[ale] xkcd on NPR

Wed Nov 21 15:39:16 EST 2012

As a kid I and my siblings often sneaked in via the woods as we lived within walking distance.   I noticed when I last went they now  have a fence all around it.

One of the things I thought was coolest back then was a little room near the entrance that you walk into.  It was all black with tiny lights and what not and you were on a few feet above the floor of the room so it really felt like you were in space looking out on the solar system.   Last time I went they'd gotten rid of that and put in a rather dry standard museum type walk through about something else and I wondered what unimaginative curator type decided that was better.   Probably more educational but sometimes "cool" beats out "educational".

However, overall the museum is definitely worth the visit even with that change.   Lots of other cool things to see.

-----Original Message-----
From: ale-bounces at ale.org [mailto:ale-bounces at ale.org] On Behalf Of Ken Cochran
Sent: Wednesday, November 21, 2012 3:09 PM
To: Atlanta Linux Enthusiasts
Subject: Re: [ale] xkcd on NPR

Ah, very good, thanks!  I knew someone here could/would correct my inaccuracies.  :)  The Space & Rocket Center is, of course, Nerd Nirvana.  I think they've relocated the Shuttle
("Enterprise") that was there, though.  Miss it.  -kc

> From: "Lightner, Jeff" <JLightner at water.com>
> To: Atlanta Linux Enthusiasts <ale at ale.org>
> Date: Wed, 21 Nov 2012 19:14:24 +0000
> Subject: Re: [ale] xkcd on NPR
>
> I lived in Huntsville back in those days and don't recall ever having
> heard and felt the Saturn V being tested even though Werner Von Braun and
> his  team were based there then.   I do recall being mightily impressed
> by the huge Saturn V they had laying on its side at the Alabama Space and
> Rocket Center museum.   The boosters' diameters were each large enough
> for a full grown man to stand in them without bending.   They also had
> the rocket for the Gemini actually standing up and it was quite tall
> itself and always made me wonder how tall the Saturn V would have been
> if they'd tried to stand it up.
>
> Last time I went several years back they also had a space shuttle there.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: ale-bounces at ale.org [mailto:ale-bounces at ale.org] On Behalf Of
> Ken Cochran
> Sent: Wednesday, November 21, 2012 11:57 AM
> To: Atlanta Linux Enthusiasts
> Subject: Re: [ale] xkcd on NPR
>
> So I guess we now know where The Plans (to what just might be The Most
> Awesome Machine Mankind Ever Built) wound up?  :)
>
> Ok, for completeness I guess, here's NPR's article/blog URL:
>
> http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2012/11/19/165469300/why-not-say-it-
> simply-how-about-very-simply
>
> (Trying to remember, my info may be very incorrect - bet someone here
> knows The Facts. :)  Seems I read sometime back (comp.dcom.telecom?)
> that the computer "ring" was built by IBM, cost around $14 *million*
> and took something like 4 feet of vehicle cross-section & weighed a
> few TONS (!?!) and had roughly the computational power of a modern-day
> cheap wristwatch.
>
> For our youngsters around here who might not know, it's my
> understanding that the plans to the Saturn V booster have long
> disappeared.  :( Folks I was in school with long ago (who lived around
> Huntsville) told me they could hear & *feel* it when the manufacturer
> tested just ONE of its engines - it would shake & thunder most of north Alabama.
> Yup "lots of fire comes out of here..."  And lots of kilo-Newtons.
>
> Essay well worth reading:  "Camelot on the Moon"
> (Google it - I'm sure it'll show up somewhere.)
>
> Sorry to blather...
>
> -kc
>
> > Date: Wed, 21 Nov 2012 10:21:20 -0500
> > From: Jim Kinney <jim.kinney at gmail.com>
> > To: Atlanta Linux Enthusiasts <ale at ale.org>
> > Subject: Re: [ale] xkcd on NPR
> >
> > On 11/21/2012 12:31 AM, Ken Cochran wrote:
> > > Ok I just *gotta* post this (sorry)...
> > >
> > > http://xkcd.com/1133/
> > >
> > > Back to our Regularly Scheduled Programming...  -kc
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > Ale mailing list
> > > Ale at ale.org
> > > http://mail.ale.org/mailman/listinfo/ale
> > > See JOBS, ANNOUNCE and SCHOOLS lists at
> > > http://mail.ale.org/mailman/listinfo
> >
> > Totally NAILED it!
> >
> > --
> > James P. Kinney III
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