tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078379512095504946.post2082753960193807368..comments2024-03-26T06:17:49.527-07:00Comments on Had Enough Therapy?: Environmentally Friendly BlackoutsStuart Schneidermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12784043736879991769noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078379512095504946.post-77936125160835240822012-05-14T07:16:10.635-07:002012-05-14T07:16:10.635-07:00Kind of what one gets with a national arts council...Kind of what one gets with a national arts council who determines what art gets paid for and is acceptable. I wonder how Jazz, et al would have fared?<br />From what I have read Edison fought to control almost everything he got his hands on. If one did not go through him, and he was likely to steal those ideas, one did not get approved by the powers that were in control.<br />One wonders how a Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and other innovators would have done and what the R&D world would be like.Dennishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14962996070458991675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078379512095504946.post-87479854816474598612012-05-14T06:43:11.395-07:002012-05-14T06:43:11.395-07:00"Interesting that David Packard and Bill Hewl..."Interesting that David Packard and Bill Hewlitt developed computer technology in their garage, grew it into and industry, but failed to see the need of personal computers"<br /><br />Ditto with Ken Olsen of Digital Equipment Corporation, who also could not see the need for personal computers. And Thomas Edison was such a fanatic believer in DC power that he fought viciously (very viciously) against the superior AC technology promulgated by Tesla and Westinghouse.<br /><br />Imagine an alternate history in which all electrical development had been controlled by the Central Bureau of Electricity Research and Development, headed by Thomas Edison and his designated successors...David Fosterhttp://photoncourier.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078379512095504946.post-82421356939760518422012-05-14T06:15:03.336-07:002012-05-14T06:15:03.336-07:00AMEN David Foster,
Interesting that this country h...AMEN David Foster,<br />Interesting that this country has innovated, created, produced and leads in most areas without government involvement. Even the Communists began to figure out that no government agency could ascertain all of the requirements necessary to bring any product to market. If there is one thing that the government is not is efficient. <br />Much of this is true because there are few innovators in the government. What we really need is to get the HELL out of the way. The only thing the government is capable of producing is a "eight track tape" version of anything it touches. It is why there are so many failures and bankruptcies is the solar companies. Paying for failure should be borne by the innovator, not the taxpayer. The innovator should also reap the profits.<br />R&D consists of making a lot of mistakes before figuring out what works. Even if one works with a MENS (Mission Elements Needed Statement) there are a myriad of problems to be faced and solved.<br />ONE CANNOT JUST ORDER SCIENCE OR INNOVATION TO HAPPEN! No one person or entity has the wherewithal to be that prescient or knowledgeable.<br />Interesting that David Packard and Bill Hewlitt developed computer technology in their garage, grew it into and industry, but failed to see the need of personal computers. The vast majority of innovation comes from some guy working in his basement and not from established sources. Once one adds layers upon layers of organization innovation goes down. One gets the "rice bowl" affect. <br />Ideas are wonderful things, but they take a long time to put into place.Dennishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14962996070458991675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078379512095504946.post-54709966838538461602012-05-14T05:35:22.636-07:002012-05-14T05:35:22.636-07:00"As long as it's every man for himself, n..."As long as it's every man for himself, no one will take a chance on something new - their shareholders wouldn't put up with that."<br /><br />That's why the American computer industry is still focused on vacuum-tube mainframes programmed in assembly language, and why container freight was never adopted by the railroad and ocean shipping industries.David Fosterhttp://photoncourier.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078379512095504946.post-88840266302517521462012-05-13T11:30:46.585-07:002012-05-13T11:30:46.585-07:00China is doing it, they have old coal burning powe...China is doing it, they have old coal burning power plants they are updating them to make them cleaner and more efficient, and they are exporting some of their renewable energy technologies and the cleaner coal technologies (along with some of their engineers) here, because they're ahead of us. The updated plants last longer, burn less coal and cause less environmental damage. Their power plants are partly (mostly) state owned, so they don't have to answer to shareholders about quick profits, but if it weren't a smart business move, they would not be making it. It seems China is the first nation/corporation. <br /><br />We need regulations in place to allow power producers to plan ahead, and invest in technologies and research that will bring us into this international market. As long as it's every man for himself, no one will take a chance on something new - their shareholders wouldn't put up with that. <br /><br />Obama doesn't want to shut down existing power plants, he wants to have a plan that goes into the future so our businesses don't get left out, he includes coal and nuclear in his plans, against his own base. Right now there are already plenty of power outages, from equipment that should have been replaced before it broke. PG&E has workers round the clock fixing downed power lines after even mild storms, when the lines could have been put underground decades ago. Here we only fix things once they actually break and actually cause losses and here we generally just patch them back, we don't replace them with something that could last. <br /><br />I love democracy and capitalism, don't get me wrong, but they come with some built in inefficiencies.annanoreply@blogger.com