Maggie's Farm

I beg to differ on CFL bulbs. I have no problem with them. In places where I turn lights on and off for a short duration, such as closets and bathrooms, I use incandescent bulbs. It is not cost-effective to use CFLs in such situations, as they burn out quicker if you turn them off before 15 minutes of use. Moreover, the amount of energy saved for a minute of use is trivial.

Regarding calling a Haz-Mat team if you break a CFL bulb: use some common sense. The amount of mercury in the bulb is trivial. Throw it in the garbage. Only brain-dead liberals would call in a Haz-Mat team in that situation.

Banning air conditioning: while it will never occur, I consider it not a bad idea. I use AC for two hours a year in TX. Haven't used it yet. Throw out polyester and long pants. Substitute in cotton, linen, and shorts. Copious amounts of cold water also help.

Legislators and energy czars approving legislation they haven't read: that is a nightmare. We should make it a felony for legislators to vote for bills they haven't read. Or as others have suggested, limit the size of bills to make it more feasible for legislators to read what they vote on.

Crank up the nukes. As Obama has decided to shut down Yucca Mountain in Nevada, an alternative disposal site would be Senator Reid's backyard.

Hotter than Houston. AC is for wimps. Them as need AC should move back to Yankeeland. My TX ancestors survived sans AC; I can do the same. It is better to live "al clima"- adjust your body to the temperature. I thus go with wool and minimal heating in the winter, also.

I was born and raised in NE. Those who complained about winter stayed inside. I was outside a lot. Cold house in winter. My childhood bedroom was in the 50s on winter nights. Adjust yourself to the temperature. Much healthier.

As I don't pay your AC bill, that is your concern, not mine. Downstairs it stays lower 80s nearly all the time without AC.

Where I live, it's much more humid than the Permian Basin/Llano Estacado/Big Bend, lemme tell ya.

For finding out about the Llano Estacado, remember that Wikipedia is your friend, as long as you don’t use it for politically controversial topics. The lefty moonbats tend to control much of the Wikipedia discourse on politically controversial topics. As far as I know, the Staked Plains are not politically controversial. At least not until Odessa Permian plays some East TX team for the state high school football championship.

Gringo ... You just did a real slick job of tap-dancing your way far from the original subject of this discussion, changing it from a discussion of a denial of free trade by the present Democrat-run government, to whether we ought to use our air conditioning or not, and how often. Pretty slick, Gringo.]

Yes, pretty slick to talk about AC when this was the title of the thread: A simple solution: Make a/c illegal. Pretty slick indeed. When Mr. Swift talked about eating Irishmen (Modest Proposal), I doubt he thought people strayed from the topic when people discussed eating said Irishmen.
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I also note there was very little detail at all in the thread about light bulbs, just about the following: our wise and attentive-to-detail Administration wants to control our light bulbs and lamps.

Much more space in the thread devoted to making AC illegal. That is what I responded to. Apparently you didn’t like my response. So be it. I have been a contrarian all my life, without overtly seeking out contrary positions. Rather, that is where my thinking leads. I am rather accustomed to people disagreeing with me.

I expressed opposition to the Cap and Trade Bill. That does not exactly support your surmise “I get the idea…” I also expressed support of nuclear energy. I also stated that I used incandescent bulbs when I considered them appropriate. Do YOU get the idea?

Re CFL/incandescent, I will only say the following: it is rather foolish to have lights imported from 5,000 miles away instead of being made locally. In that sense, I see some problems coming up. The Han wish us no good. In that sense, free trade has its shortcomings, security-wise.

My parents taught me frugality and simplicity. Frugal: conserve. Sounds conservative to me. IMHO, it is pretty damned stupid to be cold in the TX summer because some BLOOMING IDIOTS have the temperature down to the lower 70s. Cold fingers I can accept in the winter. I see no need to accept them in the summer. That has been my point of view for decades, and I am not changing over to support stupidity just to show that I am doing “correct thinking.” One reason I left the liberal side was that I got tired of being informed that I should line up on A, B, C, D, E…all of them, when I only agreed with A, B, E.

If disagreeing with you means that I am a member of the dreaded BusyBody Brigade, so be it. I am reminded of a conversation back in my liberal grad school days, when I pointed out that inflation put one into a higher tax bracket without any corresponding change in real income. My even more liberal roommate replied, "That's very right-wing thinking." So be it.

Five Suggestions for Ineffective Blog Postings

1) Throw the kitchen sink and everything else into the posting. Ignore the KISS principle.
Do not write brief, concise postings such as the following: “In addition to banning AC, the thread talked initially about the Administration wanting to control our lightbulbs and lamps. What is your opinion on that?”

While that may be the question you want answered, obscure it by writing over 300 words. Bring in the kitchen sink, and much more. In addition to annoying people, it is much more entertaining.

2) Needlessly annoy people by making assumptions about them that you are not prepared to sustain.
Here is an assumption: “I get the idea, Gringo, that you feel a need to decide what my behavior, and the behavior of others, should be, whether it's what light bulbs we buy or where we set our air conditioning or what else we do with our private lives.”
There is no way the poster can sustain such an assumption. For example, I previously made a statement that directly contradicted the above assumption: ”As I don't pay your AC bill, that is your concern, not mine.” The even more broad-based part of the assumption- “..or what else we do..” is even more unsustainable.


3) Needlessly annoy people by making unfounded statements about their online comments that do not stand up to examination of the text.
Consider this comment. ”You just did a real slick job of tap-dancing your way far from the original subject of this discussion. ….Pretty slick, Gringo.”

Upon examination of the facts, this accusation does NOT stand up. For example , consider the TITLE of the piece. A simple solution: Make a/c illegal. Of the 154 words that The Barrister wrote on the thread, 86 referred to AC. I can hardly be accused of “a real slick job of tap-dancing” from the topic of the thread when my discussion referred to the title of the thread, and to what the majority of the thread discussed.

4) Accuse people of doing “bad” things while ignoring that you have been documented doing similar things yourself. Physician, heal thyself.
A poster said the following: “I get the idea, Gringo, that you feel a need to decide what my behavior…should be, whether it's what light bulbs we buy …or what else we do with our private lives. This makes me think that you belong to the Busybody Brigade…" .

The poster previously said “First we need to make those damn compact fluorescent bulbs illegal.” I do agree that it is my opinion that I and others should use CFL bulbs where appropriate . However, the advocate of overreaching state power, a.k.a. the BusyBody Brigade, in this case is not me, but the poster. In no case did I state that incandescent bulbs should be illegal- in fact I stated I used them where appropriate -whereas the poster stated that CFL bulbs should be illegal. Which would infringe on MY choice, thank you very much.

5) Needlessly annoy people by condescending to them.
This makes me think that you belong to the Busybody Brigade on the liberal side of the political spectrum, rather than the grown-up….side.
I find this remark very condescending. Perhaps an eighteen year old would assent to being addressed that way, but I am no longer eighteen. Also note this remark also annoys by making an assumption about somone that the poster cannot sustain. A twofer.

People who are needlessly annoyed, falsely accused and condescended to see no need to respond to a poster’s questions. At least that is my point of view as “an alien living in an alternate universe.”