Im going to scream if I hear another report on politicians trying to relieve some of the pressure of the oil crisis by finding new sources of oil. There is not enough oil to keep up the demands of the growing global economy. What is hard to understand about that simple fact? The price will never come down no matter how much oil is found. The only solution is to reduce demand or find alternative sources for energy. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGH
Summer is officially here. Time to put things on cruise control! Newport was rockin all weekend long as the weather was hot and the sun was blaring. I celebrated my birthday all week long around OC and had a blast. Looking forward to a wonderful summer
When I was 23 things were pretty bleak. I was unemployed, depressed and had little hope for the future. I set some goals for myself around building a career as a software engineer. I said that by the time I hit 28 I want to be making X dollars, have Y responsibility and have the freedom to do the things outside of work that I enjoy. Now on my 28th birthday, but much coincidence things are almost exactly how I envisioned them being. The major difference is that I’m doing all of this in Southern California as opposed to NYC. Other than that things worked out just as I want them to and I am much happier and feel more complete. One of the hardest things to do in life is figure out what you want to do with yourself. Once you do you can make a plan and goals to get you there.
Its a very special day for me because I can reflect on the changes I’ve made over the last five years. Not everything went as I would like it to have but overall I’m happy with the way things turned out. Now its on to the next 5 year plan which is simply, stop worrying and start enjoying life.
Congrats to the Celtics and Kevin Garnett on winning the championship after all those miserable years. I’ve never seen someone so happy with an accomplishment as this. Anything’s POSSIBLE!!!
This past Thursday I took the redeye from Long Beach to JFK. After a quick nap I rent for a run on the lovely path that goes along Little Neck Bay and the Cross Island Parkway. My mother lives in a neighborhood of Queens NY known as Whitestone, which is much more Long Island than it is New York City. Then I went to the local bagel shop and chowed on some egg everything bagels with a ton of lox. DELICIOUS. I do not understand why the bagels are so much better in NY than they are here but its true!
Next it was over to Shea Stadium. My mother and I walked around the new ball park they are building in the left-field parking lot and snapped some photos. We then got ticket stubs off some business types as they were leaving the stadium. When we tried to use them to get in I had to make up some story about needing to get medicine from my car to get us past the security brutes. Once inside we went to section 45H - The Copacobana box from where I must have watched over a hundred Mets games. Luckily my Uncle, cousin and a family friend were there. The Mets proceeded to blow a 4 run 8th inning lead to lose the game. But we had a great time heckling and telling racy jokes, as usual.
From there it was out to Long Island (in rush hour traffic) for dinner at a great french restaurant called Bistro Sage. It was PHENOMENAL! We had lots of fresh seafood: mussels, clams, scallops, shrimp and lobster. Everything was really delicious and it was a wonderful evening with my mom, aunt and uncle.
Friday it was off to the city with my mother. We went to the New Museum in the Bowery which was a little too new for my taste. I definitely prefer the abstract expressionism but it was pleasant. A sneaker hunt followed as we walked around the east village and soho for the next several hours in search of the perfect pair of air force ones. I found some sick ones that were green and yellow but they didnt have my size. I wound up getting a pair of orange suede vans. You would not find any thing like these outside of NY. The city has the best boutique style shopping. Little hole in the wall shops with about 20 pairs of sneakers and maybe 30 different t-shirts for sale all over the place. Each shop had different collections and most had knowledgeable staff, yet they didnt seem overly enthusiastic about helping you out. Maybe we looked to touristy.
From there it was over to Brooklyn to Peter Lugers Steakhouse with my moms twin sister and her two kids whom I was closest with growing up. We tore apart what had to be the best porterhouse I ever ate in my life. I can still taste it right now, it was so rare it was purple. After that my cousin and I met up with my friend Vinny and we went out in Manhattan. I think I am getting old or something because going to bars and clubs is just not fun any more. I guess I’ve just done it too much because its really lost its luster and was the low point of my trip. My cousin however is exactly the same as I was at his age of 23. Working in the city and hating it. Ready to make a major life change and get out of the rut that is living in NY and not being wealthy. I’m hoping he smartens up and comes to live with my in OC. He would love it just as I do.
Saturday Vinny and I walked around Soho for hours. There were some street fairs and I was determined to purchase some art for my condo, and check out a few models as well. Mission was definitely accomplished as I got some cool vintage photos and a student oil painting of the pre-911 view of lower Manhattan. All the works were $20 a pop. Around 4 or so it started to pour so I took the train out of the city and back to Long Island.
There I met up with my oldest childhood friend in Oceanside. Long Island has not changes at all since I left. I find it miserable but my friends who live there are happy with the proximity to the city and being able to have a house with a backyard. We went to Jordan’s Lobster Farm and feasted on 3 1lb lobsters, a dozen clams, corn and lots of butter. It was awesome. Then we headed into Brooklyn and went to the Chocolate Room where I had the best brownie sundae of my life. I was blown away by Park Slope. It has gentrified unbelievably fast into the trendiest, coolest city neighborhood I have ever seen. Honestly, I found it to be much cooler than even soho because there were virtually no tourists and just as many options of things to do. People there also seemed to be much more local and down to earth than in Soho. I did not want to leave. If I ever move back to NY it will definitely be to Brooklyn.
Sunday I woke up and it was grey and gloomy outside. Real east coast gloom. I am OFF that. I was ready to bounce. Fortunately after a nice lunch with the family I went to JFK and got my ass back to California. I have much love for the city. Its amazing and to try to compare any city on the west coast to it would be downright insulting as it is leaps and bounds ahead in awesomeness. South of 14th st and into brooklyn are the ideal urban environment as far as I’m concerned. The weather and crowds however are just too much for me to live with day-in and day-out. Great to visit!
The Pacific Surfliner will soon be pulling into the Anaheim train station. It is there where I embark on my 3 week, 3 city tour of Mets baseball. Tonight I’ll be at Petco Park in lovely San Diego to see them against the Pads. Next Thursday they will be back in Shea taking on the Diamondbacks. Then the following Monday-Wednesday they are here in Anaheim playing the Angels on my birthday. woot. baseball’s boring but the adventure is not. Lets go Mets!
There are plenty of things to do in Orange County. Sure its not LA, but there are ample places to have a good time. People often complain that their are not enough options to have fun, that the people are dumb and shallow, and that everything is so gaudy. But I say take the options you’re given and make them fun. Last night I went out with my neighbors and had a great time. Were we in the coolest club with the hottest girls and a great dj? No. We were in a trashy party bar in Costa Mesa. But it did not matter. We could have been anywhere and we were going to have a good time, because that’s the reason we went out. People are so concerned with what everyone else is doing, they don’t focus on what they are doing. I’ve always been somewhat of a rogue in that I dont usually involve myself in the affairs of others. You can have fun anywhere, so lets try to make the most of any situation in which you find yourself. Happiness comes from within right?
Maybe its my imagination, but I could swear the price of gas is going up 10 cents per day at the chevron I pass on my way to the freeway. This morning it was 4.67 per gallon for premium. Last week when I filled up it was 4.27. The timing of these rapid price increases coupled with the GM report on switching to smaller vehicles, producing the Volt and selling the Hummer brand reeks of conspiracy. Lets go on a ride, shall we?
Its widely known that the global demand for oil is accelerating rapidly with the economic growth in the worlds two most populous nations, India and China. The known supply of oil is at fixed amount and unless some major discoveries are made, we are expected to run out sometime in the next 2 to 5 decades. This is a fact known to government, car companies and oil companies alike. These organizations had to account for the end of oil and plan their sustainability beyond the existence of an oil based economy.
There exist theories that the US invaded Iraq in search of oil. This concept may or may not be true but lets assume that oil was a major interest in the invasion. As far as I know, there have not been any major oil discoveries in Iraq and the political situation is certainly not stable enough for the US to set up wide-scale resource harvesting or trade operations. It was an exploratory mission that failed.
January 2007 - realizing there is no way to prolong the oil based economy through Iraq, the conspirators decide they must begrudgingly move away from oil production and consumption if they are to survive. They enact a plan to maximize profits on the remaining supply of oil to give them the money to invest in R+D to dominate the next form of consumerism.
The first step is to raise the price of oil and gasoline. Since the costs stay the same, the rise in pricing goes directly to the profits of oil companies and eventually to government. They call this stocking the warchest. Oil companies smash profitability records, raking in billions of profitable dollars per quarter. This money will be later reinvested in other technologies or resources to sustain oil companies through the transitional period.
The second step is to create fear through the media. The media outlets report non-stop about the surging gas prices and the effect it is having on the economy. Every citizen’s wallet is affected by the price change as some 75% of goods are made with petro in one form or another and some 90% are shipped by truck or boat. People are scared of $5 gas and not being able to afford to get to work. This creates a public outcry for alternatives to gas.
June 2008 - The Government and car companies respond to the outcry before the price of gas starts to truly threaten the economy. Suddenly the cause of the crisis turns into the savior from the crisis. Chevy to the rescue. We can all drive electric cars.
2010 and beyond - The switch to electric and alternative fuel-based transportation does nothing to mitigate the demand for consumables. It merely shifts demand away from oil (over which foreign governments have an increasing control) to electricity and hydrogen/water/nuclear/bio/etc. The oil companies will invest heavily in these alternative technologies and make specific efforts to harness them in the US exclusively. GM wins as they are the leader in non-gas based vehicles at the moment. Government wins because the economy continues to grow and tax dollars pour in. Big oil wins by making decades’ worth of profits in just a few years, and gaining the ability to transition into other industries. Win-Win-Win.
Earth wins too. Electric vehicles make no emission…..but the electric plants do. But thats a tale for another post
Its a dream come true…and I don’t care what it costs. GM has finally green-lit the production of the volt. The car has been rumored to be in development for some 20+ years but never had a dream of seeing the assembly line for various factors, mainly big oils ties to the government. But the recent outrage over gas prices has brought this dream to reality at long last. Slated to hit the showroom in 2010, you better believe it will be completely sold out in the pre-orders. Gas prices could be $8 a gallon by then if they continue to grow at current rates. Furthermore millions of americans are fed up with the oil industry as a whole and want a suitable alternative. I would buy it just to know that no money is going to the Saudi’s!
Venture capitalists around the world identify America as the clear-cut leader in innovation in all technology sectors. VC’s determine where the economic developments of the future are going to happen because it takes money to make money. The devaluation of the dollar, the ‘recession’, the collapse of the real estate market are all mitigated by the country’s ability to innovate. As the global economy continues to grow there is more demand for American innovation. Foreign countries are showing considerable growth but have a lot of ground to catch up on all fronts. Fear not.
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