They all laughed at Gary Hudson
Stray.Mk.2
_They All Laughed at Christopher Columbus_, set to be published in
October this year...it's a biography of Gary Hudson. Just thought you
all might be interested.
Btw, does anyone know what he's been doing, post-Rotary Rocket?
George
(To email me, replace SPAMSHIELD.NOSPAM with mail.serve.)
--
The word _bipartisan_ usually means some larger-than-usual
deception is being carried out.
- George Carlin
Scott Lowther
>
> While browsing Amazon.com the other day, I came across a book called
> _They All Laughed at Christopher Columbus_, set to be published in
> October this year...it's a biography of Gary Hudson. Just thought you
> all might be interested.
I've got an advance reading copy (three cheers for E-bay... even still
has the "not for resale" sticker on it). Haven't had a chance to read
it, but I was disappointed to see no illustrations apart from a few
rather scribbly sketches. No photos of the man himself; no art of
Phoenix, Roton, et al.; no technical drawings, nada. Oh, well. Perhaps
the "real" release will have some good figures, I dunno.
--
Scott Lowther, Engineer
GCHudson
I would not call it a biography of me. Also, it is not a technical history of
Rotary, or for that matter a business history. It is one reporter's
nontechnical, nonbusiness view of about ten of the seventy people who were
involved in the effort, mostly some of the younger techs and engineers at
Mojave.
Originally it was to be called "Unreasonable Men" (as in "all progress comes
from unreasonable men") but the publisher decided upon the current title.
That's probably commentary enough, for my part.
Gary C Hudson
Scott Lowther
> Originally it was to be called "Unreasonable Men" (as in "all progress comes
> from unreasonable men") but the publisher decided upon the current title.
I think the original title would be better, in that the current one
seems a little grating. "They all laughed at Columbus..." they who? This
seems to be based on the false belief that a lot of people have today
that everyone in Columbus' day thought the Earth was flat - they didn't.
Anyone who laughed at Columbus would have done so based on Columbus'
view that Asia was just a few thousand miles across the Atlantic -
because Columbus did the math wrong and thought the Earth was
substantially smaller than it really was. They laughed because Columbus
was, in fact, wrong.
Next time on the Anal Engineer's Bitch-O-Rama: why I despise the the use
of "quantum leap" to describe a major advance...
--
Scott Lowther, Engineer
Derek Lyons
>GCHudson wrote:
>
>> Originally it was to be called "Unreasonable Men" (as in "all progress comes
>> from unreasonable men") but the publisher decided upon the current title.
>
>I think the original title would be better, in that the current one
>seems a little grating. "They all laughed at Columbus..." they who?
They also laughed at Bozo the Clown...
D.
Jim Davis
>>> Originally it was to be called "Unreasonable Men" (as in
>>> "all progress comes from unreasonable men") but the
>>> publisher decided upon the current title.
>>
>>I think the original title would be better, in that the
>>current one seems a little grating. "They all laughed at
>>Columbus..." they who?
>
> They also laughed at Bozo the Clown...
They also laughed at Brad Guth.
Jim Davis
Mike Speegle
"They" being the Molemen of NASA? ;-)
--
Mike
________________________________________________________
"Colorado Ski Country, USA" Come often. Ski hard.
Spend *lots* of money. Then leave as quickly as you can.
"Never presume for whom the net trolls; it trolls for thee." - Heck
pat
"Derek Lyons" <el...@hurricane.net> wrote in message
news:3d6b6f2b...@supernews.seanet.com...
That's probably unfair.
I'm sure people laughed at Brunel when the Great Western ran into trouble,
and Quite a few eccentric inventors get laughed at.
I don't think Gary is going for laughs. The jury is out on his achievements.
Greg D. Moore (Strider)
"Jim Davis" <jimd...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:Xns9276882BCF3B6ji...@130.133.1.4...
> Derek Lyons wrote:
>
>
> They also laughed at Brad Guth.
Laughed implies past tense and that they stopped.
>
> Jim Davis
pete
` GCHudson wrote:
`
`> Originally it was to be called "Unreasonable Men" (as in "all progress comes
`> from unreasonable men") but the publisher decided upon the current title.
`
` I think the original title would be better, in that the current one
` seems a little grating. "They all laughed at Columbus..." they who? This
` seems to be based on the false belief that a lot of people have today
` that everyone in Columbus' day thought the Earth was flat - they didn't.
It's the first line from an old "standard" - Gershwins or Porter -
probably reflects the cultural background of the publisher, and
you've demonstrated he/she is out of date in thinking it a
recognizable pop reference.
` Anyone who laughed at Columbus would have done so based on Columbus'
` view that Asia was just a few thousand miles across the Atlantic -
` because Columbus did the math wrong and thought the Earth was
` substantially smaller than it really was. They laughed because Columbus
` was, in fact, wrong.
`
` Next time on the Anal Engineer's Bitch-O-Rama: why I despise the the use
` of "quantum leap" to describe a major advance...
`
--
==========================================================================
vincent@triumf[munge].ca Pete Vincent
Disclaimer: all I know I learned from reading Usenet.
Scott Lowther
> ` I think the original title would be better, in that the current one
> ` seems a little grating. "They all laughed at Columbus..." they who? This
> ` seems to be based on the false belief that a lot of people have today
> ` that everyone in Columbus' day thought the Earth was flat - they didn't.
>
> It's the first line from an old "standard" - Gershwins or Porter -
> probably reflects the cultural background of the publisher, and
> you've demonstrated he/she is out of date in thinking it a
> recognizable pop reference.
Indeed. Gershwin? Porter? Geez. Maybe a good Shakespeare line, but who
the hell uses something like that? I'm just glad the sales blurbs on the
back don't include "23 skidoo" or something.
--
Scott Lowther, Engineer
Derek Lyons
>
>"Derek Lyons" <el...@hurricane.net> wrote in message
>news:3d6b6f2b...@supernews.seanet.com...
>> Scott Lowther <lex...@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
>>
>> >GCHudson wrote:
>> >
>> >Originally it was to be called "Unreasonable Men" (as in "all progress
>> >comes from unreasonable men") but the publisher decided upon the current
>> >title.
>> >
>> >I think the original title would be better, in that the current one
>> >seems a little grating. "They all laughed at Columbus..." they who?
>>
>> They also laughed at Bozo the Clown...
>>
>> D.
>
>That's probably unfair.
Maybe, maybe. History will be the judge, and enough water has yet to
flow under the bridge.
>I'm sure people laughed at Brunel when the Great Western ran into trouble,
>and Quite a few eccentric inventors get laughed at.
Yep. Any many outright loons (which Gary is not, don't misconstrue me
here) are laughed at as well. The problem is that many folks remember
the minority (of valid theories/inventors) that were laughed at, and
forget they majority that were laughed at and not borne out by
subsequent validation. From this arises the assumption that the act
of being laughed at constitues that validation.
D.
pat
> "pat" <ba...@tgv-rockets.com> wrote:
>
> >
> >"Derek Lyons" <el...@hurricane.net> wrote in message
> >news:3d6b6f2b...@supernews.seanet.com...
> >> Scott Lowther <lex...@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
> >> >I think the original title would be better, in that the current one
> >> >seems a little grating. "They all laughed at Columbus..." they who?
> >>
> >> They also laughed at Bozo the Clown...
> >>
> >> D.
> >
> >That's probably unfair.
>
> Maybe, maybe. History will be the judge, and enough water has yet to
> flow under the bridge.
Some things can be judged, and track record is track record.
>
> >I'm sure people laughed at Brunel when the Great Western ran into
trouble,
> >and Quite a few eccentric inventors get laughed at.
>
> Yep. Any many outright loons (which Gary is not, don't misconstrue me
> here) are laughed at as well. The problem is that many folks remember
> the minority (of valid theories/inventors) that were laughed at, and
> forget they majority that were laughed at and not borne out by
> subsequent validation. From this arises the assumption that the act
> of being laughed at constitues that validation.
I agree with this, I just thought the Bozo comment was a little harsh. I
grew up in Chicago,
Bob Bell was a dearly loved children's entertainer, who spent a great deal
of effort trying to make
people happy. As a child we laughed with Bozo, not At Bozo.
In Gary's case, Laughter was not a intended product, and at least for a
number of people
not an intended byproduct.
Al Jackson
> While browsing Amazon.com the other day, I came across a book called
> _They All Laughed at Christopher Columbus_, set to be published in
> October this year...it's a biography of Gary Hudson. Just thought you
> all might be interested.
>
> Btw, does anyone know what he's been doing, post-Rotary Rocket?
>
> George
> (To email me, replace SPAMSHIELD.NOSPAM with mail.serve.)
For every good idea that got laughed at, there are 10 crackpot ideas
that got laughed at, and are either forgotten or still laughed at!
Scott Lowther
> In Gary's case, Laughter was not a intended product, and at least for a
> number of people
> not an intended byproduct.
Read the last few pages of the book (the only parts I have, so far, as I
was interested in what there was to say about the last days of Roton).
"Laughter" doesn't seem to have existed in any quantity.
--
Scott Lowther, Engineer
Christopher P. Winter
wrote:
>
>Indeed. Gershwin? Porter? Geez. Maybe a good Shakespeare line, but who
>the hell uses something like that? I'm just glad the sales blurbs on the
>back don't include "23 skidoo" or something.
Don't forget the chorus. It goes,
"Who's got the last laugh,
Who's got the last laugh,
Who's got the last laugh now?"
I think it's too soon to say that Gary Hudson won't ever be singing
that.
Stray.Mk.2
I hope to hear him sing it. Is he involved with any of the new crop
of space ventures?
George
(To email me, replace SPAMSHIELD.NOSPAM with mail.serve.)
Karl Gallagher
> it is not a technical history of
> Rotary, or for that matter a business history. It is one reporter's
> nontechnical, nonbusiness view
Very nontechnical and nonbusiness. A lot of what she quoted as
"incomprehensible jargon" makes clear sense to anyone with an
engineering background. And with all those verbatim quotes I'm
amazed I didn't see the words "Iridium" or "Teledesic" in the
book at all. It's almost like the author was deliberately
avoiding any evidence that the people in the book had rational
justification for their actions.
On the plus side, the events I was a witness to were accurately
reported and I enjoyed the anecdotes about my friends and
acquaintances (full disclosure: I show up as "a guy"). So if
you already know a lot about Rotary and want some gossip it's
worth a read.
Karl Gallagher
TRW Space & Electronics
Henry Spencer
Karl Gallagher <karlga...@earthlink.net> wrote:
>...It's almost like the author was deliberately
>avoiding any evidence that the people in the book had rational
>justification for their actions.
An ex-Rotary friend of mine (not Gary) recently summed it up as
"misquotes, ignorance, and outright errors abound". I think this one
goes in the "Moonshot" file: not a reliable source for anything.
--
Socialists always tell us they're going to | Henry Spencer
do better next time. -- Ed Wright | he...@spsystems.net
Doug Jones
>
> In article <7ad4cc78.02090...@posting.google.com>,
> Karl Gallagher <karlga...@earthlink.net> wrote:
> >...It's almost like the author was deliberately
> >avoiding any evidence that the people in the book had rational
> >justification for their actions.
>
> An ex-Rotary friend of mine (not Gary) recently summed it up as
> "misquotes, ignorance, and outright errors abound". I think this one
> goes in the "Moonshot" file: not a reliable source for anything.
Amen, rabbi.
--
Doug Jones, Rocket Plumber
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -- B. Franklin
Edward Wright
> Very nontechnical and nonbusiness. A lot of what she quoted as
> "incomprehensible jargon" makes clear sense to anyone with an
> engineering background.
That's hardly surprising, since the author has neither a business or
technical background. It's the experience many people have when they
try explaining something technical to an English major. I can't
understand why anyone is surprised by this.
I haven't read the book, but based on the excerpt that appeared in the
New York Times Magazine, it seems like she's trying to be the next Tom
Wolfe, without having Tom Wolfe's talent. Thus, her writing is a bit
overblown and tends to make people out to be more colorful, eccentric,
and interesting than they really are.