Economic production is entirely analogous to the operation of a heat engine. It is the controlled increase of entropy of a system in order to accomplish productive work that benefits humans. Trade, mineral extraction, and manufacturing all fit the model perfectly. Find monolithic resources, divide them, combine them with others, and scatter them across the globe. It is as irreversible as any other thermodynamic process and completely dependent upon free energy, specifically the energy contained in the monolithic resource of fossil fuels.
I believe that an advance society is linked to population, in another words the technologivcal socety of the XX century could not be posible at the time of clasic greek or the middle ages because it wasnt enough people in the world,
This is quite simply industrial age capitalist hogwash. What is it you think all of those people contribute to technological progress that could not be accomplished through mechanical means? Clean toilets? Fast food? Cannon fodder? Landscaping?
Starvation is a geopolitical problem, not a resource problem.
I love people who say this. It's not a resource problem; it's a people problem. There are too many people and not enough resources.
Okay, so what is the problem exactly? Hungry people just happen to materialize in areas with insufficient resources to feed them? They're being prevented from feeding themselves? They're being forced to procreate? Can you be more specific than "geopolitical problem"?
Consumer goods are designed to self-destruct. Ergo, no one is willing to share them lest they be destroyed. Ergo, everyone needs his own and more total consumer goods are purchased.
If we apply serious birth control laws we can actually shrink world population and use less and less energy while maintaining increasing living standards.
Obviously a micro-turbine could be used in a series hybrid fairly easily. A google search turns up a site with a 'prototype', though a combustion turbine and not steam.
Hardly. The biggest problem with eugenics is that it proposes arbitrary government force as a workable substitute for personal responsibility. Sound familiar?
"Forfeiture" only applies to property that has been "forfeited", or which has no legal owner.
It usually involves seizing property that has been used in a crime. Regardless, yes, I'm aware of the ways in which it is misused by US law enforcement.
I've never heard of computers being searched on domestic flights. I'm under the impression that that is Customs that performs those searches. So, yes, they will likely continue.
People are decrying the direction of the US, but I think after the past several years of pretty constant theft of tax dollars and personal property by the elite, a change was and is necessary.
Anyone over the age of 25 who decries the direction of the US isn't referring to the horizontal direction, but the vertical.
The "big three" do not see or treat consumers as their customers
This is exactly correct. Not only are individuals not their customers, lenders actively profit when credit reports are worse than they should be, and these profits support the reporting agencies directly.
It is the exact same scam as the ratings agencies passing off sub-prime mortgages as AAA. And it is completely due to the fact that the entire industry is supported by taxpayer money; financial institutions that fail to assess risk correctly are prevented from failing.
They did move on to other areas, and did a fine job with those as well. They made some very good and affordable VoIP phone systems, for one.
In fact with all the hand-outs to large companies on wall street lately, just a few weeks ago I was thinking of 3Com as a ripe target for takeover. Should have gone with that gut feeling and bought some stock I suppose.
Okay, so let's say I want to work for zero wages to give your country free drugs. They're free. I'll refine and ship them to your citizens for free. Do you want to enact a tariff on them or would you be better off accepting them?
What if it's poisoned children's toys instead?
How about food subsidies. I'll send your citizens free food. Would you accept it or would it be better for your citizens to grow their own food? Don't worry, I wouldn't cut off your food supplies and then declare war on you.
I have never seen an economist or "libertarian" give a convincing argument against protectionist tariffs.
however, if they voluntarily switch to some other business
Every argument always hinges on some inane assumption like a free market for labor or ignores production and instead focuses on individuals trading finished goods or promotes sacrificing long term gains for short term profit or assumes that new and better industries and business opportunities will always spring up or ignores the reality that the reason tariffs exist is to protect a nation's industry against the predatory practices of potentially hostile nation-states.
I agree that this is a monstrosity that no one in their right mind would ever want to use.
But it does seem like a step in the right direction. Instead of carpool lanes which are a stupid waste of time, I'd like to see a major US city devote a lane of all their highways to something interesting like this, only more flexible and safer and automated and efficient and economically beneficial, obviously.
Asteroid mining for precious metals and in-situ panel production has to be the only way to make this cost-effective. And there's no way we get all that up and running before fusion becomes viable.
The only possible advantage of space-based solar is that it can operate 24/7 and that it obviates the need for land. The land usage issue is a non starter. There is plenty of land. Hell, forget land, we can use oceans instead. And solar thermal or a slightly smarter grid with widespread electric vehicles can easily and cost-effectively fill the storage gap.
Slashdot Mirror
Economic production is entirely analogous to the operation of a heat engine. It is the controlled increase of entropy of a system in order to accomplish productive work that benefits humans. Trade, mineral extraction, and manufacturing all fit the model perfectly. Find monolithic resources, divide them, combine them with others, and scatter them across the globe. It is as irreversible as any other thermodynamic process and completely dependent upon free energy, specifically the energy contained in the monolithic resource of fossil fuels.
I believe that an advance society is linked to population, in another words the technologivcal socety of the XX century could not be posible at the time of clasic greek or the middle ages because it wasnt enough people in the world,
This is quite simply industrial age capitalist hogwash. What is it you think all of those people contribute to technological progress that could not be accomplished through mechanical means? Clean toilets? Fast food? Cannon fodder? Landscaping?
Starvation is a geopolitical problem, not a resource problem.
I love people who say this. It's not a resource problem; it's a people problem. There are too many people and not enough resources.
Okay, so what is the problem exactly? Hungry people just happen to materialize in areas with insufficient resources to feed them? They're being prevented from feeding themselves? They're being forced to procreate? Can you be more specific than "geopolitical problem"?
Consumer goods are designed to self-destruct. Ergo, no one is willing to share them lest they be destroyed. Ergo, everyone needs his own and more total consumer goods are purchased.
The correlation is that being wealthy means buying more energy, not vice versa!
Surely you meant to say "causation" rather than correlation. So I'll run with that.
Do you seriously believe that modern wealth comes from something other than energy production and consumption? What do you do for a living?
If we apply serious birth control laws we can actually shrink world population and use less and less energy while maintaining increasing living standards.
Don't forget that part. It's important.
Not only that, but it's insured for ten trillion dollars against destroying the Earth, by some company called A.I.G.
They don't mean shell commands. They mean code that exploits a vulnerability in order to start a shell.
Obviously a micro-turbine could be used in a series hybrid fairly easily. A google search turns up a site with a 'prototype', though a combustion turbine and not steam.
Here's a liquid nitrogen powered car:
http://inhouse.unt.edu/index.cfm?commentID=1163
Personally I like MIT's 'millimeter' gas turbine engines:
http://thefutureofthings.com/articles/49/engine-on-a-chip.html
Hardly. The biggest problem with eugenics is that it proposes arbitrary government force as a workable substitute for personal responsibility. Sound familiar?
We aren't against the idea of humans having children without a license, just dumbasses who can't manage to pay for them yourselves (i.e. You).
"Forfeiture" only applies to property that has been "forfeited", or which has no legal owner.
It usually involves seizing property that has been used in a crime. Regardless, yes, I'm aware of the ways in which it is misused by US law enforcement.
I've never heard of computers being searched on domestic flights. I'm under the impression that that is Customs that performs those searches. So, yes, they will likely continue.
hahaha, "What is Campaign for Liberty?"
Is it now legal to carry large sums of money?
Within the US, yes of course it is. Why wouldn't it be?
mother's maiden name
Password: Davis
People are decrying the direction of the US, but I think after the past several years of pretty constant theft of tax dollars and personal property by the elite, a change was and is necessary.
Anyone over the age of 25 who decries the direction of the US isn't referring to the horizontal direction, but the vertical.
The "big three" do not see or treat consumers as their customers
This is exactly correct. Not only are individuals not their customers, lenders actively profit when credit reports are worse than they should be, and these profits support the reporting agencies directly.
It is the exact same scam as the ratings agencies passing off sub-prime mortgages as AAA. And it is completely due to the fact that the entire industry is supported by taxpayer money; financial institutions that fail to assess risk correctly are prevented from failing.
They did move on to other areas, and did a fine job with those as well. They made some very good and affordable VoIP phone systems, for one.
In fact with all the hand-outs to large companies on wall street lately, just a few weeks ago I was thinking of 3Com as a ripe target for takeover. Should have gone with that gut feeling and bought some stock I suppose.
For the benefit of any new Moderators, sarcastic complaints about significant digits count as "Funny" here at Slashdot.
Okay, so let's say I want to work for zero wages to give your country free drugs. They're free. I'll refine and ship them to your citizens for free. Do you want to enact a tariff on them or would you be better off accepting them?
What if it's poisoned children's toys instead?
How about food subsidies. I'll send your citizens free food. Would you accept it or would it be better for your citizens to grow their own food? Don't worry, I wouldn't cut off your food supplies and then declare war on you.
Ammunition? Tires? Steel?
I have never seen an economist or "libertarian" give a convincing argument against protectionist tariffs.
however, if they voluntarily switch to some other business
Every argument always hinges on some inane assumption like a free market for labor or ignores production and instead focuses on individuals trading finished goods or promotes sacrificing long term gains for short term profit or assumes that new and better industries and business opportunities will always spring up or ignores the reality that the reason tariffs exist is to protect a nation's industry against the predatory practices of potentially hostile nation-states.
I agree that this is a monstrosity that no one in their right mind would ever want to use.
But it does seem like a step in the right direction. Instead of carpool lanes which are a stupid waste of time, I'd like to see a major US city devote a lane of all their highways to something interesting like this, only more flexible and safer and automated and efficient and economically beneficial, obviously.
Asteroid mining for precious metals and in-situ panel production has to be the only way to make this cost-effective. And there's no way we get all that up and running before fusion becomes viable.
The only possible advantage of space-based solar is that it can operate 24/7 and that it obviates the need for land. The land usage issue is a non starter. There is plenty of land. Hell, forget land, we can use oceans instead. And solar thermal or a slightly smarter grid with widespread electric vehicles can easily and cost-effectively fill the storage gap.
maybe if they converted the solar to hydrogen first
How might they do this?