beer oil some people say we're about to run out of oil. others say we have enough for the next 50 to 100 years. who's right? they can't both be. well, they're both half right. and in my book that makes them both wrong. to illustrate, let's talk about beer. the best beer in america apparently is something called pliny the elder. and the worst is old english 800. apparently. i don't drink the stuff so i'll have to take google's word for it. in the beer world, pliny costs $10/glass and 800 $1/glass. which do you drink? well, it depends on your budget, your palate, and your thirst. some snobs will shell out the bucks for the good stuff. and others will get their buzz any way they can. both choices seem reasonable. okay, now compare and contrast with the oil world. prices are upside down. pliny is $1/glass and 800 is $10/glass. which do you drink? heh. everyone drinks the pliny. and nobody drinks the 800. and everyone is happy. unfortunately, it doesn't last forever. eventually we come to peak beer. the pliny is gone. and only the 800 is left. do you drink the piss or do you go thirsty? that's sorta where we are today with oil. the cheap good stuff is gone. which is the grain of truth to the running-out position. but there's lots of expensive crap left. which is the grain of truth to the lots-left position. i'll leave it to you dear reader to cogitate on what this means for the real world economy. hint: it ain't perty.  ¶ 8:00 AM