Engaged!

We're engaged! Tuesday, March 22nd. Cabrillo National Monument, near San Diego, California.

Here follows the account of the best (and most important) decision I've ever made (Ok, Annette had a part in it too). You can read it if you like, or else you can just enjoy the photo of us, the happy couple.

I met Annette in 2000 at Texas A&M; we were both members of the Wesley Fountation and did a lot of activities with the group (we particularly enjoyed going dancing on Thursday nights). On Easter weekend of that year, I asked Annette to come out to Utopia, TX and celebrate Easter with my family. We were just friends at the time, but something deep inside me said (or maybe it was God whispering) that I needed to find a way to convince her to come home with me. At the time she was studying for the CPA exam, but for some reason she agreed to make the trip. The adventure began in earnest that weekend.

When we started dating, netither of us expected the relationship would continue past the summer since Annette was moving out of town to begin work, and I had another year and a half of school before graduation. That summer Annette and her sister went on a backpacking tour of Europe and I attended summer school in Germany. After classes ended, we met up to do some traveling together and got to know each other even better over train rides through the Alps and dinners on the Italian Riveria. Over the next five years Annette and I grew closer through many more adventures, including a year that I spent in Salt Lake City while she remained in Houston.

After praying about the decision for over a year, I felt that it was time to take action in March of this year. Everything fell into place as Annette got a rare week long vacation and we planned to go visit her parents in Louisiana. At work, I received a bonus which helped finance the ring and a surprise trip to San Diego for Annette and I.

Everything was set as Annette and I traveled to Louisiana to see her family. We had a fun weekend there visiting with her parents and riding bikes on the Tammany Trace. On Sunday night I called my parents to let them know what I was planning, and on Monday I sat down with Annette's Mother and Father to ask for their blessing (while Annette was in another room folding 10 loads of laundry that she had brought with her). That evening I told Annette to pack for a trip.

The following morning we headed to the airport, and Annette finally found out our destination when we boarded the flight to San Diego. After arriving we decided to go for a drive along the coast down to Cabrillo National Monument. As we walked along the park, I worked up my courage and looked for a place to propose. Annette and I sat on a bench where we could see the sun beginning to set over the water, while a cold wind came blowing in off the Pacific.

Annette was about ready to head back to the hotel but I asked to take one last walk along the path on the edge of the steep hill. As we walked, I stopped suddenly to "tie my shoe." Realizing that my shoelace was not in fact untied, Annette quickly began to figure out what was going to happen. On my knee, I asked Annette to marry me and thankfully she said yes.

Annette and I have many things in common (most importantly a deeply rooted relationship with Christ), and where we have differences they are complimentary (for the most part!) . I'm overwhelmingly excited about starting a new chapter of life with Annette, and I'm pretty sure she feels the same way. Take a look at the photo and see for yourself. (Hopefully she isn't just excited about the ring!)

Adios, Cheap Gas.



Being in the energy field, I like to keep a close eye on developments in the industry and particularly the energy policy of the United States. So, from time to time you'll see some energy discussion here. This is the first installment.

If you haven't heard about "Peak Oil" in the news yet, you will soon. Over the past few months, it has popped up in more and more places, from CNN to CSI (the #1 show on TV).

So, what is peak oil and why should you care?

The answer to the first question is pretty easy.. actually, any fifth grader should be familiar with the concept. Hydrocarbon fuels, in this case oil, are "non-renewable" resources, as opposed to "renewable resources" such as wind and solar power. (Of course "renewable resource" is somewhat of a misnomer itself, because wind and solar power are both generated by the sun, which will burn out in 5 billion years or so.)

Technicalities aside, back to the oil. What most of us who went to primary school within the last two decades learned is that oil is a non-renewable resource. What our teachers did not mention is exactly when oil will run out and how it will impact our society. This is the aim of the peak oil theory.

In brief, the peak oil theory says that world oil production follows a bell curve. Over the last several decades, we have been on the upslope of the curve, where oil was easy to find and extract in abundant quantities. At some point, the "easy" oil discoveries run out and existing wells begin to decline in production. From that point, worldwide oil production declines and prices will rise due to tightening supply and the difficulty of extracting the oil that is left in the ground. With all this focus on supply, don't forget about demand for oil, which is skyrocketing, especially in the Asian continent.

So what is the end result of declining supplies of oil in the face of surging demand? Opinions vary. The most pessimistic theorists predict the end of society as we know it, with the few survivors living in a "Mad Max" world of roving barbarians. On the other hand, there are those who think that the world will be able to quickly shift to other sources of energy.

Personally, I'm on the optimistic side and favor a "Market Solution" resolution to the problem. That is, as oil gets more expensive there will be greater investment in alternative energy sources, and the alternative sources will be able to prevent a global catastrophe.

But, why wait for the end of oil? Why don't we get a serious head start on alternative energy now?

A few months ago I heard a talk by Gene Krantz, the mission controller for Apollo 13 (he is the father of one of the members of my triathlon club.) His speech was basically a summary of the Apollo 13 mission, a motivational speech about what can be achieved when people work as a team to achieve a single goal. Following his talk, someone asked him what should be the main mission of Nasa now, perhaps a manned mission to Mars or a moon base. His answer was somewhat surprising - he said the nation should now focus on finding a source of renewable energy, and that would enable more ambitious missions in space. Now there's a good idea!

In 1961 John F Kennedy challenged the nation to put a man on the moon before the end of the decade. It only took 8 years. It is time for this country and the world to take on a similarly ambitious challenge; to develop and implement a renewable source of energy in the next 10-15 years. Back in 2003 the president earmarked 1.3 billion to develop hydrogen as a fuel for cars, but this is not nearly enough. For one thing, hydrogen is not an energy source in itself, it is a method of energy transmission. There needs to be aggressive research in safer nuclear reactor facilities (including fusion), and other potential sources.

Developing domestic oil by drilling in the ANWR and other places is probably necessary to buy us a little more time, but ultimately it will not be the solution.

So, write your representatives and let them know that since you don't want to live in the world of Mad Max, they better make energy a high priority.



Everyone else is doing it...

Well, I thought it was about time to jump on the blogwagon, so here I am!

I hope this will be a place to share my thoughts and rants with family and friends (and complete strangers, I suppose).

So, welcome everybody! Pull up a chair, comment often, let's have some fun!