Friday Free For All – Sept. 1, 2017
Friday, September 1, 2017 @ 12:00 AM
No better way to start off a new month.
It’s time for the Friday Free For All, when you get to speak up on issues that matter to you.
There are three simple rules, failure to comply will see comments edited, removed, or the loss of privileges.
Keep it clean
Keep it legal
No Bullying
Comments
Good morning and happy Friday, I hope your weekend is a safe one, what ever you are up to.
metalman.
Just arrived home from a 3 day fishing trip in PR.Rupert.Wet and windy but lots of fish. The hwy. was super busy. Last camping trip before the kids head back to school.
Thank you metalman. Yes you guys have a great weekend too. I just hope everyone driving anywhere, will be careful. Remember, a little courtesy and patience goes a long way to keeping everyone safe and happier too.
Long weekend coming up, Costco gas prices rise 2.5 cents p/l others 10 cents.
50% of American gas production is down as a result of hurricane Harvey. Expect further rises until the refineries in the Houston area come back online. Gas Buddy expects another .10-.15 in the next week or two.
interesting why our prices are increasing given the fact that our gas is refined right here in PG? Last I checked the Husky plant is still high and dry.
and a long weekend too boot, we are in big ka-ka.
“interesting why our prices are increasing given the fact that our gas is refined right here in PG? Last I checked the Husky plant is still high and dry.”
The argument being they can sell it for more down South so if we want it, we have to pay market price.
Gas prices in Texas jumped 12 cents a gallon this week. Prices in California jumped 6 cents a gallon. Prices in PG jumped 8 cents a litre or 32 cents a gallon. How stupid do they think we are?
I compute that to be 29.8 cents per gallon but your point is valid.
Kids back in school next week, so we all need to remember to slow down in school zones.
Low-fat diets could raise the risk of early death by almost one quarter, a major study has found.
The Lancet study of 135,000 adults found those who cut back on fats had far shorter lives than those enjoying plenty of butter, cheese and meats.
ht tp://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/08/29/low-fat-diet-linked-higher-death-rates-major-lancet-study-finds/
I love ya for this comment, sounds good to me! Open the hatches!! LOL
Interesting. Old stories from England were about folks eating a piece of lard with their toast for breakfast. And Mutton fat was the best!
Bear grease is yummy.
During the depression, my mother-in-law took lard sandwiches to school, at times that’s all they had. She lived to 100.
Fat is good for you, sugar’s the killer.
I think it was more likely to be “bread and dripping”, that is a slice of bread coated in lamb or beef fat, then salted. Don’t knock it, it tastes pretty good especially if you get the jelly.
She said lard. I’ll take her word for it.
Actually, my comment was meant to be an expansion of Grizzly2’s comment, based on my personal experience growing up in London.
Mapes road construction zone out west is an accident waiting to happen. They closed the west bound lane, having it use the left east bound lane with a white centerline and no cones to divide the traffic… traffic heading east think they have a passing lane until they come head on in the corner with the westbound traffic. That kind of thinking by their traffic ‘specialists’ will get people killed.
Put in a yellow centerline, or use some pilons… otherwise it should be alternating one way traffic.
My rant for the morning! Yesterday while driving down foothills and turning left on to 15th the traffic had to come to a stop for a pedestrian in the crosswalk! This young lady was totally oblivious to circumstances around here, as she was reading something on her cell phone! Not just walking slowly but even stopping on a couple occasions when her topic of interest peaked her attention! I am certain that the article was more important than her life! Here’s to distracted walking!!!!!
I would have tried to get as close to her as possible and given her a blast on the horn! People that text while walking across a busy road dereserve to have the phone taken away or stomped on. Just because you are in a crosswalk does not mean that you are the master of this domain and being totally oblivious. Should be an offence and chargeable! My rant too! LOL,
Just want to also say the PG traffic specialist should find another line of work. The black posts on 5th used to mark the bulb outs are a rediculous hazzard. One can hardly see them at night, what happens when it snows heavy? At least paint them a safety red or safety yellow so they are visible.
Ditto for the traffic hazzard on Foothils with the concrete dividers that are placed in the middle of thd road with no reflective warning. First snow and people will be slaming into those for sure. Why put things in the middle of the highway that will kill people? Its just full retard and lazy thinking IMO.
The concrete barriers are to stop traffic going into oncoming lanes.. would rather have one person hit the meridian than driv into oncoming lane..
Time for a Eagleone rant of how evil concrete is…lol
Have a great weekend everyone
You didn’t just call it a meridian, now did you? The definition police will be all over that, time to claim “autocorrect changed it”
I know I’ve crossed the occasional meridian in my time but I never managed to see one.
Nope, just a mistake is all.. but I am sure you understood what I was getting at :)
No your comment made no sense PVal. The concrete barriers do not divide the traffic. Obviously you are commenting on something of which you have not even seen. The concrete barrier is used to make a bike lane out of the south bound down hill lane and traffic now shares the two lanes that use to be north bound.
The blocked lane is sudden with no reflective signage and that is a huge danger to the unsuspecting public. When the snow flies how will anyone even see these large concrete blocks in the middle of the road lane. Conspiracy or coincidence, thats up to you to decide…. ;)
Funny, ever since they put the concrete barriers there, there have been lots of warning signs at each end of them and then orange reflective pylons standing between every one of them. Its also a 50 KpH speed limit through that construction zone. Did you miss something?
Also the bulb outs beside the hospital? People bounce over those all winter. It’s amazing the ignorant road designs with no thought to winter conditions.
The city requires these, even the one at Spruceland that people drive over all the time was at the insistence of city hall
Anyone else hate the new on-street parking on 5th? I have to ease out almost half way across road to see if any traffic is coming. I wonder how many accidents so far?
the fifth avenue parking was very poorly organized. Someone in the ivory tower felt they need to turn it all into angle parking, but did not realize it was more than just painting lines. Did not have enough money to redo all the street corners. Those fake posts should be interesting come winter.
Sorry, but “Fail Army” to the person who spear headed this initiative. Can we find out who pushed it.
Can probably park more cars this way! The city nimrods don’t look at the after effects! Look around the city, and as mentioned there are a lot of dumb ideas that get put into effect without looking at what takes place after. Surprised there hasn’t been an accident on Domano and St. Lawrence where the road goes into a two lane. People drive towards CHSS and go into the inside lane for whatever stupid reason, then you have people hanging a left onto Domano and they are in the inside lane. People should stay in the outside lane until AFTER it goes into two lane. A matter of time I think. Common sense lacking, too rushed to hurry up and save 2 minutes!
I’ve been backing out in to traffic on Third for years. Just gotta be careful.
It’s not the backing out of parking spot that’s the problem, it’s trying to drive across 5th or 4th avenues on Quebec , etc when you can’t see if cars are coming until you are almost half way across 5th ave. ie, heading north on Quebec and trying to cross 5th
Carney and Fifth intersection is also the brainchild of the “Fail Army”
Drive down Carney Street, hit fifth ave and you have a dedicated left turn, Massey you have a dedicated left turn… 15th someone decided to have a dedicated right turn so you have people turning left trying to decide if they can make it before the guy going straight behind the person turning straight across from them reaches the middle of the intersection
Where the two lane ends at first and ospika, heading north. If your in the turning lane to go left. The idiot who placed the sign failed to realize the placard signage is in perfect alignment to block the view of on coming traffic.
“Fail Army.” is thriving in our city.
1st and Ospika is a terrible set up for vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians.
Heard a lot of drivers getting busted on the Hart. Doing 60- 70km is a reasonable speed. you don’t need to do a 100k. If your late all the time, maybe allow few more minutes.
Can’t slow the people down until it hits the wallet.
I was so happy to see the police out there yesterday catching the speeders. I agree that 60-70 kmh is reasonable but so many of the drivers going up the Hart are doing 100+. I think they forget that they are still in the City with lots of places to turn off and people pulling out. I can’t count the number of times I’ve been doing 20km over the speed limit in the slow lane and been tailgated by some idiot who thinks I should go even faster.
July 23 2017 vrec.ca Yesterday BC set a new record for solar energy production. There were clear skies over much of the province on one of the longest days of the year. Many of our solar energy systems recorded the highest generation of the past 12 months. On-line real time monitoring and data logging allows us to view production and compare it with previous periods.
New solar energy systems are being installed on a regular basis in BC. So there are currently more systems online then have ever been before.
There is no way to track exactly how much energy solar contributed to BC’s energy needs. But based on the number of net-metered photovoltaic systems in the province we estimate that about 30 MWh was generated yesterday.
Without a government subsidy to install the costs are still higher than the return unfortunately.
Even the fire sale of a removed system in PG at half price was higher than the ROI, quite sad really
Taxpayers will have paid more than $60 billion through federal renewable energy subsidies by 2030, about twice what the crumbling car industry received over 15 years and enough to build about 10 large nuclear reactors.
The government’s large and small-scale renewable energy targets, which will compel energy retailers to buy 33 terawatt hours of wind, solar and hydro energy by 2030, will deliver about $45bn of subsidies to renewable energy producers over 20 years, according to analysis by The Australian.
ht tp://joannenova.com.au/2017/09/australians-forced-to-pay-60b-for-expensive-green-electricity/
So where does the power come from when skies not clear, or when darkness falls, short winter days and Sun low on the horizon. Hey then there is snow cover. Oh my so many issues.
Let me explain where the most dependable, reliable and carbon neutral power comes from and will continue to do so: Hydro dams, like Site C and the others that have served us well for many decades.
Check out what Germany does.. they seem to have made solar extremely reliable and beneficial.
So why are their electricity cost so high and why are they building more coal plants?
About Germany, they have a timetable to shut down all nuclear plants. It is ongoing. In the meantime they have made great advances in wind and solar. They are building some more coal plants which are bridging the gap created by shutting down nuclear.
“The global deal struck in the French capital, experts say, has changed the calculation. Global carbon budgets and coal reserves are now in the mainstream of Germany’s public and political dialogue. There also is a widening recognition of the need for a long-term plan in order to provide regulatory certainty… many argue that continued coal burning imperils the country’s reputation as a leader on climate change.”
“A first-ever proposal for fully winding down German domestic coal production will be on Merkel’s desk before the summer recess, with discussions among energy companies, trade unions and regional officials set to conclude by late March… is pushing for a final 2040 exit, at the latest, while industry wants to continue to mine and burn coal until at least 2050.”
“Prominent climate scientists and environmental activists insist that ending coal production in the early 2030s is not only scientifically necessary but also technically and economically feasible. Only if the power sector decarbonizes first, they argue, can other sectors follow.”
They are building more efficient coal plants to replace the old ones.. as for the cost of their electric…it has always been crazy high… guessing huge taxes..
Pval I don’t know where you got you information on Germany but their grid is mess.
ht tps://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/07/28/germanys-green-tech-forces-400x-increase-in-power-rates/
ht tps://wattsupwiththat.com/2015/12/09/germanys-impossible-and-impractical-wind-and-solar-goal/
In Germany they decided to shut down nuclear plants. They are old, expensive to maintain, nuclear waste is costly to get rid of, after the meltdown of Chernobyl Eastern Europe, Central Europe and Northern Europe where exposed to radio active fallout from Chernobyl they are not supporting new nuclear plant construction. That is their decision. The coal plants they are building now may have to last past 2040 or even 2050. Of course these are also replacing old coal plants which do not have the efficiency and the technology of today. That makes sense.
If they had a river in Germany that could support a hydro facility like Site C, they would have built a dam years ago! There are dams in Germany, most of them very small compared to the potential we have here. They would not have to rely on coal!
P Val, electricity cost in Germany has not always been crazy high. Just a few years ago Merkel was asking to be allowed to renege on their emission reduction promises because transitioning out of fossils was driving up costs to the point of making them uncompetitive. She also wanted a pass on emission standards for cars, so Mercedes could keep making their more expensive models.
PrinceGeorge, Germany decided (stupidly) to shut down their nuclear plants in a knee-jerk reaction to the Fukushima reactor in Japan being damaged by a tidal wave.
It’s mind boggling to watch, an military, economic and political powerhouse like Germany committing national suicide.
Croplands, habitats, taxes, family budgets, safety sacrificed to enrich politically connected few?
Wilkinson Solar has filed papers requesting permits for a 74-megawatt solar electricity facility about 35 miles east of Greenville, NC. If approved, 288,120 solar panels would blanket 600 acres (0.94 square miles) of now scenic, serene farmland next door to the Terra Ceia Christian School near Morehead City.
The company wants to catch the solar wave, and make a lot of money…
[…]
Instead of 90-95% efficiency, Wilkinson would bring only 20% efficiency. The 288,120 panels would produce electricity only about 20% of the year. That is unpredictable, unreliable, less affordable energy.
[…]
As Solar Mania and Solar Sprawl spread, electricity consumers would see their rates climb: from the 9 cents per kilowatt-hour average they now pay in North Carolina and Virginia, ever closer to the 16 to 18 cents per kWh that residents pay in “green energy” states…
[…]
Then there’s the survivability issue. Since 1879, North Carolina has been hit by twelve Category 3 hurricanes, one Category 4 (Hazel in 1954) and multiple tropical storms. Imagine the shards of flying glass that would be torn from solar panels and sent flying in all directions when the next ’cane inevitably hits.
[…]
The backup power plants must be running on standby (spinning reserve) all the time – then must ramp up to full power every time the sun stops shining. That slashes their efficiency, and sends their fuel costs and emissions skyrocketing. Any supposed energy, sustainability and climate benefits disappear.
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Much more at ht tps://wattsupwiththat.com/2017/09/01/yet-another-renewable-energy-boondoggle/
There’s more bad news for you fossil fans . Tesla’s gigafactory2 solarcity in Buffalo NY started production yesterday . If the PG city council were to put solar on the roof of the new aquatic centre , you guys would go insane . I’d love to see both of those things happen . Both satisfying and funny at the same time but very cost effective . I don’t think city council has a green bone in its body .
Using Samsung batteries. now if solar made sense up in this latitude I am sure our so called green uni would have them plastered all over. Just how is your system doing, oh right what system? Find any hybrid locomotives yet. Send a link.
Everyone knows that renewable power is inherently unreliable, or as engineers put it: “intermittent”. Nonetheless, there is a plan in place to become ever more reliant on these technologies for our electricity supply.
This has forced the government into taking a risky bet on unproven “flexibility measures”, in a desperate attempt to try and manage this huge technical challenge.
These measures will have hefty upfront costs of up to £20 billion, but the benefits are uncertain, spread over many years and will be outweighed many times over by the cost of renewable subsidies. Once again, the government is failing to be honest about the significant costs involved in switching from fossil fuels to renewables.
The measures come in a package of 29 separate actions to be undertaken by government, the energy regulator Ofgem and industry, as part of a “Smart Systems and Flexibility Plan”, published by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in July. These actions support two key objectives: offering greater incentives to businesses to develop energy storage facilities, and making it easier for businesses to be paid for reducing their energy usage when capacity margins are particularly tight.
The shift towards a greater number of small-scale energy suppliers will force the National Grid to invest far more in the transmission and distribution networks which transport power from supplier to consumer. According to Npower this will add £114 on the average domestic bill by 2020, a 124 per cent increase compared to 2007.
An example of such an investment is the recently constructed Beauly-Denny power line, which cost £820 million and cut a horrible steel swathe through the Highlands. Time and again, promoting renewables comes at the cost of protecting the environment.
A report on system flexibility by green energy consultants Carbon Trust has led to many headlines suggesting such measures will save the country up to £40 billion. This is misleading. The Government’s own policy paper reveals the saving may only be £17 billion and is spread all the way until 2050, which equates to a more modest-sounding saving of between £500m and £1bn per year on average.
But there is a bigger problem with these calculations. The supposed savings are calculated against the cost of continuing to be straight-jacketed by draconian climate change targets, but without investing any new resources in flexibility measures. An alternative approach could be much cheaper, but it would need to deviate from the inflexible stipulations of the Climate Change Act. Indeed, the cost of meeting the Act is now running at upwards of £10bn a year, and is likely to be at almost £30bn a year by 2030. Any illusory savings from flexibility measures will be dwarfed by the cost of renewable subsidies.
ht tps://www.thegwpf.com/why-wont-the-government-admit-the-true-cost-of-renewable-energy/
By Mary Brown,
I was sipping a soy latte after doing yoga on my recent eco-vacation and I started pondering a question: With the world turning “green”, wouldn’t it make sense to invest in green energy and divest from those evil, sinful companies? I gave it some serious thought and when I got home and, after I paid for my carbon offsets, I ran some numbers with some help from my hedge fund friends.
First, we identified publicly traded companies that operate in the renewable energy sector. I’ll call them the “Green Group”. We came up with these stocks…
[…]
Our second group we called “Sin Stocks”. These companies make chemicals and alcohol and guns and promote gambling. The list also includes defense stocks, “Big Pharma” and of course, the dreaded “Big Oil”. This list was bigger…
[…]
To compare the two groups, were ran stock performance back to Jan 1, 2008. That was our starting point because that is when there were enough Green stocks in the list to be significant. Also, it included the Great Recession. The graph below compares the Greens versus the Sinners with the S&P 500 plotted for good measure. Starting with $100 in each group, the Sinners finished with $245, the S&P with $168 and the Greens had $20. Being a sinner was 12 times more profitable.
——————————————————–
Just one mistake, the green group wasn’t profitable, it shows an 80% loss, so that last sentence is wrong. It should say that , “being a sinner was 12 times more valuable in the end.”
ht tps://wattsupwiththat.com/2017/08/31/invest-with-greens-or-sinners/
You missed the part about the largest producers of coal in the world going bankrupt . Including the ones in the USA . all the huffing and puffing by the Baffoon in the White House hasn’t produced one job in the coal sector . In fact the pain in the sector is deepening by the day . If you put your money in coal , you are screwed . Mean while the EV and renewables are growing exponentially, globally at an exelerating rate .
Actually its the added false economic costs put on coal power by Odumber which are being eliminated but coal is having a hard time competing with the onslaught of fractured gas. There are 1600 hundred coal power plants being built around the world and the sale of coal from the US to these areas is increasing.
Your 1600 coal fired power plants is an old number from an even older fossil propaganda piece . Like most of your info . It’s out dated , old technogy peramitters . It’s the stuff of the fatasy holding on to the past . You remind me of Quakers riding around in horse and buggies . Very Quaint but oh so yesterday.
Coal is undergoing a resurgence in the US since Obama’s restrictions have been lifted. What have you been smoking, Ataloss?
Since you know what it’s going to be, and since you dislike it so much, why are you here???
Solar systems must rock… trump wants to put solar panels on the wall…..lol
Well long hours of sunlight at that latitude and considering the rising cost of electricity because of wind and solar just might make sense.
I knew it…lol…
Just who will pay for what? He did promise Mexico will pay, but now going to use USA money then get it back from Mexico in tariffs.. wonder how well that will work…
I only know of two people off grid using solar in PG. One of my uncles has been using solar for over a decade now with a generator backup… he has no choice as the power lines don’t go near his property.
The other guy is a good friend of mine that has power lines right up to his property line, but choose to be off grid anyways. His is actually two systems, one for the shop and the other for the house. If the house draws down it borrows from the shop, if the shop draws down it can not borrow from the house. Both have generator backup if the batteries drop below 20%.
If I were a betting man . I would bet that the winery goes solar to get another first for the area . The wineries down south are going solar in a huge way . I’m sure those guys all talk . Makes for great drone footage . They would also get the consumers green nod . Free electricity eventually and great PR . PR is about the most important asset they have .
How is the electricity free after thousands spent for a system, batteries needed for backup which will have to be replaced after a few years. Continuing maintenance. You never ever describe your system that you claim to have. Just another story on your part.
Every time the sun comes up , energy is delivered free of charge to your roof . You do know your hydro comes with a delivery charge , right ? My system is none of your business . The make and model of my EV is none of your business either . In fact my information is none of your business . If you had a business of your own , you wouldn’t have to mind the businesses of others . Like me . I could not care less as to what you have or do , would be bully boy . But by all means focus on my domain . I’ll gladly run interference for others on this site .
So if solar energy is free, how come all the jurisdictions who invest heavily in solar electricity have skyrocketing costs to consumers, and that’s on top of huge government subsidies? Guess you didn’t read my posts up above. I’d call that willful ignorance.
You didn’t read my post either . Again . I said , every morning the sun comes up energy is delivered free of charge . Meaning the delivery portion of your hydro bill is absent because the sun does not charge for delivery . Hydro does .
Oh, I read your post. Renewable fans are always going on about how sun and wind are free energy, and always leave out the part about the costs of harnessing it. As for that, all forms of energy are free, it’s the costs of utilizing it combined with its utility that matters, and up till now, renewables (except for hydro) don’t come close. Read my posts above and learn.
Love my steak
ht tp://joannenova.com.au/2017/09/low-fat-consensus-was-wrong-high-carb-diets-increase-death-rates/#more-54780
I don,t know how much Gas is in the big Tanks at a Gas Station, but what a way to screw us, 1 Day you sell it lets say for a 1 Dollar a Liter and the next day
you charge for the same Gas , 10 Cents a Liter more ? You must think we are all
Stupid, but you get away with it !
They don’t think we’re stupid, they just know we’ll pay.
With the deep state and bigger players behind the scenes my money is on all of the above
You mean they couldn’t find the plane engine part stuck in the grass in a photo of the pentagon on 9-11? It was almost 3 feet across, kind of hard to miss
Some thoughts here on the fires
htt p://www.clearwatertimes.com/opinion/former-faller-says-wildfire-response-mismanaged/
Thanks for the link Seamutt. Lots of questions to ask for sure when this fire season finally ends.
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