Last one for the day… Since I will be missing it (_sigh_), I thought that I’d use this DIY CM video as a reminder of Thursday’s launch of *Dennis Gormley’s* “book on the threat of cruise missiles”:http://www.greenwood.com/psi/book_detail.aspx?sku=C9836. Yes, I am shamelessly “plugging it again”:http://www.totalwonkerr.net/1628/lesser-included-case-blogging. Event info “is here”:http://cns.miis.edu/cns/media/pr080626_missile_contagion.pdf.
You may remember the story of the New Zealand engineer Bruce Simpson, who a few years back decided to build a cruise missile in his garage using commercial off-the-shelf technology and distribute his “construction diary” to those “wanting to buy his know-how,” reportedly including individuals from Iran. Chapter 6 of “Gormley’s book”:http://www.greenwood.com/psi/book_detail.aspx?sku=C9836, on *tacit knowledge*, discusses this incident and its implications in great detail. One of the conclusions is that
bq. “Although Simpson had access to the all the materials needed to build a small missile, it is *not clear that he possessed all the specialized skills required to integrate subcomponents into a successful product*. Furthermore, *it should not be assumed that Simpson’s skills in building a pulse-jet engine can readily be transferred, absorbed, and successfully replicated by means of a $32 investment and several hours of time given over to a CD-ROM*.”
Enjoy!
I suggest Dennis Gormley do a little research before assuming the skills of someone such as myself. He would doubtless be surprised to learn that I now run a business designing and building sophisticated UAVs. He might also want to invest in a copy of my book when it’s released later this year. I think he’ll be surprised at what he finds between its covers.