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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (March 18, 2016)
THE DAILY ASTORIAN FRIDAY, MARCH 18, 2016 COMMUNITY 1B WHAT IS THAT THING? DRONING ON NEWS FROM 1876 ave Kinney sent in the photo shown, along with a question: “I was wondering if you knew what that National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) equipment is on the cause- way on Pier 36?” It looks like one of those robots from a bad 1950 VFLHQFH¿FWLRQPRYLHEXW\HVLQGHHGLWGRHVKDYHWKH12$$LQVLJ- nia on it. But the Ear didn’t have any idea what it is, either. The Ear emailed Dave’s photo to Beverly Drury at the Point Adams Research Station in Hammond to see if she knew its pur- pose. Nope, she didn’t, but she said she’d pass the email around, and someone was bound to know the answer. She was right. The next day, Michelle RubD¿VKHULHVELRORJLVW at the research station, called back. The equipment is actually a radio receiver; it only receives, and does not transmit. It is listening to and UHFRUGLQJGDWDIURPWKHUDGLRWDJVRQ¿VKDQGVHDOLRQV²HDFKRQH has its own individual tag — so NOAA can track them. So now you know. D BELOW THE WAVES ou’d be wrong if you think Boeing only makes aircraft — they’re also on the cutting edge of unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs). Boeing claims their newest effort, the 51-foot long Echo Voyager, will “change the way reconnaissance, deep sea research and even military missions are conducted beneath the waves,” RT.com reports (http://tinyurl.com/subboeing). The sub- mersible is pictured, courtesy of http://boeing.mediaroom.com The Voyager can go to depths of 11,000 feet, be launched with- out a support ship and, with its hybrid electric-fuel system, can recharge itself and stay submerged for at least six months. “Echo Voyager can collect data while at sea, rise to the surface, and provide information back to users in a near real-time environ- ment,” Lance Towers, of Boeing Phantom Works, said. “Existing UUVs require a surface ship and crew for day-to-day operations. Echo Voyager eliminates that need and associated costs.” Boeing will begin testing the Voyager off the California coast this summer. Y o one should be surprised at this bit of news: Maersk Tankers — whose vessels we see almost daily on the river — claims to KDYHDFFRPSOLVKHGWKH¿UVWdrone delivery to a ship at sea. Appar- ently, it was part of a test to see if it’s a good idea, and something they should be pursuing as “part of the supply chain,” gCaptain reports (http://tinyurl.com/seadrone). The photo of the drone delivery shown is to the Maersk Edgar and is courtesy of Maersk Tankers. During the test, a drone delivered a small parcel to one of the tankers off Kalundborg, Denmark. The drone was supposed to be launched from land, but bad weather intervened, so it was launched from a nearby tugboat, and dropped the package from about 16 feet above the deck. Clearly, it didn’t contain a dozen eggs. It is extremely expensive to deliver small urgent parcels (spare parts, medicine, mail) to vessels at sea. “Costs for a (delivery) barge are on average $1,000 and can easily go up to $3,000 or more” Markus Kuhn, supply chain manager at Maersk, said. “With the current pay-load of drones, on average a vessel has three cases per year in which the barge transport could be substituted by a drone — meaning a potential avoidance of barge costs of $3,000 to $9,000 per vessel per year. And if you consider that Maersk Tankers has around 100 vessels, the savings potential could be substantial.” Once the safety of drone use is assured, Maersk would also use them for ship safety inspections. The Ear bets they’ll save a bundle on that, too. N idbits from the May 19, 1876, issue of The Daily Asto- rian (http://tinyurl.com/DAv1n17): An obstinate d.d. (drunk and disorderly), whom the Police wished to introduce to his Hon. Judge Taylor this morning, attracted a larger crowd on Chenamus street last evening than were present at the Centennial opening on the 10th — popula- tion (of course) considered. He persistently refused the gener- ous proffer of a wheelbarrow ride to the Palace Hote deCross- EDU KRRVHJRZ EXW ZDV ¿QDOO\ SHUVXDGHG WR QDYLJDWH WKH ZD\VZLWKDWHUUL¿FVHDUXQQLQJ Salmon exports: In the face of a general complaint of scarcity of salmon thus far the present season, we have the FRQVROLQJ UHÀHFWLRQ WKDW D JUHDWHU QXPEHU RI FDVHV SDFNHG have been shipped, up to this date, than for a corresponding SHULRGRIWLPHODVW\HDU7KHVWRULHVDERXWVFDUFLW\RI¿VK PD\EHFODVVHGZLWKWKHVWRULHVDÀRDWDERXWGLVDVWHUVWR¿VK- ermen on the bay at Astoria, shipwrecks, loss of life, etc. — VHQVDWLRQDO(QRXJK¿VKZLOOEHFDXJKWDQGFXUHGWR¿OOFRQ- tracts, rest assured of that. Everybody goes to the Novelty Barber ShopWRJHW¿[HG up in style. Every person may come, and more too, for I have HPSOR\HGD¿UVWFODVVDUWLVWZKRZLOOVPLOLQJO\PDQLSXODWH your chin, gracefully curl your mustache, nicely puff your hair, and last of all, but not least, will perfume your clothes with the most popular perfumery in use, “Patchouly” ... J.L. Campbell, Proprietor Breathes there a man with a soul so dead, who never to himself hath said — “Oh, what a brute I have been! For many long years my poor wife has been stitching away her life, for want of a sewing machine!” To alleviate the wretchedness of such self-accusers, go to Van Dusen’s and buy her one today. T BIRTH OF A CORNDOG A FOURGONE CONCLUSION TAX DOLLARS AT WORK ell, it seemed like a good idea at the time. The States- man Journal reports that some environmen- tally conscious souls in the city of Salem decided that it would be a grand idea to rent a gaggle of goats (75, to be exact) to chomp on all those nasty invasive plants that were overpowering the native plants in Minto-Brown Island Park (http://tinyurl.com/parkgoats). Pictured, Karen the goat demonstrates her work ethic, in a photo by Ashley Smith/Statesman Journal. The goats started their cleanup last October, and the recent report of their progress has caused some consternation. On the upside, the goats were a nice addition to the scenery; on the downside, the total cost of the project was $20,710. The cost included $11,375 for goat rental, $2,560 for goat mon- itoring and $2,041 to have the rest of the blackberry brambles removed because the goats only ate the leaves. There were two other little problems, as well: the goats left a “heavily fertilized area” with an accompanying barnyard stench, and the nibblers found the native plants just as tasty as the invasive ones. Salem’s goat gaffe went viral, and was even reported in Malay- sia — probably because it was later determined that the same job could have been done by a city maintenance operator, or by hiring an inmate work crew, for less than a quarter of what was paid to have it done by goats. W ARE THEY LOOKING FOR YOU? orndog fans: Rejoice! The Original Pronto Pup is opening this weekend at 602 S. Highway 101 in Rock- away Beach. The hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. A photo of the place is shown, courtesy of the Tillamook Headlight Herald. Believe it or not, this event actually has historic, as well DV JDVWURQRPLF VLJQL¿FDQFH$FFRUGLQJ WR 3URQWR 3XS¶V website (www.originalprontopup.com), the corndog was invented in Rockaway Beach in the 1930s by George and Versa Boyington. The story goes that the couple was run- ning a small hot dog stand on the beach, when one day it rained and ruined the buns. Inspired, George thought why not cook the bun with the dog? As a result, he concocted a pancake batter-based mix to dunk the hot dog in before frying it, and the Pronto Pup was born. The Pronto Pup made its big commercial debut at the Boyingtons’ fountain shop in Portland, and quickly caught on. After World War II, servicemen bought Pronto Pup franchises, which soon popped up all over the country. Although few, if any, still exist, the original recipe is still used to this day. “Now, the birthplace of the corndog has a new claim to fame,” the Pronto Pup’s website declares. “It is home to the World’s Largest Corndog, and World’s First Riding Mechanical Corndog.” The Ear’s betting Twin Rocks now has some serious competition for being the seaside town’s best tourist attraction. C arine biology enthusiasts will appreciate this: A four-clawed female lobster, probably caught in Canadian waters, was UHFHQWO\VROGWRDZKROHVDOHOREVWHURXW¿WReady Seafood Co. in Portland, Maine, Yahoo News reports (http://tinyurl.com/fourclaw). Lobsters normally have two claws, one for pinching and one for crushing; this one has a normal right claw, but three fully formed claws at the end of her left arm. She is pictured in an AP Photo by Robert F. Bukaty. Ready Seafood has an in-house marine biologist, Curt Brown, who said that after more than a decade in the business, he’s never seen a lobster with four claws before, but assumes it’s a genetic mutation. Tasty though she may look, you can put away the nutcracker, as she won’t be gracing anyone’s plate anytime soon. Brown says she will be given to the Maine Department of Marine Resources, and that he’ll suggest they try to breed her in captivity. Such an exceptional lobster should not remain nameless, so Brown’s wife did the honors and dubbed her Clawdette. M udith Niland of the Astor Street Opry Company received an unusual casting call from Lauren Port of Caparelliotis Casting (http://tinyurl.com/castnyc) in New York City. “We are casting a Broadway revival of a major American play by a major American writer for producer Scott Rudin, to be directed by Sam Gold, who won a Tony Award this year for his work on the Broadway musical ‘Fun Home,’” Lauren wrote. “We are seeking an actress in her early 20s to mid-30s who has a mobility disability, and/or is a leg amputee, for a leading role in the play. Actresses do not need to have professional the- atre credits, do not need to belong to any union, and do not need to have housing in New York City.” Interested? Send a picture (scanned photos are OK), resume, DJHFLW\VWDWHRIUHVLGHQFHDQGXQLRQDI¿OLDWLRQLIDQ\WR%URDG- waysearch2017@gmail.com J
