JULY
We have passed the Summer solstice so the last half of the year 2008 is on it's way! We are heading for the "dog days". There is nothing to complain about here in Kanas--mostly--compared with much of the country. The town of Chapman was hit with a tornado with coniderable damage but the wheat crop is now in the bin and the crop was not lost like the corn farmers of Iowa with the extensive flooding. We need to use other cellulose material to produce Ethanol rather than corn, now. Also develop other sources of energy than oil or gas. I am interested to find out what. T. Boone Picken's plan will be? It will be posted on TV and from the teaser ad showing wind farms and solar collector I assume that these are the areas which he wants to emphasize. We do really need an APPOLO effort. Solving the energy problem is more important than putting a man on the moon. We are in an interesting time. Honda is planning to market a hydrogen powered car the last of this year or in 2009. It is quite a car, with a range of 350 mile on one fill up. They are also developing home hydrogen generators which will help take care of the lack of adequate infrastructure. Perhaps we are entering the post-hydrocarbon era. Research should be made on how to manage the atomic power plants residual material. There must be a good safe use for it instead of just burying it in a mountain.
I have just finished reading "Sign Talker" by James Alexander Thom--it is a historical novel of the Lewis and Clark expedition. It is particularly about the contribution to the effort by Chas. Droulliard. He was a half breed Shawnee Indian hunter and interpreter who joined the expedition. The group would never have made it to the Pacific and back without his contribution. I had never heard of him--much is made of Sacajawea--but Drooulliard's contribution was more crucial.
We are still hanging in here at Drury Place. There is some turnover in the residents with new people coming in and some leaving because of change in health status, need of more care etc. It was a good time for us to make the move with less to take care of etc. We do no cooking and few dishes, still do personal laundry. We spend more time reading. Mary's stent is still working.
The Political races are coming around to the last turn and the conventions are on the horizon but are really of not much use except to spend money and to try to whip up enthusiasm. The most important thing is who else is going to be on the team. The president is only as good as the information and the advise that is filtered into him. I hope we have knowledge in this area before the election. Regardless, we have lived through depressions, wars, scarcities before.
Hope that all is well with all of you and sending wishes for happiness.
HAF***AKA***HAPPY DOC
1 comment:
Hi grandpa.
I'm glad to hear you and grandma are doing well.
One of the exciting things about the rise in gas prices is that many people are looking into alternative ways of getting around. I've been riding the bus to work and back in Kansas City, and there has been a spike in ridership. It is standing room only most mornings!
Last weekend Susan and I were riding the scooter around Lawrence, and we noticed scooters and bikes everywhere! At 100-120 mpg for a scooter and no gasoline for a bike, they have become much more popular.
The downside to all this is that drivers are not used to sharing the road, and with so many new scooter drivers and bikers, there have been many more accidents. A man was killed by a bus while riding a scooter last weekend in Lawrence, and one of my friends wrecked his bike last night and had to get 20 stitches in his face. Luckily he was wearing a helmet and is going to be fine.
If you are looking for a good book about America and exploration I would recommend "A River Running West: the Life of John Wesley Powell" Powell was a civil war general and the first person to navigate the colorado river through the grand canyon. Later he suggested that the political boundaries of the western half of the united states be drawn according to watersheds. He was way ahead of his time. The book is by Don Worster, one of my professors at KU. I haven't read the book, but it looks cool.
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