MetaFilter posts tagged with baltimore

Rocket to Venus (because Mars was too far, and the Moon was burnt out)

filthy light thief — Fri, 03 May 2013 08:31:11 -0800

In 1928, the Ohio-born inventor Robert Condit wanted to make a pioneering flight like Charles Lindberg the year before. But instead of traveling around a portion of the earth, he wanted to leave it entirely. Destination: Venus. Condit had built a rocket of sorts, and planned to launch from Florida in March, but postponed due to imperfect atmospheric conditions. Between then and August, he made his way to Baltmore, where he worked with the brothers Sterling and Harry B. Uhler to make or modify his space craft. Harry remembered their efforts well, recounting the events leading up to an actual attempt to launch the craft (PDF with photos), made of varnished sailcloth, wrapped around a structure of angle iron ribs, bolted into shape. They had latched onto the rocket craze, of which Fritz von Opel was a prominent proponent. "Rocket Fritz" had successfully tested solid-fuel rocket-powered cars in March and May of 1928, with the second test car (German narration) reaching a speed of 230 km/h (143 mph). Von Opel made some versions of a rocket-boosted train, though these did not fare well, but the later rocket-powered glider was a moderate success (German narration). More on Von Opel rocketry, with English narration. Condit and the Uhler brothers had big ideas, but not a whole lot of planning. Though their rocket design looked impressive (scroll down to "Venus Rocket"), their knowledge of space travel was limited, and their understanding of Venus was far from adequate, much like the rest of the world. A few years earlier, Robert Goddard had published a theoretical treatise, A Method of Reaching Extreme Altitudes (PDF), which was mocked in an editorial of the New York Times (but a "correction" was posted three days before Neil Armstrong walked on the moon), and Goddard "refuted some popular fallacies", seen there in a Google books view of the Scientific American article. Goddard had also built the world's first liquid-fueled rocket, which could have been some vague inspiration for the gasoline-fueled craft built by Condit and the brothers Uhler. As for Venus, the planet was assumed to be earth-like, due to it's size and orbital radius being similar to earth. It wasn't until the 1958 study of Venus by microwave, which indicated that the planet was up to 600 K, contrary to science fiction of the time, which was based on optical observations of Venus. Still, Condit's dream sparked the imagination, seen there in a scan and transcription of a two-page spread in Modern Mechanics. After the failure of the Baltimore launch, Harry B. Uhler wrote

That test firing showed us we couldn't get a ship into space without helping it along with a booster rocket, and we estimated that would cost another $10,000 at least. So we gave it up. Our wives were against the whole deal, anyway. Condit came back in a few weeks, loaded the rocket on a truck, and hauled it off to Florida. I never saw him again, but I expect he did real well for himself somewhere. He was a mathematical genius.

According to the grandson of Robert Condit's brother, after gathering investors money, Condit blasted off in a stolen mail truck to California. There, his internet trail seems to fade out. If all this gets you dreaming for the stars, you can start by reading It's ONLY Rocket Science: An Introduction in Plain English (Google books preview), from Dr. Lucy Rogers.

Baltimore Jail

josher71 — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 07:57:58 -0800

Federal prosecutors said Tuesday that 13 female corrections officers, seven inmates and five others with gang ties have been charged with plotting to smuggle drugs, cellphones and other contraband into Baltimore’s jail and other correctional facilities. According to an indictment, the ring involved sex between inmates and guards that led to four of the officers becoming pregnant, one of them twice, by Tavon White, leader of a gang called the Black Guerrilla Family.

"Legal advocate for the injured, disabled, and urinated upon"

josher71 — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 12:06:56 -0800

Barry Glazer is a legend in the world of local Baltimore commercials. He is the "Legal advocate for the injured, disabled, and urinated upon" All of his commercials can be found here. (WARNING EMBEDDED WMV) More Barry. And More.

Jim Hall / Blue Comma

vegartanipla — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 02:45:18 -0800

The second most tattooed man in the world. Jim Hall, a retired Baltimore city planner, very articulately discusses in this article and associated video how he has tattooed and modified himself into a work of art and personal sexual fantasy he calls Blue Comma.

Yo is a Pronoun, yo.

Mister_A — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 13:13:00 -0800

Check out yo down in Baltimore enriching American English.

Passage Through Baltimore

Marisa Stole the Precious Thing — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 10:22:17 -0800

"Baltimore had always been seen as an explosive city, hypersensitive to the shifting currents of politics. The present crisis was no exception. While most Baltimoreans felt that Lincoln should keep his hands off the South, there was also a smaller contingent of Confederate zealots there who were more than willing to go to war over it. Sending Northern troops through their hometown was like putting a lit match to a powder keg."

The Baltimore Riot of 1861, also known as the Pratt Street Riots, underline Maryland's complex and often tragic part in the US Civil War. Maryland was a slave state: census records from 1860 count just over 87,000 slaves and just under 600,000 free men in that state. At the same time, Maryland's geographical position compelled Lincoln to maintain a military presence throughout the state, with such results as: "Assembling the [US Colored Troops] began at Camp Stanton in Benedict, Maryland (Charles County). While black troops trained at Benedict, there were still thousands of slaves living in the area surrounding the Camp." But Lincoln was hugely unpopular in Maryland, getting only 2.5% of the popular vote in that state in the previous elections. Tensions came to a head when the Sixth Massachusetts Militia got off their train at Bolton Street, in Baltimore, April 19, 1861, and were met by an angry mob. When all was said and done, 16 were dead, at least 36 soldiers and unknown numbers of rioters were injured, and both the city and state were taken under the administration of the US military. James Randall, living in Louisiana at the time of the riots, was a Confederate supporter who became inspired by the event, and penned a poem encouraging Maryland to fight the Union. Entitled "Maryland, My Maryland", it was made the state song in 1939.

Building a Better Land/Water/Mud Artmobile

MonkeyToes — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 05:47:55 -0800

How to Build a Kinetic Sculpture: "The original idea was actually to call these next few paragraphs “How to build.” How silly! That would be like declaring “Everything A Man Should Know About Women.” It would be impossible, and still wrong half the time. One of the attractions of this sport is precisely that there are infinite ways of doing most everything. So what we have here are hints and notes, thoughts and ideas—to be revised and added to as experience dictates." Previously. In addition, the American Visionary Art Museum's 15th Annual Kinetic Sculpture Race, to be held in Baltimore, Maryland, is coming up! Photos from last year's race.

FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!

josher71 — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 15:19:09 -0800

An article in the Washington Post (featuring MeFi's own Sonascope!) about a visit to Baltimore has the Charm City locals seething. Some in the capitol don't think much of it either.

No TP needed

ericbop — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 09:09:42 -0800

The Baltimore Ravens may be Super Bowl underdogs, but they can probably beat you at cornhole.

What's the shape of a falling raindrop?

jessamyn — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 19:17:39 -0800

"When you run molten lead through a sieve and let it fall into a water tank far below, surface tension forms the lead drops into almost perfect spheres." The first purpose-built shot tower was built by William Watts of Bristol, UK, in 1782. America built its first shot tower in Philadelphia in 1808. The tallest shot tower ever built (but not the first in Australia) still stands in the center of Melbourne though now underneath a glass roof. As less costly methods of making shot were discovered these towers closed up shop, some not until the late sixties. Many of these towers have found new purposes as historical sites, art galleries or simply mysterious links to the past. Read more about how we got buckshot - Up a Shot Tower from Strand Magazine, 1891 - Gravity Molds Shot in a Modern Tower from Popular Science, 1944 - discussion of the manufacturing process (pdf) from Shotpeener magazine - History of Baltimore's Phoenix Shot Tower, the tallest building in the US until the Washington Monument was built - A paper on Baltimore's shot tower, from 1924 with a poem and illustrations - The Ghost of New York, a story about Youle's Shot Tower, built in the early 1800's in Manhattan - other shot tower links & shot nerd discussions & shot tower math

All in the game

Artw — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 08:18:27 -0800

Donnie Andrews, the basis for Omar in The Wire, dies age 58.

Wildout Wheelie BOYZ

ennui.bz — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 15:41:43 -0800

BALTIMORE ALLSTARZ LOST TAPES WILDOUT WHEELIE BOYZ [mlyt, nsfw: rap music]

Mister nice guy

Blazecock Pileon — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 14:00:20 -0800

Mister nice guy - As a cartoonist, Tim Kreider seemed to loathe almost everybody. His essays tell a different story.

Confessions of a food stamp foodie.

Nomyte — Sat, 20 Oct 2012 19:44:38 -0800

I explained that, for a variety of reasons — including feeding my boys the most nutritious food available, supporting local farmers, and reducing the carbon miles our food inflicted on the environment — I tried to buy our food locally and organically. She looked at me as if I’d just told her I believed in Santa Claus and, with a poorly disguised smirk, said, "Honey, those days are over."

In 2009, Michelle Gienow came close to having to feed her family sustainable, organic, local, and ethically produced (SOLE) food on a food stamp budget. She documented her budget calculations in the pages of the City Paper, Baltimore's alternative weekly. This year Ms. Gienow's financial situation really did call for financial assistance — and she found that her calculations were too optimistic.

Why not?

escabeche — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 21:01:55 -0800

Their last winning season came in 1997. Only one member of their Opening Day starting rotation remains, a 27-year-old from Taiwan who hadn't pitched in the majors before this year. The others have been replaced by a Red Sox cast-off picked up from the Mexican League, an ex-prospect with a career ERA of 5.5 in his first three years, and the son of one of their former pitchers, a throw-in in a 2009 trade with the Dodgers. They have only one regular hitting over .270, they're missing two-thirds of their Opening Day outfield, and their 20-year-old third baseman started the year at AA. Nate Silver's PECOTA projection system reckoned they'd finish in last place, 24 games behind the Yankees. And tomorrow night, the Baltimore Orioles will play their first postseason game in 15 years. Only one current Oriole played in that game; and it was veteran Jim Thome, playing for the other team. Longtime Birds fans remember the last time the Orioles contended deep into the season after years of futility, and hope the story has a happier ending in 2012. Tomorrow's opponent is the two-time defending AL champion Texas Rangers, who in 2007 delivered the Orioles the most brutal pasting in modern baseball history. It's a battle between an overachieving and very lucky underdog versus an ultratalented team that can't seem to get all the way to a title. A team owned by a Democratic superPAC million-dollar donor versus a team once partially owned by George W. Bush. Baltimore at Texas, 8:30 EST start. This is wild card baseball! This is Orioles Magic!

Man, I don't know where we at

rewil — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 06:47:14 -0800

When the works of David Simon were translated to television, the job of portraying 15-year-old DeAndre McCullough from "The Corner" was given to Sean Nelson. DeAndre himself, then 23, appeared on screen in a cameo as an officer and in a non-fiction discussion at the end of the miniseries. Later, in the world of "The Wire," DeAndre returned as the bodyguard of Brother Mouzone.

David Simon: "He enjoyed acting, and showed some poise, but the jobs that offered the chance at a real career — the behind-the-camera production work, the path to union wages and benefits — those couldn’t hold him."

DeAndre McCullough was found dead on Wednesday in Baltimore. He was 35.

Smile, You're On Camera

veedubya — Fri, 18 May 2012 02:42:56 -0800

As police departments around the country are increasingly caught up in tussles with members of the public who record their activities, the U.S. Justice Department has come out with a strong statement supporting the First Amendment right of individuals to record police officers in the public discharge of their duties.
In a surprising letter sent on Monday to attorneys for the Baltimore Police Department, the Justice Department also strongly asserted that officers who seize and destroy such recordings without a warrant or without due process are in strict violation of the individual’s Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights.

Am I William Woods? Well...who's asking?

broadway bill — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 16:38:33 -0800

Billy Woods is quietly making the best rap music around. Hailing from Zimbabwe/Jamaica/Brooklyn/Washington DC, Billy Woods has a unique style and outlook that is truly international. Working within his Backwoodz Studios camp, Woods has released several albums over the last 10 or so years, both as a solo artist and a group member. Known for such diverse qualities as witty references to professional and collegiate sports, his strong critique of the current state of hip hop and pop culture, Woods truly has something to offer anyone who feels like listening (even the occasional love song!). Most Woods listeners first heard him as part of the slept-on but incredible group Super Chron Flight Bros, where he joined former partner Priviledge for a round of great releases. During their run, Super Chron contributed to great music, interviews, and analysis (overwrought analysis warning!). Following the demise of Super Chron, Woods struck out on his own. Working regularly with Vordul Mega of Cannibal Ox fame, Woods began to establish himself as a unique voice in rap. Woods and Vordul released several collaborative projects, and along the way Woods built up an impressive catalog of songs. In 2011, Billy and his Backwoodz brothers dropped a best-of for Woods titled Cowardly Threats and Hideous Cruelty. This project marked the start of Woods career as a truly solo artist, and served as a promotional tool for his 2012 release. The best-of mix showcases Woods doing what he does best: rapping about Africa, DC/Baltimore, international politics, and marijuana. Last week, Backwoodz released Woods' new album, History Will Absolve Me. Featuring a photograph of controversial Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe framed by Castro's infamous quote, anyone checking the album out knows they're in for something different before the first track even starts. Highlights from History Will Absolve Me: Duck Hunt (attacking current rap trends) Headband (great track, awesome video carrying on Woods' tradition of not showing his face) The Wake (a powerful and gorgeous song. If you only listen to one song from Woods, make it this one.)

Good thing he didn't hack that box open with a carpet knife!

Quietgal — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 13:20:53 -0800

In 2007, a 15th-century illuminated manuscript returned to the George Peabody Library in Baltimore after going missing over 40 years ago. Anonymously, in a small cardboard box sent by media mail which probably added a few months' worth of overdue fees right there. The book had been lost for so long, librarians didn't even realize it originally came from their collection until a graduate student got interested in it.

Old Photos of Baltimore

josher71 — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 09:20:36 -0800

A huge collection of old photos of Baltimore, MD USA.

"We recommend that W&WW perform actual meter readings and bill customers based on those actual meter readings..."

Philosopher Dirtbike — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 10:29:06 -0800

Linda Stewart has a mission. After discovering discrepancies in the water billing for two of her Baltimore properties, Linda Stewart, also known as "WaterBillWoman", began to look more closely at billing across the whole city. According to the Baltimore Sun: "This week, the city released an audit that showed that 92 percent of water customers reviewed were overbilled — and most of the homes studied in the audit have received no credits for the excessive charges. Baltimore's Department of Public Works plans to issue more than $4.2 million in water bill refunds...For Stewart, the revelations served as a vindication." Says Stewart: "I started looking into it, and I saw that everybody's getting incorrect water bills, and the city is just letting them pay. I haven't stopped because I see people losing their homes over incorrect water bills." The summary and full audit [pdf] are available from the City Comptroller's website. From the summary: "Numerous customers had received consecutive quarterly bills that were based on estimated usage rather than actual water meter readings. Many of those customers had received consecutive quarterly estimated billings for as much as 4½ years. According to a report that we obtained from MOIT as of November 10, 2010, there were 18,266 metered water accounts, out of approximately 411,000 active accounts, with at least four consecutive estimated quarterly billings (8,480 with four consecutive estimated quarterly billings; 2,991 with eight consecutive estimated quarterly billings; 4,117 with twelve consecutive estimated quarterly billings; and 2,678 with eighteen consecutive estimated quarterly billings). We recommend that W&WW perform actual meter readings and bill customers based on those actual meter readings in accordance with Article 24, § 1-2(b) of the Baltimore City Code... "

ReWired

modernnomad — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:15:37 -0800

After the Wire, actress Sonja Sohn couldn’t leave Baltimore’s troubled streets behind.

Oyster Wars

spaltavian — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 18:22:57 -0800

"A Maryland boat was sent to the bottom by the Virginian navy, and a long contest was the result..." Hostility between Maryland and Virginia began the moment Maryland was created in 1632. Virginia objected to the Catholic nature of the new colony, as well as the unusual border which gave Lord Baltimore's colony ownership of all the Potomac River. Disputed maritime borders lead to conflict over the prized oyster, and naval confrontation on the Chesapeake became common. Maryland eventually created an Oyster Navy, which was charged with bringing order to the Bay and enforcing harvesting laws against the oyster pirates. The "Oyster Wars" were frequently violent. Antipathy between the two states continues today, with reoccurring disputes over natural resource use and environmental regulation. In 2003, the neighbors went to the US Supreme Court over Virginia's plan to place a water intake pipe in the Potomac. And while anti-Catholic sentiment is no longer a source of conflict, competition and one-upmanship still frame trans-Potomac relations.

GPS Artwork in Southeast Baltimore

netbros — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 18:12:47 -0800

GPX riding is a general term for using a GPS device to track and record location while riding a bicycle [previously on MetaFilter]. Combining this technology with a planned effort to create art is the premise behind Wallygpx. Think of the images as being akin to a giant etch-a-sketch.

Mapping Baltimore's Addiction

josher71 — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 08:03:16 -0800

On the Trail of Addiction (Baltimore)