"Perhaps the most famous of all James Bond's cars, the 1963 Aston Martin DB5 (chassis number DP/216/1) appeared in both Goldfinger (1964) and Thunderball (1965) staring Sean Connery. For gadgetry, the car was fitted with two forward firing machine guns, rear-firing water jets, an ejectable passenger seat and bulletproof glass. To make border crossing easier, the car had three revolving numberplates: BMT216A (UK), LU 6789 (Swiss) and 4711-EA-62 (French). "Before being specially-equipped, the Silver Birch roadster was painted Dubonnet Red and road-tested by Autocar magazine in 1963. The DB5 with 282bhp twin-cam four-liter straight-six engine and four-speed manual transmission reached 0-60mph in 8.1 seconds, which was quite respectable for its day. After seeing the gadget-laden DB5 in 1964, Beatle Paul McCartney ordered one - minus the guns, of course. "After its appearance in Thunderball, the car was returned to the Aston Martin factory and stripped of its unique gadgetry before being sold. Hoping to enhance his investment, the new owner tried unsuccessfully to convince the factory to re-Bondise the DB5 for him. The owner eventually commissioned a local coachbuilder who poorly imitated the original Bond gadgetry. A Utah jeweler and car collector named Richard Losee purchased the car in 1971 and kept it for the next 15 years. "During that time, the car was rented out so Roger Moore could drive it in the 1981 film The Cannonball Run. In 1986 a Florida property developer named Anthony Pugliese bought the car for $275,000 at a Sotheby's auction in New York. The car spent most of its days at special exhibits and nights in a Boca Raton Airport hangar. However, in June 1997, despite locks, security systems, a barbed-wire fence, and a 24-hour airport watch thieves broke into the hangar in the middle of the night and stole the car. "There are, however, three other Bond DB5s still around. One is the "Road Car" which was used as a stand-in for the original. The other two were used on promotional tours but never appeared on film. "So, Howard, if you look in your rear view mirror some day and notice a car with machine guns poking out from the front parking lights, please call the Boca Raton police department so this icon of the 60s can be returned to its owner. "
Ramblings
I'm an engineer and proud of it even if Dilbert and friends give us engineers a bad name. Here's some insight into the true nature of an engineer.
Engineering 108 - lesson 1 A pastor, a doctor and an engineer were waiting one morning for a particularly slow group of golfers. Engineer: What's with these guys? We must have been waiting for 15 minutes! Doctor: I don't know, but I've never seen such ineptitude! Pastor: Hey, here comes the greenskeeper. Let's have a word with him. [DramaticPause] Hi George. Say, what's with that group ahead of us? They're rather slow, aren't they? George: Oh, yes, that's a group of blind firefighters. They lost their sight saving our clubhouse from a fire last year, so we always let them play for free anytime. The group was silent for a moment. Pastor: That's so sad. I think I will say a special prayer for them tonight. Doctor: Good idea. And I'm going to contact my ophthalmologist buddy and see if there's anything he can do for them. Engineer: Why can't these guys play at night? Engineering 108 - lesson 2 In the high school gym, all the girls in the class were lined up against one wall, and all the boys against the opposite wall. Then, every ten seconds, they walked toward each other until they were half the previous distance apart. A mathematician, a physicist, and an engineer were asked, "When will the girls and boys meet?" The mathematician said: "Never." The physicist said: "In an infinite amount of time." The engineer said: "Well... in about two minutes, they'll be close enough for all practical purposes."
Engineering 108 - lesson 3 There was an engineer who had an exceptional gift for fixing all things mechanical. After serving his company loyally for over 30 years, he happily retired. Several years later his company contacted him regarding a seemingly impossible problem they were having with one of their multi-million dollar machines. They had tried everything and everyone else to get the machine fixed, but to no avail. In desperation, they called on the retired engineer who had solved so many of their problems in the past. The engineer reluctantly took the challenge. He spent a day studying the huge machine. At the end of the day he marked a small "x" in chalk on a particular component of the machine and proudly stated, "This is where your problem is". The part was replaced and the machine worked perfectly again. The company received a bill for $50,000 from the engineer for his service. They demanded an itemized accounting of his charges. The engineer responded briefly: One chalk mark ...... $1 Knowing where to put it ..... $49,999 It was paid in full and the engineer retired in peace. Engineering 108 - lesson 4 Three engineers and three mathematicians are traveling by train to a conference. At the station, the three mathematicians each buy tickets and watch as the three engineers buy only a single ticket. "How are three people going to travel on only one ticket?" asks a mathematician. "Watch and you'll see," answers an engineer. They all board the train. The mathematicians take their respective seats, but all three engineers cram into a restroom and close the door behind them. Shortly after the train has departed, the conductor comes around collecting tickets. He knocks on the Restroom door and says, "Ticket, please." The door opens just a crack and a single arm emerges with a ticket in hand. The conductor takes it and moves on. The mathematicians see this and agree it is quite a clever idea. So after the conference, the mathematicians decide to copy the engineers on the return trip and save some money (being clever with money, and all that). When they get to the station, they buy a single ticket for the return trip. To their astonishment, the engineers don't buy a ticket at all. "How are you going to travel without a ticket?" asks one perplexed mathematician. "Watch and you'll see," answers an engineer. When they board the train, the three mathematicians cram into one restroom and the three engineers cram into another one nearby. The train departs. Shortly afterward, one of the engineers leaves his restroom and walks over to the restroom where the mathematicians are hiding. He knocks on the door and says, "Ticket, please."