Musing about what went wrong

Imagine a Ford salesman showing up at a General Motors car show and trying to tell about the Ford way.

The result is pretty much about the way I was treated at the space conferences at which I presented papers on my space transportation concepts, where I went naively thinking they were people with the same goal as mine, that of finding transportation means for large scale very economical transportation into Earth orbit, to quickly enable the large-scale expansion of civilization into orbital space so as to provide clean energy etc. for civilization's needs. I sought their help, and what I got was reaction as if I were a rival in their midst, trying to crash their party and make them look bad.

Nursing my wounds from such encounters over the past decade - two papers at SSI at Princeton, three at ASCE in Albuquerque and Houston, and one at Space Exploration 2005 in Albuquerque - attempting to learn from my mistakes, that kind of thing is what seems most likely what happened. I had a great gift for them, and went seeking their help in making it happen for the benefit of all of us, expecting grateful welcome. Instead, I got tossed out like someone from another fraternity trying to crash their frat party. It was egos and business games happening there, technology merely the facade. They made no attempt to rationally discuss with me what I had proposed that were potential ways to greatly facilitate the expansion into space in the near future. Sure, I clearly was not of their rank and class; my concepts were what I brought to the table, not my attire. But it was me that they sized up, not my proposals; dispose of me and my proposals would be abandoned property for their sport next go around.

I could not imagine such unethical behavior. Such mentality has since then also put us as a nation into bankruptcy through wasteful warring, instead of compassionate understanding of the aggression hurting us a bit, giving excuse for our violence far beyond the measure of our mysterious wounds that supposedly excused it. Now I understand. All is not what it seems. Monkeywrench in the brains has us skittering out of control.

We, mankind, could have created by just one next development step from existing corporate technologies, to create each of the concepts that I proposed, making them reality for use by civilization to reach out in a huge expansion of civilization. But my conceptual designs were "NIH" (Not Invented Here) to each of the corporations that could have built them, and the academics similarly as were the space enthusiast group leadership -- amazing. I believed surely intelligent people could have gotten past their egos enough to "go for the gold" together, but I was wrong about that. Perhaps they will suddenly do that when I am out of the picture; apparently I am unacceptable by them as a partner of any function.

Or maybe it is the same click that happens among the proverbial lemmings, and so they then head for the deadly ocean cliffs. No longer able to rationally process, just being absorbed in the excitement of the group run, following the dazzling leaders as always. How powerful, what fun!

another way to explain "KESTS to GEO" briefly

It is possible that a reader of this blog might not understand what my "KESTS to GEO" conceptual design is, someone who might actually desire to know. So here is another attempt to explain it briefly. I had written it recently to improve the initial part of my kestsgeo.com website, but found that something is blocking me from doing ftp to my website, so I cannot fix my website; I get a message that says my username is not allowed access. The ISP support does not answer my email about it. Probably what happens in a system where passwords and ID are sent unprotected; and the easy-money crowd decides to make a harvest.

So here goes: this is to suggest that there is "another" (that is, a non-tether space elevator) possible technique to support structures that reach from the ground all the way up to high orbital altitudes, enabling economical large scale space access; and thus enabling a huge expansion of civilization while also thereby restoring the Earth's fragile ecosystem. Come dream with me a moment; once you see it clearly, you will see it is obvious (and therefore is not "new & innovative" since everybody must have known it all the time.)

Basic principle of structural support: The outward centrifugal force on the mass of the armature of an electric motor that is in hoop-form encircling the planet, a force thus in opposition to the force of gravity at its location. The structural support means is similar to the principle that enables a satellite to be in an orbit, the outward centrifugal force component of circular motion on its moving mass, balances the inward force of gravity on its mass. Except, in the structural support application, the circulating mass is going very much faster than its orbital altitude would balance, its excess outward centrifugal force component being used to balance the weight of the planet-encircling structural mass within which it slides around at high velocity, which is the structure enabling economical large scale space access.

That is the basic mechanism of structural support being described here. There are many other mechanisms involved to implement such an energy-supported structure that reaches from the ground, such as from surface-connection at some place on the Equator, all the way up to orbital altitudes, including up to GEO. Such as mechanisms for maintaining a hard vacuum environment for the high velocity mass streams while they flow through the earth's atmosphere in the lower part of their loop. And mechanisms for very slippery sliding between the high velocity mass and the supported structure it pushes upward against, all around the loop.

Integrated mechanism: A fairly well integrated overall structural mechanism utilizing the basic structural support principle, coalesces into the form of a multiple armature synchronous electric motor, overall. The armatures are shoved along as they cruise past the ground terminal, inputting kinetic energy to the system. The armatures mass push outward, upward against the non-moving magnetic levitation track-ways in which they slide along under the supported structure loop. And the armatures inductively share some of their upward momentum with vehicles they pass by, lifting the vehicles up and down the structure between ground and space.

Major advantage: And that is the point of it all, that the payload carrying vehicles carry no fuel mass for the journey, which is the really big energy hog of conventional rocket transportation between ground and orbit. Rockets have to lift the immense mass of the fuel that will be used to get to orbit, and that is where most of the work is spent getting payload into orbit, in the lifting of the fuel and of the fuel tanks and engines needed to lift that huge mass off the ground. Consider what a light weight vehicle would be needed, if it did not have to also lift the fuel mass needed to make the journey. A vehicle that is also gently lowered back to the ground on return, its energy returned to the system instead of through re-entry heating.

Electrically powered space access: That the transportation structure system is entirely electrically powered, also implies some interesting potentials. The lack of atmospheric pollutants from the rocket propellants is an obvious one, that becomes more significant it the lift of a large amount of payload is being considered. Such as for building the long-envisioned Solar Power Satellites in GEO. Some of that beamed-down electrical energy could be used to power the transportation structure itself, thus a large scale space access transportation system becomes no burden to the planetary system thereafter.

Transportation energy cost: So what is the basic energy cost to lift something from the ground and put it into GEO? Well, a bit of thought shows it has to be less than the energy needed to impart the "escape velocity" to that mass. That is to speed it up to 25,000 mph, which is 7.9 KWh of energy per pound of mass. That is 80 cents a pound if electrical energy costs 10 cents per KWh, or 8 cents per pound if energy costs 1 cent per KWh. Since GEO is significantly short of the infinite distance that "escape velocity" theorizes, only 7.15 KWh per pound to GEO, lifted from the equator, is the energy imparted to the mass as it is lifted up there and given orbital velocity at GEO altitude of 22,300 miles above the equator. That is 72 cents of electrical energy, if energy costs 10 cents per KWh, per pound delivered into GEO. However....

Relative efficiency: No transportation system is 100% efficient, and transportation process energy would be added to the overall energy consumption involved in the transportation system. Yet we are starting with a figure of 7.15 KWh, and even with a lot if added energy, it still is an insignificant amount of energy as compared to that used by the Space Shuttle, for example, or the launch vehicles now used to put communication satellites in GEO. A really tiny amount of energy.

Exploring what then would become possible: And that would make economical projects in GEO, that are now quite impossible due to the reaction engine launch vehicle transportation technique we are now limited to.

Such projects are interactive with the chosen transportation system. For example, by lifting the structural materials up to GEO with which to build plentiful Solar Power Satellites, which would power the transportation system itself, as well as providing abundant clean electrical energy for civilization around the world.

That itself would be justification for the transportation system's creation. But once in place, there are many other things that become possible too, that are otherwise not feasible. They include such things as high capacity materials processing in the zero-gee, hard vacuum, solar powered environment in GEO, with its potential for total recycling of industrial waste materials. Imagine the space exploration vehicles that could be built in GEO, their mass and fuel electrically lifted up there, already 91% up out of earth's gravitational energy well, ready to head for the Moon, asteroids, and other planets to explore, gather raw materials, and bring life to where there had been no life before. In GEO, we could build the "Stanford Torus" rotating city of 10,000 self-supporting people, originally designed for construction in L-5 back in the mid-1970's, except now build-able out of materials brought up from the earth surface instead of from the Moon's surface; and its population also lifted up there electrically just as easily, and easy commute back and forth. The potentials go on from there.

Remember what became possible due to the creation of a railway system across America, as compared to what was possible with horses and ox-drawn Conestoga wagon trains. What had been impossible became quite possible and eventually everyday to people. Such expansion potentials are foreseeable here, too.

And provides justification for serious examination of transportation systems based on the basic principle of excess outward centrifugal force of mass in a loop around a planet, being used the balance the weight of the hoop-shaped structure.

kind of world view

I continue to have a "feeling" that something is about to spring to remove me from the scene, that others know about but are not telling me about. Kinda paranoid feeling except without something to point at as the cause. At this point I believe I have done what I can for humanity, such as by creating the KESTS to GEO concepts and doing my best to tell others about those enormous opportunities. But if those of greed-power-deception incorrigible cravings just have to have their romp, not much will be lost; I have done what I can do.

Such a pity, such a waste of humanity potential. Although, there is some indication that I think humanity is far more competent than reality actually shows. Their craving for social power games has bound them up into knots leaving them barely functional re actual accomplishment. What a tragedy, compared to what they could have done with their lives. Maybe a different way can be derived, so that people interact far more constructively for the betterment of all concerned.

It may be that "they" function from a world viewpoint something like ... that the world is made of ... people ... a hierarchy latticework of people where the identity of everybody is that of who they boss and who bosses them. Everything is expressed in terms as if living "people" were operant in everything, even events of natural history or electronic energy flow in circuity. It is like a universe made of beings, all subservient to some others and boss to different others. And certain humans are the "Big Boys" of the crowd, how ego-boosting convenient. Gives them "winner" rights to take far more than they give, and to stay top dog. And most important, that gets them the women, who seek mates who are powerful enough to provide for them and their offspring, easy goodies.

That "everything is people-stuff" world viewpoint requiring that everybody function only in a chain of command mode, would probably consider anyone (such as me) doing anything that is not appropriate to his position in their vast hierarchical lattice (such as a humble poverty-stricken man coming up with original concepts that would enormously help everybody's life if done, thereby pretending to outshine the wonderful real - and very well rewarded - leaders) would be violating their fundamental principle of who-bosses-whom existence and thus must be a very "bad" person. To stir up enough rumor to justify suppression and assault of the "patsy who is out of place" it appears - as derived from people's increasing frequent reaction to me, even strangers - that their "public image" of me is a composite of a person who steals from stores, poisons food in stores, tries to steal wives, a sexual predator stalking your children. "Eek! Get rid of 'im!" attitude builds up in strength as "they" beat their drums, spin, spin, spin. Wait, that is rank paranoid rant, are we not all just a bunch of independent little old businessmen, making a living, minding our own business? Tell him to "go back to school" cleverly sets the academics back to their righteous places again, slightly ruffled; after all, he obviously does not know the laws of the universe or economics. (Meanwhile, I see instead where the disastrous lemming-like path leads, that those supremely learned superior folk seem adamantly bent on following.) Send him to the mental hospital, DO something, if he can't be ignored out of existence. We are all comfortable just like things are, don't rock the boat. Do not rip the fabric of the hierarchical lattice that forms our very existence in the people-world; all must be done in natural people order.

That is in contrast to the kind of world view where matter and energy make up the chemistry, rocks, ocean, sky of Earth, biology, vast space and stars beyond; somewhere among which we human beings have our day; the kind of viewpoint I have.

Perhaps this all explains why "they" did not embrace me and the conceptual goodies I gave them (like KESTS to GEO, space carousel escalator, for perhaps my main lifetime-effort productive example), since a universe-viewpoint that is made up of only who-bosses-whom has no functional comprehension of the physical earth and space around us within which we live, is merely a predator relationship with the universe and each other. And thus also towards me in their endless game. Like, viewed as if I had stupidly stepped into their tough game of poker, me holding 4 aces: they know how to deal with that kind of interference.

It is not likely they will fess up and play straight with me at this point; they are far too deep into the character-assassination mode to change their course so as to deal honestly with me, letting me play my part in the creation of KESTS to GEO and other conceptual design actualizations into the physical world. More likely is that they will continue to poke at me, filibustering to the world, until this old man runs out of lifetime; or if they are big winners, get enough mud thrown to stick enough to put some rap on me, discrediting trump card, and they win the whole pot, easy money.

Quite possibly, the bottom line is that, since my actual position in their vast hierarchy lattice is quite lowly, there is no way for them to deal with my concepts that are of a quite "high" nature. I'm like a creature from another dimension, a "wat izzit" incomprehensible thing that might be dangerous to their way of life.

Fortunately, blogs are here in which one can rant on and on (or cry in one's beer.) Cheeze, it is hard to help these monkeys get civilized. But we all must do our best, anyway, it is our commitment here.

Iraq pullout - plan B

This is another blog post on Iraq. Several points.

First, Iraq is a country that belongs to its citizens. It is not American territory, is one implication of that.

Second, Iraquis are people, like us. All of them. And they seem to be having a very hard time of it.

Are they just frothy-mouthed bezerkos bent on mangling each other, blinded by the use of "sectarian religious" slogans preventing rational mental processes, that if united would then turn frothy-mouthed bent on destroying something else, like maybe us? Is this an excuse for keeping things like they are now? Or, again, are they all people, much as we are, but are enduring life in the trenches so long they know little else, and would start from there even if peace reigned over the land?

Third, we Americans are responsible for the chaotic situation in Iraq right now. How, who and why we did it is in the past. Incriminations and grief may be in order, but are unproductive in terms of getting on with life from right now onward. We can remain stuck in the same path, of course, is a choice. With its consequences. Problems need to be solved, and to do that they need to be correctly defined.

It would seem that the desert desolation of Iraq has no value for its people other that the oil safely locked beneath its lands. That is a different kind of situation from, say, Japan, which has its people as its greatest resource. How can Iraq become a nation where its people are its greatest resource?

It is a long way from here to there, true. But note how Japan, with the support of America, its conquerer of the time, came back quickly from the defeat of WWII into the great independent nation it is today, including industrial advantages of newer kinds of machinery and technologies to start with. Iraq could start afresh. Theoretically.

Can "business opportunism", the banner of American politics today, lead the Iraquis out of their mire? The Iranians are incredible business people, perhaps the Iraquis have some of that nature too. If so, they probably could bilk America from the shirt off our back, as it is said.

A middle ground seems to me far better for all concerned.

Recovery in Iraq could start, say, with a date and time set where all debts of all people, including gripes, are erased. Any grouch debt claim from that moment on becomes a new kind of thing, a debt to the nation of Iraq instead of to their neighbor; not necessarily to be paid right away, just tallied up to be paid back through say public service later. This would not be a mere cease-fire. Their prosperity would thereafter be determined by their mutually cooperative efforts.

It seems likely to me that many of the Iraquis are unknowingly suffering from effects of toxicity and mental-influencing parasite infestation, of which much of American conventional medicine cares little about and has little to deal with it except possibly drugs that only treat symptoms. There are "alternative" wellbeing process already widely known, but are not mainstream business and generally forced "underground" even in America at this time. But they hold the potential of being able to help the Iraquis cope with heavy metal toxicity and parasites such as Ascaris. So there is a way to deal with that aspect, too, I believe.

Iraquis need to determine their own future. They need to "pick themselves up, dust themselves off, and start all over again" as the old saying goes. (I have done that a lot of times too so I speak from experience.) If there are others around helping them up so as to later make a fast buck off of them ... people better play fair or later the tables will be turned on them, seems likely.

And no, the option of keeping them in their mess they are in right now, is not an acceptable solution, attractive as it may seem to some now. There can be much more gentle ways of paying karmic debts. We too need to shape up and pay attention.

Perhaps America can retreat to a seaport area where a large business complex would be built, from where we could do business with Iraquis, providing resources, technologies, educational systems, industrial equipment. The Iraquis would pay with money from sale of their oil, as well in American debt payment for the mess we made there, our part of it, that is, less the debt we have paid by helping the Iraquis in various ways. The focus would be to grow Iraq into a country where their people is their greatest resource, a land that is productive for them, and in productive peace with all the rest of the world, including us.

Was that not our basic aim from the start of the conflict?

There, but for the grace of God, go I

When things repeatedly go wrong in a big way, there is an urge to rant in a blog. Maybe that energy would best be spent by screaming and pounding on a pillow, as a another possibility.

Then, realize that the statement "there, but for the grace of God, go I" does not just apply to the homeless man and bag lady seen, but also to those seen who are of huge wealth and power who have seemingly made terrible messes of other's lives while driven by their obsession for wealth and power and its abuses. "There but for the grace of God go I."

Seeking understanding of the operating factors becomes the most useful mode. Once the "real nature of the beast" is known, rational and mutually respectful potential constructive activities materialize out of the fog. Then, doing something useful about it all may more safely be done with much less risk of regretting it later. And then feeling comfortable about the new results when all is said and done.

One of the best tools I have found for understanding of those operating factors, is the tool of "Temperaments", closely correlated to Carl Jung's Psychological typology via the MBTI evaluation technique. The ancient theory of Temperaments has recently received an excellent well integrated analytic tool, which separates out four basic forms of viewpoints individual people can have, along with the associated response to their particular world viewpoint. A website called 16types.com can provide direct resources. They have registered their excellent names for the four types, so I can't use them here, but I have derived names for my own use that evoke what function each type of person plays in civilization: the enlightener, the improver, the custodian, and the venturer. Each of the four has a characteristic self-consistent world viewpoint and response set. Some of them have difficulty comprehending that there also exist other types of world viewpoints that are just as valid as their own; they then consider all that are not like themselves as being "defective." The "16 types" comes from combining these four comprehensive viewpoints, together with four modes of interacting; each one of the four viewpoints has the potential for any one of the modes of interacting, thus there are 16 types overall. Lots, but not a huge number.

For example, if you have a president that is of the "venturer" Temperament, expect venturer type responses to events, because it is totally a venturer's world out there to that president. Trying to get "improver" type responses out of that president is futile, because it does not mean the same thing in the venturer's world viewpoint. Only by re-framing into terms that are meaningful to a venturer type, can information be meaningful to the venturer.

For example, basic leadership communication would need to be converted into terms of "taking action" which is the "venturer's" mode of leadership. Into "taking action" terms, the "improver" must convert from "developing strategies" form of leadership; the "custodian" must convert from terms of "establishing procedures", and the "enlightener" type must convert starting from "giving praise" terms. All need to be converted as best possible into "taking action" kind of terms, to have real meaning for the "venturer" type president. Otherwise, each are just talking into the breeze, perhaps to relieve frustration.

A given scenario viewed from each of the Temperament viewpoints is still the same scenario, but what the scenario evokes in people of each of the four temperaments is quite different. And the response to that viewpoint of the scenario, has four interaction possible modes; and the combination condenses out as the person's form of overall involvement in the scenario.

Doing this observarion and analysis, clarity about it all condenses out of the seeming chaos. Once the problem is accurately understood, an efficient appropriate response response plan can be derived for one's own Temperament's satisfaction.

But -- you may still want to go scream and pound on the pillow -- this time for a different reason, that of unhappiness about that you had not dealt with the real problems before this. Or, another possible response is, to light a candle and pour a small glass of red wine, relax and congratulate yourself on a job well done, finally.

Jim Cline 20070711

Educating people did not civilize them

Most of my life I had assumed that if you educated a person highly enough, that would civilize the person.

But I have found that the fashionable business suit does not convert that which wears it.

Discover any form of coercion ongoing, and you can see through the camouflage. Coercion is not the way of mutual progress toward responsible mutual constructive activity building the civilized world in which we all live within. Coercion is an easy way to grab away from others, however, and is too tempting for those a bit down on the civilization curve, but rewards them well, especially team-performed coercion, easily trumps the best of individuals; but brings ruin overall.

A Token Plus a Portion of Pyramid Gaming

A measure of the "pyramid game" component of a business transaction is the measure of the amount of price increase that does not have equal increase in functional capability value added.

The old "Pyramid Game" was played like, a person would send out ten letters saying to send back ten dollars to the sender, and in turn send out ten similar letters to other people. Each person that plays the game hopes to get back more money than invested. Eventually the game plays out when every prospective receiver of a pyramid letter already knows about it, and won't send any money back, game over; and the last group to have sent money to the sender, are the ones that pay the bill and get nothing in return.

In many ordinary business transactions at the present time, if a significant amount of a price increase is not matched by improvement made in the useful functionality of the item, it might be considered the same as the old "pyramid game" except with a token real physical item attached, such as a bit of real estate. In this case, the endgame losers are distributed all along the way, and they do still have the token physical items as consolation prizes, thus not a total loss. And so the game goes on, easy money for some clever folk.