I completed the waterski course for the first time this year last night. Woo hoo! ;-)
Statistics (so I can keep track of progress)
1) 3 straight perfect passes at 15' off (30MPH)
2) 1 perfect pass at 15' off (32MPH)
3) 0 perfect passes at 15' off (34MPH)
I did this behind Mike and Patty's Malibu Skier. My goal is to complete the course at 32MPH and 34MPH at 15' off. Only then will I shorten the rope length to 22' off and try 30MPH.
A couple points in this Electric cars that pay article are not quite accurate. Also, deploying electric cars would result in some issues which I enumerate below.
1) In the US, the electric grid is in bad shape, adding the load of electric cars could cause more rolling outages and out right failures. A refinery hasn't been built in the US since 1974 and the electric grid has not been upgraded to support peak loads during business hours. Most people rally around energy solutions not being built in their backyard, resulting in aging and less refineries, power plants, etc since many are being decommissioned.
We should go with the German approach of trying to generate a constant load (on the power grid) around the clock. We could give tax breaks to manufacturing and big power users to encourage this balancing. Our grid would become more stable, big users would save cost during off hours bringing their total costs down (at least initially), we would waste less energy spinning turbines for the sake of dealing with big spikes, and most importantly, we would face less rolling blackouts.
2) If you have home-based solar panels or wind power generators (without a storage solution) the power company does not pay you for the power you don't use (i.e. the extra power you generate you donate to the electric company at no cost). I believe the same would hold true for electric cars. Power companies claim that tracking and providing payment for this is too much work for how little power is generated.
3) Most power is generated from burning coal, at least in the Midwest. Therefore, using an electric car isn't anymore environmentally friendly, since hydrocarbons are still being consumed. 90+% of the time electricity is generated using coal, according to American Electric Power's recent summary.
Aside: When I was in Europe I was amazed at the amount of windmill farms (in Northern Germany and the Netherlands) and hydroelectric generation (in Norway). The only way to make electric cars environmentally friendly is by using these sorts of energy sources.
4) Another common generator of power is burning natural gas. There is a severe decline of natural gas production in the US and Britian (specifically, the North Sea, for the latter) which will result in both becoming net importers of natural gas. You don't want natural gas powered cars or additional power generated with natural gas, because during a shortage you are forced into the decision of heating your home (during the winter) or driving your car. Also, additional demand for natural gas will continue to increase its price (simple supply / demand economics).
Aside: I believe I read somewhere using natural gas directly is more efficient than using it to generate electricity. I think it was along the lines of you get more energy out, because transforming it into electricity results in additional enery loss. Can anyone confirm this?
My friend Troy recommended that I read The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli. I found an inexpensive copy on Amazon and picked it up earlier this year. I completed it during my recent European travels.
It is a short, concise, and efficacious book which fits with Machiavelli's ideas. It contains lots of interesting points about politics and maintaining power. Machiavelli uses his command of history to thoroughly back up his points, honor those leaders whom he respected and settle some scores with those he viewed as ineffective.
Machiavelli praised Moses as a great leader, which I found interesting given some of the means Machiavelli advocated to reach the desired ends. I guess he just didn't see value in the be your brother's keeper bit. It appears that politicians on both sides of the aisle, corporate executives and management have mastered Machiavelli's principles. This book is a must read for anyone who works or votes.
God Morgan!
When in Scandanavia remember that "Alt Gr" is used instead of "Shift" to type the symbols above the number keys on the keyboard.
I will write more soon and post lots of great pictures. I visited Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway this trip.