tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post7693535134447379869..comments2024-03-29T07:33:41.566-04:00Comments on The Silicon Graybeard: The Challenge of ResilienceSiGraybeardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00280583031339062059noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-40632309352576186922012-05-11T00:55:12.700-04:002012-05-11T00:55:12.700-04:00Well, I get the point re: toaster components. As a...Well, I get the point re: toaster components. As a fledgling purchasing agent the beauty of capitalism, no - of free markets - was in calling someone across the country who did not know me or the company I represented and striking a deal to purchase X at price Y- delivered to us with invoice to follow. Man, that is trust in a system that worked.<br /><br />Anyhow, for a toaster I have heated bread over a stove burner, held with a fork - it works.<br /><br />Now "Could you refine iron from hematite? What if you don't have that microwave oven and crucibles he used? In a high temperature vessel (ceramic? glass?)"<br /><br />for that i recall my teenage experiment in melting nickles within a ceramic crucible using a muffle furnace - yes, they melted - right through the crucible - through the furnace floor too.<br /><br />microwave? not so sure that would work much better<br /><br />itorAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-451823652045342502012-05-10T17:04:38.204-04:002012-05-10T17:04:38.204-04:00Yeah, there are times when he talks about the bad ...Yeah, there are times when he talks about the bad effects coming from climate change and I just want to tell him "ain't gonna happen", but I just shut up and ignore it. <br /><br />Hey, if it helps get average folks more resilient, tell them evil spirits are doing it.SiGraybeardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00280583031339062059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-17722031543202550922012-05-10T17:02:28.171-04:002012-05-10T17:02:28.171-04:00That's an excellent point, and I'm right w...That's an excellent point, and I'm right with you. There is a lot of home activity with forges that can melt and cast iron, and allow work more like blacksmiths can do. Knife makers are doing this sort of work, too. We may well get there in my ramblings, although I don't know how to do any of that stuff. Yet.SiGraybeardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00280583031339062059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-80888816007732448372012-05-10T16:48:01.536-04:002012-05-10T16:48:01.536-04:00John Robb offers a great deal of good information....John Robb offers a great deal of good information. I admit I have to swallow my rising gorge when he starts talking about global warming ("climate change"), though. How such a bright individual can continue to allow himself to be deluded in that fashion is beyond my comprehension. Then again, the tenor of some of his articles appears to skirt close to a fondness for communal existence, too, so I shouldn't be too surprised.<br /><br />One of the differences between the "progressives" and conservatives: conservatives are willing to appreciate someone for his good points, and let go of his negative points in doing so. Progressives seem to be unwilling - or unable - to do that, at least where conservatives are concerned.RegTnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-91179133709832737472012-05-10T09:25:39.972-04:002012-05-10T09:25:39.972-04:00Henry Petroski wrote The Pencil about 20 years ago...Henry Petroski wrote <i>The Pencil</i> about 20 years ago, covering much the same ground. <br /><br />A century or so ago the average blacksmith could replicate a reasonable percentage of life's common goods, or at least maintain them successfully. Such is not the case today, either technically or economically (by "economically" I don't mean cost per unit, but based on the structure of an exceedingly complex international economy); as Thwaites discovered, the iron ore-to-steel conversion process isn't a good weekend project. Neither is fabricating computer chips. <br /><br />I see a marketing opportunity for mid- to bottom-of-high technology design, implementation and support, sort of a "21st century blacksmith," if that's not a non sequitur. There are a few companies doing that already, but most I'm aware of do it on limited scale for specific industries, sort of a "the pros from Dover" thing. I suspect a much more widespread implementation of the concept (and skills) would benefit societal resilience goals.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com