Perverted Science

Alaskan Winter

From an article at the Daily Beast discussing a Palin Endorsement in a New York House race.

Palin’s team, unsurprisingly, disagrees, saying those candidates she’s endorsed—including Grimm—are going to barrel through the country come November. “People are claiming Sarah Palin is a polarizing figure,” says SarahPAC staffer Rebecca Mansour. “I laugh because we are in the process of electing numerous candidates just like Sarah Palin. We are about to elect dozens of Sarah Palins so polarize that.”

If Sarah's candidates do well I predict a polar winter - for the Democrats.

H/T Hill Buzz where I also got the fine picture.

Atomic Time

I want to tell you about a clock I bought a while back that my mate and I are very happy with. The La Crosse Technology WT-3102B 10-Inch Atomic Analog Clock.

It really isn't an atomic clock. It synchronizes with an atomic clock signal sent out by station WWVB near Boulder, Colorado. If you look at the signal strength maps you can see that the signal is the strongest in the night time hours. Which brings me to how to set up the clock.

At about ten minutes before the hour set the clock to 25 minutes before the hour and insert the battery. Your clock should be reasonably far away from electronic equipment. Especially TVs and Computers. Push the buttons as detailed in the instructions (you get the 4 American continental time zones plus a Daylight Savings on/off option). Then put your clock on an upstairs (no basements) wall that faces to or away from Boulder. When the clock gets the signal it will start spinning. You may have to wait until night to get a strong enough signal. If your building has metal sheathing (siding) the clock may only work in a window facing Boulder.

We put our clock up about 3 ft from a TV set (in a fairly strong signal area - your clock may need to be farther away) on a wall facing Boulder and have never been happier with a clock. We know what time it is to the second. And if the signal is never strong enough? The clock will work as a regular digital clock.

I have had older type atomic clocks that were much harder to set. This one is a piece of cake and I'm super happy to know what time it is. It is especially handy when daylight savings change days come as the clock adjusts automatically. No more clock fiddling to be on time.

Of course you still have to fiddle your alarm unless you have a Sony ICF-C318 Automatic Time Set Clock Radio with Dual Alarm (White). It really isn't an automatic set (WWVB radio) clock. It does adjust for daylight savings and it does have a built in back-up battery so you do not lose the time if the power goes off. The alarm itself is kind of soft, but the radio is loud enough to get you up and it is really obnoxious if you set the radio on top of a running computer. Setting the time and the alarm time are really easy with this radio. However the time does drift some (a few minutes a month). Which is why the atomic wall clock comes in handy.

Update: 31 July 2010 0139z

Commenter rhhardin at Classical Values has some issues with a different model of this clock. They may also apply to the model above. So far I haven't noticed.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

The Inertia Question

I have started a new blog called The Inertia Question. So what is it all about? That tired feeling you have in the morning before your sixth cup of coffee? No.

I explain what it is all about in my first post which I reprint here in its entirety:

============

This blog is dedicated to getting research done and reporting the results on the questions posed in Chapter 28 of Book 2 of The Feynman Lectures on Physics.

The title of that Chapter is Electromagnetic Mass. And what do you know? There is a wiki page called Electromagnetic Mass.

Those questions are over 100 years old. They are still open. I'd like to close them as best as we can. If the theories of some physicists are correct it should be possible to develop a reaction force without expending mass (rockets). That would make high speed space travel very economical. If enough force could be generated we might even be able to lift off from earth without rockets. Now wouldn't that be nice?

And suppose several different experiments are tried and results are obtained and the results are null? We will have learned something very important and may thus have to revise our conception of the universe or at least fine tune it.

I am soliciting Researchers, Research Proposals, Papers, Funding reports, Funding sources, Parts Donations, "Industry" Gossip (No ad homs - save those for the comments. I have certain minimal standards to uphold, although particularly vile comments will be deleted if I find them. My judgment on the matter is final. So if you post a really nasty comment that you particularly enjoy. Save a copy.), Schematics (use the Tiny CAD software if you want to share the data), etc.

Besides my research goals what are my monetary goals? My guess is that each experiment would cost on the order of $300,000 per year for parts, labor, lab space, etc. I think about 5 experiments with different designs would answer the general question. Then we have an engineering review if the outcome is positive and come up with a road map for further development.

I'd like to further say that I want to see any patents obtained from this research to be available for a reasonable licensing fee. Radio really took off when RCA was formed as a patent combine. Remember the first rule of business: Don't Scare Off The Customers.

And one final thing - if you know of any useful pdfs please leave a url in the comments or send me an e-mail. I want to add resources like that to the sidebar.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

I Have A Feeling About Government

I do not do engineering based on received wisdom or feelings. I don't think government should be done that way either.

I place no reliance on Virgin or Pigeon. My method is science my, aim is very limited government.

Hair Of The Body

Althouse has an amusing post up about mixing metaphors. Which may (or may not) explain the title of this post.

Comments and suggestions welcome.

Wreck Value

Human Train Wrecks covers the debautched. Sample:

WRECK VALUE:

Notorious drunk and cocaine addict; was known to drink two entire bottles of Old Granddad per day; appeared stumbling drunk on "The Lucy Show"; her husband divorced her, citing "extreme mental cruelty"; described as "the most immoral person alive" by Marlene Dietrich; paid young gay men to populate her home, and referred to them as her "caddies"; once engaged her god-daughter in a makeshift voodoo ritual as an attempt to kill Senator Joseph McCarthy (McCarthy actually did die within a month of her ritual); once fell asleep with a lit cigarette and set her pet poodle Millicent on fire - when one of her "Caddies" discovered the blazing dog, he woke Bankhead. She responded by saying "Millicent's on fire? Put the goddamn thing out!" and then passed out again, as her bed smouldered around her.

DEVIL'S ADVOCACY:

Was a member of the Algonquin Roundtable; was nearly cast as Scarlett O'Hara in "Gone With the Wind"; worked with playwrights such as Thornton Wilder and Lillian Hellman; managed to get Greta Garbo, Billie Holiday, Winston Churchill and Hattie MacDaniel in the sack (not at the same time), perhaps winning her the honor of Most Bizarre Sex Life By A Trainwreck; used to be really hot.

SUPPORTING QUOTES:

"My father warned me about men and booze, but he never mentioned a word about women and cocaine."

"Cocaine isn't habit-forming. I should know - I've been using it for years.

"It's the good girls who keep diaries; the bad girls never have the time."

"I'm as pure as the driven slush."

"When I was 16, dahling, I had a shoebox full of cocaine."

Good for way more than a few minutes of entertainment. Oh. Yeah. Guess the actress.

I Like The Thighs

Kim Carnes is the singer.

H/T Hill Buzz

Fusion - A New Hope?

A private company has just gotten a $50 million cash infusion for its fusion experiments.

A private company in Foothill Ranch that is reportedly experimenting with nuclear fusion power has raised $50 million in funding, according to a report from Socaltech.com.

Little more information was available Monday about the experiments at the company, Tri-Alpha Energy, or the funding itself. In the past, Socaltech reported, Tri-Alpha has received funding from Goldman Sachs, Venrock, Vulcan Capital and New Enterprise Associates.

Tri-Alpha's experiments, based on the work of UC Irvine plasma physics professor Norman Rostoker, have been rumored for years, but the company has not revealed the nature of its experiments to the public.

Solcaltech calls it a "stealth developer of advanced plasma fusion technology.

Well not exactly stealth. I reported on the work of Rostoker and Monkton in additions to something I first posted in November of 2007. Still, the fact that they are either getting new money or a release of promised money is good news. The more different ideas we explore on the way to practical fusion the sooner we will reach that goal. Because this is an experimental field. And as Einstein once said, "If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?"

Tri-Alpha Energy, Polywell Fusion, and Dense Plasma Focus are all working on the holy grail of fusion physics. The combining of Hydrogen (a proton when ionized) and Boron 11 which is a fusion reaction that gives off very few neutrons and whose reaction product is high energy (relatively) charged particles which would allow converting the resultant energy directly to electricity. This greatly lowers the cost of a power plant. Consider that for a fission (currently Uranium) power plant 80% of the cost is in the steam plant which is used to convert the heat output of the reactor into electricity or shaft horsepower in the case of a ship.

One other point. Consider the millions being spent on these fusion experiments with the billions being spent on ITER which is currently in big financial trouble. The reported fix is to steal money from small research projects in other disciplines.

Of course I like Polywell Fusion. You can learn the basics of fusion energy by reading Principles of Fusion Energy: An Introduction to Fusion Energy for Students of Science and Engineering

Polywell is a little more complicated. You can learn more about Polywell and its potential at: Bussard's IEC Fusion Technology (Polywell Fusion) Explained

And the best part about Polywell? We Will Know In Two Years or less.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

How To Get Rid Of Racism

The look on Mike Wallace's face is priceless. Worth 55 seconds of your life. Definitely.

H/T Joan of Argghh!. May I suggest you follow the link and read Joan's take on this video and recent events.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Swapping

Iran has some new friends in the uranium business.

TEHRAN (AFP) - The top diplomats of Iran, Brazil and Turkey will discuss nuclear fuel supplies for Tehran in Istanbul on Sunday, in the first such gathering since the Islamic republic was slapped with new sanctions.

Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki was to meet his Brazilian and Turkish counterparts, Celso Amorim and Ahmet Davutoglu, "to discuss... the Tehran Declaration about the fuel swap," his ministry's spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast was quoted as saying by ISNA news agency.

A Turkish diplomat in Ankara, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, confirmed the three ministers would meet over lunch.

Of course this is all about peaceful uses for nuclear power. Right.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Al Gore's Hockey Stick

Over at Watts Up With That they are discussing Al Gore's
marital and hotel difficulties in relation to a hockey stick graph that is most amusing.

So I thought I'd add a few words to a most ribald discussion.

It was all the fault of improperly labeled RAP music. Just ask Tipper.

Tipper is definitely a victim of No Law.

And for those that don't get the joke: A hint.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Brain Surgery

Putting the criminal justice system in charge of treating drug addiction is literally attempting to do brain surgery with a billy club.


Cross Posted at Classical Values

The CAGW Of The Right

I was reading Hot Air on recent Republican poling re: the 2012 Presidential race and came across this comment:

The next president will be a CONSERVATIVE.

To which I replied:

Would that be a pro Drug War Progressive Conservative or a real conservative?

The Drug War is the CAGW* of the Right.

* Catastrophic Anthropogenic Global Warming.

Like A Rolling Stone - Raw

The band is pretty raw. But I like their youth and enthusiasm. Here are the liner notes so to speak.

Here is our cover version and arrangement of one of the all time greatest songs ever written, Bob Dylan's "Like A Rolling Stone". It is such an incredible song in so many different ways; of course, Bob Dylan's lyrics are superb as usual, he is the undisputed poet laureate of rock music. But "Like A Rolling Stone" really stands out as a landmark musical achievement; the song is basically just a C major scale, going up in the first half of the verses, C, Dm, Em, F, G, and then, as if you needed more proof that Dylan is a genius, it goes straight back down again, (F), G, F, Em, Dm, C. It's so simple, but so wonderful, because nobody else had ever thought of doing such a thing, and that is why Dylan is a musical genius, and such a huge influence. Every song written after this one, and indeed every musician, owed something to this song, whether they were aware of it or not. "Like A Rolling Stone" broke down the barrier which said popular songs had to be three minutes maximum, with it's 6 minute plus duration. And it also destroyed the idea that to sing you had to have a technically brilliant voice; Bob Dylan's rough, American drone had just as much power and emotion as any other more professional singer.

Whichever way you look at it, this song is an incredible achievement, but most importantly, it's a wonderful song.

Sam on piano/lead vocals/harmonica, Isaac on guitar (Fender Telecaster) and Sebastian on drums/percussion. Thanks, and we hope you enjoy!

You can listen to more of their stuff at SH Corporation. The guy on the piano is 16 and the band hails from Australia.

If you want to listen to the real Bob, you will find that most of his work has been expunged from YouTube, but Amazon still sells Bob Dylan.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Government As A Moral Enterprise

David Harsanyi has a column up about the shocking lack of faith in America and all the trouble it is causing in politics. You really need to read it. But I want to excerpt a bit from his closing remarks.

...progressives regard government as a moral enterprise. And in church, you gotta have faith.

There are a lot of Progressives who claim to be conservatives. You know. The kind claiming to belong to the One True Culture Club. (Its a joke son)

H/T Instapundit

Limited Politcs

The more limited your aims in politics the greater the number of votes you can attract. This is especially true if your politics calls for limited government.

Where's The Party, Man?

Francis Cianfrocca is discussing Class Warfare In America. At the end of his piece he mentions a businessman's lament.

...I had a conversation yesterday with an old friend who runs a high-ten-figure hedge fund. (They're flat for the year, like the rest of the hedge-fund world.) What he wants is to join a political party that believes in not taking people's money and in not telling them what to do: small govt without the bibles. This is something I hear from business guys all the time: the whole "social liberal/fiscal conservative" thing. So far, there's no political movement they can believe in.

In fact the lack of such a party is why we are in so much trouble. When the Bible thumping gets too loud the fiscal conservatives stop paying attention to the money and go all in on correcting the social flaws in America at the point of a government gun. The swing voters get disgusted. They listen to the promises lies from the Democrats. And when the Ds get in they run wild. The thumpers then start in with the "what happened to the money - you crooks?" Then the conservatives get fiscal for a while and the cycle starts again. In the mean time the socially liberal/fiscally conservative segment of the population is continually whipsawed.

Which leads to the question: do conservatives really want small government or do they want power over people who are in their opinion self-destructive?

If conservatives want small government (for real) I think broadening the coalition might prove helpful. We are going to need all the deviants and dopers we can enlist (and more) to restrict the leviathan and keep it restricted. That means that even if conservatives get power it might not be wise for them to start in on the margins of their coalition. Because you know what happens when you run out of margin. Here is how Bill Whittle describes loss of margin: "Out of altitude, out of airspeed, out of ideas. Eject! Eject! Eject!" The question is: are conservatives tired of getting ejected? Are they smart enough to figure out what to do? My answer is - most likely YES on the first and NO on the second.

H/T Instapundit

Cross Posted at Classical Values