Alex’s Soapbox

Lay down
Your sweet and weary head
The night is falling
You have come to journey’s end
Sleep now
And dream of the ones who came before
They are calling
From across the distant shore

Why do you weep?
What are these tears upon your face?
Soon you will see
All of your fears will pass away
Safe in my arms
You’re only sleeping

Don’t say
We have come now to the end
White shores are calling
You and I will meet again
And you’ll be here in my arms
Just sleeping

Into The West - Howard Shore & Annie Lennox
 

Not sure what the ratings were for Bush’s last State of the Union speech, but once it started, everyone around me asked the bartender to switch channels to a game show rerun.

I was talking to a friend who actually said that he was considering postponing his retirement so he can buy a new BMW 5-series. I suppose the adage that time becomes more valuable than money as you get older is lost on a lot of people, and I hope most of us don’t fall into that kind of materialistic trap.

Be content with what you have, rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.
- Lao Tzu

Cumulative Toyota Prius sales have finally hit 500,000. The graph below uses monthly sales data from mid-2000 through the end of 2007. It also shows the relationship between sales, the average price of gas in the US, and noteworthy events: