1.   The narrow confines of the inner solar system seem claustrophobic compared to the asteroid belt.

2.   A single tree may seem large compared to a person.

3.   Articulate, even visionary, he nonetheless seemed down to earth compared with Meyerson.

4.   Besides, his dorm room here probably seems luxurious compared with his room at a military academy in Roswell, N.M.

5.   But even these seem mundane compared with a stroll along New Bond and Old Bond streets in fashionable Mayfair.

6.   But if compared to The Journal, the Financial Times seems a mouse scurrying at the feet of an elephant, it is a mouse with attitude.

7.   But if these inventions seem dull compared to the Polaroid camera, they are the bread-and-butter of the patenting business.

8.   But the low wages that originally attracted employers such as Levi Strauss and Wrangler now seem expensive compared with those in Thailand or Indonesia.

9.   But such evolutions may someday seem minor compared to the wrenching forces unleashed on airlines since the terror attacks.

10.   But these half-measures seem meager compared with the frantic rate of improvement by others in the entry-level luxury import segment.