- It snowed today. In related news I noticed that Raytheon is looking for engineers to take a two year rotation in the Philippines.
- I had my once-every-three-yearly doctor's appointment last week. The doctor was very nice but lectured me about several non-doctor related items. Specifically gun safety, and the importance of helmets, seat-belts and sunscreen. I was tempted to give him some snarky unsolicited advice in return but realized that as a radar engineer all I'm qualified to say is "Never stand in front of an operational radar." I then spent the rest of the checkup wondering if one could create a sunscreen-like substance to make standing in front of a radar safe. I think the answer is yes, but only if it's applied in a 4 to 5 cm thick layer, which I think we can agree is not at all practical.
- I've been reading a history of the Ottoman siege of Malta in 1565. Two interesting things I've learned: (1) Nothing sounds quite as miserable as the life of a 16th century galley slave. I had trouble sleeping after the author's description of life on the war galleys, and (2) Maltese swimmers played a huge part in the battle, swimming miles across Malta's bays through blockades at night to deliver messages from one group of defenders to another.
- Isaac has been reading all of my old Calvin and Hobbes books. He got his father's good taste in literature. I had forgotten how good they are. It's a rare author who can entertain both a six-year old just learning to read and his dad.
Friday, April 01, 2011
Weekend Miscellanea
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3 comments:
Wouldn't a metal coating reflect the radar pretty well? I mean, if it didn't bounce off of metal, it wouldn't be much use for detecting airplanes and the like, right?
As you're the expert, I'll let you answer the question of how thick it would need to be. Are we talking a suit of armor, or something thin enough we could turn it in to fairly flexible clothing? (And then you could wear it to work and you would be SO COOL!)
How is snow related to two years in the Philippines ? Do you contemplate going there so you don't have to shovel it ? Wouldn't it be cheaper to get a snow blower? On a related subject at least the galley slaves didn't have to worry about snow since they were below decks. How's that for snarky ? Good Luck Ben.
Thank you, Ben. You've brightened my day with your posts.
Sorry about the doctor. Maybe you want to find a new one? I will still send you Christmas cards even if you move to the Philippines. Give my love to Natalie and the boys.
Can't wait to see pictures of your dog and what you end up naming him.
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