Preposterous Concept for Solar Lighting
Here’s a concept that suggests powering a lamp with a cylindrical piece of solar PV energy. If I were to take it into any fourth grade classroom in America and ask the kids for comments, I would hear three things:
1) Half of this points away from the sun! That’s stupid!
2) This thing is tiny. Solar panels need to be big enough to absorb lots of energy from the sun.
3) You need lights at night when the sun’s not shining. That means batteries, and they’re expensive.
Now, second graders aren’t going to be able to do that, so this narrows the demographics if the concept’s promoter is looking for investors.
Reader Ron Reasoner, ridiculing the idea shown here, writes, “
A fellow who is five years my senior at the Quaker-based independent school William Penn Charter in Philadelphia (pictured) went on to graduate from Princeton University. Because Quakers are pacifists and Princeton is such a venerable institution, when I reconnected with him on Facebook recently I had expected that he’d be sharing articles on world diplomacy, environmental stewardship, the inherent equality of all humankind, or perhaps the wisdom of Confucius. 
The threat of an alien invasion has rightfully entertained the attention of all Earth people since the late 19th Century. And there have been certain times in the interim that it was the greatest putative threat against our population. Perhaps the mid-20th Century? Orson Wells?
Pictured here, Jonathan Metzl is a doctor and professor at Vanderbilt University. In his book 
I hope you’ll take a few minutes of your day and check out this fine piece that presents what each 
My mom and I engaged in yet another enjoyable and mutually respectful political discussion the other evening. As usual, neither one of us succeeded in changing the other’s belief system one iota, but that’s not the point; it’s always fun nonetheless. During our talk, Mom asserted that Democrats perceive that the only way for them to come into and stay in power is to get as many needy people into the country as possible, promise them free stuff, and thus attract their votes. 
Someone wrote: Ann Coulter went on an early Sunday morning Twitter tear, calling President Donald Trump “the most disloyal actual retard that has ever set foot in the Oval Office.”….never in my wildest dreams did I think I would agree with her….ever…but look.
Trump’s efforts to divide the nation have been incredibly successful, and they’ve brought about all-too-predictable consequences. One, of course, is the empowerment of white supremacists and the threat these dolts represent to everyday Americans. Fifteen years ago we lived in fear of al Qaeda. Five years ago it was ISIS. Now it’s a bunch of hateful morons in white hoods and robes, carrying confederate flags, and packing AR-15s.
