Fumesucker
Fumesucker's JournalIf Julian Assange volunteers for the one way Mars colony trip...
Should he be allowed to ride a bicycle when he gets there?
Or would that be too dangerous?
Ground control to Major Tom
&feature=player_embeddedNew electric motor technology promises optimum efficiency and power over wide speed range
http://axiflux.com/The development of the AMFA began with the recognition that the electrical machine is the cornerstone of modern life and the facilitator of nearly everything in 21st century society. From generating electrical energy at our power stations to starting our cars in the morning, the humble electric motor/generator has changed relatively little over the past 100 years. The electrical machine generates over 90% of the worlds electricity and uses over 45% of it.
Traditional electric motors are efficient at particular speeds
and power requirements. As the speed or power is varied, the efficiency of the electric motor drops. To ensure that the device keeps operating at high efficiency, most are either run at particular speeds even when less will suffice (wasting energy), or are coupled to heavy and expensive gear boxes to help run the device at its peak efficiency. 90% of installed industrial motors run continuously at full speed and use mechanical systems to regulate (retard) output.
The key difference between the Axiflux® machine and its traditional counterpart is that the AMFAs multiple coils can be controlled independently and intelligently by computer software that is able to use real-time optimization, artificial intelligence and neural network processing in order to respond to operating conditions. Depending on the operational requirements, a motor may be optimized for efficiency or power, at any time and for any speed. This compares to the traditional electric motor where the efficiency optimization was performed by engineers for a particular speed and built into the control system at the time of manufacture.
Considerably more information at the link.
Hyperbole and a Half: Adventures in Depression
A remarkably perceptive piece about depression, well worth reading the whole thing.
http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2011/10/adventures-in-depression.html
It's disappointing to feel sad for no reason. Sadness can be almost pleasantly indulgent when you have a way to justify it - you can listen to sad music and imagine yourself as the protagonist in a dramatic movie. You can gaze out the window while you're crying and think "This is so sad. I can't even believe how sad this whole situation is. I bet even a reenactment of my sadness could bring an entire theater audience to tears."
But my sadness didn't have a purpose. Listening to sad music and imagining that my life was a movie just made me feel kind of weird because I couldn't really get behind the idea of a movie where the character is sad for no reason.
Essentially, I was being robbed of my right to feel self pity, which is the only redeeming part of sadness.
Hyperbole and a Half: Adventures in Depression
A remarkably perceptive piece about depression, well worth reading the whole thing.
http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2011/10/adventures-in-depression.html
It's disappointing to feel sad for no reason. Sadness can be almost pleasantly indulgent when you have a way to justify it - you can listen to sad music and imagine yourself as the protagonist in a dramatic movie. You can gaze out the window while you're crying and think "This is so sad. I can't even believe how sad this whole situation is. I bet even a reenactment of my sadness could bring an entire theater audience to tears."
But my sadness didn't have a purpose. Listening to sad music and imagining that my life was a movie just made me feel kind of weird because I couldn't really get behind the idea of a movie where the character is sad for no reason.
Essentially, I was being robbed of my right to feel self pity, which is the only redeeming part of sadness.
"If Leni Riefenstahl were alive today, she’d spit on the floor as she walked out of these movies"
http://www.balloon-juice.com/2013/05/07/who-is-john-galts-mother-and-is-this-her-ugly-bracelet/
The fools who paid for the Atlas Shrugged movie are making jewelry, just in time for Mothers Day. (via). This grotesque artifact is made of anodized aluminum, the stuff dreams are made of, if you dream on the cheap, though its called Rearden Metal, which I thought was only reserved for cock rings in the Randian world.
Ive just seen clips of the Shrugfest films, but they all look like they were produced by Stalins favorite pornographer. This bracelet in particular looks like something Trotsky would have sent home to his babushka to memorialize the sacrifice of the noble workers in the Siberian bauxite mines.
Id call the Hollywood Galtians aesthetic fascist, but that would be an insult to Hitler and Mussolini, who actually had a bit of flair and style. If Leni Riefenstahl were alive today, shed spit on the floor as she walked out of these movies.
Great Moments In Corporate Citizenship
http://southernbeale.wordpress.com/2013/05/04/great-moments-in-corporate-citizenship/The West, Texas fertilizer plant carried only $1 million in liability insurance, reports AP:
Tyler lawyer Randy C. Roberts said he and other attorneys who have filed lawsuits against West Fertilizers owners were told Thursday that the plant carried only $1 million in liability insurance. Brook Laskey, an attorney hired by the plants insurer to represent West Fertilizer Co., confirmed the amount Saturday in an email to The Associated Press, after the Dallas Morning News first reported it.
The bottom line is, this lack of insurance coverage is just consistent with the overall lack of responsibility weve seen from the fertilizer plant, starting from the fact that from day one they have yet to acknowledge responsibility, Roberts said.
Roberts said he expects the plants owner to ask a judge to divide the $1 million in insurance money among the plaintiffs, several of whom he represents, and then file for bankruptcy.
He said he wasnt surprised that the plant was carrying such a small policy.
Its rare for Texas to require insurance for any kind of hazardous activity, he said. We have very little oversight of hazardous activities and even less regulation.
A $1 million policy is not gonna do squat for West, Texas or the 14 families who lost a loved one, or those 200 injured people. But I guess the glorious free hand of the market will be there for them, right? That and federal disaster aid, of course!
By the way, maybe in addition to all of the prayers and moments of silence, the Texas House and Senate might want to pass a few regulations to help ensure something like this doesnt happen again. After all, taxpayers all around the country are going to be footing the bill for the negligence of a Texas business and the failure of Texas legislators to adequately regulate their dangerous industries. So yes, Gov. Rick Perry, as long as we all have to pay for it, you can take your states rights and shove it, you arrogant phony cowboy.
And since were talking about this, Texas is starting to look an awful lot Bangladesh and China. Except in those places, the evil business owners are arrested.
No one hates Republicans like a reformed wingnut: Another patented John Cole rant
Note to the DU powers that be, I have long standing permission from Mr Cole to post anything and everything from his blog to anywhere I wish.
"Kthug" means Krugman, BTW, C+ Augustus is Dubya and the Fonzi of Freedom is Nick Gillespie.
http://www.balloon-juice.com/2013/05/02/open-thread-1619/
Hey- Clive Crook- how has austerity hurt you? Wait? What? Your Roth and 401 and other investments are doing fine because the market is through the roof? While workers wages are crashing and the rest of the population is now basically reduced to slave labor? And while your dickhead Republican friends are looking at those people making minimum wage or less, and deciding the real place for budget cuts is to food stamps and welfare while we talk about fucking medicare patients, slash medicaid, and now the scumbags who put us in this mess are gunning for Pete Petersons social security slashing. Remember when we had a social security surplus, and C+ Augustus gave it away to the Koch brothers and Richie Rich while expanding a give out to pharm companies, excuse me, I mean expanding Medicare but not allowing for competitive bids.
Nothing is going to change until Clive Crook and his asshole friends are gutted in the streets like something you see in the movies. Fuck them. Fuck them all. In case I was not clear- FUCK THEM ALL.
I fucking hate them all. I eagerly await turning 60 and watching all my investments get gutted in the ineviable market crash and I am forced to live on what I can grow, because, you know, the market just tanked and hoocoodanode and hey- you should have had more money and a more diversified portfolio that was immune to Republican perfidy and malfeasance!
I honestly think we are not too far from food riots and the blood of douchebags running in the street. The only solace is that I know how to grow food and that Matt Welch and the Fonzi of Freedom will be the first fucking scumbags to have their heads put on pikes.
*** Update ***
Ive been paying into SS and Medicare since I was 16 and had my first job on the books. That means I have 26 years of payments into these programs. But for some reason, I dont deserve the benefits of them, but my parents, who started paying into it much later in their lives, get the full benefits? The only reason is because rich pricks want more tax cuts. Its insane.
I have a friend who's kind of hard to characterize politically, I'm starting to get through to him
The guy follows several financial type news websites quite closely, definitely not a teabagger, loathes the cable news including Fox and socially pretty liberal (at least for this area), doesn't care about gay marriage one way or the other, vehemently pro choice on abortion and so on but he thinks the government is spending too much money and he's also a bit of a gold bug and prepper/survivalist but not full blown nutso over it.
A while back I caught him in front of his computer and he was on a mild rant about George Soros "interfering" with politics, I said something about the Koch Bros and he gave me a blank look, never heard of them. So I gave him the Cliff's Notes version on the Bros Koch and he started reading up on them and realizes how much they are screwing with politics. He read up on them and now loathes them as much as I do.
A few days ago I was talking to him and he started the "government is spending too much" nonsense again so I mentioned that he was sounding like Pete Peterson.. Long pause, "Who's that?" was the almost inevitable reply. Hauled out the Cliff's Notes version on good old Pete and gave him a couple of chapters worth.
Today I saw him again and it was evident he's done a little reading on Pete Peterson and did not like what he had found at all.
We've talked over the years about politics and finance and world events but today was different, I got more respect for my opinions than he has given me in the past. My friend thought he was well informed about this stuff but I have now dropped two major bombshells on him about which he didn't have a clue and he's starting to take my opinions much more seriously.
If it weren't for DU I probably wouldn't know about the Bros Koch or Mr Peterson so I just want to let all of you wonderful posters who keep me informed about this stuff know that it's working on at least one person who would definitely be considered a swing voter.
Thoroughly ticked off a couple of rednecks in a pickup a little while ago
In addition to my shopping trips I ride my bike about 15 miles a day on the average for conditioning and fun. I was out this afternoon riding down the access road to the local interstate because it's one of the flatter, straighter roads around here and doesn't have a tremendous amount of traffic. I heard a vehicle coming from behind me and glanced at my mirror, saw they weren't moving over very far and they were slowing down considerably, there wasn't any traffic coming from in front of us so there was no reason for them to stay close to me when they passed, it came as no surprise at all that the passenger shouted and banged the side of the truck through the open window trying to scare me.
Rather than getting mad and giving them the finger/shouting I blew them a kiss, smiled and waved, I knew they would be watching me in the mirrors. The truck slowed and stopped right in the middle of the lane (still no other traffic) about a hundred yards up and the doors started to open, I just kept on coming like nothing was happening. I got about fifty feet away still not slowing down and the doors slammed shut and the truck squealed out of there.
I had to pull over and park for a minute, I was laughing so hard I was afraid I was gonna crash.. Made my whole day.
This kind of thing happens to me a couple or three times a year, most people are really considerate and give me lots of room but there is the occasional jerkoff.
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Member since: Sat Mar 29, 2008, 10:11 PMNumber of posts: 45,851