Rigged

There is nothing in California I would miss...

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Refuge51

I'm only California dreaming when the weather is so freakin' cold here!

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I'm fed up to the ears with old men dreaming up wars for young men to die in.
~George McGovern~

OldManOnFire

Actually, when one considers oil independence and reducing CO2 emissions, and using more alternative energies, for example comparing this to putting men on the moon in the 60's or to Mars in the next few decades, many of the solutions for the former are not only rather simple but they are available today.

Yes further research and development are necessary to increase efficiencies, and to reduce costs, but today a significant technology exists for taking action towards these issues.

So what really makes the issue rather complex and difficult as compared to simple is people being slow to understand the issues, people not being able to unite and prioritize the issues, people generally not being open-minded to change, a lack of leadership on the issues, and the politics of the issues.

I think about using coal to create power and think to myself that 'if' we contain the pollutants then the use of coal can be a great energy option for many decades to come. But last I read there is not a single coal-fired power plant that captures all of the CO2 and that it will be a couple more decades before any coal power plants are clean. The obvious question that I then ask myself is 'how can the US create a space program and send men to the moon in just a few years yet we cannot make relatively simple technology for CO2 scrubbing???? Well...the answer must be that as a nation we simply don't care enough to make this a priority.

I'm rambling again but the point I was trying to make is that most solutions are quite simple...but once people get involved with all of their personal bias and politics, etc. most things become very complex...

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Did you know both our problems and the solutions can be found simply by looking in our mirrors...and...Never confuse the extraordinary stuff I think and write with that of a well-balanced person...

PursuitOfHappinessParty

Or is it that there wasn't a competing and thus diverging industry which the trip to the moon was endangering?

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" Tie two birds together and though they have four wings they cannot fly " Blind Master in 'Circle Of Iron'

PursuitOfHappinessParty

Re: The thread. Gas here is at 3.799 unleaded. Nyah.

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" Tie two birds together and though they have four wings they cannot fly " Blind Master in 'Circle Of Iron'

Jonesy

Maybe if congress did their job, we would have better inventions. Article 1, Section 8; Powers of Congress: To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.

The patent system is shit. It completely favors major corporations, making it so no normal inventor even bothers. One of those 'boondoggles'.

OldManOnFire

It serves no purpose to politicize all issues. We all know many of the reasons why things don't happen but so what?

What happened to Americans enjoying a good old fashioned challenge?

What happened to our curiosities and interest in learning and creating a better life for ourselves?

What happened in the USA where we are quickly becoming followers instead of world leaders?

What happened with the 'vision of tomorrow' and striving to achieve this?

What happened in the USA to make so many of us self-serving and arrogant and greedy and entitled?


There are lots of questions, like those I suggest above, that should be answered long before we politicize everything...

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Did you know both our problems and the solutions can be found simply by looking in our mirrors...and...Never confuse the extraordinary stuff I think and write with that of a well-balanced person...

OldManOnFire

Now that gas in our area has broken the $4 barrier for 87 octane, we are expecting $4.75 to $5 per gallon gas by Memorial Day or early summer...

Attached Images

Gasoline042608.jpg (90.6 KB, 2 views)

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Did you know both our problems and the solutions can be found simply by looking in our mirrors...and...Never confuse the extraordinary stuff I think and write with that of a well-balanced person...

OldManOnFire

Patent infringement, for the most part, is settled in a court of law. Does some average Joe who holds a patent have the same resources as a larger corporation to go into battle in a court of law--of course they don't. But does this make patent laws shit?? It would be nice if all patent cases can simply go into arbitration, but most of them are far too complex to be dealt with during a one-hour court date.

If a person has a great idea, no matter how crappy you believe the patent system to be, this person would be wise to spend the $10K or whatever and at least have some protection. Although there surely is patent infringement, there are also huge awards being made to those who have gone through the system and won the battle...

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Did you know both our problems and the solutions can be found simply by looking in our mirrors...and...Never confuse the extraordinary stuff I think and write with that of a well-balanced person...

PursuitOfHappinessParty

With a little searching the area, I now pay 3.359 for Unleaded!!

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" Tie two birds together and though they have four wings they cannot fly " Blind Master in 'Circle Of Iron'