At Home In The Wasteland Travel Blog

Meh. At least David Duchovny is still hot. I can’t believe he’s 47, though. When did that happen?! Just to illustrate the fact.

The Public Policy Institute of California recently released the results of its statewide survey, Californians and the Environment. When asked the question “Thinking about the country as a whole, to address the country’s energy needs and reduce dependence on foreign oil sources, do you favor or oppose the following proposals? How about allowing more oil [...]

Bill Klesse, CEO of Valero, calls it like he sees it: “We can manage industry challenges, but unfortunately, reckless rhetoric in Washington, D.C. complicates our forward progress. Too many in Congress fail to appreciate our industry’s efficiencies, they won’t acknowledge the excellent jobs we provide, they ignore the taxes we pay, and worst of all, [...]

No, it isn’t Baku, Azerbaijan or Galveston, Texas. It’s Huntington Beach (“Surf City USA”), California in the 1920s. The Washington Post has more fascinating photos of oil production in Huntington Beach here.

I suppose I neglected to mention that. So I had originally planned to move to Houston in mid-July, but this new job opportunity came up in May and I decided to take it, despite my animosity towards this city (but, I’ve discovered that it’s a hell of a lot nicer and much more tolerable when [...]

I had no idea Brighton Beach existed until, about six years ago, I watched the Russian film Brat 2, in which the main character (played by Sergei Bodrov Jr., RIP) purchases a car in Brighton Beach for his roadtrip to Chicago. Intrigued by the possibility of authentic Russian food on the east coast, I swore [...]

Portrait of a Predicament: Putin’s Face, or Medvedev’s? Ordinary Russians are also snapping up pictures, according to Maria Valiyeva, who works in a photo shop in central Moscow. “People are buying them for their offices, for presents and for themselves,” she said. “We had a couple who bought a portrait of Medvedev and Putin together [...]

Tomorrow afternoon I am heading to NYC for the weekend. Hopefully, this trip will be free of idiotic cab drivers and the resulting bloodshed. I have no desire to become involved in multiple lawsuits. I am going there with some Russophile friends, and we intend to make this a Russified weekend. We will be visiting [...]

The results of a recent Field Poll on Californians and their views on various energy issues were released today. Here are a few of the questions that were asked, and the breakdown of the responses received: “The building of tanker terminals, pipelines and facilities for liquefied natural gas should be allowed in California.” 63% agree, [...]

This op-ed by by Kenneth Medlock is one of the better ones out there: According to the Department of Interior’s Minerals Management Service (MMS), the OCS in the Lower 48 states currently under moratorium holds 19 billion barrels of technically recoverable oil. Some analysts claim that opening the OCS will not matter that much, as [...]