The Times, They Are A’Changing

I was staring at my collected news chum while eating lunch, when suddenly a common theme came to me: All of these articles have some element of external changes impacting something that has long been standard:

• Water Wars. Mark Twain once said, “Whiskey is for drinking and water is for fighting over“. I’ve been reading about Wm. Mulholland, and know the water fights well. So my eye was naturally drawn to this article on how Lake Mead is at its lowest level in years. This is the lake behind Hoover Dam, and is the source of water for California, Nevada, and Arizona (as well as lots of hydroelectric power). Why is it low? Climate change and overbuilding. Water wars, here we come.
• Stamping It Out. We’ve all been reading about the problems of the US Postal Service, potential cutbacks eliminating Saturday delivery, and such. We often here it is due to the pension funding requirements. That may be part of it, but it is not all of it. This is demonstrated by the fact that postal services all over the world are struggling with lower use.
• Reducing Use. The increased awareness of plastic and environmentalism has led to a push to be greener — to use less plastics and to resue. SodaStream is attempting to take advantage of that trend to battle Coke and Pepsi. Whereas their message did not gain traction in the past, it is gaining traction now. We have a similar product in our house — we never use the presupplied syrups (yuk – HFCS), but instead use all the wonderful Torini and similar syrups to make great Italian sodas.
• Mapping It Out. This is an anniversary year for the London Underground, and it also happens to be an anniversary year for its iconic map. This map has been forced to change as new lines have been added; these changes have been things users do not always like.
• Telegraph Changes. My daughter goes to UC Berkeley; in fact, her dorm is near Telegraph Ave. It is an interesting and quirky street… but it is also dying and the city is attempting to revitalize it. The problem? Most students these days aren’t into counterculture, used book stores, and such. They want Target and cheap prices.
• Driving Fast. Americans love driving fast. In fact, we love it so much so we want our speedometers to create the illusion that our cars can go at drag race speeds. The problem? Most speedometers lie: the car cannot go that fast.

Music: Portraits – The Best of Amanda McBroom (Amanda McBroom): “Dreaming”

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