I agree with you, except with the kicker that you need enough down payment on that 84 month loan to make sure you aren’t underwater on it in the first few years. Say the guy is taking the loan out for nearly the full cost of the vehicle.... say he is paying his taxes and fees in cash and putting $1000 down, getting a…

If anything, voters in “swing” states have proportionally the most influence. A person in a small state that is guaranteed to vote red or blue has very little influence relative to a voter in a state that could go either way. The fact that the electoral college system is all or nothing can make a very close election…

Labor supply and demand, coupled with wages, is quite complex. There are feedback loops, and cascading effects when raising wages. On the other hand, you are correct. Educating everyone to do high skill jobs leaves no one to do low skill jobs. There aren’t enough high school and college students out there to make…

Thanks for the reply. We are keeping the Equator on our short list. After thinking about our needs, we can do without the 4WD, but we do need a V6 and the truck I found yesterday was an I4, so we are going to pass but keep our eyes open. If anyone in the Houston area is looking for a good deal on a low mileage…

I just learned that today thanks to some replies to Tom’s post. :)

How is the Equator for reliability? I started looking for a small pickup truck as a 3rd vehicle for occasional (weekly) use. We want to do some light towing/hauling (4 wheeler on a trailer). I don’t want to daily drive a pickup, so I don’t want to spend a lot of money, but I don’t want to buy something that is…

I’ve been looking at the Nissan Frontier as a cheaper alternative to a Tacoma. My wife and I bought some property about 2 hours north of our home. 34 acres. We are thinking of buying a cheap, used pickup to tow a trailer, haul a 4 wheeler, etc. Neither of us wants to daily drive a pickup, and while I used to drive…

Petroleum engineers would also be in the top 3, but ChemE is my discipline. Back in 2008 when oil was 100+/bbl, the petroleum engineers were killing it, but ChemEs were getting great salaries as well.

Yeah, I never pull the sleazy tactics. I’ve sold stuff on Craigslist and similar sites, and I had one guy try to haggle when we met in person after agreeing on a price and asking me to hold an item until the weekend. In the mean time I could have sold it two or three times over. I told him to that we agree to a…

I have no problem haggling with small businesses, but only on large items. I generally take the approach of offering to pay cash for a large item or service purchase to see if I can get a % discount (but only after I ask them if they charge a credit card fee). I will also offer to buy more if I can get a discount.

What is the battery capacity of your i3? I’m thinking of getting a used Volt as my next vehicle and having an L2 charger installed in my garage.

Charging a 40 kWh battery in 10 minutes would require 240 kW of power at 100% charging efficiency. If we take a more realistic 90% efficiency, it would require 267 kW of power. If we assume that your charger has access to 240 V power (typical max in a household), then you would need a whopping 1100 amps. If you are…

If oil would double in price again, the Chemical Engineers would likely hit the top 3.

I will no longer feel guilty about having a bowl of cereal or a piece of fruit before bed. Thank you! I don’t like going to sleep hungry. I can wake up hungry and be hungry throughout the day and be OK as long as I get to eat a good dinner and fill up before bed. I always thought what I was doing was bad, but I…

Your post is going to be unpopular, but I agree with you. I almost had a head on collision with a cyclist. It was night time, he was wearing black and didn’t have lights or a helmet on. He had a stop sign and I didn’t. It would have been bad for all involved.

Put your hand in the box.

Wiping down the tray table, arm rests, seat belt, and info-tainment remote is key. Follow that up with washing your hands before meals, and you should be OK.

I loved Good Eats and miss it dearly. I have a few favorite recipes from the show, but in general his stuff is too complex to use regularly. I don’t have the time, space, or patience for turning a large flower pot into an oven.

Sweet, oniony custard is a good way to put it! I found the durian I tried to have a very strong onion/garlic/sulfur component that made me think of rotten eggs. Fresh durian are difficult to get outside of Asia from what I understand.

I had many business trips to SG before moving here, and visiting for 2 weeks at a time, staying in a hotel, and eating out while someone else pays is a completely different experience. I enjoyed my business travel to Singapore (though I didn’t enjoy the commute to and from work in a taxi, but that is life). I will…