In Honor of Memorial Day 2020
In honor of Memorial Day 2020, during these trying times of the COVID-19 Coronavirus and social distancing, I took the opportunity to visit the Marine Corps Memorial in Arlington, Virginia.
Darth Vader How to be a Better Boss T-shirt
I found a funny Darth Vader t-shirt on Amazon that I liked and bought. This is what it has on the front.
Squirrel Superhero Pose
During this time of the COVID-19, otherwise known as the Coronavirus, I have been feeding a local squirrel. I’ve been feeding it different things to see which it prefers as I am trying to make it fat like the gopher off the movie “Caddy Shack.” A friend sent me a meme that showed how squirrels make superhero poses. Ever since I received that meme I have been taking photos and trying to catch the squirrel in action to see if I can get a photo of it. Low and behold I was able to catch a photo of a squirrel in a pose that make it look like a superhero. Now that’s one awesome squirrel!
Kadena Technical Control Facility Intermediate Distribution Frame
I belong to a group of people who share stories, photos, and stuff about different places they work. Here is a photo of the Kadena Airbase Tech Control Facility’s intermediate distribution frame that another person shared. He said this photo was from the 70’s or 80’s. What’s funny is when I was there in the 90’s and 2000’s the frame didn’t look much different. Maybe fewer wires, but that’s about it. It definitely takes you down memory lane remembering the different types of equipment I’ve worked on over the years. He’s one to the Air Force and to fellow Tech Controllers.
German Enigma Machine
This is a four rotor Enigma machine that was created by German around the time of 1943-1944. Germany built this rare Enigma for its ally, Japan. You can tell by both the character and the fourth rotor. Germany was unaware that Britain had cracked the Enigma they added the fourth rotor in 1942 to strengthen it.
The British called the device’s messages “Shark.” It took nearly a year to crack, and only after capturing key sheets from a German U-boat. In the interim, Nazi subs sank more than 2 million tons of Allied supplies.
The Spirit of St. Louis
Hanging high in the Smithsonian National Air and Space museum is the Spirit of St. Louis. This plane is best known for being flown by Charles Lindbergh on the first solo non-stop transatlantic flight from New York to London on May 20-21st, 1927.
Lunar Module 2
Between 1969 and 1972, six lunar modules essentially identical to this one landed a total of 12 American astronauts on the Moon. This lunar module, LM-2, never flew into space. It was built for testing in low Earth orbit, but was actually used on Earth to measure the LM’s ability to withstand the forces of landing on the Moon. It is configured as LM-5, Apollo 11’s lunar module Eagle.
The lunar module also symbolizes the United States’ triumph in the space race with the Soviet Union, part of the competition for technological supremacy and International prestige during the Cold War of 1945-91.
Magellan Global Positioning System Test Components
The Magellan Systems Corporation produced some of the earliest handheld GPS units for civilian use. In 1986 its engineers began experimenting with electronic mockups of a unit. Displayed here is the earliest “breadboard” and keyboard used to test circuitry and components at Magellan.
First Operational Intelligence Satellite, the GRAB I
The GRAB I was the first operational intelligence satellite that would detect pulses from Soviet radars and then relay them to ground stations where they would be sent for analysis.
International Spy Museum Mechanical Dragonfly
At the International Spy Museum located in Washington D.C. there are many interesting things that can be found. Here is a graphic depicting a mechanical dragonfly that could be used to listen to conversations or take photos without being detected.
Siemens-Halske W38 Phone
This switchboard operator’s desk telephone was manufactured by Siemens-Halske in Germany. It is believe the history of this specific device was removed from one of the U.S. Missions in Germany. A close inspection of the typed labels for the switches are in German.
The telephone was called “REIPOS”. The bulk of the unit is made from Bakelite, a popular material used in the manufacture of early telecommunications equipment. It has 4 incoming lines and 10 outgoing lines. It would have very likely been located at the embassy or consulates operators room.