The cuddling scene from "The Boy and the Dragon", and White Dragons

Esque and Tom finally make it to Albergarthwe (Aireilgrthe...[spellings and pronunciations vary]) and burst in on the room where Llel and Wend are hanging out. They are cuddling together by the fire and, at a later date, an egg is produced. The reunion of Esque and her Mom is heartwarming. Tom's presence causes a stir.

In the short term this allows for a discussion of Dragon genetics - TBD. In the long term, a Dragon egg is produced. This is part of the miracle at the end of the story.

There is a discussion of White Dragons. These are quite small, usually around 8 inches. They live in the forest and are little known. They do not have the same vocal chords as the larger dragons, and make sounds by flapping their wings. They can understand human speech - it is not too fast- but they speak at the same rate as larger dragons. So there is still a communication barrier. EVERYONE speaks English.

White Dragons are very data centric and pedantic.

At the bookseller's - scene from The Boy and the Dragon

The Naysayer is curious about dragons: "Maybe we should find out something about dragons before we...". So he goes down the bookseller's street and finds "A Field Guide to the Dragons" by Robertroy Peterson (or some modified name). The book is by a woman, who we refer to as the "Wise Woman", and the vendor says: "Oh yeah. She is still alive".

So the Naysayer locates the Wise Woman and goes to ask her about dragons.

Update: Maybe the book is old, not recent, but by an author whose descendants still exist. As the Naysayer is leafing through the book, he notices a picture of the national flag. But it is wrong. The current flag shows a white man and a white dragon facing each other on a field of blue. The man holds a sword out towards the dragon. But in this old book, the flag depicts the man without a sword. Later, when the Naysayer meets the Wise Woman, she can tell him a little of the history of how the sword got added and how ancient texts talk about cooperation between people and dragons.

***

In case I don't mention it elsewhere, we must include General Otto and his troops. Perhaps Tom's dad is a soldier, while his mom is a special needs language teacher. Tom is slightly dyslexic, which is why he prefers going fishing. 

One supposes a human society with aristocrats who are contemptuous of the "peasants". In the Kings council meeting, when Balthazaar speaks, the Naysayer expects nothing more than baffoonery and bombast. But when Thornton speaks, the Naysayer is more concerned - knowing he is the ultimate manipulator. I guess Thornton can be the minister of transportation. Thornton can be a bad guy.

Elastocaloric cooling

 Use the properties of elastocaloric wire, to make refrigerator clothing.

Scene from near the end of the "Boy and the Dragon"

There is a room full of dragons and a delegation of humans. The dragons are chattering amongst themselves and Tom introduces Esque to the other humans with the words "This is my friend Esque".

The room suddenly goes quiet. A dragon, in back, leans towards a colleague and says: "Did he just say what I thought he said?" [CORRECTION: Only the young dragons in the room understand what was said, and they translate for their elders.]

Words and names have special meaning for dragons. Dragons are very particular about names. To get a name wrong or make a bad pun can be a deadly insult and get you killed. And no human has called a dragon "friend" in many thousand years. But the dragons remember what it means. 

And just as suddenly the dragons start talking again, excited about what just happened. Humans and dragons have been named FRIENDS!

The standard view - in two colors

 

Refrigerator clothing

Minnesotans wear warm clothes during the winter. How about clothes that cool you down during a hot summer in Las Vegas? People cannot go outside for several months there. We are talking about active cooling rather than passive cooling.

Just a thought

I woke up from a dream about a complex linguistic operation that, for some -possibly anatomical- reason, turned out to be extremely simple. It reminds me that there may be a number of things that are actually topological in how we think: so that a homotopy is almost instantaneous.

What comes to mind as an example - now that I am awake - is the nature of dependence. For example: 

I depend on my grandmother sending me money to pay the rent

According to my theory, a dependency is a shortcut where the connection between getting money and paying the rent is so intuitive that it does not need to be said. How about:

I need warm clothing to enjoy a trip to Greenland

So let me wonder: is the shortcut a homotopy? 

Similarly when someone describes what happened and someone else says: "Yes that is true".