Gestation

[Brian H]

[Admin note: poster originally titled this topic: Asymptotically approaching zero.]

Under new management, the FFS site and forum information flow is asymptotically approaching zero. It is indistinguishably close to it already, so we’ll never be sure when all information is cut off entirely.

Or maybe I’m wrong. Prove me wrong. PLEASE prove me wrong!

[Breakable]

Calm down, the most important is they keep working on it 😉

[AaronB]

There is a certain Uncertainty Principle that applies here. The more reporting we do, the less work we get done. However, an update is coming in the next few days.

[Phil’s Dad]

We can always talk among ourselves. In fact we should at times like this. Think of it as the stop after a down. It gives us a chance to call a new play. (and gives the Webmaster time to improve the site)

So Mr H – Copenhagen huh! :smirk:

[Brian H]

AaronB wrote: There is a certain Uncertainty Principle that applies here. The more reporting we do, the less work we get done. However, an update is coming in the next few days.

Rezwan is not part of the physics team; just notes about equipment developments, shots fired, etc. would be fine between more substantive releases. The bar isn’t really all that high!

Anything is better than nothing. Since Shot 2 (the pinch) there have only been a couple of bits of information about trigger problems, and nothing more.

[Phil’s Dad]

Maybe in the long stretches between mile-stones we can turn the question around.
What have FFS members done today to promote the cause? :wow:

[Rezwan]

Confusing title. I kept deleting the notifications in my inbox because I didn’t think it related to me.

Using my fabulous administrative powers I am going to change the name of this topic to “Gestation”.

Deal with it.

Brian, you have ADHD. Yes, you should consider the posts closed until further notice. Go on vacation. Come back when we ask you. What have you done for me lately, Brian? Did you get me a Christmas present? Kwanza pie? I didn’t think so.

There’s a lot to report, and a lot of structural work to do, and my circuits are overloaded. For example, they’ve set up the time of flight detectors and were adjusting those. So – should I just twitter “they set up time of flight detectors?” I could. That would be the easiest thing to do. But then you’d badger me about that. Badger badger badger. Nag nag nag.

What is that. What does it do. Can we have a picture. What happened to the shot? I want every data point. Now, free, perfect.

Basically, you think your request is simple. You want me to hang out in the lab and post things, blog style, like a reporter. In fact, I do hang out at the lab from time to time and watch what the guys are doing. Then I ask questions, and this breaks the flow of their work. Although, sometimes it’s very useful, because I provide comic relief which makes work more fun, and because they think out loud and work things out, and it’s always good to have a sounding board. But then – due to my limited knowledge of everything, when I go to write up what we just discussed, I ground to a halt over some gaps. I have a bunch of questions to ask to fill in the details. But by this time, I don’t want to break their focus again just to have them give me elementary physics and engineering lessons. I figure I will do that in my own time. So, I’m doing a lot of reading on these topics. The learning curve is steep.

Upshot: I have a bunch of half, or quarter written articles here, piling up.

The good thing is that, as time goes by, the picture gets clearer, its resolving. Gestating. Each of the articles are taking better form.

I loathe writing something if I don’t understand it completely. I also loathe blogging. By that, I mean that I don’t like to just write things as they come up, in a stream of consciousness and events. I have to have structure. It has to have a place to go. I have to be organized. If things aren’t organized, I simply stop, and organize.

Right now, it’s organization time.

There’s a lot of material that needs to get through, and I am a narrow funnel. So my priority is to set up this website so that other people can do some of this work.

Or, say there are a series of articles to be written about the instruments LPP will be using. I could just write it up in standard blog format with a category. But it occurs to me that this is data, and I should set up a database for it. There are fields to set up for it. name, description, purpose, cost, issues, images.

For the casual user, that’s probably not important. But I’m thinking long term. Tonight (SUNDAY NIGHT! I should be watching TV!) Eric and I discussed how to develop the “Plasma Network” component of the site. We want to make a useful place for plasma physicists to collaborate. That’s great, because I just purchased MSM, the Multi-Site Manager – so we can set up a whole new forum for physicists (we’re trying to keep the rabble off that – although you can see what the pros are posting). Now, this is a crowd that’s going to want more details on equipment and suppliers so they can compare. Eventually the site will evolve into something that can support their discussion of such mundanities.

MSM is not hard to use. But it takes time to set all these things up. And I do a little on several fronts at a time.

Oh, and about user posting. I made some progress there, and ran aground. Note to self, still need to put out a query on the expression engine forum about why this isn’t working. So many facets of it to iron out. And they WILL be ironed out, because it’s just code. But I never studied computer science. I am self-taught here (I guess everyone is). So it takes quite a bit of focus to track down why something isn’t working. Take a look at this test of the SAEF for a logo submission. Is logo submission a high priority? No. But the steps I have to go through to set up the SAEF and get it to work for users is important. The same steps will be used for every other type of thing we set up to allow users to post. With various permissions. Member management. Because eventually, we want a lot of pros posting. Quality stuff.

If you look at this draft – never mind the formatting. The trouble I’m having is that as an admin, it works perfectly. But when I log out and log back in as a mortal, it doesn’t work. Actually, it did work at first, when I set it to upload to the main upload directory – to an extent. I could upload an image and words, preview the screen, but when I submitted, nothing showed. Later, as admin, I saw that the post was, indeed, made, and I was notified, but the status was “closed”. So admin had to “open” it. But in the logical place where you put permissions, I have told it to be open, and to allow posts. It should have done so automatically.

Then I changed the folder for images – since I noticed the “upload” window that opens gives a bit too much info to people and may confuse them – and I don’t want to find where that even comes from or how to edit it… Then, on the page where you can view the images the comments don’t show – but they should as I haven’t changed anything.

These are just a couple of examples. Each of these things is a perplexing problem. And I have to solve it. And that takes focus. And meanwhile you just want your fix.

[Rezwan]

AaronB wrote: The more reporting we do, the less work we get done.

Exactly. Like approaching the speed of light.

[Rezwan]

Phil’s Dad wrote: Maybe in the long stretches between mile-stones we can turn the question around.
What have FFS members done today to promote the cause? :wow:

Yes! That guy and the moon, didn’t he also say “ask not what your country can do for you…”

[Brian H]

“I loathe writing something if I don’t understand it completely. I also loathe blogging.”
Yes, that’s the impression I got. So if it’s not perfect, not complete, not “organized”, you keep it back till it is. Which means zero info output for LONG stretches, even weeks or months. As for ‘nagging for details’, I doubt you can come up with many instances. The problem is that all sorts of things are going on which are detailed “pending stuff” for you, but are merely faint hints and wisps of speculation for us. As you imply when you say you “loathe blogging”, you appear to have very little appreciation or empathy or concept of the other end of the pipeline’s viewpoint.
Not a useful or ideal characteristic for the #1 communicator for a world-shaking project, IMO.

As for “what I’ve done” for FFS, I would wager that the number of posts and contacts I’ve initiated with knowledgeable and potentially interested other persons and sites is at least as great as anyone else’s, including yours. I’m prepared to prove it, if necessary.

[Breakable]

In my opinion Rezwan is doing a great job (and a big favour for us) with informing all about the internals of the experiment progress. The big periods of silence could be alleviated by tweeting the occasional “Opened a rift in space time”, but its more a favour for the fans, and not very important for the project itself. Look at the desperate Pollywell folk, who get a sketchy update from the Army once half a year under best circumstances.
So tnx Rezwan, and keep up the good work!

[Brian H]

Breakable wrote: …
Look at the desperate Pollywell folk, who get a sketchy update from the Army once half a year under best circumstances.
…

Yeah, the Polywell guys are pretty much government toadies, I think. They’ve got their second kick at the government funding in hand, and are paying attention to the paymasters. Probably have had to sign secrecy papers up the kazoo, too. (But I think it’s the Navy they’re with?!?)

But FF was always an open and privately-driven effort. It’s just hard to swallow that the action has finally begun and as soon as it did, silence descended.
____
Just checked on the Polywell. From the talk-Polywell FAQ:

EMC2 Inc. is under contract with the United States Navy to research the Polywell. The Navy has a publication embargo on documents produced by EMC2 for reasons that aren’t entirely clear.
Known Contracts
SOURCE Funding
…………………Amount Year Purpose
DARPA…………$50k 85-86 Concept Definition
SDIO/DNA…….$250k 87-88 Major Study
DARPA/HEPS…$10M 89-92 R&D;
DoE HQ………..$100k 92-93 toroidal polyhedral IEF – fuel/gas vacuum system separation means
USN SBIR……..$50k 92-93 Basic Concepts – Propulsion Apps
EPRI……………$150k 93 IEF Power Plant Study
USN SBIR…….$750k 93-95 Wiffle Ball behavior, Electron Trapping
LANL/UI……….$315k 92-94 ion-driven IEC system
SDIO/NASA…..$280k 93-94 polyhedral IEF for space missions
?? ?? ?? INTERREGNUM??
USN…………….$12.7M 99-04 Major R&D;Program
USN……………$3.2M 03-06 Transition / Follow-on
USN……………$1.8M 07-08 Reconstruct WB6 / Expert Panel Review
USN……………$300k 09 Install “compact, high temperature coil joints” and investigate electron parallel heat loss and wiffleball formation

I make it $11,945,000 over 10 years before the navy got involved, then a pause of 4 years, then $18,000,000 over 10 years for a total of $29,945,000.
And all they’ve got is a wiffleball? :gulp: 8-/ :cheese:

[Rezwan]

Thanks to Z for sending me this link to Colbert Nation discussing the governments recover.gov website

This site tracks how much money is spent and how many jobs are created in each congressional district.

One detail that blew me away, that the site cost 18 million dollars. Now, true, you can make a website for 18 dollars, but this one has so many great things to click and track, you could easily spend the entire day on this site – since there’s a good chance you don’t have a job.

Aside from cost, Stephen notes that the site makes up 440 congressional districts out of thin air. A mild database problem.

Anway, back to work!

[achataignier]

Very long page with lots of info. Very useful for newcomers on the site.

Content is more than OK. A reformatting would probably help to read it more easily. Splitting sections in different tabs for instance, with a section selection in a left frame.

But you can also simply begin by modifying the CSS and clearly emphasise titles from normal text by something like:
p
{
… current styles in p section…
text-align:justify;
margin-left:50px;
}

Generally that helps a lot in the reading, especially when the text is long.

Cheeers
Arnaud.

[achataignier]

WHoops… I mean… I wanted to post this last comment here of course… and not on this page
https://focusfusion.org/index.php/forums/viewthread/387/

Well, regarding this thread and the “lack” on info in the past days, I don’t think anyone should blame you Rezwan. Instead, we should all yell a big “Thanks Rezwan !!” for the free and nice info you post when you can. It’s new. It’s fresh. It’s Rezwan… and all the FF team.

Cheeers
Arnaud.

[Author]

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