Wow, last post was in January. 2008 is flying by.

Now that I’m married and life is seriously calming down again (for the first time since December), I’m thinking back towards Less Urban more and more. We’ve got a lot to talk about. The Frannie Mac and Fannie Mae crisis. Oil prices nearing $150/barrel. The unravelling of the suburban American way of life. And, of course, where we’re all at right now in the final season of Galactica.

I’m getting my collective nonsense together. Stay tuned.

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Good piece today from The Economist about the actual hard challenges being faced by Saudi Aramco in pumping more oil out of the ground. Basically, they’ve been promising to ramp up production for over two years now and haven’t. More than a few people have suggested that they can’t.

It is not too often that Saudi Aramco announces a delay in project start-up. Thus, when it said that it was not yet ready to bring on stream the 500,000-barrel/day Khursaniyah oil field development, some eyebrows were raised. All major contracts on the estimated US$6bn project—more properly known as the Abu Hadriyah, Fadhili and Khursaniyah (AFK) development—were awarded by third quarter 2005, after a relatively rapid tendering period, with completion and first testing due in late 2007.

Should be interesting to see what happens when people finally realize that energy and technology aren’t interchangeable values, and that really expensive oil doesn’t guarantee the sudden arrival of Star Trek dilithium crystal technology to save the day.

Posit: what happens when a global economy, more or less dependent on the production of a specific nonrenewable natural resource by a specific region of the world for its growth, discovers that said region is physically unable to supply that growth anymore? Or even better, is in a permanent decline of production capability - and with nothing realistic to replace it?

Britney Spears For President In 2008!

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I don’t know that I absolutely agree with all of them, but there’s definitely more truth than fiction here.. worth reading.

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I know I haven’t updated Less Urban in a while. It’s been a wild few months, and to be honest blogging has been the last thing on my mind. But I’m working my way back around to it.

In the meantime, I took K out to the beach over the weekend and proposed. She said yes. Expensive ring and everything. Then we went back to the room, drank champagne, admired the diamond on her finger and enjoyed being engaged.

We’re getting hitched in July, in a small ceremony of close family and friends. What can I say? We’re both grownups, we both have been through our share of bad relationship situations, and we both know a good thing when we see it; we didn’t see much point in playing games, not at our age. I’ve met her family and friends, she’s met mine, and everyone loves everyone. Excitement all around.

The jaw-dropping may now commence.

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Once upon a time, there was young woman named Katrina. She didn’t have much to her name, was just getting started in life, and arrived in West Palm Beach, Florida in the late summer of 2005 with a slight touch of attitude but otherwise unremarkably.

Katrina’s arrival in West Palm Beach was noted by some, commented by others, but generally not appraised with the high concern that others of her kind garnered upon their arrival in the Sunshine State. What she did have going for her - and what most who came into contact with her dramatically underestimated - was one hell of a body. Especially for her tender age, she was remarkably well-built. So while most people blew her off because of her relatively gentle voice, anyone who took the time to appreciate her measurements knew that she was destined for big things.

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