Cap'n Bob & the Damsel

Cyberspace

Name the Blimp

The following is from the Goodyear Website:

Aerial Ambassadors

For 80 years, Goodyear blimps have adorned the skies as very visible corporate symbols of the tire and rubber company that began operations in 1898.

Today, these graceful giants travel more than 100,000 miles across the United States per year as Goodyear’s “Aerial Ambassadors.”

The blimp tradition began in 1925 when Goodyear built its first helium-filled public relations airship, the Pilgrim. The tire company painted its name on the side and began barnstorming the United States. Humble beginnings to an illustrious history.

Over the years, Goodyear built more than 300 airships, more than any other company in the world. Akron, Ohio, the company’s world headquarters, was the center of blimp manufacturing for several decades.

During World War II many of the Goodyear-built airships provided the U.S. Navy with a unique aerial surveillance capability. Often used as convoy escorts, the blimps were able to look down on the ocean surface and spot a rising submarine and radio its position to the convoy’s surface ships. . . in essence acting as an early warning system. Modern surveillance technology eventually eclipsed the advantages of the airship fleet, and in 1962 the Navy discontinued the program.

Today, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company no longer mass-produces airships. In the United States it operates three well-recognized blimps: the Spirit of Goodyear, based in Akron, Ohio; the Spirit of America, based in Carson, California; and the Stars & Stripes, in Pompano Beach, Florida.


Now is your chance to name the newest Blimp to be stationed in Florida. Go to Goodyear – Name The Blimp Contest and sign up.

12 Apr 2006 by Aviation Cyberspace

Focus at FOSE is War

FOSE stands for Federal Office Systems Expo, and is a yearly trade show held in Washington, D.C. FOSE is currently in progress at the D.C. Convention Center. EWeek notes that a big demand this year is for IT and information services. To put the article in perspective, recall Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s recent remarks about losing the media war. Last December, Rumsfeld also indicated a need to improve our military cyberspace capabilities.

The Focus at FOSE is War

The exhibition floor at this year’s FOSE, the annual technology fair for the federal government, is decorated with big, rugged gear, reminding attendees that we are still at war, and there’s money to be made.

The Department of Defense, which had an operating budget of $430 billion last year, reports that it manages more than twice the dollar volume of the world’s largest corporation, and it carries 500 times more inventory items than Home Depot. This year, the department’s IT needs are greater than ever.

[Read the rest]

07 Mar 2006 by Cyberspace Islamic Terrorism Military

A Virtual Seashore Visit

This site is just too cool. You can see 360° views at selected beaches along a 72 mile stretch of the coastline near Los Angeles and on Santa Catalina Island.

Beach Views

The County of Los Angeles Fire Department, Lifeguard Division, in partnership with the County of Los Angeles Department of Beaches and Harbors and the University of Southern California Sea Grant Program has created a network of web cameras weather stations and water thermometers to aid in staffing beaches, tracking rescue activity, creating public education materials, and collecting environmental data for use in pursuing our common goals of protecting and educating the public, safeguarding property and preserving the environment. Devices are installed along the 72 mile Los Angeles coastline and connected to the Fire Department’s Wide Area Network allowing Operational Captains to accurately assess staffing needs at secluded, under served beaches from anywhere on the network through a web browser.

13 Feb 2006 by California Cyberspace Environment

Over Four Million Never Forget Hits

Today, there have been over four million hits on the Never Forget Tribute. It only passed three million about January 16th, so it got over a million hits in less than a month! The graphic (to the best of my estimation) is seen on over three hundred sites worldwide. Thanks for all those who display it, and thanks to the folks at North American Patriot for their continued generosity in providing the bandwidth for distribution.

05 Feb 2006 by Blogosphere Cyberspace Islamic Terrorism Never Forget Patriotism

Stardust to Return to Earth

NASA’s Stardust capsule is scheduled to streak across western skies over a path from Crescent City, California, Winnemucca and Elko, Nevada to its touchdown point in western Utah. The probe will return minute particles collected during it’s journey in space.

One of my daily visits, SpaceWeather.com had this information:

FIREBALL ALERT: On Sunday morning, Jan. 15th, between 1:56 and 1:59 a.m. PST, a brilliant fireball will streak over northern California and Nevada. It’s NASA’s Stardust capsule, returning to Earth with samples of dust from Comet Wild 2. The best observing sites are near Carlin and Elko, Nevada, where the man-made meteor is expected to shine as much as 60 times brighter than Venus.

The flight path of the Stardust capsule

The fireball might be widely visible from parts of Oregon, Idaho and Utah as well as California and Nevada: observing tips. NASA is interested in videos and photos of the re-entry, which could help researchers learn more about, e.g., the physics of heat shields. Got data? Send it here.

After the spacecraft returns, volunteers will analyze the micrographs by looking for “needles” in “haystacks” – minute particles, few and far between – from electronic images distributed for analysis, similar to the Search for Extra Terrestrial Institute’s distributed processing of SETI data. You can volunteer and maybe be part of the team at Stardust@Home.

10 Jan 2006 by Astronomy Cyberspace Rocket Science

Defend America

You may notice a couple of new things in the right sidebar – a section for military links and a new graphic for DEFEND AMERICA, the Department of Defense’s official news and information site for the War on Terror. I consider their site a daily read and that’s why I’m making it a point to pass it along to our readers.

I’m also encouraging other websites to lift the graphic (an animated .gif file, 80kb or so) for use as a link to DEFEND AMERICA. Just right click on it and select save. Then enclose the image in a hyperlink to http://defendamerica.mil/.

Disclaimer: the graphic is home spun, and no claims are made as to suitability for any purpose nor for liability incurred by it’s use.
28 Dec 2005 by Cyberspace Islamic Terrorism Military

New Year, New Look

Since Damsel is getting more involved in our weblog, we have decided to add her to the title block. She provides her viewpoints and photographs that add a “lighter” set of features as opposed to presenting hardcore opinion and politics. We like having fun too.

We also transitioned to our New Year’s theme, which will likely be active for a week or two. We’re also trying out a new header that features a flash animation – this a prototype for the permanent banner that will show up after the holiday sometime. If it’s too distracting or annoying, let us know so we can consider alternatives.

26 Dec 2005 by Blogosphere Cyberspace

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