Re: Its better to remain silent…

Chuck McKinnon — Tue, 20 Sep 2005 13:41:50 -0000

OK, this was funny. Unintentionally perhaps, but still funny. =)

You, on others' public opinions: "We need to institute a requirement of some original thought and personal research if you wish to have a public opinion."

Your public opinion: "Carlos Mencia says it best: 'DUHHH-DUH-DUUUUUHH'"

Yep -- that's a mighty fine example of original thought ("DUUUUUHH") and personal research (quoting someone else)!

Thanks for making me laugh out loud this morning! =)

Re: Will the environment fall victim to the economy?

Chuck McKinnon — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 12:27:46 -0000

Sam,

I'm sure you recognize that the gas tax you're suggesting is a market distortion: inflating the price of something in abundant supply in order to create artificial scarcity, and by so doing make an incentive to create alternatives.

Computer programmers have a saying: premature optimization is the root of all evil. I think that applies here. When oil and gas really do become scarce, there's no reason to believe that investment, ingenuity and impressive engineering won't come up with good alternatives. But markets are efficient: they're not going to sink large sums of money into solving what is (today) a solved problem; that money is going to go elsewhere.

It's true that governments distort markets like this all the time (though rarely to the degree you're suggesting), but the question proponents need to answer in order for their proposal to be taken seriously is: why create artificial incentives now (at a significant risk to various sectors of the existing economy) when the real incentives will arrive on their own, gradually, over the next several decades? Why optimize prematurely?

If the answer is AGW, that case (again, as you likely know) is considerably harder to make than it was four or five years ago: the Earth's been in a ten-year cooling trend while CO2 emissions have risen; solar activity is at a standstill; 250 more scientists than last year have signed onto the US Senate's report dissenting from the IPCC consensus; the current financial "crisis" has politicians loathe to impose new taxes (especially consumption taxes).

I respect your principled stand, but I believe that in this as in so many other cases, the market will adapt in due time. Put more bluntly, I agree that people will only change their behaviour when the pain threshold is high enough. I simply disagree that we need to do anything to accelerate the day that pain arrives.

Re: Insane Superhuman French People

Chuck McKinnon — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 14:44:16 -0000

If I could have the athletic capabilities of anyone in the world, it would be those of another Frenchman: David Belle.

Tim, go buy District 13 and treat yourself. You can hunt up some video clips from the film on YouTube, but the framerate just isn't fast enough to really capture what he can do.

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Re: Its better to remain silent…

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