Archive for September, 2012

Twitter Updates for 2012-09-12

September 12th, 2012 at 09:00pm

Twitter Updates for 2012-09-11

  • The super trawler that was banned was fishing sustainably, so if it wasn't banned for environmental reasons, then why? http://t.co/fnpKnccR #
  • @grathom Hi Graeme. Tim has been replaced with the 3AW overnight show & longer commercial breaks. I'd suggest it's cost-cutting at Fairfax. in reply to grathom #
  • @grathom I don't think they ever gave an official reason though. in reply to grathom #
  • @grathom I haven't listened since the announcement was made, so I'm not sure if John Cadogan is still on. If so, the change is taking time. in reply to grathom #
  • @grathom I do agree. I was going to call it "that drivel from Melbourne" but I had to rephrase to fit in the Twitter character limit. in reply to grathom #
  • @grathom @2ue yes I miss Clive too. I quite enjoyed it when he would drop in on Mike Jeffreys. Now though, I'm streaming US radio overnight. in reply to grathom #

September 11th, 2012 at 09:00pm

Twitter Updates for 2012-09-09

  • This afternoon in the AFL, I'm supporting the Kangaroos, and in the NRL the Sharks…may the latter trounce the Raiders by 40 points! #
  • My unblemished tipping record remains intact. As usual, the teams I tipped lost, although today they got thrashed, both of them. #

September 9th, 2012 at 09:00pm

Twitter Updates for 2012-09-08

September 8th, 2012 at 09:00pm

Twitter Updates for 2012-09-07

  • @auspost I sent a parcel by Express Post International on Friday. The tracking website hasn't updated since. Is this normal? #
  • @auspost Hi Alice. The number is EP001636685AU. Thanks. in reply to auspost #
  • @auspost That's great Alice, thanks. Any reason why the website can't say that though? It would keep curious customers like me off your back in reply to auspost #
  • RT @theblaze Brit hume on Obama Speech ‘Significant Number of Straw Men and Criticisms of Proposals Nobody’s Making’ http://t.co/4j1kuUou jh #
  • Eek, I agree with Wolf! RT @newsbusters Wolf Blitzer 'I didn’t hear any specific new initiative the President unveiled' http://t.co/Oyutauf3 #
  • In what way? RT @newsbusters NPR Political Director: Clinton speech as 'robust and effective' as he could imagine http://t.co/Hx2iTAqf #
  • RT @theblaze: Krauthammer hammers Obama: ‘One of the emptiest speeches I have ever heard on a national stage’ http://t.co/bBiEqR6y #
  • US political convention time is quite amusing really. In many ways I think the partisan divide is wider now than at election time. #
  • @myfortdodge Expired? I've never heard anyone refer to a storm warning as "expired" before, but I like it. in reply to myfortdodge #
  • @myfortdodge Tim Tams, that was the national currency the last time I checked 🙂 in reply to myfortdodge #
  • @auspost Alice, thank you, I will be sure to check USPS. I did read your earlier message; I'm trying to provide a helpful suggestion… in reply to auspost #
  • @auspost I understand that not all scans are uploaded to website. Probably sensible. But they all go to the computer system, so one scan… in reply to auspost #
  • @auspost being uploaded every day or two (automatically perhaps) would make the "tracking" page more useful. Just trying to be helpful 🙂 in reply to auspost #
  • @auspost While I have your attention, I would like to offer my sincere condolences for the postie who died yesterday here in Canberra. in reply to auspost #
  • Yes, they did RT @newsbusters Piers Morgan "Both Presidential candidates’ wives made better speeches than they did" http://t.co/h33sEOSU” #
  • @auspost Great. I appreciate your time. Have a wonderful weekend Alice. in reply to auspost #
  • RT @JodieMarq: “@livefromDarwin: Oh f*** this s***. Where's Monday? #hateweekends Really?? Are you sure???” #
  • @JodieMarq @livefromdarwin I can understand it. In my line of work, my weekend often falls on Tue/Wed, with really busy Sat/Sun. Mon is Fri! in reply to JodieMarq #

September 7th, 2012 at 09:00pm

When it comes to solar power, the Greens think it’s cheaper to be more expensive

It is not often that things uttered by The Greens astound me as I am quite used to them saying the most absurd things, but I have found myself in that position today, although to be fair, their comrades in the Labor Party have helped to produce my state of astoundment (yes, it’s a word, even if spellcheck doesn’t know it).

Yesterday the ACT Government announced that a large sun receptacle will be placed in Royalla, in Canberra’s deep south (I would normally call it the deep dark south, but that wouldn’t bode well for solar power now would it?). It will produce power which The Greens believe is lovely and cheap.

Royalla will produce 20 megawatts of power each day, enough to power about 4400 homes at a price of 18.6c per kilowatt-hour, about three times the cost of energy produced using coal-fired power.

(h/t Noel Towell, The Canberra Times)

“The reverse auction tariff price of 18.6c/kilowatt-hour also reflects just how quickly the price of solar energy is falling, and that the more we invest in renewable energy, the cheaper it becomes.” said Shane Rattenbury, ACT Greens Energy spokesperson.

(via ACT Greens who do not receive a tip of my hat, period.)

So, if three times the cost of good old reliable coal power is “cheaper”, how many more taxpayer dollars do we have to throw at this stuff before the cost at the retail side is something which won’t break the bank?

Speaking of taxpayer dollars, it looks like this 18.6c/kilowatt-hour price has been reached by throwing a significant taxpayer-funded subsidy at the project. Back to Simon Corbell in The Canberra Times:

Mr Corbell said the cost would be passed onto consumers and be capped at no more than $13 per year to each Canberra household.

So in other words, the more power you use, the more money this taxpayer subsidy will have to throw at the Spanish sun receptacle company so that your power bill doesn’t go up by more than $13 per year…and with the coast of the solar power being triple that of normal power, and with very few people (probably none, actually) having $6.50 annual electricity bills, the cost of this subsidy will blow out quickly. (Just an explanatory note about the math, if a bill is currently $6.50 and it triples, then it becomes $19.50 which is $13.00 more than the original $6.50 bill).

And yes, that’s right, the company building the sun station is Spanish, so I do have to wonder who gets the carbon credits if the ridiculous carbon dioxide tax stays in place?

And then there’s the other bizarre part of this whole thing. This power plant can power 4,400 homes. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ 2011 census, Canberra has 145,229 homes, so this power plant can only power 3% of Canberra’s homes and yet all of them are going to pay for it whether they receive power from the plant or not. This means that 97% of Canberra’s homes are going to be subsidising the power supply for that 3%. Based on that, to give you a better indication of how much more this solar power will cost, if only that 3% were paying for the solar power and the $13 cap over the 100% was adjusted so as to receive the same revenue from just the 3%, then it would be an annual cap of $433.33 extra per household per year, and even then it would be subsidised by the taxpayer for an unknown amount.

It is truly astounding that the ACT Government is forcing people to pay extra through both their power bills and their taxes for an unnecessary and uncompetitive solar power plant, all in the name of reducing carbon dioxide emissions which they incorrectly believe are warming the planet. It’s ludicrous, but I can see why the Spanish folks are coming all this way…it’s a giant cash cow and it’s not their taxpayers that have to foot the bill.

Simply astounding.

Samuel

September 6th, 2012 at 05:33pm

Twitter Updates for 2012-09-02

  • @trevorlong The Shark Portable vacuum by any chance? The 28 minute version is much more irritating, and I've had to sit through it a lot. in reply to trevorlong #
  • RT @7netsport: AFL Finals wk 1 – Fri: Haw V Coll @ MCG Sat Arvo: Adel V Syd @ AAMI Sat Night: Gee V Freo @ MCG Sun: WCE V North @ Patersons #

September 2nd, 2012 at 09:00pm

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