Bonzai: Thoughts and Expressions

Fun in the News

Those of you who know me personally know that I have certain views of the world. My opinions are usually available only to those that ask to have them, but this forum is a little different in that respect. It’s my forum, so I have to assume that those reading these thoughts and expressions are actually interested in them at some level. Anyway, I was reading through some of my favorite news sources this morning and had a good chuckle on several items and thought I would share a couple of them here.

The first one was a “reality check” for the tree huggers. I found it less entertaining than I did interesting, but enjoyed it just the same. The rather “Liberal” Stewart Brand writing for Technology Review has been reviewing positions he has taken a stand on for the last 10 years or more. As he digs into the reality of what the world is and begins to abandon the idea of Utopia, he is changing his tune in several areas, specifically in these four areas: Population Growth, Urbanization, Genetically Engineered Organisms, and Nuclear Power. It’s a rather lengthy article but it is fun to watch ‘ole Stewart try to put a “new” slant on something that has been preached by the masses for as long as he has been fighting it. It’s an interesting read regardless of which side of the aisle you declare yourself on.

As you may have read in an earlier post, I’m not pleased by the artificially inflated prices at the pumps these days. Apparently I am not alone. This article in FlashNews.com speaks of a gentleman in Lake Orion, MI that has put some old moonshining techniques into play to fight gas prices. He has begun selling stills that separate ethanol from just about any sugary vegetable, such as corn or apples, after a period of fermentation. He claims that mixed with the proper amount of gasoline, you can lower your automobile fuel bill to $1.40 per gallon. You have to love the creativity and drive of people. One way or another, legal or otherwise, people will get what they want – in this case, affordable fuel. I haven’t done the math, but assuming this guy's numbers are correct, I can already imagine an underground network of people that are creating and consuming “illegal” fuel. Why would the government care? They can’t collect taxes on fuel if it is sold outside of their controlled environment. I wonder if the gentleman in this article will wind up spawning the next Al Capone? Time will tell.

posted by Bonzai @ 8:28 AM