Disqus - Latest Comments for jv

Re: Nashuatelegraph.com: Phone-company switch prompted collection call

jv — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 12:00:58 -0000

I switched to Vonage a few months ago and didn't notice this at all. I paid my bills and everything was fine. Verizon also gave me a free 30 day "phone number changed" message (you could pay to get more time on the message if you wanted).

Is this a new policy?

Re: Nashuatelegraph.com: Teeboom wrong to push system based on class

jv — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 11:12:38 -0000

I am not familiar enough about Mr Teeboom's actual views to defend him but you seem to imply that minorities, special-needs students and the average American cannot be one of the "best and brightest". I don't believe this kind of prejudice should guide the principles of the education system.
English, art, history and PE are all important but as our world economy becomes more based on technology and innovation math and science are more important to being successful as a nation in the future.
What we need in Nashua is a system where the teachers have the full support of the people, town government and administrators to educate all our children to be successful in the future. The problem of balancing the allocation of resources to those that need more help without holding back the "best and brightest" will never be solved but the discussion should be on the needs of the students and not turned into a class struggle.

Re: Man denies IRS, saying he won't support war effort

jv — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 09:55:12 -0000

"Our country was founded by a bunch of guys who practiced nonviolent, civil disobedience," Klein said.

I am not disparaging the tax protest but which guys were those? I can't think of any founding father who practiced nonviolent, civil disobedience.

Re: 'Mulch volcanoes' are killing region's trees

jv — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 10:37:11 -0000

``To see this practiced by professional landscaping companies is mind-boggling, as it ultimately results in the death of the tree – usually within five years''

Not so mind boggling when you think about who is going to make money planting the replacement tree...

Re: Are gas savings from hybrid worth extra cost for Prius?

jv — Thu, 22 May 2008 09:55:24 -0000

Re: battery replacement: I have only heard of a couple instances of the battery needing to be replaced. Do you factor in the cost of a new engine on other cars for the few that do need a new engine in their life?

Another factor for savings is in when stopped in traffic or a t a light the engine shuts off. No wasting gas on idling.

As for the resale value, I was shocked to see the blue book on my 2004 Prius was almost $17K!

And let's not forget the smug feeling you get using less than half the gas of others and causing much less pollution. That has to be worth something, right?

Re: War opponents comfort the enemy

jv — Sat, 31 May 2008 21:40:09 -0000

When an enemy tries uses the media to try to change the will of the people it is propaganda. When people in a free society express their beliefs it is free speech.

Two completely different things.

I agree that anti war views can weaken the resolve for the war and comfort the enemy. But if we are in a war that is against our national interest and the wishes of the people that it had to justified with false pretenses we as a nation should question it.

And just who is the enemy? In WW2 Japan was an enemy. Once Saddam was defeated the war should have been over if we were liberating the Iraqi people from a dictatorship.

Terrorists? Iraq was not the source of the terrorists before the war. But it is now. And with the US occupation we send the targets to them so they don't have to come to us.

In the larger scheme of things this was Osama's and Al Quaida's goal all along: to get the US into a ground war in the middle East. They miscalculated the extent of the damage to their organization and fighters and they were completely wrong about a unifying pan Arab response but they were spot on in making the US look the bully and provide a an example to inspire a new generation of suicide bombers and terrorists.

To go back to WW2 again the only way to win was to utterly defeat your enemy. And then help them rebuild. 30-40 years after WW2 we saw Germany and Japan as some of the largest economic powers in the world. But in Iraq there is no clear goal so there is no clear winning. Iraq will not change one bit from the way it is today until we change something. Carpet bombing Bagdahd and Fallujah are out of the question so that really only leaves withdrawing.

It doesn't have to be the shameful retreat in Vietnam but we do need to end the war and get our army out of there.

Re: Hybrid boat at marina generates interest

jv — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 11:12:57 -0000

Why is this a Hybrid and not an electric boat? What charges the batteries?

Re: Pennichuck acquisition a bad deal for Nashua

jv — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 11:46:37 -0000

I don't know enough about the details to dispute the basic claim about the price but as I understand it we are buying the Nashua portion of the waterworks and the ability to manage our own water in Nashua. Since we are not buying the company the stock price is irrelevant.

The other benefit Nashua gets the ability to better protect the watersheds and not sell them off for development as Pennichuck has done over the years.

Most cities the size of Nashua manage their own water supply. Why not Nashua?

Rates are going up with or without the purchase. Notice the pending 25% increase Pennichuck is trying to add to what is already the most expensive water in New Hampshire.

Pennichuck has been selling off watershed in Nashua for profit as they use the cash cow of Nashua to fund their expansion into other areas.

I don't know if the price is too much or if Nashua can easily afford it but looking to future I don't see how Nashua can afford not to take control of its water.

Re: City should be wary of buying Pennichuck

jv — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 13:09:08 -0000

Yes, we can hope the city will do the right thing financially. While I wouldn't be surprised there will be hidden costs or gotchas in the process I don't see this as a disaster.

As far as I know the water supply now for Nashua is good and has been managed well. I have been pleased with the result every time I have worked with a Pennichcuck employee and I hope the new company will use as many as possible.

But it has become clear to me that the greed of the Pennichuck corporation has squandered a large amount of the watershed asset for short term profits and they are milking Nashua ratepayers not only for direct benefit but to fund expansion into other markets.

This is reason why Nashua needs to take control.

The issue of foreign companies managing the waterworks is a smoke screen just as much now as it was a few years ago when it appeared Pennichuck would sell out or be owned by a foreign company. At least if Nashua owns the water we would have more control over who manages it and be able to change it we were unhappy with the results.

Re: Why is there a leap day, anyway?

jv — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 01:59:13 -0000

I was discussing your article last week with someone who thought something was wrong in the article. I didn't see anything wrong with the assertions but I did notice that you mention the difference between sidereal and tropical years as about an hour when Wiki says it is about 20 minutes.

Re: Where in Merrimack?

jv — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 23:27:34 -0000

It isn't Merrimack and I can't seem to locate it anywhere else. The light angle suggests it is shot looking North which is another clue it isn't Merrimack. I hope someone figures it out as I am quite curious now.

Re: Howto turn mini Maglites into White LED flashlights

jv — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 10:42:28 -0000

I like this homebrew idea. However, or those who want an easy solution I just bought a kit. Photos and comparison here.