I had a few hopeful thoughts cross my mind while walking the dog and chatting this evening with daughter AHB. First, my flashlight. It is a 2nd generation Black & Decker snakelight, which hangs nicely around one's neck, leaving both hands free for leash-holding and poop-scooping functionality. This flashlight's predecessor served nobly for years (in fact still works) but it had an incandescent bulb which consumed a fair amount of juice. Using NiMH rechargeables, I would get maybe a week or two between recharges with daily use. The newer flashlight has LED bulbs, which consume next to zero electricity. I have not changed or recharged the batteries in months. I don't even remember whether the batteries are alkaline or NiMH.
So, I don't know, that just makes me feel hopeful. I feel that we face a lot of challenges, but we also potentially have a lot more effective ways of meeting them. LED vs. incandescent is not huge in itself, but I think it is emblematic of the transformational nature of technological changes which can empower all of us.
The other hopeful thought I would like to share is a strange one: Harriet Myers. Just as LED vs. incandescent is emblematic of transformational technological change, I am hopeful that in coming days the best and brightest minds will be elevated into decision-making positions to make meaningful changes in public policy, and we won't be straight-jacketed by the dogmatic, ideological and reactionary dimbulbs of recent years. Just think, the man who proposed Harriet Myers as a supreme court justice has actually been president of our country for almost eight years.
I can't help but think that things are going to get better.
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I am optimistic as well. Even though "the big 3" automakers of our country are on the rocks, they all have electric vehicles in the works that should be in a showroom within 2 to 3 years. As LEDs and CFLs replace incandescent bulbs, EVs will begin to replace the internal combustion engine, the prospect of which is very exciting to me. To think that my next car may be American is something I thought I would not say any time soon, but if it means an electric vehicle like the Dodge EV that can (supposedly) fully charge in 8 hours and has a range of 150-200 miles, I'm sold. Even though I hold a grudge towards the auto execs that got drunk off the profits of SUVs for too many years, I hope that Congress will help the auto industry from crumbling in this country, which I've heard could cause 3 million or more jobs to be lost for good. I think under our new leadership, we will make much wiser and more informed economic decisions. It is silly to hear wingnuts talk about Chicago's corrupt politics coming to Washington, when the country might as well have been run by the mob for the past 8 years the way decisions were made. The end of this era cannot come too soon.
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