It is important to note that “hot air” (HA) still makes up a significantly larger portion of the total workplace atmosphere than does “rainbow farts” (RF). And while scientists will argue the details of the recent increase of RF emissions, the stability of our ecosystem is still largely jeopardized by inherent (HA) content.

So it’s been a while since I harped on this topic. And, in fact, I’ve been taking the lazy tech approach to many of my transportation needs. Tonight, however, I cannot sleep and it’s all thanks to two bits of reading and a quote from a movie. Damn media and the sleepless vigils it has caused.

So here’s the scoop. Yesterday, a friend on facebook (thanks Matt Amend) did me the kindness of posting the following blog by James Kunstler in which he calls the scam that’s being perpetrated on American citizens and the world at large the swindle and a cheat that it is. He also employs a really interesting and near-to-my-heart metaphor likening the current economic framework and its many failed denizens to zombies. Frankly, its titles like “Zombie Economics” which will see me enthusiastically reading whole blog posts despite the actual subject matter if only to glimpse brain hungry shamblers aimlessly making their way across someone else’s yard. I’m armed with blunt objects so when Z-day comes I’ll be safe.

Kunstler calls on Americans to get off their collective ass-ends and start building things again. If the world doesn’t want those things, perhaps the guys down the street might. Kunstler has, not unlike myself, given up on the current methods of economics and in its place he proposes something not unlike the outline offered by E.F Schumacher in “Small is Beautiful.” So this challenge has been standing there in my mind since yesterday morning when I unsuspectingly clicked a link and was then lured like a dumb fish by his baited zombie hook.

“We’re going to have to make things again, and raise things out of the earth, locally, and trade these things for money of some kind that we earn through our own productive activities. Don’t make the mistake of thinking this is optional. The only other option is to go through a violent sociopolitical convulsion. We ought to know from prior examples in world history that this is not a desirable experience. So, to avoid that, we really have to put our shoulders to the wheel and get to work on things that matter, and do it at a scale that is consistent with what the world really has to offer right now, especially in terms of available energy.”

Next up, today was a visit-the-west-side-of-the-Cascades kind of day. The pass was barren of snow so I hopped into my nifty new Prius and headed on over the hill bright and early –considering how dark it was when I left – dark and early this morning. In the fancy plush cabin of my semi-tolerable vehicle of foreign design and manufacture I carried with me the latest literary offering METAtropolis involving John Scalzi. On the way there as well as during the return trip I listened to stories by Jay Lake and Tobias Buckell in this collection and was more or less blown completely away. While I really enjoyed the fictional rendition of Cascadia-the-city-that-wasn’t (”In the Forests of the Night”) by Jay Lake the narration provided by Michael Hogan made the character of Bashar come to life. Then I was lucky enough to move onto “Stochasti-city” by Tobias Buckell which enchanted me with a tale involving, yes you guessed it, rampant use of human powered alternatives.

I will say this, Buckell fails miserably to describe the bicycle of the future. In fact, he pretty much sorts these various and sundry machines of efficiency and beauty into a single bucket labeled bicycle. Which has me wondering in the world of METAtropolis who designs our swank new rides, where is the steel manufactured and who owns the jigs and welding equipment to build the new norm in human mobility solutions? Perhaps I read too much into the tale?

Ok, on to yesterday evening. In this act Tess chooses a movie on Netflix for us to watch and we snuggled on the couch for a while. Last night’s viewing was a comedy starring Jeff Bridges titled “The Amateurs” (although it might have more than one name). Jeff has a monologue early in the film where he’s talking about Try-ers and Do-ers. He’s a Try-er because its takes so much time, he’d like to be a Do-er, but he’s always busy trying so he never gets to do anything. Everyone put on your sad faces now, yours truly, found this bit very personal because in fact, I’ve spent a good deal of my adult life trying one thing or the other. And while I do indeed do things from time to time, when I come up for air lately and look around, I seem to be trying to stay afloat rather than doing what needs to be done to get to shore. Hell, sometimes I’m not even sure where shore is anymore and it’s been so long since I haven’t been up to my neck that the idea of “the shore” is starting to seem a myth.

My contemporary and profound sense of uselessness aside I guess I’ve been looking for something to stir things up. And thus, at three hours and thirty minutes past midnight, here I sit digesting the contents of my skull post vigorous philosophic martini shaking. Assuming everyone above is nearly right on in their collective predictions concerning the future of everything perhaps it might pay, both figuratively and literally, to dust off some of those designs?

Yep, a quick web review confirms my suspicion, to-date there are no commercially viable American designed and manufactured velomobiles on the market today. Those that are available are all manufactured somewhere in Europe and are expensive and time consuming to import (you can buy a small, efficient, four seat Japanese car for less than it would cost to get a human-powered-only Go-One with one seat). The scale I can do anything in is definitely small by any comparison and the technology shouldn’t consume any more energy than a minuscule amount throughout it lifetime. It’s something that could matter, I know it matters to me.

So what’s preventing me from being that guy?

Last Wednesday I visited a Mexican food joint with Dave Norwood in Matawa, WA. It was good! I’ve spent the day crawling under my house running CAT5 cable and extending the hard line network in my house. The call of sweet fajitas and tasty brew is echoing through my conscience. A man must have his heart’s desire.

I store things in piles, and I move things in boxes, I know how to bucket sort a data set and my files names are all comprised of the meta data concerning their content. Ultimately, categorization has been a friend and companion. So today, I lunch the newest category of blog entry here at the Sanity Factory. Shallow Waters will be used to collect all those little thoughts I need to jot down somewhere, but be warned they by definition lack depth.

This has special significance to me not only because it’s an entertaining cut from one of the best space movies ever shown on the silver screen, but because it has special workplace applicability.

“What’s a matter Colonel Sanders, chicken?”

Yep, it just keeps getting better and better. The economy in the crapper, sales down in all markets, and expansion of IT functionality is dictated by milestones that weren’t fully considered at their inception last fiscal year. We’re on our way to ludicrous speed.

“Bullshit, just stop this thing. I order you S-T-O-PPPPPPPP!”

While keeping track of Mr. RADAR I’m waiting to hear this. The other Space Balls near me are all wondering when this command is going to come down from above too I’d wager.