how in the heck are we supposed to live these days

[Buff Hooligans]

By not having a cell phone,
1. I save monthly costs.
2. I won't have a car accident due to my inattention.
3. I have peace and quiet.

 

[BuckeyeDave]

Pat,
For thousands of years, even longer than perpetual motion machines or the quest for fire were even thought about man tried to fly, jumping and kicking, feathering and screaming, it too some thinkers of the time to come up with a working model and quite some time again to perfect it, but once it took off blammo, everyone was up in the air. 100 years after the invention we take it for granted, all of the incredible things that we have created over the years, electricity, radio waves, high def TV, computers, computer chips, it’s all mind blowing. The one thing that has stayed constant is the internal combustion engine, now I have to ask, is this really the best way to use all of the crude oil on the planet? It definitely isn’t.
Magnetism is barely understood, the use of magnets in all kinds of machines and products take place every day but the knowledge if magnets is still in its infancy, we barely understand how they work, science is finally using them to propel trains and amusement park rides, is it a farfetched idea that they can also be used to propel a generator? We have never had more computing power and knowledge of these items than right now, this is the time when it’s going to happen. Using the it’s never been invented before argument really doesn’t make sense. They will figure it out and then because of the internet and global connectivity everyone will have it.
Peace,
Dave

 

[DuckyBoys]

Quote:
Oh geez I could never live without a cell phone - honestly I don't know how I parented children before cell phones. I hate it when they can't be reached when I call. In addition - our regular phones go out all the time - sometimes the cell is the only way to communicate with the world.

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

I guess we are kind of lucky here. I always thought living in New Jersey was the worst place to choose because of our high taxes, etc but I'm seeing more and more that we have better prices elsewhere. Gas is only (haha, ONLY) $3.77 and it just came down a little bit too! We are still paying $4 for a bale of hay (a large bale) and food is still a little bit cheaper here. Of course it's not great and my dad still complains about the bill, but he has a very good job and is able to support us. We do have our financial difficulties here and there, but we are usually always able to work through it.

I bought myself a little 1997 honda accord for $5000 and I spend about $25 a week on gas. It's wonderful! I drive around quite a bit too. I also work a lot at a bird sanctuary and I worked hard and was able to get a full scholarship to college, which made my dad very happy!

We do feel the pressure of rising prices in everything, but I always try to look at the good things we have and it defrays the pain of the bad a WHOLE lot! I do still wonder how a lot of people make it everyday. I'm really hoping something gives soon, but everything has been so unpredictable lately!

 

[GreenForest81]

It sounds crazy but one day we were sitting at home and there was nothing on TV. I mean, we had over 100 channels and nothing was on it. Hubby turned it off, I unplugged it and we sat it out in the front lawn and gave it away.
Haven't had one in three years now. Don't miss it. I constantly read and I get my news from newspapers and internet.
My contract on my cell phone is coming up and I am wondering about shutting that off as well and just getting a trackphone since I have to drive so far so I can reach someone.

I get more "please take this survey" calls on my cell than I do on my home phone. Blah.

 

[patandchickens]

Uh, Dave, animals have been flying for longer than humans have even been *around*

Likewise, things have been internally combusting in ways that do Work (work in a physics sense, not necessarily useful-to-humans work of course!) since pretty much the beginning of time, just look around you at a volcano, what happens when lightning blows up a treetrunk, etcetera.

All people had to do in those cases was figure out how to make a human-oriented useful-work-generating version of what was conspicuously already going on out there.

Magnetism is barely understood, the use of magnets in all kinds of machines and products take place every day but the knowledge if magnets is still in its infancy, we barely understand how they work, science is finally using them to propel trains and amusement park rides, is it a farfetched idea that they can also be used to propel a generator?

Well, if by 'propel a generator' you mean 'construct a perpetual motion machine' then I would say *yes* it's farfetched. Not impossible of course, but pretty darn severely farfetched. Because in order to get WORK out of them, something has to be gotten to *move*, and then you are squarely back in the province of all the other perpetual motion machines that have ever been devised. You're back to "why do you think you can get more energy out of a contraption than was put into it (summed across all the different forms in which energy was put in)".

Using the it’s never been invented before argument really doesn’t make sense. They will figure it out and then because of the internet and global connectivity everyone will have it.

This part is the real reason I'm replying to this post -- because I would like to argue that it is generally a VERY DANGEROUS AND COUNTERPRODUCTIVE attitude, and one that is probably not very reality-based either. It is essentially magical thinking. "If I want something badly enough, then it must be possible to get it, and therefore if I just sit around wanting and wanting and wanting it, someone (oddly, generally not the speaker him- or herself) will eventually come along and *poof* create it."

Me, I would like to see Fairy Engines invented. Hm? You catch some fairies, you talk nicely to them, and they volunteer to strap themselves into a hamster wheel and generate perpetual free electricity for you as long as you read them poetry and feed them rose petals once every year or two. I would argue that this is *likelier* to happen than magnetic-powered perpetual motion machines, because we have pretty sound empirical and theoretical reasons to believe that perpetual motion is an inherently impossible concept... whereas my fairies are (did I mention?) entirely exempt from any laws of physics, and thus perfectly capable of doing whatever they bloomin' well want. Also please note that perfectly reasonable credible people over the years have believed in, and in some cases claimed to have seen or contacted, fairies, so you should not just dismiss this idea out of hand.

Alas, not everything we can imagine is *guaranteed* possible. (Everything imaginable *may* be possible, I suppose, but it seems at least as likely that it ain't.) Certainly not everything we can imagine is possible in our lifetimes, or those of our children or grandchildren.

It is useful to put research and public-awareness efforts into technologies that there is some actual evidence they work. Solar panels, for instance; hydrogen fuel cells; geothermal power. Things like that.

It is also (even more) useful to put public-awareness and personal-lifestyle efforts into instilling more of a mindset of conserving energy, restraining ourselves, distinguishing between wants and needs, living within our means and without gadgety luxury energy-wasting cr*p.

OTOH, I would argue that it is NOT useful to put much of any further energy, beyond personal hobby time, into chasing perpetual motion machines. Back in 1600 it was a sensible avenue to pursue. Now, it has been pretty thoroughly explored, there are some pretty compelling reasons to believe it's impossible, AND there are much MORE PROMISING things to work on. People WILL, I promise you, continue to tinker with perpetual motion machines, so it is not as if all work in that direction will be abandoned. In the meantime, though, let's do something that has some realistic likelihood of a useful payoff

And certainly let's quit pretending that all the world's problems could already be solved because of perpetual motion machines that allegedly already exist.

Or if you get to pretend that, then I get to pretend that you're a lazy selfish person for not coming along to help me hunt down some Generator Fairies

Pat​

 

[Buff Hooligans]

Pat, I think your BRAIN is a perpetual motion machine. (I mean that as a compliment.)

 

[patandchickens]

LOL -- suuuuure you do.

Darn, *that* must be where the Generator Fairies are hiding -- no *wonder* my ears itch. If that's where they are, I'm not going looking for them though!

Pat, who actually does have a perpetual motion machine in the house right now, age 3, but unfortunately inducing him to do Useful Work is another matter entirely. And those crazy Golden Campine chicks would be another good contender for the title, supposing they quit eating and lived forever.

 

[morelcabin]

I would give up our TV, computer and a few other things in a minute. The are just time wasting gadgets that cost more than they are worth! I am shutting off the cable on the TV for the summer, there's no sense wasting time in the house when there is so much to do outdoors. The computer would be off for the summer too but hubby needs it for his home office. I would take my truck off the road and not miss it (unless we had a emergency and I suddenly need it to drive to the hospital...then I would miss it:>) That is the only reason I keep it on the road...in case of....sheesh!

 

[EggCentric]

I was thinking along these same lines not long ago, and was trying to think of a way for people to help each other out with the economy getting as bad as it is. My idea?

I am the founder of "Farm Swap". It's a yahoo group and is now in 7 states. I don't know if it's allowed to give a link, so I won't do it, but you can find it in a search. (or see my signature).

What is it? Well, let's say you have a garden and are over run with tomatoes, but you would really like some fresh eggs. You post on the group to swap for them. People that don't have room for a garden can swap services. There are also chickens, pigs, goats and even horses being swapped. It's a strictly barter group, no selling or advertising allowed.

If you'd like to know more, PM me or email me at foalfan at yahoo dot com

Libby