Category: The Current Situation

Dutch blogger George Maschke reminds us that although our gas prices may seem high here in North America (it’s about CDN$1.23 / litre in Accordion City) — high enough that Republican presidential candidate John McCain has suggested a gas tax holiday — they’d be considered a king-sized bargain in the Netherlands. He took this photo of the price sign at his neighbourhood gas station in The Hague on Saturday, May 10th; note that they’re in Euro per litre:

Photo by George Maschke.

George did a little math and converted the Dutch prices so that they’d be expressed in U.S. dollars per gallon; I simply did the Euro-to-Canadian dollar conversions to get the prices in terms of Canadian dollars per litre. The results of our calculations appear in the table below:

No wonder there’s such a strong bicycle culture in the Netherlands! (Yes, their urban geography helps too.)

Keep these Dutch prices in mind should the predictions of gas hitting CDN$1.50 per litre this summer come true.

Albert Hoffman, discoverer of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and the man personally responsible for a lot of lost weekends (and possibly Burning Man), died yesterday at the age of 102.

Here’s the quick version of the story of his discovery of LSD, excerpted from Wired News:

Hofmann’s most famous discovery happened on April 16, 1943. He was researching the synthesis of a lysergic acid compound, LSD-25, when he inadvertently absorbed a bit through his fingertips. Intrigued by the effect it had on his perception, Hofmann decided further exploration was warranted. Three days later, on April 19, he ingested 250 micrograms of LSD, embarking on the first full-fledged acid trip. That day became known among LSD fans as “bicycle day” because Hofmann began experiencing the drug’s intense effects on his bicycle trip home from the lab.

For more on Dr. Hofmann’s life and passing, here are some links:

• Hofmann’s Wikipedia entry
• New York Times
• Washington Post
• BBC News
• Reason magazine
• Digital Journal

In tribute to Dr. Hofmann, here’s an excellent video treatment of William Shatner’s cover of Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, complete with kitschy Star Trek and I Love Lucy graphics:

I get the same expression on my face whenever I see Hillary:

Photo courtesy of Miss Fipi Lele.

(If the “Judean People’s Front / People’s Front of Judea” reference is new to you, see this scene from Life of Brian.)