BIG ski SUV - Page 11  

Hey guys, how about a thread on the evils of the diamond trade? RR will buy her one anyway, but let's get all up in his face about why he shouldn't!

Nah...the difference is that he came here with a thread called BIG SKI SUV!!! looking for a huge honkin SUV for him and his gf. Not for a family, or to transport a regular group of skiers, but for him and his gf only. He knows the crowd here, should understand that there is an ethos of environmentalism/ conservationism here, and that many here would see his post as representative of many things that are wrong in our culture today -- greed, image consciousness, selfishness, wastefullness, etc. So the responses might not have been what he was seeking, but surely what he should have expected. Except the few that got nasty about his gf...those were a bit out of line.

As for diamonds...well he-l...those have been around longer than SUV's haven't they? Will take much longer to get people to question the value of a diamond. Myself, I do'nt see the point...they are shiny little stones, nothing more, with little practical use except in grinding and polishing : ) But I don't wear jewelry. If I did, I'd wear something I made myself I suppose, out of wood and a seashell or something like that...something wiht more meaning than a shiny stone I didn't even find myself.

An Expedition or equivalent size vehicle for two people and a tiny dog...is just blantantly wasteful, and screams not only "Look at me", but "I do'nt give a F about wasting resources or harming the environment" -- regarldess of what other good things Rich and Paris do to help the environment, if any.

Long Island is a weird place. Rich is burdend by his environment/surroundings and he doesn't even realize it.

Hey Rich...why aren't you getting your dog fixed anyway? It's sort the responsible thing to do unless you plan to become a breeder.

This thread was entertaining for a while. I think there was some hope that Rich and Paris might do the right thing and get something that sorta more fits their urban lifestyle rather than something they can use to transport the contents of their home to Vermont a few times a year, but it's clear that's not happening. Instead the thread has become a sad testament to the efforts people (Richie) will expend to defend their right to consume as much as they want regardless of real need, and in the face of a global environmental crisis over the next several decades as developing nations simply explode (fueled partly by...immense consumerism in the U.S.!!).

Stuff like this makes me feel like an idiot for having my kids save their little plastic sandwich baggies so we can reuse them a few times instead of sending them to the landfill every day. No, we're not poor...far from it...and maybe plastic bags aren't the scourge of the environment, but they aren't helping either, and it reminds me and the kids that most of the time we need to be mindful of wasting things.

Well, I gotta go to lunch. It's Bald Eagle taco day. Mmmm.

People on this site are ALPINE SKIERS. That means that we travel to mountains, either in cars or planes, we ride chairlifts and ski on snow that is groomed by Piston Bullies, for some of us the snow came via compressed air and water piped uphill.

People need to check themselves.

Whiteroom -- I do'nt think anyone is claiming that resort skiing doesn't have an environmental impact. You're not the first person to point out the obvious. Nobody is saying Rich should rollerblade to Vermont with his gf on his back. The point is that two people can make a choice to drive a more reasonable vehicle, one that suits their needs 99% of the time, and that other 1% of the time when they need to transport mounds of stuff to VT....find a creative way to deal with it or leave a few fur coats at home.

Large scale change starts with small scale change. The ski industry will is getting, and will get, greener. As more people tune into that, the leaders will prosper to the extent that being green doesn't take too much green out of the consumers pockets.

I'm not sure what you mean when you say poeple need to check themselves. But if you mean that people should evaluate, on a somewhat regular basis, their personal environmental impact, then I agree.

Comments like this bother me. I'm a member of a lot of forums, but this one, seems to have a high probability of ending up in meeting people face to face. With that being said, I don't understand how people can say things similar to what I quoted. Just because one may be on oposite coasts, or points on the globe...you just never know who may roll into that "local Epic/Bear get together" because they just happen to be in the area.

Furthermore, there's always a lot of talk about "karma" around here. I hope everything thinks about "karma" before they decide to play "Captain Keyboard: E-Thug of the interweb" and roast a fellow forum member.

never did understand this "Up State" thang.

How can Binghamton be UP state! its like 4 miles from the southern border!

(exagerrating slightly)

Carry on

So, tell us more about your family life since you are so quick to criticize and judge that of others....
Got any photos?:

I'm amused that ol' Richie is actually emerging from this thread smelling better than a lot of the other participants ... one of those unintended consequences, I guess.

I think that's the hair gel.

Yes and no. IF people are going to point fingers, they should examine their own lives first. And I don't mean taking a little "carbon footprint" test. I think anyone who flies to Colorado 3 times a year, or drives 6 hours every weekend, or lives in a 6,000 sq ft house, or goes jetskiing or wakeboarding, or eats beef 4 times each week should stop short before criticizing someone else who drives a 14mpg SUV instead of their 19mpg Audi.


Yes, I use chairlifts. Yes, I sometimes ski groomed slopes.

But I do everything I reasonable can to reduce my impact - not because of global warming, but simply because it isn't ethical to rob the future generations of their choices.

Out of 59 days I went to the ski area last year, there were 2 in which I would have driven alone. I parked my car and hitchhiked to the mountain. If there were open seats, I picked up hitchhikers. I live as close as I can to the mountains, but even closer to work (one mile). I haven't gotten on a plane 1 time in the past 2 years, and that was an emergency business trip. In fact, I haven;t travelled more than 100miles from home in the past year, other than that. I live in a 1200 square foot home and keep the thermostat at 62 in the winter.

I don't do those things for the bragging rights, nor am I trying to brag here. I have bad habits - I ride chairlifts and I have a really hard time even considering giving up fresh vegetables in the off-season. But I am trying really hard to live a life I can justify to myself.

I think everyone should look at their own lives and ask themselves, can they justify theirs?

Should there be social pressure on others to live a less impactful life? I think we owe it to future generations to change our culture somehow, to one we can sustain.

/preaching. Carry on.

I collect belly button lint to weave into sweaters.

I save earwax to make candles, I make the wicks out of my woven nostril hair.

To save water I go to the bathroom in a hole I dug on my neighbors lawn behind his evergreen.


just kidding.

Fixed it.

You forgot hot tubs, watching massive size TVs, Air Conditioning, wasting electricity on loud music and video games, posting in the internet, etc..:`

What you leave out is that RR wants a Kenworth to haul him and his gf around. Not a family, or a church choir, or a marching band. Him, his gf, and his capybara. You can forever point your fingers at things people do that they don't need to, but an Expedition sized vehicle for two people and a long haired guinea pig is...well...over the top excess. I could cut more waste out of my life if I tried, but with people like RR and Paris out there, unable to be persuaded that they don't need a bucket wheel to dig a post hole, what's the point in even being bothered?

Some here are trying to point to anything that isn't strictly utilitarian as something wasteful, and that misses the crux of the whole argument. An SUV is fine if you need it...and it serves little purpose if you don't. As much as Paris thinks it might make her look tough, it doesn't. Sure skiing uses energy, a lot of it, and skiing isn't utilitarian by any means...but it serves another purpose, namely entertainment, exercise, social interaction, spiritual and mental wellness, etc. Yeah, maybe a huge SUV can do some of that for some people too I suppose...but is it enough to justify the waste of driving solo (most of the time) in a massive truck? Many would argue not. And the arguements in favor are pretty weak and certainly very worn out.

We do'nt have to be perfect stewards of the earth, but some things are just so damn obvious and easy that it's truly a shame to not do them. Giving up skiing isn't in that realm, but buying a sensible vehicle is.

Gotta go turn the heat on, because the windows are open and it's getting cold in here.

I think it takes experiences to alter daily actions. I would never have realized how simple life actually is with just one vehicle between the wife and I if I hadn't fallen into that experience. I know that most don't fit that category anyway, this is Japan afterall- arguably the leader in public transport.

I also likely wouldn't be as eager to change the world had I not experienced the holes that exist. From teaching kids in Peru with no floor at their school or water to wash their hands, to experiencing Japan where space truly is a luxury, people are taxed just for living, social medicine does actually suck, gas is 6 dollars a gallon, securing an apartment requires a standard 6-month rent-equivalent non-refundable "fee", a steak costs 70 dollars & a peach costs 5... ultimately you live in other parts of the world and you realize that when you go home you just won't be able to look yourself in the mirror if you did some of the things you did before those travels.

When I meet new people, I usually know right off the bat whether or not that person has ever experienced life outside their norm.

I used to say that one day I'd buy that Ferrari. Now I know for a fact that if I had that cash available, I'd be building schools and infrastructures to actually have that money show some impact on society. I can't tell you the lives I could directly impact on a long-term scale if you handed me a Ferrari to sell.

Some of you have gotten glimpse of my recent rants in other threads. These rants are developing because I invest an equivalent of my salary into developing an educational system that will (with any luck) make an impact on the world. It's exhausting and tedius work that literally doesn't afford me the luxury of a day off. It's a one-year plan that I willingly took on. I rant here because I don't have any English speaking collegues here and my wife doesn't want to hear it the 10 minutes we see each other while we toss and turn in bed knowing that this is temporary. And, when I see others not working as hard as I, yet living more comfortably, I get frustrated when I see the waste.

"With wisdom and experience comes the notion that all those around you are idiots." (self quote)

You can't have your cake and eat it too. You can't learn what needs to be fixed in the world and not be irritated at the same time because others aren't fixing it. If you want that frustration to stop, you have to either become the idiot you once were or educate the masses, both of which will remove you from the wisdom-peg on which you once stood and sought to obtain.

I'm a member of the tribe so don't get your panties twisted!!:

How do tell when a JAP has an orgasm!

She drops her nail file!

Is this thread epic's version of TGR?
So far samurai is winning the rant war...

R-R would have been skewered about 50 times by now on TGR. He should try Alpinezone where they'd be awestruck since he skiis the awesome big hills like Hunter, Okemo and Flatton. But then the competition's pretty stiff in the dweeb dept there.

Good post samurai - expanding life experience makes some of this even more juvenile and misdirected than it initially appears. Some have strange requirements and priorities.

Wow. I wonder if you wrote those things with a straight face Rich. It's a ridiculous list. If there was a throwing in the towel smiley I'd post it here.

Thats kinda how I feel.

To a point anyone who ski's is being pretty hypocritical banging on someone who wants a vihicle that gets 10% less gas milage than ?? what a subaru?:

MTT must stand for Math is Too Tough.

Go look at the EPA estimates for a Yukon and a Forester. The range for a Yukon is 12-14 City, 18-20 Hwy. A Forester is 18-20 City, 23-27 Hwy. If you compare the low end of each of those scales, the Yukon gets 22-33% less mpg. If you compare the high end, it gets 26-30% less mpg.

The maths are hard, isn't they?

If RR was being realistic, he could get a Forester. Most of the driving around home is probably solo driving anyway. On the occasional trip to Vt throw a box on the top -- yes, it decreases mileage, but since it's only 1% of annual driving, big deal. The other 99% of the time driving around Long Island he and Paris would get better gas mileage than in a Yukon.

The point is, his reasons for wanting one are pretty ridiculous, and thinly veil the real reason which is pretty obvious. Vanity.

I like reason 10 the best -- needing off road capability for "jumping dividers and curbs" to park...reinforces so much that Rich has revealed about himself and Paris.

But Reason 12 is a close second...potholes...oh the potholes in NY! I've heard that one before too. Stupid. He makes it sound like he's descending into the Grand CAnyon and then climbing out. I lived there for six years. I visit once or twice a year. Potholes. C'mon Rich...you can do better than that.

Your stated reasons for wanting the Yukon don't stand up to the

If any readers still think this thread is about the car-- you're one of those cats who have never lived outside your element. You think your world is everywhere. Guess what... you don't get it yet.

This isn't your world. This is a planet with over 6 billion people. The rest of us would much rather assume that those of you who live your life to reach those egocentric ideals would quite simply dissappear. We're sick of pretending like it's okay. And, we're sick of living in a world where the rich don't have to care about anyone else anymore as if it's some acquired taste.

This is about life-style. This thread became about life-style a long time ago.

This has evolved into one guy defending his need to buy a giant SUV to bring nice clothes on a ski trip so he can dine-out at nice restaurants. See requirement #6. There are many others I'd like to go-off on, but #6 pretty much puts the frosting on the cake.

Everyone thinks that change has to be positive.

How about not going backwards? That would be progress in itself. The simple process of stopping people from digging the hole would be gigantic leap. Reaching those people with the shovels is the whole point of this thread.

[/gun-to-head graemlin]

RR, nobody cares about your luggage hitting your head on your ski trip. Stop defending yourself like that. The pot-holes analogy versus the mule was funny, but all that iterates is that the local city taxes don't cover road repairs... guess what... that's Anytown USA. You're not the only one.

Sorry, but this thread is no longer about RR's girly man-wagon.

Raise your hand if you understand that 6 billion people could give a rat's ass about you. They do care, however, about how much you stink-up the hole from which we are all trying to exit. If you don't limit your stink, we're going to have to apply diapers until you die- or... limit your calorie intake... whichever is faster.

Wow! I don't know what to say except this post makes me want to vomit.

Funny, I think the same thing about folks that drive Hybrids. "Ooh ooh Look at me, I'm saving the planet all by myself. Aint I great?" In reality all you are doing is saving yourself some gas money. Think of all ecological damage that all those additional batteries caused being made and how much more damage they will cause being "recycled" or disposed of. And, I'll bet you sell it instead of paying to all those batteries in three years. It might make you feel better thinking it is someone elses problem at that poing, but you lit that candle then spilled the wax on someone else. All the while you have fostered a demand that doesn't really promote a viable alternative to fossel fuels. Now, if you keep the car and actually recycle and re-use the same batteries (estimated cost $8000?) maybe you really are committed to helping save the planet.

I drive a 6 cyl SUV, but I live in an 1100 ' 4 room house heated only by a fireplace and air conditioned one room at a time (family of four). I carpool with my wife for the daily commute in her 4 cylinder car. I bet I could drive an expidition or navigator and my true footprint is still less than many that live in a larger home using central heat and air. So shut the hell up about how awful my vehicle (or anybody elses) seems to you. Most people do find different ways to help out. If they do not go get congress to pass a law.

Judging someone's entire life based on the vehicle you see them in FOR ONLY ONE of many different purposes is just like judging someone's complete and entire behavior based on the type of music you hear them listening to on one or two occasions.: It could be far from the true picture of their personality.:

Off the sopabox now, carry on:

There you go Marge, now don't you feel better now?

Could be, but I doubt it. I have a pretty good idea what RR is like, and I have a pretty good idea what Samuri is like. Neither one is going to change the world. RR becuase he doesn't want/care to, and Samuri because he can't communicate without offending people who have different points of view than he does.

This thread reminds me of why Bluto was more appealing than Marmalard.

THANKS!!

OK folks lets take this a step further. Since we're sharing the planet with 6 billion other people it is rude and inconsiderate for me to drive a big 16 cylender 40 foot long SUV all by myself and suck up all the petroleum and funk up all the air for my own "wants". Using that logic it also isn't fair that some have more wealth, land, and money than others so we should just bust up all that and spread it around too regardless of all other things being considered

On second thought, one world is enough for all: