Random Notes from a Crank

I hate bottled water. It's such a scam. Most of the plastic bottles don't get recycled, and if they do, there's a problem because China is no longer taking our plastic recycling. 

If you haven't been paying attention, look into what plastic is doing to our waterways and oceans. 

The height of stupidity is what I've witnessed this week. My in-laws bought bottled water. So I went down to the ice machine at our resort and got ice. These people then put ice in a glass and pour bottled water into it. The ice cubes come from the local water supply, and then they pour bottled water with the ice cubes. If you're going to use locally sourced ice cubes, why the hell would you not use the damn tap water? 

Over the vacation I've read two books by Neil Gaiman: Anansi Boys and Neverwhere. Both were outstanding. And I'm wondering if the BBC series Neverwhere is on Netflix or Amazon Prime. 

The next book I'm off to read is White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America.

Random Notes from a Crank

The most recent issue of The Atlantic had a good article about Saudi Arabia moving toward major solar power projects: "Why the Saudis Are Going Solar." The initiative has political and reference-point hurdles, but part of the impetus behind the move  is that Saudis are crazy inefficient with energy consumption: "The Saudis burn about a quarter of the oil they produce." Another major reason behind the solar initiative is $$$. Regardless, as the author, Jeffrey Ball, concludes, "Saudi Arabia's energy challenge is a more extreme version of the one that faces the rest of the world. But if the kingdom's leaders can find the political courage to act decisively, Saudi Arabia, of all nations, could become a model for other countries trying to shift away from oil."

And China is moving toward renewables because of air pollution problems, climate change, and business interests. A National Geographic article concisely relates what's going on: "NASA Photos Show China's Plan to Meet New UN Climate Pledge." China has agreed to halt the rise of greenhouse gases and plans to get at least 20% of its energy from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030.  

The past couple of weeks my kids have been featured as "swimmers of the week" in the local paper. One of the coaches talks about each kid, and they ask the kids about their favorite strokes and their goals. Local celebrities, people.

Here's another good installment from Existential Comics: "Philosophy News Network: The Death of God." 

I'm thinking about starting up a flip-phone support group in this world awash with people staring at their smartphones.