FWIW:
I actually have a couple of projects that might offer the writer the flexibility and interest he craves. They are projects with beginnings and ends, not ongoing eternally (I don't think), so they're not 'forever' financial solutions for him. Although, who knows what could come of this. This also might be of interest to other Slashdotters, but I cannot discuss them here. Anyone wishing to contact me may do so at mister snitch [at] hot mail [dot] com, and I can offer broad strokes.
BTW, the first thing I need is a patent attorney to protect the idea. It would be the sort of attorney comfortable with, say, patenting Amazon's various processes.
Also: I HAVE rebuilt a house. Learned a lot, but it took forever and I don't know that I'd do it again.
Wow, lots of insightful comments here. You've pretty much made the case for the status quo. I can only add two comments:
1) Even if you ran the lines underground, at some point they still have to come above ground to enter your average house, at least here in the Northeast. Here in Hoboken, NJ, for example, where there are rows of four story houses butted up against each other, the power lines run about 3 stories above the street and link to the buildings (usually, a conduit runs down the side of the building into the basement). If you run the lines below ground parallel to the houses, you then have to run a small tunnel perpenticular to each house, then run the line up the side of the house to its original connection point (even if that pount is on the ground floor, you still have to bring the line up from underground). You can't bring it underground all the way into the house, because then you have to tear up the inside of each house to get to that connection point.
I mean, forget it. The whole thing is way to complex to consider mainly for the sake of aesthetics.
2) Given, then, that we will never run lines (at least, existing lines) underground, how about focusing on how to consolidate power cables? New materials and techniques might allow more power to come through fewer cables. That means less clutter, and fewer things to break down (although I suppose if a cable carries more juice and it does break down, more people are deprived).
This is probably the course of action we should be considering regarding reducing the tangle of power lines we depend upon.
Video ipods are inevitable. What is generally misunderstood is (1) what it will look like and (2) what people will use it for. Most people will not be buying one for music videos or to watch feature-length films (although they may wind up watching such thiings anyway.) This is a different animal with a different reason for being. We covered the particulars in this post on our site.
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FWIW: I actually have a couple of projects that might offer the writer the flexibility and interest he craves. They are projects with beginnings and ends, not ongoing eternally (I don't think), so they're not 'forever' financial solutions for him. Although, who knows what could come of this. This also might be of interest to other Slashdotters, but I cannot discuss them here. Anyone wishing to contact me may do so at mister snitch [at] hot mail [dot] com, and I can offer broad strokes. BTW, the first thing I need is a patent attorney to protect the idea. It would be the sort of attorney comfortable with, say, patenting Amazon's various processes. Also: I HAVE rebuilt a house. Learned a lot, but it took forever and I don't know that I'd do it again.
Wow, lots of insightful comments here. You've pretty much made the case for the status quo. I can only add two comments: 1) Even if you ran the lines underground, at some point they still have to come above ground to enter your average house, at least here in the Northeast. Here in Hoboken, NJ, for example, where there are rows of four story houses butted up against each other, the power lines run about 3 stories above the street and link to the buildings (usually, a conduit runs down the side of the building into the basement). If you run the lines below ground parallel to the houses, you then have to run a small tunnel perpenticular to each house, then run the line up the side of the house to its original connection point (even if that pount is on the ground floor, you still have to bring the line up from underground). You can't bring it underground all the way into the house, because then you have to tear up the inside of each house to get to that connection point. I mean, forget it. The whole thing is way to complex to consider mainly for the sake of aesthetics. 2) Given, then, that we will never run lines (at least, existing lines) underground, how about focusing on how to consolidate power cables? New materials and techniques might allow more power to come through fewer cables. That means less clutter, and fewer things to break down (although I suppose if a cable carries more juice and it does break down, more people are deprived). This is probably the course of action we should be considering regarding reducing the tangle of power lines we depend upon.
Video ipods are inevitable. What is generally misunderstood is (1) what it will look like and (2) what people will use it for. Most people will not be buying one for music videos or to watch feature-length films (although they may wind up watching such thiings anyway.) This is a different animal with a different reason for being. We covered the particulars in this post on our site.