Musicians, artists, actors and actresses have been saying for decades-perhaps centuries or even more.
”The show must go on”
What’s that mean? I always took it to be that no matter what happens, if the city is flooding, the building has been burned, and half the cast has come down with dysentery…
the show must go on. Life must go on. You must do what needs to be done, and what you need to do.
Who can forget that on September 11th, 2001 the world was divided? Wait-you’re not one of those fools who thought we were UNITED on that day, are you? Think back and remember that half the people said, “911 CHANGEs everything”, and the other half said, “If we stop going to the movies or shopping or CHANGE in anyway then the terrorists win”?
I always understood the first half of the people who believed the day changed the world. Those people tended to see the previous years of America’s war with Al Queda as weak and pathetic examples of swatting at flies. The idea was that when two entire zip codes are flattened, a nation can no longer be content to merely swat, but should finally take more resolute action.
I didn’t understand the second part though. Even President Bush advised people to go shopping, to not change. The show had to go on. I disagreed with that logic. I thought it was wishful, deliberate, ignorance. It was like looking putting your hand in a campfire and denying the pain.
I was wrong. There is a vein of that secondary logic that holds true. I dare even say that I agree with President Obama on this perspective of “if we change in any way then they win.”
No. Sorry people, but President Obama is correct. Jonah Goldberg is brilliant, but in his latest oped, he’s looking in the wrong direction to respond/poke Pres. Obama.
Jonah is correct in that big business has never stopped working hard. Big businesses hire people and pay them big bucks and MAKE big bucks because they continue to work hard.
However, President Obama is correct. Americans have grown, soft, lazy, apathetic, and hundreds of millions of us (myself included) have cast aside our get-it-done attitudes. We’ve replaced “can do” with complaints and excuses of why we can’t. No one is exempt from this critique btw. Pres. Obama needs to get off his ass, get off the golf course, and use the energy from walking 18holes to walk down the freaking street to Capitol Hill and smack some dumbasses around!
And it rolls downhill from there.
It comes to YOU and I when we complain about our electric bill or gas bill….yet we choose not to buy a piddly 600w wind turbine off ebay which would cut your bill in half. We complain about pollution, and big oil, and gas prices….as we get into our new car and drive it to the oil company feeding grounds called, gas stations. We complain about banks having too much money…then we ask them for loans-not to buy an electric car or solar panels or to start a business, but for an iPad.
It’s time to stand up and remind ourselves that, The Show Must Go On. No more whining about this or that. Get up, and go do what needs to be done. The show must go on. If you want things to get better, you have to do you your job, and I don’t mean the job that gets you by and pays your bills (or comes close). I mean if you want things better than the job/task of making them better is not going to fall to anyone else. It will fall upon you.
Sitting in a park and complaining about government but then never running for town council or even student council…that’s stupid. Complaining that rich people are rich, and should give you money cause they earned it and you didn’t is criminal. The people who “discovered” this continent, the people who settled it, the people who fought for independence, the people who survived 14 depressions and recessions….those are the kinds of Americans who don’t sit idly by and complain. They stood up. They did what needed to be done. They waged wars. They liberated continents, and they freed hundreds of millions of people from genocide and tyranny. Oh, and they didn’t do it by throwing a tent in park.
It’s time to stop enjoying the simple life in the US. Even if you’re in the 1/3 of the American people who are living at or under the poverty level….you know what needs to be done. You know that if you’re professional skills are of value to someone else as an employee, then you (of all people) should be able to take those skills and use them as your own employer. Get up, get in the game, get in the show…..’cause no matter the hardship you have now, no matter your complaint
It’s time to look past those troubles and do what must be done.
The Show Must Go On
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLHsjXYh4I0[/youtube]
Author of “Reparations and America’s 2nd Civil War
Reparations and America’s 2nd Civil War: Malensek, Scott: 9798864028674: Amazon.com: Books
From this post – ” yet we choose not to buy a piddly 600w wind turbine off ebay which would cut your bill in half.”
As an electric utility employee with 37+ years of experience (which includes involvement in the development of several commercial wind projects), folks need to learn to be properly skeptical about these kind of claims. For example, this article “http://www.energybulletin.net/stories/2010-09-16/real-world-tests-small-wind-turbines-netherlands-and-uk” has the results of actual field tests of several of these ‘piddly’ turbines.
Their results were “Two real-world tests performed in the Netherlands and in the UK confirm our earlier analysis that small wind turbines are a fundamentally flawed technology…The machines face two fundamental problems: there is not enough wind at low altitudes in a built-up environment and the energy production of a wind turbine declines more than proportionately to the rotor diameter. Wind power rules, but small wind turbines are a swindle.”
A sublink states “The average electricity production of all 26 machines amounted to 78 kWh per year per wind turbine”. Our average customer uses 1,500 kWh per MONTH. Self-producing 78 kWh per YEAR from one of these turbines may give you a warm, fuzzy feeling of self-righteousness, but is less than 1/2 of one percent of your energy use, nowhere near the ‘cut your bill in half’ claimed. The main article lists several units which generated around 250 kWh per year (when they didn’t break), but that is still only a fraction of most people’s average monthly use, a ‘piddly’ contribution towards reducing your consumption. A few CFL’s or a reduction in TV/computer time will save far more.
Firstly, Scott, I, too, was surprised when then-President Bush told people to go shopping and to movies and ball games.
I would not have balked had he instead said we were going to have to bring back ration books so we could go out and wipe al Qaeda and all other world-caliphate preaching Islamists off the map.
But he did not go that route.
He was concerned about the American macro-economy.
It needed us to keep living as though we were not in a major war.
~~~~~~~
Secondly, I am one of those people environmentalists hate: a conservationist!
I don’t believe that we have to get off the planet for it to thrive.
I believe we can live in a harmonious way with the earth.
When I became a board member on our 27 unit condo HOA I introduced a grey-water irrigation system to our yard from our last laundry rinse.
I replaced all our public/porch lighting with solar spots.
I got rid of our water-hungry tropical plants and put in native, drought-resistant ones.
I replaced old water-wasting top-loading washers with efficient front-loaders.
Any owner who rents out his place must make sure no low-flow faucets, shower heads, or toilets have been either replaced or are leaking between rentals.
When we were going to re-roof I looked into putting solar panels all over our south-facing roof.
But even here in Southern California there are so many cloudy days at the beach that it was not worthwhile.
I won an Earth Day Award a couple of years ago for saving our condos so much water, electricity and gas.
Now I consult with other multi-family dwelling boards on how they, too can save be being greener.
~~~~~~~
On a completely different note, please go through your essay and proofread it carefully.
There are a number of things you might like to re-write.
My very first thought was….what a load of BS. My second thought was, you’re truely delusional. I’ve got a 3.5Kw Photovoltaic system, paid for in part by you. So, I’m going to guess that it’s at least as efficient as your turbine, which means it doesn’t kill birds or make a ton on noise. My energy useage is DOWN 750Kw from Jan to present. My energy bill is UP $450. Why is this, OH YEAH I KNOW BECAUSE OF IDIOTS that foolishly believe they can ‘save the Earth’ so I get to pay for more stupid inefficient ideas. If you really want to save the earth, turn off your computer and go live in a cave. Until then STFU.
@Jay:
I’m glad someone had the courage to point out the facts here. I’m not AGAINST alternative energy sources, but there is a GOOD REASON why people aren’t using them. Not only do the actual power figures from solar panels and small wind turbines fall well below the stated outputs, but they always fail to mention several critical details. I want to scream when I read statements like “I just put solar panels on my roof” …. because they never tell you that it takes a lot more than a few solar panels to build a solar power system. They make it sound like all you have to do is toss them up there, and you have free power. Solar panels and wind turbines generate DC power, and we use AC power, so you need something to convert the DC to AC, which requires an inverter and/or batteries to store the power you aren’t using so it isn’t wasted. All the efficiency calculations for these systems assume you’re collecting ALL the power you can when the wind is blowing or the sun is shining. Failing to do that makes them WAY less efficient. And, unless you want to rewire your entire house with a secondary power network, that inverter needs to be a grid tie inverter. Grid tie inverters allow you to skip the batteries, but they cost a LOT more too.
I’ve personally experimented with both technologies, and the bottom line is that they just aren’t cost effective for most applications. You’ll spend a fortune up front, the yields fall short of expectations, and nobody has long term data on the maintenance and other long term costs yet. Too many people are falling for the hype surrounding these devices. If they worked and saved as much money as the proponents claim they do, EVERYONE , myself included, would be using them.
lol upchuck thinks his energy bill went UP because of greenies, but ignores that the number of people able to pay their energy bills has dropped=they still get energy/cost is passed on to you. When 100,000 out of 400,000 people moved out of Cleveland, and another 150,000 people were unable to pay their electric bill in the winter (but the law mandates that no one lose their gas or electric in winter) what do you think the electric companies did? Did they just eat the added cost using their giant vaults of gold? Or did they increase everyone else’s bills?
Look, alternative energy is NOT the easiest form in town, but let’s not be foolish and pretend people can’t live off the grid.
btw, I live in Ohio, and yeah…..solar’s a stupid choice here, stupid because geothermal is available almost everywhere and so is wind (both of which can produce heat or energy 24/7 /365 instead of 10/4/180.
Kudos for trying to take matters into your own hands, now man up and get back to it….or quit/be a quitter and embrace the warmth of whining
Solar and wind are not the answer. The answer is coming soon if the feds will allow it.
Neighborhood Nuclear Power
Scott–
I think you meant to post this wonderful piece on the Daily Kos. It would fit in better over there.
@Aqua: I’ll agree with the Nukes, I’d like you do define ‘neighborhood’. There is a certain economy of scale so perhaps ‘local’ would be a better word. BTW I live in the Peoples Republik of Kalifornia. ‘Alterative Energy’ is mandated so we have solar farms…of course the greenies that wanted the solar farms are the same idiots that stop the transmission lines from being built. They’re the same greenies that are protecting a damn bait fish so our most productive farm area is a desert…again forcing produce to be trucked over longer distances. They’re the same greenies that are screaming about how CO2 is a ‘green house gas’ and it’s rising and OMG the plants are growing too fast and too big. Yep, that last one is for real kids. Of course none if the green loons look at the real ‘source’ of CO2 it’s not man, it’s nature, and nature is taking care of it. Sadly, nature can’t take care of the loons that are insisting that we have toxic heavy metals in our homes.
Neighborhood nukes? omg….I have a tough time believing/trusting most Americans to use power tools let alone nukes.
Nah, not a post for DailyKOS.
The point isn’t just alternative energy either, but seems we’re getting stuck on that (ironic since I’m a supporter of big oil).
Think of this as my Malaise Speech 🙂
@Scott: Energy bills dropped???? Which planet are you from? Delusional, Dense or Oblivious? Even your Dear Leader, and judging from your posts I’m spot on, said he was going to raise prices to obtain his Socialist Utopia.
Who said “energy bills dropped”
?
@Scott Malensek:
You should read the link. They are fully self contained units, no moving parts, no weapons grade material. It would cut electricity cost to about a quarter of what you now pay. One unit can supply power to 10,000 homes for about $25 million. That’s $250 per home. Then just pay the upkeep for maintenance on the lines, no maintenance costs for the nuke unit.
Sounds awesome Aqua. I still don’t trust most people w power tools though ;D
@Scott Malensek:
Don’t blame you. There are some people I don’t trust with the TV remote. 🙂
Scott
hi, thank you for that POST,
I like what you said here; you must do what need to be done, and what you need to do.
AND THAT
apply to VOTING TO CHANGE WHAT IS NEED TO BE CHANGE,
AND I SAY
IF YOU ARE TOO LAZY TO NOT VOTE, you deserve this kind of wreck THIS GOVERNMENT HAVE SUCCED TO ACHIEVE
IN ONLY 3 YEARS,
BYE
@Aqua:
I’m guessing that the real costs are significantly higher than $250 per home, and NOTHING is maintenance free, but that being said, I have read about the small reactors, and think they show promise. Zero emissions, long term power production without constant re-fueling, and if we make them HERE, more American jobs and less dependence of foreign energy sources. Sounds like a win/win for everyone, if you can get past the hysterical anti-nuke crowd …
@Guy in Ohio:
Hi Guy in Ohio, I believe Hyperion is based in the US, New Mexico to be exact. I don’t know that they will keep labor here, but giving the restraints on nuclear energy by the DOE, I would have to imagine they would have no choice. I agree, nothing is maintenance free. In Georgia, we have a lot of EMCs, Electric Membership Corporations. These are non-profit electric companies owned by the people that are served by them. We get to vote on improvements and anything else that comes along. I’m sure there would be fees involved, but it would still be cheaper than the costs we are currently paying. I’m all for it. I would even volunteer to put one in my backyard.
Jay
yes wind turbines kill a lot of birds, they are being sucked in, they even found eagles dead in there,
I notice the diminish amount of song birds coming north, in the last 10 years,
after I read of those wind turbines killing birds, and It’s true,
the song birds of many colors use to stop for some briefly on their long road NORTH, and same when going back SOUTH,
they have a role to play in nature, beside being so beautiful and singing such melodious notes to enchant the human who have the chance to be there.
@Scott Malensek: Misread it sorry, here a fun update. SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 22 (Reuters) – Google Inc has abandoned an ambitious project to make renewable energy cheaper than coal, the latest target of Chief Executive Larry Page’s moves to focus the Internet giant on fewer efforts.
Read more: http://nation.foxnews.com/google/2011/11/22/even-google-pulls-plug-green-energy#ixzz1eUnXzsUS
I guess I get to play the designated cynic…
I would like to say I don’t have anything against alternative energy either, I have helped get several hundred megawatts of commercial wind projects built and in operation, helped write my utility’s net metering policy which allows our customers to install their own solar/wind or other alternative generation and connect to our system and am currently involved in the development of several hundred kW of solar projects.
But, with half of my career spent in our engineering department and the other half in the resource acquisition/policy side of the business, I deal in reality, not ‘Gee, wouldn’t it be nice if…’.
@Scott Malensek “because geothermal is available almost everywhere and so is wind (both of which can produce heat or energy 24/7 /365 instead of 10/4/180”
I suppose if you define ‘can’ as ‘the possibility exists, however remote’, then wind theoretically *can* produce energy 8,760 hours out of the year. However, I’m willing to bet any amount of money you will put up that it won’t. The average assumed capacity factor (the amount of time a generator actually produces its rated output) for wind is 30%, which means 70% of the time it produces nothing.
I can show you metered hourly output readings from a wind farm which went 10 consecutive days with no generation whatsoever. And that was from a month with an overall capacity factor of 46%.
@Aqua “You should read the link”
As should you. The reporter said ‘no moving parts’. If you go to the Hyperion website, no where do they say ‘no moving parts’. In fact they talk about the control rods, which in order to function and control the reaction must move. There will also be valves, pumps, etc. to circulate and control the coolant. If the coolant doesn’t move, it doesn’t cool, and guess what happens to the reactor core when it isn’t cooled?
As far as “no weapons grade material”, again Hyperion says “ceramic material pellets deter the ability to separate plutonium from spent fuel”. Deter, not prevent, I.E. difficult, not impossible.
“no maintenance costs for the nuke unit” Except of course, for the complete replacement of the reactor module every ten years or so. Maybe it’s only semantics, but I would call that maintenance. I would also assume it comes at some cost…
“It would cut electricity cost to about a quarter of what you now pay” The quote from the Hyperion rep was “Our goal is to generate electricity for 10 cents a watt”. I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he was mis-quoted by the reporter and actually said ‘kilowatt-hour’, the typical utility billing determinant, but even at that, how many of you are currently paying 40 cents a kWh for your power? His ‘goal’ is about 20% more than our present retail rate.
Last but not least, “One unit can supply power to 10,000 homes for about $25 million. That’s $250 per home”. Ummm, no, that’s $2,500 per home. At least by the math I was taught in school. For the original install. Plus the 10 cents/kWH (assuming they can actually hit their goal), plus another $2,500 per home to replace the unit every 10 years.
Jay
you know what you are talking about,
thank you for talking about it, in words so precise that even I can understand, that we still have a chance to protect our beautiful song birds and all of the other flying living being,
@Jay:
Reality is a bitch, isn’t it? I go head to head with “alternative energy” types all the time, and the amount of misinformation out there is stunning. The proof lies right in front of our eyes. The Solyndra fiasco is a perfect example. If solar power was such a great idea, then why did Solyndra fail miserably? Yet, we have a government full of morons who can’t do the math, and are willing to dump millions of taxpayer dollars down the drain chasing a pipe dream. I don’t doubt that SOME DAY, we can find a more efficient way to generate our power, and I’m all for funding RESEARCH to get there, but throwing millions of our tax dollars down the drain on a premature, “green” idea that educated people know isn’t cost effective is ridiculous.
Right now, the best applications for small solar and wind power systems are remote sites, where the cost of installing and maintaining utility power would be prohibitive. That’s why we’re seeing so many solar panels on roadside signs and weather stations. However, these technologies, as they exist today, will never be able to compete with our centralized, fossel-fuel fired commercial plants, unless the price of electricity “necessarily skyrockets” as Obama has promised. Does it really make sense to artificially drive the cost of energy higher, just to make a less efficient form of “green” energy cost effective? If you say yes, then you might be a liberal, or an idiot.
Guy in OHIO
HI,
SINCE OBAMA IS A KNOWN BIG SPENDER, HE WILL SPEND ON ANYTHING SUGGESTED BY HIS FOLLOWERS who contributes cash flow for his campaign, as long as he can spend the cash from the taxpayers,
he doesn’t know the value of money because it’s not his own, but he has acces to it by EXECUTIVE ORDERS,
AND HE SPEND IT ON A SPUR OF THE MOMENT,
HE IS ONE OF THOSE YOU SURE HAVE MET SOMETIMES WHO BOROUGH MONEY FROM YOU SO TO SPEND WHICH IS A FUN GAME IN THESES DAYS WE ARE IN,
and that his problem, and he is making money to do it too.
and don’t give a dang if AMERICANS ARE RUINED BY IT,
hopefully that will end in 2012,
“Reality is a bitch, isn’t it? “
Not for me, but then I don’t have problems dealing with math and/or facts.
“I go head to head with “alternative energy” types all the time…”
BTDT. In pursuit of some additional credentials, I attended a famously liberal (read radical/activist) college as it was the closest four year institution to my rural area. Being a 50-something electric utility employee in a class about energy resources full of 19 year old environmental science majors (and I use the term ‘science’ loosely in their case) was an interesting experience.
“willing to dump millions of taxpayer dollars…on a premature, “green” idea that educated people know isn’t cost effective is ridiculous. “
The problem is, with what passes for education now, the folks that should know better are the ones driving the bus. Right over the cliff. They KNOW it’s not cost-effective and DON’T CARE!
The self-appointed intelligentsia have allowed themselves to be brainwashed into believing all of this sturm und drang is necessary to ‘solve’ a ‘problem’ that only became a problem after the data was tortured in ways that would make the most ruthless Inquisitor blush.
Because (IMO anyway), they don’t really want to change the structure, they just want a revolution that places THEM at the top of the pyramid.
@Jay:
I guess all we can hope for is that calmer, more rational heads eventually prevail Jay. Having a misguided, ideological President who thinks that our energy costs “must necessarily skyrocket”, despite the consequences, is troubling to say the least. He plans to ram his anti-American agenda down out throats and destroy a major American industry, all in the name of a phony “crisis” that has no basis in reality … and only a fool would think that is a good idea. Hopefully, people are waking up now and realizing that going “green” to solve a non-existent problem is senseless, especially when it means crippling our struggling economy and putting thousands, if not millions of people out of work. We’ll find out in November I guess ….
just to say, there is a 13 tons RUSSIAN MARS PROBE MAY CRASH INTO EARTH
WITHIN WEEKS,
JUST IN CASE YOU DON’T MISSED IT
BYE
BERNY MARCUS SAY,
WE’RE IN A VERY DANGEROUS TIME, THE WORSE IN THE HISTORY OF AMERICA, and we better change it because if we don’t there will will be very dangerous time, and now the COMPANIES ARE NOT HIRING, BECAUSE TOO MANY ENTITLEMENTS, AND OTHERS THINGS
The Air Force Academy put in a solar system that will save the US Government $300,000/year. The unfortunate issue is that it will take 45 years to pay for the system and the life of the system is only 20 years. Our government at work!
Randy
hi
oops they miscalculated again, yes why think about the future,
they made money out of it by favoring their side, the one who pay for the campaign to be elected,
that is the most important for them,
if they only have had one to calculate the consequences,
it’s the same thing they do for all their decisions,
too bad, they get some people to die in the wars because of it.
bye
Hey Scott!! Good to see you back! I always enjoyed your posts. And this one is no exception.Unfortunately it home way to close! My wife and myself found ourselves doing exactly what you described! And we have for the most part of our lives considered ourseleves Realistic, and pragmatic people. I chosen therapy model was Rational Emotive Thinking and Behavior for my career. long story short, my wife had retired after 42 years of hard physical labor. (not as hard the last 10 as a boss) But over the last 3 yrs we saw our budget being eatened up by inflation bigtime like many other older Americans. And man o man were we throwing some fits!!! We kept cutting and cutting from our fixed income to the bone. And the we heard our most non-favorite man Obi talking about “we must all sacrifice”.!!!! No crap!!! But we heard it in a different way this time around. So my wife returned back to work. She beat the pavement for two days and had 8 offers by the end of the third day, and went to work on the fourth day. Do we like it? Yes and No. I have more duties now of course. And she has to bust butt again. But the point, we had forgotten what we taught our children, and what my grand dad had drilled into me along with some of the other old timers back then. “”If you want more potatoes, get off your ass and off the porch and go pick-em!” So we are both picking more spuds now each in our own way. We were stuck in that “poor poor pitiful me syndrome”. We laugh about it now, but sometimes we don’t always get what we want, we get what we need. Hope you write some more! My wife read it too. and says “how true”. See ya!