Daydream Notes

When I discovered Google Books had made available the entire run of Life Magazine online, as you might imagine, I was thrilled. When I was an undergrad, I had found the paper edition in the basement of the University Library, and loved to flip through them. I'm attracted to it for lots of reasons: reading about historical events as they were happening offers an interesting perspective. Also, like a lot of history, especially wartime history, it places a humbling perspective on your own problems. I mean sure, things may be bad, but can you imagine opening up a magazine to discover enemy submarines were sinking all the merchant ships they can find off of New Jersey? The fact that Life editors are sometimes blind to unintentional comedy is a nice bonus. Now that I'm sitting here actually thinking about it, Life in some ways is like the internet, except edited and photographed by brilliant people. And of course, of its era. Very much of its era. I mean, seriously, look at...

Sometimes, what model kit I get is based on nerdy historical interest, or something that I've been just interested in for a long time. Sometimes, it's because I thought the kit looked extremely cool. This Gremlin is firmly in the latter category. Round2 is a manufacturer that owns many old model brands, like AMT and MPC , which you might remember if you built model cars in the '70s or '80s. They've been updating and reissuing kits from these old makers, often with extras. When I saw they reissued a Gremlin kit, I could not resist buying it. Not only is it a kit of an economy car, but it was an economy car with an optional V8, and could be authentically painted in the most garish color combos the 70s could offer. Which let me assure you becomes twice as amazing when you consider accent stripes. The kit itself was very well done - while not up to the superior engineering of Japanese makers like Tamiya or Hasegwasa, it was very well done by any oth...

So since I started my new job I've made two new friends there who are pilots in training. (Well, one is a pilot in training - the other is in fact a pilot instructor.) While I'm so not a pilot myself, here are videos I want them to see. Explanations are beneath the video, which are almost always how it was explained to me on a certain web forum where I hang out with people who actually understand flying. 1. "Guys I'm Concerned"  A fully loaded C-5 is flown into the ground by astonishing failure. A "thrust reverser not secure" warning light comes on shortly after takeoff, prompting a turn around. The pilot sets the affected engine to idle, only to confuse the throttle settings and idle a fine engine instead. Then, the crew sets the flaps to 90% a setting reserved for "literally about to touch down on the runway" on a big plane that really doesn't need any flaps with a full load and engines missing. Crew survived the crash, but at least ...