Hi, my name is Daniel Barker, I live in Lakeland, Florida.
I am a lifelong conservative, and left the Republican Party in early 2006 over the war in Iraq and corrupt defense contractors.
Like any good conservative, I totally opposed Senator Al Franken - until the following happened:
Last Thursday, Sen. Franken introduced an amendment (S.2588) to the FY2010 Defense Appropriations Bill that would restrict funding to defense contractors who commit employees to mandatory binding arbitration in the case of sexual assault. The legislation, endorsed by 61 women’s, labor and public interest groups, was inspired by the story of Jamie Leigh Jones, who watched the vote from the Senate gallery today.
Jones was a 19-yr-old employee of defense contractor KBR (formerly a Halliburton subsidiary) stationed in Iraq who was gang raped by her co-workers and imprisoned in a shipping container when she tried to report the crime. Her father and U.S. Rep. Ted Poe (R-Tex.), worked together to secure her safe return to the United States, but once she was home, she learned a fine-print clause in her KBR contract banned her from taking her case to court, instead forcing her into an “arbitration” process that would be run by KBR itself. Just today, Halliburton filed a petition for a rehearing en banc in the 5th Circuit Court, which means that Jamie’s fight is far from over.
(source: official site for Senator Franken)
After reading how our own government contractors abused Jamie Leigh Jones, I now support Senator Franken!
I ask everyone in Washington, D.C. visiting to do the following: when walking near the Capitol, carry a big sign that says "Daniel Barker, Lakeland, Florida, loves Senator Franken"
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Saturday, February 21, 2009
some comments on energy
Yes, we have thought of that at various times. The leader of our motorcycle group asked me that - he was talking about cars - if they're electric, where do we get the electricity from? I had thought of it years before that, and he asked me years ago.
There are several answers for electric car. First, the electricity can come from whatever we want to use, whereas an internal combustion is primarily fossil (I know some people argue about an 'alternative', I'll get to that in a minute.) So if the power comes from a dam or wind or solar, no fossil fuel. Second, an electric car uses less energy. When it decelerates, it creates power. Also it is more efficient - the motor turning the wheel is better than an engine, transmission, drive shaft, differential, and so on.
Batteries for electronics - when solar panels hit affordability, people will use them. Right now, for a small unit (under 5K$), it runs about ten to twenty dollars a watt. A thirty watt panel runs about three hundred, plus the stuff - installation, control panel, and of course a deep-cycle battery to store the electricity.
It is only a matter of time for solar energy to become cost-effective. It started out at about a thousand a watt, now it's down to about five dollars a watt. That is the cost of the panels. When you factor in what it produces, it runs about twenty two cents a watt. As we're paying about thirteen, it doesn't add up. But Hawaii costs about twenty two cents on the grid, so recently solar energy hit parity, probably the first time in a developed nation.
There are ways you can cheat - reflect more light on the panels using mirrors. (A mirror costs nothing compared to the same size solar panel.)
Hmmm...getting fuel from corn and so on - right now, it takes so much energy (the plow, for example, and harvesting, processing the corn and so on) to grow the corn, that in general you are not saving any fuel - it takes about the same amount of fossil fuel to produce the corn oil as the corn oil itself produces.
For most people, a crank generator beneficial - first, it produces heat, which most of the time you need, second, exercise, which benefits, third, you are not using fossil fuel, which is good.
The only exception is climate - if tropical or sub-tropical, the heat produced has to be removed. The answer is obvious - a water-based generator. The crank generator works in a swimming pool. First, even in the summer time, you need to heat the pool, so the heat produced generating the electricity is not only not wasted, it is beneficial. The other benefits are the same - exercise and not using fossil fuel to make electricity. So we need to develop a human powered generator that works in a swimming pool.
With today's engines, a 50cc, or three-inch engine, would produce at least three horsepower, or about 4kwatts. One tenth of that, 400 watts, is much more than what I'm producing pedaling the bicycle. So just a 5cc engine would be a good size for me - it would produce up to about 400 watts, which to me is a lot of power.
I guess all this is happening because of the new president - everything is changing, how we look at things.
There are several answers for electric car. First, the electricity can come from whatever we want to use, whereas an internal combustion is primarily fossil (I know some people argue about an 'alternative', I'll get to that in a minute.) So if the power comes from a dam or wind or solar, no fossil fuel. Second, an electric car uses less energy. When it decelerates, it creates power. Also it is more efficient - the motor turning the wheel is better than an engine, transmission, drive shaft, differential, and so on.
Batteries for electronics - when solar panels hit affordability, people will use them. Right now, for a small unit (under 5K$), it runs about ten to twenty dollars a watt. A thirty watt panel runs about three hundred, plus the stuff - installation, control panel, and of course a deep-cycle battery to store the electricity.
It is only a matter of time for solar energy to become cost-effective. It started out at about a thousand a watt, now it's down to about five dollars a watt. That is the cost of the panels. When you factor in what it produces, it runs about twenty two cents a watt. As we're paying about thirteen, it doesn't add up. But Hawaii costs about twenty two cents on the grid, so recently solar energy hit parity, probably the first time in a developed nation.
There are ways you can cheat - reflect more light on the panels using mirrors. (A mirror costs nothing compared to the same size solar panel.)
Hmmm...getting fuel from corn and so on - right now, it takes so much energy (the plow, for example, and harvesting, processing the corn and so on) to grow the corn, that in general you are not saving any fuel - it takes about the same amount of fossil fuel to produce the corn oil as the corn oil itself produces.
For most people, a crank generator beneficial - first, it produces heat, which most of the time you need, second, exercise, which benefits, third, you are not using fossil fuel, which is good.
The only exception is climate - if tropical or sub-tropical, the heat produced has to be removed. The answer is obvious - a water-based generator. The crank generator works in a swimming pool. First, even in the summer time, you need to heat the pool, so the heat produced generating the electricity is not only not wasted, it is beneficial. The other benefits are the same - exercise and not using fossil fuel to make electricity. So we need to develop a human powered generator that works in a swimming pool.
With today's engines, a 50cc, or three-inch engine, would produce at least three horsepower, or about 4kwatts. One tenth of that, 400 watts, is much more than what I'm producing pedaling the bicycle. So just a 5cc engine would be a good size for me - it would produce up to about 400 watts, which to me is a lot of power.
I guess all this is happening because of the new president - everything is changing, how we look at things.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
computer basics
Computer basics
Most people know that to protect your computer you should use a power bar, designed to protect your electronics from dangerous voltage spikes.
What many people find handy is to use the power bar as a convenient way to turn on and shut down your system.
First, put your power bar in a convenient spot. Plug in your computer, your monitor, your speaker and everything else connected to the computer, such as your speakers.
Note: If you have wireless and a laptop, you will want to plug the routers into a different source so you can be on the Internet without having your computer turned on.
Next, turn the power bar on, and turn everything on except the computer - the monitor, the printer, the speakers, and anything else connected to your computer. Then shut the power bar off and you are ready to use.
When you want to use the computer, turn the power bar on. You just turn on your computer and when it is booted up you are all set.
When you want to end, shut the computer down, then when it shuts off, turn the power bar off.
The advantages of this are you do not have to worry about leaving devices turned on, such as the monitor or speakers, when the computer is turned off.
Most people know that to protect your computer you should use a power bar, designed to protect your electronics from dangerous voltage spikes.
What many people find handy is to use the power bar as a convenient way to turn on and shut down your system.
First, put your power bar in a convenient spot. Plug in your computer, your monitor, your speaker and everything else connected to the computer, such as your speakers.
Note: If you have wireless and a laptop, you will want to plug the routers into a different source so you can be on the Internet without having your computer turned on.
Next, turn the power bar on, and turn everything on except the computer - the monitor, the printer, the speakers, and anything else connected to your computer. Then shut the power bar off and you are ready to use.
When you want to use the computer, turn the power bar on. You just turn on your computer and when it is booted up you are all set.
When you want to end, shut the computer down, then when it shuts off, turn the power bar off.
The advantages of this are you do not have to worry about leaving devices turned on, such as the monitor or speakers, when the computer is turned off.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
'Powerless'?
Last week, a great winter storm left "about 1.3 million homes and businesses from Pennsylvania to Maine were plunged into the dark — and cold — by a storm that coated trees and wires with ice Thursday night into Friday. Most of the outages were in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine and New York. About 880,000 remained without power Saturday afternoon."
This is according to the AP report.
As usual, utilities rush into great danger attempting to repair power lines as they deal with downed trees.
What nobody is reporting is that there is currently available a vehicle that would help with power outages. A hydrid electric vehicle, capable of producing tens of kwatts of power for several hours, could power a home for several days.
Let's start at the beginning. A hybrid vehicle has an electric motor that moves the vehicle, and either a battery or an engine, or both, to power the motor. The hybrid vehicle must be able to accelerate at regular rates to keep up with traffic. This means that the motor has be able to produce at least 50 kwatt of energy.
If the hybrid vehicle has batteries, then the batteries have to be able to provide electrical power for at least several hours to be practical.
What does this have to do with the power outage? If an owner of a hybrid electric vehicle that has batteries has wired the vehicle up to the home, then in the event of a power outage, the vehicle's batteries can be used to power the home.
If the homeowner conserves energy, the vehicle might be able to run the home for at least two days, and probably a lot longer.
In the years ahead as hybrid vehicles become common place more and more people are going to be self-sufficient, at least for several days, in the event of an outage.
This is according to the AP report.
As usual, utilities rush into great danger attempting to repair power lines as they deal with downed trees.
What nobody is reporting is that there is currently available a vehicle that would help with power outages. A hydrid electric vehicle, capable of producing tens of kwatts of power for several hours, could power a home for several days.
Let's start at the beginning. A hybrid vehicle has an electric motor that moves the vehicle, and either a battery or an engine, or both, to power the motor. The hybrid vehicle must be able to accelerate at regular rates to keep up with traffic. This means that the motor has be able to produce at least 50 kwatt of energy.
If the hybrid vehicle has batteries, then the batteries have to be able to provide electrical power for at least several hours to be practical.
What does this have to do with the power outage? If an owner of a hybrid electric vehicle that has batteries has wired the vehicle up to the home, then in the event of a power outage, the vehicle's batteries can be used to power the home.
If the homeowner conserves energy, the vehicle might be able to run the home for at least two days, and probably a lot longer.
In the years ahead as hybrid vehicles become common place more and more people are going to be self-sufficient, at least for several days, in the event of an outage.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
The real racist
Dear concerned citizen,
In recent days several incidents of racism have occurred, aimed at presidential candidate Barack Hussein Obama.
There is a certain irony that white supremacists groups are not the only side of the political spectrum preaching racism and violence against blacks.
Recently African-Americans have become the third biggest demographic group due to massive immigration of Hispanics, but they represent by far the largest group of abortions.
Five times as many abortions are performed on black women as on white women. And Barack Obama has stated as president his first bill he signs will remove all restrictions on abortions.
If white supremacists really wanted to eliminate blacks, they would openly support Obama. Obama as president means more abortions on black babies, resulting in less black people.
Daniel Barker
In recent days several incidents of racism have occurred, aimed at presidential candidate Barack Hussein Obama.
There is a certain irony that white supremacists groups are not the only side of the political spectrum preaching racism and violence against blacks.
Recently African-Americans have become the third biggest demographic group due to massive immigration of Hispanics, but they represent by far the largest group of abortions.
Five times as many abortions are performed on black women as on white women. And Barack Obama has stated as president his first bill he signs will remove all restrictions on abortions.
If white supremacists really wanted to eliminate blacks, they would openly support Obama. Obama as president means more abortions on black babies, resulting in less black people.
Daniel Barker
out of this world
Dear concerned citizen of the world,
We all know the implications of a world dependent on petroleum and fission for energy; everything from the military to international relations, and climate change to the financial world and the environment.
Sometimes you have to look outside the box to put it all in perspective. According to many people, there is a source of energy that will provide all our needs.
According to scientist and engineer Sid Deutsch, the entire energy output of the United States could accelerate a 200 metric ton spacecraft at one tenth the speed of light in three years. This means that we currently have no ability to travel to another star - even with all our energy combined.
Therefore one spacecraft visiting the Earth from another star would have more than the capability to provide all the energy for the whole world.
That's right. The existence of one E.T. means no more oil, no more coal and no more nuclear power. So the next time you hear about a UFO, your first thought should be, what is the first thing I would change when we stop using oil, coal and nuclear.
Daniel Barker
We all know the implications of a world dependent on petroleum and fission for energy; everything from the military to international relations, and climate change to the financial world and the environment.
Sometimes you have to look outside the box to put it all in perspective. According to many people, there is a source of energy that will provide all our needs.
According to scientist and engineer Sid Deutsch, the entire energy output of the United States could accelerate a 200 metric ton spacecraft at one tenth the speed of light in three years. This means that we currently have no ability to travel to another star - even with all our energy combined.
Therefore one spacecraft visiting the Earth from another star would have more than the capability to provide all the energy for the whole world.
That's right. The existence of one E.T. means no more oil, no more coal and no more nuclear power. So the next time you hear about a UFO, your first thought should be, what is the first thing I would change when we stop using oil, coal and nuclear.
Daniel Barker
wilderness: a paradigm shift
Today, Frances Beinecke, President of NRDC Action Fund, wrote about saving the last 375 beluga whales of Alaska's Cook Inlet.
In the report was the usual suspect: "whose population has plummeted due to the industrialization of Alaska's most populated and fastest-growing waterway."
There it is again, growth and development. We destroy wilderness and habitat, then we are supposed to spend massive amounts of reources to preserve nature.
I am beginning to see a paradigm shift in how we perceive ourselves and nature. For example, people initally saw hybrid vehicles as an alternative to the interanal combustion engine due to higher mileage in city driving. Now we are now seeing that a hybrid vehicle is an alternative to a power outage; a hybrid vehicle has energy to power a typical home for several days in the event of a power outage due to the batteries.
We are also beginning to realize wilderness begins at home. Rather than go away from home to nature and wilderness, we are beginning to turn our yards into wilderness by removing lawns and putting in native plants.
I ask you - are your children going to live in a world with less wilderness? What legacy are we leaving?
Daniel Barker
In the report was the usual suspect: "whose population has plummeted due to the industrialization of Alaska's most populated and fastest-growing waterway."
There it is again, growth and development. We destroy wilderness and habitat, then we are supposed to spend massive amounts of reources to preserve nature.
I am beginning to see a paradigm shift in how we perceive ourselves and nature. For example, people initally saw hybrid vehicles as an alternative to the interanal combustion engine due to higher mileage in city driving. Now we are now seeing that a hybrid vehicle is an alternative to a power outage; a hybrid vehicle has energy to power a typical home for several days in the event of a power outage due to the batteries.
We are also beginning to realize wilderness begins at home. Rather than go away from home to nature and wilderness, we are beginning to turn our yards into wilderness by removing lawns and putting in native plants.
I ask you - are your children going to live in a world with less wilderness? What legacy are we leaving?
Daniel Barker
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