According to the American Road and Transport Builders Association, the upfront costs of current construction are pretty significant already:

"Construct a new 2-lane undivided road – about $2-$3 million per mile in rural areas, about $3-5 million in urban areas.

Mill and resurface a 4-lane road – about $1.25 million per mile.

Expand an Interstate Highway from 4 lanes to 6 lanes – about $4 million per mile."

So really you'd have to look at the replacement costs of a technology like this rather than just assigning all those initial costs to the category of boondoggle.

But this really points to a larger issue that makes this question very hard to quantify and is actually addressed by the Solar Roadways people:

"For an accurate cost comparison between current systems and the Solar Roadways system, you'd have to combine the costs of current roads (including snow removal, line repainting, pothole repair, etc.), power plants (and the coal or nuclear material to run them), and power and data delivery systems (power poles and relay stations) to be comparable with the Solar Roadway system, which provides all three. So the comparison is more like an apple to a fruit basket."

One further interesting note from their website is that the numbers they used for electricity generation of the solar roadway system came out of their testing. In Northern Idaho. In the dead of winter. In other words, the worst possible conditions for solar panel systems.

I suppose you've already checked every trouser- and jacket pocket, every bag you used, the washing machine and dryer, the laundry basket, the fridge, the sofa crevices and under the sofa and bed. That's all that comes to my mind right now. Maybe this'll help you: http://wherethefuckdidileavemykeys.com/

For all your ranting about "The First Lady is subjected to this shit and she wasn't even elected," @Yogi, the same can be said of Tom Perkins, and David and Charles Koch, and the many many others who aren't elected and yet they're subjected to all kinds of attacks and sleights for what they say or don't say on or off the record.

In this instance, Michelle went on national TV for political purposes and she said something stupid, if not downright condescending or truly insulting, and she got backlash.

So chill out dude, don't stress out over this... live up to your "yogi" namesake, (unless, of course, you're trying to be more like Yogi Bear.. in which case, get the FUCK away from my "pic-a-nic basket!").

Looks like SQ went for the laundry basket after he found no stash-able purchase in Fido's fur...who was all like, WTFuuuu??

yeahbut... move the basket under the ball?

it puts the lotion in the basket.

So I assume he makes the baskets again---ie., skillful as opposed to lucky...

Your video, 100,000 Euro Basket, has made it into the Top 15 New Videos listing. Congratulations on your achievement. For your contribution you have been awarded 1 Power Point.

Sigh, I unfortunately fall on the side of "Really, they want 15/hour?"

It's a brain dead job, specifically designed for brain-dead teenagers to come in and work their 5 hours a day, 3 times a week. Yes, a lot of people unfortunately work at fast food joints, but 15 bucks an hour? I used to work in a factory that recycles car parts and plastics, hard labour, and I only made 3 dollars more than some kid would be making flipping burgers. There's warehouses that offer 13.75/hour, again, hard physical labour.

I personally don't think a job that requires you to put fries in a basket and hit a single button that will then drop that basket for you, and raise it up for you once the fries are cooked, OR microwave / heat up a burger patty and assemble a burger truly requires enough time or effort to warrant giving them 15/hour.

Yes, again, I understand some people have fallen upon hard times and need enough money to survive, I feel for them, I've been in that situation. But the way to fix that isn't just to demand more money for what you're getting, it's to enrich yourself to the point where you can do something that DOES warrant a decent wage.

Honestly, the argument that "Oh, McDonalds has record profits, they should be able to pay their workers more" to me, straight out means i'm paying too much money for a damn big mac.

The minimum wage in Ontario is 10.25/hour (9-something for students)
and that, to me, seems like a perfectly reasonable amount.

I don't think the people who think the Republican party is doomed understand just how brainwashed their people are. I have to hear Fox news every day, and hear comments from conservatives every day about how everything is going to hell in a hand basket and only the Republican party can save them. It's becoming clear that all this is just galvanizing the core. They think they are being repressed, they think there is a war against Christianity (which is funny since the Republican party is perhaps the most polar opposite of the 4 larger parties, and certainly of the two majors, to the teachings of Jesus) and only Republicans will help stop that war. Their churches are telling them there is a war against Christians and how they are being repressed and to vote Republican to save them. These people, once they can no longer deny that the climate is warming and is man made, will just point how it is the end times and continue to ignore it, because Jesus is coming soon anyhow. It's like that cartoon where the rich man takes 99 of the 100 cookies, the middle class guy takes one and the poor guy has just crumbs and the rich man warns the middle class guy to watch out, that the poor guy wants his cookie, and rather than be mad at the guy who took 99 of the cookies, he actually gets mad at the poor guy for wanting one. They don't care that a rich man fires over 1000 people and keeps everyone else at minimum for 4 years without raises so he can have a jet, they see those minimum wage workers and the people he fired as the enemy.They honestly believe the big corporate media machine is the "liberal media", disregarding the fact they are very much interested in keeping the status qua going, rather than expose the truth of growing income gap in this country. By 2016 most people will have forgotten the shutdown and those that remember it won't remember it is the Republican's fault, yes, the progressives will remember, but the conservatives blame the Democrats, liberals and progressives anyhow, and the rest won't care by then. The Fox News watchers, Rush listeners are just more solidly believing now that everything is the fault of the poor and the needy and the liberals, Democrats and progressives that want to help them.

TLDR: Those seeing the end of the Republican party, must not be around the hard core enough to see how brainwashed they are by Fox, Rush and their churches. All this just solidifies their anger.

Someone is nominated for an honorary TCU and from an anonymous donor comes, "Asshole Award," accepting this award on in his/her/its behalf (man of a thousand pic-i-nic baskets and farts), choggie.

Occasionally you can be owed credit without a coupon if you can find a 2 for 1 thats also been reduced for quick sale. (They sometimes subtract the full price of the second item, so a 50% off on a 2-4-1 item pays for itself). Too rare to feed the homeless, but my Dad once filled a shopping basket for something like 21p with that little oversight...ofc most of the food had a useby for the very next day but still

I do have to admit that baskets as a delivery system utility have been horribly tarnished ever since that movie came out.

IT PUTS THE BANANA IN THE BASKET!

No doubt commenting on the disturbing lack of lotion in this basket.