Steorn - Hope

I am outside my tent in a remote part of the Scottish Highlands. Powering my UPC with a solar panel in the pouring rain is not easy, but I thank the scientists and engineers, the business people and financiers who have made such a miracle even possible. My writing desk is anywhere in the world and I'm surrounded by beauty instead of four grey walls.

The weather has been so poor that I've rationed my power and therefore my time on the net. However, catching up with what's going on in the SPDC has, for the first time since the failed demo, put me back in an optimistic frame. I can't, for obvious reasons, say what, but interesting things are happening in there.

With my new pragmatic and sceptical head on, I will not go so far as to jump the fence again although I am tempted to do so. Steorn's silence may frustrate and infuriate some people but they are dancing to their own tune and I like the sound of it.

Perhaps, one day yet, we can all use an Orbo where the sun don't shine and Steorn might - just might - bring the planet what they promised. If that happens, I will regain something I wondered that I might have lost: faith in my ability to judge people, to recognise sincerity and to act on it no matter the odds.

Steorn - The Never Ending Story

Two weeks on from the un-demo, nothing much has changed. In one way, my belief in Steorn has remained. There are real things going on behind the scenes that continue to fire the flame of hope, there is incredible circumstantial evidence that this is not the delusion of one charismatic individual. However, the passion and time I have put into this project (I have just spent five months writing a first draft of a SF novel that included a successful Steorn in shaping the landscape of my future world) now gives way to a distant objectivity that requires more than confidence in my own ability to judge people.

As a member of the SPDC, I see many clever and passionate people, in Steorn and outside of the company, working hard to change the world in the understanding that we are not being duped. For obvious reasons I cannot talk about details, but perhaps I can use this blog to convey my confidence level from time to time. While I make no promises regarding my gullibility, I can hope at least to reflect my honest assessment of what is going on without the shade of rose-tinted glasses distorting my view.

Until my confidence in my ability to judge others is restored, I will only update this blog occasionally and when I have some reason to shift my position. If I can tell you why I have shifted then I will, otherwise I will simply report the fact.

Rather than checking here regularly, it may be worth your while subscribing to the newsletter so that when I do post on Steorn, you will receive it automatically.

At the moment, confidence is low. It could change so easily and a part of me expects it to do just that. If it does, it will be my head speaking, not my heart.