Open Source, Baby!

I think the issue is the creation and distribution of hydrogen. We've been running test cars in DC and have a couple of filling stations, but the issue around here is what do you use to create the hydrogen, ie burn coal/diesel to create electricity to create hydrogen...not cost effective...
 
wil said:
I think the issue is the creation and distribution of hydrogen. We've been running test cars in DC and have a couple of filling stations, but the issue around here is what do you use to create the hydrogen, ie burn coal/diesel to create electricity to create hydrogen...not cost effective...
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Right Wil, at $2.50 a gallon it is not cost effective, so shut down the hydrogen program. When gas prices go up again, this summer and next year, it will be cost effective, so start up the hydrogen program again, quickly, because we will need it right away.

This has been the history of our energy policy. Plan 5 minutes ahead. The most expensive way to develop energy infrastructure which is possible :confused:

Anyway, I won't divert this open source thread any further !!
 
Avi said:
Right Wil, at $2.50 a gallon it is not cost effective, so shut down the hydrogen program. When gas prices go up again, this summer and next year, it will be cost effective, so start up the hydrogen program again, quickly, because we will need it right away.

This has been the history of our energy policy. Plan 5 minutes ahead. The most expensive way to develop energy infrastructure which is possible :confused:

Anyway, I won't divert this open source thread any further !!
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Not my point Avi...as long as we are using fuel to create hydrogen it will always be a negative impact on cost and carbon footprint. Now if we were to use solar say..and it were more cost effective to create hydrogen with the solar instead of using the electricity to charge battery operated cars....

It is about loss of energy while trying to create another energy. If we use X to create Y....and then use Y to create Z to run our cars...sometimes it is more effective to use Y to run our cars or even X as each layer causes loss in the process. (not to mention expense to create the manufacture, and infrastructure.) Tis a whole picture thing, macro not just micro focus.

Not to say they are doing this when they make these decisions, but I sure hope they are.
 
Yeah, consistency is most definitely lacking. That is one trade off of the 4 year presidential election cycle. Same as open source, but the drawbacks can be worthwhile.

Extract the Hydrogen from water using electric power from dams, wind, and ocean waves. Don't use fossil fuels for it! (Another secret is to extract the hydrogen from ordinary tap water instead of bottled water, like Dasani) :p
 
wil said:
Not my point Avi...as long as we are using fuel to create hydrogen it will always be a negative impact on cost and carbon footprint. Now if we were to use solar say..and it were more cost effective to create hydrogen with the solar instead of using the electricity to charge battery operated cars....

It is about loss of energy while trying to create another energy. If we use X to create Y....and then use Y to create Z to run our cars...sometimes it is more effective to use Y to run our cars or even X as each layer causes loss in the process. (not to mention expense to create the manufacture, and infrastructure.) Tis a whole picture thing, macro not just micro focus.

Not to say they are doing this when they make these decisions, but I sure hope they are.
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Sorry for the confusion, Wil, I was not saying that you are suggesting an erratic energy policy, I am saying that has been our national policy for at least the last 30 years, so I would expect it to continue.

DOE now says they are going to focus on biofuels and batteries. At $2.00-2.50 per gallon, they will have trouble sustaining a biofuels program, so it will likely die in a couple of years as well.

Batteries should have been on the agenda before hydrogen was killed. So now they are scrambling to develop what was obvious.

These are just a couple of examples. I could give more, but I said I would not hijack Dream's thread further. Perhaps another thread on renewable energy would be interesting ????
 
Avi said:
I could give more, but I said I would not hijack Dream's thread further. Perhaps another thread on renewable energy would be interesting ????
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No worries Avi,

Back to the OP I don't buy any of it. 400 mpg...200 pounds per month lease including fuel and repairs... its a prototype... it won't be ready till 2013...and I'm thinking mpg will go down and lease price will go up...despite the open source...

batteries....love em, but we've got that sticky disposal issue...they need to be recyclable as well as rechargeable...in one way if they can make it work..hydrogen is a battery
 
Funding for auto research was always a joke. It shouldn't take an engineer to fix tiny problems in a car, but it does. Cars should use interchangeable parts, but they don't! That would be minimally ethical.
 
wil said:
Back to the OP I don't buy any of it. 400 mpg...200 pounds per month lease including fuel and repairs... its a prototype... it won't be ready till 2013...and I'm thinking mpg will go down and lease price will go up...despite the open source...
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I agree, less than 400 mpg more than 200 pounds. I do like the idea of open source. While we're at it lets make our PC's open source as well (Linux :) ).


hydrogen is a battery
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You are right, hydrogen is an energy transporter, and ultimately will be the transporter of choice. While the US is in limbo again, you can be sure the Europeans and Asians will be developing hydrogen fuel cells as well as other fuels, methanol, ethanol and biofuels.
 
TOUCAN now free! Get your own copy of Toucan!

That's right believers, now you can perform your very own regulatory sequence analysis on metazoan genomes! Just follow this link, download your free Toucan software with the included help files and get started! This offer may not last forever, so act now!
 
3D Imaging software

Artistic types may want to try your hand at 3D art, and you can do it now using Blender at blender.org. It installs on most operating systems, and there is also a compiled version for Windows that runs with no install required. That one is currently downloadable from Sourceforge.net at the following link: PortableApps.com: Portable Software/USB - Browse /Blender Portable at SourceForge.net

Have fun.
 
Can people be open source too?

If you wanted a girlfriend it would be a lot easier if she was open source. It's such a nuisance when they're proprietary. All these intellectual property laws make it hard to become intimate with someone with a university degree.

Open source house, open source wife, open source children, open source career.

No need to pay for an education because it's .... open source.

No need to get driving lessons when getting your driver's license. All you have to do is download it from the Internet.

Imagine if you could download anything from the Internet. Put your whole life on the Internet so someone else can enjoy it too.
 
Saltmeister said:
If you wanted a girlfriend it would be a lot easier if she was open source. It's such a nuisance when they're proprietary. All these intellectual property laws make it hard to become intimate with someone with a university degree.
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Saltmeister, an open source girlfriend? Girlfriends are open source, but nobody has time to sit down and go through all the code. You can read part of it or make tiny changes; but overall you just have to download the iso image, burn it to a cd, stick it in and hope it boots. Its pretty much the same thing you have to do with Windows. Tech support is going to cost you either way. The difference is that with open source your girlfriend is free to be herself and the source code if incomprehensible is nevertheless obtainable.

No need to pay for an education because it's .... open source.
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Its often best to have a combination of commercial and open source. That is what IBM does. Some parts of education have always been open source, such as the goodwill of the instructors. I think the textbooks are becoming more open source, and there are video lecture online. There is no replacing a good instructor or tutor.

No need to get driving lessons when getting your driver's license. All you have to do is download it from the Internet.

Imagine if you could download anything from the Internet. Put your whole life on the Internet so someone else can enjoy it too.
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You cannot open source your own mind completely; but you can listen to advice and be ready to have some good advice for someone else. Your life is the same way, and Saltmeister your life has been partly open sourced on the internet already.
 
New developments in 3D printing:

BBC News - US army builds its own 3D printer

A universal production unit is doubtless the appliance of the future. I wonder if I will buy a Maytag or a Whirlpool?

You know what I could go for is a machine that makes custom clothes. Then instead of buying cheap clothing I could buy fashion advice.
 
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