Lynne Kiesling We wouldn’t have paid so much attention to this if it hadn’t happened in LA. Human error in this case was a maintenance worker not following procedures for reconnecting a wire that had been accidentally cut; reconnecting two lines at different voltages leads to power surge. Or at least that’s my non-engineer understanding …
Some Random Thoughts About Yesterday’s La Blackout Read More »
Lynne Kiesling One of the themes of post-Katrina punditry has been “why build a city below sea level and between three bodies of water?” Think about the history of the US, or for that matter, the Netherlands. The critical growth occurred at a time when waterways were the primary means of transportation (the 17th century …
Lynne Kiesling Kevin at Truck & Barter has a Q&A with himself on “price gouging”. Well worth the read; he summarizes the economic arguments nicely. Feel free to forward it to you member of Congress.
Lynne Kiesling Even though Skype proves that anyone can sell phone service and is being courted for acquisition, the stock of its main suitor, eBay, fell 4% today on the news of the potential union. J.P. Morgan weighed in on the possibility, saying it thinks the inclusion of voice over Internet protocol, or VoIP, technology …
Lynne Kiesling Reason’s Adrian Moore discusses the binding constraint that is refinery capacity in the US in a commentary from the Orange County Register. Very good summary and analysis. Just a few new refineries would alleviate the problem and help keep our gas prices lower and steadier. But getting an oil refinery built is next …
Lynne Kiesling Mr. Coyote has a post from last week (complete with good links) on that mythical economic concept: price gouging. There are two ways this can play out: 1) a short term spike in prices, as much as a dollar or more a gallon or 2) long and irritating gas lines. Lets hope that …
Lynne Kiesling Last week on vacation we stayed in a paddle-in cabin 20 miles northeast of Ely, Minnesota. No phone, no television, no computer, hence no information on the horrific consequences of hurricane Katrina. We ventured into town twice for dinner, once on Monday (when we saw a newspaper and saw the looming threat) and …
Lynne Kiesling This was the view from our cabin “up north” in the Boundary Waters: We saw lots of loons, otters, beavers, bald eagles, mergansers, etc. We did not see moose, much to our consternation. And we saw canoeists; we four were pretty much the only kayakers in our area. The landscape was beautiful, and …
Michael Giberson The Washington Post reports growing consumer interest in automobile fuel economy as gasoline prices increase. Not exactly an earth-shattering development, is it, when consumers respond to price changes? Almost as reliable as consumer responses to price changes is the “I told you so” chorus from alternative-energy advocates. [S]upporters of hybrids, electric vehicles, hydrogen …
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