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I had a different reaction to this article than the other commenters so far. I think it did a very respectful job of describing the incredible effort these guys

by gpsx 9y ago

I had a different reaction to this article than the other commenters so far. I think it did a very respectful job of describing the incredible effort these guys put in. I had no idea it wasn't just some guys in a lab turning on a switch. I also come from a different perspective on this article because I actually grew up in Morgantown, WV, where my dad was a professor. Looking at WVU as the middle of nowhere, along with some of the other mentioned comments, is pretty reasonable. And the article seemed to have no bias about the quality of work done be these students and their lab in general. If the right people read these articles it would probably give these guys' career a big boost.

shas3 9y ago
West Virginia is so beautiful, it is tragic that it’s ecompany is depressed. WVU owes a lot to the late Senator Robert Byrd.
gm-conspiracy 9y ago
I live in WV and work for a startup in Morgantown, and I disagree with you, and agree with the other comments. In the U.S., West Virginia is associated mainly with forests, the heroin epidemic in its cities and its backwoods population, who refer to themselves as hillbillies. West Virginia is definitely not associated with environmental protection. "Rolling coal" is a popular hobby in these parts - it involves removing the particulate filters from a diesel pickup truck, driving to the nearest city, waiting until a Prius or a cyclist goes by, gunning the engine and roaring off, leaving a cloud of foul-smelling exhaust in its wake. That's what passes for humor in West Virginia. Plenty offensive.
- dvdhnt 9y ago
  As an outsider, those are exactly the things I associate with WV (I'm from Texas). Additionally, there are plenty of similar things I associate with Texas. While I dislike those qualities, that doesn't make them less true or offensive. I suppose, those observations made about where I live could be seen as the first definition of offensive, "causing someone to feel deeply hurt, upset, or angry". However, that doesn't automatically qualify them as fitting the second definition of offensive, "actively aggressive; attacking".
  - gm-conspiracy 9y ago
    Associating, agreeing, and promoting things that are simply not true, are offensive. I am sure there are worse terms to describe your stereotypes. I have yet to meet anyone refer to themselves as a "hillbilly" in WV. Most people outside of WV I have met associate it with coal, or white-water rafting, not forests. "Rolling coal" - I have never heard of that term, nor have I seen this behavior. Nor would I agree that this "passes for humor". Heroin is a problem, yes. However, that is not limited to WV.
    - WonkeyMonkey 9y ago
      Just to add to the information on this thread, and I feel this will be relevant here: Rolling Coal is accomplished by running the fuel to air ratio very rich, nearly all diesel motors cannot accomplish this without modifications to the engine and the emission control system. Generally this is a side effect of some modifications meant for increasing power by increasing fuel flow but taking it past the point all of the fuel can be burned; either on purpose to roll coal or on accident because of mistuning. The idea behind rolling coal, in my experience, is showing off your diesel motor which is many times more expensive and powerful than standard gasoline motor, and showing off it has been modified for even more power. The article is most likely vaguely referring to this "Prius Repellent" YouTube video when it talks about rolling coal: https://youtu.be/hsC0kLNSLAQ https://youtu.be/hsC0kLNSLAQ Although at the same time you have more popular Youtubes talking about how rolling coal is just a little too obnoxious: https://youtu.be/HjCPW2nj7do https://youtu.be/HjCPW2nj7do The primary purpose behind rolling coal is not to attack Priuses, although it is absolutely terrible for the environment, and to nearly everyone very obnoxious.
      - gm-conspiracy 9y ago
        Are your "rolling coal" experiences based in WV?
        WonkeyMonkey 9y ago
        No, although I'm sure that rolling coal and "Prius Hunting" are separate terms in West Virginia. The article conflates rolling coal with "Prius hunting", which probably isn't intentional. The Wikipedia article for rolling coal also does this. The main reason for my post was differntating these two ideas. Online this seems quite politicized. Perhaps it is exactly that, and my experiences are just different, that's the problem with anecdotes. But my experiences come from car shows where people from across the country travel to host events. A truck will "roll coal" while on a dynamometer with only other "truck guys" around who are not bothered by the fumes. Although while I was searching for the videos I was using as examples in my previous comment, I saw many videos such as "rolling coal on protesters" and many "Prius hunting videos". I find actions such as these poor form and I'm not trying to defend them. Both are obnoxious and polluting, but only one is intentionally malicious in nature.
- rhinoceraptor 9y ago
  It's not just a WV thing, I've seen pickup trucks do it in liberal university cities in the midwest.

by gpsx 9y ago

shas3 9y ago

West Virginia is so beautiful, it is tragic that it’s ecompany is depressed. WVU owes a lot to the late Senator Robert Byrd.

gm-conspiracy 9y ago

I live in WV and work for a startup in Morgantown, and I disagree with you, and agree with the other comments. In the U.S., West Virginia is associated mainly with forests, the heroin epidemic in its cities and its backwoods population, who refer to themselves as hillbillies. West Virginia is definitely not associated with environmental protection. "Rolling coal" is a popular hobby in these parts - it involves removing the particulate filters from a diesel pickup truck, driving to the nearest city, waiting until a Prius or a cyclist goes by, gunning the engine and roaring off, leaving a cloud of foul-smelling exhaust in its wake. That's what passes for humor in West Virginia. Plenty offensive.

dvdhnt 9y ago
As an outsider, those are exactly the things I associate with WV (I'm from Texas). Additionally, there are plenty of similar things I associate with Texas. While I dislike those qualities, that doesn't make them less true or offensive. I suppose, those observations made about where I live could be seen as the first definition of offensive, "causing someone to feel deeply hurt, upset, or angry". However, that doesn't automatically qualify them as fitting the second definition of offensive, "actively aggressive; attacking".
- gm-conspiracy 9y ago
  Associating, agreeing, and promoting things that are simply not true, are offensive. I am sure there are worse terms to describe your stereotypes. I have yet to meet anyone refer to themselves as a "hillbilly" in WV. Most people outside of WV I have met associate it with coal, or white-water rafting, not forests. "Rolling coal" - I have never heard of that term, nor have I seen this behavior. Nor would I agree that this "passes for humor". Heroin is a problem, yes. However, that is not limited to WV.
  - WonkeyMonkey 9y ago
    Just to add to the information on this thread, and I feel this will be relevant here: Rolling Coal is accomplished by running the fuel to air ratio very rich, nearly all diesel motors cannot accomplish this without modifications to the engine and the emission control system. Generally this is a side effect of some modifications meant for increasing power by increasing fuel flow but taking it past the point all of the fuel can be burned; either on purpose to roll coal or on accident because of mistuning. The idea behind rolling coal, in my experience, is showing off your diesel motor which is many times more expensive and powerful than standard gasoline motor, and showing off it has been modified for even more power. The article is most likely vaguely referring to this "Prius Repellent" YouTube video when it talks about rolling coal: https://youtu.be/hsC0kLNSLAQ https://youtu.be/hsC0kLNSLAQ Although at the same time you have more popular Youtubes talking about how rolling coal is just a little too obnoxious: https://youtu.be/HjCPW2nj7do https://youtu.be/HjCPW2nj7do The primary purpose behind rolling coal is not to attack Priuses, although it is absolutely terrible for the environment, and to nearly everyone very obnoxious.
    - gm-conspiracy 9y ago
      Are your "rolling coal" experiences based in WV?
      - WonkeyMonkey 9y ago
        No, although I'm sure that rolling coal and "Prius Hunting" are separate terms in West Virginia. The article conflates rolling coal with "Prius hunting", which probably isn't intentional. The Wikipedia article for rolling coal also does this. The main reason for my post was differntating these two ideas. Online this seems quite politicized. Perhaps it is exactly that, and my experiences are just different, that's the problem with anecdotes. But my experiences come from car shows where people from across the country travel to host events. A truck will "roll coal" while on a dynamometer with only other "truck guys" around who are not bothered by the fumes. Although while I was searching for the videos I was using as examples in my previous comment, I saw many videos such as "rolling coal on protesters" and many "Prius hunting videos". I find actions such as these poor form and I'm not trying to defend them. Both are obnoxious and polluting, but only one is intentionally malicious in nature.
rhinoceraptor 9y ago
It's not just a WV thing, I've seen pickup trucks do it in liberal university cities in the midwest.