finite resources

Beyond a critical point within a finite space, freedom diminishes as numbers increase. This is as true of humans in the finite space of a planetary ecosystem as it is of gas molecules in a sealed flask. The human question is not how many can possibly survive within the system, but what kind of existence is possible for those who do survive.

-- Pardot Kynes, First Imperial Planetologist of Arrakis (Dune by Frank Herbert)

what hath urethane wrought?

In today's lineup -- stripped of fitness requirements, basic abilities, and the administration of swift justice for the lack of either -- it's pure anarchy. Entry-level kooks now have, with the longboard/leash combo, a backstage pass into what once was the inner sanctum of those who had paid their dues over years of hardscrabble apprenticeship and many, many long swims.
-- Dave Parmenter, Surfer magazine (June 2000)