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ASFO 2023–11–11

Armistice Day, Remembrance Day, the feast of Saint Martin of Tours ― whatever you call it, this is a day to demand of the members of the United Nations, and especially the Permanent Members of the Security Council, that they honour their solemn obligation, freely entered into, to seek and keep peace in this world. Unfortunately, I spent my time slot driving back from the stamp show (where I bought a bunch of postage), instead of doing a broadcast, so I had to do it later. For your delectation, I have a new film transfer.

Title card from a film, badly faded to pink. Text is "The Magic of the Atom". — Title card for the Handel Films “Magic of the Atom” series

“My Zeppelins”

Im Zeppelin über Länder und Meere (1949), an autobiographical account of the development of intercontinental airship flight by Hugo Eckener, long–time head of the Zeppelin organization, was abridged and translated into English by Douglas Robinson, published 1958. I found to my sorrow that the local library’s copy, which I had checked out many times, had been discarded ― but I managed to buy it, in order to read it to you. As usual, there is a great deal of my chatter intermingled with the actual material.

2023–11–07 Introduction, and first part of Chapter I, “The Flight of the ZR III (sic) Los Angeles”
2023–11–21 Remainder of Chapter I, and commencement of Chapter II, “The First Flights of the Graf Zeppelin”
2023–12–05 Continuation of Chapter II
2023–12–12 Conclusion of Chapter II, all of Chapter III, “A Sentimental Journey to Egypt”, and the very beginning of Chapter IV, “The Flight Around the World”
2023–12–19 Continuation of Chapter IV
2024–01–05 Conclusion of Chapter IV, and beginning of Chapter V, “The South American Service, 1930―37”
2024–01–09 Conclusion of Chapter V
Links to a British Pathé Newsreel series showing a trip to South America aboard the Graf Zeppelin : “Flying Down to Rio” Part 1 (not to be confused with the musical film of the same title) ― Part 2 ― Part 3 ― Part 4
2023–01–12 Commencement of Chapter VI, “The Arctic Flight of 1931”, with commentary about, inter alia, Fritjof Nansen’s humanitarian efforts, and Eckener’s undeserved censure on Nobile, and a promise to read the latter’s book My Polar Flights
2024–01–16 Conclusion of Chapter VI ; beginning of Chapter VII, “The Victory of the Zeppelin Concept, 1931―37”
2024–01–19 Conclusion of Chapter VII ; beginning of Chapter VIII, “The Hindenburg” (plus some chatter about the Japanese SLIM lunar landing mission)
2024–01–23 Conclusion of Chapter VIII, and almost all of Chapter IX, “Helium Troubles and a Gloomy Ending”
2024–01–26 After a few minutes of dead air (owing to my failure to un–mute the mic), the conclusion of Chapter IX, and with it the main text ; and the first part of the Appendix, “A Note on the Technology and Development of the Zeppelin Airship”, by Dr–Ing Knut Eckener, son of the author
2024–02–02 Not quite the whole of the remainder of the Appendix
2024–02–06 A short show, just the conclusion of the Appendix, with a promise to start My Polar Flights by Umberto Nobile with a show of its own

ASFO 2023–11–04

My bold new proposal to solve the American housing crisis! Also, treating the deficiencies of medical practice with Ozempic? a consideration of the true meaning of “Atoms for Peace”, cheering news from Sweden, talk about decarbonization versus the reality of on–going oil rushes and the sublime certainties of climate campaigners, demolished wind installations and the tertium quid, words of wisdom from 1955 Britain, and Loscon.

ASFO 2023–10–28

I live! And I am once again contemplating the distribution of printed matter, in the form of a “zine” which I am calling blast. So most of this episode is a description of past activities in this field and what I hope to achieve this time, a solicitation for contributions of material to print and financial support, and an excerpt of something I am writing and will hopefully finish.

ASFO 2023–10–21

Pythagorean central–fire astronomy? Truly, this show brings you things you won’t get anywhere else! Also, Mail Call ― the storytelling mode of eldritch horror and how it influences perceptions of atomic power ― a consideration of practical morality, that the onus of action falls most heavily on him who has the most power to act ― falling short of the glory of God ― and Pure Science, in the story of the world’s only depleted–uranium mine.

“Nuclear Power Status 2020” poster from the International Atomic Energy Agency. Blue background with five gear-wheel-like graphs of different sizes. — The presentation of information here is intriguing, but we wonder just how effective it is.

“Nuclear Power Status 2021” poster from IAEA Power Reactor Information System. Light blue background with various tables and graphs. In the center, an artist’s impression of a generic nuclear power station. — It’s hard to know what Tufte would think of these posters.

ASFO 2023–10–14

Intractable problems are often the result of clashes between value systems, or of different rankings of values in the same system. Often, the first necessity for addressing them is acknowledging the nature of the problem ― which those who are certain they are in the right are often especially reluctant to do. Insoluble problems, on the other hand, may not be intractable, in the sense that it may be possible to ameliorate or work around them. In the human world, however, nothing can be done without goodwill, which is very much subject to being eroded by the effects of insoluble and intractable problems.

ASFO 2023–10–07

Nuclear energy and space news, mostly. I may spend some more time talking about the implications of nuclear power in Bangladesh and countries like it, and the way the Western countries have effectively left the field to Russia. Also, the implications of the launch of the first satellites for the Amazon LEO comsat constellation, and the implications of launch orders placed with ULA ; an alternative suggestion for the Eagle’s Nest mine project discussed last week ; and a brief consideration of the problems of constitutional government.

Supplementary Show

2023–10–10 A little pamphlet about the Douglas Point nuclear power station, for which the term CANDU was coined, and more of the 1975―76 AECL Annual Report. Perhaps I should have found something topical about the Chinese national holiday.

ASFO 2023–09–30

Mail Call! Much of the rest of the show, alas is political incompentence and stupidity ― thin soup, you may say. There seems little reason, though, that they should be so ubiquitous if, somewhere along the line, we the common people had not decided to accept them. As I have said time and again, policies which cannot be implemented will not be. Also, the resources required by the environmentally–benign renewable–energy–and–battery future, and their relation to cocaine and alcohol.

A letter, three Bhutanese postage stamps with a lenticular effect showing art of the Apollo landings, a Soviet 4-kopeck postage stamp celebrating cosmonautics with an attached caption, an axolotl sticker shaped like a human brain, and a Soviet electronic pocket calculator in a sheat. — Contents of a parcel from SDFer **lcd**

Supplementary Show

2023–10–03 From ATOM 142 (1968 August), How DFR Was Repaired, a very interesting description of work on the primary circuit of a sodium–cooled fast–neutron breeder reactor, which had not initially been thought feasible. And then some material from the 1975–76 Annual Report of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited. Truncated early by a telephone call from a medical office.

ASFO 2023–09–23

Good news from Canada! Also the OSIRIS–REx space mission, some observations about the UAW strike, the politics of the Wall Street Journal, more of my accurséd numismatism, and the usual miscellany.

Two rectangular blue cards with "The Luna Project" stamped on them in gold, and cutouts holding Luna Project medalets. Scattered around, five Greek 10 drachma coins with an imaginary head of Democritus on one side and an atom symbol on the other. — The laser-cut, rubber-stamped Luna Project medalet cards, and some of the Greek coins I propose to make into similar souvenirs

Supplementary Shows

2023–09–26 More from Science News Yearbook 1970, mostly about the continuing struggle to get enough data to understand and predict the weather, and the longer–term changes in climate.
2023–09–29 The “Awards and Prizes” section of Science News Yearbook 1970, and a goodly part of a little booklet entitled Euratom at the Atomium, describing a “Permanent Exhibition” inside a large sculpture erected for the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair. Unfortunately, this exhibition appears no longer to exist, and the space is now used for a historical presentation on the 1958 Fair. This may be considered a symptom of the loss of confidence and forward momentum in the field of atomic energy and in Euratom specifically.

ASFO 2023–09–16

Mail call! Also a contemplation of nuclear safety, in the context of the horrific dam collapse catastrophe in Libya ; Indian country broadband, the question of “sticking to the old ways,” and the possibility that novelty–seeking is a fear response, with a diversion into alternative foodstuffs (the peanut is your friend!) ; and “teaching the controversy”.

Supplementary Shows

2023–09–19 Again from Science News Yearbook 1970, sections on Apollo 12, Soyuz 4―8, and Mariner 6 and 7.
2023–09–22 The rest of the space material from Science News Yearbook 1970, including Venera 5 and 6, the death of Bonnie the macaque, and a round–up of major space missions launched in 1969 up to 17 November. Also I start reading the section on atmospheric science, led there by a note in the space round–up. (Again this is a substitute archive.)