thatwebdude

> the power company is devaluing what you put back into the sub-system more and more.

Here's a related article to what I'm talking about here, I think this is happening across the country though:

http://www.kansascity.com/news/business/technology/article38...

Specifically:

> Power companies argue that a solar house doesn’t pick up enough of the cost of all it takes to make energy available around the clock. If those solar homes don’t pay for upkeep, they contend, other customers eventually get stuck with higher bills.

Honestly, a solar house seems like it really is only beneficial to itself; it only has the capacity to produce power for itself, and maybe a fraction above. Nothing worth selling back "wholesale".

I only see this route going if the power companies themselves are responsible enough to make the transition to renewable energy (I'm not sure they are, at least in any relatively quick timeframe). So if the case comes that fossil fuels become more and more expensive, then and only then will they really make an effort to transition to mostly renewable energy. And it'll happen at a slow and crippling pace for all us tree-huggers out there.

So storage still makes a lot of sense, because if I want to do anything about renewable energy, I unfortunately have to do it myself. Putting some sort of solar system on my house will cost ME money; either outright, leased, or through a home-improvement loan plan. Which is sad, but it is what it is (and kudos to what the government HAS done to bring down these costs). Since it's all on me to reduce my carbon footprint, that energy produced must be stored, and these home battery systems (Tesla or not, there's about 2 other choices though, it seems in my research with companies locally) are not all that expensive considering the cost and installation of a solar array, especially Tesla's pricier solar roof option. And that's giving you complete independence from the electric company.

I talked to a rep about a solar solution and he understood my concern for wanting to go "net zero" since it feels like locally, the power company is devaluing what you put back into the sub-system more and more. He explained that more and more people exploring their alternative energy solutions are interested in these battery/storage systems for the exact same reasons. With a minimum investment of about 30k or 40k for a whole-home solution, a lot of people don't trust that their power fed back into the grid won't be devalued over time (at least a rate higher than the natural decay of battery technology).

"passion"

Wait, you mean targeted advertising before the internet?

Blasphemy! We had integrity then!

I'm not sure those people are so willing to brand themselves online. If they are, they already have the capital to have someone else do it for them.

Cool, thanks! That's a lot different than I remembered. Good to know.

Cool, but the whole time I wanted to know what a skater's solution was to respiratory masks. I was let down. Even by the linked article.

No, glass jars are buried in the back yard. It'd take shovels and hard work to be robbed of that!

Some people are numbed by severe weather coverage. In the Midwest, in my experience, people just aren't phased by tornadoes because they'd be hiding in their basement for 10 months out of the year.

Oh boy. Editorconfig and I'm done. I sincerely don't care.

That's the second time this has come up in the last few days on HN. That must mean something.

I hear you on changing it out. My house was built in 85, with 100A service, only about 20 circuits total. Going to put in a 200A box before I finish the basement and slowly re-allocate to separate circuits over time.

I haven't gotten bids yet to know for myself, but assuming you feel confident enough to do the wiring after the new box install, it shouldn't be outlandish price-wise, even in CA.

I'm only doing that because I don't want to mess with the live feed from the street, though I did watch some electricians replace my mains breaker. Their solution was being very careful with rubber gloves and rubber-handled-pliers, but I just don't think that's for me :).

Because people who know how to swim don't drown? Like, ever?

This is a concept that seems often overlooked. In rural parts of the country (US) a gun is simply another dangerous tool that gets a specific job done. Much like a beam saw.

+1, I read Woman Firefighter and auto-corrected it to Female Firefighter without second thought.

Assuming you have a free breaker spot. ~50 year old circuit breaker is probably already tied up 100%.

Are you thinking of the Bolt?

The volt is a sedan, but only 2 seats in the back split by a center console. I don't think that'd be very comfortable without an air mattress.

"Meh, I'll work until I die! Cause I love what I do!"

I think women find most of these clarifiers (that's how I see it, anyway) as a title worth being proud of. They've overcame social and potentially physical adversity to obtain this position (Female Firefighter, etc.)

I've probably heard Male Nurse vs. Nurse (who's a male) about 50/50 at this point. As the world learns that gender is not a prerequisite for nearly every job title, then these gender qualifiers will probably diminish.

Language is a slippery slope though. I don't think it should be read into too much.

I think more of this levels the playing field for all.

> (Hell, my wife's parents saved up a 529 plan, and then she went to a state school on a full scholarship. Now we're apparently allowed to spend the 529 money to put a down payment on a house as a young couple, without any tax penalty. How is this allowed!?)

I'm not sure it is allowed. There must be some other transaction happening to make this without penalty. [1]

Also, why is everyone on this thread [not you] speaking of a 529 as if it's some elite 1% benefit? It's open to anyone. Most states have a $25 minimum, a lot of states have no minimum contribution at all [2].

[1]http://www.montereyherald.com/article/ZZ/20111006/NEWS/11100...

[2]http://www.savingforcollege.com/compare_529_plans/?plan_ques...

Edit: after some more research, it sounds like it may have been rolled over into an IRA for use with a first-time homebuyer exemption. See (http://finance.zacks.com/convert-529-ira-10479.html) under "Penalty Exceptions".

> Part of that's luck but part of it is the market.

I think a lot of that is the market.

I agree with this statement, but the first one:

> I think IT is unique in that there was a time when you could sit down and teach yourself enough to get a decent job.

I think can be true, but many aspects of IT are skills-based honestly. And there will always be the ability to self-teach skills-based work. Some of this skill-based work is just well-paying right now. Because everyone needs it for something.

I don't know. We've been doing a 40 hour workweek because that's the way it's always been. We're more efficient now, but still cling to this idea. I mean, look at how many people are on this thread instead of work...

Competition?

Although I've never had the option to choose these utilities in the cities I've lived in. I haven't lived in a ton of cities, but enough to wonder.

It would also be interesting to see where income lies in those lifestyle issues as well before and during the downturn.

I always liked the ring of "United Statesian".

In contrast, the Fire TV had a huge UI overhaul over the last year. Still a bit underpowered for the Stick, but nice to see it still getting some love.

How do you like the music experience with the Echo? That's primarily what I'd use it for, but the skills are great (and I've even developed one myself, so I have a bit of an allegiance).

I bring up children in almost every interview at some point. I want to subtly hint as to where my allegiances lie. It's better when my son has to come home sick from school, and my wife is in some other part of the country.