Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey

@beamjockey

Physicist at large. Speaker. Writer. Mono-instrumentalist. Spaceflight, astronomy, history of science, science fiction, & jokes thereof. Avatar: Bill Heterodyne, smiling & tipping his boater, by Phil Foglio. Banner: Me, infinitely reflected in mirrors.

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Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey@beamjockey· 26d

When MER Spirit landed, a… certain employee… had attached an embroidered badge of our little group of science fiction fans, General Technics, to the back of his console. It was picked up by an IMAX camera, and we spotted it in the resultant wide-screen documentary. Warmed my heart to see it.

Detail from IMAX film of JPL control room as the spacecraft carrying the Spirit rover went through its entry, descent, and landing on Mars. Shows the back of workstation screens with a sign reading "Attitude Control" atop them. A small black and white square patch appears on one workstation. It bears a G with a T superimposed on it, and a name beneath them too blurry to be read here, but which I know says "General Technics."

Photo of a black square embroidered patch. . It bears a G with a T superimposed on it, and a name beneath them reading "General Technics." General Technics is a loose organization of science fiction fans who enjoy do-it-yourself technology. We recently celebrated the 50th anniversary of our group.

Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey@beamjockey· 27d

Astrogation! Nucleonics! Planetology!

Photo of seven colorful books, viewed from their spines. Each is a novel in the Tom Corbett, Space Cadet series, based on the TV show. Each is authored by the pseudonym "Carey Rockwell" and published by Grossett and Dunlap. One is missing a dust jacket, but the others all have an insignia of rocket and lightning bolt in a circle. The titles are:
Danger in Deep Space
On the Trail of the Space Pirates
The Space Pioneers
Stand By for Mars!
Treachery in Outer Space
Sabotage in Space
The Robot Rocket

Photo from the Appletreeauction.com site.

Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey@beamjockey· 27d

—Mike discovers something which is spoiled in all OTHER episode synopses. Not mine. —Doesn't seem to use the word "Aqualung." Guess it was a trademark. —Again, a lot of plot is packed into 30 minutes. —SEA HUNT's among the most successful, & best remembered, of the Ziv Productions empire. 3/n

Newspaper ad promoting SEA HUNT. Shows a man wearing swim fins on his feet, a skin-tight wet suit covering most of his body, and a harness with air tanks and breathing apparatus on his back. He holds a diving mask in one hand and a long spear gun in the other. Text: "Lloyd Bridges in SEA HUNT. The adventures of an undersea investigator. Thursday."

Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey@beamjockey· 27d

That was SEA HUNT Season 2, Episode 2, "Operation Greenback." Recommended. Curious, I next watched the pilot, S1E1, "60 Feet Below." Points of interest: —Unexpected footage of the Convair XF2Y-1 supersonic(-ish) jet seaplane. —Whit Bissell! —Mike Nelson arrives in a #whirlybird, jumps in. 1/n

The Convair XF2Y-1 Sea Dart, a delta-winged, single-seat jet fighter with a sharply pointed nose, races along the ocean surface, throwing aside huge plumes of white spray. The spray hides the shape of the delta wings, but the large triangular vertical fin is apparent, as are the jet intakes mounted on top of the fuselage, behind the cockpit. The Sea Dart landed on a pair of skis. Yes, this is an airplane with water skis.

Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey@beamjockey· 27d

It's lacking the grandparents of all robots, the R.U.R. workers— but they belong to theatre, not film, therefore not within the purview of your poster. I can think of some missing 40s & 50s robots, but they were minor. You did a great job of squeezing together a very impressive collection!

Poster for the film serial THE PHANTOM EMPIRE. It depicts a scene with several people in an advanced laboratory in the underground kingdom. Another scene shows a metal humanoid robot carrying an unconscious man in a futuristic costume. The robot is notable because its head appears to be topped with a metal fedora-style hat with a narrow brim all around. Tagline is "A Nation 20,000 Feet Underground" and the main star was cowboy singer Gene Autry. The Phantom Empire was hidden far beneath Gene's Melody Ranch.

Photo of a boy, holding the control box of a small toy robot about 30 centimeters tall, and a large metal robot over two meters tall. Caption reads "Billy Chapin with remote-controlled robot and friend, from [the movie] TOBOR THE GREAT, 1954."

Photo of Gog and Magog, two many-armed robots built for atomic research, both rolling on tractor treads. Each has a spherical "head" bearing sensors and antennas, a conical "torso" on which the arms are mounted, and a broad undercarriage. From the 1954 science fiction film GOG.

This one's a cyborg. Photo of a young boy standing next to a huge semi-mechanical creature about two and a half meters tall, with wide shoulders. The cyborg wears a cape and loose-fitting clothing making it hard to see its mechanism. But its head is a bald, haunting face with a sad expression and glowing eye-slots. From the 1958 film COLOSSUS OF NEW YORK.

Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey@beamjockey· 28d

1957 AD AGENCY EXEC: Did you finish that slogan for Peter Paul Almond Clusters? COPYWRITER: Sure did! EXEC: Well? COPYWRITER: Get this—"Indescribably Delicious!" EXEC: "Indescribably?" INDESCRIBABLY?? I'm not paying you NOT to describe stuff! Go BACK TO YOUR DESK—and OPEN a damn THESAURUS!!

Image from 1957 TV commercial. It depicts a candy bar, an Almond Cluster produced by candymaker Peter Paul, against a background of twinkling stars. Above the candy bar, the letters of a slogan trace a sweeping curve across the sky, spelling out: "Peter Paul, Indescribably Delicious." Screengrab from a video posted by Youtube user FM1156, entitled "Almond Joy Mound Cluster 1957 TV Commercial HD."

Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey@beamjockey· Jul 12

#Histsci question about Hebrew science circa 550 BCE— Isaiah 55:10-11 begins: Yet just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down And do not return there till they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful, Giving seed to the one who sows and bread to the one who eats, […] 1/n

Photo of a meadow during a thunderstorm. Above, dark clouds in the sky portend rain. On the ground are grasse and other green plants; a path runs through the meadow. There are some low spots in the path where puddles of brown water have already collected, reflecting the nearby grass. An unattributed public domain photo obtained via Wikimedia Commons; it may be found by searching Wikimedia for "field thunderstorm rainy meadow."

Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey@beamjockey· Jul 11

While browsing thumbnail images, I came across a photo labeled "Futuristic Space Shuttle." "Wow," I thought. "It's got ROTOR BLADES! That really IS futuristic!"

Photo of a lifting-body spacceraft, white on top, black under its fuselage and small swept, canted wings, much like the appearance of the larger and more famous Space Shuttle. Seen from the side, it is parked on a runway, perched on the tires of its landing gear. At first glance, it seems to have tandem rotors, rising on masts from its nose and tail. A closer look reveals that there is a large tandem helicopter parked behind it, a Boeing CH-47 Chinook, its rotors spinning. Please forgive my initial mistake, but for a moment, it was an astounding illusion! Found in a Google image search, credited to TikTok.

Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey@beamjockey· Jul 10

I consulted @dsfpspacefl1ght.bsky.social, who confirmed my dawning suspicion that this was NOT McDonnell Douglas art, but originated with NASA Marshall. It was definitely part of the Space Task Group's work, & belonged to their "Integrated Program Plan." See a tiny version in this unsigned painting.

Artist's conception of a busy space program, showing many future vehicles and space station modules in orbit around, or en route to, Earth, Mars, and the Moon. As I said, this originated with a staff artist at Marshall Space Flight Center in 1970, but we don't know the artist's name. Photo: NASA, via space historian David D. S. Portree.

Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey@beamjockey· Jul 9

It cost more than a dollar to buy Louisiana Higgins Boat coins. Which would appear to be a bad deal. My thinking is, how much would you pay the Mint to put your name on a shiny dollar coin? It's well worth 23 cents.

Obverse of Louisiana dollar coin, depicting the Higgins Boat. On a beach, a landing craft has just landed. Most of the boat is in the water, but its bow has opened up, forming a ramp that touches the sand. Soldiers and vehicles can easily exit the boat. Text on the coin reads "United States of America, the Higgins Boat, Louisiana." On the side of the boat is its designation, PA 33-21. It is officially known as a Landing Craft Vehicle, Personnel (LCVP). This particular craft is displayed in the National World War II museum in New Orleans.

Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey@beamjockey· Jul 9

The good folks at Astronautix.com have another view of the same station, identifying it as a McDonnell Douglas proposal, but also without information as to the artist. The number "MSFC-70" on the first illustration is part of a longer string, cropped out.

Painting of a space station proposal, circa 1970. A long silvery or white cylinder has several smaller cylindrical modules attached to it at 90 degree angles. It also sprouts five red masts with antennae. At one end of the main cylinder, two arms project at narrower angles, perhaps 30 degrees, with more modules, and they seem to be tipped with a conical shape resembling a Gemini capsule. The station is seen against a black star-studded sky and over the blue and white earth. In the distance, a triangular space plane of the lifting-body style is approaching the station.

Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey@beamjockey· Jul 9

It was an illustration prepared for the Space Task Group study of future directions for NASA's space program. It says "Space Base" and in the lower right corner, "MSFC-70," which stands for Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. No indication of whose hand painted it. Yet.

Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey@beamjockey· Jul 6

Approximately correct. [You have summoned a #ScienceFiction nerd.] "By His Bootstraps" by Robert A Heinlein appeared in the October, 1941 issue of ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION. Starts on page 9, if you care to read it, or just look at Hubert Rogers's illustrations. archive.org/details/Asto...

Drawing in a magazine. A man sits on the edge of a desk. He is gazing at a sort of glowing circular doorway that has appeared in mid-air. On the other side of the circle are three men, though two of them are drawn in a weirdly indistinct way. Below this picture is the title and author of the story, a blurb, and the first two paragraphs of the tale. The blurb reads "Concerning the man who not only met himself, but stood by while hisself [sic] fought himself!"

Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey@beamjockey· Jul 6

I immediately imagined she must have been like Michelle Pfeiffer singing atop the piano in THE FABULOUS BAKER BOYS. Except, you know, on a TV set.

Photo of woman, microphone in hand, crouching in an almost prone position on the wide, polished black top of a grand piano. Behind her, a man wearing black jacket, white shirt, and black bow tie is seated at the keyboard. She is actress Michelle Pfeiffer. She has pale skin and long blonde hair. She wears a short bright red dress and her shoulders are nearly bare. Her accompanist is one of the Bridges brothers, but I am uncertain whether he is Jeff or Beau. Both star in this 1989 film. Caption reads: “Fabulous Baker Boys — Making Whoopee.”

Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey@beamjockey· Jul 6

Play the JAXA briefing on Youtube for more info (in Japanese) and more images, but here's a screengrab of one #Hayabusa2 asteroid #Torifune image to whet your appetite. HT @elizabethtasker.bsky.social and @michael-w-busch.bsky.social!

Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey@beamjockey· Jul 5

Ah, I found my photo from 5 May 2023. Which will illustrate the triangular, not-very-sweet fruit-laden pastries Panera Bread sells as "Scones." Dr Mrs Beam Jockey learned to make these as a girl, back in Arkansas. My Illinois-bred mom was not a baker of scones.

Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey@beamjockey· Jul 5

I'm seeing CAPRICORN ONE as a missed opportunity.* *Starring, among others, OJ Simpson and a pair of menacing Hughes 500s.

Poster for the film CAPRICORN ONE, showing an astronaut kneeling in desert sand. In the sky, above and behind him, are a red biplane (flown by the good guys) pursued by two dark green helicopters (flown by the bad guys). Above the title is a row of photos with the faces of the five stars, including, second from left, the brown face of former football star, and future accused murderer, O. J. Simpson, who plays one of the fleeing astronauts. Poster copyright 1977 by Warner Brothers Pictures.

Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey@beamjockey· Jul 5

I see it! At the moment antenna DSS 36 is listening to Hayabusa 2 (HYB2).

Diagram indicating current status of the four parabolic dish antennas at the NASA Deep Space Network complex near Canberra in Australia. Antenna DSS 36 is communicating with Hayabusa 2 tonight, while two other dishes are talking to SOHO and Juno. Detail from NASA's DSN Now site.

Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey@beamjockey· Jul 3

The Large Hadron Collider started up one morning in 2008—in the middle of the night at #Fermilab, so we had a livestream pajama party watching the first circulating beam—but it suffered a Big Sneeze a week later. It took over a year to recover from the accident. THEN the #LHC began doing physics.

Bill Higgins (me) standing in Fermilab's Wilson Hall during the LHC Pajama Party in 2008. I wear a plaid bathrobe over pajama trousers decorated with radiation symbols; on my feet are disposable booties, like those worn to avoid contamination in radiation areas. I have pale skin and brown hair. Photo copyright 2008 by William S. Higgins.

Closeup of black pajama trousers decorated with yellow and black radiation symbols and the word "Danger" in red. These are Bill Higgins's legs. On his feet are disposable white booties, or shoe covers, like those worn by workers to avoid contamination in radiation areas. Taken in Fermilab's Wilson Hall during the LHC Pajama Party in 2008. Photo copyright 2008 by William S. Higgins.

Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey@beamjockey· Jul 3

I went to the Google Books scan. Then I googled for "Mattman" and "Maitman" until at last I learned— "At the Controls of an Aircraft of the Future" from May 1932 POPMECH is by C. P. Maltman, a Chicago illustrator. Don't know whether he also painted the cover, which illustrates the same crew.

Detail from illustration on page 734 of the May 1932 issue of POPULAR MECHANICS, showing the artist's signature. It's a bit blurry, but I am reasonably certain it belongs to C. P. Maltman. From Google Books scan of the magazine.

Cover of the May 1932 issue of POPULAR MECHANICS, showing two crewmen in the cockpit of a rocket. They wear oxygen masks and headphones as they grip their controls. They also wear orange tank tops or Y-fronts, displaying their muscles. Uncredited painting, possibly by C. P. Maltman. From Google Books scan of the magazine.

Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey@beamjockey· Jul 2

For the Semiquincentennial, a small piece of United States history: Arkansas became the 25th state on June 15, 1836. Since Arkansas is the home state of someone I love, I'll celebrate by posting here the 25-star flag of our nation. #America250

United States flag, with seven red stripes and six white stripes, thirteen stripes in all, representing the thirteen original states of the Union. in a dark blue rectangle in the upper left-hand corner are twenty-five white five-pointed stars, representing the states as of 1836 after Arkansas joined.

Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey@beamjockey· Jul 1

Seen at a bank, a sign. Photo: A smiling bank employee greeting a pair of customers. Text: PERSONALIZED FINANCIAL PLANNING FROM J.P. MORGAN Meet with an advisor today.. Folks, JP Morgan died in 1913. You could look it up. The smiling lady must be a medium, who will conduct a séance with J.P.

Photo of the bank sign, which I've described in the tweet. Copyright 2026 by William S. Higgins.

Photo of the famous banker J. P. Morgan. He is a bald man with white hair at his temples, dark bushy eyebrows, and a truly magnificent dark mustache beneath a prominent nose. He wears a gray coat and vest, a white collar, and, I think, a cravat with a design of white squiggly curves on it. Photo from U.S. Library of Congress, via Wikimedia Commons.

Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey@beamjockey· Jul 1

Congratulations to @anaklimchy.bsky.social! A favorite story told by Isaac Asimov, resident of Brooklyn, NY, about a conversation with his Russian immigrant father, Judah Asimov:

Image of text. This is item 356 in the book ASIMOV'S TREASURY OF HUMOR (1971). Quoting:

My father, aware of my growing interest in science fiction when I
was in my teens, asked me if I had ever read any books by
Zhoolvehrn.

I stared at him blankly. "Who?"

"Zhoolvehrn," he repeated.

"Never heard of him," I said emphatically.

"He wrote science fiction," said my father in annoyance.
"He wrote about going to the moon and to the center of the earth and, oh
yes, about a man going around the world in eighty days."

That gave it away.

My father had never heard the name pronounced
in anything but the French fashion (as used in Russia). So
I gave it to him English fashion, as modified by Brooklyn.

I said, "Oh, the author you mean is Joolz Voin."

And my father said,

"Who?"

Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey@beamjockey· Jul 1

A book that gave me a new way of looking at everything was THE COMPLEAT PRACTICAL JOKER by H Allen Smith. Which I think you have read. Lucky book-hunters may find the hardcover with the Charles Addams dust jacket.

Cover of the book. A cartoon drawing depicts a gleeful man in the foreground peering through a window. It looks into a bedroom. A very confused man wearing striped pajamas is crawling along the floor. In this room, the bed, dresser, and other furniture have been nailed to the ceiling; a picture on the wall hangs upside down; and a chandelier sprouts from the floor in the center of the room. Presumably the laughing onlooker is the prankster who arranged the upside-down room. Drawing by the late, great Charles Addams, whose drawings inspired the classic TV comedy THE ADDAMS FAMILY.

Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey@beamjockey· Jul 1

Expect, around forty years hence, a light-hearted musical about America's Sestercentennial, replete with Hollywood versions of the quaint costumes of 2026. It will culminate in a visit to the exciting Great American State Fair. And a big production number.

A scene in the family parlor of a nice home, circa 1904. Several people are sitting on chairs or on the floor or standing around the room; furniture has been pulled aside to create a wide space on the carpet. Two people are dancing in this space, a young girl in a pink dress, played by actress Margaret O'Brien, and a young adult woman in a long blue dress, played by Judy Garland. They carry canes and wave straw hats above their heads as they step high and sing with big smiles on their faces. From the 1944 film MEET ME IN SAINT LOUIS, which is about the World's Fair in 1904. Copyright 1944 by MGM.

Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey@beamjockey· Jun 30

This photo was shot July 26, 1976. The white wind screen over the Viking 1 Lander's radioisotope thermoelectric generator was decorated with a US flag. And also a red, white, and blue star-shaped logo. We were celebrating America's Bicentennial on MARS.

The Viking 1 Lander camera view of itself. In the foreground is part of the lander, which I described in the tweet. In the background is an orange-red desert landscape strewn with rocks. Above it is a yellowish-orange sky. NASA public information photo PIA00565. It is also known as Viking 1 Lander picture 76-HC-663.

Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey@beamjockey· Jun 28

Isn't that an amazing fact?

Cover of the magazine AMAZING STORIES with cover date June, 1926, the month Mel Brooks was born. It depicts three people on a raft made of logs, with a mast and sail. They are adrift in a turbulent greenish ocean. The sky background is bright red. They are looking at an enormous green sea serpent, with a snake-like head perhaps two meters long, and a long neck or body rising in a curve above the surface of the sea. Its mouth is open, revealing fangs and vicious teeth. In the right-hand corner, a second reptile pokes its head above water, looking at the raft's crew. Art by the great Frank R. Paul.

Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey@beamjockey· Jun 28

It has just dawned on me that Mel Brooks, famed writer, director, comedian, and actor, is the same age as liquid-fueled rocketry.

Photo of the first liquid propellant rocket, in a snow-covered meadow in March 1926. The rocket is a series of cylinders topped with a cone, about 1.5 meters high. The cone is about 15 centimeters in diameter. The rocket is supported in a much larger skeletal framework of tubes, forming pyramid with a square base. The framework is about 3 meters high, and the base is about 2 meters on a side. Standing next to this assembly is a man wearing a long overcoat, boots, and a broad cap. The cap shadows his eyes, but his dark mustache is apparent. He is Professor Robert Goddard, inventor of the rocket. Photo via NASA.

Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey@beamjockey· Jun 26

I am being a bit unfair to Ascham; in THE SCHOLEMASTER (posthumous, 1570), he precedes that quote with: "These [mathematical] sciences, as they sharpen men’s wits over-much, so the change men’s manners over-sore, if the be not moderately mingled, and wisely applied to some good use of life."

Image of text by Roger Ascham, published in 1570.

I'm afraid it retains 16th-century spelling, so this ALT-text may be of limited usefulness.

Ascham speaks of "XX yeare a go," for example, when today we would write "twenty years ago."

To be honest, there may be a few OCR errors mixed in, as well.

Ascham writes, quote:

Some wittes, moderate enough by nature, be many
tymes marde by ouer moch studie and vse of some
sciences, namelie, Musicke, Arithmetick, and Geo-
metrie.
Thies sciences, as they sharpen mens wittes
ouer moch, so they change mens maners ouer sore, if
they be not moderatlie mingled, and wiselie applied
to som good vse of life.
Marke all Mathematicall
heades, which be onely and wholy bent to those
sciences, how solitarie they be themselues, how vnfit
to liue with others, and how vnapte to serue in the
world.
This is not onelie knowen now by common
experience, but vttered long before by wise mens
Iudgement and sentence. Galene saith, moch Musick
marreth mens maners: and Plato hath à notable
place of the same thing in his bookes de Rep. well
marked also, and excellentlie translated by Tullie
himself. Of this matter, I wrote once more at large,
xX. yeare a go, in my booke of shoting: now I
thought but to touch it, to proue, that ouer moch
quicknes of witte, either giuen by nature, or sharpened
by studie, doth not commonlie bring forth, eyther
greatest learning, best maners, or happiest life in the end.

Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey@beamjockey· Jun 24

Oh, sure. It seems simple NOW. But eventually you're tugging your lever, and as it goes ka-chunk, you begin to think, "You know what would be nice? I could add a valve, with a big wheel that turns!" One thing leads to another. And pretty soon, you end up where THIS guy ended up.