Hi Boyd,

> Edison also fought the alternating current
> guy (I forget his name) tooth and nail
> during the DC VS AC struggle. To show that
> AC was dangerous, Edison staged events in
> which he electrocuted elephants and horrible
> stuff like that. The alternating current
> guy's life ended up being ruined, even
> though his way was better.

Yes, you're thinking of Nikola Tesla -- he really was a genius. The unit of magnetism is named the "Tesla" in his honor.

(So, with any magnetic device, it could have a strength of 1 Tesla, or 2 Teslas, and so on.)

We use alternating current (A/C power) for our homes nowadays rather than Edison's direct current because A/C power really is safer, as Tesla said it was....

Tesla is a bit of a cult hero nowadays in some circles.... Some believe that Tesla invented a "free energy" machine which was suppressed.... From what I can gather (and I haven't really looked into this), Tesla planned to have some kind of machine which worked on both solar power and the energy from cosmic rays. (That is, from small high energy particles which are constantly bombarding the earth from space.)

I think it's tough to make a living from inventing though. Much easier to become a "product developer"! Tesla's life is an example.... He was clearly a genius, but because he had high development costs, the money he did make eventually disappeared into the costs of developing his other projects.... Sadly, Tesla died in poverty. Though he has a HUGE following today!

> Can anyone name a supersuccessful person,
> other than Jesus, who never broke or bent
> any rules?

I've been looking for such people!

I have a high opinion of Ross Perot's personal ethics, from what I know about them. The fact he saved his employees who were taken hostage in Iran during the Iranian revolution I think is absolutely remarkable! This became a bestselling novel, "On Wings of Eagles", and then a TV mini-series. :)

Oprah Winfrey seems also to be an ethical success story, from what I know....

There could be important things I don't know, but that's my view based on my current knowledge!

I believe that highly ethical and also successful people do exist. :)

Dien Rice


If you want to know more about Tesla.... Nikola Tesla - Master of Lightning