I blogged about Eestor recently. That’s not an anomalous energy patent, but an electrical capacitance alternative to the internal combustion engine. Will it work commercially and socially ? The point is that there may be reasons for engineering scepticism, but the basic physics is not (yet) in doubt. Brian Josephson has been a regular champion [...]
Entries from October 2006
Anomalous Energy
5
October 29, 2006 at 4:16pm
by Ian
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Paradoxical Fun ?
2
October 29, 2006 at 3:35pm
by Ian
Here in northern Alabama, there are a dozen churches of every christian denomination per square mile as far as the eye can see. The locals also seem to “celebrate” Halloween as a major social and commercial event. We’ve been unable to move for pumpkins, fall-wreaths, packets of “treats” and the smell of cinnamon in the [...]
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Who’s Dumb ?
0
October 29, 2006 at 3:03pm
by Ian
Sitting here I’m watching an angler on this bright crisp morning dry-fly fishing by the footbridge across the pond outside our window. He’s also ground-baiting, throwing handfulls of breadscraps onto the water in the general area. The kids feed the fish off that same bridge most days – tilapia, sun-fish, catfish, whatever. The Kingfisher and [...]
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The Examined Life (Again)
1
October 29, 2006 at 2:43pm
by Ian
I seem to be spending my blogging life catching up from large gaps these days. Either “pressure of work” business reasons or intense distracting correspondences in “another place”. So again this is a quick round up. Reading : Finished Dostoevsky’s Karamazovs. Overall it’s a whodunnit (and why) exploration of psychology and motivations, real and rationalised, life and [...]
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Falling in Triplicate
1
October 12, 2006 at 4:29am
by Ian
I was about to write up this “spooky” synchronicity when there were just the two items linked by coincidence, but now we are three. Someone (who shall remain nameless) used the phrase “falling from (my) grace” in an e-mail to me today and, when I hit the CD button in the car on the way [...]
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Lack of Imagination
0
October 12, 2006 at 3:03am
by Ian
Sorry, but these two links are BBC news stories too …Â Actually that’s not quite true, this one is a link from a link from a BBC story, but I was intrigued by “The Jamestown Foundation“. Clearly a “fear-based” reds-under-the-bed, al-qaeda-behind-the-sofa, vigilante basis, but coupled with what looks like a non-partisan “neutral” reporting line, with [...]
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Social networking in overdrive.
0
October 12, 2006 at 2:50am
by Ian
I’m a few days late with the Google / YouTube story, but if you’re being fair I’ve made it pretty clear I’m a fan of both already. What I like about this BBC news story, is this line … It’s social networking in overdrive.  … the other key dimension to this true semantic web quest. The [...]
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House Dynamics
0
October 8, 2006 at 11:38pm
by Ian
Been having the usual “300 channels but nothing on” moan about US TV, even premium cable, recently … find yourself watching a couple of sitcoms, a few of the usual police / detective / hospital soap dramas, and re-runs of old BBC dramas if you’re not careful, before heading screaming for YouTube and the blogosphere. [...]
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Prescott Back’s Right to Wear Veil !
2
October 8, 2006 at 6:29pm
by Ian
I despair at the political / rhetorical posturing around such important issues, but couldn’t resist a chuckle at the thought of John Prescott donning the veil. Jack Straw had started an interesting debate. Chicken and egg though, is it the serious politicians or the serious press that demand these polarised simplifications ?
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Ongoing reading & blogging …
3
October 8, 2006 at 5:14pm
by Ian
Blogging still a bit sporadic since the move to the US, something to do with the new domestic habits as much as anything else. Reading habits are mainly bedtime or when sitting in the countryside during a weekend picnic or evening sunset, though it’s starting to get too cold for the latter. After concluding Rand, [...]
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Averroes (Ibn Rushd)
3
October 7, 2006 at 3:48pm
by Ian
Latest BBC “In Our Time” is an excellent discussion on Muslim philosopher generally know as Averroes. Worth listening to in it’s entirety. (Ibn Rushd on Wikipedia) Points of interest for me … The etymology …. (I have a thing about spotting B’s and V’s) …. but it’s so clear here. The patronymic family naming prefix [...]
Culture of Fear – Who Benefits ?
2
October 3, 2006 at 2:47am
by Ian
Two great links from Sam. One on disproportionate condemnation of Israel in the “mid-east-problem” context, the other on neo-con politics via Chris Locke. Â Both feature extended video links of BBC documentaries.
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EEStor
1
October 1, 2006 at 7:46am
by Ian
HQ: Cedar Park, Texas CEO: Richard Weir (ex IBM) CTO: Carl Nelson Founded: 2001 Product: Patented Barium Titanate Super Capacitor “400HP Rapid Charge Battery” VC Backers: Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers Feel Good Cars Ian Clifford Toronto
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Anthropogenic Warming ?
2
October 1, 2006 at 7:12am
by Ian
I suggested in a recent Friends of Wisdom thread, that I didn’t really “care” whether global warming was caused by human activity, nor even whether it was “real”. The answer to neither question changes my belief that we should be concerned enough to work out what to do in response to the facts. That is, we [...]
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Biased Cognisance ?
5
October 1, 2006 at 6:43am
by Ian
Great link from Jorn to a Wikipedia page on Cognitive Biases. Doesn’t include the “halo effect”, but plenty of variations on that and a lot more besides. Naturally I think it’s a good page, but I’m not biased, no honestly …
