Andiaphora

Energy Policy

2008-10-06T22:18:00.001-04:00

Side note: Between the economic news, spending too much time on The Oil Drum, and listening to David Copperfield on audiobook as I walk home from work each night, things have gotten a bit gloomy. If you have any suggested books, movies, or websites that are more cheerful let me know (or if Copperfield's situation improves as I get in to the book, let me know -- just don't give me too much data to spoil the story)

If you are tired of the "Drill, Baby, Drill" approach to energy policy that has been offered up recently, I want to pass on two alternative viewpoints.

The first is also highly political. Just as "Drill, Baby, Drill" originated from the Republican convention this year, Montana governor, Brian Schweitzer, engaged the Democratic convention this year. YouTube has the entire speech, if you would like to hear it (as it is the entire speech it is highly political, so viewer be warned). Notice that he doesn't call for us to stop drilling completely -- they have increased the amount of energy extraction in Montana. (and yes, I hate his use of the term energy independence)

Those looking for something less political might want to turn to the good folks at Google. Yes, the company that helped us find our way through the Internet now has their own energy plan for the US.

I am glad I don't have to write the energy policy for the US. But I know that we need one. We waited too long to deal with Wall St. We can't afford to wait too late to deal with this issue.

Energy Policy/Drilling Policy

2008-09-25T22:12:00.001-04:00

I spend a lot of my time saying don't drill here, don't drill there, don't drill yet, save it for when we really need it.

But what should our policy be? We need a general plan so that we can be prepared for when our energy situation gets out of hand. Setting up oil rigs is energy intensive in itself. And if wait too late, we might not have the resources to get additional drilling up and running.

I still think it is too early to get started. I don't want to see more oil wasted away on SUVs and suburban sprawl. But how long would it take to get something up and running? If it takes 10 years to get something up and running and we are currently 15 years away from when things will really get bad, then we can wait a few more years.

The problem is that I have no clue on either of those, I just randomly chose those two numbers. ASPO (The Association for the Study if Peak Oil), has a much better sense of these numbers, but no one knows for sure. They may not know for sure, but they know enough to scare me.

Trust Busting

2008-09-24T21:52:00.003-04:00

The public trust has been busted by companies labeled "too large to fail".

Maybe it is time to adjust our antitrust laws. (I am not a lawyer, nor do I play one on TV, so this might not actually fall under antitrust laws, although I suspect they do). I suggest that we create rules to create any one company from becoming "too large to fail." Once a company reaches that size it must break up into smaller companies. If the situation changes, the companies could merge back together.

I realize this is highly reactive, it does not deal with whatever the next problem on Wall Street will be. And as with many well intentioned laws it may cause unintended harm to some organizations (I would hope not as bad as SOX). But even with that, I think it is worth considering.

What do you think?

-- Andy

Something's Got to Give

2008-09-23T21:57:00.001-04:00

Gasoline shortages are here. We are lucky as these are only temporary shortages due to refinery shut downs from the hurricanes. But they will be good to learn from when shortages become more frequent, more wide spread, and longer.

NBC did a 2 minute piece on the gas shortage on the Nightly News. The comment from one driver really spoke to me. "Something's got to give."

I think she is right. But I don't think she would like my answer. I think that what is going to have to give our our lifestyles and our attitudes. We can't keep spreading out into sprawlville. We need to get used to our food arriving from local sources, and paying more for it (and wishing we hadn't paved over the best farmland acres to plop down ticky tacky houses). I suspect there will be some tough times ahead.

Insight for the Day

2008-09-23T21:35:00.001-04:00

I was listening to TWiT today (http://www.twit.tv/twit) and there was an interesting comment that was worth sharing. I believe it was from Jason Calicanis or Andrew Horowitz. I am sure it is not an exact reflection on the TWiT comments -- I report on it from my own perspective, and add my own little rant in the final paragraph.

The comparison was between our current financial mess and youth sports.

Youth sports have dissolved into the mindset of: "everyone is a winner -- you all get trophies." We don't want to damage the egos of our little ones (we also tend to be over protective in keeping them from physical pain too, but that is a post for another day)

Wall Street seems to be heading the same direction. "It's OK that you lost billions of dollars. Don't feel bad. It's not your fault that you gave money to someone with no chance of ever paying you back for a house worth less than the person paid for it. Here, have a nice severance package -- it will make you feel better."

Parents may be able to coddle their children for a while (and maybe keep them as children for a while longer if the coddling keeps the child from maturing). But Uncle Sam is an old man who is already deeply in debt. Sometime (and sometime soon) he is going to have to admit to his Wall Street boyz that he can't bail them out. That they need to grow up, become men, and take responsibility for themselves.

Biden and Amtrak

2008-08-27T23:24:00.001-04:00

I was questioning the selection of Biden. He seems like he can get himself in trouble if he talks too much. (I will compose a post on Brian Schweitzer, along with his great speech the other night at some point)

But I was really encouraged to hear about how much he commutes via Amtrak. It would be great to have a VP that understands the need to support and grow Amtrak.

To that point I am passing on a Biden quote from a Washington Post article.

A fully funded Amtrak does sound nice.

Dear DNC

2008-08-27T23:14:00.001-04:00

(In case the Democratic National Committee is reading my blog, although I suggest the RNC also pay attention)

You have four years to plan out the next convention. Please take a look at the schedule for the Olympics before setting the dates for your convention.

After two weeks of stating up later than I generally would, staying up for the addresses of the convention is more of a challenge than I would like. At least one week in between would be nice.

Thanks

-- Andy

Technology can be Impressive

2008-08-04T22:18:00.001-04:00

Where I work we talk a lot about increasing the pace. Acceleration is hard work. Heck, even fighting inertia is hard work*.

But technology presses on faster and faster, and I wanted to share this piece of news I learned today

I am impressed.

-- Andy

*My apologies to any physicists who might disapprove of my use of physics terminology.

Flip-Flop

2008-07-20T22:53:00.001-04:00

As the price of oil was rising quickly the media (and Congress) was quick to blame speculators.

Now as the price of crude has dropped in the past few days the media has stated that it was all just an issue of supply and demand.

So, which is it? The hidden hand of speculators or the "invisible hand" of Adam Smith?

----------

Not to be outdone, it seems the American Public seems to flip-flop as well (although by way of the media).

Each successive price rise in gasoline, over the past couple years, led to news reports where individuals were interviewed on their reactions (often interviewed at the gas pump, and often filling an SUV). These reactions were often over the top, generally proclaiming higher prices as the newest horseman of the apocalypse*. Today the local news interviewed someone at a station charging less than $4/gallon (roughly $1/liter for those of you with a more logical measurement system). The interviewee was ecstatic -- just thrilled at wonderful this was.

How can $3.90 be the end of the world when rising from $3.80, but be a good thing when falling from $4?

-- Andy

* I am sure there is a great comment out there of the horseman on his lowly horse and the individual in their mighty 300-horsepower SUV -- but it just isn't coming to me. Maybe this is why blogs have comment sections.

Fewer Cars on the Road. Really?

2008-07-04T09:20:00.001-04:00

The other day I found myself in a most bizarre situation -- behind the steering wheel out in the exurbs of greater DC. From the short time I was out there I could see no indication that people out there realize the disaster that is to befall them.

The one piece that really got my attention was just how bad the traffic was. This corresponds well to my drive home from Shenandoah National Park a month or so ago. The studies and news reports all indicate that Americans are driving less this year.

Really?

The roads are crowded. If this is fewer cars on the road just how wretched was it last year? I have no capacity to comprehend how people could put up with that type of commute with that much traffic day in and day out.

I hope to make another trip out to Shenandoah later this year, if I am lucky. It will be interesting to see if I notice a change in traffic, especially if we hit $5/gallon by then, which could easily happen.

Missed Opportunity

2008-06-29T22:07:00.001-04:00

NBC covered something on Nightly News tonight that Peak Oil folks have been discussing for a while -- our infrastructure is crumbling. Actually, a friend of mine (I have no idea if she is part of the Peak Oil crowd or not) was the first to fill me in years ago.

The issue goes beyond roads and bridges. It is also water & sewer, electrical grid, schools, the list goes on.

But for driving, let's make this clear, bumpy roads can lead to car damage (it certainly leads to wear and tear) -- it makes owning and operating a car more expensive.

How could we have avoided this? What was our missed opportunity? We could have taxed ourselves. By raising the gas tax years ago we would have been putting that money into our own coffers instead of into the coffers of countries that don't really care for us. At $2/gallon, adding say a $0.20/gallon tax, people would have had a fit and politicians heads would have rolled. But here we are clearly marching towards $5/gallon gas, and the roads are still crowded.

Taxing ourselves would have gotten us away from the disaster of SUVs more quickly as well (although at something closer to a $2/gallon gas tax than a $0.20/gallon gas tax). The big three auto makers would never admit it, but a gradual and planned increase in the price of gas via a gas tax would have allowed them to transition away from the SUV market in a more orderly format, which would have been great for their economy, as well as ours. It takes a lot of time to retool a plant -- and right now we really need plants that can turn out more busses (and rail cars).

P.S. A road near my house was recently repaved, and they made it worse than it was before. So increased cost does not (necessarily) equate to better quality.

P.P.S. H St (along with a number of other DC streets) is notorious for being ripped up and fixed, only to be ripped up again. This is done as the utility companies have no sense of coordination with each other. It is a major detriment to all involved. If the cot of repaving is increasingly expensive, would this push them to be better at coordinating.

Oilympics

2008-06-16T22:01:00.002-04:00

There are increasing signs that China is hoarding oil/petrol in preparation for the Olympics. They do not want anything to spoil their moment in the sun, and long lines at the gas station are one cloud they can avoid.

I suspect that the completion of the Olympics, as well as the end of the Summer driving season will equate to falling oil and gas prices.

What you don't want to hear from me is that falling prices might only mean falling back to what the prices currently stand. The reduction of hording by China and the end of Summer driving will cut demand, but will not help increase supply. Cantarell and North Sea will continue to decline and I remain skeptical that Saudi Arabia can really do much of anything

Fast Car

2008-06-04T22:59:00.001-04:00

The other day I heard a great song from my past: Fast Car by Tracy Chapman (video). It was released in 1988, but came back in popularity again while I was in college.

It is a depressing song, looking at how bad situations can perpetuate; the vicious cycle of poverty.

Also depressing is how much the narrator of the song sees the car as the solution. The car can take her away from her drunken father and her run down life and into some fantasy life just across the border. The car can provide entertainment for cruising, even while living in the shelter. The car can take away the good-for-nothing spouse. And maybe worse (or maybe I am reading too much into it), the car relates to the feeling of self-actualization:

How will the future generations see this song? I suspect it will be seen as a sign of the times it was written in. The deception of fixing problems by running away is just as great as the deception that the car can cure the ills. Maybe the concept that the poor could own and operate a car will even seem absurd, just as today the it seems absurd that at one time it was doctors that had cars so that they could drive to patients (because their patients didn't have cars to drive and see them).

Seems fairly bleak if the option to leave is removed from the equation.

Economic Hitmen

2008-05-29T22:02:00.001-04:00

So, I am finally reading Confessions of an Economic Hitman.

I am curious to hear what others think about the concept.

Is it a work of fiction, with just enough history and research built in to carry it along?
Is it all true and I should believe all the conspiracy theories? Build my own tin foil hat?
Is it like the question about the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop: The world may never know?

An Economic Concern

2008-05-29T21:45:00.001-04:00

I am not an economist, so I could be totally wrong about this. Take it with a grain of salt. Also this is, as typical, one of my fermenting thoughts, so it may not be described clearly enough to make any sense to anyone beyond myself. If that is the case, please let me know and I will keep working on it.

It seems to me that the stock market is one of the most critical components of our economy. I know that I am not the only one who does not expect Social Security to be around when we get old -- the system is already broken. But that is why we invest in the market, we can cash out when we get old and need the money.

But what if that doesn't quite work out?

Just like the baby boom bubble is going to overwhelm Social Security, what if it overwhelms the stock market? As the boomers retire they want to continue their current lifestyle: "The American way of life can not be compromised." To do this they are going to have to turn to the stock market and sell off their holdings. This makes sense and it follows the expected pattern. Except the boomers never expected to see oil at $130 a barrel, and their plans never began to account for life at $300 a barrel (think $10/gallon gasoline -- which admittedly is painful to think about).

So what do they do? I suspect they spend down their investments at a quicker rate. Sure that means less left in the will for the kids and the charities, but this is their money and they have earned the right to continue their lifestyle.

But who is going to buy what their selling? There are more boomers selling off their stocks than there are those in employment earning money to buy stocks. Supply and Demand would suggest that this would push prices down. Now factor in that those currently in employment are also facing higher prices on everything. Are they going to put the money towards their retirement or towards the gas tank? I suspect the latter. So now you have lots of people desperate to sell off their stocks, and less people (with increasingly tighter budgets) to buy those shares. Supply and Demand again pushes prices down.

If this pushes stock prices down too much, then it could create a cycle. The boomers need to then sell yet more of their holdings just to keep up, flooding Wall Street with what used to be bits of paper (not just ones and zeros).

Not a pretty sight.

It would be great to hear that my thought process is misguided, that there is a basic (or even not-so-basic) understanding of economics that I just don't know which makes this discussion moot.

-- Andy

Cacophony

2008-05-26T21:39:00.001-04:00

I recently got a Sansa clip mp3 player (cheaper than an ipod, and none of that annoying software to install). I have been using it as I try to encourage myself to walk home from work more often.

What I have noticed is just how noisy the city can become. There is still way too much traffic in the city (implying, to me at least, that gas hasn't gotten quite expensive enough yet). For the most part, the sounds from a vehicle seem to be proportionate to its size -- the large car is worst than the small car, but the big truck is worst of all. And yes there are occasionally those who have the volume of their music device turned up as if I wanted to hear what they were playing (I do not).

But there is one offender that breaks this concept of proportionality -- the motorcycle. I just don't comprehend why they are so loud. The rider is closer to the engine, so one would have to imagine the rider would want a quieter engine. I would guess that the engine is smaller, which should mean there is less engine to make noise. I am sure there is some percentage of motorcycle owners with horrible psychological issues who need to feel important by catching our attention with a noisy motorcycle, maybe to make up for other shortcomings in their life. And I am sure there are others who are just inconsiderate jerks like those that play the music in their vehicles too loudly. But that really can't explain all motorcycle owners, can it?

I really am just missing something here.

-- Andy

Belle and Sebastian (and a Blue Moon)

2008-05-21T23:13:00.001-04:00

[Yes, yes, I apologize that it has been ages since I last posted. Of course if you keep up with me via RSS then it is easy to follow along -- no need to keep checking the site. There are a few more posts waiting -- I just need to get them out of my head and onto Live Writer]

Last Thursday/Friday I took two days off work to go out to Shenandoah National Park. I hiked around during the day but spent the night in one of the nearby towns.

Well, rather than be smart about it and seek out a local restaurant, I ended up at one of those Thank Ruby it's a Chili Outback-type places. But it did lead to an interesting observation, or two.

The music set they were playing included a song by Belle and Sebastian. I found that cool (although my sister might not have -- we don't always share the same tastes in music). The song was White Collar Boy. I had to remind myself to check when I got home -- I was hoping for the sake of comedy that this would be off the album Dear Catastrophe Waitress. Alas, it was not. Still, it was not the type of song I expected from such a place.

The other interesting part was when I asked what beers they had. The waitress went through a list of the regular things that I would avoid, and then ended with "and Blue Moon." The problem with that is Blue Moon is a brewery, not a specific beer type. Almost like trying to sell someone a car and just telling them it's a Ford or Toyota.

In case you are wondering, it was their Belgian White, which is by far the most common Blue Moon beer, so I should have guessed it. Don't let the name of the beer fool you it was probably the darkest color beer they offered. And yes, I foolishly forgot to ask them to serve it in a room temperature glass, so I ended up with their ice frosted glass -- ugh.

A New Question

2008-02-24T21:55:00.003-05:00

Say someone was to remove energy efficient compact florescent light bulbs, and replace them with incandescent light bulbs.

Would it be better to call them:

Bjorn Lomborg light bulbs
or
Jay Hair light bulbs

I suspect the latter is more appropriate as Lomborg would probably say it was a waste of money to replace them.

(An apology to both people I referred to: I don't know how to get the slash through the o in Bjorn's name. I also realize I should not speak poorly of the dead.)

You Have Been Warned

2008-02-10T22:00:00.000-05:00

You may never want to interact with me again.

According to my fortune cookie:
You will become more passionate and determined about your convictions.

I didn't think that was possible.

The Ethics of Ethics?

2007-10-14T23:07:00.001-04:00

So, I am left wondering what to do when your ethics (or maybe personal philosophies is the better word) differ from those around you.

Not that those you are around are doing anything illegal or immoral. Just, different.

What is the correct way to express those differences? Should you just go out doing what you do best, and allow others to note (or not note) the differences? Should you be more vocal about what your views are, so that at least others are fully aware? When, if ever should you try to promote your viewpoint(s)?

For some categories these decisions have been generally decided. For vegetarians, you look for ways to alter a meal, or can prepare a separate proportion (for vegans or lactose intolerant, you can just toss out my entire repertoire) . For religious differences there have been great efforts over time to try and build bridges (and regrettably many wars in attempt to just wipe out the differing religions).

But what about the smaller more personal viewpoints or approaches?

Just wondering

Everything Must Change

2007-09-21T21:24:00.000-04:00

I really don't understand change for the sake of change. Yes, there is good change and there is bad change (even if I don't own a car, I agree that if traffic lights never changed their would be problems)

In my mind there are some things that shouldn't change. The should remain the same. In perpetuity if you will.

Today I learned that there is a good chance that the name of a periodical that I read will change. No great answer given for a name change. In fact the new name (or potential new name) sounds fairly pathetic.

My only guess is that they are dumbing it down so that the comatose that can only understand monosyllabic words can at least read the title.

I know I will be less likely to what was once a quality publication if it has a stupid name.

Consume

2007-09-21T21:15:00.000-04:00

I was at the el cheapo grocery store the other day. It turns out I like their potato bread more than the other store.

It turns out they were having a two for one sale on potato bread. The person at the checkout counter seemed amazed (almost speechless) that I would turn down this offer. Why not get more bread if it is free.

Of course when you are only one person there is only so much bread you can eat, and I did not want to see it go to waste (nor did I want to force myself to consume so much that it all went to waist, either)

I think it must be part of our consumer society to believe that people will want to get even more than they need.

Of course that really makes one wonder what a consumer society will be like once people realize that we have peaked in world oil production?

Calm Down, Andy

2007-08-23T12:15:00.000-04:00

It seems that my gripe with ASI might not be as bad as I had expected. I say might, as I do not yet know the full answer. I called someone and they projected that the price I was quoted could be incorrect. So we will wait and see.

I am mad at you, ASI

2007-08-22T20:18:00.000-04:00

Those of you who know me from work will be shocked at the title of this post. Good. I hope I shock people at ASI as well (someone there must read blogs).

I have spent many years of my life working with iMIS trying to make it work well for my organization and defending it against many in my organization who would be happy to see it gone.

Now they have a new version which has some improvements. But they have a new pricing structure which is just outrageous. It is beyond my comprehension, and way beyond my budget.

I feel like this is all a big game. Get me so dependent on a set of technologies that switching would be difficult, and then jack up the price to stay with what I have.

Word of the Year/Sign of the Times?

2007-08-22T13:25:00.000-04:00

It seems to me that every once in a while a word will all of the sudden become popular and used all over the place. I have noticed this before but never thought long enough about if there was a connection.

Now I am wondering...

ennui (it's French, so don't even attempt to pronounce it like it is spelled)

I feel like this word has permeated our culture. But is it just the use word, or does it have a deeper meaning in describing the current state of the world, the sign of our times.

Safe and Secure?

2007-08-16T19:07:00.000-04:00

...I hope I actually just did not hear this correctly...

On the local news tonight, they had a piece on keeping young ones safe when traveling. It seems that everything in a hotel room poses a great risk to children.

But the one that got me was a suggestion to put tape over the electrical outlets. Not to keep the electricity from leaking out, but to keep children from hurting themselves by inserting a coin or knife.

Knife? If your children are playing with knives, then you have greater safety issues to deal with.

As a child I survived many hotel rooms without having the outlets covered with tape, but I certainly never remember playing with a knife.

-- Andy

If the stations posts their piece, I will try to link to it.

Quick Question

2007-08-10T09:59:00.000-04:00

OK, this has been on my mind too much, so I just want to get it out there.

Are consultants more like death eaters or more like dementors?

I have my thoughts, but I would like to hear yours.

Mixed Messages

2007-07-24T20:21:00.000-04:00

(Yes I am really behind on posting. Sorry!)

So on the forth of July I saw something really confusing. It was a Hummer, but it was flying an American flag. Maybe it was an attempt at humour, or maybe it was to make people stop and think (or blog as the case might be). To me though it just seemed like a mixed message. If you are driving a Hummer, shouldn't you really be flying an Al-Qaeda flag*? Now that would help reinforce who your allegiance.

This leads into an article in The Washington Post about a man who had his Hummer trashed by some group of people. (oddly enough someone labeled those who damaged the vehicle as eco-terrorists, when it is fairly obvious that it is the other way around. It is the morons who drive Hummers that are terrorizing the ecosystem). The article pointed out that the owner wanted it part because the company he is starting is "image based". Another article then goes on to say that rather than learning from this experience that this might not be such a great image, he is going to fix it up and move out of the District.

-- Andy

* It seems that there is a flag of Jihad, which I guess is the closest thing to an Al Qadea flag. From what I can tell they did not waste money on consultants for their logo or colours, or fonts. there are a lot of groups that could learn a thing or two from that.

Addendum

2007-07-13T22:53:00.000-04:00

I want to follow up on a prior post

I went out to lunch with a number of co-workers to celebrate my anniversary. It was good to see that someone recognized that food and spending time with great co-workers is meaningful to me. I greatly appreciated this lunch.

Again, I don't want to suggest that I am not appreciative of the cash card gift, but rather show others that there are other ways show appreciation.

Thanks

-- Andy

Why Even Bother

2007-07-13T22:24:00.000-04:00

Yes, it has been a long time since I posted. Of course since you are using an RSS reader, it doesn't really matter, because it alerts you to my new posts.

Anyway, I wanted to comment on my July 4 experience. After being kicked off the National Mall (technically not allowed on the Mall) for a rain storm (a grand 0.1 inch (0.25 cm)), I headed home to make dinner rather than spend it at one of the regional offerings on the Mall (yes, I am sure the vendors were just as pleased as I was to be kicked off the Mall).

I came back to the Mall for the fireworks. But what caught my attention more than the fireworks were the cell phones. Yes, rather than watch the main attraction there were people yakking away on their phones.

I don't own one of these infernal devices, so I just don't get it. It seems that people are more connected to their phones and therefore totally disconnected to the world around them. I know that we all have times when we want to not pay attention to the world going around us, but I have never seen it manifested as well as when I see someone jabbering away at their phone. I can not figure out what could be so important to talk about that you would need to disconnect from friends or family around you to attend to your cell phone.

Even worse is the idea of traveling somewhere for a specific event (such as the fireworks) only to not pay attention to it.

It's Not About the Money

2007-07-03T22:17:00.000-04:00

You can forget everything they teach you about in business school that says it is about the money -- it isn't.

Case in point. I just received a very generous gift from my employer for my anniversary with the company, in the form of a money gift card. It was very nice, and I do appreciate it. I certainly don't want to give the impression that I am some spoiled brat who is complaining about a gift (I don't want to be compared to this girl)

But I also got a wonderful gift for the same reason from an individual who recently left the company. A smaller dollar value was spent, but it was a care package which showed how much the person knows me. It really was much more meaningful and it really brightened my day.

Horridscope - Predicted

2007-07-03T22:14:00.000-04:00

This one goes out to a regular reader of the blog who has been telling me this for a long time (but here it was in the horridscope section of the paper today):

"You're working hard, but those who don't understand your work won't think so."

No Ifs About It

2007-06-21T20:07:00.000-04:00

There was a commercial on TV for Met Life, all based on the fact that if are the central letters in life (literally, and, at least in their minds figuratively) .

One of their ifs was: If Social Security isn't enough

Why is that an if? Social security won't be enough (will it still even be around?)

Anyway, I didn't think the intent of Social Security was to be enough all on its own. I thought it was meant to be a safety net of sorts to help out.

"Inside Children"

2007-06-20T22:27:00.001-04:00

I read an article in The Washington Post yesterday on "inside children" (children who don't go outside to play and experience nature), and I wasn't sure what to make of it.

(warning: long and rambling)

Yes, I do think it is horrible that children are not getting out and playing and really getting a chance to commune with nature. But of course a number of other thoughts ran though my head at the same time.

I spent tons of time outdoors when I was a child, but did not really spend it in a natural environment, and yet turned out to be an advocate for protecting the environment and protecting open space, natural places, etc. Is there a difference between spending time outdoors and spending time in a natural environment?

One of the directions I am trying to go here is to say that I lived in a community that seemed well designed for playing outside. No, we did not each have vast backyards to play in (having a house with a vast backyard seems to be a factor in a lot of the mcMansion sprawl we have to put up with these days, as if if using a riding lawnmower was a real way to connect to nature). By living in a community where all the houses were compact and right next to each other, it was always easy to find other children around to go play with. The community was laid out well enough that no child needed to be driven around by a parent to gain access to other children. In many modern developments it is hard for one child to meet up with other children, houses can be spread further apart, and poor designs, like those wretched cul de sacs make it hard to get from one block to the next.

If children are not going to go outside, will developers give up on the wasteful ways of sprawl and start building compact smarter growth again?

So that is a long way of saying that we are designing neighborhoods that help make the situation worse. And if that wasn't enough, when poor development it is even harder to get to nature for those times when that is really what you want to do. I can't imagine not having access to a park via bike or mass transit. How can a kid really experience nature if they are always dependent on Mommy or Daddy to take them to nature?

This of course leads to another issue: Fear Factor.

It seems that when I was a child most children were given a lot more free reign (the exception being this young girl that lived down the street from me (Macy, I think), who wasn't even allowed to cross Drury Lane). Even at a fairly young age I was able to go (I assume I had permission) to the five and dime, which was beyond city limits (trust me, I made that sound more impressive than it really was).

Yet I don't think as many children would be given the same latitude in this day and age. Parents are worried that bad things will happen to their children and don't want to let them be outside without supervision. the general statistics are that children really aren't in greater danger, but that the bad incidents are more hyped, creating a greater sense of fear. At my elementary school, we were taught how to be smart about situations (don't get in the car with someone you don't know) and taught some basics on what to do if you end up in a bad situation. But we were never taught to be afraid of being outside. I wish I knew how to collectively pull our country out of fear mongering.

Just some of my initial thoughts.

-- Andy

Struggling Viral Marketing?

2007-06-20T21:27:00.000-04:00

Odd websites were once the big thing: Everyone starts talking about it, trying to figure out what it really means.

This one hasn't quite caught on yet. Only a few hits on Google.

Maybe I am being manipulated. Presumable, I will find out in about 14 days

-- Andy

P.S. Maybe they would be more successful if they changed their domain name to Shakespeare's: What is past is prologue.

Dentist: Do as I Say, Not as I Do?

2007-06-20T20:49:00.000-04:00

So I went to the dentist today (no cavities). And the dentist (or dental hygentist, I guess) was, as usual, berating me for not flossing enough. And then told me how important it is to floss before you brush. That way you can get all the bad stuff out from in between your teeth first, and use the toothbrush as the final step to get rid of it.

Made sense to me.

He then went on to do a complete cleaning - water pick, then regular pick, then polish, and then floss.

umm. Wait did I get that order right?

uhh...yeah, that was the order

Floss first, except when your a dentist?

I am so confused.

More Jargon to Kill

2007-06-18T22:17:00.000-04:00

I am happy to kill off jargon that comes from consultants and spokes drones that sounds like this:

Yang and Decker to Focus on Realizing Yahoo!'s Strategic Vision by Accelerating Execution, Further Strengthening Leadership and Fostering a Culture of Winning

It sounds like it was cribbed from Dilbert. How do people who write this sleep at night?

-- Andy

Caught in My Own Trap

2007-06-07T11:15:00.000-04:00

So two days ago I say that jargon can be good, right?

Yesterday afternoon I get really upset by something I read. Foiled by jargon. I take the phrase in what I am reading literally and it upsets me. Later someone tells me that it is actually jargon and the literal meaning is not the meaning i would have guessed. And since the word is jargon I am unable to find a good definition on the web to better understand the correct use of the term.

So maybe there are only certain times when jargon is good. Maybe I am not as smart as I think I am am.

Bummer

-- Andy

Paraphrasing Gordon Gekko

2007-06-05T20:40:00.000-04:00

"Jargon, for lack of a better word, is good. Jargon is right, jargon works. Jargon clarifies, cuts through..."

I have been thinking about jargon lately and it helped to see a recent article by John C. Dvorak: Down With Dumbing Down.

I think he is right to criticize newspapers for avoiding jargon, and generally not respecting the intelligence of their readers. Isn't it good to enhance ones vocabulary? Shouldn't one who reads a newspaper generally have access to a dictionary?

Dvorak notes that jargon is often more precise, and often shorter. I would accurate.

Some reason examples were given to me as a way to avoid jargon. And in those cases the "more user friendly" method was often longer and less accurate. More open for interpretation. Of course in this post-Clinton era even the definition of the word "is" is open for interpretation.

Legal and scientific issues would seem to me to really important times to use jargon for precision and accuracy. Particularly legal issues that deal with perpetuity.

Yes, there are times when removing jargon can help clarify. But a well written piece can help define a term, and use it in context, and respect the reader's intelligence.

I think attempting to remove jargon can end up going the same path as over editing -- removing all meaning.

Thoughts?

If I Did Own a Car

2007-05-28T11:47:00.000-04:00

I hope I would be as creative as this. Unfortunately I fear I am not that creative.

Warren Brown Gets it right, as usual

2007-05-27T22:05:00.001-04:00

I am not an expert on the issues of gasoline. It might help is I were to post more, force me to better keep track of the facts and stats. But that is neither here nor there.

On a day when many Americans watch cars going around in circles, for 1,100 miles averaging around 5 mpg (I believe, needs more fact checking)

It was interesting to see that we finally surpassed the better measure of highest gas prices for the US -- adjusted for inflation. I heard (but do not have the details to back this up) that the income of Americans has increased faster than inflation, which means that gasoline prices are still not at record levels in terms of impact on our wallets.

Anyway, I am writing to point out Warren Brown's latest article A Gas Crisis 30 Years in the Making. While Americans are complaining about high gasoline prices, "U.S. consumers are a long way from dealing with the truth." It is always easier to place the blame on someone else (in this case: the oil companies, the car companies, the government) but it often better to accept that we ourselves need to correct the mistake.

Pogo got it right, too.

-- Andy

(Notice how I used the word gasoline, instead of gas. That is because I would not want to confuse you by using an abbreviation. After all the product I am referencing is a liquid at STP)

Quote of the Day

2007-05-27T21:57:00.000-04:00

Actually, earlier in the week, but it is new to me. From an online discussion hosted by The Washington Post

And what about people, like me, who find it "unconscionable" how cheap gas STILL is?

The person who wrote this was from Texas (I had a preconceived notion that no one in the state of Texas thought that way)

The Andy Weaver Jeopardy Question of the Day

2007-05-27T21:46:00.000-04:00

Categories: Land Trusts, Blogs

Answer: The Author of the Massachusetts Land Trust Blog

(Please post (in the form of a question, would really keep with the spirit). I really want to find out, and honestly have no clue)

Optimus Pre-orders!

2007-05-20T20:58:00.000-04:00

They are now taking pre-orders for the Optimus Keyboard. Well beyond my price range, but maybe others will replicate the idea.

Semi-Silent Spring

2007-05-20T20:52:00.000-04:00

I am sorry to say that I have seen more dead birds this Spring then I have ever seen before.

I have no explainations.

Have you experienced this as well?

Speaking of Criminals...

2007-05-15T23:22:00.000-04:00

...any member of Congress that thinks repealing or suspending the federal gas tax, should be considered a criminal.

(Sorry for the odd title, I was just working on an email about crime/criminals)

09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 58 D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0

2007-05-08T22:39:00.000-04:00

Yes I am a pathetic blogger who is a week late on posting this.

My organization moved offices last week you will have to forgive my tardiness.

And, yes, I am posting this in part because everyone else is.

Blogging About Blogging

2007-05-08T22:38:00.000-04:00

Yes, I have created a tag for my blog labeled "Blogging"

Is this meta-data gone awry?

Blogging for an Intern

2007-05-08T22:20:00.000-04:00

I understand that some organizations are hiring interns to blog for them for the Summer. I have mixed feeling on this.

I can see that the benefits could be great for the Intern -- great exposure. And if done well could be great for the organization*

But there are serious downsides. How can this be an authentic voice from the organization if it is not someone who has worked there? If the intern has been tightly connected to the organization or its products, then this could help, but is still not really a blog from the inside.

How much of a chance will the intern have to get inside the organization? If they don't already have a blogger, then will they be ready to hand power over to an intern? Or will the intern be forced to rely on the press releases and over-polished messages that come down from marketing? that wouldn't be good for either organization or intern.

Will someone in the position of intern really be able to call the organization out when it screws up? After all he or she wants to leave a good impression for the sake of job searching after the internship/graduation. And it is hard for an organization to deal with a newbie telling them they screwed up. I about had a fit when a new staff person told me an IT policy we had was bad, and other coworkers have been stressed by criticism of new colleagues as well.

What are your thoughts

-- Andy

*The organization I work for unfortunately is almost absent from Technorati searches (the organization my previous boss went to work for fares better)

Cheap Gasoline

2007-05-08T22:15:00.000-04:00

It seems like every day on the news they show someone filling up their not-so-fuel-efficient car complaining about how horrible it is that gas prices are so unacceptably high*.

Yet they never show a chart like this which shows the price in Europe is at least double.

Why not put it in perspective?

-- Andy

*Today they actually showed some guy who commutes an hour and a half each way in his car. I bet he wins the good parenting award for that!

Worn Out

2007-04-29T20:51:00.000-04:00

My body feels like it has been through Rally, but all the cool aspects of knowledge transfer, and networking.

OK, one type of networking, but not the Rally kind.

-- Andy

Future Post

2007-04-25T08:48:00.000-04:00

Mainly a reminder to myself to blog about why Toyota beat out GM in sales.

Hint: It is not because GM goes by the abreviation of their name instead of General Motors.

My Company is Missing the Train

2007-04-24T22:09:00.000-04:00

That would be the clue train.

{interjection} This is the first time since last Tuesday that I have actually felt energetic and not in a bad mood. Those of you who know the details will be able to make the connection {interjection}

I know I am far behind the times. but I am finally catching up. I have been missing the train as well.

The Cluetrain Manifesto is a set of 95 theses (yes, the same number as Martin Luther), on how the Internet is changing how companies communicate with the people they are connected to.

Interestingly enough dome of the new things the organization I work for is now trying to do that I was opposed to seem to be somewhat on track with cluetrain:
#68 The inflated self-important jargon you sling around—in the press, at your conferences—what's that got to do with us?

(Actually I would say that our jargon was not self-important, just jargon, but maybe I am wrong)

Others, not so much:
#64. We want access to your corporate information, to your plans and strategies, your best thinking, your genuine knowledge. We will not settle for the 4-color brochure, for web sites chock-a-block with eye candy but lacking any substance.

#65 We're also the workers who make your companies go. We want to talk to customers directly in our own voices, not in platitudes written into a script.

Some we have always been doing correctly:
#45 Intranets naturally tend to route around boredom. The best are built bottom-up by engaged individuals cooperating to construct something far more valuable: an intranetworked corporate conversation.

and need to keep doing so, in order to avoid:
#44 Companies typically install intranets top-down to distribute HR policies and other corporate information that workers are doing their best to ignore.

Global Warming/Peak Oil: What Are the Best Options?

2007-04-22T18:29:00.000-04:00

So there are concerns about Peak Oil (PO) and Global Warming (GW).

But what are the best answers.

On Earth Day, one thing we look at are the "simple" and "not-so-simple" things we can do to make the Earth a better place.

There was a great post on The Oil Drum That looked at suggestions (specific post here).

The suggestions are great, I urge you to read it.

But what are your suggestions?

Some Paint

2007-04-22T18:10:00.000-04:00

I did my best to paint around the cabinets. I learned that I am not a painter.

The flash on the camera is impacting the color.

The wall under this cabinet was the hardest to paint. I am not sure why. The paint did not want to stick in one patch.

Any thoughts on the paint color for the wainscoting? I was also thinking of a golden brown type color.

Drink Up!

2007-04-10T22:39:00.000-04:00

Over Easter Dinner one person mentioned that a lot of non-profits use the term "Alliance" in their names even if they are not really an alliance.

So I turned to Google to find the true definition of Alliance:

Alliance
1 oz Gin, 1 oz Vermouth, 2 dashed Akvavit
Shake with ice, then strain into rocks glass over ice.

Looks like I should have tuned in to TikiBar instead.

-- Andy

New Insight: People Care?

2007-04-10T22:10:00.000-04:00

At a brownbag session at work today I had a new insight. I am very confused and am not sure how to deal with this.

It seems that there really are people out there that care about brand and font type and font color and all that other stuff that other worthless garbage.

OK I knew there was always someone who acted like they cared about it -- the consultants -- they are in it for the money. Your new font type equals money in their pocket. Of course they are going to try and do everything they can to convince you take on a boondoggle like "branding."

And sure I knew there were those who bought into all this junk that the consultants are selling. If no one bought in, then the consulting economy would dry up and wreck havoc on the economy as a whole. And if the consultants didn't have enough money for umbrellas they would just melt the next time they went out in the rain -- what a mess that would be.

But today my world view shifted. It seemed that there were people who really do care about this stuff.

I don't get it. How can this stuff seem important?

OK. I will admit that the time I missed an important email because someone thought my domain name had a capital I instead of a lower case l, made me an even stronger supporter for serif fonts. But how much control do I have over that? If your email or RSS reader only displays in san serif fonts, I have no control over how you see my email address. And that is how the web is evolving - we have less control over how you see the data.

I just don't get it.

P.S. What I do get is Hugh MacLeod's comment on branding. To paraphrase:
If you want to have a cool brand, do cool stuff.

The original quote is not quite suitable for my organization as we don't really build.

Intel Installed

2007-04-03T20:53:00.000-04:00

I think I need Intel to stop by if I even need to pull my refrigerator out or back in.

Sorry no photos today. You will just have to take my word that my fridge has an incredibly tight fit into it's spot. Intel seems to be the experts with working in the scale of nanometers, so I trust that they would be able to assist me.

-- Andy

Oil Crisis: Closer than we think?

2007-04-02T09:05:00.000-04:00

It has been a while since I have written about this sort of thing. I have spent too much time writing about my kitchen.

In his latest blog post James Howard Kunstler included this:
the crashing of Mexico's Cantarell oil field (60 percent of Mexico's production) means that inside of five years the US will receive no more imports from what has been its third leading source.

While this is shocking news for the US, it is much worse for Mexico. According to another source on the Mexican economy:
oil provides nearly 40 percent of the government's revenues

Since oil exports play such a critical role in the Mexican economy, loss of this source of revenue will be devastating.

Add to that the the price of corn, a staple of the Mexican diet, is already rising dramatically as we try to turn corn into fuel for cars instead of fuel for humans.

I suspect this will make immigration issues even worse as many more Mexicans will be desperate to cross the border. But without oil in our relationship with Mexico there will probably be less in the US government willing to work on immigration issues, and more who are in favor of "securing the border". But of course how does one secure the border if one can not fuel up ones border patrol car or plane?

Danger ahead.

Pick a Color

2007-04-02T08:59:00.000-04:00

A quick blog update as I await the delivery of my oven and dishwasher.

As you can see the rest of the cabinets are up. And the faucet has been installed.

Below are seven paint samples in three different light settings. Let me know which ones you like. Thanks!

Countertops? Already?

2007-03-29T22:39:00.000-04:00

So I was told that the countertops wouldn't arrive until next week. But i came home to a surprise.

Wow!

Hmm. I had wondered if that moulding under the window sill was going to fit with the countertop. I guess I know my answer -- time for new moulding.

Some of the other cabinets have gone in as well.

Look at that shine. Look at that under-mount sink.

If things keep moving at this pace, I won't be able to talk people in to sharing home cooked meals at their houses anymore.

Cabinets Come In

2007-03-26T21:50:00.000-04:00

The cabinets are here, and starting to go in.

Cabinets by the window

Cabinets for the island/peninsula. The open spot is where the dishwasher will go.

The corner cupboard (with its doors off)

In building out support for the floor, part was sanded down to help level everything off.

Things are moving at a fast clip. I really am going to need to decide on paint colors soon.

Lighting Update

2007-03-22T22:48:00.000-04:00

After writing my last post I opened up my RSS Reader and found this story: New Bill Aims to Rid U.S. of Inefficient Light Bulbs by 2012

It sounds like there is going to be a push for efficient lighting at the federal level.

Cyberlux (which is the company I bought my LEDs from) says:
And with technology that consumes 92% less energy than incandescent bulbs (common household bulbs), 30% less than most fluorescent lighting systems, and new lighting efficiency that can last up to 20 years, Cyberlux is at the forefront of next-generation lighting solutions.

Their stock is doing very poorly, but if there is a chance of this passing, maybe I should invest.

Thoughts?

The LEDs Arrive

2007-03-22T22:23:00.000-04:00

OK. This is the coolest new thing about my kitchen redesign.

LED lights are slowly starting to turn up in all sorts of places. They use very little electricity, and they last for years.

There are a few companies that seem to make them for consumer uses, including under cabinet lighting. Right now they are still overly expensive, and not really straight forward. I could not order them directly from the manufacture, the reseller had to work with my contractor to work on the right sizes and the issues of primary lights vs. secondary, and there is some special transformer needed (No, not Optimus Prime). And when you finally order them, you have to wait a few weeks for them to ship -- shouldn't they have a warehouse of these things ready to go? Actually I hope this is a sign that demand is so high they can't keep them in stock long enough.

-- Andy

Nice New Floor

2007-03-19T21:38:00.000-04:00

I came home to a nice new floor.

You can't really see it from this picture, but amazingly, with the tiles at an angle they fit perfectly from one end to the next.

Here is a close up of how the floor was leveled off. You can also see the cool little spacers they use to make sure all the tiles are evenly spaced from each other.

In the foreground is my nice hardwood floor that is once of the few things in my condo that I have really tried to keep clean. Currently it is a lost cause. Once all the construction is done, I will have a lot of cleaning to do.

-- Andy

"Red Room, Red Room"

2007-03-18T21:09:00.000-04:00

The base for the new floor casts an eerie glow on to the entire room.

Running wiring behind drywall is easy. Running it through plaster? Yikes. The good part? While they were at it, they also ran the power supply for my AC/heater unit behind the plaster as well. The bad part? Everything in my place now has a coating of dust.

Floor No More

2007-03-15T20:01:00.000-04:00

The water was shut off, and the last of the floor was removed.

Electrical has been run through the ceiling for the drop lights.

Electrical has been run through the wall as well.

Plumbing has been run out as well.

More to come...

Get Out Your Frustrations

2007-03-14T20:05:00.000-04:00

Ever get to a point where you really are frustrated and just want to do something? How about taking out large pieces of your floor.

I can not disconnect my dishwasher, but I found I could pull it out and then work on the floor under where it usually is. As you see all that pounding paid off and it wanted to come out as a big piece.

Too heavy for me to carry (too much work just to pull it out and prop it up). But I am sure strong construction guys will have no problem taking it down.

Yes, the water valves will be replaced tomorrow and more work can begin.

Demolition - Things Become Clearer

2007-03-13T20:56:00.000-04:00

Old debris was hauled away on Monday!

Still stuck with the sink and dishwasher. Ugh!

Wow! The camera makes it look clean. This is where all the old cabinets were stored.

And plywood and soundproof drywall were brought up.

Demolition Weekend: Sunday

2007-03-13T20:46:00.000-04:00

Well, it is more than a one day event.

Much to the annoyance of my neighbors who had to deal with constant pounding, I was back at it on Sunday and later on my friend Beth joined me once again.

This is the progress we made the first day

Here I try to show off just how think this stuff is. Like an archaeologist, I use the hammer to give sense of size.

Sometimes the stuff really does come out in big pieces!
Eitehr way it created lots of dust.

This is going to be a kitchen again?

Progress was made. Can't pull out the dishwasher or sink, so no real progress there.

Demolition Weekend: Saturday

2007-03-13T20:31:00.000-04:00

Saturday.

Time to take the floor out. Or at least start.

After a slight delay, and a stop by Sidamo for the best coffee in DC, it was off to work in removing the floor.

But not just the tile (which I initially planned for oh so long ago). There was a cement substrate under the tile. I was told it had to come out as well. It seemed to be crumbling under the few tiles I pulled up with my kitchen contractor. It looked think under the tiles we pulled up as well.

What we found out that wasn't fully the case. The cement had been used to level out the floor, and for the most part was very thick. At least 4 cm in many places, I am willing to guess (I did not formally measure it)

My friend TJ is working away at it.

TJ making more progress

Maybe it is easier when sitting down?

My friend Beth also joined us later and helped out but asked that I not post photos of her. She was able to get much larger chunks out than TJ and I had been able to.

Yes, and all the debris had to be hauled downstairs.

All this pounding wore us out. But it also caused so much vibration that it destroyed the ceiling light of my neighbor below me. She has been very forgiving.

-- Andy

Demolition Continues

2007-03-08T20:25:00.001-05:00

My contractor did a great job where I left off.

It seems the circuit breaker that kills power to the hood over the range is the same that kills power to the kitchen and living room lights. Whose brigh idea was that?

Trouble. And in my place that is spelled water. The water supply will not shut off properly. so we can't take out the sink or dishwasher. Current game plan -- have water shut off to the whole building tomorrow and replace the shut offs. Yikes -- my neighbors are going to love me for that!

Why Can't Google and MS Play Nice?

2007-03-07T22:58:00.001-05:00

Live Writer is a blogging tool put together by Microsoft. It really is a nice tool.

And for the most part it works really well with Blogger (which is now owned by Google).

But want to use the cool photo feature in Live Writer (which does much better image handling than Blogger) with Blogger? Really take advantage of the better product?

No luck. They don't allow that. (or at least they don't make it easy)

Bummer!

Demolition Begins

2007-03-07T22:40:00.001-05:00

Well, it really began a long time ago (years ago), when a pinhole leak in a pipe behind a wall rotted away the drywall, and caused some of my cabinets to sag (held up by an old microwave, and phone books)

I lived a couple years or so in the kitchen without those cabinets, but knew eventually more stuff would need to be done. Eventually hired a kitchen contractor, who devised a great plan.

Spent a lot of time picking cabinets and appliances, and floor tile, etc.

Then a few weeks ago, my old refrigerator departed, and a new one arrived (tucked into a corner removed from the kitchen).

Now the rest of the kitchen must go.

This wall is where the cabinets that started it all once stood.

Now more are gone

I wanted to take out the ones above the range as well, but can't figure out how to safely decommission the hood above the range.

The old cabinets pile up in a corner (yes, that is an American Greetings box in the back)

Once the rest is removed -- the floor comes up. I will keep you posted!

I'm not web 2.0 enough

2007-03-06T23:17:00.001-05:00

So I convinced myself to create a twitter account (http://twitter.com/135746) and a tumblelog (http://135746.tumblr.com/), but I am not sure I really get it.

It took me a long time before I finally got RSS, but once the lightbulb* went off, I got it. Will these two be the same, or will I end up as a relic that can't understand the basics of where things are going.

Coming Soon: Kitchen Renovation & Photos

2007-03-06T23:11:00.001-05:00

The kitchen (for the most part) has been cleared out.

One more day when I can wash dishes in the kitchen sink before I turn to the bathroom sink.

Tomorrow is my last chance for cooking on the stove for a while.

Thursday/Friday just about everything will be removed from the kitchen. This weekend a few good friends are going to help me rip out the floor.

Next week the new floor and drywall (really cool stuff called QuietRock) goes in. So too electrical and the initial plumbing works.

Then the cabinets start to come in.

Then appliances.

Then countertop and sink.

And the super cool under cabinet LED lights (I am really into the LED lights, and can't wait to see them in action)

And then I have a kitchen again.

Stay tuned for photos and updates!

What a Deal!

2007-02-22T20:59:00.001-05:00

I got some junk mail today from a magazine that I subscribe to. It was to tell me about a great deal (which they underlined) to renew my subscription. Here is the best part (taken straight from their letter -- once again their underlines):

For a limited time, you can extend your subscription for another year (12 issues) for the low rate of just: $20.00--you save 0.59% off the regular rate.

Wow! I can save a few pennies. I don't know how they can stay in business when they are offering discounts like that.

-- Andy

I Don't Get It

2007-02-20T22:53:00.001-05:00

OK, I admit there is a lot that I don't get. But can someone please tell me what is so wrong with a TLA (three letter abbreviation)?

People spend tens of thousands of dollars to append TLAs to their names. We live in a world where people use www even when it isn't really needed. I (and maybe this adds to my bias) live inside the beltway where nothing would ever get done if people had to spell everything out (yes, I know people already think nothing gets done here, but trust me it would waste even more time if we could no longer just type FBI or EPA).

Corporations want to have web domains that match their abbreviations, but all the short web addresses are already claimed, and fight for the short stock symbol.

So why go and ruin a good thing? If you have a good TLA -- don't hide it.

Quote of the Day

2007-02-19T22:23:00.001-05:00

"The ethanol craze means that we're going to burn up the Midwest's last six inches of topsoil in our gas-tanks."

From a farmer who organized the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture's annual meeting

First seem on James Howard Kunstler's blog, but starting to make the rounds.

Walking in the Streets

2007-02-19T22:19:00.001-05:00

I had to go out to Northern Virginia late this afternoon.

For some foolish reason I thought they would have done well in shoveling sidewalks.

I was wrong. They are even worse than here in DC. (I will be fair, some people did a very good job at clearing their sidewalks, but percentage wise, it still seemed worse than DC)

I don't get it. It seems fairly straightforward to me that part of community, part of hospitality is clearing your sidewalk. It is one of those things that is law, but shouldn't really have to be, it should just be part of being civilized.

I of course was most disgusted in the cases where the sidewalk had not been cleared but the driveway had been perfectly cleared -- but you probably don't want yet another rant against a car do you?

Horridscope Advice for All for Everyday

2007-02-10T21:23:00.001-05:00

Today's Horridscope:

Think twice before you get into a vehicle. Not because anything bad will happen, but because a walk outdoors will do wonders for your soul. You solve problems as you pound the pavement.

So why is this posted just for today and just for us Sagittari?

Shouldn't everyone think twice before using personalized motor transport? A walk outdoors would do wonders for the soul regardless of what time of year you were born.

I have always been better able to solve problems by walking. OK there was that one time that I tried to use driving as a way to solve my problems. But that was back in those days of college, when I was young and foolish. And I am not sure it worked all that well. Of course it did get me out to a graveyard before sunrise (which anyone who has been to Maine can assure you is a very early hour) where I was able to shoot photos for my photography class.

Living Your Tagline

2007-02-01T23:09:00.001-05:00

As many of you probably know, I don't believe much in taglines, and brands, and logos, and all that other worthless junk.

So imagine my surprise when a car company (of all things) has an advertisement that positively reflects their tagline.

Getting off Metro at Union station tonight, I saw a new set of advertisements for Toyota. They gave a number, and then two things that people could easily associate with, followed with a piece of trivial material about their own company. (e.g. 7: Number of white stripes on the flag, number of Harry Potter Books (Yea! by the way -- very exciting newsday), mpg for our stupendously ugly vehicles (in case you didn't know what SUV stood for))

One of the ads had a fairly large number. And one of the two pieces of information associated with it was number of kilometers to the moon (I will forgive them that the distance to the moon is actually variable).

No US car company would do that. They all are stuck on some illogical measurement system.

Moving Forward -- take us with you. Maybe someday we really can catch up to the rest of the world.

Anthropocentric

2007-01-23T23:39:00.001-05:00

What role do people play in the environment? What role do humans play in correcting the mistakes that we have made? How do you get humans to be concerned about the environment? how do you get humans to be concerns about the environment beyond what directly impacts them? Beyond what directly impacts them and other humans?

I don't know

The more I think about these issues, the more lost and confused I become.

Sure I took Eco-Philosophy, but that was over ten years ago -- I have forgotten most of what I was taught in the class (I still remember a comment about prophets vs. profits).

Anthropocentric was a word I learned in college, but I think I recognized the issues well before I learned the word. Anthropomorphic is another one of those great words, and is probably well related -- it is easier to relate to something more like us (people like Mickey a whole lot more than they like regular mice)

But my main question (at the moment) is: To convince people to do something good for the environment, how much do you need to appeal to their sense of anthropocentricity? Do they need to feel a sense of human connection to what it is they are protecting? If there was a wilderness area that not only banned motorized vehicles (and any other motorized machinery), but also humans, could people support that? If a species needed complete removal from human interaction to survive extinction, would people support that?

Lots of questions...No real answers.

Hey Service Sector -- Provide Service

2007-01-22T22:34:00.001-05:00

Last Saturday (not this past Saturday, but the one before then) I went out to see a play with someone. It was a good play, but that is not the topic of this post.

Coming back from the play, we went out to eat (plays are often timed so that it is too early to eat before hand, leaving you really hungry after)

Anyway we came to a row of restaurants and chose one. I should have realized right away that there might be cause for concern, the hostess was not being a good host. We hunted for seating on our own, and ended up on the porch. And then we waited for a waiter to come. And waited. And waited. Oh, we did get water, but I was hoping for something more substantial.

Time was wasting away. Time when they could have been selling us drinks, and making money off of us.

The waiter seemed to have no problem helping the other table, but had no interest in us.

So we left.

The next place we went, was crowded and loud. But we were seated promptly. The waiter was very busy but still made time for us. The food was a little more expensive, but not much more, and it was a good meal.

So, the second place got our money and the waiter at the second place got a decent tip.

My experiences lately make me wonder if the service industry is losing its touch. Maybe as America as a whole becomes increasingly lazy, it is reflected in many ways, including in the service provided. Maybe staff everywhere are trying to emulate the CEOs of the world -- loose your company money so that you can be shown the door, while being handed unbelievable sums of money.

I know it worked for the CEOs, but I am not quite sure it will work as well for others.

Thank You Starbucks

2007-01-20T20:32:00.001-05:00

Recently I had a poor experience at Starbucks (I don't go there too often, but I had a gift card...)

Anyway, I filled out a comment card and explained my problem (I would (maybe) have spoken to the manager when the problem occurred, but I was in a rush.

They wrote back with an apology and a card for a free drink.

Now, should I use that at the same location where I had the problem, or should I use it at a different location? Part of me wants to avoid the one location, and part of me wants to see if they actually got it fixed, or just decided to placate me.

Thoughts?

Predictions Delayed

2007-01-02T22:55:00.001-05:00

I know you all are actively waiting for my predictions for the new year. You probably felt that their was something wrong in your RSS reader, or a critical flaw in blogger (maybe I had predicted the doom of Google, and so Google blocked me).

Alas, I merely had other things come up.

Hopefully tomorrow night.

A New Year

2007-01-01T13:13:00.001-05:00

A new year. Time to start fresh, to not relive all the mistakes of the past year (but still to relive some of them -- and a chance to make lots of new mistakes)

I am already off to a painfully slow start of the new year (no, I did not drink in excess last night, but I did manage to sleep in this morning, and am just not moving at my normal pace yet.

I am not big into resolutions, but I do ant to spend more time reading this year. The newspaper arrives at my door every morning, and all too often too much of it goes unread.

I can also work on improving myself at work. Spending time more productively at looking how to help coworkers, rather than confronting them when they approach something in a way that is not conducive to the whole.

I hope to also post in my blog a little more often (good news I have updated Live Writer, and am now able to connect into my blog once again). I will still post erratically, so I strongly suggest any interested to use an RSS reader.

I hope to post a list of my guesses (predictions) for the coming year, but since I just mentioned RSS, let me briefly jump ahead. Now that all the major web browsers have RSS built in, RSS will begin to reach the masses. Many folks were not going to install a separate program, especially if they did not get the idea behind RSS right away. Now that they have it in their browser, away they will go.

More to come, but I have to get back to a few other things that need my attention.

I wish you a happy, healthy, and exciting new year.

Don't Go Beta

2006-12-09T20:00:00.000-05:00

I made the unfortunate choice to move to the new beta version of Blogger.

The spell check does not seem to work (I gave up on learning how to spell very early in elementary school).

It also deos not seem to want to connect to Live Writer (which is an excellent tool for bloggers, in my opinion).

If you are using blogger, I suggest you don't go beta.

Can't Wait for January 1

2006-12-09T19:49:00.000-05:00

Unusual for me, I was actually out last night.

I had a great time (except for poor service, you would think a waitress would know she could increase sales/tip with better service).

After the meal, I went up to the front of the place to listen to the band. It was a bit too loud for me, but I am growing old (heck even the early service at my church is too loud for me).

But what really drove me crazy was the smoke. As I have been around fewer and fewer smokers, I have become less tolerant of smoke. And it certainly did not help that I was getting over a cold.

Well, the bouncer was kind enough to see my reaction and asked the near by smoker to put out his cigarette. The smoker threw it to the floor, but did not stamp it out (someone else was kind enough to do that).

Come January 1, I will not have to worry about this in this city. We will be able to enjoy going out without having to deal with this form of air pollution (and often, as in the case of last night, litter).

The Not-so-Greatest Generation

2006-12-06T08:04:00.000-05:00

Hmm... Concern from one person that parents give their children everything they ask for. Concern from someone else that the younger generation lacks a work ethic.

I would have to guess that they are related. I will admit that I got many of the things I wanted when I was a kid. And if it was just that, I could have wound up as a spoiled little brat. But I did not get everything. More importantly I was taught the importance of a good work ethic (of course I learned to procrastinate all on my own, but that is for another discussion).

I know we always talk about how great it is to have an ever growing economy, but isn't there something missing by not seeing the other side? The great stories of frugality that got people through the Great Depression, and had a major impact on how they lived going forward. The stories of times of war when people saved and recycled their tin and string, and whatnot (long before the word recycle entered the general vocabulary). Perhaps more importantly during WWII, they rationed gasoline.

The younger generation does not have stories like this, and we are probably entering a time where it is the great grandparents that lived through these experiences.

So, now we are once again at war. Do we ration anything because of it? No we are essentially told to go on using more and more (of course some of it goes back to help those we are fighting against, but we aren't going to let that stop the people back home from keeping on keeping on)

But what else about the easy life has changed? Growing up I was instilled with the idea that gambling was bad. Sure there was a state lottery but the greater focus was on Shirley Jackson's short story (one lottery I would never want to be a part of). Most gambling was all in one state, and mainly in one city -- Las Vegas (AKA Sin City). Nowadays it seems that every state wants every boat (even those that will be in dry dock in perpetuity) to be home of gambling. Lotteries have grown to cover most states and the mega lottos get mega hyped. The dream is to get something for nothing, the reality is that they are not much better off than is Tessie Hutchinson.

For a while Day Trading became the gambling fixation of many in the country. The belief that free shipping for sending kitty litter across the country would turn a profit, along with the crooks of Enron et. al. sent many day traders sailing towards Bankrupt Sea, but the belief in something for nothing still lives on.

Real Estate picked up where many left off in the world of stocks. You didn't need money to buy a house. traditional loans were for the fuddy duddies that stuck with traditions. A nontraditional loan means someone can buy a house that they will never realistically be able to afford. The rates are much lower than what those fools with traditional mortgages pay, and much better than the rates on the maxed out credit cards.

Of course non-traditional loans have a way of catching up with all these people, and the pain is only more acute when they realize that there house is worth less than what they owe for it.

Of course, hard times are ahead. What happens when more people learn the true impact of their nontraditional mortgage? What happens when we go from clips on the nightly news with people standing next to their SUVs complaining about the price of gas, to clips on the news with people unable to fill up on gas? One summer of gas rationing similar to what we experienced in an earlier generation might provide the shock some people need.

Will hard times prove to be a positive? Will we come out better for it in the long run?

I sure hope so.

-- Andy

What is Hip?

2006-11-27T22:39:00.000-05:00

Tell me tell me is you think you know...

But the real question tonight is a slight variation. What is Cool?

It used to be that smoking was cool. That was all part of the plan to get people hooked. Wanna be cool? Joe Camel is cool. Joe smokes, so I should too. Of course Joe was also a dromedary, and maybe that is what made him cool -- I mean Disney made a whole movie about the Hunchback of Notre Dame, so maybe it really was the hump on his back that made Joe oh so cool.

But I think somewhere along the way smoking has lost some of its coolness. Maybe it is still cool with some set of people that I am not as well connected to. The Fonz didn't think smoking was cool -- and he was cool, right?

I think somewhere along the way in society we changed our general outlook on smoking. We went from doctors recommending it as a way to calm people down, to Surgeon Generals warning us about the dangers (and C. Everett Koop has that cool beard). I still remember the story from my college Chemistry professor. He smoked when he was younger, and even when they were finding out how dangerous it was, he kept on smoking. But then they found one chemical that was in it (and you will have to forgive my memory as I can't tell you which it was) and he gave up smoking cold turkey.

So how did we come to make smoking uncool? I want the specifics.

So, you are probably wondering why I want to know. Smoking is not my usual topic.

Just the other day someone told me that it would be cool to own a car. Now I will admit that this person knows me, and they may have been saying this just to get me all riled up -- I certainly hope so.

But somewhere out there, there actually are people who believe that it would be cool to own a car. Now I want to be careful here (which might be a first). There certainly have been some incredible cars designed over time. There are a lot of cars that were designed back in the heyday of cars that I still find cool. And there are times when a car is an appropriate form of transportation. For example when I was in college the regular grocery store was beyond walking distance, a car was appropriate for that.

But owning a car when you live in the city, and have access to a wonderful mass transit system? I am not sure I see what is so cool about that. A major financial investment (that loses substantial value the second you take ownership)? Something that needs to be filled with increasingly expensive petrol? Something that requires expensive maintenance from time to time, and yet still loses value? Something that you have to park and then later find? That in numerous cases parking isn't free?

No, sorry. Where I live, I don't see the cool factor.

-- Andy

I Want Scoble on My Staff

2006-10-26T22:04:00.000-04:00

As you saw in one of my earlier posts, my organization has been hit by the branding bug. It is quite unfortunate that the people pushing for a change in how we do things seem to me to be lost in a different time. Something before the information age. They want to spend more time focusing us on a new logo, and on being less technical. This might be all well and good if our business was not highly technical, but alas (or actually in my mind, thank goodness) it is.

But I am just a low guy on the totem pole, and tend to blow up at anything I disagree with (which means my prior behaviour has made my current opinions less relevant to those who make decisions)

Is there anyone out there who shares my view? That information is important in the Information age? That there are things that should take priority over logos and pretty pictures with people in them?

Scobleizer to the rescue! Below is a clip from his blog, and just another example of why I think highly of him.

<clip> Sigh. And people wonder why I have an ugly design. Here’s a hint: I don’t care about pretty pictures. I care about my readers and whether or not they can read my content without waiting and without clicking. </clip>

Grumpy

2006-09-27T22:51:00.000-04:00

{Argh. Blogger has been giving me problems and I have lsot some of my work. So a fair portion of really great writing has been lost (and some is not nearly as good in the rewrite). Remember to save your blog before posting.}

What a lousy day.

It doesn't help that I have been working longer hours, and feeling stressed out. Nor does it help that I the morning on what should have been an easy project, but went horridly wrong due to a setting change in how our computers talk to each other.

But then the leaches (a.k.a. consultants) came in. If you know me, you know that I don't think much of these people.

It turns out they want to treat us like cattle, jab a hot metal object at us and brand us. I don't get this banding business, but some people think it is really important.

So they started off by telling me about this over priced hotel that is a great example of living out its branding. It has adopted a set of buzz words (care, comfort, style, flavor, fun) and is living them out. Now at the time I could not understand how a hotel could have flavor, but looking at their website, I see they refer to the restaurants they have in their hotels. Then I had to listen to the concept that anything French is comfortable (apparently the soap wrapper in the hotel is written in French). I am not sure I can begin to understand that logic.

So after losing my temper, I got to hear how my organization is going to change its brand and become a kinder, gentler version of itself. We are going to focus on peoples emotions and community. We are going to stop using acronyms, because that is a stumbling block for our new outreach efforts.

This may all be well and good for some organizations, but I don't see it working for us. We do technical work. The people that the leaches interviewed praised us for our technical trainings and quarterly journal.

There is another point the made that really annoyed me, but I will not describe it here, as I have promised not to give away where I work (once again I praise mini-microsoft who criticizes his company. And I praise Scoble who publicly criticized Microsoft, while working there, and posted a blog listing criticism of his new employer even before his first official day on the job). For those who know me, I am more than happy to give you my thoughts in person.

Then we got to the need to overhaul our logo. In the time I have been with this organization we have gone through a number of iterations of the logo. Amazingly so far they have always been generally the same, which I have found encouraging. We are an organization that always talks about longevity. So much so that we often use the word perpetuity. To me, and organization that find such a concept so important, it should have a little more permanence in its logo. Bass beer has had the same logo since 1876. And yet my organization can not go more that a few years, let alone decades or centuries without changing.

I was not impressed by any of the logos. The second one was the worst. It looked like someone had spilled something and in their effort to clean it up, it had left behind a streak of a stain. It reminded me of Lucent's coffee stain logo. It also reminded me of Brustrokes in Flight, a hideous piece of artwork that is at the Columbus, OH airport. Someone had to tell me what some parts of the logos were before I could understand them.

One thing that caught my attention was that none of the logos were web 2.0. Even more interesting is that fact that our current logo lends itself to web 2.0 style logo much better than any of the new options given.

Now we probably have to forgive them. Consultants are a bit slow on the learning scale, and probably don't know much about the Internet. The Internet (opps, consultants do not want us to use word t-h-e*...let me try over. Internet is not people friendly. It is technical and full of jargon and acronyms. While consultants mentioned Internet multiple times, they never mentioned RSS. As an organization trying to look forward and reach out to people, I can not comprehend how fail to mention RSS.

Now I want to try and fight consultants with consultants. (Just like politics, I think you could probably find a consultant to argue either side of an issue (except maybe the issue that consultants are not worth the trouble)) But guy who wrote Good to Great made a big deal about focusing on your organizations core competencies. Once again, my organizations core competencies are technical (trainings and publications often relating to legal issues and taxes). Community and outreach have never been our strong points, even with multiple people in the leadership role of communications. And yet consultants want us to change our organization and focus much more on these areas. I think we need to focus on what we already do well.

Another day with me feeling less connected to my organization.

* Interesting that at one point consultants said (and I forget there exact words) that it may seem unnatural/awkward to not use t-h-e. I thought this was very odd for a group that wants us to be more people friendly.

Grumpy

2006-09-27T21:38:00.000-04:00

What a lousy day.

It doesn't help that I have been working longer hours, and feeling stressed out. Nor does it help that I the morning on what should have been an easy project, but went horridly wrong due to a setting change in how our computers talk to each other.

But then the leaches (a.k.a. consultants) came in. If you know me, you know that I don't think much of these people.

It turns out they want to treat us like cattle, jab a hot metal object at us and brand us. I don't get this banding business, but some people think it is really important.

So they started off by telling me about this over priced hotel that is a great example of living out its branding. It has adopted a set of buzz words (care, comfort, style, flavor, fun) and is living them out. Now at the time I could not understand how a hotel could have flavor, but looking at their website, I see they refer to the restaurants they have in their hotels. Then I had to listen to the concept that anything French is comfortable (apparently the soap wrapper in the hotel is written in French). I am not sure I can begin to understand that logic.

So after losing my temper, I got to hear how my organization is going to change its brand and become a kinder, gentler version of itself. We are going to focus on peoples emotions and community. We are going to stop using acronyms, because that is a stumbling block for our new outreach efforts.

This may all be well and good for some organizations, but I don't see it working for us. We do technical work. The people that the leaches interviewed praised us for our technical trainings and quarterly journal.

There is another point the made that really annoyed me, but I will not describe it here, as I have promised not to give away where I work (once again I praise mini-microsoft who criticizes his company. And I praise Scoble who publicly criticized Microsoft, while working there, and posted a blog listing criticism of his new employer even before his first official day on the job). For those who know me, I am more than happy to give you my thoughts in person.

Then we got to the need to overhaul our logo. In the time I have been with this organization we have gone through a number of iterations of the logo. Amazingly so far they have always come back looking about the same. Fairly simple, no complexity. I admit that I am not in favor of changing the logo. I think an organization needs to have consistency. Especially in an organization like ours that thinks longevity is so important to what we do, that we actually use the term perpetuity. Bass beer trademarked their logo in 1876, and it has been the same ever since. My organization, which again has this long term focus, can't even keep a logo that same for a few years, let alone decades or centuries.

Well, I did not like any of the new logos. The second was the worst. It looked like someone had spilled something, attempted to wipe it up, and it left a streak of a stain. It reminded me of Lucent with its coffee cup stain for a logo, or the hideous "Brushstrokes in Flight" that you see at the Columbus, OH airport. With some of them, I had to be old what was in them to even begin to get it. Can you believe people are paid good money to do this?

I was surprised that none of the logos had a Web 2.0 look to them at all. None of the drop shadows, and reflective qualities that have come to define recent logos. Even more interesting is that are current logo lends itself to be turned into a Web 2.0 logo much more easily than any of the other logos shown.

But let's remember these are consultants. We have to account for their deficient skills. They probably don't know much about the Internet. After all, the Internet (oh, wait, consultants do not want us to use word t-h-e*, let me start over). After all, Internet is not a kinder, gentler version of world. Internet is full of technical jargon and acronyms. Consultants mentioned our website but did not even suggest using RSS. How any organization can expect to reach people without looking toward future with RSS is beyond me.

I do want to add one more piece here, and that is to fight consultants with consultants. (Now just like politics, you can always find a consultant to present the other viewpoint (except maybe the viewpoint that consultants are not worth the trouble), and I am using one just to prove my point). If I remember correctly that guy that wrote Good to Great said you should find your organization's core competencies and focus on that. Once again, leaches want us to go changing from our technical competencies to this more community and outreach organization, something we have never been good at (even over the course of multiple people leading our communications department, it have never been a core competency).

So, that was my day. Becoming more and more discouraged about my organization.

*I forget how exactly they said it, but consultants said it will feel unnatural/awkward to not use t-h-e. For a group that wants us to be more people friendly, that sure seems like an odd statement to make.

Somewhat Offline

2006-09-22T20:58:00.000-04:00

I have learned that today is OneWebDay A day to recognize how connected the world is. I feel compelled to post to my blog.

And yet I was more offline than usual. In the morning, I was dealing with a plumber, as was getting my bathroom sink fixed. Plumbing has been a part of life for millennia, and will always have an impact on us greater than the web (unless we learn to live without water). Of course I still had access to email and a Citrix connection to our database back in the office.

This afternoon, I spent most of my time working to set up the computers that would go to our annual conference (Yes, I once made the decision to not disclose where I work, so I can't tell you the name of the conference). So I really wasn't online. But later in the afternoon as we were packing up our IT equipment, I was streaming music from Pandora.

And then I came home fired up the RSS reader and learned that today was OneWebDay. A connection back to the world of the web where I usually spend so much time.

Did I Make the Right Choice?

2006-09-17T22:14:00.000-04:00

Do you ever feel like a hypocrite? Like the action you choose goes against the message you were trying to convey?

I seem to get caught in these types of situations all too easily. I got in such a situation today (I can't provide details, as I don't want to impact others)

Maybe it is just part of life. Maybe the fact that the past few months of my life have felt confusing, only makes this more noticeable.

-- Andy

To Tax or Not to Tax

2006-09-16T22:58:00.000-04:00

There is trouble brewing in Virginia. People want to improve their and expand their roads. But no one seems to agree how to pay for it. Find already existing money (which would imply to me, taking it from some other program), or a new tax.

Now, the article, as far as I could tell, did not indicate what type of tax it would be. An income tax? That would be one way, but then you are taxing those that don't use the roads, just as much as those that do. A gas tax would mean that those that drive more would pay more into the system, but since driving more means using the roads more, it seems to make sense. Of course it is not a perfect calculation of road usage (the person in the Prius would put less into the system than the person in the SUV that logs just as many miles), but that would be what some of us call the idiot tax.

N.Va. Leaders Lack Consensus on Tax - washingtonpost.com

Inspiration in the Hands of a Child

2006-09-11T22:34:00.000-04:00

This past Sunday I was serving as usher at my church.

It is always wonderful to see and greet the people you know. And welcome in the stranger that you don't know.

But this time there was something special to me. A young girl (maybe two or three years old) came in and in one hand see was clutching a Metro smart trip card.

What a wonderful thing for children to experience at such an early age.

McDonald's might think there is something special about a hummer toy in every happy meal. But I think a happier meal would include the metro card.

-- Andy

24/7/52

2006-09-08T23:26:00.000-04:00

I remember the old days when the expression was 24/7. Actually the first time I heard it (in college) my friend had to explain it. "Oh, I see it there are 24 hours in a day and there are 7 days within a week"

But somewhere along the way it seems the expression became 24/7/365. And once again someone needs to explain it to me. Following the logic of the first half of the expression it seems to imply there are 365 weeks in a year. That can't possibly be correct.

The way I see it since the first step goes from hours to day, the next step should not be from days to days, but rather days to weeks. Therefore the corrected expression should be 24/7/52

I hope that this is only an United States thing. Since the US is stuck in a vacuum that uses nonsensical measurements, maybe is just flows.

Maybe it relates to the fact that the US tracks dates by month/day/year (medium increment/small increment/large increment) as opposed a more natural progression of small to large (or vise versa).

Maybe people will read my blog and there will be a culture shift.

-- Andy

Good News for the Environment

2006-09-07T08:40:00.000-04:00

Since I was told that my blog is too pessimistic, I wanted to include some good news.

The latest news indicates the Ozone hole is healing (http://news.com.com/2300-11395_3-6111282-1.html)

It really wasn't all that long ago that it came to light the ozone layer was depleting, and at a significant rate. The Montreal Protocol was the international effort to address this issue. Some (including someone I knew back in college) studied the Montreal Protocol and dismissed it, being very pessimistic about potential loopholes and issues of international agreement.

Yet, the news suggests that we clearly have made progress. And that is a reason to be thankful and celebrate.

-- Andy