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Powder Springs, GA Car Consumer Discussions

Re: update [1shadetree]

by 1shadetree on Mon Jan 19 18:40:13 PST 2009

It's ALIVE!!!! Yes it's running. Even though I had replaced the distributor cap and rotor last spring, they had gone bad. Look for a green powder inside the cap. It's corrosion. Two of the cylinders were not getting fire at all, and instead the cap was "shorting out" sending a spark to 2 cylinders at the same time causing it to cough. Anyway, it's all fixed now AND I have a nice new fuel pump.

Re: Global cooling? [jipster]

by gagrice on Thu Apr 24 19:21:03 PDT 2008

Wonder how Al Gore will make his money now? Maybe he can market a "Carbon Credit" furnace. Get some heat out of all those carbon credits. Further evidence is Idaho ski resorts staying open in may this year. That should be good news for Steve. McCALL -- Near-record snowfall and low spring temperatures are creating ideal conditions at Brundage Mountain Resort. Resort officials announced today that they will be open for a third bonus weekend in May. The resort is currently closed on weekdays, and had planned this Saturday and Sunday to be the final ski weekend of the season, but that was before 10 inches of fresh powder fell this week. Now, resort managers have decided to be open on May 3rd and 4th. “Mother Nature has been extremely kind to us this year,” said resort spokesperson April Russell. “And our loyal visitors have shown that they are still interested in skiing and riding on the best snow in Idaho.” Resort operators are keeping a close watch on Mother Nature and customer interest to decide if additional weekends in May are possible.

Re: Tires & weather... [ateixeira]

by hammerhead on Tue Apr 01 10:49:35 PDT 2008

My fault, and I take full credit! :D It has been an epic snow year for skiing... there's gonna be a lot of wasted snow left on the hill when they close it up for the season :( I'll have somewhere between 25 & 30 ski days under my belt by this weekend. Hasn't been much 'spring skiing' (aka blue skies & corn snow) - hasn't bothered to quit powder dumping! Cheers! Paul

Living Paycheck to Paycheck

by lemko on Mon Oct 22 10:17:27 PDT 2007

Friday October 19 By Anne D'Innocenzio, AP Business Writer AP IMPACT: America's Working Poor Stretching Paychecks to the Breaking Point NEW YORK (AP) -- The calculus of living paycheck to paycheck in America is getting harder. What used to last four days might last half that long now. Pay the gas bill, but skip breakfast. Eat less for lunch so the kids can have a healthy dinner. Across the nation, Americans are increasingly unable to stretch their dollars to the next payday as they juggle higher rent, food and energy bills. It's starting to affect middle-income working families as well as the poor, and has reached the point of affecting day-to-day calculations of merchants like Wal-Mart Stores Inc., 7-Eleven Inc. and Family Dollar Stores Inc. Food pantries, which distribute foodstuffs to the needy, are reporting severe shortages and reduced government funding at the very time that they are seeing a surge of new people seeking their help. While economists debate whether the country is headed for a recession, some say the financial stress is already the worst since the last downturn at the start of this decade. From Family Dollar to Wal-Mart, merchants have adjusted their product mix and pricing accordingly. Sales data show a marked and more prolonged drop in spending in the days before shoppers get their paychecks, when they buy only the barest essentials before splurging around payday. "It's pretty pronounced," said Kiley Rawlins, a spokeswoman at Family Dollar. "It seems like to us, customers are running out of food products, paper towels sooner in the month." Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, said the imbalance in spending before and after payday in July was the biggest it has ever seen, though the drop-off wasn't as steep in August. And 7-Eleven says its grocery sales have jumped 12-13 percent over the past year, compared with only slight increases for non-necessities like gloves and toys. Shoppers can't afford to load up at the supermarket and are going to the most convenient places to buy emergency food items like milk and eggs. "It even costs more to get the basics like soap and laundry detergent," said Michelle Grassia, who lives with her husband and three teenage children in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, N.Y. Her husband's check from his job at a grocery store used to last four days. "Now, it lasts only two," she said. To make up the difference, Grassia buys one gallon of milk a week instead of three. She sometimes skips breakfast and lunch to make sure there's enough food for her children. She cooks with a hot plate because gas is too expensive. And she depends more than ever on the bags of free vegetables and powdered milk from a local food pantry. Grassia's story is neither new nor unique. With the fastest-rising food and energy prices since the 1980s, low-income consumers are stretching their budgets by eating cheap foods like peanut butter and pasta. Industry analysts and some economists fear the strain will get worse as people are hit with higher home heating bills this winter and mortgage rates go up. It's bad enough already for 85-year-old Dominica Hoffman. She gets $1,400 a month in pension and Social Security from her days in the garment industry. After paying $500 in rent on an apartment in Pennsauken, N.J., and shelling out money for food, gas and other expenses, she's broke by the end of the month. She's had to cut fruits and vegetables from her grocery order -- and that's even with financial help from her children. "Everything is up," she said. Many consumers, particularly those making less than $30,000 a year, are cutting spending on nutritious food like milk and vegetables, and analysts fear they're further skimping on basic medical care and other critical services. Coupon-clipping just isn't enough. "The reality of hunger is right here," said the Rev. Melony Samuels, director of The BedStuy Campaign against Hunger, a church-affiliated food pantry in Brooklyn. The pantry scrambled to feed 5,000 new families over the past 12 months, up almost 70 percent from 3,000 the year before. "I am shocked to see such numbers," Samuels said, "and I am really concerned that this is just the beginning of what we are going to see." In the past three months, Samuels has seen more clients in higher-paying jobs -- the $35,000 range -- line up for food. The Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York, which covers 23 counties in New York State, cited a 30 percent rise in visitors in the first nine months of this year, compared with 2006. Maureen Schnellmann, senior director of food and nutrition programs at the American Red Cross Food Pantry in Boston, reported a 30 percent increase from January through August over last year. Until a few months ago, Dellria Seales, a home care assistant, was just getting by living with her daughter, a hairdresser, and two grandchildren in a one-bedroom apartment for $750 a month. But a knee injury in January forced her to quit her job, leaving her at the mercy of Samuels' pantry because most of her daughter's $1,200 a month income goes to rent, energy and food costs. "I need it. Without it, we wouldn't survive," Seales said as she picked up carrots and bananas. John Vogel, a professor at Dartmouth College's Tuck School of Business, worries that the squeeze will lead to a less nutritious diet and inadequate medical or child care. In the meantime, rising costs show no signs of abating. Gas prices hit a record nationwide average of $3.23 per gallon in late May before receding a little, though prices are expected to soar again later this year. Food costs have increased 4.5 percent over the past 12 months, partly because of higher fuel costs. Egg prices were 44 percent higher, while milk was up 21.3 percent over the past 12 months to nearly $4 a gallon, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The average family of four is spending anywhere from $7 to $10 extra a week -- $40 more a month -- on groceries alone, compared to a year ago, according to retail consultant Burt Flickinger III. And while overall wage growth is a solid 4.1 percent over the past 12 months, economists say the increases are mostly for the top earners. Retailers started noticing the strain in late spring and early summer as they were monitoring the spending around the paycheck cycle. Wal-Mart and Family Dollar key on the first week of the month, when government checks like Social Security and public assistance generally hit consumers' mailboxes. 7-Eleven, whose customers are more diverse, looks at paycheck cycles in specific markets dominated by a major employer, such as General Motors in Detroit, to discern trends in shopping. To economize, shoppers are going for less expensive food.

S2000 RT Front Knocking noise

by meisgruber on Mon Mar 19 06:10:57 PDT 2007

My wife's 2003 S2000 has developed a clunking/knocking noise from the RT Front wheel well area. I pulled the wheel and inspected the brake caliper and mounting, the suspension links/rods and the power steering rod. All seems to be very secure with no bushing wear. Can't find any mechanical slop anywhere. The noise occurs even when driving on flat and smooth surface, and has no particular pattern or rythym. Anybody have a clue?? Thanks in advance! Mark Eisgruber Powder Springs, Georgia

Skiing Hangover

by c_hunter on Tue Mar 23 08:53:56 PST 2004

Whew, back from a ski adventure in West Virginia. I had a free lift ticket at Snowshoe Mountain, and the weather patterns were pointing to an epic ski day on Monday. I left home on Sunday afternoon, where it was sunny and 60F. Three hours and 200 miles later I was crossing mountain ranges in the Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia and it was in the 20s and snowing! Let me say, you just can't appreciate a Subaru more than when going up and down winding mountain roads in a snowstorm. I holed up in a hotel at the bottom of the ski area Sunday night, and woke up to find 6" of fresh powder on my car Monday morning. This was light fluffy powder, a combination of lake effects snows and very low overnight temperatures (in single digits F). There was even more snow at the top of the mountain, about 10-12". So, I made first tracks all morning, and then had some great packed powder skiing the rest of the day. Totally unbelievable for "spring" skiing in March in the Southeast. I skied 8 hours on Monday, then hopped back in the car for the 4.5 hour drive home. Here I am Tuesday morning, in a virtual hangover from the whole trip, but it was worth it! Craig