Welcome to another edition of Derp Roundup, the weekly feature where we scrape the dumbest possible news leftovers off our overheated browser tabs, blend them into an almost-digestible slurry, and serve them up to you with a muffin and a warning to imbibe heavily.
BTW, this applies to regulated markets like here in AZ. or OK. (I should have mentioned that but it was late last night). In states where they have open and competitive markets, different dynamics apply, but in those states you're not likely to see a utility company petition the state government to impose a surcharge- there may not even be a state entity with the authority to do so. Interestingly, if the utility companies do push too hard for excessive fees, they may well cut their own throats by spurring innovation to develop cheaper storage solutions so people can cut the umbilical and go off the grid completely. Battery technology is evolving and all sorts of new solutions are being worked on such as storing power as thermal energy to use to generate power at night. If the utility companies piss off enough customers with heavy handed fees, these things will likely happen that much sooner.
There are indeed differences in the grid necessary to support distributed solar on a large scale. I don't claim to understand those details, but a friend of mine who works for the Salt River Project explained it one day. There are technological hurdles involved (you aren't really sending electrons back to the utility company when you sell power back to them, you're injecting them into the system to be sent downstream and getting credits for them- the grid has to evolve to handle all the extra sources and to be able to direct it to where it needs to go, which is different from the traditional one-way system we have now). That's also one of the reasons utility companies are resisting rooftop solar, they'll have to invest in a bunch of infrastructure. They'd much prefer to build their own commercial solar farms and continue to keep their monopoly as sellers. What we're witnessing is the changing of their business model from supplier to broker, and there are going to be some growing pains as the market adjusts.
And cute, jumping Easter <a href="http:\/\/darkroom.baltimoresun.com\/2014\/04\/rabbit-obstacle-course-prague-easter-market\/#1" target="_blank">bunnies</a> back at you!
Seriously? Do you think that the minuscule connection fee you pay every month covers even a fraction of what it costs to service and maintain the grid for that month? That doesn&#039;t come anywhere close to covering your share, most of it comes from their profit margin based upon average monthly usage. If you flip your 100a master breaker for a month, it doesn&#039;t change their monthly overhead one iota. It&#039;s not like they can send a technician or two home for the month just because you went on vacation. Their expenses are relatively fixed. And yes, solar customers cost them more. Not only do they lose the revenue from you, it requires extra infrastructure and labor to deal with two way service. You&#039;re still using their transmission lines. They charge each other for access to those lines, what makes some residential solar guy different? They still have to deal with the added complication of accepting your power, as opposed to a simple passive customer. Most rooftop solar is not going to put out 240v or 480v 3 phase, which is the cheap and efficient voltage that they use to move power around town. Who pays for the step up transformers? Who pays for all the extra switches? Who pays to maintain all those things and replace them when they break or wear out? Who pays for the extra paperwork involved? Their millions of dollars of equipment suffers just as much wear and tear if you go on vacation for a month or if you sell juice back to them and zero out your bill. And most residential Rooftop solar is in your neighborhood, at the end of the line in terms of usage. The big users during the day are industrial entities that require 3 phase 480v and are generally nowhere near your rooftop or even your neighborhood. Yet you expect them to move your electricity around and convert it to a form their other customers need for free? Sorry, but that&#039;s just not realistic.
<blockquote> &quot;I wanna go back to dixie I wanna be a dixie pixie And eat cornpone &#039;til it&#039;s comin&#039; outta my ears I wanna talk with southern gentlemen And put my white sheet on again, I ain&#039;t seen one good lynchin&#039; in years. The land of the boll weevil, Where the laws are medieval, Is callin&#039; me to come and nevermore roam. I wanna go back to the southland, That &quot;y&#039;all&quot; and &quot;shet-ma-mouth&quot; land, Be it ever so decadent, There&#039;s no place like home.&quot; </blockquote>
<i>asking why schools ban the display of the flag of the only North American entity to start a war against the United States of America</i>
This is so full of WTF that I can&#039;t even.
So the southern states are now a &quot;North American entity,&quot; like, say, Cuba or Canada? Way to dodge the whole treason thang, John Boy.
Am I missing something here? Why would a school want to display the flag of any regime that started a war with the USA? Except in history class, I suppose. Sorry to go Godwin, but would we expect a school to display the Nazi flag? Or the WWII era Nippon flag?
As far as I know, the only enemy the Nation of Islam ever shot was Malcolm X. One assassination doesn&#039;t make a war. (Well, except for when Bobby Kennedy was killed, which left Nixon in charge of that little Cambodia shindig.)
Yes. The statehouses of southern states continued to fly the Treason Flag all the way through the 20th century, until Strom Thurmond and Jesse Helms and other overt segregationists finally croaked. The South Carolina statehouse <i>started</i> proudly flying the Treason Flag in 1962, and only took it down in 2000. (It now flies proudly on the lawn next to the statehouse, right by the memorial to <a href="" target="_blank">Good ol&#039; Gov. Tillman</a>. Why yes, I have spent more time in Columbia SC than I care to recall.)
What are you...<a href="http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sticks_nix_hick_pix" target="_blank">Variety</a>?
Happy April 20, 2014.
Since I&#039;m not (a) religious, (b) a stoner, or (c) a Nazi, I&#039;m not sure what I&#039;m supposed to do today.
It&#039;s Addie&#039;s birthday again? I keep forgetting to invite him to the Seder dinner.
BTW, this applies to regulated markets like here in AZ. or OK. (I should have mentioned that but it was late last night). In states where they have open and competitive markets, different dynamics apply, but in those states you&#039;re not likely to see a utility company petition the state government to impose a surcharge- there may not even be a state entity with the authority to do so. Interestingly, if the utility companies do push too hard for excessive fees, they may well cut their own throats by spurring innovation to develop cheaper storage solutions so people can cut the umbilical and go off the grid completely. Battery technology is evolving and all sorts of new solutions are being worked on such as storing power as thermal energy to use to generate power at night. If the utility companies piss off enough customers with heavy handed fees, these things will likely happen that much sooner.
There are indeed differences in the grid necessary to support distributed solar on a large scale. I don&#039;t claim to understand those details, but a friend of mine who works for the Salt River Project explained it one day. There are technological hurdles involved (you aren&#039;t really sending electrons back to the utility company when you sell power back to them, you&#039;re injecting them into the system to be sent downstream and getting credits for them- the grid has to evolve to handle all the extra sources and to be able to direct it to where it needs to go, which is different from the traditional one-way system we have now). That&#039;s also one of the reasons utility companies are resisting rooftop solar, they&#039;ll have to invest in a bunch of infrastructure. They&#039;d much prefer to build their own commercial solar farms and continue to keep their monopoly as sellers. What we&#039;re witnessing is the changing of their business model from supplier to broker, and there are going to be some growing pains as the market adjusts.
And cute, jumping Easter <a href="http:\/\/darkroom.baltimoresun.com\/2014\/04\/rabbit-obstacle-course-prague-easter-market\/#1" target="_blank">bunnies</a> back at you!
Weed.
He was born on 4/20.
He wants weed.
Seriously? Do you think that the minuscule connection fee you pay every month covers even a fraction of what it costs to service and maintain the grid for that month? That doesn&#039;t come anywhere close to covering your share, most of it comes from their profit margin based upon average monthly usage. If you flip your 100a master breaker for a month, it doesn&#039;t change their monthly overhead one iota. It&#039;s not like they can send a technician or two home for the month just because you went on vacation. Their expenses are relatively fixed. And yes, solar customers cost them more. Not only do they lose the revenue from you, it requires extra infrastructure and labor to deal with two way service. You&#039;re still using their transmission lines. They charge each other for access to those lines, what makes some residential solar guy different? They still have to deal with the added complication of accepting your power, as opposed to a simple passive customer. Most rooftop solar is not going to put out 240v or 480v 3 phase, which is the cheap and efficient voltage that they use to move power around town. Who pays for the step up transformers? Who pays for all the extra switches? Who pays to maintain all those things and replace them when they break or wear out? Who pays for the extra paperwork involved? Their millions of dollars of equipment suffers just as much wear and tear if you go on vacation for a month or if you sell juice back to them and zero out your bill. And most residential Rooftop solar is in your neighborhood, at the end of the line in terms of usage. The big users during the day are industrial entities that require 3 phase 480v and are generally nowhere near your rooftop or even your neighborhood. Yet you expect them to move your electricity around and convert it to a form their other customers need for free? Sorry, but that&#039;s just not realistic.
Or as the great Tom Lehrer once put it:
<blockquote> &quot;I wanna go back to dixie I wanna be a dixie pixie And eat cornpone &#039;til it&#039;s comin&#039; outta my ears I wanna talk with southern gentlemen And put my white sheet on again, I ain&#039;t seen one good lynchin&#039; in years. The land of the boll weevil, Where the laws are medieval, Is callin&#039; me to come and nevermore roam. I wanna go back to the southland, That &quot;y&#039;all&quot; and &quot;shet-ma-mouth&quot; land, Be it ever so decadent, There&#039;s no place like home.&quot; </blockquote>
Might have to get bounced by Paul Irving.
It&#039;s worse - like Obamacare or Medicaid
That&#039;s all I need to hear.
Nu what?
But in that teacher&#039;s defense, I&#039;m pretty sure ALL middle school kids are in need of a good beating.
<i>asking why schools ban the display of the flag of the only North American entity to start a war against the United States of America</i>
This is so full of WTF that I can&#039;t even.
So the southern states are now a &quot;North American entity,&quot; like, say, Cuba or Canada? Way to dodge the whole treason thang, John Boy.
Am I missing something here? Why would a school want to display the flag of any regime that started a war with the USA? Except in history class, I suppose. Sorry to go Godwin, but would we expect a school to display the Nazi flag? Or the WWII era Nippon flag?
As far as I know, the only enemy the Nation of Islam ever shot was Malcolm X. One assassination doesn&#039;t make a war. (Well, except for when Bobby Kennedy was killed, which left Nixon in charge of that little Cambodia shindig.)
Yes. The statehouses of southern states continued to fly the Treason Flag all the way through the 20th century, until Strom Thurmond and Jesse Helms and other overt segregationists finally croaked. The South Carolina statehouse <i>started</i> proudly flying the Treason Flag in 1962, and only took it down in 2000. (It now flies proudly on the lawn next to the statehouse, right by the memorial to <a href="" target="_blank">Good ol&#039; Gov. Tillman</a>. Why yes, I have spent more time in Columbia SC than I care to recall.)