useless post today: skip: if i did not have a car, i would celebrate increasing gas prices. since i do, i worry about mobility (getting out of iowa city!), but still hope that instead of drilling natural reserves, destroying the environment, etc. - all those things that seem to be such great ideas to people determined to live out their dreams as dennis hopper in the safety of their own jalopy - the thought of more public transportation and funding of alternative fuels for/ ways of powering automobiles would be higher on the agenda. personally, i love public transport and look forward to the day when once more I can't stand up straight because of the crunch and my nose is inches from an armpit, a breast, a back, a backpack all at once on the saikyo-sen or yamanote-sen. cars are quiet and boring. the only noise: your engine, your radio, your passengers. rarely does anything unexpected and not deadly happen in a car. determined to: write a symphony for street repair equipment, shoes that make tapping sounds, stalled buses, and a tornado warning siren. my tribute to iowa city. (suppose could adapt for quartet ) you've read this far?::