The ronco device was mostly plastic as I recall and never looked very effective to me. My pack rig is a tiny reel and telescoping rod that is metal and actually works very well. Trying to land an 8-pound northern pike in a canoe with this ultralight rig is like trying to land a marlin in the gulf . . . but it works.
When I was a kid I saw an ad in the paper for some kind of fishing kit-- 3 rods 3 reels 1000 feet of fishing line, a fishing pole, hundreds of hooks and weights and dozens of lures guaranteed to catch fish. All for the amazingly low price of $10. What a bunch of junk that turned out to be.
The point is I thought it looked like a good idea when I saw the story. If some people point out the pros and cons of it and see flaws and drawbacks in it so much the better. The inventor himself would probably welcome constructive criticism if it helped him to improve his design
The rap on large wind turbines has been that they kill birds. Now it seems that solar power is doing the same thing as well as blinding airline pilots as thy approach the California-Nevada border http://news.yahoo.com/emerging-solar-plants-scorch-birds-mid-air-054013072.html
10 years from now 3-D printers will be in every home and we will all be bitching about the cost of "ink". Fun times to come...
We are probably about 20 years from Star Trek-like replicator technology, it has been said. We're talking molecular nanotechnology, precisely manipulating atoms and molecules for fabrication of large scale products. Very expensive and specialized at first. But steadily dropping in price like a VHS deck. I am holding out for a car that folds into a briefcase like George Jetson.
