Useful Thoughts and Actions Taken

Making AeroGel

aerogel

TEOS – Tetra Ethyl Ortho Silicate   is the main ingredient

Tetraethyl_orthosilicate_3D

TEOS Recipe for usage

TEOS Venders

Costs

  • SilBond – Yet to find out what TEOS costs. I have a phone call in to SilBond

Interview with George Haig on Silbond products from technical perspective  – For purposes of making refractory and ceramic shapes Silbond 40  ( 40% SiO2 )  was recommended.   Summary of method is as follows:

  • mix SilBond  with the organic amine
  • mix SilBond / Amine with refractory ( sand & ?  … ) ( usually use more than just sand: Zircon flowers, alumina etc ) ( quoted: used for casting jet engine housings and glass handling tools )
  • add water to facilitate
  • pack or vibrate the wet casting – given water and amine you have a given amount of time to get the job done
  • Silbond 40 – Cost =   2.22 / lbs- minimum quanties for 1 drum.  Minimum 150$ min order.  ( Lisa Rally – costing information )
     

Technical contact

  • Silbond – George Haig

…..more

By Fudgy McFarlen, ago

Pressure Cooker Repair – Mirro Matic Jiggler

I bought a pressure cooker on ebay.  It is a Presto Model A603A.

Note the sharp point on the vent tube that the Mirror Matic jiggler sits on.  The vent tube that came with my pressure cooker as blunt.  Beans did not cook after 1.5 hours.  They should have cooked in 40 minutes maximum.

The best way to fix the situation was to order replacement parts of the newer design style.  I bought the parts here:

  • cookingandcanning.net – had trouble calling them at the number on their website: 800 851 3266  so I called the credit card company and got a number they answer! : 623-327-1443  – Order Status

Another site with  parts is: pressurecooker-outlet.com

Follow Up

  • I installed the replacement parts for my pressure cooker and started a new batch.  I can tell by the smell!  I can tell by the smell of the food cooking inside that the pressure is correct.  It has a distinctive smell when the pressure is sufficient.  
  • The sound of the jiggler presssure valve is correct.  With the incorrect parts excessive steam was being vented and making quite a bit more noise than when operating correctly
  • The jiggliing of the jiggler pressure valve is what you are accustomed to.  This proves it is regulating pressure because in order to do so it must "float" on the excess pressure of the steam venting.  It is an unstable hover that you would expect a wiggling motion.  With the incorrect parts it simply laid to one side.

Update 6/9/2019:  I want one of these now

By Fudgy McFarlen, ago

Video: Desmond Morris The Human Animal

Youtube: Desmond Morris The Human Animal

Overview

The Human Animal which accompanies a major six-part series, shows that, however much we may think we have evolved from our animal ancestors, our instincts and behaviour are still rooted in our animal past. By denying this inheritance we are in danger of destroying everything we have strived so hard to create. Despite the different skin colours, beliefs and rituals to be found in the 5000 million human beings alive today, we actually all share an almost identical genetic heritage. In this portrait of the human species, Desmond Morris takes us right to the centre of human existence and explores all aspects of human life and behaviour. From the way we rear our young to the common use of certain facial gestures, he covers a fascinating variety of subjects: how our hunting instincts have been channelled into an extraordinary range of sporting activities; how the modern art world can trace its roots back to an early primate picking up a stone resembling a face; how different courtship rituals across the world reflect the universal emotion of love. Desmond Morris also looks at some of the damaging consequences that can be seen when we try to deny our animal heritage: how territorial fights erupt when the tribal systems within our overcrowded cities break down, and how human relationships disintegrate when natural social or sexual patterns change. Both candid and entertaining, Desmond Morris exposes our foibles, celebrates our triumphs and gives us a new understanding of the way we behave. A world-renowned zoologist, he has already fundamentally changed the way we perceive ourselves. Now The Human Animal takes us one step closer to confronting our true identity.


The Language of the Body

The BBC's Natural History Unit focuses on the planet's most advanced animal, beginning with a look at how man communicated before the evolution of language. Some gestures and expressions are so ingrained that we have not been able to erase them from our vocabulary. 


The Hunting Ape

This episode looks at our most fundamental activity – finding food, examining how humans exploit even the most inhospitable environments, and analysing how our origins as hunter-gatherers manifest themselves in the fast-food culture of the modern world. 

]The Human Zoo

In evolutionary terms, the human animal has gone from mud hut to skyscraper in the mere twinkling of an eye. The cameras of the Natural History Unit capture the subtleties of human hierarchy in an English pub, the urge to set up and defend territory in a Tokyo park, and tribal behaviour as displayed by gangs in Los Angeles. 

[edit]The biology of love

In this program, Desmond Morris analyzes the biological nature of love, with its attendant patterns of behaviour and signals of health and fertility that have evolved to ensure pair-bonding and genetic survival. The pre- and post-pubescent periods of sexual maturation, the stages of courtship, and the aesthetics of physical beauty are studied, along with the anatomical mechanics of sexual arousal and copulation. In addition, the stresses placed on couples by life in an urbanized, crowded world are explored. 

[edit]The Immortal Genes

Desmond Morris looks at the natural history of the human parent and child. Why do homo sapiens devote more time to raising their young than any other animal? What makes parents sacrifice so much for their children, and why, once the offspring have been raised, don't humans simply die off as other creatures do? Desmond reveals how children offer a way of overcoming death itself. 

[edit]Beyond Survival

Humans are animals with similar biological needs to other species. So why have we got art, cinema, sport, literature and philosophy? In the last programme in the series, Desmond Morris examines what the human animal does when it has sorted out its basic needs – food, warmth and shelter – and has gone beyond mere survival. Morris explores the inventiveness of human behaviour, and comes to some fascinating conclusions. 

By Fudgy McFarlen, ago

Quantum Mechanics and Entanglement Experiment with Single Photon Detector

Single Photon Detection using Avalanche Photo Diodes (APD)

By Fudgy McFarlen, ago

Video: The Prize – The Epic Quest for Oil Money and Power

Google keeps deleting the videos.  To get around this I am placing a search link

YouTubeSearch: The Prize

​Part 1

 In the style of the acclaimed CIVIL WAR series, THE PRIZE tells the epic history of oil – how it has dominated global politics, shaken the world economy, and transformed our century. Shot on location in Azerbaijan, Egypt, England, Indonesia, Japan, Kuwait, Mexico, Russia, Scotland, Turkey, and the United States, the series features fascinating characters, never-before-seen archival footage, newly filmed segments, and interviews with the people who shaped the oil industry. Yergin appears on camera throughout the series to discuss oil's impact on politics, economics, and the environment. We see how oil becomes the largest industry in the world–a game of huge risks and monumental rewards. Narrated by Donald Sutherland, THE PRIZE represents cinematic storytelling at its best – a historically significant tale of a quest for mastery that has revolutionized our civilization." PART ONE: Our Plan "Trace the turbulent, rapid rise of the world's biggest business, how a visionary but ruthless John D. Rockefeller controlled it–and how reporter Ida Tarbell took him on in one of the most famous muckraking exposes ever. A fascinating look at Rockefeller's controversial legacy, the rise of modern business, and how Tarbell served as the role model for the modern investigative journalist

Part 2

The Prize Episode Two: Empires of Oil "Witness capitalism on a grand scale: how Shell Oil and Royal Dutch merged, then challenged the supremacy of Rockefeller's Standard Oil. A compelling tale of how oil transformed everyday life in the farthest corners of the globe, made Russia a great oil power, and helped the Allies win World War I

 Part 3

The Prize Episode Three: The Black Giant "It's the Roaring Twenties, and the magic of oil touches everyone, from millions of new car owners to hopeful Texan wildcatters. The American oil industry wrestles with shortage and surplus, as flamboyant entrepreneur Calouste Gulbenkian stakes his claim in Iraq

Part 4

The Prize Episode Four: War and Oil "The untold story of World War II unfolds: how oil dictated strategy to Hitler; how lack of oil slowed Japan's war machine; how oil ultimately determined victory or defeat. Features rare footage on the critical impact of oil on decisive military events

Part 5

The Prize Episode Five: Crude Diplomacy "Post World War II America awakens to the strategic importance of oil and witnesses a key moment in history when oil production shifts from the US to the Middle East. An extraordinary cast of characters, including Arabian kings, US presidents, British adventurers, Iranian politicians, and American explorers paint a global portrait of how oil shaped the world economy and politics

Part 6

The Prize Episode Six: Power to the Producers "It's the heyday of cheap oil, the dawn of the Hydrocarbon Society…and the introduction of a prosperous new automobile culture for Americans. Follow the flamboyant characters, plots, and counterplots, as the producing countries and the independent oil companies challenge the "Seven Sisters"–and open a new era in world oil

Part 7

 The Prize Episode Seven: The Tinderbox "Relive two decades of upheaval that shook the world as power shifted, and nations and companies jockeyed for position–amidst embargoes, shortages, and surpluses. A unique view of the rise of the OPEC era, beginning with the British withdrawal from the Persian Gulf and ending with the burning oil wells of Kuwait

Part 8

The Prize Episode Eight: The New Order of Oil "The Gulf War marked the beginning of a new era for the Hydrocarbon Society. This program explores the relationship between oil and the environmental c wlitith onscience, and the technological race to balance energy, economic, and ecological needs in the Information Age. WARNING:  This episode is not good because it focuses in on the ecological criticisms.  If you watch it note how GreenPeace member positions himself in front of an oil platform and criticizes.  He tried to make himself look big by doing so but ends up paling in comparison with the work of titans in the form of an oil derrick.  Very little content is useful because we all know cities have smog due to many cars being driven.  What the environmentalists fail to do is solve any problems as they are in effect professional complainers with little to no skill in engineering or science,

By Fudgy McFarlen, ago

The Tale of the murdered bandit

I have a friend in Brazil who lives in a house in the forest 1 kilometer by trail.  There is also a minor drug dealer living along the trail not too far away. I recently visited him and mentioned the brother of a fellow I rented a car off of had been shot to death.  The story I was told  was that a motocyclist had an altercation with his brother and that subsequently the motorcyclist shot him. 

My friend with the house in the forest corrected that story with a rather sizable revision.  The murder occurred very close to his house in the woods and the body was found there.    It turns out the deceased had robbed a 21 year old girl on Joaguina beach and then not satisfied in some manner stuffed her into the trunk of a car.   Whilst driving thereafter someone hit the car in the rear end and injured the young lady turning her into a quadraplegic.  As it turns out her father was a former policeman.  Somehow the bad guy did not know this and did not immediately recognize he should get out of town.  Two months after this car wreck he was probably lured onto this trail with the stated purpose being obtaining drugs.   His body was later found when the drug dealer went to do his periodic check of the water supply on the top of the hill and smelled something very bad.    When he looked for what is was he found the 19 year old robber.   The robber had a shotgun wound to the face and stomach. Either one being sufficient to kill him it was suggested to me that it was a message.  Now I am told the people with shotguns in Brazil are mostly the cops and of course who else would have a better motive for this sort of thing? 

In Brazil the maximum time you can get for any crime is 30 years.   What we call "life in prison" is only 30 years there.  Thus the father of this girl decided to exact his own justice.   I do not blame him one iota.  I asked my friend if he was scared that a murder had occurred right next to his house.  His reply was "not one bit" because he knew exactly what the story was and everyone else did but that it is not being investigated.  Mmm….Tough luck scumbag in this case.

By Fudgy McFarlen, ago