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Comment Re:Space for solar hasn't been much of a concern (Score 1) 437

"It doesn't need to power the car for the "average" needs of the "average" commuter, it needs to power the car for all the needs of all the current auto-buying public.

This is just wrong. You want one magic car that will have "the best" of everything (range, passenger capacity, cargo capacity, cost, speed, performance, etc.). Just as there is no "best" internal combustion car that will meet "all the needs of all the current auto-buying public", there is no "best" electric car. There are only cars that are "best" for specific uses.

When looking at specifics of your WRX car, my Tesla has better performance (0-60 sub 5 seconds), less charge time (I never have to drive to a gas station and fill up... just plug it in at home), and lower cost (gas is expensive, electricity is cheap) than your Subaru. Plus, it's just a much nicer, safer car.

Comment Re:Space for solar hasn't been much of a concern (Score 1) 437

You're just a troll so I shouldn't respond but someone else might be interested in a few facts from the real world:
- California has had a budget surplus for a few years now and a growing economy so we seem to have figured out how to "pay for things".
- California has a growing population and a growing economy and still manages to use less energy per capita and per unit of economic output that any other state.
A few other facts from the real world (from EIA http://www.eia.gov/state/?sid=... )
Excluding federal offshore areas, California ranked third in the nation in crude oil production in 2013, despite an overall decline in production rates since the mid-1980s.
California also ranked third in the nation in refining capacity as of January 2014, with a combined capacity of almost 2 million barrels per calendar day from its 18 operable refineries.
In 2012, California’s per capita energy consumption ranked 49th in the nation; the state's low use of energy was due in part to its mild climate and its energy efficiency programs.
In 2013, California ranked fourth in the nation in conventional hydroelectric generation, second in net electricity generation from other renewable energy resources, and first as a producer of electricity from geothermal energy.
In 2013, California ranked 15th in net electricity generation from nuclear power after one of its two nuclear plants was taken out of service in January 2012; as of June 2013, operations permanently ceased at that plant, the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station.
Average site electricity consumption in California homes is among the lowest in the nation (6.9 megawatthours per year), according to EIA's Residential Energy Consumption Survey.

Thank you, California is doing just fine in the energy department (and also in paying for things).
If you are looking for problems, you might look at Kansas or Wisconsin which are run by right wing idiots and are going bankrupt.

Comment Re:Space for solar hasn't been much of a concern (Score 1) 437

I think you are ignoring the fact that you can buy an electric car today (from GM, Nissan, BMW, Tesla, etc.) which is insanely cheap to run (equivalent to gas at $0.40 a gallon). These cars cost a little more to buy up front but you save it in the long run with cheaper operating costs. No need for any new magic battery. We have the magic battery today. The faster people buy these cars, the better. We need to leave at least half of the "proven reserves" of hydrocarbons in the ground if we are to avoid climate catastrophe.

Comment Re:Space for solar hasn't been much of a concern (Score 1) 437

I assume that you are aware that there are electric cars that you can buy today for a reasonable price which include a "magic battery" which can power the car for the average needs of the average commuter. My electric car is powered by one of these magic batteries which I charge from my solar panels and drive everywhere I need to go at any time.
Welcome to the future, it is here now. No need to wait for the invention of some new magic technology. We have it today.

Comment Re:Wireless charging hit mainstream ~ 1-2 years ag (Score 2) 184

by mspohr (#49256913) Attached to: Why Apple Won't Adopt a Wireless Charging Standard

Worldwide domestic electricity consumption is about 2e16
Your calculation of waste is 2.5e7
There are other electric energy inefficiencies (such as your "always on" TV or computer) that waste much more energy to worry about. This is not even a rounding error.
In personal terms: My solar panels generate about 25 kWh per day... that should cover the 2Wh I waste charging my phone each day.

Submission + - Anthem Blocking Federal Auditor from Doing Vulnerability Scans (digitalguardian.com)

Submitted by chicksdaddy
chicksdaddy writes: File this one under "suspicious behavior." Anthem Inc., the Indiana-based health insurer has informed a federal auditor, the Office of Personnel Management, that it will not permit vulnerability scans of its network — even after acknowledging that it was the victim of a massive breach that leaked data on tens of millions of patients.

According to this article (http://www.healthcareinfosecurity.com/anthem-refuses-full-security-audit-a-7980/op-1), Anthem is citing "company policy" that prohibits third party access to its network in declining to let auditors from OPM's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) conduct scans for vulnerable systems. OPM's OIG performs a variety of audits on health insurers that provide health plans to federal employees under the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program, or FEHBP. Insurers aren't mandated to comply — though most do.

This isn't Anthem's first time saying "no thanks" to the offer of a network vulnerability scan. The company also declined to let OIG scan its network in 2013. A partial audit report issued at the time (http://www.opm.gov/our-inspector-general/reports/2013/audit-of-information-systems-general-and-application-controls-at-wellpoint-inc-1a-10-00-13-012.pdf) warned that the company, then known as WellPoint, "provided us with conflicting statements" on issues related to information security, including Wellpoint's practices regarding regular configuration audits and its plans to shift to IBM's Tivoli Endpoint Manager (TEM) platform.

Submission + - Robocops Direct Traffic in the Congo (theguardian.com)

Submitted by mspohr
mspohr writes: The Guardian describes robocops used in Kinshasa to direct traffic:
"The solar-powered aluminium robots are huge, towering over the jammed streets of Kinshasa, as cars and motorcyles jostle for road room, their horns blasting.
Each hand on the odd-looking machines — built to withstand the year-round hot climate — is fitted with green and red lights that regulate the flow of traffic in the sprawling city of nine million.
The robots are also equipped with rotating chests and surveillance cameras that record the flow of traffic and send real-time images to the police station."
These are second generation robots designed by a Congolese association of women engineers.
"Although the humanoids look more like giant toys than real policemen, motorists have given them a thumbs up.
“There are certain drivers who don’t respect the traffic police. But with the robot it will be different. We should respect the robot,” taxi driver Poro Zidane told AFP."

Comment Re:Gin & Tonic (Score 1) 71

by mspohr (#49107025) Attached to: Drug-Resistant Malaria May Pose Major Threat

You jest... but the invention of "quinine water" (tonic) mixed with gin was to mask the bitter flavor of quinine so that people could take their daily dose and prevent malaria in tropical areas.
Unfortunately, like for all other drugs, malaria has developed resistance to quinine so it is less effective today (but still a good mixer for gin).

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