Greedy Capitalists: Want to keep what they've earned.
Selfless Socialists: Want to take what other people have earned.
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Sunday, November 18, 2012
The Military Genius Speaks
Obama warns the Israelis about the risks of a ground war in Gaza:
Now that you've had this tremendous revelation, President Obama, maybe you could apply it to my son who was almost blown up last week.
At least there's a damn fine, simple reason the Israelis are fighting. They're being actively attacked by people that hate them and want to wipe them off the face of the earth. Can we say the same in Afghanistan? I don't think so.
"If that can be accomplished without a ramping up of military activity in Gaza, that's preferable," Obama said. "It's not just preferable for the people of Gaza. It's also preferable for Israelis, because if Israeli troops are in Gaza, they're much more at risk of incurring fatalities or being wounded."I think we can file that under "No shit, Sherlock." Troops are in danger in a war zone. Who woulda thought? Did he have to read Patton's book to figure that out? I'm sure the Israelis had no idea that troops are in more danger in a war zone than they are sitting at home.
Now that you've had this tremendous revelation, President Obama, maybe you could apply it to my son who was almost blown up last week.
At least there's a damn fine, simple reason the Israelis are fighting. They're being actively attacked by people that hate them and want to wipe them off the face of the earth. Can we say the same in Afghanistan? I don't think so.
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Way too close for comfort
My son emailed me a few hours ago:
I don't mind at all that he has an incredibly risky life. He's a career soldier and loves it. But I haven't heard anyone, in ages, explain exactly just what the hell he's risking his life for in this particular deployment. We're not making America any safer or Afghanistan any better. They're just letting my son and men like him drive around offering themselves up as targets for a bunch of ignorant savages who don't want us there anyway.
i got blown up yesterday.... we got lucky though, they missed the truck by foot, just peppered the truck with shrapnel, blew off some mirrors and some headlights. no injuries, no concusssions or nothin. little bit harder of hearing now, but me and my whole crew are fine.Can someone please explain to me again why he's there?
I don't mind at all that he has an incredibly risky life. He's a career soldier and loves it. But I haven't heard anyone, in ages, explain exactly just what the hell he's risking his life for in this particular deployment. We're not making America any safer or Afghanistan any better. They're just letting my son and men like him drive around offering themselves up as targets for a bunch of ignorant savages who don't want us there anyway.
Monday, November 5, 2012
Also Classy, Michelle: The Knucklehead Vote
Just the other day, Obama was campaigning for the crazy vote, and today Michelle is out there urging people to get the "knuckleheads" to the polls.
"Knowledge will forever govern ignorance. And a people who mean to be their own governors, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives." -- James Madison
Or, you know, never mind "knowledge" or "mental competence" and stuff that's, you know, like, hard to think about. Just go vote for the guy who promises the most free stuff.
“Talk to everyone you know — your friends, your neighbors, that cousin you haven’t seen in a while, that student sitting in your next class,” she told her husband’s supporters.
“You know he’s kind of a knucklehead — and may not be — you know the one.”
As the audience laughed, she told students to be nice to the knuckleheads.
“Don’t call him a knucklehead — not to his face,” she said. “You just want to encourage him to get to the polls.”
"Knowledge will forever govern ignorance. And a people who mean to be their own governors, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives." -- James Madison
Or, you know, never mind "knowledge" or "mental competence" and stuff that's, you know, like, hard to think about. Just go vote for the guy who promises the most free stuff.
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Obama Stays Classy, Campaigns For The Crazy Aunt Vote
This morning in my in box from Obama for America:
Obama is fairly sure that he's got the crazy vote in the bag, if he can just get them to find the polling place and stop ranting long enough to mark a ballot.
Good news: The Buckeye State has extended early vote hours this weekend.Crazy Aunt Mildred, huh? We don't care if she's incapable of making rational choices! Just drag her in there and make sure she votes for Obama!
Do your friends and family know? Grandma and grandpa, friends from high school, coworkers, neighbors, and crazy Aunt Mildred -- make sure they know they can vote this weekend.
Obama is fairly sure that he's got the crazy vote in the bag, if he can just get them to find the polling place and stop ranting long enough to mark a ballot.
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Something Doesn't Add Up Here
I recently had cause to look up some articles on solar farms, and came across this one about a small-scale solar farm built by an apartment complex in Indianapolis. I noticed these paragraphs:
As was the cost of the solar farm itself.
The farm cost $345,000 and will generate expected revenues of $20k. That's a 17.25 year just to break even on the initial investment, which is pretty damn crappy in my book. And there's all sorts of things that can happen over the course of 17.25 years to extend that period: acts of god, vandalism, changes in the purchase rates to match market realities (If the subsidies or incentives or whatever's allowing that 24 cent price end, then the power company is surely going to want to pay less than the eight or 10 cents they're selling for -- which would bring in as little as 1/3 the expected revenue.
Of course, the apartment complex doesn't have to worry about the full ROI because it was built with government "stimulus" grants. In other words, they spent taxpayer money on a private project, and the taxpayers ain't ever seeing that money again.
Would you as a private citizen give money to someone to build something that's not going to see a profit for 17.25 years, if ever, and for which you'll never see a share (remember, it's a grant, not a loan)? No, of course you wouldn't. That's why they had to take the money from you whether you like it or not.
Even if everything goes as planned, after 17.5 years, the panels could last as little as another 13 years after that (they're estimated to last 30-50 years in the article). Is that 30-50 year estimate accurate? Not according to other articles I found:
"Solar photovoltaics slowly lose their generating capacity. Although some solar panels are still working satisfactorily 40 years after installation, the conventional view is that most will dip below 80% of their rated capacity within about 20 years. This will vary slightly between manufacturers and between different types of silicon"
"Typically, the warranty given by solar cell manufacturers covers just 80 percent of power output. All this means that it may make economic sense to substitute older panels with newer panels before they are 30 years old."
If true, then not long after the $345,000 investment starts to get paid off, the owner will have to start re-investing in replacement panels, thus reducing the long-term profit potential even further.
The electricity generated by the panels won't be used at the complex, but will be sold back to Indianapolis Power and Light instead.
"It's really an economic decision on their part," said John Haselden with IPL. "The 24 cents (they are selling the electricity for) is probably better than the than the eight or 10 cents that they are purchasing it for."That doesn't add up at all. Why would IPL be willing to pay 24 cents for electricity when they're only selling it for eight or 10 cents? You simply can't pay more for your wholesale product than you sell it for retail without going out of busines. I bet if the reporter had dug just a teeny, tiny bit deeper he would have found out that IPL's purchase price for green energy is government-subsidized.
As was the cost of the solar farm itself.
The farm cost $345,000 and will generate expected revenues of $20k. That's a 17.25 year just to break even on the initial investment, which is pretty damn crappy in my book. And there's all sorts of things that can happen over the course of 17.25 years to extend that period: acts of god, vandalism, changes in the purchase rates to match market realities (If the subsidies or incentives or whatever's allowing that 24 cent price end, then the power company is surely going to want to pay less than the eight or 10 cents they're selling for -- which would bring in as little as 1/3 the expected revenue.
Of course, the apartment complex doesn't have to worry about the full ROI because it was built with government "stimulus" grants. In other words, they spent taxpayer money on a private project, and the taxpayers ain't ever seeing that money again.
Would you as a private citizen give money to someone to build something that's not going to see a profit for 17.25 years, if ever, and for which you'll never see a share (remember, it's a grant, not a loan)? No, of course you wouldn't. That's why they had to take the money from you whether you like it or not.
Even if everything goes as planned, after 17.5 years, the panels could last as little as another 13 years after that (they're estimated to last 30-50 years in the article). Is that 30-50 year estimate accurate? Not according to other articles I found:
"Solar photovoltaics slowly lose their generating capacity. Although some solar panels are still working satisfactorily 40 years after installation, the conventional view is that most will dip below 80% of their rated capacity within about 20 years. This will vary slightly between manufacturers and between different types of silicon"
"Typically, the warranty given by solar cell manufacturers covers just 80 percent of power output. All this means that it may make economic sense to substitute older panels with newer panels before they are 30 years old."
If true, then not long after the $345,000 investment starts to get paid off, the owner will have to start re-investing in replacement panels, thus reducing the long-term profit potential even further.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Journalists: Doing The Hard Work Of Being Plonkingly Stupid For You!
Fox News just published a sensationalist article linking Monster Energy Drink to five deaths.
The article lists the factoid that "Monster Energy Drink, which comes in 24-ounce cans and contains 240 milligrams of caffeine, or seven times the amount of the caffeine in a 12-ounce cola."
The parents of a California 14-year-old are suing Monster for the death of their daughter "who died after drinking two, 24-ounce Monster Energy Drinks in 24 hours."
According to the article:
Oh, yes, back to Monsters and its killer levels of caffeine. The article completely fails to put that 240 milligrams of caffeine into perspective. Exactly how negligently outrageous is that enormous amount of caffeine in a 24 ounce drink?
Well, according to a couple of informational websites, 8 oz. of a flavored coffee contains 100 mg. So a typical venti Mocha at Starbucks has about 300mg of caffeine. A typical 8 oz. cup of ordinary coffee from a drip coffee maker has 115-175 mg of caffeine (depending on how strong you make it).
So you could be consuming more than twice the caffeine of 24 ounces of Monster energy drink by drinking 24 ounces of coffee -- the large size coffee you'd pick up at your local gas station.In other words, Monster has less caffeine than one of the most ancient, commonly enjoyed, ubiquitous beverages known to man
Get a clue, journalists! Don't be led to be the propagandists for sensational claims by litigation-happy people trying to cash in on their daughter's tragedy!
Anyone who has a condition that could become life-threatening if they consume too much caffeine but who doesn't know that Monster is loaded with caffeine (That's how they advertise it! It's mentioned prominently on the can!), is like a diabetic who gorges themselves on Twinkies, goes into a diabetic coma and then pretends to have no idea that they were loaded with sugar. This is nobody's fault but the girl and her parents. Don't be a shill for them.
The article lists the factoid that "Monster Energy Drink, which comes in 24-ounce cans and contains 240 milligrams of caffeine, or seven times the amount of the caffeine in a 12-ounce cola."
The parents of a California 14-year-old are suing Monster for the death of their daughter "who died after drinking two, 24-ounce Monster Energy Drinks in 24 hours."
According to the article:
An autopsy found that Anais Fournier died of cardiac arrhythmia due to caffeine toxicity that impeded her heart's ability to pump blood.Oh my gosh! That's terrible! Monster Energy Drink is poison! Oh, wait, no....
She suffered from an inherited disorder that can weaken blood vessels. But the child's parents claim Monster failed to warn about the risks of drinking its products.So your child suffers from a life-threatening disorder and it's someone's resposibility other than you and her to keep her away from high-caffeine drinks?
Oh, yes, back to Monsters and its killer levels of caffeine. The article completely fails to put that 240 milligrams of caffeine into perspective. Exactly how negligently outrageous is that enormous amount of caffeine in a 24 ounce drink?
Well, according to a couple of informational websites, 8 oz. of a flavored coffee contains 100 mg. So a typical venti Mocha at Starbucks has about 300mg of caffeine. A typical 8 oz. cup of ordinary coffee from a drip coffee maker has 115-175 mg of caffeine (depending on how strong you make it).
So you could be consuming more than twice the caffeine of 24 ounces of Monster energy drink by drinking 24 ounces of coffee -- the large size coffee you'd pick up at your local gas station.In other words, Monster has less caffeine than one of the most ancient, commonly enjoyed, ubiquitous beverages known to man
Get a clue, journalists! Don't be led to be the propagandists for sensational claims by litigation-happy people trying to cash in on their daughter's tragedy!
Anyone who has a condition that could become life-threatening if they consume too much caffeine but who doesn't know that Monster is loaded with caffeine (That's how they advertise it! It's mentioned prominently on the can!), is like a diabetic who gorges themselves on Twinkies, goes into a diabetic coma and then pretends to have no idea that they were loaded with sugar. This is nobody's fault but the girl and her parents. Don't be a shill for them.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)