Today, music.
To start with, something short-ish. I think this dates to 2011, and was produced by the Oklahoma History Center as part of an exhibit: “Pickin’ and Grinnin’: Roy Clark, ‘Hee Haw’ & Country Humor”.
And a longer bonus that I think is really cool: a 1969 documentary for Granada Television, “Johnny Cash In San Quentin”.
For the historical record: Diego Maradona. ESPN.
Techmoan is kind of a fun channel, but one that I try to avoid overusing. I’m using it today because this video popped up, and it answers a question that’s been in the back of my mind.
Whatever happened to portable televisions? Remember the Sony Watchman?
Obviously, the digital transition killed off the old analog portables. But why don’t we have portable digital televisions?
Short answer: we do, but not from any major manufacturers, and they’re pretty much crap as televisions. (Some of them may be decent portable media players, but do they do anything you can’t do with a small laptop or tablet?)
When I’m out shopping in thrift stores and other odd places, and see one of those cool looking old portable devices with a TV built in, I think about picking it up and hooking up a converter box, just for the lulz.
Bonus: “Prison Tech”. Not really the kind of thing people in prison improvise, but rather what kind of tech you’re allowed to have (and can purchase) for prison use.
This is another one of those weird intersections.
Apple’s head of security, Thomas Moyer, was indicted last week along with three other people. The others were Harpreet Chadha (an insurance broker), Santa Clara Undersheriff Rick Sung and Captain James Jensen.
Why is this weird? Because it is also a gun thing, and you don’t often see “Apple” and “guns” together.
Specifically:
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In another incident, Sung “extracted” a promise from Chadha for $6,000 worth of luxury box suites at a San Jose Sharks game on Valentine’s Day, 2019, before issuing Chadha a CCW permit, [DA Jeff] Rosen said.
“Sheriff Laurie Smith’s family members and some of her biggest supporters held a celebration of her reelection as sheriff in Chadha’s suite,” Rosen said.
All of this is part of an ongoing investigation into Sheriff Smith’s office. Captain Jensen was previously indicted in August:
An obit roundup, because I’m a little behind.
Jan Morris, British writer and historian. I haven’t read any of Morris’s work, yet. But John Crowley in his beautiful novella “Great Work of Time” cites Morris’s history of the British empire as a major source, and I’ve been hunting for reasonably priced copies. (Like I need three more volumes of history to read, in addition to Gibbon and the two volume history of the Canadian transcontinental railroad.)
Ken Spears, co-creator of “Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!”. The other creator, Joe Ruby, passed away in September.
Daniel Cordier, one of the legendary figures of the French Resistance. He was 100.
David Dinkins, former mayor of New York City.
Since I’ve done copper mining, I thought it might be fun to do another element.
Lead. Sweet, sweet, lead.
From 1972, “The Lead Matrix”, brought to you by the Lead Industries Association.
And as a bonus: “A Story Of Lead”, from the Department of the Interior Bureau of Mines circa 1948.
NFL teams that still have a chance to go 0-16:
New York Jets
Next week: the 6-3 Miami Dolphins.
Science Sunday!
It seems like it has been a while since I’ve done any computer science, so today I thought I’d focus on someone I find interesting, and who died far too young: John von Neumann.
Short: an explanation of Von Neumann architecture from Computerphile.
Long: a documentary about John von Neumann from the Mathematical Association of America.
I should probably mention that von Neumann wasn’t just an early computer scientist: he was also a brilliant mathematician and theoretical physicist, which I think comes out in this video.
I guess technically this could fall under travel. But I decided I wanted to treat this separately, because:
“What Owning a Love Hotel in Japan is Like”, from the “Abroad In Japan” channel.
I don’t think this is a business opportunity for FotB RoadRich, as I have another much better opportunity for him that does not involve moving to Japan.
Bonus #1: since I’ve touched on the Mongols before (in the context of the Feds trying to seize their trademark) and since I received some positive feedback on my last biker war post: a documentary about the Mongols from “Hidden In America”.
Bonus #2: This is another one of those people who is right on the edge of annoying me, but: I’ve posted about copper mining before, and, frankly, if I’m ever up near Butte, I’d absolutely pay the $3 to see the giant toxic waste pit that used to be the world’s largest open pit copper mine.
Gift shop? I’m sold!
This is another video that I just flat out could not pass up. People who know me well will understand why.
“The Devil’s Cigarette Lighter”, from 1962 and the Red Adair Company, featuring (of course) Red Adair.
Bonus video #1: Remember these commercials?
I have this mental image of Red Adair placing phone calls to get well heads…and charging them on his AmEx card. (In reality, I expect that his company probably had open accounts with everyone who provided equipment: no AmEx needed.)
(Side note: Red Adair’s biography is kind of pricey on Amazon, even in used paperback form. Interestingly, Boots Hansen’s book (affiliate link) is available in a Kindle edition.)
Bonus #2: this is a two-part biographical video about Red Adair. Part 1:
Part 2:
Part 2 does include a brief discussion of Piper Alpha and Adair’s role in putting out the fire.
Alexander Sittenfeld of the Cincinnati city council was arrested yesterday.
Prosectors said Mr. Sittenfeld had accepted six checks totaling $40,000 from federal agents posing as real estate investors and had stashed the money in a political action committee that he secretly controlled.
According to a six-count indictment, Mr. Sittenfeld accepted the bribe money in 2018 and 2019, while promising to “deliver the votes” and perform other official acts for the downtown development project, which needed City Council approval.
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At a meeting in November 2018 set up with Mr. Ndukwe’s help, Mr. Sittenfeld went for lunch at a downtown Cincinnati restaurant and indicated to undercover agents that he would shepherd votes for the real estate project, prosecutors said.
He presented voting data showing that he was politically popular in Cincinnati and said he was likely to be the next mayor, according to prosecutors.
“I can move more votes than any other single person,” Mr. Sittenfeld said, according to the indictment. On another occasion, in December 2018, he said, “Don’t let these be my famous last words, but I can always get a vote to my left or a vote to my right,” according to prosecutors.
Nr. Ndukwe is Chinedum Ndukwe, a former player for the Bengals, who was one of the people behind the downtown development project.
Bonus #1: Mr. Ndukwe was also working with the Feds.
Bonus #2, and I’m embarrassed to admit I missed this: Mr. Sittenfeld is the third member of the nine-member city council to be indicted this year.
The first blow came in February when Tamaya Dennard, the president pro tem of the Cincinnati City Council, was arrested and charged with accepting $15,000 in bribes in exchange for a vote on the Council. She pleaded guilty in June and faces up to 20 years in prison when she is sentenced in federal court next week.
The second landed last week when Jeffrey Pastor, another member of the City Council, was charged with taking $55,000 in bribes in return for promising to help city development projects, including the redevelopment of a downtown building. Mr. Pastor has pleaded not guilty and has resisted calls to step down.
Apologies for linking to the NYT. I prefer to link to local sources whenever possible, but the Cincinnati Enquirer is unreadable and unlinkable without a subscription.
This might be the headline of the day:
More context:
Authorities said Dupree G.O.D was arrested on charges of reckless endangerment and criminal possession of a weapon. There was no information on when he would be arraigned. He was in police custody Wednesday night.
The musical artist was filmed earlier this month in an unauthorized stunt that he said was part of a tribute video for the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan. The clip gained attention on social media after a police union tweeted it as an example of the city becoming less safe.
And of course:
A rapper turned himself into authorities and was charged with reckless endangerment and criminal possession of a weapon after firing a flamethrower into the sky atop an occupied city bus. https://t.co/j1x8eb0cS4 pic.twitter.com/s6ibiJy1zV
— ABC News (@ABC) November 19, 2020
I’m really not sure I see the “reckless endangerment” part of that charge. It seems to me that he was pointing it away from and above people. As for the “criminal possession of a weapon” charge, well, maybe, given that this is NYC.
Travel Thursday!
Where would you like to go this week? Would you like a relatively short trip to someplace that hadn’t become a banana republic at the time?
Okay then. From our favorite defunct airline, Pan Am, “Wings to New York”. circa 1948.
Bonus: I’m probably fudging the definition of “travel” a bit here, but I don’t have a better place to put this. Here’s a Pan Am promo film documenting their history of crisis and emergency response, including the 1979 airlift out of Iran.
(Though this actually is datelined yesterday.)
The story is exactly as it says on the tin:
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He was 36 years old. According to the NYT obit, he died in a training accident.
Ben Watkins. My feelings about reality TV are well known, but nobody should have that hard a life, and nobody should die at 14.