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rambles and rants

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hurricane inspired
"Drill Baby, Drill!" read the placards as the GOP faithful advocated increased domestic oil production as the best answer for resolving our current energy fix. Perhaps these knuckle heads have forgotten there is a reason for our country's restrictive offshore drilling policy. That, or they're simply ignoring the reality that it takes years and lots of good fortune before someone actually begins to net a productive oil field. I'm not totally opposed to offshore drilling - just cautious, and would prefer to view all fossil fuels with declining focus in a sweeping broad, diverse clean energy plan.

Interestingly enough, T. Boone has begun promoting a different sort of idea for powering the country besides more oil - he modestly calls it the Pickens Plan. Mother Nature calls it wind and solar, but whatever...it seems like his team is onto something good. And timely. Natural gas plays a vital role in the Pickens Plan. Something tells me the shorebirds and other wildlife are rooting for alternative energy sources too!

From my perspective, our nations key issues are energy & national debt and I wish those topics got far more attention than some trivial "issues" that folks obsess over like candidates wearing flag lapel pins, arguments over who is or isn't patriotic, or the media and pundits micro-scrutiny of every word uttered by political candidates and their supporters. Such hyper-critique has caused the candidates to merely retreat to standard themes and phrases, repeating the same messages over and over. It's as if we're watching reruns of the movie Groundhogs Day. I wish our presidential and VP candidates would really, seriously, deeply embrace alternative energy and begin the next steps required to get-a-move-on...time's a wasting, folks. Let's get some structure around the dialogue, it's time to appoint some knowledgeable people to commissions and formal development teams comprised of citizens, business and government and get rolling.

energy
There are some big ideas in play out there already - folks in every corner of this neat planet who are developing and implementing a variety of techniques to generate, conserve, and/or capture power. Ode Magazine, geared toward intelligent optimists like you and me, has offered several inspirational articles in their Sept. '08 issue:

Power Couple - who took a 75-year-old house and turned it into a model zero-carbon home.

Silicon Valley Venture Capitalists - investing in green energy.

The time is ripe for innovation and action along the scale of recent game-changing opportunities ala' Google, NASA Moon exploration, and sliced-bread. (As in: the greatest thing since sliced....)

Imagine every building potentially being stand-alone power-plants, generating electricity wherever energy is needed. Plus, massive solar farms, and wind farms strategically dotting the landscape from east to west, shore-to-shore. One of the many things that struck me at the Ode web site were the video clips from Canada - stories from people who have "gone off the grid" even in Northern climates not typically associated with intense solar benefits.

Mike's photo manipulation above:
Like Ebenezer Scrooge confronting the realities of his life as the ghost drags
him out to face the consequences of his actions....the above
mindless GOP conventioneer
is forced to see the result of
our country's past
carelessness handling
oil (and the impact
that has on the natural world).

national debt (and politics)
I confess: the GOP has driven me away with their focus on religion + guns + hate...and directed me squarely among legions of Independents. In the past I have supported Nixon, Ford, Reagan, & Bush (41). But, no W. I'm disappointed that, as a country, we did not take action years ago to exit the man and his administration out of the West Wing. The documented list of W's failings clog the internet so I won't bore you here with more, other than to say he's driven our country to the verge of bankruptcy. Fortunately there are people in an official capacity who monitor such things like the Government Accounting Office (GAO), who have proactively warned Congress for years of the dire situation, and massive hole, the US government was digging us into. We're fortunate to have a guy like David Walker speaking up on our behalf. Walker is former head of GAO and Comptroller General (see 60 Minutes interview originally broadcast on CBS 03.04.07).

Your share of the national debt has been estimated at $175,000. Same for every man, woman, and child in the US. That means a typical family of four is $700,000 in the red, in addition to whatever else you may owe. So much for socking a few bucks away for a rainy day or funding your retirement. Fortunately for us, issues like pumping 70% of our annual oil needs from foreign countries, and managing the enormous, growing national debt causes good people like Mr. Pickens and Mr. Walker to step up and share the sad news much like our former Vice-president Al Gore has done with the award winning movie and "An Inconvenient Truth".

David Walker has left the GAO and joined the the Peter G. Peterson Foundation to help "increase the public awareness" of this urgent challenge threatening our future. The Peterson Foundation has helped fund a movie which summarizes the situation, and communicate several recommended courses of action, called: "I.O.U.S.A." - I Owe USA, The Movie was released in August 2008 and is showing at selected theaters across this great, albeit nearly broke, land. I believe strongly that every American should be lining up at the theater today to see this. OK, tomorrow is fine if you're busy right now and already got your jammies on, and hot chocolate or favorite cup of tea brewed and ready to be enjoyed. The point is, the country is living beyond it's means and if it doesn't change soon it's going to be really ugly. It's more than just an economic problem - it's a national and global security issue of the highest order.

fixed income blues
"But I'm on a fixed income!" It always strikes me in an odd way when I hear folks whine about the price of goods or services like that. I am only marginally sympathetic...wondering: "Okay, and that's my fault?" Who exactly should have been responsible to ensure they had appropriate funds, savings, retirement benefits to support their lifestyle?

Chances are the whiner in question did not live within their means during their working years. Too many trips to Frankenmuth or Caribbean cruises, too little cash saved for the future. Too many knick-knacks from the Dollar Store. Perhaps if they studied hard when young, applied themselves more, gambled/drank/smoked less, worked harder, longer, spent less, managed their lives better they would not be in the position of perpetually whining. Do they expect the merchant to sell goods and services for less? Make less than a reasonable profit simply because they are on a fixed income?

Okay, so as a retail store owner I am  biased, but at least the opinion is based on facts: America's trade deficit grows, domestic manufacturing jobs are dwindling, foreign control of US debt mounts, etc...and there is no other company in America that has contributed to these problems more than Wal-Mart and their family of companies. America's obsession with consumer products at the lowest price known to man fuels Wal-Mart incredible growth. Admittedly, I have shopped at a Wal-Mart twice in my life...and sadly, was actually a Sam's Club member for a few years back in the '90s. However, it did not take long before I realized that something is just not right with this picture. It is nearly impossible to find anything made in the USA in one of these stores, and shoppers wheel massive carts around in a frenzy just to load up on substandard merchandise. 

Public Broadcasting Corporation (PBS) televised an excellent Frontline production in 2004 (updated in '06 for a rebroadcast):
"Is Wal-Mart Good For America?"    The program is available for viewing online, free, from the PBS website or in segments from YouTube. Take your pick. Personally, I think every citizen should be required to watch the program at least once, and if after hearing the facts, they continue to shop at Wal-Mart, then I'd find 'em to be guilty of stupidity and would be required watch it daily (from a dirty Wal-Mart restroom). 

Now don't get me wrong, I do believe in the free market economy, but I don't think this is an organization that plays fairly. Kudos to those rare communities that have blocked Wal-Mart from raping and pillaging their local economy.

other voices:
"The High Cost of Low Prices" >>
"Is Wal-Mart Good for American Working Class?" Slate.com >>
"Eight Ways to Beat Wal-Mart" >>

curling
Those wonderful Canadian Olympic athletes were role models for North America and the world during the 2006 Winter Olympic Games. Skilled, enthusiastic and very proud. After hearing a few typical whines from US athletes and the usual distasteful hype from NBC-TV announcers I found peace, joy, and kindness on CBC's coverage. Refreshing. Particularly curling and women's speedskating.

How cool were those gold metal winning Canadian curler guys? And the genuine joy of the citizens back home! Schools canceled classes, businesses literally shut down throughout the land (Newfoundland and Labrador) to allow folks to watch televised coverage of the championship medal round. New Found Land...lovely sound to that, eh? The Chinese have a tough act to follow with their '08 Games.

It's been a fun project...but I'm only half way through it. In the process I have improved my Photoshop skills, and have posted a sampling on this website. Link »

The Volvo was beginning to give us more trouble than we wanted to deal with. Besides, since I got the truck Louise sorta' got "hand-me-down" transportation. While she liked the car, or tolerated it, the Volvo was never really hers.

So, as if we don't have 'nuf to deal with around the holidays, we decided to get something new: a peppy little Saab 9.3 from Trio Motors (right). Nice having the quality local service contact that comes with the deal, too.

Yo, Mom...can we spell:
A I R L I N E ?

[update: in '05 and '07, Mom (right) flew to
Florida and Georgia. Way to go, Mom!]

Mom likes
chocolate
ice cream.

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» obnoxious SUV? regardless, they had a great commercial

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» Farewell Concorde

» Omer the city without an H...

» solar flare

» testing 1, 2, 3...