I wonder what's kept under wraps?

[dpb]

But it is terribly inconvenient other than for the daily commute--it only runs when _IT_ runs, not necessarily when people _want_ to go. It is also a pita if the station isn't all that close to where one wants to be in the end...

That's simply wishful thinking and retrofit "history"...it all has to do with consumer choices and preferences. When Henry built an affordable automobile, there was no way in the world folks weren't going to choose the individualism of "having it their own way" over mass transportation except for the morning/evening commute, if that...

Neville Chamberlain also thought "negotiating peace" was possible...

That is also patently absurd (even if the concept were physically realizable, which it isn't)...

--

[Colin B.]

Well, there obviously IS pressure--the pressure from the weight of the knife. Give me a machete and I'll be able to grind a low-angle razor edge on it to do just the above mentioned. (Of course, it'll be useless as a machete with an edge that fine.) If you need sharper than that, go buy a neurosurgeon's glass scalpel. Sharpness isn't magic, but too fine of an edge will not be resilient enough for general use. It'll either break, wear, or bend.

What's wrong with electrolysis? It's here, it's permanent, and it's fairly inexpensive. Apparently painful as hell, though. Honestly, it's not something that most guys want--even if they _do_ shave daily. An ointment to do the same without bad side effects is possible, but not all that beneficial.

Lots of things out there. I used to work for a small drug design company. We had several interesting candidates for drugs, but the synthesis or work-up was too hard to pursue further. Someday, someone is going to start selling a gold-based anti-inflammatory that's easily absorbed. It might be based on the work I did, or it might be based on some other company's old research that's sitting on the shelf.

The problem with conspiracy theories in general is that there's enough going on in terms of market forces, economics, and even overt evil, that there's no NEED for companies to resort to ridiculous and implausible extents.

Colin

[nailshooter41]

Gotcha. Tell me later.

Meet you on the grassy knoll. ;^)

Robert

[Robatoy]

...and man will never fly.

[Robatoy]

They would work well in the snow, me thinks...

[Robatoy]

He wasn't exactly negotiating from a position of strength, now was he?

[Robatoy]

I wasn't exactly suggesting to run a tram track into everybody's driveway, now was I? Trams vs busses on main arteries. Railroad freight vs trucks on long distances. Of course you need a 'spoke' system with the flexibility of tired vehicles. Smart people in Toronto, for instance, take the rails to work and leave the cars at home when they can. A small hop on a bus to get to the end of your street makes sense in a system like that. But, of course, I am stating the obvious.

[dpb]

There valid scientific reasons why even when it might have been thought to be impossible, it was theoretically so.

On the contrary, there are valid reasons (at least unless some of our basic understanding of nuclear physics are revolutionized which seem unlikely to that level) that "cold" fusion is not...

The point being however, if it does become so and is economically viable, there will be folks all over it. I was, as I said earlier, associated enough w/ power generation folks and EPRI at the time of the previous flap and there were whole divisions of folks looking into the potential already even as it was still being debated if it were real (which, of course, it turned out it wasn't).

--

[dpb]

So how was that supposed to be "easy" as compared to what his government subsequently underwent?

[dpb]

But where's the "government conspiracy" w/ Firestone? It's all choice--many places can't persuade folks to ride mass transport even if it is heavily subsidized.

[Dave Hall]

Well, that's one for the old zebco...

[Charlie Self]

element of truth in the claims, it's unlikely this >miracle product, whatever it might be, would be producible at a >competitive price or not have some other problem or somebody >would be doing it...there are an awful lot of bright folks out >there.

And it wasn't new. I can't recall the inventor's name--Fisher kept popping to mind, but I can find no reference--back in the '40s and '50s about a 100 MPG carb that had been invented. resumably, GM bought the thing and buried it.

If that had actually been the case, I figure the market around '75 would have supported GM bringing it back in a rush.

So far, the closest thing I've seen is a guy on eBay who was selling (maybe still is) a booklet that is guaranteed to help you increase your gas mileage by xx percent. Just for kicks, I sent off five bucks. When I got it, it turned out to be a carb line heater, not exactly new news, and almost dead useless in this day of EFI.

What was the last new car you saw with a carburetor?

[Rod & Betty Jo]

So efficient that it costs approx. $35.00-$40.00 per ride.....a normal bus approx. $25.00.....without a massive tax subsidy not many if any riders would use them.....those terribly inefficient cars only cost around .40 to .50 cents per mile

If you want to know why mass transit only has legs because of congestion(major cities).... not price or convenience just try to live a normal life without a car......My daughter's car recently broke down, her normal 20 minute each way commute took 2 hrs each way...and yet her hospital(job) is on a major road and her apartment is not far from another. Rod

[dpb]

Charlie Self wrote: ...

...

This is the first time I ever hear of it being associated to Bill Lear (and unless it's a different Bill Lear than the electronics and aviation technology I don't think it is his. It doesn't sound at all like something he would get involved in--he knew physics and engineering and would recognize a hoax as a hoax from the git-go).

As a sidelight and back to something that has wood in it (at least the cabinets did :) ), my uncle in Wichita had an Armstrong dealership and did quite a lot of upper-end remodels in the 50s and 60s. He did the tile work in the Lear's home in Wichita while I was in college. My cousin, brother and myself would drive down on weekends from Manhattan and work as tile mechanics while finishing the job as it was so large. That went on most of one winter/spring before we finally finished it all...

Check out NASCAR... :) I'm not a fan by any stretch, but aren't they still fully aspirated? I've always wondered why the stay that way, but presume because they figure it would open up an unlimited number of _additional_ ways to cheat--uh, get competitive advantage, I mean.

Maybe that's what they need to save a pit stop late in the race.

--

[Robatoy]

:)

[Greg G]

Yeah, as skis. ;-) Especially once they got a nice glaze of ice on them.

Greg G.

[J. Clarke]

Palm sized fusion maybe. But it's not going to be "cold fusion". If you believe in "cold fusion" might I interest you in this nice ski resort outside Des Moines . . .

[J. Clarke]

How well do trams fit into rush hour traffic? How easy is it to change the route? And how much does it cost to run trams including maintaining the infrastructure vs running buses? Don't assume that "more efficient" in terms of rolling friction means "cheaper to run".

People in NYC also take the rails to work. So what? But NYC has no trams, you can take the subway to walking distance of just about anywhere in the city. And in Toronto they are now planning to extend the system to cover many suburbs that currently have no service.

[Robatoy]

Lukewarm fusion maybe?

[Robatoy]

The TTC in Toronto subsidizes 39 cents (pennies) per ride. They recoup around 81% of their costs from (about) 2 dollar fares which will take you (if you use free transfers) anywhere in Greater Metro. The Amsterdam and Berlin numbers are close.

Then again, none of these are operated by Haliburton.

Besides, there are LOTS of people in New York City who don't own/need cars... and there are lots of other examples.

So where is this 40 dollar ride? DisneyWorld?