Living Car Free - Rantings and Ravings

Ok, there are a few rants here (all bike related) so stop if you're not interested.

First off, the economy - I'm not going to play the blame game, but it sucks. Especially if you're out of work, which I am. I went riding today - I bicycle everywhere - to a bunch of different temp agencies to register and try to find SOME kind of employment. Guess what? Not a single place I went to had a bike rack. Not one. Seriously?! You've paid for and are maintaining an office building and you can't put in a single bike rack?! :mad:

Then I stopped for lunch. Went to a fast food(ish) place. I don't normally eat fast food, it's generally foul and I don't feel well afterward, but I was hungry and it was there. Guess what? No effing bike rack. :mad:

Oh yeah, the food was horrible and sat in my stomach like a brick. Still is.

Prius drivers. If you're on here and a Prius driver, you're excepted until proven otherwise, simply because you probably "get" it. But Prius drivers seem to be the most smug a******s on the road except perhaps Volvo drivers. I heard one yelling at a large truck today. Something about "gas hog" and "wasting resources" or some schtuff like that. The truck was obviously a well-used work vehicle, not some road queen that was being misused as a commuter... but anyhow, I got to stop at the next light next the smug jackass in the Prius who thankfully had an open window. I sat there next to him on my recycled bicycle and said "Feeling pretty "green" are you? My $40 bicycle will conserve far more fuel than your $30,000 car." His head whipped around and took in my 25+ year old Schwinn, then he faced front and pretended to ignore me, but I could see him blush. :lol:

Thanks for listening, if you did.

[/rant]

I did listen - great. Thanks for the story.

In fact I forwarded your rants on to my son, also living in the Bay area, also un/underemployed, no car, gets around on a bike.

Hope it turns around for both of you soon.

+1 about Prius drivers. A lot of them seem to find it a good excuse that their vehicles use less gas so they speed like crazy on the freeways, always seeming to need to be at the head of the pack all the time. I see the same with Smart car owners. What's the point of having a "green" car if you will be a leadfoot on the roads. I would even see them as a danger to the public as these cars do not handle particularly well with their heavy batteries and small narrow section wheels and tires.

Chombi

Ahem - shouldn't this be in A&S?

-Kurt

+1 about Prius drivers. A lot of them seem to find it a good excuse that their vehicles use less gas so they speed like crazy on the freeways, always seeming to need to be at the head of the pack all the time. I see the same with Smart car owners. What's the point of having a "green" car if you will be a leadfoot on the roads. I would even see them as a danger to the public as these cars do not handle particularly well with their heavy batteries and small narrow section wheels and tires.

Chombi

The weird thing is, it's not hybrid drivers in general, it's specifically Prius drivers. The folks I see driving a hybrid Ford Fusion or Toyota Camry seem not to be ******bags, in general.

I hadn't really noticed with the Smart Car, but I'll pay more attention to them now and see if I can confirm.

I can't say ******bag? Apparently not.

I empathize strongly with your initial statements - about joblessness being the worst, America being way behind the global curve on the bike rack issue, and American fast food being the pits.

I also hate to join the chorus of people who have probably told you to "keep your chin up", but don't get down on yourself. I have several close, qualified friends who deserve good jobs but can't find work because of the economy. It's not their fault, just as it's likely not yours.

I only say that to encourage you to not get down on yourself, and to keep on keepin' on.

And as for your statement about self-righteous Prius owners, you're right on. Not to mention that buying a new car is always more wasteful than keeping your clunker clean and running. Half of the environmental impact of a vehicle comes from it's production and shipping/freight of the finished car. Cleaning up and riding a 20 year old bike into the ground is one of the most "sustainable" ways for someone to get from here to there.

Good on ya, mate, and I'll be praying that things improve for you on the job front.

So you're saying I shouldn't buy a Prius?

So you're saying I shouldn't buy a Prius?

With a name like 'JunkYardBike', you could get away with it in my book... but only if you didn't junk/sell a perfectly good car to get it. My Sister-In-Law did that. Says she did it to save money. I was like... really?! You traded in a new-ish but paid-for Subaru so you get to make $400/month payments on a new Prius and you think you're SAVING money?!

I swear, people can't do simple math. If you were paying $800/month for fuel and now you're paying $400... say if you WERE driving a Camaro and gave it up for a Prius... no wait, that doesn't work. The Camaro gets in the high 20's. More than half the mileage of the Prius. Hmmm...

Ok, if you were driving an F350 Super Duty with duallies and the 6.8L V-10, and traded it in on a Prius, and theoretically saved $400 a month in fuel (that'd still be a heck of a commute) you're STILL not being particularly environmentally friendly, as Maddox pointed out, a large part of the environmental impact of a car is the manufacturing of it.

How about when all those sealed motor + axle units fail on those Priuses? $15,000 a pop for a replacement.

-Kurt

My rant Saturday would of been Smart cars.. or not so Smart cars. Seriously they had a 100+ car parade... come on. My $500 Festiva gets about the same mileage carries and hauls twice what a smart car would. And their no faster and that's in my automatic. I guess different strokes for different folks?

My rant Saturday would of been Smart cars.. or not so Smart cars. Seriously they had a 100+ car parade... come on. My $500 Festiva gets about the same mileage carries and hauls twice what a smart car would. And their no faster and that's in my automatic. I guess different strokes for different folks?

Yeah, that's one thing that makes me want to either laugh or cry... Compare the EPA fuel rating for a 1990 Geo Metro LSi to that of a new Prius. They're pretty identical. The difference is mostly in safety regulations and smog control, new cars have much more stringent laws for both. But it's kind of silly. Driving a car is inherently dangerous, as is riding a bicycle or skydiving, and cars are not the major contributor to environmental pollution, heavy industry is.

Ahem - shouldn't this be in A&S?

-Kurt

Why? Nothing here about safety or advocacy. It is what the OP claims - Ranting and Raving.

Since the OP claims to be car free he may find a higher percentage of sympathetic comrades then P&R or Foo which is probably where this mindless drivel really belongs.

I am nearly about to piss my pants at this thread because it is not only funny but dead on. There are three cars between my father and I yet we share one. The other two are older and run but we don't need to drive them so they are sitting around because they are not worth selling. I tend to ride my bike because I like to not because I have to. It does bother me when I go out to run errands and there are no bike parking racks. Home Depot is a perfect example. I go in for one small item and have to park my bike in the shopping cart drop off zone with the hope that no one will ram a cart into it. Oddly enough, if I am there buying something large enough that I can carry on my utility bike, I get a lot of cheers from men in big trucks.
Supermarkets are just as bad. Around here, the bike racks are on the side of the store where there is little or no lighting. Shouldn't bikes get handicap priority parking too?
Long Beach is becoming more and more bike friendly but people in cars are not getting it because they don't have to. I have yet to be run off the road but people still honk at me if they are too chicken to go around me. I have seen more and more bike racks but still few are riding because there is little or no education behind street riding. People don't feel safe or confident enough to take the road. Slowly but surely things will change.

Why? Nothing here about safety or advocacy. It is what the OP claims - Ranting and Raving.

Since the OP claims to be car free he may find a higher percentage of sympathetic comrades then P&R or Foo which is probably where this mindless drivel really belongs.

I am car-free, but my family is not. My girlfriend has and uses her car, despite my entreaties to do without. *shrug* I'm not trying to change the world, just make my corner of it a little better than it was.

I'll give you a little counter-rant, Faster. (Or should I call you Mr. Fool?) I don't hate Priuses more than any other car, but we don't have many of them here in Michigan. I do know what you mean about self-righteous greenies and sometimes they get my goat too. (Of course one poster here has called me that many times, and usually tacks on something about my high horse.) I wish more places had bike racks, but I've learned to get by without them. As for fast food, I like it. For me, eating it only once a month keeps it tasting good, and an hour long bike ride helps to lighten the heavy feeling that you were talking about.

Unemployment has been bad here too. I hope they keep on giving the extensions until the rate has dropped a lot. You're lucky to be carfree. A lot of people are having trouble keeping the repo man away when they lose their job.

Welcome to the carfree forum. You have a cool Will Rogers style about you. :)

I'll give you a little counter-rant, Faster. (Or should I call you Mr. Fool?) I don't hate Priuses more than any other car, but we don't have many of them here in Michigan. I do know what you mean about self-righteous greenies and sometimes they get my goat too. (Of course one poster here has called me that many times, and usually tacks on something about my high horse.) I wish more places had bike racks, but I've learned to get by without them. As for fast food, I like it. For me, eating it only once a month keeps it tasting good, and an hour long bike ride helps to lighten the heavy feeling that you were talking about.

Unemployment has been bad here too. I hope they keep on giving the extensions until the rate has dropped a lot. You're lucky to be carfree. A lot of people are having trouble keeping the repo man away when they lose their job.

Welcome to the carfree forum. You have a cool Will Rogers style about you. :)

Most people (on other forums) call me Faster or FYF.

I didn't consciously stop eating fast food, I just sort of drifted away from it. I prefer to eat at home. After a while, I was in a pinch, ate at one of the major national chains, and felt horrible for hours afterward.

Pretty much the same thing happened with soda. I just sort of... fell out of the habit of drinking it. Tried a Coke a couple of weeks ago, it just tasted weird.

But I still love my coffee and beer. :D

Thanks for the welcome.

Ok, there are a few rants here (all bike related) so stop if you're not interested.

First off, the economy - I'm not going to play the blame game, but it sucks. Especially if you're out of work, which I am. I went riding today - I bicycle everywhere - to a bunch of different temp agencies to register and try to find SOME kind of employment. Guess what? Not a single place I went to had a bike rack. Not one. Seriously?! You've paid for and are maintaining an office building and you can't put in a single bike rack?! :mad:

Then I stopped for lunch. Went to a fast food(ish) place. I don't normally eat fast food, it's generally foul and I don't feel well afterward, but I was hungry and it was there. Guess what? No effing bike rack. :mad:

Oh yeah, the food was horrible and sat in my stomach like a brick. Still is.

Prius drivers. If you're on here and a Prius driver, you're excepted until proven otherwise, simply because you probably "get" it. But Prius drivers seem to be the most smug a******s on the road except perhaps Volvo drivers. I heard one yelling at a large truck today. Something about "gas hog" and "wasting resources" or some schtuff like that. The truck was obviously a well-used work vehicle, not some road queen that was being misused as a commuter... but anyhow, I got to stop at the next light next the smug jackass in the Prius who thankfully had an open window. I sat there next to him on my recycled bicycle and said "Feeling pretty "green" are you? My $40 bicycle will conserve far more fuel than your $30,000 car." His head whipped around and took in my 25+ year old Schwinn, then he faced front and pretended to ignore me, but I could see him blush. :lol:

Thanks for listening, if you did.

[/rant]

I've had more conflicts with Prius drivers than with any other type of car, including SUVs and pickups.

I've had more conflicts with Prius drivers than with any other type of car, including SUVs and pickups.
That's weird. Do you think it's becaus you can't hear them coming from behind you?

That's weird. Do you think it's becaus you can't hear them coming from behind you?

No, I think it's because some Prius drivers are smug, entitled rich, wanna-be "liberal/green" ******** who, when push comes to shove, are actually just entitled rich ******** who get pissed off when a bicyclist, or anyone else, gets in their way.

No, I think it's because some Prius drivers are smug, entitled rich, wanna-be "liberal/green" ******** who, when push comes to shove, are actually just entitled rich ******** who get pissed off when a bicyclist, or anyone else, gets in their way.

http://www.pursuit.eu/rimages/hammare.jpg

I've had more conflicts with Prius drivers than with any other type of car, including SUVs and pickups.


That's weird. Do you think it's becaus you can't hear them coming from behind you?


No, I think it's because some Prius drivers are smug, entitled rich, wanna-be "liberal/green" ******** who, when push comes to shove, are actually just entitled rich ******** who get pissed off when a bicyclist, or anyone else, gets in their way.

Another possibility is that some cycling ascetics are smug, "liberal/green" ******** who do not feel they get enough credit for their world saving accomplishments and resent anyone else trying to wear a green halo.

I'll jump in as a Smartcar owner. My family is carlite and we wanted to make sure that when we drive a car, it's the best choice (that we can afford). We walk, ride our bikes, take transit, and husband even rollerskates for errands. When we drive the car, we're obviously aware of and courteous to users of other modes of travel. I haven't had any unpleasant encounters with Smart or Prius drivers, no matter how I happen to be travelling.

I'm not a big fan of hybrids, just because, well, it's still a car, y'know? It seems to me that more fuel can be saved by driving less, than by driving a different car.

That said, I can't say I've noticed Prius drivers being any different from others. Where I live, every third car is a Volvo station wagon anyway, so it's hard to tell any difference for adding a few Prii to the mix .

Hmm, Prii doesn't look right. Anyone here know enough pseudo-Latin to tell me the plural of Prius?:lol:

I'm not a big fan of hybrids, just because, well, it's still a car, y'know? It seems to me that more fuel can be saved by driving less, than by driving a different car.

That said, I can't say I've noticed Prius drivers being any different from others. Where I live, every third car is a Volvo station wagon anyway, so it's hard to tell any difference for adding a few Prii to the mix .

Hmm, Prii doesn't look right. Anyone here know enough pseudo-Latin to tell me the plural of Prius?:lol:

"Prius" is not a verb but a Latin comparative (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparative) adjective (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adjective) or adverb (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adverb), the neuter (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammatical_gender) nominative (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nominative) singular form of the adjective whose corresponding masculine and feminine nominative singular forms are prior[89] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Prius#cite_note-88) (see also Latin declension - Irregular adverbs and their comparative and superlative forms (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_declension#Irregular_adverbs_and_their_comparative_and_superlative_forms)) with meanings "ahead, in front, leading; previous, earlier, preceding, prior; former; basic".[90] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Prius#cite_note-89)
A Toyota spokesperson stated that "Toyota chose this name because the Prius vehicle is the predecessor of cars to come."[91] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Prius#cite_note-brainiac-90)
Some enthusiasts enjoy using "Prii" as the plural, which would be correct if "prius" were a regular second declension (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_declension#Second_declension_.28o.29) Latin noun. The actual Latin plural of the adjective is "priora" (Reference [91] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Prius#cite_note-brainiac-90) is slightly in error here). All of these forms are nominative case (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nominative_case) and there are several other forms for the other cases (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammatical_case). As for the plural of "Prius" in English, Toyota has said that it is simply "Prius" and also that owners are welcome to use whatever they like.[92] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Prius#cite_note-91)


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Prius

Ekdog, thank you! That is very informative. I will haughtily use Priora in future references to these vehicles, and if anyone doesn't know what I'm talking about, @#$% 'em. Since nouns used in English don't decline, the nominative form will do nicely.:thumb:

The plural of Prius is like the plural of Moose. There is one Prius or 2 Prius, or one moose or two moose.

The plural of Prius is like the plural of Moose. There is one Prius or 2 Prius, or one moose or two moose.
No, the plural of moose is meese.

I hear you about the bike racks thing. My boyfriend and I needed to go to Radio Shack for something recently (and of course we biked there!). Not only was it ridiculously difficult to get to by bike, but they had the whole SUPPORT TEAM RADIO SHACK (a cycling team, if you don't follow racing) poster up in the window. Guess what? No bike racks. Not even a solid post to which we could lock our bikes... we had to use a tree. The staff were also really rude, actually...

That's weird. Do you think it's becaus you can't hear them coming from behind you?

I haven't noticed them to be much quieter. The sound of the tires on the street is the loudest noise from either a hybrid or most standard cars these days.

No, the plural of moose is meese.
I'm getting confused....http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/5982/meeseposterwashingtonpebi1.jpg

So I guess the problem with Prius drivers is that they have misplaced priorities.

However despite what Toyota says, since Prius is essentially an artificial choice of a name that doesn't follow it's Latin usage, and thus is essentially a new word, the most valid plural form would be Priusses.

Why? Nothing here about safety or advocacy. It is what the OP claims - Ranting and Raving.

Since the OP claims to be car free he may find a higher percentage of sympathetic comrades then P&R or Foo which is probably where this mindless drivel really belongs.

Chuckle. I think you're looking for the Corn Cob Up His Ass forum.

No, the plural of moose is meese.

I'm pretty sure that the plural of moose is mice. At least, that's what I always thunked.

As for plural Prius - I usually call them Piouses.

I love the way you can play with language, brake many rules, and still be understanded.

Answer me this - if the past of sink is sunk, why isn't the past of think thunk? And if the past of think is thought, why isn't the past of sink sought? Sought is the past of seek, and now my head hurts.

I'm pretty sure that the plural of moose is mice. At least, that's what I always thunked.
No, but the plural of mouse is meeses. As in "I hate meeses to pieces!"

http://springcitychronicle.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/pixie-dixie-and-mr-jinks.jpg?w=400&h=244

Roody,

What is your career field?
Have you thought about returning to school? Changing careers?

Interesting post. I tend not to generalize about people based on anything: car, skin color, nationality, geographic origin, religion, sexuality. I take people as they are: a jerk is a jerk less to do with skin color or the rest and more to do with personality trait, home environment, internal pressures.

It is a good thread. Interesting.

Carry on.

Roody,

What is your career field?
Have you thought about returning to school? Changing careers?You might be confusing Roody with the thread's original poster (OP) Fasteryoufool.

oh--thank you--it started to blur--lol--

okay, FF er OP:

Have you thought about changing careers? Returning to school (college or vocational)?

Yeah... already did that once, at 30. Into a profession I believed was pretty bomb-proof. Turns out nowadays they're farming out IT/Tech support overseas. Shhhtuff happens.

Yeah... already did that once, at 30. Into a profession I believed was pretty bomb-proof. Turns out nowadays they're farming out IT/Tech support overseas. Shhhtuff happens.
There's no way to predict what career field will provide stability in this fast changing world. Maybe the best idea is to select an occupation that you like and hope for the best.

Another possibility is that some cycling ascetics are smug, "liberal/green" ******** who do not feel they get enough credit for their world saving accomplishments and resent anyone else trying to wear a green halo.

For me, it's not about your green credentials. It's about whether or not you try to nudge me to the curb at an intersection, or swerve in front of me and stop just to make a point about something, or glare at me as you pass me on a narrow road. In the last year, Prius drivers have done all of these things. Besides Prius drivers, in the last year I've had no conflicts with any drivers of any cars at all, except for that drunk guy in a BMW who told me to get on the sidewalk before he rear-ended the car in front of him.

BTW, it's kind of irritating when you make automatic assumptions about others with little or no background information. (Yes, of course I do the same thing, but it's only annoying when it's done by other posters.)

Ok, there are a few rants here (all bike related) so stop if you're not interested.

First off, the economy - I'm not going to play the blame game, but it sucks. Especially if you're out of work, which I am. I went riding today - I bicycle everywhere - to a bunch of different temp agencies to register and try to find SOME kind of employment. Guess what? Not a single place I went to had a bike rack. Not one. Seriously?! You've paid for and are maintaining an office building and you can't put in a single bike rack?! :mad:

Then I stopped for lunch. Went to a fast food(ish) place. I don't normally eat fast food, it's generally foul and I don't feel well afterward, but I was hungry and it was there. Guess what? No effing bike rack. :mad:

Oh yeah, the food was horrible and sat in my stomach like a brick. Still is.

Prius drivers. If you're on here and a Prius driver, you're excepted until proven otherwise, simply because you probably "get" it. But Prius drivers seem to be the most smug a******s on the road except perhaps Volvo drivers. I heard one yelling at a large truck today. Something about "gas hog" and "wasting resources" or some schtuff like that. The truck was obviously a well-used work vehicle, not some road queen that was being misused as a commuter... but anyhow, I got to stop at the next light next the smug jackass in the Prius who thankfully had an open window. I sat there next to him on my recycled bicycle and said "Feeling pretty "green" are you? My $40 bicycle will conserve far more fuel than your $30,000 car." His head whipped around and took in my 25+ year old Schwinn, then he faced front and pretended to ignore me, but I could see him blush. :lol:

Thanks for listening, if you did.

[/rant]


I would love to live car free, and I did during my 20's....but live in the country with 4 children..
Maybe when they are all grown, and I'm in my 60's I will have my chance......:D

I'm wondering how it will work with Nissan Leaf drivers. Will they be like Prius drivers or worse, or maybe they will be extra considerate. Chevy Volt drivers I don't know - I mean they're still driving a Chevy so how smug could they be? The Tesla drivers are having too much fun dropping Porsches at lights to be rude to bicyclists. We will see ...

I'm wondering how it will work with Nissan Leaf drivers. Will they be like Prius drivers or worse, or maybe they will be extra considerate.
Do you mean will they be even more smarmy than Prius drivers? Can't you just feel it as they blow by?:)

[QUOTE=4000Miles;10970884]I hear you about the bike racks thing. My boyfriend and I needed to go to Radio Shack for something recently (and of course we biked there!). Not only was it ridiculously difficult to get to by bike, but they had the whole SUPPORT TEAM RADIO SHACK (a cycling team, if you don't follow racing) poster up in the window. Guess what? No bike racks. Not even a solid post to which we could lock our bikes... we had to use a tree. The staff were also really rude, actually...[/QUOT

Been my experience with two out of the three that I have been in.

I'm pretty sure that the plural of moose is mice. At least, that's what I always thunked.

As for plural Prius - I usually call them Piouses.

I love the way you can play with language, brake many rules, and still be understanded.

Answer me this - if the past of sink is sunk, why isn't the past of think thunk? And if the past of think is thought, why isn't the past of sink sought? Sought is the past of seek, and now my head hurts.

Having been around them all my life, I can state that the plural of moose is either moose or mooses, depending on your age.

Having been around them all my life, I can state that the plural of moose is either moose or mooses, depending on your age.

Or might be "orignal" depending on the part of Maine you hail from (like around Augusta...). Oui?

"Prius" is not a verb but a Latin comparative (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparative) adjective (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adjective) or adverb (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adverb), the neuter (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammatical_gender) nominative (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nominative) singular form of the adjective whose corresponding masculine and feminine nominative singular forms are prior[89] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Prius#cite_note-88) (see also Latin declension - Irregular adverbs and their comparative and superlative forms (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_declension#Irregular_adverbs_and_their_comparative_and_superlative_forms)) with meanings "ahead, in front, leading; previous, earlier, preceding, prior; former; basic".[90] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Prius#cite_note-89)
A Toyota spokesperson stated that "Toyota chose this name because the Prius vehicle is the predecessor of cars to come."[91] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Prius#cite_note-brainiac-90)
Some enthusiasts enjoy using "Prii" as the plural, which would be correct if "prius" were a regular second declension (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_declension#Second_declension_.28o.29) Latin noun. The actual Latin plural of the adjective is "priora" (Reference [91] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Prius#cite_note-brainiac-90) is slightly in error here). All of these forms are nominative case (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nominative_case) and there are several other forms for the other cases (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammatical_case). As for the plural of "Prius" in English, Toyota has said that it is simply "Prius" and also that owners are welcome to use whatever they like.[92] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Prius#cite_note-91)


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Prius

And I just thought Toyota misspelled "pious" ....

I've never really noticed Prius drivers to be any worse or better than other drivers. I've had more problems with minivan drivers and recreational pickup truck drivers than anything else. Just yesterday I was making a left and almost through a 'T' intersection - I was making my left from the base of the 'T' and the minivan was going straight from the right side (three way stop)... I was already part way into the intersection when they arrived, made a complete stop, then to my surprise started moving again when I was almost crossing in front of them, they only bothered to look left as they cut me off and I was almost into the side of their van. If I had been moving faster, I'd have been hit from behind. But hey, that's just another day biking in suburbia.
The pickup drivers seem to have a certain mindset - a) their vehicle is bigger and tougher than others, so in an accident they win, therefore can drive recklessly and b) bicycles should be on the sidewalk. I've yet to meet a pickup driver that doesn't have this mentality.

No, but the plural of mouse is meeses. As in "I hate meeses to pieces!"

http://springcitychronicle.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/pixie-dixie-and-mr-jinks.jpg?w=400&h=244

you're an idiot babe, it's a wonder that you still know how to breathe-Bob Dylan

Ok, if you were driving an F350 Super Duty with duallies and the 6.8L V-10, and traded it in on a Prius, and theoretically saved $400 a month in fuel (that'd still be a heck of a commute) you're STILL not being particularly environmentally friendly, as Maddox pointed out, a large part of the environmental impact of a car is the manufacturing of it.

With Prius prices being what they are, I found it cheaper for both payments and gas to get a Ford F150 ;-) The truck gets me from where I live out in the sticks to wn where I work; the bike in the back of the truck gets me from the commuter lot to about anywhere else around town.

Priuses be expensive, what with all the electronics stuff plus the market demand.