To the interest of probably very few, the (private) utility company that serves my area is Mid-American energy, a division of Berkshire Hathaway.
When I moved in here my electricity cost was approximately halved from
what I was paying to Nebraska Public Power, a quasi-government entity.

Anyhow, Mid-American has invested heavily in wind power, their web site probably has the gory statistics on it. About thirty miles south of
where I'm sitting is a wind farm that covers several square miles of land area, and they're adding more turbines as I type this. Their goal is to generate most of their electricity using wind power.

When I was a youngster (a VERY long time ago) I lived in California
(NORTHERN California). Back in the last half of the 1950s somebody
noticed that the hot air over California's Central Valley went up, and
caused a significant amount of wind over the hills east of San Francisco
Bay. So they put up a couple of windmills to harvest electricity from
that wind in Altamont Pass, which was known for its consistent high
winds. That worked very well, and over the next decade or two dozens of
wind generators sprang up along that range of hills.

Then the whacko environmentalists got involved, and sued the h*ll out of anybody that had built a wind generator there, not to mention the usual rioting at the company's headquarters and executive's homes. So most if
not all of those windmills are gone, now, and California suffers from a significant power shortage (DUH!).
--- Platinum Xpress/Win/WINServer v3.0pr5
* Origin: Fido Since 1991 | QWK by Web | BBS.FIDOSYSOP.ORG (1:123/140)

Then the whacko environmentalists got involved, and sued the h*ll out of anybody that had built a wind generator there, not to mention the usual rioting at the company's headquarters and executive's homes. So most if
not all of those windmills are gone, now, and California suffers from a significant power shortage (DUH!).

So those enviro-whackos did not like wind power? I don't hear much about California that makes me think they are very smart out there.

Mike

---
* SLMR 2.1a * It's time for the Possum Lodge Word Game!!!
* Origin: capitolcityonline.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/HTTP (1:2320/105)

Hello Mike.

07 Feb 19 17:11, you wrote to BOB ACKLEY:

So those enviro-whackos did not like wind power? I don't hear much
about California that makes me think they are very smart out there.

There's some massive wind farms out there but there's one in north-central Indiana that goes for nearly 50 miles or more...

Later,
Sean

--- GoldED/2 3.0.1
* Origin: Outpost BBS - bbs.outpostbbs.net (1:18/200)

There's a stretch of I-40 in Texas that includes about 2 hours of nothing but windmills. I think they're great! Clean energy. It would suck to be the guy
who has to climb up them things though!

Then the whacko environmentalists got involved, and sued the h*ll out of anybody that had built a wind generator there, not to mention the usual

They should protest the nuclear power plants instead!

In upstate NY, where I am now, the state is offering homeowners credits on
our bills for signing up for some solar energy project. I signed up, and here
I wait for those delightful credits to show up! :)

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A39 2018/04/21 (Raspberry Pi/32)
* Origin: Alcoholiday / Est. 1995 / alco.bbs.io (1:123/525)

Hello aaron.

07 Feb 19 22:09, you wrote to BOB ACKLEY:

There's a stretch of I-40 in Texas that includes about 2 hours of
nothing but windmills. I think they're great! Clean energy. It would
suck to be the guy who has to climb up them things though!

Wind generators are good at killing birds en masse and causing noise pollution also. They're also unprofitable which is why Siemens got out of the wind generator business.

They should protest the nuclear power plants instead!

Yes, let's protest one of our main sources of electricity. That's akin to saying electric cars are "clean" when they're just as "dirty" as internal combustion-powered cars when you figure in the electric generation system into their overall effectiveness. It's six on one hand, half-dozen on the other.

In upstate NY, where I am now, the state is offering homeowners
credits on our bills for signing up for some solar energy project. I signed up, and here I wait for those delightful credits to show up! :)

Solar cells aren't much cleaner either but at least they're not killing birds and making noise pollution.

Later,
Sean

--- GoldED/2 3.0.1
* Origin: Outpost BBS - bbs.outpostbbs.net (1:18/200)

There's some massive wind farms out there but there's one in north-central Indiana that goes for nearly 50 miles or more...

There is also one along I-39 heading North in Illinois towards the Wisconsin boarder. I have never seen that many.

Mike

---
* SLMR 2.1a * Wrinkles only go where smiles have been - Jimmy Buffett
* Origin: capitolcityonline.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/HTTP (1:2320/105)

Then the whacko environmentalists got involved, and sued the h*ll out

of

anybody that had built a wind generator there, not to mention the usual rioting at the company's headquarters and executive's homes. So most

if

not all of those windmills are gone, now, and California suffers from a significant power shortage (DUH!).

So those enviro-whackos did not like wind power?

Nope. They claim the wind generators kill birds - although I've not seen piles of dead birds around the one's around here. The generators here sit
on top of a 150 foot tower, and the (3) blades are each 125 feet long, they rotate at less than 10 rpm.
--- Platinum Xpress/Win/WINServer v3.0pr5
* Origin: Fido Since 1991 | QWK by Web | BBS.FIDOSYSOP.ORG (1:123/140)

Hello aaron.

07 Feb 19 22:09, you wrote to BOB ACKLEY:

There's a stretch of I-40 in Texas that includes about 2 hours of nothing but windmills. I think they're great! Clean energy. It would suck to be the guy who has to climb up them things though!

Wind generators are good at killing birds en masse and causing noise

pollution

also.

I've never seen even one dead bird under or even near the generators around here. And having driven past them (wwithin 300 yards) many times, with the car windows open, I never noticed any noise.
--- Platinum Xpress/Win/WINServer v3.0pr5
* Origin: Fido Since 1991 | QWK by Web | BBS.FIDOSYSOP.ORG (1:123/140)

Hello BOB.

09 Feb 19 13:48, you wrote to MIKE POWELL:

Nope. They claim the wind generators kill birds - although I've not
seen piles of dead birds around the one's around here. The generators here sit on top of a 150 foot tower, and the (3) blades are each 125
feet long, they rotate at less than 10 rpm.

You'd not necessarily see dead birds around the generators. A lot of times the
birds hit the generators, breaking a wing or something, and manage to get quite a distance away before they succumb to their injuries. If I have time tonight, I'll do some research on this.

Later,
Sean

--- GoldED/2 3.0.1
* Origin: Outpost BBS - bbs.outpostbbs.net (1:18/200)

Hello BOB.

09 Feb 19 13:52, you wrote to me:

I've never seen even one dead bird under or even near the generators around here. And having driven past them (wwithin 300 yards) many
times, with the car windows open, I never noticed any noise.

Like I said in your reply to Mike, let me do some research.

Later,
Sean

--- GoldED/2 3.0.1
* Origin: Outpost BBS - bbs.outpostbbs.net (1:18/200)

So those enviro-whackos did not like wind power?

Nope. They claim the wind generators kill birds - although I've not seen piles of dead birds around the one's around here. The generators here sit
on top of a 150 foot tower, and the (3) blades are each 125 feet long, they rotate at less than 10 rpm.

Makes you wonder where they think the power will come from to charge their
cell phones, ipads, or electric cars will come from.

Social network activism is difficult without electric.

Mike

---
* SLMR 2.1a * Life after death - is that Terminate and Stay Resident?
* Origin: capitolcityonline.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/HTTP (1:2320/105)

Wind generators are good at killing birds en masse and causing noise pollution also. They're also unprofitable which is why Siemens got out
of the wind generator business.

Killing animals is human nature. There's no saving them. I understand them being unprofitable, but nuclear waste is also unprofitable, and what will future generations do with all those barrels that we used because it was "too dark outside at night" or because "Times Square needed more billboards?"

Yes, let's protest one of our main sources of electricity. That's akin

If AoC can protest that "All latino people should be able to migrate freely across the continent because they're indigenous to it," then I think it's not too crazy to protest our #1 source of energy; besides, nuclear waste is also bad for latinos. :)

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A39 2018/04/21 (Raspberry Pi/32)
* Origin: Alcoholiday / Est. 1995 / alco.bbs.io (1:123/525)

I've never seen even one dead bird under or even near the generators around here. And having driven past them (wwithin 300 yards) many

One dead bird in Mississippi can ruin the whole project

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A39 2018/04/21 (Raspberry Pi/32)
* Origin: Alcoholiday / Est. 1995 / alco.bbs.io (1:123/525)

If AoC can protest that "All latino people should be able to migrate

freely

across the continent because they're indigenous to it," then I think

it's not

too crazy to protest our #1 source of energy; besides, nuclear waste is

also

bad for latinos. :)

Latinos are not indigenous to this continent, their ancestors came
(mostly) from Spain (except for Brazil, which is mostly Portugese).
Rather than have Spain and Portugal get into a war over their colonies in South America, the pope decreed the boundary that gave what is now Brazil
to Portugal and the rest to Spain. Florida was also originally a Spanish colony.

Many Latinos think the whole western US should be "returned" to Mexico
because the US "stole" the area from Mexico. By that logic they should
give Mexico back to the Aztec and Maya indians - if they can find any,
the Spanish priests did a masterful job of killing off the vast majority
of them. They conveniently ignore the fact that the northern coast of California was a colony of imperial Russia (as was Alaska)
--- Platinum Xpress/Win/WINServer v3.0pr5
* Origin: Fido Since 1991 | QWK by Web | BBS.FIDOSYSOP.ORG (1:123/140)

I've never seen even one dead bird under or even near the generators around here. And having driven past them (wwithin 300 yards) many

One dead bird in Mississippi can ruin the whole project

As I noted in an earlier post, the blades are 125 feet long and rotate at
less than ten rpm. A bat can safely fly through an operating fan that is running at several hundred rpm.

I recently read that domestic and feral cats kill far more birds than do windmills
--- Platinum Xpress/Win/WINServer v3.0pr5
* Origin: Fido Since 1991 | QWK by Web | BBS.FIDOSYSOP.ORG (1:123/140)

BOB ACKLEY wrote to AARON THOMAS <=-

I recently read that domestic and feral cats kill far more birds than
do windmills

Cats are natural predators.

Wind turbines are not.

Did you read the links I sent you about wind turbines?

Later,
Sean

___ MultiMail/Win v0.51

--- Maximus/2 3.01
* Origin: Outpost BBS - bbs.outpostbbs.net (1:18/200)

Hello Sean,

So those enviro-whackos did not like wind power? I don't hear much
about California that makes me think they are very smart out there.

There's some massive wind farms out there but there's one in north-central Indiana that goes for nearly 50 miles or more...

I'd like to see a bunch of wind farms placed in the Gulf of Mexico
to capture all the wind power created by hurricanes when they come
roaring through. Just think how much energy could be generated if
we could find a way to harness it all.

--Lee

--
I Take A Sheet In The Pool

--- MesNews/1.08.05.00-gb
* Origin: news://eljaco.se (2:203/2)

Lee Lofaso wrote to Sean Dennis <=-

I'd like to see a bunch of wind farms placed in the Gulf of Mexico
to capture all the wind power created by hurricanes when they come
roaring through. Just think how much energy could be generated if
we could find a way to harness it all.

You know what might be better and possibly easier to implement is wave
power. If there was a way to harness the wave energy from the sea
during such storms and actually store all of that physical energy to electrical energy, that could be a massive boon for many areas to be well-served.

When I was young, my parents had land with a babbling stream in it.
There was a tiny waterfall where I put a 12VDC generator from a VW Bug
with two ping-pong balls sliced in half, the halves arranged to where
the falling water would catch in the "cups" and turn the generator's
shaft. Believe it or not, that little generator put out enough energy
to power a standard automotive tail light bulb for me to read at night
with just fine (we were homesteading on land and didn't have electricity
wired up yet).

That's a good idea.

Later,
Sean

___ MultiMail/Win v0.51

--- Maximus/2 3.01
* Origin: Outpost BBS - bbs.outpostbbs.net (1:18/200)

I'd like to see a bunch of wind farms placed in the Gulf of Mexico
to capture all the wind power created by hurricanes when they come
roaring through. Just think how much energy could be generated if
we could find a way to harness it all.

That's nonsense.

In case of storm wind-farms are stopped, all propellers pointed into the wind-direction and feathered in hopes they will survive destruction.

\%/@rd

--- D'Bridge 3.99 SR41
* Origin: Ceci n'est pas un courriel (2:292/854)

You know what might be better and possibly easier to implement is wave power. If there was a way to harness the wave energy from the sea
during such storms and actually store all of that physical energy to electrical energy, that could be a massive boon for many areas to be well-served.

Things like that have been tried in East Anglia (UK) and failed for a number of
reasons:

* The installation needs to be huge and could not satisfy environmental
demands for benthic life
* The output never was high enough to cover costs ... at all

Another thing which has been tried is harnassing the power of tidal activity. Basically it's kind of a turbine under water catching the tide in either direction. As it is a near continuous production it has some merrits but also was met by an environmental "no".

Something never tried is Foucault's pendulum, the Earth's rotation provides a steady source of energy.

The question always remains: how does one tap it and how does one store it...

BTW, loved the pingpong-ball story.

\%/@rd

--- D'Bridge 3.99 SR41
* Origin: Ceci n'est pas un courriel (2:292/854)

I recently read that domestic and feral cats kill far more birds than do windmills

LOL someone should tell those anti-windmill liberals they need to get rid of their kitty-cats. That'd go over well. :)

Mike

---
* SLMR 2.1a * The number you have dailed...9-1-1...has been changed
* Origin: capitolcityonline.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/HTTP (1:2320/105)

Ward Dossche wrote to Sean Dennis <=-

The question always remains: how does one tap it and how does one store it...

That's always been the question and unfortunately we're still working on
good answers. We're getting there but it's far from effecient.

BTW, loved the pingpong-ball story.

I'm glad. I come from a family of tinkerers and engineers. My late
maternal grandfather was an electrician's mate for the US Navy in World
War II. After that, he worked for various electronic companies
(Fairchild Semiconductors was one) and at NASA Goldstone in Barstow, California. He was an electrical engineer on the Pioneer and Voyager spacecraft projects. One of my uncles is also an electrical engineer.
He was hired by a large fan company (the name escapes me right now) to
get the hum out of their fans. He also designed a ride at Disneyland
(Big Splash?) that works literally like a toilet: it fills a giant
2 million gallon container and "flushes" the water out into the pool,
causing a big wave to ride through the pool.

He got the idea while using the restroom. :D

I leaned more towards computers though I do have a grasp of basic
electronics and can read schematics and build kits. My cousin (the son
of the above-mentioned uncle) is also an electrical engineer. I didn't
have the opportunity to go to college until much later in life as I
waited 24 years after I graduated high school to go back but I am still
proud of my family's tinkerer and electronics talents.

I design and build my own amateur radio antennas for fun.

(Sorry for the long-windedness...)

Later,
Sean

___ MultiMail/Win v0.51

--- Maximus/2 3.01
* Origin: Outpost BBS - bbs.outpostbbs.net (1:18/200)

SGID: 1:18/200.0 5c65f8d2

BOB ACKLEY wrote to AARON THOMAS <=-

I recently read that domestic and feral cats kill far more birds

than

do windmills

Cats are natural predators.

Wind turbines are not.

Did you read the links I sent you about wind turbines?

I would have if I wasn't using the library's machine - and they wanted to close up
--- Platinum Xpress/Win/WINServer v3.0pr5
* Origin: Fido Since 1991 | QWK by Web | BBS.FIDOSYSOP.ORG (1:123/140)

Hello Sean,

I'd like to see a bunch of wind farms placed in the Gulf of Mexico
to capture all the wind power created by hurricanes when they come
roaring through. Just think how much energy could be generated if
we could find a way to harness it all.

You know what might be better and possibly easier to implement is wave power. If there was a way to harness the wave energy from the sea
during such storms and actually store all of that physical energy to electrical energy, that could be a massive boon for many areas to be well-served.

The tidal forces generated by the Moon are nothing to sneeze at.
Without the Moon, I doubt there would be intelligent life on this
planet. We use turbines, the energy derived from running water.
In theory, the same can be done on a massive scale from tides.

When I was young, my parents had land with a babbling stream in it.
There was a tiny waterfall where I put a 12VDC generator from a VW Bug with two ping-pong balls sliced in half, the halves arranged to where
the falling water would catch in the "cups" and turn the generator's shaft. Believe it or not, that little generator put out enough energy
to power a standard automotive tail light bulb for me to read at night with just fine (we were homesteading on land and didn't have electricity wired up yet).

Multiply that by a thousandfold and think of what it could power.

That's a good idea.

Many good ideas come from overlooking the obvious.

--Lee

--
Get Her Wet Here

--- MesNews/1.08.05.00-gb
* Origin: news://eljaco.se (2:203/2)

Hello Ward,

I'd like to see a bunch of wind farms placed in the Gulf of Mexico
to capture all the wind power created by hurricanes when they come
roaring through. Just think how much energy could be generated if
we could find a way to harness it all.

That's nonsense.

In case of storm wind-farms are stopped, all propellers pointed into the wind-direction and feathered in hopes they will survive destruction.

In that case, maybe we should try to harness the power of erupting
volcanoes. Just think of all the energy we could get if we could
capture an eruption of the calderra at Yellowstone ...

--Lee

--
We Put Big Loads In Tight Places

--- MesNews/1.08.05.00-gb
* Origin: news://eljaco.se (2:203/2)

Hello Mike,

I recently read that domestic and feral cats kill far more birds than do
windmills

LOL someone should tell those anti-windmill liberals they need to get rid of
their kitty-cats. That'd go over well. :)

Finally! A solution for stray cats! Now if only I can
find a way to herd them all in ...

--Lee

--
Every Bottom Needs A Top

--- MesNews/1.08.05.00-gb
* Origin: news://eljaco.se (2:203/2)

That's nonsense.

In case of storm wind-farms are stopped, all propellers pointed into the wind-direction and feathered in hopes they will survive destruction.

Yeah, a hurricane would tear them apart, especially since whatever they are likely anchored to is not going to offer as much support as being on land.

Mike

---
* SLMR 2.1a * "Mmmmmmmm.....doughnuts."
* Origin: capitolcityonline.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/HTTP (1:2320/105)

In that case, maybe we should try to harness the power of erupting volcanoes. Just think of all the energy we could get if we could
capture an eruption of the calderra at Yellowstone ...

What you want to have is a stable power source, volcanoes are anything but stable. However the whole of Reykjavik is heated by the remains of smoldering lava that way and they're also warming their greenhouses where they grow their own Icelandic bananas.

\%/@rd

--- D'Bridge 3.99 SR41
* Origin: Ceci n'est pas un courriel (2:292/854)

Hello Ward,

In that case, maybe we should try to harness the power of erupting
volcanoes. Just think of all the energy we could get if we could
capture an eruption of the calderra at Yellowstone ...

What you want to have is a stable power source, volcanoes are anything but stable. However the whole of Reykjavik is heated by the remains of smoldering lava that way and they're also warming their greenhouses where they grow their own Icelandic bananas.

Iceland. The one place in the world that offered Bobby Fisher
asylum. Pays chess grandmasters a salary (the equivalent of a
high school teacher). Why the US wanted to put a chess player
in jail for the rest of his life is beyond me. Even if the guy
truly was nutty as a fruitcake.

--Lee

--
Your Hole Is Our Goal

--- MesNews/1.08.05.00-gb
* Origin: news://eljaco.se (2:203/2)

The tidal forces generated by the Moon are nothing to sneeze at.
Without the Moon, I doubt there would be intelligent life on this
planet.

I have heard scientists (or at least, people playing them on TV) who have
said similar things.

Mike

---
* SLMR 2.1a * A noble spirit embiggens the smallest man. -J.Springfield
* Origin: capitolcityonline.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/HTTP (1:2320/105)

Hello Mike,

The tidal forces generated by the Moon are nothing to sneeze at.
Without the Moon, I doubt there would be intelligent life on this
planet.

I have heard scientists (or at least, people playing them on TV) who have said similar things.

It makes sense. But what I found truly shocking was something else.
Scientists in New York and Sweden have published a paper showing that
9 out of 10 species came into being some 100,000 to 200,000 years ago.
They based their study on their findings from DNA research.

https://tinyurl.com/yxsheuqe

What that means is that either there was some global catastrophe
that wiped out virtually all life on earth some 100,000 to 200,000
years ago, or the Moon simply was not orbiting this planet before
then.

--Lee

--
Nobody Beats Our Meat

--- MesNews/1.08.05.00-gb
* Origin: news://eljaco.se (2:203/2)