I have a long one today, but let’s start off with something that’s a little shorter.
We’re pretty much right in the middle of the anniversary of the Battle of Khe Sanh, so please to enjoy this Marine Corps documentary (“in color!”). I’m not totally happy with the quality of this, but I feel like it is appropriate to post something in remembrance of the battle.
Long bonus, so you’re only getting two today: I’ve got to save something for next week. “The Foreign Legion : Men Without a Past”, about the current (as of 2005 or thereabouts) French Foreign Legion.
Leon Gast, director of “When We Were Kings”, which I have heard is a swell documentary. (Amazon affiliate link: I actually did not know there was a Criterion edition of this.)
This is another one of those cases where the story behind the documentary is almost as interesting (if not more) than the documentary itself, but I will leave that for the obit. One tidbit:
I was hoping to find some good Pi related videos on YouTube. Instead, I turned up a lot of crap about something called “Pi Coin”, which sounds to me like a scam cryptocurrency. (Is “scam cryptocurrency” redundant? In any case, I’m putting my money into DogeCoin.)
I thought about posting some pie related videos, but I can’t quite stretch my definition of science that far.
So maybe a grab bag of science randomness?
“I Make Guncotton (Nitrocellulose) With Hardware Store Ingredients, Again.” Never know when this might come in handy.
Bonus #1: “The Rocket: Solid and Liquid Propellant Motors”. Vintage 1947, and a nice explanation of how solid and liquid propellant rockets work.
Bonus #2: This is a little on the darker side, but I feel like there’s at least one person (besides me) who might find it interesting: “A History of Nerve Agents” with Dan Kaszeta, the author of Toxic: A History of Nerve Agents, from Nazi Germany to Putin’s Russia (affiliate link, but since this is from Oxford University Press, it’s a bit on the pricy side).
But seriously, folks: from our pals at the National Security Agency, “The Last Elephant Cage”, a short documentary on the FLR-9 antenna in Alaska.
Bonus #1: in keeping with today’s radio theme, and crossing over with someotherfolks, from the OH8STN Ham Radio channel, “Grid Down Comms Ham Radio & Texas”.
Bonus #2: and along the same lines, but longer: “Mike Glover Talks Ham Radio and Preparedness” with Josh from the Ham Radio Crash Course channel.
Bonus #1: because one bridge documentary isn’t enough. “Building the Mighty Mac”. This one is a little better quality, I believe.
To the best of my recollection, I have never been on the Mackinac Bridge. I wouldn’t mind making that drive someday, but the last time I was in Michigan, I wasn’t anywhere near the bridge.
Bonus #2: “Challenge at Glen Canyon”. Back in 1983, the Glen Canyon Dam had a problem. There’d been a heavier than expected snowfall that winter, which in turn led to more runoff as the snow melted. This in turn required the dam operators to open the spillways.
While some people might have enjoyed seeing the dam fail, it would have caused a lot of problems downstream. So the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation had to fix the spillway issue. But how?
Bonus: “Flying with the KLM from Amsterdam to Paris in 1929 in color!” As I understand it from the YouTube description, this is originally from 1929, but the poster (Rick88888888) has done a lot of work: “motion-stabilized, speed-corrected, A.I. enhanced and A.I. colorized”.
I’m going to start out today with a little advertising.
From StudioCanalUK, “The Making of the Dam Busters”. I’m classifying this under “Movies” rather than “Military History”, so I can avoid having more than one military history per week. Also, I think it more appropriately belongs there.
Here’s the advertising: there’s a new US region blu-ray of “The Dam Busters”, which was released yesterday. This is something I think everyone in the Saturday Night Movie Group wants to see, and I will be ordering it directly. (There was a 2018 blu-ray, but it is region B/2 according to Amazon.)
(No, we do not have a region free blu-ray player.)
Bonus: since I want to stay away from military history, and sort of keeping thematically with the previous post: “This Is Triumph”.
I confess to a sneaking fondness for the TR7 back when I was a young lad…
Bonus #2: Why not? “Life In the Fast Lane”.
Oh, wait. I’m sorry. That was the wrong one. This one is from 1981, and discusses the US freeway system.
I may not be terribly bright, but honestly, I did not know about the odd/even numbering distinction. Or if I did know, I’d forgotten it.
In my humble personal opinion, this is really an aesthetically pleasing site that does justice to the vehicles in the registry. And I think almost all of the choices in the registry are good ones.
(This by way of the NYT obit for Bruce Meyers, inventor of the fiberglass dune buggy.)
I’ve been running behind on obits, so here’s a roundup.
Roger Mudd, CBS, NBC, and PBS anchorman and reporter. He was also a distant relative of Samuel Mudd (the doctor who treated John Wilkes Booth’s broken leg).
FotB RoadRich sent over some nice obits for Mike Collins. He sounds like a truly interesting guy: he worked for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) as technical editor and director of business operations. He was also a skilled photographer and amateur brewer.
Finally, Tony Hendra, “National Lampoon” and “Spy” guy, and “Ian Faith” in “This Is Spinal Tap”.
Great and good friend of the blog RoadRich pointed out that Ernesto Miranda was born on this date in 1941.
You may remember Mr. Miranda from Miranda v. Arizona. Today’s feature video: “Right to Remain Silent: Miranda v. Arizona” from AnnnenbergClassroom.org.
Bonus: well, the discussion of Mr. Miranda kind of went a little sideways, what with talk of trying to find autographed Miranda warning cards and semi-related matters. (I can’t turn up any of the autographed ones online.) Lawrence mentioned in passing that Carmen Miranda was only 46 when she died, which is a fact I was not conscious of, and it kind of shocked me.
Carmen Miranda’s last performance on “The Jimmy Durante Show” in 1955.
“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.
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.
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”.
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.
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?)
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?
Margaret Maron, noted mystery writer. She actually passed away on February 23rd, but the paper of record didn’t get around to mentioning it until yesterday. The Rap Sheet has a nice tribute.
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.
“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.
“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.
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.
After last week’s storm ended and the ice melted sufficiently, both Lawrence and I had trouble getting our cars started.
In my case, the car was sitting from Friday the 12th to Saturday the 19th, so a little more than a week, and it seemed like the battery was basically dead. I have a jumper box: when I hooked it up, though, the car would respond (dash lights, etc.) but it didn’t seem like my jumper box was providing enough power to kick the starter over.
I ended up calling AAA, who arrived within 30 minutes of my call (!) and brought their giant jumper box. The car started right away: I let it idle and drove it around for about an hour total, and didn’t have any problems with it starting after that. (Knock wood.)
What brings this to mind?
“Can We Make This FROZEN Truck Run During A Polar Vortex!?” I have to say: this does not look entirely unlike my situation. I was in a suburban driveway instead of a field next to a barn, but other than that…
Bonus #1: “Costco Boost Pack: Electrician vs. Truck Starter”. Somehow this reminds me of standing outside in the cold with that jumper box…
Bonus #2: My dad used to go around to various places in the winter and cut wood for firewood. What we didn’t burn in our own fireplace, he sold to friends and neighbors. Dad had side hustles before there were side hustles.
I was never able to talk him into doing anything with explosives, though.
Bonus #3: 60 Minutes Australia visits “the coldest town in the world”, Oymiakon.
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.
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.
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.
I’d like to think there would be some issues fencing bulldogs stolen at gunpoint. For example, I think most people who would pay money for a French bulldog probably want one with papers, which I’m sure the dog walker was not carrying around with him…