Saturday, June 11, 2011

Evening Wrap, 6/11


Whoa!  It's past my usual sign off time.  Well, that's because I've been busy.  As I said, I am going to have to transition back to a regular day job.  The posts are going to get thinned out a bit.  I did some running about town today.  Ran some errands, took a look at one possible replacement vehicle.  Also attempted to line up other alternatives so I won't have to pick between just one selection.  The pickings are slim though.  You have to work hard to find a good value.

In spite of the light posting, hopefully there was something here interesting enough to read today.  Attending to other business has broken my train of thought.  Now, my thinking has turned to other areas.  It's like being in a trance or something.  Like someone snapping their fingers and you're out of it.  Then you wonder, what the hell am I doing here?

Tomorrow's agenda is pretty much up in the air.  Since it is Sunday, I really can't do anything except go to this one appointment.  But there seems to be a problem at this point.  Since there is a problem, the trip could get cancelled.  In that case, I could just do something else with my day.  We'll have to see.

Anyway, thanks for coming by, and have a great evening.

Memo to Janeane Garofalo: It is Weiner's fault

I think I can agree with this woman, Janeane Garofalo, up to a point. The media doesn't do its job, that's why this is so much in the news. Here they are, several days into this, and they are still reporting on it. What really is news, is that some people, like Garofalo, who are still defending this guy. There isn't any defense for what he did.

I've written about it myself, and frankly thought the whole thing was a big joke. But it turned out that false accusations were made, and it was done to cover up what he did himself. For that, he deserves full blame. And that alone is a big, big deal. No way he blames somebody else for this. He did it. But to linger with this sexual aspect, it isn't interesting to me. Also, he should resign after the way he handled it. Not only that, I think the guy is a nutcase, and should go.


A blog is whatever you want to write about

Yes sir. Since I have been concentrating on other things, I feel at a loss for writing another post except for what I am doing at the moment. It occurred to me that I could write about that. Who knows? Maybe someone would be interested.

I'm a bit of a private person though. I don't want to blab about everything. This morning, I've been working on a deal to get a replacement vehicle. This could take a lot of time, so it's not like I'm going to have a lot of free time to blog.

As of the moment, I am waiting to meet up with someone. This isn't a seller or anything. No, I am not that far along in this process yet. If all goes according to plan, this will get me one step closer to that point, though. That's all I want to mention about it. No need to blab about every darned thing.

I'll sign off after this post and maybe come back again later today if I get the chance. Thanks for coming by.

Morning Summary, 6/11


A part of me screams out not to do this, but hey, sometimes you have got to do something. It looks like my audience is slipping away. Okay, I don't know why that's happening, but it is best to tell the truth about things, and hope that people will cut you some slack. Another consideration here is that this is the internet. People who have come here have remained anonymous, for the most part. I don't ask for favors, though. I pretty much handle my own affairs my own self.

Not that I am being inconsistent, either. But this makes me somewhat remote to people, I suspect. At some point, you have to have some friends. Well, I am not too good at that. I don't want to depend upon people, yet there are times when you need to. Right now, that type of a situation applies.

Yet, I am asking for no favors. People can come here and read my blog. I won't ask for money nor favors nor understanding. I have done my best to be helpful. I was hoping that it may be returned. Even if it isn't, I won't get mad about it. But you have to accept things as they are, not as you wish they were.

Ok, let's get on with the problem. As everyone who has read this blog knows, I sold my truck this past week. It turns out, now I've got to go back and get another vehicle. Less than 1 week into this and I've got to go back and undo what I have just done. It will cost money and that is not impossible for me to deal with, but it isn't going to be helpful. After all, the whole idea was to save money. Now that has backfired. I rolled the dice and lost, plain and simple.

It's not the first time that I've rolled the dice and lost. Seems like I've been doing that my whole life, and it always seems like the dice doesn't roll my way. Even if in this case, the dice rolled my way, the best I could have hoped for was more time. It doesn't look like I am going to get that.

I wanted more time to see if I can finally get an audience here, and even that, if achieved, would have only been a modest achievement. As such, it would only been a start, not a finish. From there, I would have liked for it to have begin making money, so I could continue doing it indefinitely.

All that could still happen, but the odds just got longer. The reason? Money. Money is said to be the root of all evil, but it is also what makes the world go round. You have to have it. There's no getting around it. The world, as it is, requires money. And this blog doesn't generate money. Plain and simple.

I knew that all along, but the dream didn't want to die. It isn't dead yet, but it is not doing well.

I have to give my attention now to earning money. My full attention can't be applied to this blog anymore. The world as it is requires money and there's no money for me to apply to activities that do not turn a profit so this can be sustained.

I will keep the blog. I will continue to post. But posting will be light, because I simply won't have enough time for it anymore. Other priorities require my time and effort. I would have liked a few more months to try to get something going, but that isn't going to happen unless I get lucky. Well, lady luck hasn't smiled my way this time, and unless something changes, isn't likely to start anytime soon.

I am still going to blog about E-cat. You see, I think the issue of money is what has held "cold fusion" down. Not that "cold fusion" was "pathological". No, it was all about money. Just like my own case.

How was "cold fusion" about money? Well, the two guys were affiliated with a university that wanted them to go public with their findings. They wanted this in order to protect their interests in these findings, which had the potential, and still do, of being incomparably lucrative. But in doing so, they risked something, and that risk of a bad outcome is very thing that happened. It backfired on them. It allowed them to be attacked for going outside the normal scientific channels. It allowed them to be attacked for not having proper ethics. None of this was necessarily true, but that is how it developed. It developed that way because those who stood the risk of losing money if "cold fusion" succeeded needed it to fail in order to protect their own money pile. So, this opened the door for those who could claim to be proper and ethical, to do something that was possibly improper, all of it because of the need and desire for money.

The "cold fusioneers" needed or wanted the money too, as we all do, but way of the world said no, you can't have it. And the way of the world is more powerful than anybody who is the new kid on the block. So that is where it stands today. The "cold fusion's" loudest critics who are knocking it down have a stake in the matter and prefer for it not to succeed, because they stand to lose, and they know it. But the public, who also have a stake in the outcome, don't know who to believe. The tendency when there is doubt, to continue going down the path of least resistance. That path is same old path that is getting harder and harder to sustain.

Something has got to give. Something has to change, but change is scary. If "cold fusion" is but a dream, the reality of such a scenario has to be faced. The same is true for the critics. If "cold fusion" is a reality, those who stand to lose by its success will have to stand aside. But what if they don't want to? Then this could get ugly. The outcome has not been decided yet. The decision may not be fair. Because I can see a scenario in which "cold fusion" could be the reality, and yet, not because of it's lack of scientific merit, but for the way of the world, it may not be accepted because it can't win. And that may be hard to swallow.

Friday, June 10, 2011

Evening Wrap, 6/10

I usually add a graphic, but today I'll pass on that.

Today was a busy day away from the computer, yet I feel as though I made a lot of good posts.

Things are a bit up in the air right now, so posting could be light for several days. If it hurts, it hurts. Can't be helped.

That doesn't mean I'm going to stop posting here. So, keep on checking in. Thanks for coming by and have a great evening.

Wikiversity : Cold fusion/Controversy

I don't know how useful this information is, and I haven't scanned all of it, but what I did see seemed interesting.

I can't help but think that something wrong has happened here that is very hard to get turned around and made right.  Nobody even wants to consider the possibility that the people who you trust to do the right thing may not have.

Once again, this seems a lot like the Kennedy assassination and the resulting conspiracy theories.  As I mentioned, I looked into those many years ago and concluded that the Warren Commission was mostly right. It is not possible to tell conclusively that there was a conspiracy or not, but as far as the act itself, I satisfied myself that Oswald acted alone.

I am not given to wild conspiracy theories. But dog gone if there may be one here with respect to "cold fusion".

Krugman: Rule by Rentiers; no it is rule by paper hangers

Do anything to create jobs and interest rates will soar, runaway inflation will break out, and so on. But these risks keep not materializing. Interest rates remain near historic lows, while inflation outside the price of oil — which is determined by world markets and events, not U.S. policy — remains low.

Interest rates are low because the Fed is buying bonds.  In fact, they are buying 85% of the bonds. This means almost nobody else is buying the bonds but the Fed.  This is causing the Chinese and PIMCO to drop out of the bond market at short term maturities.

The Chinese decided to go longer term, with what they believe to be a better deal for themselves.  What does that tell you?  Nobody is buying bonds because of the Fed's intervention is distorting the markets.  Interest rates are too low.  Quantitative easing will indeed lead to inflation if this continues long enough.  All paper money regimes have failed throughout history for this very same reason.  Unless this is stopped, we are now witnessing the very process that will bring it about.

Inflation isn't occuring?  Only in Krugman's dreams.  Prices are going up, but it is being hidden from view.  If the same method of accounting for inflation as was used in the past was still being used today, the official inflation rate would be much higher.  People know that the actual inflation rate is higher than what the government is reporting.  All Krugman is doing is repeating the same fairy tale that the government continues to report.

They think they are fooling everybody, but they are only fooling the people they need to fool.  After all, you only need half in order to win elections.

As for higher oil prices, I had a post that quoted the Energy Secretary who said higher prices were government policy.  So, Krugman is wrong again. External events are not the cause, the cause is within.

Blaming others does not address the problem.  It only avoids the cause of the problem.

Adding more debt and spending more money will get no better results than what has already occurred.  That would be the best case result.  The worst case result would be yet a higher rate of inflation than what already exists.  But to Krugman, this isn't the problem.

To him, the bigger problem is getting Democrats elected.  In the meantime, the financial integrity of the economy is being sacrificed for political gain.  That is what Krugman and his liberal pals are really after.

New Way to Make Lighter, Stronger Steel -- In a Flash

ScienceDaily (June 9, 2011) — A Detroit entrepreneur surprised university engineers in Ohio recently, when he invented a heat-treatment that makes steel 7 percent stronger than any steel on record -- in less than 10 seconds.

If this pans out, an example of an application would be automobile frames, which could be 30% lighter, without sacrificing safety.  Presumably, that would improve fuel economy.

If this seems a bit skeptical, one gets a bit jaded after hearing about advances that can do miracles, but never to be heard of again.

On the other hand, we do get improvements in technology that have accumulated over the years.  If this can work, it would be a big help.

“No Downside” to Not Raising the Debt Ceiling, Says Chris Whalen

Interview with Chris Whalen
  • balanced budget amendment and cuts are more mainstream
  • will Repubs vote to raise ceiling?  May want to continue to say no.
  • Why would default not be bad?  Pay interest first and stiff others.  States did it.
  • Must cut back, no vote is good politics, but bad economics?  Baked into pie anyway, he says.
  • Congress has a right to say no.  The treasury and white house must really cut spending.  Must change behavior of government.  Spending drives everything.  Raises debt is another bailout, in effect.
  • Need big turnover in House, haven't had that for a 100 years.  2010 just a start.  Current crowd won't change.
Yes.  A few elections would do it, but by that time, it could be too late.

US defense chief says NATO outlook dim; future president may decide it's not worth the money

In a blunt valedictory address Friday in Brussels, Gates questioned NATO's viability, saying its members' penny-pinching and lack of political will could hasten the end of U.S. support.

You have to know where, why, and how to spend your money. Penny pinching isn't always a bad idea, neither is spending a lot always a good idea. It looks like we spent a lot of money on 'civilizing' the Middle East, in which, among them, is a faction that is intent upon conquering us. If he wants to criticize something, criticize that- excessive spending on nation building, on nations who should be building themselves.

I agreed with Bush at the time. The reason was that I thought his approach was better than what the left wanted to do, which seemed to me to be nothing. However, I never supported nation building, and I remember Bush said he was against it.

Now, it looks like neither the Bush approach nor the left's approach is any good. Yet another approach is needed. It should be a more modest proposal but a firm one- economic and cultural.

I am thinking of an economic competition against the oil producing states in the Mideast. We can win that. But not with windmills and solar power. With thorium and possibly nuclear fusion. We can win it by peaceful means- no bullets, just brains. We can demonstrate that we are indeed the strong horse.

But we do need to stop being stuck on stupid. We need to recognize that our way of life is worth preserving and defending. We are allowing those who do not share our values to undermine us- from within and from without.

This cultural weakness, of excessive guilt and self-flagellation, may need to change first. By doing so, the external threat, of excessive dependence on oil, can then be successfully countered. It can never be countered by a self-blaming, guilt-ridden ideology that worries more about a supposed global warming threat, which if it exists at all, is well off in the future, while the near threat, of oil dependence, exists now. If this stupidity can be overcome, NATO can still be successful. If it is not, no amount of money can make any difference.

You know something? Weakness does not promote peace. It can lead to war. I've argued that again and again, check my book reviews on Amazon. When asked why they attacked the US at Pearl Harbor, the Japanese said they thought we would not fight. We should hope for peace, pray for peace, but not to get overly naive about how the world really works sometimes. Sometimes, you just have to be ready to do whatever is necessary. Hopefully, by being strong economically and culturally, we can encourage any would be aggressor to refrain from attacking us. They would know that such an attack would be futile- but only if we convince them of our strength.

Excerpt from The Rebirth of Cold Fusion by S.B. Krivit

Krivit is the editor is NewEnergyTimes and produced some videos that I put up here and here.  There's an excerpt there from an mp3 file, but the link to the mp3 file doesn't seem to be working.

I am linking to the excerpt, in case you may be interested in reading more about Martin Fleischmann.

There is the story of how he and his family escaped from Nazi Germany in 1938. Also about his rise to prominence in his field.

He is said, by the author, to be a "Renaissance Man", brilliant and creative. It is hard for me to see, even if he were to be mistaken about "cold fusion", that he should have received the treatment that he received.

If you want to know what is wrong with Western Civilization in this dark hour, just read this story about how this man was treated.

Note: It isn't shown here, but his collaborator, Pons, has given up his American citizenship. Just think, it was once the case that people came to America, now it looks as though there are some who are escaping it.

Yahoo Finance: How to Create Jobs in the U.S

Leo Hindery of Intermedia Partners and Jim Rogers, Chairman of Rogers Holdings discuss how to lower the nation's unemployment


  • only stimulus is one that creates jobs
  • does government create jobs, yes he says
  • programs, but not necessarily government
  • need to become more competitive
  • government has to sell debt, in couple weeks, government is going to stop buying debt
  • when QE ends, how to do that?  interest rates going up
  • the solution in trade reform and tax reform- failed in all counts
  • fix the platform we have now- lower rates and end loopholes 
  • need VAT?  need confidence in corporate community
  • need to change tax code
  • lower corporate tax rate and substitute vat- Friedman hated it, governments love it
  • in US don't encourage saving, should tax consumption
  • exemptions have to addressed
  • get rid of IRS- it is insane to spend all of this money
  • doesn't see scenario that will turn this around, crisis is coming
  • "this is serious"
No sher, shitlock.

Yahoo Breakout: Data Explosion Underway! Buy “Big Data” Storage Stocks: Brown

  • Josh Brown going with big data.  People spending money on it.
  • Don't understand extent of data and its uses
  • Data mining? Now a terrific thing called data basing.
  • CPU prices plummeted as well as bandwidth
  • in 2008, 180 exobytes, by 2020 by 35000 exobytes- exponential growth - mindblowing
  • freebies, commoditization, being paid for by Apple- not that expensive to add storage
  • why we are able to create data- every trans is store \ yikes
  • Biggest customer is Facebook; flash storage- non volatile memory- likes speed of recall, info has to come from somewhere, from flash storage is faster
  • EMC; at one point is storing data is bad cause of hacking?  no 100 percent security
  • best is outside vendor who's job it is do that ; EMC doing well; gotten on software side, benefit of rising tide- rattled off some names NTAP (  I think was one)
Privacy issues, anyone?  

"The Daily Ticker: The Daily Ticker Visits The White House!" ( yay)

  • What was it like to meet Pres. Obama? (asked of Henry Blodgett)
  • 20 people media people to talk about personal finance issues- Goolsbee there, Warren, and Pres., Gene Sperling
  • President takes a few questions.
  • Avg schmuck can talk to Pres., ain't it a thrill  /snark
  • knows how to work a room, he says, but didn't say it to Aaron (?)
  • failure to fill all his appointments an unforced error?
  • his take: grind it out economy, we're in a deep hole, coming back, will take awhile
  • claim to be on track , "but it still sucks"
  • the system won't let them do more
  • America's Back, were you wrong?  No, he says.  America not great, but nobody else is either.
  • Output is above it recent peak, balance sheet improved.  ?????????????

comment: check his nose, it may be a slightly brownish color


Why is Everybody Waiting for America When it Comes to Research?

In the short term I’m not pessimistic about the future, but I think that we have to acknowledge that our society has become orientated towards consumption rather than production. And a society that becomes orientated towards consumption abandons scientific investigation. There are plenty of historical precedents of this phenomenon. And in the end, what has happened in the past is that societies which abandon the pursuit of science die.--- Martin Fleischmann source NewEnergyTimes

My thoughts exactly, with respect to consumption. We owe this misconception to the modern culture that pushes the idea of consumption as opposed to production. If the incentives got reversed towards more production, there could be a turnaround. Going the Keynesian route is analogous to curing alcoholism by "pissing in a barrel".

The problem in engineering this turnaround is with our culture- people like Paul Krugman who follows these Keynesian notions of consumption as cure for our current ills. The 'cure' is the sickness- overconsumption. We are living beyond our means. It isn't just Krugman, though. Those on the right need to get with a program too.

For instance, here we are within reach of the beginning of a solution to our problems- a device that can produce the massive amounts of energy that we need for our society. But every which way you turn, people seem to insist upon blocking it. Those who might see the need for production don't realize that this can be far superior to relying upon oil. Those who can see the advantage to the environment are not showing enough interest in it; either because they are Luddites, and are opposed to any thing which would foster growth, or their environmentalism is so extreme that they think a return to caveman society would be an improvement.

If our culture was just a little different, you could handle this issue by simply having the government grant this patent now on the condition that it can be thoroughly tested every which way in order to see if it will work. Why not try this? The amount of money that you would need to do this would be so small that it would be inconsequential in comparison with what is already being spent on oil.

Now, I've read up on the controversy enough to have come across another phenomenon. There are those who say that is what a patent does- it provides protection for the secret while allowing it to be tested for its effectiveness. In such a case as that, one might come to the conclusion that the device is no good. But maybe that is not the problem. Maybe the problem is the process is broken. Maybe they won't approve a patent and the man simply recognizes that and won't trust the government to approve and protect his invention and he will lose his invention and the economic benefits from it that he has earned. That thought is chilling, for if that is the case, nothing can be invented anymore.

This requires somebody to step forward and resolve the problem in such a way that the possible solution can be implemented as quickly as possible. Even if the device is a fraud, we should be able to find out quickly if such is the case or not. Who's preventing this and why? People need to recognize this and act upon it, because time is running short. We need to know if this works and we need to know now. If it does, we need to implement it as quickly as possible.

The Morning Summary, 6/10



Something came up yesterday and it will probably keep me busy for parts of the day today. Blogging could be light. I do have some posts lined up already. I worked some off-schedule to put up some content today. I will add this during busy hours. Hopefully, I can keep up with everything while I do this.

It is hard to get an audience, so being away for awhile won't be helpful. I hope that I've already written enough on these subjects that people could, if they wished, spend a lot of time here reading my other stuff. There are over 1200 posts here. Plenty to read.

Here are some news items as I scan the news wire
  1. Looks like Gingrich's campaign is falling apart, one of his people quits, joins Pawlenty.
  2. Soyuz has docked with the ISS.
  3. Could be a busy hurricane season, a Cat 4 storm is already in the Pacific- Hurricane Adrian
  4. A comment here: why all the weather news?  Trying to push "global warming?"
  5. Suicide bomber news, Middle East news, typical stuff.  A rumor about Hillary and the World Bank.
  6. Romney is skipping a poll in Iowa.   

Thursday, June 9, 2011

The Evening Wrap, 6/9


Another busy day posting. It was a good mix of posts, including some on E-cat. There was one offering to allow someone to provide some background music ( an Elvis cover of Jailhouse Rock) to my JP Aerospace ad video. There doesn't appear to be any interest in that. Hmm. I thought it wasn't a bad idea. The idea was to make a big collaboration, that would help everybody at the same time. Not everything is a winner, though. Just keeping trying and tee it up again tomorrow morning. Thanks for coming by and have a great evening.

Here It Comes: Obama Considering Another Fiscal Stimulus

Insanity was once defined as doing the same thing over and over again while expecting a different result.  Why is another stimulus even on the radar at all?

It just never changes:
OBAMA AIDES SAID TO DISCUSS EMPLOYER PAYROLL TAX BREAK             PAYROLL TAX BREAK FOR EMPLOYERS AMONG IDEAS TO BOOST HIRING  ADMINISTRATION CONSIDERING MEASURES AS RECOVERY SLOWS

Bolded bullets aside, good luck passing another fiscal stimulus Dear President when you can't even issue debt without stealing money from government retirees.
Everywhere I go on the web, it seems that people get it. Seems that everybody gets it, except DC. Evidently, they must believe these types of moves will help them win re election. I hope it does the opposite.

Widom Larsen: Absorption of Gamma Radiation ( LENR )

This is a pdf of a US patent on file.  The patent is for absorbing gamma radiation and making it less penetrating and less energetic.  I presume this is either an explanation for the lack of gamma radiation in LENR, or a way to shield against it, or perhaps both.  (source of link: NewEnergyTimes)

Update:

Also, there appeared to be an extract with more information, quoted below:
The article simply assumes that proton capture at room temperature is possible, using classic nuclear reaction tables to calculate the corresponding gamma emission and residual activity i the reaction products to be expected. Having a look at figure one, to be able to be in the room, the catalyzer would need to be shielded by at least 40 cm of lead, as a result of the 1-7MeV quantas released per reaction, a lot higher than corresponding levels of a fission process with Uranium. Rossi Use only centimetres of lead. If true, the reaction energy is split up in a 10- 100 times more x-ray quantas, and I've heard about alphas, that is easily shielded. However, this clearly breaks the current known behavior to the isotopes involved. 

The filling of shells in compressed atoms (LENR)

Well, this is interesting.  It may explain something about LENR, but then again, it may not.  It caught my interest because of how atoms may behave differently when confined.

The filling of shells in compressed atoms

Congress.org: To Representative Henry A. Waxman (D-CA 30th)

OUR GOVERNMENT IS WITH HOLDING ENERGY PRODUCING PRODUCTS THAT WILL KILL THE NEED FOR COAL - WHY?? WE NEED MORE BREAK THROUGH IN ENERGY PRODUCT SO WE CAN KILL THE NEED FOR OIL!!! 

Ooh! Violent rhetoric! "Kill the need for oil!!!" I thought these guys were all about love and peace. I'm disillusioned.




Good lord! I just listened to this. You might want to start a war to shut this woman up.

Italian Nuclear Physicist Fulvio Frisone on Cold Fusion

Italian (n)uclear physicist Fulvio Frisone is disabled, suffering from spastic dystonic tetraparesis that forced him to a wheelchair.
"In this summary, I wish to illustrate a topic concerning the controversial phenomenon known as cold fusion." 

I found this via Facebook.  In fact, I liked the page it came from.   The like was made from my People for Space Colonization page, upon which it is now a featured like.  That means it is always up as a like, along with a few others.

Free Republic: Patent Office Forces E-Cat Self-Destruct Capability

Lots of comments, mostly negative, but interesting to read nontheless.

Bruce Babbitt: Congress has declared war on the environment

Well, I don't know about all that, but the quote below was interesting. Actually, I hope it's true. This government is out of control, and the power to nullify Federal laws may be a good way to blunt Federal power.

Perhaps the ultimate objective of these piecemeal attacks is best revealed by a bill introduced by Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah) and others that would amend the United States Constitution to grant states the power to nullify Federal law.

Washington Times: Lack of buyers may force Treasury to boost rates

Though a significant rise in interest rates could be toxic for a softening U.S. economy, the Federal Reserve has said it will end its program of purchasing $600 billion in U.S. Treasury bonds as planned on June 30. The Fed is estimated to have bought about 85 percent of Treasury’s securities offerings in the past eight months.

85 percent?!? If there was any doubt that the QE2 is a failing policy, that should resolve all doubts. As if there should have been any doubt anyway.

Quantitative Easing is going away. There isn't anything else the Fed can do to help the economy. It's up to policy makers in Washington now.

Of course, they can go back to this to the QE well, but if they are already buying 85% of the Treasuries, that percentage can only get worse. Not to mention that they have to roll over the debt they have already accumulated. Somebody needs to wake these people up in Washington. This is an untenable position.

Mitt Romney Town Hall on June 3

  • In New Hampshire, this is about an hour long
  • Intro to Gov. Romney and his wife
  • Wife, Ann starts off with a few remarks, says why they are in it
  • worried about grandchildren, she says, she says she pushed Mitt into it, Up to you, she says
  • Romney takes over- here to hear from you, he says- a few words about Ann
  • she was diagnosed with MS, she has recovered, then diagnosed with breast cancer- champion, fighter
  • talks about his father, who ran for President- didn't graduate from college, but believed in America
  • led American Motors, the Rambler ( I remember this car), Jeeps
  • Lot of what he learned about America can from his dad, cynicism about America is wrong
  • Patriotic people, will overcome those problems we face
  • source of greatness is not wealth, but self rule
  • Obama has failed, number one job to get people back to work
  • debt is almost as large as economy, plus unfunded liabilities
  • took inspiration from Europe- not a good idea- enumerated what they did
  • read the 10th amendment, realize the power of states
  • gov't that will tell the truth and follow the Constitution
  • questions follow
  1. climate change
  2. spending, what to do about it
  3. education
  4. what he will do as president
  5. health care 



I'll stop here.

The Daily Ticker: The Weiner Sale: Spirit Air Offers "Too Hard To Resist" Fares

Interview with Brad Adgate
  • Spirit Air ad campaign humor 
  • is it smart?  Weiner is a "pig", but gets attention
  • talking about it, can remember, "can confirm that the ad is ours"- joke
  • went viral, can use that to advantage
  • not the first time they did this, does it work?  prices make it hard times, but low fares can build market share
  • can't do it very long because it's too cheap- end today as a matter of fact
  • gets buzz, that's what they want

The Daily Ticker: Red Alert: China's 'Rare' Commodity Monopoly Threatens…

Aaron Task interviews Stephen Leeb
  • upcoming book theme - appetite for commodities are threatening way of life
  • China's economy is 2nd to US
  • if want to create a society that is dependent on renewables- rare earths critical to this
  • silver is best thermal conductor, better than copper, massive industrial uses, silver vital to solar
  • Chinese get, so accumulate silver
  • silver had boom and bust, is it a buy?  yes, he says.  Headed to 100 he says.
  • individuals may be banned from owning it
  • two major renewable energies 1) wind and 2) solar-  for wind, need heavy rare earths
  • US has one mine, send ore to China, can't process it, but China can
  • China produces 99 percent of heavy rare earths; permanent magnets, best in world
  • hybrid cars require same kind of magnets
  • deposits in Canada, but they are small, need processing equipment


Banana hobby: ROGUE 500 Ultimate RTF 3D RC Helicopter! Review

This thing is so maneuverable that it's scary. It looks like a dragonfly with all of its unpredictable and unlikely movements. If you watch all of this, you will see it do some amazing stunts.

I'd like to put a camera on it and film this thing from the air.


Elvin Presley- Jailhouse Rock (video)

That business about the Stanford Prison Experiment and JP Aerospace and Pathological Science gave me an idea that what we need here is a jailbreak! Who better to do the honors than the King himself.



I wanted to have someone do the music for my video. Let's throw the proposition open for anyone who thinks they can do Elvis. If you win, I'll put your cover of Elvis' Jailhouse Rock in the audio for the video. How about those apples? Anbody interested?

JP Aerospace and E-cat

It hasn't been mentioned often enough, so I'll mention here again. I have an ad that is promoting a YouTube video of an another ad for this webpage. Sounds complicated? It may be profitable to reconsider the KISS principle.

Anyhow, the video isn't getting that many views and I'd like to improve upon that. The reason that I wrote what I did in the morning summary was that there is a potential community here between myself and this blog, plus JP Aerospace and supporters of "cold fusion". Why? and How? Let's take why of the community part. I think it is obvious that JP wants to get to space in an unconventional way. And the cold fusioneers want to get to net power from fusion in an unconventional way. As for me, I want to get filthy rich off this blog. Ha, ha! That is very funny. But I am unconventional too, my blog says so.

Now for the "how" part. Let us assume that the E-cat works. Also, let us assume that they will allow JP to use one of these E-cats to help him get one of his airships to orbit. JP may not need an E-cat to do that, but I think it may turn out to be helpful. You see, it looks to me that an E-cat doesn't weigh that much for the amount of power that it can produce. As for the airships, well, they are lighter than air. But that will take the airships only so far. That's where the E-cat may be helpful. It can provide thrust so that the airship can reach orbit. Of course, a lot of this depends upon getting a propulsion device with the necessary thrust and isp that can meet the necessities imposed by the rocket equation.

It is assumed also that the E-cat may also be useful in helping overcome drag. I'm thinking of a more vertical trajectory once the airship loses aerodynamic lift. See, the idea is to get aerodynamic lift as long as is possible before the airship encounters too much drag. In order to overcome drag, the airship can go vertical in order to escape the atmosphere, while at the same time it is increasing speed so as to reach orbital velocity. In order to accomplish this, the airship needs an appropriate propulsive device.

None of this is conventional, nor is it this blog conventional. I'd like to suggest the idea and use this blog to get out the word. Maybe it is "crackpot" to suggest it. On the other hand, it just might work.

If you want to help, go to my youtube videos and watch my videos. Sooner or later, you ought to be able to find the one I'm talking about. But if you are in a hurry, go here to watch it. Click on "YouTube".

That reminds me of the Wright Brothers. Nobody believed that "heavier than air" flight was possible. But seeing was believing. If E-cat can get an airship to orbit, it will prove both concepts simultaneously. Something to think about, yes?

Stanford prison experiment

This cold fusion business reminds me of this experiment. Why? The experiment showed how normal people can start acting strangely in such a setting.

If you give somebody some authority, they can abuse it.   As in the experiment, this can happen even with normal people.  If there is any pathology to begin with, it must be far worse.

In the case of the cold fusion study group set up by the DOE, the authority figure was the government, followed by the group, who was to pass judgment on the cold fusioneers. For each of their parts, the cold fusioneers started to act paranoid, as the "guards" started to act sadistically.  Not necessarily in that order or sequence.  [see Pathological Science]

It aggravates the sadistic treatment to call the cold fusioneers "Pathological", when their own sadistic treatment of them may have brought on some of the behavior in the first place.

The Morning Summary, 6/9


No new records yesterday. Looks like there needs to be some new inspiration that will drive these numbers higher. Where might that be found? This got me to thinking about what the problem is here and what might be done about it.

This blog is dedicated to unconventional thinking. That's not always good, because you can be marginalized. People tend to shy away from anything that appears too offbeat or out of the mainstream.

One thing about "cold fusion",it is offbeat. It is unconventional. It has been marginalized. It will be hard to get it mainstreamed. This fact has to be recognized. But not to lose heart about it. There could be a way to use this to advantage.

You can join forces with those who are also marginalized. This may not always be a pleasing thought, though. Not everybody who is marginalized has been made so by an unjust system. To put it bluntly, sometimes a marginalized person or group needs to stay that way. How to tell the difference?

The clue is in justice, and justice must be based upon truth. If there has been a wrong, then those who have been marginalized by it can join forces for mutual support. People in this unfortunate position can thus find a way to help each other out. In the meantime, they can work toward redressing their own harms from the unjust behavior of others, who at least for the moment, are in the majority. The redress can come from getting the truth out and from there repairing the harm done from acts that came from a lack of respect for truth.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

The Evening Wrap, 6/8


It was a day to check out the actors in this drama with respect to "cold fusion". Martin Fleischmann, Eugene Mallove, and John R. Huizenga. Each are quite accomplished, yet look at what happened. With all this brilliance, one would think something really good would come of it, yet here we are, over a decade into the 21st century, and still no fusion device ( unless the E-cat comes through, and it isn't even called fusion).

By the way, it looks like there was a rush to judgment in 1989. This subsequently poisoned the well, as "cold fusion" fell under a cloud of ill repute. The time line 1) March, when the discovery was made 2) and just a couple months later, the first negative reports came in 3) and finally in November, the negative DOE report. The attacks were unduly harsh. At least one of the harshest critics ( aside from Huizenga ) who was in on the initial negative reactions, also took part in the DOE report. One may get the impression that the intention was to kill off the idea. That's what Mallove believed, plus the motivation to save funding for their own projects.

I think I've looked at this at a number of angles. Although it appears that some injustice was done, and that "cold fusion" is plausible, this is still not proof. The world still waits for this, and the need is greater than ever. Let's hope that Rossi has the goods.

Thanks for coming by, and have a great evening.

Texas Mass Grave Hoax: Do Police Really Use Psychics?

Police must follow up on all credible tips about crimes, including those from dubious sources. They routinely deal with liars, hoaxers, jailhouse informants with dubious motives, people with drug habits and mental illnesses, and so on.
It reminds me of Stephen King's The Dead Zone, in which a psychic had visions of a man who would become President and start a nuclear war.  So, the psychic tries to assassinate him and gets shot for his trouble.  But before he dies, he has a vision of the would be President politically ruined by hiding behind a child during the attempt.

Interesting movie, but how does it work in the real world?  Not too well.

In fact, psychic detectives have a track record of complete failure in finding missing persons, including Elizabeth Smart, Natalee Holloway, Holly Bobo, and countless others. This incident is only the latest where police have wasted time, money, and resources following up on false psychic information. This case shows the damage that psychics can do, and why police don't use psychics.

I still think they should ask questions before doing too much.  Even if the police have to go check things out, that doesn't give the media a reason to report something as factual which isn't confirmed yet.

Robert Ringer: Our Most Dangerous Enemy

[As long as I have permission of the author to reprint, I'll do that here. It is best to reprint the whole piece, rather than quote parts of it.]




While some conservative commentators are on the right side of most issues, they are careful to stay “in bounds.” The last thing in the world any political pundit wants is to be seen as an extremist by his colleagues.

Recently, I watched a panel of think-tank experts debate how best to solve our country’s fiscal problems. What caught my attention was that no one — not even the free-enterprise spokesmen from the ultra-conservative Heritage Foundation and the Free Enterprise Institute — so much as alluded to the unconstitutionality of any of the myriad government programs that have caused these problems.


What does this mean? Simply that the far left in this country has, for all practical purposes, already succeeded in fundamentally transforming America, regardless of who the next president is. The problem is that even though many conservatives are experts when it comes to debating the factual side of fiscal issues, they seem to accept the false premise that government transfer-of-wealth programs are constitutional.

At least one motivating force behind this sad situation is pragmatism. For example, both Dick Morris and Donald Trump have opined that Republicans are committing suicide with Paul Ryan’s proposed plan to overhaul Medicare. And they could very well be right. After all, Morris is a strategy genius when it comes to elections, so it’s no surprise that his opinion is based on what he believes must be done to win the next election. I get it.

But if conservatives fear that Ryan’s addressing the single biggest fiscal problem facing the nation will result in reelecting a Marxist president, it tells you a lot about the decline of America as a virtuous nation. More to the point, it means that a majority of voters are so addicted to our redistribution-of-wealth culture that they will vote against anyone who dares to threaten that culture.

Thus, the question of constitutionality increasingly appears to be off the table when it comes to debating major fiscal issues such as the deficit, the debt ceiling, unfunded Medicare and Social Security liabilities, and redistribution-of-wealth programs ranging from unemployment benefits to food stamps.

I was again reminded of this while watching another recent debate on the aforementioned Medicare issue, this one between Paul Ryan and Democrat Chris Van Hollen. These two men know the numbers on Medicare inside and out, but Ryan’s approach to solving the Medicare crisis is based on free-market solutions, while Van Hollen believes in government solutions.

I have great respect for Paul Ryan, but I was disappointed that he didn’t address the question of whether Medicare is even constitutional. It’s as though the default position in every debate is that the program being discussed is constitutional — even if it’s not!

Put another way, regardless of how conservative any particular participant may be, political debates are almost always based on the false premise that the Constitution is irrelevant. And as polling numbers regarding Ryan’s Medicare proposal demonstrate, more than half the nation’s voters agree with that false premise.

But there’s another subject that is avoided even more than the question of constitutionality. In fact, it is virtually never mentioned by politicians or commentators. The subject I am referring to is dictatorship. Even if some members of Congress are knowledgeable enough about world history to be concerned about the dangers of a dictatorship befalling the U.S., they dare not mention the word out loud for fear of being labeled an alarmist or conspiracy nut.

And yet, as Barack Obama and others on the far left know full well, that is precisely what unsustainable debt and a collapsed economy can lead to. One of the surest ways to bring about a dictatorship is through runaway inflation, which is caused by massive increases in the money supply (popularly referred to inside the Beltway as “quantitative easing”) in a frantic effort to continue paying for unsustainable government programs.

Ultimately, people become panicked and anarchy and chaos result. The government then “has no choice” but to resort to strong-armed totalitarian measures to “restore order.”

When pundits and politicians say things like “Barack Obama will have no choice but to start dramatically cutting back on spending,” “the president is going to have to come to grips with the reality that market forces always prevail,” etc., they ignore the fact that a dictatorship can override reality with an iron fist.

For example, under a dictatorship, oil prices can be whatever the dictator (or oligarchy) wants them to be. And anyone can own a house if the government mandates that others give it to him free of charge. Just about anything is possible through the use of force.

Roll your eyes if you wish, but do yourself a favor and stay alert for a possible drastic change in the American way of life as we continue to move briskly down the road to financial ruin. Do not be deluded into believing that America is immune to the same consequences that have destroyed so many other nations.

Having said this, I hasten to add that Barack Obama and his progressive allies are not our biggest threat. In fact, they would be as hapless as were Marx and Engels if it were not for the avarice of benefit-addicted voters who have no desire to compete in the free market for their livelihoods. With this in mind, I would argue that it isn’t so much that people get the government they deserve. Rather, they get the government that reflects their own values.

If a majority of Americans are willing to ignore the Constitution and demand that their transfer-of-wealth largess remain intact no matter how obvious the cataclysmic long-term consequences may be, they will vote for politicians they believe are most likely to keep the government redistribution-of-wealth machine well oiled and running.

Thus, instead of complaining about corrupt politicians, Americans need to take a good look in the mirror and start thinking long and hard about their own tainted morals, as well as what kind of nation they want to leave their children and grandchildren. While the far left is certainly an enemy of freedom, if Americans are willing to look in the mirror, they might just recognize that (to put a twist on comic-strip character Pogo’s famous quotation) the most dangerous enemy is us.

You have permission to reprint this article so long as you place the following wording at the end of the article:






Copyright © 2011 Robert Ringer
ROBERT RINGER is the author of three #1 bestsellers and host of the highly acclaimed Liberty Education Interview Series, which features interviews with top political, economic, and social leaders. Ringer has appeared on numerous national talk shows and has been the subject of feature articles in such major publications as Time, People, The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Barron's, and The New York Times.

The Earth Is Full

After that Weenie boy rant, I came across Thomas J. Friedman's essay on the New York Times and I wonder- is there something in the water up there?

There is continual theme among those on the left. Whatever problem they say exists, you need more government to "fix" it. Government is an agent of coercion. Evidently, that's what the leftists like about it.

Friedman says the Earth is Full. Then he talks about China, which is full. Or mostly full. He says the world can't take its current rate of growth. This reminds me of what Jerry Pournelle was talking about in relation to the seventies and eighties, which was all about zero growth. That's what its all coming down to. The left wants zero growth, and by golly, they are going to get it if they have to crack skulls to do it.

If you think the left is there to help the "little guy", think about this: if they are successful in stopping all growth, a lot of little people are going to die. That's a fact, jack. The current level of population requires growth. Until such time that population growth can be throttled down, economic growth is going to be necessary.

Frankly, I don't want a guy like this telling me I have to take one for the team and disappear so that Mother Earth can survive. That's because I'm pretty sure that lefties like Friedman won't take one for the team. It's always somebody else that has to play by the rules- not them.

Weenie boy on a rant

This guy has mental issues. He should seek a mental health professional now.

Yahoo Breakout: The Bernanke Hope Trade

  • Bernanke testimony to Congress
  • Fed's limitations- out of ideas- Fed can't do QE3 even if needed
  • Bear Market Boulevard- testing new lows- but only down 6 percent
  • Been there before in 2010, though
  • Breaking down, traders won't get in- maybe 3% growth in second half- if scared now, will be scared later
  • Addicted to QE?  Truth is a lot of others can carry load.
  • Economics is "fake science"
  • Stimulus seemed like a long time ago, needed more precision in stimulus, might jumpstart economy

Piers Morgan interviews Ann Coulter

Do these kind of shows convince anybody of anything? If you were of the left, would you be persuaded by Coulter? lol Likewise, if you are on the right, would you be persuaded by Morgan? lol

What good is this stuff but to satisfy people's need for the conflict. It's like watch Wrestlemania, but with words. The difference is that when the wrestling match is over, people don't go vote about their future based upon the outcome. But it doesn't matter anyway. Nobody gets convinced of anything by watching this.


Farnsworth Fusor

The team then turned to the AEC, then in charge of fusion research funding, and provided them with a demonstration device mounted on a serving cart that produced more fusion than any existing "classical" device. The observers were startled, but the timing was bad; Hirsch himself had recently revealed the great progress being made by the Soviets using the tokamak. In response to this surprising development, the AEC decided to concentrate funding on large tokamak projects, and reduce backing for alternative concepts

This is a precursor to the Polywell.   There is no controversy about the ability here to bring about fusion in a table top device.  This device is actually being commercially made today as a source of neutrons.  The neutrons that the device produces is evidence of fusion taking place.

This should be evidence enough that you don't need an office sized building in order to produce fusion.  To the contrary, hobbyists can reproduce the effect for
In the fusor, the ions are accelerated to several keV by the electrodes, so heating as such is not necessary (as long as the ions fuse before losing their energy by any process). Whereas 45 megakelvins is a very high temperature by any standard, the corresponding voltage is only 4 kV, a level commonly found in such devices as neon lights and televisions.
 A tremendous of energy is not necessary, provided that you can come up with a suitable confinement strategy that will make fusion possible.   In my opinion, there is a possibility that this could occur in a random setting and this could be why "cold fusion" can't be easily reproduced.

Pathological Science?

After awhile, the label becomes the reality. Without funding, and under seige, cold fusioneers became insulated, and perhaps a bit paranoid. On the other hand, the mainstream scientists stayed clear of cold fusion for fear of being punished for studying it.

It should not come to any surprise that a follow up study by the DOE would only confirm what they already believed, that cold fusion was not really real.  "  In 1994, David Goodstein described cold fusion as:"

"a pariah field, cast out by the scientific establishment. Between cold fusion and respectable science there is virtually no communication at all. Cold fusion papers are almost never published in refereed scientific journals, with the result that those works don't receive the normal critical scrutiny that science requires. On the other hand, because the Cold-Fusioners see themselves as a community under siege, there is little internal criticism. Experiments and theories tend to be accepted at face value, for fear of providing even more fuel for external critics, if anyone outside the group was bothering to listen. In these circumstances, crackpots flourish, making matters worse for those who believe that there is serious science going on here."
 Under that cloud, the second DOE review took place and produced unsurprising results.
While significant progress has been made in the sophistication of calorimeters since the review of this subject in 1989, the conclusions reached by the reviewers today are similar to those found in the 1989 review.

The current reviewers identified a number of basic science research areas that could be helpful in resolving some of the controversies in the field, two of which were: 1) material science aspects of deuterated metals using modern characterization techniques, and 2) the study of particles reportedly emitted from deuterated foils using state-of-the-art apparatus and methods. The reviewers believed that this field would benefit from the peer-review processes associated with proposal submission to agencies and paper submission to archival journals.

– Report of the Review of Low Energy Nuclear Reactions, US Department of Energy, December 2004

There is possibly something pathological going on here, but who is the afflicted party? Going to the government -who itself cannot keep its own house in order- for answers seems an exercise in futility. It is hard to get at the truth when there are so many who seemed determined not to find it.

Conflict of interest


A conflict of interest (COI) occurs when an individual or organization is involved in multiple interests, one of which could possibly corrupt the motivation for an act in the other.A conflict of interest can only exist if a person or testimony is entrusted with some impartiality; a modicum of trust is necessary to create it. The presence of a conflict of interest is independent from the execution of impropriety. Therefore, a conflict of interest can be discovered and voluntarily defused before any corruption occurs-  Wikipedia

Corruption?  Strong word.  If corruption is present in government, that would be a problem, would it not?

Eugene Mallove

Eugene Franklin Mallove (June 9, 1947 – May 14, 2004) was a science writer, editor and publisher of the magazine Infinite Energy, founder of the non-profit New Energy Foundation, a strong proponent of cold fusion, and a supporter of research into that and related exploratory alternative energy topics, some of which are sometimes disparaged, for one reason or another, as "fringe science".- Wikipedia
 Mallove claims:
results were suppressed through an organized campaign of ridicule from mainstream physicists, including those studying controlled thermonuclear fusion, trying to protect their research and funding. 

As I wrote in the previous post, there could have been a conflict of interest for Huizenga, the chief critic, and co chairman of the DOE committee that investigated "cold fusion" in the 1989-90 time period.  So that charge may bear some weight.  The other co chairman, according to Mallove, demanded- and got- some 'softer' language, so cold fusion could have an opportunity to stage a comeback.

Irwin Kellner: Read Our Lips: Forget About the Debt

Message to deficit cutters: Main Street America is more worried about jobs these days than about Washington's debt.
Irwin Kellner is MarketWatch's chief economist.

Who knows?  Maybe Kellner is right.  Here's what I see.  I see the government printing money in order to pay for spending.  If fixing the economy was that easy, we could all retire tomorrow.  All the government would have to do is to print up enough money to make everybody a zillionaire.  Then, everyone could quit their jobs and we would all retire and live happily ever after.

Maybe "you can fool most of the people some of the time, or some of the people most of the time, but you can't fool all the people all of the time."
 

Cold Fusion: The Scientific Fiasco of the Century (John R. Huizenga)

Just ordered the book.  I'd like to see the other side of the story.  I'd like to know why it is supposed to be a fiasco.

Update:

Checking out some info about Huizenga.  Quite impressive.

Come to think of it, Mallove's book may have something on him.  I'll check that and report here if I find anything.

Update:

This isn't about Huizenga, but while looking at Mallove's book, I found something that correlates with my own theory about "cold fusion" -  check this quote:
three chemists at Brookhaven National Laboratory announced a new way to pull off hot fusion: by using a particle accelerator to fire at a target tiny electrically charged crystals of heavy water- with up to 1,300 heavy water  molecules (D20) in each.  The laboratory immediately sought patents for this "cluster impact fusion"
I wrote earlier that, in comparison with Polywell and Focus Fusion, if you were to hit a small area of matter with sufficient enough energy, you could cause fusion to occur.  Here it is, somebody came up with a theory and some evidence to support it years ago.

Update:

Mallove seems to come down against Huizenga.  This is not to cast him as the bad guy, but he is definitely not open to the idea of "cold fusion".

Update:
One last thing about Huizenga.  He may have had a conflict of interest since the University of Rochester was involved in a hot fusion program.   In other words, he may have had something to gain by shooting down "cold fusion".

Martin Fleischmann

Checking out the Wikipedia entry on him shows the following:
  • family moved from Czechoslovakia in 1938.  This was the same year Hitler and Chamberlain agreed in Munich to carve up the country in exchange for "peace in our time".  World War broke out the year later. Hitler slaughtered 6 million Jews.
  • 'In 1979, he was awarded the medal for electrochemistry and thermodynamics by the Royal Society of London.'
  • 'In 1985 he received the Palladium Medal from the US Electrochemical Society, and in 1986 was elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Society'.
  • 'Around 1983, while they were researchers at the University of Utah, he and Stanley Pons found what they believed a way to create nuclear fusion at room temperatures.  Fleischmann wanted to publish it first on an obscure journal, and had already spoken with a team that was doing similar work in a different university for a joint publication' [ emphasis added]
  • 'On March 26 Fleischmann warned on the Wall Street Journal Report not to try replications until a published paper was available two weeks later in Journal of electroanalytical chemistry'[emphasis added]
  • Hundreds tried to replicate anyway and failed.  Then the accusations began. 
Looks to me like Fleischmann got a raw deal.   He admits to making some mistakes, but was this reaction necessary?   Why not a detailed investigation into "cold fusion" by the media?   There was one by the government, but why depend entirely upon the government?   What if the government has an axe to grind?

Who's the good guy?

Life is complicated, especially these days. You have to rely upon others to inform you of the news. So, what do you do if you find out that someone isn't reliable? You have to find someone else to listen to. Society is so complicated that you have no choice but to rely on others. You can't chase down every story yourself. You just have to find someone you can trust.

When it comes to news, I expect an objective account. I don't expect the media to cherry pick what they think I should know. I think I can figure out that much for myself. I'd prefer to think for myself. Just give me the facts and I'll judge things for myself.

It's hard to know who to trust anymore. Or what to trust. But you have to trust somebody.

That business about the bodies being found in Liberty County bothers me. The service that the new media provides is information. Here they are presenting something that is completely bogus. But you have no other choice but to believe that what they have is accurate and meaningful. What about the political situation? Should the media be oriented towards reporting what pleases certain politicians? It would seem that if they were doing that, that something is definitely wrong.

You see this over and over these days. Media will ignore one story and hype another. You aren't getting information. You are being manipulated.

Maybe that is what it takes to succeed. But I would rather not go there. Sure, I want an audience. But I think there ought to be lines that don't get crossed. I'm not saying that the media crossed any lines with the dead body story, but there could have been a more careful approach to the story. Why jump all over something just because it looks like it could grab attention? Why not wait and ask a few questions first?

Things are not going well in this country. People need to take a close look in the mirror and ask: "Is there is anything that I can do personally to turn this around?". Because we have to trust each other. We have no choice. Life is too complicated. Things go better if you would just be honest about things.

I judge good and bad by the truth. That is my way. Perhaps others have a different way. If someone tells me something wrong, I don't want to jump to conclusions that they are lying to me. It may be an honest mistake. But I am not so naive to believe that someone could be lying for some reason. When that happens, I know I am not dealing with a good guy. A good guy won't lie to you, especially if his job is to inform you. If you are getting lied to, you need to find someone else to trust.

chron.com: Psychic's Liberty County mass grave tip misses mark

HULL — A pair of phone calls from a self-professed psychic about a mass grave in the middle of Liberty County led authorities on a wild goose chase Tuesday that ultimately netted nothing but frustration

People are so hot for a story that they'll print anything.   I did too, but at least I asked a question first.  A little checking first may have saved some trouble.  Like checking missing persons lists and so forth.  If dozens of people went missing at about the same time, then there would be some reason other than an anonymous phone call to go on.

Morning Summary 6/8

Record setting day, thanks for your support! Sitemeter and blogger both topped the old records, which seem to be falling on a regular basis. The big story here is the Rossi Focardi E-cat "cold fusion" story, which is still flying under the radar. Eventually this will get news coverage. It doesn't seem to be possible that this will be held down forever.

I will add that news networks don't have problems reporting hoaxes. Not saying E-cat is a hoax. Just saying that the media may not be smart enough to know the difference! Take the Liberty county mass grave hoax, for example. Boy, did they get faked out. Partly because of this kind of thing, my opinion of the media isn't very high anyway.

The news of the century, a new energy source, is being missed. In the meantime, the media chases down hoaxes with great anticipation and enthusiasm. These people look like dupes.

Anthony Wiener of Wienergate is another example. It looks like the media is carrying water for a politician. Does the media have any basic competence and integrity? Just exactly what is it that they think that they are doing?  Is their job to just stand in front of the camera and say something, anything to get attention? How about informing people of what they need to know?

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Evening Wrap, 6/7



17 posts today. If that isn't a record, it is close.

At the moment, I'm listening to the Space Show. I've gotten behind on that, but that is a reflection of how much is on my plate. I'm writing this while listening to the program. Talking about multi tasking.

As I'm listening to the show now, they are talking about the Shuttle and being there at the launch.  

It has been a great day. But all good things come to an end. Time to shut down for the day. Thanks for coming by, and have a great evening.

KPRC TV Houston: Dozens Of Bodies Found Buried

LIBERTY COUNTY, Texas -- Dozens of bodies have been found in a mass grave in Liberty County, officials said Tuesday.

How does something like this happen without anybody knowing about it?  Dozens of missing people?  

New Papyrus: Dr. Paul Spudis on Utilizing Cis-Lunar Space

This is a follow up post on an earlier post today. ( h/t New Papyrus)

Nothing like having a video to look at and listen to and to think over.  There was a pdf link in the previous post.

I wrote about the Moon Base concept that he proposed several months ago.  He mentions his concept again in this speech.


"Weinergate" looks like a media war

Breitbart's story looks like media advocacy in politics. It's left wing media going at it with right wing media in order to play politics. It looks worse for the left wing media here because they appear to be trying to cover up for Weiner and not only that, but to slander others in order to protect themselves.

Says he doesn't have an opinion on Weiner resigning. 'Blame the messenger' reporting.  Accused Breitbart of being the hacker.

I thought of the thing as a joke, but if somebody starts naming names like naming Breitbart specifically as the hacker, then I don't blame him for taking offense and fighting back.

This isn't so much about Weiner ( unless he named Breitbart himself) than it is about the media that is covering up for politicians.  That's what I wasn't paying attention to, but now I am.

One of the reasons I don't like the left is that seem to have an allergy to the truth.  You may not think that is such a big deal for politicians to lie, but for media to do it in the service of politics is definitely a big no no.


Thermal depolymerization

Thermal depolymerization (TDP) is a depolymerization process using hydrous pyrolysis for the reduction of complex organic materials (usually waste products of various sorts, often biomass and plastic) into light crude oil. It mimics the natural geological processes thought to be involved in the production of fossil fuels.

I remember reading about this for the first time several years ago on the Parapundit blog.  It was about processing turkey waste into a high quality biofuel.  That post yesterday, of Andrea Fossi doing something similar in Europe reminded me of this post.

It occurred to me several weeks ago that you could use fossil fuels as a source of hydrogen for fuel cells.  This was already demonstrated by the Chrysler NeCar close to 10 years ago.  This car had an onboard methanol reformer, which produced the hydrogen for the fuel cell.  Inasmuch as internal combustion engines are so inefficient as compared to the fuel cell, it would seem that the use of this biofuel as a hydrogen source would be a better choice.

Now, you wouldn't necessarily want to put the reformer on the car.  Instead, put the reformer at the refueling station and let the motorist refill with hydrogen there.  No need for a big infrastructure investment.  The only hurdle remaining would be to get the hydrogen fuel cell prices down to a level that would be economically competitive.

I kept reading further and came across algal fuel.  I read up on that too several years ago.  At the time, the cost per gallon for algal fuel was over 20 dollars per gallon.  It seems that the price has come down.  In any event, the use of the reformers could work here as well.  You may even be able to collect the co2 and resuse it for the next batch of biofuel.

For the discussion about fuel cells, check out the post labeled 'Clean green driving machines'.  Incidentally, one of the reasons for space advocacy is to mine asteroids (or the Moon!) for platinum for use in the fuel cells.

Saut: The Economy is in a Self Sustaining Recovery

video via Yahoo Breakout

  • Jeff Saut of Raymond James doesn't have a sell signal on Dow Theory
  • Hasn't broken through signal areas and doesn't see it
  • Any correction will be limited to 7 to 10 percent
  • Earning better, credit  is easing, yield curve in good shape
  • Does unemployment matter?  Corp profits are leading indicator and they are good
  • labor arbitrage back to US
  • supply chain in Japan will cause soft spot
  • QE3? More easing, should go to housing and employment?  No QE3, economy will grow.
  • QE3 if weakness continues, but will they call it that? Will support economy
  • Is there a second tier econ stat important.  No take it in aggregate.  Only a soft spot and economy will regear itself. 





Yahoo Breakout: Will Apple Hit $400 a Share

  • Steve Jobs not looking well
  • nothing revolutionary, no new IPhone
  • new IPhone every summer except this
  • closed system strategy, but other manufacturer ganging up on them
  • his health is in question, how concerned should be about it if he is gone
  • who is driving Apple for the next 5 years
  • whiff of Microsoft, tying products
  • 450 avg price tag, upside on table, it is a buy, everybody still loves it
  • what is the next set of products, can they hold off Android
  • not expensive, seems cheap
  • can they get the next big thing
  • fallow period, but that is okay for long term investors


New Energy Times Report: Cold Fusion is Neither

This is the outline for the New Energy Times Special Report: Cold Fusion is Neither, published electronically on July 30, 2010. The full report is available to browse on the Web, starting with this page, or as a 148-page PDF download (7MB). This outline is also available as a 4-page standalone PDF download.

Well, if I had time to read this, I guess I could.  But you know what?  I think the whole argument is "academic".  Frankly, the academics don't interest me much.  If you want to argue whether or not it is fusion, or if it is hot, or if it is cold, then I think you are in it for the argument.  I am not in it for the argument, but for the benefit of it.

To turn a phrase, arguments are for ego trippers, solutions are for money grippers.  Or to borrow another phrase: "Show me the money!"

Voice of Russia: Cold fusion: reality or utopia?

But all the same, is cold fusion reality or utopia? The Voice of Russia addressed this question to president of the Kurchatov Institute and Academician at the Russian Academy of Sciences Yevgeny Velikhov.
There is not a single study indicating that cold fusion is essentially impossible.
Soon we will find out what this Italian novelty really is - a great invention or just another hoax

I'm of the opinion that there is no such thing as cold fusion, but that this Rossi Focardi device isn't necessarily "cold".  But it is fusion. Since I am not a trained physicist, my opinion is likely not to be taken seriously.  I came up with my idea about this after reading about the Polywell device and Focus Fusion devices.  These are not the conventional means of getting toward a net energy device, but they are not controversial.

I think the key thing is how much energy is applied to the atoms at the molecular nanoscale.  If sufficient energy can be delivered to a very small region, it would be sufficient to enable fusion.  I think that this could be happening in "cold fusion" and it is just a matter of reproducing those conditions in which it can occur.  This may be the secret to designing a useful device.

Rossi-Focardi may have discovered this and don't know it yet.  Or they do know it, but they don't want to say how they did it.

Colonizing Venus?

Don't call the guys from the funny farm, I don't think I've lost my mind yet. I know, Venus is inhospitable to human settlement. It is too hot, with a surface temperature hot enough to melt lead. The atmospheric pressure at the surface is so great that it would crush a man flat. The atmosphere is poisonous. Why on Earth would anyone even think of going there to visit, much less, to live?

Let's take an inventory of what Venus has to offer.  In its atmosphere, of course.  On the surface, it may be too challenging.
  1. carbon dioxide
  2. sulfuric acid
  3. abundant energy from the sun
  4. water
  5. nitrogen 
Sulfuric acid and carbon dioxide are amazing substances.  And Venus has more of it than be imagined.  Sulfuric acid can be used in a variety of chemical processes, of particular interest is ore processing.  Venus' atmosphere could be converted into a huge processing plant for ore extraction.  It's carbon dioxide, water, and nitrogen can be used for life support.  There could be an economic reason to colonize Venus.

How to "live on Venus"?  You don't.  Just live in the atmosphere.  This too may prove to be too difficult, but a way might be found.  The key is that the thickness of the Venusian atmosphere can be an asset.  You can float on its surface, like floating on water.  The tricky part is not to get destroyed by its industrial strength atmosphere and its intense heat and radiation.  If those problems can be solved, Venus can be colonized.  Maybe.

NASA’s future in the balance?

In their separate speeches, Greason and Spudis share many key points. Both agree that human settlement of space is perhaps the overarching long-term goal of human spaceflight, and both see the utilization of resources in space as essential to making such an effort sustainable over the long haul.

The above quote is from an essay by Jeff Foust in The Space Review.  It is in reference to the most recent National Space Society’s International Space Development Conference (ISDC) held in  Huntsville, Alabama.

I put up link to a video of Greason's speech here.
Foust has a link to a pdf file of Spudis' ideas here.

I tend to agree with them both about what we need to be doing.  In an earlier post, I argued for a Moon First strategy.  This is in contrast to a Zubrin type approach that would go to Mars directly.  In the words of Spudis
“We’re going to the Moon to learn the skills to live and work productively on another world,” 
Those skills, he added, can be grouped into three categories: development of a transportation system, the ability to safely live on another world, and developing resources that can be exported for profit—or, as Spudis put it, “arrive, survive, and thrive.”

As Foust puts it, they seem to agree on many points.  But the future of the agency is where they seem to disagree.  Spudis believes that human space exploration is going to continue regardless, whereas Greason thinks the agency is at risk.  I tend to agree with Greason- NASA and we had better get our act together and quick.  I think it may be even worse than Greason fears.  If we don't do this now, we may never do it.  "We" meaning the USA.