Quote:
Originally Posted by MeteorGray
Quote: "Everyone on Earth pays for the 'brilliant in terms of construction costs and cargo space utilization.' Couldn't be more stupid. 'Pay me know, pay me later, just keep paying.' "
Well, it's a shame you didn't go into the trucking and railroad business and showed them how to do it right. I guess it didn't pay enough for you.
How did you make your fortune?
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I've followed both industries since 1974. I was at Edwards Air Force Base when NASA conducted their Class-8 and box-truck aerodynamic research, which would have also be germane to the railroad industry.
The best railroad tailcar ,yet to be used in industry, dates to 1865, with Calthrop's patent. While at Westinghouse, in the 1930s, Oskar Teitjens conceived a self-powered railcar of Cd 0.08.
My Aunt and Uncle E.C. Burnett were the very first team drivers for Tri-State Motor Transit, Joplin, Missouri. E. C stayed with them long enough to become an officer, shuttling between Missouri and Breckenridge, Texas in a Beech Baron until macular degeneration robbed him of his eyesight.
In 1980 I pursued US Patents, only to be told that without sufficient capital to prosecute infringers ( $250,000 per case) there'd be no reason for the energy and expense for patents. Venture capitalists won't part with cash without patent protection. The DARPA / SBA small innovative research grant program, which would provide up to $425,000 for proof-of-concept, and initial commercialization had stipulations which carried things beyond the control of an individual, requiring a corporate charter.
Very few of patent holders ever saw industry adoption. A neighbor had three to his credit and never saw a penny.
Going it alone as an amateur is what is left to the little fish. Aerodynamics has pretty much bankrupted me but the knowledge is priceless.
Jaray never made a penny. Hundreds have come and gone. MS or PhD it makes no difference.I don't know why it would be any different for me. If real wealth can't compete with myopic greed and pollution, it can't compete.
Half of American economists can't count. And they're the ones who get to make the big decisions. And the 'externalities' which are absent from the ledger are borne by the voiceless masses.Nice system.