Fellow cyclist killed by car

This morning while I was riding to work a fellow rider was killed on the other side of town.

Terry Mathews, who was a 50 year old postal worker was biking down a hill near Barkely Village, a hill I've walked and biked many times, when a 17 year old girl pulled onto the road directly in front of him. He was unable to stop and hit the vehicle. He died in route to the local hospital.

According to the paper Terry biked to work every day. He was wearing a helmet, was riding in the bike lane, but even with all those precautions he still had his life taken. I'm sure his wife and kids are heart broken.

Of course this is what we get for living in a society which worships automobiles and hands out drivers licenses like they are nothing, regardless of an individuals ability or intelligence. Its just too bad that the ideal citizen, someone like Terry had to pay.

But Seriously...

Sarcasm is not within my very small bag of tricks.  That much is pretty obvious.  

Climate change, and the way our society is dealing with it is something I care deeply about.  Unfortunately the 'green' movement is by nearly all accounts an utter disgrace and embarrassment when viewed as a response to the biggest danger our species has ever posed to itself.  The science behind the climate change, ie: the greenhouse effect, is completely sound and as non-controversial as any other established branch of science.  Anybody can point their internet browser to wikipedia, look up 'green house effect' and within minutes understand the basic principals of the issue and yet the green movement does not base itself on this very science, it's approach is different:

• Hollywood-ize the issue: Make green living trendy, hip, and cutting edge.  This approach will almost certainly gain a substantial amount of early adopters eager to be at the apex of what is new and fresh, but of course trends fade.  Once a trend reaches a critical saturation point is ceases to be cool, and experiences an immediate drop-off in membership.  Anybody who doubts this only needs look at the music, fashion, or entertainment industries to see the point.  Turning the climate crisis into a trendy issue is so insidiously wrong that its almost as if the choice to pursue the issue this way was consciously done as a way to dethrone the whole field; if I wanted to destroy an idea, no matter how rooted in reality the idea was, this would be a very efficient way to do ot; turn the idea into a trend, observe a temporary spike in the idea's membership followed shortly by a massive dismissal and categorical rejection.
• Religious Language: Al Gore's 300 million dollar ad campaign to hollywood-ize global warming is not only using the trend setting principals of the entertainment industry, but is also relying on a pseudo-religious approach to the issue.  When watching, or listening to the increasingly ubiquitous ads on the climate their sentimental appeal is becoming overwhelming; they tell us we must save the planet, stop our evil ways and repent of our miss-doings .  These ads are beginning to feature all types of religious leaders vocalizing our need to change our ways.  Religion?!  Religion has opposed every single advancement our species has ever made; be it murdering scientists for millennia, condoning slavery, opposing civil rights, or attempting to weasel its way into public policy.  Religion has nothing important to contribute to this issue; nor does it's emotional language.  The planet does not need to be saved; it will exist in perpetuity regardless of what our species does to it, the issue is our continued existence on it. 

The green movement would have us believe that if we would only recycle our cans and bottles, shop at our local co-ops, and make 'small sacrifices' that everything will be ok.  This is utter bullshit; if you have cancer you don't pop a daily multi-vitamin and call it good, you get chemotherapy.  This climate crisis is a cancer; and the green movement is our societal multi-vitamin; its like we are driving ourselves to hell and arguing over who gets the front seat.  I want to see us forget about the multi-vitamin and opt for the chemo, knowing full well that it will be uncomfortable, but is simply the only option.  Yet the green movement does not demand sacrifice; it tells us its ok to drive our autos as long as we consider their effect on the environment, as if feeling guilty actually accomplishes anything.  

The philosopher Daniel Dennet once said, "There is nothing I like less than bad arguments for an idea I hold dear." I wish to echo this statement by my hated of the green movement.  My only regret is that I'm not better at sarcasm.

Bellingham Life

Hit the mountain today... the winds were ripping which caused the trees to sway considerably. Because of all the windfall I didn't want to stay too long.

I heard from SPIE yesterday that they are very interested in me as a candidate but are waiting for the background check from the state of AK to come through; apparently these can be slow. I'm ready for the job though, almost too ready.

Mount Galbraith Bellingham Life

As of early October I've been calling Bellingham home. While I've still got much to write about life here, and the adventure it was relocating down here from AK, for now, I'll put up some info about the local mountain bike scene: Biking Galbraith!