On Tires, a bit about the website, a two paragraph rant on the oil spill followed by a slightly paranoid exhortation

My bike tires are shot. Four years of sitting in Phoenix sunshine, countless miles over less than ideal surface conditions have taken their toll. I've got pretty big wheels so I needed to go to the bike shop to find tires, and I was directed to the $47 tires that are so primo, they went all the way around. I asked if they had anything cheaper and picked up the $14.

I've always been happy that I've learned the basics of bike maintenance. I know its nothing to brag about, but I can change my own flat tires and adjust the derailer. It's a nice feeling to occasionally get my hands dirty from the rust and oil and street gunk that's accumulated on my bike. It's not such a nice feeling to have my attention directed to my sandaled feet by a bite and the sight of dozens of ants swarming over them. I need to remember to not stand on an ant hill while working.

I've made more revisions to the website. Still a work in progress, but its a step further than the holding page. Check it out here, at www.perkinsyamane.com. Pretty basic stuff actually. One of the trickier things was putting the links on the side with the main stuff in the middle.

The gulf oil spill thing is slimy, disgusting, and revolting. And that's just the business and political maneuvering. Up until a few days ago, BP and the US government were telling everyone that the spill was just releasing 5,000 barrels of oil a day. When they put the second small tube in to siphon what some estimates say are a fifth of the total, that pipeline is siphoning off 5,000 barrels of oil a day. BP has admitted that their estimates may be slightly off. They don't want the world to know how much damage they have caused. I can understand that, if the police pulled you over for speeding, and asked you to report on what speed you were going, unscrupulous people are going to lie, or say, "Gee, officer, I don't know."

I think BP is probably doing everything they can to stop the gusher. It's been nothing but a PR and financial nightmare for them. At the same token, I've heard rumors that BP is the laughingstock of the refining world for their lax approach to safety and security. It was their contractor, after all. The oil runs deeper too. The US government is also partly to blame for allowing the industry to largely self-regulate, and for giving carte-blanche sign off (categorical exclusions) to the Deepwater Horizon rig, and many others, because BP told the department that it was a "low-risk" endeavor. It's time to put a bright spotlight on the department of mineral management, as they are way way to cozy to the industry. Shame on the political machine as well, which is defending BP, clamping down and covering up reports emerging from the spill, and in general supporting BP more than their own constituents. In congress today, Republicans argued against a higher cap that would have made BP liable for up to $10 billion in damages. This is still less than BP's profits from last year. Not that the money would be able to repair the damage.

Don't trust the government, and don't trust business. Work with them, work for them, and while we need their systems and they need us, keep an eye on them and hold them to account.