Christian Huygens, J. J. Étienne Lenoir, Alphonse Beau de Rochas, Nikolaus A. Otto, Rudolph Diesel, Sir Dougald Clerk, or Gottlieb Daimler, do you recognize their names ? These are just a half dozen of the hundreds of pioneers who developed the internal combustion engine. They had the intellect to transform the physics into practice but these men of intelligence created a direction and that direction has enslaved the World.

*** It's not their inventions that has enslaved the world, it's the 'direction' that certain men/women have chosen to take. Corrections have been made by building cleaner cars.

If only one of them had the ability to foresee the consequence of their inventions.

*** I think they did pretty well.

We have developed a technology of transforming chemical energy into mechanical energy. When you drive your vehicle you notice that the petrol gauge goes to empty but you do not see the air being consumned. Do we need to understand those changes at a subatomic level too ? Imagine how the dynamic equilibriums of 'Unseen Nature' are boinked by man's burgeoning presence ?

*** Hmm, hence the saying, "running on fumes", eh?

This morning, you need to take your son to hockey practice. Yes!

*** No, but if he belonged to a little league team, we'd car pool (as most of my friends do). Just because: It's the law here that you need to have an acre of land for every horse you own.

Your sister is getting married in London. Do you take the boat, car or plane ?

*** No relatives in London, but if that would be the case, I'd take the plane or be there in spirit and ask for photos to be sent.