(no subject)

This space is becoming rather mechanically oriented lately, isn't it?

I replaced the windshield wiper transmission on my truck today. wooisme very kindly went out to the junkyard for me to pick up the part (and unfortunately had to deal with some racist trash and condescension from the staff, so I'm even more grateful to her) while I was at work today and I hurriedly set about installing it.

Though by the end I was reduced to cajoling my dear one into holding the flashlight for me as I put the last few screws into the trim plate over the wiper assembly, I was rewarded with the peace of mind of knowing that, come winter, I won't be leaning my body to the right at a forty-five degree angle as I crane my neck to see out the side of the windshield that is still being cleared by the (mostly) working wiper arm. Yay!

I finished The Party's Over by Ricard Heinberg a few days ago and found it really interesting. His synopsis of world history in terms of the ebb and flow of society's use of energy was really eye-opening and it makes me want to read one of the works he references, Joseph Tainter's The Collapse of Complex Societies, which purports to examine the collapses of nearly two dozen societies at various points in world history and analyze them in the same terms. For someone who found school-taught history to be astoundingly boring, I'm certainly developing an interest in it now.

I will admit to being slightly concerned at times that Heinberg's viewpoint might be a touch extremist, but I wonder if that isn't just a reflex reaction; I have found that the truth in nearly every disagreement is somewhere in the middle, and taking any side's reasoning at face value is against my instinct. Still, what he has to say makes a great deal of sense. I do believe that there is a good change we are very near to Peak Oil, and I want to do what I can to prepare for it.

murstein asked that I give him my thoughts on the usefulness of the book. I think, and hope, that it could be useful in persuading people to consider the eventuality of running into oil and energy shortages and about how to respond to them. I hope it can persuade people that having limitless amounts of energy at our disposal is neither an entitlement, a given thing, or a necessity. It is practically useful in the sense that that it offers ideas for cutting back on energy use and on preparing to be more self-reliant. There are some ideas for societal change too; I have my doubts as to whether society as a whole, as it exists now, is going to be able to make any significant amount of the changes necessary, but I hope I'm pleasantly surprised.

If any one has any questions on or interest in the subject, I'd be glad to offer my input and my collection of websites that farmcat gave me.

Anyway, next on my reading list is James Kunstler's The Long Emergency. I chose that one on the hope that there will be even more practical advice than in The Party's Over.

Well, I think I'm going off to read. Good night!