Re: An ideal wristwatch
- From: Frank Adam <fajp@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 01 Feb 2008 14:02:30 +1100
On Wed, 30 Jan 2008 23:45:04 -0000, "Alex W." <ingilt@xxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Indeed. Does the notion of paying $$$$ for power in 30-40 years timeI repeat that the idea that we are somehow "running out of energy" is
completely wrong - maybe if we just sat dumbfounded and did nothing
different, at some point we would "run out" but of course that's not
what's going to happen, any more than we sat in the dark once we ran out
of whale oil.
We are not running out of energy. We are, however, running out of easily
recoverable and cheap reserves of oil. As oil is an almost universal source
of energy, many people simplify (wrongly so) the argument.
to cover the costs of extra effort taken to extract resources, excite
anyone ?
source of electricity; ditto wind, or tidal power. I can see a future whereAnd those living in flats/apartments will have to buy a huge flower
some of my power comes from a nuclear power station, supplemented by solar
cells on my roof and a windd turbine at the bottom of my garden.
pot for the turbines and keep the windows open. ;-p
FutureDid i mention the BMW H car ? Done deal and simple enough for the
cars may be powered by a combination of solar cells, hydrogen and oil. This
approach of combining sources, however, seems to be too complicated for
quite a few people.....
drivers.
http://www.wired.com/cars/energy/news/2006/11/72100
Worked well for the Porsche. :)In the early '50s, experts estimated that the total # of computers that
would be needed in the US for the "forseeable future" was maybe half a
dozen - one for the military to do ballistics tables, one for the social
security administration, one for the census bureau, etc. Computers were
huge things with thousands of vacuum tubes that cost millions of $ and
could only be justified for the most computation intensive tasks.
Everything else - corporate bookkeeping, the typing of documents, the
measurement of time, etc. would always be done the same way it had been
done before - with adding machines, typewriters, mechanical watches, etc.
So if you were a stock analyst, you would figure that Smith Corona or
Elgin or Friden were great stocks No one has a crystal ball that is worth
a damn.
But that example simply demonstrates the old pattern that we will invent (or
discover, or develop) a resource, process or product and only then dream up
uses for it. Most people are unworried about our hydrocarbon reserves
because of their faith in a deus ex machina technology, unaware that their
belief that we have a specific need and will find a suitable technological
solution to address that problem reverses this historical principle. This
is cart-before-horse thinking.
I get the feeling that the concensus is that not enough being done,
but fair go, there is a lot of research into all that alternate energy
stuff. The do-gooders of course will cry loud, which is good in a way
as it keeps the momentum going, but conversely the business sector and
industry is spending just enough to keep those loud voices somewhat at
bay. In the end, the latter doesn't really give a damn either way, as
long as their profit margin doesn't suffer. Unfortunate fact is that
it is the latter which has to fork out money to do this and they are
also the ones who may lose money with the eco changes. Money now or
power in 60 years time ? Catch 22. :)
--
Regards, Frank
.
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