Space Pirates Update

Lots going on. We are quite busy around here. All of our scheduled testing is happening. We recently returned from Detroit and had an eventful and ultimately successful round of testing. The troubles ranged from minor stuff like flood related detours stealing our sleep and poison ivy oil on the steering wheel, to a tracking system that was overwhelmed by the brightness of the very LASER it was meant to direct, and... a fire.

OK, I will start with the fire. A dust cover adjacent to the LASER path was overheated by reflected LASER light. This led to a cascading failure resulting in an impressive amount of black smoke and a tiny little fire. It is a rookie mistake made by us rookies. That ended day 1 of testing but the team pulled it together while the frustrated and exhausted captain went to sleep. They cleaned all the soot off of the high power optics and had us up and running only a little bit into day 2. Yes, another all-nighter for the cause. Good thing too, as on day 2 we found a solution to the overwhelmed tracking system and finished off our scheduled testing.
These are exactly the kind of problems that this type of controlled testing is meant to reveal, it's just that having them does not exactly make me happy. The final result is that all of the other critical performance metrics were square on the numbers. We beamed power a short distance with a laser and ran our climber's motor with it.

The competition has been delayed. Yes, this is the third time. But the facility that Spaceward is working on looks to be an excellent place for the competition. And we had hit crash schedule to keep with former date of Nov. 7th. So I have to welcome the delay. The new date has not been set but December and January both look to be out.

We leave this week for long range testing with the real LASER. We have a rather hairy to do list in the next couple of days to get all the systems together. This test should reveal any last, hidden weaknesses in our systems. We are still wrestling with some other issues, so we are not done by any means but I will feel much better when we have hard data on power conversion at the full KM range.
On a personal note my oldest and second largest customer's owner died unexpectedly of a heart attack. Alan was the guy that got me started in the career that I have today. I will be quite busy filling in for some of his duties and training his son to be the new general manager. Again, I have to welcome the competition delay. And if you ever find yourself wondering if you should call 911 when your having chest pains, I hope you risk saying yes rather than no. I will miss him. Most research projects would consider this upcoming test the end result. But in the Space Elevator Games it is just one step along the way and is a big part of what differentiates this challenge from a "Lab" experiment.


Brian Turner
Captain
KC Space Pirates

October Skies

October Skies
3rd Annual Rocket Science Day in Parkville
Saturday, October 4 - 10 am to 2 pm
English Landing Drive Parking Lot
Displays, static burn of high powered rocket motors, rocket launches and challenges with prizes!
Bring your own rockets to launch!

Gene Nowaczek will have his famous rocket and launch pad on display and he'll be available to sign autographs.
Check our website - hms-beagle.com - for details!

New entomology supplies coming

The Beagle has several new entomology supplies coming. These include aerial nets and sweep nets as well as new bug collection displaying options. We will also be offering a new type of killing jar. We expect these new supplies by the first of October, so keep us in mind for your bug collecting needs.

No black holes today.

Well, the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) was switched on and guess what? No black holes resulted. That must be a BIG letdown to the folks and organizations that fought to never allow it to be turned on.

Of course, maybe a black hole was created and we were all instantaneously sucked into it and came out the other side in a different, but parallel universe. Are you feelin' it? Does everything seem back to front and left to right?

DNA and one's voting patterns

Louisville, KY, June 25-28, 2008: As reported in the July 25th issue of Science (page 486), researchers studying same sex identical and fraternal twins have found a compelling link between one's genetics and ones voting patterns. The article states, "fresh evidence (has been) produced that DNA also has a hand in the intensity of someone's partisan attachment and even in whether someone bothers to vote."

Reference: Science, vol 321, page 486, 25 July 2008

KC Space Pirates

I encountered one of the Beagle's customers this morning at the Conoco in Parkville. He said that the KC Space Pirates have completed their trip to Detroit where they tried out their new LASERs and other equipment in an effort to get a working space elevator. Their web site (which includes a blog) is http://kcspacepirates.com/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/.

Sex reversal in a cichlid fish.

University Park, Pennsylvania: In their article, "Behaviorally induced sex reversal of Metriaclima cf. livingstoni (Cichlidae) from Lake Malawi," researchers Jay R. Stauffer, Jr. and Renea A. Ruffling describe a rare event. While sex reversal is a well-known and well-documented phenomenon among marine reef fishes, the same cannot be said for freshwater fishes. In their experimentation utilizing wild-caught M. cf. livingstoni (captured while SCUBA diving off the Mazini Reef in Lake Malawi) were held in tanks with one male and multiple females. This is a typical aquarium setup familiar to thousands of cichlid aquarists around the world.

M. cf. livingstoni are typical mbuna from Lake Malawi, they are maternal mouthbrooders, and the males will spawn with as many ripe females as they can entice. In their experiments the aquariums (75.5 L (= 20 gallons) in volume) were divided into equal compartments with sealed-in clear Plexiglas panes. The single male was placed on one side and the females remained on the other side in each tank. The males in each tank could see the females, and vice versa, but there was no physical contact between the sexes in the tanks. The populations were manipulated in different tanks and in subsequent trials. The resluts were that a total of three previously confirmed females acquired males secondary sexual characteristics. In one of the trials a reversed females sucessfully fathered three large broods of fry. In a second trial another brood of fry was fathered by a different sex-reversed female.

The full citation is Copeia 2008, No. 3, 618-620, Stauffer and Rufling. Reprints can be requested from Jay R. Stauffer, Jr., Pennsylvania State University, School of Forest Resources, 420 Forest Resoirces Building, University Park, PE 168802 (e-mail: vc5@psu.edu).

Beagle Society meeting; a friend passes.

Parkville, MO: Monday evening, 15 September, 2008, the evening was beautiful, the presenter, Gene Nowaczyk was gracious and informative but the turn out was sparse. Gene had a computer presentation of his work with civilian rocketry, his company Payload Specialties, and his launches at Black Rock, Nevada. Mr. Nowaczyk did state that his seven consecutive world altitude records were unconfirmed, but no one doubted his veracity and all were suitably impressed.

Mr. Nowaczyk will have his rocket on display at the Beagle's 3rd annual Rocket Science Day on October 4th. That even will be in the west parking lot from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm and is free to all. Bring your rockets and the local amateur rocketry society, KCAR, will be running the range and will handle safety and rocket inspections. There will be tents set up for repairing and building rockets and the Beagle will be open for anyone needing engines or other supplies. All rockets will be limited to B size engines or smaller. The event has some new participants and there will be displays and exhibits. At the launch pad there will be contests and challenges.

On a very sad note, one of our first Beagle Society members and a proud owner of one of the Beagle's custom chemistry sets, Dennis Bingham, has passed away. Dennis died this past Sunday. He is survived by his wife Ann and their children and grandchildren. Dennis will be missed and mourned by his friends in science.

3rd Annual Rocket Science Day...Its FREE!

Time is drawing close for the Beagle's third annual Rocket Science Day, "October Skies". Just like last year it will be on the first Saturday of October; that's the 4th, from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. As always the event and participation in it is free.
Not seen in these parts since the first Rocket Science day, Gene Nowaczyk will be appearing with the rocket with which he set the world's altitude record for unmanned, parachute-recovered rockets. Gene will have his rocket and launch pad on display and folks can get his picture and an autograph. Gene will talk to attendees about his next attempt which is to fly an unmanned rocket into outer space and recover it. That rocket will carry aboard some artifacts from the Beagle which we hope to have on display at the store when Gene returns then to us.
The local amateur rocketry group, KCAR, will once again be running the show. They will supervise the launch area and range safety and will approve all rockets from participants who wish to have their rockets launched. Again, no rocket motor larger than a B size will be allowed from the participants. This is to ensure the best chance of recovery after launch.
Participants will have work space available to them in two tents so they can build and repair their rockets, or make last minute changes. There will be contests, challenges, give-aways and lots to see and many other rocket scientists to meet.
There is no age limit to participate. Last year the youngest was 5 years old and the oldest was 85. Join us in the west, gravel parking lot in English Landing Centre; come early to get a good parking space (parking behind the Beagle's building is also available).

DID YOU KNOW?

Did you know...the Beagle has numerous samples of chemical elements ranging from lithium (Li) the lightest metal to bismuth (Bi) the heaviest of the non-radioactive elements? The element samples are packaged in one-tenth gram-atomic weight sizes. For lithium that's less than 0.7 grams to more than 21 grams for bismuth. Those who collect chemical element samples should enjoy our large selection.
Of course, sodium and potassium samples are the Beagle's biggest sellers with magnesium powder close behind.

HELP WANTED

H.M.S. Beagle has lost a valuable employee as of yesterday. Tara (many of you know her) has gone to work at the Kansas City Zoo; they have gotten a real asset by hiring her. Anyway, the Beagle is looking for a person to work part-time. This person must have a science back ground, but it isn't necessary that they have a specific degree. A student in the sciences will usually fit the bill. While we don't have a specific field of expertise for which we're searching, someone versed in geology and/or biology would be great.
We need someone to work Tuesday, Thursday and Friday evenings as well as Saturdays. These are the minimum needs, more hours can usually be given as the season and business dictates.
We need a person who is out-going, friendly, cheery, condifent, well-spoken and clean. Non-smokers are preferred. We will provide all necessary training. The usual identity requirements as well as references (which will be checked) will be needed. Please contact the Beagle at clk@hms-beagle.com or call us at 816-587-9998. You may fax a resume to 816-587-9997.