abqtommy
abqtommy's JournalFrom The BBC: Your pictures of Scotland 28 May - 4 June (2021)
Ah, another Friday, another fine collection of photos. Enjoy!
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-57282240
From Good News Network: Guglielmo Marconi and Good News In History, June 2
"125 years ago today, the Italian electrical engineer and inventor Marconi, applied for the first ever patent for a system of wireless communication. He is credited as the inventor of radio, and shared the 1909 Nobel Prize in Physics for contributions to the development of wireless telegraphy.
At age 20, Guglielmo began experimenting with a method to transmit and receive messages over a distance without wires at the family home—first, across the room, then down the corridor, then into the fields. A breakthrough came when Marconi discovered that a much greater range could be achieved by raising the height of his antenna and grounding his instruments—the system was capable of transmitting signals up to 2 miles (3.2 km), even over hills.
When Italian officials ignored his letter and instead evoked an insane asylum, Marconi left his birthplace of Bologna to go to England where he found the funds and support to convert his work into practical use. He became an entrepreneur, founding The Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company to innovate further.
His ‘Marconi's Law’ is the empirical relation between length of antennas and maximum signaling distance of radio transmissions, but with over 800 patents, he moved into radar and shortwaves, and visual wave amplification too, as one of the founders of the BBC."
A bit more text and photos at link: https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/events060602/
I used to work in the radio communications industry and this is very important history for me.
How much technology is too much? The 1929 Cord automobile was a luxury car with
front-wheel drive, an automatic transmission and retractable headlights. And it didn't have a micro-chip!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cord_(automobile)
In fact, the first car with a micro-chip was built in 1968.
https://www.chipsetc.com/computer-chips-inside-the-car.html
However, the driver and passengers in any automobile in 1929 could have enjoyed a snack of
potato chips as they rode along. Important dates for the potato chip are 1853 and the 1920s.
https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-potato-chips-1991777
I'll take you on a trip down memory lane where the most interesting part is what I found out
later.
In 1970 I was a married man, living in Escondido, California. I had a really cheap acoustic guitar and
the bridge had come loose, probably because I had strung it with steel strings instead of nylon. Oh well. There was a little instrument repair shop there in town so I took the guitar in there.
The shop was small and was run by an old man who was the repairman. He wasn't a large man and
had small hands and was very well suited for doing these repairs. We talked for awhile and I told
him that I'd like to work with stringed musical instruments and he told me about a company right there in town that was making guitars and amplifiers. (I did eventually visit that place but they weren't
hiring.)
He agreed to do my repair and I think it cost me 10 bucks. I had taken his business card and I
knew that his last name was Dopyera.
It was later that I learned he was one of the Dopyera Brothers who set up The Dobro Company
and produced metal-bodied instruments then later licensed production out to other companies.
This has always been one of my favorite memories and you can find a good article concerning
The Brothers and what they accomplished here:
https://www.taftmidwaydriller.com/article/20111110/NEWS/311109982
note: The article mentions (class of 955) but it should be (class of 1955).
From The BBC: Your pictures of Scotland 21 - 28 May (2021)
It must be Friday! Enjoy!
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-57228251
From Good News Network: Quote Of The Day
“I can’t give you a sure-fire formula for success, but I can give you a formula for failure: try to please everybody all the time.” – Herbert Bayard Swope, May 27, 2021
The Quote Of The Day is a regular feature at this website and can be found here:
https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/category/quote-of-the-day/
I've been binge-watching Bogey and Bacall movies. Since it's not unusual for me to waste some
time during the day it's good when I use it constructively in this way. 
World's oldest astronomical Observatory Predates Stonehenge and Pyramids
This is interesting. I decided to look around for this information and I found it. This particular site
in Australia is thought to be around 11,000 years old. With the full moon being celebrated today it's
good to know that humans had an interest in such things many years ago.
https://www.ancient-code.com/worlds-oldest-astronomical-observatory-predates-stonehenge-pyramids/
I'm adding the link to the search results since there are other sites also located in different places
that are said to be 7,000 years old.
https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=ancient+astronomical+observatories+like+stonehenge&ia=web
Then there's this list of astronomical sites around the world:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_archaeoastronomical_sites_by_country
I'll stop now. For the serious reader there doesn't seem to be an end to information on this topic.
From The Guardian: May's super flower moon lights up the night skies - in pictures
I first read this full moon identified as the 'blood' moon. Whatever we call it, it is a sight to see!
https://www.theguardian.com/science/gallery/2021/may/26/mays-super-flower-moon-lights-up-the-night-skies-in-pictures
It's countdown time for the Super Full Blood Moon (and) Eclipse tomorrow, May 26, 2021!
Let's all have a howling good time! Plenty of info at the links:
https://www.farmersalmanac.com/may-supermoon-lunar-eclipse
https://www.mooninfo.org/moon-phases/may-26-2021.html
https://www.timeanddate.com/moon/phases/
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