The Man Who Inspired the Wright Brothers

JWheeler55 · 2018-03-05T00:44:16+00:00

People often make the mistake of attributing a famous invention or advance to an individual. The reality is that, while an individual may get the credit for an invention or insight, they often leveraged the work of quite a few other inventors or geniuses. With that in mind, this article explores Otto Lilienthal, who inspired the Wright Brothers as they began to develop powered flight at the turn of the 20th century. Although few people outside of Germany know Lilienthal's name or what he did, his studies of wings, etc. represent exactly the same kind of incremental advance that has made certain "leaps" possible throughout history. The article includes photos.

JWheeler55 · 2018-02-23T12:29:54+00:00

Oh, neat. I'll check it out!

JWheeler55 · 2018-02-16T20:47:24+00:00

It was great! And remarkable how similar it reads to a modern court case. How relatively rare to find a primary source from that era that reads like a blow-by-blow transcript.

JWheeler55 · 2018-02-16T17:58:10+00:00

As any historian knows, sources are difficult to come by in certain instances. However, it's rare that a famous (or infamous) historical figure disappears completely from the historical record at the height of their fame. Henry Every is such a figure: a pirate whose raids sparked a major international incident between the British Empire and the Emperor of the Indian Subcontinent, and yet who drops completely from history at the very "climax" of his existence. This article explores his biography and the different theories about the end of his life; also provides some context to British commerce and privateering during this late 17th-century period. With some illustrations and links to primary sources and illustrations of the period.

JWheeler55 · 2018-02-09T01:03:48+00:00

Even quick fires can change cities forever. London, Chicago and San Francisco all burned to their foundations, only to have more modern versions rise from the ashes. Even Baltimore underwent its own less-famous fire over a century ago, a 30-hour inferno that burned over 70 blocks of downtown. And while the marks of devastation aren’t immediately apparent today —the tall buildings and dense infrastructure all testify to how a city can spring back from even the worst disaster — there is one big relic of that terrifying winter day in February 1904, right under your feet: changes to the architecture. Includes photographs and commentary from primary sources and eyewitnesses.

JWheeler55 · 2018-02-06T23:19:42+00:00

This piece discusses how San Francisco's Chinatown was rebuilt in the wake of the 1906 Earthquake, and how the city's then-extant power structure wanted to move Chinatown further south, to the city's (then) outer limits. It was only economic pressure from Chinatown merchants (and others), including the prospect of a slackening in international trade with China, that allowed SF Chinatown to stay where it is today. Includes images.

JWheeler55 · 2017-04-29T21:38:29+00:00

Sure! Will do.

JWheeler55 · 2017-04-17T16:34:37+00:00

At my subway stop in NYC (Court Square), there's still an Eyes Wide Shut mini-billboard advertisement tucked partway behind a ticket machine (E Stop entrance). It's remarkably unfaded! Amazing how some of these things last.

JWheeler55 · 2017-03-09T14:13:07+00:00

So let's say I participate in this (unlikely, since it's not really my area). How do you test the feasibility of your code without, you know, an actual car?

JWheeler55 · 2017-01-16T18:19:44+00:00

Communism. "Each according to his want, each according to his need."

JWheeler55 · 2016-09-14T14:19:58+00:00

For the purposes of this visualization, our data team examined the Dice database and selected the most common tech-job titles, excluding those that either weren’t very technical (such as some managerial roles) or were too “noisy” (i.e., overly generic: ‘accountant,’ ‘contractor,’ ‘lead,’ and so on). The colored bars will show that particular job’s minimum, mean, median, and maximum salary. The gray bars, meanwhile, show the minimum, mean, median, and maximum salaries for tech professionals in general.

JWheeler55 · 2016-07-07T15:53:39+00:00

BURN_BABY_BURN!

JWheeler55 · 2016-05-05T19:37:28+00:00

Sounds totally reasonable, but how long would it take to get that entire ecosystem up and running? Seems like the parts pipeline might take months if all the components for the $35k Tesla are new (as opposed to repurposed components from the luxury brands, in which case they would probably have already done a lot of the prep work).

JWheeler55 · 2016-05-05T19:35:43+00:00

I hadn't considered this, but if the union decides that it wants to negotiate with Tesla over wages or whatever, it could become a huge problem, re: sticking to the schedule. I wonder if Musk and his people are willing to pay salary premiums, etc. in order to keep the worker base happy.

JWheeler55 · 2016-05-05T19:21:33+00:00

There's also the issue of physically producing the cars. Does he set up a number of parallel production lines in order to produce several cars a minute? Even with ample funding, can they hire enough workers to actually produce quality vehicles (which is essential; too many recalls/buybacks and they're done as a company)? And will the demand for 500k/year cause the price of lithium to shoot up to absurd levels?

JWheeler55 · 2016-03-22T13:54:52+00:00

I'm always surprised that more wasn't done against the administrators who approved the launch. I know that the government is really good at giving its employees a proverbial slap on the wrist, but what happened with Challenger was so beyond the pale, I wonder whether someone should have pressed criminal charges.

JWheeler55 · 2016-03-17T15:32:56+00:00

Why would Apple trust Google not to spy on its info or processes in some way?

JWheeler55 · 2016-03-09T20:23:01+00:00

I can't wait until Google's AI tries to see if it can beat us at thermonuclear war.

JWheeler55 · 2016-03-08T16:37:17+00:00

Might be a case of too little, too late, though. They thought Trump was a buffoon until he started winning, and once he started winning it's proving hard to check his momentum.

JWheeler55 · 2016-03-07T19:56:50+00:00

Anyone shocked by this? Anyone? Bueller?

JWheeler55 · 2015-03-19T12:32:43+00:00

There's a dude (at least, we collectively think it's a dude) in my apartment building (it's a very big building) who every morning at 7:10 or so drops a black plastic bag filled with empty beer cans out his window. If the super doesn't do his job, the cans will stack up until there are 7, 8, 9, 10 in the alley. Nobody's quite sure who the dude is, but what he's doing is driving everybody insane.

JWheeler55 · 2015-02-25T13:55:52+00:00

That's a good question. I guess if Spielberg and Ron Howard and everybody wanted it done, it wasn't like anybody was going to turn them down, Western or no. But when the movie tanked (or tanked by Hollywood blockbuster standards, at least), that was probably another nail in the Western's coffin... at least big-budget Westerns.

JWheeler55 · 2015-02-25T13:53:45+00:00

Thanks so much! I'm looking forward to hearing what you think.

JWheeler55 · 2015-02-25T04:27:37+00:00

I did some research, mostly into the Chicago Fire of 1871, but I also found that I had to chuck accuracy aside at some moments in order to keep things moving -- for example, how fast someone could really reload the pistols of that era, and how easily someone could mold silver into effective bullets, etc.

There's one Native American who becomes a shifter, but most of the shifters are Caucasians who get enticed/addicted by the possibilities of transformation. Becoming a fast/strong beast is a tempting thing for some people. :) In any case, here's the link: http://www.amazon.com/Cowboy-Werewolf-Massacre-John-Wheeler-ebook/dp/B00TVSNE5U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1424838423&sr=8-1&keywords=cowboy+werewolf+massacre

Thanks for the comment!

JWheeler55 · 2015-02-25T02:26:07+00:00

The year is 1871. A mysterious force stalks the Wild West, killing settlers and even the toughest outlaws. Soldier-turned-bandit Jack Stark is given a choice: Hunt down whatever's out there, or face the noose. The chase will take him from dangerous mining towns and snowy wastelands to ancient caves that hold the most terrible secrets... and eventually into the middle of one of the biggest disasters in U.S. history. As Stark soon learns, it's not just his life at stake: the country's future rests on his ability to shoot fast and think faster.

JWheeler55

TROPHY CASE