[BartSimpson]

herbie herbie:

In what way? Like locking up the world's helium supply?

The US locked up OUR helium supply mostly at the request of the UK who didn't want it to be used by the Germans in two successive wars.

You're welcome.

[GreenTiger]

ShepherdsDog ShepherdsDog:

Because interfering is racist and non interference is racist.

I think there is a lot more truth in that comment than we care to know.

[andyt]

BartSimpson BartSimpson:

ShepherdsDog ShepherdsDog:

Well if it involves resupplying native communities, then the government will be involved.

Here's a radical idea: Why not have them move to someplace easier to supply or else let them be 'sovereign' and don't supply them at all?

Because if we actually want to keep the sovereignty of our North, it helps a lot if we actually have some people living there. Just as we find it a lot cheaper to use the indigenous people as rangers (equipped with Lee Enfields) instead of shipping people from the south to patrol there.

[herbie]

http://www.wired.com/2015/07/feds-creat ... g-science/

Baloons were used here in the 80s for steep-slope logging and even then, the costs of helium was a deterrent to development of airship technology. Can't say what its like today.
Probably the biggest problem airships faced is that there's no practical military use these days so the technology's plodded along at glacial speeds. Hell, there's very limited uses for these things, but this idea might be one of the better ones.

[fifeboy]

CKA forums provide a constant supply of hot air. Would that help?

[N_Fiddledog]

herbie herbie:

N_Fiddledog N_Fiddledog:

It's a good idea unless the government has to get involved.

In what way? Like locking up the world's helium supply?

Wind Turbines and Solar Power were a good idea, right?

Why did the government need to get involved? Locking up the air and sun supply?

Speaking of stupid questions, I mean.

[BRAH]

[herbie]

Jesus Fuddled-dog I just posted exactly how gov't can and did fuck up a product development! Restricting the market and then trying to manipulate the pricing for decades. And Brah just posted a pic of what happened because of that and WHY airships faded into history.
That has fuck all to do with subsidizing products they want to see developed. The WAY and the REASONS that gov't gets involved is the problem, not the involvement of gov't itself. Too complicated to think about?
You live in fucking Canada, you wouldn't have a railway across the country or one to Prince George or reliable regular ferries to Vancouver Island and Newfoundland or a bridge to PEI or even standardized and simple telephone system if gov't didn't get involved.

[herbie]

Here's my idea for the airship engineers to figure out. A leak proof, puncture proof, no static bag that you could warm up electrically. Filled with hydrogen.
That would give you some fucking lifting power....

[N_Fiddledog]

herbie herbie:

Jesus Fuddled-dog I just posted exactly how gov't can and did fuck up a product development! Restricting the market and then trying to manipulate the pricing for decades. And Brah just posted a pic of what happened because of that and WHY airships faded into history.
That has fuck all to do with subsidizing products they want to see developed. The WAY and the REASONS that gov't gets involved is the problem, not the involvement of gov't itself. Too complicated to think about?
You live in fucking Canada, you wouldn't have a railway across the country or one to Prince George or reliable regular ferries to Vancouver Island and Newfoundland or a bridge to PEI or even standardized and simple telephone system if gov't didn't get involved.

Make up your mind Dwerpie. Is it a good thing, or is it a bad thing.

There's essential infrastructure and there's corporatism.

You know that business of forcing people to buy twisty light bulbs you like to bring up? Turned out that was corporatism. The big conglomerates pressured the government.

And CFLs were dumb. Turned out LEDs weren't too bad. That was lucky. But forcing price and product on people rather than letting the market decide is a bad idea as policy.

And even beyond that, the problem with bureaucracy is it's a problem. That's just basic. The fact it's a problem is a thing everybody learns by dealing with it. Controls are costly, ineffective and too often unnecessary. You get activity without productivity and undesirable consequences.

For another example of how too much government can be a bad thing,
Eminent Domain might seem like a good idea when you need to widen a road to get a growing community access to essential services, but it's more difficult to understand when they want to take your house to put up the new Trump Towers or they all of a sudden notice there's some sort of spotted bullfrog in a ditch by your farm so it's time for you to go. Cause, you know..."sustainability" or some such nonsense.

This is all basic stuff. So if I say these airships are a good idea if somebody thinks they can make a buck off it, but a dumb idea if the government has to be brought in that's just a common sense contribution to the conversation. It doesn't require a snotty brainfart of a snarky insult. Big Brother's not going to pat you on the head for trying to make the bad individual liberty guy shut up.

[N_Fiddledog]

And no, I wouldn't want to see this airship plan subsidized. Telling people not to consider it doesn't negate the possibility.

[herbie]

And I never even mentioned the word subsidy for these things either, did I? Simply pointed out an example of how they fucked up helium airships in general. And agreed that gov't can fuck up things without using the simplistic cliche that they only fuck up things.
Want another example? If you wondered why a small pickup is almost as much as a full size one Google "Chicken tax". Put in place in LBJ days and it's still there!

[N_Fiddledog]

I am mentioning subsidies. They're a bad idea.