now will turn into something decidedly less appealing in a few short years should you be dumb enough to marry her...

If you are young, please believe me when I tell you this: No matter how bad your experiences with women have been, and I'm sure they've been mostly bad, (otherwise you wouldn't be here), yet you still have no idea how bad life can and probably will be as a woman ages-if you're married to her.

I'm in a unique position. I'm not old, not really, but I'm not young, either. I'm sitting on the pinnacle of my my life about to slide towards raisinhood. I am watching all of the women I know that are even twenty years younger than I am turn into sour, ugly, fat prunes. I'm still healthy, and in good shape. There are no bags under my eyes, I can still bench a respectable amount, I don't get up to pee ten times a night, and I can walk ten miles without being the least bit winded.

But the women; oh, lord, the women. How they have aged, and aged badly. The female body is the ultimate in bait-and-switch. It falls apart so rapidly. Once the youthful glow disappears, you will be left with a foul, smelly walking Picasso. That tight skin that is stretched over a woman's body will soon loosen up, and you will see the horrid beast that has always been lurking underneath. And it's an ugly sight to behold.

When I first really, and truly started watching the women I know fall to pieces, I could hardly believe what I saw. I had been warned by my parents that women age poorly, but to actually watch women grow ugly and putrid was unsettling to me. It was like watching a plane crash-horrifying, yet I couldn't turn away. It was mesmerizing.

Every year that passes, these same women reach new lows of physical repugnance. Just when you think they can't get uglier, or wrinklier, then another wrinkle manages to appear, the tits sag even further, and she achieves a new low in appearance.

As the Sex Restrainer put it so well, try and imagine lying in bed next to an old woman. Forget all of the romantic crap about "growing old together". It's just so much nonsense. An aging women is a horrible sight, especially if you have to snuggle up to it at night. As Fred Sanford put it, "There ain't nothin' uglier than an old white woman."

Most of you youngsters have little idea of how bad it can be to live with an ugly, menopausal woman. And yes, the looks really take a furiously-fast nosedive at the exact time her sanity disappears in menopause. You will be living with an ugly troll with the temper of Satan himself. Twenty-four/seven. It will be never ending insanity and fighting.

So, yes, the wealthy man wins in the short run. He gets the attractive woman, although the odds are against him finding a decent woman that won't divorce him. He isn't immune to divorce; in fact, being rich makes him a bigger target.

But, the rest of us win in the long run. At 49, I neither need nor want a woman, regardless of how attractive she might be. This has been the case for about twenty years, ever since my sex drive kind of shriveled up. (Bad analogy)

So, be patient. Your lust will pass. To make it easier, leave the women strictly alone. Don't tempt yourself. Don't torture yourself. View the woman as a poisonous flower to be admired from a distance.

Stay single and you, too, can spend you time and money as you see fit when you reach your forties, and believe me, it will come sooner than you can imagine.

You might ask me, "Is it worth it? Staying single?"

Oh, yeah. You have no idea. ;D

Christopher in Oregon

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Until next time...

MarkyMark

Worthless Bitches

Guys,

As you know, I got sucked in to watching that train wreck, MTV's Jersey Shore.  I watched this episode from season 1, which was aired in early January, 2010.  I'm including a link, because I want you, my boys, to see just how WORTHLESS & NASTY American women are.  Click the link, and watch it to about the halfway point where the guidos are cooking up the feast (surf & turf); the fun starts at about 17:45.  You'll see what I mean as the incident unfolds.

Mike, The Situation, handled a lot of the cooking duties, as he had done on many episodes.  He's really quite good in the kitchen, BTW; I dare say that he knows his way around the kitchen better than most modern women do-not that that is a surprise.  Shoot, most modern women can't even boil water!

Anyway, the group finished the sumptuous meal that the guys prepared.  What did the girls do?  Not a damn thing, that's what!  They didn't even OFFER to help!  I could excuse Snooki, because this was the day after she got cold cocked in the previous episode.  Jenni didn't lift a finger, but she wasn't overt in her refusal to help out.  The girl on whom I wish to focus my ire is Sammi 'Sweetheart'-who's anything BUT sweet...

After they were done eating, Sammi told Mike to bring the plate over to the garbage.  He said that, since he'd just cooked for everyone, the least she could do was take his plate over to the garbage.  I see nothing wrong with that; fair is fair, right?  Well, guess what?  Sammi gave him lip about it!  She said that she never asked him to cook for her; that she wasn't going to help clean up; she said that Mike was trying to boss everyone around in the house, yadda, yadda, yadda.  IOW, she spouted the standard, feminist claptrap.  That shouldn't be surprising though, considering that Sammi was majoring in sociology @ William Patterson University here in NJ.  Boy, you did your feminist sisters proud, Sammi!  Way to go with your 'grrl power', Baby!

In closing, American women are worthless, narcissistic, selfish bitches who think of no one but themselves.  For my boys, this isn't a surprise, but it's always good to have a reminder; it's always good to know what you're 'missing out' on.  The chicks in the house did NOTHING at all to help out-nothing!  Then, when Mike told Sammi to dump his plate in the garbage, she copped an attitude?!  Come on!  He wasn't even asking the bitch to really clean up, either; all he said was bring it over to the garbage, and dump its contents in the pail.  That's it!

With that, I shall wish you all a good day.  Until next time...

MarkyMark

Cost/Benefit Analysis of Getting Poon, by BEM

Guys,

I have some BRILLIANT commenters here @ MarkyMark's Thoughts on Various Issues; I'm humbled when they share their thoughts, given their depth of wisdom, experience, and knowledge.  The following comment was made in response to the OCS classic I posted My Take on All Women Aren't Like That.  You'll see why when you read BEM's thoughts on the cost/benefit analysis of poon.  This is good stuff!  Enjoy...

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Since the issue of game has been raised, I would like to chime in. I have, in my time, practiced game and gotten my share of poontang, for whatever it's worth - and let me tell you, as someone who is nearing forty, and who's shagged dozens of women, that the costs of pussy FAR outweigh the benefits.

Don't believe me? Consider the case of Ben Roethlisberger, a multi-millionaire athlete and two-time Super Bowl champion, a man at whom most women would hurl themselves in a heartbeat. The word just came out that Big Ben will not be charged with sexual assault for the incident that occurred in Georgia last month. Sources say that the alleged victim made inconsistent statements in her testimony, and had a high blood alcohol content on the night of the incident.

This is all unsurprising to me, as well as to many readers of MM's blog, but consider this: What if Roethlisberger was NOT a wealthy man who could counter the shenanigans of law enforcement officials with a crack investigative team of his own? In other words, what if he was like you or me? His life would be in ruins, that's what.

I've been where the game-players like illness are, cocky as shit, thinking they've got the world by the tail, that nothing bad will happen to them as they chase tail, night after night. Well, as a retired game-player, I can look back on my pussy-chasing days and realize that for the most part, in regards to any ramifications from my actions, I was lucky more than I was good.

The same goes for the other game-players out there. Guys, you can be as damn well arrogant as you like, but right now you're beating the law of averages, that's all. Maybe you'll be lucky like me and continue to stay a few steps ahead of disaster - but then again, maybe you won't. I advise you to pause, and consider my words.

One can only beat the laws of averages and probability for so long.  To put it another way, sooner or later, your luck WILL run out, Fellas...

After all, it only takes ONE woman to "regret" being with you ONE time to turn your life into a never-ending FUBAR nightmare.

BEM

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As I said, that was GREAT!  It's a warning to all you PUA studs out there; sooner or later, your luck will run out, and you best remember that.  Until next time...

MarkyMark