Time travel Tuesday #timetravel a look back at the Adafruit, maker, science, technology and engineering world

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Time does not exist. It is simply an illusion of our mind created by our own biological and cultural evolution. ~David Lewis Anderson


1917 – Jeannette Rankin of Montana becomes the first female member of the United States House of Representatives.

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Jeannette Pickering Rankin was the first woman in the United States Congress, elected in Montana in 1916 and again in 1940. After being elected in 1916 she said, “I may be the first woman member of Congress but I won’t be the last.”

A lifelong pacifist, she was one of fifty members of Congress who voted against entry into World War I in 1917, and the only member of Congress who voted against declaring war on Japan after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.

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1918 – The USS Cyclops departs from Barbados and is never seen again, presumably lost with all hands in the Bermuda Triangle.

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USS Cyclops (AC-4) was one of four Proteus-class colliers built for the United States Navy several years before World War I. Named for the Cyclops, a primordial race of giants from Greek mythology, she was the second U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name. The loss of the ship and 306 crew and passengers without a trace within the area known as the Bermuda Triangle some time after 4 March 1918 remains the single largest loss of life in U.S. Naval history not directly involving combat. As it was wartime, there was speculation she was captured or sunk by a German raider or submarine, because she was carrying 10,800 long tons (11,000 t) of manganese ore used to produce munitions, but German authorities at the time, and subsequently, denied any knowledge of the vessel. The Naval History & Heritage Command has stated she “probably sank in an unexpected storm” but the cause is unknown…

In addition, two of Cyclops’s sister ships, Proteus and Nereus were subsequently lost in the North Atlantic during World War II. Both ships were transporting heavy loads of metallic ore similar to that which was loaded on Cyclops during her fatal voyage…

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1923 – Patrick Moore, English amateur astronomer, is born.

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Sir Patrick Alfred Caldwell-Moore CBE, FRS, FRAS was an English amateur astronomer who attained prominent status in that field as a writer, researcher, radio commentator and television presenter.

Moore was president of the British Astronomical Association, co-founder and president of the Society for Popular Astronomy (SPA), author of over 70 books on astronomy, and presenter of the world’s longest-running television series with the same original presenter, the BBC’s The Sky at Night. As an amateur astronomer, he became known as a specialist in Moon observation and for creating the Caldwell catalogue. Idiosyncrasies such as his rapid diction and monocle made him a popular and instantly recognisable figure on British television.

Moore was also a self-taught xylophone, glockenspiel player and pianist, as well as an accomplished composer. He was a former amateur cricketer, golfer and chess player. In addition to many popular science books, he wrote numerous works of fiction. Moore was an opponent of fox hunting, an outspoken critic of the European Union, supporter of the UK Independence Party and served as chairman of the short-lived anti-immigration United Country Party. He served in the Royal Air Force during World War II; his fiancée was killed by a bomb during the war and he never married or had children.

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1932 – First Flight of the Hindenburg.

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LZ 129 Hindenburg was a large German commercial passenger-carrying rigid airship, the lead ship of the Hindenburg class, the longest class of flying machine and the largest airship by envelope volume. It was designed and built by the Zeppelin Company on the shores of Lake Constance in Friedrichshafen and was operated by the German Zeppelin Airline Company. The airship flew from March 1936 until destroyed by fire 14 months later on May 6, 1937, at the end of the first North American transatlantic journey of its second season of service. Thirty-six people died in the accident, which occurred while landing at Lakehurst Naval Air Station in Manchester Township, New Jersey, United States.

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2010 – Google Code Blog: Google PowerMeter API introduced for device manufacturers

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Google Code Blog: Google PowerMeter API introduced for device manufacturers – looks like the Google PowerMeter will finally work with the very popular Tweet-a-Watt we sell. Now we’ll just need to wait for someone to glue it all together and post some code 🙂

Today we’re excited to introduce the Google PowerMeter API on code.google.com, for developers interested in integrating with Google PowerMeter. This API will allow device manufacturers to build home energy monitoring devices that work with Google PowerMeter. We’re launching this API in order to help build the ecosystem of innovative developers working towards making energy information more widely available to consumers.

In today’s launch of the API on code.google.com we are highlighting the core design principles towards integrating with Google PowerMeter. In particular we outline the underlying data model and the accompanying protocols to ensure that Google PowerMeter provides consumers access to their energy consumption with utmost care in maintaining the user’s privacy and control on access to the information. We also highlight, with code samples and client implementations, how to easily start building your PowerMeter-compatible device.

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2011 – Adafruit welcomes Dr. Kristen Stubbs as a guest blogger!

Greetings! When I visited Adafruit a couple of weeks ago to tape an “Ask an Engineer” about the iRobot Create, Phil and Ladyada generously invited me to do some guest blogging.

I’m excited to have the opportunity to talk with you about the cool stuff that’s going on in the world of educational robotics. As the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Outreach Program Manager at iRobot, it’s my job — I run iRobot SPARK, our educational outreach initiative.

When I was little, I was pretty sure I was going to grow up to be either a librarian, an actress or the President. I finally decided in high school that of all the things I spent my time doing, I loved working with computers the most. I earned my undergraduate degree in Computer Science with a minor in Anthropology followed by my Master’s and Ph.D. in Robotics from Carnegie Mellon University. I’ve worked on projects ranging from robots that roam the desert to Mars rovers in miniature. Some of you might have seen the marriage proposal my husband wrote me in Perl (either the code or the comic strip version).

It’s nice to meet you all, and thanks again to Phil and Ladyada for having me! I look forward to sharing more about what I’m up to at iRobot and news about other awesome robotics programs.

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CircuitPython – The easiest way to program microcontrollers – CircuitPython.org


Maker Business — “Packaging” chips in the US

Wearables — Enclosures help fight body humidity in costumes

Electronics — Transformers: More than meets the eye!

Python for Microcontrollers — Python on Microcontrollers Newsletter: Silicon Labs introduces CircuitPython support, and more! #CircuitPython #Python #micropython @ThePSF @Raspberry_Pi

Adafruit IoT Monthly — Guardian Robot, Weather-wise Umbrella Stand, and more!

Microsoft MakeCode — MakeCode Thank You!

EYE on NPI — Maxim’s Himalaya uSLIC Step-Down Power Module #EyeOnNPI @maximintegrated @digikey

New Products – Adafruit Industries – Makers, hackers, artists, designers and engineers! — #NewProds 7/19/23 Feat. Adafruit Matrix Portal S3 CircuitPython Powered Internet Display!

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