Suffocation

Would politicians pay more attention to the environment if there were dead zones in our atmosphere that snuffed out whole cities, congressional districts, counties, or chunks of their base?

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DED

Return To Eden

Through the 60's and 70's, Harry Harrison was known in the sci-fi community for his Stainless Steel Rat series and to a lesser extent "Make Room! Make Room", which was the inspiration for the movie Soylent Green. While "Make Room!" was a serious work, the Stainless Steel Rat books invoked alot of humor. So when West of Eden was announced, many long time fans of his work expected Harrison's trademark humor. It wasn't to be the case.

Published in 1984, West of Eden imagines an Earth where the dinosaurs weren't wiped out 65 million years ago. Instead, they survived and continued to evolve. An intelligent species, the Yilane, came to be the dominant life form, instead of humans. It might, in fact, be the first alternate history novel. If not, it certainly popularized it. Harry Turtledove fans are free to check me on this one. And political junkies should bear in mind that I wrote "novel." Repressive governments are known to re-write history all the time to justify their actions or paint themselves as the good guys.

I just finished the trilogy this month. I'd read West of Eden about the time it came out. I was in high school and in a science fiction book club of some sort. I picked up Winter in Eden a few years later, though it came out in 1986. Return to Eden came out in 1988, during my college years when the only things I read were textbooks, album lyrics, and Discover magazine. I was oblivious to its existence until I stumbled across Harry Harrison's website earlier this year. It's not like they were obscure works. Each book sold half a million copies. I was just out of touch.

Harrison did alot of research for this series. He consulted with a biologist to paint a realistic portrait of the Yilane. He recruited a linguist to help him with the native languages. He even utilized a philosopher to craft the Principles of Ugunenapsa, the tenets of the pacifist Yilane group, the Daughters of Life. And the homework pays off.

As mentioned above, the dominant saurian lifeform are the Yilane, who live in a matriarchal society where the males exist only for breeding. Like certain species of frogs, they carry the young around inside them while in a torpid state. 1/3 of all males die during this process, but their inferior status prevents them from changing their predicament. Their language is a mix of vocalizations, skin color changes, and physical gestures. And they're masters of genetic engineering. Over millions of years, they've bred domesticated animals into the tools, weapons, and vehicles they needed. Everything is grown, even their cities begin as a single large seed which germinates into a metropolis.

The Yilane are more than one-dimensional cold-blooded reptiles. Theirs is a complex hierarchal society with a dynamic range of characters from the all powerful eistaas and egomaniac scientists to the illiterate fargi (undeveloped ones) and docile males trapped in sexual servitude.

There are humans: Tanu (nomadic hunters), Sasku (agricultural city dwellers), and Parmutan (furry, Arctic dwelling hunters). Their mastery of technology is limited to Stone Age tools. They evolved in North America with other ustuzou (mammals) while the Yilane exist in Africa and Europe. No idea about Asia though. The Yilane hate the cold and retreat from anything less than sub-tropical.

Humans and Yilane lived blissfully ignorant of one another until a Yilane city was established in South Florida. A small tribe of Tanu were ambushed by Yilane hunters, who were trying to determine who ambushed one of their own hunting parties. Two children were captured, one survived. Kerrick is his name and he proves to be more than a dumb animal. He's kept as a pet and an object of scientific curiosity. He begins to learn the Yilane language, as a matter of survival, and grows up as a Yilane. Vainte, the eistaa ("leader") of the city, takes a perverse interest in Kerrick, especially when he reaches puberty.

At the heart of the trilogy is the relationship between Kerrick and Vainte. After years of living among the Yilane, Kerrick is eventually rescued by Herilak, a Tanu hunter, and betrays Vainte in the process. Vainte becomes obsessed with tracking Kerrick down and killing him. It's an obsession that rivals Ahab's.

Back among his own kind, Kerrick struggles with his identity. He's a bridge between two worlds, but a member of neither. His knowledge of the murgu (dinosaurs) is invaluable to the Tanu, but when he speaks in Yilane, the physical aspects of the language make it seem like he's got Parkinson's disease, and he is shunned.

I won't tell you anymore than that. Suffice it to say that there is a clash of Human and Yilane civilizations and Kerrick and Vainte are at the forefront of the struggle. The tale is excellent and is worth reading for the look inside Yilane society alone.

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DED

On The Economy

The US economy slowed to 1.6% in the 3rd Quarter. The housing slowdown is being cited as the primary reason. But here in Connecticut, the cost of a new home, or even an old one, continues to be exceptionally high. It's so bad, that 20% of young adults, defined as 20 - 34, move out of the state due to a lack of affordable housing. Before anyone gets crazy idea that by "affordable housing" I mean the trailers that FEMA was supposed to give to Katrina victims, I'm talking about reasonably priced homes that working class families can afford. The median price for a home is $217,000 nationwide. In Connecticut, it's $300,000. In Danbury, the affordable fringe of Fairfield County (I'd imagine that only Bridgeport is more affordable), the median price is $415,000. And before you think that it's all McMansions, even small 2 bedroom houses are ridiculous. It's no wonder CT experienced a net loss in population from 1990-2000. The loss of a Congressional seat should've been a wake up call, but it wasn't.

Salaries aren't commensurate with these home prices. The median income for the region is $75,000 - $80,000. While really good compared with the rest of the nation (I never made it that high when I was working dotcoms), it falls short if you want to buy a house and not be a slave to your mortgage and subesquent property taxes ($5400/yr for our raised ranch that we paid $225,000 for in 1999).

Meanwhile, The Hartford insurcance company reported a 41% increase in profits thanks to a hurricane season that never materialized. And Aetna, the big health insurance company, reported a 34% increase in profits. Somehow, I don't think that will prevent either company from raising their rates next year. It's benefits renewal season: the time when companies make their final decisions (if they haven't already) on insurance coverage for their employees. Let's remember this the next time insurance companies bitch and moan about having to pay out sooooo much money to their customers the next time disaster strikes.

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DED

Brass City Brewfest

This Saturday was the 1st annual (hopefully) Brass City Brewfest. Waterbury, where the event was held, used to be known as "Brass City" due to the brass manufacturers that used to based there. But like so many manufacturers in Connecticut (and the country) they've died or moved away. Nothing has moved in to take its place and the city has struggled with economic depression and political corruption. The city is trying to revitalize itself but has a long way to go.

It was a beautiful day. It was a bit brisk with the wind, but so long as one stood in the sun, and kept drinking, one could keep warm. Several tents were set up, half for beer, half for food. The cops were on hand to make sure people didn't get rowdy, but it was a mellow afternoon. Everyone behaved. Imagine that.

I saved my list of who was there with what so I'll run through to see what I remember drinking.

Arko Distributors were there with a huge line of Eastern European imports. I had the Black Boss Porter and it was excellent.

Dichello Distributors were there with American and Asian beer. I grabbed a Red Hook Blackhook Porter which is a favorite of mine.

Stone Coast Brewery represented themselves. I had their Black Bear Porter which was very good.

Brooklyn Brewing was there with a couple of their own. I'd never had their Octoberfest before so I went with that. Quite good but Sammy's Octoberfest is still better. Yes, Boston Beer was there, but I wanted to try stuff I hadn't had before or don't get to drink often.

Otter Creek was there and the guy manning the taps was full of pride. Their organic line, Wolaver was represented by their Oatmeal Stout. It was yummy.

The Global Brewers Guild (I'm guessing that they're some kind of distributor), from NY, represented several craft brews. I went with Purple Haze from Abita, a Louisiana based brewer. It was a raspberry ale that was a little on the sweet side, but would make a good dessert beer. They also had Youngs from the UK. I had the Double Chocolate Stout, which was indeed yummy.

Endurance was there from Massachusettes. I tried them at the CT Craft Brewers Festival this Spring. I had the Pale Ale and bought a pint glass because the 4 oz cups were killing me.

McEwan's Scotch Ale was carried by Scottish & Newcastle Importers, who are based out of California. I don't know why they were there. Distributors. Can't figure them out. Anyway, it was a really good Scotch Ale but not as good as Olde Burnside Brewing's Ten Penny Scotch Ale. They were there and it was soooo good. I've got to start annoying the beer guy down at the liquor store. I also had their Tartan Piper Oatmeal Stout which didn't disappoint.

Other CT breweries and brewpubs were there. I grabbed a Damn Good Stout from BruRm@Bar from New Haven, which it was. I also managed to snag an Irish Red Ale from Thomas Hooker Ales from Hartford. It's the best beer from them I've had so far.

Boulder Beer Company made the trek from Colorado. I ended the brewfest with their Sweaty Betty Blonde Wheat Ale. It was cloudy and sweet and a good way to wrap things up.

Many more breweries and distributors were there but I spent too much time being social and the event was only 4 hours long. Heh. I remember a couple stouts having a molasses taste to them but I can't remember which ones. I guess I'll have to start looking for them locally. Or wait until next year.

I'll try to add some links later.

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DED

The Connecticut Campaign Trail - UGLY

I can't answer my phone anymore. The charities have been displaced by PAC's disguised as surveys and automated attack ads. Normally mild-mannered Republicans (I'm talking about the ones from my state) are spewing party line drivel while Democrats, sensing blood in the water, launch wave after wave of attacks.

Down in the 4th Congressional District, Connecticut's "Gold Coast" where the state's wealthy citizens live (along with some of the poorest), Christopher Shays (R) has been under attack by Democratic challenger Diane Farrell. In 2004, he defeated her but ran a clean campaign, no negative attack ads. He won by 5 percentage points. This time, he eschewed the high road.

When Senator Ted Kennedy stopped by to support Diane Farrell, he was miffed. So he retaliated by defending House Speaker Dennis Hastert over the Foley scandal. "Dennis Hastert didn't kill anybody." Obviously a jab at Kennedy over his infamous Chappaquiddick incident back in 1969. I've been to that bridge. It's a narrow creaky thing, with no guardrails or lights. I'm not going to make excuses for Kennedy, but it's not something that I'd attempt unless I was completely sober. Anyway, I digress.

Farrell, who was the First Selectman of Westport, had portrayed Shays as being a Bush patsy. Shays recent reference to Abu Ghraib as "more about pornography than torture" hasn't helped his cause. Shays' supporters have pointed out that Westport's debt increased 600% during her administration.

In Shays defense, he's pro-environment, pro-choice, and supports stem cell research.

But here in the 5th, it's become really ugly.

Nancy Johnson (R) hold CT's record for longest tenured representative. She's been in DC for 24 years. When CT lost a congressional district due to the latest census, her district was merged with another and she had to fight that incumbent (James Maloney) for the seat. Needless to say, she won. At 71, you might think that she's a little old lady, but that would be a mistake. She's feisty.

Johnson's challenger is Chris Murphy, a former state senator. Johnson has all but called him a "tax and spend liberal." He voted to raise taxes 27 times and stands accused of wanting to pass a $70 billion tax increase that would affect the middle class and small businesses. He's soft on terrorism because he's against the Domestic Surveillance program (He wants the gov't to utilize the FISA court system). He wants amnesty for illegal aliens (a claim that I haven't found evidence for yet). He was apparently fined by the Election Commission for improper campaign contributions. And his ad claiming that a woman seeking facial reconstructive surgery for her child was ignored by Johnson is false (the woman in the ad says its true).

On the other side, Johnson supports the Domestic (spying) Surveillance program. She co-authored the gross Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA). She's received hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from the pharmaceutical industry, who are the real benefactors from MMA. She voted in favor of the Military Commissions Act which grants the President the power to deem anyone he wants an enemy combatant and thus they lose the right of habeus corpus, one of the oldest rights in Western civilization. Her support of Bush over his Iraq policy has also been subject to attack.

In Johnson's defense, there are issues where she splits from party line. She's been a chief opponent to drilling in ANWR (the Sierra Club loves her), pro-choice, helped to get uninsured children healthcare, and brought home plenty of lean pork (actually useful stuff like money for firehouse repairs instead of bridges to nowhere).

Unfortunately, I can't find any 3rd party candidates running in the 5th district. The 4th is lucky. They've got Libertarian candidate, Phil Maynim. At least he got to join in the debate, unlike the minor party gubernatorial candidates. Even the Green Party has a candidate running in the 4th as well as for senator (could steal my Lamont vote). But I can't find any minor party candidates for the 5th. That's going to make for a tough choice.

For the record, my sources for the above material about the candidates comes from their own websites, Wikipedia, various flyers that come in the mail, and annoying phone calls that I get all day. I think that the only ones that truly win in election season are those who get paid to print up all this junk, call you on the phone, and create the TV & Web ads. 2008 should be brutal.

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DED

Shrink Wrap Yer Dead!

When I worked in a warehouse one summer during college, I shrank wrap plenty of boxes to ensure stability during transport. Since then, I've seen new uses for the stuff. Shrink-wrapping boats for winter storage has been a common practice up this way for several years now. I've even seen small ships (ferryboat sized) shrink-wrapped. I recently read about two new items getting shrink-wrapped: military aircraft and dead bodies.

Shrink-wrapping helicopters and planes for transport is a great idea. Any veteran of warfare in the Middle East will tell you how nasty that desert sand can be to machinery. I wish that I'd saved the article that I read about how we're wearing out our equipment in Iraq at an accelerated pace due to the harsh conditions there.

As for the bodies.... eeewwwww.

A Washington state coroner named Terry Harper secured $30,000 in federal funding for a "mass fatality containment system" that would swiftly shrink-wrap corpses in the event of a catastrophe. The machine reportedly takes fewer than two minutes to shrink-wrap a body.

Randy Dutton, VP of FPM, Inc., who shrink-wraps military equipment, suggested that Mr. Harper switch to a higher grade plastic (that he sells) because, "Testing shows that corrosive gases will penetrate through plastic film."

Again, eeeeewwwww. I wonder if they'll show that sometime on CSI.

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DED

The Connecticut Campaign Trail - Governor

The first debate among the top two candidates for governor happened Monday night. I didn't even know it was on. How sad is that? I knew it was coming up, because of arguments over format and who was permitted to debate, but I didn't see any mention of it in Sunday's paper. I wonder if it was even televised.

Anyway, for those of you unfamiliar with CT politics, the debate was between incumbent Jodi Rell (R) and challenger John DeStefano (D), mayor of New Haven. Left out of the debate were Cliff Thornton of the Green Party and Joe Zdonczyk of the Concerned Citizens Party. While Thornton met all of the qualifications of the League of Women Voters, The Day of New London stymied his appearence. I bet those assholes have a stake in either one of the top two contenders. Hell, they probably sided with the government in that infamous eminent domain battle that took place in their city. Did you notice that with all of the outrage, the CT legislature didn't do shit about reforming the state's eminent domain laws?

Rell has a tough job running a state with a Democrat controlled legislature. While her cabinet works well with her, despite being Democrats, she can't seem to get much cooperation from the legislature, who view her as tainted from her predecessor's administration. Although Rell cleaned house, the Democrats said that it wasn't enough. No matter. Rell has sought tax relief for CT's citizens through elimination (she later tried for reduction) of the property tax on cars.

DeStefano has proposed having a windfall tax on profits made by the utilities and plans on giving that money to ratepayers, conservation funds, and business energy conservation efforts. I thought that I heard on NPR that he accused Rell of covering up a 50% rate hike due to hit us in 2007. I can't confirm this though. Since we're already paying 15 cents per kilowatt-hour (10.14 cents power generation and 5.21 cents for transmission of said power), that would be rough. We just had a 40% rate hike in our power generation charges this January. How much more can we take? It certainly makes the ROI for a wind turbine or solar panels happen that much sooner.

When asked which senate candidate Rell thinks would be best for CT, she gave a long winded explanation which was summarized somewhere along the lines of "they all bring something to the table." DeStefano jabbed her on it. "I pray that I'll never be in politics so long as to give an answer like that."

From what I've read, it seems like DeStefano won the debate. But he's down 30 points in the polls so his is an uphill climb. Democrats want universal health care for CT citizens, which is a wonderful idea, but how are we going to pay for it? I can't endorse him. If the entire state government were to be controlled by Democrats, I'd be bleeding taxes out my eyes. The "tax and spend liberal" tag holds true in my state. Anyone who reads my blog knows that I'm no card-carrying Republican. We've got car taxes (does anyone else have one?), sales tax, property taxes on our homes, the highest gasoline tax in the country, and a state income tax. We've been running a budget surplus for a couple of years now and that surplus is being put into the "rainy day fund", which currently stands at $1 billion. Can't we cut taxes? We don't seem to be doing anything about the fact that we have the highest per capita debt service in the country.

I might vote for Rell. She's done a good job keeping her nose clean and doesn't play dirty politics. She also doesn't take any money from special interest groups. How rare is that? I also think that so long as CT's legislature is dominated by Democrats, we need to have a check on their agenda. Gee. That sounds like there's a system of checks and balances to prevent one form of government from taking over. Wish we had that on the national level.

I might even vote for Cliff Thornton of the Green Party, although he's even more of a long shot than DeStefano. I like where he stands on alot of the issues and he's actually got plans for solving some of the state's problems that sound more libertarian than liberal.

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DED

Beer In Review: Oktoberfest Surprise

While I ponder why Limbo hangs in Limbo, I'll take the time to enjoy a Samuel Adams Octoberfest with my dinner (Chicken, broccoli, and mushrooms sauteed in a mixture of sesame oil, soy sauce, and water with cheesy broccoli rice on the side). My daughter is napping and my son is playing. Five minutes alone. Ahhhh.

The folks at Boston Beer Company continue their excellent beercraftmanship with their Octoberfest lager. Normally, I'm not much of a lager fan, and Oktoberfest beers are almost always lagers as per tradition. But for some reason Sam Adams gets their lagers right by my tastebuds. I actually like the Boston Lager more than the Boston Ale. And their Octoberfest continues that tradition.

The Octoberfest has a rich amber color with very faint hints of red, a bit of a match for the time of year. There's no cloying sweetness here. There's plenty of hops (German noble, according to the website. Specifically Hallertau and Tettnanger) to keep the yummy maltiness (the website uses "toffee" to describe it) in check. The pale and caramel malts are what gives this beer its color. Get it now as this is a seasonal beer and they've already stopped making it. Once it's gone, it's gone... until next year. 5.4% ABV.

Unlike most of the beers I review, this brand is available nationwide.

Cheers!
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DED

Shoe Wars

The shoe manufacturing industry died in the US decades ago. It all went overseas, primarily to China. During a couple of college summers, I worked for a leather importer. In essence, they were purchasing agents, basically middle men. I would see the order sheets and be stunned as to the sheer volume of hides headed over to China for sneaker manufacturers. The domestic use paled a thousandfold in comparison.

Well, Italy isn't giving up without a fight. They've managed to convince the EU to extend tariffs on shoes made in China and, to a lesser extent, Vietnam. Italy is complaining that these two countries are flooding the market with shoes at below market prices. And it isn't just because of the insanely low wages that the workers are receiving over there. There are accusations of government subsidies. It's a plausible accusation. The Chinese government owns a piece of just about every single business that operates within its borders.

China has threatened retaliation. Whatever. What market hasn't China tried this angle of attack in? In a couple years when Chinese cars start flooding the US market, expect more of the same. It's probably a good time to start learning Mandarin.

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DED

Stock Market Hits New High. Wal-Mart Sinks To New Low

Despite reports that the economy is slowing, the Dow hit new all time highs the last couple of days. CNBC has been wetting itself in excitement as market alerts flash on the screen every 5 minutes with announcements of new intraday highs and record closings. With oil dipping below the $60 mark for the first time since March and the general commodity market quite bearish, the Dow has roared ahead.

But Oil rebounded today to $60 territory. Why? Because OPEC is carrying through on its threat/promise to cut production if oil dropped below $60/barrel. I wish that I'd saved the old link when some oil minister made that statement. So, get used to $60 oil because OPEC has. It's not going away unless something drastic happens. No, new discoveries won't help. It takes too long for them to come on line to affect the market in the short term.

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Wal-Mart, the nation's number one employer in the private sector, announced changes to its employment practices. They want more part-time and less full time workers (to save money on healthcare coverage). They want all workers to be available 24-7 (1900 of Wal-Mart's 4000 stores are open 24-7), which is not family-friendly. Wage caps will be put in place for all jobs. No "glass" ceiling here. It's plainly visible for all to see. Well, I'm sure that the guys at the top won't have the caps.

Sally Wright, 67, an $11-an-hour greeter at the Wal-Mart in Ponca City, Okla., said she quit in August after 22 years with the company when managers pressed her to make herself available to work any time, day or night. She requested staying on the day shift, but her manager reduced her schedule from 32 hours a week to 8 and refused her pleas for more hours, she said.

Emphasis added by me.

She's been working there for 22 years and is only making $11/hour? I suppose in rural parts of the country where the cost of living is low that could be acceptable. But in the Northeast, $11/hour won't get you much.

Wal-Mart's been on my boycott list now for 4 years. I won't shop there unless I have no other choice, which has happened twice (both times on vacation). Before this latest batch of news, my reasons were their poor hiring and employment practices (which are now worse), damage to small town economies, and poor product supply management.

When you're a stay-at-home parent, your shopping trips for needed supplies are constrained within a narrow time window defined by feeding and napping (the kids that is). Typically, you need to get your shopping done all at one place. So it doesn't do you any good if one of the primary items you need, like diaper pail liners, is out of stock. Now you need to go to another store, putting the kids through another round through the car seats and pushing the envelope on infant/toddler meltdown.

Do I think that my boycott will have any effect on Wal-Mart? Absolutely not (Yes, I saw that South Park episode). But I sleep better at night knowing that I'm not making them any richer.

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Jerry Webman of Oppenheimer Funds was on CNBC this afternoon to discuss the effects of retiring Boomers on the market and the economy. He stated that, "10% of the population owns 2/3 of the country's assets." Even anchor Bob Pisani was taken aback by this statistic. To put that in Joe 6-pack perspective, say there's a gathering of 10 people with a case of beer to split between them. That means one guy gets 16 beers, leaving the remaining 8 to be split up among the 9 other people. While one can't compare beer to the nation's assets, it does offer some perspective.

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DED

The Connecticut Campaign Trail

As far as Connecticut's state legislature is considered, I live in the 2nd district. With the retirement of 2-term incumbent, Hank Bielawa (R), an opportunity is at hand for a new face to represent the district.

The Republican candidate is Phil Gallagher. From what I read about him on his website, he seems like he comes from the same mold as his predecessor. Not that that's a bad thing. In Connecticut, Republicans still pay lip service to fiscal conservatism, unlike their brethren in D.C. He's a long term resident of the area, who's served in town government, and is a retired teacher.

The Democratic candidate is Jason Bartlett, a local businessman who ran twice against Bielawa and lost. The second time the margin was only 80 votes. Recently, there was a letter to the editor in which someone praised him for various reasons, pertaining to character and leadership skills. But then the writer went negative on Gallagher saying that he'll "accomplish little in Hartford because he is a member of the minority and he does not work well with others." While I have no idea if the latter is true, being a member of the minority party is hardly an argument one can use here. Does the author plan on voting for Nancy Johnson, a Republican, to be our rep in Congress because hers is the party of the majority? Somehow, I don't think so.

Bartlett has also enjoyed the support of the local education factions. This troubles me as these groups use fear tactics to push their causes. It's always, "Our children will suffer if the budget doesn't pass." And when budgets don't pass, they never cut the administrative part of the school budget. Nor do they seek alternative sources of revenue. It's always property tax increases. And since I'm paying $5400/year on my house (a raised ranch, nothing special), I'm sick of it.

I got to meet Bartlett one Saturday afternoon. He was going door-to-door trying to drum up support. I don't know if the Democratic party hasn't got its act together or what but all I see are Republican signs. I know my part of the state leans to the right but this is something more. I'm not seeing any Democrat signs and I know that there are plenty of them in this town.

Anyway, he was all alone so I got to pick his brain on two local issues: property taxes and rampant increases in health insurance costs (did you notice that healthcare stocks are up over 600% since 2000). I asked if he had any ideas for finding new sources of tax revenue for the town, like encouraging more businesses to move in and shoulder some of the burden (When Duracell was here, that's how they managed it). He talked about incentives for businesses to move in to the industrial park.

I'm not so sure that there's going to be enough tax revenue to come in from businesses. I'm thinking that the schools are going to need corporate sponsors. If they can do it for sports stadiums why not schools? "Bethel-United Technologies High School"? Maybe it won't work, but I think that we need to start discussing this now.

As for health insurance, he foresaw CT adopting a plan similar to what Massachusettes enacted. He also rolled off importing prescription drugs from Canada and investing in Federal Qualified Health Clinics, which are federally subsidized.

I'm not familiar with the Mass plan so I can't say whether or not this is a good idea. Something drastic needs to be done. My wife works in HR so I hear all the time about rates going up. It doesn't matter whether it's a big company or small company, they're getting screwed because the health insurance companies care more about shareholder value than the people they insure. And I used to work for Oxford Health Plans so I have some experience here. Forgive me for sounding like a socialist, but this is a situation where capitalism seems to be failing. I don't know how many tens of millions of Americans don't have insurance, but the mere fact that one can say "millions" here speaks volumes. How can the wealthiest nation on the planet function this way?

Jason Bartlett didn't strike me as a politician. There was no greasy smile or robotic repetition of sound bites. And he didn't look like he was putting on an act. Amazingly enough, he's a human being. I wish him well either way.

I haven't met Gallagher so I don't know what he's like. On the issues, he comes across (through his website) as a reasonable constitutional and fiscal conservative. Keep in mind that Connecticut is a blue state, our Republicans have to be moderate if they want to have a shot at winning an election.

I haven't decided which of these guys I'm going to vote for. The Democratic controlled legislature is too far to the left for my taste. We have a state income tax, a sales tax, high property taxes (homes and cars), and the highest gasoline tax in the country, but yet keeping the budget in the black remains a problem. The interstates are gridlocked. We've got big defense contractors and major financial and insurance companies here so why can't we come up with the money? It's high time that the state's incomes and expenditures be examined to find out what's gone wrong.

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DED

Biofuels Making Progress

We're getting a new gas station in town. One of its four tanks will be for ethanol. While that may not sound like news, to the best of my knowledge, it will be the first gas station in CT (other than the state-owned stations for state vehicles) that will carry ethanol. I don't say this because I've traveled the whole state searching for ethanol, but rather I read on the Consumer Reports website that they couldn't find any ethanol in the state when they tested E85 vehicles.

Speaking of which, there are pros and cons to running your car on ethanol. It's cleaner than running on straight gasoline and it's made right here in the USA. The drawback is that cars running on E85 are less fuel efficient and the stuff costs the same as, if not more than, regular gasoline. There's also the problem with availability, though if the demand is there, this is a relatively easy problem to fix.

Amazingly enough, even local companies are getting in on the act. When one thinks of Fairfield County, hedge funds and snooty waspy types come to mind, not biofuel companies. Devine Bioheat and Santa Energy are blending "biodiesel" in with fuel oil for homeowners. Although it costs more, eco-friendly affluent homeowners seem to be willing to pony up the extra 25 cents/gallon for the stuff.

I'd be tempted to go that route too but I've got electric heat so it's not an option.

Now if only Xethanol (garbage to ethanol) could rebound from its slump. The stock has lost 75% of its value over the last 5+ months. But even the garbage-to-oil folks have had their share of non-technical problems.

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DED