Search found 586 matches

by Maui
Wed Nov 26, 2008 6:02 am
Forum: News
Topic: Good News on the DOD funding side
Replies: 9
Views: 12782

This reminds me of how a whole bunch of space exploration supporters spammed the voting page used for the CNN-YouTube Presidential debates during the primaries. The whole thing was organized by a space activist from Boeing. Whether they get anything useful out of it or not, horray for at least proj...
by Maui
Fri Oct 17, 2008 5:51 am
Forum: General
Topic: and some more eestor news
Replies: 65
Views: 30358

Yes, but everyone else is driving something of a certain mass, and we could average that. Above that average, you are generally safer, below it you are less safe. Ignoring whether or not this is actually true, the idea of this argument has always disturbed me. Why are people so unabashedly comforte...
by Maui
Fri Oct 03, 2008 4:58 pm
Forum: General
Topic: Just noticed...
Replies: 11
Views: 6255

There seems to be a well oiled vote fraud machine in Ohio. As to which side it is working for? Look it up. Sheesh-- I was offering your side a compliment, and this is what I get? Barely even related. Voter fraud goes both ways ... and anyway I doubt very much that a single state will tip the electi...
by Maui
Fri Oct 03, 2008 4:20 am
Forum: General
Topic: News thread political tangent
Replies: 30
Views: 18359

Re: News thread political tangent

I refuse to believe that any serious study such as this one which says solar panels now pay themselves back within 1-3 years (and that's not even considering thin-film) are not taking night into account. Give me a break. When it it comes to Nanosolar's claim of $1 a watt I'll conceed that we know ve...
by Maui
Fri Oct 03, 2008 3:33 am
Forum: General
Topic: Just noticed...
Replies: 11
Views: 6255

Or a football fan whose team doesn't play home games ... speaking of football-- Go Hawks? Now if we could only win one... I know the OP wasn't asking for political opinions, but I'll say that as a lefty, I thought Palin did quite well. I wasn't expecting the collapse that some were, but I she beat ...
by Maui
Wed Oct 01, 2008 6:33 pm
Forum: General
Topic: News thread political tangent
Replies: 30
Views: 18359

Re: News thread political tangent

ANY energy investment has to have a certain ROI given a certain prime rate. The higher the prime rate, the shorter the ROI period needs to be. Typically 2 years is an acceptable avg. Solar tends toward an ROI of about 10-12 years, which is very diseconomic. I suspect you are using figures from sili...
by Maui
Wed Oct 01, 2008 6:24 pm
Forum: General
Topic: News thread political tangent
Replies: 30
Views: 18359

Re: News thread political tangent

The widely quoted value is 20% cap for wind power. Even the DOE uses that figure. I'd be willing to read arguments to the contrary, but I think "a few percent" is really low-balling it. Also, if fuel cells or other markets for hydrogen develop, hydrogen production could be good way to utilize wind ...
by Maui
Wed Oct 01, 2008 3:07 am
Forum: General
Topic: News thread political tangent
Replies: 30
Views: 18359

Torulf2 wrote:Interesting statistics about development, health, population and more can be find at the gapminder. A world statistics visualisation program owned by Google.
http://www.gapminder.org/
This is the coolest thing I have ever seen (or that I've seen this month, anyway). Thanks!
by Maui
Tue Sep 30, 2008 6:02 pm
Forum: News
Topic: Any official news as of late July 2008?
Replies: 154
Views: 92738

IntLibber,

Thanks for the detailed, insightful response. Let's continue this here:
viewtopic.php?p=10537#10537
by Maui
Tue Sep 30, 2008 6:02 pm
Forum: General
Topic: News thread political tangent
Replies: 30
Views: 18359

News thread political tangent

I'm experienced in politics as an activist and election official (and not a republican), so I know how this works (I've also worked as an energy analyst, so I know the energy industry pretty well). Claims that the "problem of nuclear waste" needs to be solved are disengenuous when the "problem" has...
by Maui
Tue Sep 30, 2008 12:37 am
Forum: General
Topic: and some more eestor news
Replies: 65
Views: 30358

hello Problem is, that even if their numbers are correct, the energy density of their energy storage is still much less than in gasoline. Yes, but combustion engines are much less capable of extracting that energy when compared to electric engines. Anyway, to make a radical change in automobiles an...
by Maui
Mon Sep 29, 2008 3:14 am
Forum: News
Topic: Any official news as of late July 2008?
Replies: 154
Views: 92738

Over the decades I've developed a rather deep distrust of Democrats at the national level. Then I think you've made two mistakes: 1) To distrust Democrats not politicians as a whole. 2) To assume any one politician can only be as good as the "worst" in his or her own party. Obama is not Pelosi just...
by Maui
Mon Sep 29, 2008 1:22 am
Forum: News
Topic: Any official news as of late July 2008?
Replies: 154
Views: 92738

Who are O's constituents? The drill now pro nuke folks? Or the no drill, no nukes people? Again, why the assumption of one or the other, this or that, black or white? But if you want to talk about Obama's constituents (instead of his political base), it currently includes southern Illinois coal min...
by Maui
Sat Sep 27, 2008 7:32 pm
Forum: News
Topic: Any official news as of late July 2008?
Replies: 154
Views: 92738

Well Obama is anti-nuclear-anything, so its a waste of time to try there, the political left is almost unanimously against any kind of nuclear power (other than the few intelligent greens who have admitted nuke is the only solution to saving the environment). Oh, come on. I hate our tendencies to a...
by Maui
Fri Aug 01, 2008 2:10 am
Forum: News
Topic: More EEStor news
Replies: 40
Views: 27685

This really smells to me like an attempt to string investors along. Yeah, think you must be right... But still I have to wonder what Lockheed saw that made them go through the trouble of inking a deal. (this was probably discussed before and I missed it?) Also, suppose it is a true sham-- wouldn't ...