More Of The Same....
Have you ever heard the expression: "The more things change, the more they stay the same"?
Well, I don't know about you, but I'm just seeing a tad too much of that "same" these days, in spite of all this "change" we're SUPPOSED to be seeing.
And the change I AM noticing ain't all THAT good, but you probably know that as well.
Perhaps I'm just viewing the world through older eyes...
I'd like to believe it's...WISER eyes.
*** Take for example all the angst we're being put through (again) regarding this whole OIL situation.
Seems in decades past, we HAD (proven) systems to wean ourselves away from fuel-guzzling behemoths.
And the "powers that be" have done nothing to promote this.
When change stared these people directly in the face, they gave us more of the "same" instead.
Found an interesting website the other day, and you might find it insightful.
http://www.rexresearch.com/
It's a fun site, full of all those "whatever happened to...?" inventions, patents, and technologies that would free us from dependencies in the health and energy realms. And it makes you think a lot about WHY we're in the predicament we're in.
With fuel prices (for standard regular) at the pumps somewhere in between $3-$4 a gallon, why NOT explore some of those seemingly "outlandish" ideas?
Many think "big oil" is behind a lot of this...I maintain there is something bigger above those companies calling the shots.
You can call it Wall St., OPEC, whatever, but there is more to this than meets the eye.
Our nation is backing methanol when it's been proven to be so damn much more inefficient than gasoline.
And we've backed it to the point of causing shortages in our food and feed crops.
Not the BEST way to do business...just the "only" way (for now).
Wars and rumors of wars cause even more problems with food supplies, as well as petroleum supplies.
(sounds a bit Biblical, don'cha think?)
After reading some very convincing articles, I ask myself WHY can't we have a vehicle that gets 100 MPG by using a heated and pressurized fuel VAPOR system, instead of the antiquated carburetor or fuel-injection system?
From a technological standpoint, it's fuel VAPOR that really combusts anyway, and NOT the liquid itself.
I know for a fact that if you drop a lit match into a bucket of GASOLINE, the match will GO OUT (under the proper conditions)...and kids, DO NOT try that at home (or anywhere else).
It's the fuel VAPORS that cause things to go "boom".
In any "infernal" combustion engine, the gas is NEVER poured into the engine...that causes the vehicle to STALL (rich mixture...VERY rich).
The fuel is first ATOMIZED and sprayed into the engine cylinders where it's ignited, and there is a specific formula for that mixture that produces the "optimum" power. The down-side is unspent fuel that exits the tailpipe, because it's not TOTALLY fuel VAPOR that's being burned...just atomized fuel.
(a bit of a difference there)
Now, I know on MY dinosaur of a car (that '83 Firebird) the 2 bbl carb sitting on top of that engine has something called a PRE-HEATER that warms the fuel being atomized into the engine, so it runs better.
When the pre-heater craps out (as it did once), the car wants to stall...thank early computer-run systems for THAT one.
God only knows how much MORE complex fuel delivery systems have become in the 26 years since my car was built (and how much MORE it will cost to swap the parts out, because they can't be rebuilt by regular people).
But whatever the case, things HAVE changed...and yet, they remain the same...we're still using an engine system in our cars and trucks that's been around for OVER 100 YEARS.
Now THAT'S progress....!?!
Right?
Maybe the time has come to dust off those aging patents, explore the notes and files from people that had a better idea regarding fuel consumption, because we're at the edge of the oil "abyss", and staring into the maw of seven kinds of hell, should we continue to follow the course we're currently on.
This nation has always prided itself on INVENTION...and INNOVATION.
NOW would be a good time to put that to the test (once again), hmm?
Meanwhile, back at the ranch...
*** Another carjack with toddlers.

I just have to weigh in on this.
(( Published: March 10, 2011 3:00 a.m.
4 children inside of stolen car unharmed - Jeff Wiehe The Journal Gazette
On Tuesday, someone stole a pickup with a baby inside. On Wednesday, somebody upped the ante.
For the second time in two days, Fort Wayne police searched for a stolen vehicle with at least one child inside.
This time there were four – ages 5, 4 and 2-year-old twins – all of whom turned out to be fine.
Police were called at 6:45 p.m.
A light blue 1997 Chevy Lumina had been parked in front of a home in the 1100 block of Hurd Street, just south of Creighton Avenue, when the person driving the car left it unattended. Someone then came by and stole the
vehicle, police said.
Whoever did so didn’t get far. With very little gas in the tank, the thief ditched the vehicle in an alley near Bowser and Drexel avenues. Officers found the children but had yet to find the thief as of Wednesday night.
On Tuesday, someone stole a pickup truck with the engine running outside a home in the 4400 block of Gaywood Drive, south of McKinnie Avenue. A month-old boy was inside. Police found the truck as well as the unharmed boy about 40 minutes later.
It’s unclear whether the vehicle thefts are connected.
Police are reminding people to never leave infants or small children unattended or alone in vehicles. ))
Here's a video link:
http://www.indianasnewscenter.com/news/video/Another-Vehicle-Stolen--This-Time-With-Four-Kids-Inside-117701123.html?vid=a
Now, I'm going to tell this like it REALLY is, so get ready...
I stated yesterday that these low-lifes that wander the streets (on foot, on bikes or in cars) are opportunistic ghetto slugs.
The moms of these children in both cases don't really seem to have the sense they were BORN with.
And most likely, they are on WELFARE...in other words gettin' free sh*t at YOUR expense.
The second story had me damn near laughing....except when I saw the baby.
THAT made me sad to see, but ONLY that.
I think of the manner in which that child will grow up...the disrespect, the apathy, and the whole "gimme, gimme, gimme" mentality that mom and her "family" will imbue to that child...sad, indeed.
Mom and her tribe don't bother to THINK, because that might require something they know little about...namely WORK.
It would surprise the piss out of me if ANY of these people even touched a job-app, let alone punch a damn time clock.
And yet...they have KIDS...and nice team logo jackets...and CARS...and HOUSES to crib in.
Now, I would never wish take from those, nor want to deny ANYONE who is TRULY NEEDY.
And everyone deserves a second chance when things go south, but c'mon now....
People like this have been getting second chances EVERY DAMN MONTH that government check arrives.
And everyone ELSE that works has been paying the damn freight so these mooks can do STUPID CRAP, instead of taking a few moments to LEARN how to be a parent...how to NOT leave cars running with kids inside (in the "badlands"), and how to be something other than bumps on society's log.
Rush Limbaugh said it perfectly yesterday (as I have said for YEARS).
He asked what would happen if there was a cut in say...welfare benefits?
The answer would be RIOTS IN THE STREETS.
And he is (as am I) 100% CORRECT.
There will be a "new" civil war in America, thanks to generationally-perpetuated ENTITLEMENTS...
Entitlements that ALLOW such behavior from "mothers" that haven't a drop of common sense, but have the time to visit the "aunt" in the "state-funded" vehicle of their choice (when it's not purchased with drug money, that is).
ALL of these people have traded ONE kind of slavery for another...simple as that. They just don't REALIZE it, because of all the free and shiny sh*t the government has allowed them to have (as a diversion).
You WANT something?
Them by God WORK FOR IT (like normal people). Learn what it means to take PRIDE in something other than your damn "weave" or "ghetto-talons" (fingernails).
Take the good with the bad, and do FOR YOURSELF, instead of leeching off of others because you're too damn lazy to accomplish anything otherwise.
That's how our ancestors did it, and they were NO different than we are, but they DID have something we seem to lack.
It's called SPIRIT.
You can see none of that in the faces of those in the ghettohood...
About the ONLY thing you see is disdain, or a look of contempt (at best), except when they're all congregating together, trying to "out-loud" the next person, acting the fool for all to see.
When people like this discover that the universe does NOT revolve around them...then, and only then will they begin to learn.
They (as are we all) part of a much larger picture, and each of us has our own little place with things to do.
We are all different, and that uniqueness is what actually brings us together, instead of keeping us apart.
Various thoughts, ideas, and views help shape every one of us...or it SHOULD.
Many forget I can't help but see and hear what worthless people are like every day down here.
They don't have to be that way, though...they DO have a choice.
Hell, we ALL have choices to make daily.
Hopefully, we'll make as many CORRECT ones as we need to in order to get us into tomorrow.
Others...not so much.
As usual, it will always come down to a sense of PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY.
If you have ONLY THAT, at least you're on the right path.
If not...well, life's journey isn't gonna get any easier, that's for damn sure.
This nation is capable of so much more from it's people....if only we didn't have so much of that "same old" lurking about.
Makes a strong case for all those tomorrows we left in our past, doesn't it?
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay safe out there, America.