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Tesla Special on PBS
Halvy writes "Nicola Tesla was one of those men involved with experiments with electricity and radio waves that the goverment 'feared' so much that they still keep much of his work and ideas from the public.
PBS is to broadcast a show on him this April. Goto
pbs.org/tesla/ for local times and listing. It should be interesting to see what kind of tid-bits PBS came up with, considering that there is so little available about him, which just adds to his cult-like admiration in the scientific and tech fields."
On a serious note, year ago I read Margaret Cheney's book about Nikola Tesla and it was an interesting read. The man was talented, but he sure was a kook. I'll have my TiVo record this program for sure.
...and it was informative, to say the least. For instance, Tesla had the first patent for Radio, not Marconi. I was stunned by this information. Sadly, Tesla didn't receive as much compensation as he should have for the radio patent or his AC (alternating current) related patents, all of which were worth *trillions* of dollars. Interestingly, Tesla became *really* driven after Edison screwed him. Edison promised Tesla $50K if he solved a particular problem. Tesla managed to solve the problem, and then Edison refused to pay up. I highly recommend watching the show - it's a great history lesson regarding the technology we all are using to view /. right now (electricity and it's economical transmission/use).
I want to know more about his "Death Ray", communication with other planets, and splitting the earth like an apple: http://www.neuronet.pitt.edu/~bogdan/tesla/bio.htm
Some of us have four and five digit UID accounts we've thrown away. Some of us hang out in AC mode for extended 'vacations' away from having a 'slashdot personality.' Sometimes it's because we end up gathering a pack of pesky kids who follow behind our comments slandering us and/or trashing anything we say. Or because we finally got a clue and aren't f-king Linux fanboys anymore, and are embarassed about our posting histories. There are a lot of possible reasons to trash a slashdot nick and move on. (I am not confessing to the above, just posting some example reasons).
I remember, back in the 80's, that there was a particular Apple II BBS package that blatantly posted the users 'rank' at the head of any comment he/she typed. I remember what a fucking pit of self promotion and ego-tripping that BBS was in contrast to other BBSes.
Really, Malda, you should do away with 'display User ID on every comment.' It served it's purpose; back when it was instituted it was because a handful of people were masquerading as Bruce Perens. It's now just something that certain types use to be snittish about their 'low number.' Fuck that. Get rid of it, Rob.
Mae Ling Mak. If you don't remember her naked and petrified you haven't been around long. If your earliest memory is the Natalie Portman crapfloods, you're a newbie. For whatever that means. Who really cares?
So are you suggesting a Wile E. Coyote universe where gravity doesn't kick in until after you realize you've stepped off the cliff? Is your computer going to suddenly stop working when some other laws of physics are discovered?
The point the parent was making is that these zero-point and free energy people base their arguments on violation of some very fundamental tenents of physics. For them to be correct means that a whole lot of things we observe shouldn't be happening. This isn't like relativistic corrections to Newtonian physics that you have to look very carefully to observe, we're talking about "Human sacrifice, dogs and cats, living together... mass hysteria!" type of effects.
And, as it has been pointed out, these people pushing these zero point energy devices are con men suckering people out of millions of dollars. If you don't believe me then feel free to purchase a "dealership" from Dennis Lee or invest in Randy Mills "hydrinos." If they're right, you'll end up very wealthy, but the smart money says you'll get a better return on your investment by flushing it down the crapper.