Conservation Over Comfort

I've got the heat set on 50-55F. However, as of today I shut off half the house from the heat. The only part being heated is the part with the thermostat and the water pipes. Can't let the pipes freeze. I spend most my time in the part of the house that isn't heated. So if the "warm" part is 55F, I'm not sure how cold it is in my room. Right now I can see my breath a little.

I'm not doing this to prove a point or be macho. There's no sense in heating such a large space in this house. I'd rather pile on extra layers than burn fossil fuel when not necessary.

How It Seems To Me

Voice of Reason: The world is heating up.
Republicans: No it's not!!! You can't prove it.
Voice of Reason: Yes, it is. Here's the proof.
Republicans: (reluctantly) OK, so it's heating up. But it's NOT our fault.
Voice of Reason: I'm not assigning blame, I'm only saying that we all collectively have to change our practices because bad things are happening right now and they are going to get far far worse if we don't act IMMEDIATELY.
Republicans: Well, it's really just the natural cycle of the planet. It warms and cools all the time.

Voice of Reason: It's true that the planet has natural cycles. This is NOT one of them. The warming is happening faster than ever before and corresponds directly to the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere.
Republicans: No. It's sunspots. I'm not changing a damned thing I'm doing. I will drive my SUV. I can afford the gas. I will consume rapaciously and not value the things I own.
Voice of Reason: You personally can afford the gas, but as a global community we can't afford your waste. It's hurting everyone.
Republicans: Well you are just a bunch of unwashed, tree-hugging, hippie liberals. (fingers in ears) lalalalalalalala.....

The Hazards Of Carpooling

For the last few weeks I have been riding an hour to the job site with a coworker. He listens to country music. It would be hard to overstate my abhorrence of country music, but etiquette keeps me from asking him to change the station. It's his truck, his radio, his time. He can listen to what he likes and I know he prefers country above all else.

However, listening to one hour of country is like listening to 4 straight hours of a 3 yr old whining. I would rather listen to a dental drill all the while. It comes close to physically nauseating me. Once to the job site or home I rush to a radio to wash the bad flavor out of my mind with another kind of music. Worse, is the fact that through the repetition of hearing the same songs day after day I'm learning some of them enough to get the chorus stuck in my head. Oh, it hurts.

For the record, I'm a referring to only new country pop. I love Johnny Cash, Waylon, Willie, and others who are seldom ever heard these days.