Problems that don't exist by dreamtrove

REAL WORLD EVENT DISCUSSIONS

Problems that don't exist

POSTED BY: DREAMTROVE
UPDATED: Wednesday, March 9, 2011 19:51
SHORT URL:
VIEWED: 2467
PAGE 1 of 1

Wednesday, March 2, 2011 12:07 PM

Okay, I'll start this one off:

Overpopulation. As a species, humans have enough food for far more of us that evolution will allow. Nature would balance out long before we cover the planet, but we're already dwarfed by many creatures, mice, shrimp, ants, termites etc. in terms of biomass.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, March 2, 2011 12:15 PM

CANTTAKESKY

WMDs in Iraq.

Al-Qaeda doing anything beyond low-rent bombs.

Recreational drugs.

Raw milk.

(I suspect this will turn into just another wedge thread though.)

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, March 2, 2011 12:59 PM

THEHAPPYTRADER

Season 2 of firefly

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, March 2, 2011 1:03 PM

KLESST

Trolls and sockpuppets in RWED. The only ones that see a problem are those that imagine they have special ownership rights to the site because they've trolled the site longer. Their possessiveness makes them get flustered when things are said that fall outside of there socials norm. It's like they're afraid that if someone makes them laugh the corn cob might fall out of their ass.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, March 2, 2011 1:13 PM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!

Quote:
Originally posted by canttakesky:

Missing the point of the thread, entirely.

Now, as for the fake problems we still face...

Global warming, of course.

The 'crisis' of our underfunded schools.

"food deserts". Gee, thanks a pant load for that one, Michelle.

" I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend. "

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, March 2, 2011 1:15 PM

STORYMARK

Quote:
Originally posted by dreamtrove:
Okay, I'll start this one off:

Overpopulation. As a species, humans have enough food for far more of us that evolution will allow. Nature would balance out long before we cover the planet, but we're already dwarfed by many creatures, mice, shrimp, ants, termites etc. in terms of biomass.

None of those other biomasses chow through resources like us.

So, I'm disagreeing with your initial premise right off.

"I thoroughly disapprove of duels. If a man should challenge me, I would take him kindly and forgivingly by the hand and lead him to a quiet place and kill him."

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, March 2, 2011 1:17 PM

MINCINGBEAST

Allow me to offer.

Illegal immigration.
The national debt.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, March 2, 2011 1:48 PM

DREAMTROVE

Rap

no, she didn't. Al Qaeda is a good example of a problem that doesn't exist. So is your suggestion of Global Warming.

Everybody gets to play.

Excellent suggestions all.

I agree with Mince's "the national debt" I think something should be done to correct monetary policy (perhaps End the FED) but paying off the debt is definitely work toward a problem which doesn't exist.

Story,

You're nitpicking. Also, not necessarily correct. You should see the resource consumption that termites are engaged in, and there's three tons of them for every one of us. I read that the termite population was equal to the human population squared.

But, you hit at a point: It's not overpopulation, as you just said yourself, it's resource consumption. If human populations acted efficiently, they would not be a drain on their environment. Some humans act more efficiently than others.

But, throw in your own, add a problem that doesn't exist.

I'll add one:

Radical Islam. Let's face it, radical islam has been around for centuries. The founders of islam were radical islam. There's never been a point in the last millennium and a half or so when there *wasn't* radical islam. Some people may dislike it, but it doesn't need solving.

Here's another one:

Bird flu, swine flu, etc.

ETA:

Also, yes, good point on trolls and sockpuppets.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, March 2, 2011 1:52 PM

BYTEMITE

Quote:
Illegal immigration.
The national debt.

God yes.

The debt is just a numbers game. Debt and money are made up things with no actual value, and yet they're being used to SCREW us over.

And illegal immigration? Hell. I'm more concerned about them closing off that border so we can't get OUT than I am by any of the people coming in.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, March 2, 2011 2:12 PM

CANTTAKESKY

Quote:
Originally posted by Bytemite:
The debt is just a numbers game. Debt and money are made up things with no actual value, and yet they're being used to SCREW us over.

And illegal immigration? Hell. I'm more concerned about them closing off that border so we can't get OUT than I am by any of the people coming in.

Well said. Well said.

And kudos to MB for bringing it up.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, March 2, 2011 2:21 PM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!

Well, this didn't last long.

Anyone who doesn't see illegal immigration as being a problem is blind.

" I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend. "

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, March 2, 2011 2:44 PM

DREAMTROVE

Rap.

It's a problem that doesn't exist. Seriously consider it for a second.

When this country was founded, there were 12 million people in it who didn't speak english. They were genetically asiatic, and sometimes violently opposed to the govt., and its white population. As this population got killed or displaced, America took over land from Spain, creating the same "problem" they were removing. Meanwhile, scads of immigrants came over, both legally and not, and they didn't speak English.

So when did white America exist? Never. That's when. It never existed. When did an America where everyone was a citizen exist? Never. When did an America that was not filled with immigrants not speaking the language exist? Never. How about an America not filled with angry violent immigrant gangs that oppose the govt. and society? Oh, right, that never existed either.

I remember when I was a kid, my dad's house in Philly. He had an interpreter because he was a Jew, and he didn't speak Italian. It was hard to get around if you didn't speak Italian. In Philadelphia.... PA... USA...

So, here we are. We have a country with 12 million people in it who are of semi-asiatic dissent, in fact, native american, specifically, and they don't speak English, and sometimes they don't like the govt. or respect its society.

That's America.

Because all of those moments of the past when America accomplished great things, technological innovations, progress or whatever you want to call it, this was a part of that America the whole time. It was part of America for the founding fathers, and the constitution, and the roaring 20s, it doesn't matter when you look, this is your country, um, "love it or leave it" I believe was the credo of the right, no?

This "immigration problem" was cooked up circa 2004. The situation had existed for centuries. All of a sudden, airheaded mediaheads were talking about it. That's what changed.

And btw, have you ever tried talking to these "illegal immigrant" guys, doing business with them? I have. They're real down to Earth hard working Americans, that's what I've found.

Oh, and you do realize that anyone here because they're the descendants of holocaust survivors were here because they were illegal immigrants, too, because the USA had a quota on Jews, 400 IIRC. And those guys who came over on the Mayflower. Them's some serious undocumented illegal aliens.

Before you panic too much, you might want to look at a world map and check out how big america is, also. You're talking about a population the size of London spread, not across an area the size of all of England, spread across an area 80 times as large as all of England.

ETA: But rather than nitpicking, how about adding to the list?

Here's one:

Energy shortage. We're not at all short of oil, not even in the US, but also, we don't need to use oil for power, we have solar, wind, and one of our greatest resources: Good old american knowhow.

When I'm using my iPad I notice how much longer its battery life is than my netbook, because the iPad uses about 4 watts vs. the 7 watts that the netbook uses. Then I turn on and old 1990s desktop PC using 400 watts, or I read a comparison between the power of a cellphone burning 1-3 watts and the computing power of a cray one, which was what 400,000? something like that.

Electric cars are doing something not just for electric cars, but for cars. The Prius consumes 20,000 watts, but the Tesla Roadster, 8,000 watts, and the new Tesla Family Car, 5,600 watts. Why the efficiency? Because there's a need. There's a demand. People want a car that goes more than 40 miles on a charge. With gas stations everywhere, we forgot about efficiency. So, yeah, cars of the future might consume gasoline, but it might be at 400 mpg. There's all sort of things we can do to avoid this so called energy crisis. We're basking in energy.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, March 2, 2011 2:59 PM

MINCINGBEAST

I don't think illegal immigration is a problem because...

1) all borders are arbitrary and we are all citizens of the world, man, and

2) AMERICA MUST BE DESTROYED!

If I might feign seriousness for but a moment, its mostly a problem for the poor immigrants. We create a market for their labor, and contribute to the conditions in their home countries that make fleeing a viable option. When they get here, we are happy to have their cheap labor and all it provides. But we are not happy to have them. They live in the shadows, and we blame them for it.

I don't think that a rising population of injuns (thats what they are damn it) is a problem. No doubt immigrants have done some unpleasant things--I would never deny that, for I'm a fan of the unpleasant. But certainly not a problem on scale with say, global warming.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, March 2, 2011 4:22 PM

DREAMTROVE

Mince

Yeah, I think I just said that, but well said. Good editions to the list. Actually, of course, I think it's a very static population of injuns, about 12 million, for 400 years running now. In the wild west there were indians and mexicans, it's been a slow shift. Of course, a fairly large number of our mexicans don't even speak spanish as a first language, they speak some indian language.

But care to add anything to the list?

Like this:

Housing Crisis. There's lots of housing. Tons of it. And we had a stupid economy so we built more. now there are cities in florida with no people living in them, just houses, built so someone could sell mortgages.

Speaking of which

The housing market. No need to save it, bail it out, or hell, even have it. There's plenty of housing, let it collapse in value to whatever supply and demand says.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, March 2, 2011 4:51 PM

HARDWARE

Unsecured borders. Not talking about illegal workers crossing over, but anybody who can make a hike and meet a truck on this side of the border can illegally enter the country for any number of reasons besides work.

When we're involved in a war against terrorists, does this sound smart to anyone?

The more I get to know people the more I like my dogs.

...and he that has no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one. Luke 22:36

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, March 2, 2011 5:12 PM

CANTTAKESKY

Quote:
Originally posted by mincingbeast:
We create a market for their labor, and contribute to the conditions in their home countries that make fleeing a viable option. When they get here, we are happy to have their cheap labor and all it provides. But we are not happy to have them. They live in the shadows, and we blame them for it.

I don't think that a rising population of injuns (thats what they are damn it) is a problem.

Thank you. That was fantastic.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, March 2, 2011 5:20 PM

KWICKO

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." -- William Casey, Reagan's presidential campaign manager & CIA Director (from first staff meeting in 1981)

Quote:
Originally posted by Bytemite:

And illegal immigration? Hell. I'm more concerned about them closing off that border so we can't get OUT than I am by any of the people coming in.

Thanks for saying it. I've tried to point it out, too - the same walls that keep "them" out, keep "us" *IN*. The walls that make your home a castle, also make it a prison.

Problems that don't exist?

Islamic jihad.

Sharia law taking over the U.S.

"Although it is not true that all conservatives are stupid people, it is true that most stupid people are conservatives." - John Stuart Mill

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, March 2, 2011 5:23 PM

KWICKO

Gun control.

A problem which does not exist.

"Global war on terror" - an entire security-industrial complex, all bent on propping up a bogeyman that does not exist.

"Although it is not true that all conservatives are stupid people, it is true that most stupid people are conservatives." - John Stuart Mill

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, March 2, 2011 5:25 PM

RIONAEIRE

Beir bua agus beannacht

So in your mind's eye DT, what _do you think is a problem? Because all these things, some of which I do think are real problems, seem not to bother you, so what _is a problem.

"A completely coherant River means writers don't deliver" KatTaya

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, March 2, 2011 5:32 PM

KWICKO

Quote:
Electric cars are doing something not just for electric cars, but for cars. The Prius consumes 20,000 watts, but the Tesla Roadster, 8,000 watts, and the new Tesla Family Car, 5,600 watts. Why the efficiency? Because there's a need. There's a demand. People want a car that goes more than 40 miles on a charge. With gas stations everywhere, we forgot about efficiency. So, yeah, cars of the future might consume gasoline, but it might be at 400 mpg. There's all sort of things we can do to avoid this so called energy crisis. We're basking in energy.

By the way, and not to get off-topic too far, but the Chevy Volt has a system by which it will force itself to use a tank of gas every year, lest the gas sit in the tank and go "sour".

Imagine that. A car that you can drive every single day, and which is in danger of NOT using a full tank of gasoline if you drive it normally. Also, it's a car that you CAN use every single day (around 40-50 miles of real-world driving, in real-world tests) without ever firing up the gas engine, OR you can drive it on long trips (300 miles or so), and it will use the gas engine as a generator.

Kind of astonishing, really. I thought I was doing good spending $20 every 3 weeks for gas. Imagine spending that every YEAR!

"Although it is not true that all conservatives are stupid people, it is true that most stupid people are conservatives." - John Stuart Mill

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, March 2, 2011 6:29 PM

DREAMTROVE

Quote:
Originally posted by RionaEire:
So in your mind's eye DT, what _do you think is a problem? Because all these things, some of which I do think are real problems, seem not to bother you, so what _is a problem.

"A completely coherant River means writers don't deliver" KatTaya

Not this thread

Maybe some other thread.

Let me add to the list:

The war on terror. Or, perhaps, terrorism. (okay, it's a problem, in some places,) but "international terrorism" <-- I don't think this exists. I haven't yet found an example which was incontrovertible. Any international terrorist event is disputed by competing conspiracy theories. Lots of national or local terrorism is pretty much accepted by everyone.

Another one:

Crime.

Mike reminded me of it with prisons. Someone proved that statistically, cops increase crime, here on the board, and we all know that laws increase crime. Ergo, the solutions to crime are get rid of cops and laws.

Mince,

You're developing a hidden awesomeness. What did you do, outsource the dark snarky evilness to a sockpuppet?

Oh, I have to add one of my all time favorite problems which don't exist:

Identity theft.

ETA: And Wi-fi-jacking

Also, underage drinking.

Even though it's off topic, just for Riona,

Problem that does exist: DWT, Driving while texting.

Solution: All cellphones have a GPS. Make a system that has a simple baffleboard: If you are currently traveling faster than 15 MPH, you cannot text message.

Statistically, you are 23 times more likely to have an accident while texting.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, March 2, 2011 6:32 PM

THEHAPPYTRADER

Quote:
Originally posted by Kwicko:
Quote:
Electric cars are doing something not just for electric cars, but for cars. The Prius consumes 20,000 watts, but the Tesla Roadster, 8,000 watts, and the new Tesla Family Car, 5,600 watts. Why the efficiency? Because there's a need. There's a demand. People want a car that goes more than 40 miles on a charge. With gas stations everywhere, we forgot about efficiency. So, yeah, cars of the future might consume gasoline, but it might be at 400 mpg. There's all sort of things we can do to avoid this so called energy crisis. We're basking in energy.

By the way, and not to get off-topic too far, but the Chevy Volt has a system by which it will force itself to use a tank of gas every year, lest the gas sit in the tank and go "sour".

Imagine that. A car that you can drive every single day, and which is in danger of NOT using a full tank of gasoline if you drive it normally. Also, it's a car that you CAN use every single day (around 40-50 miles of real-world driving, in real-world tests) without ever firing up the gas engine, OR you can drive it on long trips (300 miles or so), and it will use the gas engine as a generator.

Kind of astonishing, really. I thought I was doing good spending $20 every 3 weeks for gas. Imagine spending that every YEAR!

"Although it is not true that all conservatives are stupid people, it is true that most stupid people are conservatives." - John Stuart Mill

That is pretty cool, but it all depends on your definition of normal driving. I'd love to see more electric (or more accurately, mostly electric) cars but they just aren't practical in some places, where everything is at least 20 miles away, and the grocery store/wall-mart is 30. There's also those folks who have to commute to work and such. I hope they do become efficient enough to be practical for people who don't live next to everything they need. Maybe by that point I'll be able to afford one!

I'm curious though, how's the mpg when the volt does have to use it's gasoline motor.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, March 2, 2011 6:33 PM

DREAMTROVE

Happy, got a problem that doesn't exist?

Oh, did someone say Gay Marriage already?

ETA:

National Security

National Defense. Let's face it. No one in their right mind, or even plum crazy, is going to invade the united states.

Homeland security

Social Security (Not saying welfare here or care for the elderly, but social security itself: The taking away of your money to give back to you later, at 3 cents on the dollar, on the theory that you can't handle your own money.)

Oh, Education.

Psychiatry, particularly asylums. And childhood behavioral disorders such as ADD, ADHD, ODD, etc.

Tax cuts. Sorry, among problems that need solving "someone is not paying high enough taxes" is not one of them.

Family Planning. Either side. People can probably plan their own lives without coaching.

Food. There's lots of it, and if it decays, so what, there's lots more.

Global Water Shortage. Trillions of gallons fall from the sky daily. Locally, this might be a problem. Make aqueducts, don't drain water tables.

Dictatorships. Seriously, even while I defend the definition of some countries which are really democracies, but are called dictatorships, Pakistan was a lot better off as a dictatorship, it might be true of Iraq, but we just mentioned several others like the DR here. Yeah, okay, it's a terrible form of govt., but WWII was brought on largely be democracies, as have many of the wars since It's a pretty bad form of govt. There are worse, but there have to be better, spreading democracy is not a great goal.

Counterfeiting. I mean, hey, if the FED is going to print 600 trillion in derivatives, who cares if joey the weasel is minting $20 bills from his basement on an ink jet?

Copyright infringement.

Not the stealing of ideas, good old bootlegging. I mean, when are people going to figure out that virtually all of the best selling authors artists and musicians are those who actively promoted the theft and bootlegging of their material? The only people who think it's a problem are the slimy middlemen.

Unemployment.

Seriously. Unemployment means the people at large have more free time. It's a sign that society is being highly efficient, because everyone is still eating, and not everyone is working.

Inflation

There are few better economic systems than inflation. It's the one thing that really rewards labor and productivity over inherited wealth. Also, if your inflation "problem" is bad enough, it will be advantageous to put your money back into the economy, rather than hoard it.

Decadence. I think I've made my plug in favor of decadence enough, but it's one way the rich actually distribute their money to working classes who make decadent goods and services, and it supports innovation. I *want* Larry Ellison to spend 40 million on a sailboat, because I think it really helps science. So do those capitalist CEOs who spend billions on spaceships.

I can't put CEOs salaries on this list because often they are so high that they drive companies into bankruptcy. If your CEO is earning 1000 workers salaries, maybe you should hire those 1000 guys instead, and put them in the "lets try to figure out how not to go bankrupt dept." And maybe they'd come up with novel ideas like "Let's NOT take the earnings from Q2 and invest them in mortgage derivatives. Lets use that money to build and sell cars."

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, March 2, 2011 6:40 PM

THEHAPPYTRADER

I dunno, how about Snookie, Lindsey Lohan, Sarah Palin, Charlie Sheen and Kate Gosselin. It occurs to me that these are all women

Still, sick of hearing about them on the news.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, March 2, 2011 6:56 PM

DREAMTROVE

Women might be offended (just a little) at being associated with Mr. Estevez. I think that Sarah Palin/Lindsay Lohan would probably help Sarah's career. She seems to have lost it.

Way up on my list: Outsourcing.

really, people are taking their money and hiring people in what we used to call "third world" countries, so that those people can now have decent wages and raise their standard of living while americans stay home, smoke pot and play WoW. Sounds like a win/win

Seriously, though, this "problem" has done more to end world poverty than all of the charitable foundations of the 20th century.

Hacking. I know, everyone here already knows that this is where the innovation in software all comes from. But someone out there might not

This is fun. I'm afraid we're rapidly solving the world's "problems"

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, March 2, 2011 7:23 PM

KWICKO

Hacking.

That made me think of another "problem" that isn't: WikiLeaks.

"Although it is not true that all conservatives are stupid people, it is true that most stupid people are conservatives." - John Stuart Mill

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, March 2, 2011 7:56 PM

KWICKO

Sorry if this appears as a double-post, but it seems the forum ate the first one, so I'm reposting just so I don't lose all this...

Quote:
Originally posted by TheHappyTrader:

That is pretty cool, but it all depends on your definition of normal driving. I'd love to see more electric (or more accurately, mostly electric) cars but they just aren't practical in some places, where everything is at least 20 miles away, and the grocery store/wall-mart is 30. There's also those folks who have to commute to work and such. I hope they do become efficient enough to be practical for people who don't live next to everything they need. Maybe by that point I'll be able to afford one!

I'm curious though, how's the mpg when the volt does have to use it's gasoline motor.

Hate to say it, but I'm not sure anyone's really been able to do a full road-test with just the gas engine.

At a guess, I'd bet that if you ran it ONLY on the gas engine - meaning you ran it completely out of battery juice - well... that would be impossible.

Why? Because the Volt isn't that kind of hybrid. There isn't a time when it's being propelled by only its gas engine, because its gas engine isn't hooked to a transmission or to the wheels, as I understand the system. It's *only* hooked to the electric motor/alternator/generator/battery. When the gas engine runs, it isn't to drive the car - it's to charge the battery.

As such, *IF* you could run it only on the gas engine (or what charge the gas engine could generate to an otherwise-depleted battery pack), then I'd suppose it wouldn't get as good gas mileage as, say, a same-weight car with the same gas engine driving through a normal transmission and not via a charger/generator and electric motor.

Why? Because there's no 100% efficient energy transfer system. There are always inefficiencies and driveline losses.

Chevy says the Volt will go "up to" 100 miles on pure electric power from its plug-in-to-charge battery. Car&Driver magazine says in their (admittedly rigorous and generally abusive, all-out, performance-oriented) testing, if I remember correctly, the battery was drained in less than 40 miles. But bear in mind that their version of "testing" a car is roughly akin to you drag-racing from every stop light, waiting 'til the last possible second to nail the brakes, keeping it floored at nearly all times, and other such rough treatment.

So a "realistic" expectation would be that you'd have a typical range of around 50-60 miles *ON ONLY ELECTRIC POWER* - that is, without the gas engine ever kicking in to recharge the batteries. Now, in a pure electric like the Nissan Leaf, if you wanted to go further, you'd be stuck. Or it would be like when you're trying to find that gas station or make it home when the gas needle is well below the "E" and you're feathering the throttle, coasting where you can, and "hypermiling" every chance you get, just to get home without running out of fuel.

But the Volt has a hidden secret weapon. Run down the battery power, and the gas engine steps in to take over. I believe C&D did pull well over 300 miles out of the car at a sitting, without any plug-in recharging needed. I've been reading the magazine long enough to wonder when they're going to really push the envelope and stretch the car's legs to see what it's REALLY capable of. I remember when they did a test with a CRX HF, to see how far they could drive it on one tank of gas. The goal was Los Angeles to Salt Lake City - a bit over 720 miles. If memory serves, the car had an 11-gallon tank. It took a few tries, but they ended up making it, posting up something like a 68mpg average for the trip. I've owned that car. If you really baby it, you CAN get that kind of mileage. But if you want to get somewhere, you have to flog the living shit out of the car to do so, whipping it like a rented mule all the while. Mileage in such "real-world" situations tends to drop to around 32-35mpg.

I'd guess if you drove the Volt 'til it wouldn't go anymore, and then filled the gas tank and didn't plug in the battery charger, you'd see the equivalent of around 20mpg.

But the idea is that you DON'T drive it in that fashion.

Sorry to be so wordy about this and sidetrack the thread, but it's difficult to get the idea of the car across sometimes.

And let's be honest: I detest GM cars. I hear people go on and on about how a Corvette is every bit the equal of a Ferrari, except that the normal Ferrari doesn't cruise around with one pop-up headlight permanently up and the other permanently down, and a Ferrari tend to have an interior you wouldn't be embarrassed to be in. And there was a stretch where every single Camaro ever made between 1982 and 1998 had been the subject of a recall. So no, I don't love GM, in any sense of the word.

But I am intrigued by the idea of the plug-in hybrid. By contrast, a Prius can't really go any real distance on electric power. It can leave a stop sign, slowly, and accelerate up to around 15mph before the gas engine kicks in. And usually STAYS kicked in. The Honda Insight and CR-Z use the same kind of system, where the main propulsion is through the gas engine, with the electric offering extra power occasionally.

GM may have the upper hand here.

And better still would be an updated version of the old Chrysler Turbine Car from the early 60s. A gas turbine, which *idled* at over 10,000rpm, powered those cars. They weren't very practical, because they had to step the power down so severely through the gearing that the cars ended up not being very useful. But a gas turbine can usually run on damn near anything that combusts (that's simplifying things quite a bit, but you have options like ethanol, gas, kerosene, Sterno™, lighter fluid, vodka, diesel fuel, rubbing alcohol, etc.), and its high rotational speeds would make it FANTASTIC for acting as a generator and charging a large battery in a hurry, or "on the fly" while the car's moving.

But like Dream implied above: It's not *this* that's so exciting (he was talking about batteries and technology); it's the implications of where it's leading us.

And with that, I'm off to bed...

"Although it is not true that all conservatives are stupid people, it is true that most stupid people are conservatives." - John Stuart Mill

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, March 2, 2011 9:46 PM

FREMDFIRMA

I want a diesel-hybrid VW Polo Bluemotion, with SVO conversion.

Ok, as-is, straight fekkin petro-diesel, it gets SIXTY miles to the gallon under normal driving conditions, and by reducing trunk space by lifting the floor and converting the back seat from a bench to buckets, raising the floor in between, you've got space for the hybrid equipment and battery, and then you're scraping damn near triple digits, and SVO is, of course, renewable.

Sure, 0-60 in 14 or so, tops at maybe 99mph - but SO WHAT, all I want or need is something to putter off to the grocery store or around town doing errands - if I need something for a long trip, I'll freakin rent it.

-Frem

I do not serve the Blind God.

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, March 3, 2011 1:06 AM

MAGONSDAUGHTER

The belief that everything has gone to shit and life is getting worse.
Adolescent behaviour is getting worse
Global conspiracies that demand some coherent and complex form of organisation from large and diverse groups of people

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, March 3, 2011 2:35 AM

DREAMTROVE

Magon,

good point, "things are getting worse" is a line that's been used for a long time. I saw a page that debunked a number of them.

Frem,

Got a Problem that doesn't Exist?

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, March 3, 2011 3:25 AM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Problem that don't exist?

Eugenics. Seriously. Rich people don't hate poor people, they love them. Particularly with a mint-thyme-basil rub.

The jewishnazibritishcommietemplar conspiracy. While conspiracies undoubtedly exist and are active today, they're not of the jewishnazibritishcommietemplar variety.

The Federal deficit. I know this has been brought up before but deserves special mention. When a business borrows money it's called "investment" but when government does it it's called OH MY GOD!!!!

Unions which are causing the whole fiscal crisis. Seriously???? SERIOUSLY?? Dudes, they hardly control anything.

THE HUGE TAXES WE'RE PAYING. Another seriously??? We're paying lower taxes than ever in the past 70 years. So why is this suddenly SUCH a problem NOW? (Hint: It ain't. That's why it's in this list)

Obama's Kenyan birth.

Area 51.

Chemtrails.

Death panels.

The Tea Party. The Tea Party really doesn't exist, per se. It's just the Koch Bros outreach program.

Fracking. The Gulf oil spill. Mountaintop removal. Deadly mining conditions. Lowered living conditions. Not a problem, because bigbizness loves us all, and just wants us to be warm and fuzzy.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, March 3, 2011 3:57 AM

DREAMTROVE

sig

good list. mostly

Sorry to nitpick, but

Quote:
Eugenics

1.2 billion dead and counting. I suppose you wouldn't see this as a problem. Proponents never do.

Taxes, also, I would say, are a problem. If you have to pay taxes, that's money you can't use to hire employees or raise yourself out of the muck.

More importantly, it's where taxes go: War. And War is definitely a problem.

ETA: So, 70 trillion in long term liabilities, 8 trillion in mortgage bonds, 7 trillion in mortgage losses, 23 trillion in bailout liability and 15 trillion in national debt. That's like a hundred and something trillion... Sig, you ever meet math? You seem to equate business to govt. spending a lot, like what if Bill Gates or Warren Buffet or whoever give to charity, they do, about 1/2 of everything they make. The govt. is dealing in MUCH larger sums, but when it gives charity, it tends to be in smaller amounts, and 90% of that is bombs for Israel or some such.

The govt. spends more on wars each week than the total net worth of black america. If they really cared, they'd do something. Problem is, when they do something, it's never good, so, check that, govt., stay where you are.

Anyway, I had to add a problem which doesn't exist:

Iran. Okay, Iran exists, but it's not a threat to our way of life.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, March 3, 2011 4:15 AM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Quote:
1.2 billion dead and counting. I suppose you wouldn't see this as a problem. Proponents never do.

Of course I see it as a problem. But it's not a eugenics problem, it's simply the rich doing what the rich do: Eating up the poor with a knife and fork. I mean, what the frak do the rich care about how financially desperate or genetically twisted or chemically maimed the poor are? As long as "they" don't make it to the dinner table, literally that is.

And I didn't say war wasn't a problem. By all means, let's stop planting our boots on every square inch of the globe and cubic meter of space. Been saying that for quite some time now, I believe.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, March 3, 2011 4:33 AM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

SO, in the same vein as Iran, what about all those countries that AREN'T a problem?

I vote Cuba on the list of "not a problem". In fact, pretty much all of South and Central America, even Venezuela.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, March 3, 2011 4:35 AM

KANEMAN

Quote:
Originally posted by mincingbeast:
Allow me to offer.

Illegal immigration.
The national debt.

Unlike these childish fools, I see your signal for its premise. Your very clear ploy to flood this country with undocumented people who you can easily lead to troll country for consumption...is flawed.

My fear is that you base your diabolical plan on your love of chicken wings and thighs. It is true that dark meat is more tender, however not when human meat is the main course. Anyone who has ever eaten a well-prepared human morsel compares it to Veal and (believe it or not)...not chicken.

My point? You should be advocating the illegal immigration of Asians and not Mexicans. When broiled at 500 degrees for 4-5 minutes on both sides...they fall off the bone.

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, March 3, 2011 4:39 AM

DREAMTROVE

Historically, the poor overthrow the rich. That's what worries them. They're not as concerned with the growth of the stupid. It's smart people they want to not have children.

If you want to end war, you have to cut the spending for it, because if the govt. has cash, it's going to war. That's been true for a long time. Bush would've had a bigger war, but he didn't have enough money, because he'd given tax breaks to his rich buddies. This undermined his war. That's why the really big wars have been democrat wars. Big budgets means lots of extra cash for war, and every extra penny is going to war, that's what extra pennies do.

Hero's parody attempt reminded me of a problem that doesn't exist:

Porn

Sure, porn exists because there are cameras an people have sex. But as a problem, no.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, March 3, 2011 10:44 AM

FREMDFIRMA

Quote:
Originally posted by dreamtrove:
Frem,

Got a Problem that doesn't Exist?

Off the top of my head nothing someone else hasn't covered, also, I'm a little busy right now...

But there's one problem ABOUT to no longer exist, as I mean to blow the legs out from under Shawono by having it's funding pulled - this is a Hellcamp run by Juvie "justice" up there in Grayling, which is kind of Michigans enclave of fascism anyways, you've heard me cuss about the place a number of times by now, especially the military and their "civil unrest pacification training" and the detention facility they have for us peons up there just waiting their chance, just waiting for an excuse...

Anyhow, Shawono...

Quote:
The study identified six facilities where the survey found at least three out of every 10 inmates said they were sexually victimized while in custody: Pendleton Juvenile Correctional Facility in Indiana; Corsicana Residential Treatment Center in Texas; Backbone Mountain Youth Center in Swanton, Md.; Samarkand Youth Development Center in Eagle Springs, N.C.; Cresson Secure Treatment Unit in Pennsylvania; and the Culpeper Juvenile Correctional Center, Long Term, in Mitchells, Va.

Another seven sites reported nearly as high levels of sexual abuse or victimization: Victory Field Correctional Academy in Vernon, Texas; Indianapolis Juvenile Correctional Facility; Shawono Center in Grayling, Michigan; Woodland Hills Youth Development Center in Nashville, Tenn.; L.E. Rader Center in Sand Springs, Okla.; Bon Air Juvenile Correctional Center in Virginia; New Jersey Training School in Monroe Township, N.J.

One of their forms of "discipline" is to sic the damn sex offenders they house upon other inmates who don't toe the line, you see.

One of the things which has kept me from having it axed is that they run the funding for that hellhole through the "education" budget, and every time I try to bring the axe down some ignorant moron screams about cutting "education" - well, that security-state bullshit doesn't have a fuckin thing to do with education (not in the classical sense, but you could make a case for it as "education" in an obediance training kinda way..) and doesn't even belong there, only reason it's hidden there is for the express purpose of keeping hatchet swingers like me AWAY from it by depending on the ignorance of your average legislator - besides which, every penny we spend on bullshit like THIS is one less for textbooks, teachers, and such like...

More money won't solve our problems, using it intelligently might!

So yeah, okay, problem that doesn't exist for ya right there, education funding - if we didn't piss away so much of it turning the school system into a fuckin concentration camp, we'd have MORE than enough to do the job, not that I think the public education system as-is happens to be salvageable anyway though, which is why I am behind freeschool/sudbury type education, which the damn legislature is holding up by allowing those hidebound dumbass DOE fucks to block modification of the accredation system...

Quote:
LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- A judge has ruled in favor of a coalition of school districts and temporarily blocked implementation of the new Michigan Accountability and Accreditation System.

The coalition said Thursday that the Michigan Department of Education has disregarded the law by unilaterally implementing the system without getting legislative approval. It says the system forces school districts to divert time and resources away from the classroom in order to comply with an incomplete system.

Ingham County Circuit Court Judge Paul Manderfield issued an injunction Wednesday preventing the department from putting the system in place.

Department spokesman Martin Ackley says the new system will give the public better access to information on how individual districts are performing. He says it's going through the legislative approval process now.

Stupid pissants, one REASON we have no teachers is that anyone STUPID enough to shovel that much loan debt on their shoulders for a job that will never ever pay it off, knowing full and well it's more of a join-the-club-fee than having a damn thing to do with the jobs needs - is either a fool, or a crazy with an agenda, neither of whom is generally a good idea to be educating your kids save in the rare case where their crazy agenda is to make a positive difference.

Anyhow, stuff to do, stuff to do...

-Frem

I do not serve the Blind God.

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, March 3, 2011 11:08 AM

NIKI2

Gettin' old, but still a hippie at heart...

Has anyone listed "Obama is an illegal alien" or "Obama is a Muslim"?

I would add:

Sharia law in America
The "war on drugs"
Muslims, Commies, "whoever we hate today" taking over America
Catholicism "losing congregants"
Cell phones affecting the brain
Sarah Palin becoming President
Donald Trump " " "
Christine O'Donnell " "
Faux News becoming honest reporting

Hippie Operative Nikovich Nikita Nicovna Talibani,
Contracted Agent of Veritas Oilspillus, code name “Nike”,
signing off

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, March 3, 2011 4:45 PM

DREAMTROVE

Niki

Good list. If I could compact those last few, let me say:

Presidents.

News

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Saturday, March 5, 2011 12:09 PM

DREAMTROVE

I don't know why this one took me so long:

Jews.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, March 9, 2011 1:00 PM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!

DT -

Illegal immigration has nothing to do w/ an influx of latinos. This is the trap you ( sadly ) have fallen for.

It's because they're ILLEGAL. How do you not get that ?

" I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend. "

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, March 9, 2011 7:51 PM

1KIKI

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.

greedy teachers

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

YOUR OPTIONS

SHARE THREAD

NEW POSTS TODAY

USER

POST DATE