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“What you gonna do when you get out of jail?…” part 342

Monday, March 8th, 2021

Military History Monday? Maybe?

“DEW Line Story”, another one from the AT&T Archives, about building radar stations above the Arctic Circle. This looks…cold.

This is another one where I’ve set the start of the video to skip the introduction.

Bonus: Also by way of AT&T, “A 20-year History of Antiballistic Missile Systems”.

This film examines five different experimental and functional antiballistic missile systems worked on by Western Electric and Bell Labs in conjunction with the U.S. Army: the ABM studies, Nike Zeus, Nike-X, Sentinel, and Safeguard. It also shows the Spartan and Sprint systems, the Ballistic Missile Defense Operations Center, the BDMC at Cheyenne Mountain, PAR antennas and console operations, and the BDMC’s link with NORAD. There are lots of images of real – and animated – missile launches.

I’ve linked to some of these (Like Nike Zeus and Nike-X) before, but this covers some I haven’t talked about previously.

Posted in History | Comments Closed

“What you gonna do when you get out of jail?…” part 341

Sunday, March 7th, 2021

Science Sunday!

I’m going back to the space science well again, after only two weeks, because I feel like both of these videos are worth using.

“Uptime 15,364 days – The Computers of Voyager”. This is a talk by Aaron Cummings from the Strange Loop Conference, and deals specifically with the computer hardware: less so, as the presenter puts it, with the actual science of V’ger.

These systems have proved to be both adaptable, durable, and resilient in support of a scientific undertaking now in it’s fifth decade.

Bonus: This might cross more into leadership and management than space science, but I thought I’d use it here anyway: Andrew Chaikin on “Management Lessons of the Moon Program”.

I’ve read A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts (affiliate link) and enthusiastically endorse it. If you only have time to read one history of the space program, Chaikin’s book is a good choice.

Posted in Books, Geek, History, Leadership | Comments Closed

“What you gonna do when you get out of jail?…” part 340

Saturday, March 6th, 2021

Here’s a couple more random things I pulled out of the big bag o’ random.

First off: “Turn On With AC – AC Tough!”. This is from 1973, and if that’s not enough of a warning for you: this is full on “Joel, am I tripping?” fodder. The best way I can describe it is as an early 1970s variety show (or a parody of same) promoting AC products. Not AC-Delco: they didn’t become AC-Delco until 1974.

I’m not necessarily saying that you should watch this, but it is only about 17 and a half minutes, and is so bizarre that it should make the younger set say, “What were they doing in the 1970s?!” (Answer: cocaine. Lots and lots of cocaine.)

Somewhat more serious bonus: “The Bomb Disposal Men”, from the British Army Documentaries channel. This dates to 1974, and deals with the work of bomb disposal men (“Ammunition Technical Officers”) in Northern Ireland.

Somewhat more serious bonus 1.5: “The Long Walk”. This is a more recent BBC documentary “following three retired bomb disposal officers as they recount their experiences in Northern Ireland during the IRA bombing campaign of the early 70’s.” It covers some of the same ground as “The Bomb Disposal Men” (and even uses some clips from it), but I find it kind of interesting to have this historical perspective.

Somewhat less serious bonus #2: “The Making of The Hunt for Red October”. Exactly what it says on the tin.

I should pick that up. I don’t think I’d put it in my top ten, but I have really fond memories of seeing that film in theaters, and would not mind seeing it again.

Posted in Cars, Explosives, History, Movies | Comments Closed

“What you gonna do when you get out of jail?…” part 339

Friday, March 5th, 2021

Today, a couple of takes from the industrial film genre.

“Aluminum on the March”, from 1956. I think a lot of the effects in this are really kind of trippy.

“What’s It To You?” from 1955. This one is a DuPont promotional film for the then new revolutionary product mylar. This doesn’t have the trippy artistic effects of the previous film, but it does have some neat demonstrations: see mylar stop a bowling ball! See mylar resist acid! (Props to the presenter, too, for putting on PPE before handling the acids. I’ve seen too many of these videos that leave me wondering: dude, where’s your eye protection?)

In 1955 Eastman Kodak used Mylar as a support for photographic film and called it “ESTAR Base”. The very thin and tough film allowed 6,000-foot (1,800 m) reels to be exposed on long-range U-2 reconnaissance flights.
In 1964, NASA launched Echo II, a 40-metre (131 ft) diameter balloon constructed from a 9-micrometre (0.00035 in) thick mylar film sandwiched between two layers of 4.5-micrometre (0.00018 in) thick aluminium foil bonded together.

Posted in History | Comments Closed

“What you gonna do when you get out of jail?…” part 338

Thursday, March 4th, 2021

Travel Thursday!

Would you like to fly in my beautiful balloon? Or if not that, a passenger airplane from the 1950s?

From those wonderful folks at TWA, “Flight To California”.

Bonus, plus CanCon! “The Mother of Rivers”, about the Columbia River ice field. Made about 1947 for the Canadian National Railways by our old friends at the National Film Board of Canada.

Bonus #2: Again, I’m stretching the definition of travel, but this involves planes and is short. Have you ever wanted to see a Boeing 747-8 fully loaded abort a takeoff at 200 MPH? Using only the brakes, no reverse thrust? And by the way, the brakes are worn down to the metal studs?

Posted in California Über Alles, History, Planes, Trains, Travel | Comments Closed

“What you gonna do when you get out of jail?…” part 337

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2021

So the governor reopened Texas:

Abbott announced a new executive order effective next Wednesday that will allow any business to open at 100% capacity if they choose to. Saying that statewide mandates are “no longer necessary,” he also announced the end of the mandatory mask mandate effective March 10.

Does this mean that we are out of jail? In my opinion, not yet.

  • This doesn’t take effect until next week.
  • I’m still a little concerned that we’ll see a surge after this goes into effect, and we will all end up back in solitary confinement.
  • I want to see how far I can take this: maybe up to 365 entries?
  • While the state has repealed the mask mandate, individual businesses can still require masks. Perhaps when I see more businesses dropping the mask requirement…
  • Finally, I’ll consider myself out of jail when I get my Chinese rabies shot. I’ve been trying: I actually spent an hour last night on the Austin Public Health website trying to book an appointment, with no luck. There was about a 10:1 ratio of people waiting online to actual appointments.

In the meantime, it’s been two weeks since our last round of random gun crankery, so why not take another spin at the wheel? Especially since this came up recently and is relevant to my interests: Jerry Miculek demonstrates his technique for speed reloading a revolver with moon clips.

Bonus #1: “Taking A Break From The B S Of Life” from Blackie Thomas.

“A lot of you probably started out with one of these Red Ryder BB guns too.” (raises hand) Still have it, too.

Bonus #2: I haven’t run across Target Suite previously, but I wanted to link this video of him discussing the Ruger Single Six he picked up at a pawn shop.

I own a Single Six with both the .22 LR and .22 Magnum cylinders, and I think it is a pure fun gun to shoot. I’m actively looking for a second one at a reasonable price for something I have in mind. I might have to start visiting more pawn shops.

Bonus #3: “Using a Sling”, from our friends at the Army Marksmanship Unit.

Posted in Bookmarks, Guns, History | 1 Comment »

“What you gonna do when you get out of jail?…” part 336

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2021

Today, let’s rattle some sabres.

F-86 Sabres, to be precise.

“No Sweat!” is a nice little educational film: “…showing an under-the-weather F-86 pilot, who, through carelessness and preoccupation, turns a routine flight into a nightmare.” I think there’s probably some stuff in here that will also serve as useful reminders to general aviation pilots.

Bonus: “The Fighting 51st”, a documentary about the 5lst Fighter Interceptor Wing.

Bonus #2: Wanna see someone do aerobatics in a F-86? Here you go.

Posted in History, Planes | Comments Closed

“What you gonna do when you get out of jail?…” part 335

Monday, March 1st, 2021

Good news: I have a day off today, thanks to Cisco’s recent policy of semi-regularly granting “a day for yourself”.

Bad news: I have an engagement today that I expect will take all day.

So, this is a scheduled sampler pack.

There is a man named Charles Ingram. He used to be a major in the British Army.

In September of 2001, he appeared on “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” in Britain. His wife and brother-in-law had previously appeared on the show, and had each topped out at 32,000 GBP. Major Ingram made it all the way and won 1,000,000 GBP.

And almost immediately, questions arose.

“Major Fraud”, from “Tonight” with Trevor McDonald.

Bonus #1: “The Guys Who invented the Video Tape Recorder”. This is an approximately 30 minute interview with Jim Wheeler, a senior engineer at Ampex…the guys who invented the video tape recorder.

On a semi-related note, I was amused by this article that came across Hacker News about the Cambridge University Tape Recording Society for two reasons:

On the evening of 2 March 1969, a chauffeured Rolls-Royce pulled up outside Lady Mitchell Hall and disgorged two celebrity passengers. One was Yoko Ono, who had been invited to take part in a freeform jazz concert; the other was her fiancé, John Lennon. “That was the first time I had appeared un-Beatled,” Lennon later said of the couple’s improvised half-hour of atonal guitar and shrieking vocals.

“atonal guitar and shrieking vocals”. Need I say any more?

The activities of CUTRS were threefold. The first was recording performances at the University and the second was inviting leading audio professionals to give bi-weekly lectures. Both were partly funded by the third: buying blank tape in bulk and selling it to members at a discount.

“Frankly, we’re losing our shirts on this deal. But we’re looking for audiophiles who are interested in high-quality cassette tapes…”

Bonus #2: “Of Dolls and Murder”, about Frances Glessner Lee and the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Deaths. If you’re not familiar with the Nutshell Studies, well, read the Wikipedia page, and then strap in, folks.

Posted in History, Law, TV | Comments Closed

“What you gonna do when you get out of jail?…” part 334

Sunday, February 28th, 2021

Science Sunday!

I’ve stated before that computer science is science. So: from Dartmouth College, a semi-short documentary about the “Birth of BASIC”, featuring Tom Kurtz.

Bonus #1: Here’s a mildly interesting sidelight on science history. In 1945, Kodak had a problem: batches of X-ray film were ruined. Specifically, the film was peppered with dark spots. Turns out the problem was…the bomb.

“How Kodak Exposed The Atomic Bomb”.

Bonus #2: Hey, they even call this a “Leadership Through Science” film! “The Inside Story Of Modern Gasoline: Science Fashioned Molecules For Top Performance”, from 1946 and the Standard Oil Company of Indiana.

You may know this particular Standard Oil better as Amoco, which is what the company was renamed to in 1985 (though they were using the Amoco name before that). They merged with BP in 1998.

Posted in Geek, History | Comments Closed

“What you gonna do when you get out of jail?…” part 332

Friday, February 26th, 2021

I thought it might be fun to dip back into the AT&T Tech Channel and their archives, and pick out some stuff related to telephones and telephony.

All of these videos have modern introductions, but I’ve set the embedded versions to skip over that intro. If you want to rewind, you’re certainly welcome to: I don’t control your browser. (Never mind that bitcoin miner I opened in a separate window.)

“Good-Bye, Central” is from 1978, and documents the last places that actually used central switchboards, instead of the dial system. This is just a little over 10 minutes, and even less if you skip over the intro.

“The Hello Machine” is also short, and is historically interesting: it was directed by Carroll Ballard in 1974. Mr. Ballard went on to direct “The Black Stallion”, “Never Cry Wolf”, and “Fly Away Home”, as well as doing second unit direction on “Star Wars”.

…a short, wordless film-poem, in which he chronicles the building of an entire ESS Mainframe. It’s a poetic musing on the connections between handwork and the act of communicating. In the film, he chronicles the act of making and building the mainframe with human hands so carefully that it becomes a handcraft, like weaving or sewing. As he elevates the frameworker to the status of craftperson, the mainframe itself becomes an artistic masterpiece, then brought to life by electricity. Ballard’s stance is that it takes humans to connect humans, not machines.

I know it might be a snoozer for some. (I think when you say “wordless film-poem”, you’ve lost Lawrence. Unless it has music by Philip Glass. Though now I’m wondering: could you do a “wordless film-poem” with tanks?) But: only 13 minutes, and less if you skip the intro.

One more: “To Communicate is the Beginning”, from 1976. This is a bit longer (32 minutes).

The words of luminaries such as Orson Welles and inventor Walter Brattain mingle with those of everyday folks like the operators of a Mom-and-Pop telephone company in Maine, as they attempt to illuminate why and how we are driven to communicate in this artfully-presented film.

There are other interesting folks in this besides Brattain and Welles (though you know I had to use this because Welles): I won’t spoil all of them for you, but I will say I was surprised that Vladimir Zworykin shows up. (He actually died in 1982, at the age of 94.)

Another spoiler (possibly): the Bryant Pond Telephone Company lasted until 1981. The company was sold to Oxford Networks, and Bryant Pond’s cranked system was converted to direct dial and incorporated into the regular network in 1983.

Posted in Geek, History, Movies | Comments Closed

“What you gonna do when you get out of jail?…” part 331

Thursday, February 25th, 2021

Travel Thursday!

I can’t find any evidence I’ve used this before. Google doesn’t return any results when I search my site, but I’m not sure how it escaped me for this long.

“Pan Am’s World”, a vintage 1970s promo film.

The film opens with a shot of a Pan Am DC-10 jet/clipper (00:52​), and the narrator tells viewers that Pan Am flies to more than 120 different places on 6 continents.

Bonus: this is something called “Flight Into Time” from the 1950s and TWA. The unifying theme is travel through the Mediterranean and the area around it: Portugal, Spain, Italy, Israel, Syria & Egypt.

Bonus bonus: Constellations!

Posted in History, Travel | Comments Closed

“What you gonna do when you get out of jail?…” part 330

Wednesday, February 24th, 2021

I was reminded last night that the National Security Agency has a YouTube channel.

I’m not ready to post the video that reminded me yet: that will come up next time I want to do a radio post. However, I thought I’d do both some more history, and something I haven’t done in quite a while: cryptography.

Also, I’m posting three of these, but they are all fairly short. I’ve been running long for a while now, and figure youse guys could use some short history as a break.

“Cryptology in the American Revolution: Ciphers” part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

And a bonus for people who would like something a little more recent: “Civil War Signals”.

Posted in History | Comments Closed

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