December 27, 2008 - I tend to go on and on about the riverside bikeways and parks, but don't give enough love out to the riverside garbage trucks. They are a terrific stink to ride by if the wind is blowing in the wrong direction.


February 9, 2008 - Fortunately, I don't think there are any in Taipei city. The top lomo is along the Dahan River in Shulin, southwest of Taipei, probably, and the bottom is along the opposite bank of the Danshui River in Luzhou.

Speaking of garbage, I wonder why I haven't heard any commentary connecting the Madoff scandal and the Stanford/Antigua scandal with the global financial collapse. Could it be there is no connection?

Could be, how can the greedy acts of a few bad apples be connected to the global financial crisis/credit meltdown? Personally, I don't think it's a coincidence. It's just a gut feeling, since I'm no financier or econ major, but I think it may be indicative of a systemic fault in capitalism.

When things first started going south, Bush and Wall St. kept emphasizing that the fundamental basis of capitalism was sound. I find that an odd first thing to defend when people are just panicking about their money, not the basis of the capitalist system.

I look back at it now, and it sounds to me that they were just saying the equivalent of "capitalism still works . . . on paper". Of course, communism works on paper, too, but put it into practice and you need a repressive, authoritarian regime to implement it because people just don't live their lives according to communist ideals.

Maybe what's happening now is the completely logical outcome of free-wheeling, unregulated capitalist theory, and these scandals are also an inevitable and logical outcome. When you can juggle around money in a now-you-see-it, now-you-don't magic show, people are going to take advantage of it, people are greedy.

I do think the world economic system is on the verge of a revolution, and in several decades, we're not going to be gauging wealth and growth in the same way as we are now. The size and growth of the economy won't be nearly as important as sustainability. That will be the new key word for all industry. Enterprises won't start up on the basis of growth and profit, but they will need a plan for sustainability and longevity. And energy and environment is also going to play a key role.

How is this going to happen? Strict government oversight and regulation. Sound repressive? Sound authoritarian - the government telling you how to run your enterprise? In several decades, it may just sound smart and necessary.

iTunes soundtrack:
1. Soul Survivor (The Rolling Stones)
2. Turn Your Lights Down Low (Bob Marley & the Wailers)
3. Momen no Handkerchief (Shiina Ringo)
4. Ladyflash (The Go! Team)
5. Ai Suru Hito Yo (Sakura)
6. Weekends of Sound (764-HERO)
7. Out of Range (live) (Ani DiFranco)
8. I Can't Explain (live) (The Who)
9. Mission (Rush)
10. One (Sakura)