Merry Christmas Eve

 "A man must stand erect, not be kept erect by others." - Marcus Aurelius

Like many others, I find myself working on Christmas Eve.  I don't mind working on a high holiday, because what I do matters to society.  I play a minor part in supplying electricity to people's homes, to hospitals, to traffic signals and municipal waste treatment plants, etc.  Likewise first responders, hospital staff and care facilities that attend to the lives of the sick and elderly - those are important things too.

So with that in mind, I'm OK foregoing spending the day with those I love, and instead spending it  somewhere I'd rather not be. 

The playlist has a bit of variety

 "No one could endure lasting adversity if it continued to have the same force as when it first hit us.  We are all tied to Fortune, some by a loose and golden chain, and others by a tight one of baser metal: but what does it matter?  We are all held in the same captivity, and those who have bound others are themselves in bonds - unless you think perhaps hat the left-hand chain is lighter.  One man is bound by high office, another by wealth; good birth weighs down some, and a humble origin others;some are restricted to one place by exile, others by priesthoods: all life is a servitude. 

So you have to get used to your circumstances, complain about them as little as possible, and grasp whatever advantage they have to offer.  No condition is so bitter that a stable mind cannot find some consolation in it" - Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Old and New - Beautiful Lonergan Brass Gauge

 "If anyone tells you that a certain person speaks ill of you, do not make excuses about what is said of you, but answer, 'He was ignorant of my other faults, else he would not have mentioned these alone'." - Epictetus

Have you ever noticed that artistic and beautiful things are now completely segregated from the things we use daily?  I'm not sure why that is.  Very few things are built with aesthetics in mind any more - everything we routinely use is utilitarian and usually disposable. 

There are still beautiful and cool things you can buy from craftsmen, but very few ordinary items are built with any kind of beauty - some houses and cars, maybe.  Back in the day, things were made to look nice, just because.  And that was when the country was a lot less wealthy than it is now.  Maybe they were wealthier in spirit.

Take a look below.  Do you think the new sewing machine will last 100 years like the older one?  The old one has more grace and beauty in a single screw than the entire new machine has.  Why must it be so ugly and cheaply made?

Winter Solstice, Conjunction, and Chores

 "It is a universal law - have no illusion - that every creature alive is attached to nothing so much as its own self-interest" - Epictetus

 

The sad ending of the crew of Submarine 361

 "Putting off things is the biggest waste of life:  It snatches away each day as it comes, and denies us the present by promising the future.  The greatest obstacle to living is expectancy, which hangs upon tomorrow, and loses today.  you are arranging what lies in Fortune's control, and abandoning what lies in yours.  What are you looking at?  To what goal are you straining?  The whole future lies in uncertainty:  Live immediately" - Lucius Annaeus Seneca

On April 25, 2003, Chinese fishermen sighted a periscope drifting and bobbing in the water off the coast of northeastern China, near Taiwan.  The fishermen reported the unusual finding, and the Chinese Navy was dispatched to investigate.  They found a submarine filled with dead men.

Some thoughts on the Covid vaccine - Updated

 "Know you not, that a good man does nothing for appearance sake, but for the sake of doing it right?" - Epictetus

The Simpsons

"What concerns me is not the way things are, but the way people think they are" - Epictetus

Announcement

 

 Dear faithful readers,

I am considering something that I've avoided for a long time, and this is a direct result of some decisions that Google has recently made regarding the back-end of their blogging platform, Blogger.

In the past, I've had a fairly good idea of what visitors were interested in, and tried to tilt my content somewhat - within my own interests - toward readers.  Recently Google made some major changes to the Blogger interface, and it reduced my ability to see what subjects readers are interested in.  

For example: I could get a lot of information on where readers arrived from, which pages got read, and what readers searched for using the search tool at the top of the blog.  That information is now very limited and nearly worthless.  

It may be that Google is nudging people toward installing Google Analytics, to get better data, and more information on you readers.  I don't know the answer to that.  I have a deep mistrust of Silicon Valley and don't like the idea of deep-monitoring people's behavior or reading habits - nor of sharing that information with unknown parties.

Nevertheless, since they have sharply curtailed my ability to better serve readers - again, within my own knowledge and interests - I am considering installing Google Analytics, to get a better idea of what reader's interests are.  

I do not intend to allow ads or try to make money from this - I do it to try and inform and educate readers about the handful of things that I sorta understand.  Google Analytics is designed more with retailing in mind, so I don't know if it will be useful to a lowly blogger.  Anyway my mind is not yet made up on this.

Let me know what you think and I will make a decision and let ya know.

This time of year

 "Life is neither good nor evil, but only a place for good and evil" - Marcus Aurelius

The Pogues

 "The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane" - Marcus Aurelius

A very appropriate quote for the times...

A couple of years ago, I requested this album for Christmas and received it. 

Random thoughts and doings between Thanksgiving and Christmas

 "Nowhere can man find a quieter or more untroubled retreat than his own soul." - Marcus Aurelius

Great 80's Music

 

 "Do the things external which fall upon you distract you?  Give yourself time to learn something new and good, and cease to be whirled around" - Marcus Aurelius

 

Microwave oven - replace or repair?

 "Live out your life in truth and justice, tolerant of those who are neither true nor just" - Marcus Aurelius

 

Happy Thanksgiving

"Caretake this moment.  Immerse yourself in its particulars.  Respond to this person, this challenge, this deed.  Quit evasions.  Stop giving yourself to needless trouble.  It is time to really live; to fully inhabit the situation you happen to be in now." - Epictetus

(Warning: Philosophical and Grumpy Post)

Below: "Freedom from Want" by Norman Rockwell

Work Boots

 "Men are disturbed, not by things, but by the principles and notions which they form concerning things." - Epictetus

Happy Husky

 "We cease to be so angry once we cease to be so hopeful." - Lucius Annaeus Seneca

I have a dog that seems to enjoy the snow.  I wish the dog run was a bit larger, so she could get some speed up and exercise as much as she should.  She's still a puppy and likes to bite and chew quite a bit, but she is very smart, and getting better at following directions.  She is really a sweetheart and although she looks like a big bad scary wolf, she's easily frightened.  But mostly she's a happy playful girl.

 

That Seventies Top 40 sound

 Once again on the way to work, the old memory stick delivered.  It must have been in a Seventies Pop music mood this morning.  I can't say I like all of these songs equally.  The Sanford & Townsend and the ZZ Top ones are probably my favorites of this bunch.  The ZZ top song, being blues instead of pop, didn't get a lot of airplay back in the day.  Still it was cool going down memory lane.

Oh yeah, and just before I pulled in the gate at work, this little gem from the early 2000's popped up.  Funny story: When I lived in Ridgecrest, I became acquainted with a guy I knew as "Tex", who it turns out is the father of Blink-182's bass player/singer, Mark Hoppus.  If I'd known that, I'd have attempted a meet-up, or at least tried to get an autographed album!

The Bicycles: Centurion Le Mans and Masi Gran Corsa

 "Be your own master, and look at things as a man, as a human being, as a citizen, as a mortal creature" - Marcus Aurelius

Homemade Voigt Pipes: Update 2

 "Never let the future disturb you.  You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present." - Marcus Aurelius

Refurbishing the Mac Cat chainsaw and a couple of minor projects

 Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact.  Everything we see is perspective, not the truth" - Marcus Aurelius

Tunes

 "Attach yourself to what is spiritually superior, regardless of what other people think or do.  Hold to your true aspirations no matter what is going on around you." - Epictetus

I had a few good songs pop up on the way in to work today.  Jerry Cantrell, the guitarist for Alice in Chains came up, with "My Song", as well as an old Genesis song "The Lady Lies" a pretty good song with a cool story, from the album 'And Then There Were Three'.

Finishing up the winter prep

 "Think of your many years of procrastination; how the gods have repeatedly granted you further periods of grace, of which you have taken no advantage.  It is time now to realize the nature of the universe to which you belong, and of that controlling Power whose offspring you are; and to understand that your time has a limit set to it.  Use it, then, to advance your enlightenment; or it will be gone, and never in your power again." - Marcus Aurelius

Woke up much too early today - noon - and was unable to get back to sleep.  Decided to get up and try to get something done.

Not Lance Armstrong

"No man is more unhappy than he who never faces adversity.  For he is not permitted to prove himself." - Lucius Annaeus Seneca

A buddy of mine recently sent a photo of myself that I'd never seen before.

I'd guess this was taken in 1987-1988.  Looks like we were loading or unloading bikes for some cycling event or group ride.  Judging by how pale my hands are where the gloves fit on, I'd been riding a lot.  Trusty can of Copenhagen in the rear shirt pocket, too!

1999 Subaru Legacy Front Axle Replacement

 "You have power over your mind - not outside events.  Realize this, and you will find strength.  When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive - to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love." - Marcus Aurelius

Driving home from work Sunday evening, I noticed a nasty shudder in the old Subie when I'd accelerate.  The entire driver's side dash would rattle around.  The Subie has always been remarkably vibration-free, so something was amiss.  Without giving it much more thought, I assumed a CV joint was failing and that it was time to replace the left front axle.

(I know) I'm Losing You

"Even the least of our activities ought to have some end in view" - Marcus Aurelius

 I recently traded a few mp3 songs with a friend, and loaded them onto the USB memory stick in the car.  Driving to work this morning, I heard a version of the song that is the title of this post that I hadn't heard in a long time.  All I remembered of this song from my youth was the intro.   The song was halfway finished before I recognized the melody!  

Heart rate monitors (HRMs)

 "Freedom is secured not by the fulfilling of men's desires, but by the removal of desire" -Epictetus

I've become a believer in heart rate monitors only very recently - just about two years ago.  

 

I used the single-purpose Polar F1 for the past couple of years, and it was awesome!  One button starts the timer and begins displaying your pulse.  Your pulse is displayed continuously while you exercise, and when you push the button again, it briefly displays your average heart rate, followed by the elapsed time between when you first and last pushed the button.  Pretty simple.

Shop lighting - the switch to LED

"It is our attitude toward events, not events themselves, which we can control.  Nothing is by its own nature calamitous - even death is terrible only if we fear it." - Epictetus

 I mentioned that I'd placed an order for LED tubes to replace the overhead lights in the shop, about 2/3 of the way down this long post.  At the bottom of this post, they had arrived, but I still hadn't found time to install them.

One of the fluorescent fixtures had dead bulbs that were failing to ignite, and I finally had a half-day when I found time to make the wiring changes and replace the bulbs on that fixture.  Below, the far right bulbs are glowing, but only very dimly.

Cool or Useful Phone Apps

"Don't seek to have events happen as you wish, but wish for them to happen as they do happen, and all will be well with you." - Epictetus

Recently I was forced to replace the old Android phone, and I have been going through the new one,  force-stopping the pre-loaded bloatware.  I'm pretty sure it's now impossible to get root access to a modern phone and delete the bloatware from it. While I was deleting their apps and adding my preferred ones, I thought it would be a good idea to share ideas for cool apps.  Please suggest good ones or favorites in the comments!

 First of all, I'm still lamenting the loss of my beloved NEXT 3D Launcher.  Below are screenshots taken from the previous phone, the Droid Turbo.  Gorgeous interface.  The most-often used apps are on these screen shots.

Homemade Voigt Pipes: Update 1

"Look at the past - empire succeeding empire - and from that, extrapolate the future:  The same thing.  No escape from the rhythm of events.  Which is why observing life for forty years is as good as a thousand.  Would you really see anything new?" - Marcus Aurelius

The original post explaining the reasons why I'm building Voigt Pipe speaker cabinets is here.

Where do we go from here? The future of power generation.

 "But life is very short and anxious for those who forget the past, neglect the present, and fear the future" - Lucius Annaeus Seneca

There has been ongoing discussion at work about the direction the electrical generating business is heading.  The discussion is about where things are going for us power plant guys, career-wise.  By sheer coincidence, the stoic quote for today is very appropriate.  We will discuss past, present and future.

Electrician-ing

 I am considering starting each blog post with a quote from a famous Stoic, thanks to the handy app I recently discovered.  Starting right now.

"The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts:  Therefore, guard accordingly, and take care that you entertain no notions unsuitable to virtue and reasonable nature." - Marcus Aurelius.

 In the previous looooong post, I mentioned at some point that I intended to install a digital timer on the fart fan in the shop bathroom.  The digital timer arrived in the mail today, and I woke up quite a bit earlier than needed for night shift - so I got busy at my other job. 

 

A bunch of random stuff

I had a busy set of days off.  I somehow managed to get a lot done, considering that one day was lost to church, and another to overtime.  The overtime is a good thing, because I had to spend a lot of money this past week.

I was forced to purchase a new phone last week.  I'm *not* fond of replacing stuff - especially stuff that I've gotten used to, but there wasn't much choice in this case.  The power button on the phone had mashed all the way in, and it wasn't waking up any more.  I had to plug it in to wake it up and then enter the password to use it.  Not good.

So I transferred all the files off the six year old Droid Turbo, and then it got wiped.

Strange Times, Mental Challenges, and Staying Fit

 Another uncharacteristic philosophical post...

I don't really know how to go about writing this.  It's a little awkward blogging about current events and my own feelings about them, but here goes anyway.  

We are living through some strange and discomforting times - certainly like nothing I've ever experienced.  A new virus that apparently escaped from a laboratory is stalking and killing the elderly and immune-compromised, and randomly killing even healthy people.  Other people have decided that somehow it's now OK to throw Molotov cocktails at police.  An acrimonious presidential election is about to take place, with no way to ensure that ballots are honestly counted.  Whomever is declared the winner, the outcome will no doubt be bitterly contested - legally and in the streets.  It's entirely possible that armed skirmishes will take place either before or following the election. 

Someone is having a bad day at work...

Have a look at this incident.  I don't like to name facilities, but I am familiar with this one.  It's a General Electric 4x2 power station - Two power blocks, each consisting of 2 gas turbines and boilers creating steam for a single steam turbine.

Public Service Announcement: YouTube to mp3 converter!

I was recently informed of a very handy website that will take a YouTube video and make a compressed audio .mp3 file from it.  This is super cool, because there are a lot of songs on YouTube.  I suppose you could listen to a recorded interview too, but that's not my thing.  Anyway, here is the converter web address.  Just copy/paste the URL of the YouTube video you want an audio file made of and it will offer up the .mp3 for you to download.   

EDIT:  Thanks to a comment, I have another link to a converter service.  This one is called YouConvert.  I haven't tried it yet, but have no reason to believe it isn't as good or better than the one I mentioned above.

Now for some cool new tunes...

I probably should have known about the Dixie Dregs long ago - I'm not sure why I never knew about them until now.  They are an instrumental early 80's-presents Jazz/Rock Fusion band, and they were the group that brought legendary guitarist Steve Morse to fame.  They have some really amazing and complex arrangements.  I recently bought three of their albums and ripped them to mp3. Very cool music!

Next up, the Pogues.  These guys are funny, silly, and different.  To be honest, I can hardly understand the vocalist - he might as well be singing in another language.

And Eleuvietie, a bit of Celtic Death-Metal to brighten your day. Abba meets Riverdance meets Gojira.

Speaking of Gojira, they have a cool new tune out - Another world.  Cool guitar work, and phenomenal drums fills!

A ground-breaking album in its day:  Dave Brubeck - Time Out.  It has some really neat time signatures.

Macro Effects of Nuclear Scattering

Warning!  Nerd Post!

This is another long nerdy post about nuclear stuff - the one I've been warning about.  I broke it down into a few different parts to try and keep it sensible.

Part 1. Nuclear fission:  How and where the energy is released, in its various forms.

Here is what happens at the subatomic level when the nucleus of an atom splits, or undergoes nuclear fission.  This event releases a phenomenal amount of energy, and where this energy ends up being deposited (or lost) is interesting.

New Project: Homemade Voigt Pipes

I've had this project in mind for at least a year, and now it's finally begun!  I'm pretty excited to see how this one turns out.

The project is to build a set of Voigt Pipe speakers, and to see for myself if they are as awesome as they are supposed to be - as in audiophile level amazing.  Fortunately the project isn't terribly expensive - it's mostly time and labor.  Unfortunately, I don't have much time to perform the labor :)

NOTE:  Links to updates 

 UPDATE 1: Panels are cut - Screw ups and hole cutters. 

UPDATE 2: More screw ups, but the cabinets are assembled.

So what is a Voigt pipe?  It's a unique speaker cabinet design that is intended to reduce/eliminate reflected sound waves from inside the cabinet.  To better understand what's going on inside a speaker cabinet, let's discuss speaker cabinet design a little bit.

Battleshort - A brief discussion

Battleshort: A condition in which some military equipment can be placed so that it does not shut down when circumstances would be damaging to the equipment or personnel.

In practice, Battleshort defeats safety interlocks that might keep a combat unit from completing a mission, particularly when taking heavy damage.

Below: A redneck version of Battleshort, in a civilian electrical circuit. The screwdriver should not blow under high current like a fuse would.

Unscheduled Repairs

Note:  This is not the post I've been working on.  Someday I intend to get that post finished.

Still here

Been working on a post, and hosted several different house guests this summer.  Hopefully I'll get something up before the weekend is over.

EDIT: Nope, not happening... it's long-winded and taking a bit of research.

Meanwhile here is a cool science kit from the 1950's.  Get your child interested in nuclear physics, engineering or cancer!  It would be awesome to have one of these right now!

Also this:

Submarines in Idaho?

For years there has been a rumor that the US Navy has a secretive submarine base where they test submarines at a land-locked lake in Idaho.  Is this true?  Yes, sort of.

USS Houston SSN-713

Before reading this post, please watch this video clip from the movie "The Naked Gun".  In the video clip, OJ Simpson has just announced that he's a cop and that everyone in the room is under arrest.  Hilarity ensues.

I suggested watching this video before proceeding with the post, because I was reminded of this scene while reading about the early years of USS Houston, SSN-713.  This post might come across as a little harsh, but it's not intended that way.  It's actually very instructive as to how a momentary lapse of attention or judgement can put the entire ship at risk.

A couple of cool songs on the way to work

The old thumb drive keeps giving and giving.  A classic, Frankenstein

Wings for Marie (part 2).  The album title refers to how many days the singer's mother lived: 10,000 days - a little bit over 27 years.  Marie was his mother.  The lyrics are intense and the long build-up to the song's crescendo sends chills up my spine.  I've said it before:  These guys are the Pink Floyd of this generation.  Best heard with a good set of earbuds or a great stereo system.  Tinny PC speakers don't do it justice.

An amazing vocal performance.  Gotye has a voice reminiscent of Sting, but better.  Kimbra is maybe even better than he is - certainly better looking, hahaha. This is a phenomenal (multi-platinum) duet.

 

Another cool song, this one by Cyrkle.  Song was co-written by Paul Simon.

Submarine Collisions - USS San Francisco SSN-711

This is in response to a loyal reader's request.  Happy to oblige :)

ARA San Juan

This event took place in November of 2017.  I was paying attention at the time, but somehow overlooked making a post about it.  It was huge news in Argentina, but less so in the US - possibly due to the political madness that has recently enveloped most US news outlets.

Finishing up the new PC

I discussed assembly of the new PC in this post, well over a month ago.  The new PC then gathered dust for several weeks, because I was working quite a bit of overtime.

Depressing Statistics

Every once in a while I check the statistics to see which of my Blog posts people are reading.  If a post is getting a lot of views, I go back to look for typos and for ways to improve or clarify it.

Currently in the news - a mysterious radioactive cloud

We have a puzzle with a hint of nuclear intrigue!  Let's grab Shaggy and Scooby.  Looks like we've got another mystery on our hands...

New Car

I had pretty much decided that was time to replace the Subaru.  Sell the Subie and the motorbike, and get a really fast (but plain-looking) car so I could still satisfy my "need for speed", minus the risk of riding a crotch-rocket.

Below, not a plain-looking car at all.  Surely very fast and cop friendly.  Not interested.

College-bound

Our daughter has been getting quite a bit of mail lately from various institutions of higher learning.  Apparently they have access to her PSAT scores, and obviously they have access to her name and address.

She has interest from quite a few colleges, both public and private, quite a few of which I'd never heard of before.  But there are a couple that really stuck out - both due to their reputation.

This isn't funny, but...

It kind of is. I shouldn't have laughed but I did.  

Link to the original article is here:

Windows 10 PC Build - basics of PC assembly - Updated

A while back, I posted that I'd gathered the items needed to build a new Windows 10 PC.

Sugarloaf

I was listening to the old memory stick on the way to work, and a cool old song came up.

A sneakier virus

There's a lot of Covid-19 in the news right now.  It's impossible to ignore how much it's affecting everyone's daily life.  However this is not the first time a lab-based virus has been inadvertently unleashed on an unsuspecting public.

Here's something I bet you didn't know:  Not long ago, a contaminated vaccine was given to millions of people all around the world.  This vaccine contained an unknown virus, and this virus and the diseases it cause were covered up for decades within the medical and scientific communities.

Time to replace the PC

Every once in a while, you end up having to replace your PC, and unfortunately that time has arrived once again at our house.

Charting the altitude of a barrel over Niagara Falls

I've got some graphs for ya.

A couple of cool pictures

I worked quite a bit last week, and so all the opportunities I had to get pictures were at work.  Still, they came out pretty.

Repairing the string trimmer

We had several days of snow in April, but now we are up to 15 hours a day of sunlight, with a couple hours each of dawn and twilight on either side of that.  Now things are finally getting warm and the grass is taking off.  Spring is always like this...  You might have t-shirt weather one day and a freeze after that.

I usually get caught off-guard turning the sprinkler system back on as well.  Spring is sometimes very short-lived or just weird up North.  Earlier this month it was time to mow and weed-whack for the first time, and that's when the problem came up. 

Sinking of the USS Squalus SS-192

One of my favorite YouTube content creators is The History Guy - Real name: Lance Geiger.  The link to his YouTube channel is on the right panel of this blog.  He is a fellow who creates short historical videos and posts them on YouTube.  I find all of his videos to be interesting and entertaining, but this particular one caught my attention, because it's about a submarine, and so I thought that it should get a shout out on this blog. 

I don't give financial advice, but...

... I don't give financial advice!  I also don't have a financial degree.  You are on your own financially - as in all things.  Most importantly, don't attempt to hold me responsible for your own actions.  Only a fool would act based on some random guy's blog posts!

Nerdy stuff - Triodes

I wandered away from my usual topics recently.  Those topics normally tend to be either home-related, or oddball stuff that I find interesting.  I may bounce back and forth on topics for a while - having recently developed a split personality, between tech and Covid-19.

Today though, I'm going to talk about triodes and amplifiers

Navigating through a dark time

James Stockdale, on his 7 years as a POW of North Vietnam, in the "Hanoi Hilton".

Q: "Who didn't make it out?"

A: "Oh, that's easy.  The optimists"

Q: "The optimists?  I don't understand."

 A: "The optimists.  Oh, they were the ones who said, "We're going to be out by Christmas."  And Christmas would come and Christmas would go.  Then they'd say "We're going to be out by Easter." And Easter would come and Easter would go.  And then Thanksgiving and then it would be Christmas again.  And they died of a broken heart"

Back to normal programming for this post

I have more to say about the pandemic response from both the media and the authorities, the loss of life, and the wobbly economy.  That will be a longer and more thoughtful post, and it will have to wait for a bit.

Long Philosophical Post

This is not my normal type of post.  I try to avoid social or political commentary, but I think unusual times deserve unusual responses.  As I write this post, we are at the beginning of a global pandemic that's keeping most of the world under a no-travel advisory, or "lock-down".

Below:  Playing chess with Death during the Black Plague - a scene from "The Seventh Seal"

New family member

For as long as I can remember, I've wanted a...

Corona Virus - A Public Service Announcement

Apparently we have passed a time in this country where the US government is willing to give its citizens some straight talk about a public health issue.

For those who haven't seen what straight talk from the government looks like, or no longer remember, watch the video below.  Back then they understood that propaganda/spin wasn't going to fix an infectious outbreak.  In the video below, the US Surgeon General , C. Everett Koop, explains HIV/AIDS to the US on national TV.

Modern Infotainment provides either scaremongering, or viewing this viral pandemic through the lens of politics or economics.  This is not useful framing for Covid-19, which is a public health issue.  Infectious diseases don't care about politics or economies, nor about your wealth or your place in the hierarchy of human civilization.  So give that crap up for now, and try to make yourself safe.

I'd like to share a quick 15 minute video, where an expert in contagious diseases shares his thoughts with a guy who asks (mostly) decent questions.  Please watch and learn.  I guess this is the modern equivalent of the US Surgeon General going on TV. 

 

It's pathetic that Americans should have to scour the internet to locate a video on their own to gather decent information on what might prove to be a world-altering event.  It's more pathetic that it's a private citizen that has to provide the forum for this information.  

Asteroid Detection

It is widely believed that a large asteroid collision was responsible for the event that caused dinosaurs to suddenly go extinct after ruling the planet for millions of years.  They were not capable of foreseeing the event, but humans are.  So we spend time, effort, and money scanning the sky for these dangerous objects.

Even so, recently an asteroid exploded in an air-burst above the city of Chelyabinsk, Russia.  The asteroid wasn't detected until it slammed into the atmosphere at a speed of tens of kilometers/second.

I recently watched this fascinating video about the tremendous difficulty of detecting earth-crossing asteroids, and thought I'd share it.

My package from Thailand arrived...

...a few days ago.  No, it's nothing illicit.

Career Autobiography - Part 6: Later Submarine Years - Experience and Supervision

Part 5 is here:

Open-Source Nuclear Power Plant Plans

I just stumbled across this.  Plans for your own 100 MW(e) Nuclear Power Plant!  How cool is that!

Download the .pdf and get going!  Just kidding.  The permitting would be a nightmare, even for a table-top power plant like this one.

Wilton Model 9-600 vise restoration

A couple of years ago, I ended up in possession of a Wilton "Bullet" bench vise - a model 9-600.

More radioactive junk at my house

The previous post about radioactive junk is here:

Career Autobiography - Part 5: Early Submarine Years - Standing Watch

Part 4 is here:

When you first arrive on a submarine, you are pretty much useless - and your shipmates let you know about that right away.  When you first come aboard, you will be called a "NUB".  This is Navy slang for "Non-Useful Body".

This sweet little Christmas gift!

I've been meaning to mention this neat little item I got for Christmas that I really appreciate:

Quirky Music Video

There's something funny and cool about a guy in a powdered wig shredding on a distorted guitar...

January stuff

I'm posting this on the day after Groundhog Day.

Career Autobiography - Part 4: It's Not Easy Being a Submariner

Part 3 is Here

After almost exactly two years of technical training, I reported aboard the USS Barb for what would be the remainder of my active military duty - a four year-long sea tour.

 Below:  USS Barb departing from Pearl Harbor.

Christmas break

I worked quite a bit around Christmas this year.  When you are a shift worker, sometimes the football bounces that way.   I'm working on the next post, but it's been taking a fair bit of time to get finished.