From Robots to Elitist Miscreants

      Sometimes there are so many things to write about that it is hard to choose with which to go.  It's like trying to decide what to make for supper sometimes when there is a refrigerator full of food, and a myriad of ways to prepare it.  Such is the case today - on both counts.  In the same way I like to eat a balanced diet, and not eat the same thing every day (although there are people who do live like that and I can't imagine such blandness), I don't want to write about the same subject matter two day in a row either.  Yesterday's Science Friday was about advanced technology, so I didn't want to write about that again today.  However, there are too many things in that category that I have been reading about and I don't want to put it all off for a few days and forget to post it.  This is why it has taken me till late on Saturday to post something for Saturday. 
      I will touch lightly on this subject today and go deeper into the subject at a later time.  I finally figure out what we can have for supper too.  We'll just have hot meatloaf sandwiches using the leftover meat loaf from Thursday.  

      The world of robotics, particularly androids and drones (as many robots are now called) has become as unreal as a the sci-fi material from only a few years ago.  They have developed robot "dogs" for search and rescue, for carrying up to a 400 pound pack of gear, and can be fitted for battle too.  The "dog" doesn't really have a head, but does have "eyes" in the front of its "chest."  It can follow an individual (person or another robot) by giving it the simple verbal command "follow."  It can go through most terrain, and if it tips over it will get back up again without help or coaxing.  

                                The robotic "Dog" going through the snow

      Someone else couldn't be out done so they developed a cheetah to go into battle at high speed, and armed to the hilt.  Being low to the ground, enemy forces wouldn't even see them until it was too late to do anything about it.  There are robotic gulls, bugs, jellyfish, snakes, and even a shark (that looks and swims so realistically, that I had to watch that part of the video a few times), all of which can be used for reconnaissance or to deliver something.  They all look real enough from even a few yards away that they could go anywhere virtually unnoticed.  They are also using some animals (like bugs and bats) to mix with android parts to create cyborgs - or cybugs.  The humanoid androids are getting pretty impressive too.  I saw one that was very reminiscent of the android warriors from the first three episodes of Star Wars.  Others they are trying to make more human looking and less android looking.  
      Like I said a few paragraphs ago, I will go more in depth on this subject and its ramifications in later posts.  Below are a few short videos showing how far the technology has come already.  One of the videos seems to come from a conspiracy theory source (which even the casual reader of this blog will know that I do NOT endorse), but it is a great collection of clips of modern robots in action.  Two others are "untainted" documentaries, and the fourth video is a great fictional short, that who knows - it might become real someday.  I found it to have great entertainment value, and it's only a little over six minutes long.  I watched it twice. 

      It seems as though real world technological advances are only a few years to a decade or so behind the world of Science Fiction.  Maybe they get their ideas from Sci-Fi.  Therefore I say to the writers of Sci-Fi, "Hey guys, keep thinking up weird stuff.  

             This picture was just too good to pass up.  It looks like Sparky found a friend
      _________________________________________________________________
      _________________________________________________________________

      Now for  the elitist miscreants.  What some people in upper Manhattan have been doing is horribly wrong on many levels.  I know, some of this particular crowd does things that are unconscionable all the time in every aspect of life, from shorting the wages of their employees, and driving widows and orphans out of their homes to greater crimes against humanity, the environment and the constitution whenever possible.  One of their latest misdeeds has been a way for them to get to the front of the lines for rides at Disney World (I'm sure they have been doing this at other amusement parks, but they got caught at Disney World).   They have been hiring, or renting disabled people (those in wheelchairs and such - those whom these one percenters would call "cripples) to pose as a family member.  This gets them access to the front of the line for rides.  Some of them have even created agencies with a catalog of potential disabled "family members" for these scumbags to choose from.
      When caught in this deception one of these moms said, "This is how the one percenters live.  We buy our way out of any inconvenience, just like I'll buy my way out of any trouble that may come out of this.  You won't be able to buy your way out of the trouble you'll get for bothering me in this way."  This she said to the security personnel who discovered her ruse and escorted her and her family out of the park.
      In an episode of Rod Serling's "Night Gallery" a man was faking a disability in order to collect on an insurance scam.  Being tired of pretending to be disabled, he traveled to some place that "miracles" would happen and people would get healed from their disabilities.  His plan was to pretend to be healed.  What happened instead is that he really became disabled.  If something like that were to happen to these people I wouldn't feel very sympathetic. 

     Since posting this I have learned that the story which I read about this matter was incomplete.  The initial reasons for this are as stated, and this was Disney Corporation's original stand concerning hiring people to pretend to be their family members.  Now there are people right in the Orlando area hiring physically disabled people to go to the "Magic" Kingdom with the rich families.  They have created an agency for this and they advertise locally.  Also it is no longer against Disney Corporation policy to do this.  Disney now has their own pool of physically disabled people to rent to patrons who want to cut to the front of the lines. 

Privacy is About to Take Another Hundred Steps Backward

Science Fridays

      This was a rough week for me.  I had to work a lot of overtime, and was out of town last weekend, so I didn't get to add too many posts.  Sorry about that.  Anyway, here's this weeks edition of Science Fridays.

      The things that were science fiction only a decade or so ago are becoming realities today.  Researchers in Kyoto, Japan have been successful in creating a computer program that is able to read people's dreams.  Yes, you read that right.  Although it is in its preliminary phases, they have created a dream reading machine.

      "Training" the machine came in three stages so far.  They monitored sleeping subjects in their test study to see when they were experiencing REM sleep.  When this was occurring they then monitored very specific places in the visual centers of the subjects' brains.  This was cataloged in their computer.  When I say specific places in the brain, I mean VERY specific.  They were looking into the minutia of the data storage of the brain.
      When the subjects were no longer in REM sleep, they were awakened and asked what they had dreamed.  This was fed into the computer and cataloged with the areas of data storage.
      Their next step was to show the subjects a wide variety of visual images, including images of what they saw in their dreams.  Their brains were also monitored during this phase.  This was to pinpoint exactly where in the brains these images were stored.

      In the third phase the subjects were monitored again while sleeping.  The computers marked where in the subjects' brains the activity was happening.  When the subjects awoke the researchers were able to explain with a good degree of accuracy what the subjects saw in their dreams.
      They still have a lot of work to do in this, but they are well under way.  They need to compare specific data storage in many peoples' brains to see if specific images are stored in at least similar places in other peoples brains.  After they get the images and their locations in the brain all recorded, they want to work on speech.  They would like to be able to read the words that come out in people's dreams.

      If they are successful at all this (and it sure seems like they will be, with all the success they have already had), they could also use this same technology to see what people are thinking when they are awake.  They could seriously be able read our thoughts.  I'm sure that the intelligence agencies and of every nation in the world would love this.  Law enforcement agencies would love it too.  A machine like this would make the old polygraph machine seem like a flint spear compared to a Goa'uld Zatnik'tel, or a Star Wars laser/phaser blaster gun.  They wouldn't even need a verbal confession if they got one from inside the brain itself.
      Once someone figures out how to read a brain from a scan at a distance, rather than hooking up electrodes and putting people through an MRI machine, the applications could be even more notorious.  The camera at football games that focuses on someone on the bleachers could become a "thought reader."  News people would bring them to the scene of a disaster or crime.  They could be set up in malls so everyone can see exactly how vain teenagers are (now that would be funny).
      If you don't like how much your privacy has vanished because of Facebook and Twitter posts, (and if you thought you could get in trouble over them), just wait until the "dream reader" and the "thought reader" reach their final development and ultimate applications.  Yikes!

      This research was published in World Science on April 4th 2013, in case you want to read more about it. 

One More Reason to Call the IRS a "Bunch of Dirty S.O.B's"

      So the IRS is corrupt.  I am so totally shocked.  They already can go after a person apart from the due process promised us in the Constitution.  They have been caught targeting first groups, then individual people based upon their political views.  Their ruthless attacks were on those who consider themselves to be conservatives, especially those who had ever mentioned the words "patriot, patriotic, or tea party."  They must have been monitoring phone calls or e-mails or something. 

      Many of the Tea Party people are, well, way out in right field, but no American citizen deserves to become a special IRS target based upon their political viewpoint.  Where will they stop?  This is entirely a tactic reminiscent of the Brown Shirts.  The Brown Shirts made sure that people could only vote for Adolf Hitler, by beating up and otherwise preventing anyone to vote who wasn't a Nazi Party member.  By removing all competition Hitler won the election to the position of chancellor.  What the IRS was doing though, didn't prevent them from voting in the last election.  By targeting them for tax crime investigations, anyone they find guilty would be unable to vote in future elections (for how long I don't know).  By removing the conservatives from the voting pool, then only democrats will get into office.  
      Then I suppose they could start attacking even democrat voters who didn't like the candidate endorsed by the Brown Shirts IRS.  Who would they have targeted next - the Christians?  Residents of an area that historically is in a "red" zone?  Maybe they already have.  Where would they stop?   
      At least for the time being they have been stopped - but only because they got caught.  There is now a congressional and senate investigation about this, and the President is distancing himself as far as possible from this atrocity. The individual people who got caught are claiming they were following orders from higher up. 
      I wonder how long it will be before they start up again?  

      Since the time that I posted this much more information has come out, so I think it's time to make some corrections.   Very specifically the added scrutiny and investigations were not toward the politically affiliated groups in general, but to those who were applying for tax free status as non-profit organizations.  Because of the high profile this has had in the news media, many of the executives in the IRS are being investigated themselves, and many have endured forced resignations (I think that's still a mere slap on the hand).  They still do have the lists though, of the names of people in these organizations.  That is something that still needs to be addressed. 

Building a Wigwam - Part Two - Putting On a Covering

      Now it's time to put a shell over your framework.  It's time to turn this from something that looks like a piece of impractical playground equipment into a very viable and reliable shelter.  What you use as your sheltering cover will depend again entirely upon your needs.  I'll start here with the classic wiigwaas (birch bark).  

 

A modern birch bark wigwam

 

A picture of a wigwam from the mid-1800's

 
      Birch bark is hard to collect for a number of reasons, and there are also reasons that it's hard to work with, but its pluses far outweigh its detriments.  It is absolutely impervious to water.  for that reason it makes great water buckets (for keeping the water on the inside), and makes a great, lightweight, yet flexible canoe (keeping water on the outside).  For that reason it makes a great shelter. 
      Birch bark isn't easy to collect though.  It must be collected when the sap is running well through the tree, otherwise you will fight it trying to get it off the tree.  Also, trying to find sections that aren't full of woodpecker holes, or damage from moss or shelf mushrooms is also difficult.  Birch bark has the tendency to curl up when it dries too - and I'm talking about some serious curling.  It can curl itself right off of your wigwam.
      Trying to use the bark from deadfall will work for fire starting, but won't work for anything else, including making a shelter.    It has to be taken from a standing tree at least, and from a living tree if you don't want it full of holes.  A birch tree has two different layers of two different kinds of bark.  There is the outer skin that is white on the outside and orange on the inside and has a definite horizontal grain, and there is the softer, orangey, inner bark that has an almost cork-like texture.  As long as you only remove the skin bark layer, and leave the inner bark alone, the tree will live and continue to thrive (the inner bark can be dried up and ground to make a food for hard times - personally, I've never tried it though, because times have never been THAT hard for me).  The outer skin will never grow back though. 

      You will first need to select a tree that is wide enough to produce a decent enough size of bark, and has about a six foot section that is free of holes, branches, or damage (either that or one that has two lengths of about three good feet both below and above a branch).  Use a sharp tomahawk (or rounded edge hatchet) to make your horizontal cuts, and one vertical cut for each piece. 

      Then use the edge of your tomahawk to gently pry the skin away from the inner bark (this is almost impossible if you try to do it too late in the summer - mid June is the best time - the sap is till running then - it gets too dry later on in the year).

      Keep on prying around in both directions away from the cut.  Eventually it will just "pop" off (it will often make a popping noise too). 
      You will need a lot of bark to cover your wigwam.  Each chunk of bark will be only about three feet long.  Figure that out while you are collecting it.  You will basically need one piece for each square of the framework.  You will need to scour the woods to find trees thick enough to get some much longer pieces for the top covering.  If you will primarily be using your wigwam during the hottest weather it is okay to use bark with holes in it for the sides of the wigwam, especially along the bottom layer.  This will allow air to flow inside, and keep things cooler inside.  The light air flow will also help to feed the fire and draw the smoke upward through the smoke hole.  (note: just like for a tipi, the smoke will never draw right if the door/blanket is open.  You have to keep the door closed for the smoke to draw properly)
      When you see how long it takes to gather the bark you will understand why they took it and brought it with them to their next camp.  It can take several days to get enough bark collected, especially if you have to work all day first (just like they had to hunt and fish all day first).  
      After you think you have enough bark you can start tying the pieces on.  To do this you will need a bark drill, and of course something to tie it with.

        This picture is just about actual size.  The drill is made from 1/4" stock

      This is a bark drill.  I needed to make the modifications to it because after drilling a bunch of holes I ended up with a blister.  Taping two broken pencils (2nd picture) to the side of it gave me better leverage to spin the drill easier. 

      Start at the door and work your way around, starting with the bottom layer.  You will be putting the pieces on like shingling the roof of a house.  To make the bark more workable first of all when you harvest it you should roll it into a tube inside-out, with the white on the inside, and roll it with the direction of the grain.  Tie it up and store it that way.  Another thing you can do then is before you are ready to use it, you can lay it flat with something heavy on top of (put boards over it and rocks on the boards).  Lay the stack of flattened bark on very damp soil.  It will flatten out and even be bendable.  When it dries it will harden again and start to curl again too.
      Sometimes for the top you can use a different material  Occasionally heavily greased deer hides (tanned) were sewn together for a top covering.  Later on in history pieces of canvass were used sometimes for the top covering. 
      Even though the traditional summer wigwam was made of birch bark, and was intended to be moved from place to place, it takes many hours to get all the bark tied on.  It will take most of a day, and that's if you have help doing it.  The thing is though, they would stay in one of these for anywhere from a few weeks to a couple of months.
      The one I made out of bark I left set up for several years till the frame finally rotted at the bottom, and as too brittle to repair.  The bark was still usable though so I made a new frame and tied it all on again.  To set one up for just a weekend event, or even a week long event though, is very impractical to use bark.  This is where other materials come in.  These "other" materials are still traditional materials, so don't worry about your historical integrity.
      The sewn together canvass cover really isn't historically correct, as the government didn't give them to the Ojibwe.  It is correct for the Tipis because all the buffalo had been slaughtered, and buffalo is what the Lakota and other Plains peoples used for their tipis.  The Ojibwe used birch bark and other coverings till into the late 1930's and even into the 1940's. Using pieces of canvass however, that is acceptable.  That's what I use for setting up at historical events.  For the top pieces I use some oil cloth (canvass soaked in linseed oil).  That's what you can see in my background image (right click - view background image - left click).  And I use a wool blanket for my door.
      You can also minimize you bark use with reed mats.  They roll up nice and will fit in your car (good luck getting any actual gear in with you if you have to carry enough stacks or rolls of birch bark to cover a wigwam).

      You can either make your own reed mats with a type of a loom (how much time do you have?), or buy them at a store.  I'm not sure what they are sold as, but the rolls are pretty long; like 20 feet long.  Reed mats also allow enough air to get in for your fire and smoke drafting, as well as cooling in the hot summer months.  Canvass blocks all the air.  I find that I have to lift the canvass around the edges in order to get enough draft.  Otherwise it gets way too smokey in there.

           Wigwams with reed mats for siding - the black and white photos are from the 1800's, except for the last one which is from the 1940's.

      As I said above the birch bark will try to curl - right off of your wigwam if you let it.  To combat this, as you can see from the many pictures already, a series of ropes were thrown across the whole thing, this way and that way, as many as you need to make the bark behave, and stay in place.  Sometimes, heavy branches were laid across the sides.

      If you want a wigwam to go out to (and maybe bring the kids out there) in the middle of winter, you need a much heavier bark.  Elm bark was traditionally used, but due to Dutch Elm Disease, it is very hard to find today.  You need an inner liner too (Birch, reed mat, or even canvass), and you should stuff grass between the layers for insulation.  Connected tubes of birch bark need to be shoved under the walls to the outside (and cleared of snow) to bring in air for the fire, and you may want to close down the smoke hole so it's smaller, as long as it still draws the smoke.

                               A winter wigwam made of elm bark

     And then there is the tipi shaped wigwams.  I;m not giving directions for them here, but have uploaded several pictures of them below. 

Globular Clusters 

Science Fridays

      As I've said in the past, the universe is an amazing place.  There are things out there that are truly remarkable.  There are novas, and quasars, black holes and neutron stars, and nebulae everywhere you can turn a telescope.  Also, no matter where you look there are other galaxies - like the sand on the seashore they are so numerous.
      Surrounding most of the galaxies are dwarf galaxies that orbit the bigger galaxy.  Did you know that surrounding our own Milky Way Galaxy are fourteen dwarf galaxies in orbit around us?  The largest one is the Large Magellanic Cloud.  And found all over the place in every galaxy; regular or dwarf are globular clusters.

      Globular clusters are areas packed with stars in unimaginable numbers, gravitationally attracted to each other into a small space.  Above is one of the largest ever observed, Omega Centauri.  Omega Centauri is a cluster stuffed with over ten million stars, packed into an area of 150 light years.  That would make the star density of that area be about 66,000 plus stars per light year.
      Lets put that into a little perspective.  Our nearest neighboring stars are Alpha Centauri, and Barnard's Star, each sitting about 4 light years away.  That seems to be the normal distance for stars to be separated from each other.
      Each planet within our solar system has an orbit about twice the distance of the orbit of the previous planet's orbit (or more specifically each planet's orbit is about two thirds the distance of the orbit of the next planet's orbit).  The asteroid belt is located in an area that should house a planet according to this mathematical configuration.  Neptune is the farthest planet with an orbit about twice the distance of Uranus' orbit.  At twice the distance of Neptune's orbit is the Kuiper Belt. Planetary orbits are not evenly spaced from each other but get progressively larger as they go out from the sun. 

 

      Beyond the Kuiper Belt is the Oort Cloud.  This area is filled with comets, asteroids, and planetoids, and covers a huge area.  The Oort cloud basically doubles the size of our solar system.  The Oort Cloud contains the farthest objects orbiting our sun.  From the Sun to the outer edges of the Oort Cloud is a distance of about 50,000 AU (Astronomical Units).  A light year is 63,000 AU.  If you consider that other stars have Oort Clouds of their own the distance between star systems is closer.  If we were much closer to Alpha Centauri, for instance, objects in the Oort Cloud would have a figure eight orbit, as they would orbit around both systems.

      This makes the diameter of the Solar System about 200,000 AU - almost two light years across.  At this size compared to the density of the Omega Centauri globular cluster, the Solar System would contain 120,000 stars.  That means there would be a star sitting roughly at about the orbit of the earth – four of them, and there would be about eight stars just beyond the orbit of mars, 16 out into the asteroid belt and so forth.  In the picture below there would be roughly one star at every cross point in the grid pattern.  

      To say that nothing could live in a globular cluster would be an understatement.  Besides being burnt to cinders, you would be pulled apart by competing gravitational forces.  

 

Building a Wigwam  - Part One - The Frame

      With reenactment season fast approaching it is time to get things ready.  If you want a wigwam it's not a real hard task, as long as you have the right materials.  Personally I need a few more pieces to get ready for the season, because I want to expand the wigwam I already have to be a little bigger.  
      Wigwams were the traditional style shelter for portable, temporary use by the Ojibwe.   They were used much the same as we use a tent.  The word is actually "wiigwaaswi-gamig."  Wiiwaaswi means made out of birch bark, and gamig means shelter or house.  The "wi" suffix means made out of.  Since all houses or shelters are made out of something they are all some kind of "-wi-gamig", hence "wigam" or "wigwam."    Setting up a camp is "gibeshiwe" (gi-BAY-shi-way) and the camp itself is "gibeshiwin." (gi-BAY-shi-win)
      The first thing you need is the sticks for the framework.  You want these to be between about an inch ti a half inch in diameter.  Also the wood must be of a kind that will bend without breaking.  Willow works good, but if it's diamond willow it will break at any point a diamond has formed.  Of course you are looking for pieces that are long and straight, or have a slight natural curve in them.  Poplar (aspen) grows straight, but will break if you try to bend it too far.  These should be cut to lengths of about six or seven feet.  

      After gathering sticks you will need to mark out the ground where the frame will go, and put holes in the ground into which you will insert the upright sticks.  to make the holes an iron stent stake pounded about four to six inches into the ground works well.  after putting the stake into the ground a few inches, spin it around in circles in order to widen the hole enough for the uprights.  These holes should be spaced about 2 1/2 to 3 feet apart all along the circumference of your wigwam.  

 

      Next you will put in the upright sticks.  You should choose the ones that are stouter for this.  Obviously the stoutest end of the stick is the end you will put into the ground.  The other end will tend to bend more easily, which you will need it to do.  You can sharpen the end going into the ground with a swift stroke from a tomahawk. Each stick should have a matching stick on the opposite side.  Yes, you need an even number of upright sticks. 

      You will then take a third (or more for a bigger wigwam) stick for each upright pair, and use it to tie the two uprights together.  You will need at least two ties for each connection, and many times you may need a third tie (you will know when you run across it).  

      As you start to work your way around you will start tying the hoop assemblies together where they cross.  This will firm up your framework.  You will choose your layout based upon your needs for size.  You might fit just one or two people (if they like each other) in the small one, you could fit a small family of three in the center one, and more in the longhouse style.  With the longhouse style you can keep going as large as you need.  For the longhouse style your top sticks need to be sturdier too. 

      Next you will start tying in the horizontal hoops.  They will go around at about every 2 1/2 to 3 feet high.  You will tie one piece of hoop to the next one as you go around the wigwam.  If you need to be told to stop at the door frame for the lower hoops, so that you can have a door, then you don't deserve to have a wigwam.  You should stop reading this immediately, and please never build a wigwam.  In fact if that's the case please don't drive or operate heavy machinery either. 

      Now you have a finished frame.  Traditionally we used to leave the frames up where they were and take the covering with us as we traveled along to the next gibeshiwin.  We had them set up in areas for harvesting the various berries, nuts, and for ricing, fishing, and there was one for each family at the summer gathering camp.  If you nkew that a certain area was bountiful for bleuberries, or raspberries, you'd be coming back there again, so it was easier to just leave the frame there.  It makes it easier to set up camp, and is much quicker.  
      If you are using your "wam" to take along to historical reenactments, then you will be setting it up from scratch every time.  To make that task a little bit easier You can bundle your framing sticks together by type.  I also have my hoop sticks labeled.  
      There is a very wide variety of coverings that can be used for your wigwam.  I'll write about that in a couple days. 

A Glimpse Into the Past

      It's time once again to post some art work.  And once again the art work is photography.  You might think after this that photography is my favorite medium, but in reality my favorites are oil paintings, and various forms of sculpture, and various media of drawing - all equally.  Then comes using different printing processes for the sake of art, and oftentimes utilized in abstract compositions.  For me photography falls somewhere after that. 
      This art work today is from a collection of photos that is very special to me.  They were taken by my grandma's brother.  Uncle Chuck had always wanted to get into professional photography, but a lack of funds prevented him from going to school for it.  Nevertheless he created a dark room in their house and started to practice.  He was seld taught in the basics, and he proved that he did have "the eye" for it. 
      Then WWII broke out, first in Europe, and then its rages finally reached America.  Uncle Chuck signed up.  This was both for patriotic reasons, and because he wanted to choose his branch of service, rather than wait to be drafted and leave it all up to chance.  He chose the Army, and specifically the Army Air Force. 
      His self taught photography skills were just enough to get a formal education in the subject for free.  I think it was a poster on base that he answered after his basic training that said something like "Photographers Needed."  He went in and applied.  As I have been kind of appointed as the "family historian and records keeper" (unofficially - I'm not sure how that happened, but when a family member dies, I end up with a lot of his or her stuff), After Uncle Chuck died I ended up with a huge box of his old photos - complete with negatives.  Having to wait to get this stuff till after they die is a bugger though, as I find so many things then that I would love to ask them questions about.  I end up looking through their artifacts, and am then forced to play "History Detective." 
      During the war, Uncle Chuck was assigned to a reconnaissance unit that ended up being based in the Indian Ocean, and specifically on the Irrawaddy River in what was then called Burma (Myanmar).  I have hundreds of these pictures he took while on assignment.  There are some pictures of downed US aircraft, such as a series from the smoking remains of a "Flying Fortress."  There are others he took while still on base in Tennessee of a field full of the gliders that were used on D-Day.  Another interesting series was when his unit was out in the jungle on assignment with an "Aussie" unit (ANZAC's).  And since he was their base's best photographer he was assigned to take a ton of pictures of a USO show that came there.  There are pictures of stars and starlets whom I have no idea who they are.  If people would actually start commenting on this blog I would post some of them some day, so that I could get feedback from you all as to who these people might be.  Unfortunately, the people who would recognize them are becoming more and more scarce every day. 
      While a regular soldier would have had his letters intercepted, and the photos confiscated, Uncle Chuck had high level security clearance, and was able to send many photos home, along with their negatives.  That fact blesses me with an awesome collection today. 
      I have only chosen to post a few of the pictures here.  If you like what you see and/or want to see more of these you will have to ask for them in a comment.  I'm not sure what kind of camera he used, but the negatives are almost as big as the photos themselves.  That and his skill makes them absolutely crystal clear. 

This picture and the next one was taken while still on base in Lebanon Tennessee.  Note: you can even see the pilot's face in the cockpit of the other plane.  The same goes for the next picture. 

This picture is absolutely awesome.  I know that some Military history painter (not Don Troiani, but someone like him) has painted this picture and sells prints of it for a hundred bucks or so.  I think I have also seen it as an official poster for the Army Air Force (which became the USAF after the War).  But,... I have the negative.  I saw that someone has given this picture a title of some kind that I can't remember.  We just call it "The Picture Uncle Chuck Took of All the the Planes Flying in Formation." 

Reconnaissance units often had to go out behind enemy lines over enemy held territory.  Armed with only a camera, they had fighter escorts that went with them, just in case something happened.  One night something did happen, and Uncle Chuck took this picture of the event. 

                             This picture is just plain great. 

      This is enough for now.  If you want to see more of these you will have to ask for them in a comment below.