A problem exists when data is cherry picked to show results the "scientist" is being paid to produce.

Dr. U. Bet UrPaycheck.

This thread began with some commentary that "it's a scorcher worldwide..." yet here in NorCal, we had a below average July. August is starting very cool. So, yeah, weather isn't climate, and figures don't lie. But liars do figure.

First it was Global Warming, and when the corrected data showed none for over a decade, the mantra became Climate Change. Global Colding - oh, NO!!!

My boss was recently killed in a Toy where the mats were reportedly found by the cops in the trunk. If it turns out she was killed by Toyota playing games with lives, I'll cheerfully swear off their crap for life. Currently I have two Toyotas, but there were plenty of good alternatives.

I agree with your comments about electric hot water heaters. That also applies to natural gas or propane hot water heaters.

Another extremely annoying issue is that, at least in my neck of the woods (NoCal), I can't buy a gas hot water heater without a pilot light! 24x7 that light helps heat my water, but I'll bet well over half of the energy goes out the flue, wasting me a couple of hundred dollars a year.

I've been told it's the fault of Underwriter Labs, who haven't the first clue about engineering, it seems. A fail-safe igniter with flame, heat, and gas sensors and a micro-controller should be simple to build and test. Even if it adds $50 to the price of a hot water heater, that cost should easily be paid back in a year. And the same for gas heaters and furnaces.

Very good post! And quite accurate regarding the radioactive material blowing in the wind + concentrated heavy metals in the ash.

In my view, Nat Gas turbines are another bad choice - horribly expensive fuel gotten from folks who want to kill us, and it's a polluter, just not as bad as Coal.

As to the topic of this thread...

I would really, really like to see the 10 year net MWH (Megawatt Hours) of electricity forecast from this monstrosity.

The 4 mile greenhouse is going to get dirty from sand and probably pitted from sand storms. Power plants are usually rated at peak max power.

Somebody care to check my arithmetic - I'm just pouring this out with the fat pencil.

So it puts out 200MWe at noon on a cloudless day with the sun at it's northern most point. At any other time - between 2PM and 10AM every day, and worse on all other days of the year, or if it's cloudy, this thing is going to put out a lot less net electricity. I'd give it 800MWHe from 10AM-2PM for two months a year, and 25 to 50% less the other 10 months a year. And I'd give it 8 hours more sun at an average of 80MW = 640MWH in peak months and 4 hours at 50MW = 200 MWH the other 10 months.

(800 MWH + 640 MWH) * 60 days = 85 GWH peak "summer" days

(130 MW*4 hrs + 50MW *4 hrs ) * 300 days = 216 GWH the rest of the year

So I'll throw out a 300 GWH annual total output

Let's see what a "base load" plant might put out. Their capacity factors (amount of electricity actually produced vs. what they can produce) are above 90% - 24 hours a day, every day. Yes, that includes maint and refueling shutdowns.

200MW * 24 * 365 * .9 = 1577 GWH, more than FIVE TIMES what this many square mile hipposaurus can generate.

Ooops - sorry, I failed to factor in the capacity factor on this thing. ONE generator hanging in a chimney. Yeah, that will work well - single point of failure is good. Anybody seen figures on wind generators out of service for generator bearing problems? You don't want to. Well, I'm betting this has 30% down time for the first five years and 10% for a number of years after that. It's all new pie in the sky.

Yours is the first intelligent comment in this thread.

For all the alphabet soup behind their names, these "scientists" are in need of wall-to-wall counseling and probably a little time in "general population". The Americans should go in a federal lockup, and the Brit wherever they put the nasty buggers.

I use a Logitech mouse and MS keyboard - both Bluetooth - on a docked ThinkPad. Like above poster, both hang up for a while several times a day, sometimes causing XP to make the disconnected chime. A couple of seconds later they reconnect.

I've considered Communist Plots, Vast Right Wing Conspiracy, and Those Who Cannot Be Named. I have not eliminated Country Music or the Current Administration.

For now, I tend to blame Windows, because after that happens my VPN often loses heartbeat and drops.

The Net Knows.

So, here we have some guy, the department director, whose immediate deputy is a crook. Bribing / taking bribes, along with at least one other.

In the real world, he would be Accountable and Responsible. But, it would seem, not in DCland. The guy should NOT be allowed in the Administration.

And, after the number of crooks this Administration has tried to bring on board, I wonder if some other heads at 1600 Pennsy don't need to roll. Does anybody do background investigations on these clowns?

At this point, I'd be looking for a new Chief of Staff. This is CHANGE???

Too bad this post got crushed by the Mod Squad.

The logic in the bill is that, "Scumbags is as scumbags does". People who do crimes usually continue to do crimes.

So by collecting DNA (and prints) of thieves and vandals, the cops will more likely be able to track them down when they graduate to the nastier leagues. I really, really like the idea of being able to snap up rapists, burglars, home invaders and other scum most skosh.

Collecting DNA from misdemeanor convicts is where I have some concern. I do think any non-citizen convicted of a non-traffic misdemeanor should be sent home. Bye, Bitch {flush}.

But I'm not sure I'm in favor of collecting DNA from every CITIZEN pot smoker, shoplifter, and street fighter in the land. And I'll echo the first poster's "Yeah, right" regarding always pitching the DNA record if the arrestee is not convicted.

What about Juveniles? If they are convicted, whether tried as an adult or not, is their DNA kept on record?

This is an issue that will not go away, with 50 states to fight it out, and it will probably go to the Supremes. DNA is a great way to convict and a great way to show innocence. As a privacy advocate and big fan of Liberty, I expect to revise my thinking a few times in the coming years.

The antenna problem is going to affect mostly rural viewers. An interesting thing is that most of the Digital Super-Whamadyne Antannas have the same UHF yagi as they've had for years. Getting a new antenna may not help much, unless they do some research.

Most outside antennas have a pre-amplifier at the antenna that is powered in the house. If that preamp has died or the power is no longer getting up the coax or twinlead to the amp, the DTV signal is going to be awful. Suggest that folks check that out before getting a new system.

You can be sure that Fred's TV and Gizmo will cheerfully come out, remove all of the mostly good stuff to haul to the landfill, and replace with all new stuff at about $300 - $500, including installation.

If the homeowner is unlucky, all that wandering around on the roof and poking holes will destroy the roof, which can be replaced for a mere $10,000.

Keep your fingers crossed for your non-cable and non-satellite friends. Advise caution.

This is perhaps the most important post in the thread. In addition to electrocuting someone, if you don't open the utility main breaker, you will try to pick up a lot of other loads and your generator breaker will probably open, perhaps repeatedly, making you curse and mebbe do something stupid.

Another warning: if you wire an extension cord to plug into a 220 or 110 outlet in the house, be careful - do not close the generator output breaker until you plug it into the house. A friend's g.daughter tried to "help" and picked the plug up by the shiny part. She's had many operations, but has fair use of her hand after several years.

Be careful - electricity is especially dangerous if you are either doing stuff you rarely do, or doing unsafe stuff you do often and get sloppy. That's how linemen get fried, btw.

Take the previous post seriously - if this is not your forte, get professional help.

This is close, I think, if you want to work for a bigger shop.

As above posters have said, the HR Nazis read the spec and it says "degree in cs or related dis" and the door stays shut unless you know someone.

Get yourself enrolled in a college and go after that degree. You owe it to your future to expand your horizons.

But small and medium biz need help, and in this economy if they can get somebody junior to help BigBuxBob, there's a good chance you can get in the door, study your ass off - learn about EVERYTHING: mail, databases, LDAP, Active Directory, Web Application Servers, IIS & Apache, Linux, Unix, Windoz. Expect to take your lumps and pay your dues. Be ready when Bob has a vacation coming to fill his shoes!

A few tips:

- NETWORK - join users groups and meet people.

- Volunteer to help Non Profits with IT Stuff - heck, even helping cable a network is a good thing for your resume.

- Learn everything about networking and IP.

- Consume slashdot, sourceforge, and support sites.

- Keep a paper brain or a huge doc file that contains urls and commands you have used.

- Have a thumb-drive with a toolkit you can use to fix probs on unix, linux, windows. There are plenty out there - find and compile them for your self.

- Publish - have a blog people can find (which means having useful content, not just drivel).

- Never, ever, be without a current resume ready to email or hand out with 30 minutes notice!

Within a year or so, something will pop.

One final thought: Ask colleagues with degrees what their degree is in. Then ask if they are working in the field of their major. Approx 2/3 in tech will say no. Ask the rest how many hours (not credit hours - actual hours of class and study only) in their four years were in their Major. The answer is probably fewer than 1000. First two years and much of last two years is to make a well-rounded student who can (should be able to) read and write. The extremely competent may have LOTS more hours or be extremely bright, but the average joe... um, maybe not.

Do NOT be impressed by MS degrees from University of Boom Chalawalla or East Cha-ching. I've worked with a lot of guys with MS who can't write a script, couldn't troubleshoot a sick Apache.

Be confident. You will make it.