Once I was debriefing the pilot after a test flight in an effort to track down an obscure radar problem. He showed me the cockpit videotape recording of the instrument panel, so I could see what was on the radar display. When he did an ‘S’ roll, the horizon line on the screen did a stomach-wrenching flip, and just watching the recording of it nearly caused me to, as the Aussies so eloquently put it, ‘technicolor yawn’. So I can only imagine what it must be like to experience the real thing.

Anyway, the problem was that the pilots were getting lots of false targets whenever they were in the vicinity of Schiphol Airport (yeah, I was based in Amsterdam. But that’s another story). After thinking about it for a good few minutes, I finally deduced where the false targets were coming from: the F-16 radar was set up so that anything moving slower that 55mph relative to it would not register as a target. But speed limits in Europe are… just a bit higher than that (like 90mph on the motorways in Holland)

“We are all made of stars” by Spray

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkF4b6K5KdI

I have to imagine you’ve seen this already but I can’t help but promote it. As my S.O. commented “[I've] never felt so upbeat and happy listening to a song telling me my life is meaningless.”

Enjoy,
BGC

Phil,
Methinks a golden opportunity to put “Adam Savage” and “warm-up act” in the same sentence has now presented itself.
Tune in, I certainly shall!

@18. Chris A. Says:

@10 CW: “what we’ve got here is evidence of life on Mars” (0:44) > OK, I’ll bite. It almost has to be a reference to ALH84001.

Or the Viking experiments reconsidered perhaps? Yeah, I know they were supposedly inconclusive but still .. ? Or just maybe, an outside chance, the BA will reveal for the first time ever the discovery of a buried Martian tripod a la H.G. Well’s original War of the Worlds novel!

Actually, I guess it could be a retrospective POV look back at Lowell’s mythical but widely believed Martian canals too – just taken out of context in the trailer.

Gee, if you ever do something on the whole “buying a star” schtick, I’m your man. You have my card.

Just wish it was screening in Australia & wasn’t on cable so I could see it.

Is the planet on the left at the 14 second mark one of those Gliese 581 ones – c or d or Gl 436 b with Earth in the middle & Jupiter on the right?

Also I’m guessing you did toss your cookies but I hope they don’t show that. Some things we can live without seeing!

Wonder how closely you’re following your book.

***

PS. Please BA can you have a non-Twitter contest instead this time?

> “what we’ve got here is evidence of life on Mars” (0:44)

> OK, I’ll bite.

It almost has to be a reference to ALH84001.

I’m not ready to call it evidence yet, more like “tantalizing hints.” But I’d love to be proven wrong.

Chris

Pete

OK, I’ll bite.

(That’s an awesome, if grim and creepy, concept… one of my favorite of the chapter opening vignettes.)