Big Apple Blog

Recently a stand of old growth NYC foliage was clear-cut. It might not sound old, but this growth was just short of two years old. It was healthy growth, but slightly out of control. It had been left on its own to grow wildly without an effort at taming it. Well, it was tied up at times to make the growth presentable to the public. But in the end, the growth was unable to escape the onslaught of . . . a job offer.

September 2004 is the last time I had my haircut. It started out as something different to do and ended up being a long endeavor. After a while I determined that if I let it go long enough, I might be able to donate it for charitable purposes. A few years ago, a friend grew his hair out and donated the growth to an organization that makes wigs for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. I decided to try and do the same.

In June I start a new job and so Ariel helped me do a clear cut. We tried to maximize the yield and what resulted were some pretty interesting ponytails. My mom always told me she thought I was going to be a girl. Well, I make a pretty ugly girl, but I tried out some girlie dews few minutes. Enjoy the pictorial journey. If you’re a dude with a flexible boss, grow the hair – it’s fun.

The tail end of our Canada trip took us through Niagara Falls. We arrived at night, which was cool because we got to see the light show. For about an hour, there is a huge bank of lights with color filters that rotate and change the color of the falls.

Probably the most surreal moment for me was standing right next to the precipice of the falls. To hear the water rushing over the rock face is amazing and the sheer volume of water is overwhelming.

We also decided to take the boat tour into the falls. It was pretty cool, although they take you so deep in into the spray that eventually it’s like being in the dark, but instead of darkness, you just have white mist all around you. For a moment I felt vertigo set in as the mist surrounded us. The plastic ponchos they hand out are a necessity unless you want to get totally drenched.

I would definitely recommend visiting the falls, although after a while of staring at them, it might be time to move on. The city itself is like a strange beach town. There are a couple of casinos and a street filled with ghetto carnival type games. To give you an idea of the odd nature of the town, the Starbucks right next to the falls did not open until 10:00 A.M. Blasphemy!

This morning I flipped on the Today Show and saw an interview with an executive of Exxon Oil. The main reason for the interview was the recent record profits posted by oil companies. Matt Laurer said that consumers are “outraged” at the prices currently being charged at the pump.

Now I’m the last one to take the side of big oil companies in a debate, but the outrage in this debate rang a little hollow in my ears. These are the same consumers that are responsible or racking up huge levels of consumer debt.

The following comes from author Joanne Laurier:

US consumer debt has reached staggering levels after more than doubling over the past 10 years. According to the most recent figures from the Federal Reserve Board, consumer debt hit $1.98 trillion in October 2003, up from $1.5 trillion three years ago. This figure, representing credit card and car loan debt, but excluding mortgages, translates into approximately $18,700 per US household.

And that is from three years ago.

I’m not surprised that record gas prices would spark a national discussion, but I think consumers need to look in the mirror first. First, oil is a nonrenewable and polluting resource. When are we going to wake up and realize that oil is not going to be around forever and burning it does great harm to the environment and human health? Why don’t consumers show their outrage by demanding that our government promote the development of renewable and clean fuel?

And as consumers point the finger at oil companies for posting profits, maybe they should take a long look at the interest they are paying on their consumer debt. Seems like it’s a classic case of the pot calling the kettle black. Or perhaps since the kettle is in the black and the pot is knee debt in the red, maybe the pot should consider that credit card interest is probably a far bigger burden on a personal budget than paying more at the pump.