Good news, bad news

I'm cautiously optimistic. The counters on the two sites indicate most of the hits are now over here. If you're a recent arrival, WELCOME!

Good news: It looks like the cafe standards are going to be raised. No, that doesn't mean the food at Waffle House is going to get any better. It stands for Corporate Average Fuel Economy, and Congress just passed a bill raising it from 27.5 mpg to 35 mpg by 2020. President Bush says he'll sign it as soon as it gets to his desk. So, by that year the average mpg of all vehicles a company makes must be at least that high. It's a complicated bill that also requires the use of non-fossil fuels increase to six times current levels by that same year. Better yet, it requires that a large portion of that growth come from switch grass and other non-food crops.

Good news: Several makers have announced plans to drop one or more of their SUV's. I'm not naive; if those models were money-makers they'd make them into the next millennium. They're dropping them because they aren't selling. But that's even better. It means people are getting tired of spending $75 to fill up the tank in their tank.

Bad news: According to the local paper, 16.5% of Americans haven't started their Christmas shopping yet. Only 11.7% have finished theirs. And we're just a week out. So prepare for some really wonderful traffic jams, especially if you, like us, live within 5 miles of a mall.

Good news: My Christmas shopping was done before I started. Literally!

OK, enough of that.
Replay: the word misogynist means someone who hates women. The word for someone who hates men is misandrist. She was also my 9th grade Spanish teacher.

I have work for the rest of the week. A year ago I had nothing. And though the bird is still in the bush, I got a call from a realtor yesterday who recommended me for a substantial job at a house in Sun City Grand. Another lady called me today about putting down vinyl in several rooms in her house. God is good.

I learned early on that when a sermon is done it's time to quit, no matter what the clock says.
Goodnight!