Obama Chavez handshake, we still buy their oil

President Obama is getting flack from the likes of conservative talk show hosts such as Sean Hannity for being civil and shaking hands with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

Chavez isn't the kindest guy, but it doesn't hurt to attempt communication and civility.

Some folks think we should take a more antagonistic stance, but we are likely to just be a "paper tiger" if we take an antagonistic stance; we still buy Venezuelan oil.

As long as we're buying Chavez's oil, we're voting at the pump, so to speak.

Both Chavez and Obama are kind of over the barrel. Obama's country is dependent on the oil, Chavez's country is dependent on the money.

Being civil might as well be tried. It also gains points from other more moderate leaders in Latin America and around the world. Obama is playing to a big audience.

Being confrontational is an option, but that option looks kind of funny while we "vote at the pump" and buy their oil.

There are pictures of Rumsfeld shaking hands with Saddam Hussein during the Regan Presidency. Rumsfeld later became our defense secretary while we went to war against Hussein during the Bush Jr. presidency.

Oil can make strange bedfellows.

I've never driven a car.

Shorter school week. Shorter workweek

KUOW's April 13 show called "The Conversation" had talk about a 4 day school week. There's a proposal to allow 4 day school week in some districts here in the state of Washington.

Many of the callers seemed in favor. Is being done in parts of Colorado. Could even enhance education.

Main problem being what to do with kids on the day off when both parents are working.

Answer: 4 day workweek, in my opinion.

Here are some other tidbits I have found recently related to slowing down. Yes, I'm in favor of slowing down. Slowing at least moderately for a healthier life.

Recession can be bad news for some people, but good news for others.

City of Bellingham has been planning a repaving project on Forest Street for this summer. According to a recent Bellingham Herald, bids are coming in lower than expected for many road projects including the Forest Street repave. When contractors and materials are in less in demand, prices can come down.

Like the State Street repave of several years ago, they are also planning to go from 3 car lanes to 2 car lanes.

2 wider car lanes with a bike lane.

It's healthier.

No need to have 3 car lanes (6 lanes total with Forest going north and State coming south) It all ends up in 2 car lanes on the Boulevard anyway; within just a few blocks.

Then I remember recently chatting with a real estate agent in my favorite sauna.

He mentioned that property prices are still too high and should come down more so people can afford houses again. Lower prices might mean more real estate transactions as people will be able to afford to buy again.

In my opinion, property values have been way ahead of average wages. Declining values can hurt some people, but it wouldn't necessarily devastate the real estate industry. Realtors can still get a percent of sale.

The smaller sale that happens can be better than the bigger sale that doesn't happen.

America is still being bogged down from too much overhead, prices, land values, health care costs, interest on deficits, overpaid executives.

I don't mean to bog you down with too long of a list.

Loose sluts instead of slots

Someone doctored this billboard in Bellingham. I'm putting it under my funny signs label, but also makes sense to put it under "economics" given recent news.

Desire and devour.

Why cars can't really be green with today's technology

Instead of trying to make the car green, we should just be using the car less and trying to make our cities green with more density, transit and pedestrian amenities.

Green cars are kind of an oxymoron.

For instance, electric cars have a lot of technical obstacles to being green and practical. According to a December 5 NPR Science Friday show that I blogged about then, our best battery for storing power in a car isn't that good. The lithium ion battery only stores around 1/100Th the amount of energy that similar weight in gasoline stores. Thus the electric car doesn't have much of either power or range.

* That tidbit from a book titled "Physics for Future Presidents," by a Richard Muller.

Of course, we might be able to improve the battery, but I don't think that technology is here yet.

I would guess, most electric cars save energy by just being lighter and more aerodynamic. This means it's scary to be on the freeway around all those other heavy cars and trucks if you and your family are in a pop can.

No wonder bigger cars become more popular when gas prices are low, as gas prices currently are. Low compared to summer of 2008.

Then the power has to come from somewhere.

Coal power plants?

Nuclear?

Wind and solar are OK, but expensive and we get very little of our energy from those sources currently.

Hybrid "gas electric" cars are another idea.

From my understanding of the physics, these are better at lower speeds where there is stop and go driving.

Gas engines don't take well to "stop and go" so the hybrid allows the gas engine to run more steady and efficient while the electric motor takes care of the stop and go.

Also the gas motor can be smaller since it gradually builds up charge while electric motors provide those brief moments of "get up and go" for acceleration.

Electric motors provide regenerative braking for downhill.

Problem is, hybrids aren't much of an advantage at steady highway speeds; especially on the flat, from what I understand. If one is just driving down the freeway at 70 mph, that means pushing against the constant wind. At traditional highway speeds, one just needs lots of power over the long haul. I don't think the hybrid is an advantage here.

Maybe we need lower speed limits?

Then there's a whole raft of other problems associated with automobiles.

Space taken for parking and traffic means impervious surfaces; one of our biggest water resource problems.

The automobile makes sprawl more likely. Often sprawl is even mandated with parking requirement and zoning rules.

I can go on, and on.

Really, if we want a greener tomorrow, we need to change city planning so cars are less needed.

I bicycle, for instance. I live close enough to my work to walk. Our local transit is getting better. I'm a fan of density and pedestrian oriented city planning.

Changing lifestyles also. There is a whole lot more that we can do for a greener tomorrow than just bang our heads against a brick wall trying to come up with green cars.

For both safety and fuel efficiency, the answer isn't tiny cars, at least on the highway.

A better answer is public transit. Per passenger mile, the bus is both safe and green if close to fully occupied.

Cars can't really be green until we get even more advanced technology.

Maybe someday there will be a car that, for instance, takes up no space for parking. A car that one can fold up and put in their pocket when not in use.

Can Detroit build such a car? Asking for the improbable?

I went through Fargo, ND by bicycle in 1993

There was some flooding that year also. Not like this year. It was late summer when I took these pictures and more.

Sign coming into town from the west.

Red River spilling into a city park.

Pictures taken on my 1993 bicycle tour.

In 1998, I passed through Grand Forks, north of Fargo on another trip. That was a bit over a year from the devastating floods of 1997.

Home garden at the White House

Setting an example for a healthier America, I hear President Obama has had part of the White House lawn torn up for a garden.

I'm all for it. Could be a "shovel ready" way to improve health and reduce health care costs.

Also makes good fodder for March 26 Dianne Rehm show on Healthful Food. Problem is people keep getting derailed into arguments between "organic" versus "non organic."

I usually prefer non organic when it's less expensive. Apples, carrots and salads are healthier than the diets of so many folks, even if it isn't certifiably grown to organic standards. Sometimes lower food cost improves availability to wider range of incomes.

They talked about the problem of junk food being the only thing convenient to many neighborhoods; inner cities for instance (these days, inner city can mean expensive neighborhoods though).

How about suburban "so called" trailer trash areas?

When an AM / PM mini mart is the only place within miles, it can be hard to find things like apples. One can get potato chips, soda pop, candy, coffee, beer and cigarettes.

I often shop at the downtown Bellingham Food Co-op, but usually buy non organic if it's available and cheaper.

The co-op is known for good produce, but produce can need preparation. To keep things simple, I often just buy an apple, a carrot and a banana which can be eaten like candy bars. I also get salad greens which I eat out of the plastic sack.

Could grab a plate, but it's more putter.

My home is a room without kitchen.

Wish downtown Co-op was like Cordota Co-op with a salad bar, but I make due.

Downtown is near where I live, other supermarkets with big produce sections tend to be out by the freeway. Out in all that unhealthy sprawl.

I don't have garden space, but one can still eat healthier things than diets of junk food.

Garden space and fancy kitchens shouldn't be prerequisites for health. Also "yuppie boutique organic" shouldn't be a prerequisite.

Maybe "organic" is good for the environment, but regular produce, over junk food is a step in the right direction. I sometimes buy organic. Often the price isn't that much different.

Bellingham offers community garden space for those of us who don't even have large window boxes. If I had the time, I'd garden, but it's not high on my priority list.

More power to Obama's garden, however.

Hope people don't feel like it's all for the "elitist crowd" who can shell out more money for organic, have access to land, gardens and fancy kitchens.

Polyamory can mean a lighter touch

I've quietly slipped out of a few piles of cuddling people when the eroticism started getting more "hot and heavy." It's not hard to do and my absence isn't really noticed that much. At least the cuddling can continue while I step across the room and go back to another style of dancing.

One can do this with multiple people. It would be harder to slip out of a one to one relationship without the partner being disappointed or left in the cold.

I've been recently attending the meetings of a group that discusses various aspects of polyamory lifestyles. Basically, it just means eroticism can happen between more than just one other person.

People define polyamory in many different ways.

It can mean open marriages where there is a commitment between two people, but openness to another person in the lives of one, or both partners.

It can just mean partners are free to do things like date, interact, in some cases even just glance beyond the two person relationship.

It can mean groups of people getting together in various ways. Really, there are multiple definitions among the general public.

Once I heard a radio talk show where someone called to say she had caught her husband noticing another woman. She was outraged since there was a twinkle in his eye as he passed another woman on the street.

The talk show host was a psychologist and she had a great comeback. The host said to that caller, "you're husband's just married, but it doesn't mean he's dead." "Of course he's likely to have a variety of feelings."

For me, (which is what matters in this blog), eroticism is best when it's in the slow lane; one of the reasons why I chose "Theslowane.com" domain name.

Theslowane also relates to a slower, more contemplative, "bicycling" lifestyle.

For eroticism, mildly titillating experiences work for me. If there's touch, it's better when it's light touch, like putting one's toe in the waters of human contact.

I've found these experiences are more apt to come from gatherings of people, rather than single partners.

Popular opinion might think that sexuality which is more toward polyamory on the scale would also be more risque.

Folks will say, "if sex with one partner is high on the scale of intensity and being promiscuous, multiple partners just turns the volume up even more."

So goes popular conception.

Well, maybe not. Multiple people can spread and diversify the experience. It can be even less; in intensity that is.

American culture tends to have a bias toward, "the max." The climax, extreme sports, extreme experience, consumption and ultimately extreme hangover.

I've been to naked dances up in Vancouver, BC or down in Seattle where eroticism can be at various levels from quite intense to just being into the dance and music as a great form of exercise. In a room full of naked folks, there's nice scenery, good conversation. I don't notice pressure, or expectations to go beyond comfort zones.

One to one relationships are often held up by society as the highest in moral standards, but these can be filled with possessiveness.

In our culture where intensity is the norm, many people in relationships seem to devour one another. Often folks get devoured and then spit out from relationships.

In a small community like Bellingham, folks can be afraid to go out socially for fear of running into ex lovers out there.

"In a small area, be careful what bread crumbs of hurt you leave behind."

Then I hear that there are only 12, or less minutes of in depth conversation per day in the average American relationship.

Only 12 minutes!

That's not much for something I get great pleasure from. In depth conversation and getting to know someone.

I've had deeper sharing with seatmates on Amtrak.

So I wonder, what's the point being in the type of relationships that most people strive for.

I to be non judgemental. Relationships are better for some people. Intensity can be good.

I just know that I enjoy the mildly erotic dance of life with lots of variety, meeting new friends and also being able to take a break from it for enjoying solitude when my mood desires.

Government spending, budget deficits

Our state of Washington is possibly facing a 9 billion dollar shortfall over next 2 years. State and local governments looking for ways to save money.

One idea is to delay the reopening of Lowell School for another year after the remodel is done. It's closed now for the renovation anyway, so people have adjusted. Just don't open it right away after remodel and save money since people have already adjusted, supposedly.

Putting the school in mothballs for a while. Not literally, but figuratively.

Does sound like a plan that might not hurt too much and save some money, but, lots of neighbors are objecting.

What can they cut, that doesn't cause objections?

Federal government has the same problems.

People value the services government provides.

Also, I read they've raised quite a bit of private money and volunteer labor for playground renovation.

Springtime at Fragrance Lake

Just rode my bike south of Bellingham into the Chuckanut Mountains to Fragrance Lake. It's off come old logging roads in the east part of Larabee State Park. With turmoil in the news, it's good that Fragrance Lake is still there. It wasn't as quiet as this photo looks. People were fishing around the lake and their dogs were with them. Dogs are often not tranquil. One of the dogs I saw was dancing and having fun, however.

We can manufacture money domestically as Federal Reserve is doing

We don't have to import all our money from China and places like that. We can make it locally.

Wow.

The Federal Reserve has printing presses, or the electronic equivalent there of.

In an age when so much of the American economy is outsourced, local manufacture of money might spur local production of other things like oil. I read that one of the early consequences of the recent move to monetize lots of debt by the Federal Reserve is an increasing price for oil on the world market.

More money chasing after same amount of oil means inflation of prices in that commodity. Rising oil prices can increase domestic production from American oil fields, such as in North Dakota where there's still some oil, but it's expensive to extract. Also higher oil prices can boost alternative energy and use of alternative things like the bicycle. Boost health also.

Value of the dollar is starting to decline which can help American export industries.

So, printing money domestically could lead to making more of other things domestically.

Inflation created by new money can be a problem, but it's nothing new. The housing bubble of a few years back was inflation. Now, even after some housing price declines, housing is still expensive compared to what people, on average make for wages.

If the dollar declines, domestically produced things become less expensive relative to world markets. Then our export industry might increase.

During the housing bubble, America was awash in overseas money, oil and products. This situation may have spoiled us. It's like we have become more of a consumer economy and less of a producer economy.

AIG experience, more to discredit brain drain theory

From college presidents to corporate executives, one keeps hearing how salaries must be raised to keep the top talent from leaving the organization.

Top talent?

Talented at running things into the ground. Good at being greedy to the level of criminal behavior.

With AIG, one sees another aspect of brain drain theory. Retention bonuses.

When someone screws it up, you pay them more in hopes that they will stick around the company because you fear that they are the only ones who know how to unscrew what they've screwed up.

Good to see that Obama has endorsed UN gay rights statement

A step forward.

Last paper edition of Seattle PI came out today

I'm thinking about a funny ad I heard on the radio many years ago.

Television and newspaper are debating when television says, "you can't change channels on the newspaper."

Newspaper counters with, "ya, but you can't line the bottom of a bird cage with television."

Radio enters saying, "interesting debate;" like interesting debate you guys are having.

Radio ends up the victor since this ad is for radio advertising, versus television or newspaper.

Ad was before "Internet," or at least Internet being widespread.

The world keeps changing.

Hopefully, society will figure out a good mechanism to pay for journalism in the Internet age. Investigative reporting, fact checking, research and all the kind of stuff that's sometimes mundane, but needs to find an economic home.

The Internet has certainly been a boom for expressing opinion and increasing access to community discussion. With so many new things, it takes a while for business practices and mindsets to catch up.

Hope the on-line PI succeeds even though it has a much smaller paid staff.

It certainly is a golden age for interactive media at least.

In the park

A stage has been slowly taking shape in Boulevard Park. Many donations went into it. Looking forward to summer dances in the park.

Good article in Cascadia Weekly

Written by a friend of mine named Bo as a guest column in March 4 2009 Cascadia Weekly.

Cap and Trade, people don't cause sprawl cars do.

For instance there is one part of the article where it says, "Europe is so densely populated they had to implement good planning to survive, but the quality of life in Europe is very good." "Planning for people, not cars, makes for a richer life, not poorer."

He talks about nice apartment buildings in Germany where rent is affordable if tenants agree to not own a car. Money is saved not having to provide for parking.

Article says, here in Whatcom County, planners assume the need for 6 parking spaces per car. That's parking at home, parking at the grocery store, parking at work, parking at the theater, the bank, you guessed it. I assume.

He suggests a cap and trade system where growth in the number of cars in this area could be capped by permit to own a car. Folks wanting to relocate here could go without a car, or buy one of the permits from a local resident willing to give up their car.

I'd sell my permit to a new comer. I've never driven a car. I guess they would issue permits to current residents as of a certain date.

This would really help control sprawl, but it wouldn't necessarily need to limit the number of people moving here. People could live without cars. It could be very European.

He suggests a similar cap and trade system is working now for the number of commercial fishing boats allowed to operate in the area.

I like it when he says a self selection process would kick in. "People who love cars more than they love clean air and water would prefer to live in other areas."

700 appicants for a custodial position

Made the news in Ohio, but it's not unusual.

Much of the time, here in Bellingham, WA. it seems like custodial positions at the university or school district can draw a hundred applicants at least. Especially as they pay a bit more than most custodial positions in the private sector.

Benefits and health insurance also.

State jobs.

Custodial work is not bad work. Can be fairly hassle free and low stress. Of course depends on situation.

All through the 1980s and beyond, I remember years when custodial positions at Western Washington University would draw huge piles of applications.

The school district and city would be similar.

Much of our local economy is what they call a "service economy."

Retailing, restaurants, lawn mowing.

Lots of waiters, waitresses and store clerks. Many of the jobs have been part time and not paying much more than minimum wage.

Of course, if one has low overhead, life doesn't have to be so bad.

Good health, free time, flexibility and then people say they leave Bellingham when it's time to look for a "real job."

The places I have worked have only had a few full time jobs and large staffs of part time workers.

Much of the local work force is students who work their job schedule around class schedules. Classes come first. After one graduates, life comes first and the job comes second. There are not that many jobs which are super inspiring.

State jobs tend to be more likely to have benefits and full time hours.

Welcome to the new economy.

Bellingham has been there for a long time.

It pays to have "low overhead," but many of the houses in this area are quite large and expensive.

There's a disconnect.

Seems like many of the homeowners are retirees who got into owning in other areas and times.

Local workers are often renters.

Then there are the much sought after state jobs.

Our economy kind of revolves around education and retirement.

Some say it's the result of not being friendly to industry. Yes, much of the industrial base has deteriorated and gone overseas.

Volunteer sector is the most dynamic and exciting part of our city's economy. In spite of recession, one still finds vibrancy at various gathering spots. Political meetings, discussion groups, folk music, dancing, festivals.

Very good news. Kepler on it's way

Successful launch of Kepler space telescope tonight. Kepler will stare at a patch of stars; over 100,000 stars, to look for flickering of the light. Flickering that might indicate planets passing across the face of the star as seen from Earth.

Very slight light winks.

Watching like a hawk, or even more intensely than a hawk, it will take an inventory of what's happening, wink and blink wise, around each of those 100,000 stars. Could be signs of orbiting planets even as small as Earth. Maybe even smaller.

They'll be able to tell more about planet size, distance from it's star and so forth. Getting an inventory of data points.

I think the first mission of this kind is the MOST satellite which, coincidentally, is based out of University of British Columbia not far from where I live.

UBC campus is a day's bike ride away from Bellingham up there in Vancouver, BC.

One other mission since MOST has a similar aim. France's Corot.

Kepler is, by far, the most powerful. We'll learn a lot.

Also this is a good way to create some jobs that are more interesting than serving coffee. How would you like that, with cream or sugar?

Ten years for domain name Theslowlane.com

Ten years ago, my Internet provider had been bought by another company. I decided to get my own domain name since it looked like my site was soon to be cast into the whims of corporate mergers.

Since 1995, it had been under the name of my dial up Internet provider.

Remember Pacificrim.net in Bellingham?

So what should my own domain name be?

Several ideas came to mind including "nudeworking," a word I made up to describe the type of networking I like doing around saunas and hot springs.

Back then, I was writing some mild homoerotic fantasies and adding them to my site. People encouraged me to write my safe sex fantasies as part of a workshop for safer sex that I was attending.

Workshops were from something called "Friend to Friend." Part of the funding even came out of Atlanta.

These fantasies may be a bit slow compared to our testosterone culture.

Slow.

That's an idea also. Like life in the slow lane.

Maybe The Slow Lane could tie it all together.

Bicycling is slower than race car driving. An intelligent conversation is slower than the quick blow job; which wouldn't really interest me that much anyway.

Armed with several ideas for domain names, I talked things over with the waitress at a local restaurant.

She had time, business was slow that day.

My waitress thought it over and said, "Theslowlane is awesome."

Both ideas, Nudeworking and Theslowlane were OK, but Theslowlane tied it all together.

Bicycling, voluntary simplicity, contemplation, conversation and yes, even mild, "aesthetic style" eroticism. It's all under one roof.

That waitress was appreciative of slowing down. Not long before our conversation, she did get a speeding ticket, however.

Speeding in Montana when that state didn't even have a speed limit!

How can that be?

Officers could still determine that one's speed was not reasonable and prudent for conditions.

She was going 100MPH.

I've crossed Montana at closer to 10MPH on bike trips.

No posted daytime limit for cars seen along Clark Fork River in Montana. 1997.

Theslowlane sounded good. Even easy to remember so I came home and punched it into the computer.

It was available.

Easy to remember and available on the first try!

Maybe no one wants to be in the slow lane.

I registered, but assigned it to the wrong web hosting company. That company wanted my site to be "www.that_company's_name.com/theslowlane/."

One of the other janitors, where I work as a janitor, gave me a magazine article that rated web hosting companies. I found the company where my site is hosted now.

It took a while to get the domain name transferred to another company where it could be "www.theslowlane.com."

Not much money was lost, just a little time.

Back then, web based domain name management wasn't as easy to do as now.

I remember sending a fax with photo ID to the domain name registrar. Fax line was almost always busy.

Eventually the change took hold.

Then it took a while for domain names to "propagate" throughout the system.

Like two weeks or so.

Those were the days, but I didn't complain. After all, it's about the slow lane.

By April of 1999, most of my site was under www.theslowlane.com and the heart of my web "empire" has been there ever since.

Time to walk

Started out as a bike ride till I saw a friend of mine walking around Lake Padden. I joined him for part of his walk. He takes long walks clear across town. I walked my bike and had a good talk.

A bit of ice on water surface and snow on mountains reflected in water. Enlarge.

Buying experiences, not things, may increase happiness

That was an interesting segment of February 13Th NPR Science Friday show.

Here are some of my thoughts related to the concept of experience versus material consumption.

It takes time to have experiences, but time is often lacking.

Experiences can take money, but many experiences don't take money. What they do take is time.

It takes time to have an experience whether it's a walk in the neighborhood for free or an expensive retreat to some fancy resort.

Time is something that's in short supply during prosperous times when Americans seem too busy with long work hours and commutes.

Now that the economy is slowing down, there's more time, but people wonder where their next rent or mortgage check is coming from.

Some people are glad to be unemployed if they are getting unemployment.

Unemployment gives folks time for experiences.

Being without a job means time for taking classes, travel, catching up with family and friends. Walking, bicycling, exercise or just sleeping in.

People shouldn't have to be unemployed to have the time for experiencing life.

We need balance.

Maybe a shorter work week is in order. How about the three day weekend?

Hurray.

Can't be legislated, but more people could opt for a shorter workweek.

Problem is, rents and mortgages are too high.

Folks have to work too much just to maintain these ridiculous property values.

What value are people getting from living in homes that are worth 1/2 million which were only worth $50,000 some 30 years ago?

Deflation might be a good thing if it makes living more affordable again.

With all this prosperity, maybe we could go to a 32 hour work week. Increase the amount of time for quality of life. Just let the property values fall.

I know it's easier said than done.

Why should we become slaves to all this foreign capital that has flooded into USA over the past few decades? This flood of capital has pushed everything up and made living in USA almost unaffordable?

Just default on it all and relax.

Even the material things we buy, these days, take time to use. Electronics keeps getting more sophisticated for little cost.

The digital camera, I just bought, costs a fraction of what one month's rent for a studio apartment is. At the same time, this cheap digital camera has so many bells and whistles that one must go on vacation just to have the time to learn it's many features.

To keep up the economy, we have to start buying, but we don't really have time to effectively consume what we buy.

Then all this consuming adds to global warming. We need more "time off" the economic tread mill.

I feel lucky that my rent is still affordable and my modest job is still healthy.

It's time to go out and take a walk.

Interesting bike racks at north side Bellingham Food Co-op

Bike racks made from old bike parts. Frames, gears, rims. They add an artistic touch to the Bellingham Food Co-op's north side store.

The north side store is new also. One could say it's "Bellingham Food Co-op version 2," borrowing lingo from computer software. Version 2.

Neighborhood is full of sprawl and traffic, but I find a way out there by riding out Eldridge, Marine and Bennett to Bakerview. Then into Cordota that way.

I'm more apt to use the downtown Co-op, but it's interesting to check out the new location.

Downtown has a similar bike rack now. It's purple. Link added april 6 2010.

Another kind of bike rack. This one at WWU campus.

Picture taken standing under the cover of a big new bike rack at Western Washington University.

Yes, I'm still boasting about bicycle things. Bicycling is a way to address so many of our economic problems from high health care costs to trade imbalances due to oil imports.

Problem of the settlements 60 minutes eye opener

I haven't realized how serious that problem is until watching this segment of 60 minutes on the Israel Palestine issue, January 26 2009.

Looks like there are so many Israeli settlements on the Palestinian West Bank that a Palestinian state wouldn't be viable. A network of security roads and checkpoints connect the settlements that are scattered all over the West Bank so the whole area is divided up to where mobility and commerce is nearly impossible.

It was an eye opener to see that segment of 60 Minutes which a friend of mine linked to from his Facebook presence. I don't have a TV, myself, but can watch the video clip on my computer.

In the past, I have had some sympathy for the plight of the Israelis, but it looks like the intransigence of those Israeli settlers on the West Bank is threatening to ruin the entire situation. Intransigence is usually bad where ever it rears it's head. Intransigence based on religion, what ever religion is involved, can be ugly.

Abortion is a red herring issue. Glad Obama lifts Mexico City policy

I'm glad Obama kept his promise to lift gag order that was imposed by Republican administrations against many of the family planning and birth control programs around the world.

Abortion is probably not the main issue, but it's a red herring and a political lightning rod. The debate over whether some of these programs also support abortion can derail support for the entire concept of family planning. That's only one part of a bigger picture. Family planning doesn't have to be about abortion. In an ideal world, something like abortion wouldn't exist because there wouldn't be unwanted pregnancy.

Various tools to reduce population growth will help the environment.

Abortion is only one of many tools that could possibly be used. Hopefully it's only a last resort and can be avoided. There are probably more effective ways to reduce the number of abortions than placing a gag order on the broad spectrum of family planning techniques that could hopefully be effective before unwanted pregnancy happens. Better family planning might even reduce abortion.

Starvation and famine is not pro life either.

Ironically some Republicans who preach pro life are also battling to keep the tide of population growth from immigrating to this country.

Here in USA, there is still more elbow room and lower population density than in many other parts of the world.

Average American lifestyles have large footprints on the environment.

As the world gets more crowded, a lot of the people who preach that population growth isn't a problem should really be changing their lifestyles.

Get rid of that car and the single family neighborhood. Start walking, bicycling or taking the bus. Soon there will be less room to park the car and less fossil fuels to run it.

The "parking" issue is especially noticed in our large metropolitan areas.

Maybe folks who live in North Dakota are laughing at me. They've still got some elbow room, but open spaces in North Dakota are needed to grow crops for the rest of us, not to mention there needs to be some places left for migrating birds.

Locavore's dilemma

Out of season apple tree.

There are people who want to only eat food grown close to where they live. Say 1 or 200 miles.

Supposedly better for the environment not to ship food around the world.

Well, apples can grow around here, Bellingham, WA., but they get kind of mushy when stored in warehouses for out of season.

In spring, which is not apple season here, we get nice crisp apples shipped in from places like Chile and New Zealand.

To buy local, one would want to make canned apple sauce for the off season. Would that take more energy, cooking the apples for canning than shipping the apples from southern hemisphere?

One would need lots of containers also. Cans are usually tossed after one use even though metal can be recycled.

Glass can be recycled, but how much energy does it take to haul to the recyclers? Glass can also be reused. How much energy does it take to wash out the glass containers for reuse each year?

How much storage do people have? What if one just lives in a studio apartment?

People often try to move out into a rural area so they can grow more of their own food. Then they usually drive more because errands are farther away than living in town.

Dependency on the automobile; weakest link in people's environmental program.

If you need a bigger house to store food, how much energy does it take to refrigerate storage and heat a larger home?

I'm not a locavore when it comes to food, but there are some good things about locavore living. It means doing business with your neighbors, often people you know, rather than producer and consumer being so far apart that there's no personal contact.

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.