Art From a Pre-Digital Era

Awesome scans from an old issue of Popular Mechanics: conceptual artwork from Walt Disney Studio's "The Black Hole", from 1979 by Robert T. McCall (AKA Bob T. McCall) for the Walt Disney Studios c1977(?).

Heard today the "SR-71" was originally designated "RS-71", for "Recon/Strike" craft, focus on the recon. LBJ flipped the letters in a speech & no one wanted to tell the President he was wrong.

Heard today the "SR-71" was originally designated "RS-71", for "Recon/Strike" craft, focus on the recon. LBJ flipped the letters in a speech & no one wanted to tell the President he was wrong.

Intruder Alert

update: I called my father in law who checked with the police officers. Two men were on light rail and did not pay. Upon getting informed they would be ticketed, they ran into our neighborhood. As of 8 am, they caught one but the 2nd had not been apprehended.

Thus, it was not a neighborhood issue but a light rail issue."

Hilariously Wrong Google Voice Transcript

Hi Brother, This is an important day. Tiffany road and I was calling to call you and today and I was beep beep. I'm just an idea and and. But H, IL. If you're right, we did you know I was now but I was. But she thought because I want now. So only very sorry but I pick them up. So we could talk to you later when you come. Okay bye.

Keep Watching the Skies!

[Nathan Bergey] built the world's coolest desk lamp to alert you when the International Space Station is overhead.

Using a Teensy board to light a few LEDs on the edge of a piece of perspex. And to make it it even cooler, it uses a custom Python script to parse the data available on Heavens Above. (As the orbit of the ISS decays over time, a stand-alone satellite tracking lamp will eventually lose it’s accuracy) Everything on the computer runs in the Gnome panel and is passed to the Teensy over the USB connection.

All of the code is posted on github.

still prepared

The first time I ever saw a MagLite was at Scout camp in the very early 80s. I knew right then that no other flashlight was going to cut it and by the next time our troop went camping I was going to own a MagLite Flashlight as well.

The years have passed and while I don't know what happened to that original flashlight, I know we always have at least 3 or 4 MagLite Flashlights around our house, not counting the one on my key-chain!

Never know when the power is going to go out or you need to look for a raccoon!

if money was no object

What would you like to buy for an extreme discount? What would you buy if money was no object?

At bidrack each bid costs on average $0.50, depending on which bid pack option you choose, so if you act quickly you can win your auction quickly and after paying a smallish shipping fee –no shipping fee at all if the item's virtual, and be enjoying your latest 'win' in what could be only days!

Give it a look! With bonus bids, guaranteed wins and he ability to even if you do not win still having a chance to buy the product at a discounted rate! (You simply use the Buy It Now feature– Buy It Now feature allows anyone to apply any money they spend during the auction placing bids to the Buy It Now price.)

Read how the whole thing work, take a look at all the prizes they have up for auction right now and see for yourself. That new toy or gift for a friend may be closer & cheaper than you think! Let bidrack help.

Johnathan Ives' Favourite Designer Speaks

Dieter Rams prefers not to be called a designer. "I prefer the German term, Gestalt-Ingenieur."

Read it all here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/apple/8555503/Dieter-Rams-Apple-has-achieved-something-I-never-did.html

(via Instapaper)

Made from 85% organic material.

Shoot Your Mouth Off

In May of 1956, James Bond author Ian Fleming received a politely critical letter from a firearms expert named Geoffrey Boothroyd. It read in part:

I have, by now, got rather fond of Mr. James Bond. I like most of the things about him, with the exception of his rather deplorable taste in firearms. [...]

May I suggest that Mr. Bond be armed with a revolver?

Boothroyd's long letter continued in a similar vein, filled with incredibly detailed weaponry suggestions for 007. Fleming, replied with a letter you cam see and read at the blog 'Letters of Note'. Bond was  subsiquently equipped with a Walther PPK in the novel Dr. No.

And the name of Bond's fictional new armourer? Major Boothroyd.