One simple measure of relief can be put into place in the market immediately without any government involvement. Businesses that have employees who can telecommute should adopt and encourage participation in telecommuting rotations. I have done this in the past on a full-time basis; I’ve also done it while traveling. I telecommute occasionally in my present position, but our practice is ad hoc, rather than company policy. Companies can and should take the initiative to encourage employees to telecommute.

Face time is very important, but many people have supervisors or colleagues who work in different parts of the country. They meet face to face a few times a year and work virtually together the rest of the year. When gas prices spike, companies can’t adjust pay as quickly as they can allow employees to work remotely. It would be interesting to see the creative plans that could be adopted. Would you allow it based on seniority, or on how far the employees lived from the job location? Perhaps it would be based on a number of days out of every week, i.e. work three days in the office and two at home. Let’s see what the market can come up with.

I’m also going to be publishing a new front page pretty soon. The pic up there now is almost three years old. I have less hair on top, more gray on the sides, and now I’m sporting a manly beard. Damn, I’m smooth! At any rate, a redesign is in order because I don’t use the marquee scroll at all and it’s a bit squished horizontally on larger screen resolutions.

Here we are after dinner.

Now it’s bedtime.

On March 2, 1836 Fifty-nine delegates met at Washington-on-the-Brazos to unanimously declare that Texas is a “free, Sovereign, and independent republic”.

Read more at the Handbook of Texas Online.

Read the text of the Texas Declaration of Independence.