The Cellar  

Go Back   The Cellar > Main > Politics

Politics Where we learn not to think less of others who don't share our views

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 02-02-2006, 11:13 PM   #1
tw
Read? I only know how to write.
 
Join Date: Jan 2001
Posts: 11,933
Quote:
Originally Posted by Urbane Guerrilla
... so yeah, I'm smarter than you are, by a high cut above. And you, you petty little wannabe, you cannot stand it. Fine. Scream like the baby you're not far removed from being. Rant like a three-year-old denied cookies. I'll watch. I'll smile, too. I don't need the last word, so long as I can have the best.
Insults and bragging about his superior intelligence. His posts are so predictable.
tw is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-03-2006, 10:19 AM   #2
Riddil
Management Consultant
 
Join Date: Aug 2002
Posts: 165
~_0

I sense some hostility. History of bad blood? Without knowing any of the history, I do think UG has a respectable point. You look at the history of "power" and it's always driven not necessarily by concentration, but by peak output. It's just that the two have gone hand-in-hand for the greater part of history. We went from wood-burning steam-power, to coal, to gas, to refined gas, on and on to nuke-u-lar power.

But you also look at history of power development... the primary focus has never been about efficiency so much as raw output. But just as with computer processing power we're starting to reach the right wall, and in order to continue making advancement we're learning about novel ideas like efficiency. The biggest reason that cell phones can go for 3-4 days w/o a recharge as opposed to 8 hours like phones just 10 years ago isn't primarily because of battery improvements, but b/c we've gotten a lot more clever in power usage / consumption of the devices.

They've got "high efficiency" homes in CA that actually input power BACK to the power grid b/c they collect more than enough to run the home off of a small cluster of solar panels... power high-efficiency devices in the home. The theme here is if we cand find ways to be more efficient but accomplish the same tasks, then we'll be able to move back to lower-output energy, without loss of convenience.

But anyhow. The key to actually GETTING there is having the researchers working to make it happen.

(*apologies in advance for potentially stepping into some sort of forum feud*)
__________________
He who dares, wins, my son. He who dares! - SAS
Boredom: the desire for desires. - Tolstoy
Riddil is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-03-2006, 11:36 AM   #3
xoxoxoBruce
The future is unwritten
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 71,105
Quote:
(*apologies in advance for potentially stepping into some sort of forum feud*)
Nonsense, the forum apologizes for your shoes.
UG keeps trying to convince us we should beat up the world and anyone who disagrees is not as smart as he thinks he is.
TW keeps presenting logical arguments in such an abrasive manner that people won't digest them.
Quote:
We went from wood-burning steam-power, to coal, to gas, to refined gas, on and on to nuke-u-lar power.
Making electricity, yes, but it's still steam, just different fuels. A huge breakthrough would being able to store that electricity. That way the power plants could run balls out 24/7 instead of idling half the time.
Matter of fact, if we could store the electricity, we could power the whole damn country with lightning....... with enough power left over to produce all the hydrogen we could use.
But, it's much easier (and profitable for a few)to kick Canada's ass and take their oil.
__________________
The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.
xoxoxoBruce is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-03-2006, 01:52 PM   #4
tw
Read? I only know how to write.
 
Join Date: Jan 2001
Posts: 11,933
Quote:
Originally Posted by Riddil
But you also look at history of power development... the primary focus has never been about efficiency so much as raw output.
The result was massive raw output. But what made that raw output so large? Countries that created more from less therefore vastly increased their raw output, productivity, wealth, strength, etc.

Need we cite what made Henry Ford's Model T and Model A so successful? Not for a minute more consumption. Henry Ford innovated - made more from less.

Take recent history as an example. Starting the in the 1970s, cars went from 18 MPG down to 10 MPG. This because Detroit was more concerned with raw output rather than innovating - emergence of the MBA as a corporate leader. Auto executives who did not drive were also blaming unfair competition, government intervention, etc rather than note all automotive innovation was stifled. Do you remember the late 1970s? Do you remember those cold winter days when at least one car every morning would not start? Jobs were scarce, incomes dropping, and everything was about cost controls - because (in part) we massively increased petroleum consumption. We also had to produce too many parts for each auto, too much time, too much labor, too much of everything that meant total output was diminished.

America, the third largest producer of oil, imported more than 50% of its oil. A massive increase in costs and decreased production because we stopped producing more with less.

By 1980s, with homes being insulated, with new innovations (and Japanese products) significantly increasing efficiency, then the economy turned around (other factors were also involved). Why did the auto industry get profitable? Same products manufactured from fewer parts, consumed less energy, required less time to build, etc. The restoration of America in the 1980s was characterized by innovation - doing more with less. Cars did same with only half the energy. Therefore America began growing again.

History is chock full of massive production created because that production took less to accomplish. Even a structurally inferior Sherman tank was so successful in WWII because massive production was made possible by doing more from less. Massive consumption did not make America wealthy and productive. Doing more with less created America's remarkable growth and power. Massive consumption is but a symptom of innovation - repeatedly doing more with less. The heart of so much growth is from America's secret weapons - nurtured by free markets, et al - innovation.

Last edited by tw; 02-04-2006 at 11:59 AM.
tw is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-03-2006, 01:55 PM   #5
tw
Read? I only know how to write.
 
Join Date: Jan 2001
Posts: 11,933
Quote:
Originally Posted by Riddil
I sense some hostility. History of bad blood?
There is no bad blood. There is only Urbane Guerrilla rewriting history and posting insults to justify an extremist attitude. My point about UG repeatedly is his inability to cite facts and details accurately. When caught in lies or half truths, he then posts insults. His same above claim about the Domino Theory was debunked by others. Note how he forgot to mention that part of that discussion. After watching him invent history to justify his political extremism, this and about 6 days of following posts resulted:
Understanding terrorism
Understanding terrorism

Last edited by tw; 02-03-2006 at 02:27 PM.
tw is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 07:45 PM.


Powered by: vBulletin Version 3.8.1
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.