I, Shane › Shane Adams’ personal weblog

I was exposed to TED a couple years ago when Internet semi-celebrity Ze Frank spoke and pointed his many feed followers toward the TED site. TED is essentially the smartest conference in the world. It stands for “Technology Entertainment Design” and people pay $6,000 just to be able to go to the conference AFTER they get the invitation. The waiting list is about 2 years long to go and you have to be amazingly accomplished in order to become a part of the conference.

Speakers include such folks as Bono, Malcolm Gladwell, Bill Clinton, Frank Gehry, Peter Gabriel, Seth Godin and Al Gore. The motto of the conference is “Ideas worth sharing” so I thought I’d share one today.

The above video is “rock star physicist” Brian Cox talking about the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Europe. The LHC is a fascinating piece of scientific machinery and to hear someone like Cox describe its purpose is nothing short of remarkable. Cox purports that there is an equation that helps to explain the universe and how it works, but it requires one small little thing - a subatomic particle called the Higgs particle that has not yet been discovered.

I mention this because it is a fascinating piece of science. This Higgs particle is what gives matter its mass. It is a part of everything, yet has not yet been seen by scientists, but is essential to proving all their theories and such. According to Cox, it’s what gives matter its mass. To me, the Higgs particle sounds an awful lot like the presence of a power greater than ourselves.

Part of the goal of the research at the LHC is to try and find sub-atomic particles not yet seen, like the Higgs particle. I don’t claim to be an expert on all this scientific stuff, but I think it’s completely fascinating. Scheduled to be turned on sometime this summer (I think…the date is a bit difficult to find), the LHC will answer some pretty big questions about the universe. Or maybe it will just raise more…

Discuss.

Tonight, I went up to Quik Trip to fill up my car for the week and get a couple of fountain drinks. I brought along my 3 mower and trimmer gas cans - a 5-gallon container, a 2-gallon container and a 1-gallon container for the oil/fuel mix that goes in the trimmer.

The total came to $91.20. 

After I got over the initial sticker shock, I remembered something I’ve been telling myself since gas went over $3.00/gallon - at least I don’t live in Sierra Leone, where gas is $18.42/gallon. Actually, what I’ve been telling myself is that higher gas prices will hopefully result in something better in the long run.

Here’s what I mean. The United States has long relished in being a favored nation when it comes to petroleum and like with a lot of things, Americans have gotten “fat and happy” with paying the 7th-lowest price for gas in the world (outside of the Middle East). The only places that pay less than us are places like China, which now consumes more gas than we do, and Venezuela, which has communism to thank for that.

The reason that higher gas is a good thing is that it’s finally getting people to care when they go to the pump. And when American people care about something, things start to happen. People like me start to reconsider driving their SUVs and trying to figure out ways to ride the bus. Senators and representatives realize that their constituents are getting angry and for them to get re-elected (the goal of any congressperson), they have to figure out a way to fix the problem. That means leaning on oil companies not to lower prices, but to take their record profits and innovate, which is the what Americans are good at.

They also have to lean on the auto manufacturers who are taking entirely too long to get to more sustainable types of energy to run our vehicles. But Americans are going to have to understand that all of this comes at a cost. In the short term, we may have to pay higher gas prices and that sucks, but in the long run, I think it’s going to be better.

At least I hope so.

The Kansas City Star is reporting that gas consumption is down throughout the region (and across the nation).

High gas prices across the nation are causing people to drive less and less because the result of higher fuel prices is that people must conserve money to make sure they can pay for more necessary things like food and shelter.

I know I’m not the first person to say, this, but I’m going to say it anyway.

Higher gas prices are a good thing.

The United States consumes more fuel than every other nation on the planet. It makes sense that we should probably pay less for it since we use more, right? This is true. However, we’ve grown accustomed to such low gas prices that any spike at the pump results in us crying foul and calling for boycotts of Shell and any other oil company that sells gas.

And while it’s true that oil companies like ExxonMobil and BP have made more money in the last several years than ever, I still don’t think we pay enough for gas.

Boycotting specific gas stations really doesn’t hurt anyone but the gas station owner, who operates on a very very slim margin. Out of the $3.34 per gallon (the price at the Quik Trip I pass on my way to work), the gas station actually profits a very small percentage, with the majority going to the oil company and the refineries to pay for the crude and the cost of refining it.

Oil companies are making huge profits because we still have yet to temper our consumption of oil. High gas prices have not done anything to the way that we live our lives. I still drive my SUV from Olathe to Fairway by myself every day, filling up once per week for $60+ each time.

Maybe when gas reaches $4 per gallon, I’ll actually get serious about taking the bus because it will finally be worth the huge hassle (we’re talking about 2 transfers and about a 2-hour commute to go 20 miles) to actually ride it. I imagine there are others out there who think the same way.

That’s why higher gas prices are a good thing. Maybe they will finally encourage us who consume more oil than any other nation (although China’s nipping at our heels) to change the way we think and put pressure on those who can do something about it to actually…do something about it.

I still believe that the American people have a say. It’s one of the reasons why I support Barack Obama. He’s someone who I believe will take the voice of the people under consideration when developing legislation. The issue is that people don’t care enough about it right now to really do something about it. We can’t rely on corporations like oil companies and car companies to magically do the right thing. They are going to do what is most profitable because they are still profit-based companies. They don’t owe you lower gas prices. It’s up to you to stand up and say, “If that’s how you’re gonna play it, then I’ll just change my lifestyle entirely.”

This is the only way we’re actually going to get viable alternative fuels and good mass transit in bigger cities - by actually telling people that they suck.

This isn’t an Earth Day post, but was inspired by a discussion I heard on the radio on the way into work. The host was outraged by the high gas prices and brought in an expert who basically said, TOUGH. And I agree. It’s time for people to get used to $4 per gallon gas because it’s not coming down anytime soon. Hopefully, it will inspire some folks to do something about it.

(And to those of you who are going to suggest that I get a different car, the answer is no. This one’s paid for.)

At least the envelope is…

So there you go. I’m not sure if I’ll receive anymore than that, but hopefully, I’ll get a picture of the cow later. But I doubt it.

Rather, WE (me and you, my readership) are the owners of a cow. I apologize for the delay. It took about a week to process some of the payments on PayPal for some reason. As more details arrive, I’ll share them, but I wanted to make sure that you all knew that I’ve gone forward and bought the cow. Now if I could just get the milk for free…

Payment Method: CREDIT

The following summarizes your order:

Total: $500.00
ID: 75592991

Thanks again to all of you that donated. You guys are awesome. It’s only 3 1/2 long months until I can eat red meat again. Man, this is going to suck.

I did it.

Rather, WE did it.

The idea originally came from a fast that Alli and I have been doing. Where the idea came from doesn’t matter anymore. What matters is that - thanks to a last-minute donation by Alli Arnold Art - as of midnight last night, I have the money needed to purchase a dairy cow from Heifer International.

I’ve bent the rules a little to allow for some mailed donations to come in, but I know they are coming so we’ll just consider them donated.

I’m so excited that I accomplished my goal. HOWEVER, since I achieved the goal by midnight on January 31, I’m going to give up red meat until Memorial Day.

This is going to suck.

Then again, yesterday Brian D directed me to this article in the New York Times, which gives examples of how meat consumption is similar to that of the excessive SUV driving that we do in the United States. Consider this:

an estimated 30 percent of the earth’s ice-free land is directly or indirectly involved in livestock production, according to the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization, which also estimates that livestock production generates nearly a fifth of the world’s greenhouse gases — more than transportation. [This figure led a University of Chicago professor of geophysics to calculate] that if Americans were to reduce meat consumption by just 20 percent it would be as if we all switched from a standard sedan — a Camry, say — to the ultra-efficient Prius.

Not only that, but since most cattle are “grown” rather than “raised” (the distinction being that normal cattle graze on grass and industrial cattle are fed grain, which is far more abundant than grass and since cattle aren’t built to digest grain), they have health problems and have to be given antibiotics to stay alive. That’s one thing that I like about Chipotle — their Food with Integrity program which means that they buy only meat that has been raised humanely without antibiotics.

I love red meat. I love cheeseburgers and steaks. But if this means that I’ll be reducing my consumption by 20 percent for the year, so be it.

There are a lot of people who helped me get to the $500 goal:

• Chimpotle was the first one to jump on board and donate.
• My family came through and donated over $200
• KC Bloggers Average Jane, KC Sponge and Meesha all donated.
• Thanks to my friends Laura and Brian D for donating
• Thanks to Tony for mentioning me on 980 and his blog
• Thanks to Alli for all the support and the last-minute donation to get me to my goal

I’ll be purchasing the cow later today and I’ll keep you updated. I will be happy to be out of fund-raising mode and return back to regularly scheduled discussions like last night’s Lost episode and some other randomness.

The month of my red meat fast is almost over and I’ve raised about $200 of the $500 needed to purchase a dairy cow from Heifer International. Many thanks to those of you who have contributed thus far. I’ve also received another $100-150 in pledges so we’re theoretically over halfway there.

So here’s my end-of-the-month push to close the deal:

If I can raise enough money for the cow before the end of this month (midnight tomorrow night - it has to be deposited into my PayPal account)…

I will remain red-meat-free until Memorial Day.

Believe me when I tell you that this is no small task. I’m really starting to crave a burger and our church’s chili cookoff is in February. To abstain from eating red meat until the end of May is not something I look forward to, but if that’s what it takes to inspire the blogosphere to contribute, I’m willing to do it.

Consider that my gauntlet being thrown down. Click the image below to donate.

So the Fed cut interest rates yesterday. I won’t pretend to understand the inner workings of the economy, but here’s what bugs me:

Everyone keeps talking about it.

I’m convinced that the more that people say things like “we’re headed toward a recession” or even just ask the question “are we headed to the recession?” that we move closer and closer to it. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

I’d like to give the American Public the benefit of the doubt, but the pundits in the media are being pretty irresponsible in the way that they throw around the word “recession.” The public tends to listen pretty intently to the media (even though they really don’t have any reason to trust them).

There’s no doubt that the crash of the sub-prime mortgage market has had an effect on the economy, but there’s fiscal irresponsibility going on all across the US. I was listening to some woman talk the other day about how she’d racked up thousands of dollars in credit card debt BUYING CHRISTMAS GIFTS.

Here’s my free tip for the day:

Don’t charge Christmas gifts. If you don’t have the money, don’t spend it. I didn’t realize that it needed to be said, but people use credit cards way to liberally. As great as they can be, they aren’t YOUR money. You have to pay it back. I’m not saying credit cards have no place. But, if you have outstanding debt already, you might want to think about paying it off before you rush to get more plastic.

Maybe I’m crazy. I thought this information was common sense.

I don’t think I officially announced this last week…I bought a MacBook. I didn’t go hardcore and get the Air…I just couldn’t justify what I would lose (optical drive, removable battery, ports) to the price and portability. The difference between the MacBook and the MacBook Air is 2 pounds. If I can’t carry that extra 2 pounds I should reconsider everything.

My laptop arrived today.

I’m so excited that I can’t even see straight. The importance of me having a laptop for work just went down considerably. Now I have a portable APPLE laptop that I LOVE.

The impressive thing about the whole situation is that I got the notification that it shipped late Friday night. It departed from Shanghai, so I didn’t expect to see it until Wednesday or later (scheduled delivery was 1/23). I tracked it all weekend (ask anyone…I have the tracking number memorized). I saw that it was in KC this morning and I thought I would at least get it by tomorrow since it might need to be sorted.

God Bless FedEx - it was sorted and out for delivery by 6 AM, delivered to my house by 10:00 this morning. That’s an impressive delivery time from China (via Anchorage), especially considering that all FedEx packages are routed through Memphis. My laptop flew overhead to Memphis before making its way to my house.

I still can’t believe that it is here already. I can’t wait to go home and hug it.