Signal Down! Reconnecting in 3 weeks time (or so)

Although I’ve got a few ideas kicking around, I haven’t been able to properly express them with my available time and I am unhappy with the drafts I’ve got up and running.  I want to respond to this post and it’s survey over at Scott’s blog and I will do so in the future.  I will be away working and then travelling with the old man and my little brother during August, so I won’t be posting here for the next 3 weeks or so. 

I am currently reading ‘Bad Samaritans – The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism’ by Ha-Joon Chang, and this book is having an impact on my views regarding how governments and markets interact.  The sub-title is a bit fantastic and reeks of conspiracy theory, but that’s misleading as so far it’s an excellent and well researched book with a strong contrarian bent.  I should be done this book by the time I am ready to post again, and hopefully I’ll have it assimilated and ready for some debate.

Oregon/California Road Trip or Zinga Zinga Zinga

Shoud have finished this up about 10 days ago, but I got sidetracked.

Just returned from a great trip with my pal Steg.  The intention was to head to San Francisco, camping and enjoying our time along the way, sticking to the coast as much as possible.  The trip really began when we got through Washington and made it out to the Oregon coast.  It’s a beautiful spot with many awesome beaches and coastal scenery.  We camped out as much as possible in the Oregon state park system which was very affordable, well run with friendly and informative staff.  Tent sites were $14-$17, with yurts andcabins going for $25-$40 I think but you have to bookthese ahead of time.  Nothing but good things to say about Oregon’s state parks.  Check out Fort Stevens on the Columbia river if you get a chance.  A great beach with paved bike paths through the park.

After a couple of nights in Oregon, we entered California and found our way to the #1 and continued South; driving the #1 was a highlight of the trip for sure.  It’s everything you want out of a driving road, fantastic coastal scenery, lots of curvy bits and it’s well designed and maintained.  I’d say a standard transmission is required for enjoying this part of the trip, and if the car has some balls all the better.  Fortunately we were in Steg’s V6 Passat, and when Steg forced me into the driver’s seat, I thoroughly enjoyed it.  There was some evidence of wild fires in this portion of the trip, but nothing too big.  We eventually camped down near Montecito and then hit up the beach to watch some Mexicans throw a few red tailed perch into their buckets.  A little windy and cool this night.

Made it to San Fran the next day, and got our heads spun around at Fisherman’s Wharf.  It seemed like a good place to start, but heavily infested with tourists (like us!).  After being on camp time for a few days, it was a little much, and eventually we settled into a pub to gather our senses and come up with a plan.  Fortunately, that plan included checking out a Giants game!  The Dodgers were in town, and it was a 6 pm start.  After some wrangling, we managed to find a modest motel for the night that was a 15 minute walk away from the ball park.  Note to travellers, be prepared to pay through the nose for a bed on July 4th weekend.  Ouch.

So, we cruise up to the park, fully intent on heading to the box office to pick up whatever tickets we could, and the stream of scalpers started.  Probably the first pitch had already been thrown, and the guy we bumped into rapidly dropped his prices to a little over book.  We paid $40 for $37 tickets, and gave the guy a tip of $5.  The tickets turned out to be awesome as we were in the 2nd row, of the 2nd section in between 1st and home.  We had unobstructed views of the field withno net in front of us.  A great game, well pitched by both starters, a full stadium, and the Giants ended up with a crowd pleasing 5-2 victory, beating up on LA’s bullpen in the 7th.

The next day Steg and I parted ways for the afternoon after visiting with Alexandra in Oakland.  I went to visit my dad’s ex, Stevie, who lives just north of San Fran and Steg was hoofing it around SF.  Hadn’t seen her in over 10 years, but we had a nice time and caught up quite a bit, and I happily got some insight into the old man.  Stevie is doing really well too which makes me happy.  After departing from Stevie’s and picking up Steg, we headed south towards Monterey to find some lodging/camping, but campsites had filled up or were ridiculously expensive (boo Koa!).  After I refused to sleep on the side of the road, we eventually settled on a reasonable motel for the 2nd night in a row.  The budget was under strain, but we took advantage and set up an early start to the morning, heading to the Monterey Aquarium.

At the Aquaurium I was mesmerized by the 3 chinook salmon in the tidal water tank.  They cruised around pretty quietly, and I even saw one dig it’s back into the sand as if to scratch it.  Not what I expected; I assumed they would be more active but I suppose they can get into a feeding frenzy at times.  The rest of the aquarium was pretty interesting, but it got busy really quickly so we were happy to have arrived first thing in the morning when it was a little quieter.  After this, we headed to Santa Cruz to check out the beach.  For some reason, I really enjoyed SC when I was a kid.  These days, not so much!  The beach was ok, but definitely for a younger crowd and/or families.  Next!

So, we had officially made the turn heading North by now, and our next stop was the amazing camp site called Costenoa.  Although a little biased against Koa based on the previous night’s attempt at finding a campground, this one was affordable and awesome.  I highly recommend stopping at this one for a visit if you are Northof Santa Cruz on the #1, with some of the most impressive bathroom facilities on the entire trip.  Here I managed to do about 5 minutes or so of swimming.  But after ducking under three waves in a row, I got a massive brain freeze and packed it in.  The water was very cold.

The next day, with a tear in our eyes, we left Costenoa and got off the #1 and into wine country, after a brief stop at the whiskey shop in SF.  The difference in heat was amazing after heading  in land.  I think the gauge on the car read between 42C and 45C.  Reminds me why I like living on the coast.  Stopped at a vineyard after some trouble in locating a suitable one, and got tried various wines.  My  palette is not yet refined enough except to say.. “I like it” or “I like this one less” or maybe even “I like this one more”.  Anyway, our host was pleasant enough, and she poured big tasting portions!

Continuing North, we stopped beside a river campsite and bedded down for the night.  The next day we were going to be camping near the Oregon sand dunes, and we did.  Steg got directions to the beach, with the attendant looking at him kind of funny.  Apparently not many people hike over the dunes to the beach, preferring to use motorized vehicles, which is too bad, cause hiking the dunes with the wind howling and sand flying was a ton of fun.  Felt like I could have been in the desert.  Got up bright and early the next day for some ATV’ing on the dunes, which was a blast!  1 hour was about right though; I was getting a little bored by the end of it.  This is where my camera packed it in as well.  Oh well.

This day we made it up to the aforementioned Fort Stevens and got out for a nice long jog along the bike paths, and then returning on the beach.  The trip was rapidly winding down, so it was nice to get out for some exercise, followed by finishing off our liquor supplies.  A noble mission.  The next day was going to be a long day of driving home, which we were both just about ready for.  Musical highlights for me included the new Coldplay, MGMT, and I was happy to introduce a good friend to the great music of the Cardigans.  Till next time.

Revisiting Fossil Fuels and Peak Oil

Wealth of oil in Arctic, report says

This link refers to estimates of 112 412 billion barrels of oil that is undiscovered in the Arctic.  The report was issed by the United States Geological Survey, and is an example of why ‘Peak Oil’ is a fringe theory.  Now the question is, should we be drilling for oil in the Arctic?  And on the strategic level, who’s oil is it?  Hence the jockeying for position in the North.  Plenty of smart people, governments and corporations are preparing for the time when the Arctic melts and new resources become accessible for exploitation.  Notice what this means for future expectations of global warming, in that it is being planned for at the highest levels.  Climate change skeptics, please pay attention.

The Lewblog

Check out my brother’s blog.  The most recent post is a very personal reflection on the events of the weekend and his interactions with women.  It’s a little long, but if it helps, just imagine that it’s me talking because my brother and I have a lot of similarities.  And based on this post, interacting with women is clearly at the top of the list.  I also like to believe we are walking a similar path, although he is further along that path.

The second most recent post is a great poem called The Invitation, a must read.  Take a moment and check it out.

Langara Island Drowning

Ok, so I got the full scoop on this tragic event up on the fishing grounds.  The news clipping said a man and woman went in the water, with the man drowning and the woman surviving.  I was concerned for my friends and people I have met while working up there, so finding out more information has helped.  Nobody I knew was in the incident, but people I am working with were directly affected.

It was a 17′ self guided boat from the Marabel with a father and an adult daughter aboard.  They were at the lighthouse, which means there were swells of some size, the current rips through there and there are shallow areas where things can roil around pretty good.  All told, a fun spot to fish in fair conditions.  I’m not sure if they were fishing there or just passing through, but somehow they flipped the boat and they were both in the water.  The daughter made the decision to stay with the boat rather than swim out to try and help her dad who was not at the boat.  Somehow a mayday was called, and a young guide from NIL responded and pulled the lady out of the water.  The man was then pulled out, and another guide from NIL administered mouth to mouth and CPR on the man, to no avail.  That guide subsequently quit in the following days.

The not so surprising part of all this?  Both the man and woman were not wearing flotation.  It’s not brain surgery folks, people die when they fall in the ocean.  It’s avoidable and tragic and stupid.  I remember when Bob Gainey’s daughter drowned a couple of years ago in the Atlantic gulf stream.  In those warm waters she would have survived 24 hours before succumbing to exposure, but she didn’t have flotation on when she got swept over board and the rough seas took her down.  Wear flotation on the water, ’nuff said.

Wolf Parade

Went to a rock concert last night at the Commodore, and both bands were great.  The opening act was Listening Party who had something good going on in terms of their musicianship and vibe, but the headliner Wolf Parade knocked it out of the park.  Easily the best concert I have seen in a few years.  Every music fan in Vancouver who was not at the concert last night missed out was blowing it.

I was introduced to this band when I attended The Arcade Fire show at the forum a few years ago.  Wolf Parade were the opening act at that time, and the energy that they brought to the their music was obvious and powerful.  If it was a different band as the main act, WP would have blown them off the stage.  I hadn’t heard about them prior and didn’t get the chance to do any research on them, but I became a fan during that concert.  There are two singers who share the vocal duties, and they both bring a unique and interesting style to their lyrics.  And I’ve never seen a keyboard played with such vigor. 

After that concert, I went out and bought their first wide release, ’Apologies To The Queen Mary’, and fell in love with it.  If you are looking for a standout track from that album, check out I’ll Believe In Anything, a stinging and joyful criticism of the pre packaged individuality of consumer culture.  Their current release, ‘At Mount Zoomer’, has toned down the rocking aspect by bringing out more synth sounds.  It is different enough that I started as pretty tepid on this one, but I am getting to like it more and more.  Last night sealed the deal for me though, as the new songs really came together on stage.

Those curious about my whereabouts, my departure got pushed back to Monday, which was a relief, so I can relax a bit today and put my ear drums back in place.  For those involved in the CD collective, I will be inserting ‘At Mount Zoomer’ as my next selection, and I can pass around their first album for anyone who is interested, though I’m hesitant to clutter up the box.

Matt

Back in Town, Now Leaving Town

I just returned from a great road trip to San Francisco (but really the Pacific Coast was the star of this show), and I’ve been recalled to do some more work at the the fishing lodge.  Looks like there was a capsized boat this past week and a subsequent drowning.  It sounds like they are sort of scrambling up there; I’m a little concerned for my friends as I don’t know the identity of the victim.  I’ll find out more tomorrow, but you can read the (scant) details here. 

Remember the first rule when you are on the water, stay in the boat. 

Otherwise, next week I’ll give a full recap of my trip to the states, camping recommendations and what not.  For all the baseball fans out there, I managed to catch a great game between historic rivals the Giants and the Dodgers on July 5th.  The stadium was packed and everyone was into it.  Zito and Park both pitched well (Zito had 10 K’s!) and the home side came through with some timely hitting against LA’s bullpen for a 5-2 victory.

MD

The Carbon Tax and Canada Day

The BC carbon tax goes live today and Canada turns 141.  Both causes for celebration.  Unfortunately the carbon tax is coming in at a time when we are already seeing record high (nominal) prices at the pump.  The price of gasoline is the most widely quoted spot price of a commodity.  Everyone knows what the price of gas is.  I remember the belly aching 3 years ago when it cracked the $1.00/L mark for an extended period.  Wooo boy, now we’re ready to break $1.50/L in BC.  This is making Gordo’s carbon tax harder and harder to stomach for the average person, and the NDP are attempting to portray the carbon tax as a gas tax.  It is a gas tax, but it’s more than that, and the unfortunate timing of high energy prices and the introduction of an important economic lever might be a problem.

On the other hand, high energy prices are having a strong effect on consumer behaviour, exactly what is trying to be accomplished with the carbon tax.  SUV sales in the US are down substantially, while compacts are being snatched up.  Bicycle stores have 3 week wait times for tune ups and bike mechanics have all the work they want.  Locally, our transit provider, for the first time ever, ran out of 3 zone transit passes and had to make a second print run for the month of June.  There is evidence of a drop in gasoline consumption; economically speaking, we are seeing demand destruction in response to higher prices.    People are feeling the pinch and adjusting behaviour.  This is exactly what should be happening, a little bit of pain is causing people to rethink and reorganize their lives.

All of this will make it more difficult to maintain a carbon tax, as people shift their top concern from the environment to the price of energy, which is already underway in Canada.  Over time, consumers will adjust to the higher prices and it will become less and less of a concern.  Prices will eventually come down (if you believe my post on Peak Oil).  It’s at this point where a steadily increasing carbon tax should be well established in order to maintain a small amount of price pain so that the changes in consumption we are seeing today are maintained and encouraged to continue.  If this does not occur, the pendulum will swing back and gas guzzlers will return to the roads.  As prices stabilize in the future, the government and regulators should be on hand to make sure we do not get complacent about energy again.  Keep that tax coming Gordo, we need it now and we’ll need it even more in the future.