Energy, climate, economics, INSS Macarthur, and other interesting stuff

Mail 705 Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Sad state of energy in Oregon

This is just sad to me. Living in a state with such abundant Hydro electric power and our utilities now are forced to pay for more expensive Wind energy "because it’s green."

http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2011/12/regulators_tell_bonneville_to.html

The even sadder part is that they ignore the reasons why BPA was pulling the plug on the wind farms to begin with. I’d rather have Salmon in the waters then energy from windmills.

Erik

One reason for leaving most regulations to the states, not Washington.

U.N. Climate Court

Ah, now we get into the life tax and the New World Order with all the unelected technocrats — just like in Europe.

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Bureaucrats at the UN Climate Summit in Durban have outlined plans for the most draconian, harebrained and madcap climate change treaty ever produced, under which the west would be mandated to respect “the rights of Mother Earth” by paying a “climate debt” which would act as a slush fund for bankrolling an all-powerful world government.

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http://www.infowars.com/un-calls-for-eco-fascist-world-government-at-durban-summit/

So, now some city even further away and more alienated from real life than Washington is going to tell us how much money we owe them to fund their political projects and idealistic quests?

At what point do we stop participating in this madness?

I want my country back.

—–

Most Respectfully,

Joshua Jordan, KSC

I doubt that the Congress will have much to do with that. Even England is backing away from the EU bureaucrats. And certainly none of the Republican candidates would consider this more than a joke.

Click here: A Place to Stand: Prizes – In Other Areas – They Work To <http://a-place-to-stand.blogspot.com/2011/12/prizes-in-other-areas-they-work-to.html>

A blog article I have done on government and other use of prizes more generally than technologically. I hope it interests you.

My Regards

Neil Craig

"a lone wolf howling in despair in the intellectual wilderness of Scots politics"

You may be interested in my political blog http://a-place-to-stand.blogspot.com/

I have been advocating prizes for a long time, and when my son was a Congressional staffer he did some memos on prizes for Mr. Gengrich at the Speaker’s request. Newt has long been in favor of prizes.

Subject: As California mandate looms, some LGBT curriculum already in place <http://inamerica.blogs.cnn.com/2011/12/10/lgbt-curriculum-already-in-place-in-some-california-classrooms-as-state-mandate-looms/>

Jerry,

It seems the PC police are firmly in charge…it isn’t enough for people’s accomplishments to stand on their own, we have to call special attention to them because they are gay.

For me, force feeding to our kids just causes me to be angry, accomplishing the opposite of what they intended.

http://inamerica.blogs.cnn.com/2011/12/10/lgbt-curriculum-already-in-place-in-some-california-classrooms-as-state-mandate-looms/?hpt=hp_c1

Tracy

You wrote about Radio Shack. Do they still have real Radio Shacks where you live? Up here they all look like strip mall kiosks or sub-compact shoppettes full of cell phones, related accessories, and a few useful objects here and there. When I was a child, going to radioshack was fun. They had stuff that was radioshack brand and it was decent. You could get metal detectors, walkie talkies, and anything you needed for electronic hobbies. You can’t get any of that now. Is this happening in your neck of the woods?

—–

Most Respectfully,

Joshua Jordan, KSC

Our local Radio Shack hasn’t changed for 20 years. It’s in the same location on Ventura Boulevard, and it apparently gets enough business that it stays open. Being that it’s walking distance I generally go there when I need something. I bought more stuff there before Fry’s opened in Burbank, and I got my Tandy computer there many years ago when they first came out. I remember the old Allied Radio Shack days just after WW II. This isn’t like that, but it’s still a fairly cool place.

INSS MacArthur

Dr. Pournelle;

It was inevitable — and gladly so — that some 3D modelling wizards out there would build images of the MacArthur [although they misidentify it as the Leif Ericson].

Here are the links:

http://www.projectrho.com/portfolio/port09.html

http://www.projectrho.com/portfolio/port10.html

http://www.projectrho.com/portfolio/port11.html

http://www.projectrho.com/portfolio/port18.html

http://www.projectrho.com/portfolio/port19.html

http://www.projectrho.com/portfolio/port20.html

The last one could be a Motie copy just before its destruction inside of Murcheson’s Eye.

Pete Nofel

My pictures of my model of INSS Macarthur are here http://www.jerrypournelle.com/chaosreports/macarthur.html

I liked the model enough that I came up with reasons for its shape and design. And see http://www.angelfire.com/trek/deangelisium/inssmac.html which is gorgeous. Thanks.

Who to admit, follow up

Hello Jerry,

I forgot to add, in the frantic race to save the world’s GLBT’s from

the stigma of being ridiculed, there was NO suggestion that Coptic

Christians in Egypt, or for that matter, Christians in general,

should be given preferential immigration status just because they

were, as Christians, being murdered in wholesale quantities by their

governments, friends, and neighbors.

Of course, given the all out war against Christianity being waged by

the US Government inside the US, we should be grateful that the State

Department isn’t ARMING the Egyptian Muslims who are murdering

the……….

Oh wait, never mind.

Bob Ludwick

several comments

Jerry:

Several comments on yesterday’s posts.

I spent two semesters as a visiting professor at the Marmara University School of Engineering in Istanbul. Every one of my Turkish faculty colleagues had received his/her PhD at a university in either Europe or the US. They were reaching the point where Turkey could begin to produce engineering PhDs domestically, with quality comparable to those from Europe or the US. The Dean of Engineering was later picked to head TUBITAK, the Turkish equivalent of the National Science Foundation. Her major contribution there was to break up the "old boy" network that kept younger researchers from getting grants. While she was still at Marmara, I had provided her with samples of the materials we used at my home base, University of Dayton Research Institute. She got a lot of bad press for upsetting a lot of rice bowls, but she had the backing of the government, and succeeded in opening up Turkish science. She recently retired. I don’t know if her reforms will be continued.

Regarding the effects of Federal funding on science, in my 1992 book SCIENCE FUNDING: POLITICS AND PORKBARREL, I examined the extent to which Federal money had corrupted the scientific enterprise in the US. I’m sure it has gotten worse since then, but I’ve retired from the grant-hustling game, and no longer keep track.

I was surprised but pleased to find that Herman Kahn’s books are still in print. With nuclear weapon proliferation continuing, Kahn’s thinking remains relevant. In my 1988 book A FIGHTING CHANCE: THE MORAL USE OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS, I applied Just War Doctrine to the use of nuclear weapons for war-fighting, not just for deterrence. I’m afraid that, too, may become relevant again.

Joseph P. Martino

So am I, and there isn’t so much debate as there used to be. I find that STRATEGY OF TECHNOLOGY and my old USAF study of stability are in use in some graduate classes at major universities and war colleges, so at least there’s some discussion of these matters or importance.

This article makes a good point of the rise in government spending. It’s not gone down since 1954

With those numbers in mind, some cynics might assume that government spending has grown over the past 55 years just to keep pace with inflation. Others might point out that there are a lot more Americans for government to serve today than there were back in 1954.

But the truth is that adjusting for population growth and inflation doesn’t even begin to account for the explosion of government spending. Since 1965, the year the Beatles played Shea Stadium and the miniskirt came to America, government spending has grown faster than the combined total of inflation plus population growth every year but one.

If government spending in America had just held pace with population growth and inflation since 1954, government spending today would total $1.3 trillion. Instead, spending this year will top $5.4 trillion.

http://takimag.com/article/the_roots_of_voter_anger_go_back_to_1954

Dave Krecklow

GDP

In reference to Steve’s email….

GDP = private consumption + gross investment + government spending + (exports − imports)….

Federal Expenditures = government spending So, Federal Expenditures per capita per GDP is …

Federal Expenditures/Capita/(private consumption + gross investment + Federal Expenditures + (exports − imports))

So, of course its close to constant! You’ve just eliminated something that makes up a huge percentage. The news media likes to talk about GDP, but we really need a new metric. GDP assumes that government spending has no negative impacts on the private sector. It also means that if I am Obama and want to pump up GDP artificially, I can borrow a bunch of money from China, spend it here, and tell everyone GDP looks better…

Has Larry Niven found the new term to describe the President, "Lead from Behind" to be amusing? I laughed when I heard it, because I really do think our current administration is filled with controlling bullies and cowards….

Love your work!

Best,

Brendan

"The relevant statistic is not raw dollars spent, but instead is Federal Expenditures per capita per GDP"

political sleight of hand – counting population growth twice since population growth affects GDP.

By this formula he is admitting the Federal proportion has grown with the square of population growth and such trends are clearly unsustainable.

The formula he should be using is

Federal Expenditure per capita per GDP PER CAPITA

or simplifying Federal expenditure as a proportion of GDP

—————————-

"Hansen’s Bulldog", according to the Register article, says that warming has been "between 0.014C and 0.018C a year" which (A) looks to be well inside any margin of error and (B) not remotely catastrophic or even outside historical experience. And this is the worst "Bulldog" can claim.

Neil Craig

Government attempts at micromanagement create perverse incentives as universities game the system.

"Students whose A-level grades fall just short of AAB next year could be at risk of missing out on a university place altogether, a number of institutions have warned." <http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=418369&c=1>

"A pre-1992 university has cut almost £1 million in planned cash support for poorer students while offering tuition-fee discounts for high-achieving applicants so that it can bid for extra places on two fronts." <http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=418367&c=1>

Cheating in the examination system: <http://preview.tinyurl.com/clyv6oh> <http://preview.tinyurl.com/7csm8el> <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16076471> <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-16067541>

I’m beginning to have second thoughts about staying around to watch the train wreck.

—

Harry Erwin, PhD

"If you can’t be a good example, then you’ll just have to be a horrible warning." (Catherine Aird)

A school board member in Florida doesn’t know any of the answers to the 10th grade Florida math test. The test is helpfully included.

http://legalinsurrection.com/2011/12/sandbagging/

Oh dear.

A couple of the questions used notation I don’t know, and a friend noticed that question #2 is a bit ill-defined, but I fail to see how someone with a BS was unable to do any of the questions. The board member in question said that no one in his circle of friends has to do problems like this at work. Is the purpose of the math curriculum to teach people how to do specific problems they will have to do some day or teach them how to address and solve what questions may arise. Note that in many of the algebra story problems, the test actually sets up the equations for the test taker.

I must admit that I wasn’t expecting to see A Clockwork Orange and Apocalypse Now show up in a 10th grade math test.

Mike Johns