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Once the peak is passed, oil production begins to go down while cost begins to go up. In practical and considerably oversimplified terms, this means that if 2005 was the year of global Peak Oil, worldwide oil production in the year 2030 will be the same as it was in 1980. However, the world’s population in 2030 will be both much larger (approximately twice) and much more industrialized (oil-dependent) than it was in 1980. Consequently, worldwide demand for oil will outpace worldwide production of oil by a significant margin. As a result, the price will skyrocket, oil dependant economies will crumble, and resource wars will explode.

The issue is not one of "running out" so much as it is not having enough to keep our economy running. In this regard, the ramifications of Peak Oil for our civilization are similar to the ramifications of dehydration for the human body. The human body is 70 percent water. The body of a 200 pound man thus holds 140 pounds of water. Because water is so crucial to everything the human body does, the man doesn't need to lose all 140 pounds of water weight before collapsing due to dehydration. A loss of as little as 10-15 pounds of water may be enough to kill him.

In a similar sense, an oil based economy such as ours doesn't need to deplete its entire reserve of oil before it begins to collapse. A shortfall between demand and supply as little as 10 to 15 percent is enough to wholly shatter an oil-dependent economy and reduce its citizenry to poverty.

If a 5% drop in production caused prices to triple in the 1970s, what do you think a 50% or 75% drop is going to do? Ultimately, the energy-intensive industrial age may be little more than a blip in the course of human history.

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Today's economics ensures that the average family, more often than not, comprises a married couple, their children and the husband's parent(s), all living together in not-always-companionable equations. For such a unit to not merely survive, but also do the job it was meant to in the first place — serve as an emotional bedrock — all its constituents will have to co-exist in a state of mutual respect. And being respectful does not mean veneration but engaging in a mutually beneficial relationship of openness, honesty, understanding, tolerance and regard for each others' needs, boundaries and limitations. In attempting to relate better to our elders, we often find ourselves at one of two poles: deification or vilification. And until we start actively searching for a middle ground, harmony in our family lives is going to remain elusive.

The key to respecting our elders lies not in ‘serving' them, but in relating to them with dignity as individuals, as companions and as one adult to another. To make this happen in your life, just remember the basic axiom — neither a vilifier nor a deifier be.

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A "menu engineer" based in Palm Springs, Calif., Gregg Rapp works with restaurants across the country and around the world to transform innocent lists of meals into profitable, user-friendly sales tools. Although his clientele includes such prominent chains as Chili's, his daylong "menu boot camps" have helped bring sophisticated marketing know-how to mom-and-pop diners and corner pubs. The objective for eateries big and small: a menu that grabs the customer's eye and steers it to high-profit dishes and moneymaking add-ons (like the side salad that is only $3.99 extra when you order the entrée). Rapp is so sure of his menu makeovers that he offers a money-back guarantee that his menu will raise profits--and in his 25 years in the business, he has yet to issue a refund.

The first step is the design. Rapp recommends that menus be laid out in neat columns with unfussy fonts. The way prices are listed is very important. "This is the No. 1 thing that most restaurants get wrong," he explains. "If all the prices are aligned on the right, then I can look down the list and order the cheapest thing." It's better to have the digits and dollar signs discreetly tagged on at the end of each food description. That way, the customer's appetite for honey-glazed pork will be whetted before he sees its cost.

Also important is placement. On the basis of his own research and existing studies of how people read, Rapp says the most valuable real estate on a two-panel menu (one that opens like a magazine) is the upper-right-hand corner. That area, he says, should be reserved for more profitable dishes since it is the best place to catch--and retain--the reader's gaze.

Cheap, popular staples--like a grilled-chicken sandwich or a burger--should be harder to locate. Rapp likes to make the customer read through a mouthwatering description of seared ahi tuna before he finds them. "This is akin to the grocery store putting the milk in the back," he says. "You have to walk by all sorts of tempting, high-priced items to get to it."

The adjectives lavished on a dish can be as important as the names of the ingredients. What would you rather eatplain grilled chicken or flame-broiled chicken with a garlic rub? Scrambled eggs or farm-fresh eggs scrambled in butter? "Think 'flavors and tastes,'" Rapp says, repeating a favorite mantra. "Words like crunchy and spicy give the customer a better idea of what something will be like." Longer, effusive descriptions should be reserved for signature items. Especially the profitable ones.

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www.duke.edu/~dandan/stories/Saffron.pdf

“See how the larger colored plate beneath the smaller one provides an appealing background and the illusion of a larger portion? You would only serve on the smaller dishes but the customers would still feel like they are getting more food. ”

Turning to a rack of glasses, Renu continued, “Ma what kind of drink makes Homefood the most money?” Never having considered this before, Sunita though for a moment before replying, “Mango lassi, I guess. It costs $4 and all I need to make it is yoghurt, mango and cardamom.”

“Great. So include lassi into every lunch or dinner order you take. Make it a staple that you serve will all meals, like you give your customers naan with their dishes. This way, it would be like every customer ordered lassi. Look at these gorgeous cocktail glasses, they would be great for lassi. Which ones do you like? The taller the glass, the more the customer thinks he’s getting.”

“They’re the same dishes Ma, I just renamed them and filled in the details, it adds to their appeal. Read it, you’ll see. It’s the same food you’ve always cooked for us.” Sunita’s eyes scanned the menu. Surprised, she asked her daughter, “Where are the prices?”

Pointing, Renu explained, “Look right here Ma. They’re under the description of the dishes. That way, decisions in ordering will be made based on how appealing the item sounds and not based on its price. See how I removed the dollar signs and only left numbers, this serves the same purpose.”

Puzzled, Sunita continued to stare at the menu, her eyes focusing in on a dish for lamb crème sauce. “Fifty-three dollars!” she exclaimed. “Renu, this was the price of an entire meal for a family at Homefood. How can I charge this for a single dish? Besides, lamb curry is not my specialty.”

Nodding, Renu replied, “Ma, don’t worry. Almost no one will order this dish, but having it on the menu willallow customers to justify ordering the next most expensive item. Overall, you’ll see that people order higher priced dishes more consistently.”

Finally, Stunita’s eyes began serarching the menu for Gaon-Ke-Aloo, the potatoes she had learned to cook in her small village outside of New Delhi, the only curry she had served each day at Homefood, her signature dish. On the second page, third from the bottom, she saw something similar.

Saffron Potatoes
Roasted Potatoes, laced with Saffron and Spiced with Turmeric
and Fresh Dill, Served in a Tangy Tomato Purée 14

“I know you don’t put saffron in your potatoes, Ma. But just put in a pinch, ok? With the yellow of the turmeric, no one will ever know how much is in there. I get paid to do this every day in LA, trust me, it works. Saffron is a hot word for food in general, and coupled with it being the new name of your restaurant, it’s bound to be a clincher.”