Too busy to Blog

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by DANIEL B FROMHOFF on January 30, 2009 at 1:05pm

WE NEED TO COLLECTIVELY TAKE ACTION IF OUR ORGANIZATION STANDS FOR ANYTHING BUT TALK. WE CANNOT ALL TRADE IN OUR CARS BUT WE CAN ALL BEGIN BY REDUCING OUR POWER CONSUMPTION. LET'S SET AN EXAMPLE.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by J. A. on February 14, 2009 at 5:37am

I am so upset with the politicians in washington....
obama has bullied spending to the point that china sent a message that they "hate us" (said twice) for spending money we don't have, citing trillions and trillions that haven't helped.
our politicians are fools.
i did ask someone who had natural gas in patrol cars for their fleet of cars, and i was told of cars that blew up, because sparks of any kind create an explosion. they wont do it again. so i wonder about the safety of this as a solution.
and recently a 1,100 page spending bill, that the public was not even given a look at, was pushed thru without any one, even the people voting on the bill had not read.
as a new senior citizen, there are provisions in this bill that would not allow me to get care i need, in favor of giving it to a younger person instead. my government has failed me.
you decide for yourself.
monorails from vegas to disney land, do we really need this, well reid felt he did.
pelosi got billions for her district in san franscisco for study of habitats, and the bay area.
obama strong armed everyone into this surprise package... they set their own priorities, not for the people...
and to support illegal immigrants only encourages more people to jump the fences....
is their no end to their arrogance with a huge credit card.
no transperecy, no reporting to us, secret meetings... no sunshine laws in congress or the house.
so disgusted..... politicans will always be politicians... not to be trusted.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Jeff Greene on February 14, 2009 at 6:01am

J.A. while I don't disagree with your whole post, CNG vehicle safety is where I can correct a myth. I have attached a study guide and safety presentation we provided to Miami-Dade County. Regarding the stimulus plan...I read it. It was posted on Huffington Post the day it was introduced and several websites post the changes and even notify you when changes are made. Politicians may not have read it and that would be their choice as to the time management. As to the effectiveness of this bill, history will tell. The stock market lost $7 Trillion in valuation last year. There is a tremendous amount of wealth in America that disappeared. China is the largest holder of our debt because they may publicly say they hate us, but they know our country is a safe investment. Why do we have such debt? Entitlement programs and a trade deficit, not the least of which is the $700 B per year we send to foreign countries for oil. I respect the fact that you don't trust politicians. But you have two choices, you can blog and complain and nothing will ever change or you can get involved and make a difference. Personally, I am in favor of term limits for congress, there are many things you can do. If you can't figure out where to start, let me know and I will give you some suggestions.

Attachments:

• Study_Guide_Final.pdf, 4.1 MB
• Safety Presentation1.ppt, 209 KB

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by J. A. on February 14, 2009 at 6:11am

while obama ate lobster, we had soup for dinner.
we lost 4 jobs in our family, and look to put food on the table as our most important
spending. we lost the house, and now social security that i depend on will be cut.
am i impressed, oh yes i am, but negatively.
years to new jobs or any jobs...
you should look into this b. s. ing....
i don't want to look back in history for soulitions... how about common good sense?
this is how the banks and wall street failed, they raided their companies and stole the
money... money not theirs.
economists agree this stimulis bill is only good for washington...
that it wont work....
welcome to socialism... read the mag with that on the cover.
and smile, we have all been screwed.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Jeff Greene on February 14, 2009 at 6:20am

I am not sure that you can lump all the economists into one category, but again, I don't disagree with all you are saying. Your statement - Banks and Wall Street failed. Who raided their money? The banks and Wall Street made poor business decisions by opening up the credit markets too wide and allowing a housing and credit bubble that burst simultaneously. Government was fat and happy because higher home prices mean more taxes so they turned a blind eye. History repeats itself over and over and over. There are free market capitalist companies that will make money with this stimulus package and from that create jobs. I am a life long Republican, but I respect the election system this country has in place. If you don't like the fact that the democrats are controlling the House, Senate and White House, get involved in politics. But before you back a candidate find out what they believe in, Bush did our party no favor and we are paying for his policy now.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by J. A. on February 14, 2009 at 6:55am

this housing problem was started by king clinton and affirmative action in the housing, giving loans to minorities who could not afford them.
affirmative action is a fancy word for discrimination...
and then the dems with fanny and freddy with power plays from acorn, forced banks to take these loans.... dems all....
don't blame bush, he kept us safe... no longer a safe-guard.
and they just spent more money than the wars in iran and afghanistan combines on fancy spending.
lets face this, we taught and gave birth to the terrorists with the vacuum we left after teaching them how to push a large enemy back, russia at the time, (bob Wilson's war) and they took on large enemies, namely us, with the same tatics.... we taught them that.......
and lets face it, Hussein was a war criminal, who killed thousands of his own people.
i am watching the news, and seem to be up to date, more so than anyone around me...
how can you respect what acorn did to the elections, and this bill gives them unlimited funds to continue their dirty work..
i see moving vans every day, as people, my neighbors loose their homes in my neighorhood...and nothing is happening to help.
they are stealing our futures... only way out is another war, if you want to use the past as blue print for our future.
as i said i am disgusted..
as for getting involved, look at all the calls they got on not doing this "new deal" that didn't work either.
don't get me wrong, i luv pickens... too bad he cant start this without the government.
his ideas are good sense, just now its a political football, and 40 years tooooo late.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Jeff Greene on February 14, 2009 at 10:32am

Loans to minorities was a part of the problem but a far larger problem was high LTV loans to non documented income applicants. These No Doc and Stated Income loans were responsible for people buying houses they couldn't afford and taking adjustable rates to get somewhere close under the misrepresentation that they could refinance because the house would be worth more in 3-5 years when the adjustment kicked in. If I remember correctly that was started in mass in the early 90s so I believe this predates Clinton too. I am not into bashing a political party In my opinion both parties are at fault as is the banking and finance industry. What has caused the economic collapse is the tightening credit markets caused by real estate price corrections and ridiculous credit card approval processes. I was approved for a $5000 credit card in college with virtually no income and I abused it. We are getting 5 credit card offers a day and I have learned my lesson and we are living within our means and not continuing our spending without a plan to get things paid off, economists are calling this a paradigm or thrift. Currently there are more vehicles in this country than licensed drivers. We don't need a tax credit to buy a new car we need the EPA to streamline approvals to convert our existing cars to alternative fuel. Developers have borrowed money to build mega condo and housing projects and they are sitting undeveloped or vacant due to the credit crisis. Retailers borrowed cheap money to flood the market with big box retail stores and consumers have embraced the internet to buy more products leaving retailers paying heavy rent and debt payments with lower revenue. The tax code has to change, you can save 6-7% buying online because there is no tax for internet sales, couple that with cheaper warehousing of product and that adds another 10-15%. Even with shipping you can save money buying online and that cuts revenue to the government. Department of Revenue is against alternative fuel vehicles because 18 cents of every gallon is tax revenue and they don't understand that the Alternative Fuel Vehicle Permit actually gives the state more tax revenue than the gas tax. We have educated more people than I can count to this fact. I understand you are frustrated, manufacturing jobs have been shipped overseas and into Mexico, India has taken our customer service jobs and we are buying oil from the middle east, Canada and South America. Its no wonder our trade deficit is so high. Lots of things have to change and nobody knows how to fix it. I sympathize with your employment issues, but more of the same is not going to fix the problem. New industries will emerge and new jobs will be created. We are planning on hiring or retraining hundreds of mechanics, contractors, administrative help and executive help. I know of dozens of other companies that are going to do the same. The big 3 automakers have pushed for more of the same and the people have pushed back, but did you know that when gas went from $4 to $2 the biggest increase in auto sales were trucks and SUVs. People have not learned anything. They are talking about taxing cigarettes and alcohol more to increase tax revenue. The fact is if we cut subsidies to the oil industry it would be substantially more tax revenue but gas prices would be more in line with the rest of the world. $5-$6 a gallon. We proved $4 was the magic point where people started to care. Lots of things have to change. Democrats and Republicans have to set aside differences and do whats best for the country. My opinion has always been Democrat equals big government and Republican has always meant smaller government. We are in for 4 years of big government if not 8. You can choose to work for the government, sell to the government or work with the government and things will be get better. You can fight the system and go against the machine and be miserable for the next 4-8+ years. Social Security is as close to a ponzi scheme as any government program in existence, your first complaint was that they are trying to lower your social security. Have you heard over the last 20 years that social security may not be there I am content to believe that 20 years from now when I am ready to retire I will look back and realize that all the money I paid into social security was for the security of the previous generation and the next generation is not able to keep up the payments. 401K programs were decimated by the Wall Street collapse, real estate has dropped, for the next 20 years I am planning on working hard and investing and not banking on anything from social security. If I am unsuccessful in achieving that I will be upset too. But we have been putting bandaid after bandaid on our problems and it is going to take some government spending to get us moving in new directions. Doctors waste billions of dollars per year not using electronic medical records, one of there arguments was they didn't want to change until they HAD to. This plan addresses that. Personally I think extending unemployment insurance is a waste, use that money to fund technical schools and school loan programs and get the unemployed retrained.

I could go on all day, and I know you are frustrated. I hear you. Keep that passion and use it to make a difference. Don't just bitch and moan on a website and go back to your couch when you are done, work for the Republican party if you are passionate that this is the democrats fault, there are elections every 2 years and the campaigns are longer than that so that is one option.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Jeff Smoley on February 14, 2009 at 11:37am

Evidently you are 20 years from retirement. Put yourself in my place. I'm 61. My technical support engineer job was off-shored two years ago. I got a good fixed mortgage at a low rate 5 years ago (after putting 20% down) and now my house is worth less than I owe. No equity now. I'm self-employed at three jobs and don't make 1/5 of what I did as an engineer. My 401k dissolved after 9/11 and I started an IRA, that is now worth 1/2 of what I put in.
Most of the local restaurants have closed, so even if I wanted to go out to eat, I am stuck with McD's and BK, etc. My neighbor owns a small business. I see him sitting in his yard with his dog. I costs him less to close the store and not pay his employee and electric than to stay open and have no customers. He owns a big & tall shop. The most common sign you see in the strip malls is "For Rent" or "Space Available". I know two small business owners that are now pay no rent. The landlord had a choice of having more empty store fronts or allowing these companies to stay open in the hopes that they will be able to pay rent if they survive the economy.

I just got a call from Discover Card. (I have a zero balance). My limit has been raised and they have a new program. If I am having a credit crunch, I can call them and put the card on hold. No new purchases, but no interest accumulates.

I e-mail my senators and my representative (state & national) almost regularly. All I get from the Democrats are form letter responses. One US senator (R) actually has someone read his e-mails and respond to what I wrote. Not sure if he ever gets to hear what I have to say. I am a registered independent. This "stimulus" plan is a joke.

BTW, you didn't comment on the goods pricing issues I mentioned.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Jeff Greene on February 14, 2009 at 2:56pm

I have the same question on goods pricing, my only thought at the moment is they could not raise prices enough to keep up with the increase in fuel costs and they are trying to recoup the losses they had from last year. But I am not sure. Seems that a congressional hearing is imminent. lol. That was suppose to be a joke, but it wouldn't surprise me.

As for our two different points of view, I understand what you are saying, my siblings are all 10-12 years older than me and I see what this has done to them. My point of view is strictly that, a point of view. I am not here to be critical of others, I am simply giving my perspective. I am mad as hell at the deregulation of the banking and securities industries, the lack of SEC and FDIC oversight and the ignorance that people inherently do the right thing.

Your perspective is not unique and I see my sisters college fund decimated for my niece, my business partners 401K devalued to the point that he would rather borrow than use it and banks turning down 50% down payments with 750 credit scores because they will not lend on a condo anymore, even though the price is down 60% from a year ago. We have well educated and uneducated unemployed. We have hard working and lazy unemployed. We have credit worthy and not creditworthy borrowers and homeowners. I have a question. Do you feel the Federal government should step in and allow your mortgage balance to decrease because your value decreased through no fault of your own? If you answer yes, the taxpaying public is reimbursing the lender for making a "bad" loan. If you answer no, you are stuck in a house that should it not increase before its time for you to sell will put you in a bad position personally. Multiply that problem several million times and that is where we are today. I don't have a solution, I have debated this problem with Democrats, Republicans, Independents, Christians,Muslims, Mexican American, Cuban American, African American and plain old Americans, Atheists, Gays, Straights, Homeowners, Renters, Unemployed, CEO and corporate executives and entrepreneurs, undereducated, educated and over educated, young, middle age and older everybody has a different perspective and everybody has good points. Just as their is no silver bullet in our energy crisis, there is no silver bullet to get our economy off of life support either. I am a college educated Economics major and a middle aged entrepreneur, my opinions are valued at exactly what they cost you. I enjoy the discussions, debates and dialogue. As an economics major I am overwhelmed, as an entrepreneur I am optimistic as a middle aged white guy I am realizing my mortality. Before we pass judgment on the stimulus plan, lets at least let it get signed into law. If in 3 months, the recovery.gov site is a joke and oversight is a joke and no jobs have been created and the unemployment numbers have gone up and the banks still aren't lending then we can complain. We are mortgaging our children's future and we are all responsible for trying our best to get it right. This is one segment of the populations attempt. There are dozens of other perspectives and no one can say for certain their way will work. I look forward to meeting you on Tuesday and I hope you take my comments with the spirit they are intended.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Jeff Smoley on February 14, 2009 at 4:43pm

The only thing I can help with is your mortality. I teach Qigong as one of the things I now do to earn a living. My oldest master is 100 years old and still practices as an acupuncture physician, and still goes to the park every Sunday AM to spar with any one who will take him on.

See you Tuesday.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Jeff Smoley on February 14, 2009 at 9:02am

What I want to know is why gasoline is now going up in price and oil is down by the barrel. Yesterday I saw something really strange: Premium gas at $2.36 a gallon and diesel at $2.29. Why is this strange? Well, if you search through earlier posts on this site, I had asked why diesel was more than gasoline, when, when I was growing up and even into my 20's & 30's, diesel was cheaper. B. Diesel is also cheaper in Europe, in relation to gasoline.
Well, there were several explanations. (B) 1. US diesel has to be lower in sulfur and other chemicals due to our laws. There is a lower tax on diesel in the EU. For why it is more expensive, the US diesel process is more expensive due to the emissions requirements. So, how come I see diesel for less than gas now?

My other big peeve is that many of the things we buy that went up in price due to the cost of fuel did not go down when fuel went down. Look at food. Grocery prices are still climbing. If fuel is why the price went up, who is making the "windfall profit" now? Not only did the price go up, but the quantity went down. Remember the 1/2 gallon ice cream container for about $3.00? Now the container is $5.00 and contains 25% less! Check out that cereal box. Looks the same? Not really, the height and width are the same, so it looks the same on the shelf, but the box is actually less deep. The weight is less and if you open the box, it appears that the cereal "settles" more now. If you look at the actual weight, the box could be even smaller.
Airline tickets haven't come down either.

Want to do something about fuel costs? Don't buy a new car, even the current hybrids. The ROI on the hybrids needs you to drive the vehicle for 15 to 20 years to get a net payback! The batteries will not last that long, so you have to add the cost of replacing them and recycling the old ones to the ROI. What is the solution: not new technology. We have the technology NOW. 1. Batteries: a new Lithium Ion battery has been developed that is one tenth the weight of current batteries and has 10 times the power density. This means that 300 pounds of battery will run your car for 300 miles, not 3000 pounds to travel 30 miles as is the case now. 2. Engines. A Florida company has developed a ceramic, Wankel (rotary), diesel, multi-fueled engine. Doesn't need a lubrication system, doesn't need a cooling system. Weight of about 75 pounds to run an average car. Same company has a ceramic generator. Hmmmm. Put this into a hybrid using the new batteries and you get 150-200 mpg IF you need to go more than 300 miles. There are several new high efficiency electric motors available too. Want even more efficiency? There is a Pompano Beach company that has a small, waste heat powered, rotary steam engine. When the Wankel is running this will take the exhaust heat and if coupled to the generator (or coupled to another small generator) supply even more power to be used to recharge the batteeries or run the electric motors under high output loads. Add NanoSolar's thin film photovoltaics as paint on the upper surface of the vehicle and it it will even recharge while sitting in the parking lot. Someone might even put a small AC unit to be powered by the solar energy so that when you get into your car it is not an oven.
I have tried to get any US auto maker interested in these products, but no answer at all. I even contacted John Deere Co. All I got was a form letter. Think about this: If you are a farmer or anyone else who owns a John Deere diesel tractor, would you want to own one that runs on diesel, bio-diesel, methane, propane, CNG or even alcohol? Would you buy a pickup truck made by John Deere that would run on the same fuels? And get 100+ MPG? That would bring down the price of food.
Personally, I don't like CNG as a fuel. It would take too large of a tank to get good long distance performance. If the NG could be converted to another fuel that is or can be compressed to liquid, this would be a better fuel. Propane is one such fuel. No large, heavy tank to hold a gas at 3600 psi. I don't want 3600 psi tanks in the vehicles driving in S. Florida. If you drive here you understand why.
As an engineer, if I was designing a vehicle to use a 3600 psi tank, I would want it to be in a protected area of the vehicle. However, the passengers seem to be in the same area. I would need another area, this would raise the price of the vehicle. In addition, I would want to have a safety valve, so that if there is an accident that has an impact great enough to damage the CNG tank, the safety valve would vent the gas away from the passengers. Unfortunately, I can't know what direction the impact will come from. I wouldn't want to direct 3600 psi in the same direction as another vehicle (could be on fire). This would produce a blowtorch and fireball. Can we convert NG to diesel? Mr. Pickens, do you know any good chemical engineers?


If a product is advertised on TV, it is probably a rip-off. The longer the commercial, the bigger the rip-off.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Jeff Greene on February 14, 2009 at 9:50am

Jeff,

Please review the attachments above regarding safety. CNG has a better safety rating globally than gasoline or diesel. If you get into an accident bad enough to puncture a 1" thick steel wall in a CNG cylinder, your 1/16" wall gas tank will be in much worse shape. And the flash point for gasoline is much lower than CNG.

Regarding CNG to Diesel, that process does exist but it is far more inefficient and worse for the environment making it more expensive and with higher emissions.

Regarding battery technology, I am in complete agreement that a segment of the population should be going to battery and have no doubt that a commercially viable battery is in somebody's lab today. There is still the issue of battery discard and the environmental effects of that. But I am not against electric technology.

In fact, CNG to us is only a bridge to hydrogen. We will be demonstrating how a 25% hydrogen blend into CNG reduces emissions by an additional 25-50% from CNG which is 25-30% better than gas or diesel.

There are 4 technologies that are fighting for alternative fuel money and they need to work in tandem to have any success. CNG, Ethanol, BioFuels and Electric. If air or wind or solar can make a commercially viable product at some point I will be in favor of that too. IMHO, Propane is far more dangerous than CNG and a dirtier and more expensive fuel.

As I posted earlier though, if you don't like TBP fight for what you believe in so by all means create a website or start a campaign and go for it. If I am wrong and you are right, at the end of the day my kids will still be better off so we both win.

Good luck and keep in touch.

▶ Reply to This

• First
• Previous
• Next
• Last