Census 2010

I got censured last week.

This is the first census I am actually aware of. Not sure what happened in 2000. I was around. Don't know if I was counted or not.

Actually, I'm not even sure I was counted this time either. Dude rings the doorbell. I open the door. Dude doesn't say anything but taps a few times at his tricorder. Then he says, "Almost done here. I'm just getting the coordinates of your home into my GPS for the census... Okay - all done." He then tears off a 'who was that weirdo at my house' information sheet from his pad and hands it to me.

"That's it?", I ask, wondering if they might also wish to know my age or race or how many people live in my home. Maybe my profession or income bracket.

"That's all there is to it. Thank you," as he walks away. I scan the horizon for snipers.

What in the world does the government want with a GPS lock on my front door? Is the hi-res aerial photograph of my house from four angles from 500 feet available for the world to see on Google not sufficient? Couldn't they have typed my address into Google Earth and simply pulled the latitude and longitude from there? Or better yet, to the entire country at one time with a free tool like batchgeocode.com?

Can I expect a GPS-guided missile strike soon? Was that guy CIA? The CIA guys are always pretending to be landscaping crews or cable TV repairmen as they surveil the mission.

Here's what census.gov explains about the 2010 census:

• The census is a count of everyone living in the United States every 10 years  (fine, I knew that)
• The census is mandated by the U.S. Constitution  (ok)
• The next census is in 2010  (cool - I'm done early)
• Your participation in the census is required by law  (seems to agree with the 2nd bullet)
• It takes less than 10 minutes to complete  (try 30 seconds)
• Federal law protects the personal information you share during the census  (such as? I wasn't asked any questions and didn't share anything; but I'm happy to know that had I done so, the continued privacy of my personal information would be backed up by the full faith and confidence of our government, who has time and again proven it's trustworthiness beyond all doubt)
• Census data are used to distribute Congressional seats to states, to make decisions about what community services to provide, and to distribute $300 billion in federal funds to local, state and tribal governments each year  (seriously? that's $1,000 per U.S. resident! I'd love to see a breakdown of the civic/social benefits my family receives for our $5,000 share)

The census wasn't at all what I had expected.

Have you completed the census yet? Is my experience common? Should I be concerned?

Mmmmm, Gas

A couple of months ago we took "A Long Drive" out to Timothy Lake to look for a GPS treasure for the Mt. Hood Territory geocache contest. On our way home we passed through Sandy and got caught in a big traffic backup around the Arco gas station in the middle of town. There were news vans and even a chopper flying overhead filming all of the activity. Turns out both the cars and the news people were all there because they were selling fuel for $2.99/gallon as a publicity stunt. "Gas Under $3.00" was the lead in on the 6-o-clock news.

I filled up the Jeep for less than $50 for the first time in at least a year. $2.44/gallon with my Fred Meyer Rewards card. That alone could spell a small economic recovery package, I think. That's $30 less than I was paying just a few weeks ago, which essentially $30 extra in my pocket, since I would have spent $80 were it not for the dropping prices.

Last night we drove out to see the Pypers in their new house and saw unleaded for $2.30/gallon at the Safeway in Molalla - less with your Club Card.

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One of my business school professors at hyper-eco-PSU tried to convince me that it was my environmental responsibility as a human being to drive a bio-diesel. Tell me, if that one guy - you know the one with all of the bumper stickers - if that one guy is buying up all of the vats of used cooking grease to make bio-diesel for his slug bus, what are the rest of us supposed to do? Buy new vegetable oil from Costco at $7.99/gallon? For a business professor he definitely lacked a basic understanding of capitalism: the market will develop/produce products that it can sell for a profit; meaning mass-market appeal at a competitive price. The fuel savings on many hybrids doesn't even offset the higher purchase price over the average life expectancy of the vehicle. 

Now, I'm all for alternative fuel vehicles - hybrids, electrics, solar, etc. - as long as they don't cost me more at the car lot (which they currently do), more to operate, or look like a Jetson-mobile. Somebody will eventually stumble upon the right formula for mass-market success, and my guess is sooner than later. They will figure out how to produce vehicles at a competitive price and with comparable features and performance. They will figure out how to power them in an environmentally friendly and economically efficient manner. Meanwhile, over the course of the next 10-20 years while that technology is worked out and the infrastructure is built, I'd rather be paying $2.00/gallon than $4.00 for the vehicles I already own. And it's not like gasoline is going to disappear from the marketplace overnight either. It will take many years for the market to replace our dinosaur-powered rides with something better. As alternative-fuel vehicles grow their share of the market, I expect traditional fuel prices will plummet like last year's fashions.

Here's hoping the supply/demand curve continues to shift in our favor as we all change our driving habits and supplies improve.