Greg In The Desert

What the hell? New Mexico Might Declare Pluto a Planet (Via Slashdot.)

“Wired and others are reporting that for New Mexico, the fight for Pluto is not over. Seven months after the International Astronomical Union downgraded the distant heavenly body to a ‘dwarf planet,’ a state representative in New Mexico aims to give the snubbed world back some of its respect. State lawmakers will vote Tuesday on a bill that proposes that ‘as Pluto passes overhead through New Mexico’s excellent night skies, it be declared a planet.’ The lawmaker who introduced the measure represents the county in which Clyde Tombaugh, Pluto’s discoverer, was born. For many of us old timers, and those who had the honor of meeting Clyde, this just causes a belly laugh and is pure fun. Not to mention a bit of poking a stick in the eye.”

Autoblog discusses the Ford Ranger from this Forbes article.

Ford sold 75,673 Rangers to Nissan’s 42,229 Frontiers in the first seven months of the year. Forbes brings up the dismal crash test scores and owner satisfaction. What is the explanation for this sales volume? American loyalty for domestic trucks, deep discounts, and the Ranger name are all cited. There are some serious discounts on this truck, even before the Ford Family Plan you could get $3000 in rebates. The Ranger nameplate still has some solid value, and Ford would be wise to heavily revise this vehicle before they totally destroy its goodwill.

I have a 1996 Ford Ranger, so I read these things with interest. The Ranger is a good truck but it’s hardly changed. It would be cool if they came out with a hybrid version.