Peter and Elvis

Peter Ash, a sixteen year old inventor, hooked up his hamster wheel to a generator and charges his cell phone during hamster runs. Peter figures that for every two minutes the hamster runs he get 30 minutes of talk time.

Dust Devils

Erie Martian dust devils clearly seen in this NASA animated GIF.

Einstein’s 1925 Notes

Manuscripts in Einstein's hand writting. Cool stuff especially if you read German and understand quantum mechanics.

Lemon vs. Apple and I Love My Dell

T. A. Abinandanan, Bangalore, India writes:

Jeff Jarvis recently had trouble with his Dell PC, and wanted to get it fixed; when he ran into a different set of troubles, he started blogging about them. Result? A PR disaster, that was serious enough to warrant this BusinessWeek story.

In one of his posts, Jarvis called his Dell PC 'a lemon', to which someone responded with, "Dude, get an apple"!

Thanks Abi.

PS. By the way I love my Dell!

Fun in the Sun Education

If I had it to do over, knowing what I know now, I would naturally attend university at NUSD. You see, I love to surf, I mean I am an addict. If I could be in the waves all day I would be (My wife and the Dean would have me shot but that is another story). Anyway, the beauty of NU is that classes are at night freeing up days for various outdoor activities like surfing, tennis, golf, cycling, or whatever the imagination can conjure up. Getting an education is a wonderful experience that cannot be taken away and should be pursued with vigor. An education process should also take full advantage of the classroom and since most classrooms are in buildings, with lights, computers, labs, and instructors, it is obvious to me that the night is the proper venue for such activities. NU provides that venue. NU is also different in that it offers one class per month. That is the focus…one class. You can get an undergrad in three years and a masters in under two. Think about it….free days, in sunny San Diego, the beach, the bikini’s, the palm trees, a slice of heaven. Oh, for the 10 or so ugly days of winter that we unfortunately have to deal with, well, snow skiing is about two hours drive so you’re covered. The more you think about it the more you’ll realize what genius it is for NU to offer night time classes. While everyone else is working indoors during the day I would be enjoying the outdoors without the crowds. By the way if you happen not to like San Diego for some reason NU has locations in several other cities….also Hawaii. It’s perfect.

How I Cope With ‘Tech Overload.’

I mimic my kids. At first it drove me nuts but the more I practiced the more comfortable I became with ‘overload.’ It starts with the mindset that there is no such thing as overload just reconfiguring. The modern teen is a natural born multitasker who can simultaneously view a computer screen with 14 IMs plus class work, listen to music in one ear, a lecture in the other, and trouser text without ever missing a beat. They are plugged in 24/7. I use the system to my advantage because I know more than ever about what they are doing, where they are, where they have been. In short we stay connected and communicating better than ever. Although I cannot trouser text, nor have any aspirations to do so, I will do what it takes to be tech savvy including suffering through the occasional embarrassment of the kids out witting me. Note: Wake up elementary school principles; you have an army of 6 year olds coming your way who don’t even understand the word ‘overload.’

Small Modification Results in Big Change

Did you know that during the month of April 2000, after a new baseball was introduced into the majors, 931 home runs were hit? Pitchers blamed the new ball claiming it was “juiced,” but according to the ball manufacturer it met all of the requirements. In fact, each ball is made by hand and subjected to 17 different tests. The ones that pass muster go to the majors while the others are sold retail. The manufacturer produced the tests which showed that all the balls met the specs. There was one change however, it turns out that the stitching height was lowered making it harder for pitchers to grip the ball. Although the ball met specs this inadvertently affected the pitchers ability to control the pitch allowing the batter an easy hit. It is interesting how a small engineering change can have dramatic results.

Mag Cover Via Flickr

Innovate or Stagnate

I hear people complaining a lot about jobs going overseas and why the company’s that are doing more business overseas don’t realize where the market is. The complainers’ presumption is that the only markets exist here in the US. That’s pretty arrogant considering the reality of the global marketplace.

Sorry, but I think they do realize who the tech savvy people are that buy their products; 100’s of millions of newly networked people in India and China. Unless we remain the most tech savvy country, by applying ourselves individually to an on-going reeducation program, we will end up picking up the crumbs. The beauty of it is that we can. But will we? We cannot expect to stay on top by grumbling about jobs going overseas. We can stay on top by getting back to the basics of math, science, engineering and applying them to innovation.

Kennedy proposed putting a man on the moon. The result was the technology behind the computer today. We need to embrace a new vision; one that will catapult us into the next series of technical breakthroughs. A natural proposal is developing new energy sources and the ramifications will be astounding as that goal is reached.

The DOE had better get out of the way and let the people who know how pave the way for future energy solutions. Some exist right now if we will take advantage of them.

Interestingly, at the time of this post the DOE site cannot be reached.

Urgent National Needs

During President John F. Kennedy’s famous speech to Congress on “Urgent National Needs,” he echoed a sentiment we should heed today and I mean right now.

I am therefore transmitting to the Congress a new Manpower Development and Training program, to train or retrain several hundred thousand workers, particularly in those areas where we have seen chronic unemployment as a result of technological factors in new occupational skills over a four-year period, in order to replace those skills made obsolete by automation and industrial change with the new skills which the new processes demand.

I will further add to replace those skills changed by a networked world where millions of highly skilled technical minds in India and China are altering the world wide landscape. Bill Gates adds, “The Chinese have risk taking down, hard work down, education, and when you meet with Chinese politicians, they are all scientists and engineers. You can have a numeric discussion with them – you are never discussing ‘give me a one-liner to embarrass [rival politicians] with.’ You are meeting with an intelligent bureaucracy.”

Our current bureaucracy had better take up Kennedy’s message, voice it, fund it and get this country moving toward solid educational achievements in math, science, engineering, technology and innovation because these skills are the foundation of our economic and political stability.

Homeland Security and Safety Engineering – Concept, Curriculum and Challenges

Shekar Viswanathan, National University, 11255 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037 and Howard Evans, SOET, National University, 11255 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037

Events from 9/11 have highlighted the need for highly-educated technical professionals in the areas of security and safety. There has been a positive but limited response in terms of academic programs focused on ensuring the security and safety of people and physical assets. The security problem in the U.S. is a daunting task primarily because we have a large influx of people and products into the country, and even the latest technologies detect risks in most but not all situations. Receiving far less publicity are the even greater number of unintended threats that can arise from natural disasters, human error, equipment malfunctions and accidents incident to the manufacture, transportation, use and disposal of potentially hazardous materials. It is with this more comprehensive view in mind that an master's level academic program concentrating on Homeland Security and Safety Engineering has been developed. Since Chemical Engineers have a broad academic background in areas related to Homeland Security and Safety, it is felt appropriate to develop this program under the guidance of Chemical Engineers.

The primary challenge of this program is to incorporate an array of courses in engineering and technology that are complementary, comprehensive, and relevant. A combination of experienced professionals from academics, public service, and private industries were brought together to develop a curriculum that identifies the common fundamentals and practices defining both the theory and effective practice of asset and people protection. Similar input was involved in making the determination to develop ‘online' as well as ‘in classroom' formats. This paper highlights the foundational concepts of this program, describes the involvement of multiple constituencies in its formulation, summarizes the curriculum developed, and provides an overview of challenges facing academicians in this field, including as a function of delivery method.

Mickelson's Dimpled Spheroids

The art of chasing dimpled spheroids around the green grass and eventually getting them into a small hole has made Phil Mickelson a wealthy champion. Phil is a local boy who went on to raise majors in successive years in a decade; a feat only Tiger Woods and with his recent victory Mickelson share. Yet behind the glory of winning a major and the accompanying hefty paycheck is an army of engineers who brilliantly design golf balls, clubs, and courses. If you ever stop to think about what goes into a golf ball you will discover a million-dollar industry that sells over 850 million balls selectively designed for women, men, 0-10 handicappers, 11-20 handicappers, and more annually. The balls can be injection molded, with different core densities, various hardness/softness, designed for professionals and amateurs alike, all aimed at improved distance, control, and feel. The outer material must have a combination of properties that offer superior cut resistance, be highly resilient and soft at the same time. Each ball must be a minimum size of 1.680 inches in diameter; have a maximum weight of 1.62 ounces; reach a maximum distance (when hit with Iron Byron) of 296.8 yards; and stay within a maximum initial velocity of 255 feet per second. An engineer seeking to design a perfect golf ball must understand fluid dynamics which deals with how air passes over the ball and aerodynamics. A boundary layer forms around the ball, producing drag as it travels through the air. Between 350 and 500 dimples or small pits are designed into each ball to create turbulence, which increases kinetic energy and decreases drag, so the ball will travel further. The science of dimples is amazing, giving the ball lift at slower speeds and reducing drag at higher speeds. If a ball has dimples that are too deep the ball will travel a long way but wont allow the golfer any control using spin. Dimples too shallow make the ball fly high killing distance. Dimples can effect putting in a big way shedding a new light on the saying, “Drive for show, putt for dough.” Go Phil!! La Jolla loves ya!

Engineered Lanes

Did you know that the true art of bowling is to hit a one-inch-wide pocket that is sixty feet away? Did you know that engineers have figured out how to increase the size of that pocket 2-4 times by designing a ball that has a built in hook to it? Engineers use various software programs to design the core and shell of the ball to significantly increase performance. The task of a bowling ball engineer is to alter the shape and density of the core so that it spins on its axis at just the right time along the lane so that when it naturally hooks it is aimed directly at the sweet spot of the kingpin. This is not a simple engineering task because every lane is different; they have different surfaces, oils, and temperature, humidity, and air flows, making each shot unique. In fact, when a ball is released the friction caused by the ball skidding over the oil surface creates so much heat that it reaches 1400 degrees Fahrenheit, making microscopic trails in the oil, which of course alter future shots. As the ball is released it skids down the lane, spinning rapidly on its axis, floating on the oil surface until it approaches the pins. Just before the pins the lane is "oil free" allowing the ball surface to "bite," transferring the spin into a directional change right into the sweet spot. On the surface bowling is simple but dig a little deeper and it takes an engineer to make more strikes.

World Question Center

Here is a question for you!

"WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE IS TRUE EVEN THOUGH YOU CANNOT PROVE IT?"

What is your answer?

See how this question is answered by 120 contributors. Fascinating reading that will keep you spellbound for hours. Makes you want to know what the next question is?

My favorite contributor is Benoit B. Mandelbrot.

Who is yours?

Strider HoneyMonkey Project

What caught my eye was the term, “lead generator” for security and legal enforcement at Microsoft and as I read further, learning about the Strider HoneyMonkey project, I thought why not utilize the spare computational power of hundreds of computers around the world, creating a powerful network of machines working together on the problem instead of the 12 – 25 machines currently being used? If millions of legit surfers authorized Microsoft to search for malicious exploits using spare cycle time or directly while surfing it seems to me that the problem would be eliminated very quickly. What do you think?

Seventeen or Bust

The Sierpinski Triangle is fascinating and referenced here often. When I found this site I thought I would reference it.

What Is It?

SB (Seventeen or Bust) is a distributed attack on the Sierpinski problem. Our system utilizes the spare computational power of hundreds of computers around the world, creating a powerful network of machines working together on the problem. Anyone can participate: we provide a piece of software that installs on your computer and uses its "spare time" to help our project. You won't even notice it's running, since it only uses your processor if it would otherwise be sitting unused.

The Sierpinski problem itself deals with numbers of the form N = k * 2^n + 1, for any odd k and n > 1. Numbers of this form are called Proth numbers. If, for some specific value of k, every possible choice of n results in a composite (non-prime) Proth number N, then that k is called a Sierpinski number. The Sierpinski problem itself is: "What is the smallest Sierpinski number?" (For a more rigorous mathematical discussion of the problem, see prothsearch.net's Sierpinski Problem page.)

John Selfridge proved, 40 years ago, that k = 78,557 is a Sierpinski number. Most number theorists believe that this is the smallest, but it hasn't yet been proven. In order to prove it, we have to show that every single k less than 78,557 is not a Sierpinski number, and to do that, we have to find some n that makes k * 2^n + 1 prime. When Seventeen or Bust was started, this had already been done for all but 17 values of k; hence the name of the project. After 20 months of computation, we have eliminated 7 multipliers: seven down, ten to go.

So who wants to help out?

Painlessly Programmed in India

While reading, “Fractal Market Analysis,” a book applying chaos theory to investments by Edgar E. Peters, I came across the Sierpinski triangle, a fractal that generates the same pattern no matter where you start and no matter the randomness of the dice. It occurred to me that the fractal is a good lesson for life in that no matter where you start, no matter what experience you have gained, and no matter what random happenings occurred, a degree from an accredited university will most likely make your life easier over the long run. I thought an ad running in the background while a person experimented with the fractal would be a neat way to spread the word about NU and SOET (School of Engineering and Technology). The problem I faced was getting it programmed and it turned out to be a more daunting task than I imagined. That is until Dr. Shekar Viswanathan, the new Chair for the Department of Applied Engineering, introduced me to a company in India. A detailed email describing what I wanted and a couple of follow up email changes and the application was emailed to me, including all code and install instructions. I must say I was amazed with the quality as well as the cost. In fact, without the India programmers this application would not have been cost effective and therefore it would not have gotten done. Yesterday, I saw my copy of InformationWeek with a cover story entitled; Made in India. You know about offshore outsourcing. Here’s what comes next – business applications developed in Hyderabad, Mumbai, and beyond. These guys made the process so painless that you should check it out for yourself. Here is the link. Have fun. Oh, and get a degree on-line from SOET. http://tomcat.gdickinson.com/fractals
(PS Must have JAVA plug-in. download here)

Common Cure for ACLU effects.

Common Cure for ACLU effects. (Note: If reading the entire book is to daunting then at least read pages 370-400.)

A Haircut by the ACLU.

Yesterday, while I was getting my haircut by Jean-Philippe, owner of Jean-Philippe Salon, he said something very interesting to me. He made the observation that the US, traditionally viewed as the leading advocate of world wide capitalism, is becoming more socialistic while countries like India and China are truly embracing capitalism. From where he sits as the owner of an upscale salon he believes that the US economy seems to be declining while the Indian and Chinese economies are exploding. He is concerned because his business cannot be outsourced. What compounded the problem further for me was a comment made, also yesterday, by a university professor of economics to a colleague of mine that, “Economics is the study of the eradication of poverty.” Think about that for a minute. If this mentality is what is being injected into the fertile minds of our youth then no wonder the French owner of a US based salon is concerned about his future here. The US has been hoodwinked into believing its most valued asset, the engineer, the person who thinks and solves problems, the individual who converts ideas into profit, the person who produces, is evil and should be punished; or in other words, taxed and regulated into oblivion. While the ACLU is ranting about the racial profiling of truly dangerous groups they are oblivious to the peril of the most hated minority in the world….the rich. What does the ACLU do to protect the rich? What will the ACLU and groups like it do when there is nothing left to steal here? What is the underlying message we are sending to the rest of the world? If you want to continue living this incredibly wondrous lifestyle we experience here in the US then I suggest you get out of the way and let the folks who produce…..produce.

Bell's Photophone

During the nineteen nineties I invested in a couple of fiber optic technology company’s where I found out the amazing story of Alexander Graham Bell and his optical phone. Yes, you read that correctly, a light phone. It seems that Bell recognized the efficient way light could be used to transmit voice signals and preferred it to electricity. In 1873, (some dispute surrounding date but several of the scientists I worked with swore by this date) Bell mechanically attached a microphone to one mirror and a speaker to a second mirror that contained a photodiode. Using the mirrors for alignment purposes and using the sun as a light source, he created a free space optical link. When he spoke into the microphone it literately vibrated the first mirror which in turn vibrated the beam of light from the sun and was detected at the second mirror over a quarter of a mile away transmitting his voice over a light wave. He had invented the “photo phone.” It was not very useful at the time because he lacked a stable light source, the lasers we use today, and he lacked a wave guide or the fiber optic cable also in use today. I think it is remarkable that Bell performed this experiment prior to inventing the telephone.

Weirdness note: I posted this story today simply because I have not posted anything for a few days and this is an easy story for me but as it turns out, August 2 is the anniversary of Bell’s death in 1922. I did not know this until looking up Bell in Wikipedia for a link.