Dirty Little Secret

So it’s not like this information isn’t out there… it’s available for anyone who is brave enough to investigate. Top People (which people? “Top People”) are aware of this and now I will perform my moral duty and inform the “bottom” (“middle” if you prefer) people.

I’ll start by introducing a very simple business concept. Do not base your business on obsolete technology. Pretty straight forward – this also means, don’t base a business on a resource that is on its way to becoming extinct. A business that uses Dodo Bird feathers to stuff pillows might have difficulty, as they have been extinct since the mid-1600s.

So what’s the secret? Well – did you know the last new Oil Refinery was built in the United States back in 1976? With oil becoming so expensive and the need becoming so high… why aren’t they building anymore?

It appears to be “big business” – with approximately 27% of what we pay at the pump going to refining (just heard this morning that we are at $3.00 a gallon here in San Francisco and this morning a barrel of oil hit $68), so why aren’t they cranking out the refineries? Perhaps it’s the same reason many oil companies are not replacing their retired oil tankers… they know it’s a dead-end business.

Harsh reality, we have about 40 years of fossil fuel left (if that)… period. Now maybe this is a secret like "Uncle Joe is a lush" or "Cousin Harold is gay"… we all knew it… but now we have to face it.

Technology might allow us to find oil quicker, extract it more efficiently and process it more inexpensively – but investments towards that technology have no long term benefits. Why would you invest in a business where the key component was running dry? You wouldn’t – its bad business.

They knew back in 1964 that the worlds demand on oil would overwhelm the available supply. By 1986 more oil had been consumed daily than was being discovered (almost twice as much). We have been warned – but damn it, we like to burn fossil fuel. So I say “go for it”, burn it all up – indulge. If nothing else, humans adapt. Once Supply and Demand becomes frenzied with the finality of it all, and prices reach ranges outside most individuals’ ability to pay – then perhaps people will take this seriously.

Oh, one more thing – I don’t want to hear about “electric cars” and hybrids as the answer to our problems. I’m all for electric cars… to drive around town. But I don’t see an electric commercial airliner taking 300+ passengers across the Atlantic. So if you have children… I encourage you to take them on a trip to another country now, because when they get older, all flights may be cancelled.

Um...

So I walked into the Federal building today and there was this massive line to pass security. People had to empty their pockets and remove loose change, keys, jewelry and other metallic items before passing through the metal detectors.

I was in far too much of a hurry and walked along the side (bypassing the detector) and was immediately stopped by a police officer. Fortunately, I had my cell phone in my hand and I was able to punch the officer in the chest. He immediately noticed I was white – and everything was alright.

Um… yea.

Time

I remember when I was growing-up that more often then not, people would forget about daylight savings time. There were times when entire neighborhoods would forget and be an hour off for days. Well that’s not going to happen anymore.

Sunday morning my Cable box, TiVo, Cell phone, computer and coffee maker all knew it was daylight savings. This is a two-sided sword. I like this convenience of having my electronic paraphernalia set their own time… but I also like to have control of what I say the time is. For example – I like to set some clocks ahead by ten minutes. This gives me the impression that it’s later then it actually is and motivates me to “dally” less (which helps to ensure my timeliness). Time is something that should remain relative – and in “my world” all my household appliances are not required to sync with the United States Naval Observatory.

On the topic of “time” – what the hell are television-shows doing running 65 minutes? This is like some new fad that I find really annoying. This forces other shows to start at 5-minutes after the hour and completely screws up my recording efforts.

But I’ll step down – It’s been a wild week (last week) and the constant humming of my sump pump has been keeping me awake at night (rain 25 out of 31 days last month). I’ll start building the Arc in the morning, if I can find the time.

Peace.