1 + 1 = 3
One of my favorite fall-back jokes goes:
Ask an Engineer "what is 1 + 1?"
"Two point zero, zero, zero..."
Ask a lawyer "what is 1 + 1?"
"Sometimes 2, sometimes not..."
Ask an accountant "what is 1 + 1?"
"What number would you like it to be?"
I have learned that 1 + 1 = 3. Or at least it does when paying lawyers.
I have a male friend who is going through a nasty divorce. And apparently such divorces are lawyer intensive. He hired a lawyer and she hired one and since she hasn't worked in years he gets to pay for both. In what seemed like good logic to him at the time, he decided to hire a second lawyer for himself. He hired a lower priced (but still costly) lawyer to handle all the routine and time consuming stuff. Then he hired the "heavy hitter" (read: expensive!) to make sure he had the best representation. It makes sense so far. But what happens when you hire 2 lawyers? Their charges triple! The situation grows exponentially. Not only did the lawyers have overlapping billable time overhead for research time and meetings with him, but frequently his 2 lawyers planned and communicated with each other, which is also charged to my friend at full rates. And then add her lawyer to the loops. As things have progressed (not well for him) the 3 lawyers have been doing all they can to ride the gravy train as far as it will go... That is, until his money is gone.
At this point, he says that giving into her "unreasonable" demands at the beginning would have been a better outcome then his current situation. So now he realizes that he paid a lot of money to get a worse outcome, following the counsel of his lawyers. Too bad he can't hold his lawyers accountable for the unfavorable outcome they guided him to.
Friday, May 28, 2004
Wednesday, May 26, 2004
Hybrids ... Another Popular Folk Remedy?
I am surprised by the number of people who have the impression that hybrid automobiles hold an answer to the energy crisis. Am I one of a few who see it as merely replacing one energy problem with another?
I visited my bank today. Through the big glass windows you can see the sign at the gas station on the corner. The lowest grade of gasoline was $2.299 (US) per gallon. The premium stuff was truly at a "premium" of $2.499; Yow! I realize that this price might be considered cheap overseas, but in recent history here; Yow! As the cashier counted out my money I said; "Well, that should last the week ... unless I have to buy gas." He chuckled and replied with. "At least more hybrids cars will help."
"Not really", I replied. And he went for it...
I explained that whether it's gasoline or natural gas, it takes just as much energy to move his car. Physics at its simplest. It just becomes a matter of considering the relative cost of that energy, which in a free market is driven by supply and demand. The energy source that has less demand and is more available should be the cheaper, right? "But hybrids use electricity..." I asked him where the electricity comes from. "From the battery" was his answer. I quickly set aside a humorous vision of him changing the flashlight batteries in his future hybrid SUV. I went on to tell him that the batteries had to be frequently recharged with energy and that natural gas is used to generate most of the electricity around here. By using an electric hybrid, you are simply replacing X joules of energy worth of gasoline with X joules of energy from electricity that is generated from X+++ joules of natural gas. Or by X+++ joules of gasoline if the hybrid recharges itself using the gas engine. (Joules is an international measure of work or energy). Gasoline prices are rising, but by shifting some of the demand to electricity and natural gas, aren't those costs going to rise with demand too? Isn't electricity already expensive? Slowly I could see he was getting the idea... There is no magical "hybrid" perpetual motion machine.
He was smart to ask; "So what's the solution". I told him "efficiency". "It's the demand for energy that adds up, so the less energy we use per person to get us where we're going the less it will cost us." Idealistic and oversimplified? Yes ... but I hope you get my point. And yes, electric hybrids have some inherent efficiencies (like using less energy while at a stop) that may prove best in some cases.
Later at home I did some homework using my most recent prices for gasoline and electricity to figure a comparable cost per unit of energy. The values and conversions are from Oak Ridge National Laboratory bioenergy site at http://bioenergy.ornl.gov
Gasoline
$2.30 per US gallon
121 MJ (MegaJoules) of energy in 1 US gallon
gives us $0.019 per MJ of energy
Electricity
$0.1332 per kWh (what I get charged at home)
1 kWh = 3.6 MJ
gives us $0.037 per MJ of energy
Hmmm, in my case electric energy costs almost twice as much as gasoline energy. Maybe a hybrid house makes more sense...?
Note: the figures don't account for the differing losses of getting the energy to the wheels of the car.
Well, before I start preaching about future energy woes ... Does anybody else see that hybrid cars are a band-aid at best? That they address a small part of the problem and could be less efficient and more expensive to operate? I can foresee class action lawsuits already.
I am surprised by the number of people who have the impression that hybrid automobiles hold an answer to the energy crisis. Am I one of a few who see it as merely replacing one energy problem with another?
I visited my bank today. Through the big glass windows you can see the sign at the gas station on the corner. The lowest grade of gasoline was $2.299 (US) per gallon. The premium stuff was truly at a "premium" of $2.499; Yow! I realize that this price might be considered cheap overseas, but in recent history here; Yow! As the cashier counted out my money I said; "Well, that should last the week ... unless I have to buy gas." He chuckled and replied with. "At least more hybrids cars will help."
"Not really", I replied. And he went for it...
I explained that whether it's gasoline or natural gas, it takes just as much energy to move his car. Physics at its simplest. It just becomes a matter of considering the relative cost of that energy, which in a free market is driven by supply and demand. The energy source that has less demand and is more available should be the cheaper, right? "But hybrids use electricity..." I asked him where the electricity comes from. "From the battery" was his answer. I quickly set aside a humorous vision of him changing the flashlight batteries in his future hybrid SUV. I went on to tell him that the batteries had to be frequently recharged with energy and that natural gas is used to generate most of the electricity around here. By using an electric hybrid, you are simply replacing X joules of energy worth of gasoline with X joules of energy from electricity that is generated from X+++ joules of natural gas. Or by X+++ joules of gasoline if the hybrid recharges itself using the gas engine. (Joules is an international measure of work or energy). Gasoline prices are rising, but by shifting some of the demand to electricity and natural gas, aren't those costs going to rise with demand too? Isn't electricity already expensive? Slowly I could see he was getting the idea... There is no magical "hybrid" perpetual motion machine.
He was smart to ask; "So what's the solution". I told him "efficiency". "It's the demand for energy that adds up, so the less energy we use per person to get us where we're going the less it will cost us." Idealistic and oversimplified? Yes ... but I hope you get my point. And yes, electric hybrids have some inherent efficiencies (like using less energy while at a stop) that may prove best in some cases.
Later at home I did some homework using my most recent prices for gasoline and electricity to figure a comparable cost per unit of energy. The values and conversions are from Oak Ridge National Laboratory bioenergy site at http://bioenergy.ornl.gov
Gasoline
$2.30 per US gallon
121 MJ (MegaJoules) of energy in 1 US gallon
gives us $0.019 per MJ of energy
Electricity
$0.1332 per kWh (what I get charged at home)
1 kWh = 3.6 MJ
gives us $0.037 per MJ of energy
Hmmm, in my case electric energy costs almost twice as much as gasoline energy. Maybe a hybrid house makes more sense...?
Note: the figures don't account for the differing losses of getting the energy to the wheels of the car.
Well, before I start preaching about future energy woes ... Does anybody else see that hybrid cars are a band-aid at best? That they address a small part of the problem and could be less efficient and more expensive to operate? I can foresee class action lawsuits already.
Saturday, May 22, 2004
Put Your Behind In Your Past
My personal philosophy about destiny is based on beliefs that the past cannot be changed, and the future holds a myriad of possible outcomes. You exist in your present, which is the nexus where your immediate future is becoming your immediate past. Your present holds your focus of awareness. You can and should learn from your past, but the past has become known and unchangeable. The future is uncertain until you get there. In this way, your future is what you make of the present as it becomes your past. We each control our actions within the limitations allowed by our lives at present, which is ever moving into our future. And so we guide our destiny. The point in time and space from which we steer our lives onward is the present that we have steered ourselves to... The progression of our lives in time is continuous and time never stops no matter how badly we'd like it to.
To me, the knowledge that we can visualize and work to achieve future goals validates the belief that we control our destinies. Along with our knowledge of achievements made because of decisions we deliberately made.
This, in part, is why I have little sympathy for the "poor, poor, pitiful me" mentality. If someone isn't trying to make the best of their life, well, they aren't likely to have a very good life. Plain and simple. If someone is caught up in feeling sorry for themselves and trying to get others to feel sympathy, they are only working to prove their failure. They need to move beyond the "why is this happening to me?", stop blaming it on life's misfortunes and start asking "what can I do to make the best of my future?". And then do it! Carpe Diem - Sieze the day! Count your blessings, not your misfortunes. Be ready to grab the opportunities that life is willing to offer. The attitudes and outlooks in your present affect your future. Positive thinking or negative thinking ... which do you want to carry you into your future?
Sometimes bad things happen that we cannot do anything about. Or that we wish we had. That is part of life. And some problems cannot be fixed. "Could-a, should-a, would-a" will never fix them. If we're smart, we learn from the things that happened, good and bad. We do what is needed to move past bad feelings and regret. To deal with our sorrows and remorse. We prepare ourselves for bad happenings, as best we can. Sometimes good things happen too. And these things need to be welcomed and recognized. Do you live for better times? Or are you too caught up in the bad to even see them?
**********
One of my favorite acts from the script of Walt Disney's The Lion King...
[Hakuna Matata Scene]
Camera switch to Pumbaa, Timon, and Simba near a pool of water in an oasis. Simba has been laid near the water. Timon splashes some water in Simba's face. Simba stirs.
Timon: "You okay, kid?"
Simba: "I guess so."
Pumbaa: "You nearly died."
Timon: "I saved you."
Pumbaa snorts at Timon
Timon: "Well, Pumbaa helped."
Pumbaa stands a little taller
Timon: "A little."
Simba: sadly "Thanks for your help."
Simba heads quietly back out towards the desert.
Timon: "Hey, where you going?"
Simba: "Nowhere."
Timon: watching Simba, talking to Pumbaa "Gee. He looks blue."
Pumbaa: "I'd say brownish-gold."
Timon: "No, no, no. I mean he's depressed."
Pumbaa: "Oh."
Pumbaa trots up to Simba
Pumbaa: "Kid, what's eatin' you?"
Timon: "Nothing he's at the top of the food chain. Ahhhhh - ha ha ha ha. The food cha-haain. Heh heh." realizing his joke flopped "Ah - ahem. So... where you from?"
Simba: "Who cares? I can't go back."
Timon: "Ahh. You're an outcast. That's great; so are we."
Pumbaa: "Whatcha do, kid?"
Simba: "Something terrible. But I don't want to talk about it."
Timon: "Good. We don't want to hear about it."
Pumbaa: to Timon "Come on, Timon." to Simba "Anything we can do?"
Simba: "Not unless you can change the past."
Pumbaa: "You know kid, in times like this my buddy Timon here says: You gotta put your behind in your past."
Timon: "No, no, no."
Pumbaa: "I mean..."
Timon: "Amateur. Lie down before you hurt yourself. It's: You got to put your past behind you. Look kid. Bad things happen, and you can't do anything about it, right?"
Simba: "Right."
Timon: "Wrong! When the world turns its back on you, you turn your back on the world!"
Simba: "Well that's not what I was taught."
Timon: "Then maybe you need a new lesson. Repeat after me." clears throat "Hakuna Matata."
Simba: "What?"
Pumbaa: "Ha-ku-na Ma-ta-ta. It means: no worries."
Full song, no fade in except Marimba chords
Timon: "Hakuna Matata!
What a wonderful phrase!"
Pumbaa: "Hakuna Matata!
Ain't no passing craze!"
Timon: "It means no worries,
For the rest of your days!"
Timon and Pumbaa: "It's our problem-free,
Philosophy..."
Timon: "Hakuna Matata!"
Spoken section over background music
Simba: "Hakuna Matata?"
Pumbaa: "Yeah; it's our motto."
Simba: "What's a motto?"
Timon: "Nothing! What's a motto with you? Hahahah..."
Pumbaa: "You know what kid? These two words will solve all your problems."
**********
My own Hakuna Matata has a slightly different meaning. When the world turns its back on you, you seek the best in you. The world doesn't decide who you are, you decide what your world is. Look to the future for hope. Don't forget the past, learn your valuable lessons from it and move on. Your life is what you make of it. What you end up with depends on what you bring. Aspirations and a good dose of levity never hurts...
OK, who wants to be the first to tell me that I was predestined to write this...?
My personal philosophy about destiny is based on beliefs that the past cannot be changed, and the future holds a myriad of possible outcomes. You exist in your present, which is the nexus where your immediate future is becoming your immediate past. Your present holds your focus of awareness. You can and should learn from your past, but the past has become known and unchangeable. The future is uncertain until you get there. In this way, your future is what you make of the present as it becomes your past. We each control our actions within the limitations allowed by our lives at present, which is ever moving into our future. And so we guide our destiny. The point in time and space from which we steer our lives onward is the present that we have steered ourselves to... The progression of our lives in time is continuous and time never stops no matter how badly we'd like it to.
To me, the knowledge that we can visualize and work to achieve future goals validates the belief that we control our destinies. Along with our knowledge of achievements made because of decisions we deliberately made.
This, in part, is why I have little sympathy for the "poor, poor, pitiful me" mentality. If someone isn't trying to make the best of their life, well, they aren't likely to have a very good life. Plain and simple. If someone is caught up in feeling sorry for themselves and trying to get others to feel sympathy, they are only working to prove their failure. They need to move beyond the "why is this happening to me?", stop blaming it on life's misfortunes and start asking "what can I do to make the best of my future?". And then do it! Carpe Diem - Sieze the day! Count your blessings, not your misfortunes. Be ready to grab the opportunities that life is willing to offer. The attitudes and outlooks in your present affect your future. Positive thinking or negative thinking ... which do you want to carry you into your future?
Sometimes bad things happen that we cannot do anything about. Or that we wish we had. That is part of life. And some problems cannot be fixed. "Could-a, should-a, would-a" will never fix them. If we're smart, we learn from the things that happened, good and bad. We do what is needed to move past bad feelings and regret. To deal with our sorrows and remorse. We prepare ourselves for bad happenings, as best we can. Sometimes good things happen too. And these things need to be welcomed and recognized. Do you live for better times? Or are you too caught up in the bad to even see them?
**********
One of my favorite acts from the script of Walt Disney's The Lion King...
[Hakuna Matata Scene]
Camera switch to Pumbaa, Timon, and Simba near a pool of water in an oasis. Simba has been laid near the water. Timon splashes some water in Simba's face. Simba stirs.
Timon: "You okay, kid?"
Simba: "I guess so."
Pumbaa: "You nearly died."
Timon: "I saved you."
Pumbaa snorts at Timon
Timon: "Well, Pumbaa helped."
Pumbaa stands a little taller
Timon: "A little."
Simba: sadly "Thanks for your help."
Simba heads quietly back out towards the desert.
Timon: "Hey, where you going?"
Simba: "Nowhere."
Timon: watching Simba, talking to Pumbaa "Gee. He looks blue."
Pumbaa: "I'd say brownish-gold."
Timon: "No, no, no. I mean he's depressed."
Pumbaa: "Oh."
Pumbaa trots up to Simba
Pumbaa: "Kid, what's eatin' you?"
Timon: "Nothing he's at the top of the food chain. Ahhhhh - ha ha ha ha. The food cha-haain. Heh heh." realizing his joke flopped "Ah - ahem. So... where you from?"
Simba: "Who cares? I can't go back."
Timon: "Ahh. You're an outcast. That's great; so are we."
Pumbaa: "Whatcha do, kid?"
Simba: "Something terrible. But I don't want to talk about it."
Timon: "Good. We don't want to hear about it."
Pumbaa: to Timon "Come on, Timon." to Simba "Anything we can do?"
Simba: "Not unless you can change the past."
Pumbaa: "You know kid, in times like this my buddy Timon here says: You gotta put your behind in your past."
Timon: "No, no, no."
Pumbaa: "I mean..."
Timon: "Amateur. Lie down before you hurt yourself. It's: You got to put your past behind you. Look kid. Bad things happen, and you can't do anything about it, right?"
Simba: "Right."
Timon: "Wrong! When the world turns its back on you, you turn your back on the world!"
Simba: "Well that's not what I was taught."
Timon: "Then maybe you need a new lesson. Repeat after me." clears throat "Hakuna Matata."
Simba: "What?"
Pumbaa: "Ha-ku-na Ma-ta-ta. It means: no worries."
Full song, no fade in except Marimba chords
Timon: "Hakuna Matata!
What a wonderful phrase!"
Pumbaa: "Hakuna Matata!
Ain't no passing craze!"
Timon: "It means no worries,
For the rest of your days!"
Timon and Pumbaa: "It's our problem-free,
Philosophy..."
Timon: "Hakuna Matata!"
Spoken section over background music
Simba: "Hakuna Matata?"
Pumbaa: "Yeah; it's our motto."
Simba: "What's a motto?"
Timon: "Nothing! What's a motto with you? Hahahah..."
Pumbaa: "You know what kid? These two words will solve all your problems."
**********
My own Hakuna Matata has a slightly different meaning. When the world turns its back on you, you seek the best in you. The world doesn't decide who you are, you decide what your world is. Look to the future for hope. Don't forget the past, learn your valuable lessons from it and move on. Your life is what you make of it. What you end up with depends on what you bring. Aspirations and a good dose of levity never hurts...
OK, who wants to be the first to tell me that I was predestined to write this...?
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