http://www.brianarner.com/weblog/ An Unauthorized Free-Speech Zone en-us weblog@brianarner.com 2008-06-30T10:47:27-05:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 http://www.brianarner.com/weblog/archives/002358.html Getting the week going with some optimistic forecasts. "Global economy faces deep slowdown and deflation threat, BIS warns":The global economy may be heading for a far deeper crisis than is expected and a bout of deflation in the world's biggest... 2358@http://www.brianarner.com/weblog/ 2008-06-30T10:47:27-05:00 http://www.brianarner.com/weblog/archives/002357.html Yesterday CIBC released a sober energy report. CBS News did a brief segment on it: A few highlights:Gas prices will soon hit $7 per gallon and that will make driving a car too expensive for millions of Americans, taking an... 2357@http://www.brianarner.com/weblog/ 2008-06-27T14:22:01-05:00 http://www.brianarner.com/weblog/archives/002356.html Recently I've heard rightists making some remarkable claims regarding the impact that future American oil exploration/drilling will have on current prices. They are trying to convert Americans' frustration with high gas prices today into support for long-term projects. For example,... 2356@http://www.brianarner.com/weblog/ 2008-06-25T21:51:21-05:00 http://www.brianarner.com/weblog/archives/002355.html On 21 June 2008 I made good use of the longest day of the year by completing my longest ride of the year--my fourth Cherohala Challenge. The day started early. I left Knoxville at 5:45 am and arrived at Tellico... 2355@http://www.brianarner.com/weblog/ 2008-06-23T13:51:27-05:00 http://www.brianarner.com/weblog/archives/002354.html I was not at all surprised to see Senator McCain flip-flop with yesterday's announcement that he now opposes the federal moratorium on offshore oil drilling. I expect more politicians to follow this path as public pressure to do something about... 2354@http://www.brianarner.com/weblog/ 2008-06-18T12:14:52-05:00 http://www.brianarner.com/weblog/archives/002353.html I haven't checked the presidential candidate's schedules, but I hope Senators Obama and McCain are planning to take vacations this summer--preferably at the same time. And I'm not just talking about a long Fourth of July weekend, I mean like... 2353@http://www.brianarner.com/weblog/ 2008-06-12T11:35:27-05:00 http://www.brianarner.com/weblog/archives/002351.html Despite the media focus on gas prices this year, it's apparent that many consumers still don't understand the root cause of skyrocketing oil prices. That is to say, they don't comprehend the dynamics driving energy supply and demand. NPR recently... 2351@http://www.brianarner.com/weblog/ 2008-06-11T21:16:35-05:00 http://www.brianarner.com/weblog/archives/002349.html Here's a story on a group's intention to erect a giant Confederate flag near the intersection of Interstates 75 and 4:The Sons of Confederate Veterans wants drivers in the Tampa area to see the massive flag -- 30 feet high... 2349@http://www.brianarner.com/weblog/ 2008-06-03T13:12:58-05:00 http://www.brianarner.com/weblog/archives/002348.html For reasons that are not entirely clear to me, I've opened an account at Twitter. Apparently, I have an inner need to try to keep up with the cool techno widgets. You can catch the tweeting action at http://twitter.com/barner.... 2348@http://www.brianarner.com/weblog/ 2008-05-27T01:27:55-05:00 http://www.brianarner.com/weblog/archives/002347.html Via No Silence Here, Patrick Beeson offers Knoxville drivers suggestions on how to pass cyclists. I ride a fair amount with traffic, and to build on Patrick's post, here's four things that annoy me most about passing vehicles:Fast-moving vehicles that... 2347@http://www.brianarner.com/weblog/ 2008-05-23T00:13:09-05:00 http://www.brianarner.com/weblog/archives/002346.html I noticed the Knoxville News-Sentinel had at least three cycling-related stories over the past few days. That's pretty good publicity. "Bicycle museum's curator wheels and deals for history"A judge in Cumberland Gap, TN, has turned his bicycle collection into the... 2346@http://www.brianarner.com/weblog/ 2008-05-20T09:41:10-05:00 http://www.brianarner.com/weblog/archives/002345.html On Saturday, 17 May 2008, I joined eight other cyclists from BikeForums.net (where I have the user name "Velo Vol") on a bicycle ride in Haywood County, NC. The course was the "Pigeon Loop": it started on the Blue Ridge... 2345@http://www.brianarner.com/weblog/ 2008-05-19T13:04:53-05:00 http://www.brianarner.com/weblog/archives/002344.html Yesterday Senator McCain gave a speech in which he outlined what he planned to do during his first term as president. Among his proposals was this:I will ask Congress to grant me the privilege of coming before both houses to... 2344@http://www.brianarner.com/weblog/ 2008-05-16T13:41:19-05:00 http://www.brianarner.com/weblog/archives/002343.html A couple recent developments in the federal government's war on high oil prices. The first is to pretend the problem doesn't exist. Literally. From the April CPI report (emphasis added):Energy prices were unchanged last month after jumping 1.9% on March,... 2343@http://www.brianarner.com/weblog/ 2008-05-14T12:47:23-05:00 http://www.brianarner.com/weblog/archives/002342.html Like Mish, I say good riddance to the SUV era. Higher oil prices are taking a toll on big vehicle sales:High fuel prices are causing the value of used SUVs to plummet, often below what's listed in the buying guides... 2342@http://www.brianarner.com/weblog/ 2008-05-09T11:02:39-05:00