Dusty Chalk

Okay, I get your point -- so the car just plain gets better gas mileage. My point is, if you drive it like a normal car (some highway, some city), it will get mileage range A, whereas if you push it -- drive lots of long trips, like my housemate's sister does with hers (they 'go somewhere' every weekend) -- it'll get mileage range B, where B > A. It sounds like you were already doing B, if that was a typical profile (I'm not sure how frequently it 'needs' to be driven lengthily, I doubt it's once a week -- but I am by no means an expert). I'm just saying if you drive it like a normal car, you won't get as good gas mileage as you would if you drive it lengthily, although that still may be better than a regular gas car. My housemate gets 50 when she goes to Pennsylvania or whatnot, and usually gets 40-45 (we live close enough to DC that everything counts as city driving, even halfway around the beltway). I think. I guess my point is, 43 is yes, still better than 27 (what I get), but not as much better as 48 would be, and certainly not better than 70 (what that theoretical diesel electric hybrid would get). I'll have to ask what my cousin gets -- he has a hybrid. I'm pretty sure it's better than 43. He drives from Sterling to downtown DC 5 days a week, and allots $20 in his budget for gas every week. And it's emitting very little in the way of emissions when the engine is off. Oh, and here...I'm sure it's biased...

Although I agree that automakers could do better, it's not entirely their fault. Not finding the article right now, but I remember a story about the reason mileage is deteriorating -- and it is, no doubt -- is because of increasing safety regulations.:doghuh:I have to admit, I don't entirely understand that. What are they, heavier?

That's just temporary. In a couple years, the next breed of clean diesels will be coming out from the likes of: VW, Audi, BMW, Honda, Mercedes, Cadillac, Saturn, Nissan are all rumoured to be putting out Diesels in the next couple years. I remember reading that because of the new lower emissions of these vehicles, they will be allowed to be sold in all states, but that may just be VW & Audi. I disagree. This factoid you're pulling out of your ass about doing more for the environment (batteries vs. pollution? please) hardly has any statistical backup to it. And where do you get 'less durable'? The Prius has already established itself as being a dependable car. Oh, and yes, I, too, am excited about the FCX (fuel cell technology). Although they're not entirely honest about that one -- you know how they work? You have to buy a fuel cell generator, and what it does is use electricity to compact the fuel portion of gas on your gas lines (assuming you have gas lines -- otherwise, you're going to have to install those, too) into a brick. It still might be worth it, considering the mileage they get. I don't know -- you're doing it wrong? Every car should get different mileage depending on whether or not you're doing city driving or long distance driving -- you probably never did enough long distance driving to make it worthwhile. You probably could have been getting even better gas mileage. My housemate has a diesel, and I'm not against the technology, I just happen to know that they run "happier" on long distances.

Do you honestly think it'll stay at $4/gallon? With increasing prices, it'll only make the hybrid more cost effective sooner. Plus, fewer emissions. But that's only good for long distances. (Which, admittedly, you drive, but not everyone else does.) Also, with its increased price, diesel is not as financially superior as it was just 9 months ago or so. I'd love a hybrid-diesel-electric, though -- best of both worlds. (I'm also assuming the new clean diesel.) Diesel Hybrids on the Fast Track Revealed: Volkswagen's 69.9-MPG Diesel Hybrid | Autopia from Wired.com ...but then... VW Changes Its Mind and Announces Hybrid Vehicles are In Its Future | Auto Newss | Automobile.com

Fixed those for you.

Jesus. That's more than my last two cars combined (one was used). And it's probably not even shielded.

You mean, down-arrow, yes, that is what I was trying to say, when I said, "triangle". (I've since fixed my post.)

Actually, that's largely a function of where you click. If you click on the right, in the column where it says 'last post', on the right-arrow, it'll take you to the last post. If you click on the left, where the down-arrow is, it should take you to the last unread post. Grawk had a picture of this, I believe.

You guys are really delivering the :D's today.

I have a caffeine withdrawal headache that is only just going away.

MOTBOT?

Have you even heard the Puddin' Pops? I can't tell the difference between them and the Hyperosmosisses...at least, not in the system in the store in which I heard them, which, admittedly, were only Quad ESL's.

What else have you heard? QED are supposed to be pretty good, if you're over there. I've only heard them briefly, but they were incredible for the price.

I'll just attribute that crankiness to lack of sleep.

You just like cheerleaders. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

It was a good show, but I don't know if I need to own it.

You do realize 2 is less work than 1, right? Integrated over the life of the children, that is.

Is the forum software, I'm still running FF2.

Thanks for the report.

Did they do stuff totally from the album? Covers? Any zep? Plant solo stuff? Anything from her back catalog?

Well, no, I don't mean that I'll be listening to it while toting, I mean that 'while toting', I'd be worried that it would receive damage, making it useless during the before and after toting sessions. 's'truth.

No, not really. Unless you know of a cheap, small one, I don't see that as being particularly totable. I like grawk's other idea of a video adapter and a dock, especially since I'm probably already getting an iPhone. I mean, yeah, I have access to one for setting up, that's not the issue. The issue is the "while toting" part.

Me, too. I joke about our family: basically, my one sister moved as far away as she could -- the other side of the world; my other sister moved as far away as she could, but stayed in the country -- California; I'm the only one who hasn't gone that route yet -- perhaps I should start training to be an astronaut?

Alright, so back to this, I am heavily leaning towards Mac Mini + Apogee Duet. The main reason of the Mini over a laptop is I fucking hate that noise that my DAC gets when the power control software throttles the CPU speeds. The downside is that for this hypothetical totable system, I would need a screen. Anyone have any ideas? I was thinking something like the i-glasses. link of examples grawk -- can you control a Mac Mini without a monitor with the iTouch (and, of course, an iPhone, which I am probably getting next January)? Also, having recently started using a Mac -- is there a quick solution to the compatability issue regarding external USB drives between Mac and Windows? I couldn't get the Mac to read my USB drive, but I have to admit to not having investigated very hard (computers were networked together, so I just moved the files over that way).

I'm not a lawyer, but it might also give you better grounds for demanding the entirety of your money back, if he doesn't fix it right. It's in his best interests to fix it right, I think.