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. Yes, I am shamelessly plugging it again. Event info is here.

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, on tacit knowledge, discusses this incident and its implications in great detail. One of the conclusions is that

“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!