“On this date in 1963 Captain Joe Walker flew the North American X-15A to an altitude of 271,000 feet. Having flown higher than 50 miles, he qualified for astronaut wings.” Only The Space Shuttle ‘flew’ Faster Than This Rocket Plane Designed With A Slide Rule Queue the theme song/video to Star Trek ‘Enterprise’ …
Christmas song for Unix hackers
better !pout !crybetter watchoutlpr whysanta claus < north pole >towncat /etc/passwd >listcheck listcheck listcat list | grep naughty >nogiftlistcat list | grep nice >giftlistsanta claus < north pole >townwho | grep sleepingwho | grep awakewho | egrep ‘bad|good’for (goodness sake) { be good} (by Frank Carey, AT&T Bell Laboratories, 1985)
Concorde vs SR-71 Blackbird
I was controlling a westbound Concorde just entering my airspace when I received details of an SR-71 coming eastbound on a route that would conflict with Concorde. The SR-71 did not always fly supersonically, it was doing less than Mach1 on this day, but it was still at a very high altitude. I had been…
I’ve Been Ducked!
I’ve finally been ducked! 🤣 I was at the Home Depot picking up an order and came back to this little guy on my Jeep. Thanks Gladys! 😁
The Life of Mary McDonald
Mary McDonald was born on November 14, 1770 in Frogtown (near Norristown). When Mary was 4 years old, her mother died. She was then sent to live with the family of Rees Howell as a bound servant. Howell had a farm situated on the road between Gulph Mills and Valley Forge. In mid December, 1777,…
Gothic Hall
While The Masonic Temple in Philadelphia is gorgeous, there were several other grand Masonic edifices in the city prior to its construction. Once such building was the 1855 Masonic Hall, which was consumed by fire. Remnants of that building can still be found in today’s Temple. For instance, the seats in Gothic Hall were actually…
Sea Story Saturday: Admiral Halsey
Admiral William Halsey, who once said “I never trust a fighting man who doesn’t smoke or drink,” was not a supporter of the Navy’s ban on alcohol on ships. During WWII, he requisitioned 100 gallons of bourbon so that flight surgeons could issue shots to his pilots. h/t – US Naval Institute
Sunday Punday Funday
For a little Sunday Punday Funday, I give you.. the pièce de résistance of puns: These loafers must have cost a lot of dough. They are shoes that most people would just loaf to have. You could make some bread selling these loafers. I believe it’s a product you could spread without getting into a…
“Hey, you got any Coke?”
The USS Connecticut’s collision last week was not the first time the submarine unexpectedly came into contact with something. After the Connecticut had surfaced in an ice pack in 2003, a polar bear approached and began to lick the exposed rudder before deciding that he was not in the mood for a sub and wandered…
On This Day: Berlin Airlift Ended
The Berlin Airlift ended in 1949, months after the blockade was lifted. The allies airlifted supplies to the city for nearly a year. They delivered 2.3 million tons of supplies, and raised spirits for over 2 million Berliners.This morning, Ambassador Haber called it, “a show of solidarity Germans will never forget.” The Berlin Airlift remains…