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Comment Methane would be easier (Score 1) 343

It would be easier to make a bigger dent in emissions, by changing cattle back to being grass-fed, instead of corn fed. The corn is a major reason cows emit so much methane, a far worse greenhouse gas than CO2. I'm guessing that would require upsetting corn producers and risking important caucus states, like Iowa.

Comment Why AM? (Score 1) 142

Is nobody even curious why they're *required* to have an AM station/transmitter, too? I realize AM is good for talk radio, because its frequencies bounce off the ionosphere at night. WHY is that a regulation, though? Are there people being jilted because they can only get WJLX's AM channel? That seems absurd. AM doesn't sound very good. Nobody I know of listens to AM outside of talk radio. Once again, the government screws us with nonsensical regulations. Because thanks to them, we ALSO don't have the FM channel.

Comment Battery Packs (Score 1) 202

They (government/car companies) really need to do for EVs what we've already done for consumer electronics -- modularize and standardize the battery packs vehicles use. This would cause two wonderful results:

  • It would reduce or eliminate the cost of replacing a car's battery pack. It shouldn't require major surgery to do this. Do you have to disassemble your remote control to insert two new AA batteries? No.
  • By making it easy to change battery packs, you can then charge them independently of the vehicle -- just like we can charge our rechargeable AA batteries. This means you could have centralized charging facilities, and decentralized exchange stations. Drive up with an empty battery pack. Drive away in minutes with a full one.

Comment The Value of College (Score 1) 438

One thing that is not mentioned, that needs to be, is the difference between an education and a college degree. Right now, some employers look very hard at a college degree as an important factor in hiring. Actually, it's only important to get your foot in the door. Once that happens, the interview becomes the overriding factor. I postulate that this terrible economy will make the lack of a college degree less of an issue. However, the lack of an education or relevant experience will still prevent you from getting the job. The reason I point this out is that there are now alternatives to a traditional college education. These alternatives are capable of competing directly with college in helping one receive a quality education.

The example that comes to mind is the free website www.khanacademy.org, which Bill Gates has recently publicized. No, you don't get a college degree by finishing the coursework, but I would argue that as much or more learning takes place here as with any traditional college education. Take out the sorority parties, the textbooks, the professors, the football games and general socializing, but as far as learning goes, what's left is not so different. As more and more topics are added, the difference will be even less. One difference might be the ability to look at a professor and raise your hand to ask a direct question. You can still ask questions with some online learning solutions, and it has the added benefit of not being potentially embarrassing.

There are other things to consider. In the programming world, the best résumé is an active github account. A potential employer can go there and actually peruse some of your source code and other contributions you've made to an open source project. No college degree can do that. As more and more employees make use of this, the less important a college degree becomes.

The point is, the real difference right now is a perceptual one. Once that goes away, an expensive college degree will not be the only option. Colleges and Universities should be very afraid, IMHO.

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