American’s just don’t get it, and I fear the masses won’t internalize our national dependency and the  need for alternative energy sources until it is too late.

This is not a rant about global warming – that is another discussion for another time – this is simply pointing out that American’s just don’t get get that the price of oil will rise once again.  Just because it’s $38 today doesn’t mean it will be $38 tomorrow.

According to edmunds.com, pickups and SUVs will outsell cars in the month of December.

Trucks and SUVs will outsell cars in December, according to researchers at the automotive Website Edmunds.com, something that hasn’t happened since February.

 

Meanwhile the forecast finds that sales of hybrid vehicles are expected to be way down.

 

Combined with discounts negotiated at the dealership, the actual prices consumers pay can be amazingly low, said Edmunds.com sales analyst Jesse Toprak.

 

“I can get about $10,000 off a large SUV,” he said.”There’s probably not going to be a better time.”

He is right, he could get roughly 10K off an SUV but what about when the price of gas goes back to $4/gallon, be it a year from now or three years from now?

Let’s say a large SUV has a tank size of roughly 20 gallons and gas goes up to $4/gallon once again.  This means the consumer will be paying $45 more per fill up.  If we assume they fill up the tank every week, that means they will spend an extra $2340 per year and if 4 years that “savings” would have vanished.

Now is the worst time for oil to have fallen because everyone, from corporations to the consumer, will be moving away from researching and investments in alternative energies because there is no cost savings. Why spend the money on research and development if it costs less to simply buy oil?

Now is the time we should be moving to hybrid technologies, now is the time the nation should be going to solar and natural gas… basically, now is the time we should be looking forward and attempting to find a way to free our nation from dependency on foreign oil, not trying to go back to our old ways.

This isn’t going to be your typical “I am thankful for…” reflections on Thanksgiving post.  Let’s that that right out there.

As I age I find that Thanksgiving is the holiday I enjoy the most.  Not because I believe in the good ole myth that Pilgrims, way back in 1621, decided to pull up a log and have a gigantic feast the local Native Americans.  No, it’s really that the family seems to be much more relaxed with this holiday.

I enjoy this day simply due to having family and friends together without the pressures of forcing yourself to give a gift to someone simply because of a holiday.  I enjoy the stories of times past, regardless of the fact that I may have listened to it 18 time at this point. I enjoy the smell of freshly baked ham in my parent’s kitchen as my father runs in and out to the grill.  

Basically, I enjoy the experience – even when tempers get a bit hot.

Looking at the “Holiday Season” (Thanksgiving to New Years) also points out one of the biggest problems I have as a person trying to find their way in life.  I only can take so much - holidays or otherwise.

Yes, I enjoy and love my family and friend, but so many events take place between now and the New Year I want to simply lock myself “in the bunker” and not come out until everything is over.  Seriously – how many Christmas events do I need to go to?  

As much as I love seeing everyone, it is the very things I enjoy that end up putting me over the edge.  Come January 1st, the stories I enjoy so much on Thanksgiving will be as annoying as a giant zit that has happened to strategically placed itself on your left ass cheek and doesn’t want to go away.  Come January 1st, I’ll be so sick of ham, sausage, and fowl of all types I will want to go vegetarian, and come January 1st I will be leading the charge when it comes to flaring tempers.

But I digress…

I hope you enjoy your time with you family, if you celebrate Thanksgiving or not, and be thankful for everyday for what you have – not one specific day.

Yesterday I was asked why I blog. What was my motivation to simply start documenting my thoughts? Was I attempting to monetize my blogging experience, was I trying to seek attention, was I doing it for fun or was there some other master plan I secretly had in mind but was not yet ready to unleash on the world?

Frankly, there is no hidden motive.

It started out by me simply wanting to document my state of mind as time moves on. I have found that, for some reason, the act of blogging gives me a release… much like an escape from stress. If there a topic is on my mind I have the ability to simply get it out.

I also wanted to use the site as a method of keeping in touch with my family and friends. While the rest of the world may or may not have a strong desire to know what is going on in my world, there are a few people who do. What better what to keep them informed than simply pointing them over here?

A major unintended benefit to the experience has been the ability to log things that are of interest to me, above and beyond the thoughts that seem to be rolling around in my head. I find a good track, I post it. Cool video, post it. A news article that catches my interest, you got it… post it. This affords me the ability to simply head over to the blog when I am looking for something and easily find it. I think of it almost like the “bookmarking” function within a browser.

Ultimately, the experience is for me and my needs but If someone along the way happens to gain enjoyment, all the better!

I am thinking of doing something that is very, very unlike my personality (and me in general).  I am thinking my next car, whenever that may come, has the potential to be an American car if the product can show me there is a reason to consider buying American.

For the last 10 years I have been a strictly German car driver.  The cars I have chosen provide a ride unlike any other.  Factor in the dependability, the service and quality and the consumer has a truly top-notch drive. This level of, well, superiority from the vehicles I have driven over the years has really cut down my scope of potential cars and I am starting to wonder is it possible to find the same in an American car.

The three most important aspects of a car, for me, come down to:

1. Safety
2. Dependability / Quality
3.  Performance

Until recently, frankly, no American car has been able to capture all three of these qualities to a standard that would satisfy my requirements.  That has recently started to change with the information starting to come out from JDPower and associates.  Mercury, Cadillac, Buick and Lincoln are ranked at the same level of “overall dependability” as my choice of automaker, so, while skeptical, I am starting to wonder if now may be the time to look at why they have to offer. 

That said, let’s look at the cars in the line-ups of the companies just listed.

• Mercury – Designed for women.  Not being sexist, they really are designed to appeal to women.  Not that it’s a bad thing; it’s not what I look for in my car.
• Cadillac – There is potential here from a design view and CTS / STS lines are very attractive from a performance perspective.
• Lincoln – Re-badged Mercury.  Tried to target men but the design that appeals to women is still seen.
• Buick – The design and styling choices resemble that of a geriatric community, plus the power and performance lack.  What am I, a grandfather?  No.  

There is plenty of time for me to think about the potential next purchase as I have no plan on picking up a new car any time soon, but it is something that is in the back of my mind.  Have these brands overcome the quality and performance issues American cars have become known for.  Is there any reason to still buy an American vehicle?  I’m still left asking the question – American Cars… why?

One of my long held views in life can summed up by this simple saying “Right and wrong are just words, what matters is what you do”. This saying has implications that would challenge the beliefs and views of people.

There will be a highly charged group of people that, without a doubt, right and wrong is the truth, the highest priority. Right and wrong tell this set of people what do to in their view of life. How to act and it also sets the tone for how they view other people.

The next set of individuals would say the action doesn’t matter; the result does not matter, as long as the person performing the “right” action, the person is “right”

Personally, I believe the action an individual undertakes could be the “right” thing to do even though the action(s) the individual does is seen universally as “bad”. Going against your family for what you stand for, for what you believe in… to live your life for yourself would be right (for you) but piss off a whole host of other people.

During the great depression, people faced this question all the time. Grab milk from a cow while the farmer wasn’t watching, take an extra bread roll from the soup line, and lie about your ability in order to get a job. Where they right or wrong?

All these actions were wrong by society’s standard, but I view them to be right as they were trying protecting their families in situations of few to no means.

Ok, let’s take a hard one – was Hitler wrong?

I think most people will flat out say “yes”, he was wrong for the horrors of WW2 and the pain he inflicted on the Jewish people.

I can’t honestly answer this question when I view it from the perspective of “what is really important is what you do”. Why? I was not apart of that culture; I did not share the beliefs of the time. Maybe they were doing the “right” thing in that situation.

Having 30 years of knowledge and a number of family members in the military during that point, I can - in my view of reality as it is today - what he / they did was wrong.

Finally – can a good person switch to become a  bad person (and vice versa) because of the influence of another? To me, this all comes down to the concept of free will. I have the ability to make decisions for myself and, as such, I am accountable for my actions. Some people may try to avoid the accountability that comes with their actions, but it is still there.

Basically put, a human can be the most loving animal or the most dangerous animal in a matter of seconds.

Let’s go into flashback mode, shall we?

I remember the fall of 1990 very well.  I was in junior high, unaware of the world around me, just simply enjoying the time with my friends (and my video games).  It was the “good old days”. 

I suddenly became aware of world events due to one unlikely thing: there was a prediction of a major earthquake in the Midwest on December 2nd or 3rd.  Yes, a prediction. 

As the date grew closer the general public started to become hyper-aware of the potential for an earthquake. The paranoia reached us heights that our school started having earthquake drill in preparation for that day.  I recall covering my head and thinking “Right, my hands have the ability to stop a massive building from killing me”.

It was all thanks to this dip – Iben Browening

Wouldn’t you know it, December 2nd and 3rd came and went with no earthquake, no end of the world, and Browening died less than a year later a laughing stock.  I like to think he died due the embarrassment of making such a bold statement, but doctors say he actually died of a heart attack.

Anyway, the Federal Emergency Management Agency just released updated information about the potential catastrophic effects of an earthquake in the New Madrid fault zone.  

The fault line is so powerful, as a matter of fact, that an earthquake back in 1812 reversed the flow of the Mississippi River.  So, yes, the fault zone is one of the most dangerous in the world, but it is also one of the most inactive.   I have no problem with warning people about potential dangers; I just have a problem with how it’s done… Such as…

“the highest economic losses due to a natural disaster in the United States.”

and

“a large earthquake would cause “widespread and catastrophic physical damage” across Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee — home to some 44 million people.”

While they didn’t predict an earthquake, I can see the nut balls coming out of the woodwork once again trying to predict the end of the world.  Now only that, I can see a number of self-proclaimed “researchers” trying to make huge amount of money off of the unsuspecting, uneducated, members of that 44 million.

As if we don’t have enough to worry about these days…

“Once the understanding of self is realized it cannot be denied.”

-Van Santos, 10/27/08

“When you’ve had your best you can’t help but compare”

The United States of America is a stunningly beautiful country. Be it visiting a national park, going to this nation’s capital, stopping over in a city like Chicago, or simply driving through the countryside, visitor and citizens alike are surrounded by beauty.

Yes, the United States lacks the 1000 year history, and the sights that go alone with such a history, but there is so much beauty to experience regardless of that fact one could easily get lost in what America has to offer.

As I was eating lunch I did a bit of “people watching”. Business folk, students and travelers alike scurried around downtown. Some strictly focused on their next destination, others enjoying what the city had to offer. What disturbed me, however, was the fact that tourists mainly flocked to this…

Cameras were snapping away around this bronze-esque Ronald McDonald statue at the Rock n’ Roll McDonalds so quickly one would have thought the makeuped, hamburger slinging, man was there himself.

Is this what the American legacy will be? Are we relegated to being remembered for our crappy pop culture and fast food? Some part of me wanted to go up to the tourists and say something, anything, simply to have them go experience the true cultural experience the city has to offer.

That said, who am I to say anything about how individuals enjoy themselves - I am no one. Make no mistake about, they were enjoying the experience, and they could be / could have visited the wonderful sights of this city and nation, but I found it rather disturbing to think the United States maybe viewed as a cheesy wonderland where all we have to offer is fast food icons and disposable memories when this land has so much more to offer.