chuck kottke

Hello Nick! Yes, I got busy - the absentee landholder needed to tend to the estate here. Glad you're still checking in! Goldman Snacks acc. to Peterlin - quite a lot of meals and goodies they scarfed down over there I gather..:P But hmm.. anything very large merges with the gov't. these days.. John Pierpont Morgan - Robber Baron of the late 19th century, no doubt repeating history (no offense to Captain Morgan's side of the family). 60-70 Trillion dollars of funny money. How did we ever let it go to this level?.. Nobel Laureate level mathematicians running the show, creating this "perfect investment system", which works perfectly assuming the markets & people behaved rationally and corruption never runs rampant.. Icarus's wings. Derivatives, derivatives. Why can't people just play video board games instead of merging their fantasy worlds with the real markets? I miss the olden days, when the owners of the companies really knew their businesses - when Oscar Meyer actually went on picnics with the farmers who raised their pork. Perhaps Obama might yet, if given enough "incentive" to do so - but I think he's prone to listening to advice from those architects of the mess, and defenders of the cover-ups. I think he's honorable, but dealing with a great deal of influence clouding his higher ethical standards. If the truth ever got out, a lot of proverbial heads would roll.. Yes, I thought about Japan's savings as well - quite the opposite situation in that regard. We do manufacture a significant number of things here, despite the appearances, but yes, a "service sector" economy isn't sustainable in my mind either. Maybe if robots made everything, and only technicians were required, but that's not the case yet. Sometimes I wonder about robustness in the economy - efficiency taking too much precedence over stability in the system. The Fed is buying the bad debt I assume you mean to say - Treasury bonds are doing quite well from what I hear, but the commercial banks are not whetting many appetites. Maybe I don't want to know - it's all such a house of cards, akin to what Enron had created, only on a grander scale... China defaulted on the derivative contracts? My understanding of a market contract is that if you buy a future's contract for wheat, then the price is set today, and the delivery of the wheat is in the future. How does someone receive a shipment of derivatives?:laugh3: (it's all so ethereal to me..) Here's your container ship full of derivatives, Mr. Ho. It arrived at the dock yesterday. Please handle them gently - they're all full of thin air and their shells are paper-thin! What do you get? Is is like a property deed, but listing the gambling odds of market fluctuations as to what gets paid out if all the right horses pick up speed near the finish line?? How do you default on it? I think we've entered the twilight zone with this stuff.:thinking: Well, that's good. Finally, we've legalized accounting fraud. That should really fix things! I gather enough money was in the pipeline to accomplish this feat as well? You know Nick, if it weren't so true, it would make a great science fiction novel! I hear someone wants to buy land on the moon too.. At least there's a real moon, and one might possibly be able to visit it!;) Full Transparency - more like full Opacity. Time for reform to get reformers into office, and then maybe a real investigation could ensue. Since the rules changes, the referees have have been barred from the game, and now the outcome is set by highest bidder. Invest in a full garden of carrots. Real substantial growth in the last quarter, excellent yields in less than a year, and tastier than what's on the market of mathematical mud.

Well, I'd put it at around the year 3754912, give or take a few decades. Not really end, but be really really cold, and perhaps hydrothermal vents will no longer be hot enough for microbes either.. But by then we might be living elsewhere - almost undoubtedly, and fusion power will offer humanity a way to convert any planetary body into a nice light bulb.:sunny: It's a long ways off - best to take good care of the spaceship we're all riding on today, as it's built to last a pretty long time, if we don't void the warranty.:cool:

I am a woodchuck.:bucktooth: Hence the abbreviated form, and generally water is our preferred drink. Moderation is the key, for obvious reasons.:rolleyes:

All things have ripple effects, and all the circles of connections are tied to one-another. One lever trips another, one gear drives another. So I began to see it all, and it surprises me it's not already common knowledge: Without fair elections and fair campaigns, we get elected officials who do the bidding of the highest bidder (or campaign donor). First the bidders buy favors - they deregulate the systems designed to keep the economy stable and equitable. Then these bidders create a racket, and rig the economy. Then the economy goes bust, and unemployment soars. And donations to charities plummet - which includes gifts to Oxfam, since not only are the unemployed unable to give, the employed are uncertain of spending on anything. Which is of course unfortunate, as this affects people in African states and elsewhere there are urgent needs to be met. This is not a partisan issue - it's systemic, and fully a problem with both major US parties. As sure as the Bush administration deregulated to the hilt and allowed the game riggers to tilt the table at a 90 from level, the Obama administration is not getting to the root of the problem, and investigating why things failed, and what needs to be done to fix the problem. Perhaps it's the contributors. Goldman Sachs is a major shareholder in the Obama campaign, and it's little wonder that they came out on top, and some major firms sank to the bottom. But by not fixing the problem, the economy cannot fully recover, as we have what Mr. Black describes as "living with a lie" - and we may be entering what in Japan came to be referred to as "the lost decade". So, I am again asking anyone reading this to consider amending the US Constitution so that the Right to Fair Elections, including Fair Campaigns be included as an essential right, protected as strongly if not more so than all the rest, as without a fair process, we cannot here in the US guarantee that all our natural rights, nor our cherished middle class, will be protected and enhanced for ourselves and our posterity. It's all connected - and without a fair process to keep undue influence out and let the better representatives win, we all end up loosing from the corruption that eats our democracy. Consider supporting campaign finance reform as the driving gear to get things back on track, and please remember - it's not partisan, it's systemic. Fair Campaigns, Fair Elections, Fair Trade. It's all connected.:bulb2: Check this out, in case you missed it:Bill Moyers Journal . Feedback | PBS

Some fellow named Jesus turned water into wine for a wedding - evidently he wasn't a TeeTotaller! :laugh3: (so hey, if it's a once-in-a-while social occasion, seems OK to loosen up a bit..) Wine has a lot of good properties - antioxidants and all. (plus the butterflies dig it too!:flutterby:)

Hmm! Nite Liquid Sky!:)

Deep Purple Grand Funk Railroad Boston Jimi Hendrix Pablo Cruz Jefferson Airplane Captain And Tennille Woody Guthrie Pete Seeger Steve Miller Band Elton John Joan Baez

:stunned:I can only imagine someone weighing so little!:stunned: 125 is plenty light - and muscle is good!! For me, 185 and 6' tall, but not toned enough, as I used to run 5 miles / 8 KM a day on the indoor track, and nowhere near that today. I'm thinking about rebelling against the local board, and planting a brick running path in the sand bank opposite the ditches of the roads here.:sneaky:

:laugh3:Ah yes, I see! I recall one like that as well, but no water at the end (reminiscent of the Coney Island Coaster!). Good fun, and I'm glad you didn't get hurt (that would have scared the bejeezuz out of me too!). Yes, I used to be so skinny too! What Happened?!:laugh3:

Teetotalism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Certainly no pan-galactic blasters served here!:laugh3: Thinking of naturalistic living, I sense that alcohol, being mild in a natural beverage like strawberry wine or cider seems fine on occasion - the benefits and negative effects outweighing one-another, but a mild euphoric state being arrived at is often pleasant and invites one to entertain some of the joys of emotional freedom of youth.:escaping3: An Important Link About the Nature of the Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster:Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster - Hitchhikers Chickens do occasionally drink wine as well - when wild plums fall into their watering troughs. Yeast is natural; ferment happens!

:stunned:OMG! You must be really skinny!;) Or was it a malfunction in the equipment?:confused:

Life is always up against the elements - to keep growing, repairing, and rising up to the sky; weather the heat and drought with measured preparedness, enjoy the light rain and sun showers, keep feet above water during the monsoons, and find the joys where and when they may be. The weather always batters the ship, but the trick is to repair or replace with better ways what's damaged, and recoup the losses, knowing it's about the averages, not the storms, which gets us to a beautiful shore across the great divide of space and time. We have great mountains to climb, but at a step at a time, and we'll get there.

Ferris Wheels are the best! Take in the scene, see the sights, and at all different levels! Chicago's World Fair gave us the first glimpse of one in 1893. I like the coasters too - especially the cork-screw sections of track - that's the best!!:P It takes a few rides to get used to them - I think it's the feeling of being on something that's just going along, going to flip, and you've got no control over the thing that's the most frightening thing about them (at least initially, then it's like flying!). Enjoy the 5th time around.

There will be a next time.:cool:

Just an interior decorator's joke, that's all:P I tend to like redheads as well, but can't determine why that is? I suppose, it's eye-catching!

Pardon the double post there! Tesla motors got some of the green cars initiative money, so they'll be able to work on more production & innovation, and lower costs! YAY!! But I still think the car of the future needs to be edible. Yes, more like a sugar cone, less like a waffle cone.:P Perfectly bio-degradable, and in hard economic times, a slice of the front fender could come in handy.

Yes, indeed it is, Rick! But the future requires us to think differently; and nature has already honed many forms of transportation to perfection - all we need to do is observe and use the knowledge gained. Hence, the field of bio-mimicry! As the fish has an amazingly low drag coefficient, so too we learn from the fish. The bird as well - anything that improved the bird's speed, or reduced it's energy demand gave it the selective advantage in nature, and so this iterative process has been yielding good results for millions of years. On the evolution of the engine, I began to search to see if Atkinson's engine could be used today - thus far, things termed Atkinson are actually Miller cycle engines (they leave the intake valve open longer to reduce the charge volume in the cylinder, but use the full gas expansion) - I was surprised to learn that Miller cycle engines are already being used in hybrids! But the Atkinson cycle is both efficient and has a high power density; however, it did not have a very smooth linkage system, and heavy counter-balancing I think was an issue. Today? Perhaps the rotary version could prove a success. On the idea of photovoltaic cells used to capture the energy of combustion - a pet idea of mine is to design special cells that, when coupled with fuel being burned in a "lamp with sturdy mantle", could yield with sufficient efficiency and power density a better way to go from liquid fuels to electricity for automobiles. While this sounds wacky at the start, it might actually prove to have greater efficiency that the internal combustion engine. Although, the gas expansion energy is a total loss.. Just creative thoughts - there's many possible answers to the question. Perhaps the main thing is to reduce drag and weight on the other end of the equation - while a small amount of the energy in a liter/gallon of fuel ends up moving the vehicle, from a logical perspective halving the demand side of the equation cuts the need for supply in half as well. Light and strong, but flexible and impact tolerant. Aerodynamic as best as is practical. Fancy solutions for energy production and engine design are all good, but the final answer rests with efficiency in overall design, and better layouts for transportation needs.

Yes, indeed it is, Rick! But the future requires us to think differently; and nature has already honed many forms of transportation to perfection - all we need to do is observe and use the knowledge gained. Hence, the field of bio-mimicry! As the fish has an amazingly low drag coefficient, so too we learn from the fish. The bird as well - anything that improved the bird's speed, or reduced it's energy demand gave it the selective advantage in nature, and so this iterative process has been yielding good results for millions of years. On the evolution of the engine, I began to search to see if Atkinson's engine could be used today - thus far, things termed Atkinson are actually Miller cycle engines (they leave the intake valve open longer to reduce the charge volume in the cylinder, but use the full gas expansion) - I was surprised to learn that Miller cycle engines are already being used in hybrids! But the Atkinson cycle is both efficient and has a high power density; however, it did not have a very smooth linkage system, and heavy counter-balancing I think was an issue. Today? Perhaps the rotary version could prove a success. On the idea of photovoltaic cells used to capture the energy of combustion - a pet idea of mine is to design special cells that, when coupled with fuel being burned in a "lamp with sturdy mantle", could yield with sufficient efficiency and power density a better way to go from liquid fuels to electricity for automobiles. While this sounds wacky at the start, it might actually prove to have greater efficiency that the internal combustion engine. Although, the gas expansion energy is a total loss.. Just creative thoughts - there's many possible answers to the question. Perhaps the main thing is to reduce drag and weight on the other end of the equation - while a small amount of the energy in a liter/gallon of fuel ends up moving the vehicle, from a logical perspective halving the demand side of the equation cuts the need for supply in half as well. Light and strong, but flexible and impact tolerant. Aerodynamic as best as is practical. Fancy solutions for energy production and engine design are all good, but the final answer rests with efficiency in overall design, and better layouts for transportation needs.

Human nature. Cannot be conquered. It always emerges triumphant in time.

Now, should the car body be like an insects, and the outer shell be made of flexible chitin? Or perhaps a breathable fabric, weather resistant? Crumple zones are for aluminum cans - cars of the future shall be made like birds - they shall be made as nature intends high-speed things to be made.:flutterby:

Alright Will, what did you do to Vi's bell? I saw an avatar someone had, and it looks machine tooled like the instrument plate of a Duesenberg! Come clean with the facts, and the authorities won't use exquisite rendition on you.:whip::cool2::pirate: (we reserve the right to use water-board, or surf board - depending on conditions.)

In George Orwell's world, people did not offer up their thoughts so freely to the state apparatus. Their thoughts had to be extracted. Keep some thoughts free from view of the scouts and the electric eye.

One more Grammy award winning tune heard only by myself. Perhaps I need to get technologized. Perhaps I need to tune up the piano! Carnival in RIO - wow!

How so? To me, they are inter-related, as climate change predictions show an increase in dryer weather for Africa's semi-arid regions - causing more problems in already drought-stricken sub-Saharan Africa. Plus, ocean currents may be affected, changing the fishing off the coasts, and changing water pH and temperature will affect the reefs, and hence coastal fisheries.

Get a job in the growing field of renewable energy and home energy renovation - plenty of need for upgrading our 'housing stock' as it's put these days.. Or maybe one with wind energy? What's you're interest?