a day of goodbyes

Jenny (in striped top)


Jack at the bar.


Scott pre-Canada.

Today was a strange day of goodbyes. At lunchtime we went to the Castle of Comfort near Priddy to see Jack and Jenny before they return to Australia. This evening we went to Wick St Lawrence for a surprise birthday/seeing him off to Canada party for Scott. I first met Scott's mum and dad back in Leysin Switzerland in 1987 - quite by chance they now live under half an hour away.

This long distance travelling which has become quite commonplace over the last 20 years or so will be an early victim of Peak Oil. Our kids will be amazed at how easy it used to be to get from one place to another, and how quickly. The idea of families occupying two different counties let alone two different nations will seem incredible.

So, as I said to Scott I'll say it to you - make the most of these easy and incredibly cheap times, because it will never be so easy (or cheap!) again. Scott is off to Canada for six months. It'll do him the world of good.

I do hope that an international network of railways continues to link Europe (and hopefully beyond) once the cars and planes have gone. I hope there is enough civilization to allow our descendants to still travel a little, so that groups of people do not become insular, resort to racism or socialism or mad religion. I worry that a lot of what we've gained socially and politically on the back of cheap oil will be lost, but perhaps not. Much of the world is still uncivilized, but that hasn't stopped us from being decent people. But we need to be making the big adjustment to a post-oil world now, five year's time may be too late, ten year's will definitely be.

With the demise of socialist dinosaurs like George Bush and Tony Blair perhaps we do still have that window of opportunity.

throwing money away

What on earth is wrong with the US and UK? Both countries are planning to throw state (our) money at ailing car companies.

THIS IS NOT CAPITALISM.

This is 70s style socialism (remember British Leyland?)

Sometimes you need to remind Bush and Brown how capitalism works. Companies that start to fail - no matter for what reason - should be allowed to do just that. Tinkering with the market to avoid closure does no good at all, in fact it does harm. The most essential part of successful capitalism is creative destruction - as a crap company fails good ones step in to take their place. Otherwise we get frozen into a moment of time where nothing changes or develops.

Let GM go to the wall. Let them all go to the wall.

Nobody will be buying cars - or certainly not the lumbering fuel-inefficient monsters Detroit seems to favour - in 20 years time. We expect our car to last us at least another 10 to 15 years (if diesel's still available of course), hopefully after that we'll be sussed enough to no longer need one. Kids today will never drive, they'll walk, cycle and use public transport - and be happier and healthier for it.

Why on earth waste a single moment on bailing out companies that will no longer have any role in a modern world? What are the socialists Bush and Brown thinking of?

the US slides towards communism

This evening commie Bush will speak to the nation (thankfully not ours!) Our previous business model, based on consumerism fuelled by huge amounts of cheap debt, is coming to its natural end. But our left wing friends across the Atlantic want to keep the party going.

Americans have NO concept of a free market. Their mortgages are backed by NATIONALIZED companies, they bail out businesses that should be left to go to the wall by throwing rapidly devaluing dollars at them and they expect the poor US taxpayer to fund this socialist drivel. It's pathetic.

Big government is ALWAYS wrong. It always ends in socialism then decay. In the UK Thatcher learned that the hard way, now Brown is finding it out too.

LEAVE THE MARKET ALONE AND IT WILL SORT EVERYTHING OUT!! But then, of course, the politicians will all be out of a job.

oh dear

The poor Americans. Having to choose a replacement for dimbo tree hugger Bush. And what a choice they have! Smarmy smart-arse Obama, or zombie McCain. And as for his 'running mate', Sarah Palin, it's got to be a joke! She runs a village store up north, surrounded by a gaggle of kids with stupid names - she wouldn't be out of place in Hartcliffe! And now her 17 year old - called wonderfully 'Bristol' (How Hartcliffe is that??) - is up the duff by some chav loser.

I like my Republicans old school. Low IQ, loads of money and easily controlled.

So what does Sarah believe? Apart from that the Commie Centre is the best place on earth? She is convinced that 'global warming' is not man made. Impressive, as she'd be hard pressed to find a single scientist who would agree with her. But there again she believes in 'creationism'.

It's all crap anyway. Obama will walk this election, McCain will probably pass away before November in any case. And Sarah can go back oop north to sell fishing reels and bullets, whilst believing the world is flat. Fuck 'em all ...