[IKE]

IMO, one of the most relevant quotes from the article for this thread is:

"'You know, you have to be optimistic. If you weren't, you'd never start a really difficult project. That's why other people didn't start it - they're rational. So I start these big projects. And in my heart of hearts, I know, boy, a lot's going to go wrong. You just have to be willing to fail a lot and somehow keep your optimism. Well, in the case of the arm, we didn't do a lot of the failing. It went together beautifully.'"

Read about any inventor that has truly made a product (or products) that will change the world and you will find one thing in common. A lot of failed attempts. Why, because it is new and uncharted territory. If you have ever worked in a research area you will understand that no one venturing into the unknown succeeds every time.

I got the opportunity to work in one of these area in the Auto industry. These engineers were ridiculed by their fellow employees. Their failures were frequently cited. That being said, they had working KERS system 2 decades before F1 is using the technology. They made dual-clutch automatic transmissions in 1/3 the time of other more formal companies. They also are responsible for numerous inventions that we may see on future cars. People didn't get it because it wasn't main stream until a decade or 2 later.

Being a Visionary is a bit of a curse. There are a lot of human behaviors that completely defy logic, but are accepted as standard convention. Being a successful inventor (Like Dean is) is even tougher because you have proven "the World" wrong on many occasions. Unfortunately most of the World doesn't get it. Our society loves to build pedestals and put people on them. What it seems to love even more is to watch them fall off of those pedestals.

There are all sorts of technical issues to getting "useful" energy conversion from a sterling engine, but they are readily available (you can buy them online that run literally off of the heat from the palm of your hand). I saw a kid in HS make a working sterling from coffee cans, a lawnmower wheel, ans some copper lumbing with some steel wool. Where others failed is they tried to drive a car around using the Sterling like a conventional Gasoline engine. Not a good plan. Using it as an efficient and flex fuel generator.... they might be on to something.