Re: [LAU] A crazy idea

On Fri, 5 Mar 2010, michael noble wrote: Many yeaars ago, I read a science fiction story, set in a time well past peak oil, when conservation of hydrocarbons was at the forefront of everyone's mind, and society would heap much shame upon anyone who wasted even a drop. The story was about a father and son who owned an antique mid-20th century 'muscle car', and spent their every spare night or weekend in the garage lavishing attention upon it. Once a month or so, much to the consternation of the neighbors, they would open up the garage, start it up, and very noisily parade it around the block. After recounting the disgust of each neighbor they pass, the narrator follows the pair back into their garage. As soon as they close the door securely behind them, they open a locked cupboard, remove a large crank, and insert it into a socket concealed behind the gas filler cap. As the Dad begins to turn the crank, the son checks a counter concealed behind the front grill. "I think we may have gone a bit far today. We're each going to have to spend a full hour a day at the crank if we're to have any hope of taking it out again next month". -- Rick Green "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." -Benjamin Franklin "As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals." -President Barack Obama 20 Jan 2009