| Peak Oil, Internet Gasoline Boycott, May 15th and Urban Legends |
[May. 10th, 2007|11:52 am] |
| [ | Tags | | | boycott, crude, fossil, fuel, fuels, gas, gasoline, green, internet, legend, legends, oil, peak, pump, sustainable, urban | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  discontent | ] |
The following message (an urban legend) has shown up in emailboxes all over the internet this past week:
"Subject: DON'T PUMP GAS ON THE 15TH OF MAY
"Pass it on, tell your friends....
"In April 1997, there was a 'gas out' conducted nationwide in protest of gas prices. Gasoline prices dropped 30 cents a gallon overnight. On May 15th 2007, all internet users are asked to not to go to a gas station in protest of high gas prices. Gas is now over $3.00 a gallon in most places.
"There are 73,000,000+ American members currently on the internet network, and the average car takes about 30 to 50 dollars to fill up. If all users did not go to the pump on the 15th, it would take $2,292,000,000.00 (that's almost 3 BILLION) out of the oil companies pockets for just one day, so please do not go to the gas station on May 15th and lets try to put a dent in the Middle Eastern oil industry for at least one day. If you agree (which I cant see why you wouldn't) please resend this to all your contact list. With it saying, 'Don't pump gas on May 15th'."
Now, read this link:
Netlore Archive at About.com
http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/government/a/gas_boycott.htm
That got me thinking: why not boycott the pump on May 15th anyway, and take a more responsible mode of transportation (walk, bike, rail, bus, roller blade, hang glider, electric car, etc.) instead? Avoid using anything which runs on fossil fuel (lawnmower, propane grill, chainsaw, etc.) and choose a greener alternative. It won't affect Big Oil in any meaningful way, but it might increase our own awareness, helping us to make better personal choices as consumers. The writing has been on the wall for some time; let's not wait until gasoline is over $5 per gallon and rationed before we have viable alternatives in place.
Some must-view links:
A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash (movie trailer, YouTube)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Or-TyPACK-g
Life After The Oil Crash (website)
http://lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/
The End of Oil: On the Edge of a Perilous New World (book)
http://www.amazon.com/End-Oil-Edge-Perilous-World/dp/0618562117/ref=pd_sim_b_4/102-2563353-5420929?ie=UTF8&qid=1178800978&sr=8-1
The Hirsch Report (download PDF)
http://www.oilcrashmovie.com/media/the_hirsch_report.pdf
Crude Impact: Proof of Peak Oil (movie trailer, YouTube)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqdw7yhEpIk
Peak Oil (movie trailer, YouTube)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaTIo1QTJis
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| My Haiku |
[May. 7th, 2007|02:44 pm] |
Intrigue and action
to be interesting the
theater was not.
Haiku2 |
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| Ganked From jrmapes' Blog |
[May. 2nd, 2007|10:26 am] |
1. Where is your cell phone? Charger
2. Describe your boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/wife/lover? Best
3. Your hair? Flat-top
4. Your mother? Busy
5. Your father? Same
6. Your favorite item? Traveller
7. Your dream last night? Harmless
8. Your favorite drink? Rum
9. Your dream car? Air/Raft
10. The room you are in? Niche
11. Your ex? Crazy
12. Your fear? Totalitarianism
13. What do you want to be in 10 years? Wiser
14. Who did you hang out with last night? Family
15. What you're not? Blind
16. The last thing you did? Update
17. What are you wearing? Outmoded
18. Your favorite book? Planet of Exile
19. The last thing you ate? Popcorn
20. Your mood? Thoughtful
21. Your friends? Irreplaceable
22. What are you thinking about right now? Obligations
23. Your car? Obsolete
24. What are you doing at the moment? (Obvious)
25. Your summer? Booked
26. Your relationship status? Solid
27. What is on your television? PBS
28. When is the last time you laughed? Yesternight
29. Last time you cried? Yesterweek
30. School? Kids
Copy. Paste. Answer. One. Word.
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| (no subject) |
[Dec. 8th, 2006|04:51 pm] |
The SF&F Book Meme
This is a list of the 50 most significant science fiction/fantasy novels, 1953-2002, according to the Science Fiction Book Club. Bold the ones you've read, strike-out the ones you hated, italicize those you started but never finished, and put an asterisk* beside the ones you loved.
1. The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien*
2. The Foundation Trilogy, Isaac Asimov
3. Dune, Frank Herbert
4. Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein
5. A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula K. Le Guin*
6. Neuromancer, William Gibson
7. Childhood's End, Arthur C. Clarke
8. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Philip K. Dick*
9. The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley
10. Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury*
11. The Book of the New Sun, Gene Wolfe
12. A Canticle for Leibowitz, Walter M. Miller, Jr.
13. The Caves of Steel, Isaac Asimov
14. Children of the Atom, Wilmar Shiras
15. Cities in Flight, James Blish
16. The Colour of Magic, Terry Pratchett
17. Dangerous Visions, edited by Harlan Ellison
18. Deathbird Stories, Harlan Ellison
19. The Demolished Man, Alfred Bester
20. Dhalgren, Samuel R. Delaney
21. Dragonflight, Anne McCaffrey
22. Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card*
23. The First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, Stephen R. Donaldson
24. The Forever War, Joe Haldeman
25. Gateway, Frederik Pohl
26. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, J.K. Rowling
27. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
28. I Am Legend, Richard Matheson
29. Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice
30. The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. Le Guin
31. Little, Big, John Crowley
32. Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny
33. The Man in the High Castle, Philip K. Dick
34. Mission of Gravity, Hal Clement
35. More Than Human, Theodore Sturgeon
36. The Rediscovery of Man, Cordwainer Smith
37. On the Beach, Nevil Shute
38. Rendezvous with Rama, Arthur C. Clarke
39. Ringworld, Larry Niven
40. Rogue Moon, Algis Budrys
41. The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien*
42. Slaughterhouse-5, Kurt Vonnegut*
43. Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson
44. Stand on Zanzibar, John Brunner
45. The Stars My Destination, Alfred Bester
46. Starship Troopers, Robert A. Heinlein*
47. Stormbringer, Michael Moorcock
48. The Sword of Shannara, Terry Brooks
49. Timescape, Gregory Benford
50. To Your Scattered Bodies Go, Philip Jose Farmer
It looks like I've got some more reading to do....
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| One Million Masterpiece |
[Nov. 25th, 2006|12:35 am] |
| [ | mood |
| | artistic | ] |
| [ | music |
| | The Roots of Coincidence, Pat Metheny Group | ] |
Whaddya get when you take a million people, ask them to generate 2D computer art images, stitch the results together into a gargantuan patchwork, and donate the proceeds to worthwhile charitable organizations? The One Million Masterpiece.
 
Here's my 1/1,000,000:
"Cathode Rays, Bygone Days" |
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| Anonymous Posts |
[Oct. 21st, 2006|11:15 am] |
This message was posted by Anonymous at 12:12 am this morning:
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| An Astrogator's View From The Backyard |
[May. 12th, 2006|02:27 pm] |
Even more spectacular in person, I did not think it turned out too badly, given the low tech level of my camera, combined with the slow exposure and lack of tripod! |
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| Net Neutrality --- IMPORTANT --- |
[May. 12th, 2006|12:22 pm] |
The Big Telecom Corporations want to control how you surf the Internet. Congress is about to let them. DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT -- RIGHT NOW !!!
Read about the issue HERE and view the CARTOON, then ACT !!!
DO NOT WAIT --- ACT NOW --- TOMORROW IT MAY BE TOO LATE |
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| The Case for Hydrogen Fuel Cells |
[Feb. 23rd, 2006|08:12 am] |
A friend recently mentioned this website, which postulates the net results when the world population/consumption curve intersects the diminishing fossil fuel reserves curve. Not a pretty scenario at all, and this will begin to occur within the next few years. If events continue on their present course, the gloom and doomers may be right after all, a la The Road Warrior. In case you may think this is some wacky fringe website, just Google the word 'oil' and see what comes up: this is the second site listed, right after Shell.
The replacement technology of choice seems to be the hydrogen fuel cell (at least for personal/family and light industrial use). It is easily obtainable, sustainable and cheap. Mercedes-Benz and Daimler-Chrysler have already produced prototype minivans, buses and automobiles with this technology. Their performance rivals that of conventional vehicles in the same class. In my understanding, the bottleneck in the process of replacing the existing technology is getting infrastructure (refineries, distribution and safety measures) put in place. Furthermore, there may come a day in the not-so-distant future where individual residences and multi-family dwellings have their own on-site fuel cell (everyone lives 'off the grid'). Won't it be great to be rid of all those utility poles and power lines!
Thoughts on this? |
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| It's where I'm gonna go, when I die... |
[Feb. 10th, 2006|10:51 pm] |
...and contrary to the song, it ain't the 'Spirit in the sky'! I have suspected it for some time now, and I just saw it on the internet, so it must be true.
After you die...
Parallel Universe
After death, you will continue to exist as if nothing has ever happened. You will continue to be yourself, but because you are in a parallel universe, some things will be different. You may not have married the same person, you might live in a different spot, but you will be the same person underneath it all and you will continue your life unaware that you ever died.
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Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com
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| Back in this star system again... |
[Feb. 9th, 2006|11:45 pm] |
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Well, in the last world I visited, I hired a publicist, and she suggested I needed a new thumbnail, one which was more in vogue (i.e. looks like a CD cover). So, despite not having a disc of music to accompany it, the resultant graphic is posted here, for all to see and admire. If it is not well received, I will just travel back there to recoup my 50 credits!
I have been quite busy in my travels, but I did bring back some images. You can see some of them here. Oh, and here, too.
Well, duty calls... |
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 4th, 2005|09:55 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  relaxed | ] |
| [ | music |
| | I Can't Make You Love Me -- Bonnie Raitt | ] |
I have added some more photos to my gallery. To view them, click here. |
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| Photography Gallery |
[Nov. 1st, 2005|11:16 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | good | ] |
| [ | music |
| | The steady, soothing hum of a computer fan. | ] |
My photography gallery debuted today at Renderosity.com.
I encourage anyone interested in artsy-fartsy photos (and possibly other weird stuff) to check it out. Who knows, you may see something you really like! |
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| Once upon a midnight dreary... |
[Oct. 31st, 2005|10:53 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | melancholy | ] |
Remembering Edgar Allan Poe this Halloween
"And darkness and Decay and the Red Death
held illimitable dominion over all."
-- Edgar Allan Poe, "The Masque of the Red Death"
It seems appropriate to ponder over many of his quaint
and curious Tales of Mystery and Imagination this
All Hallows Eve. I hope you will do so, as well.
And be sure to let that Raven in, if it should chance to
tap upon your chamber door!
"Quoth the Raven
Nevermore !"
-- Edgar Allan Poe, "The Raven" |
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| Mop Up Operations |
[Oct. 5th, 2005|12:02 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  tired | ] |
Still mopping water off the basement floor from the rain yesterday and all night last night. This never happens in this part of the world in October!!! I understand we got the remnants of tropical storm Otis. Argh! At least I can skip the gym today. Well, it's back to the mop & bucket now. |
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| The Meaning of Life |
[Oct. 3rd, 2005|11:55 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  quixotic | ] |
My daughter returned from school tonight and informed us she needed a short essay from each of us for her sociology class, the subject being The Meaning of Life. So here's mine.
What is the Meaning of Life?
This is the question which has puzzled theologians and confounded philosophers since the dawning of human intelligence. Of course, one answer would be "a very funny film made in the 1980s starring most of the original cast of Monty Python's Flying Circus." But that would be an oversimplification. William Shakespeare had it right, I think, in Hamlet's soliloquy:
To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause: there's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life;
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,
The pangs of despised love, the law's delay,
The insolence of office and the spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscover'd country from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all...
In short, Life is painful, nasty, distressing, uncomfortable, inconvenient, unpleasant, disordered, tedious and so on and so forth. The cumulative effects of aging upon the human body and mind alone are nothing short of obscene. What right do we as individuals and as a species have to expect otherwise?
Yet, just to be able to survive, to endure generation after generation, I think the human mind must therefore attempt to derive some sort of greater Purpose from such absurd circumstances. On one level, I would say possibly Humor and Religion, and on another Philosophy and Art strive to bring a sense of understanding, or at least of appreciation, to that which is beyond the understanding of the puny collective mind of homo sapiens. So, having a personal affinity for the writing of Douglas Adams, I will venture to say that the Answer to the Meaning of Life, the Universe and Everything is, naturally, 42. |
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| Serenity |
[Oct. 1st, 2005|11:02 pm] |
My wife and I saw the movie Serenity today. It rocked! Probably the best sf movie I've see since Solaris, which I (as an avid sf reader) enjoyed but which my wife hated.
Not so with Serenity. She really enjoyed it, and she is not a big fan of sf. I think it had just the right formula of drama, intrigue and action to be interesting. The theater was not packed, however, so I hope it does all right at the box office. It would be a real shame if another Serenity series or a sequel is not forthcoming. |
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