A Crude Awakening

I watched "A Crude Awakening" last night. I thought it was particularly interesting as seen through the lens of the current economic crisis. Many believe, as I do, that the War in Iraq is more about oil than it is about spreading democracy. We've basically spent ourselves into penury in an attempt to secure more oil for ourselves and sustain our prosperity, but we haven't been successful. Our economy is in shambles and we still don't control the oil.

So what's Plan B? "Drill, baby, drill?" Not likely.

We need to find or invent a new energy system, quick. Something that can keep our prosperity growing even when gas costs $100 per gallon. Thinking about war, poverty, terrorism, global warming, air pollution and many other ailments of the world, it seems like most if not all could be solved by switching to a clean, renewable, abundant energy source like solar.

The alternative is grim, especially for our kids.

A lot of smart people (Warren Buffett included), point out that over time the stock market has always gone up. But it seems like that is only true so long as we have cheap oil. If cheap energy becomes scarce, I suspect the stock market, along with world population and global trade, will "contract." The center cannot hold. Even if I'm not around when that happens, my kids probably will be. What can I do now to help them prepare?

Alice

From time to time, people have asked me what's the best way to teach their kids how to make video games.  Alice is something I learned about in the Randy Pausch lecture.  It looks pretty cool.  Even better, it can teach kids how to tell stories (and learn programming as a side-effect).

Randy Pausch's Last Lecture

I just watched the Randy Pausch Last Lecture. You want to know what makes a hero? 

Just watch this video.