See my other STEM related posts – I have been involved with STEM efforts for many years, introducing K-12 students to careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. I recently read a short article on the IEEE website for Try Engineering that I thought was very interesting.
The Map of Engineering is an animated overview of engineering by physicist and science writer Dominic Walliman. The 22 minute video covers the major fields of engineering such as mechanical and electrical, as well as their many sub categories. It shows how engineering touches on almost everything in some way.
If you know a student interested in science and technology, this video will introduce them to how they can apply that interest through engineering.
(See my other Star Wars related posts) – If you are a Star Wars fan and subscribe to Disney+ you will be looking forward to 25 May. The latest Disney live action Star Wars series Obi-Wan Kenobi premiers on that day.
We really enjoyed their second live action series, The Book of Boba Fett. And of course watched their first series The Mandalorian. I only hope that this series is as good as those were. The trailer for it looks intriguing. If you are a Star Wars fan you will want to watch it.
(See my other trailer-related posts) – A new series is scheduled to begin on Apple TV+ 22 October 2021. The name of the series is Invasion and it is a science fiction story about Earth being invaded. The story is told through the experiences of different people all around the world. The official synopsis per Apple TV+ is: Earth is visited by an alien species that threatens humanity’s existence. Events unfold in real time through the eyes of five ordinary people across the globe as they struggle to make sense of the chaos unraveling around them.
The trailer looks intriguing. I have been a science fiction fan since I was in Middle School. I look forward to watching the series when it begins in October. This first season includes 10 episodes.
(See my other trailer posts) – I have been a fantasy fan for many years. As many have, I read and enjoyed J. R. R Tolkien’s Hobbit books.
One of the other fantasy authors I have enjoyed is Robert Jordan. Jordan is a pen name for James Oliver Rigney Jr. While he wrote other works, he is best known for his Wheel of Time series. The series comprises 14 novels, plus a prequel.
Jordan completed the first 11 books. Fantasy and science fiction author Brandon Sanderson wrote the remainder. Jordan discovered that he was terminally ill in 2006. Jordan and his wife arranged for Sanderson to complete the series to their outline. Sanderson did a wonderful job completing the series. He is another author I have read and enjoyed.
I finished the series a few years ago and really enjoyed it. I was pleased when I heard that a TV series was being developed around the novels. The first episode is scheduled to appear on Amazon Prime on Friday, 19 November 2021.
(See my other trailer posts) – I have been a science fiction fan since I was in Jr. High. One of the authors I read a lot of is Isaac Asimov. Among his works are the seven novels of his “Foundation” series.
These were published over decades from 1950 through 1993. The premise of the story (per Wikipedia) is:
in the waning days of a future Galactic Empire, the mathematician Hari Seldon spends his life developing a theory of psychohistory, a new and effective mathematical sociology. Using statistical laws of mass action, it can predict the future of large populations. Seldon foresees the imminent fall of the Empire, which encompasses the entire Milky Way, and a Dark Age lasting 30,000 years before a second empire arises.
I read the first five of these novel years ago. Apple TV is bringing the series to their network beginning 24 September 2021. I can only hope that their version of Foundation is as good as the novels were. I am looking forward to it!
Operation Jericho was carried out by RAF Mosquito bombers on February 18, 1944. The mission was to attack the Amiens Prison in German-occupied France. The goal was to free a large number of Resistance members who were imprisoned. More than 250 prisoners escaped, though nerly 66% were soon recaptured.
This animation was created by The Operations Room and uploaded to YouTube in January of 2021.
If you are interested in the WWII era of history, you may find these three pages of interest.
The “World War II Resources” page is a constantly growing collection of more than 510 links to museums, memorials, websites, Facebook pages, Twitter feeds, and other sources with information on the World War II-era in history.
The “World War II Timeline” page expands almost daily and shows events leading up to WWII, as well as during the war. Events are broken down into the Pacific and European Theaters by date.
The About WWII page is a collection of links to posts that I have made over the years that are relevant to WWII.
See my other Robot related posts) – It was only a few years ago when I watched a robot challenge where simply standing up and walking was an achievement. Seeing these Boston Dynamics Robots dance around shows how far they have come. It makes me really wonder what I will be seeing in 2030!
I subscribe to many Podcasts on the WWII period. This is a little different from those in that it is a brief (45-90 second) daily video clip showing the events for that day in 1940. Currently there are more than 440 episodes available on YouTube.
If you are interested in the WWII era of history, you may find these three pages of interest.
The “World War II Sources” page is a constantly growing collection of more than 490 links to museums, memorials, websites, Facebook pages, Twitter feeds, and other sources with information on the World War II-era in history.
The “World War II Timeline” page expands almost daily and shows events leading up to WWII, as well as during the war. Events are broken down into the Pacific and European Theaters by date.
The About WWII page is a collection of links to posts that I have made over the years that are relevant to WWII.
(See my other Music and Star Wars related posts) – I enjoyed season one of The Mandalorian and my wife and I are now viewing season two. If you have not heard of this Disney+ channel production, here is the synopsis per IMDB:
The travels of a lone bounty hunter in the outer reaches of the galaxy, far from the authority of the New Republic.
If you like Star Wars you will enjoy this very well done live action series. It enjoys a 8.7/10 rating on IMDB. This piece of music, The Mandalorian was uploaded to YouTube in November 2019 by Ludwig Göransson. He is the composer.
(See my other Music related posts) – I have always been a fan of Star Wars. I have also liked the music from the many movies. I came across this recording of “The Rebel Fleet and End Title” from “Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back”.
This 06:26 video was uploaded to YouTube in December of 2013 by MoviesSound. I enjoyed this instrumental music and wanted to share it.
John's Notes 