Captain Obvious

Unlike basketball or football, baseball seems to me painfully slow to watch.  Evidently, I am not the only one who feels that way. According to this from USA Today.   The rules of the game have been changed to speed it up.

We are witnessing major changes in the game, and perhaps I missed it, but there doesn’t seem to be the polarization we see almost everywhere else?  Why isn’t boxing illegal?  Don’t we believe knocking a person out leaves permanent damage?  I could go on and on, but work with me here.  Something truly amazing has happened.

As you study the graphic and start watching the outfall from these new rules, I am sure the pace for the game will increase.  That will no doubt have side effects that detract from the game like added time for commercials.  As I watch the evening news, I have clocked the time covering news rather than playing commercials, and it is now absurd.  Where are the rules that news shows have to have more than half of their time covering content to be considered news.  Our local newspaper has rules that advertising content cannot exceed 1/3 of the paper.

I have been amazed at the civility of this transition in baseball.  Look at these closing comments in an excellent article from February 16^th in the Wall Street Journal:

“The rollout of the rules will likely lead to some early moments of confusion over violations and frustration by players who are adapting to new restrictions. Data had been collected through a survey of minor league players who had experienced the pitch clock and said that “90% of them said they were able to adjust within a month.” Spring training runs about six weeks, and MLB hopes that will be long enough for most issues to have been ironed out by Opening Day.”

“Major League Baseball is embarking on a gamble against its conventions. The league hopes to preserve and increase future interest in the sport by reverting it closer to its roots through the use of novel rules. Baseball’s past, present, and future will coalesce in an attempt to deliver a sustainable version of the sport. The clock has started, now everyone must assume their stance.”

I want to see research into how and why this transition seems so easy and everything else in the world seems frozen against change.  Is it because everyone in the baseball business was looking at the relentless decline in their fans following the sport?  Is it because there are just a few in power in the right places who all see handwriting on the wall and have the power to change things?  Contrast these changes with the state of our political system as summarized by Senator Joe Manchin the Wall Street Journal.

My point is that there is something to be learned here, and I really want those who can do this research to do it.  We need new rules everywhere, in our politics, in our media, in our communications.

I would like to believe we still live in a free society with the freedom of choice in how we spend our leisure time.  I am always thankful that so many others provide these amenities, and I do respect their need to bring in enough money to make them sustainable.  It worries me when I hear about farmers going out of business, being pushed out in fact because they just can’t compete with the giant corporations.  It also makes me cringe when I hear small local businesses being crushed by Walmart and Amazon.  Worse yet, Walmart goes into a town, destroys the businesses and then seems to have no remorse in shutting down when they decide it just wasn’t worth it.

A recent article condemning ski lifts who need more snow making equipment  because this increases their energy use. Read the article from New to Ski.   Didn’t these same people ban natural gas in new buildings which will increase the electric use plus cost the building operators more money.  Doesn’t anyone realize the added costs of snow making will raise ski lift ticket prices … that’s all … and given how much these tickets are already, hardly anyone will complain.  After all, they want snow!

The Washington Post article referenced here illustrates that energy has always been a significant cost for ski resorts.  If the planet is warming a bit and there is less snow, are you going to declare that they have to go out of business?  How about irrigation to increase crop yields?  Are you going to ban that?  After all, that too increases the energy use, plus it depletes the water supply.

I do think we need to ask and answer water use questions, especially in the Western US where these agribusinesses do not pay for water anyway … they have hundred year old rights to water.  Why were those rights granted?  Because they are growing food you fool!  This is part of modern business.

Rank has its privilege.  Where does carbon stand in the ranks?  The last time I checked, food and shelter took the high rank.  We can certainly live without skiing if we decided it was destroying the planet … which it is not.

Why are we continuing to tilt at this windmill?  Oh, I forgot … this is all about the money … in other people’s pockets.

Our houses and buildings today have more glass than at any time in history.  We all just love looking out at the world and admiring its beauty.  OK, maybe it all is not quite so beautiful.  My wife and I were visiting our client in Newark and the motel looked over a junkyard.  The view from the desk and bed was OK … just as long as you didn’t walk over the to the window and look out from there.

As a boater, it is now quite clear that the windows to the master stateroom have grown exponentially, even if they are close to the waterline.  Years ago those windows were called portholes and were built like they were the front of diving helmets.  The main salon windows now are absolutely huge.

So what?  Well, energy efficiency of boats has never been a criteria.  After all, when you understand the fuel efficiency of a motor boat you quickly realize that is an oxymoron. When I grew up it was pretty common to think of getting 3-5 miles per gallon for my little outboard and the wooden skiff, and I could get even more if I kept the speed down.  Today’s modern yachts can get 2-3 miles per gallon if you keep the boat in a no wake condition, but they now consume between 2 and 10 gallons per mile at 20 mph and much worse if you go faster than that.

Of course, if you aren’t going anywhere, fuel efficiency doesn’t matter, and since we use our vessel as a floating condominium it actually makes sense compared to property in Sarasota.  In fact, it makes perfect sense, especially since our marina costs do not meter our electricity use.  We pay a flat fee for our power consumption, and ironically, because the marina doesn’t measure individual slip power consumption, they have no idea we use so much more electricity for both heating and cooling compared to the older boats here.

Why?  Because of the glass of course.

Today’s glazing is much more efficient than that of the past where it was about an R = 1.  The modern coatings and multiple panes can bring that up to about 4-5.  But, compared to modern wall materials, that is still pretty awful.  Modern walls are an R value of 15 and higher, and much higher if you really work at it.  Ceilings of course make these numbers look awful.

So what?  Why are we letting modern architects use so much glass if we are really obsessed with energy?  Because it helps sell you say?  Why, if this is an existential crisis, is selling good for the planet?  Because these newer homes and business buildings are better than the old ones?  Why do we need new buildings?

Why, why, why … and the list goes on if you are really thinking.

It is time to clearly recognize that the world’s path is irreconcilably conflicted if we fail to be willing to destroy economic growth.  We can’t mine our way out of the shortages of materials to build EVs and PVs.  We can’t power our way with renewables to a lower carbon footprint if we fail to stop growth of the world economies.

Unfortunately, we live in a world where breaking the glass ceiling, rightful as it is, takes precedence over facing obvious abuses like our glass windows.

I love our free capitalistic economy.  I am only pointing out that our corporations and politicians are all hypocrites if they think can continue growth this way.

What do you think about the word DINK?  When I grew up it was a criticism that something was a bit too small for the task at hand.  When I was on a ski trip with my then fiancée Susan to announce our engagement, it was what a kid behind me said about the skis I was using.  As life progressed, it now means Double Income No Kids.  And this article describing the attitudes toward raising children in China speaks volumes about our current situation.

The article points out that many young couples are not having kids or are having fewer than at times in the past. They cite the costs of everything as their primary reason.  That, on the surface, seems to be a rational answer, especially given the costs of education these days.  I can speak from experience sending several kids through private preparatory schools and college.  If I did not have a good paying engineering career I wouldn’t have been able to do this.

But, perhaps we are not looking at the deeper reasoning.  Go ahead and talk to your children or those of child bearing age about this question, and compare their thoughts with your own.  You will probably see the same thing I did when I look at this.

1. They no longer see family legacy or even family name legacy as important.  I remember so clearly how a sole surviving son was not to be sent to the front lines of a military situation … because it could wipe out the family legacy.
2. The Royals in England use the term heir and a spare recognizing lineage to the Crown as an imperative.  Recent events bring that thought process into focus.
3. The move away from an agrarian economy … it is no longer essential to have a large family to provide for each other.
4. They don’t believe they will live to retirement.

That last one surprised you, didn’t it?  How can that be?  Check it out and listen carefully.  They believe the world is coming to an end as we know it and they are afraid. They have chosen to “live, eat and be merry because …” you guessed it … the end is near.  That is what the global focus on climate change has wrought!  They have no hope.

Most of us worked our whole lives to give our children and their children a better life.  We passed on that goal from our parents and grandparents.

Go ahead and check this out please.  You will not hear that attitude widely expressed.  Sure, there are notable exceptions, but they are just that … exceptions.

We can point to an almost countless list of reasons why today’s younger generation are so different, but I think it is primarily because they have DINK aspirations.  Their views of life and their places in it are just too small to be relevant.  They have been told that others are to blame.  They have not been told that it is their job to rise to the task.  The tasks now are to be dumbed down and spoon fed so they don’t have to break a sweat.

We can find blame everywhere if that is where you want to let this argument rest: social media, online gaming, plus an obsession with digital substitutes for true friendship.

Assigning blame may make us feel a bit better, but it is not going to change anything.

Insanity is …