ham

Pilgrimage to the grave of Ham the Astrochimp

ALAMOGORDO, N.M.--A flat plaque in cement on the ground in front of the flagpoles at the New Mexico Museum of Space History marks the final resting place for Ham the Astrochimp. I've brought flowers to spruce the place up a little bit, but it still looks very plain. This isn't quite what I expected. I thought the grave of a space pioneer might have a little more flair.

Earning a real name Ham's name is an acronym for "Holloman Aeromedical," the lab where he and other space chimps were trained. He didn't earn a real name until he successfully returned from orbit. Before that, he was Chimp Number 65.… Read more

Car Tech Live 203: Get ready to get plugged-in

In this episode, Toyota gets exonerated, Hummer owners pretend their cars are electric, and do you wear your seatbelts?

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) Subscribe with RSS (video) EPISODE 203 SHOW NOTES

• Toyota electronics not at fault for unintended acceleration

• Hummer owner claims $7,500 EV tax credit

• PNDs get into the backup camera business

• Thumping systems SAFE FOR NOW in Hawaii...

• Maybe a jump ball story: Rear seat belts: Do you wear them? How about seat belts in a cab?

Buzz Out Loud 903: Moons over my HAM radio

While we inadvertently promote a chain restaurant's free luncheon, we also talk a lot about space. Which annoys Brian Cooley to no end. We talk about Google Mars, and contacting the ISS and the NASA-sponsored Singularity university. But he gets his revenge when he announces the retirement of the inventor of the BMW-butt.

Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 903

Google Earth adds Mars roving http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-10154741-52.html

Google privacy counsel facing criminal charges http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09%2F02%2F02%2F2337207 https://www.privacyassociation.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1745&Itemid=228… Read more

Recycling the radio waves

Yesterday, the FCC voted to apply new "Open Platform" rules to a chunk of the radio spectrum in the 700 MHz band, which is being vacated by UHF TV stations. CNET published a good summary of the situation here.

The chunk in question is just 22 MHz wide. Although the details of how this spectrum will be used are up to the winner of the eventual FCC auction, here are a couple of points of comparison. (These numbers could be off; I don't have all the technical details of the new band plan, just the summary from … Read more