Richard's New Writeups

The Radio Announcer (thing)

2002-11-18T12:11:19Z

"I went into radio for love..." begins this "autobiographical piece by an author who'll be named later, depending how this turns out." A bittersweet evocation of coming-of-age for a young man from the mid-West who, searching for love, becomes somebody he isn't, and finds his eventual career.

That's how a blurb might describe it. This is a lovely track from the Lake Wobegon Liberty Days album by Garrison Keillor. Beginning with a recitative (the album was recorded with an orchestra) it steadily describes a freshman's experiences with college radio at (we assume) the University of Minnesota (WUM). The narrator falls in love twice: once with a classmate, then with the music and the medium of radio. Unfortunately, in this love triangle, only one love will win.

One very effective moment: the point where an orchestra simulates a record-player getting stuck.

Illyria (place)

2002-03-28T04:48:40Z

A name applied to varying parts of the Balkans over the past two millenia. It has generally referred to portions of the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea, stretching further inland according to the local influence of its rulers and the whims of external ones (including Rome and Vienna).

It is best known in English for its use in Twelfth Night, where Viola asks,
What country, friends, is this?
to which the captain replies,
This is Illyria, my lady.

Exit, pursued by a bear (idea)

2002-03-28T03:29:16Z

The direction is found in The Winter's Tale. Much debate has ensued about whether the bear was actually a real ursus, or an actor in costume. The real bear theory has some support from the fact that theatre in Shakespeare's day competed with bear-baiting, much as theatre today competes with professional wrestling.

IFSD (idea)

2000-08-21T19:58:03Z

In-Flight Shut Down.

Turning off an engine of an airplane during flight. May be necessary due to major engine failure. The DC-9 was famously able to fly over the Rockies with only one of its two engines operational. A dual-IFSD on a twin-engine aircraft essentially converts it into a really big glider.

AliasWavefront (thing)

2000-08-21T19:29:18Z

Toronto-based software development company. ``An sgi company.'' Formed of the merger of Alias Research, Inc (Toronto) and Wavefront (Santa Barbara, Paris). Makes probably the best 3-D animation/modelling/design software on the planet. (Disclaimer: i used to work for them.)

Maya (the illusion of reality, a reference to a concept from Eastern philosophy) replaced PowerAnimator as an industry standard for animation for film, video and games.

A really cool company in many respects. At one point, PowerAnimator featured a Make Game button.

EROPS (idea)

2000-08-21T19:11:56Z

Extended Range OPerationS, also spelled ETOPS. The standard that a commercial twin-engine aircraft must be able to fly for at least sixty minutes with only one engine operating. An extended EROPS/ETOPS rating allows an aircraft to fly more direct routes across large bodies of water (where there are few places to land a passenger jet), making for shorter flight-times and cheaper costs (less fuel). It does mean that you could be relying on a Boeing 777 to fly for three hours with only one engine.

Engines Refuse to Operate, Please Swim: If all engines of an aircraft fail, they can (at best) glide to a landing. (Note that this is not an option for helicopters.) Various pilots' organisations and some manufacturers are concerned that the FAA is considering extending EROPS to 207 minutes for North Pacific routes in the near future, and possibly even up to 240 minutes. Just bear in mind that this would…