Sunset with Helicopters

A beautiful view of the sun setting into the Pacific ocean, marred by a couple helicopters

I figured that we would wrap up the month with this odd photo. I don't know what those 'copters were up to or for what they were looking, but they certainly disrupted the idyllic mood of the lovely sunset. ;-)

Anyways, it has been an interesting month. Let's look forward to the treasures and thrilling adventures that August has in store.

Enjoy!!!

Like a Shooting Star

Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star on display at Zamperini Field

The South Bay area used to be the heartland of US aviation and aerospace industry. If you look around, you'll come across an occasional relic from the bygone Jet Age and Cold War periods of flight technology. One such example is the lovely "T-Bird" featured in this post.

The Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star is a trainer aircraft built in 1948. It's so small and fragile that it boggles the mind that people actually could take this up to 600 mph!!!

In the US, they are retired and on display at aviation museums or outside community airfields for all to appreciate.

Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star, Tail #90505


I sat down on that bench, but it felt odd having a jet providing my shade. ;-)

Let's Fly Away

Billboard for ABC's Pan Am, featuring the female leads.

"It's not you. It's a promise of you."

Among the various types of ads, I find billboards to be the least interesting and least effective. Therefore, it's cool to find one that works at catching my attention and at imparting the premise of the subject. The image is simple, four attractive women dressed in a retro style that evokes Jet Age luxuries. The only words are the product name and the statement of opening date. Direct and eloquent marketing.

I'm not big on retro television shows. There is so much effort put into simulation of setting that it often feels like the production skimps on the other elements of story. For instance, the characters often aren't written as much more than period appropriate character types. That's fine if your interest is to "visit" a historic era, but, if you want deep character exploration, it can feel a bit flat.



Christina Ricci as Maggie, Pam Am stewardess


Nevertheless, I can see the charm of retro-themed entertainment. So, I'll probably check out this show. Anyways, I'm old enough to remember flying on a Pan Am flight with cute female stewardesses, not "flight attendants." But I'm not old enough to remember "air hostesses". ;-)

No Need for Speed

Apollo 10

After centuries in which we have constantly increased to speed of travel, humanity now finds itself slowing down. When NASA finally retires the space shuttle program this year, our top speed will be equivalent to that which our grandparents experienced flying the "friendly skies" in the mid-1960s. This is apparently the cause for some gloomy consideration for Daniel Michaels of the Wall Street Journal, in his article "Putting on the Brakes: Mankind Nears the End of the Age of Speed."

Although I disagree with the feel of his article, I found it to be an interesting read. He gives a quick overview of the history of speed, from early trains to Space Age aviation. This is a fascinating topic and does exemplify a core aspect of modern humanity, the Need for Speed. It's part of the Holy Trinity of 20th century American aesthetics of success, "Bigger, Faster, Stronger."

Pontiac GTO. General Motors.

Although I respect the accomplishment of the "Age of Speed", I'm not too sad to see it pass. First, I believe we will be seeing improvements in worldwide average speed of travel as transportation infrastructure is modernized globally. That's way more important than adding another 0.1 Mach speed to a jet that only a few will fly.

Second, I believe that there will eventually be a manned Mission to Mars. This technological feat will necessitate advancements in our space travel times. Interplanetary journeys simply must be at high speeds if they are meant to transport humans.

Third, I hold efficiency to be superior to speed. It doesn't matter if a jet takes a zillion hours to transport me from Los Angeles to Tokyo, if I can use telecommunications to avoid the need for such travel. Short of teleportation, humanity isn't going to design a mode of transport faster than virtual projectiongs.

Therefore, it is important to recognize the great technological accomplishments of the Age of Speed, but it is equally important to see that the Information Age will be leading us to innovations that will seem just as amazing as the contrast between horses and space shuttles. A world with no need for speed.

Here's a link the the WSJ article: Putting on the Brakes

Here are few Wikipedia pages of interest for the Age of Speed:

Stephenson's Rocket

Blackbird SR-71

Concorde

Apollo 10


Enjoy!!!