5/28    Extreme commuters travel 50-100 miles EACH way to/from work, and
        the trend is increasing 5X as fast as the general growth in
        commuting. Asked if it's worth sacraficing 2-4 extra hours a
        day of your life for your piece of the AMERICAN DREAM, where there's
        lots of room, lots of space, the answer is YES.
        http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/05/24/sunday/main2849455.shtml
        \_ I commuted 50 miles each way for a year, it was hell.  Soul crushing
           hell.  Now I work close enough that I can bike to work in almost
           the exact same time as driving would take.  Never again.
        \_ in other news, most Americans identify Rwanda as "a kind of fruit"
           \_ in other news, most Americans still prefer big McMansion
              homes and GWB over bike ride and Al Gore. You Californians
              are very much out of touch with core American values.
              \_ Except Bush didn't get a majority over Gore and his approval
                 ratings always suck.
              \_ "core American values" change all the time.  The suburb
                 as we know it has basically existed for only 50 years,
                 less than that in most places.  Americans changed before,
                 and they'll change again.  (In fact, are changing.)  -tom
              \_ if GWB's policy reflect core American Value, he would of
                 instated the draft and expect popular support.
              \_ Made up phrases like "core American values" make me laugh.
                 No such thing. Get a clue.
        \_ It's funny to me that you read the same article as me and got
           a 180 degree opposite conclusion from it.

5/28    If I want to find out who owns the title of a certain property in Hong
        Kong, which government agency there is in charge of this?  Thanks in
        advance.
        \_ I work for the Hong Kong Tourism Board.  Feel free to email me.
           \_ Would love to. What's your id?
        \_ Found it.  http://www.landreg.gov.hk/en/services/services_b.htm
           --- OP

5/28    Anti-war critic loses son in Iraq.  Dad is a professor of intl
        relations, was officer in Vietnam War, West Point grad, and got
        Ph.D. in U.S. diplomacy from Princeton.
        http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-backroom/1834549/posts
        http://tinyurl.com/22fsh2 (washingtonpost.com)
        \_ sad, but nothing new.  Lots of these pro-war guys, including
           policy makers, are talking tough, but not willing to risk their
           lives when it's their turn.  Through out the history, war munggers
           tend to be the chicken shit.
           \_ How is an anti-war critic a pro-war guy?

5/28    For the clue impaired, total cost of ownership of a typical
        American car:
        http://tinyurl.com/38gveq
        Note that it is double the purchase price, over just the
        first five years.
        \_ Proving the point that if you look at TOC, buying a crappy car
           is hardly much savings over a new car, since most of the
           expense over, say, 10 years is fuel and insurance anyway.
           If you're trying to prove that it's cheaper to walk to work,
           then - DUH.
           \_ Insurance on my crappy car was much less than on my new car.
              And even 6 years later things would still be less.  Plus on
              a crappy car things like theft insurance are silly, it would
              cost less to buy a new one than pay for theft insurance for a
              few years.  Hell, probably the same deal with comprehensive.
              \_ Comprehensive (which covers theft) is cheap. As I said
                 before, most of the cost of insurance is liability, which
                 is the same on a cheap or expensive car.
                 \_ You were wrong the first time you said it, too. The only
                    time that is true is when your car is either not worth
                    much, or you have really expensive liability insurance,
                    due to too many accidents or tickets, or being very young.
                    \_ I just looked at my policy again. Collision (which
                       is entirely optional) is less than 50% of my cost.
                       That's for an expensive car. For my cheaper car,
                       the collision is even less. I have no accidents or
                       tickets and have been licensed 16 years. I carry
                       100/300K coverage for liability.
                       \_ Sure, if you carry 10X the required liability coverage
                          your liability cost is higher. How much would it be
                          if you carried 1M/2M?
                          \_ I have assets I want to protect. With all the
                             expensive cars on the road in CA and the cost
                             of medical care, I even feel 100/300 is a
                             little low.
                             \_ Why not get 1M/2M then? Then you could
                                justify driving any car you wanted, because
                                your insurance costs would swamp all other
                                costs.
              \_ License fee is lower too.
                 \_ True.
           \_ Proving that is costs much more than $256/mo to own and operate
              a car. -OP
              \_ Which was never an issue to be debated. The issue was
                 whether $25x/month is worth it over an old beater.

5/28    Ad re America's knowledge re the war:
        http://adsoftheworld.com/files/images/USA.jpg
        \_ needs a lot more blue.  -tom