Solving the dilemma of dirty energy

Well, we have finally seen winter! The Hill received more snow on Nov. 20 and 21 than the Hill saw all of last year. This correlation may be a little off but the weather surely seemed like it.

Anyway, even with weather like this, we were at the Hilltown Café in Rensselaerville, on Tuesday Nov. 22. The Hilltown Café is the restaurant with the highest elevation (at 1,651 feet) that the OFs frequent. This gave the OFs a good drive to sharpen their winter driving skills.

The OFs talked a lot about energy, and why not with the onset of winter getting such an early start this year. The OFs mentioned how dirty a fuel coal is, and how we should get away from using that. However, that would cost many jobs, and coal is so plentiful.

What can be done is that instead of ignoring coal we add it to the many types of energy that are already being used (wind, solar, nuclear) by using the talents of engineers to develop scrubbers, or ways of cleaning up coal, and throw that into the mix and eliminate the dependency on fuel oil as a source of energy.

This leaves the limited supply of fuel oil to be used for other things like medicine, and macadam, along with all the other products that rely on petroleum as a part of this mix.

The OFs also not only think, but know, the internal combustion engine can be made to develop more power on less fuel but they also think the big oil companies and the automotive manufacturers are in cahoots and won’t let this happen.  It is the view of the OFs that suppression of this technology is a plan the big companies work on together. The OFs are of the opinion that all the technology is already here but being kept under wraps.

One OF reflected, “Could you imagine all the people that would be put out of work if even a portion of this technology was invoked in a year?”

Maybe cooler heads are prevailing here and the plan is to ease into some of these advancements so the populace has a chance to adjust. Especially with the OFs — their heads can only take so much information at one time.

Pondering pickers

A TV show that is mentioned from time to time and one which many of the OFs watch is “American Pickers.” The OFs are amazed at how many places around the country have hoards of just plain old stuff. One OF said these places look just like quite a few of the OFs’ barns and backyards.

It does not take much imagination to see how the OFs would take to too much technology when they are still so concerned about the old stuff. The OFs at times still don’t know what the heck is going on; some are still amazed with how much a 3- or 4-year-old knows.

One OF commented on what some of the old junk the pickers look at and how much it is worth. The OFs say, “We were just ready to take something like that to the dump.”  Now the OFs are leery about throwing anything away.

One OFs said he watches the pickers on occasion where the locality they are picking is in a place where the OF is interested, particularly when the area is local or at least close to local.

Protecting our flag

The OMOTM continued dropping off their flags by giving six flags on small wooden holders to the Hilltown Café. The OFs have no idea how these flags will be used but figure in today’s world the flag is not getting the respect it is due.

For all the work so many have done to keep it flying, our flag deserves more attention than it is getting.  The effort many people have put into protecting the flag so a few have the right to burn it — how sad it is to see it treated this way.

Like drunk cows?

Some of the OFs did brave the winds of Tuesday, Nov. 22, and made it to the Hilltown Café in Rensselaerville. It is a good thing the OFs travel all the distances to the eating establishments and they are always open. If, for some reason, one was closed without notification, the OFs would be milling around like cows drunk on apples, trying to find their stanchions.

So it was a very good thing that the Hilltown Café was open and able to take care of the OFs who were: Robie Osterman, George Washburn, Karl Remmers, Bob Snyder, Harold Guest, Bill Lichliter, Mark Traver, Glenn Patterson, Lou Schenck, Jack Norray, Gerry Irwin, Mace Porter, Ted Willsey, Jim Rissacher, Marty Herzog, Elwood Vanderbilt, Rich Vanderbilt, Mike Willsey, Warren Willsey, Harold Grippen, and me.