Flutterby™! : Tiny rotary engine (now meta-discussion about Flutterby) 2001-07-05 14:28:32+00

Tiny rotary engine (now meta-discussion about Flutterby)

2001-07-05 14:28:32+00 by Dan Lyke 16 comments

Via Backup Brain, UC Berkeley folks create rotary engine the size of a penny. They envision it powering a laptop, I'm kinda wondering about what happens when a catalytic converter fails when you're using the thing on an airplane...

I'm just sitting here thinking about a pull-start rope on my laptop. Will I have as much trouble getting it to start as I do with my weed-eater?

I don't think the Geo was a rotary - but I do believe it was the size of a penny. Wan't it something like 2.5 cylinders? (Actually it was a 3-cylinder Suzuki engine).

Even with the occassional post by the "fairer sex" (hey, my tongue is in my cheek when I say that) and Dan's attempts to attract more women here to comment and contribute rather than just read, testosterone runs deep on this 'blog.

Thanks, Dan (Hartung), I'm glad I wasn't drinking anything or it would've come out my nose. That hit me just right.

Yeah, Larry, I think about changing the focus a bit, I'm jealous of some of the discussion that Peter Merholz is getting, for instance, on the basis of his spending a bit more on the commentary, and I'd like to get some more female contributions.

I guess I'm understanding why Todd Belton has so many different sites that he keeps fairly separate from each other, all with different focuses, I just wish I were as prolific as he manages to be (but since much of the drama in my life comes from interactions with specific external sources, I guess I'm also not quite as willing to be as publicly soul-baring...).

Considering that I'm (a) female and (b) the source of the original link that started this thread, I'm curious about how these topics overlapped.

Are you referring to a lack of female contributors to the blog itself, or female contributors to the comments?

Just as one data point: part of the reason I don't post more often is the sometimes subtle, sometimes not-so-subtle impression I get from this blog that "Breeders are Bad." Oddly enough, that doesn't seem to apply to men who breed, just us women. And given that I have both a sportscar and a child, I've gotten an overall message that my perspectives aren't considered appropriate for this 'blog.

I was referring to the lack of female contributors to the 'blog itself. I know Dan has been wanting to see that change for quite a while.

As far as your impression the contributors feeling that "Breeders are Bad", I've got two kids and I certainly don't view my wife as "bad". Well, okay, every now and then she can be bad but she does it in such a good way. ;-)

I think Dan's problem is really with the folks that drop child after child without taking responsibility for them, not people who are actually parenting. However, I'm sure I can speak for him by saying if he or any of the rest of us ever say something that really rubs you the wrong way, let's talk about it. Light into the idea and correct us. Good discussion is what is needed for the health of the site.

Naww, Dori, that's not everyone who posts to this 'blog, that's just me. Although the contributor list has a larger than the general population sample of men who've had vasectomies.

But for all my stridence and hyperbole, I really

appreciate and mean to encourage those who are deliberately and consciously raising their children. If you make the "parents vs. breeders" distinction, then yes, "Breeders are bad" is a constant refrain.

Parents, however, those who understand the awesome undertaking they've committed themselves to, deserve lots and lots of help and respect. It's just that they're not nearly as numerous as breeders.

This is the reason that Larry, who's very much a parent, can tolerate hanging around this virtual space...

It's a lot like my attitudes about humans. In general I have a really low opinion of people, but the ones that I connect with I really like.

And I'm interested in the added viewpoints for both contributors and participants in the discussions. I've recently had a couple of women send fan e-mail in the past few weeks, but for some reason we never manage to drag them into the fray. I'm also not sure where the 'blog is going, I'm thinking it's time to open up the contributors even more and go off and do a more personal 'blog, but unlike some other social structures that I've been instrumental in building, I'm not sure that this one is strong enough yet to survive without my attention, given that I'm still by far the primary contributor, and several other contributors have 'blogs of their own (albeit slightly anonymous).

Finally, as for how topics overlapped, 'cause I'm not trying to make this discussion in any way coherent, I think that when the new mattress thread turned into a car thread, and then this "tiny motor" thread turned into a car thread, we were feeling a little testosterone-motor-headed out.

Given all that, I can't say that I disagree with you. I have a lousy opinion of most people's parenting abilities, although moving out of the city has decreased the number of times I run into the knuckle-draggers and their delinquent-wanna-be's.

And I understand the issues about differentiating between 'blogs. I occasionally want to post personal stuff that I don't want Tom to be able to comment on, and I also sometimes run across good links that are hard R (or sometimes even further out there) that don't quite belong on BB. It's hard to figure out where to take each of these, and whether they're even worth my time.

But I'm still chuckling over the fact that this whole testosterone thread started over something I blogged.

Dori, any mention of an internal combustion engine is going elevate testosterone levels. ;-)

This is starting to sound like a cover blurb on Cosmo: What to Say to Get Your Man Hot!

You mean besides "I borrowed Dad's Porsche and credit cards, let's go to Mendocino for the weekend?"

I've always thought, "I'm naked and I have beer" was all that a woman needed to say.

I'm trying to sell the Porsche - then I'll stop with the car posts. In fact, I'm once again hoping to be in Boston soon and car-free.