Matt Jones' Random Acts of Verbiage

Tofino on the west coast of Vancouver Island is a wonderful place to visit! I had the pleasure of camping at Bella Pacifica with some friends the other week and had a wonderful time! I finally got my pictures up so check out my Camping at Tofino page to see some of our adventures (they can also be viewed at flickr). We even got to see whales!

Gas prices are over $3.00 a gallon in the US. But of course everyone in the blogosphere (or anyone with a car) already knows that. (Although before I get into some discussion here, I would like to point out that the gas station near my house up here in Vancouver, BC is at $4.09USD per gallon [that is after converting from litres and from the, fairly strong, Canadian dollar], yes, that’s right, over $4.00!) There are two things I would like to discuss here. First is an article from washingtonpost.com called Going a Short Way to Make a Point. Second is an interesting suggestion for lowering gas prices.

Hypercubed linked to a washingtonpost.com article that discusses some of the hypocrisy happening in Washington (DC that is) in both parties.

“Since George Bush and Dick Cheney took over as president and vice president, gas prices have doubled!” charged Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), standing at an Exxon station on Capitol Hill where regular unleaded hit $3.10. “They are too cozy with the oil industry.”

She then hopped in a waiting Chrysler LHS (18 mpg) — even though her Senate office was only a block away.

My impression is that gas prices have very little to do with how “cozy” the government is with oil companies and more to do with the large oil companies greed. Yes, they could be taxed more, that could help, but the fact that the oil companies want more money and the fact that people in the US love their cars equate to high gas prices.

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) used a Hyundai Elantra to take the one-block journey to and from the gas-station news conference. He posed in front of the fuel prices and gave them a thumbs-down. “Get tough on big oil!” he demanded of the Bush administration.

Yeah, thanks. How are we supposed to take our law-makers seriously when they are all talk (not only that, but the talk seems to be of the ad hominem “Bush’s fault” sort)? Here are just a few of the cars driven by our representatives:

Sen. John Sununu (R-N.H.) hopped in a GMC Yukon (14 mpg). Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) climbed aboard a Nissan Pathfinder (15). Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) stepped into an eight-cylinder Ford Explorer (14). Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) disappeared into a Lincoln Town Car (17). Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) met up with an idling Chrysler minivan (18).

Such fuel efficient cars they have! And one of the most blatant hypocrytical statements comes from Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) who has a Ford Explorer XLT and complained that Bush:

remains opposed to higher fuel-efficiency standards.

Ok… so, even if that is true, how are we to believe that he isn’t opposed to higher fuel-efficiency standards?

I personally think the hypocrisy extends much farther than our politicans. In this case it seems that our representatives actually represent much of the sentiment and lifestyle of many Americans. We love to complain about gas prices and yet still continue to drive giant vehicles that are horrible gas guzzlers. I have been driving a lot lately so I really shouldn’t be complaining because it is my choice to do that driving (although, thankfully my car gets over 30mpg) – but of course I am being hypocrytical here because I do still complain, believe me, I know I am no better than anyone else I am talking about here.

My point is this: in order for things to change two things need to happen: 1) we need to be able to beleive that our law-makers are serious about making change and actually walking the walk and 2) US citizens need to stop complaining, stop blaming the scapegoat, and actually do something to initiate change. This leads to my second discussion point. I hope you are still reading.

Sally forwarded an email offering a suggestion to help lower gas prices. It looked fairly interesting. I have no idea if it can actually work, but it is something anyway. It is important to understand that the one day “don’t buy gas on a certain day” does not work at all. It is like putting a band-aid on … I don’t know… something really bloody… and large… We need to look at the systemic issue and not just the surface. Possible solutions are to simply drive less, use more fuel efficient vehicles, or just don’t drive at all. If enough people do that, things would have to change. The other means of attack would be aimed at the oil companies. Of course, anything effective could not be anything like the one day protest. Apparently the email/idea was originally sent by a retired Coca Cola executive and came from one of his engineer buddies who retired from Halliburton (this, of course, cannot be confirmed). Snopes reports that this does not work, but I think it is worth a try.

Here is the idea (from the email):

For the rest of this year, DON’T purchase ANY gasoline from the two biggest companies (which now are one), EXXON and MOBIL. If they are not selling any gas, they will be inclined to reduce their prices. If they reduce their prices, the other companies will have to follow suit.

Simple, eh? Note: in Canada, don’t use Esso gas as that is an Exxon company.

Now what? Well this doesn’t really work if just a few people do it. Pass this around. Copy what I said, trackback, whatever, just do it. If you want the email that is being passed around, I will send it to you. Snopes suggests that the only way to lower prices is to reduce how much we buy. I think this is completely valid: buy better vehicles, buy less gas – this is always good advice. That being said, when we do buy gas, buying it from non-Exxon companies seems to make sense. What do you folks think about this?

Resources:
Gasbuddy: current gas prices all around the country.
Washingtonpost.com – Going a Short Way to Make a Point
ExxonMobile Corporate
Wikipedia – ExxonMobil: info on the company (largest publicly traded company in the world, 6th largest overall (in 2000))
Snopes – Urban Legends Reference Pages – Gas Out

Stuff:

I am back in the ‘Couv after a long and enjoyable weekend. My interview at Western went well, I think. Somewhat discouraging is that there were 45 applicants but only 20 to 25 get in. I think I have decided that I will definitely be moving to Bellingham (despite the lack of jobs) regardless of being accepted to the masters program. If I don’t get in I will just apply again in the winter. Now I just need to find an apartment in Bellingham.

The parents’ move down to south WA went well. They have lots of stuff… Their new house (that they are renting until they find a place they like) is nice but I just can’t get over how close the houses are. I can’t imagine ever buying one like that. Also, now it takes 5 hours to get there instead of 3, so that kinda sucks. Oh well. I think I will be heading down there this weekend again for an early birthday weekend and a trip to Powell’s Bookstore (without any money, mind you).

Music:

I wanted to mention a few shows that are coming up that you should attend:
May 6th: John and Braydn (of The Lonely Forest) will be at The Crocodile with others. 21+, $7, 9:00pm. Unfortunately I don’t think I can make it to this one, but you should!
May 8th: John Van Deusen (of The Lonely Forest) and Tara Ward (of Late Tuesday) will be at The Shop at 3rd and Snoqualmie in Mt. Vernon, WA. Doors @ 6:30pm, $3-$10 suggested donation. I will be there!
May 25th: Late Tuesday has a CD release show! The Viking Union at WWU will host @ 8:00pm, $7 general/$5 students. This is a benefit concert for Lou Gehrig’s disease. I am pretty sure I will be there (can’t see why I wouldn’t be)!

And speaking of Late Tuesday‘s CD release, they are preselling their newest album Drowning out Love at their website. Cost is $15 and if you order by May 9th, they are offering free shipping. The CD should be shipped by the end of the month, so order up! They also have a few samples from the new stuff available in their music player at the top of their website. Stop by and I hope to see you at their CD release show!

I am back from a wonderful (although somewhat wet) camping trip with some friends to Tofino, BC on the west coast of Vancouver Island (pictures to follow). Before I post on that (I still need to organize all the photos), I wanted to show a few pictures of a creature I had never seen (or heard of) before: Velella velella or more commonly, by-the-wind sailors. (Not to be confused with the Seattle Band)

We first saw and heard of these Cnidaria while on a whale watching boat when we came to huge amounts of these creatures just floating along together:

We were told that this little things, which are related to Jellyfish, are one of a very few species that have a rigid sail as a means of movement by the wind. Apparently the sail is at 55 degrees to the wind which is a fairly effective angle to sail by. It is also interesting to note that Velella that live on opposite shores (like over in Japan) will have the sail oriented in the opposite direction (so called right and left handed). Like Jellyfish, they have tentacles that hang down to sting and catch their prey (but don’t worry if you come across them, they are not strong enough to pierce human skin). Later, while walking on the beach, we came across thousands and thousands of Valella washed up on shore (it was hard to know if they would die there or if they would be washed back out to sea…), it seems their sails had failed some of them:

And here they are up close:

And here is an image from this site that shows the tentacles hanging down (I never got to see these):

Interesting, eh? I had no idea about these little Valella! There are so many interesting creatures out there!

Resources:
Wikipedia – Valella
Monterey Bay Aquarium – By-the-wind sailor
JelliesZone – Velella
Marine Life Information Network for Britain and Ireland – By-the-wind-sailor – Velella velella
Cornwall Wildlife Trust – By-the-wind sailor (Velella velella)
Oregon State and NOAA – Velella velella (PDF)

PS: Won’t be back till Monday or so because I have an interview at Western tomorrow and then parents are moving on Sunday. Busy weekend!

The Lonely Forest: Eric Sturgeon on bass, Braydn Krueger on drums and backup vocals, John Van Deusen on keys and vocals, and Tony Ruland on electric guitar.

John Van Deusen

Boys and girls, The Lonely Forest knows how to rock! This weekend The Lonely Forest played three CD release shows and I was able to catch them at the Crocodile (pictures below) in Seattle and at the Bakerview in Bellingham. Both shows were great but there was definitely something about the intensity at the Crocodile (although I did want to hear I Blame Us and Now Onto Other News, but I suppose a kickin’ version of God is Dead made up for it…). If you ever have a chance, catch them live. John Van Deusen’s first EP and the band’s new EP are both great and their live shows are a great compliment to both of those releases. Stop by their website or their MySpace for music and show information. You can also check out my review of their EP John Van Deusen and the Lonely Forest.

And now for the pictures (clickable for larger versions) and video clips:

Read more…

This term in Systematic Theology here at Regent, professor John Stackhouse gave some wonderful lectures. Contained in those lectures were some very quotable statements, some humerous, some serious, all pithy. I didn’t have the presence of mind to write them down myself, but thankfully, classmate Dan did.

Probably his [Paul's] love notes were full of theology, which is probably why he was single.

The authority of the Bible does not reside in the text of the Bible. The authority of the Bible resides in the Author of the Bible who continues to teach us from His book.

The lecture is a transfer of data from the professor’s notes to the notes of the student without it passing through the minds of either.

Faith is not ratcheting up our beliefs so that there are no doubts. Faith is following Jesus, doubts and all.

Some of you could get higher grades if you were just disobedient to God.

One can be strictly just without love, but one cannot be properly loving without holiness.

Needless to say, I really enjoyed the class.

I just got back from my Systematic Theology A with John Stackhouse final. I think it went fairly well, not great, but I am satisfied, probably a B exam. I can live with that. I am officially done in Canada (not with the degree mind you, just with taking classes up here).

The exam consisted of picking three of five propositions and writting an essay response to each one over three hours. Here are the directions:

Respond to the following propositions in the following way:

1. Rephrase them to make sure you understand them.

2. Indicate what about them you can affirm; what is at least partly accurate, well phrased, comprehensive, significant, and helpful.

3. Indicate what about them you cannot affirm; what is at least partly inaccurate, badly phrased, truncated, trivial, and unhelpful.

4. Conclude briefly with your overall evaluation.

And here are the three that I choose to write on:

Theology is a waste of time. We need to be out there, helping people.

If God can do anything, then can he create a rock so big he can’t lift it? Can he do evil?

Time and space began with the Big Bang. As Creator, God therefore transcends time and space.

You have three hours beginning… now!

Google has finally come out with Google Calendar! MS Outlook has been ok to use, but I have been waiting for Google Calendar for a long time. Now we have access to our calendar from anywhere we have a net connection. It is extremely easy to add events, invite guests, and have reminders sent. I am really excited about this! (Is that sad?)

Also, there are a few shows this weekend to check out. Friday the 21st you will have to choose between Tara Ward (of Late Tuesday) and Joe Day (of Mindhead) playing @ the Q Cafe at 8:00pm (doors at 7:30, $6) OR The Lonely Forest CD release show @ the Crocodile Cafe at 9:00pm ($7) along with Shim, Mooncalf, and David Bavas & The Down Comforter. VERY tough decision. Lonely Forest at the Croc will rock for sure and I think I will probably end up there. It sounds like they will be playing right at 9:00pm, if they play later (say 10ish) I will probably try and catch some of Tara and Joe’s show. If you do want to hear both of the shows, you could catch Tara and Joe Friday night and then see The Lonely Forest on Saturday night up in Bellingham @ The Bakerview (I think that is at Christ the King church) at 8:00pm ($10door/$8adv) along with Mates of State and Viva Voce. Good music folks, check it out!