Solar power for all is around the corner. but before you run out and sell your stock in that old coal firing power plant down the block, please remember that several things will keep this from becoming the end all be all. First is the crony-ism and protectionism rampant in the US and the world. Second is that this is likely not as good as they claim. Third is that even if they could hit the marks they have set for themselves, production in required quantity will be a ways off and in the end, standard fossil fuel plants will be needed anyway. If it is as good as it sounds then we might see a small blip of older coal facilities going bye-bye as a nice nod to the EPA, but I doubt it.
All hail the holy grail of perception. Perceived work is more important than completed work. an example from my own job: "knowmad!" yells my manager "Why were you not at the planning meeting for the 3rd floor move project?" A quick mental inventory returns an all thumbs up, I am in full mental health, and I know for certain that... "Because the project finished last week, so the weekly planning meeting is unnecessary, and I thought it was canceled" says I. "It was most certainly not canceled" huffs the boss, "we are being paid by the client to complete the move over a 6 week period. We are expected to hold planning/progress meetings every week. You are expected to be there." Hmm, thinks I, what might be going on at such a meeting. "Excuse me" I query, "what was planned at this weeks meeting?" "This week we discussed what to do with next week as all the items to move have been moved." replies the bossman. "It is important" he continues "that the client see us working, we are after all getting paid for it." And there you have it, it is more important that the client see us working, even if there is no work to be done, than have them know we finished the work and will be simply collecting the rest of our fee and getting out of the clients way. This conversation did not in fact actually happen. It is an extrapolation of many conversations I have had over the years, culminating today in an annoyance that prompted me to write this. I hope you enjoyed this piece of semi-fiction.
Now lets talk about the weather, you know... small talk. This morning, knowing nothing about the weather other then what i saw outside my window, i got up and started to drive to work. I listen to a classical station when driving to work to keep me from being annoyed too much at the (other) idiots on the road (did you know that most of america can't drive, they either mozy along at 2 feet an hour or they try to drive in the actual space currently occupied by another car). They paused the music to give news/weather/traffic. "The snow will continue all day until 1 am with a total accumulation of 6 to 10 inches".... the snow will continue? I stop at the next red light and carefully look up into the sky, the bright blue empty clear sky. I change the channel. "We will be hit by a massive storm, and we are expecting the majority of the accumulation by 9am this morning. If you are not yet at work, think twice about going." I check my watch, its 7:25 (got up late). Right, majority of the snow by 9am, total of 10 inches. At 3pm the snow finally started. I wonder if the people in the other cars that morning were as bemused by this as I was, probably not, they were all driving like there was an inch on the ground already.
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