Doing My Part in Reducing my Car Footprint: Owning a Hybrid
As I near the first month of the first month of ownership (and first of 5 years of monthly payments, I'm still on my dealer fill-up on gasoline. Granted, I've only driven under 300 miles (I have a reasonably short commute to work), but my computed remaining driving range is still over 300 miles meaning it's possible my first personal fill-up will be next month. My computed MPG continues to inch upward; it's currently around 50.5 mpg, which boggles my mind. Now, of course, the costs of the new car dwarf fuel savings at about $2.60/gallon--just driving it off the dealer lot probably depreciated the value by a few thousand dollars, and many people will have retired by the age I'll have paid off my car (I'm not even thinking of retirement (ironically my two next oldest siblings have, but both of them have at least one pension, in addition to social security)).A faithful reader might notice that I have a nuanced position on climate change. I am not in a state of denial or scientifically illiterate; I do agree there is evidence supporting a mankind impact on global temperature; however, I don't believe that the alarmist predictions are credible, I think the effects are nuanced (including a positive effect on vegetation), and relevant Statist policies are not only ineffective, but risk the standard of living for the global population. It's not only the Draconian effects of increased unilaterally imposed costs for marginally domestic results, but these effects may be more than offset by other global payers, e.g., developing economies.
I'm particularly irate over the anti-nuclear tilt of most so-called environmentalists. Never mind France's proven safety record on providing the overwhelming percentage of power generation: there are fuel alternatives, like thorium, which ease concerns over nuclear arms proliferation.
I have faith in an unfettered free market to provide constructive responses to global climate challenges, not an unaccountable elite of politically activist scientists and their Statist allied. Make no mistake: this is a power grab at the expense of your individual liberty.
I Still Cringe Over My First Public Speech: My High School Valedictory
I would approach the task of giving a valedictory differently today. Oddly enough, nobody discussed the task with me: teachers or administrators, relatives, friends, etc. Not to mention: I, as a 16-year-old, didn't have much in common with my fellow graduates. In part, this was because the school realized that I was ready for college work and there was little value for me to stick around what would have been a standard fourth year. In fact, my biology teacher held me after class one day to tell me I didn't have to come to class anymore; I had my A. He explained if he taught to my level, he would lose the rest of the class. And if he taught to their level, it would be an unproductive use of my time.So it turned out I would only need a few credits beyond a normal junior year to graduate, which I could do via accredited correspondence courses, a summer course at a nearby school downtown, and various electives, including high school choir. I initially signed up for English III during the summer session, but at the last minute changed to English IV (I think someone raised the possibility at the last minute, probably involving the teachers for the classes; I was like, "Can I do English IV before English III?" Yup. I never regretted the change; I loved the teacher, published my first poetry, etc.) Why that little story? For the most part, I didn't really attend the same classes with my fellow graduates. So I don't think it really occurred to me that I was speaking as a surrogate for people I barely knew.
In the Internet age, there may be countless valedictories on Youtube, not to mention webpages of tips by others. I really didn't approach it from the standpoint of we were birds flying away from the nests of our youth, some of us would take a place in the labor force, maybe serve the country through the military, others going on to college: we were ready to make our mark on the world. I did go the next year's graduation of my old classmates and froze when I heard my old friend, the new valedictorian, start off quoting Francis Bacon's "Knowledge is power." Damn! Why didn't I do something like that?
I don't recall the full speech I gave now, but the basic theme was establishing the value of the investment these past 4 years in our future. I had maybe a 4-page double-spaced typewritten speech, and the light at the lectern was a pale yellow, basically making my speech illegible. I had fortunately memorized most of the speech--until my mind suddenly went blank down the home stretch, and let's just say there was a long pause, as I frantically tried to find my place in the notes. A few seconds later the rest of the speech came to me. The audience had been stirring in the interim wondering what was going on. To this day, if anyone remembers anything about my speech, it was "the pause". My family and my younger siblings teased me about it on the ride home.
I don't recall getting much feedback on the speech from other graduates or attendees, with the exception of an older man who sought me out to vigorously shake my hand and to thank me for giving such a wonderful speech. He was an angel; God bless you, sir, wherever you are.
I'm a perfectionist; even when I published over a dozen articles and 3 book chapters, I will think of various tweaks I might now make. The same was true of the first college classes I taught at UH. I've posted this anecdote before, but I had gone to Montgomery Ward to buy a suit, only to discover one of my former students was a salesman there. And I instantly reviewed all the mistakes I had made, what I would do better the next time around; I felt so bad he had been in my first class, when he stopped me. "You know, I hated your guts while I was taking your class." (Okay, this isn't going well at all.) He continued, "But your class was the first real college course I had at UH. I was just talking about it at lunch today. I wouldn't change a thing; I learned a lot in your class."
BEB Update
For unfamiliar readers, Bruce Breeding, my fellow former UH PhD student office mate, had a couple of strokes, the second a massive one, at the beginning of June. I've been giving periodic updates since, primarily based on his spouse Susan's almost daily posts at CaringBridge.The latest news is that Bruce is "graduating" to a Dallas facility for more advanced rehabilitation I'm not sure what happened to the initial facility location in San Antonio or a north Austin facility; of course, Dallas is almost 250 miles away so the biggest question is where Susan will stay in the duration. She is on one waiting list but also disclosed she may have access to a guest apartment.
Bruce has been in certain states which may be side effects to changes in medication. For example, he confronted a facility person, thinking somehow he missed his upcoming ride to Dallas next week. I've almost never seen Bruce lose his temper, but I'm sure fighting the effects of his stroke is really frustrating.
He continues to improve in his assisted mobility exercises, and his verbal communication continues to exceed expectations. He continues to have nutrition tolerance issues and weakness in his right extremities. Susan continues to ask for prayers.
