Gas prices Schmas prices

I was upset when George Bush recently mentioned how he was going to lower gas prices. He said that he'd investigate price gouging, halt the refilling of the petroleum reserve for a bit to ease prices, and expand the tax breaks for the purchase of hybrids.

What we have here is a failure to communicate the paradox he's creating. Bush illuminates the benefits of "alternative" energy sources (By the way, stop calling this energy "alternative". Give it an adjective more easily taken seriously. No one pays attention to the alternate in Olympic swimming. Green energy is not the alternative to fossil fuel. It should be "replacement" or "future" or "preferential" energy.)

Bush needs to realize that the only way to change the behavior of fuel consumption from oil to "preferential" is to allow gas prices to rise. Rise and rise high. Europeans have long spent close to $5 per gallon for gasoline and 40% of their automobiles are diesel. He must know that as long as fuel prices are manageable for the majority of Americans, all his rhetoric regarding clean fuel will go unheralded. Sure, there have been more advancements in hybrid and hydrogen cars, but the development of technology is slow.


Wanna know why? Because of the following formula: high gas prices = demand for "alternative" fuel. Demand for "alternative" fuel = much quicker developments of technology and lowered prices for that technology. Little does Bush or any other policy-maker realize that the only way to save this environment is to ruin their own, personal employment. They must lose their jobs at the whim of frustrated, broke Americans in order for behavior to really change.

That's why we are so short-sighted. It will soon be less expensive to purchase a decent hybrid than an SUV. But it's the gas prices that will drive the middle class and wealthy from the gas-guzzlers to the prospect of fuel-efficient automobiles. So, let them rise. We'll suffer in the short term ... slightly. But perhaps we'll save our planet from extinction and be able to survive in over the long term. Priorities must change. Finally, we have the technology to do it. Now we need buy-in and there's only one way to get it:

Let gas prices rise!

Suspension of Disbelief

A film fan is a study in apologise. What the hell does that mean? It means I'm tired of my girlfriend pointing out the minutiae of a film's detail to be lacking verisimilitude. She's smart so she asks very pointed questions like, "Where the hell did Aragorn get that flaming torch? There just happened to be one there? C'mon!" And I have to answer quickly yet determinedly, "He's a Ranger. He probably just found one on the ground and then lit it in the cave. Totally reasonable."

The thing is, her questions are valid. But I either hadn't considered the continuity issue or hadn't considered it to be a problem. I have a high tolerance to disbelief, meaning that when I'm in the throes of a film's transport from reality, I don't recognize the fact that because River is a seer, she probably should have seen Wash get a huge pole violently driven through his midsection (In "Serenity").

Suspension of disbelief is a necessity in all films, especially action/adventures -- as opposed to romances --- when so much of the storyline otherwise spent on character development is trumped by explosions, sweat and faces contorted in anger. In these cases, the fan must understand that things happen behind the scenes, motivations for behaviors are hidden. They, of course, must be small leaps of faith, which I can make, my girlfriend cannot.

And she voices her concerns. And I exasperatedly and ineptly answer with, "BECAUSE!", more upset that I know she's corrrect than anything else. Every time I now watch Serenity, I question like three different things I had previously suspended, a subconscious treat which I usually savor. Perhaps I'll get back to that oblivious state someday, but until then I'm going to stop suggesting my favorite films for us to watch, in fear that my apologise will not suffice to convince her that Anakin turned to the Dark Side so quickly because of all the hidden angst he held back from us but we're to assume he carried and buried.

Serves me right for only enjoying the company of intelligence. Love you baby!

Rose Colored Glasses

When I have a good day, I look upon life effervescently. I'm intelligent, a great boss who's fair and respected. I have a future in business management. My 401k is bulging pleasantly for my age bracket. I had a good day Wednesday. On Wednesday, I wore rose-colored glasses over my soul.


On Thursday, my glasses were smeared in excrement. Everything I experienced was seen through the glasses of my anxiety, my self-doubt. All of the sudden, I don't think on my feet quick enough. My people are conspiring to overthrow me. The concept of me in a business management career is laughable. My 401k is ridiculous because I have no idea what I'm doing and 30% in overseas mutual funds will pigeonhole my future self into utter dependence on the state.

It doesn't end there! Oh hell no! My rose/excrement colored glasses control my life! On Wednesday, my teeth were white and my hair looked good. On Thursday, my teeth were yellow and I thought I felt a bald spot. On Wednesday, co-worker laughter is with me. On Thursday, co-worker laughter is at me. On Wednesday, I drink 20 year old scotch. On Thursday, I drink Coors Light, 16 oz. wide mouth cans. On Wednesday, my life is good. On Thursday, my life is bad.

You know what the scary part is, though? Out of all my pairs of glasses, which are real? When do I experience life or look upon myself in true awareness? What is my total realization of what's real and what's a rose-colored lens altering my perception of reality?

There are things of which I'm sure, however. Those that remain constant regardless of which pair of glasses my soul is wearing for the day: my love for my girlfriend, my family, my friends, and juxtapositions of every kind. Those things are nice. But, still, I can't help but thinking sometimes that I'm the worst boss ever and my 401k will stagnate. Stupid glasses.

NASCAR = Global Warming

If we want to be serious about fuel conservation, we should eliminate NASCAR, the most pointless expenditure of fuel ever conceived, polluting the atmosphere, carving oval-shaped holes into the ozone over racetracks throughout the globe. Think about it. According to google, NASCAR stockcars average 4.5 miles per gallon and an average race uses 5,000 gallons. And this is not to mention the typical NASCAR spectator, driving many miles in automobiles I’m sure do not have the word “hybrid” in their owner’s manual. I am curious how future civilizations will judge us in the midst of war and idealistic ANWAR squabbling about oil as we send 100,000 of our own to California Speedway.

Office Space is the truest

An idle mind is a terrible thing in an office environment. Whether it's gossip focused to such an extent it could fry ants or it's meeting envy, an office is a place where no one's ego is satisfied and no one's brain is 100% engrossed in the work being done.

In an office, you must get noticed. If you're part of the rank and file, the only way to get ahead is to make sure your manager notices the great job that you do. People go about this in different ways: some work hard and honorably, some work hard but aren't quiet about it, some don't work hard but try to fool everyone into thinking they do, and some don't work hard, don't care and use their idle time to gossip.

But it's even deeper than that. The hard workers compete over who's more important/significant. The people who don't work hard compete over who has the better gossip. Significance, apparently, is measured in time spent in meetings. The better gossip is measured in terms of damage to a the victim's integrity.

Where do I stand? I'm a hard worker. I don't feel Meeting Envy. I roll my eyes at a co-worker who says that they can't be reached until such-and-such a time because they're in meetings all day. Bad are people who see you in a meeting and then later try and inquire as to the agenda. Worse are the people who hear about a meeting occurring and then invite themselves there by stating that the project would be better served if they were involved in all aspects.

The worsest, though, are the people who judge the Meeting Enviers or the Gossipers and lump them into categories. An idle mind in Office Space is a dangerous thing and those who judge are the worst. Like me! :)