Archive for October, 2009
to portland west »
Thursday, October 8th, 2009
It wasn’t when the itinerary was sent to me or when I put the dates into my calendar. It wasn’t the first round of manual-transmission lessons. It didn’t even sink in after planning the corresponding website. (Yes, a website.)
Tuesday, I’m off on a road trip to the Northwest. The twelve-day trek takes Fish and I through the Badlands, Grand Tetons, the coast (including Portland and Seattle). Add a probable Hold Steady show and I’m thiiiiis close to pissing myself.
(I won’t, of course. That’s for preschoolers, college freshmen and Hugh Jackman.)
With my (seemingly perpetual) unemployment, I have the time most don’t (including, hopefully, me… soon). I’m milking a few freelance projects and the (hopeful) sale of my PC (seriously; if you want it, $750 makes it yours) to finance my part of things.
Related question: what’s with stick-shift? How am I to text, rock to jams and generally disregard my fellow drivers if I’m worried about which foot is doing what? No wonder Americans gave it up. (TWD for [an incredibly short] life!)
My first “manny tranny”* lesson went… well? I barely made it up a 4% grade from a stop and nearly hit an angry, old guy walking down the center of the street. The second was better and by Oct25, I’ll be pulling Transporter-esque moves.
I’m using a field notebook from Draplin Design Co. that I got as swag from Design Camp last weekend, patching together my (hundreds of) photos and maybe video for a site to be completed after I’m back.
(That’s an incredibly long, probably run-on, sentence I just made into a paragraph. So good at this.)
Most of the trip is camping, so I probably won’t be all that reachable. (Which is awesome!) Outside of my iPod (with stored articles, podcasts, music) and some books, I’ll be ignoring media as much as possible.
As part of the camping, road trip, media ignoring thing, I’ll also leave my trimmer at home. The longest I’ve gone without cutting hairs since sophomore year is six days. This could get horrifying.
And I almost forgot. What made it finally sink in?
Putting forecast and average/record temperatures into those aforementioned calendar entries. How’s that for ending on lame? Whatever, I’m fully stoked.
* Did I just make that up?
Photo courtesy PhotoBucket
it’s all so pedestrian »
Tuesday, October 6th, 2009
As some of you may know, I’ve been involuntarily demoted to the status of a “walker” or “commuter.” Whatever you want to call me, I’m now beholden to borrowed cars, Metro Transit, bicycling or an Enterprise pick-up.
What the hell am I talking about? Right. Well, my car was stolen. (I’ll let that sink in…)
For those that know me IRL (as they say), you know I’ve detested my car for almost an entire year. Having it out of my life is far from devastating (read yesterday’s post; it’ll soon be the norm). But it is annoying.
Thursday, on my way to a party at and around 331 club, my car wasn’t where I parked it… or on any of the blocks I usually park. I called the impound, was told to call back and (after a gracious turn-around-and-pick-up) headed to the party (free Naked Grouse, yo!).
I got back about 10.30p and called again (a little buzzed). No luck. I spent almost ten minutes on the phone reporting it stolen and was finally told a patrol car was on the way. Exhausted and having to be up at 7a, I waited impatiently.
About forty-five minutes later, a uniformed gent wandered up the stairs and I explained the situation (this tweet explains it briefly). He gave me a case number and left. I was not optimistic.
Friday, after a painful wake-up, Girlfriend and I went north to AIGA Design Camp. Delightful (maybe more on that later). The first weekend of many out of town (I’m in MSP maybe over Halloween; the rest I’m other locals) is in the bag and now I’m left car-free and bus-reliant.
I’m calling today to adjust my auto-coverage but I’ll likely be able to say: “I switched to car-less and saved a bundle on my car insurance!”
global warming: solved »
Monday, October 5th, 2009
You may think it odd I can make such a claim, solving the prevailing issue of our days. We haven’t met, call me Draynd.
Anyway… For all those with smog-filled dreams, fret not. I have good news. (Of sorts.) Global warming is likely unavoidable but the blow will be softened. By oil.
Well, technically the lack of it. Black gold has turned Econ majors into bumbling morons. Demand has garnered no supply and has failed to produce viable alternatives, as predicted.
Here are a few fun notes:
- Four million barrels per day (BPD) less come out of the ground each year.
- There are no new worthwhile reserves to make that up (much less add to it to meet demand).
- Producing countries are fudging reserve estimates (probably because their production quotas are based on them).
- ANWR won’t produce 800k BPD until 2028 (even if all environmentalists are shot tomorrow). The US currently consumes 19 million BPD.
- More natural gas use means wells are losing pressure with maturity, proving we’re almost out of dino-puddles.
- Off-shore drilling is a pipe dream (har har) with rigs that barely stand up to category three storms.
- Gulf drills are still producing 250k less BPD than they were before Katrina.
- Producing countries are using more and more oil themselves, reducing exports.
Wind and solar power are far too inefficient. Any talk of hydrogen as fuel should be muted by its exponential cost and that it takes more energy to produce it than it provides, rendering it useless.
(Ethanol is too big a joke to laugh at here. Food costs, scarcity, nutrient and resource depletion, etc. Every subsidized ounce ruins our future. Rapidly.)
Food will be more expensive, exported jobs may return and travel will be cost prohibitive (any variety). “Think global, buy local” will be reality (not a hipster, ironic t-shirt slogan).
Cheap energy looks more like the last bits of milk shake than the mile-high gushers. With it goes the wholesale polluting that started the climate change mess and it will probably slow before the worst comes.
Global warming averted. World saved. What’s next?
Photo courtesy GreenPeace.org