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
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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
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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-
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Salmon exports: In the face of a general complaint of
scarcity of salmon thus far the present season, we have the
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have been shipped, up to this date, than for a corresponding
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PD\EHFODVVHGZLWKWKHVWRULHVDÀRDWDERXWGLVDVWHUVWR¿VK-
ermen on the bay at Astoria, shipwrecks, loss of life, etc. —
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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
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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
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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,
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waysearch2017@gmail.com
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