;Pathetic crybabies
;I had a problem with Billy Manes' story on gasification ["A convenient truth," May 17]. The story comes on the heels of recent revelations that – to the delight of neocons everywhere – the production of the electric motors used in the Toyota Prius is so energy-intensive that it negates whatever carbon/energy savings its use provides. The two stories are related in that they both point to unhealthy attitudes toward new technologies.
;;Somewhere in the past 40 years Americans became intolerant of the trial-and-error of technological development (read: pathetic crybabies). Were Thomas Edison alive today, he would be regarded as total loser for failing to produce a working light bulb the first 300 times he tried.
;;Let's turn back 40 years to 1967, and the Apollo One mission. During a routine training exercise, a wire shorted out beneath Gus Grissom's seat, starting a fire that quickly spread through the capsule, killing Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee. Soon after, the Apollo program astronauts and staff realized that the entire system was fraught with design flaws: The short itself was due to inappropriate wiring. The fire spread because the seat fillings and covers were flammable. The list went on and on. In 1967, they did what exactly what they should have done: They figured it out, fixed it and continued forward.
;; If that accident happened in 2007, the entire Apollo mission would be shelved; there would be special reports, live updates, congressional hearings, local human interest stories, Matt Lauer interviews and photo ops a-plenty. We would never make it to the moon, and this very mentality is why.
;;Gasification and hybrid engines are examples of the bold ideas that Americans used to be famous for. It takes something we produce in excess and turns into something we don't have enough of. So it doesn't work perfectly the first few tries? If we learn from each experience and make each instance more successful, isn't that better than doing nothing? Let's stop catering to the small minds that can only see obstacles, and get back to being the big-idea people.
;;Ty Morton, via the Internet ;
;;Keeping up on gas
;Great job on the article titled "A convenient truth" [May 17]. Had I won the city council race, right at the top of my list of areas to immerse myself in and get a much more thorough understanding of was the city's solid waste/recycling program.
;;Now I am dependent on friends like you and other media sources and insiders to further my knowledge in these and other matters critical to our community. Gasification is certainly an area of interest.
;;Thanks to your article I am now better informed on the issue and have now visited the Greenaction website.
;; Jeff Horn, Orlando
;;Dear Indians:
;In January I was in New York City. I met up with some friends at a restaurant in the East Village's Indian Row. Last summer in Asheville, I went to a lecture at the Black Mountain College Museum. Afterwards I walked across the street to an Indian restaurant to have dinner. When I visit friends in Atlanta, we get together to have Indian food.
;;I guess you get the picture. I like Indian food. Actually, I love Indian food. A lot of my non-Indian friends love Indian food. Why isn't there an Indian restaurant in the downtown Orlando area? I'm tired of driving to International Drive, Altamonte Springs, South OBT or the University of Central Florida area to get Indian food.
;;I can't imagine a place with decent food and a halfway decent atmosphere not doing well. I hope this letter is taken seriously, because I am very serious.
;; Pat Greene, Orlando
;;Department of Corrections
;Last week's cover story, "No hurry," included a photo of the Rev. Randolph Bracy Jr., current president of the Orange County branch of ;the NAACP, that was incorrectly identified ;as Rufus Brooks, a past president of the organization.
; [email protected]
