Big Dave’s Blog
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Disappointed in Apple
I’ve been using Apple products since the early 90’s. It started with a Mac Iici, and it moved on from there with one stretch where I left. Unfortunately, right now I’m starting to see similar issues to the last time I left. Back when I left last time, quality was becoming a problem. Lately I’m…
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Too cool – Andromeda if it were brighter
Saw this around the web. Supposedly, this is what the Andromeda galaxy would look like if it were brighter. I can see Andromeda just about every night when I go out with the dog. Seeing it like this. however, would be another experience. At first, I thought this was fake, but various sources are confirming…
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Stop Sending Passwords in Emails!
As you may have noticed from my About Me, I build software, and much of that software requires serious security. Whether it be health data or educational, data security is king. What I can’t understand is why companies that claim a good privacy policy send me my password in an email. Whether it’s temporary or…
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My New Favorite Podcast
I am unfortunately in that group of souls that have a long commute. I can’t control where my great job is, but that doesn’t mean I like spending so much time in the car. To pass the time, I look for interesting podcasts, and I’ve stumbled on one that has me fascinated. Dan Carlin’s Hardcore…
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Video: Behind the Scenes at Giant Keck Telescopes
Keck in Motion from Andrew Cooper on Vimeo. OK, I’ve said before that I worked on the Keck Telescope (see this post). I love seeing what is still a favorite project of my professional life. Those 36 (now 72) mirrors were the result of a ton of great engineering and a lot of painstaking work.…
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The Amazing Men That Salvage Large Ships (video) « Sea-Fever blog
The Amazing Men That Salvage Large Ships (video) « Sea-Fever blog.Long ago, I posted about a company that handles high stakes salvage. I was browsing around some boating news, and I happened on this video of the operation I described. There isn’t much new info, but I thought I would share. Enjoy.
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More Bletchley Park
Saw another new post about Bletchley park getting a grant to fund restoration efforts and new exhibits. As a techie and a student of history, Bletchley park and Building 26 have always been fascinating to me. This is where Turing (of Turing Machine fame) got his start. This is where the modern computer was born. This…
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An Amateur Astronomer’s View of the Space Shuttle Discovery Cozying Up to the ISS
An Amateur Astronomer’s View of the Space Shuttle Discovery Cozying Up to the ISS.This is pretty amazing. This guy, Rob Bullen, guided his 8.5″ telescope with a Cannon 40D BY HAND to get this photo of the shuttle about to dock with the ISS. The level of precision to guide a telescope at a moving target…
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Media Server Fun
Back when I moved into my current house, I took the opportunity to setup a media server. In my old place, there really wasn’t a good place to set one up, so I would dig out a CD or two (out of 1000+) each time I wanted to hear something. As you might expect, that…
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John Harrison and the Longitude Problem
It’s been a while since I read Longitude by Dava Sobel, but I happened to catch another documentary on the story recently. It reminded me again about this amazing story of science and perseverance. As an engineer, I can’t help but admire John Harrison for his scientific method. It’s also a description of an iterative…