thought of the day

So I was driving down the road this morning when I passed a smashed skunk on the side of the road and wondered to myself 'do skunks think they smell bad?'. Then it got me thinking about those people who aren't what you'd call attractive but think they're the hottest thing since Brad Pitt was caught slicing bread. But then I started thinking about Descartes and his philosophy of 'cogito ergo sum' or 'I think therefore I am' and so now I'm wondering, if I think I am the hottest person alive than I AM the hottest person alive. But then I counter myself with the fact that thinking I am the hottest person alive only proves that I am alive and therefore I remain blissfully unaware that I should not be wearing that spaghetti strap top that shows off my enormous obliques (love handles) still thinking that I am the hottest person alive though actually only proving that I am merely alive. THEN I thought, that skunk really stinks.

state of affairs

This car has alot to say about our current state of affairs in the United States. We are in a recession, depression, slump... whatever you want to call it and "bailout" is our new favorite word. It's funny, that word "bailout", my Grandpa used to say it all the time. He picked it up in WWII flying in B-17's... it's what you did right before your whole fucking plane went down in flames. It was about saving yourself... not the system you were apart of. Ok, so big businesses are getting bailout packages, and for this moment I don't care how or why, what I do care about is how they got into the position to need such packages.

Enter the Chevy Volt. Here is a little tidbit from GM's website about the volt.

"Seventy-eight percent of commuters drive 40 miles or less to and from work.* If we could change the technology behind these daily drives, imagine how much gasoline and money we could save while helping reduce emissions. It might be possible with a vehicle capable of running on electricity, E85, and gasoline fuels — in other words, a vehicle powered by GM's innovative E-Flex Propulsion System, like the Concept Chevy Volt."

Imagine a car that could go 40 miles per charge and could be refueled by plugging it into an outlet when you got home at night. Zero emissions, NO GAS, low maintenance, and a car that could drive using sustainable energy such as solar and wind. WOW!!! How come nobody thought about this before?? Oh, actually somebody did... it was GM...over 12 years ago!


Enter the GM EV1. This is from Wikipedia "Introduced in 1996, The EV1 electric cars were available in California and Arizona as a lease only, as well as through a Southern Company employee lease program in Georgia, and could be serviced at designated Saturn retailers. They were discontinued after 1999 and subsequently removed from the roads in 2003 by General Motors (except for a few). The car's discontinuation was and remains a controversial topic."

So what does any of this have to do with a recession and bailout packages? Well now the Big 3 automakers are in trouble... anyone want to guess why? Because they are behind the times, of their own volition. Honda and Toyota just keep chugging along because they change, they expand, they're inovative. GM had that chance, the chance to be the first in what would have been a HUGE market and they turned their backs on it. Why? Well there are all kinds of arguments. To get a better understanding of them may I recommend the movie "Who Killed the Electric Car?". The point is that these large companies have important decisions to make everyday, and some days those decisions may determine the future of the company. And if by chance (more like certainty) they happen to make the wrong decision, why is that we the public, we the taxpayers, we the working class have to suffer for it? But more importantly... WHY THE FUCK SHOULD WE BAIL THEM OUT?!!

Thought of the day...

We all sorely complain of the shortness of time, and yet have
much more than we know what to do with. Our lives are either spent in
doing nothing at all, or in doing nothing to the purpose, or in doing
nothing that we ought to do. We are always complaining that our days are
few, and acting as though there would be no end of them.

Seneca
(BC 3-65 AD, Roman Philosopher, Dramatist, Statesman)

Governor's Cross Country

Not only has mountain biking grabbed my attention but I may now officially be a trail running addict. Today I went with a group to do the Governor's Cross Country race held at Scott County Park. I went with the anticpation of a moderate trail run and ended up getting the race of the season. To call this a run is almost a slap in the face... it's more like a battle that happens to be a total blast. The race comes in an easy to swallow 2 mile version and a larger more wieldly 4 mile version. I of course chose the 4... funny thing is it's actually a little over 5.5. miles. To break it down there was mud, lots of water crossings (in excess of 20), wading in streams up to your chest, rope swings, plenty of trees to jump, hay bails to climb over, trails to navigate, and thorns to get pissed at. It was definately the most fun I've had running all year and also the hardest race I've done to date. It has given me a taste for what will come in some of my upcoming adventures and I can't hardly wait until the next one. This will surely become a yearly thing and I hope to drag several people along for the ride next year.

top pic - general idea of the run
bottom pic is me after the battle

This week...

This week I have become officially addicted to mountain biking. I always thought I might like it, but clearly there are no mountains around here. That, however, does not mean that there are not some amazing trails to ride on. Sunderbruch Park in Davenport will become my new home away from home whenever time and weather allow. Not only is it a great workout, it's mentally challenging and requires 100% concentration. I'll try to stay out of the biking politics as that seems to be a big issue with some... I just want to ride! I also went on my first trail run of the year, which will become a regular goal for my long days. To celebrate I ordered a new pair of Salomon GTX trail shoes. Hopefully I love them and they love me back. Training will be kicking into high gear as the clock is now ticking on the upcoming challenge. In social news we went out last night for Halloween, Shan and Amber won first prize as thing 1 and thing 2, while me and Brandon took second as a pair of Hellbilly's. In short I got schnockered and wound up with a respectable hangover for work this morning. Tonight is another Third Rail night but I will be taking the easy road of DD. Does this blog sound like a Doogie Howser entry yet?