Ah, vacation time. A chance to relax, recharge, get rested, and ride roller coasters! I went on a father daughter trip with 17-year-old Katie to Disneyland and Magic Mountain. Relaxing, no. Restful, hardly. Fun, definitely. The picture here is of the Goliath coaster in Magic Mountain, which features no corkscrew twists or looping upsidedown thrills, just SPEED. Advertised as an 85 mph ride, it did not disappoint, but I was definitely the oldest rider by a long shot. We felt the G-forces pulling at our faces as we hurtled down the track. I would have said that it was 200 mph if I had not been told otherwise. The slope shown in the photo seems much steeper, too, when the car points downward and accelerates toward the bottom.

Disneyland and California Adventure are always amazing, and the addition of interactive rides like Buzz Lightyear and Toy Story Mania make it even more fun than ever. We also signed up for a Segway tour through California Adventure before the park opened. This was a great trip all around.

Conservation now!

I keep hearing calls for oil drilling off the coast, and warnings about how we need to find more oil so we can keep driving our SUVs. I remember an oil spill in Santa Barbara that shut down the beaches and killed birds and sea life. One spill in the water, one incident where oil meets ocean is reason enough to avoid the offshore drilling option.

We have no one else to blame but ourselves. When the 1973 oil embargo shocked us all we were caught off guard. Today we should know better, and we should be angry that nothing has changed in the past 35 years as far as driving habits, commute alternatives, new energy sources, or mileage standards for autos. Our leaders have let us down, big oil is king, and we will all pay the price for inaction.

Exxon, Chevron, and the other major refiners are recording obscenely high profits and laughing all the way to the bank. The best action we can all take now is to conserve, conserve, conserve. Let's attack the demand side of the equation to lower prices. I am talking about making permanent changes in our transportation system from a bottom-up perspective. Small changes made on a big scale can have a large impact. Take it a little at a time. Here are some ideas.

• Ask your boss if you can work from home one day a week (two would be even better).
• Take public transportation whenever possible.
• Drive your most fuel-efficient vehicle.
• Combine trips; plan your drives.
• Get a bicycle for short trips.

Time to join the blogosphere

Welcome to my blog. Now what am I going to do with it? I don't want this to be all about me or just a recap of my activities, although some of that will undoubtedly creep into my posts. I will share my thoughts here on life, love, and making the world a better place. Not that I am any kind of crusader for justice, but I do care about the state of our world, our country, and the local community.

You probably know that I am a technical writer. Someone asked me recently if I was going to write a book, as all writers must have at least one book in them. My response was that I have all the tools I need to do it, but I am a writer with nothing to say. Maybe I can change that here.