April 2008

I ran 5K this morning. And I didn’t croak.

(I know it isn’t far, but the last time I ran 5K was over three weeks
ago, as I’ve been nursing hurt legs and bruised ego)

More hand wringing, perhaps, but this is one of those things that constantly bugs me and I can do absolutely nothing about it. So in order to let you glimpse another bit of my neurosis, I give you:

Our Arctic ice is melting.

There, I said it. I’m surrounded by people that insist there is no such thing as global warming, that it was all invented by “lefties” to push forward their tax-and-spend agenda, why did it snow so much if the earth is getting warmer, blah blah blah.

I’d love to tell them all to fuck off, but since I’m related to some of them, that isn’t very nice. So I try and needle them with pesky little “facts” once in a while, but they always have an answer.

How about this little bit?

WTF? You mean, after always having ice year round for say, the last million years or so, we’re looking at being ice free in the summer, and this is just normal? If I were to take a poll, right now in the room I am sitting in, out of the 100 people I bet the majority would insist it is normal, and there’s nothing we could do about it anyway. They probably have that last part right. The question is, what will this mean to everything else. The earth being like a giant rubik’s cube, where even if you get all the colors right on one side, chances are you’ll fuck up three or four other sides in the process.

Finally, this is not about being right. I hope to hell that my fears are unfounded, that the planet isn’t stricken with something akin to a cancer that we puny humans are powerless to treat. I really hope that ten years from now somebody will find this entry on google and come back and be able to honestly comment “see? Nothing to worry about, we’re all fine.” I really do.

I don’t know why, but this disturbs me greatly.

(and take “disturb” with a grain of salt, because some wierd shit gets under my skin and sorta festers there, but that’s how I feel at the moment)

To summarize the article (and in case the link goes dead), Sam’s Club, part of Wal-Mart, the biggest freakin’ retailer in America, has announced that effective immediately you can only buy four bags of rice at a time.

Sam’s Club warehouse unit is restricting the purchase of some rice to four bags a visit because of “recent supply and demand trends.”

The limits on jasmine, basmati and long-grain white rice will take place in all U.S. stores where allowed by law and are effective immediately, Sam’s Club spokeswoman Kristy Reed said today in an e-mailed statement.

Some consumers have started hoarding rice, the food staple for half the world, as supplies shrink. Prices have soared as China, Vietnam, India and Egypt curbed sales abroad to safeguard domestic supplies and cool inflation. Thailand also may restrict shipments, a World Bank official said today.

Now, let’s think about that. There is not enough rice to keep the stores stocked, because people are hoarding it. Everywhere. But they think it will happen here. There are riots in parts of the world over - food. Not over the Laker’s winning or not the big game, but food. This is serious bidness.

And (in my hand-wringing, worry about shit I can’t control sorta way), I think it’s just beginning.

Another Sam’s item: where the hell did the SpaghettiOs with Meatballs go? Huh? We haven’t been able to buy them at Sam’s in AGES, and it’s causing much distress in the seven-and-under group at our house.

Update: there’s a butter shortage in Japan. Huh?