Not too many peoples live south of 50 degrees South latitude.
Lots of peoples come from above 50 degrees North latitude.
Explains why we are all so tough and Independent.
I could live in very cold climates, but not when people in Honolulu,
Seattle, or Washington D.C.
tell me I can't burn wood or coal to keep warm.

City life = city rules.

Country life = country rules.

I'd think someone living in Green Acres country would know that.

You reminded me of The Beverly Hillbillies.  The Clampetts were always getting in trouble for living by Tennessee mountain rules that were unacceptable in a big city. 

When in Rome ...

City life = city rules.

Country life = country rules.

I'd think someone living in Green Acres country would know that.

You reminded me of The Beverly Hillbillies.  The Clampetts were always getting in trouble for living by Tennessee mountain rules that were unacceptable in a big city. 

When in Rome ...

You rather miss my point, USA City people run the government and IMPOSE their values on everybody,  everywhere.
The Romans at least didn't impose their values and religion, they just wanted tax money from the conquered.
The locals were left pretty much to themselves otherwise.
Can you Imagine a Democrat allowing me to burn trash in my Yard?
Even with charged hoses and fire extinguishers?
Oh the HORROR!
 

You rather miss my point, USA City people run the government and IMPOSE their values on everybody,  everywhere.
The Romans at least didn't impose their values and religion, they just wanted tax money from the conquered.
The locals were left pretty much to themselves otherwise.
Can you Imagine a Democrat allowing me to burn trash in my Yard?
Even with charged hoses and fire extinguishers?
Oh the HORROR!
 

i grew up in a place and time when the Fall always came with the smell of people burning piles of leaves in the drainage ditches in front of their homes.

I don't think politics has anything to do with rules against those kinds of activities.  It's about whether your actions are causing the neighbors problems.  one house surrounded by 6 neighbors burning leaves can be a bit overwhelming with smoke and odor.

If you think you are an exception to burn ordinances, you should take your case to the people who passed the rules.  Maybe you can get an exception based on your lack of nearby neighbors, prevailing winds that carry burning embers and smoke away from others, etc.?

Just a thought.

just bring back small cars. most modern cars are bigger than their ancestors. A brand new 2003 Toyota Tacoma is smaller than the 2024. Its seems every year they go on a HGH regimen. Most of Hawaii drivers in traffic are 1 occupant but have a vehicle that is a brontosaurus. If you are struggling to see over the steering wheel or need a forklift to get into your vehicle you are overcompensating for something and killing the climate, baby seals, native birds, and being racist towards indigenous peoples.

just bring back small cars. most modern cars are bigger than their ancestors. A brand new 2003 Toyota Tacoma is smaller than the 2024. Its seems every year they go on a HGH regimen. Most of Hawaii drivers in traffic are 1 occupant but have a vehicle that is a brontosaurus. If you are struggling to see over the steering wheel or need a forklift to get into your vehicle you are overcompensating for something and killing the climate, baby seals, native birds, and being racist towards indigenous peoples.

There's a reason the "small" trucks are no longer small -- government regulations.

A couple of decades ago, when Detroit was losing soundly to most imported brands of cars that got great gas mileage, rather than make cars that can compete, the government enacted tariffs to protect the US companies.  This was during and after the gas shortages of the 1970's.

Those tariffs were based on the value of the vehicle.  So, Japan and other countries started sending over stripped-down models without A/C, passenger side mirrors, automatic transmissions, and even bumpers.  The trick was to import the vehicle as cheaply as they could make it, then either have a factory or the dealers add all the "options" (including choice of bumper style/material) as part of the sale.

Seeing the tariffs were not effective, the US changed the rules.  Instead of value, they were now charging for the number of units sold in the US.  Once again, Japan countered by installing as many options as they could before shipping.  The consumers were fine with spending about the same for the options since they pretty much wanted all the standard stuff anyway.  The few additional options that eventually became standard on certain trim packages allowed the foriegn makers to charge more, which didn't affect their sales and increased their revenue -- higher price per unit = higher profits.

Then the importers decided to build US plants to bypass most of these tariff restrictions.

Now the rules are based on gas mileage.  Taxes and tariffs are based on a range of gas mileage standards the US gov't set, and all new cars have to meet or exceed those standards.  However, they also included an exception for pickups.  Recognizing it's difficult to meet small car efficiency standards in a standard size pickup, any pickup model over a certain size is exempt from the fuel efficiency restrictions.

Logically, Japan and other foreign makers are now building pickups that are large enough to qualify for the exemption.  This is why my 2014 Tacoma and my 2002 Tundra had almost the exact same wheel base length.  Both barely fit in my garage with the door closed.  When my Tundra was totaled in late 2013, I was looking to get another Tundra to replace it.  However, the 2013/2014 models would not fit in my garage at all.  As the Tacoma expanded in size,  so did the larger models.

The government basically killed the compact pickup market.

i grew up in a place and time when the Fall always came with the smell of people burning piles of leaves in the drainage ditches in front of their homes.

I don't think politics has anything to do with rules against those kinds of activities.  It's about whether your actions are causing the neighbors problems.  one house surrounded by 6 neighbors burning leaves can be a bit overwhelming with smoke and odor.

If you think you are an exception to burn ordinances, you should take your case to the people who passed the rules.  Maybe you can get an exception based on your lack of nearby neighbors, prevailing winds that carry burning embers and smoke away from others, etc.?

Just a thought.

"you should take your case to the people who passed the rules.  Maybe you can get an exception based on your lack of nearby neighbors, prevailing winds that carry burning embers and smoke away from others, etc.?"
I thought you were smarter than that.
Unless you are a rich Democrat you are screwed law wise,
They don't have the same rules as everybody else.
I deal with it locally and talk to the local authorities.
informally and neighbors.
Hawaiian style,  WA  and CA state style.
No surprises and be low key.
 
 

"you should take your case to the people who passed the rules.  Maybe you can get an exception based on your lack of nearby neighbors, prevailing winds that carry burning embers and smoke away from others, etc.?"
I thought you were smarter than that.
Unless you are a rich Democrat you are screwed law wise,
They don't have the same rules as everybody else.
I deal with it locally and talk to the local authorities.
informally and neighbors.
Hawaiian style,  WA  and CA state style.
No surprises and be low key.
 

I thought you were smarter than that.

if you take the time to bitch about the rules, try directing those complaints to the people who can change it. 

Otherwise. your only option is to shut up and color.

 

I thought you were smarter than that.

if you take the time to bitch about the rules, try directing those complains to the people who can change it. 

Otherwise. your only option is to shut up and color.

 

I can't legally vote in Hawaii
anymore.
 

I can't legally vote in Hawaii
anymore.
 

I thought you were smarter than that.   

Voting in Hawaii is a formality.  If you want something, you have to give something.  Don't ask me what or for whom.  That's yours to figure out.

Got rid of my EV yesterday. This is because I lost my ability to charge it when ever I want to. After 25 years, my office moved.  Not only was the charging free, but it was always open.  The new office has chargers, but I have to pay and pay for the parking. Which because I'm in downtown cost much more.  So I ride a bicycle to work.  Does this mean I'm also still more green than our former climate change expert?  When xhe was last here, xhe didn't own an EV, but raved on how people need to use them.

Due to having baby, I had to also select a new car not based on looks/performance, but instead of logistics.  The car cannot be too wide, which rules the 4Runner out.  This is because HI's parking stalls are very narrow and I don't like to have to leave baby behind while I move my car up 3 feet so I can open the door more to get the baby seat in.  I wanted a Toyota Cross, but those are still on back order for 8+months. 

Then luxury cars also are mainly just as wide as the 4 runner, and not worth buying due to turning into shit cars after 3 years.  I don't want to lease a car either, which is ideal for BMW type cars.  Lexus would have ben an option, but the designs look too feminine for my taste.  The new KIA/Hyundai's are nice, but IMO, you're overpaying cause you can get a Toyota which is a much more reliable car for less.

I did notice that the cars that I do think look super cool are all EV's.  It's like when they design them, they have a futuristic look in mind.  Like the ID4, Volvo EV, even the KIA/Hyundai EV"s looks super cool.

So the point of this is that until the charging is just as available and fast like filling up gas, EV"s will never be a replacement option.  We are getting closer, but probaby at least another 20 years before charging can go from empty to full in 10 mins.  Right now, you can do it in 25-30 mins (Teslas). But you also degrade the life of the battery.

Toyota is working on their non lithium battery that's supposed to have much more range.  Unknown on when their EV"s will have them.

...

Did you look at the Toyota hybrids?  My daughter still has her 2011 Prius, hasn't had the batteries fail yet, and as time goes on, replacements have become cheaper and higher capacity.

Many hybrids have EV modes and charger ports, so you basically have an EV that you can charge using free charging stations and still have gas for longer range and when the battery is drained.  Chances are, depending on your driving habits, the hybrid charging system in the car will keep the batteries charged so you'll seldom need to plug in anywhere.

Even if you can get a Corolla with close to the same mileage as a comparable Prius, I see the hybrid as having two built-in capabilities vs. just one.  So, if you want to just save gas, get a high efficiency car.  Otherwise, get a hybrid so you aren't dependent on the power grid, charging stations, battery capacity between charges, and so on.

if you're still shopping, let us know what you decided. 

Interesting that Tesla GIgaBerlin was attacked.  They claim that Elon is evil and not really "green".  I mean, the guy doesn't use leather for seats because killing cows for it isn't good. But in their eyes, cause he's makign big bucks, I guess to be green also means that one has to live a mediocre income.

I bought a 2016 Corolla on Oahu in excellent condition from one old Pake who no can drive anymore.  I bought the car on April 24 and he had recently got the new tags, so expiration is Apr 2025.  It had Wet Okole seat covers front and rear and a high quality dash cover.  It is actually an extremely rare model.  It has a 6 spd stick shift.  Out of the 356,123 Corollas that were sold in the US that model year, only 2849 were stick shift.  I paid $8600 and both Edmunds and KBB showed a private party value of around $11,500.  Car is now on the BI and runs great. I changed all the fluids, brake, transmission, oil, coolant.  I also added aux lights, something you need on the BI along with a reverse camera which the car did not have.

Tesla Full Self Driving

Last month Tesla gave everyone a month of FSD to try out.  You enter the address and the car will drive there on it's own.  However you still had to keep your eyes on the road.  If you look away for too long, you get a strike.  After 5 strikes in a month the FSD turns off.

The FSD works fine most of the time.  It stops/goes at traffic lights, makes turns, avoids pedestrians on the road, etc.  It is very cautious as most of the time it hesitates when making turns at intersections even when it's very clear.  I drove around the island and the FSD made things very pleasant.  I could enjoy the scenery and have a conversation and relax.

The dangerous issues.  It sucks at freeway merges where it'll be stopped on the on-ramp forever if there's a lot of traffic.  At some freeway on-ramps with less traffic, it will slowly accelerate but may be limited to the prior speed limit.  For example if the speed limit was 35mph on the street, it'll drive at that speed until it hits a 55mph freeway sign.  If  a car is blocking the tesla from merging lanes, the Tesla doesn't know what to do and won't accelerate or decelerate to merge.  On the Westbound by Moanalua Gardens, the old striping that was removed (just  a black remnant now) confuses the car, it believes it's the lane marking and follows it into the next lane.  When the car had to make a left turn at an intersection with a left turn lane, it bypassed the left turn lane and tried to turn left from the straight lane even though everything was clearly marked.

There were a bunch of other issues.  Then there's problems in heavy traffic, heavy rain, etc.  I don't expect level 4 autonomy or robotaxis to be out for at least another 5 years.

I already got my hands full worrying about careless drivers, drivers under the influence and now I have to worry about "self driving" cars.

SMH.

Tesla Full Self Driving

Last month Tesla gave everyone a month of FSD to try out.  You enter the address and the car will drive there on it's own.  However you still had to keep your eyes on the road.  If you look away for too long, you get a strike.  After 5 strikes in a month the FSD turns off.

The FSD works fine most of the time.  It stops/goes at traffic lights, makes turns, avoids pedestrians on the road, etc.  It is very cautious as most of the time it hesitates when making turns at intersections even when it's very clear.  I drove around the island and the FSD made things very pleasant.  I could enjoy the scenery and have a conversation and relax.

The dangerous issues.  It sucks at freeway merges where it'll be stopped on the on-ramp forever if there's a lot of traffic.  At some freeway on-ramps with less traffic, it will slowly accelerate but may be limited to the prior speed limit.  For example if the speed limit was 35mph on the street, it'll drive at that speed until it hits a 55mph freeway sign.  If  a car is blocking the tesla from merging lanes, the Tesla doesn't know what to do and won't accelerate or decelerate to merge.  On the Westbound by Moanalua Gardens, the old striping that was removed (just  a black remnant now) confuses the car, it believes it's the lane marking and follows it into the next lane.  When the car had to make a left turn at an intersection with a left turn lane, it bypassed the left turn lane and tried to turn left from the straight lane even though everything was clearly marked.

There were a bunch of other issues.  Then there's problems in heavy traffic, heavy rain, etc.  I don't expect level 4 autonomy or robotaxis to be out for at least another 5 years.

I've always wondered about DUI's and FSD.  I mean, you're not operating the vehicle, it's driving on its own. 

I do know a guy who got a DUI. He was sleeping in his car, in the drivers seat with the car running. He was parked in front his home on the street. 

I've always wondered about DUI's and FSD.  I mean, you're not operating the vehicle, it's driving on its own. 

I do know a guy who got a DUI. He was sleeping in his car, in the drivers seat with the car running. He was parked in front his home on the street.

It's still considered driving assist and not certified for anonymous driving, so currently the driver is in control of the car.

It's still considered driving assist and not certified for anonymous driving, so currently the driver is in control of the car.

"Do you feel like you're in control"

"Do you feel like you're in control"

I've never seen any technical manuals that include how the features make the user "feel."

I guess it must be a Gen Z thing.

I've never seen any technical manuals that include how the features make the user "feel."

I guess it must be a Gen Z thing.

It's a quote from a movie, but I can't remember which one.