Mad Scientists...

.. are the best kind of scientists!

And he was the best and maddest of them all.

Nikola Tesla

Never heard of him? You're not alone, but you should be. The AC motor, the basic devices of systems of wireless communication a.k.a. the radio, robotics, devices for x-rays, devices for charged particle beams (Ray guns!), the bladeless turbine, and VTOL (Vertical Take Off and Landing) aircraft are among his 300 patents.

So why have so few people heard about him? Three words... Edison was evil. Yep the famous inventor Thomas Edison stole his inventions, slandered him, and along with Westinghouse conned him out of a huge sum of money. You want to learn about Edison? Look up the first execution by electric chair. I guarantee you will never see him the same way.

Nuff about that, here's some cool stuff Tesla did:

This is the first photograph ever taken by phosphorescent light. The face is Tesla's and the source of light is one of his phosphorescent bulbs. Keep in mind this is 50 years before florescent lamps come into use. January 1894.

April 1895. The high voltage high frequency current is being passed through the human body to bring the lamp to incandescence. Yes that is Samuel Clemens a.k.a. Mark Twain who is holding the loop over the resonating coil. He and Tesla used to hang out, how cool is that?! Tesla is in the background.

1898. Tesla holds a highly evacuated, gas filled tube, powered by one of his high frequency oscillator units. The one amp tube operated without any connection to wires. Wireless energy was one of his special interests. Imagine what our world would be like if he had the funding that was promised and was able to pursue it.

May 5 1899. In this experiment, Tesla's body is charged to a high potential by means of a coil responsive to the waves transmitted to it from a distant oscillator. A long glass tube waved in his hand is lit by the electrical charges conveyed to it through his body.

Mad? Yes. Brilliant? Absolutely!

Go learn about him. GO NOW!

Winter Cometh

Finally!

It's been in the 50s for the last month. No snow, no ice to skate on, all brown and boring.

But Saturday night we got snow! Just barely enough to cover the grass but it's better than nothing. Of course the chickens disagree. All except Chaaya who seems to be immune to the cold. Oh well, deal with it chickens!

The high today was around 18 F but even so I saw some dummy on lake Independence with his fish house tilted into the lake on one end. Yeah, turns out one cold day doesn't mean you can take a 200 pound fish house out on the lake. But that happens every year no matter how cold the weather, someone isn't paying attention and picks the wrong spot.

Gorgeous sunset today and my kitten sleeping on the pillow behind me. Think I'm going to make some cocoa and start going through the seed catalogs. Life is good.