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By Design News Staff -- Design News, September 22, 2003
EMISSION FREE? NO WAY!
I have a few points to make about your electric scooter article (DN 08.18.03). Electric vehicles of any description are most emphatically NOT emissions free, unless one is planning to import free electrons from Mars. Electricity in the main is presently generated from more-or-less dirty fossil fuels—even natural gas is a hazard. What we should be doing is instituting a crash program to develop fusion energy.
My prediction: No electric vehicle of any description which depends upon slow, in situ recharging will, in the long run, survive. The enabling alternative is to employ automated battery exchange stations, where the almost-discharged battery is exchanged for a fully charged one in one to three minutes without driver intervention—better than even hazardous gasoline-tank filling. A second advantage is that the user will not have to purchase the battery—which is quite expensive—making the sticker price of the vehicle substantially lower.
Allen N. Wollscheidt CHANDLER, AZ
MORE THAN SPLICING FILM
I enjoyed your editorial titled, "A Hollywood Thriller" (DN 08.18.03). I'd like to mention one additional reason for theater owners to avoid going digital. I went to a movie several months back, and asked to see the manager. The manager looked like she was in high school. The new digital screens require the equivalent of an information technology expert in order to keep them maintained. I assure you that the theater owners will not pay to hire someone with this background. The current situation may change when both the price of projectors go down, and the robustness of the projector's operation goes up!
Keith B. Deutch SHAWNEE, KS
WARNING: DOES NOT WORK ON BS!
I enjoyed reading Ken Russell's article on "The Case of the Beneficial Barristers"
(DN 08.18.03). I applaud his ability to convert the self-serving interests of lawyers into a benefit to society. A "60 Minutes" segment a few years back revealed the flipside of Russell's premise. A ladder manufacturer was on the verge of going out of business from an onslaught of frivolous lawsuits. The example used was a farmer who was suing the ladder company because he had placed his ladder on a frozen "cow pie." During the course of his work the heat of the sun had melted the said pie and he was thrown from the ladder and injured. He and his lawyer contended that the ladder should have had a warning label warning not to support the ladder on frozen cow dung. The case had not gone to trial at the time of the show but I was hoping both the farmer and his lawyer would receive heavy fines for stupidity. That would be a benefit to society.
David M. Ahearn, Jr. YORKTOWN, VA
SAMPLES ROCK
Your recent article on the need to prototype (DN RANT 08.18.03) rings true. Another benefit of prototyping is proof of manufacturing and assembly. That sailboat looks great in the basement until you find you can't get it up the stairs! If a picture is worth a thousand words, a sample must be worth a million.
Tom Solon HOLLIS, NH
WHAT A DRAG
It was with much interest that I read your interview with the "Drag Queen" Rose McCallen (DN BMOC 08.04.03). A few years ago I worked with two young gentlemen on a project such as the flaps mentioned in the article. My involvement was strictly that of a component supplier, but the idea interested me. Mathieu Boivin and Karic Roberge started the project while in college, and started a company, Maka Innovation (www.makainnovation.com), to develop and market the product.
Not to belittle theoretical research, but I thought it interesting that two guys fresh out of college were able to come to the same answer as a fancy-schmancy laboratory. Not quite the 2 ft and 20° quoted in the article, but darn close.
Brian Senn KENOSHA, WI
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