Quiz Question...

homelessskilledworker

Thrugelmir wrote: »

I spent some years working for a Company with a great concept for renewable resource preservation. The Company has now been trading for 9 years. Has consumed nearly £30 million of venture capital. Has yet to make a profit in any trading year, and requires yet more capital funding.

Ideas are great. Commercial reality is another matter.

Like I said, renewable energy is just a huge step backwards, apart from ground/air source I have no time for it on the whole.

spadoosh

homelessskilledworker wrote: »

, I just think something really awfull will happen first though, the kick up the a**e

This bit i can't see past :eek:

And i think politics takes a big portion of the blame for the capitalist/commercial lives we lead. Even now they cant see past money and self importance. Were beyond that we need to make everyone rich and not just in monetary terms.

See told you i was a hippy!:D

Jennifer_Jane

Generali wrote: »

I think we can agree there!

The article I quoted from originally was an introduction written by a hedge fund manager to a piece written by an economic historian.

I find it amazing how different the world is to my 23 y/o au pair than it is to me. She remembers pre-Google but not in her adult life. She doesn't really remember the world without the internet. 33 & 1/3rpm and the Cold War are meaningless to her. She's not 20 years younger than me.

Yes, indeed, people asked me what had changed in Britain when I returned in 1998 after 26 years in Africa and 2 years in Belgium. I said that the key change had been technology (obviously), but that since it had also changed in Africa (and, I think, higher cell phone usage in Africa, things weren't so different.

Incidentally, you mention the Cold War etc. I well remember the milk being delivered by horse and cart. The horses would know the houses to stop at. A pretty eco-friendly and efficient way to do things (plus local gardeners could reap the benefits as the horses went on their way).

spadoosh

homelessskilledworker wrote: »

Like I said, renewable energy is just a huge step backwards, apart from ground/air source I have no time for it on the whole.

I thought you were keen on PV cells?!

homelessskilledworker

spadoosh wrote: »

I thought you were keen on PV cells?!

Only as a very poor second best, the idea of a few panels here and a few panels there just is not the way to go.
Like I said if they was to cover a huge area like in the Sahara, now that would be interesting.:)

Why this resource is not being used now is incredible even if it was for the local populations.
4 sq meters of pv panels would transform a families life in that area, imagine, free air conditioning in a place like that.:)

StevieJ

Generali wrote: »

Good point and I can't answer your question as I simply don't know the answer.

My original point was about the debt/bubble however. The debt was incurred at the point of buying not building.

The technological boom you mentioned included the railways (including in the colonies e.g. India) and ease of transport. I am with Thrug on this one.

StevieJ

wotsthat wrote: »

I can't find the quote but wasn't Warren Buffett that said if he had a time machine he'd go back and uninvent railways and airlines as neither as an industry has yet managed to deliver a positive return?

The railways may not have been a profitable investment in themselves but were a boon for the rest of industry the same as canals before them.