Aberdeen

Today we drove to Aberdeen to look at equipment for a biofuels plant I am involved with building. Pretty much a day spent with engineers learning about the equipment needs for our plant. To date, I've been shuffling spreadsheets, so actually getting out in the field and getting my feet muddy is exciting. This picture is of a biodiesel plant operating in Aberdeen.

Unfortunately, Aberdeen is a pretty depressed coastal town - a past falling victim to the logging decline in this area. One could argue that this decline is attributable to the tree huggers (like me) wanting to protect habitat for those silly animals like the Northern Spotted Owl. Others argue that it is because the peninsula is pretty much logged out and cannot really sustain much more timber cutting. Yet others (like me), understand that it is more profitable for the lumber companies to ship raw logs to places like Asia, and if they wanted to retain these timber jobs, they would have the milling done here in the states versus sending it overseas. But the companies can increase their margins by having this done offshore. That's life in the global economy. Oh well. And it is refreshing that I recently heard on the radio that the federal officials view the high-growth jobs in the next decade in the retail and food service industries. Sounds like a robust economy when the job prospects are as store clerks, and waiters and waitresses.

And of course Aberdeen has the ubiquitous McMansions on the outskirts of town where retired baby-boomer couples can move into their new 4,000sf homes (with views, no doubt) while the downtown core rots. And the fact that we passed a shop (twice) where my ex and I picked up seafood upon the commencement of our round-the-country trip in 2006 didn't help matters much.

Oh well, I am tired (can you tell?) and wrote early tonight, as I do not know when I will be crashing after minimal sleep last night.