Preview...April 2007

This will be a preview of what to expect from me in the next few weeks. Looks kinda blurry now,

...Hang Tight...

I started off this year with a pledge that I will blog once a day, but quality appeals more than quantity...so I am taking some time off to do some serious thinking/research before I post my next blog.

I attended a seminar on Ethanol fuels hosted by the Council of Supply Chain Professionals. We (USA) currently produce about 3.5 billion gallons of ethanol a year. They are aiming for 35 billion gallons to reduce their dependency on the Middle East. The seminar was about the rail road infrastructure and its capacity to handle transportation of 35 billion gallons. CSX predicts that it will only account to a mere 4% increase of rail cars from their current utilization. I went on to think at a more root level to eliminate dependency on the Middle East. I also question the efficiency of Ethanol (primarily E85 as used by Brasil) to reduce America's dependency on gasoline. My research is taking me through many papers written for and against E85, and many many more advocating fuel cell and battery operated vehicles (the Prius in USA is mandated to have a gasoline engine along with the battery motor).

I have had to deal with a rude person at work who considerably outranks me. This being my first job in the corporate sector, I would like to learn from this experience and harness it positively (blah blah blah...I also want to bitch about that first grade a-hole [evil grin] ). Having maintained personal relations with the rude individual put plenty of twist in the already ugly matter. I came across a piece on crucial conversations that spoke of an article dealing with such a situation. I will be cool enough to write about the experience in an optimistic manner soon.

It is time to do some personal reading. I am currently on Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. I read through 60% of this book while I was an engineering student in India. The book really made me want to ride a motorcycle of my own...and I could not do that (parents wouldn't let me...finances wouldn't allow). I am self-sufficient now and stand to be able to make an impulse purchase if I get too desperate. So, with my credit cards in a safe hiding place that even I am unaware of, I have started reading this book.

I wanted to finish a few chapters of the book today but instead ended up watching this story in Pierre Dulaine. It gets my recommendation.