Mene Mene Tekel Upharsin

I saw that for the first time in a Robert Heinlein novel. Don't remember which one, that was many, many years ago.

It has come to mean the common phrase- "The writing is on the wall." This is to say that it spells doom for somebody. I've seen that phrase used on stock bulletin boards during the heyday of the dot com boom. I vividly remember that it indeed spelled doom for a particular stock that I was trading- which left a deep hole in my pocket book, and an indelible memory.

Doom is a rather strong word, but it is useful as a metaphor. A metaphor for a dying company, or a dying way of life.

You may have guessed what I'm leading up to- that's the impact of the E-cat. If you've been reading my stuff, you know that I believe in it by now. If I believe in it, it must mean that I also believe that a host of consequences must occur in the near future. Among these is the "doom" of the oil companies.

There are those who will feel no pity. After all, the oil companies are the bane of the ecologists' existence. Oil is dirty. It causes pollution. It is the reason nations go to war.

But I remember the mid eighties in Houston. Oil prices plunged and Houston's economy suffered for it. I'd hate to see that happen again. But it may be unavoidable. Mene mene tekel upharsin. The writing is on the wall. The E-cat is coming.