The Oil Drum

They are truly outstanding pecan pies. They cook the cust a little more thoroughly than most, and it brings out the toasted pecan flavor.Jim Goode really perfected a local treasure into a masterpiece.

The Flying Saucer Pie Company on Crosstimbers has clearly the best apple or coconut cream pie, though.

There is the possibility of a lot of positive changes from peak oil for our society if we view it as opportunity rather than terror and bleakness.

Commuting is a perfect example of this. In the Houston-Galveston-Conroe-Katy-Baytown Metropolitan Area the commutting times are terrible. Most families have all the adults working, and the commuting times are averaging about 45 minutes each way. In lots of parts of the area, the times run an hour and a half each way stuck in stop and go traffic having to pay attention to the road. There's no real choice; the city bus system doesn't reach beyond the city limits of Houston and only Galveston has a municipal bus and streetcar line. Automobiles are fantasticly expensive, they cost from $100 a week up for a 45 minute commute. The average job takes 9 hours a day, so people are left with no more than 2 or 3 hours a day for their families and entertainment most days, assuming they spend their weekend time off doing the other necessities like laundry, cleaning, bathing, preparing and eating food.Sure, we have more money and a terrible quality of life.

Cutting down on home size means we won't have as much room for Walcrap, but it requires a whole lot less money to pay for or heat and cool, plus less effort to clean. Riding a bicycle to work is enjoyable, and so is sitting on a commuter train reading a book or talking with your neighbor as opposed to listenening to a shock jock or a political nut on the radio. Fresh garden vegetables taste better, as do slow-cooked meals.

So the peak will mean increased quality of life in the things that count-time for friends, time for family, good food and joy in a garden or a book! Embrace the peak! Bob Ebersole