ECat technology defended below!

Don't miss the comment below the previous post!

A critical look at ECat

I found this LENR blog with a reference to a posting that is highly critical of Andrea Rossi's claims
about ECat.

I should have looked at this source before getting excited about it, I guess; looks pretty damning.

Scott McCloud

I had seen McCloud's Understanding Comics when it came out, but not being into comics I never read it. But this video shows him to be a fascinating character; I highly recommend it!

I'm not interested in foie gras, but ...

I first came across This American Life shortly after their initial Poultry Slam, but this latest version really hit me in the head. Don't miss the last segment on natural production of foie gras without force-feeding the geese -- fascinating!

New website for cold fusion product purveyor

The website is here. The one mentioned in the previous post is by another guy who said Rossi had withdrawn approval for the site he developed. See the site for details.

A 1 MW heat plant based on 'cold fusion' -- now on sale!

I thought I'd have seen something in the mainstream media on this subject by now, but I only just found a note in a techincal magazine I get, Network World.

This Italian researcher, Andrea Rossi, has come up with a (relatively) low-temp fusion reactor system that he's bundled into a product now for sale: a 1 MW heat-producing plant. A 5-kW home version is supposed to be available by 2013.

Detail on his website ... oh baby!

Tech talk videos from the University of Washington

I'm currently in graduate school at the University of Washington, enrolled in their Professional Master's Program in Computer Science.

One program requirement is for us participants to attend seminars (or watch the archives of such
seminars on the Internet). I've now seen 62 of the 64 required by the program, and here are my few favorites:

• Sex, Lies and Video Games: The Truth about Females and Computing by Dr. Maria Klawe
• Robotic Cars: Challenges and Perspectives by Dr. Sebastian Thrun
• On the Cruelty of Really Teaching Computer Science Redux by Dr. Owen Astrachan
• Never Work for a Stanford Student Again, by Glenn Kelman

Not to say there isn't a lot more valuable stuff in this archive (all open to the public), but these four are the ones that I just found particularly fun to watch.

Options Trading Bibliography and Web Site

I've been mostly trading options, after an initial bit of trend following during the big uptrend
of 2009.

There are a couple of beginner's options trading books who both have fervent adherents and
detractors:

• Options Demystified, by Thomas McCafferty
• Options Made Easy, by Guy Cohen

Try both of these and go with the one you like best.

Here are a list of the books I've found most helpful.

• Volatile Markets Made Easy, by Guy Cohen
• Protective Options Strategies, by Ernie Zerenner and Michael Chupka
• Profiting with Iron Condor Options, byt Michael Hanania Benklifa

The strategies described in the Cohen and Zerenner/Chupka books can be used in any type market; the Iron Condor strategy is best suited to calmer and less volatile markets than we've had lately.

Ernie Zerenner and cohorts also run a web site called Power Options that I find worth the price ($80/month). It has features to search for (potentially) profitable strategies for you and do the calculations and profit/loss graphs, etc. (accurately). It even has a feature to 'one click trade' connecting to your brokerage, if you use one of the ones they support.

Here's wishing you happy and profitable trading ...

Beginning Traders: Reading List and A couple of Brokerages

If you're just getting ready to trade, here are two books I'd fervently suggest you start with before you actually start trading:

Trade Your Way to Financial Freedom by Van K. Tharp. If there's a flaw in this book, it's that he makes trading look too easy. But he's excellent on 'position sizing', which is the sizing of each trade to make sure your maximum loss is something manageable (like 1 or 2% of your total trading account).

Trading for a Living, by Dr. Alexander Elder. This gentleman gives you more of an idea what you're up against when you start to trade (the whole world!) and is not just a trader but a psychologist. His analysis of the reason that paper trading isn't really such good practice for real trading is particularly fascinating.

That being said, it's helpful to learn the mechanics of trading before risking real money. For that reason, most online brokerages will let you paper trade (some call it virtual trading) to see how their systems work. But once again, you won't see how your internal systems work until you are risking real money on a trade.

Two brokerages I have used are OptionsXpress and ThinkOrSwim. Each will allow paper/virtual trading. But beware: OptionsXpress's 'profit/loss calculator' is not always accurate; I'm not sure about ThinkOrSwim, but I think it's more accurate in this respect. If you don't like either of these, the "woods are full of them." Try another!

Aspiring traders: Background Bibliography

I started trading during the 2008 financial crisis, as I was tired of being just a cork in the financial ocean. I've discussed this with several people and have promised to put a list of books to read up for general perusal. This first list is background, focussing not on the nuts and bolts of trading but the financial system in general and some larger than life (successful and unsuccessful) traders.

Here's the list:

• When Genius Failed: The Fall of Long Term Capital Management, by Roger Lowenstein
• Fooled by Randomness by Nicholas Nassim Taleb
• The Big Short by Michael Lewis
• The Quants by Scott Patterson
• The Myth of the Rational Market, by Justin Fox

As well as giving a sense of how the financial markets function (and blow up!) these are all enjoyable reads as well.

Premium burgers worth trying around Seattle

I was discussing burgers with some friends this weekend and promised them a summary of my favorites, so here it is!

First on the list is the Metropolitan Grill's Works Burger (or probably any other burger on their menu). It's Wagyu (American Kobe) beef and they will generally cook it to order (i.e. medium rare to rare for me). $14.

Close seconds: The Islander on Mercer Island, Sullivan's Steakhouse downtown Seattle (only $9 -- see previous post), JaK's Grill (Issaquah, Laurelhurst, West Seattle).

Also possibly worthwhile, though each of these had at the time I last tried them some spice that I didn't like: The Capital Grille and Von's (both downtown Seattle). CG's tasted oniony, Von's like a rusty nail (to me, anyway), but seemed otherwise good if you like those particular spices.

Bon apetit!

Steven Pinker

I first came across this gentleman via a video on swearing that I found on C-SPAN2. (This one is on YouTube also now.)

I read his book The Blank Slate (which was terrific!) after seeing this video.

Enjoy!

Dan Gilbert

I read Dr. Gilbert's book Stumbling on Happiness shortly after it came out in 2006 and have just come across this video of him discussing some of his research. I greatly enjoyed both! Check out the video for some amazing counterintuitive findings in happiness research.

Another downtown burger worth a try

Sullivan's Steakhouse is now in Seattle at the former location of the old Union Square Grill at 621 Union. I consider it my responsibility to society to try every steakhouse burger in the area, and this one was a pleasant surprise!

It's only $9 (versus $14 for the Metropolitan Grill's "Works Burger") but they (mostly) cook it the way I want (medium rare) without any wrangling, which has been difficult to find in the "toxic e. coli" era in which we live.

Anyway, it's been a pleasant surprise ... give it a try when you're downtown.

High-tech hookah: nicotine without tar!

If there's a smoker in your life that you want to keep alive, this may be the trick. A Stanford company called Ploom is selling a "clean vapor technology" smoking kit for what looks to be about the same price as cigarettes.

You may have to get this trans-shipped to some states; Washington State doesn't allow shipment of any tobacco products directly in to consumers.

Superwindows on the cheap

Our neighbor turned us on to these window inserts. Looks like a way to get superwindow-type energy savings for a fraction of the price. We'll probably try this soon but I would be interested in hearing from anyone else who's used these.