The new New Years, but this year Inauguration Day is big

This year, it seems like Inauguration Day is more significant than New Years Day.

January 20th also happens to be my brother Jack's birthday.

Did Obama train ride into Washington DC cross Thomas Viaduct?

It must have, but I haven't seen for sure. Momentous moment in history if it did.

Thomas Viaduct was built in the 1830s for B&O Railroad.

Back in the days when stone was still king in construction.

Viaduct has had a long history and is still in use today. Located at Relay, MD.

Someone I know is interested in railroad history and told me about the viaduct. I've never seen it myself. Or maybe I did go over it in 2nd grade when my family took the train to Washington DC.

Much of US history is also the history of technology.

In the beginnings, like Roman times, a great nation built with stone.

Steel came along later; the steel bridges and skyscrapers we experience today.

Composite fiber is becoming more common as time goes on. Boeing aircraft is even working on their "Dreamliner" made from fiber; basically.

And then there's fiber optic cable. Knitting the world together through the Internet.

History keeps adding new chapters. I'm glad Obama chose to arrive by train. The train is a neat way to go. January 20 is almost here.

Bush years bracketed in plane crashes

Many say that the 911 events defined the Bush Presidency. A few of his speeches, soon after 911, were lauded by many including a lot of democrats.

The nation was rattled.

There was even another plane crash that happened soon after 911. American Airlines Flight 587 crashed into the Belle Harbor neighborhood of Queens on November 12, 2001.

Scary; as if the US wasn't being rattled enough. This was not terrorism, but an actual accident. The old phrase, "When it rains, it pours."

On Thursday, January 15 2009, The last major speech of Bush's Presidency was all but drowned out in news coverage of another plane crash. This time, a much happier outcome. All passengers and crew survived when that US Airways jetliner crash landed into New York's Hudson River. A miracle that everyone survived. The pilot now a hero.

Big news from New York pushed Bush's farewell speech to inside pages of newspapers.

During the Bush years, I am not aware of any other major commercial airline disaster in US after 2001. I'm sure some would try and credit this to Bush's watch even though his Presidency is now far from being popular.

Many things lead to airline safety and people often forget that folks are still safer on commercial aircraft than in their automobiles. Far safer.

Safety record of the automobile is devastating. It just doesn't make the big news.

Small plane crashes happen from time to time.

Many have forgotten that on January 5 2002, a teenager who was said to be inspired by the 911 attacks stole that Cessna 172 and crashed it into the side of the Bank of America Tower in downtown Tampa, Florida. The teenager died, but no one else was hurt.

Maybe he wanted to rattle America, but hardly a dent was made. The little plane was devastated, but that building survived. Only one office damaged. "File cabinets strewn about and broken glass on the carpet." Maybe even the desk and phone were trashed!

Hardly a footnote to America's prognosis for survival. The trash heap of history?

I'm glad Bush years are almost over with their mood of fear. The memories and references to 911. Let's hope nothing so shocking as 911 happens during the Obama years.

Can the economy keep growing?

I hear from some economist on the radio that US may need 6 million new jobs in the next (I forgot the duration) 2 years? Anyway, it's just to keep up with population growth.

Yes, population growth. That "not talked about" aspect of economics again.

US is struggling just to keep the jobs it has now. It's loosing jobs.

Rain, rain, rain in Bellingham area

This short video is the rapids of Whatcom Creek in downtown Bellingham under Prospect Street Bridge. Water pouring down creek as they let extra water out of Lake Whatcom. The creek is an outlet.

Sorry, I don't have another video of these rapids in "low creek flow" times for comparison.

Also, I'm still just learning how to use my new little camera. Amazing what features they can cram into a tiny camera for relatively low price these days.

Deflation can be a good thing

Some economists worry that deflation will cause people to stop shopping. They say, "why would people buy now when the price will be lower if they wait?"

We've already had deflation for many years and it didn't stop shopping. In the computer and electronics industry, prices keep falling. Next year's digital cameras are cheaper and they keep adding more features.

People keep buying them anyway.

Then, when the newer, cheaper versions come out next year, they buy again, sometimes tossing the old camera into a landfill.

Deflation doesn't necessarily stop people from shopping. Folks will figure, "if they wait till the price hits bottom, their lives will pass them by before getting a computer or camera." Their lives will pass them by before they get on Facebook, network with friends or send digital pictures to loved ones.

Of course doing these things aren't necessarily the "holy grail" of living, but those who buy electronic products haven't let deflation stop them from going ahead and making their purchases. Maybe it slows them a bit, but it doesn't stop them.

In house values, deflation could be a good thing also. Good for lower income people who may wish to enter the realm of home ownership.

Entry level prices for homes are way above the level that many working people in quite a few of our metropolitan areas can afford.

If house values come down, that's a good thing for aspiring first time home buyers.

Think "affordable housing."

Maybe this can help bring rents down also.

Of course deflation is hard on those who have already purchased and are watching their home values drop below what they still owe on the mortgage. Also hard for governments who rely on tax revenue from inflated property values.

Economics is never perfect.

For many years, we've had both inflation and deflation at the same time.

In 2005, I read that house values in Bellingham went up 23 percent in one year. That was the worse year for house value inflation locally that I'm aware of. Other years, though, it was around 10% while average wages didn't go up that fast.

Often wages are more influenced by the price of things like digital cameras. A realm where deflation resides.

Now it's "post 2008 bust" and the train wreck has arrived. Inflation and deflation have collided. People can't afford their mortgages from working in an economy of selling cheap items.

Deflation isn't bad. It's just that a lot of people have too much overhead.

High mortgage payments for inflated property, high medical care costs.

The problem isn't new, it's just that more people are noticing this now. The train wreck has arrived.

We've had a two tier economy for years. Really, it's a "multi-tiered" economy.

One of the problems with economists and all this talk about inflation or deflation is the fact that our economy doesn't inflate or deflate all together in one solid block.

Some things go way up in price and other things go down. Some things stay the same. That's normal life.

As these discrepancies become extreme and the economy starts pulling apart, it spells trouble.

Big gaps and chasms have been growing in our economy for years.

Discrepancy of incomes. Questions about affordability of housing and health care.

Worlds and realities splitting apart.

It's time to try and find ways to knit things back together.

Deflation can be one of the good things, if it means housing becomes affordable to more people. It isn't always easy however.

Maybe if people didn't have so much overhead, there wouldn't have to be such a frenzy to sell and buy products to pay the bills.

It's nice to buy new computers and digital cameras every once in a while, but I find that one needs to take a vacation from work, just to have the time for figuring out how to use these items.

Venturing into another year

Found this in a folder from last summer's walking along the bay. Zoom lens.

"Happy New Year."

Lots of future jobs in health care?

This assumes the health care industry can continue to be financed.

Walk along path from Jersey St. on Sehome Hill

We had a white Christmas. Rare in this area. Snow is melting now.

Why steam is still rising from old Bellingham Georgia Pacific site

It's a power plant. See also Future heating district for Bellingham?

Used to be for cogeneration when GP was still going. GP benefited from its waste heat. Now it's just a power plant (burns natural gas), but could play a cogeneration role in future waterfront development.

Steam rises part of the time when plant is in use.

Riding my bike around town snapping images. With energy issues making news, here is the cooling tower and power lines by Encogen power plant in Bellingham. Kind of like "found art." Modern art.

Rush Limbaugh forgets we're a flash in the pan

We had a white Christmas this year, rare for Bellingham. Glad we can still have white Christmases occasionally.

Heard a spot from Rush Limbaugh yesterday morning on the radio. Saying global warming isn't so bad, it's happened before; like 14 million years ago as evidenced from fossils in Antarctica.

I say, yes, the Earth has warmed and cooled over millions of years, but humans have only been around for a short slice of Earth's history. Maybe it was warmer several million years ago.

Still, we're worried about the next hundred years because we plan to be here for that period of time.

We weren't here 14 million years ago so no one (that I know of) "sweated it" back then.

The next hundred years is pretty important to us.

If we figure out how to curtail our greenhouse emissions, the Earth might give us the next 500 years of stable climate. That's enough time for our civilization to continue flourishing.

If there's going to be another "naturally caused" global warming trend in a few million years, we've got time to plan for it.

Will we even be around then?

500 years is a short time for nature, but a long time for us.

Do we want to bring on global warming now, just because we know it might happen again in a few million years?

That's kind of like saying, "cross in front of traffic now cause you know you'll be dead in 200 years."

Sure we've had ice ages and periods of warming over the millions of years, but there weren't ski resort operators looking at the sky wondering if snow is in the forecast so they can pay their debt on the new ski lodge.

In the next hundred years, the ski resorts and farmers are among us. We can't stand hearing them bitch.

Maybe, in less than 500 years, we'll be a space faring civilization anyway (if we're still around). Then we might not be so worried about Planet Earth. In 500 years, we might be elsewhere.

500 years is merely a flash in the pan compared to millions and billions of years, but these next years are important to us.

Santa seen in window of local bike shop

Bailing Out Homeowners?

I hope they help renters also with the broader issue of affordable housing. More money for HUD.

Also they shouldn't just help current homeowners. What about those who have already been foreclosed on and are no longer in their homes? Back to square one.

How about people who never bought in the first place.

How about subsidizing more folks to become first time home buyers? Someone like me could buy a condominium if there was a $50,000 grant to help defray the cost. On my income, I could possibly put up the other $50,000 based on borrowing with house payments being around 1/3 my income. The grant would be a good boost toward the bottom of our local condo market which still hovers over $100,000.

If they want more people to be homeowners, let's get some new homeowners in the market. Grants for renters to become homeowners? Government pay half the mortgage? Then when you sell, the government's $50,000 investment would stay with the condo to keep it affordable for the next owner. There's actually a program like this that I read about.

What about the folks that have already had their homes foreclosed on? They are now out of the market as if they were starting over again. How about giving them money to get back into the market? Like giving folks money who haven't bought yet.

The Federal Reserve can just print up all this money. More money in circulation leading to inflation eventually.

Inflation across the general economy can bring everything up to the level that property values are still at, to a large extent.

Either that or property values will have to come down some more.

One should also ask, "is home ownership the holy grail of life?" Should everyone strive to be a homeowner?

Or are we better off finding other solutions for some people; like affordable rent?

I've had a good landlord so far.

Another solution to the housing debacle is to allow more renters in single family neighborhoods. Let homeowners rent out rooms to help pay their mortgages.

That could help both renters and homeowners.

These changes would have to be done at the local level, but Obama can use the "bully pulpit" to advocate this.

Allow more density. It could reduce commute times also as more people could afford to live closer to work. Reduce traffic. Save energy.

Bump up density in many of the current residential zones. Wouldn't be as much of a problem if people weren't so dependent on automobiles.

Traffic? Parking in the neighborhood? Cars in the front yard?

It wouldn't look so bad if it was bikes inside the house or people taking the bus.

So many things interrelate.

Warm memories of snow holiday from school

Whatcom Creek in the snow at Cornwall Ave.

When school was canceled, my sister and I would cut out pictures of products from magazines. We each had a shoebox that we would drop our images into.

Our collections grew.

When school was canceled, there was more time to add to these collections.

Pictures would be snipped from magazine ads, articles and catalogs.

We were furnishing estates. There would be estate cars, color TVs, radios, CB gear, fishing rods, couches, love seats, bathtubs, furnaces, camping equipment, auxiliary power units, sonic depth finders (for boats), you name it. We'd collect it.

Drop it into the shoebox.

Just imagine, if not being able to go to work means one's estate can grow faster. More time to cut from the endless stack of magazines.

Those were warm memories that came back when I heard someone call a radio talk show describing how they spent the day that their kids couldn't attend school.

A snow day.

They stayed home and had "quality" time.

Opposite of our "on call 24/7" economy.

Opposite of the idea for getting rid of summer vacation and having school 12 month per year.

Let the estates be made out of paper. When school was out, we prospered.

US economy burdened with too much overhead

America, and also much of the rest of the world (not just America) reminds me of a family I met who traveled in a big RV. The wife couldn't open a can without the husband having to start up the generator as the can opener was electric.

We are burdened by high paid executives, yes.

Also expensive real estate creating a high cost of living.

Then there's health care costs.

Not only inefficient health care financing, but poor health in the population.

People working so hard to pay the cost of housing that they don't have time to live healthy. Working so hard to pay the cost of health insurance that they can't afford to be healthy. Can't afford the time.

Throw in long commutes also. No time for dance, exercise, in depth conversation or even a good night's sleep.

Not enough people ride bikes.

Much of the development is too spread out.

On top of this you toss in two wars so people can get to work (oil). More military spending than all other nations combined (from what I hear).

We have security worries gumming up the works, bureaucracy, law suites and more lawyers per capita than other nations. Fear of new technology. Fear of new ways for doing things.

We have more drive up coffee places. Hurry up and wait.

There's got to be better ways to function.

Some people would call me an elitist for criticizing the way people live and do business.

Jogging in the slow lane

When I'm in my 50s, how can I keep up jogging with a friend in their 20s?

Answer: We wern't racing each other. We were both just jogging together. If we had been racing, maybe he could have beat me, but we weren't racing.

Before going to some dance at a place called Purple Church, I saw one of the folks that I recognize from the dance at a cafe. We sat together and then jogged to the dance.

Ponzi Scheme shows peter principle rather than brain drain theory is correct

When institutions such as corporations, government agencies and universities jack up executive salaries, they are contributing to the Peter Principal rather than combating brain drain.

To combat brain drain, they say they have to offer big salaries to attract top talent to their organizations. Pay more rather than standing by as top talent is "brain drained" away.

I hear this theory all the time, especially expressed among educational institutions. It's articulated there, but applies to many forms of business and government alike.

Now we see what the very top of the pay scale is capable of. Yet another scandal. Both those who were perpetrators of the Ponzi scheme and the many "best and brightest" who fell for it.

The Peter Principle where "people tend to Rise to their levels of incompetence" seems more accurate most of the time.

If institutions weren't so burdened by fear of brain drain, they could save lots of money on executive salaries.

Maybe top talent doesn't always command top dollar.

Insisting that top talent requires top dollar is kind of an insult to the many folks who are so committed to their work that they, in some cases, even volunteer.

Normal weather feels colder if people are used to warmer weather

View at State and Magnolia Dec. 13.

It snowed some in Bellingham last weekend.

Pretty. Also pretty cold.

We have had several mild winters so this one is hitting people by surprise. It isn't even Dec. 21 yet.

I remember a few colder winters from years past. They seem less frequent in recent years, but it's still possible, thank goodness. Something to break the gray drizzle monotony.

Maybe we can blame global warming for feeling real cold. If cold weather is less frequent, then we aren't as used to it when it does come.

My room gets a bit cold, but jackets and an electric blanket help. My electric heater remains on low power since there are several things on the same circuit.

Car has big footprint and gasoline is hard act to follow

Someone sent this to a mail art show I compiled in the 1980s. I'm not sure where this picture was taken or what magazine it was cut out of. I used it in a collage.

There was an interesting segment of Science Friday on NPR Dec. 5 08. It was talking about the "energy density" of gasoline.

Hard to beat gasoline for energy output per pound. Our best batteries, so far, the lithium ion batteries only produce about 1 / 100th of the power per pound as gasoline.

Amazing! Pound for pound, gasoline is 100 times as much energy. No wonder our economy can't shake it's dependency on gas.

Hydrogen does better. Per pound it can have 4 times the energy of gasoline, but it takes up a lot more space. For unit volume, gasoline still has around 3 to 4 times the energy equivalent of hydrogen. In other words, hydrogen is light weight, but it takes up more space. Requires a bigger tank.

This was part of a book called "Physics for Future Presidents" by Richard Muller. He was interviewed on that segment of the show I just heard.

Reducing energy consumption is still the easiest way to go. We haven't found a miracle fuel that replaces gasoline yet.

Making the car lighter, of course, helps, but for safety, a pop can is light and crushes too easily.

I still like my bicycle which goes slow enough to not crush so bad.

My bicycle is especially good when I'm able to use trails and road shoulders away from the traffic.

Motorcycles are faster, but they go right in the traffic lane. Little protection.

Who's in a hurry anyway?

Public transit is good for both speed and safety.

Trains and buses are great and a friend of mine recently made airline reservations from Austin Texas to Seattle. He said the plane ticket was actually cheaper than the cost of gas if he were to ride his motorcycle all that distance.

Imagine that, it's actually cheaper flying that long a distance at least. That's because you're sharing the fuel bill with more than 100 other passengers on the plane.

Imagine how efficient trains or buses can be.

Even though I ride my bike, I've thought about an idea for a solar car. Yes, run the car on sunlight.

Problem is, solar panels need to be bulky to have a lot of capture area. Big capture area to power a car.

That doesn't work driving down the road since a car needs to be aerodynamic. Can't have a giant solar panel catching the wind.

So, have foldout solar panels.

Yes, park the car, then fold out your bulky panels and let it charge the car while you're at work. Fold it back up when you're ready to drive home again.

OK, you say it's too much work.

Also you're worried that vandals will damage your panels. Other cars might bump into you're bulky panel setup in the parking lot.

Then you're using the panels to charge that battery. A lithium Ion battery?

Able to store 100 times less energy than it's weight in gasoline. No wonder it hasn't caught on yet. Still good to do the research.

Experiment. I'm sure it will get better eventually.

Meanwhile, I'll still take the bus and ride my bike.

Market solutions for funding youth programs?

There's a large market that finds young people to be erotically attractive. How about selling erotic services, possibly even legalizing prostitution, to help fund young people and youth services?

Oh, you say the idea is preposterous?

I'm suggesting this as a critique of the concept of relying on the marketplace for everything. Is the market really the best solution in all cases?

Maybe employing youth in erotic industries isn't a bad idea for funding their services.

We do rely on gambling to pay for a lot of government and social services in today's economy.

Gambling on Indian reservations is a marketing concept that pays for quite a few things.

The state lottery is another marketing idea.

Some call the lottery a "voluntary tax on fools." Brings money to the state that doesn't have to rely on raising taxes.

I don't know if these are good ideas, but why not include erotic services in the mix? In another kind of society, the business of sexuality could be a money maker for government. An enterprise that's quite pleasurable as well.

Could add to the revenue for youth services that currently comes from government sources, volunteer donations, churches and so forth.

Better than the one arm bandit at some casinos. Better than scratch tickets.

Maybe it's not such a bad idea. Who knows.

On the other hand, we can't rely on market solutions for everything.

This society is kind of uptight about things like that. Also there's problems associated with exploitation.

Another thought for the trash heap?

Moving on, here's yet another idea.

In the early 1980s, there were psychologists on KVI radio in Seattle. It was a "call the psychologist" talk show.

Someone named Jennifer James was one of the on-air psychologists back then. She could analyze issues and help people between commercial breaks. I thought she was quite good.

President Reagan was in the White House. Funding was being cut for various counseling agencies.

I thought, "Government funded counseling clinics being cut back?, maybe radio psychologists could take up some of the slack."

A Novel idea?

So I wrote a letter to the American Enterprise Institute (a think tank leaning toward market solutions). Suggested pop psychology on the radio as a means to take the burden off of publicly funded counseling agencies.

They wrote back saying it was a worthy suggestion.

Thinking about this more, I realize some problems with putting the therapist's couch on the air.

Not enough time to really do justice to one's client callers. Hard to solve problems between commercial breaks.

Most radio counseling sessions were short as they had to "wrap it up to pay the bills."

Sell more refrigerators.

Regular counseling, in a psychologist's office, can be limited as well. Sessions often restricted to 50 minutes. "50 minutes with the clock ticking." Expensive also.

On the radio, there's usually even less time. There's practically no confidentiality either. Your session is broadcast to thousands. Names were anonymous though.

Another thought for the marketplace of ideas.

*Radio psychologists were on KVI in 1980s predating the current talk format.

When government becomes the consumer of last resort

Both Congress and President elect Obama are talking large stimulus packages. Government becomes the "consumer of last resort" and, if done properly, it can buy things we really need. Things like transportation infrastructure and affordable housing. The private market hasn't been bringing enough of what we really need.

Construction on Walton Place near downtown Bellingham.

A stimulus check as tax rebate might just go into the private market and get lost in buying imports. Do we really need more toys from China?

When government becomes the consumer, it can direct spending toward more long term needs that private market doesn't seem to buy. Things like roads and bridges. Research into cleaner energy.

I'm sure private markets do some of this, but it seems like government needs to set direction. Let private enterprise do the work, contracting and so forth while government buys.

Pictured above is a large crane working on local project of mixed and affordable housing. Crane was brought in this fall as lots of other projects faltered from the current economic crisis. This project is moving forward. Government is involved. HUD money I think.

Government can be the consumer of last resort. Also, hopefully, a wise spender.

Where does government get it's money?

I'm scratching my head.

Hopefully it doesn't have to be paid back.

The Federal Reserve prints it?

I'm sure government does owe lots of money, but somehow, it seems to get by ringing up more debt. Interest rates remain low.

There's plenty of capital, but government seems to be the only conduit that's trusted these days. I guess it's called priming the pump.

Having our cakes and eating them too with an early Bush resignation

Interesting column by Gail Collins in Nov. 22 New York Times calling for an early resignation of President Bush.

Of course Cheney would have to resign also, otherwise, under the constitution, we'd just get President Cheney until Obama's inauguration on January 20Th. If both Bush and Cheney were to resign, Nancy Pelosi would be next in line as Speaker of the House.

Wow. Maybe we're spoiled, but we'd be able to have our cake and eat it too. We'd still make history with the first woman president, Nancy Pelosi, while also getting the first minority president Obama in January.

Are we too spoiled to make choices or what?

Yes, choosing between a potential first woman president, Hillary Clinton, and a first racial minority in the Democratic primaries was hard, but maybe we can have it all.

Pelosi till January 20Th and then Obama. We can't wait, let's do all these "historic firsts" now.

Of course there is a lot of impatience about the economy as well, but even Gail Collins, who wrote that column, admits Obama, himself, might not like the idea of such a hasty transition. It would certainly mess up what is looking to be a very orderly and well orchestrated transition.

Be patient, January 20Th isn't that far off.

The idea is still intriguing however. Intriguing not so much for the economy, but for historic significance.

When it comes to the economy, no president wields a magic wand. Solutions are really up to the people. The same people who would like to have their cakes and eat them too.

Just a few short years ago, the economy was promising. Promising too much.

Rising house values and retirement portfolios seemed to be creating wealth out of thin air. Many folks were able to retire early, from selling a house, for instance. For a lot of upper middle class and the wealthy, things were quite rosy, even under that dreaded Bush administration.

Well, it wasn't sustainable.

All these promises of wealth in retirement plans, house values and so forth rely on a robust economy. A robust economy to pay the bills. Mortgage payments from people buying into the housing spiral at the bottom, rent payments and economic activity needs to keep flowing so values in those 401Ks can continue to amount to something.

When the economy slows down the dreamland of worth can't be maintained. In short, that's because the jobs don't pay enough to make high mortgages or rent payments. Goods and services don't sell fast enough to keep up that level of economic activity.

This is especially true if our economy has to slow down in order to combat global warming.

Even an Obama Presidency can't wave the magic wand and bring back those unrealistic expectations that so many people have become accustom to. Especially the unrealistic expectations of upper middle class and, of course, the wealthy.

I just read that the president of Washington State University, in Pullman, has offered to cut his own salary by $100,000. Now he's down to a salary of something like $635,000 per year. Wow! but at least it's a step in the right direction. I never fail to be amazed at how much wealth people think they need.

What we can expect is a change in thinking. A paradigm shift toward more "community good" and less "personal greed."

We have new , exciting and greener technology to look forward to also, if we're willing to implement it.

Telecommuting anyone?

We'll also need more patience and a bit of slowing down in the rat race we call our economy.

Looks like it isn't the end of the world to wait till January 20Th for Obama. Patience is a virtue that's been lacking in our recent "go, go" past.

Gee, maybe I'm asking for too much? Being too idealistic?

Think about this, I just heard on the radio that the transition was even longer when power shifted from Herbert Hoover to Franklin Roosevelt back in the depression days of the 1930s. People had to wait till March for Inauguration Day and that transition was rough.

Inauguration Day was constitutionally moved up to January in 1937. No wonder we're a bit spoiled now, not that many people, who are alive today, remember that era.

Chrysler cartoon idea back, I think, in the early 1980s

I remember a cartoon from (I think) Newsweek Magazine sometime in the early 80s during news of Chrysler loan guarantee.

It showed a battered old airplane labeled "Detroit auto makers" headed out on a bombing run to sink ships with cheap foreign auto imports on board.

The bombs were landing on oil tankers instead.

That's as if to say, "Detroit was shooting itself in the foot raging against imports."

Now, it looks like that cartoon idea is good to ponder again. Detroit automakers are even, themselves, realizing how cheap oil imports have made it harder for US auto companies to tool up for smaller more fuel efficient cars. Yes, the American market still goes for the big cars, when fuel is cheap. Safety is one reason. Rural living and the craze for light trucks is another.

Turn on that country and western music.

Maybe there should have been tariffs on cheap oil imports all along. Then the US economy could have planned for more fuel efficiency. Things like solar energy and more compact city planning would have been done also.

America was spoiled by cheap energy. Flooded with cheap oil imports.

On another note, good to see a web clip about auto executives traveling in expensive private jets to ask for money on Capital Hill. One executive blurted out something like, "got another meeting to get to in Detroit."

Maybe they should be doing more teleconferencing.

Name calling

A deputy leader in Al Qaeda is in the news calling President Elect Obama a house negro.

Of course they would say something negative.

A few Republicans, in the US, might say something negative also. They could call him "Obummer" as in "bummer," I guess.

President Obummer.

The city of Bremerton, in Washington State, has sometimes been referred to as "bummertown."

Maybe I shouldn't give right wing talk radio any ideas. Nor the hate groups such as Al Qaeda.

Aside from name calling, Obama has the potential to be a good president.

Planet seen

.

It may look dumb, it's just the period, but give me a break. Look carefully. Don't be in too big of a hurry.

Astronomers are excited that they've seen a few dots they think are planets orbiting other stars. It's a historic step.

Up until now, they have inferred that there are planets around stars, but they haven't seen the actual dot yet. Now they've seen the dot.

In the past, there were some ways to infer evidence of a planet, for instance the light from a star dimming at regular intervals as an orbiting planet passes between the star and Earth partially blocking the light.

That's the "you make a better door than window" scenario.

I've heard that phrase when someone's blocking the view. A planet can dim light from a star when it's between it's star and observers on Earth.

There are other ways to infer that planets are out there as well.

The so called "stellar gravitational wobble" technique, for instance.

I could try and get more technical, but I don't want to loose you. There's plenty of good explanations in Astronomy Magazine and other on-line publications.

Still, it's worth noting that a few dots have now been seen which they think are imaging planets directly.

That's a historic step.

One dot seen by the Hubble Space Telescope near one of the stars it sees. Another set of dots (more than one planet) seen around another star which is viewed by the giant Keck Telescopes in Hawaii.

Just when we might think our world is going to hell in a hand basket, our ingenuity is still capable of interesting discoveries.

In the future, even more awaits to be learned if we don't rip our own planet apart first in war. Let's use our minds for discovery rather than conflict. Our minds are capable of great questions.

When bond holders become bag holders

There's an old phrase that says if you lost out you're "left holding the bag." One could say that if bonds default, they turn into bags.

Car company problems

Like a bucking bronco, the price of gas rises and falls with supply and demand. It takes car companies several years to change the product line. Bigger cars? Smaller cars? Gas prices change in months.

When fuel is cheap, markets in USA (at least) tend to favor bigger cars for safety. Expensive fuel brings smaller vehicles into popularity.

Maybe there should be a tax on imported oil. Put a floor on the price so it doesn't drop below a certain point and pull the rug out from under automakers who are now, possibly, trying to tool up for smaller cars. A floor on the price of imported oil would also help domestic energy and alternative energy production here in USA.

OPEC is thinking oil is too cheap now. Oil is cheap while our economy is in the dull drums. OPEC is trying to limit production to raise the price of oil. Well, it could further kill the goose that lays their golden eggs and put world economy even further into dull drums.

We could intervene with a price trick of our own. A variable tax on oil imports. That would raise the price and keep the money in USA, not going to OPEC. Maybe that money could then be used to bail out automakers, since it looks like the government is bailing them out anyway.

If oil prices go up, the tax can come off.

I'm not a big fan of bailing out old automakers, but maybe that money could be used to support alternative energy.

A lower speed limit might create more permanent demand for smaller vehicles. It's safer going slower so people might not demand being surrounded with so much steel during times of cheap energy.

Energy is fairly cheap, while economy is in dull drums. If economy picks up, energy prices will rise. In the recent debate between vice presidential candidates, Sarah Palin talked about "heating up the economy" at one point. Yes, I thought "global warming."

Heating up alright.

Well, that's old news now. Hurray for Obama. I hope he is an innovator.

Too bad energy still puts a kind of ceiling on economic growth. Limited energy, resources, space on Planet Earth.

We need to strive for quality of life rather than just economic growth. And/or we need to define economic growth in new ways.

More nuclear power?

Solar and wind, of course.

I ride my bicycle.

I may not have much money, but quality of life is there, most of the time.

Maybe obesity is USA's biggest economic problem. Obesity is not just in physical shape. It's also all the excess baggage. Personal debt, obligations, overhead, bureaucracy, whatever.

Car companies are like slow moving dinosaurs. Slow moving as energy markets change within months. Really cars are kind of dinosaurs.

We need more agility.

Family time

Too bad California voted to ban gay marriage again. I'm not a big fan of marriage anyway, but if folks want it, I believe in equality between homo and heterosexual people.

Really, who want's marriage?

Commitment? It may be overrated.

I'll marry thousands of cute guys who pass through my life. My family is a large community. I'm tangent to many.

Most people probably don't know what tangent means.

So to those who oppose gay marriage, how about promiscuity as an alternative? I say this, sort of jokingly.

The Mormon Church was accused of pumping money into California's anti gay marriage initiative. Prop 8, it was called.

I also hear radio ads from the Mormon Church saying spend lots of quality time with the family. If you want a good family, take the time.

That message, I kind of like. Another argument for shorter work weeks?

Who has the time to spend with family? People are too busy working and commuting to support the family.

It's the contradiction of capitalism versus relationships and so called family values.

Speaking of capitalism, I guess the Prop 8 battle cost more money (spent on both sides) than any other race short of the presidency. $80,000,000?

One talk show host said it was a waste of money over semantics.

Money that could have been spent supporting health care access for low income people, food banks or something. I favor gay marriage.

Celebration of 2008 election

Lots of people celebrating in the streets of downtown Bellingham the night after the election. Hurray for Obama. Also glad to see Washington State Governor Gregoire reelected. In Seattle, voters approved a plan to extend the light rail. Sad to see that California voted a ban on gay marriage.

A downside of trickle down

Some economists say, "what's good for the wealthy is good for everyone." Trickle down jobs, good, services, tax revenue.

Like saying, "what's good for General Motors is good for America."

Could be an element of truth to this, but there's also bad that trickles down.

When the Joneses make more, there's the stress of keeping up with the Joneses.

When billionaires price out the millionaires, where will we go when the millionaires price us out?

Real estate bubble.

Another problem is the brain drain theory. Universities, government agencies and the like end up paying their top executives more, fearing that the so called talent will move on to much higher paying positions in the private sector.

Salary leapfrogging to higher taxes and tuitions.

One also must ask, "are the CEOs actually more talented and sensible than the rest of us?"

These days, that's a good question.

Here's another question. Are most CEOs just trying to lead us into a bigger, faster rat race?

A few nights ago, I heard a discussion on the BBC about a steady state economy.

A steady state economy versus a growth economy.

Steady state still means quality of life and technology can improve, but we just aren't consuming more stuff, building bigger houses and working more hours.

Population growth must also be reduced to create a steady state economy.

I'm sure a lot more can be said about this.

They were also talking about a concept called a "Green New Deal." Interesting thinking.

Sounds better than the bigger faster rat race, to me.