Telstar Logistics

Two Videos of Avant Garde Musicians and Transportation

Like peanut butter and chocolate, or bacon and just about anything, avant garde music mixes quite nicely with the infrastructure of transportation. Not knowing much about music theory, we can't really explain why this is. But the reasons hardly matter. 

What matters is that when you combine machine-powered motion with atonal music, the synthesis can be very satisfying. Here are two videos that demonstrate the point. 

The first is a looped video produced by Telstar Logistics that combines some footage we filmed while gazing out the window of a "Shinkansen" bullet train speeding through the Japanese landscape somewhere between Tokyo and Kyoto. At the time when we recorded the video, we happened to be listening to a magnificent piece of avant garde music on our iPod: "Another Root," by Midori Hirano:

Midori Hirano (b.1979 in Kyoto) began piano lessons at the age of five and   later continued her musical studies in college. After graduation, Midori moved to Tokyo and began to compose music in her own   way by blending computer textures with traditional music theory. This turned out to be a natural step leading to her current activities in electronic music.

Hirano's music is haunting and atmoshpheric, and highly recommended. But as you can see, when you listen to it while the Japanese countryside passes by in a 200+ mph blur, the effect is positively sublime:

Meanwhile, we recently stumbled upon a very satisfying video of avant garde cellist Zoë Keating performing a movable concert aboard a converted school bus in San Francisco. Zoë describes herself as:

"Classically trained from the age of eight, Zoë developed her signature style improvising for late night crowds in her San Francisco warehouse space. [...] Comfortably inhabiting her own territory somewhere between classical minimalism, experiemental electronica and steampunk, Keating's works have been called luminous, haunting and "the perfect music for apocalyptic landscapes."

This video of her perfomance on a bus comes to us courtesy of seany, and it may be experienced here:

Note also: Zoe Keating will carry carry the transportation theme still further on August 29, when she will perform at the pre-security area of the International Terminal at San Francisco International Airport between 11 am and 2 pm, as part of airport's You Are Hear at SFO concert series.

We're confident the combination will taste wonderful.

LINKS:

Midori Hirano (artist's website)

Midori Hirano at Archive.org (open-source audio posted by Midori Hirano)

Zoe Keating (Artist's website)

(IMAGE: Top, Midori Hirano on the iPod. Photo by Telstar Logistics)

Dive! Dive! Dive! Telstar Logistics Visits the Submarine USS Pampanito

 

 

 

As part of our recent exploration of the San Francisco waterfront with BoingBoing TV, Telstar Logistics fleet operations officer Todd Lappin visited the submarine USS Pampanito to learn all about the sub — and the remarkable technology that made her so effective against Japanese shipping in the Pacific during World War II.  We could explain all this in text, but why bother when the moving pictures — and Zach Salin, our all-knowing USS Pampanito guide — tell the story so much better?  Let's thread the film through the Internet movie projector and watch...

LINK:
WWII Retro-tech: USS Pampanito sub with Todd Lappin (BBtv video)

USS Pampanito (official website and home page)

PREVIOUSLY:

We Tour A World War II Liberty Ship with BoingBoingTV

The USS San Francisco: When Submarines Collide

Homemade Submarine Intercepts Queen Mary II

(IMAGES: photos by Telstar Logistics)

Overheard Comments from United Airlines Employees

Okay, so maybe we got a liiiiiiiittle bit spoiled by our recent flight aboard an Emirates A380. But even before that, we'd grown fed up with the declining levels of passenger service among America's mainline air carriers: United, American, Continental, Delta, and the like. 

We've flown most of these airlines at least once during the last year or so, and the experiences are hard to differentiate: All were dismal. The aircraft are old, crowded, and uncomfortable, but most of all, we've grown weary of listening to airline cabin crew kvetching about their work schedules and grievances with senior management. This is what it must've been like to fly Aeroflot Soviet Airlines back in the Brezhnev Era.

In fairness, these are challenging times for the U.S. airline industry. And clearly, customer-facing airline employees have difficult and exhausting jobs. Yet to the extent that airline employees must each day deal with hundreds upon hundreds of rude and impatient passengers, surely treating them like cattle is no way to improve the situation.

This explains why we so enjoyed this list of comments overheard in recent weeks by the frequent flier over at the One Mile at a Time blog. With some allowances for  paraphrasing, here's what he overheard while flying United Airlines:

• A person with my seniority at American or Continental would make $11 per flight hour more. I know that for a fact, I saw the contract with my own eyes, we’re the lowest paid by a ton.

• Man, these Premiers think they’re all that, they can’t even wait in line for five minutes.

• Ladies and gentlemen, we know that most of you probably have the safety video memorized by now, but please pretend to pay attention. You never know if the person next to you has never flown before, has self-respect, or is perhaps an FAA inspector.

• I fly full fare on other airlines all the time and United is the only one that does more than one drink run on domestic flights, even water or coffee. I know that for a fact
• &%$* Glenn Tilton and management.

• We hope you’ve enjoyed flying with us as much as we’ve enjoyed taking you and your money for a ride.

• I had a car accident on my way to work, but I was too scared I’d lose my job so instead of going to a doctor here I am.

• This delay was my fault, I have guests coming over tonight at 7.

• If you don’t like the snack I can serve you a seven course meal, consisting of a variety of snack mix…. it just takes a little bit of imagination.

• You want a skykit for that?

• We all hate working here, this place sucks.

• Glenn Tilton sucks, he’s also getting rid of free upgrades for all of our Million Milers, 1K’s and Global Services. I work Sydney flights all the time and everyone is full fare, shame on Glenn!
• They’re retiring the Ted planes, not reconfiguring them.

• United has never had a good management team.

LINK:
Some Quotes from UA Employees Over the Last Few Days (One Mile at a Time blog post)

(IMAGE: Passengers exiting United Airlines Flight 85 in Los Angeles. Photo by M.V. Jantzen)

DIY Railroading: Exploring the Countryside in Vintage Railcars

More discoveries from this morning's New York Times.  (OMG!  Print newspapers! So random-access!  So serendipitous! What an innovative technology!)

We've been hearing tales about this unique little subculture for a while, but the Times has a wonderful piece today about the folks who purchase and restore old railcars — small vehicles that were once used for trackside maintenance — to take them on meandering journeys along little-used trackbed across the American countryside.  The NYT sez:

A railway motorcar, or railcar, is a peculiar, no-frills, gasoline-powered vehicle not much bigger than a golf cart and not much more powerful than a riding mower. The seats do not have much padding, if any, so the rider feels every clickety-clack. A railcar ride is not like a trip on any comfy old commuter train.

That is actually one reason the railroads once used railcars, which are also called speeders, jiggers or putt-putts. Tracks needed inspecting, and supervisors felt the bumps and peered through holes in the front of these cars to spot defects. Then bigger railcars, carrying track workers and equipment, were dispatched to make repairs.

About 25 years ago, railroads phased out railcars in favor of pickup trucks fitted with carriages that can adapt to railroad tracks. Railcars became collectors’ items, like antique automobiles. Now, collectors use these vehicles on excursions that offer views of remote scenery on rented tracks meandering miles away from the nearest roads.

“You can see countryside that you don’t see from a car,” said Bob Knight, a railcar owner from Sandwich, Ill., who takes excursions as often as twice a month in warm weather.

There's lots more goodness where that came from, so read the whole thing and drool over all the excellent multimedia the Times has assembled. It's perfect fodder for meandering thoughts on a Friday afternoon...

LINKS:

Putt-Putting Along the Rails (New York Times article on railcars with excellent mutlimedia, August 8, 2008)

North American Railcar Operators Association (National railcar enthusiasts' website)

PREVIOUSLY:

Mutant Japanese Train-Bus Transformers Carry Live Human Cargo

San Francisco's Streetcar Revival

(Images by the New York Times)

RIP Andrea Pininfarina, Maker of Beautiful Automobiles

Sad news from Italy: Andrea Pininfarina, CEO of Pininfarina S.p.A, the exclusive automotive design firm, was killed yesterday after he was struck by a motorist while riding his Vespa scooter.

Pininfarina, of course, is the famous firm that designed many of the most sexy and sensual Ferraris of the last 50-odd years, and under Andrea's leadership the company produced designs ranging from the 2004 Maserati Quattroporte and the 2006 Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano to the 2006 Volvo C70 and the 2006 Mitsubishi Colt CZC.

From his obituary in today's New York Times:

Mr. Pininfarina was part of a family dynasty that began its move into industry in 1930 when his grandfather, Battista Pinin Farina, founded the company, which in its first year designed cars for Alfa Romeo, Fiat and other Italian manufacturers. Mr. Pininfarina’s father, Sergio Pininfarina, is the company’s honorary chairman and one of Italy’s seven senators for life. His younger brother, Paolo, is Pininfarina’s vice chairman. His older sister, Lorenza, is on the board.

“Our country has lost a leading personality of its industrial life and the representative of a dynasty that has contributed to creating the Made in Italy brand in the world,” Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said in a statement.

Andrea Pininfarina was born on June 26, 1957, in Turin, the heart of Italy’s auto design industry. After graduating in 1981 with a degree in mechanical engineering from Turin’s Polytechnic University, Mr. Pininfarina went to work in the United States. He joined the family company upon his return to Italy a few years later and became the chief executive of its German unit in 1991. He became chief executive of the company as a whole in 2001 and chairman in 2006.

Under Mr. Pininfarina, the company diversified its portfolio, balancing flashy projects like the Ferrari Enzo supercar with less exciting car designs for Hyundai, Daewoo and Ford.

LINK:

Andrea Pininfarina, Chief of Car Designer, Dies at 51 (New York Times obituary, August 8, 2008)

(IMAGE: Top, Andrea Pininfarina in 2006, with the one-of-a-kind Ferrari P4/5, designed for a collector. Photo by the New York Times.)

We Tour A World War II Liberty Ship with BoingBoingTV

A few weeks ago our friends from BoingBoing invited Telstar Logistics fleet operations officer Todd Lappin to tour the World War II Liberty Ship SS Jeremiah O'Brien as part of a video segment for BBtv. Here's BoingBoing's summary of the episode:

BBtv guest correspondent and blog pal Todd Lappin of Telstar Logistics takes us inside a steam-powered World War II "Liberty Ship," the SS Jeremiah O'Brien.

We marvel (!) at the cool old retro-technology that kept this behemoth boat running to and from the beaches of Normandy, and we meet the volunteer caretakers -- obsessive nerds just like us, only with white hair! -- who keep her ship-shape today. Did you know that shipyards in the San Francisco Bay Area once churned out Liberty Ships like this in 4 days or less, during the heat of the war? Watch and learn, li'l skippers.

Indeed.  We hope you enjoy these moving pictures, and we've provided links to our previous coverage of the SS Jeremiah O'Brien, below. And if you're in San Francisco, remember: The SS Jeremiah O'Brien is tied up at Pier 45, near Fisherman's Wharf, and it's open daily for visits. Check it!

PREVIOUSLY:

Telstar Logistics Boosts Employee Morale Aboard the SS Jeremiah O'Brien

A Ship, a Submarine, a 10,000 Year Clock, and a Penny Arcade: Mechanicrawl 2008

Flight Report: Airborne in an Emirates A380 at SFO

 

 

 

 

It was the kind of offer Telstar Logistics cannot refuse: "Please join us for an exclusive opportunity to experience and fly on Emirates’ cutting-edge A380 aircraft during a two hour ‘demo flight’ and reception," they said.  So we said, "Sure! Sign us up!"

And away we went.  Dubai-based Emirates brought the airline's first Airbus A380 to San Francisco today to provide the locals with a first-hand demonstration of the aircraft's formidable bling. Airbus delivered this A380 less than two weeks ago, and Emirates quickly put it to use as a high-profile billboard to introduce the airline to the American public. San Francisco will become Emirates' newest destination on December 15, when nonstop service to Dubai begins (using a Boeing 777-200, alas).

As you may recall, Telstar Logistics also toured the first A380 ever to land at SFO last October.  That A380 was a very different creature, however.  Operated by Airbus as a test platform, its interior was unfinished and hollow, but for a few instrument racks and simulated cargo. For comparison's sake, this is what it looked like inside that A380:

Here's the view from roughly the same spot, in the Business cabin of the A380 we flew aboard today:

The Emirates A380 is A6-EDA (cn 011), the eleventh A380 to roll off the Airbus assembly line. When its promotional tour is completed, it will be put to work flying Emirates' Dubai-JFK route.  Today, however, it was our airborne plaything, so we explored it from front to back -- from the frilly fountain sculpture at the top of the main stairway to the inflight toaster and bunwarmer installed in the aft galley. We even played bartender in the upper deck lounge.  Swingin'!  Here are some other impressions from our 90-minute joyride over San Francisco and the Pacific Ocean:

• There really is such a thing as a "new airplane smell." In fact, it smells a lot like a new car.  It also smells much better than the skanky interior of a typical American Airlines MD-80 that was built sometime during the Reagan Administration's first term.

• We'd heard that the A380 was very quiet, and it's true.  The cabin interior was exceptionally hushed — a fact which became very clear when thrust was applied for takeoff.  We barely heard the engines spinning up to speed. Seriously quiet. Want proof?  As you watch this (seriously awesome) video of the takeoff taken by our distinguished colleague Theorem, listen to how hushed the cabin remains throughout.  Note also that Theorem was sitting in a window seat just behind the port engines.  Let's listen in:

• Also, let's hear it for the Tailcam!  One of the coolest things about the A380s onboard video system is the realtime view it displays of the plane in flight.  Theorem captured the takeoff, and we shot this video that shows the view from the Tailcam as we came in for a landing at SFO. This is what we saw from our seatback video display:

Passengers in all classes can choose to watch live video feeds from three cameras positioned on the exterior of the plane: A view from the top of the tail, a view forward from the nose, and a view straight down. Endlessly entertaining.

• This A380 was configured to carry a total of 489 people. On the lower deck, Economy Class has 399 seats. The upper deck was fitted with 76 Business Class seats and 14 First Class "suites." 

• The Economy seats are reasonably spacious, and the inflight entertainment system has a lot to offer. There's inflight email and SMS, 100 movies on-demand, 50 on-demand television channels, 350 audio channels, and 40 electronic games. Here's the view from a typical Economy seat — this is where we sat during our takeoff and landing.  Notice the gimballed cup-holder built into the back of the tray table (clever! handy!), and the fact that our knee is not bumping up against the seatback:

• Business Class seats are semi-private pods that offer lie-flat seats, a large-screen video display, storage space, and a personal beverage station. The pods are very comfortable, but they also  resemble office cubicles, which is a tad unsettling.


• First Class "suites" offer even more privacy, burlwood trim, a large-screen video display, lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of gold-chrome trim, and a retractable personal beverage station, which operates as follows:

• First Class passengers enjoy access to the aircraft's two showers.

• Yes!  Showers!  Each of the 14 First Class passengers can enjoy a 5-minute shower in one of two private lounges, each of which looks vaguely like something one might expect to find in a Napa Valley golf club.  Two dedicated shower attendants clean and freshen the rooms after each use, and the A380 carries an extra half-ton of water to meet the personal-hygiene needs of these elite First Class passengers. In aeronautical terms, there's a word for this: Super-decadent.

• We even took a photo from *inside* the shower, since this is the closest we may ever get to it shy of paying more than $10,000 for a First Class ticket:

• The shower was nifty, but the upper deck bar/lounge area was perhaps even more enticing.  The bar is spacious enough and comfortable enough to encourage serious socializing, and there was an attentive bartender (Hereby dubbed "Isaac of the Airways") pouring the drinks. Extremely civilized:

All told it was a rarefied experience — not least because who the hell knows when we'll get to fly on an A380 again.  (No American carriers have ordered the A380, and those that do come to the U.S. will be used sparingly on international routes.) Yet that made us all the more grateful for the opportunity to take the A380 for a test drive.  And since we treat our responsibility to share such experiences as a solemn duty, we've enclosed a link to lots more pictures.  Happy flying!

LINK:
Emirates A380 at SFO (Flickr Photoset by Telstar Logistics)

PREVIOUSLY:
Telstar Logistics Gets Intimate with an Airbus A380

How to Evacuate 873 People from an Airbus A380

The Airbus A380 Invades America

(Images: All photos by Telstar Logistics, except for the takeoff video by Theorem.)

Photos and Video of a Crashed B-2 Stealth Bomber

Somehow we missed this a few weeks back, but the Air Force recently released photos of the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber that crashed shortly after takeoff from Andersen Air Force Base in Guam on February 23, 2008.  The pilot and co-pilot ejected safely from the $1.4 billion aircraft, which was not carrying any munitions at the time of the incident.

The Air Force concluded its investigation in June, and Popular Mechanics summarizes what went wrong:

Small errors, it now turns out, caused a large accident. A B-2 has four computers, called the flight control system (FCS), that translate the pilot’s cockpit inputs into movement of the plane’s control surfaces. The $1.4 billion warplane was brought down by a few drops of water in three of the 24 air-pressure sensors that feed data to the FCS. The moisture distorted the plane’s air-pressure readings and confused the FCS badly enough to cause the crash, the first one of the B-2’s career.

February’s crash was caused by maintenance crews trying to do the right thing: They saw the wrong data and recalibrated the sensors. However, once the moisture evaporated, the sensors “fixed” by the crew were actually set incorrectly and were feeding the flight computer false data on airspeed and air pressure, which is used to measure altitude. “The pressure differences were miniscule, but they were enough to confuse the FCS, ” Maj. Gen. Floyd Carpenter, who headed the Air Force’s investigation, tells PM.

The FCS then took control; triggering a premature takeoff, automatically driving the airplane into a 30-degree, nose-up pitch and overruling the pilot’s efforts to regain control.

An even better way to understand what happened is by watching this excellent video produced by the folks at AVWeb. It contains both footage of the actual crash, as well an a technical summary of how the accident unfolded:

IMAGES: US Air Force