Roger Nelson wrote to Roy Witt:   
      
    RN>> Mot sure what you mean by that, but it isn't important.   
    RW>> Torque moves objects...HP is derived from a torque reading.   
      
    RN> Yes, but if I'm not careful in pressing the gas pedal, I'll be thrown   
    RN> into the back seat (not literally).   
      
   Too strong of a return spring on your gas pedal?   
      
    RN>>> Because anyone going north to south is going downhill.  (-:0   
      
    RW>>> Not exactly. If your north starting place was on a plateau and you   
    RW>>> were going south, that might be down hill.   
      
    RN> Yes, exactly.   
      
   What if you're driving west from the white cliffs of Dover?   
      
    RN>> There are no plateaus in Louisiana.  (-:  West Texas, maybe.   
      
    RW>> Central Texas...where I live is the very eastern edge of what is   
    RW>> known here as the 'Hill Country'. I live in an area also known as   
    RW>> South Central Texas...Driving south out of Dallas/FW area at first   
    RW>> you go up hill, then it's down hill from there. D/FW is farther   
    RW>> east than San Antonio. Houston is farther north and east of SA. San   
    RW>> Antonio is farther south than NO...   
      
    RN> I've only been to four cities iun Texas (Baytown, Dallas, Fort Worth,   
    RN> Houston), but have been through more and no farther west.   
      
   FW is east of here, if you look at it in a parallel sense of direction.   
      
    RW>> But, you're never going to be at or near sea level until you get to   
    RW>> Corpus...   
      
    RN> Or New Orleans.  (-:   
      
   NO is -Sea Level. I've driven several cars at 36 feet below sea level.   
      
    RN>>   Through no fault of mine, I haven't been that far west.  Had I   
    RN>> been single at the time, I would have gone to the California coast   
    RN>> just to experience the lack of humidity.   
      
    RW>> You don't have to go that far. SC Texas has no humidity, unless   
    RW>> there is an offshore flow from the Gulf. You can be outside in the   
    RW>> afternoon here and the temps may be 95F, but you won't feel it   
    RW>> until the humidty reaches over 90% or more. That's pretty rare, as   
    RW>> usually there is a breeze out of the north blowing off shore.   
      
    RN> There's another reason I didn't mention.  I've only seen the Pacific   
    RN> Ocean in pictures.   
      
   I'd never seen the Gulf of Mexico except in pictures, until I moved here.   
   The Pacific is a beautiful blue while the Gulf is an ugly brown full of   
   jelly fish.   
      
    RN>   A couple of years from now, if not sooner, I'm going to take a trip   
    RN> to Las Vegas and from there go to see the Grand Canyon.  My only   
    RN> regret will be I won't be able to ride a horse while there.   
      
   There aren't any horses at the GC...only mules. Take the old steam engine   
   train from Williams instead. It stops at the GC lodge and you can get a   
   room and stay for a few days. There's also a helicopter ride over the   
   canyon, which is much easier than riding a mule to the bottom.   
      
    RW>>> But just heading south from north isn't going down hill.   
      
    RN>> Yes, it is.  Think about the differences in sea level.   
      
    RW>> There is no difference here. There isn't any difference until you   
    RW>> get to the tip of South America, where the Atlantic and Pacific   
    RW>> meet. Of course this isn't the only place you can experience   
    RW>> different ocean levels. This is why there are locks in the Panama   
    RW>> Canal, so that ships can meet the levels of both oceans as they   
    RW>> head west or east.   
      
    RN> What a tangent!  (-:  Make that northwest and southeast.   
      
   You might want to look a little closer: The canal itself runs in a   
   east/west direction in Panama. However, ships traveling from the Pacific   
   to the Atlantic travel in a northwest direction, while ships traveling   
   from the Atlantic to the Pacific head Southeast.   
      
    RN>>> An example is when we visit relatives every other week in north   
    RN>>> Louisiana. The time to get there, since we're traveling south to   
    RN>>> north, is greater than the return home time.  Try it yourself.   
    RN>>> I'll bet you notice the difference.   
      
    RW>>> I've driven from here to Illinois and back. There is no   
    RW>>> difference...   
      
    RN> I find that difficult to believe and since this didn't come up before   
    RN> you made the trip, you naturally wouldn't notice since you wouldn't   
    RN> have had that on your mind.   
      
   Oh but I would. I always keep track of my mileage and how much fuel I   
   use, where we fuel up and where we eat (not necessarily at the same stop).   
      
   I never take such a trip without planning the route first. Indeed, when I   
   didn't like the route traveled to Illinois on one particular trip   
   (IH-40 to US54 at Tucumcari, NM northeastward to Wichita, KS (IH35)), I   
   sat at my parent's kitchen table and planned a different and faster route   
   back to San Diego.  US54 was scenic, but a terrible road to use if you're   
   in a hurry. My dad recommended it, so I considered the source and didn't   
   take it home...   
      
    RN>> Did you average the same speed going and coming and not notice the   
    RN>> difference?   
      
    RW>> Same speed, same roads...I've tried several different routes and   
    RW>> they all work out the same.   
      
    See above.   
      
      
            R\%/itt   
      
      
   --- GoldED+/W32 1.1.5-31012   
    * Origin: Texas Lone-Star - Texan, American, USAian  (1:387/22)