Brief Notes

A couple of things.First, I'm not sure who among you still pay any attention to politics, but it looks as if energy policy - as opposed to foreign policy directly - is going to be what defines our general election in November. Senator McCain and President Bush have now advocated for lifting the moratorium on offshore drilling. If this were to happen, oil prices would decline immediately because the price of oil is based on speculation with regard to future demand and future supply. Such a shift in our energy policy would guarantee future supply, even if we didn't see it for a few years. Democrats in Congress have come out swinging against such a plan. No matter what side of the issue you're on, this will be the issue in the upcoming election, you mark my words. (And if I'm wrong come September/October/November, you folks are more than welcome to call me on it.)

I've been posting videos on the blog for a while, and most of them are something hilarious that I stumbled across while wasting my life... Like this!



As several regular readers of the blog ought to know, anything that satirizes cubicle living is funny. At any rate, for the next few weeks, I'm going to be doing something different: posting videos about the ongoing war in Afghanistan. I know, I know, war's my business. As I was looking for one video series to post on here last night, I discovered that there have been a number of British correspondents who have embedded with troops in Afghanistan, largely because the United Kingdom took a leadership role in Afghanistan as the United States spearheaded Operation Iraqi Freedom. As things continue to calm down in Iraq, various nations have been pledging more and more troops to Afghanistan. I think I've indicated in previous posts that I've had an interest in going "down-range" for a long time now, and as I enter my second year at Van Dieman's Station, I'm considering very seriously the prospect of spending a year in Afghanistan (or Iraq) with the American government/military when I finish my time in Virginia. Expect to see those vids starting on Monday.

Today's satellite image is Laughlin, Nevada. Think Vegas, but for geriatrics. When I was there in February of 2007, I'm pretty sure that I was the youngest person in the entire hotel/casino that we visited.

Today's question: what's the most ambitious plan you ever cooked up? And the follow-up: did you follow through with it?