Ansari is a beautiful poem and song by Tartit, a Tuareg group from Mali.
Hopefully I will find time soon to transcribe and translate it. I thought I would post it in advance of translation because it’s been stuck in my head lately as I read the news about Libya.
I mentioned the Tuareg rebels in 2007. Interviews from 2009 with a Tuareg group called Tinariwen give more insight into their struggle, including time spent training in Libya; it showed up in the Music of Resistance series.
The BBC gives a light-hearted look at how the Soviets engineer safety into their space missions.
The story goes that one of the engineers warned the chief designer, Sergei Korolev, that the slightest leak of air would kill those on board.
Korolev’s solution was to appoint the engineer as one of the cosmonauts, figuring that this would help motivate him to make the capsule as safe as possible.
All three cosmonauts survived the mission – although others were not so lucky.
Today’s Soyuz spacecraft does not look much different from those pioneering designs. It is even launched on a rocket that would not be out of place in a 1950s sci-fi annual.
That’s one way to motivate an engineer to take security seriously. One breach and you’re dead.
With the pace of “progress” in consumer technology some might scoff at the above scenario. Soviets use old technology? Primitive technology? Then they will read this.
…in order to dock to the space station the commander uses an optical periscope which sticks out of the side.
“Why not a camera,” I ask?
“Why make it complicated?” replies the colonel.
And that is the great thing about Russian space technology – it may look a bit dated, but it works. I have seen Soyuz launched in a blizzard – the slightest gust of wind delays the Shuttle.
So technically speaking they launch with resilient technology. It is not just functional, but designed to be highly reliable.
Another interesting bit of security trivia is that anyone can get fairly close to watch a Soyuz launch, but the US space program has a giant buffer zone.
“Damn, I forgot the marshmallows”
The US military reports that overnight the Africa Command task force commenced electronic warfare during Operation Odyssey Dawn to help achieve U.N. Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1973 and protect Libyan civilians from their government.
The [U.S. Navy EA-18G] Growlers [a variant of the F/A-18F] provided electronic warfare support over Libya while Harriers from the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) conducted strikes against Muammar Gaddafi’s ground forces and air defenses, joining an international effort to halt an offensive against the Libyan populace.
This is part of a new tactical aviation fleet generation, which is more inter-operable and faster to produce; Growlers replace the Navy’s EA-6B Prowlers electronic attack aircraft.
“Its pilots and crews will employ Growler’s systems not just to jam signals,” said [Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Mike Mullen], “but to control all aspects of the electromagnetic spectrum to protect our troops and engage our enemies.”
In other words, for this operation, while 100s of cruise missile strikes degraded Libya’s defensive capabilities the Growlers suppress residual risk of SAM threats to the coalition bombers. America is the only NATO member with tactical jamming support capability.
No news yet of any U.N.-coalition cyberwarfare to take out critical infrastructure and weaken the Colonel’s Army or even defacement of official Libyan media sites to post pro-civilian messages. I am certain Gaddafi’s email inbox right about now is overflowing with attachments.
The Navy also has released a video. It seems to be very underexposed; or maybe that’s to emphasize electronic warfare capability — everyone outside the attack team is left in the dark.
U.S. Marine Corps AV/-8B Harrier jets launch from the flight deck of the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) in preparation for Operation Odyssey Dawn missions. Later, an SH-60 Sea hawk helicopter, CH-53E Super Stallion, MV-22 Osprey and U.S. Marine Corps AV/-8B Harrier jets land on the flight deck of the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) following Operation Odyssey Dawn missions.
EcoModder tells of a hobbyist named Dave Cloud in the US who set himself a challenge: build an electric car for less than $3K that will go more than 200 miles on a charge. The base platform is a 1997 Geo.
The Dolphin was put together for a miserly $3,000, but can do impressive things for the meager amount of money that was used to create it. Running on used batteries, the car managed a 70mph top speed and overall range of upwards of 80 miles, despite the fact that curb weight is well over 3000 pounds.
Imagine the results if the car manufacturers or others donated a 2011 platform (or even a diesel-electric hybrid concept from 2005) and held a competition among hobbyists. Is that too pie-in-the-sky? Disclaimer: I love pie. Dave’s explanation of his limitations are quoted by EcoModder:
…my goal was to build a vehicle that can go 200 miles on a single charge with a speed of 60-65 mph for 85% of the miles, for under $3,000. I accomplished this goal. Because of my $3,000 limitation I made a lot of compromises in the chassis design hoping that the aerodynamics of the vehicle would make up for those inefficiencies. Inefficiencies such as front wheel bearings that rumble, back tires that are 10 years old and misshapen, single speed dual series motors (that were $100), no re-gen and inexpensive Curtis controllers.
I have watched vehicle automation contests, solar vehicle contests (which have produced Dolphin-looking cars)…is there a hypermile or mile-per-charge contest? I also have watched government leaders try to make a stupid parody out of innovation in automobile efficiency (golf carts never should have been allowed to count as a manufacturer’s low-emission “fleet” vehicle — it was a clever legal loophole exploited by GM but if it can’t safely travel over 65mph…bzzzzt, next).
This reminds me of two things. One, the muscle cars that many are buying today are big-box industrialized interpretations of hobbyist vehicles at the race track from the late 1960s. I would say 70s, but they fell way out of fashion by the late 70s because efficiency became the hobbyist market objective in the oil crisis (efficiency didn’t leave in the 1980s, but the big car manufacturers lost interest when OPEC partners started to fight and undercut each other). Second, the MP3 players in practically every stereo today are an industrialized interpretation of hobbyist stereos in the late 1990s (e.g. big kudos to the original MP3 Miata with a PC in the trunk).
Comparison of these two hobbyist movements can help predict innovation cycles and answer the question: when can I buy a Dolphin?
The cost of materials in a car has typically been the impediment to more competition, as well as safety regulations. Who can afford to ship iron and forge it into a chassis or axle, for example, other than a Ford or GM? This hurdle is overcome by hobbyists through reclamation of old vehicles. It also is overcome by lighter, stronger and more easily managed technology like carbon fiber or fiberglass or plastic. The electronics industry, on the other hand, is far more open to competition because sourcing the material is far less expensive and Moore’s law seems to always find a way in.
The adoption cycle of efficient electric vehicles thus could now be more like the MP3 than the muscle car and we will see a commercial attempt to market the Dolphin within ten years instead of thirty.
Some might say VW, with plans to overtake Toyota in total sales, is already on the right path with a sleek-looking 261 mpg diesel-electric hybrid at car shows.
Yes that looks like a 1992 Subaru SVX. Oh Subaru, I remember when you were actually cool for being the outsider in America with inexpensive all-wheel-drive and high mpg.
…or a Ford Probe, or a Honda Insight. Car manufacturers have certainly tested the water with efficiency and aerodynamic designs (and there are other 200 mile range electrics for more money) but I hope the Dolphin $3K challenge inspires home hackers and hobbyists as they are the ones most likely to innovate without fear of losing a few Escalade or Expedition sales.
