Actually, we've had a military force in place in the Horn of Africa region since 2002. They work with several area nations in a joint force trying to bring stability to the region. They've had some success, but not were it really counts. As far as Sudan goes, it seems we've been trying to help them since Colin Powell was Sec of State - our mistake seems to have eben working through the U.N.Worse than the folks who are practicing genocide in Africa too.You mean the place that has the real connection to al Quadea? Yeah too bad we can't go help those people.
Well we could have just pulled an Iraq and sent in troops anyway. ;)
GGG
You have to be more specific. Bill started military operations in several countries.
al Quadea-centric: Afganastan for one.
GGG
So Hollywood contributes more to greenhouse gasses than rest of the population of the US? Do they individually fly their kids to school out there.Actually, I think they both get beat out by the number of journalists and entertainment reporters who report on things like Anna Nicole Smith, Britney's shaved head, and how K-Fed or Paris are making fools of themselves this week. Talk about pollution.
Agreed. She died. It's sad. Stop it. There are hundreds, thousands of more honorable, decent, and generally exceptional people who die every day. Where is their fanfare?
But no, we choose to spend our time obsessing with some rich slut who likely brought around her own destruction and never did anything productive for society.
I realize the sarcasm, but no one was comparing Bush to Stalin or Hitler. Of course those people are infinitely worse than Bush, and I reject any claims to the contrary. However, that hardly exhonerates Bush of his own misdeeds.
He is the President right here and now. He has broken our laws and violated our trust, and worse, I and others would say. He is the Commander in Chief, and his is Responsible in Chief for the actions of his administration. We can do something about his errors, as is our right as the American people. He deserves impeachment.
I don't care if it's a Republican or Democrat who replaces him; I think Colin Powell would make a good leader, but he doesn't seem to have the heart for it. A pity. As it is, I foresee devisive crap amongst the Democratic party, who are probably far too confident of their "assured" win in 2008. It's probably going to be another blood-stained election, and that is something this country can certainly do without.
Yesterday as I was downloading Dragon# 298(Because I love the original concept of Drow elves, and thought it might be cool to expand on them in my world I am designing) internet explorer started opening up an would not stop completly wrecking my download. WTF is that ish. Sorry for swearing but that is...
P.S. Cheney in 08, doubtful but I would vote for him.
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Yesterday as I was downloading Dragon# 298(Because I love the original concept of Drow elves, and thought it might be cool to expand on them in my world I am designing) internet expolrer started opening up an would not stop completly wrecking my download. WTF is that ish. Sorry for swearing but that is...
P.S. Cheney in 08, doubtful but I would vote for him.
Sounds like you are infected with Adware and/or Spyware. Run a good virus scan and be prepared to do a system restore if you can't get it purged.
FH
Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
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I started to respond to various ignorant posts here, but stopped myself in time. A board dedicated to RPGs is not the place for political discussions.
BTW: Cheney '08
I guess that's the burden of knowing the right way to do things; you've got to suffer through the ignorance of lesser minds. If only the main stream media would report the truth, we could all agree.
But let's put aside the ranting, because I've got a challenge. Here it is - post what you think the other political philosophy does right or what they could do that would make you happy. I'd be impressed if the disiples of Fox News can even manage to say something coherent about the actual ideas behind their opponents. Particularly when I see sarcastic comments like "oh yeah, Bush is Stalin" followed immidately by serious comments like "Gore would have us living in the stone age without electricity." If the irony of making a statement asserting your political opponents are complete idiots about your candidate's philosophy and then making the same idiotic statements about your own political opponents does not give you pause, I don't know what will.
Before I give my own positive rant, I'll see if there are any takers.
P.S. It doesn't count if there are diatribes built in or if it is faint praise (e.g. "Bush had a good idea but he was too dumb to implement it.")
Sounds like you are infected with Adware and/or Spyware. Run a good virus scan and be prepared to do a system restore if you can't get it purged.
FH
Thank you Fake Healer, I will do that now.
TalonSoft has something called Ad-Aware that can be downloaded for free. It also happens to be very good.
Thank you. Does Vattnisse mean somthing? I mean as a word?
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I started to respond to various ignorant posts here, but stopped myself in time. A board dedicated to RPGs is not the place for political discussions.
BTW: Cheney '08
I guess that's the burden of knowing the right way to do things; you've got to suffer through the ignorance of lesser minds. If only the main stream media would report the truth, we could all agree.
But let's put aside the ranting, because I've got a challenge. Here it is - post what you think the other political philosophy does right or what they could do that would make you happy. I'd be impressed if the disiples of Fox News can even manage to say something coherent about the actual ideas behind their opponents. Particularly when I see sarcastic comments like "oh yeah, Bush is Stalin" followed immidately by serious comments like "Gore would have us living in the stone age without electricity." If the irony of making a statement asserting your political opponents are complete idiots about your candidate's philosophy and then making the same idiotic statements about your own political opponents does not give you pause, I don't know what will.
Before I give my own positive rant, I'll see if there are any takers.
P.S. It doesn't count if there are diatribes built in or if it is faint praise (e.g. "Bush had a good idea but he was too dumb to implement it.")
I'll bite, Sebastian.
I appreciate the Republican philosophy of fiscal responsibility. The balanced budget goals of the Republican congressional majority in 1994 were a good idea. Ultimately, they achieved it. What could they do to make me happy? Put that back on the priority list. One of the reasons I am a Democrat is because the Congressional Democrats have shown a desire to reign in the budgets of the past few years which were caused by increases in defense and security spending coupled with tax cuts.
I appreciate the efforts of the President and the Republican Congress on national security. I feel that many of the provisions of the Patriot Act have gone too far, however, in undermining our civil liberties. My hope is that a comprimise can be reached that keeps the nation secure without undermining our freedoms.
Is that the sort of thing you're looking for? I didn't want to be too long winded, and I'm not aobut to go scrounging sources for stastical data...
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Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
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Is that the sort of thing you're looking for? I didn't want to be too long winded, and I'm not aobut to go scrounging sources for stastical data...
I'll take what I can get, honestly. Maybe it's easier to say something critical about the party you support. I'm of the belief that politicians, being human, and probably the worst kind of human at that, constantly need their feet held to the fire. The us against them mentality that pervades political parties has turned this nation into a bunch of yes-men who defend their team no matter what. Supporters of a political party have a greater duty and ability to keep their guy honest than do opponents, and the failure of those supporters to question their own politicians makes me sick.
Director of Game Development
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I hate that there is a qualifier to being okay with killing people.
I hate that feeling that intelligent creatures should not be purposely killed is seen as ridiculous by the majority.
I hate that death tolls in wars seem like sports scores. Just a number to determine the winner.
I hate that people can justify something that their "group" does, even if the action is something that they personally would never do themselves.
I hate that honorable people don't go into or get far in politics.
I hate that politicians make the choices that largely govern our lives.
I hate that many of us, that have the ability, wouldn't disrupt our lives enough to ensure a better life in this world.
I hate that we are so marginalized that we can't work together for a decent common goal.
I hate that happiness is mandated by need.
I hate that success is determined by objects.
I love that value is subjective and hate that an individual's success or happiness is often misinterpreted by the lack of objects or prestige. To quote Nobel prize-winning economist Paul Samuelson, "Happiness equals satisfaction divided by desire".
I hate that many people do not learn the lessons of suffering once they are no longer suffering.
I hate that many people lock themselves into a perspective, due to upbringing, culture or habit, and rarely attempt to explore other ideas or utilize empathy.
I hate how often people have to "agree to disagree", but love the variety of people that I share a planet with.
I hate that fear can be so controlling in such intelligent and adaptable beings like humans.
I hate that people are fine with accepting what they are told and that deception is an inevitable part of humankind.
I hate that our attention span and has been abated so far as that nothing is followed up on by most and when past atrocities are brought to light we shrug it off as "old shit".
I hate that I've typed hate that many times in a non-fiction post.
A board dedicated to RPGs is not the place for political discussions.
That's pretty much quoted for truth...
But it also falls into the category of there's no need to participate if you don't want to. I don't choose to either, but in a forum that is loosely moderated (to the credit of Paizo, i might add), it's up to the community at large to do regulate. The masses have spoken: Place Your Rant Here is, indeed, a place for political discussions!
As ever,
ACE
All this political dissent is just an elaborate ruse to pit us against each other in order to weaken us before the true enemy. A foe so bitter, so committed to complete and absolute victory that they're practically biologically geared toward our destruction.
The enemy in our ranks is, of course, babies.
Sure, they're cute for a while. And they seem so innocent at first. Their most insidious self defence mechanisms are at work every time you speak to them in baby-talk or lavish attention on their rubbery frames. But don't be mistaken; they can and will bring about not only your ruin, but the ruin of everyone around you.
They are a subtle enemy, ingratiating and patient. They have the luxury of decades before them. Why would they rush? Why would they risk open conflict? Time is on their side. We can only get weaker while they get stronger; biding their time to take our places. To steal our jobs, our homes, our Precious Moments Figurines. The worst thing of all is that we're helping them. Expending all of our valuable resources to keep them fed, clothed and educated. Practically GIVING the enemy the means to destroy us.
And you know what the really crazy thing is? The thing you've spent most of your life (with the help of your brain) hiding from yourself?
We all used to be one of them.
It's worse than Invasion of the Bodysnatchers. Those Cold War patriots couldn't even begin to understand the true threat lurking in their biological drive to reproduce. Our DNA and our genitalia are conspiring to destroy us all, slowly and without remorse.
So the next time you look at one of those "adorable tikes", just remember that you're staring down your own demise.
I'll bite, too, Sebastian.
The Liberal and Conservative mindset have changed parties over the decades; I feel Liberal, and thus support people who I think will bring about my desires for the world most fully. Therefore, I will use that term rather than Democrat and Conservative.
I dispise when the two sides are so bitterly divided that they cannot communicate, or when the leadership figures of one or the other or even third parties try to make it seem like such is the case. If one side or the other didn't have viable and valuable points and stances, it would no longer exist, if it would have ever evolved in the first place.
Liberals can be overreaching. I know I have the urge to think, "America has all this money, why don't we actually do something positive in the world?" But, the fact is, America still has its expenses, and even with all our money, we consistently have deficits in the budget. Conservatives seem to have a better eye on this, and I feel are an excellent counter to keep the Liberals from burning themselves out. They seem to be better able to actually grasp the reality of limitations of resources and construct viable plans within those constraints.
They do have more of a focus on the financial side of things, it seems, and if they can actually balance the budget, I'm all for that. Perhaps we can cut out some of the inefficiency and free up some money for other things. Clinton is said to have had a balanced budget, but if I remember correctly, that was only a balance in either the on or off budget section of the national budget, thus allowing the debt to actually grow while still showing surpluses.
And, a complaint about other Liberals- it's too chaotic. Anyone who feels any sort of repression, imaginary or otherwise, or thinks they can get a buck or become famous from being on TV talking about it, jumps into the Liberal camp. Then, what's left is this ugly, chaotic, disorganized mess that can't agree with itself for anything from time to time. The leadership of the party can't organize anything worth crap. They're already starting to argue and bicker over the races in 08. I don't see the Conservative side doing that, and I applaud them. Perhaps the high and mighty Democrats could learn something if they decided not to act so superior all the time.
There, an honest praise of the "opposing" philosophy, and a critique of my own. Does that qualify?
People who make or distribute internet computer viruses are b#@#&*~#s of the nth degree and I wish I could pound the crap outta them.
b#@#&*~#s.
Yeah man I'm a pretty peaceful guy but when my last computer got a virus I couldn't get rid of (that did nothing obvious but slow it down to snail's pace), I had fantasies of hiring my own hacker to work out where it came from and then going to see them with a baseball bat.
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I got a virus on my PC about 1 1/2 years ago that was a major pain to get out of my system.
I had done a search that involved Dungeons and Dragons and something else (I think I put roleplaying in there and some other keywords). I saw a site that looked like it had what I was looking for. No way! Hardcore bondage and S&M site that was set in a dungeon. The virus immediately added 10-15 links onto my "favorites" list, some of which had bestiality sites and other really vile stuff. If it hadn't happened at 1:30 in the afternoon on a Saturday with the wifey in room playing with the kids I don't know how I would've explained it. It took me 3 weeks of downloading adware and spyware software and buying anti-virus programs to get rid of it all. Everytime I thought I got rid of it, it would respawn itself. Fun stuff.
FH
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But let's put aside the ranting, because I've got a challenge. Here it is - post what you think the other political philosophy does right or what they could do that would make you happy. I'd be impressed if the disiples of Fox News can even manage to say something coherent about the actual ideas behind their opponents.
I'll take a stab at something coherent.
One thing I like about the liberals, is there stance on the whole Gay Marriage thing. The way I see it, these folks are people just like the rest of us - they bleed red, the use the same money, etc. There is no reason to deny them the rights that heterosexual people enjoy. And the more stable family homes we have in this country the better off we are.
It also seems to me that there are more liberals than conservatives who support the legalization of marijuana. This is something else that I agree on. The medicinal use of marijuana has really benefited people with terminal illnesses. I also think that marijuana is no more dangerous than alcohol. I say legalize it, tax it, and use the same regulations for the booze industry (i.e. no driving or operating of machinery while stoned, etc).
I also support the liberals laudably zealous defense of Free Speech. I would be happier if they realize that certain types of speech that aren't necessarily PC are still free. I cite as an example the drumming that Lawrence Summers took for suggesting that there might be some biological differences between men and women with regards to the amount of each gender in the science and engineering fields.
I also support liberal efforts to maintain separation of church and state. Freedom of religion is a hallmark of this country, and one of the reasons for its founding. I do think they go to far sometimes in pursuit of this, but I still appreciate their efforts.
As for conservatives, they need to realize that this country does indeed have a dependency on oil, and we do need to take care of it. George Bush acknowledged this, but I'm not really clear on what he and other conservatives have done about the problem. Yet another point for liberals is that they have, traditionally, thrown more support behind research into alternative energy sources. This support may not always have been the right thing (I'm talking wind power), but at least it was there.
Another thing that I was upset about Bush doing was the continued and increased support for NASA and its space program. I long ago passed into the camp that thinks NASA is a dinosaur of the cold war that needs to be completely revamped into a smaller, more national security and infrastructure specific form. To continue funding wasteful programs with public funds is terrible.
I would love to see both sides come together on several major issues. Illegal immigration is a problem that only both can solve, as is the future of social security (or potential lack thereof), as well as energy (oil, alternate stuff, etc, as mentioned before). I would also love to see agreement on just who the enemies of our country (and Democracy in general) are, but I think that may be stretching it.
Oh yeah, I got my Police concert tickets! JOY! July 19th 2007 - only 136 days away.
Woohoo! Way to go dood! My fiancee would kill for those tickets!
But let's put aside the ranting, because I've got a challenge. Here it is - post what you think the other political philosophy does right or what they could do that would make you happy. I'd be impressed if the disiples of Fox News can even manage to say something coherent about the actual ideas behind their opponents.I'll take a stab at something coherent.
One thing I like about the liberals, is there stance on the whole Gay Marriage thing. The way I see it, these folks are people just like the rest of us - they bleed red, the use the same money, etc. There is no reason to deny them the rights that heterosexual people enjoy. And the more stable family homes we have in this country the better off we are.
It also seems to me that there are more liberals than conservatives who support the legalization of marijuana. This is something else that I agree on. The medicinal use of marijuana has really benefited people with terminal illnesses. I also think that marijuana is no more dangerous than alcohol. I say legalize it, tax it, and use the same regulations for the booze industry (i.e. no driving or operating of machinery while stoned, etc).
I also support the liberals laudably zealous defense of Free Speech. I would be happier if they realize that certain types of speech that aren't necessarily PC are still free. I cite as an example the drumming that Lawrence Summers took for suggesting that there might be some biological differences between men and women with regards to the amount of each gender in the science and engineering fields.
I also support liberal efforts to maintain separation of church and state. Freedom of religion is a hallmark of this country, and one of the reasons for its founding. I do think they go to far sometimes in pursuit of this, but I still appreciate their efforts.
As for conservatives, they need to realize that this country does indeed have a dependency on oil, and we do need to take care of it. George Bush acknowledged this,...
All stuff that I agree with. I recently saw on CNN (few months ago, but recent to me) that apparently Brazil is one of the leaders in renewable energy sources. They produce ethanol in farms, the machines that process the crop is run by ethanol energy itself. It's still mixed with a percentage of gasoline, but that's how a lot of their cars are fueled. And it isn't that this kind of alternative energy solution isn't available here (and no, it isn't a government/oil company conspiracy); there just isn't a demand for it.
Now, the reason for this may be that a lot of consumers just don't realize that it's out there. On the other hand, car companies aren't advertising that many alternative energy vehicles beyond the hybrid gas/electric car. Also, how many gas stations offer ethanol or other alternative fuel sources? Somebody has to make the first big step in order for these alternatives to see main stream use, but how many large corporations with thousands of employees to pay and stocks to keep up are willing to make that investment? Also, how many consumers are willing to try out these new things, especially if many gas stations wouldn't support it? It's unfortunate that being set as far into our habits can keep us from finding something both more fiscally and environmentally responsible.
Harvey the pooka in '08.
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People who make or distribute internet computer viruses are b&#%!~*@s of the nth degree and I wish I could pound the crap outta them.
b&#%!~*@s.
I never understood the appeal. The only reason I can think of for creating a virus is to prove to the world that you are an irredeemable a%++%*$.
I'm really curious what profanity that could have been that got filtered from you post, by the way. Whatever it was, I'm sure it applied perfectly.
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All stuff that I agree with. I recently saw on CNN (few months ago, but recent to me) that apparently Brazil is one of the leaders in renewable energy sources. They produce ethanol in farms, the machines that process the crop is run by ethanol energy itself. It's still mixed with a percentage of gasoline, but that's how a lot of their cars are fueled. And it isn't that this kind of alternative energy solution isn't available here (and no, it isn't a government/oil company conspiracy); there just isn't a demand for it.
Now, the reason for this may be that a lot of consumers just don't realize that it's out there. On the other hand, car companies aren't advertising that many alternative energy vehicles beyond the hybrid gas/electric car. Also, how many gas stations offer ethanol or other alternative fuel sources? Somebody has to make the first big step in order for these alternatives to see main stream use, but how many large corporations with thousands of employees to pay and stocks to keep up are willing to make that investment? Also, how many consumers are willing to try out these new things, especially if many gas stations wouldn't support it? It's unfortunate that being set as far into our habits can keep us from finding something both more fiscally and environmentally responsible.
Whether you are dealing with cars, homes, etc, the big thing about it all is infrastructure (or lack thereof), and cost. Its not just that they other stuff isn't supported, it's that so much of the world economy relys on oil.
When I needed a new car last fall, I actually looked into hybrids, but even with tax breaks, the 10 year cost was higher for a hybrid, mostly because of the cost of maintenance. As more of those cars get out on the road, however, we'll see a drop in price.
Wind power is nice to talk about, but I've never seen verifiable proof that it has a decent cost-benefit. Geothermal and solar are widely acknowledged by many engineers as giving more "bang for the buck" so to speak, but that largely depends on location. There was a politician (don't know if he's still in office) who worte an article about putting a Solar power collector in orbit and having it tethered to the surface (which is technically feasible), but I'm not sure where that talk went.
Personally, I like the French attitude toward Nuclear power. I think they get like 70% of their electrical power needs from it.
All in all, even if things go as well as possible, it will take years for the U.S. to get off of oil.
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Oh yeah, I got my Police concert tickets! JOY! July 19th 2007 - only 136 days away.Woohoo! Way to go dood! My fiancee would kill for those tickets!
It was crazy. I found out Friday that the tickets were going on sale Saturday at 10:00 am. Our new computer at home isn't hooked up to internet yet, so we came into work. My work computer started running updates and didn't let me onto the internet until about 10 to 10, by which time the server was overcrowded. Luckily, my chick got in ahead of time and sat there with everything typed in already. All she had to do was hit "submit". So the concert is in the baseball stadiu,m, and we got into the 100 level seats, not far from the stage. I'm sure the money will be well worth it. I've been waiting for this for over 20 years.
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Wind power is nice to talk about, but I've never seen verifiable proof that it has a decent cost-benefit. Geothermal and solar are widely acknowledged by many engineers as giving more "bang for the buck" so to...
I looked into hooking up my house with solar panels and found the cost to be WAY too high. I mean like 10-15 years of my heating bill in one lump sum- expensive. They are considering placing a wind farm 3 miles out off the coast of Delaware and everyone is complaining that "the cost to the wildlife population would be high" and that such and such energy is MORE efficient. Sited were statics on how many birds are killed yearly by Wind Farms (mostly land-based)and the potential (no facts to back it up)damage to the sea-life in the area. The farm would be able to power roughly 250,000 households a day. People are too stupid to make a good choice anymore. The pollutants currently made from powering that many houses would have a much larger impact on the environment and has a stacking effect, meaning the pollution will build up over time doing more and more damage to the environment, but show some PETA moron a dead bird that was hit by a windmill and they jump right on that cause, forget about all the creatures being genetically altered into extinction by our foul emissions, that poor bird was hit by a fan!
I believe the Neatherlands has one of the few Wind-farms in the world that are waterbased and it is supposedly a good system.FH
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Also why aren't we using THIS TECHNOLOGY all the time? Answer: The oil companies have their hands into politics so far that when they move their hand, the Politicians' mouths move.
FH
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I actually did an engineering analysis of wind power once. The cost to up keep the equipment versus the amount of energy you get out of it is usually what makes it inefficient. Although most of those were land-based. Sea-based ones (in a littoral area) would probably get exposed to more wind, but maintaining something at seas takes on a whole new set of problems. But I remember hearing about those folks in New England. Didn't they also complained that the windmills would bring down property values by ruining the view?
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People who make or distribute internet computer viruses are b&#%!~*@s of the nth degree and I wish I could pound the crap outta them.
b&#%!~*@s.I never understood the appeal. The only reason I can think of for creating a virus is to prove to the world that you are an irredeemable a~&#**~.
I'm really curious what profanity that could have been that got filtered from you post, by the way. Whatever it was, I'm sure it applied perfectly.
It actually wasn't too bad of one; I thought it would fly but it didn't. I try to avoid the really vulgar cursing on this site that I use most of the time...
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RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
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I'm really curious what profanity that could have been that got filtered from you post, by the way. Whatever it was, I'm sure it applied perfectly.
Judging by the first letter and the number of characters obscured by the filter, my guess is that it starts with BAST and ends in ARDS.
Yes, bastards is okay, but bug-something something is blocked.
I recently heard that ethanol is actually price inefficient because it takes oil to fuel the plants that make it. Anyone able to confirm or disprove this? My thought would be that, while it might be initially inefficient, in the long run it could really be made to work.
Nuclear power is indeed a good way to go. True, there is debate about where to put the waste, but a lot of people also seem to worry about a Chernobyl (sp?) repeat, which I really don't think is likely. Everything I've ever heard paints a modern nuclear plant as being very safe and clean.
Solar collectors in space is indeed a good idea that I have heard before. The exact name eludes me, but basically carbon cables can be made that could attach it to the Earth. They would never be blocked by clouds and could have complete sunlight all the time, and not even take up any space on the ground. All we'd see is a speck in the night sky, as with any other satellite or space station.
I suppose a lunar location would be a good idea, too.
Regarding NASA, I'm an ardent supporter of advancing space related tech, but I've recently come to think that perhaps the best thing to do would be to privatize the whole thing. Obviously, hefty government contracts would remain, but if you gave the providence of such things over to private companies, you might actually see some real and useful developments soon, instead of risky and expensive shuttle flights to see what ant farms do in 0 gravity.
Nuclear power is indeed a good way to go. True, there is debate about where to put the waste, but a lot of people also seem to worry about a Chernobyl (sp?) repeat, which I really don't think is likely. Everything I've ever heard paints a modern nuclear plant as being very safe and clean.
Your right, Chernobyl was an example of how not to run operations in a nuclear reactor, and has almost no likelihood of happening again.
If memory serves, they were performing tests on their fail-safe systems, but in order to test the last line of defenses, they had to turn off every single defense system prior to those. (Not very bright, no?) They designed the test by removing a large fraction of the carbon rods that were used to moderate the reaction (ie, remove the very physical mechanisms preventing a runaway reaction) - by contrast most nuclear reactors built since then use heavy water to moderate the reaction, not physical carbon rods which can be easily removed and can get very hot. Finally, to top it all off, they did all this on the night shift. (Studies have shown the inherent problems with people working night shift - increase occurence of human error, etc.)
I think most nuclear scientist/technicians were able to identify most of the problems with Chernobyl at the time. Aside from being a "lessons learned" type of situation, it was more of a "what the hell were they thinking?" situation.
Greg
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RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
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Solar collectors in space is indeed a good idea that I have heard before. The exact name eludes me, but basically carbon cables can be made that could attach it to the Earth...
Can we talk about the creepy, futuristic notion of a fricking CABLE running up into space? This is a 30-mile-long cable extending up into the SKY here!!! I would imagine that having more than a few of these things kicking around would cause serious problems for air traffic as well.
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Man, here's some crap that happened to me at work.
So I was looking up on the internet about "bone scans and Padgett's disease," which is actually applicable to work,...and I find a possible site on the search engine, so I click it. It comes up and says, "do you want to make this your home page?" so I click "no" and it makes it my home page.
THEN, it starts popping up some of the nastiest porn I've seen on my computer at work and saying, "you're infected with spyware; look I found all this porn on your computer!!!"
SO I turned it all off, and went and told my boss (who is the coolest boss in the world), and then I got the security program to get rid of all the crapola. He said it's not a virus but it's a malicious adware and the security should've stopped it but for some reason the security thing was off.
I was like, "now...this here porn?,,,this ain't me, man. This ain't my thing. I just look at Dungeons and Dragons stuff." What a day.
This is a 30-mile-long cable extending up into the SKY here!!!
30? That's only half the distance to "space," I believe. We're talking way more than 30 here in all likelyhood. And yes, there will probably be more than one once they start going. Various advanced nations will want them, and anchoring solar panels isn't what this was originally thought up for. I believe the original idea was the space elevator, which is just what it sounds like. A chamber on a cord that ascends into space, cutting down on all the fuel costs needed for shuttles and the like. One then docks at a space station, and can launch to the moon or Mars for a fraction of the cost, since the vessel need not escape Earth's strongest gravity and thus can carry much less fuel.
The cables can be amazingly small, actually, and I can't really see them interfering with air travel in an real way. There would just be small no fly zones around them.
Now, as far as Heathy's comment of polluting the whole universe, there is a theory that we have so many artificial satellites in orbit that if a peice of space junk hit one and blew it to bits, all that space junk would then do the same, and the Earth would become surrounded by a cloud of space junk orbitting at insanely fast speeds that would make it impossible to put up or maintain any satellites or other orbital devices until all the stuff finally decayed out of its orbit and burned up in the atmosphere. That could be bad if it ever came to pass.
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Director of Game Development
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And it isn't that this kind of alternative energy solution isn't available here (and no, it isn't a government/oil company conspiracy); there just isn't a demand for it.
Now, the reason for this may be that a lot of consumers just don't realize that it's out there. On the other hand, car companies aren't advertising that many alternative energy vehicles beyond the hybrid gas/electric car. Also, how many gas stations offer ethanol or other alternative fuel sources?
You mean that the people that would suffer profit loss don't offer alternative fuels at their stations? Those bastards!
In Austin, Tx there are a couple of bio-diesel "pumps" to speak of, and quite often I'm in traffic behind an 80's Mercedes that smells like french fries. It IS getting around, just slowly. There have been, in the past year, more and more Exxons and Shells with E85 that I had noticed. Ethanol would have been a great idea if the farmers would have gotten it rolling without the help of the fossil fuel fat cats. But like Aberzombie said, that would have taken alotta work to get the dough together for the infrastructure. Farmers have been having a hard enough time for the past 20-30 years.
When I needed a new car last fall, I actually looked into hybrids, but even with tax breaks, the 10 year cost was higher for a hybrid, mostly because of the cost of maintenance. As more of those cars get out on the road, however, we'll see a drop in price.
The real "small print" when it comes to hybrids is that if you live anywhere where AC is crucial you are not using the electric part of the engine much, if at all.
ea-based ones (in a littoral area) would probably get exposed to more wind, but maintaining something at seas takes on a whole new set of problems. But I remember hearing about those folks in New England. Didn't they also complained that the windmills would bring down property values by ruining the view?
Yes, because running an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico or the West coast of Africa is way easier than one in West Texas. Sorry for the sarcasm, but I come from a family of roughnecks who've worked almost exclusively off-shore.
But about the windfarms, I hate the "it'll be unsightly" crowd way more than the "it kills birds" crowd. It's a close fight though. For the property value whores - what will your waterfront property look like or sell for when it's underwater, or so covered in soot that you have to power-wash the house every week? For the wildlife people - birds can learn to avoid obstacles, they can't learn to avoid the lack of food sources or decent atmosphere.
I recently heard that ethanol is actually price inefficient because it takes oil to fuel the plants that make it. Anyone able to confirm or disprove this? My thought would be that, while it might be initially inefficient, in the long run it could really be made to work.
Most early ethanol producers are corn farmers (hemp, potatoes or any other starchy renewable crop) who were using leftover crops to stretch their capacity to produce something useful from sonething that would otherwise rot. The farmers these days that grow things to be used as fuel use that to fuel their tractors, combines and whatnot. Otherwise I don't see how oil goes into growing plants.
Nuclear power is indeed a good way to go. True, there is debate about where to put the waste, but a lot of people also seem to worry about a Chernobyl (sp?) repeat, which I really don't think is likely. Everything I've ever heard paints a modern nuclear plant as being very safe and clean.
We as a planet have actually been very responsible with nuclear energy so far, except for that whole weaponizing an energy source thing. I still think that nuclear energy deserves to be in space, where it belongs. We've got this kick-ass layer of protection against this kinda thing around our planet and it'd be a shame to violate that for a little power.
We also don't have to get as crazy as flying solar kites on carbon strings to get decent energy solutions. All we have to do is look back to the father of AC electricity - Nikolai Tesla. His first major generator harnessed Niagra Falls and provided electricity to Buffalo. Some of his later experiments in Colorado dealt with taking energy from the ionosphere and the earth. Even though those experiments only yielded 6-8Hz as far as frequency goes, he was able to light bulbs by placing them in the ground. This was around the turn of the century! More than a hundred years later we're, as a planet, killing each other for dead plants and dinosaurs.
Read on to where most of his papers disappeared after his death in the late 30's early 40's.