Adaptation

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Technology keeps marching along, and the atmosphere for 'alternative' technology keeps getting better.

I could have been designing my vehicles, all along, with 'free' energy in mind. I knew it was there, knew it was real -- but also knew that people weren't ready for it.

I talked about the latest in battery technology, then switched over to that very promising development -- ultracapacitors -- after seeing evidence of them as being tangible. Through all this I knew that, eventually, there would be devices that would produce electricity more or less out of thin air. Only small amounts of electricity, if any, would need to be stored.

Any electric vehicle could be upgraded to take advantage of these developments, and that's one reason I swung up onto the electric bandwagon.

A couple of guys in Australia have managed to come up with a viable, reliable, and mass-producible 'over-unity' system. It's a magnetic motor pressed into service as a generator. It works. Give it a kick-start and it will power your house. No, seriously. Buy one of these and you won't need to be on the power grid (though you may still want to, so you can sell the excess to your local utility).

People have been tinkering with this idea for years, but it has been met with skepticism from two fronts. Not only is it a 'perpetual motion machine', it is also an 'overunity device' -- so, to conventional thinking, it's doubly impossible.

You just can't do that. No, no. NO.

Any sense in arguing? Just prove them wrong.


Eventually there will be more elegant (solid-state) devices that output electricity with little or no input, but what we have NOW, after all these years of suppression, is the magnetic motor/generator -- let's call it MMG for short -- and it will do nicely.

The good news is that we no longer need to worry about storing X amount of electricity onboard a vehicle. No large and heavy battery packs, no massive banks of ultracapacitors -- and range is now unlimited. The bad news? Quite frankly I don't see any for Tellurian Motors, except that we will have to wait in line with the rest of the world to acquire these devices -- which is preferable to having to negotiate with Zenn for the rights to use the ultracapacitors made by EeStor (see previous posts).

The emergence of the MMG may spell bad news for many, but no, certainly not for Tellurian Motors -- and it is unequivocally good news for Tellurians (AKA Earth Humans).


As the sole designer for Tellurian Motors, I will be taking on the task of adapting our range of vehicles to carry MMGs. Since each model exists mostly in my head, this is easy as pie. I could design them to accommodate smaller, lighter (solid-state) systems, but I like them to reflect the technologies that are or will soon be available -- tangibly futuristic, if you will.

One thing about powering a vehicle with 'free' energy is that you really don't have to worry about aerodynamics, unless you want to go faster than anyone should think of going on public roads. Use all the energy you want -- or at least, all your systems can handle. Efficiency is still important, but we won't need to bang our heads together trying to make our vehicles slip through the air like so many flightless birds. Weight's not an issue, either. Both curb weight and aerodynamics will continue to be important for performance, of course...

What will emerge (again) as the most important aspect of vehicles, in my estimation, is STYLE. Sure, being stylish can mean using recycled and/or organic materials... Do aluminum and leather count? In any case, I think the public will find themselves ready for my angular designs.


The future, as I've said, is electric, and that becomes more and more evident as new technology is developed. We will adapt, and our world will be transformed.




Phil Smith
July 29, 2008


Update: I've noticed a scrolling message on the Lutec site that reads, "Product release date postponed indefinitely due to possible Transfer of Technology negotiations". Not sure what the means, except that we now have no idea when the LEA will become available... Argh.

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Driver's Ed

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Prepare yourselves, for I'm about to rant.


While I'm come to accept that people (in general) are stupid, every day when I go out on the streets I see them doing things that get me agitated.

Fairly often, when they do these stupid things behind the wheel they are also talking on handheld cellphones -- which is a stupid thing to do in and of itself, especially when the damned thing is in the left hand, making the use of a turn signal rather difficult... Argh. Hang on, now...


I've realized that, in order to be a better driver myself, I have to try to keep these things from getting to me. The act of complaining to my passengers, I can see, represents the very kind of distraction that we all need to avoid. Now that I think of it, when I'm driving by myself I may mutter a bit, but I don't go on and on to myself about whatever act of vehicular stupidity I've just seen...

What I need to do, and what everyone should do, is to look at the streets and highways as a battlefield. Be aware of every potential threat, use your best strategy -- and don't complain about it. The bad drivers are GOING to be there. They don't have a clue how easily they could maim or kill someone, so we must treat them as hazards.


You might find yourself in the turn lane in the middle of a seven-lane street, waiting for a break in traffic so you can turn left -- only to have someone in the near lane stop to let you through. This is someone being a dumbass, while trying to be nice. You can't see well enough past the line of traffic behind that person's vehicle to know whether it's safe. You could try to wave that person on, but from my experience it's better to flip your turn signal stalk upward, signalling right instead of left, and merging back into traffic to try again at the next left. The driver trying to be courteous simply doesn't realize how hazardous it may be for you to go on and make your left turn. I can't tell you how many times I've had to deal with this exact situation at Murdoch and West Virginia Avenue here in Parkersburg. ARGH! Just GO! I can wait!

[continuing, ~5 days later]

There is a four-way stop on West Virginia Avenue that wasn't always there -- but the change was made several years ago. Twice in one week, this summer, I witnessed people blowing right through that stop sign as if it didn't exist. One of them, I can tell you for certain, was holding a cellphone when she did it. I've been noticing more and more people running red lights, too -- so now more than ever, I look before starting to cross an intersection.

Back in May, over on my Phil's Mythos blog, I made a post called The Cellphone Number of the Beast, which I concluded with "I just wish they had the sense not to drive under the influence of microwaves." The town of Belpre, across the river in Ohio, passed an ordinance quite a while back against the use of hand-held phones while driving. I don't know how many of our States have banned the practice, but as of July 1st it is illegal in California, punishable by a $100 fine. How long do I have to wait before it is illegal here in West Virginia?

Please, if there is anyone reading this who talks on a cellphone while driving, STOP. If you absolutely must, please at least hold it in your RIGHT hand so it doesn't get in the way of making turn signals. If your car has a manual transmission, you really have no business trying to use a handheld while driving anyway.


A big part of the problem in THIS country is the ease with which people acquire (and keep) driver's licenses. As with all too much else, it's dumbed down. Neither the written test nor the driving test is very challenging, and no one is required to undergo ANY kind of instruction. To renew your license, you merely need to show up and pay a fee, and get a new picture taken -- unless you're above a certain age, in which case they might check your vision.

We might as well not require licenses at all.


Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go out there and drive a bit, even though I've already had a few beers (and will likely have more at my destination). No matter how many I have, as long as I feel I can handle the task I know I'll do a much better job of driving than the vast majority of people out there -- especially the ones talking on cellphones.

Argh.



Phil Smith
July 14, 2008

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Wheels of Confusion

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It's not unusual for me to borrow a song title for a blog post. In this case, if you were wondering, it's one from Black Sabbath...

If you've been reading my Phil's Mythos blog, you're more up to date. You know about the Brubeck 2, and more than before about ultracapacitors...


Here's the thing:

While the oily stranglehold has us looking for alternatives, someone with inside knowledge is preaching to us on video about those who really rule the world -- and that they are keeping a mind-bendingly massive oil reserve secret.

Have you heard anyone talk about America's 'strategic oil reserves'? Turns out, the real strategy is to stay quiet about just how much oil is there, ready to tap and send down the pipeline, on Alaska's North Shore. Enough to supply us for 200 years, the former chaplain says.


WELL. That changes our outlook, doesn't it? Within the next decade, I personally predict that all such major secrets will be revealed...

Of course, electric vehicles will still be significantly more efficient -- but there will be far less pressure to convert existing vehicles. By the time the secret is revealed, however, I expect (and hope) that manufacturers worldwide will be offering full-electric vehicles as a complement to, if not in place of, their internal combustion and hybrid vehicles...

...and yes, progress continues. Ultracapacitors will soon eliminate electric vehicles' range issues.

For that matter, there are suppressed technologies that could have everyone who is anyone flitting about in 'flying saucers' within half a decade...


...but I digress. Maybe there's a silver lining here.

Shortage or no, we've been spurred to look for ways to use less oil. WHEN the secret of our vast reserves has been spread globally, we will already be well on our way.

What then?

It would make sense for automotive manufacturers to continue switching production over to all-electric vehicles until -- eventually -- internal combustion engines are no longer used for new vehicles. Things don't always make sense...

...but I think they will, more often, in the near future.


Meanwhile, Tellurian Motors remains no more than a daydream. Along with a few other daydreams, though, it will be featured in the novel I'm writing. Never fear; No matter how successful the novel is, I will still dream of building my own cars. Count on it.



Phil Smith
July 6/7, 2008

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