Life, the internet, and europeans...

Ah Silke, I saw that liter comment coming before i had even hit the post button. You make a good point, but I think we are seeing it in two different ways. The fact that you are paying roughly twice as much for your petrol as I am doesn't mean that I shouldn't be annoyed with our new $2 a gallon price. I tend to think I should be anonoyed about the price and you should be downright livid. Of course, they do have us where they want us. Driving is such a part of our everyday lives, especially out here on the best coast, that even at $2 we are going to pay it. Your post did bring a question to mind. Do the crazy european gas prices mean that you don't have the preponderance of SUV's that we do? It seems that at roughly 4 euro's a gallon people would start to look a little closer at the old KPL (kilometers per liter). Just a thought. Josh my friend, having known some people that made the trek to the north to fish and log, you are best served staying in the desert and driving the truck. It's a rough life up there. Alas, it was good to see you. I'll pass along the sentiments to those that need to hear them in #firefly. Have a safe trip. We all look forward to your return. Which leads me to the main part of this entry. Josh is someone that I do consider a friend, even though I have never met him in person. Truth be told, I don't know if I ever will. It is common for people in the chat, or in many places on the internet, to refer to the physical world around them as R/L (real life). For example, someone exiting #firefly will say they have to get back to R/L. That always makes me wonder, if that is the real, what is this? Are the relationships that we have with people we know only through the internet somehow less valid than the ones we have with people we can actually lay eyes on? There is the argument that you don't really know who the person you are talking to is on the internet. That is a possibility, but I would counter that you run the same risks with people you meed day to day as well. Very few people operate as open books. Even those that you meet in 'R/L' are most likely quite guarded and keeping something from you. Your only advantage is that you can see what they look like. Can you really draw that much information out of how someone looks? The flipside of that coin is that the distance and security provided by the internet may free some people up to explore aspects of their personality that the society they live in may serve to suppress. There is a certain freedom provided by internet anonymity. In some cases, you may learn more about a person because of that. The internet also has the bonus of opeining up a world of possible friends and aquaitences to you. While I have good friends in my little world here, I would never have met a truck driver from the Texas desert, a television producer from Los Angeles, an exhibit manager from an Alabama museum, a brilliant student from Louisiana, an abbynormal artist from Ohio, mailmen from Oklahoma and Ohio, a theater student from Georgia, an archaeologist from Idaho, a lawyer from Toronto, a singer songwriter from New England, or a wonderful blogging partner from Germany. And that is just the tip of the iceberg. To be fair, fate did come very close to bumping me into that exhibit manager, which would have been a heck of a tale. Anyway, all of these relationships are in different stages of development, but some of these people I would indeed consider my friends. I think about them in the course of my day, even if I am operating at the time in 'R/L' and not in my crazy virtual computer realm. I think this is just another step in how computers and the internet are changing our lives. 10 years ago the vast majority of us didn't even own computers. Now huge numbers of us use them on a daily basis. The internet is the freaking A-Bomb of killer apps. We are approaching a time where geographic proximity no longer has a bearing on who you socialize with. It is all text based at the moment, and those using the technology are certainly the early adopters. Virtual worlds are in development though, and the day is not that far off where we get a working copy of something that resembles the metaverse. There will be those that believe this new virtual world is somehow damaging to the 'fabric of society'. I tend to fall on the side that thinks that particular piece of fabric is getting pretty tattered anyway and it might be time that 'society' gets some new duds. I mentioned this idea to Annie at The Rubble the other day and she said "Someday we'll have that conversation beginning to end." Which, I am sure we will eventually. It is something I look forward to. I'll report back after that happens. But now is the time at Dave's house when we drink Mountain Dew. Dave

On the road again, in a hurry to unload again

Seein' places I don't ever wanna see again... Yeah, I made that song up myself. Great, ain't it? Headed for what the sign at the Wal Mart distribution centers says is the 'most dangerous place in the world, American highways.' Mind you, I think it's a bit more dangerous on those Alaskan fishing boats I was hearing about, crab or lobsters or some such, heavy pots swinging around the deck, freezing weather, storms... I knew I was getting old when I listened to the report about it and didn't think "Boy, that's a job I should look into." Ah well, desert boys got no business on boats like that anyway. As for driving, it's not that bad. Occasionally dangerous, usually boring, often frustrating. I have sort of a love-hate relationship with the job... I spend all my time at home not wanting to go back, but when I'm in it, I sometimes get a real Zen-thang goin', be one with the road and all that. Going places, doing things, waking up in a new place every day. One time in Oklahoma, in one of the many places in that backward state where there are no lights but the ones you bring with you, I went to bed on a flat road, woke up and found myself surrounded by hills that I hadn't even known were there. Another time, I was down on the very border with Mexico, running a seldom-used road along the Rio Grande (So seldom used that fair chunks of it were washed over to the point of driving on flood silt and rocks.) There was a climb up the side of this fantastic hill, must have been a nine percent grade uphill at least, with a viewing area halfway up. I stopped, looked up at this massive hill towering directly over me, the sun coming up slightly over its shoulder... took a deep breath, thrust a finger at it and bellowed "Hey, YOU! With the rocks! Do you know you're in the presence of greatness?" The hill stood mute, undoubtedly in awe. So the job definitely has its moments. My computer has fried, again just after I installed a version of WP. WP doesn't cause the crashes, but it seems to herald them. I love the program, but I'm NEVER installing it again. In the meantime, I've left it with a buddy to figure out just what hardware is haywire so I can add it to the growing stack of old computer components I'm going to use for target practice someday. ("Take that, bad motherboard! You want a piece of this, fried Soundblaster? C'mon, crappy dialup modem, you're next! Bring it!" BAM BAM BAM.) Catharsis by abusing what used to be expensive machinery is very satisfying. Regrettably, this latest in my never-ending series of arguments with electronics rendered me unable to bid a proper farewell to my friends and associates at #firefly. Uh, farewell guys, see you in a couple of weeks. Hugs, kisses, yadda yadda, all manner of touchy-feely and sloppy sentimentalism. (See, I can be romantic!) Silke, as both a Texan and a knight in the service of the fair Princess Maguinan, fear not, my word is my bond. Besides, you're one of the star attractions. When people find out you're in on this, they'll KNOW we're for real and serious. I'll even front for an airline ticket instead of mail service like DAVE suggested. Anyway, more sloppy wet hugs and bear-kisses all around. See ya'll in a couple.

gallons and liters

oh dave, you are really complaining about 2 US-Dollars for the GALLON? you have no idea how I envy you. a gallon is about 4 liters. and a liter costs somewhat around 1,08 € these days. I will leave the math up to you :o) and josh, welcome on board, it's good to have you here. I am looking forward to reading your blogs, and don't you dare to forget you promised to import me for that great firefly-promotion-tour around the states :o)

This blogging... thing

So... here it is. Dave twisted my arm, he begged, he cried, he threatened my mortal soul, and finally he asked nicely. Blogging. Never really known what to think of it. People posting their thoughts and feelings always struck me as somewhat narcissistic. (And yeah, I'm a well-known egomaniac, so it should be right up my alley, but...) So I don't really know what I'm doing here, besides perhaps a bit of horizon-broadening. As Dave noted previously, I am infamous for my endless rants and regular debates. Well, perhaps not famous-famous, but in the circles I run in it's probably what springs to most people's minds. Anyway, on to the topic at hand. Growing up around the oil industry like I did Dave, I can tell you that it's a more complicated issue than most people realize. Untangling the government/corporate tie-ins for oil, the insane fuel taxes ya'll endure up in the Northwest... it's a mess. I don't know the situation in Washington so well, but Californians get raped at the pumps by the limitations of who actually provides the gas in combination with grotesque fuel taxes. Which could easily segue into my rants on taxes in general, but that's an essay I'm not prepared to write at the moment. Thanks for the invite, Dave, and hey Silke, good to see you here.

Gas, Food, and Blogging

I have to start with the blogging part of that subject. I really didn't have much of an idea what was going to be done with this blog when I started it. Pretty much figured that if Sarah and Annie said to do something, it was worth doing. The decision to invite Silke aboard was very spur of the moment. After reading that last post, I can't tell you how glad I am that the invitation was accepted. Silke, that was very well done. Don't let anyone tell you that you are not a writer. The story of muchly is exactly the kind of thing The Carnage needs. Good on ya Silke. I look forward to more of your musings. In other blog related notes, there is another member joining The Carnage. We are getting our very own Josh, much better than those inferior Josh's other sites use. Our Josh is a 100% bonafide Texas ranter. Look for his sporadic posting to begin soon. My car gets 39 miles to the gallon. So, as you would imagine, I don't have to fill up all that often. Imagine my surprise this morning when I stopped on the way to work for a cool refreshing Mountain Dew and saw gas prices topping $2 a gallon. What the hell? Are you buying this pipeling disruption in Arizona story? I'm not. Ditto the refinery outages in California. I don't think it is a coincidence that these records lead up to one of the biggest driving weekends of the year. Damn the oil companies, damn their dirty whore eyes. Although, I must admit to taking a little pleasure in watching those numbers spin like a slot machine on crack when the soccer mom in the SUV at the next pump is filling her bottomless pit of a gas tank. Bratwurst Quesadillas - If there is a god, a question for another time perhaps, he eats a lot of bratwurst quesadillas. It is not a complicated dish to prepare, but the results are divine. The basics are diced bratwurst (I like to grill 'em first), grated cheese (I like Tillamook bit believe it is a regional brand), flour tortillas (El Toritos), and the salsa/hot sauce/ of your choice. Cooking simply involves putting the whole mess between the tortillas and frying to taste. Try one today. Look at that, two posts in one day. This thing might just work. Dave

muchly

I am not a writer. I have the highest respect for people who have the talent to create worlds, people and feelings in the reader's mind. I can't do that, therefor I won' try. But as we both agreed, someone has to tell what happened to muchly. So i am hoping for the best - and thinking that I really would prefer doing this in German ;o) Poor much was very lonely. It was one of those days when -ment threw another of his famous parties where almost everyone was invited, but not much. The thought of spending another evening all alone while the others met their friends and had fun was just too hard to take for little much and so he tried his luck to sneak into the party. unfortunately -ness barred much's way at the door and didnt let him through. -ness was terrifying, somewhat bigger than much, she had a strap-handle, and she definately had more friends, so he sadly turned around, just in time to see fast on her way to -ment's party, fast's hand holding -est's handle! now even the ugly fast, who never showered and smelled so ugly that noone wanted to be close to her for a longer time, had found someone! much ran off, and he cried so hard that he couldnt see the way anmore, being so disappointed and at the same time angry on fast and -ment and -th and -er and the bunch who was having fun while he was alone outside, having no handle his useless left arm could hold on to, never hading one. -ly, on her way to the party, heard much crying and there sure is something like love at first sound. -ly picked much up, dried his tears, smiled and her handle reached out for much's hand. (Alanis Morissette found them then, by the way, and loved Terrance muchly.)

but dave ...

... i don't have to go to McD to get you a beer, just help yourself to a fresh one from my fridge :o)

Welcome Silke

Look at you, five minutes and you are already posting away. Welcome to The Carnage Silke, I look forward to reading about all the craziness going on in Germany. I think we are off to a great start. Now, could you run down to the McDonalds and get me a beer. ;) Dave

shiny :o)

so, here i am. blogging things, even though 5 mins ago i didn't even know what "blog" means :o) it's always nice to learn something new. greetz from good ol' germany, silke

Well here we go.

I have spent the last couple years just ignoring blogs. I was aware that they were out there, and of what the basic idea was. For some reason I just never got around to exploring the whole thing. Too many distractions in our multimedia world I suppose. The ignoring came to a stop over the last couple months as I started reading a few of them regularly. I have been asked more than a few times when I was going to start my own. Well, right about now apparently. I finally decided to give it a try after reading another great entry the other day by Sarah at Moral Calculus. Two minutes after clicking the little 'Start your own!' link The Carnage was set up. Another hour of dicking around with the template got us to this spot. Soon, the carnage will have it's very first post. How about that. I still am not sure what form this whole thing will take. There is a possibility of someone else joining in to add their thoughts. Lots of stuff still up in the air. Before I end this initial post I should point anyone reading this to the blogs listed in the links section. All of them are well worth reading. First post done. Dave