Random Thoughts

[jason_haas]

I love family-changing announcements. Is there a sarcasm emote?

[Donnie D]

Isn't it ironic the Republicans who have made their entire election platform being anti Obama, can't be anti Obama enough and are being defeated in their own primaries by the same extremists that they tried to rally?

[Hoek]

It's not just hockey, American and Canadian media can't agree on anything..

U.S. judge rules boy can return to Calgary after nearly two years in foster care

Noah Kirkman ‘happy’ to be returning to family in bizarre case

Oregon judge says boy in foster care should live in Canada

An Oregon judge Friday ordered a 12-year-old boy sent back to Canada, his home country, even though the boy doesn't want to go.

[Sotnos]

Geez, the folks commenting on the G&M piece make it sound like the kid was kidnapped and held in solitary confinement for 2 years!

[jason_haas]

For some reason I spaced out and ordered Southwest sauce (my usual) on a Chicken Bacon Ranch at Subway. It was actually awesome.

[Sotnos]

Southwest sauce

[gphockey]

Why do we not see solar panels everywhere in the "sunshine state"?

[jdhebner]

I can sort of answer that:

1) The best a resident can do, under the current law, is to break even (dollar wise) with energy. As cold as it sounds, there is no incentive for profit. There was a law recently passed in CA saying that residents can get reimbursed for extra power, but the power monopoly is setting the rate...

2) The cost recovery times are in the 15+ year range according to modern accounting techniques. People forget that the PV is now a permanent cost of the home and add value to the home and therefore the home can be sold at a higher value. Unfortunately, the "gotta have money now" syndrome doesn't see this.

3) People just don't give a crap.

This is sad because panels are getting cheaper and cheaper--and they have a cigarette box size inverter (110V 60 Hz right out of the panel) I'm expanding mine this next year to shade the evaporative cooler on the south side of the house as well as supply more electricity.

[Avery86]

Do you know anything about the "photosynthesis" technology that they're trying to develop as an energy source? My knowledge of it is limited to what I read in Discover magazine.

[jdhebner]

Originally Posted by Avery86

Do you know anything about the "photosynthesis" technology that they're trying to develop as an energy source? My knowledge of it is limited to what I read in Discover magazine.

ETA: If you want me to look over and give you my peer-review opinion of some of the articles in Discovery Mag, just send me a PM.

I do. The short answer is that it's way over-hyped. Plants on earth have had 3+ billion years to evolve the best systems, and they are at 8% efficiency. I have not seen anything in the peer-reviewed scientific literature that even comes close. It's still better to use PV to charge batteries, even though that process is about 10% or less (overall).