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Posts by Charge Carrier

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  • Tiny Nuclear Reactions Inside Compact Fluorescent Bulbs?

    03/14/2013 9:45:33 PM PDT · 44 of 90
    Charge Carrier to Kevmo

    Sounds like the typical pseudo-scientific malarkey that has been surrounding cold fusion for some time. After my own little quick survey, here is a reputable retort to the theory:

    http://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/43138/widom-larsen-theory

    I am not an expert in nuclear physics. But clearly, the “mainstream” does not accept this. However, being trained both as a condensed matter physicist and chemist, I appreciate the appeal cold fusion, a.k.a. these days “LENR”, has for some otherwise level-headed scientist. But alas it is not energetically viable under currently accepted theories. If some mechanism exists for something like LENR, then it will have to be discovered and proven by experimental evidence, because that would represent probably the greatest breakthrough in physics since the Michelson-Morley experiment, which disproved ether and foreshadowed the quantum and Einstein relativity revolution. That is, it is a paradigm shifting crisis in conventional thinking, ala Kuhnian revolution.

    And so I sound like a skeptic, which IMHO is a good scientist. Show me the evidence! However, I would not want to discourage the tinkerers and dreamers to continue their efforts to flail at convention. Ultimately that is what is required to usurp those of us who are conservative in our views ;)

  • Ryan Reveals Romney Plan To Replace Defense Spending Cuts With Food Stamp Cuts

    08/23/2012 4:21:45 PM PDT · 32 of 37
    Charge Carrier to blam

    My friend in the defense business says:

    Either way is fine with me.
    1) If there are no defense cuts, I probably get to keep my job (and I won’t need food stamps).

    2) If there are defense cuts, I’ll probably lose my job (so I’ll need the food stamps).

  • SUMMARY OF THE "EMERGENCY ECONOMIC STABILIZATION ACT OF 2008"

    09/29/2008 1:54:30 AM PDT · 17 of 24
    Charge Carrier to PressurePoint

    SEC. 104. FINANCIAL STABILITY OVERSIGHT BOARD

    The oversight board is a classic “fox running the hen house”. It is charged with reviewing that the exercise of authority by the Secretary is in accordance with the Act. It does not terminate until the last troubled asset acquired by the Secretary has been sold or transferred out of the ownership or control of the Federal Government. It is made up of the following:

    1. The Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System;

    Bernanke has the unfortunate position of extreme culpability and prejudice, demanding the $700 billion already.

    2. The Secretary of the Treasury

    Paulson gets to decide how much and who to give the money to and is in charge of everything already.

    3. The Director of the Federal Home Finance Agency;

    The Federal Housing Finance Board is one of the regulators charged with financing loans for home mortgages and as an organization is culpable in this mess. There are four directors and a chairman. Here’s the recent bio of just one, a Geoffrey S. Bacino: He was appointed by President Bush and confirmed by the Senate on July 28, 2006. Prior to this appointment, Mr. Bacino served as a Senior Vice President for Legislative and Regulatory Affairs at Centrix Financial, an auto finance company that specialized in nonstandard lending (Bad Credit, No Problem, Zero Down kind of stuff). Centrix Financial filed chapter 11 bankruptcy on September 19, 2006, six weeks after Mr Bacino’s appointment.

    4. The Chairman of the Securities Exchange Commission

    You may have heard of Cristopher Cox when John McCain demanded that he get fired for letting this mess get out of control. Just a few from near the top of a Google search: Investigation into Cox Role in Fraud Should be Launched, Corporate reform dead; SEC chief should resign, http://www.firechriscox.com/.

    5. The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development

    HUD is another innovation of the “Great Society” of Lyndon Johnson. The new secretary is Steven C. Preston, an ex-Senior Vice President at Lehman Brothers. Lehman Brothers filed for the largest Chapter 11 bankruptcy in US history on September 15, 2008, five months after Mr. Preston took over (just in time) after his predecessor resigned amid ethics violations.

  • Main Street Needs the Treasury Plan

    09/26/2008 8:27:18 AM PDT · 56 of 70
    Charge Carrier to SirJohnBarleycorn

    OK. How about Paulson gets his troupe of merry men to work on government salaries to evaluate the value of the securities first, then certify them insured by the Treasury - at a small cost to the security holders? Since apparently, the problem is Wall Street and the banks don’t trust themselves to do the job they already made money doing.

  • DNA-Like Ice 'Seen' Inside Carbon Nanotubes

    12/12/2006 6:09:34 PM PST · 16 of 17
    Charge Carrier to blam

    Yeah, that's cute. Really. Probably not stable worth a damn thing. You can talk on and on about the metastable forms of water, talk with Austen Angell at ASU. That well will never run dry... especially when you put in buckyballs...is there anything we haven't done with them buggers yet? Richard's dream was to make a super-long single fiber...that's the ticket. Not toxic crap and pretty pictures.

  • Hurricane Katrina Live Thread, Part III

    08/27/2005 5:07:32 PM PDT · 1,164 of 1,509
    Charge Carrier to Charge Carrier; NautiNurse; blam
    I'm flying from Houston to Mobile tomorrow afternoon on an Embraer ERJ-145. I wonder if there might be some risk for problems?

    I just talked to Mobile Airport they said no problems flying in tomorrow afternoon.

  • Hurricane Katrina Live Thread, Part III

    08/27/2005 4:59:15 PM PDT · 1,143 of 1,509
    Charge Carrier to NautiNurse

    I'm flying from Houston to Mobile tomorrow afternoon on an Embraer ERJ-145. I wonder if there might be some risk for problems?

  • Los Angeles Approves $500,000 Study on Maglev Train Line

    02/21/2005 9:18:09 AM PST · 28 of 30
    Charge Carrier to UNGN; Willie Green; So Cal Rocket; You Dirty Rats; Rebel_Ace; Smartass; blam

    FYI: The roadshow continues...

    INLAND EMPIRE COUNCIL OF ENGINEERS AND SCIENTISTS

    ENGINEERS WEEK CELEBRATION

    WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2004

    High Speed Maglev Trains for Southern California



    Albert H. Perdon, P. E.
    Albert Perdon and Associates



    Mr. Perdon will describe current plans underway to bring high-speed magnetic levitation (maglev) trains to Southern California and the Inland Empire.

    Mr. Perdon is the Executive Director of the Orangeline Development Authority, a public agency organized to build a privately funded maglev system in Southern California to help address the growing traffic congestion on some of Southern California's worst freeways.

    His presentation will include recent video clips of the world's first commercial maglev system, now running in Shanghai, China.

    Mr. Perdon in President of Albert Perdon & Associates, a professional services firm specializing in managing large transportation development programs.

    He served as Assistant General Manager for the Southern California Rapid Transit District during deployment of the Red Line subway line, was a manager with Jacobs Sverdrup and managed transportation development programs with the City of Los Angeles and the California Department of Transportation.

    Mr. Perdon is a Professional Engineer in California and a graduate of California State University Long Beach.

    6 p.m. social, 7 p.m. dinner, 7:45 p.m. program

    The location is the Redlands University, Casa Loma Room. From west, exit I-10 at University in Redlands. Go left onto University. From east, exit at Cypress and go left two blocks and turn right onto University. From either direction follow University 0.8 mile (north) to Brocton (next stop sign after Colton). Turn right onto Brocton (east) and after one block turn right in either 3rd or 4th driveway to enter parking lot. (Ted Runner Stadium will be on opposite side of Brockton.) The Casa Loma Room is on the east side of the lot.

    Dinner $ 25 Engineers $ 20 Spouses and Guests $ 15 students.

    Reservations by February 15 to Bruce Springer, (626) 812-7605, E-mail: springer@asme.org, 23828 Chinook Place, Diamond Bar, CA 91765. Make checks payable to IECES. State choice of Roast Prime Rib of Beef, Chardonnay Dijon Chicken or Baked Beefsteak Tomato (Vegetarian).

    Information: Art Sutton 909-869-2524, E-mail: awsutton@csupomona.edu







    Mathcounts Chapter Competitions


    San Bernardino-Riverside MATHCOUNTS: Saturday, February 19, 2004, 9 a.m., Hemet,contact Tim Wilson, PE, (909) 824-3199, GTSAssoc@aol.com

    East San Gabriel MATHCOUNTS: Saturday, February 26, 2005, 9 a.m., Cal Poly Pomona, contact Art Sutton PE, (909) 869-2524, awsutton@csupomona.edu

  • HURRICANE IVAN--FREEPER CHECK IN, RECOVERY, AID REQUEST THREAD

    09/17/2004 8:15:59 PM PDT · 131 of 205
    Charge Carrier to commish

    I've heard blam is okay. Power is out. Maybe still evacuated?

  • U.S. FCC Loosens Media Ownership Limits

    06/15/2003 10:00:09 PM PDT · 12 of 13
    Charge Carrier to Dave in Eugene of all places
    >> is any amount of media regulation acceptable?

    "Media regulation" here is simply the right to broadcast, not the content. To speak to the question, well, yes, of course media regulation is acceptable and necessary. This is so as long as the government has enforced its proclaimed right to limit and control what any individual can put into the electromagnetic spectrum that permeates free space, (including that free space that is over my supposedly private property).

    As it is now, I cannot start my own radio station without leasing the right to use the electromagnetic space from the government. For any new entrants, the government's policy (except such regulation that is now being "whittled" away at)is to decide who gets space by auctioning it off to the highest bidder. But in the few large metro markets, one has to buy the right from someone else. Despite what some would claim, there is a real physical limit to the number of channels in any spectrum, thereby limiting the ability to transmit, communicate, etc.

    Actually setting up and running a small radio transmission tower is not that expensive, but getting the right to do so is and will only continue to get more expensive (just as real estate does.) So deciding the who,how, and why someone gets greater rights than others should be of serious public concern. The extreme example to counter the supposition of no regulation is: would we accept that simply because someone has the ability to buy most all the rights to a market (a physical area) that we would then let them do so?

    BTW IMHO - Although the FCC trend is worrisome, it does not seem to seriously impede fundamental ability to obtain broadcast rights to other channels (i.e. for now, there are quite enough channels available at a relatively low price, except in the major metro markets.) The immediate effect in my opinion is to allow an easy way for large media companies to further solidify and expand their holdings in important markets (mainly the lucrative large metros. This I am sure is the true 'motivation' behind the sudden interest by the FCC to deregulate.) The result for consumers will be greater homogenization of choices and more exposure to mass produced marketing campaigns.

    The sad fact is that there are so many more important and interesting technological issues (e.g. WiFi standards) the FCC should be dealing with than this essentially useless 'deregulation.' Sad even more so because it is apparent the only reason they are discussing it is because it is of concern only to those looking for the opportunity to leverage and therby increase the value of their existing large media holdings a bit more. And so it is clear that those who decide what should be of concern to the American government are those willing to dump huge amounts of money into Washington to gain access to those with the power to do so. And so the cycle continues...
  • U.S. Expels Two Members of Iraq's U.N. Mission

    03/05/2003 4:59:50 PM PST · 20 of 34
    Charge Carrier to Dog Gone
    We will probably never know.

    "In mid-February, the United States expelled the U.N. correspondent of the official Iraqi News Agency, Mohammad Hassan Allawi. Last June U.S. officials expelled a first secretary at Iraq's U.N. mission.

    Allawi, 38, had been the INA correspondent at the United Nations for two years. He lived in Manhattan with his wife and five children, aged 8 to 16, who attend New York public schools. The U.N. Correspondents Association protested his expulsion to Secretary of State Colin Powell and asked for an explanation, which it did not receive."
    - from http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=443WYREUXI1P4CRBAEKSFFA?type=topNews&storyID=2333302
  • U.S. Expels Two Members of Iraq's U.N. Mission

    03/05/2003 4:23:20 PM PST · 1 of 34
    Charge Carrier
  • 'Oldest Star Chart' Found (32,500 Years Old)

    01/21/2003 9:16:23 PM PST · 40 of 70
    Charge Carrier to blam
    Planetarium Gold does not do proper motion. Only recently has such data become available anyway - extrapolation by 30,000 years may be a bit pushing it. Nevertheless, given that any figure could be superimposed on the stars (e.g. see "A Beautiful Mind") it seems a bit weak if that was it.

    However, I find it interesting that there are exactly 12 rows of holes. The only signifigance of that number in pre-history I can think of is the number of lunar cycles in a year. So that seems to lean to some sort of annual/lunar calender related bookkeeping. Keeping track of the seasons would seem a lot more useful to hunters then caring about the stars.
  • It's Compliment Weekend at FR!

    06/22/2002 12:47:43 AM PDT · 933 of 1,474
    Charge Carrier to Ernest_at_the_Beach; d4now
    "Many thanks for your continuous efforts to remind us of times past."

    "May I echo your thanks to Blam for the fascinating articles he has posted."

    Thanks to both of you for your participation and thanks especially to Ernest for setting up the Gods, Graves, Glyphs do-dad. This is 'blam' visiting my son 'Charge Carrier' in Glendora (in SoCal) for the next few days. (I don't know how to log on under my own screen name (blam) from here.)

  • Anger At Saudi Bomb Claims

    06/21/2002 11:08:34 PM PDT · 4 of 8
    Charge Carrier to spyone
    "10 years from now, there won't be a saudi state as we know it. Who knows what the replacement will be. Hope it is not bad for us.

    How could they be any worse than our Saudi friends now?

  • Arafat Approves Taba Plan Too Late

    06/21/2002 10:55:48 PM PDT · 1 of 4
    Charge Carrier
    Posted by 'blam' visiting 'Charge Carrier.'
  • Anger At Saudi Bomb Claims

    06/21/2002 10:39:48 PM PDT · 1 of 8
    Charge Carrier
    Posting is by 'blam' visiting 'Charge Carrier'
  • 6 Arizona Rim towns empty; arson is suspected

    06/21/2002 10:14:30 PM PDT · 33 of 39
    Charge Carrier to Geezerette
    "Hey! Where are your four dogs? "

    My four doggies are at home probably crying their eyes out. I have never left them for more than four days.(once) I will be here for about ten days. I cooked up 60lbs of meat for them to eat while I was gone. (my friend will feed them)

  • 6 Arizona Rim towns empty; arson is suspected

    06/21/2002 3:42:57 PM PDT · 22 of 39
    Charge Carrier to Geezerette
    Hey Geezerette, this is 'blam' visiting my son (charge carrier) in LA. I saw your fire as I was flying over on the plane into LA. You all be careful over there.
  • Report Names 'Sweatiest' U.S. City

    06/21/2002 3:24:01 PM PDT · 51 of 61
    Charge Carrier to PhiKapMom
    "I will guarantee anyone that when you step out of a car in San Antonio at 100 degrees it is hot, but nothing compared to Houston and New Orleans."

    ....and Mobile. Last week it was 97 degrees and 98 % humidity on a clear day.