Utah skies at sunset.
Dec 042015
Dec 032015
The screen door at the top of the basement stairs that separates Bruce from the rest of the universe…
Dec 032015
I’m planning on producing some new cyanotype blueprints at some point. Some will be copies of vintage blueprints, but some will be all-new CAD diagrams. Below are some CAD diagrams at various stages of completion. All are based on a 10-inch by 40-inch format; this will make them appropriate for folding into a book, or hanging on a wall. They would go for $25 per sheet as cyanotypes; I might also do them in frosted (white) mylar for probably a bit cheaper and maybe on regular paper for a lot cheaper. However, before plowing ahead I’d be interested in feedback… which of these are of interest? Which might you actually plunk down funds for? Additionally: I’ve produced a *lot* of CAD diagrams for APR and USXP. Is there anything I’ve done you’d like to see expanded out like this?
1: USAF 10-meter Orion, two sheets, 1/96 scale
2: Have Sting orbital railgun, one sheet, 1/200 scale
3: X-15A-3, 1 sheet, 1/35 scale
4: Rockwell MRCC, 1 sheet, 1/60 scale
5: Rockwell D645-3, one sheet, 1/144 scale
6: X-20/Titan IIIc, two sheets, 1/72 scale
7: XB-70, one sheet, 1/144 scale
8: ITHACUS troop transport, two sheets, 1/200 scale
Dec 032015
There have been, and will continue to be, a whole lot of stories about the San Bernardino massacre. This one is mostly just like the others:
Authorities Search Redlands Home Tied To Suspect Syed Farook
It ends with an un-named person describing how he had seen things in previous weeks that made him suspicious, but decided not to report it for fear of “racial profiling.” Is the person telling the truth? Was what he saw *truly* suspicious? Impossible to tell without more data. It would be interesting to follow up and see if the person is being interviewed by the police and/or FBI. But on the off chance that he did actually see something that could have been actionable, then a dozen people died in part due to political correctness.
Dec 032015
A video describing a Mauser bolt-action rifle with a factory modification: a periscope. This would allow the shooter to stick the rifle up above a trench and shoot at the enemy without putting his own noggin into the field of fire. Looks incredibly cumbersome, but under the circumstances, it’s better than getting shot. A modern version would be something like a webcam that clips to your rifles optics and runs down to a small screen or something like a militarized Google Glass. That would have the advantage of not only being far less cumbersome, but also lighter, cheaper and with the ability to aim any which way, including around corners.
Dec 032015
Just a bit over two weeks until what I hope is the first good Star Wars movie in over thirty years. In the mean time, here’s a Motion Poster for the movie. I’m not entirely sure that this is exactly official…
I *really* hope this lives up to expectations. It’d be nice to not be disappointed in a movie, after getting my hopes up.
This…
Not this.
Dec 032015
A few days ago I pontificated on the difference between “nuts” and “terrorists,” and lo and behold, today one “Syed Farook” and one “Tashfeen Malik” go ahead and give me the perfect test case. Since there are two, “terrorism” would seem to be the most likely explanation; but since the guy (apparently) shot up his own co-workers, it would seem to be a “workplace violence thing.” The two apparently put some thought into the project ahead of time, which decreases the likelihood of “nutjobs” and pushes it towards “terrorism.” However the facts shake out, you can bet that there will be a great many trying to downplay any religious motivation (while playing it up for the Planned Parenthood shooting).
Of course, before much of anything about the shooters was known, Blatherer In Chief Obama bloviated thusly: “For those concerned about terrorism, some might be aware of the fact that we have a no-fly list where people can’t get on planes, bu those same people who we don’t allow to fly, can go into a store right now in the U.S. and there is nothing we can do to stop them. That is a law that needs to be changed.”
Neat. So those who are on the no-fly list should have their Second Amendment rights withdrawn. OK, sure. Why not. But then you have to ask: if these people have been adjudicated to be so much of a risk that they should not only not be allowed to buy a gun (legally), they should also not be allowed to fly… why are they being allowed to roam the streets? Shouldn’t they be locked up? If with the stroke of a pen one of their Constitutional rights can be wiped away, why not others?
And of course, once you determine that Constitutional rights are negotiable for those who have not committed a crime and been tried by their peers, ya gotta wonder whether Trumps hypothetical Muslim Registry would be equally popular.
So far I’ve heard nobody suggest that Syed or Tashmeen were on the no-fly list. So far I’ve heard that at least one of the guns they used was purchased legally, which in California certainly means both Federal and State background checks and registration. So once again… what new gun laws would have prevented this?
Dec 022015
Hawaii Supreme Court ruling invalidates permit for construction of telescope on volcano
Not just any telescope, but the Thirty Meter Telescope, which would have been ground breaking in its capabilities. The construction permit has been yanked because Mauna Kea is “sacred land.”
Bah.
You know, if I had me some “sacred land,” you know what I’d do with it? I’d put a freakin’ telescope on it. What sort of religion holds that exploring the universe *isn’t* just about the most important thing you could do? Even if you were very, very religious… wouldn’t you think that Understanding God’s Creation (or words to that effect, translated into your religions terminology) would be just what your god would want you to be doing?
Bah.
—
A number of years ago (15?) I saw some “true video” TV show that had hikers in Hawaii, either in a canyon or next to a cliff, being showered with rocks from way above. The realistic explanation? The rock walls are made out of structurally crappy lava rock, and it falls apart from time to time. Basically, Gravity Happens. But the *local* explanation was, IIRC, that some local pig-like deity didn’t like intruders and was chucking rocks at people. So the advice was Don’t Go There, and Appease The God.
I sat there and thought to myself… “Huh. That’s not what I’d suggest.”
If there was *truly* a local pig-god attempting to injure people… it’s time to grab a spear and a .50 Beowulf and go boar hunting. Sounds like the makings of one *hell* of a luau. Also sounds like Sæhrímnir escaped from Valhalla, so not only would you have one heck of a cookout, you’d have one heck of a cookout *every* *day* from here on out.
Dec 022015
Using the ten hundred most used words.
This is derived from Randall Munroe’s new book, “Thing Explainer.”
Thing Explainer: Complicated Stuff in Simple Words
“Thing Explainer” is derived from Munroe’s cartoon “Up-Goer Five,” which describes the Saturn V using the thousand most common words in English. And the Up-Goer Five schematic was derived from the Saturn V diagram that you can get for your own self from yours truly, in three formats:
Saturn V electronic format blueprints are available HERE
Saturn V cyanotype (old-school hand-made) blueprints are available HERE
Saturn V digitally printed blueprints are available HERE
Update: I saw a copy of “Thing Explainer” today. Looks like a great book. A sad note, though: the original illustration of the Up-Goer Five had a small reference to up-ship.com on it; the book version does not. Well, poop. I was hoping for a flood of new customers…
Dec 022015
CNN is having a grand ol’ time reporting on an “active shooter” situation in San Bernardino.Wholly unsupported reports are twenty shooting victims and up to three shooters (which, given the Fog Of Journalism, may mean two victims and one shooter). If the higher numbers are accurate, that would seem likely to point towards terrorism.