This is not car related,but could we have a FYI forum? There is stuff I really want to ask these Folks(not always directly,auto related)-Kevin
Hi, Kevin: Such as…?
Well one question I’ve got is why in the “K” of the logo, there is a square stove bolt burr? Why not a hex nut? I’ve never seen a square burr on a car before unless it was a welded thread nut.
An homage to the Old Chevy Stovebolt 6?
Other questions could include why are there no one-way dead end streets? Ever seen a unicycle with a kickstand?
Kevin, by “these folks” are you referring to the brothers? Are you aware that they’ve long since retired?
I always thought the “stovebolt” nut was the product of a graphic artist that never wrenched on a car.
Naw, not the “Bros” the common men and woman who read these postings(most seem above average)@Carolyn,heck just about anything(because it has a way of creeping in anyway) sorta like the crackerbarrel or potbellied stove.An omni community roundtable if you will-Kevin
Hi Kevin, I’m sorry that I can’t create a new discussion area for general-purpose topics. I share your admiration for the regular posters here. But discussion does weave together lots of related areas. I think it would be a lot of fun, but it’s outside the bounds of what is intended for the forum.
the regular posters are the forum
I date back to Car Talk Rant & Rave when it was a free for all. It was great.
I went into this bar and started talking about the election. the barkeep said, no no no! no politics here, it starts fights.
so istarted talking about the coming holy days and the reason for the season. no no, he said, religion starts fights.
so I mentioned how the world series was lasting til November now. you guessed it, no sports, it causes fights.
so I asked him, can I talk about sex? he smiled and said, sure, no problem.
well then, I said, as he leaned in with a gleam in his eye…, @#%$ you, i m going across the street
Carolyn, it looks like you have been put in the un enviable position of cat herder. good luck with that…
It would be nice to have an open forum here, I have questions about a honda GX160 tiller engine and there are some really smart people here. I think a home repair section would be great as well.
I would like to have a flatout debate forum about hot button issues such as incinerating garbage and The pros and cons of coal fired power plants.
After all cartalk was about 30% “Cartalk” and 70% nonsense. Thats why we loved it so.
Most forums have an “off topic” or not car related section. But those also have a lot of other sections (detailing, promos, classifieds, etc), so I am not sure if this is the right place for that.
I think I’m in WESW’s court. Kinda takes all the fun out of it and after all, we’re here for the fun and interaction and no charge. As an intuitive, I have seen this before on boards and it seems to spell the beginning of the end as some like to restrict others. Takes all the fun out of it. I’m even on one board where you can’t get in anymore without being recommended (like AAA) by a member and can’t log in to see the posts without being a member. So it just turns into an old man’s club. There are two forums here that don’t get much use at all and might want to consider changing their focus before the whole thing goes down the tubes.
“The pros and cons of coal fired power plants.”
Really @WheresRick ? I still can’t for the life of me figure out why those things even exist anymore. Maybe you can educate me…
Coal fired plants exist because they still function and there is a huge supply business to support them.
I know, inertia is a big factor. Isn’t something close to half of the country’s electricity generated by coal fired plants? I think there may still be one coal fired power plant in this state.
It just seems to me to be a big messy dirty way to get electricity. I think natural gas is cleaner and a by-product of oil drilling anyway, isn’t it?
Hydroelectric and nuclear are my answers for electricity.
How about a place for “car jokes” like:
Q: What’s the last thing to go through a bug’s mind when it hits your windshield?
A: Its derriere.
Really @WheresRick ? I still can't for the life of me figure out why those things even exist anymore. Maybe you can educate me...
I never said I was for or against coal fired power plants, all I know is in my state much of the power comes from coal, and overall almost half of all power in US comes from coal, like it or not, its a fact. If we shut down every coal fired power plant tomorrow the lights would go out. That simple. I am not saying that we should keep dirt burners but they are an important part of the electrical grid right now. I like my electricity and want it to be reliable, and right now as we speak coal is a big part of reliable cheap base load electricity, like it or not its a fact.
How much do you pay for a KWH of electricity at your shop? If it wasn’t for coal you would be paying much more, and maybe we should be paying more, I don’t want to and if your electricity bill doubled I bet you as a shop owner would be crying the blues.
Because of its high energy content, low cost per unit of energy, and abundant worldwide reserves, coal is the least-cost energy source for both developed and developing countries. Estimated worldwide reserves, if consumed at forecast consumption levels, are expected to last 120 years.
However Worldwide, coal use accounted for 44.3 percent of energy-related CO2 emissions in 2011. CO2 emissions are a problem, that I acknowledge.
Coal is a plentiful, though non renewable resource, natural gas also produces high CO2 emissions, though under half as much as coal, and natural gas is an abundant resource, though it is also not a renewable resource and if you look at the reason its so cheap right now its because of fracking. Fracking is a huge environmental issue, and many people conveniently overlook those issues. Natural gas is not the answer, natural gas burns clean, but we must contaminate the groundwater to get at it now. Water is our #1 resource.
I think solar, hydro, wind and nuclear are the answer.
That being said,
Coal is so abundant in this country I think its foolish to ignore it as a future energy source, there are things such as coal gasification that are emerging technologies that need to be explored. We are shipping our coal to china and they are burning it now, if its going to be burnt anyway wouldn’t it be better to burn it in a brand new state of the art coal power plant here in the US instead of an archaic dirt burner in china?
@asemaster
Just curious, what sort of vehicle do you drive? I hope its not an suv or truck or car that gets below 30 mpg. I cannot understand why people are driving those anymore.