The parts I currently have (including a pile of keys, composed of both vintage and newly-cast) together with CAD drawing of parts I’m working on. It all seems to fit correctly, which is promising.
Jun 052023
Jun 052023
A “2001 Briefcase Computer” update: there hasn’t been much to say recently, but I’ve completed the rough-cut of the video camera. It’s made from the correct model Japanese telescope, the correct tripod and a scratch-built body with four chrome-plated “knobs.” The black bits are unclear on the prop, but were made from textured 1mm black plastic, recessed slightly into the body. The body here is white; the final versions will be fiberglass and painted to look like aluminum. There is a barely-visible square at the front, presumably a sensor… and an almost invisible square at the back. As currently built the back-square is simply a square of plastic; without further views of the proper, which I doubt are forthcoming, there’s nothing more I can add that would be “canon.” However, that would be the obvious place for switches, controls, etc.
To finish the camera, I need a correct coiled cable. Unfortunately, this sort of thing doesn’t seem to be too common these days. It is larger than a phone headset cable, with the coil appearing to be about 1 inch/ 2.5 cm in diameter. Does anyone know of such a cable? There is no connection between the cable and the camera visible; I suspect on the prop the cable was simply jammed in a hole, glued or even taped on. However, some sort of reasonable “plug” would have to be included. On one hand, a USB plug would seem right… on the other hand, the “2001” aesthetic doesn’t exactly go for “simple and easy to use,” so a nightmarish cable coax fitting would almost seem right.
To compare with:
Jun 032023
It’s been long enough that “Dr. House” *could* make a comeback (he *might* be getting out of prison about now…). Saddling him with Dr. Murphy could be entertaining as hell. Will it happen? No, it’s about as likely as Disney making a good Star Wars movie. But it’s fun to think about.
Jun 032023
Good news:
In a First, Caltech’s Space Solar Power Demonstrator Wirelessly Transmits Power in Space
This is *many* orders of magnitude away from a practical solar power satellite… but ya gotta start somewhere.
And on the other hand, bad news:
Boeing finds two serious problems with Starliner just weeks before launch
Problem one: bits of the parachute system aren’t as strong as they should be. Bad, but readily solvable.
Problem two: the wiring is flammable. This… is monumentally stupid, a problem that has been well understood since the Apollo 1 fire. this may well require that the capsule be largely disassembled so that *miles* of wiring can be replaced.
Good luck with *that.*
And while Boeing continues to struggle to get a capsule not fundamentally different from Apollo flying SpaceX continues to send crews to the ISS in Dragons.
19 years later… pic.twitter.com/2xead0zqaA
— Rare North American Space Koala (@culpable_mink) June 1, 2023
May 262023
Funny, though:
A soundproof, breathable device to silence your baby’s cries during long flights and movie nights.
The Baby Mute is a must-have for any parent who wants to enjoy long flights or movie nights without the distraction of their baby’s cries.
With Baby Mute, you can relax and enjoy your favorite movies or TV shows without having to worry about your baby’s cries disturbing others.
Heh.
No, it’s not real. If the clearly non-functional rendering above doesn’t give it away, perhaps some of the people supposedly involved will… Dr. York Hunt and Dr. Michael Lit, for example. And the little detail that when you click on the “Order” button it takes you to a page where you can order a prank package.
But dayum, if such a product were to exist and work as advertised… the ability to strap it onto a screaming child on a bus, airplane or in a restaurant, or to use it on a babbling infantile politician? I’ll take a dozen.
May 252023
Paralyzed man walks again using implants connecting brain with spinal cord
Some sci-fi stuff here, with “it’s the real world, though” results… he’s walking, yes, but *real* *slow.* Not sure if he can feel anything.
May 212023
My next book, released for pre-order and to be shipped in a few weeks:
US Supersonic Bomber Projects 2
“The threat posed by the Soviet Union throughout the postwar period coincided with an explosion of innovation and can-do attitude among America’s aircraft manufacturers. Challenging requirements and experimentation resulted in a huge variety of designs for aircraft powered by nuclear reaction, aircraft capable of flying faster than Mach 5, advanced bombers able to land and take-off from the surface of the ocean, VTOL fighters and bombers, and many others. Aerospace engineer Scott Lowther collects some of the most radical and beyond-the-state-of-the-art ‘secret projects’ in this – the second volume of his US projects series.”
May 182023
If this doesn’t put a smile on your face… you and I are not the same.
Ex-Biden Nuclear Official Sam Brinton Arrested As ‘Fugitive From Justice’
Now looking for similar headlines with names such as “Swalwell,” “Schiff,” “Biden,” “Pelosi,” And “No, that other Biden.”
May 162023
1: A Remington Rand Printing Calculator showed up today. I need it solely for the number keys. Damn thing weighs a ton. Not sure what I’ll do with it after… It’s not something I have a particular use for, nor am I likely going to be able to restore it properly.
2: I’ve figured out the “video camera:” it’s a Japanese “Monolux” telescope with a box wrapped around it. Some comparison shots between the prop and two copies of the scope I found on ebay:
The size is about right, the shape is dead on, the details are right, the colors are, within limits, correct. The “box” might have been an actual product, but it’s simple enough, and the seams look crappy enough, that making it from scratch seems fully warranted.
May 162023
A song from five years ago is now made relevant again by this news about the “Trump-Russia Collusion” narrative falling apart even more:
Special counsel John Durham concludes FBI never should have launched full Trump-Russia probe
As the kids say, it’s a “banger.”
It was produced by the same folks responsible for the Alex Jones “Gay Frogs” remix: