The Pines Resort

Alarm clock is ringing. Its time. Another day another deal.

I raise from my bed and put on a pair of shorts and walk to the kitchen. Six eggs, four for me and two for Fred, from the refrigerator is put down in boiling water and the coffee machine murmurs like its happy to start the day but not yet ready to go full speed. I'm not either, yet.

After eggs, cereals and a cup of coffee i change to my training shorts and take my paddle and walk to the boats. The sun is up and its another beautiful day at The Pines. Florida offers another day  of paradise but also a lot of pain and suffering. Training is tough, but when the going gets tough, the tough get going. We are not here to be comfortable, we are here to improve, to master our sport to perfection. 

Its an olympic year and you can tell, the atmosphere is tense. There is not as much small talk as it use to be other years I been here. I put my boat in the water and do some strokes to get away from the docks. Fred is a little behind as usual. I say hi to a couple of Canadians thats already done with their morning training, I just got on my shift. I increase the speed a little more. My heart rate goes up but is still under 100 beats per minute. It's still warm up and there is no reason to rush. Both body and mind has to be ready when the sessions starts. 

After two right turns me and Fred have reached the part of the river were we are going to throw down, and maybe throw up. A dolphins blows out some air just a couple of meters away. We start our watches and we are off.

Salt water and sweat are getting mixed on our warm working bodies. It's another beautiful day in Florida. Another day of pain and suffering. A new day to master our sport to perfection. A good day to learn to be a winner. A fine day to be alive.

A world at change

In five years the global politic picture will be different, it takes no Einstein to figure that out. But what will happen with one of the biggest global players today, the United States?

Since their economy is going south there is a big possibility that they will lose some of their political muscles. But with their big and high tech military organisation they will stay in the game for a little longer then five years.

The problem with being a super power with bad economy will eventually catch them. They can't afford to go to war all the time just to be a big player. The more enemies they got the harder it will be for them to trade internationally and also protect themselves from attacks.

This is going to be tough for the americans. Their country is not built with quality at mind and when the economy put on the breaks for real, the difference will be easy to see. The US will look like an eastern europe country from the beginning of the century.

In 50 years I think the world will be less dependent on oil. Why? Because we have to.

The world can't produce oil in the same speed as we do now so the prices will go up and with that the interest to find something cheaper will follow.

So what will the new thing be? Its hard to say, there are a few possibillitys and with higher prices on oil more money will be spent to research. I think we are going to see to diffrent things. One is to build more electric driven cars and produce more electric from different sources like water, wind and solar power. Its not likely that only those will cover the new need and to cover the loss of electric production from oil.

Nuclear power is highly unlikely to leave the energy market, its to cheap, and it produces big quantities of power. I bealive in an increase in nuclear power. Im not putting any personal values in that, I think it has pros and cons, but the truth is that we are dependent on it. The only way to decrease nuclear power is to decrease consummation. 

Will we see that happen? I hardly think so.