The follow-up on yesterday's Rant is that everything is copacetic.
My mother’s will has a section in it related to my family’s future living arrangements, and while it is complicated, it does allow us to continue living where we are into perpetuity.
So let’s move on from that mess—and I still think it is somewhat messy—to some topics that I think are a lot more … relaxing.
Today is Earth Day, the celebration of our earth’s existence and our efforts to see to it that it continues to function and thrive into the future.
It is the 52nd anniversary of the day, and I remember that way back when, the buzz word for this day was “ecology,” a word that has kind of fallen out of favor today, replaced by the buzz term “global warming.”
The use of the word “ecology” was not as political, or at least as outright political, as the term “global warming” is today.
We can keep the planet going with proper maintenance just like we can keep everything running smoothly if we take care of it.
My mother’s will has a section in it related to my family’s future living arrangements, and while it is complicated, it does allow us to continue living where we are into perpetuity.
So let’s move on from that mess—and I still think it is somewhat messy—to some topics that I think are a lot more … relaxing.
Today is Earth Day, the celebration of our earth’s existence and our efforts to see to it that it continues to function and thrive into the future.
It is the 52nd anniversary of the day, and I remember that way back when, the buzz word for this day was “ecology,” a word that has kind of fallen out of favor today, replaced by the buzz term “global warming.”
The use of the word “ecology” was not as political, or at least as outright political, as the term “global warming” is today.
We can keep the planet going with proper maintenance just like we can keep everything running smoothly if we take care of it.
The earth is aging, and it has its kinks and crevices just like we all do as we age.
But “global warming” has come to mean so much more than that, blaming earth’s ills entirely on the people that inhabit it, and enacting laws, regulations and dreams that not only regulate how we live, but stifle us as a civilization, politicizing even the bag of garbage that we put out for sanitation pickup.
The latest bow to the “global warming” and “climate change” politicization of “ecology” was thrown by New York State Governor Kathy “The Yokel” Hochul, who claims that her state will not sell any gas-powered vehicles in a few years, pointing to an improvement in the carbon footprint when the state abandons these vehicles for the manufacture and sale of electric ones.
What she fails to point out in her own naïve way is that electric vehicles are also pollutants, if for nothing else than the fact that the batteries—which are only good for a period of time—are not disposed of easily, have major leakage problems, and thus, also upset the carbon footprint, because where do you put them when they are done?
Not only that, but let’s face it: until car manufacturers fully get on board with electric cars as far as their competitive price versus conventional gas powered vehicles—electric vehicles are priced thousands of dollars more than gas-powerd vehicles are—then sorry, the general public is not going to buy the electric vehicles.
And maintenance is also more for these electric cars, so what money are you saving by getting one—let’s be honest about it, people are still more concerned with their finances than anything else, and “ecology” often takes a back seat to how much money we have in our wallets.
Sure, there are more charging stations around, but if I have to plan a trip related to where charging stations are rather than where I am going, that causes another problem for buying an electric car versus a gas-powered one.
And yes, I do recycle my plastic bottles, have been doing it since it came to the fore in New York State 50 or so years ago, and I do believe that ALL plastic and glass bottles and also ALL cans, should be recyclable, for the measly five cents we get per item.
Then tomorrow, we have a holiday that a growing segment of the population cherishes and looks forward to each year, and that is Record Store Day.
This celebration of mainly vinyl records—although other formats like CDs, cassettes and 8-track tapes sometimes get thrown into this special day’s mix—has happened for the past 14 or 15 years, picking up steam each year.
In fact, last year, it even received what I believe is its first major media coverage, because as vinyl records have increased in popularity—especially with the young, supposedly hip college-age crowd—record collecting in general has gone more mainstream.
Each year, independent record stores around the country offer customers records they cannot get any other time of year, collectibles and other items that are unique to the day.
Yes, the day has gotten a bit out of hand, and an increasing amount of stuff that is already out there is being replicated and recycled for this day, but there are still a lot of unique vinyl offerings out there on each Record Store Day that piques the interest of record collectors the world over.
I will be at my local record store bright and early to see what they have and what I might be interested in.
I am sure I will find some interesting things, but I will act within my budget and not go over it. I also have a gift certificate that dates back to Hanukkah that I received from my wife, so I can bolster my purchases with that.
You can check out what is on this year’s RSD list at https://recordstoreday.com/NewsItem/9984
Electric cars and vinyl records … who would have thought about these things as perfect late April weekend bed fellows 50 years ago?
Not me!
Have a good weekend, and I will speak to you again on Monday.
But “global warming” has come to mean so much more than that, blaming earth’s ills entirely on the people that inhabit it, and enacting laws, regulations and dreams that not only regulate how we live, but stifle us as a civilization, politicizing even the bag of garbage that we put out for sanitation pickup.
The latest bow to the “global warming” and “climate change” politicization of “ecology” was thrown by New York State Governor Kathy “The Yokel” Hochul, who claims that her state will not sell any gas-powered vehicles in a few years, pointing to an improvement in the carbon footprint when the state abandons these vehicles for the manufacture and sale of electric ones.
What she fails to point out in her own naïve way is that electric vehicles are also pollutants, if for nothing else than the fact that the batteries—which are only good for a period of time—are not disposed of easily, have major leakage problems, and thus, also upset the carbon footprint, because where do you put them when they are done?
Not only that, but let’s face it: until car manufacturers fully get on board with electric cars as far as their competitive price versus conventional gas powered vehicles—electric vehicles are priced thousands of dollars more than gas-powerd vehicles are—then sorry, the general public is not going to buy the electric vehicles.
And maintenance is also more for these electric cars, so what money are you saving by getting one—let’s be honest about it, people are still more concerned with their finances than anything else, and “ecology” often takes a back seat to how much money we have in our wallets.
Sure, there are more charging stations around, but if I have to plan a trip related to where charging stations are rather than where I am going, that causes another problem for buying an electric car versus a gas-powered one.
And yes, I do recycle my plastic bottles, have been doing it since it came to the fore in New York State 50 or so years ago, and I do believe that ALL plastic and glass bottles and also ALL cans, should be recyclable, for the measly five cents we get per item.
Then tomorrow, we have a holiday that a growing segment of the population cherishes and looks forward to each year, and that is Record Store Day.
This celebration of mainly vinyl records—although other formats like CDs, cassettes and 8-track tapes sometimes get thrown into this special day’s mix—has happened for the past 14 or 15 years, picking up steam each year.
In fact, last year, it even received what I believe is its first major media coverage, because as vinyl records have increased in popularity—especially with the young, supposedly hip college-age crowd—record collecting in general has gone more mainstream.
Each year, independent record stores around the country offer customers records they cannot get any other time of year, collectibles and other items that are unique to the day.
Yes, the day has gotten a bit out of hand, and an increasing amount of stuff that is already out there is being replicated and recycled for this day, but there are still a lot of unique vinyl offerings out there on each Record Store Day that piques the interest of record collectors the world over.
I will be at my local record store bright and early to see what they have and what I might be interested in.
I am sure I will find some interesting things, but I will act within my budget and not go over it. I also have a gift certificate that dates back to Hanukkah that I received from my wife, so I can bolster my purchases with that.
You can check out what is on this year’s RSD list at https://recordstoreday.com/NewsItem/9984
Electric cars and vinyl records … who would have thought about these things as perfect late April weekend bed fellows 50 years ago?
Not me!
Have a good weekend, and I will speak to you again on Monday.
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