Comic Book -- Captain Midnight -- January 11, 2019

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Seventy-five years ago this month, in January, 1944, Captain Midnight was breaching Hitler's fortress.

Captain Jim Albright was a brave aviator who served in the American Expeditionary Force during World War One. He earned the name Captain Midnight when he returned from a critical mission at the stroke of midnight.

I remember reading about Captain Midnight in Jim Harmon's The Great Radio Heroes. The show began as a fifteen-minute daily radio serial in 1938. Soon after, the Captain and his Secret Squadron were fighting Axis villains. In 1942, the Captain appeared in a syndicated comic strip, a Fawcett comic book, and a Columbia movie serial. The radio show ended in 1949. In 1954-1957, he appeared in a television series.

I heard some episodes played on Gene Nelson's show on KSFO and elsewhere.

When I read Harmon's description of the many premiums available to radio listeners, badges, medals, games and especially decoders, I wanted to get them, but I couldn't figure out how. I think that chapter prompted my interest in cryptography.

Comic Book #31 -- January 21, 2014

Captain Jim Albright was a brave aviator who served in the American Expeditionary Force during World War One.  He earned the name Captain Midnight when he returned from a critical mission at the stroke of midnight. 

I remember reading about Captain Midnight in Jim Harmon's The Great Radio Heroes.  The show began as a fifteen-minute daily radio serial in 1938.  Soon after, the Captain and his Secret Squadron were fighting Axis villains.  In 1942, the Captain appeared in a syndicated comic strip, a Fawcett comic book, and a Columbia movie serial.  The radio show ended in 1949.  In 1954-1957, he appeared in a television series. 

I heard some episodes played on Gene Nelson's show on KSFO and elsewhere. 

When I read Harmon's description of the many premiums available to radio listeners, badges, medals, games and especially decoders, I wanted to get them, but I couldn't figure out how.  I think that chapter prompted my interest in cryptography. 

The image is from the wonderful site CoverBrowser (http://www.coverbrowser.com/).  

Alan Turing Pardoned -- December 29, 2013

Mathematician and logician Alan Turing came up with many of the basic concepts of computer science and artificial intelligence.  His work as a codebreaker at Bletchley Park helped the right side win in World War II. He helped to develop devices that automated important steps of cracking the German Enigma cyphers.  These devices had many of the features of computers.  After the war, he collaborated on the design of an early electronic stored program computer.  He devised the Turing test, as a way to prove that an entity was intelligent.  During the 1950s, he fell afoul of laws against homosexuality and committed suicide after being treated shamefully.   The government of the UK has finally seen fit to pardon him.  About time.