[Beowulf] Personal Introduction & First Beowulf Cluster Question

[Gus Correa]

Hello James, list

Lux, James P wrote:

>>very high performance is not expected, Rocks is a quite
>>convenient and cost-effective solution.
>>
>>That is how I maintain a Pentium III little cluster, and my
>>1993 Honda.  :) Would you take such a jewel to the dealership
>>for an oil change?
>>
>>    
>>
>
>You put rocks in the crankcase of your 93 Honda?  Doesn't that make a lot of noise at high revs?
>
>Jim
>  
>
Had I figured how to break polymers of Silicon, rather than polymers of 
Carbon,
to fuel my 1993 Honda (that lovely XX century relic),
I might as well sell the technology to NASA, for the rovers.
No more heavy batteries or big solar panels required.
Get a sack of Martian pebbles, and move!
No global warming either, environmentally friendly just like the 
Flintstones. 

Unfortunately the reactions are not exothermic, as Bowen discovered long 
ago:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowen's_reaction_series
To break pyroxene into olivine, you need to heat things up,
and oxidation (weathering) takes a looong time ...
Not like burning octane into CO2, where to make a big boom all you need 
is air and a spark.

In any case, I use rocks in the trunk of my Honda, for winter ballast 
against skidding on the snow.
Very effective, and high-tech.
I recommended to BMW and other brands, for improved stability.

Gus Correa

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Gustavo J. Ponce Correa, PhD - Email: gus at ldeo.columbia.edu
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory - Columbia University
P.O. Box 1000 [61 Route 9W] - Palisades, NY, 10964-8000 - USA
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