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.
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:
“atonal guitar and shrieking vocals”. Need I say any more?
“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.
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.
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”.
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).
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.
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.
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!
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”.
Been a while since I’ve done any vintage police training videos, mostly because not that many have been popping up.
Here’s one for you, from the FBI apparently sometime in the 1970s: “Examination Of Stolen Cars”.
Bonus #1: Don’t you love stupid people getting what is coming to them? I know I do. Plus: CanCon!
“Bait Car Greatest Hits” from the Vancouver Sun.
Bonus #2: “Accident Investigation” from 1974. Not one of those traffic safety films, but more a guide for the patrol officer on how to handle these situations: use your car as a shield, don’t move injured people, watch for spilled gasoline, etc…
Science Sunday!
It seems to me that a lot of folks I know are interested in the computers of the space program. Especially the Apollo Guidance Computer.
Well, here you go: from the National Museum of Computing, “Light Years Ahead: The 1969 Apollo Guidance Computer”. Bonus points: the presenter, Robert Wills, is (or at least was as of October 2019) a Cisco employee.
Bonus video: “Common Misconceptions in Aerodynamics”, a presentation to University of Michigan engineering students by Doug McLean, a retired Boeing Technical Fellow.
I was thinking real history today.
For all my Civil War naval buffs, a documentary about the USS Monitor Center, at the Mariner’s Museum and Park in Newport News.
Bonus #1: There was a five part BBC series called “Cathedral”, in which the film makers went around to various famous British cathedrals. This one I think is particularly noteworthy: “Murder at Canterbury”.
I missed posting a historical note on the 850th anniversary, mostly because I was confused about the date of Thomas Becket’s murder: I keep seeing December 29, 1170, but is that Julian or Gregorian? I feel like that’s kind of a stupid question, but I honestly don’t know if the various online sources I’ve seen have already done the date translation, or if they just assume everyone knows it is Julian and leave the date conversion up to the reader?
Bonus #2: Since Wednesday was Ash Wednesday, and we’re now in the Lenten season, how about something thematically appropriate? “Secrets of the Last Supper”, from “Ancient Mysteries” on the History Channel.
Just a random assortment today. Think of this as like a Whitman’s Sampler that you picked up at the grocery store after Valentine’s Day for 50% off. At least, you would have IF YOU HAD BEEN ABLE TO GET OUT TO THE GROCERY STORE THROUGH THE SNOW AND ICE IN AUSTIN.
Not that I’m bitter or anything.
Anyway: The Pogues perform “London Calling”. Without Shane MacGowan, but with Joe Strummer.
This next one requires a bit of background: I’ve posted videos from “Captain Joe” before. If you’re the kind of person who sees videos of air traffic control conversations pop up in your feed, you’ve probably heard of “Kennedy Steve”. Steve was a controller at JFK (he retired a few years back) who became somewhat of a legend for his sharp (and often amusing) exchanges with pilots, ground crews, and others. Especially those who were keeping traffic from flowing in and out of JFK. Here’s a random example, which may not be the best: search “Kennedy Steve” on the ‘Tube.
ANYWAY: Captain Joe interviews Kennedy Steve. This is basically RoadRich bait.
“How to Poop in the Woods and NOT Die”. Do I really need to put a content warning on this? Well, maybe. Content warning.
I would like to note, for the hysterical record, that How to Shit in the Woods: An Environmentally Sound Approach to a Lost Art is still in print (in a 4th edition, no less) and is readily available from Amazon (affiliate link).
Bonus: this is short, but I did get enough of a kick out of it that I wanted to share. Two of the stars of a minor 1960s TV science fiction series in a promo for Western Airlines.
The airline merged with Delta in 1987.
I think just one more. I don’t really consider this military history, but more of a music video. Clips of German Luftwaffe F-104 Starfighters…set to Peter Schilling.
Travel Thursday!
This is slightly less timely than I would have liked: I would have used this last week, but it wasn’t uploaded then.
There was a TV series called “Vagabond” back during the 1950s, hosted by a former child star named “Bill Burrud”. This episode is about Mardi Gras. And even better, it is in color!
Bonus video: in keeping with the theme, and offering something more recent, here’s something called “NOPD: Mardi Gras” which is exactly what it says on the tin: New Orleans Police Department officers patrolling during Mardi Gras in 2006.
I thought today I’d try some more random gun crankery.
There’s a company called Optics Warehouse. I find it surprising that they sell rifle scopes in the UK, but I digress.
Anyway, they have a series called “Master Sniper”. This is episode 4, “British Sniper Rifles Through The Ages”.
One reason I wanted to mention this: Swift and Bold Publishing, the folks behind The British Sniper, A Century of Evolution (which I have previously discussed) have a new book coming out at the end of the month, The Green Meanie L96A1. Swift and Bold has been a pleasure to deal with in the past, and I endorse this product and/or service. (Even though the price does give me the leaping fantods, but again, have you priced sniping books recently? With shipping from the UK?)
Short bonus video #1: I haven’t used anything from the US Army Marksmanship Unit recently, so here’s an interesting video on the concept of “maximum point blank”.
Bonus video #2, from the School of the American Rifle, “AR-15 Cleaning Equipment”.
Bonus video #3: from Brownells (so keep in mind that they are trying to sell you product, though in my experience they are honorable and honest people): “Quick Tip: Tools Every Gun Owner Needs”.
Radio, radio!
A tour of WBCQ in Maine from April of last year. WBCQ is a new shortwave station:
Bonus #1: We went on a virtual tour of the Early Television Museum. How about one of the Antique Wireless Museum?
Bonus #2: Another tour, this one of WLW in Mason, Ohio. WLW at one point was transmitting at 500,000 watts (between 1934 and 1939). They were forced to drop down to 50,000 watts, and still use that power level.
Over the weekend, FotB RoadRich sent an obit for Lt. Col. Thomas Robert ‘Bob‘ Vaucher (USAF – ret), certified American badass, who passed away on February 7th at the age of 102.
What did LTC Vaucher do? He flew B-29s. More specifically, he delivered the first B-29 from the factory to the military. He also led the flyover of the USS Missouri during the surrender ceremony. Additionally:
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Weak brakes, a lack of reversible props, and a nosewheel collapse cut one wartime B–29 mission short. During another, Vaucher’s heavily laden long-range bomber struggled to gain altitude when one of the four supercharged 2,200-horsepower Wright R-3350 Duplex Cyclone engines feathered unexpectedly on takeoff. “I staggered out” as the 138,000-pound aircraft slowly gained altitude, he recalled to Zimmerman. “What happened was that when the co-pilot ganged the power down from our takeoff engine speed of 2,900 rpm to 2,600 rpm or so, one of the toggle switches stuck and an engine went into feather mode. I could barely keep the airspeed up above a stall. Fortunately, we took off at sea level and remained at sea level for the next 10 miles, so I was able to baby the thing up to get going.”
“I flew it so much it was second nature to me,” Vaucher said from the pilot seat of the B–29 during a video recounting his wartime flying experience. “I have 3,000 hours sitting in this chair—a year and a half of work.”
This is a 2016 talk LTC Vaucher gave to the Air Force Association NJ Chapter 195 about his experience flying the B-29.
Another shorter video from AOPALive:
I don’t want to seem like I’m whinging about the cold (even if it is 477.67 degrees Rankine out at the moment) so I thought I’d fall back to some more military history today.
From 1944, vintage OSS film: “Army Experiments In Train Derailment & Sabotage”. You know, it is a lot harder to derail a train than you’d think…
Bonus video #1: higher quality, and more recent: “An Eye In the Darkened Sky”, a promo video for the A6-E Intruder and the Target Recognition Attack Multi-Sensor system (TRAM).
Bonus video #2: “Royal Navy Learning Gutter Fighting”. Might be some useful tips here if you’re the kind of person who gets held at bayonet or gun point.
Bonus video #3, and I think this one is a real treat: “Cowboy 57” a 1959 short about the day to day activities of a B-52 crew. The treat is: this is narrated by Brigadier General James Maitland Stewart.