Build Date: Sun Jul 12 15:50:15 2026 UTC
I sorta want to kill you real bad right now.
-- Tjames Madison
What do Computers and Skateboards have in Common?
2001-07-27 00:46:02
They both sprang from the mind of John Mauchly that's what.
A while ago, I received a documentary on inventor John Mauchly. Who is John Mauchly you might ask? Well, according to the documentary MAUCHLY: The Computer and the Skateboard (© 2000 blastoff media), this man is truly one of the fathers of computing.
Co-Directors Paul David and Jim Reed did an admirable job introducing us to John Mauchly and two of his most well known inventions, the ENIAC & UNIVAC computers. The fact that Jim Reed is Mauchly's grandson seemed to give these filmmakers access to people and materials I don't think most others would have. This documentary is told mainly though conversations with those close to the inventor including Mauchly's widow Kay Mauchly (one of the original "women of the ENIAC"), Joe Chapline (friend of Mauchly and writer of the ENIAC/UNIVAC documentation), as well as archive interview footage with John Mauchly himself.
Overall I liked this film and found it quite interesting. There was one editing choice that really nagged me though. The fact that there are a lot of the "audio fade" cuts between different interviewees, where someone voice would be trailing off with an unfinished sentence fading away. I didn't really like that, I found it distracting and thought that "clean audio cuts" would have been better for the film. All the editing was done on a circa 1999 home Macintosh, so I guess I gotta cut editor/director Paul David some slack.
But damn, I really like the subject matter. And for the most part, the filmmakers let the information "sell itself" through the interviewees. They also shied away from other possible distractions like background music or cheesy narration. The somewhat "over the top" WWII era "news reel" near the beginning of the film provides a nice contrast to the rest of the style of the documentary, which is much more subdued and relaxed.
If you get a chance, see this film. With some "cleaning up" and slight re-edits, this would be something you might expect to see on "a good night" of PBS. As it is, you'll have to do a little work to see this film. It's available for rent or purchase via The Cinema Guild and it will also be shown at The Anthology Film Archives in New York City Sept. 29th and 30th. For further information on MAUCHLY: The Computer and the Skateboard, visit the film's website: http://www.blastoffmedia.com/mauchly/
T O P S T O R I E S
America's National Recording Registry Inducts Culturally Significant Artist - Weezer!
America's Library of Congress calls them "defining sounds of history and culture" and "audio treasures worthy of preservation for all time based on their cultural, historical or aesthetic importance in the nation’s recorded sound heritage." Ladies and gentlemen, I give you... Weezer! (More...)
The Crossroads are real and The Blues is a place; The enduring myth of Robert Johnson (More...)
California Glory Hole attracts huge crowds
A glory hole at Napa's Lake Berryessa is drawing huge crowds. According to Chris Lee, the general manager for the Solano County Water Agency, the glory hole hasn't been active since 2019, and only restarted operations on Feb 4. (More...)
Republican State Senator busted after soliciting a teenage girl
Republican State Senator Justin Eichorn of Minnesota was arrested for soliciting a teen girl on Monday just hours after he introduced a bill proposing "Trump derangement syndrome" (TDS) as a form of mental illness. (More...)
Parents claim measles is not that bad after having only one child die
The parents of a Texas girl who died from the measles are defending their decision not to vaccinate their daughter. "She says they would still say 'Don't do the shots,'" an unidentified translator for the parents said. "They think it’s not as bad as the media is making it out to be." (More...)
Delusional rich man tries to fire town staff
"I'm mayor now" said write-in mayoral candidate and founder of Pirate’s Booty Snacks Robert Ehrlich after losing the election for Mayor of Sea Cliff, NY. Then he tried to take over the Village Hall and fire everyone. (More...)
C L A S S I C P I G D O G
The Liquidation of Hobo Junction
Albany, CA's homeless hooverville by the Bay, "Hobo Junction," is going to be torn down by The Man. Entrances are already being blocked off, and it's now difficult and dangerous to get there. Worse, these obstacles are making it hard to get to the nearby HORSE TRACK on foot. Local historian, Pao Tzu, has an overview of situation. (More...)
Johnnie Royale's Guide to Wakes
Wakes can present problems for Bad People of the Future. (If you don't know what a BPotF is, you need to read more of the PDJ.) Sure, your friend is gone and you miss him and that really sucks; it does, I know. But all Bad People of the Future are gonna die, and they have all accepted that fact. They do deserve, however, to have one final kickass party to celebrate all the bad things they've done in the past, present and future. And you, as a friend, have to make sure that their desire for a final send off is well executed (sorry for the pun). That's just the way of BPotFdom. (More...)
About 14 years ago when I was on a road trip and stopped in Seattle, I was invited to a party. At this party there were these little tiny glasses sitting in a flat-bottomed bowl of ice. Thin cylinders about an inch in diameter and 4 inches tall, with thick glass at the bottom. Into these were poured frozen AKVAVIT... also known as the water of life. (More...)
Suru and I were at the local supermarket recently when we found ourselves in the booze isle, surrounded by rum. Banana rum, coconut rum, vanilla rum, unfiltered run, Jamaican rum, rum, rum, and more rum. We bought one of each and started experimenting... (More...)
Skunk School -- Learn Why Not To Keep Skunks As Pets
There is an alarming trend in pet purchasing habits this fall. People inspired by the WWII film, "Life is Beautiful" -- the one with that annoying Italian guy -- are buying descented skunks by the millions. (More...)
During a magnificent sunny day in a fast receding autumn, the Spock Science Monitor reporters once again blew the playa dust off of their computers and covered the 2002 Burning Man Decompression – held every year just east of Portola Hill in beautiful San Francisco. Both an afternoon and evening issues were released to the unsuspecting crowd of freaks attempting to in some small way experience the euphoria of the playa – if but for a brief afternoon far from the desolation of Northern Nevada. (More...)
