Generator recomendations

[vaughn]

Vauhn, I'm working hard to change what we have now.

How so? If it your suggested "change" is to express your anger by simply
ousting one politician in favor of another one, all we will end up with is more
of what we have. -
To bring about change, you need more than anger, you need a plan.

Let's go back to Social security for a moment, becaus that seems to be one of
the things that bothers you. All you need to do fix it is to either increase SS
taxes or reduce benefits. (good luck on getting somebody to run on THAT
platform!) The most painless way to bring the system into balance is to do more
of what Clinton did; delay benefits by raising the "normal retirement age" to
recognize the simple fact that we are living longer and most of us can work can
work longer than our parents did.

Even though I am near Social Security age, I would support a ystem that ties the
SS retirement age to real actuarial data by some formula that would gradually
put the system on more solid financial gronds and take the decisions away from
politicians much the way the SS COLA is done today .

Further, your anger seems to be fixated on the current administration, but let
me remind you that it was the previous ones who got us here. For example, it
was the GWB administration that increased Medicare benefits without increasing
revenues, thus putting the system that many more years closer to bankruptcy.

Vaughn

 

[Martin Riddle]

Yep, that actually works. But seldom actually done.

Some engines these days have a special drain in the float bowl to help
you do that. Read the manual. There may be other storage
instructions. Honda tells you to put a tablespoon of oil in the
cylinder and pull it through a few times to fog the engine with the
oil. Then replace the spark plug and pull the engine through until
you feel compression, now you know that both valves are shut!


Like I said, following the storage instructions works!


I use Stabil and usually keep the gas about 18 months (Through two
hurricane seasons) After that, I burn it in my Accord and it always
runs fine. Always write the vintage date on the can so I don't screw
up. However...I found a 5-year-old can of treated gas hiding in the
back of my shed. More than a gallon had evaporated, but the rest ran
just fine in my lawnmower.

Vaughn

Speaking of storing gas. Does anyone know of a good source of 5 gal
Jerry cans? The old Mil style. I have 2 left, and the new poly cans
seem to leak even tho they hold pressure.

The Blitz cans come close, but look cheap. I have the flex adaptor that
will work with the 4 tab screw cap.
<http://www.blitzusa.com/products/fuel/Containment/pfc5mc.htm>


Cheers

 

[[email protected]]

No but how many people were staring in the 50s, we had a lot less taxes

Ah yes, the imaginary Mayberry years, when the funds for school metal
detectors came from bake sales, and Andy and Barney patrolled the
halls for free, and kids on drugs were rehabilitated by Aunt Bee.

Anyway, let's see some references for your claims about tax rates.

and regulation.

Hell ya', regulations cost money, plus they drive up costs. For
example, it was way cheaper to have 2 water fountains. <snorf> Then
the regulations came and everybody had to pay to take one out. Wait a
minute, what about the Jim Crow regulations? Were those purchased in
bulk, thereby making them cheaper than newer regulations?

Also if the government gets out of the way we have organizations that will
help the poor.

Again, let's see some references. The idea that government is standing
in the way of charity is delusional. Charities complain that donations
are down and that the organizations are stretched thin or already
broken. I don't remember any of them complaining that they have a big
pot of money that they're not allowed to give away. Sheesh. Read this
article
http://money.cnn.com/2009/02/13/news/economy/charity_donations/?postversion=2009021311
and show me where it says that government is the problem.

Wayne

 

[vaughn]

Speaking of storing gas. Does anyone know of a good source of 5 gal Jerry
cans?

No, but perhaps I should also be looking.

The old Mil style. I have 2 left, and the new poly cans

seem to leak even tho they hold pressure.

I am convinced that they seep right through the plastic. After 18 months of
storage, I usually have about 4 gallons left in a 5 gallon plastic can, even
though I close them up very carefully. In the warmest part of the afternoon,
there is often a distinct odor of gasoline in my storage shed.

I have even considered a 55-gallon steel drum, but part of my rational is to
have gas on hand to evacuate with. In that case, I would probably carry at
least an extra tank of gas with me, because gas stations will be empty, and the
roads are liable to be jammed and glacially slow.

Vaughn

 

[Martin Riddle]

I don't know about the type that is used for gas, but I do know the
plastic used for the soft drink bottles will let out the carbonation
gas. I work for a company that makes the polyester that is used in
the bottles. If you look at the 2 or 3 liter bottles on the store
shelves you will see some that look fuller than the others. Do not
get them,but get the ones that look like they have less in them. They
are fresher. When the gas escapes the bottles are not pushed out as
much so it looks like the level in them goes up.
That is one reason beer is not put in those kinds of plastic bottles.
Goes flat to soon.

That pretty much verifies the theory with the poly cans. Looks like
CARB has some new regs and the standard 4 tab cap jerry cans are no
longer available. I'll have to keep searching.

Cheers

 

[amdx]

Ah yes, the imaginary Mayberry years, when the funds for school metal
detectors came from bake sales, and Andy and Barney patrolled the
halls for free, and kids on drugs were rehabilitated by Aunt Bee.

Anyway, let's see some references for your claims about tax rates.

I posted this 6-4 9:44
http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/ProgData/taxRates.html
Mike

 

[amdx]

How so? If it your suggested "change" is to express your anger by simply
ousting one politician in favor of another one, all we will end up with is
more of what we have. -
To bring about change, you need more than anger, you need a plan.

Let's go back to Social security for a moment, becaus that seems to be one
of the things that bothers you. All you need to do fix it is to either
increase SS taxes or reduce benefits. (good luck on getting somebody to
run on THAT platform!) The most painless way to bring the system into
balance is to do more of what Clinton did; delay benefits by raising the
"normal retirement age" to recognize the simple fact that we are living
longer and most of us can work can work longer than our parents did.

Even though I am near Social Security age, I would support a ystem that
ties the SS retirement age to real actuarial data by some formula that
would gradually put the system on more solid financial gronds and take the
decisions away from politicians much the way the SS COLA is done today .

Further, your anger seems to be fixated on the current administration, but
let me remind you that it was the previous ones who got us here. For
example, it was the GWB administration that increased Medicare benefits
without increasing revenues, thus putting the system that many more years
closer to bankruptcy.

Vaughn

Hi Vaughn,
I'm interested in this interchange and will get back to it.
Our business is busy on weekends, plus the oil has finally
hit home. The charter boats will be stopped on Monday.
The price of shrimp is up $0.65 to $0.90 today, I don't know
what it will be when the next boat comes in about a week
from now. It won't be much longer and the shrimp boats will be
stopped. We have had BP here for two weeks training captains
and crew how to cleanup oil, put out booms, safety and I
don't know what else.
Here's a pdf map of the closed area.
http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/sf/deepwater_horizon/BP_OilSpill_FisheryClosureMap_060510.pdf
I'm at Panama City. 30*N @ state/Fed water line.
It will be an exciting year!!
If you send me an email I'll send some fishing / shrimping stuff you might
find interesting.
I haven't been able to shut my mind off tonight, didn't get any sleep, it
going to be along day.
I'll be ordering the Honda later this week, we will need it with all our
freezers full of shrimp,
it's cheap insurance.
Mike

 

[(PeteCresswell)]

Per vaughn:

How far are you willing to go with that concept? Are you willing to see
retirees starving in the streets?

"Starving in the streets" might never happen, but I see very,
very hard times ahead for people on fixed pensions once the
government decides to inflate it's way out of debt. People like
me are going do die in poverty.

 

[(PeteCresswell)]

Per John B. Slocomb:

The whole business, in the
U.S. is highly regimented and controlled by the MMS.

But, looking at it from the outside and knowing nothing, one has
to wonder what the connections are between the MMS and the
industry. i.e. who is in who's pocket and, when standards are
written, who has the most influence over their content.

 

[(PeteCresswell)]

Per amdx:

You might find this very interesting, It's the story from the chief
electronics
technician who was on the rig when it caught fire.
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6490509n&tag=contentMain;contentBody

Seems like the technology is exonerated.

But it sounds bad for Deepwater Horizon and BP management.

 

[[email protected]]

I posted this 6-4 9:44
http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/ProgData/taxRates.html

So what? That's a narrow view of SS and Medicare, the rates for which
need to rise to account for decreased worker to recipient ratio, and
healthcare cost increases that are dramatically outpacing inflation.
Here's a graph with a wider view.
http://www.visualizingeconomics.com/2007/11/03/nytimes-historical-tax-rates-by-income-group/
And where's your "proof" about charities being held back by
government? Why make a statement like that you can't possibly support?

Wayne

 

[vaughn]

Per vaughn:

"Starving in the streets" might never happen, but I see very,
very hard times ahead for people on fixed pensions once the
government decides to inflate it's way out of debt. People like
me are going do die in poverty.
--

I have been very worried about that very thing ever since I started watching the
last administration bloat up the national debt. Now, it seems that the very
same people who were cheering those tax cuts and that unnecessary/expensive war
are the same ones who are now "mad" about the national debt!

My personal strategy is to hold out as long as I can before filing for SS, even
if that means spending down my savings. The longer I wait, the larger my future
monthly SS check. SS is indexed for inflation but my pension is not, so I want
the SS portion of my future income to be as large as possible. Our savings
will simply dissolve in the face of double-digit inflation, so I don't mind
spending some savings now while those dollars are still worth something! .

Vaughn

 

[Bruce in alaska]

I am convinced that they seep right through the plastic. After 18 months of
storage, I usually have about 4 gallons left in a 5 gallon plastic can, even
though I close them up very carefully. In the warmest part of the afternoon,
there is often a distinct odor of gasoline in my storage shed.

I have even considered a 55-gallon steel drum, but part of my rational is to
have gas on hand to evacuate with. In that case, I would probably carry at
least an extra tank of gas with me, because gas stations will be empty, and
the
roads are liable to be jammed and glacially slow.

Vaughn

Use the 55 USG Drum, to fill up your plastic Jugs as you get ready to
Bug Out.....

 

[Malcom \Mal\ Reynolds]

Per John B. Slocomb:

But, looking at it from the outside and knowing nothing, one has
to wonder what the connections are between the MMS and the
industry. i.e. who is in who's pocket and, when standards are
written, who has the most influence over their content.

Especially when it seems that some personnel at MMS received "goodies" from the
very industry they were "regulating.

 

[Malcom \Mal\ Reynolds]

I worked in the business for quite a few years and you need to
remember that anything in and on the well is a certified device that
meets some standard, whether government or certifying society. Thus
casing, well head devices whether christmas tree or BOP all must be
made to the same standards and there are relatively few companies in
the business so prices are much the same no matter which make is
selected.

The US government MMS (Mineral Management Service) also approves the
individual items that go into the well. The whole business, in the
U.S. is highly regimented and controlled by the MMS. Well schedules
approved, surprise inspection visits conducted, inspection of both rig
equipment and materials used in the well.

That's all fine and dandy, but when your boss says "do it this way", you do it
that way or lose your job. And you know that they must pay handsome bonuses for
"productivity". There is enough talk from some of the survivors and even from
friends/relatives of the deceased to suggest that corners were cut.

I believe that when they brought up the control unit for the BOP that it's
battery was dead.

 

[John B. slocomb]

That's all fine and dandy, but when your boss says "do it this way", you do it
that way or lose your job. And you know that they must pay handsome bonuses for
"productivity". There is enough talk from some of the survivors and even from
friends/relatives of the deceased to suggest that corners were cut.

I believe that when they brought up the control unit for the BOP that it's
battery was dead.

I don't know about the dead battery but I did email a mate who is a
Drilling superintendent on a rig off the coast of Vietnam. On the rig
at the moment.

He tells me that the U.S. government agency the MMS monitors
everything that is done on a rig drilling in the US. and the standard
practice for BOP's is to test to above rated pressure at installation
and then every other week to above the pressures anticipated in
whatever stage in the drilling program that is being worked at the
moment. He tells me that these tests are documented and recorded and
that MMS inspects the records and witnesses them.

I've never heard of any bonus paid to the drilling crew for drilling
faster, in fact the opposite - you might get the axe for drilling too
slow. All rigs have instruments to record the parameters that effect
penetration, weight on the bit, rate of penetration, RPM, etc., and
that is one of the first things that the superintendent looks at every
day when he makes out his morning report so if you aren't doing your
job your presence is no longer required. And, today nearly all
drilling is controlled by a computer, the days of sitting there on the
brake all day is lone gone.

I've only heard one survivor report. the roust-a-bout that was so
worried about not getting psychiatric care because he couldn't sleep
and he was just a laborer, worked on rigs for two years, and he was
asleep when it happened.

Even the reports that the BP spokesman makes are simplified for the
public and sometimes hard to understand quite what was going on from
his description.

Another thing that might bear mentioning is that there really aren't
that many top drilling people in the business and they all talk to
each other. My mate tells me that he is getting so many e-mails that
all tell a different story that he now doesn't believe any of them.

There is no way of knowing what actually happened and the sequence of
steps that preceded it as all the people actually doing it, the floor
crew, died in the explosion. So everything you hear is second hand.
They know the condition of things today, oil coming out the riser -
BOP not closed, but not why they didn't close and until they get the
well killed and cut the BOP off and examine it they will never know.

Cheers,

John B.
(johnbslocombatgmaildotcom)

 

[Malcom \Mal\ Reynolds]

He tells me that the U.S. government agency the MMS monitors
everything that is done on a rig drilling in the US.

That is the theory. To the best of my knowledge, I haven't heard of anyone form
MMS being on that drilling rig. Kind of hard to monitor things that way.

 

[John B. slocomb]

That is the theory. To the best of my knowledge, I haven't heard of anyone form
MMS being on that drilling rig. Kind of hard to monitor things that way.

They don't live on the rig. They firstly are responsible for all
offshore leases; second, they review and approve/disapprove all plans
for the proposed well as well as inspecting or reviewing the
materials, tubules, used on the well. Finally they make spot tours of
the rig and check to ensure that the proposed drilling and materials
schedule are followed.

If for example, the company has proposed to install a 50,000 PSI BOP
stack then MMS will approve or disapprove the selection and secondly
they will ensure that the BOP, after installation is pressure tested
to the correct pressure and finally every time a change is made in the
BOP stack and/or every two weeks that will ensure that the BOP is
tested to above anticipated formation pressure for the current stage.

I know that there hasn't been any mention of MMS and it certainly
sounds as though the government doesn't want to publicize the fact
that a government agency is any way involved in the management of the
well.

At least that is what they are supposed to do, however have a look at
MMS's history and the various Senate and House investigations into its
actions. Start with
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minerals_Management_Service

And scroll down to the list of MMS personnel that found plus jobs in
the industry and the various items that MMS did not enforce. It is
quite obvious why OBama has made no mention of the agency.

Cheers,

John B.
(johnbslocombatgmaildotcom)

 

[amdx]

How so? If it your suggested "change" is to express your anger by simply
ousting one politician in favor of another one, all we will end up with is
more of what we have. -
To bring about change, you need more than anger, you need a plan.

I'm back with a little time, This oil spill is wreaking havoc on life and
business.
But a little slower now.







I don't disagree with that. (you need a plan)

It is only since we have had such an attack on the American way

of life, the freedoms we have, and capitalism that I'm have great concern.

I believe people should have the right to succeed or fail without undo

influence of government. Although I do know, the importance of law

to allow businesses to have a framework of rules to work with each other,

(contract law)

I think the Tea party has the right ideas about small government, less

taxes, and pro growth. I have attended several Tea Parties and recruit

on anyone I can to come and see what we are about. The Tea Party is

fighting a war of ideas, our president has the wrong ideas for America.

The democrats want to say we are racist, it is ideas, not color. They are

losing when that is all they have as ammunition.

Add to that, this is the first year I have ever sent political donations to

candidates, my money is hard earned and harder saved, so I want to make

my donations count. Trying to pick candidates that are close in the poles

but need help. If they are to far behind I don't want my donation to be

wasted, so far aaa, not so good, about 50%. :-(

I did this in word and can't seem to fix the spacing, sorry.

Let's go back to Social security for a moment, becaus that seems to be one
of the things that bothers you. All you need to do fix it is to either
increase SS taxes or reduce benefits. (good luck on getting somebody to
run on THAT platform!) The most painless way to bring the system into
balance is to do more of what Clinton did; delay benefits by raising the
"normal retirement age" to recognize the simple fact that we are living
longer and most of us can work can work longer than our parents did.

Even though I am near Social Security age, I would support a ystem that
ties the SS retirement age to real actuarial data by some formula that
would gradually put the system on more solid financial gronds and take the
decisions away from politicians much the way the SS COLA is done today .

I see maybe five fixes for social security,

1-Raise the retirement age-- this has already been started and it is
probably the easiest.

2-Reduce benefits-- yes a huge lobby against that, somewhat greedy in my
mind.

I need to pay for them because they passed a program that allowed them not
to pay in

enough during there working years to support themselves. Yes, this was done
before I

was born. But I still must pay.

3-Increase workers SS taxes, already 12.% there has got to be a limit.

Yes, I know it is 6.2% for employee and 6.2% for employer, but all comes
from

the labor of the worker.

4-Means testing-- If you have saved and built a large nest egg (savings)
that

generates a retirement income for you then you SS check will reduded or
eliminated.

Also known as penalizing workers that save for there future. Especially hard
on middle

class workers that scrimped and saved there whole life and have savings and
then to

get penalized because they tried to get ahead. (that would be me

5--- Eliminate any COLA's until the program is on a solid footing.

Further, your anger seems to be fixated on the current administration, but
let me remind you that it was the previous ones who got us here. For
example, it was the GWB administration that increased Medicare benefits
without increasing revenues, thus putting the system that many more years
closer to bankruptcy.

Vaughn

You don't need to convince me that GWB was not a good conservative

or helped in anyway to reduce the size of government.

I enjoy the exchange, helps me sharpen my arguments, I'm just a poor

boy from Michigan living in Florida.
Thanks, Mike

 

[Bob F]

I liked the idea of splitting time between freezers on and air
conditioner on.
I have 12 freezers about 7200 watts. They are not always all full,
and worse case
I could run 6 now and 6 later. Just insurance, sometimes $15,000 to
$30,000 of product in freezers.
Mike

A set of relays operated by a (battery operated) timer could sequence the
freezer operations.