Re: rubbish/perpetual motion

["Eric Chang" <ericchang@my-deja.com>]

>I guess, then some might ask "What means being American then?" ...

>I'm in trouble :-)
>Victor

Good question.  Especially good at this time of year.

1.  Being American means not having to be dishonest to survive (not
mine; one Cal professor's comment to students he punishes after
catching them cheating).

2.  Being American means taking things into one's own hands some of
the time.  The Constitution was meant to limit the tyranny of
democracy in that it disallows the majority from making certain
rules that diminish the ability of people to make choices for
themselves.

3.  Being American implies a value to industry and frugality, two
great virtues that helped build the nation.

Some examples:  Occasionally, things break down.  Engineers here
are in the minority, but there are a few.  One of my colleagues
from Lenningrad State University criticized me for cleaning a
spill in the microwave oven.  He said, "Community property is
community trash."  I don't think that it is because of any
sense of community spirit that I went ahead and cleaned it up.
Rather, it was the realization that I have hands, and I can do
something about it.  I don't have to whimper, and look for some
central authority to do the job.

Recently, the steam jet on the company cappucino machine
clogged up.  All the people standing around (incidentally not
Americans) murmered about how things were breaking down around
here.  Somebody said we should appoint a representative to make
a request for a repair.  Someone else said that this was a
message that we should drink coffee without milk.  Meanwhile, I
pulled a small piece of paper out of my pocket and unfolded it.
Threaded inside the fold was a common pin.  Gasps were heard
all around, "What does he think he is going to do with that???"
Before anybody could stop me, I unclogged the steam jet and
enjoyed a cappucino.  Somebody mentioned that if I was in her
home country, I'd lose an eye for that.  Not here:  I waited
until the pressure had dissipated :-) :-).  With all the
shocked people around, I imagined how Prof. Feynman felt when
he pulled out the piece of space shuttle o-ring and dunked it
in his glass of ice water.  The cameras were on and it was too
late to stop him.

One of the clearest examples of this spirit is on this list.
Look at all the people making pioneering innovations in the
field of electric vehicles.  Look at the power packed posts
from people doing real things without government support, or
even much popular backing.  People just go ahead and get
things working without asking for permission.  True, they
aren't all Americans, but you asked.

As for that SUV and V8 junk, I don't think that is a
characteristic American quality.  Those are 90's kidz.

Oh yeah, there is one more:

4.  Being American is consuming a lot of the Earth's precious
resources...and producing a lot from it.  As they said about
Edward Teller:  "He consumes a lot of food, but he produces a
lot of physics.  He is an efficient food to physics converter."




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