 |
| Newsletter Volume 1 : Issue 4 : November 2009 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
New site enhancements and fixes: |
|
|
|
 |
User sessions now last 8 hours by default. |
|
|
|
|
Numerous forum fixes, primarily with navigation. Still need to work out some bugs with the recent posts function. |
|
|
|
|
Site search function updated to produce more refined results. Still not perfect, but better. More to come later. |
|
|
|
|
Entire database schema consolidated and normalized. Most all functions are now faster. |
|
|
|
|
You may now unsubscribe from the newsletter using the link in the footer of the newsletter email or using the unsubscribe page on the site. |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Recent Site Updates |
|
|
|
|
|
Priceless Nikola Tesla Artifact Stolen from Wardenclyffe |
|
|
|
|
|
New Tesla Book Database |
|
|
|
|
|
Topps Releases Nikola Tesla Trading Cards |
|
|
Tesla Universe can also
be followed on: |
 |
|
|
|
|
 |
According to a recent post on the Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe Facebook page maintained by Jane Alcorn, President of the Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe, the bronze commemorative plaque that was commissioned and donated by the Yugoslavian government on the 120th anniversary of Tesla's birth and placed near the entrance of the Wardenclyffe laboratory has been stolen.
Some have speculated that the thieves may have been taking any valuable metals to simply sell for scrap and were ignorant to the true value of the plaque. It would be an extremely selfish act for a Tesla enthusiast to have been involved only to further his personal collection. After all that has been done to save Wardenclyffe and the significant progress that has recently been made, I'm sure this comes as a discouraging blow.
Anyone who may have tips or information may contact the Suffolk County Police Department at (631) 852-8700 or email the Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe.
The inscription on the plaque reads, “IN THIS BUILDING DESIGNED BY STANFORD WHITE, ARCHITECT NIKOLA TESLA BORN SMILJAN, YUGOSLAVIA 1856, DIED NEW YORK, U.S.A. 1943. CONSTRUCTED IN 1901-1905 WARDENCLYFFE, HUGE RADIO STATION WITH ANTENNA TOWER 187 FT. HIGH (DESTROYED 1917), WHICH WAS TO SERVE AS HIS FIRST WORLD COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM. IN MEMORY OF 120TH ANNIVERSARY OF TESLA'S BIRTH AND 200TH ANNIVERSARY OF U.S.A. INDEPENDENCE - July 10, 1976”
Hopefully someone will be able to intervene and the plaque will be recovered. There is no word of a reward or any other information at this time. This story has been added to the main Tesla Universe News Blog where you can post your comments and view updates if additional information becomes available.
|
|
|
 |
The newest feature of the Tesla Universe website is the long overdue Nikola Tesla Book Database. The database has been launched with just under 100 Tesla-related books which are sortable by title, publish date, author, etc. We've revamped the rating system from the Nikola Tesla Quote Database for the books so that now each vote is stored separately and the rating is based on an overall average. (Thanks to Phillip Slawinski for his help with the calculation formula for this.) We'll update the quotes database with this new ratings function soon.
On the home page you'll find a new featured book section which is refreshed daily. Today's book is one of the latest from the Nikola Tesla Museum called Nikola Tesla - From Colorado to Long Island: Research Notes - Colorado Springs 1899-1900 - New York 1900-1901.
In the near future we'll add support to allow members to write reviews for each book, add comments to reviews, support multiple photos, tag clouds, links to Google Books previews and more. For now, please feel free to rate the books as you'd recommend them.
You can also stay up-to-date on new books as they are added to the database by subscribing to the Tesla Universe Books RSS feed.
|
|
|
 |
Other than an entry on their release calendar, the Topps website makes no mention of the recent release of their 2009 Mayo Football set which includes two styles of Nikola Tesla cards. The first is the number 95 base card which is also produced in a relic card, a mini card and limited edition red and blue back versions. The relic card includes an authentic piece of brick from the 1893 Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair.
The back of the number 95 card reads: “Nikola Tesla: Electrical Engineer - Tesla, a Serbian inventor and engineer, developed theories that helped form the foundation for the type of electricity that power companies supply to homes today. In the late 1800s, he worked briefly for American icon Thomas Edison. Later, while partnering with George Westinghouse, Nickola (Editor Note: This misspelling was not my mistake. Take a look at the photo of the card in the gallery. Maybe Topps should consider using spell check next time.) made revolutionary advances in alternating-current theory. Tesla also had a deep interest in radio communication. As early as 1897, he demonstrated remote control of two model boats in New York City.”
The second card is the WF9, or World's Fair number 9, mini card. This card features the famous profile photo of Tesla reading a book in front of his large pancake Tesla coil from the Houston Street lab. I am still waiting on this card to arrive and will update the gallery with additional photos when I receive it.
I'm not sure which is worse, misspelling Tesla's name, or implying that Tesla only “theorized” alternating current and the polyphase system we use today. Either way, I'm going to choose to focus on the positive which is the fact that Topps did honor Tesla by featuring him on their cards. Let us know what you think by leaving a comment.
|
|
|
That's all for now.
In the closing notes of the previous newsletter I mentioned the Teslathons we would be attending and planned to feature them in a newsletter. Other pressing matters didn't allow enough time to produce a newsletter but you can read about them and view photos in the following TU news blog posts:
Lastly, we've started an initial Tesla Universe Facebook page but need more fans in order to secure a friendly URL due to changes in Facebook policies. If you are a Facebook user, please consider fanning our page to help us in this effort.
I wish everyone safe and happy holidays. Thanks for reading and please let me know if you any questions.
Sincerely,
Cameron B. Prince
Webmaster/Editor
http://www.teslauniverse.com
|
|
|
|
|
