Ack! Can’t you just hear John Cleese belting this out?
Ok, no one got it. A “Dusseldorf Tandem Rig” is a reference to the firecontrol computer system on the Free Trader Sisu, from Robert A. Heinlein’s novel Citizen of the Galaxy, written in 1957. It was a “tandem” rig because the system was divided into two parts, the starboard system and the portside system, each of which could run independently in case one broke down, and a master switch in the Control Room. Later in the novel, it was said to be an obsolete method by the cyberneticist of a military vessel. I used it because it was geeky, and the computer in the lair is in two big pieces with a central console.
I had a good time at the Great Allentown Comic Con over the weekend. I didn’t last long wandering around, talking to the other artists, getting some tips and generally “talking shop”, but while I could, I enjoyed myself. When the panting and struggling and wheezing got too pronounced, and it was clear I was having trouble walking, Maggie dragged me out. I slept all the way home. I could probably handle it if I was sitting at a table instead of walking around all day.
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