An article in today’s Washington Post points out that older domestic oil sources aren’t producing like they used to:

Nationally, daily production of oil and natural gas liquids dropped last year to an average of 7.2 million barrels a day — a 36 percent decrease since peaking in 1970. At Prudhoe Bay, average daily production last year was about 450,000 barrels a day, a 72 percent drop from its peak.
With demand increasing domestically and abroad — particularly in China and India — supplies are being pushed to their limit, sending crude oil prices to record highs. The world has gradually lost spare pumping capacity that used to serve as an emergency reserve that could be opened as needed to moderate prices.

From our leaders:

Lawmakers from both sides of the political aisle have been calling for energy plans that they say will shake dependence on foreign oil, contending national security is at risk.

Good luck with that idea:

Imports now account for 58 percent of net oil consumption, according to the Energy Department’s Energy Information Administration. In another two decades that number is forecast to climb to 68 percent.

Bottom line, there’s not a lot of American oil left. And those who hold increased domestic drilling up as the solution to high energy prices are sadly mistaken.

Word is that companies are creating blogs:

A growing number of companies are stepping softly into the blogosphere, following a path blazed by Microsoft Corp., Sun Microsystems Inc. and others in the technology field.
The Internet journal format, they find, lets businesses expand their reach, generate product buzz and encourage consumer loyalty – while bypassing traditional media.
“When we feel that we need to get a direct response out there, we’ve certainly got this bully pulpit to some extent,” said Michael Wiley, GM’s director of new media. “It’s a place where we can talk directly to people unfiltered.”

I’m not sure how this is all that more “unfiltered” than the company simply posting the information on its website. And of course there’s the danger of the blog becoming an infomercial:

Rubel follows blog news on his blog, Micro Persuasion, and runs his company’s unit of the same name, advising clients on blogging and on podcasting, the suddenly fashionable creation of downloadable person-to-person broadcasts.
He and other PR professionals can rattle off blogs gone wrong – usually “fake blogs” that stir up the ire of bloggers by hiding the fact that they are really ad campaigns, such as one McDonald’s posted in advance of a Super Bowl campaign about a Lincoln-shaped french fry.
Blogs that smack of press releases won’t do the job, Rubel said. He tells clients to see what’s out there about their company or industry, then decide whether they want to engage bloggers or even start their own blogs.

According to the article, some businessblogs have open comments. Such a feature helps convert a corporate site into a “real” blog. But I wonder what they do if a bunch of irate customers start flaming the comments.

Here’s an outside-the-box approach to address the military’s recruitment woes:

One Wisconsin lawmaker figures if the U.S. military trusts 19-year-olds with a $10 million tank, then the state should trust them with a beer.
State Rep. Mark Pettis, a Republican who served in the Navy, is pushing a bill that would drop the drinking age to 19 for Wisconsin soldiers – but only if the federal government agrees it will not yank an estimated $50 million a year in highway aid.

Okay, the recruitment problem isn’t the stated objective. But I suspect in a number of cases this would be a handy selling point for would-be recruits.

The Metro Pulse provides an update on near-term expansions to Knoxville’s greenway system.
Inch by inch, one could say.
Imagine if planners had incorporated such stuff 40 or more years ago, when such projects were more feasible. We’d have a good system today.
I guess green, non-vehicular space didn’t have the same appeal then as it does now.

Horrible:

A 47-year-old Oak Ridge man was killed Thursday evening in an accident on Illinois Avenue near Boeing Road.
Mark Randall Martin, 109 Mockingbird Lane, was riding his bicycle at 6:40 p.m. Thursday on South Illinois Avenue near Boeing Road, when he was struck by a vehicle, according to his father, Bill Martin.

As if that isn’t tragic enough, consider the cause:

According to Lt. Alan Massengill of the Oak Ridge Police Department, the vehicle was driven by Wanda Thornton, 39, 1113 Rockley Road, Knoxville. He said Thornton indicated to officers that she leaned over to adjust her radio and her vehicle left the road, striking Martin.

A female driver adjusting the radio as she approaches someone riding on the shoulder. Lovely. I can just imagine the thought process.
Driver: Man, I hate this song; they played it when I was listening this morning. I need to change the station.
Let’s see–is there anyone on the road ahead?
No . . . except for that guy riding a bike. But he’s a good two or three feet outside the lane. I’m good at driving without looking at the road, so no problem there.
Man, how do you change the station? You’d think in this expensive SUV they’d have a simpler radio to operate. I know there are station presets, but the owner’s manual was too complicated to try to read, so I’ll just hit this knob until I find another station.
[Crunch].
Hmmm. What was that?
And sadly, in our just world, she probably won’t receive any meaningful punishment for killing a father of two.
If I sound irked, it’s because I am. It could just as easily been me getting squashed by some inattentive tank driver. There are too many dangerous drivers out there. Most of the time, I try not to think about it–otherwise I wouldn’t ride. But they’re out there, armed with radios, and cell phones, and make up, and kids.