Brain Drain

I've been re-reading Vince Poscente's The Age of Speed: Learning to Thrive in a More-Faster-Now World (2007) while juggling my time between virtual worlds, real world land management in an agricultural area, and dealing with third world bureaucracy in Trinidad and Tobago. It is interesting to read the book in these contexts, to say the least.

Consider - a few days ago I pulled off from a light in a Mazda 2.5L Turbo diesel 4x4, and a newer Toyota HiLux 3L 4x4 Turbo diesel pulled away from me as if I were standing still. The truth is that on Trinidad roads, it doesn't really matter because traffic and potholes tend to balance everything - some people think it is smart to lower their cars, but they grind to a halt at the slightest bump in the road. There is a balance that is struck with vehicles, and I'm more fond of a durable vehicle in Trinidad than a fast vehicle. But here was another durable vehicle that was faster (and had more low end torque). This prompted an animated discussion with a friend last night about the price of such vehicles. When it is all said and done, while I am managing the land I may well get such a vehicle because I can use the low end torque in 4x4 Low for getting around off the agricultural paths (with the right tires, of course) - but the first seduction was not that.

The first seduction was speed.