Reliving the 1900s

History doesn't repeat, but it rhymes.

We tried the centrallized Modernist approach last century. That gave us National Socialism, World War, Stalin, pogroms and purges and ethnic cleansing. The Military Industrial Complex. Too many madmen with too many loyal killers. We tend to ignore our own evils in that, but we shouldn't. America's biggest export is weapons.

Our next biggest export is food. Rice, wheat, corn, soy beans are the big ones. We feed the world, and some of our shady agribusiness men buy up entire country's crops and burn them, then sell hybrid seeds at twice the price just to insure that the local farmers have to buy them every year. It drives them out of business, and makes those nations dependent on US grain exports. We have a bad crop? Those countries starve, and starvation drives war or revolution. Maybe the new govt of those countries will have better credit and more naive fools to be manipulated with underhanded corrupt practices. Nasty.

The oil is going away. Not instantly, obviously, but it is going away. I just finished watching the Formula One Grand Prix of Monaco, live. Woke up at 5 AM to see the parade lap and the race. Back in the early 1900's, car racing was a big deal. People with horse and buggy, or even those newfangled bicycles, would ride out to the race track, usually dirt on really bad soil left fallow, and watch the race. The fuel for the cars was hauled in by wagon, much like the cars themselves. Racing has always been both sport and entertaining show. It remains such. The one F1 race to see, if you see only one, is Monaco, running today. The one Indycar race to see is the Indianapolis 500, also running today in an hour from now. Sadly, Indy is not really as polished or exciting as F1 so I pretty much stopped watching it after they removed the Turbochargers. When they sounded like Nascar I was outta there. Its like watching High School Football. F1 is professional and very competitive.

Even when the oil goes away, I still expect to see F1 continue, and be broadcast in HD, even if the fans get there by bicycle and streetcar and scooter. The winner of today's race in Monaco actually lives in town, so he slept in his own bed last night and rode a scooter to the paddock, put on his race suit, and eventually won the race. He'll probably get a lift home, thanks to all the parties, but it would amuse me to learn he'll just scooter to those as well. In Monaco, the streets are very narrow, very twisty, and very steep in many cases. Perfect place for a scooter.

Make tens of millions a year as a race car driver? Rides a scooter because they're fun. We can tell ourselves we don't need scooters or bubble cars in America, because we have the wide open road. And we're delusional, trapped in the past, and unable to cope with reality. We have entire generations raised with Entitlement complexes, and many of those people have already killed, and be jailed or killed in return, to keep that just a little longer.

Our overseas invasions aren't about stopping terrorism, since every bomb we drop and bullet that hits a bystander makes more enemies. We're overseas killing people because its our delusion that we're World Police. At some point, we'll run out of the fuel to even do that, and then those terrorists will come HERE. Like the Chechens in Boston, blowing up marathons. Perhaps they'll go after shopping malls, farmers markets, sniping movie stars on Rodeo Drive or bomb some Broadway play full of New York intelligentsia. Its the sort of Nightmare scenario that Homeland Security is failing to prevent. Every dollar we spend on Middle Eastern oil is a dollar that funds terrorism. And we can't get by without it. Not without huge changes in how we live, how we appreciate time, what jobs we do, and what risks we take.

Tahoe and Truckee are really beautiful this time of year. Hell, they're beautiful most of the year. Living there is miserable in the winter unless you ski, and even then the black ice is expensive in car repairs. Still, imagine post oil. Tourist trains disgorging skiers, trams running back and forth to the resorts. That only works if there's enough skiers to pay for it all, and the more it costs, the fewer can afford to come, or less often.

A sport can die out if its too pricey. Its not like F1, which can be held on any bits of reasonably smooth paved roads, even city streets. Monaco is streets. So is Montreal in 2 weeks. If the race is in your town or on the air, great, watch it. If its something you have to do personally to enjoy, like skiing? Well, that's a bigger expense and one maybe not justifiable with a modest post-oil minimum wage job and no career prospects thanks to the collapse of manufacturing.

When the Levies Break (so does your head), we'll have prime bass fishing territory in Lake Sacramento. I suspect that people will fish and do water sports and hunt geese and ducks rather than climb up those mountains for a literal fortune in fuel, at least until cheap solar powers the trains again. Even then, tough argument. Will people give up skiing and go bass fishing instead? Maybe sailing through the various sloughs in small dingies? Rowing? I could see it.

Bicycle tourism? Absolutely. I just got back from some of that up to Lake Tahoe. Lots of families out doing it. Fun times. Rode on Mom's restored 1970's Peugeot bicycle, which is, despite being named for a low quality car, a high end racing bicycle. We keep it under the house with the garden tools. On the relatively flat and gentle inclines of the trail, I made good time upriver the 4-5 miles to Tahoe City on Lake Tahoe. Dad and I got lunch at the Bridge Tender Bar and Grill. They were doing outdoor services today, but it was chilly so we ate near the bar inside where it was warm instead. It was breezy and almost cold during the ride. There were hundreds of bicyclists out today. Had a burger, fries, diet Pepsi, biked back after a brief stop at the lake to just stare at the huge majesty of the thing.

Lake Tahoe, May 26th 2013

Lake Tahoe is huge, but you can clearly see across it. It's a lake. Not a sea. And it has more water in it than the Great Lakes combined. The Great Lakes are quite shallow. Tahoe is deep. The river flowing out of it is over half of Reno's water supply, btw. The remainder are other tributaries of the Truckee River, such as the Little Truckee River north of Truckee (the town).

Also: I have a wine recommendation. It's Barefoot Cellars Impressions Red blend. It's similar to Menage a Trois, but half the price. Not quite as sharp a blend so not ideal but close, and a better table wine than many at the $7 price. I think I will drink this again.

Bicycles were very popular sporting tourism in 1900-1920's. They were new technology then, and were part of the exercise craze that comes and goes. Before cars, they would let you see the countryside without the trouble and stink of staring past a horse's behind. With modern bicycles and smooth pavement, they remain such. After pavement, they'll be slower going, but still better than horses. They're a lot less trouble. And don't cost you money when you aren't using them, or require a veterinarian or dentist. Anyway, I'm tired now. Cheers.