Just a Few Quickies

Here are some random thoughts, ideas, and things I’ve heard over the last few days. I’m not saying that all of them are mine, or even that I agree with all of them.

Caddo Lake
I spent the weekend at Caddo lake with a friend of mine. I had never been there before, but it was pretty cool. The lake is more of a swamp, with an average depth of only 6 feet and huge groves of cypress trees and all kinds of aquatic life.

Personal Property
I was having a conversation with a friend of mine regarding the ownership of, and the use of, personal information. They presented this as being anything that is personal or proprietary to the individual including photos, DNA, etc.

The idea being that if you picture or photo is utilized by the government, you can sue them and ask for compensation because it is your property. The same would go for your DNA records, medical records, etc. Part of what is driving this is that the government has been, and still is collecting, massive amounts of information about individuals. So if you grab this photo of yours truly, I expect something back......

Can I touch it?
no, don't even look at it.
I can't look at it?
no




Helmet Laws
Yesterday I took Hopper’s bike out for a quick spin around the block. If you have read my blog for any length of time you know I am an avid supporter of wearing protective gear when riding.

This one time, though, I was just taking it for a quick spin so I didn’t bother to grab my helmet. In fact, I didn’t even grab my wallet (though I briefly looked for it). I took the bike out and, of course, got pulled over.
The officer pulled me over and told me up front he stopped me for not wearing a helmet. I got a warning on that one, but also got a $225 fine for not having my license on me even though he validated it from the information I gave him and I now have to go down and show them my license. Supposedly that will get the ticket dismissed.

Afterwards, I started looking into the law on helmets again. It’s still a very convoluted issue in Texas and the officers, judges, and court clerks still don’t know the law and are merrily violating people’s civil rights and fining them way too much money.



Using Ethanol as Fuel
A few excerpts from an article forwarded to me regarding some of the far reaching impact of subsidizing and mandating of ethanol for fuel:

Ethanol, it turns out, may be great politics in Midwestern corn growing states, but it is terrible environmental and economic policy. As more and more food is diverted from human consumption to producing fuel, prices for basic food are skyrocketing around the world. Deforestation is on the rise as third world countries try to cash in on the boom, and violence has broken out as small landholders are being kicked off their land to make way for large palm oil farms.

A coalition made up of Oxfam, the World Wildlife fund, and other groups is raising concerns about the current rush to replace fossil fuels with biofuels. Increased Ethanol production has led to a spike in corn prices that has caused food shortages in third world countries, including our neighbor to the South, Mexico. African and Asian countries that are currently unable to produce enough food for their own populations are clearing cropland to supply Ethanol for Europe’s new mandate of 10% Ethanol in all their gasoline.

The environmental benefits of using Ethanol are miniscule to non-existent—some estimates even show that it takes more fossil fuel to make a gallon of Ethanol than it yields as a fuel. Water resources are being stretched to the point of disaster, and food prices are spiking across the world. The Japanese car companies warn consumers to avoid biodiesel as it lowers the life-span and efficiency of their engines.

Politicians and other ethanol advocates have argued that government mandates and subsidies and mandates were needed to “jump-start” the ethanol industry—that someday, some way all these government subsidy will pay off in better and more efficient fuels. After 30 years of government subsidies and mandates, Ethanol production is as inefficient today as it was then—only now it’s hurting more people.




Kermit Sings Hurt
This is just….wrong, in so many ways:






Ironic, Isn’t It?