FSTDT Forums
Community => Society and History => Topic started by: ironbite on October 12, 2015, 08:10:50 pm
-
Yeah so some douche nozzle decided that Millennials really aren't adults unless they take this bullshit pledge. And besides one or two points that I kinda agree with if you look at 'em a certain way, it's mostly garbage. TO THE LINKAGE!
Source: http://www.latimes.com/home/la-hm-erskine-20151010-column.html
And here's the pledge.
• I am entitled to nothing.
• I will show up on time.
• I will not shun comedians or college commencement speakers just because I don't agree with them.
• Just once, I will try driving without texting.
• Just once, I will try eating without texting.
• I will not consider the cilantro on my taco to be a vegetable.
• I will learn to laugh at everything, especially myself.
• When meeting someone for the first time, I will always look him or her in the eye.
• I will not burn bridges.
• I will not burn overpasses.
• Each year, I will pen at least one thank-you note, using what's left of my cursive writing skills.
• I will be resourceful, creative and authentic.
• I will vote. Always.
• I will (mostly) swear off smut.
• I will not be smut.
• I will learn all my siblings' names (even the younger ones).
• I will not spend an entire weekend exploring my own mouth with a coffee straw.
• I will learn to pick my battles.
• When I don't get my way, I will learn to roll with it.
• I will not go on a job interview in shorts and flip-flops, even if "this job is so beneath me."
• Nothing is beneath me.
I promise not to misuse the word "literally." As in "I am literally dying of hunger" or "You are literally being so rude."
• If my first-born is a boy, I promise not to name him Uber.
• When I finally move out of my parents' home, I will not take all their vodka and half their towels.
• I will not use crowd-funding to pay for my first car.
• If I can't afford car insurance, I won't spend $20 a day on coffee.
• I won't give only gift cards for Christmas.
• I won't sneak texts during funerals even if it's "totally boring and the dead guy is just lying there anyway."
• At holiday dinners, I will leave my phone in my room.
• All those T-shirts? I will wash them.
• I will not use pepper spray to season a burrito.
• I will not run up my credit cards.
• I will save 10% of everything I earn.
• If I hate my new job, I will not fake my own death. I will give a full two weeks' notice like grown-ups usually do.
• I will force myself to finally make a phone call.
• In high school or college, I will get a part-time job. Even if it's beneath me.
• Again, nothing is beneath me.
• Well, most things are not beneath me.
• I promise not to text anything of life-changing significance: a marriage proposal, a divorce decree, a positive result.
• When I get my way, I will be grateful and not assume that I will always get my way.
• I will always remember Aristotle's quote: "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."
• At least once a week, I will hug my mom the way I hug my friends every single time I see them.
• I will do nice things just because.
• I will live each day.
• I will sleep each night.
• I am entitled to nothing but that.
If you too take this pledge written by a 50 year old baby boomer with no sense of self, you too will be considered an adult by this douche. Predictably, this backfired massively in his face.
Ironbite-what a self-entitled asshole.
-
Ah, the classic bashing on our generation. Because we're the source of all problems within this society.
-
Yes, baby boomers, probably the most entitled generation in American history, bitching about millennials because we have to make due with none of the things they've taken for granted (respectable wages, heavily subsidized college, a decent economy).
Fuck him.
-
About half of it is decent advice. The other half is just silly.
-
Only if Baby Boomers take this pledge (http://comicsandnoir.com/2015/10/10/the-old-white-dude-pledge/). Baby Boomers are some of most over entitled whine babies in this country.
-
Only if Baby Boomers take this . Baby Boomers are some of most over entitled whine babies in this country.
(http://comicsandnoir.com/2015/10/10/the-old-white-dude-pledge/pledge[/url)
Can't read it, more than 140 characters, too busy texting!
-
(http://i.imgur.com/91sn32Q.jpg?fb)
-
His self-awareness is dangerously low! He needs some humble pie, stat!
-
Classic, idiotic, get-offa-my-lawn old fart douchery, yes, but not made by a Baby Boomer, because you have to be born no later than 1960 to squeak by as the youngest possible Baby Boomer. Like me. See how I just factually distanced myself from that old prick? XD
-
One the topic of what generation people belong to, I'm a hybrid Gen X/Millennial because my birth year(1982) overlaps both.
-
1979 I've been told I'm both Gen X and Gen Y which must be true as I like both EDM and Grunge.
-
1990, so I'm apparently either Gen Y or Millennial, depending on which definition you go by.
-
I am Generation...uh...Generation...Taco. I am Generation Taco. Because tacos rule.
-
About half of it is decent advice. The other half is just silly.
Same here. Some points are fine but others are stupid and some can be applied to boomers when they were kids. They gave us rock music, hippies and the sexual revolution, for crying out loud!
A quote....Boomer-fied!
• If my first-born is a boy, I promise not to name him Uber.
• If my first-born is a boy, I promise not to name him Dweezil/Starshine/MojoRisin'/Spock.
Okay, I know most weren't groovy hippies and yes, many did screw the next generation over.
Some of this guy's pledge is stupid......I'll comment on the stupid ones......
• I will not burn overpasses.
What does this mean?
• I will (mostly) swear off smut.
Cuz' sexy-stuff is evil! EVIIIILLLL!
• I will not be smut.
How can a person BE smut? Also, if you're responsible and use protection, sexual freedom is fine. We need "Ethical Sluts", not repressive prudes.
• I will learn all my siblings' names (even the younger ones).
Is this a thing? How can you forget your sibling's names? Parents forget their kid's names all the time!
• I will not spend an entire weekend exploring my own mouth with a coffee straw.
What is this?! If he means chewing a coffee straw, people have been chewing toothpicks for centuries!
• I won't give only gift cards for Christmas.
Scuse me? Some people aren't multi-gazillionares and some have a hard time figuring out what to get certain people. When grandma got you that butt-ugly sweater, wouldn't you wish she got you a card, instead? Look, I get it; There's nothing more magical than ripping open wrapping paper....but this is nit-picking!
• I will not use pepper spray to season a burrito.
Goofing around on YouTube or being a FAUX Noise anchorwoman is not being a millennial!
• If I hate my new job, I will not fake my own death. I will give a full two weeks' notice like grown-ups usually do.
One or two people being crazy is not a world-wide hip new youth trend!
Some of these are complaining about weird behavior and assuming all kids are doing it.
-
Barb, you basically summed up every "this latest generation is FUCKED, I say!" rant any crotchety old fucker has had ever.
-
• Each year, I will pen at least one thank-you note, using what's left of my cursive writing skills.
Yes, those cursive writing skills... literally the most useless skill to have in today's modern, computerized society. Shall I then practice my horse-riding skills and learn how to properly use the whip to drive my buggy? Or shall I then perhaps practice with my abacus and my typewriter? Or hell, why not get to work fine-tuning my ability with a matchlock?
-
Barb, you basically summed up every "this latest generation is FUCKED, I say!" rant any crotchety old fucker has had ever.
Eeyup! Every generation has good and bad and often the annoying stuff transcends generations.
I see no hope for the future of our people if they are dependent on
the frivolous youth of today, for certainly all youth are reckless
beyond words.
When I was a boy, we were taught to be discrete and respectful of
elders, but the present youth are exceedingly wise and impatient of
restraint.
--- Hesiod, Eighth Century B.C.
• Each year, I will pen at least one thank-you note, using what's left of my cursive writing skills.
Yes, those cursive writing skills... literally the most useless skill to have in today's modern, computerized society. Shall I then practice my horse-riding skills and learn how to properly use the whip to drive my buggy? Or shall I then perhaps practice with my abacus and my typewriter? Or hell, why not get to work fine-tuning my ability with a matchlock?
Yeah. Cursive IMHO is only good for signatures (they're like fingerprints). Plus, I get writer's cramp. I prefer writing by printing, drafter's-style.
-
Hell in a few years the signature thing might be obsolete too since things like biometrics and facial recognition are becoming a thing.
-
The ultimate irony is that cursive is essentially born out of laziness. The whole point of it is to not have to take your pen off the paper for every single letter, so you can write much faster once you build up the muscle memory.
-
Barb, you basically summed up every "this latest generation is FUCKED, I say!" rant any crotchety old fucker has had ever.
Eeyup! Every generation has good and bad and often the annoying stuff transcends generations.
I see no hope for the future of our people if they are dependent on
the frivolous youth of today, for certainly all youth are reckless
beyond words.
When I was a boy, we were taught to be discrete and respectful of
elders, but the present youth are exceedingly wise and impatient of
restraint.
--- Hesiod, Eighth Century B.C.
• Each year, I will pen at least one thank-you note, using what's left of my cursive writing skills.
Yes, those cursive writing skills... literally the most useless skill to have in today's modern, computerized society. Shall I then practice my horse-riding skills and learn how to properly use the whip to drive my buggy? Or shall I then perhaps practice with my abacus and my typewriter? Or hell, why not get to work fine-tuning my ability with a matchlock?
Yeah. Cursive IMHO is only good for signatures (they're like fingerprints). Plus, I get writer's cramp. I prefer writing by printing, drafter's-style.
That Hesiod quote isn't even the oldest one. There's a friggin Sumerian tablet that has those complaints. "Kids these days" seems to be a universal human issue.
-
Barb, you basically summed up every "this latest generation is FUCKED, I say!" rant any crotchety old fucker has had ever.
Eeyup! Every generation has good and bad and often the annoying stuff transcends generations.
I see no hope for the future of our people if they are dependent on
the frivolous youth of today, for certainly all youth are reckless
beyond words.
When I was a boy, we were taught to be discrete and respectful of
elders, but the present youth are exceedingly wise and impatient of
restraint.
--- Hesiod, Eighth Century B.C.
• Each year, I will pen at least one thank-you note, using what's left of my cursive writing skills.
Yes, those cursive writing skills... literally the most useless skill to have in today's modern, computerized society. Shall I then practice my horse-riding skills and learn how to properly use the whip to drive my buggy? Or shall I then perhaps practice with my abacus and my typewriter? Or hell, why not get to work fine-tuning my ability with a matchlock?
Yeah. Cursive IMHO is only good for signatures (they're like fingerprints). Plus, I get writer's cramp. I prefer writing by printing, drafter's-style.
That Hesiod quote isn't even the oldest one. There's a friggin Sumerian tablet that has those complaints. "Kids these days" seems to be a universal human issue.
I was going to mention that tablet at first but I read that it might have been spurious.
-
So pretty much a long list of ways for the grumpy old man living by himself to tell "those blasted kids" to "get offa mah lawn!"
-
• I am entitled to nothing.
Actually, I am entitled to my rights. I am also entitled to the pursuit of happiness, which, incidentally, happens to involve wanting to make an actual living so I can actually contribute to the economy and stand on my own feet, which would be a hell of a lot easy had baby boomers not wrecked the economy and made it next to impossible to find a full-time job without at least two years of experience in any given field.
• I will show up on time.
While I can't say I've never been late to work, I would wager that I have a better attendance record than most.
• I will not shun comedians or college commencement speakers just because I don't agree with them.
Actually, it is my right to "shun" whoever I damn well please, but we both know you're not actually talking about "shunning" people we don't agree with. You're trying, and failing, to call us out for criticizing people and ideas we dislike.
• Just once, I will try driving without texting.
Hahaha. Never have, never will. Great stereotyping, jackass.
• Just once, I will try eating without texting.
Why the fuck do you care what I do with my phone when I'm eating? I'm not hurting anyone by using my phone. Since I eat most of my meals alone, anyway, what would you rather I do? Eat in silence like a machine?
• I will not consider the cilantro on my taco to be a vegetable.
Cilantro is fucking gross, but regardless, my eating habits are none of your fucking business.
• I will learn to laugh at everything, especially myself.
This appears to be calling millenials easily offended. Yeah, sorry, I don't find being a douchebag to be funny. Doesn't mean I don't have a sense of humor, it means I have standards.
• When meeting someone for the first time, I will always look him or her in the eye.
Wow, you're a condescending prick.
• I will not burn bridges.
Yeah, if you've been abused as an employee for 9 months, I don't think it's you that burns the bridge.
• I will not burn overpasses.
See, I don't find this funny, not due to a lack of a sense of humor, but rather because this isn't funny.
• Each year, I will pen at least one thank-you note, using what's left of my cursive writing skills.
Cursive is an outdated, pointless skill to have considering that 90% of writing is done on a keyboard, so no, I will not because there is literally no reason to.
• I will be resourceful, creative and authentic.
Without context, this means absolutely nothing.
• I will vote. Always.
Voting is important, but a refusal to vote isn't necessarily out of laziness. What about people working multiple jobs and literally don't have the time to go out to vote? What about people who abstain from voting because they object to all of the candidates?
• I will (mostly) swear off smut.
• I will not be smut.
What the fuck does this have to do with anything?
• I will learn all my siblings' names (even the younger ones).
This is not a real issue. This is just you being a condescending prick.
• I will not spend an entire weekend exploring my own mouth with a coffee straw.
Where the fuck did you find this stereotype?
• I will learn to pick my battles.
Yes, how dare I stand up for what I believe in.
• When I don't get my way, I will learn to roll with it.
Ah, yes, the stereotype that we throw tantrums at everything. Calling out injustice isn't throwing a tantrum, asshole.
• I will not go on a job interview in shorts and flip-flops, even if "this job is so beneath me."
• Nothing is beneath me.
No, nothing is “beneath me,” but there are things I am not suited for. If a job causes me serious anxiety to the point where I am literally incapable for being professional at that job, it doesn't mean that it's beneath me, it means that I am a bad fit for the job. Furthermore, it is not treating a job as “beneath me” if I expect to be treated as a human fucking being and not a robot.
• When I finally move out of my parents' home, I will not take all their vodka and half their towels.
Yes, because it makes so much sense to leave everything behind and spend money on necessities like towels when moving out is FUCKING EXPENSIVE and minimizing expenses is a good idea.
As for the vodka: Yeah, fair point there, but it doesn't change how condescending you are.
• I promise not to misuse the word "literally." As in "I am literally dying of hunger" or "You are literally being so rude."
Hate to break it to you, but words change over time. As much as I hate how people use “literally” to exaggerate, it doesn't change the fact that that misuse is the result of evolving language.
• If my first-born is a boy, I promise not to name him Uber.
Anyone got an explanation for this one?
• When I finally move out of my parents' home, I will not take all their vodka and half their towels.
And to show how unprofessional this article is, here's a literal (hey look, I DO know what that word means) repeat.
• I will not use crowd-funding to pay for my first car.
Bought every car I've owned out of pocket. As for why I've never financed a car like you want me to, that's a matter of:
1) I can't afford it.
2) Even if I could, I don't have credit and I don't make enough money to establish credit.
• If I can't afford car insurance, I won't spend $20 a day on coffee.
If I can't afford car insurance, it's because I can't get out of the dead end job that I'm stuck working because I can't get a decent job without experience and I can't get experience without a decent job
• I won't give only gift cards for Christmas.
Gift cards may be impersonal, but at the same time, I spent 15 years living halfway across the country from my family. I wish I had a closer relationship with my nephews and knew what to get them for Christmas. Gift cards at least show that I acknowledge their existence.
• I won't sneak texts during funerals even if it's "totally boring and the dead guy is just lying there anyway."
Wow, fuck you, you condescending prick.
• At holiday dinners, I will leave my phone in my room.
Again, fuck you, you condescending prick.
• All those T-shirts? I will wash them.
Laundry at my old apartment cost me up to $10 a week. When I was making $600 a month. You ever been so fucking poor that you literally can't afford laundry and have to take your laundry to your parents' house or you have to skip meals? Yeah, didn't think so.
• I will not use pepper spray to season a burrito.
My eating habits are none of your fucking business.
• I will not run up my credit cards.
You mean the credit cards I can't get because I don't have credit and can't get credit because I don't make enough money?
• I will save 10% of everything I earn.
And if I have to choose between paying rent and saving money? Or if I make such shitty money that 10% is less than $50?
• If I hate my new job, I will not fake my own death. I will give a full two weeks' notice like grown-ups usually do.
• I will force myself to finally make a phone call.
How I communicate with others is none of your fucking business.
• In high school or college, I will get a part-time job. Even if it's beneath me.
To the generation that probably has the highest rate of college students doing part time or full time work.
• Again, nothing is beneath me.
Repeating it doesn't make theis stereotype any less bullshit.
• Well, most things are not beneath me.
Hypocrite.
• I promise not to text anything of life-changing significance: a marriage proposal, a divorce decree, a positive result.
How I communicate with others is none of your goddamn business.
• When I get my way, I will be grateful and not assume that I will always get my way.
I have no words to describe how fucking stupid this statement is.
• I will always remember Aristotle's quote: "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."
To what is probably the most open-minded generation.
• At least once a week, I will hug my mom the way I hug my friends every single time I see them.
How I conduct myself is none of your fucking business.
• I will do nice things just because.
Coming from the guy saying that we shouldn't criticize assholes.
• I will live each day.
Oh look, a meaningless statement of making the most out of life.
• I will sleep each night.
You've clearly never had stress induced insomnia.
• I am entitled to nothing but that.
I am entitled to my rights as a human being. I am also entitled to the pursuit of happiness, which happens to include wanting a job that treats me like a human being and can make fucking living.
In short, this has practically no good advice and what little good advice it has is delivered in an extremely condescending way that it undermines any legitimate point he might have had.
-
Can we make the texting and driving one apply also to adults?
-
• I will not use pepper spray to season a burrito.
one of these things is not like the others. either i lack context, or someone took my idea for a prank litterally.
-
I just figured he said that to be Tongue-in-cheek that or a really dumb Chemistry joke since pepper spray and hot sauce have the same chemical, capsicum to make them hot.
-
I just figured he said that to be Tongue-in-cheek that or a really dumb Chemistry joke since pepper spray and hot sauce have the same chemical, capsicum to make them hot.
yeah, thus my prank idea, although i'm not sure pepper spray is meant to be ingested (on purpose, at least). i've personally never been sprayed, although a friend of mine swears by the stuff to get rid of sinusitis. when i asked why, he simply said that japan calls on godzilla to get rid of monsters.
-
Cant that stuff make you bleed out your sinus?
-
Cant that stuff make you bleed out your sinus?
sorry, i had a derp. my friend got tear-gassed twice, not maced. for a minute i thought it was the same thing. close enough, chemically, but the method differs, and the quantity differs substantially.
-
Why do I get the feeling this was written by some Berkeley hippie who went there on Dad and Mom's dime? By someone who "turned on, tuned in, and dropped off". By someone who examplified the Me Generation. I'll bet that people tried to put him down just because he got around.
-
Filthy hippie turned old asswipe? I can see it happening.
-
Filthy hippie turned old asswipe? I can see it happening.
Shame really. Noting gets me down than a young idealistic rebel becoming the thing they hate.
That said, I think some kids became hippies out of simple youthful rebellion rather than a genuine sociology-political-idealogical-humanistic conviction. I'd imaging it was mostly them who became the bitter fogies, yuppies & wingnut politicians. The others who were genuine probably just toned it down as they got older, became more moderate or more mainstream while still retaining the spirit.
-
Hippie turned asswipe seems to be the case more often than not.
Also if it's anything that annoys me about the Baby Boomers is that they got the nice things from the gov't but they decided to piss it away by voting in favor of privatization, and they get pissed at us for daring to complain and actually wanting some social democracy like they enjoyed in their youth.
That being said, I'm hoping I keep up the tend of being liberal most of my life, I seem to have got more liberal than I was when I was 18. I've told friends I want them to beat the shit out of me if I ever go conservative. I've seen sane family members go borderline wingnut, and it's not pretty.
-
Hippie turned asswipe seems to be the case more often than not.
Also if it's anything that annoys me about the Baby Boomers is that they got the nice things from the gov't but they decided to piss it away by voting in favor of privatization, and they get pissed at us for daring to complain and actually wanting some social democracy like they enjoyed in their youth.
That being said, I'm hoping I keep up the tend of being liberal most of my life, I seem to have got more liberal than I was when I was 18. I've told friends I want them to beat the shit out of me if I ever go conservative. I've seen sane family members go borderline wingnut, and it's not pretty.
Reminds me a bit of this cartoon:
(http://i2.wp.com/leftycartoons.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2012/02/see-sue-run1.png)
-
Filthy hippie turned old asswipe? I can see it happening.
Shame really. Noting gets me down than a young idealistic rebel becoming the thing they hate.
That said, I think some kids became hippies out of simple youthful rebellion rather than a genuine sociology-political-idealogical-humanistic conviction. I'd imaging it was mostly them who became the bitter fogies, yuppies & wingnut politicians. The others who were genuine probably just toned it down as they got older, became more moderate or more mainstream while still retaining the spirit.
frankly, most people i see who call themselves hippies or alter-globalists (hugely popular in liberal french universities) do it because it's a fad. "spirit of may '68" and all that. i've never been part of the movement because they're parroting decade-old ideals that simply do not work (ie, true communism due to the fact that humans are generally more selfish than altruist) or are unsustainable right now (like going green and shutting down nuclear plants).
in theory, it's cool. i mean, who wouldn't want a world that's attuned to nature and everyone loves everyone else? but in practice, most of those neo-hippies are in it for the ganja and the patchouli. spouting pipe-dreams like truths set in stone. they decredibilize their own movement by their own hypocrisy: buying brands that made their image on the principle of "fuck the system".
they wear garish colors and multicultural clothing to set themselves apart from the everyman. "jeans are a product of child-labor!" yeah, but so's that sirwal you're wearing. that hash you're smoking? not grown locally, you're giving your money to drug lords. eating organic? cute. your bananas imported from brazil have a bigger carbon footprint than this apple that grew in yonder orchard. voting for the alter-globalist candidate in the next election? what's the point? every sunday he's out with the rest of the political class sharing a table at the fouquet's. jean-luc mélenchon and marine le pen are buddies outside the political arena. you want the change that your elders didn't manage to get? then change your tactics.
the only hippies i know are old-school hippies that either gamed the system and now live in autarcy somewhere in aveyron (once they saved up to buy a plot of fertile land) or conformed the least amount possible to still live a happy life. they live happily, but they know that you can't win on a large scale. they reduce the scale of victory and enjoy life to the fullest in accordance to their principles.
the neo-hippies, once they leave the university conform to their arch-enemy: "it's the society, man!"
last time i had the displeasure of talking to one, they called me a fascist for not playing to their rules. nevermind that that's not what fascism means, i threw a logic-bomb their way. they're white, and western european purebreds. they have dreadlocks, sandals, sirwals, patchouli, hindu jewelry, and smoke hash. if that's not cultural appropriation, i don't know what is. i got called names for that one.
to be clear. i have no beef with tokers or with hippies. hell, most of my friends are the former, and their parents are the latter. i have a beef with a kid that's middle-upper-class trying to pass off as if they're working class neo-hippies just doing it to get girls and an excuse to hit a blunt. that's not what being a hippy is about. they're posers decredibilizing an already ailing community. and don't even get me started on how patronizing they sound "you're just a sheep", they say. "you've never been downtrodden". "you're too priviledged." as if leading a cruddy life was a sign of sainthood, they parrot ideals like holy gospel, failing to understand, nay, analyze exactly what they're saying. they see their world in a binary, black-or-white way. i live in the shades of grey. i've got my principles, i live hurting the planet the least amount possible, and i game the system as much as possible without hurting others.
... goddammit, they turned me into a bitter hippy.
-
Filthy hippie turned old asswipe? I can see it happening.
Shame really. Noting gets me down than a young idealistic rebel becoming the thing they hate.
That said, I think some kids became hippies out of simple youthful rebellion rather than a genuine sociology-political-idealogical-humanistic conviction. I'd imaging it was mostly them who became the bitter fogies, yuppies & wingnut politicians. The others who were genuine probably just toned it down as they got older, became more moderate or more mainstream while still retaining the spirit.
frankly, most people i see who call themselves hippies or alter-globalists (hugely popular in liberal french universities) do it because it's a fad. "spirit of may '68" and all that. i've never been part of the movement because they're parroting decade-old ideals that simply do not work (ie, true communism due to the fact that humans are generally more selfish than altruist) or are unsustainable right now (like going green and shutting down nuclear plants).
in theory, it's cool. i mean, who wouldn't want a world that's attuned to nature and everyone loves everyone else? but in practice, most of those neo-hippies are in it for the ganja and the patchouli. spouting pipe-dreams like truths set in stone. they decredibilize their own movement by their own hypocrisy: buying brands that made their image on the principle of "fuck the system".
they wear garish colors and multicultural clothing to set themselves apart from the everyman. "jeans are a product of child-labor!" yeah, but so's that sirwal you're wearing. that hash you're smoking? not grown locally, you're giving your money to drug lords. eating organic? cute. your bananas imported from brazil have a bigger carbon footprint than this apple that grew in yonder orchard. voting for the alter-globalist candidate in the next election? what's the point? every sunday he's out with the rest of the political class sharing a table at the fouquet's. jean-luc mélenchon and marine le pen are buddies outside the political arena. you want the change that your elders didn't manage to get? then change your tactics.
the only hippies i know are old-school hippies that either gamed the system and now live in autarcy somewhere in aveyron (once they saved up to buy a plot of fertile land) or conformed the least amount possible to still live a happy life. they live happily, but they know that you can't win on a large scale. they reduce the scale of victory and enjoy life to the fullest in accordance to their principles.
the neo-hippies, once they leave the university conform to their arch-enemy: "it's the society, man!"
last time i had the displeasure of talking to one, they called me a fascist for not playing to their rules. nevermind that that's not what fascism means, i threw a logic-bomb their way. they're white, and western european purebreds. they have dreadlocks, sandals, sirwals, patchouli, hindu jewelry, and smoke hash. if that's not cultural appropriation, i don't know what is. i got called names for that one.
to be clear. i have no beef with tokers or with hippies. hell, most of my friends are the former, and their parents are the latter. i have a beef with a kid that's middle-upper-class trying to pass off as if they're working class neo-hippies just doing it to get girls and an excuse to hit a blunt. that's not what being a hippy is about. they're posers decredibilizing an already ailing community. and don't even get me started on how patronizing they sound "you're just a sheep", they say. "you've never been downtrodden". "you're too priviledged." as if leading a cruddy life was a sign of sainthood, they parrot ideals like holy gospel, failing to understand, nay, analyze exactly what they're saying. they see their world in a binary, black-or-white way. i live in the shades of grey. i've got my principles, i live hurting the planet the least amount possible, and i game the system as much as possible without hurting others.
... goddammit, they turned me into a bitter hippy.
I get what you're saying. Truer words were never spoken.
I love Flowerpower but I agree that some stuff is pie in the sky for the moment and you have to take baby-steps to change humanity. You have to be pragmatic and find a balance.
The problem with the Flowerkids was that they want their utopia NOW NOW NOW and they don't understand that it would take many years of gradual change to achieve their world.
It's better to adapt your ideals to what's possible, now. Change what CAN be changed now and be realistic. If you're TOO idealistic, you're setting yourself up for a big bummer.
That's why I'm a Realist-Idealist. I know there's limits. I know you can't always get what you want and that much of humanity is more "chimp" than "bonobo". I'm of the attitude of "Humanity Is Flawed" and that both the Humanist & Misanthrope/Rousseau & Hobbes can be correct in their own way. Every human is capable of being the highest of the animals or the lowest of the animals. Most humans are mostly decent but we're a mixed bag.
However, I feel that humanity has the potential to be the Bonobo/Rousseau/Humanist person. We can subdue our more malevolent aspects if we try.
I'm all for green energy and reduce/reuse/recycle. I also think buying second-hand & DIY is a good idea. You really shouldn't knock that.
However, I know that some things are unavoidable. You still need a job and you still have to deal with the real world.
-
Filthy hippie turned old asswipe? I can see it happening.
Shame really. Noting gets me down than a young idealistic rebel becoming the thing they hate.
That said, I think some kids became hippies out of simple youthful rebellion rather than a genuine sociology-political-idealogical-humanistic conviction. I'd imaging it was mostly them who became the bitter fogies, yuppies & wingnut politicians. The others who were genuine probably just toned it down as they got older, became more moderate or more mainstream while still retaining the spirit.
frankly, most people i see who call themselves hippies or alter-globalists (hugely popular in liberal french universities) do it because it's a fad. "spirit of may '68" and all that. i've never been part of the movement because they're parroting decade-old ideals that simply do not work (ie, true communism due to the fact that humans are generally more selfish than altruist) or are unsustainable right now (like going green and shutting down nuclear plants).
in theory, it's cool. i mean, who wouldn't want a world that's attuned to nature and everyone loves everyone else? but in practice, most of those neo-hippies are in it for the ganja and the patchouli. spouting pipe-dreams like truths set in stone. they decredibilize their own movement by their own hypocrisy: buying brands that made their image on the principle of "fuck the system".
they wear garish colors and multicultural clothing to set themselves apart from the everyman. "jeans are a product of child-labor!" yeah, but so's that sirwal you're wearing. that hash you're smoking? not grown locally, you're giving your money to drug lords. eating organic? cute. your bananas imported from brazil have a bigger carbon footprint than this apple that grew in yonder orchard. voting for the alter-globalist candidate in the next election? what's the point? every sunday he's out with the rest of the political class sharing a table at the fouquet's. jean-luc mélenchon and marine le pen are buddies outside the political arena. you want the change that your elders didn't manage to get? then change your tactics.
the only hippies i know are old-school hippies that either gamed the system and now live in autarcy somewhere in aveyron (once they saved up to buy a plot of fertile land) or conformed the least amount possible to still live a happy life. they live happily, but they know that you can't win on a large scale. they reduce the scale of victory and enjoy life to the fullest in accordance to their principles.
the neo-hippies, once they leave the university conform to their arch-enemy: "it's the society, man!"
last time i had the displeasure of talking to one, they called me a fascist for not playing to their rules. nevermind that that's not what fascism means, i threw a logic-bomb their way. they're white, and western european purebreds. they have dreadlocks, sandals, sirwals, patchouli, hindu jewelry, and smoke hash. if that's not cultural appropriation, i don't know what is. i got called names for that one.
to be clear. i have no beef with tokers or with hippies. hell, most of my friends are the former, and their parents are the latter. i have a beef with a kid that's middle-upper-class trying to pass off as if they're working class neo-hippies just doing it to get girls and an excuse to hit a blunt. that's not what being a hippy is about. they're posers decredibilizing an already ailing community. and don't even get me started on how patronizing they sound "you're just a sheep", they say. "you've never been downtrodden". "you're too priviledged." as if leading a cruddy life was a sign of sainthood, they parrot ideals like holy gospel, failing to understand, nay, analyze exactly what they're saying. they see their world in a binary, black-or-white way. i live in the shades of grey. i've got my principles, i live hurting the planet the least amount possible, and i game the system as much as possible without hurting others.
... goddammit, they turned me into a bitter hippy.
I get what you're saying. Truer words were never spoken.
I love Flowerpower but I agree that some stuff is pie in the sky for the moment and you have to take baby-steps to change humanity. You have to be pragmatic and find a balance.
The problem with the Flowerkids was that they want their utopia NOW NOW NOW and they don't understand that it would take many years of gradual change to achieve their world.
It's better to adapt your ideals to what's possible, now. Change what CAN be changed now and be realistic. If you're TOO idealistic, you're setting yourself up for a big bummer.
That's why I'm a Realist-Idealist. I know there's limits. I know you can't always get what you want and that much of humanity is more "chimp" than "bonobo". I'm of the attitude of "Humanity Is Flawed" and that both the Humanist & Misanthrope/Rousseau & Hobbes can be correct in their own way. Every human is capable of being the highest of the animals or the lowest of the animals. Most humans are mostly decent but we're a mixed bag.
However, I feel that humanity has the potential to be the Bonobo/Rousseau/Humanist person. We can subdue our more malevolent aspects if we try.
I'm all for green energy and reduce/reuse/recycle. I also think buying second-hand & DIY is a good idea. You really shouldn't knock that.
However, I know that some things are unavoidable. You still need a job and you still have to deal with the real world.
i'm pretty cynical and overly critical of myself first (and others if they make a big enough mess). you have to see progress as evolution: trial and error leading to something better. when you see humanity as "harmful unless proven otherwise", things get grim. but i can't help myself. we should all strive to be better, and i do my part in my life before doing something bigger, but let's face it. that would require a conscious effort and most people are lazy.
i'm for green energy and recycling, i'm too poor to buy most things brand-new, and i'm pretty crafty with my hands. i'm not knocking by a long shot. however, look at the current "green vs nuclear" debate. on the one hand, you've got a power generated that is equal to x (due to nuclear plants). it's barely enough to sustain the country. green energy accounts for a fraction of that. you need to build aeolians and dams and solar panels to make up for that missing amount of energy. alter-globalists claim "no nuclear, right now!". if that happens, you're dooming your country to lack power. that's what happened in germany, where the green lobby managed to get the plants shutdown waaaaaaaaaaay too quickly. now, the germans are either buying power from france and scandinavia or coal from the uk. yes, that's crazy. what should be done before going green is to make sure you've got the infrastructure to make up for the lost power generation.
bretagne is very windy, and we've got the tech to make offshore windfarms. the french green party (of "stop the plants right now" mentality) torpedoed the idea because "it's ugly, and we want a pretty coast". i'm sadly not making this up. dams are hard to pull off, and solar panels are still in their infancy (plus are dependant on latitude and weather). as of right now, we could not go green even if we wanted to. we don't have the infrastructure (and lobbyists torpedo projects based on aesthetics).
recycling works fine, and the french are better at it than most, having the infrastructure to facilitate it (whaddaya mean we stole it from the germans? never!) most plastics in france are recycled, so's paper, and that's good. the problem with buying second-hand in france is that most big-city shops are "vintage" styled shops for the hipster crowd, so things can get crazy-pricey quick. i buy my gear at military surplus stores or a few thrift stores, sewing it back together on occasion. i'm just happy that my medical fees are pretty much nonexistant due to healthcare, else it would sink me. i've got about a hundred to a hundred fifty euros worth of treatment and counselling and appointments a month. it costs me eight euros.
like i said, you game the system as much as your morals allow you to in accordance to your beliefs. i try and make the least splash possible while doing the most i can. but i work alone, i don't want anybody else following me out of anything but a sense of duty. if i grow old, i'll be that recluse living in the woods playing the blues, in the valley next door to the hippies. growing my food, and sharing my table with hikers and friends in exchange for good times.
-
Filthy hippie turned old asswipe? I can see it happening.
Shame really. Noting gets me down than a young idealistic rebel becoming the thing they hate.
That said, I think some kids became hippies out of simple youthful rebellion rather than a genuine sociology-political-idealogical-humanistic conviction. I'd imaging it was mostly them who became the bitter fogies, yuppies & wingnut politicians. The others who were genuine probably just toned it down as they got older, became more moderate or more mainstream while still retaining the spirit.
frankly, most people i see who call themselves hippies or alter-globalists (hugely popular in liberal french universities) do it because it's a fad. "spirit of may '68" and all that. i've never been part of the movement because they're parroting decade-old ideals that simply do not work (ie, true communism due to the fact that humans are generally more selfish than altruist) or are unsustainable right now (like going green and shutting down nuclear plants).
in theory, it's cool. i mean, who wouldn't want a world that's attuned to nature and everyone loves everyone else? but in practice, most of those neo-hippies are in it for the ganja and the patchouli. spouting pipe-dreams like truths set in stone. they decredibilize their own movement by their own hypocrisy: buying brands that made their image on the principle of "fuck the system".
they wear garish colors and multicultural clothing to set themselves apart from the everyman. "jeans are a product of child-labor!" yeah, but so's that sirwal you're wearing. that hash you're smoking? not grown locally, you're giving your money to drug lords. eating organic? cute. your bananas imported from brazil have a bigger carbon footprint than this apple that grew in yonder orchard. voting for the alter-globalist candidate in the next election? what's the point? every sunday he's out with the rest of the political class sharing a table at the fouquet's. jean-luc mélenchon and marine le pen are buddies outside the political arena. you want the change that your elders didn't manage to get? then change your tactics.
the only hippies i know are old-school hippies that either gamed the system and now live in autarcy somewhere in aveyron (once they saved up to buy a plot of fertile land) or conformed the least amount possible to still live a happy life. they live happily, but they know that you can't win on a large scale. they reduce the scale of victory and enjoy life to the fullest in accordance to their principles.
the neo-hippies, once they leave the university conform to their arch-enemy: "it's the society, man!"
last time i had the displeasure of talking to one, they called me a fascist for not playing to their rules. nevermind that that's not what fascism means, i threw a logic-bomb their way. they're white, and western european purebreds. they have dreadlocks, sandals, sirwals, patchouli, hindu jewelry, and smoke hash. if that's not cultural appropriation, i don't know what is. i got called names for that one.
to be clear. i have no beef with tokers or with hippies. hell, most of my friends are the former, and their parents are the latter. i have a beef with a kid that's middle-upper-class trying to pass off as if they're working class neo-hippies just doing it to get girls and an excuse to hit a blunt. that's not what being a hippy is about. they're posers decredibilizing an already ailing community. and don't even get me started on how patronizing they sound "you're just a sheep", they say. "you've never been downtrodden". "you're too priviledged." as if leading a cruddy life was a sign of sainthood, they parrot ideals like holy gospel, failing to understand, nay, analyze exactly what they're saying. they see their world in a binary, black-or-white way. i live in the shades of grey. i've got my principles, i live hurting the planet the least amount possible, and i game the system as much as possible without hurting others.
... goddammit, they turned me into a bitter hippy.
Phil Ochs wrote a song about that kind of person
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=u52Oz-54VYw
-
Thing is, though...nuclear plants are likely a hell of a lot greener than most of the shit we use, since most of the other garbage is either coal, petrol, or natural gas. The big problem is that hippies actually managed to effect change and scare people, important people, into believing that every nuclear reactor is just one big Chernobyl waiting for one spilled coffee to annihilate a city, which has been bullshit for at least as long as I've been alive. Nuclear reactors are pretty fucking safe, look at Fukushima Daiichi. Yeah, it was still pretty serious, but nowhere NEAR as devastating as it could've been, because the reactor was built properly. Besides, fast breeder reactors can help increase the lifetime of fuel, decreasing the amount of spent fuel we have to bury until fusion comes along. Nuclear power would have been the future, and it likely would've been a near-death blow for the big oil fucks currently screwing us over, but the hippies heard a few bits of scaremongering bullshit and, suddenly, the power of the future is now this terrible, evil thing we must avoid at all costs. Sorry, but I'll take a higher-power, well-built nuke plant over a dozen smog-belching shit factories any day. Fuck coal, go nuclear. Again, at least until we can lick the problems we're having with fusion power. Then, fuck coal, go fusion.
-
Thing is, though...nuclear plants are likely a hell of a lot greener than most of the shit we use, since most of the other garbage is either coal, petrol, or natural gas. The big problem is that hippies actually managed to effect change and scare people, important people, into believing that every nuclear reactor is just one big Chernobyl waiting for one spilled coffee to annihilate a city, which has been bullshit for at least as long as I've been alive. Nuclear reactors are pretty fucking safe, look at Fukushima Daiichi. Yeah, it was still pretty serious, but nowhere NEAR as devastating as it could've been, because the reactor was built properly. Besides, fast breeder reactors can help increase the lifetime of fuel, decreasing the amount of spent fuel we have to bury until fusion comes along. Nuclear power would have been the future, and it likely would've been a near-death blow for the big oil fucks currently screwing us over, but the hippies heard a few bits of scaremongering bullshit and, suddenly, the power of the future is now this terrible, evil thing we must avoid at all costs. Sorry, but I'll take a higher-power, well-built nuke plant over a dozen smog-belching shit factories any day. Fuck coal, go nuclear. Again, at least until we can lick the problems we're having with fusion power. Then, fuck coal, go fusion.
If you can, go hydro.
Also, completely-not-at-all-cost-effective idea I'm shamelessly ripping off of David Weber: shoot the depleted fuel into the sun.
-
Thing is, though...nuclear plants are likely a hell of a lot greener than most of the shit we use, since most of the other garbage is either coal, petrol, or natural gas. The big problem is that hippies actually managed to effect change and scare people, important people, into believing that every nuclear reactor is just one big Chernobyl waiting for one spilled coffee to annihilate a city, which has been bullshit for at least as long as I've been alive. Nuclear reactors are pretty fucking safe, look at Fukushima Daiichi. Yeah, it was still pretty serious, but nowhere NEAR as devastating as it could've been, because the reactor was built properly. Besides, fast breeder reactors can help increase the lifetime of fuel, decreasing the amount of spent fuel we have to bury until fusion comes along. Nuclear power would have been the future, and it likely would've been a near-death blow for the big oil fucks currently screwing us over, but the hippies heard a few bits of scaremongering bullshit and, suddenly, the power of the future is now this terrible, evil thing we must avoid at all costs. Sorry, but I'll take a higher-power, well-built nuke plant over a dozen smog-belching shit factories any day. Fuck coal, go nuclear. Again, at least until we can lick the problems we're having with fusion power. Then, fuck coal, go fusion.
If you can, go hydro.
Also, completely-not-at-all-cost-effective idea I'm shamelessly ripping off of David Weber: shoot the depleted fuel into the sun.
Or better yet, solar heat. Just plonk it down somewhere sunny and rake in the power. No need to dam a major river and fuck up the local environment (albeit temporarily).
-
Damning rivers is a problem and can damage the ecosystem. Salmon's for example have trouble going up river past a damn even though these days companies build bypasses for them.
-
Damning rivers is a problem and can damage the ecosystem. Salmon's for example have trouble going up river past a damn even though these days companies build bypasses for them.
Sure, hydro's not perfect, but I personally think it's better than coal, at least.
-
Damning rivers is a problem and can damage the ecosystem. Salmon's for example have trouble going up river past a damn even though these days companies build bypasses for them.
Sure, hydro's not perfect, but I personally think it's better than coal, at least.
Almost anything is better than coal.
Solar power has been getting much better than what was assumed and we are reaching the power levels that were thought to be achieved only 15 years from now. The only thing holding back solar power is the lack of desire to make more solar generators.
Wind turbines are also decent. The main problems are:
a) NIMBY problem where people don't want them anywhere nearby because they are "ugly"
b) Danger to wildlife
c) Possible health concerns (which might be just paranoia)
d) Wind turbines are expensive and at least the older ones have to be retired pretty soon after they've paid back the investment. But my info is 10 years old so things may have changed by now.
Coastal tide and wave generators are nice though and I still love the Finnish design that also works as an artificial reef for the fish.
-
c) Possible health concerns (which might be just paranoia)
that reminds me about a family i talked to in my university, claiming they were electrosensitive and had to move away from an electrical transformer because it hurt them. apparently, electrosensitivity is a sensitivity to magnetic fields and electrical fields. turns out that during our talk, we were never less than fifty feet from a wifi box, and we were standing under a power line. i just wrote it up to another "technology is harmful" woo, without going into luddism.
sure, big electrical fields can fuck you six ways to sunday, but latent fields like they were hurting them can't. it's like people who say microwaves will give you cancer. no, they can't. good ones are built to avoid that. were they talking about emp's or tesla coils, sure, i'd get it. but wifi routers cannot do anything more to you than a hot cup of coffee can.
also, rayvy, you're right. that's why i'm pro-nuclear, at least until we can fix the kinks in green energy. dams cost at the minimum five billion euros and take years to build. askold pointed out better than i did the "problems" of wind turbines. and once again, solar plants are dependant on the climate. we've got a ways to go, but perhaps in twenty years we might be getting there.
-
With certain metamaterials, we're reaching a point where solar will be exceptionally efficient, but such materials are either experimental or prohibitively expensive. However, I think more money needs to be put into the ultimate endpoint (for now), fusion. We've got a lot of designs, and some of them like the ST25 tokamak in the UK, ITER, as well as experimental stellarator reactors, are showing signs of becoming a net gain in power, but such things could always use more money to fund research. Besides which, fusion is the ultimate green energy, providing massive amounts of power, and its only known waste product, as far as I'm aware, is helium, which would coincidentally fix a major helium shortage we're due to face. In short, all the solar and wind and whatever power is all well and good, but in the long term, we need fusion. The sooner, the better.
-
With certain metamaterials, we're reaching a point where solar will be exceptionally efficient, but such materials are either experimental or prohibitively expensive. However, I think more money needs to be put into the ultimate endpoint (for now), fusion. We've got a lot of designs, and some of them like the ST25 tokamak in the UK, ITER, as well as experimental stellarator reactors, are showing signs of becoming a net gain in power, but such things could always use more money to fund research. Besides which, fusion is the ultimate green energy, providing massive amounts of power, and its only known waste product, as far as I'm aware, is helium, which would coincidentally fix a major helium shortage we're due to face. In short, all the solar and wind and whatever power is all well and good, but in the long term, we need fusion. The sooner, the better.
hmmm... cold-fusion from water.... (cold like 30 celcius) (actually a plot point in one of my favorite books, and i shamelessly stole the technology for my pen and paper game)
-
Fusion already comes from water, where ya think we find the heavy water we get to extract deuterium and make tritium? Fission and fusion would actually play off one another very well, since we could capture some of the neutrons of fission reactions to create tritium from heavy water, giving us the other half of the equation that we need for fusion reactions. Hell, could probably make both of them with regular water...though, I'll admit I don't quite know how neutron irradiation works or if it could be used to make deuterium, but it certainly SOUNDS possible.
[ReactorCraft has taught me a LOT about fission and fusion reactors, lol. Gotta love Reika's insistence on realism.]
-
Fusion already comes from water, where ya think we find the heavy water we get to extract deuterium and make tritium? Fission and fusion would actually play off one another very well, since we could capture some of the neutrons of fission reactions to create tritium from heavy water, giving us the other half of the equation that we need for fusion reactions. Hell, could probably make both of them with regular water...though, I'll admit I don't quite know how neutron irradiation works or if it could be used to make deuterium, but it certainly SOUNDS possible.
[ReactorCraft has taught me a LOT about fission and fusion reactors, lol. Gotta love Reika's insistence on realism.]
don't ask me, i majored in humanities. ask me about the origin of languages or protocol and decorum, i've got ya. nuclear physics... uh, hey! is that a distraction over there?! *runs away*
-
Is solar practical on a large scale? Serious question, that. I know many houses and businesses put up the panels and they seem to work well enough, but for beyond a house or farm or business building is what I'm wondering. Would it work for a medium sized town and larger? Right now, the two bug things keeping me from solar is the upfront price (I know about the ta, credits and how future savings will offset the cost but it's still $6000 upfront which I can't afford) and I'm not willing to have my trees cut down.
Anyways, the hippies. The passage of time coupled with additional responsibilities does amazing things in regards to realigning ones priorities. I forgot who here said you conform enough to society to make yourself comfortable (however you define that). I still believe what I did when I was younger, but now it's something I work towards after my kids are fed. I still donate to NORML and various feminist groups, but now in alternating months and nowhere near what I used to. Did I sell out? I can see where you'd call it that. But life gets in the way sometimes. The tumblrinas will be the same way. When the kids start coming and the mortgage starts rearing is ugly head, they too will start pulling their heads out of their asses. The same way my hippie parents and my slacker self did.
-
Solar is becoming practical on multiple scales, and it really depends on what kind of solar power you're talking about. Photovoltaics, which is what most people think of when they think solar power, have made great leaps and strides in the ability to generate power at ever-increasing efficiency. Individual to community level, aye, photovoltaics are certainly practical on those scales. But, on a grid level, you'd need something more along the lines of solar towers, which use the old standard of using reflected sunlight to boil water and turn turbines, the same way almost every other power plant currently operates. I haven't heard much in that arena, but with high-quality glass and cleaner, more efficient reflective surfaces, solar towers could also become good on a large scale.
TL;DR: Solar panels are becoming better due to getting better absorptive materials. Solar towers are becoming better due to higher quality reflective materials. Both are becoming more practical on larger scales.
-
Is solar practical on a large scale? Serious question, that. I know many houses and businesses put up the panels and they seem to work well enough, but for beyond a house or farm or business building is what I'm wondering. Would it work for a medium sized town and larger? Right now, the two bug things keeping me from solar is the upfront price (I know about the ta, credits and how future savings will offset the cost but it's still $6000 upfront which I can't afford) and I'm not willing to have my trees cut down.
yes, with two caveats: one is the technology. you can't recycle solar cells as of yet. two, is sun exposure. somebody theorized that if we could solve the first and get a cleaning crew (or sand repellant on the solar panels), a solar cell field of 100km² in the sahara could generate enough energy to power continents.
keep in mind this was from a ted-talks, so you'd better grab your salt-lick if you're thinking about "applicable right now".
work is in place to try and power cities with rooftops covered in solar panels, but they have a relatively short life expectancy, and you run into the problem of recycling the stuff. so it's doable for ten-fifteen years at a time, but with that much waste it's not yet sustainable.
turns out that in southwest france there are so many aids from the state that it's actually worthwhile to get solar panels. all you need is to do a micro-credit (five years tops) for the installation (refunded up to 80%, dependant on location. it's cheaper the closer you are to the power grid), and you're back in business after a year. keep in mind that it's sunny here. doing the same in washington state would be throwing money away.
tl;dr: in theory yes, in practice there are kinks to iron out.
-
Is solar practical on a large scale? Serious question, that. I know many houses and businesses put up the panels and they seem to work well enough, but for beyond a house or farm or business building is what I'm wondering. Would it work for a medium sized town and larger? Right now, the two bug things keeping me from solar is the upfront price (I know about the ta, credits and how future savings will offset the cost but it's still $6000 upfront which I can't afford) and I'm not willing to have my trees cut down.
yes, with two caveats: one is the technology. you can't recycle solar cells as of yet. two, is sun exposure. somebody theorized that if we could solve the first and get a cleaning crew (or sand repellant on the solar panels), a solar cell field of 100km² in the sahara could generate enough energy to power continents.
keep in mind this was from a ted-talks, so you'd better grab your salt-lick if you're thinking about "applicable right now".
work is in place to try and power cities with rooftops covered in solar panels, but they have a relatively short life expectancy, and you run into the problem of recycling the stuff. so it's doable for ten-fifteen years at a time, but with that much waste it's not yet sustainable.
turns out that in southwest france there are so many aids from the state that it's actually worthwhile to get solar panels. all you need is to do a micro-credit (five years tops) for the installation (refunded up to 80%, dependant on location. it's cheaper the closer you are to the power grid), and you're back in business after a year. keep in mind that it's sunny here. doing the same in washington state would be throwing money away.
tl;dr: in theory yes, in practice there are kinks to iron out.
We better iron them out soon, before the birds start exploding.
-
I wonder how practical it'd be to build a giant solar tower in geosynchronous orbit that would collect solar energy then fire it at a second boiling station as a tightly-controlled beam of microwave radiation. Depending on the amount of crap in space, it might actually be somewhat practical, assuming we could get people over the initial "DEY GUN MICROWAVE AR BAYBEEZ!" hysteria that's bound to happen.
-
Thanks guys. Great non existent gods I love this site. Such varying levels of experts, someone here had an answer to most questions.
Anyways, from what I'm hearing, right now today a combination of green would be best? Here in the mid Atlantic using solar and hydro (wind and solar in the Midwest, wind and hydro in Seattle). Hmm. I wonder what it'd take to get that done.
-
Mostly money and time. Coastal areas could also benefit greatly from what amounts to ocean turbines, since they'd be the closest to said turbines. There's also the possibility of geothermal power in volcanic areas or places near major fault lines. We've got plenty of options, just not enough push to get them implemented.
-
Solar updraft turbine generators. Solar is a red herring, as the principal is heat differential and air convection.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_updraft_tower (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_updraft_tower)
The newest PV membranes are flexible enough to say, wrap onto freight containers just like a vinyl wrap on an automobile, and generate meaningful assist top-off to the massive diesel electric engines used by trains and cargo ships. Use the same wiring harness daisy-chaining as on the refrigerated containers. When the containers are offloaded at a freight facility for any down time while awaiting a hitch to a semi-truck, they can be tied to the facility's or city's electric grid for carbon credits and cash.
Field tests of small arrays of interspersed, small scale VAWT wind turbines are winning over the current giant HAWT tower turbines in cost per KW generated, and don't kill birds or dominate the landscape with shadows and their psychologically imposing height.
And, please, yes, let's slap-a-dope, and go ahead and build breeder reactors. That's only 50 years over due. Also, I wish the international community would accept licensing of modern Navy reactors for cargo ships; they are built in mind to survive being blown the fuck up by anti-ship missiles, so yeah, I think it's worth putting them on board massive cargo ships.
-
And, please, yes, let's slap-a-dope, and go ahead and build breeder reactors. That's only 50 years over due. Also, I wish the international community would accept licensing of modern Navy reactors for cargo ships; they are built in mind to survive being blown the fuck up by anti-ship missiles, so yeah, I think it's worth putting them on board massive cargo ships.
ah, but teh nukez is a scary buzzword, yessiree.
also, military tech has an edge over commercially available of roughly 25 years, if memory serves, so we might see the reactors soon, if they've been developped in that gap.
what i'd want is humvee tires less prohibitively expensive for sedans. i've got tubeless tires that sure enough don't pop, but they suffer from micropunctures meaning that they go flat after a week... nowadays in society things are built with obsolescence in mind. where are the heavy-duty goods? the gear that can take a beating? hell, even the jeans that are actually fireproof as they were meant to be? (ok, that last one exists, but it's a pain to find, and they tend to not be the best cut. easy test: if it stretches, it ain't real denim and will burn and melt. trust me, i've got the burn scars to prove it.)
... i'm sounding like a grumpy fifty year old, aren't i?
-
Hardly grumpy. I've been howling at the moon - So Where the Fuck Is My Flying Car Already, World? - since I was in my twenties. Moller Air Car vaporware does not count, nor all the other drivable planes sold as billionaire toys. As for Humvee tires, you're not planning to get shot at, right? Those things are meant to survive rounds and IEDs. There's already an expanding liquid foam you can have pumped into your pneumatic tires that adds very little weight. They'll never go flat.
-
Just realize my orbital solar tower failed to take one thing into account: traditional boiling pretty much just doesn't happen in microgravity environments. However, a mass of high-efficiency photovoltaics working on a similar principle would also work quite well, since you could cover a MASSIVE area and only have it be barely visible from the surface.
-
Hardly grumpy. I've been howling at the moon - So Where the Fuck Is My Flying Car Already, World? - since I was in my twenties. Moller Air Car vaporware does not count, nor all the other drivable planes sold as billionaire toys. As for Humvee tires, you're not planning to get shot at, right? Those things are meant to survive rounds and IEDs. There's already an expanding liquid foam you can have pumped into your pneumatic tires that adds very little weight. They'll never go flat.
yeah, about that. i want my jetpack and my flying car so bad i actually wrote a song and recorded it (https://soundcloud.com/pingouins-en-slip/jetpack-blues-acoustique). regarding the foam, didn't work and cost me 70€... is it to be mentionned i regularly drive in mountain rocky roads?
-
I just want the Iron Saint power armour. Let me run at Mach 6, climb up buildings, and juggle Sherman tanks!
-
Hardly grumpy. I've been howling at the moon - So Where the Fuck Is My Flying Car Already, World? - since I was in my twenties. Moller Air Car vaporware does not count, nor all the other drivable planes sold as billionaire toys. As for Humvee tires, you're not planning to get shot at, right? Those things are meant to survive rounds and IEDs. There's already an expanding liquid foam you can have pumped into your pneumatic tires that adds very little weight. They'll never go flat.
yeah, about that. i want my jetpack and my flying car so bad i actually wrote a song and recorded it (https://soundcloud.com/pingouins-en-slip/jetpack-blues-acoustique). regarding the foam, didn't work and cost me 70€... is it to be mentionned i regularly drive in mountain rocky roads?
I dig that acoustic blues song! Also, I think you got ripped on the tire foam. The place I went to specializes in semi truck and heavy equipment tires - they use industrial grade foam. It cost me a few hundred three years ago, and my tires are still fully inflated. But even that stuff can't prevent tire treads and walls from being shredded by rough mountain roads.
-
thanks :) and yeah, i probably got a bum deal... oh, well, live and learn.