A Master at Work

There's nothing I enjoy more than watching someone perform at the top of their game. And with that, I have nothing else to add:

November

I awake to the sound
of rain
on the roof.

Which means
I will need
rain cape,
boots,
and wool mitts
on my ride to work.

I step outside
into the drops
striking my face,
washing away all the
accumulations
of an unfocused yesterday.

(Image Source: Richard Masoner.)

Secretary LaHood Gets It

Here's a quote from Secretary Ray LaHood on "livable communities", from the October issue of the AARP Bulletin:

Q. You talk a lot about livable communities. How would you describe one?

A. It’s a community where if people don’t want an automobile, they don’t have to have one. A community where you can walk to work, your doctor’s appointment, pharmacy or grocery store. Or you could take light rail, a bus or ride a bike.

Finally! A Secretary of Transportation that understands it's the Department of Transportation, not the Department of Highways. And I like his approach: don't force people out of their cars -- entice them. Create communities with a range of transportation choices and let people pick the ones that work for them. Cars, for some. Bicycles, for others. And for some, a comfortable pair of shoes.

Liar!

From the Wall Street Journal:
"Crude prices slipped below $77 a barrel Thursday after a U.S. government report showed a higher-than-expected increase in oil inventories across the board and a further fall in refinery processing rates."

And now for the money quote:
"...refiners are still struggling due to poor profit margins and are attempting to cut stocks in the face of continued slack demand by trimming back on refinery processing rates with a fall in utilization levels to below 80% of total operating capacity."

So the next time groups like The Heritage Foundation publish claptrap like this, give them the appropriate response: Liar!

Update (11/20/09): Valero to Close Money-Losing Delaware Refinery

Symbiosis

I breathe.
Pulling into me
all that is in the world.
Despair
and intolerance.
A child dancing on tiptoe.
An old man weeping.
Oxygen.

I breathe.
Sending into the world
all that is in me.
Hope
and compassion.
Dreams.
A smile.
Carbon dioxide.