Increasing Oil Production

I find it incredibly funny that Saudia Arabia is going to increase their production of oil from about 9 million barrels of crude per day to 9.7 million. They're also going to invest in some kind of new technology that will allow them to output 12.5 million barrels daily by the end of the year.

They're saying it's to combat the sharp and quick increase in gas prices around the world [read: the United States]. Oil is going for twice what it was a year ago, and people are finally beginning to consider alternative sources of energy as well as more efficient means of transportation. Amtrack is turning record profits as people start choosing to take trains rather than drive. People are also using public tranportation as well as biking places they need to go.

So basically, the oil minister of Saudi Arabia, along with the rest of OPEC no doubt, is saying to himself "Oh shit, you mean people are SERIOUS about driving smaller cars and riding their bikes to work and using less gas?? I never thought this day would come! EVERYBODY PANIC."

While high gas prices will affect many people and families in difficult ways, I think it's the best thing in the long run that ever could have happened to this country.

Batteries

If you ever wondered why you should NEVER throw batteries away, well, here's your reason.

My grandfather recently passed away, and in the weeks following, my mother and I have the task of cleaning up and cleaning out his office. His filing system consisted of opening a drawer and dropping in whatever files and records he was holding, as well as the occasional golf ball or odd change. He also kept stacks of magazines, old bills, etc., variously piled on the floor or in filing cabinets. As the acting president of our small family business, he came in each day long enough to open the day's mail and make any calls to overdue accounts or business associates, as needed. Most days, if you blinked, you missed him.

So it makes sense that, after we moved to a new office building 10 or so years ago, anything he brought with him from the old office [and from the days when he worked a full day] might still be in the office, so many years later.

I was sorting through some things on shelves in his office and came across an unopened package of DD batteries, covered with a fine layer of dust. When I picked them up, I was rather horrified to notice that some of the contents of the batteries had managed to escape out of the bottom of the battery. Again, these were unopened and never used [or even touched after being purchased, apparently], so it could be assumed that this happens to all batteries at some point.