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I Saw a Fish, or A Fish I Saw

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Everyone has been to Sea World in Florida, or the New England Aquarium in Boston, or perhaps just the Mandalay Bay Hotel Aquarium in Las Vegas. For many people all the big public aquariums start to look eerily alike – a big tank with toothy sharks, small tanks with colorful reef fish, and brilliantly lit tanks of jellyfish (or more accurately, sea jellies, since jellyfish are neither jelly nor fish).

But to come to this conclusion is to miss the uniqueness of each aquarium, a uniqueness that the curators strive to achieve with the passion that comes from doing what you love to do. Since each aquarium by definition exists in its own local environment, each tries to bring that individuality to the public. Oh, and also a big tank of toothy sharks.

In going through some photos of a recent visit to North Carolina I came across a different kind of toothiness – a sawfish.

Sawfish

Sawfish look like people (well, maybe a little…just look at the photo above). Okay, not so much people. But they do look like sharks with long snouts (called a rostrum) filled with teeth-like denticles. Technically they are considered to be rays, the flattened fish with winglike fins that skate across the bottom of the tank and sneak up on tourists in the tropics.

Not surprisingly, sawfish use their “saw” to slash at prey with their denticle-covered rostrum. They also use it to defend themselves from predators, even if those predators are merely the unprotected ankles of an unwary wader. Unfortunately for sawfish, however, their saw hasn’t kept them from becoming endangered species. Many are poached for their rostrum (as a collectors item) or their fins (for food). Many are simply pulled up as bycatch by fisherman looking for more legal forage.

Sawfish are popular at public aquariums where they can be found, but are actually difficult to maintain due to their size and the lack of success in breeding programs. There is some question as to how much longer they will be around to be seen.

And I have to admit they are pretty cool to see.

More on aquariums here.

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Tesla Science Center Successfully Buys Wardenclyffe – Will Make It Into a Museum

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Nikola TeslaAn effort to raise money to buy Nikola Tesla’s Wardenclyffe laboratory has been successful. The Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe, a non-profit group that has been pursuing the property for many years, confirmed that the Agfa Corporation agreed to sell the site to the Center. The Center will now begin developing designs for the renovation of the facility, which is badly in need of repair, and the creation of a world class “museum and educational memorial to Nikola Tesla, an eccentric genius who lit the world with alternating current but died penniless.”

Wardenclyffe was Tesla’s last great laboratory, and where he planned to begin his World Wireless System to transmit both communications (radio) and power without wires. The effort fell short due to design problems and the withdrawal of funding from financier J.P. Morgan. Tesla later came to his benefactor’s defense when others accused the wealthy financier of pulling funding because Tesla’s wireless electrical power ideas would not provide a profit for Morgan. In his autobiography, Tesla noted with respect to Morgan that “he carried out his generous promise to the letter and it would have been most unreasonable to expect from him anything more.” It was not lack of faith in his abilities by Morgan that would end Tesla’s work at Wardenclyffe, it was that “my project was retarded by laws of nature. The world was not prepared for it. It was too far ahead of time. But the same laws will prevail in the end and make it a triumphal success.”

A century later, Wardenclyffe could once again be the focal point for Tesla’s research. The acquisition by the Tesla Science Center and development of a museum and educational center is a fitting tribute to the man who helped bring us the electrical systems we all rely on today.

More on Tesla: Wizard of Electricity here.

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Update on Tesla Book – Going Through the Publisher’s Edits – Book Title Change

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Nikola TeslaJust a quick update – I have gone through at least some of the publisher’s edits in Nikola Tesla: Scientific Rock Star. Most are straightforward and not controversial. But then there is the question of the title.

Nikola Tesla: Scientific Rock Star will probably not be the final title.

Scientific Rock Star is my working title, but the publisher was keen on Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity. In the edits just received the title change has been made in the manuscript; that would seem to make it official.

My first chapter, however, remains titled “A Scientific Rock Star is Born.”

So I suppose I need to edit my tentative book cover:

Nikola Tesla: Scientific Rock Star cover

More as I get through the edits.

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Nikola Tesla Saves Thomas Edison in Paris

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Nikola TeslaPrior to moving to the United States Nikola Tesla worked for Thomas Edison’s electric company in Paris.

Tesla’s initial time at Continental Edison was spent as a kind of traveling repairman sent to fix some of the tougher problems with the direct current system.  Moving about mainly in France and Germany he would “cure the ills” and return to Paris.  This experience led him to propose improvements to the dynamos, which he implemented. “My success was complete,” Tesla would write, “and the delighted directors accorded me the privilege of developing automatic regulators which were much desired.” Having quickly built a reputation as someone who could save the day, not to mention his proficiency in the German language, Tesla was the obvious choice to send to Strassburg, Alsace (part of Germany at the time, now Strasbourg, France). A catastrophic event had occurred during the opening ceremony of the new lighting plant at the railroad station, and help was needed fast.

The Strasbourg rail station, originally built in 1846, had just been remodeled in the current year of 1883.  Dignitaries, including the aging Emperor William I of Germany, were gathered to watch the newly installed direct current electric lighting system showcase the station.  The flip of the switch turned out to be more dramatic than expected, however, and a large part of a wall was collapsed by a huge explosion, nearly taking William with it. Following this major malfunction and a series of other quality control issues – light bulbs were burning out as fast as they could be replaced – the talented Tesla was dispatched to see what he could do to repair the damage, both to the direct current system and the sensitivities of the Alsace people.

Tesla took on the task of correcting the problem and spent nearly a year redesigning the generators and reinstalling the lighting system. Then, with the Strasbourg rail station now fully lit and accepted by the Alsace government, Tesla “returned to Paris with pleasing anticipations.”

The reality turned out to be not so pleasing.

 

David J. Kent has been a scientist for over thirty years, is an avid science traveler, and an independent Abraham Lincoln historian. He is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and the e-book Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time. He is currently writing a book on Thomas Edison.

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Tesla book edits are in!

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Nikola TeslaAll angst aside, it was worth the wait.

I mentioned earlier this week that my editor for Tesla: Wizard of Electricity promised to send me his edits on the manuscript I submitted in early September. I received them last night.

Keep in mind that for the last three weeks I have had no feedback about whether he felt the manuscript was good, bad, or circular file worthy. So natural paranoia battled natural confidence battled natural dispassionate analytical logic for which persona could create the most melodramatic interpretive scenario of the likely verdict. Yeah, I was biting my nails. And when the email finally came it was extremely flattering.

My gasp of relief was audible for miles.

Having passed this milestone the next step is to review all of the edits from my editor and the copyeditor at Sterling Publishing. Based on my first scan the edits appear to be a combination of tightening some of the sentences, queries for clarification, and suggestions regarding a few lines that impact backlisting potential. I will start digging deeper into them this weekend. My responses are due back by the end of next week.

Meanwhile over the last few weeks I have had the pleasure of meeting some great Nikola Tesla fans and researchers. My Facebook author’s page “Likes” have jumped up to 39, which isn’t in Lady Gaga territory (yet) but is a wonderful start to building my connections.

Now, on to the edits!

More information on my book Tesla: Wizard of Electricity can be found on my Tesla page. Don’t forget to subscribe to the posts by email on the home page.  And feel free to “Like” my Facebook author’s page and connect on LinkedIn.  Share with your friends with the buttons below.

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Nikola Tesla book update – edits expected this week

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Nikola TeslaNikola Tesla is in the house. Okay, maybe not quite in the house yet. Well, unless you count the AC outlets given that it was his inventions that allowed alternating current to beat out Thomas Edison’s direct current systems. But I digress.

I mentioned before that on September 10th I sent the manuscript for Nikola Tesla: Scientific Rock Star to my editor at Sterling Publishing. Since then I have been waiting for some feedback, knowing that publishers and editors are very busy people and the manuscript would take a while to review. Still, every day that passed is a week for an author waiting to find out if the manuscript he slaved over for months, often without food or sleep, would be deemed acceptable. Okay, I made up the part about going without food or sleep, but you get the idea. Nail-biting time.

Monday I heard from my editor. The bottom line is that he is “working on edits to the mss” (publisher-speak for “manuscripts,” though in retrospect I only sent him one ms). He expects to deliver the edits to me later this week. He also thanked me for sending him a few dozen photos to use in the book.

All of which I am taking as good news. After all, if he is editing it then it must mean it was at least not so bad as to immediately toss in the trash. And yes, I am choosing to put the best face on this as I can. Easier on the psyche that way. I will find out for sure when the edits arrive.

Wish me luck.

P.S. There is also news about the marketing and the book cover…and something called a “silent auction.” More on that shortly.

More information on my book “Nikola Tesla: Scientific Rock Star” can be found on my Tesla page. Don’t forget to subscribe to the posts by email on the home page.  And feel free to “Like” my Facebook author’s page and connect on LinkedIn.  Share with your friends with the buttons below.

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Nikola Tesla – Over $1 million raised to save Wardenclyffe

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Nikola Tesla WardenclyffeThe IndieGoGo crowdfunding effort has reached the end, and the grand total is…

(insert drum roll here if you feel so inclined)

…$1,370,511

Wow. Just wow.

Congratulations to the Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe. And many thanks to Matthew Inman at The Oatmeal for such amazing outreach.

For those just catching this for the first time, an opportunity arose to purchase the one remaining laboratory facility of Nikola Tesla. The Wardenclyffe property at Shoreham, Long Island had been used for many years by a photographic processing company but recently came up for sale. While the iconic tower is long gone, the main building remains. The Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe teamed with The Oatmeal with the goal of raising $850,000 in 45 days, which along with a matching grant from the State of New York, would be enough to meet the asking price of the property. To the surprise of everyone that goal was reached in a matter of days and the fund passed $1 million within about a week.

In a nice coincidence (or not), the final amount – $1,370,511 – is divisible by 3. Nikola Tesla had more than a few  idiosyncrasies, one of which was an obsession with doing everything in multiples of three. [More on “The Odd Mr. Tesla” in my book.]

The next steps are to put down the bid for the property, and assuming successful completion, plan and begin the renovations for making the site into a museum and active science center. Progress on the transition can be found right here on this web page or on the web site of the Tesla Science Center. Stay tuned.

More information on my book “Nikola Tesla: Scientific Rock Star” can be found on my Tesla page. Don’t forget to subscribe to the posts by email on the home page.  And feel free to “Like” my Facebook author’s page and connect on LinkedIn.  Share with your friends with the buttons below.

 

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Last Day to Save Nikola Tesla’s Wardenclyffe Laboratory

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Nikola TeslaToday is the last day to contribute to saving Nikola Tesla’s last laboratory – the Wardenclyffe facility at Shoreham, Long Island. Check out the campaign through the crowdfunding site IndieGoGo at http://www.indiegogo.com/teslamuseum.

I did a long post on the efforts of the Tesla Science Center to secure the property and how Matthew Inman – creator of The Oatmeal – used the power of his huge social networking presence to raise cash. The response was simply amazing.

But the clock is ticking down to the last few hours. Go to the IndieGoGo site for details and how to donate to the cause. Once the site can be purchased, the Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe plans to renovate it into a museum and science center.

More information on my book “Nikola Tesla: Scientific Rock Star” can be found on my Tesla page. Don’t forget to subscribe to the posts by email on the home page.  And feel free to “Like” my Facebook author’s page and connect on LinkedIn.  Share with your friends with the buttons below.

 

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Gondolas in Venice – New Header Image

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James JoyceAh, Venice. Italy. One of my favorite stops on my world tour. I have added another image to my header, joining the five other images that rotate from page to page. The photo was taken near Piazza San Marco – St. Mark’s Plaza – in Venice during a beautiful late summer day.

The vagaries of the cover photo requires some cropping to fit the space, so here is the full photo.

Venice, Italy gondolas

In the background you can see the 16th Century Benedictine Church of San Giorgio Maggiore located on a small island called, not surprisingly, Giorgio Maggiore.

I’ll have more photos of Venice in a future post. In case you missed it, check here for a photo of the Campanile, the bell tower in the Piazza San Marco.

Read about the other cover photo images here.

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Nikola Tesla: Scientific Rock Star – The Book Cover

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As Nikola Tesla: Scientific Rock Star makes its way through the pre-publication process, I thought I would put together a potential cover for the book.  What do you think?

Nikola Tesla: Scientific Rock Star cover

This likely won’t be the real cover that Sterling Publishing will produce. In fact, the title might not even be the same. They like “The Wizard of Electricity,” and that might be what it actually says on the cover when it hits the bookstores.

But hey, I’m having a little fun. I worked the above up in MS Paint, which is about as good an advertisement for buying Adobe Photoshop as could be imagined. The photograph is one I took at Niagara Falls on the Canadian side. Tesla’s eyes gaze out over Horseshoe Falls a stone’s throw from the statue. Come to think about it, I really like this photo.

So, does it work?

Don’t forget to subscribe to the posts by email on the home page.  And feel free to “Like” my Facebook author’s page and connect on LinkedIn.  Share with your friends with the buttons below. More about the book here.