One Slippery Character

Tools come and go from my tool box, but there are a few things that have been consistent across the years: a cresent wrench from my father (with his name engraved on the side); a straight-jaw channel lock I found in the middle of the street one day with John Torresan while we were riding our bikes; bailing wire, which has been useful more times than I can even remember; and a roll of thread seal tape, better known as Teflon tape.

Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is a synthetic fluoropolymer of tetrafluoroethylene that has numerous applications. The best known brand name of PTFE-based formulas is Teflon by Chemours (a spin-off of DuPont, which discovered the compound in 1938). NASA also raised the celebrity status of Teflon when the Agency applied it to heat shields, space suits, and cargo hold liners. Today, the major application of PTFE, consuming about 50% of production, is for wiring in aerospace and computer applications (e.g. hookup wire, coaxial cables).

This week, a look at Teflon.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "When you're through changing, you're through." - Bruce Fairchild Barton (American author, advertising executive, and politician, 1886 – 1967)

   One Slippery Character by fredwine on Scribd

Holy Guacamole

Avocados. Alligator pears. Ahuacate. Call them what you will, they are buttery, not sweet, somewhat nutty and oily in flavor; firm enough to be sliced or diced, yet pliable enough to be mashed into a paste or puree. And apparently hard to cut properly; I don't like to eat them, but even I know how to cut one open without hurting myself.

This week, a look at a definte first world problem - not knowing how to cut an avocado.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite insane." - Nikola Tesla (US (Serbian-born) electrical inventor, 1857 - 1943

   Holy Guacamole by fredwine on Scribd

Why There Will Never Be Another Einstein

Albert Einstein may be the most famous and beloved scientist of all time. He is revered not only as a scientific genius but also as a moral and even spiritual sage, called by Abraham Pais, Einstein's friend and biographer, "the divine man of the 20th century."

This week, a look at why Albert Einstein may be one of a kind...but then, aren't we all?

TTFN, Fred. 

Quote of the week: "In mathematics you don't understand things. You just get used to them." - Johann von Neumann (US (Hungarian-born) computer scientist and mathematician, 1903 - 1957)

   Why There Will Never Be Another Einstein by fredwine on Scribd

Finding Direction

My first compass was likely from a box of Cracker Jack. My most recent on is in my phone. In-between were various versions of directional assistants, from directions provided by the guy at the service station to maps to Global Positioning System (GPS) units.

Somedays I am still lost, but it isn't due to a lack of assistance in trying to find my way.

This week, a look at the compass.

TTFN, Fred. 

Quote of the week: "Living is a form of not being sure, not knowing what next or how…We guess. We may be wrong, but we take leap after leap in the dark." - Agnes de Mille (US choreographer and dancer, 1909 - 1993)

   Finding Direction by fredwine on Scribd

The Magic Materializer

Engineers and designers have been using three dimensional (3D) printers for more close to two decades, mostly to make prototypes quickly and cheaply before they embark on the expensive business of tooling up a factory to produce the real thing.

As 3D printers have become more capable and able to work with a broader range of materials, including production-grade plastics and metals, the machines are increasingly being used to make final products too.

As Arthur C. Clarke has stated, any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

This week, a look at 3D printers.

TTFN, Fred. 

Quote of the week: "There must be more to life than having everything." - Maurice Sendak (American illustrator and writer of children's books, 1928 - 2012)

   The Magic Materializer by fredwine on Scribd

Microwave Ovens

I remember the day our first microwave oven came into my parent's household. It was big (by today's standards) with a faux wood exterior, dials (no digital displays) and a bell that went "ding" when the cycle was completed. We read the instructions and cookbook that came with it and the first thing we made was scrambled eggs. It was like magic.

Hard to imagine a kitchen without the power contained in a microwave oven. In 1971, about 1% of all households in the US had one; by 1997, that number was 90%.

This week, a look at microwave ovens.

TTFN, Fred. 

Quote of the week: "The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function." - F. Scott Fitzgerald (US novelist, 1896 - 1940)

   Zap It! by fredwine on Scribd

Pure Pasteur

We've talked about pasteurization before, and before that, and even before that. But did you know that old Louis Pasteur himself saved the French wine industry in the 1860's?

Gotta love science. And wine, of course.

This week, another look at pasteurization.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "In the field of observation, chance favors only the prepared mind." - Louis Pasteur (French biologist amd bacteriologist, 1822 - 1895)

   Pure Pasteur by fredwine on Scribd