The first post is always the most difficult, like trying to introduce yourself to a beautiful woman. So many things to say, and nothing really sounds good enough.

Atlanta has proven the truth of the old adage - individually people are intelligent and capable. Beware of the power of stupid people in large groups, however. A whiff of a gas shortage, and what happens -- there's a run on the gas stations causing, you guessed it, a gas shortage. Then Perdue deciding to freeze prices to prevent price gouging. I wonder if people would have been as eager to fill the tanks on all three of their SUV's if they had to pay $7 a gallon for gas. I wonder if the shortage would have been as bad if the laws of supply and demand had been allowed to control the marketplace.

In a perfect world, it would have worked. Supply is low, demand is high, price goes up, people decide to fill only one tank of gas, instead of all their cars and 20 more gallons in gas cans. They only take what they need, the supply lasts longer. In a perfect world. What do I think would have happened? Easy. Gas pushes $7 a gallon. People are outraged. There would be shootings. Fights with gas station personnel. After all, don't we have a right to our gas? Just like we've got a right to a job, and a car, and all the other bullshit that people used to have to earn.

Ah well, such is life. An imperfect world. The center has not held and we're slipping a little farther from the center every day.

Now, that wasn't so difficult. Perhaps I'll introduce myself to the next beautiful woman that I see.

Or maybe I won't push my luck. ..