One Reason for Choosing Nitrogen (N2) for Adams Engines is the Growing Scarcity of Helium

One of the reasons that I decided to use N2 gas as the coolant for Adams EnginesTM is the fact that helium supplies are limited enough so that a new large demand would drive up the price of the gas. I fully expect that someday, direct cycle gas turbines using nuclear heat sources will have the potential for rapid market expansion; I determined a long time ago that I did not want to limit the

SDLX Lite aka SDL Edit

This post is just for my reference. It is a direct link to SDLX Lite (aka SDL Edit).


http://downloadcenter.sdl.com/SDLX/Lite/SDLX_2007_2_7035_LITE_EN.exe

Totally turned into a Google-gal

I have been using GMail for ages, since it was available for the Italian user. It was 2005, I clearly remember it. At first I was a little taken aback since it was a completely different way to manage you e-mail, but now I am hooked and since a couple of years I totally switched to webmail.

The feature I love the most is the thread-like structure, because I just need to scroll the page to read the previous messages, the various e-mails from the various people.

At work we MUST use Outlook, which means that I have an incoming box full of thousands of messages and that I have to spend hours to move them to the appropriate folder. As a result, after a couple of years I have something like 200 folders, and often I forget I already create the proper folder, so end up having three folders about the same subject...and when I look for a message I can't still find it.

How is it possible to use Outlook like Gmail? If someone has the slightest idea pleasepleaseplease answer me because I am getting really tired with Outlook, it is so time consuming and you still have to keep a lot of stuff memorized. I am starting to see the e-mail like a drag, it would just simpler to keep everything in my mind withou having to sort all the email messages.


It seems my prayer were listened to. Fantastic article with a sort of solution HERE.

Blank

I am at the office and I feel the urge to write on my blog. I have no particular stuff to tell you but also too much stuff to write about. Anyway this is not important since this blog exists for the sole purpose to leave me able to write a little, vent off and keep together the curious stuff I read about over the internet.
I am actually experience some painful moment at the office, as I don't see clearly where I am heading to, what job I am doing and what will be next. Ops! I forgot to tell you my yearly contract is going to be off later in January, so I am probably starting to chicken out.

I really believe one should be ready to reply to the question "What's your value in your company?". I think I read about it on a help book for businesswomen, "Nice girls don't get the corner office". It is an interesting question: how could you pretend your boss justifies your presence when you're the first to feel useless or simply not worth it?

Seriously, I believe this company is giving great opportunities and has a high growth potential - it is a 5 years old company, so there is plenty of space for those who want to grow and proceed in their career. Unfortunately it is not a company made from scratch, indeed was previously a public utility company, with no competitors at all for over 60 years.
You might guess what's the feeling in the lower offices... Easy it goes.
Next step is taking the managerial layer, which are younger, have travelled, know languages and have the assignment to take this company on, improve the efficiency and process (and I am talking about efficiency and process as managerial features, not regarding the machinery).

There is a strong break between the managerial ones, those who really can change their professional life working here, and the lower ones, mainly office staff who cannot advance in their career and see no point in improving their skills. They have been working the lazy way for 40 years, they would not change all of a sudden just because the new bosses are younger, intraprendent and willing to do more.

From another account, I have to say this company itself, at the managerial level, is still acting the old - public - way, with no extras for those who apply themselves and make the difference. The bonus is expected every year and by everyone, so that it is no longer a bonus but a standard extra-wage given on June-July.
Plus, there is no real structure or career path for the lower level. They are employed and count on staying at the same level forever, as there are not so many levels in my company, and most of them are reserved to graduate people.
For this same reason there is no tutoring or training, not even for the newly employed.

They just let you flow and hopefully absorbe some of the stuff you come across. Casually.

Getting a motorbike driving license in Italy in 2009

In Italy you can get a car driving license at the age of 18 only. Until a decade ago, if you had a car driving license (patente B) you were entitled to drive motorbikes, too.

Of course, my bad lucky being always on, a couple of years before I was 18 the law changed and to drive big motorbikes (above 125 cubic centimeters of power) you had to get a motorbike driving license.

The only good point of this all, was that you just had to give the practical test if you already gave the theory part. But rumors had it that this was going to change, too, and that in a short while you were supposed to give a theory test specific for motorbikes - which, of course, you were going to pay.

So for years I went by like "I want to get a motorbike driving license before it gets too costly" but I had nobody who could lend me a motorbike. And motorbike rent services are not so common here, unless you live in one of the biggest cities of Italy which, of course, I don't.

This year I was taking the final decision to take this driving license because a collague of mine offered to lend his motorbike. But the hurdles were yet to come.

First of all, the practical test consist of a two parts: in the first one you have to go along a fixed route, namely a 8-shaped route, a narrow path and a fast slow-down (during which you have to change gears, in case you are using a motorbike with gears). In the second part you are guided by the inspector along a route in the city.

If you take the exam with a motorbike that has automatic transmission, then your license will be limited to automatic motorbikes. For this reason I want to get a full un-limited driving license, since I want to take (and pay) this exam once in my life - dreamin' of a coast to coast in the US. ;)

Taking the exam privately costs about 98 euros, against 180 euros (or above) with a driving school. Since I am greedy I went for the 98 euros option, then realized that the 8-shaped route is *really* hard with the mtorobike I was thinking to use.

Well, the problems are:

1) 95% of the people I know who own a motobike have an automatic model

2) the remaining 5% have a motorbikes that is too big to be able to go through the 8-shaped route, because they are too heavy and don't steer enough.

Now I have paid all that I had to pay, the 98 euros, and am motobike-less.

I asked to all the driving schools of the area if they rent bikes, and they replied that if I wanted to use their motorbike I was going to pay the full price with them and re-open the file with the driving inspectorate as a driving school candidate.

The nearest rent-a-motorbike service charges 127 euros per day for a motorbike (and 40 euros a day for a car!!!!). So renting a motorbike is more expensive than going to a driving school.

This is absurd!

It is not only me who has this problem: a lot of people want to buy a motorbike which is too big to be used to take the driving license practical test. If I were richer enough I would open such a service, for a lot less than 100 euros a day.

This is collusion. This is Italy.

Nitrogen (N2) Gas Cooling For a Closed Cycle Nuclear Heated Gas Turbine

The exact date of my revelation that helium was not the ideal working fluid for closed cycle gas turbines is lost in a pile of papers that may or may not include an old calendar or two. It is not really important, except for the fact that it happened after I had left active duty in the Navy, moved my family to Tarpon Springs, Florida and established Adams Atomic Engines, Inc. as a Florida

Londoneri: a Croatian recipe

I believe this is going to be the only English result for "Londoneri".

Londoneri is not a properly cake, just a Croatian sweet to be served in small rectangular portions as big as half a credit card (cut on its lenght). It is a very rich recipe and you wouldn't eat it so much at once, but it will taste fine for three days. It is perfect for a tea with friends and to offer as a cold dessert over a buffet dinner.


This was a recipe my granny used to do and I clearly remember its taste back in the time, when I was a kid. Luckly she wrote it down on her recipe book. She just forgot to state the baking details, so this first attempt didn't go as I hoped but it was a lovely sweet and it tasted just like I remembered.

Here you are the recipe of Londoneri.

For the base:
400 g. of flour
280 g. of butter
140 g. of white sugar
5 yolks

Stir the ingredients for the base in a bowl and lay it out in a rectangular mould (I used a 24 x 28 cm silicone mould). Do not make edges, lay it evenly.
Spread a veil of marmalade over the base - avoid flavours that are too sweet, peach or apricot is ok - and bake for 5-6 minutes at 180°C. The base should be half cooked and the marmalade smooth.

For the top:
5 eggs whites
280 g. of finely minced almonds (not peeled)
420 g. of sugar

After you put the base in the oven to semi-bake, start to prepare the top.
Beat the eggs whites until stiff
Mix the stiff whites, the minced almonds and the sugar with a spoon.

Take out the base from the oven, lower the oven temperature to 100°C.
Put the top on the base and bake again for 40-45 minutes.
You're done baking once there is a thin crust over the top. The inside of the top should not be dry (and believe me, with so much sugar it would be hard to get dry).

Serve cold in small rectangular piece of 2,5 x 4 cm.


This is how it should appear after you're done baking. As you can see, I used a silicone mould. I could get around 30 londoneri from it.