Observationist

4 Comments

    • Three New Microsoft Commercials Making PCs Cool(er) [view article]
      Curiously the PC commercials do not mention Apple or Mac even once, yet the Apple/Mac users here are clearly very defensive and, I might add, somewhat elitist. Their transparent insecurity betrays their words. I find this whole adolescent rivalry amusing. Sep 20 09:44 AM
    • New Vehicle Fuel Consumption Could Be Cut by 30% or More [view article]
      I heard about a psych survey a few years back that found the reason most (not all) people buy SUV's is not because they have big families, not because they drive through several feet of snow to get places, and not for safety, but because they want to drive the BIGGEST vehicle out there. How on earth do you fix that adolescent mentality? Behold! $4+ Gas!!! Bwahahaha!!! Aug 07 09:57 PM
    • Implementing Pickens' Plan for Public Energy Policy [view article]
      Some of the energy sales tax funds could be used to increase subsidies of solar & wind installations that property owners purchase. This would increase distributed power generation on the electric grid putting less strain on building new power plants. Also, for those with electric vehicles, they could be "filling their tanks" very cheaply. Jul 17 01:44 PM
    • An Alternative to America’s Gasoline Crisis [view article]
      CNG would really take off if it were available to most people. I work for a state agency and it was proposed to have the fleet converted over from gasoline to CNG, but the cost of building sufficient refueling facilities throughout the state was prohibitive. That was back when gas was around $2pg. It may be revisited now that gas is over $4pg.
      As a homeowner in an area that is not served with natural gas, and no CNG fuel stations for 25 miles or more, there is little practical incentive to convert my car or buy one made for CNG. Electricity, on the other hand, is available to everyone, and it comes from a variety of sources, though notably foreign crude oil is not one of them. If electric vehicles do take off, I can imagine a lot more solar panels will be installed to supply "fuel" to those vehicles. After the installation costs have been recovered, those people will be driving their vehicles essentially for free (not including maintenance, etc.), and the US would become less dependent on foreign oil.
      The idea that drilling for more oil will somehow result in lower prices for crude oil anytime soon is a pipe dream, and it is backward looking rather than forward. People will change their habits and purchasing decisions as prices go up. The primary motivation for most people to act is when their wallets are being emptied.       Jun 22 12:19 PM
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