Well, that's progress I guess...

On April 12, 1945, President Franklin Roosevelt died at his Warm Springs, Georgia, retreat at the age of 63.

Very interesting thread on preserving history from Neil's turf:

A tribute to Yuri Gagarin and his historic flight: long may it inspire each new generation of space travellers. Read the full tribute here: markdestewart.wixsite.com/the-metaphor... @artistburns.bsky.social @nick-stevens.com #YuriGagarin #YurisNight #OTD #history #spaceflight @iaaa.org

Nightmare off Okinawa- on April 11, 1945, while performing radar picket duties for Task Force 58, Fletcher-class destroyer USS KIDD (DD-661) was struck by a kamikaze. 🧵 👇 #NavalHistory #WWII #MuseumShips

We now return you to our regularly scheduled DBF-posting. #nationalsubmarineday

On the Cassini mission to Saturn they called these “Kodak moments” and routinely included them in spacecraft imaging plans, a few per orbit www.planetary.org/articles/2859

Fun fact: many of the prettiest photos taken by robotic spacecraft were similarly framed ahead of time by humans using simulators of view geometry to pick when the spacecraft should shoot the photo. Case in point: this photo of Europa over Jupiter from New Horizons science.nasa.gov/image-detail...

Today is National Submarine Day. During WWII, 263 U.S. Navy submarines deployed on war patrols. This image of 52 submarines in the Pacific Reserve Fleet at Mare Island in 1946 represents the same number of subs that went on eternal patrol after being lost in the war.

While I understand the sentiment, they’re basically getting up there strapped into a souped-up V-2.

In case we were in any doubt about who's holding the whip hand...

Thread ->

As fairly regular customers of Viking cruises, we're interested to learn that they'll be placing in service this fall a 1,000 pax ship equipped with 6 MW of H2/air fuel cell power. The linked article runs down some design details. Pretty neat engineering! www.rivieramm.com/news-content...

An absurd ending to a horribly embarrassing story:

In the early '70's I had the privilege of working on the SubSafe program that emerged from the loss of Thresher. In over 60 years no SubSafe Certified boat* has been lost. I take a bit of pride in that. *(Scorpion was not so Certified.)

Lee got his ass handed to him by ol’ Ulysses but was never man enough to admit it Such a whiny little nonpromotable colonel

The referenced film is Just So Good! (It's rarely noted that it started out as a television drama presentation. (Playhouse 90, maybe?))

If he had never written "Ben Hur", we would still remember Lew Wallace for this:

Happy “The Only Confederate Memorial Day That Matters.”

This is delightful!

Expect an Iranian test of a fission explosive within...6 months? (Maybe a sub rosa aspect of the Pakistani involvement?)

Shout-out to @aptshadow.bsky.social as I've read, and much enjoyed, his fine sf novel "Shroud". I recommend it! Adrian, great world-building; superb realization of a novel alien species (I *might* be referring to Mai, the engineer, tho'.) Anyhow thanks so much for the ride.

Lots of good views of the launch of Artemis II from the engineering cameras here.... images.nasa.gov/details/KSC-...

"Welcome to my old neighborhood." Jim Lovell Source: NASA TV. #ArtemisII

On the #PHG blog today: marking the birth of Takano Isoroku, the man who would go on to command Japan's Combined Fleet. #PacificHistoryGuide #NavalHistory www.pacifichistoryguide.com/post/otd-bir...

I'm a museum docent and this is the message for the folks who think that the labels are enough to get the job done.

On this date in 1933, the US Navy airship Akron crashed into the Atlantic Ocean in a storm off the coast of New Jersey. 73 men died in the crash, including Admiral William Moffett, the chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics. There were only three survivors. #NavalHistory

This quote from Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell has been in my head the last few days

Ahoy, @aptshadow.bsky.social, see what my superb county librarian has lent to me! This one look like great fun and I look forward to diving in this evening. Will check back in a couple of days.

A few people have replied to my Artemis posts with links to Gil Scott-Heron's "Whitey on the Moon." Here's a story from Space.com about Artemis II pilot Victor Glover, currently en route to fly around the Moon, and his connection to that piece. www.space.com/space-explor...

Agree with Thanos:

Shout-out to @edashtonwriting.bsky.social as I've finished reading his fine recent novel "After the Fall". Ed, I very much enjoyed AtF; it's a worthy addition to your collected works. (Dana is my favorite character.) Now I shall eagerly await whatever you have coming to us next!

🎶 I spy a wunderwaffen 🎶

*I blame science fiction dystopias

Ahoy, @edashtonwriting.bsky.social, look at what my excellent county librarian has lent to me this day! Much looking forward to diving into it this evening; will check back in a couple of days.

More of these, please

28 Mar 1942 // Destroyer HMS Campbeltown (ex USS Buchanan) was expended as an explosive blockship in the St Nazaire raid: she rammed the dry dock gate, and wrecked the dock when her charges detonated. Image shows her before the explosion (Bundesarchiv CC BY SA 3.0). #RoyalNavy #WW2 #NavalHistory

live your life in such a way that when your neighbors maybe see you murdered by your wife and kid they’re not like “thank god! it’s nice to see them happy for once!” www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/gar...

My fave Garner tale is that ostensibly each day, he'd ask the crew, "Do we wanna make money, or get home?" If they said money, he'd stretch and ask for multiple takes so they could get paid more. If they said home, he'd work tight and fast so they could wrap early. That's a thoughtful gentleman.

How to pick up a Waco glider. #WW2 #HISTORY

the terms “very seriously injured/ill” (VSI) and “seriously injured” (SI) mean very specific things within DoD: - VSI: death is more likely than not to occur within 72 hours - SI: death is possible but not likely within 72 hours; injury is permanent, life-altering, or need extended hospitalization

Y'all *need* to read Colleen's linked piece. She's done the digging and has the receipts.

27 Mar 1944 #The38 #WASP - Women Airforce Service Pilots Frances Grimes 43-W-3 Before WASP was a champion amateur tennis player. Died during takeoff-A-24 - Otis AAF, Mass ...

Tracy Kidder was a lovely writer, an absolute pro to work with, and, in our few but memorable encounters, quite the nicest fellow. I'm very sorry to read of his death.

This is how to statue.

Read the thread, please. As always, Colleen has "got the flick".

With enough power you can make anything fly.

Here’s to everybody who’s giving it all. (By the way, it still gets around just fine.)

Edward R. Murrow called this microphone “the only trophy I have ever kept and I have received many…This I value above anything I have.” (Having come across one of Murrow’s Peabody awards, in pieces, in an archival collection, I can certify that he cared very little about trophies.) 🗃️