Vote for Auntie

You know what I think we should do?  I think we should take all the people that want to be politicians and send them off somewhere, or at least ban them from politics.  "Oh, that's stupid." you say.  "Who would run things and sit through boring meetings?  How do you run a democracy (or something resembling a democracy) without politicians.  It is a necessary evil." you say.  NOT SO!  Here is my good idea, lets take a page from the founders of 'The Great Republic,' Rome.  Go round out your wise old Uncle, feisty little Auntie, and eccentric college professor and make them run!  Find the good moral citizens in your community that actually represent you and elect the best of them to your public offices.  I think we should require every college graduate to serve in a civic position at least once in their life time.  Let's re-claim our country and community from the interests of the corporate oligarchy and entrust our society to our elders, our educated, and our moderate concerned citizens.  So go out this election season and
Vote for Auntie!

Intelligent arguments

So if you haven't heard Rush Limbaugh has criticized Michelle Obama for not being lithe enough to justify her "Lets Move" initiative. You can read the article here. I just couldn't let this go.  All politics aside, I think Michelle Obama is a beautiful woman championing a popular and noble cause.  And who is Rush Limbaugh, of all people, to define feminine beauty or physical fitness for the rest of us.  He said, "She's no swimsuit model," uh, since when is that the standard of a healthy female figure.  I think Michelle looks far healthier than most swim suit models.  He also criticized her for what the first family ate at their super bowl party.  I think it is smart and responsible for her to not set unrealistic or over imposing standards for her initiative.  Everything in moderation is a healthy and reasonable approach, but I guess by now we shouldn't expect Rush to be associated with reason in any sense.  This is, after all, the man that cried for Draconian punishments for drug addicts while he was, in fact, a drug addict himself.  Even if I don't agree with what someone says I do respect an intelligent argument.  However, Rush seems to be a self loathing, sad, and angry individual who has run out of intelligent arguments. 

So my good idea of the day was originally going to be a collective "Shame on you Rush," but I have changed my mind.  He is a combative personality who thrives on conflict.  Not unlike a rebelling teenager trying to figure out their place and purpose in a changing world.  So, instead, I think ignoring him is best. Let him go off somewhere and rest in peace.  It must be hard to be on the losing side of a culture war and to have lost your relevance in an evolving world, and we should save him the stress by letting him fade into obscurity.  I realize that by writing this I am not following my own advice so how about we start............................NOW!

Playing Piggy Back w/ Eben Moglen

You know, peaceful revolution against tyranny is a good idea, but it tends to panic the tyranny.  In the wake of Egypt's facebook fueled   overthrow world leaders have been smiling and waving and giving democracy a public thumbs up, usually on their way to a high level meeting about how to control the internet so the same thing doesn't happen to them.  Well, the highly intelligent and visionary Eben Moglen is working on the solution for we the populists.  Please, check it out here----->  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/16/nyregion/16about.html?_r=1     It's a really good idea.

Be Gangsta

 So I have been on an alternative energy kick and you can probably expect some more of that in the future, after all, it is a good idea.   But for now, here is something completely different.  So I found this photo of Gadhafi and mubarak at  http://leaksource.wordpress.com/    

So if you are an African dictator it is a good idea to throw professionalism out the window at African dictator conferences and instead act like a pimp.  What do you think he is saying to Mubarak?  "Come to my room later for a burka optional party with killer Libyan weed man.  It'll be off the hook! If the Sphinx ever got high I bet it was weed from Libya."    

This is a real picture!  Can you believe this guy? Post up some captions if you think of something.  This just cracked me up.

AltEnFi. inc.

When I win the lottery (not if when) I think it would be a cool idea to start a firm that specializes in personal financing for alternative energy systems.  I will call it Altenfi inc.  For no more money a month than a person or business would pay on their normal on-the-grid power bill,  my company will install and maintain a custom, duel source, clean energy system tailored to the customers location.....wait for it....INTEREST FREE!  Ok, stop laughing.  You are saying that is a really bad idea.  No business can survive with a plan like that!  But wait there's more.  Here is the catch.  During certain times of day it is not uncommon for a duel source clean energy system to be able to sell surplus energy back into the grid.  And guess who would get that revenue?  Altenfi of course! (for the life of the loan plus ? years.) There would be several other things built into the agreement to generate revenue for the corporation, but I don't think (with proper use of capital) that huge revenues would be needed to sustain such an operation.  A lot would depend on how the corporation was structured, for instance, a public corp. would demand higher revenue than a non-profit or not for profit.  But the biggest asset would be that after a while the corp. would own a huge portion of the power grid, and debt. (packaged properly) could be sold to large financial institutions.

The perks for the customer would not only be sentimental (i.e. saving the world) but the system would also offer a consistent bill without spikes during certain seasons or weather patterns or increases from power companies.  (look up TVA and how customers are having to pay for the coal ash disaster in Kingston, TN which was due to negligence by TVA)  It is a half-baked concept right now, but I think it's the start of a good idea. (especially coupled with cumulative energy systems, see below :)

cumulative energy

So, being able to comfortably run around my yard naked in February (check it out on google earth) has me thinking a little bit about global warming and alternative energy.  You know, I am actually not to upset about the simple idea of global warming.  I miss my Hawaii home and a tropical world is actually rather appealing.  However, I think global warming is not the problem but the symptom.  Wholesale pollution, if unchecked, will eventually make our planet uninhabitable.  And it doesn't matter how strong the economy is if there is no planet.  The problem with changing the energy paradigm is, I feel, only psychological; it just seems so huge, so insurmountable a problem.  The answer is Cumulative Energy Systems.  Instead of putting in hectares upon hectares of solar fields and wind farms,  micronize (<--- according to spell check I just coined that word!)  generator technology and put it EVERYWHERE! Pressure is power right?  That is the premise of hydro electric power.  Lets utilize that in more places.  Have generators built in-line on our water towers, off shore oil pumps, and water processing plants, coupled with wind gens on our cell towers and sky scrapers.  Solar panels on our roofs  and micro-generators on our gutter down spouts.  I can feel you rolling your eyes and mumbling things like money, economy, manufacture, wah, wah, wah.  Sure, I get it, devil is in the details, I know. But how many ipods are made everyday? Cell phones? Kids toys? Game machines?  We can manufacture anything, given the will to do so.  And salesmen can sale anything if it provides something useful and pays a commission. One drop in a bucket again and again and before long you have a full bucket, and there are thousands of variations on this concept.  I'm not saying it would be easy, but it is a good idea. 

a breath of fresh tech

Respirating  solar panels.  That's a good idea.  'Yeah, well', you say, 'so is world peace and me being rich and good lookin' but it's just not gonna happen.'  You are probably right, but I think solar panels that respirate are just on this side of pipe dream.  Trees do it and we are at least 8% as smart as trees.  All you have to do is break apart CO2. BAM! Now you have diatomic oxygen, you know, that stuff we breath.  So I am thinking little tiny hammers. And if that doesn't work I think it could be done chemically or, now here's a good idea, biologically.  I'm thinking embedded diatoms, anaerobic bacteria, or algae.  You think anthrax would work?  What about the carbon you ask, free carbon paper, duh. Cause that's current.