Learning To Speak

Last summer, I had the wonderful opportunity to present a series of lectures aboard the Cunard Line's Queen Mary 2 on behalf of Oxford University. I did so on a transatlantic crossing between New York and Southampton, UK.

To prepare for the talks, I spent considerable time observing seasoned, practiced, expert speakers and lecturers in action. I learned much about the art of oratory from doing so. I must say, I learned from the very best: I heard such luminaries as Sandra Day O'Connor, Salman Rushdie, Dan Pink, and Tom Friedman. I attended dozens of lectures and I heard just about all the different types of speakers that exist -- writers, motivators, social scientists, astronomers, more writers, meteorologists, biologists, palenentologists, archeologists, journalists, jurists, and more writers. It was truly an interesting experience.

I am pleased to say that public speaking is alive and vibrant in this country, TV, Internet, movies, etc non-withstanding.

I wrote an article for Rake Magazine, tracing out my journey down the road of public presentation. The article just came out. You can read it here. Then, go out and hear a lecture

More on How to Build a Catapult

[Looking for more catapult building info? There is much information in this blog on how to build a catapult. Type "catapult" into the search bar above for more catapult building blog posts]

I'd like to thank those people who have written me lately with questions about catapult building. There's no doubt a renaissance in interest in the ancient art of hurling.

Catapults are wonderful, exciting examples of technology. They are simple yet complex; delicate yet brutal. Unlike looking at say your computer or an airliner, you can pretty much look at a trebuchet or ballista and kind of understand what's going on. On the other hand, the physics and kinematics are complex and intricate.

If you're interested in catapult building, I've posted before on this blog about catapult building, and it might be worth your while to check the index and read those posts. If you need plans, get a copy of my book, the Art of the Catapult (see link below).

Tips for building a catapult for school projects:

• Use modern materials. While it might be cool to build a coiled rope torsion spring like the ancient Greeks, you'll probably find it difficult to get enough spring power without torquing down the ropes so much that you'll crush the frame. Better to use bungee cords.
  
• I find hardwoods and metal frames work better than softwoods.
• If you're making a trebuchet, consider forgoing the pouch on the sling and simply attach a cord to the object you're hurling:. That way, when the projectile flies, then so does the cord. I call that "a sacrificial sling." It's way, way easier.
• Consider your release mechanism carefully. For bigger catapults, consider a pelican hook (it's a peice of hardware that sailors use, and you get them at stores that cater to boating) or possible an archer's arrow release. You get those at sporting goods stores. Their fairly cheap and they work well with smaller machines.
• I've created a post exclusively on obtaining triggers at http://nfttu.blogspot.com/2008/02/catapult-and-trebuchet-triggers.html

Catapults are fun yet challenging to build. As much as I'd like to help individual readers out, I simply don't have the resources to answer specific questions or provide plans for projects. However information is available in my book, The Art of the Catapult, which you can get at any good bookstore, online, or often, at the library.

Rocket Manual for Amateurs

Back in 1960, U.S. Army Captain Bertrand Brinley published the Rocket Manual for Amateurs, one of the greatest DIY books ever written. Its cover price reads 75 cents. Buying a copy today in a used bookstore will set you back about $200. But it’s that good. (I know, I have it.)

There is a considerable amount of information on rocket motor making in RMFA. Now, back in the 50s and 60s, making rocket motors was a fashionable pastime, and there were lots of clubs and societies that would goof around making rocket engines.

But like any high energy hobby, things could and would go wrong and people got hurt. Rocket engines had a nasty habit of blowing up in the maker's face and causing injury. There is a part of the process where the propellant is rammed into a tube and that's pretty dangerous. (I personally know of a couple people who hurt themselves this way.)

So, the activity changed, led by Estes rocket company, people were encouraged to buy commercial rocket motors instead of rolling their own.

That is indeed much safer. But i think you lose something when you give up the core part of the activity. The Rocket Manual for Amateurs has the info needed to make several different types of rockets and rocket engines. I'm thinking about making some. I'll let you know.

The York Pennsyvania Cabin Fever Expo

Speaking of people with high cylinder indexes, (see previous post, below) I recently returned from an event in York Pennsylvania called the Cabin Fever Expo. It's fairly large, and about 8000 people show up from all over to see what the country's best modelers are modeling. For example, there are people who machine miniature gasoline engines on mills and lathes they keep in their workshops. There are steam engined powered boats, trains, model sawmills, and so on.

My hat is off to the men (it's almost completely male) who have the ability to make these wonderful machines. The craftsman ship is outstanding.

Some of the machines are so intricate, that I figured it must have taken several hundred hours of work to get that far. So, I kept asking the modelers "how much time did you spend making this engine (airplane/boat/machinegun/etc)?"

None of them could give me an answer. Evidently, its about something more important than time.

What's your Cylinder Index?

My ex-relative of mine (I'll call him "Joe") lives way, way out in the hinterlands on 80 acres of hilly woods and wooded hills. He lives in a trailer that has no electricity, no running water, no central heat. It's a lifestyle he's consciously chosen, for better or for worse.

He's an interesting guy, albeit strange . He reminds me of a grotesque, a Gothic protagonist from a Sherwin Anderson novel . Exceptionally talented in mechanical ways, intellectually present, yet sadly lacking in empathy and communication skills.

Now, the remarkable thing about Joe is that he has the highest CYLINDER INDEX of any man I've ever met, and I've met men with really high cylinder indexes, believe me. What is a cylinder index? It's a term invented by radio broadcaster Joe Soucheray. To figure it, simply count the total number of cylinders in all the internal comubustion engines you own.

For example, I've got a 8 cylinders in my Explorer, Karen has 4 in her Honda. My weed wacker has one, my snowblower has 2, my chain saw has one. There's two of us, so 8+4+1+2+ = 15 which is my Cylinder Index.

My brother, the dentist, has a fairly decent cylinder index. His pickup truck has 6, his SUV has 6, and his wife's sedan has, I think, 6. He's got a fishing boat with 4, a chain saw 1, a snowblower 2, a weed wacker 1, a lawn mower 1, a riding mower 2, a generator 1. What's that, about 30?

But Joe has (or at least used to have) a pick up truck with 6 cylinders, an old but working jeep with 4, a partially working Dodge for 4, five bulldozers (yes five, the guy loves pushing dirt) for about 25, about six old farm tractors (all working, but some just barely) for 25 more cylinders, several generators adding 6, four mowers for 4, and a bunch of miscellaneous things like piston driven welders (it generates its own electricity on the job site), a couple outboard motors that he owns for no particular reason, weedwhackers, snowblowers, and odd ball stuff like gas powered mixers, crushers, spreaders, and so on. All told, Joe's index easily tops 100.

What does a high cylinder index indicate? Virility? Nah. Obsessive/compulsive disorder? Maybe. A fascination with technology? Probably? An obsessive need to prove virility through technology? Hmmmm.


So, who's got the highest cylinder index you've come across?

Mark, My Editor at Make to be on the Colbert Report

My editor (and friend) at Make Magazine tells me that he'll be on the Colbert Report Comedy Central on Tuesday, March 6. Mark Frauenfelder is a wonderfully interesting guy and I'm looking forward to the show. He's written several books including The World's Worst: A Guide To The Most Disgusting Hideous; Inept, And Dangerous People, Places, And Things On Earth, which quite clever and very attractively priced on Amazon right now.

Based on what he usually talks about on Boing Boing, I figured he'd be talking about homeland security paranoia; e.g. the Aqua Team Hunger Force flashing sign overreaction.

But he tells me he's there to talk about Make. Even better. It looks like this magazine is starting to garner some big attention.

I wonder if he'll talk about the potato gun or tensegrity tower articles I did?

Make Magazine #9 out now. Includes Bullwhip!

My apologies for the lack of posts lately. I'll try to rectify that. I've also changed some programming things so the RSS feed to this blog should hopefully work now.

Make #9, the fringe science issue is out and on the newstands. This is the world's best magazine, hands down. I am proud to be writing for it. I've got several pieces in it, including one on how to make a bullwhip. I've made a few now, and they are great fun to make and use.

Speaking of bullwhips, this just in from the website, showbizspy.com

http://www.showbizspy.com/movies.aspx?articleid=1174

Harrison Ford threatens to quit Indina Jones!

Date: 01/02/2007 Harrison Ford has threatened to quit the new Indiana Jones movie, unless he gets to use a real whip. The 64-year-old actor, who plays the daredevil archaeologist, was told the weapon would have to be computer generated because of new film safety rules. Harrison branded the rule "ridiculous" and said he would pull out of the film if he couldn't wield his whip. A source said: "The idea was to take away the risk element the whip carries. "Safety laws have changed since the last film and movie makers have to be much more careful. Now they use computer graphics for any dangerous stuff." Harrison was 39-years-old when the first Indiana Jones movie, 'Raiders Of The Lost Ark' was released in 1981. 'The Temple Of Doom' followed in 1983 and 'The Last Crusade' five years later. The trilogy made more than £600 million at the box office. The fourth movie is due for release next year.

I must say, I side with Harrison Ford on this. I think actually being able to hold and crack the whip would be pretty important to getting into the character. While there is some risk, I do not believe them to be particularly dangerous. Better that than say, driving while talking on a cell phone.

Lucky Saddam

Hanging, Beheading, Dichotomy, and Worse: The Most Macabre Brainstorming Session Ever

The grainy Internet video of Saddam Hussein’s execution shows the grim brutality of state sanctioned death sentences. Saddam looked dazed as he walked up the stairs to the scaffold. It’s hard to imagine what was going through his mind. Anger? Possibly. Remorse? Unlikely. Fear? Certainly. Perhaps he was simply anticipating the physical sensation of the ground giving way under his boots, the short drop, his neck snapping, and his feet dancing on air before blackness permanently descended over his unhooded eyes.

Is hanging a bad way to go? In the late 19th Century, after a number of botched executions by hanging that resulted in slow strangulation and/or decapitation, the State of New York decided to study this question, seeking to understand the biology and physiology of death by hanging and to determine whether a more humane method of capital punishment could be found.

New York’s governor appointed a committee of experts to evaluate alternatives to hanging for convicted and condemned capital murderers. This committee became known as the “Gerry Commission,” after its chairman, Elbridge Gerry. Elbridge Gerry of New York was the grandson of Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts, signer of the Declaration of Independence and fifth vice president of the United States. The senior Gerry is most famous for once comparing the Continental Army to his penis.

Under Chairman Gerry’s watch, nearly three dozen deadly ideas were brainstormed and evaluated in the Commission’s report to the governor.

In all likelihood, the 1888 Gerry Report is the most bizarre and grotesque report ever produced by a committee of government bureaucrats in the US, Iraq, or anywhere else. For weeks, these plucky public servants brainstormed, researched and categorized all the ways of killing people they could think of. Then, they comprehensively, deliberately, and dispassionately examined the merits of each in alphabetical order.

In discharging their obligation, they duly considered and evaluated an astonishing number of methods for carrying out the sentence of death. In the end, they came up with a list. I’ve got the report and read it. Here are some of the methods of dispatch they evaluated:

Beating to death with clubs

Beheading

Blowing from a cannon (The commission became interested in this method of execution based on reports from Indian Sepoy army in the 19th Century. The commission notes two ways for carrying out this sentence. First, “the condemned is lashed to the cannon’s mouth. Within two seconds of pulling the trigger, he is blown to 10,000 atoms.” Alternatively, “the living body of the offender is thrust into the cannon, forming, as one might say, part of the charge.”)

Boiling (“usually in hot water but sometimes in melted sulfur, lead or the like”)

Burying alive

Crucifixion

Dichotomy (cutting a person in half)

Dismemberment (like dichotomy but even messier)

Drowning

Exposure to wild beasts (In due diligence, the commission briefly considered the method of execution served on female criminals in Tonquin, (present day Vietnam). The commission noted the condemned were “tied to a stake and in that situation delivered to an elephant who seizes them with his trunk, throws them into the air, catches them on his tusks, and finishes them off by trampling.”)

Lapidation (to cause death by throwing stones)

Peine forte et dure (pressing with heavy weights to stop breathing)

Pounding in a mortar. (In Proverbs 27:22, the Bible reads, “Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him.” This biblical passage prompted a religious Gerry commission member to consider “pounding in mortar” as a possible method of serving the death sentence. Presumably, this procedure would involve the condemned being placed in a large mortar or similar vessel and then pounded with an enormous pestle. This is much the preparation of a mint julep, except a condemned prisoner is substituted for mint leaves.)

Precipitation (throwing from a cliff)

Running the gauntlet

Garroting

Stabbing

Strangling

Use a little imagination, and you can envision the tenor of the debates swirling around the conference table of the Gerry Commission. On one side of the table might have been the dismemberment and stomping elephant advocates, sniping derisively at the beheading and garrote crowd about their relative daintiness, while the ‘blowing from a cannon’ promoters crowed about the sure-fire nature of their choice, as well as the state’s ability to raise funds by charging admission.

While some of these methods (e.g. boiling, crucifixion, and throwing from a cliff) may have possessed an impressive deterrent effect, few of them fit the commission’s objectives of speediness, humaneness, and efficiency in execution.

Brainstorming session over, the work of winnowing out the cruel, the unworkable, and the just plain weird began. In the end, no ideas remained –- all were considered either too cruel or weird.

“Your Commission have examined with care the accounts which exist of the various curious modes of capital punishment. . . that have been used. The result (is that none of these) can be considered as embodying suggestions of improvement over that now in use in this State.”

The felons on New York’s death row may have sighed in relief, knowing that the whole mortar and pestle thing was off the table.

Saddam never realized what a lucky guy he was.

# # #

Management Fads -- A Quiz for Business Fashionistas

I received an MBA from the University of Minnesota more than 20 years ago. It never did much for me career wise, since I was more of a science guy than a business guy as it turns out. Still, I did learn how to make presentations and whip out decision matrices when the need arose. I also learned about business buzzwords and management approaches de jour.

When I went to B-school, people were talking about one-minute managing, searching for excellence, and change-mastering. I never really got too enthused about those ideas, they just seemed kind of , well , simplistic or phoney or both.

So what's the point of this? Well, I still write the occasional business article when the opportunity is right. Several months ago, I included this quiz with an article. How many of these "high powered" management approaches do people remember?

Come and Gone Here’s a decade-by-decade list of some of the most popular management theories of the last 50 years. Some came and went quickly; others stuck around. Can you match the theory with its description?
1950s and 1960s 1.Theory X 2.Theory Y 3. Management by Objectives 4.T-groups 5. Matrix Management 1970s and 1980s 6. Zero-based budgeting 7.Theory Z 8. Quality Circles 9. In Search of Excellence 1990s and 2000s 10. Reengineering 11. Balanced Scorecard 12.Delayering	A. A management style in which management and employees make formal agreements about accomplishing specific objectives at the start of each year. B. Managers believe that people have an inherent dislike for work and will avoid it whenever possible. Employees must be coerced and threatened in order to achieve organizational objectives. C. An organizational design in which project team members report to both a functional manager and a project manager. D. Managers believe that work is as natural for people as play and rest. Therefore, employees will motivate themselves. E. A training tool that uses feedback and role-play to help employees gain personal insights and, in so doing, change their attitudes and behaviors. F. A management technique in which all expenditures have to be justified in complete detail by each division manager at the start of each fiscal year. G. A style of management in which managers try to emulate the patterns found in large, well-known companies. Typical emulation patterns include having a “bias toward action,” “sticking close to their knitting,” and using “simultaneous loose tight properties.” H. Volunteer groups of workers meet to discuss workplace improvement, followed by presentations to management with their ideas. I. Instead of focusing on functional specialties, such as engineering and marketing, executives manage by looking strictly at business processes. J. A business’s organization chart is redrawn, and with layers of management between top executives and the front or operational lines drastically reduced. K. Organizations should be managed by considering four key areas simultaneously: learning and growth, business processes, customers, and financial performance. L. Companies provide a job for life. In so doing they reap the rewards of very loyal and hardworking employees.
Answers: 1-B, 2-D, 3-A, 4-E, 5-C, 6-F, 7-L, 8-H, 9-G, 10-I, 11-K, 12-J —W.G.

Ballistic Missile Launches 2006

Evidently, a fair amount of research continues into rocket science. Last year eight countries test fired ballistic missiles. According to the article exerpt below, from a mailing by the Federation of American Scientists, these test firings were connected with nuclear weapons delivery development.

The FAS website is often quite interesting.

from FAS.org:

Nuclear Missile Testing Galore

North Korea may have gotten all the attention, but all the nuclear weapon states were busy flight-testing ballistic missiles for their nuclear weapons during 2006. According to a preliminary count, eight countries launched more than 26 ballistic missiles of 23 types in 24 different events.

Unlike the failed North Korean Taepo Dong 2 launch, most other ballistic missile tests were successful. Russia and India also experienced missile failures, but the United States demonstrated a very reliable capability including the 117th consecutive successful launch of the Trident II D5 sea-launched ballistic missile.

The ballistic missile flight tests involved weapons ranging from 10-warhead intercontinental ballistic missiles down to single-warhead short-range ballistic missiles. Most of the flight tests, however, involved long-range ballistic missiles and the United States, Russia and France also launched sea-launched ballistic missiles (see table below).

Ballistic Missile Tests 2006*
Date	Missile	Remarks
China
5 Sep	1 DF-31 ICBM	From Wuzhai, impact in Takla Makan Desert.
France
9 Nov	1 M51 SLBM	From Biscarosse (CELM facility), impact in South Atlantic.
India
13 Jun	1 Prithvi I SRBM	From Chandipur, impact in Indian Ocean.
9 Jul	1 Agni III IRBM	From Chandipur. Failed.
20 Nov	1 Prithvi I SRBM	From Chandipur, impact in Indian Ocean.
Iran**
23 May	1 Shahab 3D MRBM	From Emamshahr.
3 Nov	1 Shahab 3 MRBM, as well as "dozens" of Shahab 2, Scud B and other SRBMs	Part of the Great Prophet 2 exercise.
North Korea***
4 Jul	1 Taepo Dong 2 ICBM and 6 Scud C and Rodong SRBMs	From Musudan-ri near Kalmo. ICBM failed.
Pakistan
16 Nov	1 Ghauri MRBM	From Tilla?
29 Nov	1 Hatf-4 (Shaheen-I) SRBM	Part of Strategic Missile Group exercise.
9 Dec	1 Haft-3 (Ghaznavi) SRBM	Part of Strategic Missile Group exercise.
Russia
3 Aug	1 Topol (SS-25?) ICBM	From Plesetsk, impact on Kura range.
7 Sep	1 Bulava SLBM	From Dmitry Donskoy (Typhoon) in White Sea. Failed.
9 Sep	1 SS-N-23 SLBM	From K-84 (Delta IV) at North Pole, impact on Kizha range.
10 Sep	1 SS-N-18 SLBM	From Delta III in Pacific, impact on Kizha range.
25 Oct	1 Bulava SLBM	From Dmitry Donskoy (Typhoon) in White Sea. Failed.
9 Nov	1 SS-19 ICBM	From Silo in Baykonur, impact on Kura range.
21 Dec	1 SS-18 ICBM	From Orenburg, impact on Kura range.
United States
16 Feb	1 Minuteman III ICBM	From Vandenberg AFB, impact Kwajalein. Final W87/Mk-21 SERV test flight.
Mar/Apr	2 Trident II D5 SLBMs	From SSBN.
4 Apr	1 Minuteman III ICBM	From Vandenberg AFB, impact near Guam. Extended-range, single-warhead flight test.
14 Jun	1 Minuteman III ICBM	From Vandenberg AFB, impact Kwajalein. Three-warhead payload.
20 Jul	1 Minuteman III ICBM	From Vandenberg AFB, impact Kwajalein. Three-warhead flight test. Launched by E-6B TACAMO airborne command post.
21 Nov	2 Trident II D5 SLBMs	From USS Maryland (SSBN-738) off Florida, impact in South Atlantic.
* Unreported events may add to the list. ** Iran does not have nuclear weapons but is suspected of pursuing nuclear weapons capability. *** It is unknown if North Korea has developed a nuclear reentry vehicle for its ballistic missiles.

I researched several of these missiles. In many cases they are exceptionally large and efficient weapons delivery systems. For example, China uses the DF31

DF-31 is a three-stage, solid-propellant intercontinental ballistic missile. The basic variant DF-31 has a range of 8,000km and delivers a payload of between 1,050 and 1,750kg. This payload can be equipped with a single 1,000kT yield nuclear warhead.

The upgraded DF-31A has a range of at least 10,000km. The missile is said to be capable of deliver 3~5 MTRVs each with 20, 90 or 150kT yield as well as a single 1,000kT yield warhead. It is also possibly equipped with penetration aids and decoys to complicate enemy missile warning and defence.