[BillJames]

Transportation has a distributed need for power; solar is a distributed source of energy. Synergy.

Instead of moving a ton to move a person we can strive towards moving only the person. By driving Parasitic Mass (mass we pay to move that is not cargo or passengers) towards zero the synergy between distributed need and distribute source becomes practical.

Visit www.jpods.com and help us build solar powered transportation.

JPods are networks of ultra-light, computer controlled vehicles and rails that stream resource to need on-demand.

[Aaron]

So there's a debate among the staff here about link Trolls like this guy.

Should we allow commercial trolls pushing products to post their stuff?

On one hand they are trolling for $$$'s

On the other they do related to energy...

Well?

[Jack]

Neca eos omnes. Deus suos agnoscet.

Or, if you prefer, Kill 'em all and let God sort them out.

[TommyJefferson]

Tough call.

I run a couple of hobbyist forums. I sometimes base the decision to 86 spammers upon their level of productive participation.

If they followup their spams with conversation, they sometimes stay.

If they post and then ignore questions and comments, they get the boot.

[Windmills]

I don't know if they do that much harm. Most people around here see them for what they are, and plenty ignore them. They might have some benefit in keeping us abreast of the latest scams designed to target taxpayer money and foolish investors.

[Pixie]

I found their site interesting for about 3 minutes. It provides one more idea, and that is what these forums are for. I say let this one be. Base the decision on the same criteria you would any other poster. Get rid of them only if they cause problems.

[Zardoz]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Pixie', '.')..I say let this one be...

[steam_cannon]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('BillJames', '[')u]Instead of moving a ton to move a person we can strive towards moving only the person. By driving Parasitic Mass (mass we pay to move that is not cargo or passengers) towards zero the synergy between distributed need and distribute source becomes practical.

[steam_cannon]

A funny thought: I was just thinking that an electric assist car would be much easier to push when it's out of gas.

[I_Like_Plants]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Zardoz', '
')Good luck to them, though. Let's hope such a thing might be feasible some day.

[Starvid]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Jack', 'N')eca eos omnes. Deus suos agnoscet.

[tsakach]

This "jpod" idea appears to be a relevant topic for this forum. I am puzzled as to why posting something like this would qualify somebody here as a "troll." A spammer maybe, but a troll?

This "jpod" concept might be a great idea that would save a lot of energy down the road. As an investment, I would ask how long would it take before you see a return, if any, from your investment? Does this concept depend on other things to be in place before it becomes practical to do? At least they admit on the website that "Deploying JPods will require vast amounts of goods and services."

I like the idea of a battery electric vehicle that has the option of tapping into a power source while moving, such as an electrified rail, or possibly some type of adaptor that you could attach to the vehicle so it would operate as a cable car like the jpod.

After optimizing home energy use, my off grid-solar array and small scale wind farm now generates excess energy. This extra energy could be used to charge a battery electric vehicle and drive it 40+ miles every few days. If I add more solar panels and wind turbines, it might even make daily commutes possible.

But I don't expect to see anything like these "jpods" in my neck of the woods anytime soon. Thus, my next sustainable "investment" will be in a battery electric vehicle with a range of 40+ miles.

[cube]

I'm confused is the "Jpod" somehow related to the "iPod" in any way?

[Zardoz]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('I_Like_Plants', 'T')here's still a LOT of cornucopianism on this site after all, so why not let trolls advertise their little Schmoo-mobiles?

[Pixie]

[quote="steam_cannon
Also if say the solar panels could be rigged up to provide 10% of the power for a car with no batteries, that would mean 10% savings at the pump and not cut into acceleration. The thing that I see is that carrying battery packs, even the best batteries adds lots of weight. So yeah, I think solar panels on a small car might give a good cost benefit ratio. Any thoughts on how to rig up something like that?[/quote]

Hey Cool! This seems like something the Plug-In Hybrid People couple really latch onto. Forget about Li-Ion batteries! Forget about recharging at night! Nevermind where your grid electricity comes from! I live in a second story apartment, and wouldn't have any place to plug my car in anyway.

Just put a couple of small solar panels on top of your prius, install a charge controller in your trunk and feed it into the existing NiMH battery that the prius already has. (Or maybe, you'd need a second NiMH battery, which is off-the-shelf tech.) Then, all day while you are at work, your panels pump juice into your battery, and you can drive home without gas. I have a 4 mile round trip commute. I bet it would get me home. This idea also appeals because it would help on long highway trips, which the plug-in idea does not address.

[Pixie]

(Oh and by the way, I use a bike on my 4 mile commute unless it's raining or snowing.)

[gg3]

To me the line between legitimate self-promotion and trolling is whether someone is a productive particpant in the community or whether they just hit and run.

If someone posts an ad on their first visit, delete the posting (or the entire topic if it's a new topic) and then send them a private message letting them know what was done & why, and telling them they can self-promote when and if they establish themselves here.

Though of course all of those obvious spam topics such as "mobile phones cheep" and suchlike, that are created apparently by bots, should be deleted, the users banned, and a Russian hit squad paid serious money to kill (preferably slowly and with much pain) whoever is doing it.