High Resolution of Reality

I had once heard of this amazing carberutor for an automobile engine that would provide fuel efficiency of 200 miles per gallon.  The reason that none of us benefited from this technology, other than the fact that most cars these days use fuel injectors rather than a carburetor, is that it doesn't really exist.  I, at first, had gotten extremely angry at the Big Auto makers and the oil companies (again) for denying us this amazing technology that would give us hundreds of miles per gallon.  But, once again, it proves that you can't believe everything you hear.  Just because you hear something, even from more than one source, it doesn't mean you can believe it. 

I had been told that in the 1930's, Charles N. Pogue had designed this carb (short for carburetor) capable of producing - now get this - 2900 MILES PER GALLON!  It was even documented by the Carburetor Research Center of Oklahoma.  Yes, it actually did exist.  Well, sort of.  In theory, the design of the carb allowed for the fuel to be vaporized (up to a theoritical 2900 mpg), and without getting into engine theory with you, the vapor would allow the engine to be more efficient, rather than simply spraying the liquid fuel.  The one he physically designed was a 200 mpg unit, but all of this was before you added the car to the equation.  Thousands of pounds of weight.  Energy loss through the engine due to heat loss, power loss out of the exhaust pipe, wind resistance, three kids in the backseat, etc.

So, yes, I suppose the incredible carb did exist.  But only on paper.  In fact, the story once told me, which said that the big bad oil companies bought out Mr. Pogue and his invention, is not true at all.  The oil companies had nothing to do with it.  Today, surprisingly enough, fuel combustion efficiency typically exceeds 97%.  So the car companies aren't duping us too badly.  They have produced cars capable of 70 mpg today.  And experts say that using today's technology we could see 100 mpg reasonably soon.

I only have one gripe.  We have little robots exploring Mars.  Satellites on the way to other galaxies.  Lasers.  Nuclear energy.  Artifical intelligence.  And it goes on and on.  So why are we still struggling with gasoline technology at all.  Where are all of the flying cars, like in the Jetsons!?

This past week, most of the major oil companies released their quarterly financial numbers.  Guess what?  They made a lot of money.  Exxon Mobil, the largest publicly traded oil company had $9.92 billion in PROFITS.  That's after expenses!  "You mean all of that money they were 'losing' after the hurricanes didn't hurt them?"  Yes, that's right.  As we were paying over three dollars a gallon, they were "struggling" through their refining issues by making more money than any other company in the United States EVER has.  Exxon Mobil made more money this last quarter than any other company EVER!  More than Walmart, Microsoft, Nokia, Michelin, and the New York Yankee's!  And, it's not just Exxon Mobil.  Royal Dutch Shell had $9.02 billion in profits.  Chevron had $4 billion.  It goes on and on.  And lastly, Exxon Mobil made more money in this quarter than many country's yearly gross domestic product, including Niger, Zambia and Iceland!  Unbelievable.

So you and I are going to get back at the big, bad oil companies, right?  Well, to head this off and deflect public criticism, Exxon Mobil's chief executive, Lee Raymond, released a statement with this passage, "Following the hurricanes, Exxon Mobil maximized gasoline production from all of our refineries which were operating in the U.S. and increased imports from overseas affiliates to meet U.S. demand."  That to me means mishmash-speak for, "We did what we could to make more money."

So, again, we're going to get back at them, right?  What are you going to do?  This is a country where every man and woman can make a difference.  We can vote.  We can contact our government representatives.  We can choose if and when to spend our money.

But there lies a big problem with the little person changing this.  Corner gas stations are not the problem.  They pay whatever they have to get gas in their tanks.  They DO NOT profit that much off of gasoline.  They make their money from coffee and donuts.  Seriously!  The typical gasoline station makes only ten cents profit per gallon of gasoline sold.  Also, almost half of all gasoline purchases are now made by credit cards.  The store then has to pay the credit card companies a typical transaction fee of about six cents per use.  So there is only four cents per gallon that stays in the gas station's hands.  That actually means that credit card companies make more money off of your gas purchase then the gas station that you're getting your gas from!  So please, no threats to your local 7-Eleven.  It's not their fault - kind of.

More likely, it's the executives of the oil companies that help decide margins for their financial moves.  Now, you'd think that a smart company would considerably lower their prices to take over the market.  Imagine a gas station chain that charged fifty or sixty cents less per gallon.  I see people now, including myself, that will go across the street to a competing station if they're charging just four or five cents less.  Imagine fifty cents!  I'd be saving twenty dollars a week.  That's over a thousand dollars a year.  Just because I'm taking the trouble to choose the cheaper gas.  But that means the other companies would feel lonely and not make as much money.  Or, to COMPETE, they would lower their prices.  (Imagine that!  Competition in business.  Wow, I almost sound like a capitalist!)  Which means the first company would lose some business back to these other companies.  Not so good for all of their profits, but very good for us.  The problem, though, is that instead of that happening, and the companies competing for our business to the point of low prices for the consumer; they don't - they all live on the same street in the middle of the Texas plains, raking in their millions for their yearly salaries.  They get together and help set each other's prices over an afternoon Texas tea party (oil).  They're in it together to make more money.  (And most of these oil companies probably own the gas station chains as well.  I don't know for sure yet, I'll get back to you on that.)  And what's wrong with them doing this?  Why shouldn't they?  YOU DON'T HAVE A CHOICE.

Air travel is a huge business as well.  But you have a choice.  If the airlines tried something similar, you could take the train or the bus if you absolutely had to.  But most of us would just drive.  Regardless of how you got there, you'd still get there; maybe a little slower, but you saved a bundle and sometimes that's what counts.  The bottom line is - you had a choice.

What are you going to do if you don't buy gas for your car?  You can always try to save a little - carpooling, smaller engines, new hybrids, or public transportation.  But ultimately, the carpool vehicle, the smaller more efficient engine, and the public bus still use gasoline.  What are you going to do?  I've already thought this one out, so don't spend too much time trying to think of an answer - NOTHING.  YOU DON'T HAVE A CHOICE.  The only way out is to walk or ride a bike.  (Although, I've heard bicycling in Minnesota in the winter can be an adventure.)  I am really not trying to be pessimistic or depressing.  I'm praying something or someone can change the system.

There is a lot more to this, but I don't have the time nor the finger stamina to do it, so I'll just let this be.  But, someone, please...give us a choice.

(By the way, soon to come - the 200 miles per gallon carburetor, does it really exist?  And how about the theoretical 2,900 miles per gallon vehicle?  Hmmm...stay tuned.)

Now with that title, you know I could go on forever about all kinds of things.  However, I just wanted to point out a few important items.  I guess it all starts with the fact that we most likely cannot go a day without being touched by media.  You watch your local TV for the weather and get hit.  At work your TV stays on one of the cable news channels; you're hit.  Radio news breaks on your favorite music station - hit.  On the internet - what's your home page?  MSN, Yahoo, Lycos?  Hit, hit, hit.  It doesn't matter what you do, you will always have some kind of media around you.

And...so what!  Well, unfortunately, people these days have forgotten how to make up their own minds about important issues.  Whatever the O'Reilly Factor or Katie Couric have to say about something is likely to be our own opinion.  I would love for you to prove me wrong, but even when I think of myself trying to persuade someone of something, it seems I can't help but mention facts or ideas I saw on TV or read on the internet.  When you're arguing with someone, how often have you said, "Well, Fox News said that..." or "Larry King had him on and..."  This leads me to a troubling idea.  People think that because it's on TV - that means it is true!

You know all of those interactive polls on TV that show 70% support this or that?  Do you realize that people who like to watch CNN like to watch it for a reason?  They agree most of the time with what they see and hear, so they continue to watch.  They feel supported in their own beliefs, and keep watching.  Basically, individuals are reinforced so they keep on watching.  Now, just as an example, if the average CNN watcher doesn't like President Bush, and likes to hear things that support that fact, wouldn't they continue to watch CNN?  Wouldn't that make the majority of CNN watchers generally agree with common items using these premises?  So an "Interactive CNN Poll" says that 72% of Americans don't support President Bush with his "XYZ Plan".  Is that really an accurate image of what the country thinks?  And it goes exactly the same way for a typically right wing, Bush supporting channel like Fox News.  The same poll on Fox News may show 72% of Americans do support President Bush with his "XYZ Plan".  The most obvious example of this is right before the 2004 Presidential Election.  The average left wing, liberal news channel or newspaper was saying that John Kerry was favored slightly.  And they would display poll results supporting their claim.  Right wing, conservative outlets - the exact opposite; Bush was slightly favored.

I'm not trying to push anybody's agenda here.  Neither left or right.  Democrat or Republican.  I just want everybody to realize that it's okay to believe what you want regardless of what TV tells you is the truth.  The media's truth is seldom absolute.  Maybe years ago, the news anchor would read his script, as though something from a dictionary or encyclopedia.  Fact after fact with little fanfare.  But with the advent of cable television and the internet, two much more important things have come to light.  Fame and money.  And whatever it takes to get more of it.  If someone would pay you a lot of money to basically tell the truth with the ever so slight changes to make it more "appealing" or "exciting", would you do it? 

Well, it is done today.  Left and right.  So be watchful of your sources.  I have watched plenty of CNN and Fox News, and they are both so terrible about pushing their respective left or right ideas.  Check it out for yourself.  Be objective in your views for five minutes.  Forget who you are and just watch for the facts.  It is pretty sad that the facts that come out on these channels are actually very thin.  Most of what they say is simply their opinion.  So if you're watching or reading something for an opinionated editorial, then enjoy!

Unfortunately, if you're looking for the facts, you'll have to go elsewhere.  So don't take TV or the internet for truth unless you KNOW the source.

For those of you that don't know, I have a 20 month old son.  Last night I was outside in the backyard with my wife and my son on a blanket looking up at the sky.  We showed him the Moon.  We showed him the stars.  And he noticed the street light down the road, so we told him about that as well.  For some reason, there was water up there, too.  My wife, Laura, and I couldn't see it, but my son, Jacob, kept on pointing at the sky and saying, "water".

Has anybody else run into this?  Is it the glimmering stars in the sky?  The glare from the street lights?  The overall darkness?

I don't know, but it was still fun to show him new and wonderous things.  Like most kids his age, he is very quick to learn, so he followed the moon and the stars and correctly named them.  But, I'd love to understand this water thing!

Yes, it's September 11th.  And for the rest of our lives, something on this day will bring us back to where we were in 2001 on this date.  It was my generation's Pearl Harbor or JFK shooting.  Where were you when you saw that plane hit the second tower?  Where were you when the Pentagon exploded into flames?  And where were you when you saw the towers actually come down in one of the most remarkable sites any of us will ever see?

It was early enough in the morning that I hadn't gotten outside yet from my office.  Of course, none of us saw the first plane crash.  But as soon as the first building was hit, the news channels were all over it.  So, yes, I sat down and watched.  And then saw the second plane hit.  LIVE.  ESPN cut to a news channel.  The Weather Channel switched to news coverage.  Nothing else mattered.  I still don't know how to explain what I saw and what I felt.  I just saw a plane filled with people smash into a building with thousands of people inside.  How do you understand it?  You can't fathom it.  There is no way to explain it.

Instead, tell me and everyone else where you were.  What did you feel?  What did you think?  I wanted to go to war, right then.  Find out who did it, and then get them back.  And a small voice inside me didn't understand.  I think a lot of us woke up that day.  There are people out there that don't like us, don't understand us, and want to kill us for it.  But no one does this to America.  No one does this to my home. 

I am very glad we haven't changed since that day.  I mean our Americanism.  Our patriotism.  We still love our country.  We will die to protect it. 

People in other countries may not understand it, and even hate us for it, but - too bad! 

God bless America.