Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Christmas Eve is not for Hermits

When you're a hermit by inclination, one or two close friends and a loved one is all it takes to send you to a place you simply dread.

That's why I won't even try to sleep tonight.

Yes, I'm the "mound of sound."  I got that from the articled students at my last firm due to their regard for my dulcet yet fearsome voice.  I eventually found out most of the little swine called me
"Leo" an acronym for "large evil one."

Anyway, none of us has much choice but to carry on,  Merry Christmas



11 comments:

عروض عيد الفطر said...

great
i love your blog a lot.

Marie Snyder said...

I'm also hermit-like. I just hunt out a quiet place when I need some sanity. Or you could just get hammered.

Owen Gray said...

Hermits used to be respected for their wisdom, Mound. They still should be. Merry Christmas.

Dana said...

Fun. Great band.

You just prompted me to wonder what the original hermits - eremetics - did on christian festival dates.

First time you've made me wonder about something utterly meaningless and I'm good at wondering about meaninglessness.

Be kind to yourself, my friend.

Richard said...

Hey Mound,

I've come across a few articles I was going to write my post on but it never came together. I'm just too overwhelmed with information right now to form a proper post.

This info needs to have a wider distribution though and I'm pretty sure you know exactly along the lines of what I would say regarding it, so if you have the time and the interest - check these out:

When More Cancer Is Good for GDP Growth, We're Measuring Things Wrong http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/jim-harris/gdp-growth_b_4490415.html?utm_hp_ref=tw

Oil sands upstarts face tough decisions as growth prospects stall http://business.financialpost.com/2013/12/20/oil-sands-upstarts-face-tough-decisions-as-growth-prospects-stall/?__lsa=ea08-7fe6

In regards to that last link, notice who is operating the "startups" (China) - this is related to current financial events happening now in China due to low returns on bad investments they've been making: http://www.businessinsider.com/patrick-chovanec-on-the-spike-in-chinese-interbank-rates-2013-12

75 Alberta environment regulators now paid by oil industry http://www.edmontonjournal.com/travel/Alberta+environment+regulators+paid+industry/9316498/story.html - Overt fascism is here.


Graham Thomson: Alberta politics revolves around selling the oilsands, Provincial budget relies on ever-increasing payoff http://www.edmontonjournal.com/business/Graham+Thomson+Alberta+politics+revolves+around+selling+oilsands/9306309/story.html

Last one there is a pretty well just a professionally written version of my "Oilsands prosperity is a lie" post.

Enjoy :)

Richard said...

Oh! And Merry Consumas!

Richard said...

Sorry, one more I forgot: http://www.cnbc.com/id/101292781#_gus

This one is super interesting. Not only has the U.S. essentially decided CCS is too expensive under it's original intent, they are now going to use it to subsidize the expenses of fracking.

Just when you thought things couldn't get any stupider.

Richard said...

I just have to point out the most obnoxious lie in that last piece: "The administration also promotes the benefits for energy security. Every barrel of oil produced here will mean one less produced abroad."

Considering *global* oil demand is still on the rise, the lie in that sentence should be obvious. Of course since the U.S. is the centre of the universe no other countries would ever use that barrel of oil the U.S. doesn't import.

I'm hopping mad, hopefully you can do justice to that :)

The Mound of Sound said...

Richard, I read each one of the articles you linked. It made me want to open a vein.

The best part, for me at least, were the final paragraphs of that CNBC piece on carbon sequestration. You rarely see any mention of what happens with high-pressure sequestered CO2 when a well cap fails. The stuff remains toxic forever and a seismic fracture or a well failure is all it takes to release it. The reservoirs have to be constantly monitored and maintained and the operative word is "forever".

I'm a believer in Herman Daly and steady-state economics. That he's a senior economist and not a writer is readily apparent when you try to slog through his book, "Beyond Growth."

The thing is that we are going to have to abandon growth-based economics because there's no other choice once you exhaust the supply of natural capital. That said the forces of corporatism cling to their "not just yet" tactic to thwart rational post-growth policy. They have a real Thelma & Louise mentality. You're not in trouble until the car is actually over the cliff.

the salamander said...

.. was thinking about you.. as I started reading Eating Dirt - deep forests, big timber and life with the Tree-Planting Tribe by Charlotte Gill

I'm not in touch with or communicating a lot (yet!) with very many people on the island .. aside from you re the tragedy for Canada, called The Harper Government and the BC and Alberta governments

But this book sure communicates geography, topography, environment and temperate rain forest.
For a dude that's written one novel, primarily set on Vancouver Island.. its a humbling read so far..

I do want to get out to your astounding territory again.. and worry that it will be mainly to help defend your part of Canada against RCMP, Canadian Forces, federal spies, federal and provincial political animals, private Energy Consortiums security forces & possibly, imported Chinese security workers

The Mound of Sound said...

I should check out Eating Dirt, Sal, as I have a current interest in large-scale reforestation.

I hope 2014 will see a consolidation of public opinion against and a willingness to resist both pipeline expansions to the coast. It takes a certain, but small, critical mass of the public willing to resort to civil disobedience to stop something like this in its tracks.

Ultimately it's a battle not just for the coast but for the country and the world itself. All high-cost, high-carbon fossil fuels have to be abandoned.