Perhaps it's normal when one reaches a certain age, but occasionally I have small episodes of nostalgia, and one of the things I miss is the thrill of our space program. Oh, for the days when people would gather around the television (black-and-white, of course) just to watch one of our beautiful Saturn IV rockets blast into space - secure in the belief that with each one we were leaping ahead of our Cold War nemesis. ("Take that, Comrades!")

It was exciting on many levels, and we never missed a liftoff - they were big events. I remember getting up very early one morning to watch Apollo 11 blast off for the moon; heck, we even waited for the splashdowns! (For those of you born after 1980, that's how astronauts landed before the wheeled Shuttle was developed.)

Not surprisingly, I was thrilled when I came across the International Space Artifact Collection at www.hightechscience.org They have artifacts from both the U.S. and Soviet space projects, and have lots of great pictures on their website. Cool stuff!


Authentic Soyuz spacecraft clock

(Trivia time: can anyone tell me the connection between the U.S. space program and one of my favorite revolvers??)

-=[ Grant ]=-

Things you didn't know could be done with water!

First, what happens when water hits a horizontal impeller being driven at high speeds? Patterns that look almost like solid glass!



More pictures of water polyhedra here.

What can you do with a waterfall controlled by a computer? Jeep Corporation figured it out!




-=[ Grant ]=-

You've gotta check out p d b , another gun-centric blog from a pretty sharp cookie who works in a video game store. Yeah, one of those juvenile repositories of self-absorbtion and lack of sunlight-derived Vitamin D. Who'd have thought that there were actually active brain cells in a place like that?

Great read...I'm subscribed to the RSS feed, of course!

-=[ Grant ]=-

Apparently the experts at the National Nuclear Security Administration aren't as careful with their computer data as their name would indicate. Approximately 1,500 people who work for agency contractors were stolen in September 2005 - but not reported until June 9, 2006!

Yep - these are the guys I trust to keep me safe, you betcha. (In case you missed it, that's what we refer to as 'sarcasm'.)

-=[ Grant ]=-

Are you as tired of weather.com as I am? It started out as a great site with lots of content, but it's s-l-o-w and clogged with ads. If you need time lapse satellite or radar images, it's OK - but if what you want is just a forecast for the next few days it's a cumbersome mess.

Luckily, someone has come up with a better idea: WeatherMole. Combine the latest Weather Service forecasts with Google maps, and you've got a winning combination!

Just click on the area for which you want a forecast - WeatherMole shows you the upcoming week's forecasts for that pinpoint location. Zoom in on the map to refine your forecast point, and you'll see the forecasts change to reflect even small location differences.

If you travel, this is the greatest thing since sliced bread!

-=[ Grant ]=-

I'm not usually one for vulgarity, but this may prove to be useful.

It seems that if you speak certain of the infamous "seven dirty words", automated call-taking systems will often route you directly to a human being! No more trying to figure out the arcane access numbers - just cuss like a logger (or longshoreman or sailor, as your geographical area dictates) and you might just get to talk to a real person.

The Revolver Liberation Alliance blog isn't just entertaining, it's educational!

-=[ Grant ]=-

Just when I think I've seen it all, someone comes up with yet another unique use for Google Maps.

Go to this site, input a UPS/FedEx tracking number, and iSnoop will generate a Google map showing where the package is, and an RSS feed that sends the up-to-date tracking info to your RSS reader!

What else can be done with Google Maps? Check in next week...

-=[ Grant ]=-

Great idea - turn them into a lamp! From the TechEBlog comes this:



Says the builder: “The pile of CDs that had been massing in my room was growing to epic proportions. So I decided to make myself a CD lamp. The circular base was actually cut using a template on a table saw, then sanded after clamping it in a drill press. The cold cathode lamp is from NewEgg. “

And to think I've been throwing them away all these years...once again, proof that I have no creativity whatsoever!

-=[ Grant ]=-

I make no secret of the fact that I love the Apple Macintosh computer line. I've been using Macs for about 8 years now, and those times when I'm forced to use a Windows PC are excruciatingly painful. I've gotten used to having a computer that "just works" without spending hours reloading operating systems, updating anti-virus software, worrying about spyware, searching for device drivers, and waiting for the machine to reboot after yet another crash.

Whew - sorry for the sales pitch, but I couldn't help myself! Anyway, this isn't about my Macs - it's about the new Apple Store on the ever-chic 5th Avenue in New York:



Get this: it's a glass cube that simply serves as a ground-level entrance to the subterranean store! The cube covers the curved glass staircase (and glass elevator) that leads you downward to the store below:



Very neat. I'd like to have a house built using this concept, but I shudder to think what it would cost...

-=[ Grant ]=-

I like reading the gun discussion forums - lots of, well, interesting stuff turns up - but I've lately become enamored of Michael Bane's Shooting Gallery site.

Based on his TV show (which I can't get because Comcast holds The Outdoor Channel hostage, demanding I pay them even more money than I already am), it has a great mix of articles from Michael and such luminaries as Walt Rauch. Wonderful site, and worth a visit.

-=[ Grant ]=-