Boat crash in Ft. Lauderdale
 

On 1/2/2020 7:23 PM, wrote:
On Thu, 2 Jan 2020 17:32:39 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 1/2/2020 11:34 AM, wrote:
On Thu, 2 Jan 2020 07:14:10 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 1/2/2020 1:31 AM, wrote:
On Wed, 1 Jan 2020 22:50:10 -0500 (EST), Justan Ohlphart
wrote:

Wrote in message:
On Wed, 01 Jan 2020 13:00:28 -0500, John H. wrote:On Wed, 1 Jan 2020 16:45:16 -0000 (UTC), Bill wrote:John H. wrote: On Tue, 31 Dec 2019 21:13:43 -0500, Alex wrote: Last night...
https://wsvn.com/news/local/several-injured-after-boat-crashes-into-jetty-near-fort-lauderdale/ Cocktails? Not every jetty shows up on a GPS. That happened a few times in Deale, MD, when folks would follow the GPS to get home. Midnight and speed. He was not going slow to get that far up the rocks
ina 42’ boat.For sure speed. Same thing happens in Deale. Going fast and taking the line offered by the GPS hasbeen the problem more than once. Everyone knows I am the real Luddite here but I fear modernelectronics is taking the place of basic seamanship and the importanceof local knowledge.

Why do you fear modern ways of navigating? If you should ever
decide to expand your horizons, you might embrace some of the
newer technology available.

Did you read what John wrote? People who trust their GPS blindly, hit
things that are not in the database. The database for the bay here is
pretty much useless anyway unless you just accept "don't go there" as
an answer.
The other issue is, if your electronics fail, do you just drop anchor
and call sea tow, hoping they can triangulate your position on their
radio or something?
I know people who think their Garmin Chart Plotter is all they ever
need. They don't even have a compass and no charts on board ... if
they could read them in the first place.

If that chart plotter craps out they are screwed, particularly at
night.

OTOH I navigate at night using local landmarks (radio towers, condos,
mangrove islands I recognize) and simply knowing where I am and where
I am going.



Greg, your feelings are pretty much exactly how I felt when I first got
into ocean boating. But once I graduated to the larger boats equipped
with GPS, chart plotters and radar I realized that technology had much
to offer over the old ways.

I still had paper charts aboard and obviously a compass but found that
the only time I had to use the charts was to program way-points into
the chart plotter before getting underway in the morning. Never had
to revert to navigating by charts and compass alone.


I saw that the Navy is going back to teaching celestial navigation to
their crews so somebody must think it is important. I suppose someone
pointed out the GPS satellites might only last a couple days in a real
war.
I am not saying these new things are not handy. I am just saying
everyone is depending on technology too much and forgetting basic
skills. It is not just boating. Stand next to a broken cash register
and watch the kid try to make change. It is scary.



The Navy is teaching the basics of celestial navigation at the
Academy only to midshipmen but it's in no way intended to be a serious
navigation tool or method. Part of the reason is a public relations
thing after a Navy ship ran aground, but it had nothing to do with
failure of GPS or other electronic navigation systems.
In other words .... it was operator error.

Today, if the GPS system went down, half of our precision guided
weaponry wouldn't work either ... or be totally inaccurate.

I guess that is why that even the tertiary powers are trying to get
anti satellite capability.



To put your mind at ease: :-)


Military navigation systems (including those aboard ships) are not
necessarily dependent on GPS. The systems developed originally for
nuke subs are now part of the navigation systems aboard surface
ships, missles, etc. The system is called "Inertial Navigation System"
(INS) and can work in concert with GPS or independently without GPS.

Over the years the components and computers used for INS have been
perfected, miniaturized and are incredibly accurate even without
GPS input.

https://aerospace.honeywell.com/en/learn/products/navigation-and-radios/talin-marine-inertial-navigation-system

Boat crash in Ft. Lauderdale
 

On Thu, 02 Jan 2020 19:34:18 -0500, wrote:

On Thu, 2 Jan 2020 17:48:30 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 1/2/2020 11:29 AM, wrote:
On Thu, 2 Jan 2020 07:05:19 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 1/1/2020 10:50 PM, Justan Ohlphart wrote:
Wrote in message:
On Wed, 01 Jan 2020 13:00:28 -0500, John H. wrote:On Wed, 1 Jan 2020 16:45:16 -0000 (UTC), Bill wrote:John H. wrote: On Tue, 31 Dec 2019 21:13:43 -0500, Alex wrote: Last night...
https://wsvn.com/news/local/several-injured-after-boat-crashes-into-jetty-near-fort-lauderdale/ Cocktails? Not every jetty shows up on a GPS. That happened a few times in Deale, MD, when folks would follow the GPS to get home. Midnight and speed. He was not going slow to get that far up the rocks
ina 42’ boat.For sure speed. Same thing happens in Deale. Going fast and taking the line offered by the GPS hasbeen the problem more than once. Everyone knows I am the real Luddite here but I fear modernelectronics is taking the place of basic seamanship and the importanceof local knowledge.


Why do you fear modern ways of navigating? If you should ever
decide to expand your horizons, you might embrace some of the
newer technology available.



I think that the advent of GPS, chart plotters and radar (if understood
and used properly) have made boating (and aviation) much safer than in
the days of compasses and paper charts.

That still doesn't mean you can avoid learning the basics of
seamanship and navigation. For a river and bay boater like me, that is
all overkill anyway. If I was trying to find a small Caribbean island
in a big ocean, I see the need but just trying to avoid a jetty or
oyster bar that may not be in the database in the first place is just
giving a false sense of security.


Don't think we were talking "seamanship". That's a wide ranging subject.

Boating with "local knowledge" really isn't celestial navigation either.

I think very few of us .... with the exception of Wayne ... really needs
to know how to navigate by the stars. Even local boating for me
was primarily local knowledge. Even on fishing trips, 30-40 miles off
shore didn't require any great navigation skills. In fact, without
GPS, it would be almost impossible to find our "secret spot" for
cod. Without GPS, I would probably be up to a half mile away.
With GPS, I could find the rise on the ocean bottom in 260 feet
of water that was our "secret spot" within a couple of yards.

If the GPS crapped out, all I really had to do is follow the
compass west. Eventually, I'd hit land.

Back in the olden days (79-80) my buddy could find his secret spot in
the Chesapeake bay just using landmarks onshore and a depth
"scratcher".
It was a 33 mile run down there from the marina.
Now it is trivial to see using google earth and a $59 GPS would put
you down on it.

37.736061-75.934284
Then follow that cut southwest.

Add an 'N' and a 'W' or you may end up in China.

Why so far south. I'd always be able to limit out on stripers just outside Deale.

Boat crash in Ft. Lauderdale
 

On Thu, 2 Jan 2020 17:48:30 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

Don't think we were talking "seamanship". That's a wide ranging subject.

Boating with "local knowledge" really isn't celestial navigation either.

I think very few of us .... with the exception of Wayne ... really needs
to know how to navigate by the stars.

===

I studied celestial navigation back in the early 80s when it was still
required for ocean navigation. I own an inexpensive sextant and have
taken a few sights with it but don't carry it on the boat since we
have multiple, redundant GPS units. Back in the day we used to sail
offshore from the Cape Cod Canal up to Maine using paper charts,
compass and dead reckoning. Making landfall in Maine on a foggy,
windy morning had an element of uncertainty and excitement but always
ended up within a mile or so of where we expected. I could still
navigate by compass, charts and dead reckoning if the entire GPS
system went out but it would take a while to get used to the
uncertainty factor. There are tricks of the trade for dealing with
positional uncertainty but they are rapidly becoming a lost art.

Boat crash in Ft. Lauderdale
 

On Fri, 3 Jan 2020 06:47:47 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 1/2/2020 7:34 PM, wrote:
On Thu, 2 Jan 2020 17:48:30 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 1/2/2020 11:29 AM, wrote:
On Thu, 2 Jan 2020 07:05:19 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 1/1/2020 10:50 PM, Justan Ohlphart wrote:
Wrote in message:
On Wed, 01 Jan 2020 13:00:28 -0500, John H. wrote:On Wed, 1 Jan 2020 16:45:16 -0000 (UTC), Bill wrote:John H. wrote: On Tue, 31 Dec 2019 21:13:43 -0500, Alex wrote: Last night...
https://wsvn.com/news/local/several-injured-after-boat-crashes-into-jetty-near-fort-lauderdale/ Cocktails? Not every jetty shows up on a GPS. That happened a few times in Deale, MD, when folks would follow the GPS to get home. Midnight and speed. He was not going slow to get that far up the rocks
ina 42’ boat.For sure speed. Same thing happens in Deale. Going fast and taking the line offered by the GPS hasbeen the problem more than once. Everyone knows I am the real Luddite here but I fear modernelectronics is taking the place of basic seamanship and the importanceof local knowledge.


Why do you fear modern ways of navigating? If you should ever
decide to expand your horizons, you might embrace some of the
newer technology available.



I think that the advent of GPS, chart plotters and radar (if understood
and used properly) have made boating (and aviation) much safer than in
the days of compasses and paper charts.

That still doesn't mean you can avoid learning the basics of
seamanship and navigation. For a river and bay boater like me, that is
all overkill anyway. If I was trying to find a small Caribbean island
in a big ocean, I see the need but just trying to avoid a jetty or
oyster bar that may not be in the database in the first place is just
giving a false sense of security.


Don't think we were talking "seamanship". That's a wide ranging subject.

Boating with "local knowledge" really isn't celestial navigation either.

I think very few of us .... with the exception of Wayne ... really needs
to know how to navigate by the stars. Even local boating for me
was primarily local knowledge. Even on fishing trips, 30-40 miles off
shore didn't require any great navigation skills. In fact, without
GPS, it would be almost impossible to find our "secret spot" for
cod. Without GPS, I would probably be up to a half mile away.
With GPS, I could find the rise on the ocean bottom in 260 feet
of water that was our "secret spot" within a couple of yards.

If the GPS crapped out, all I really had to do is follow the
compass west. Eventually, I'd hit land.

Back in the olden days (79-80) my buddy could find his secret spot in
the Chesapeake bay just using landmarks onshore and a depth
"scratcher".
It was a 33 mile run down there from the marina.
Now it is trivial to see using google earth and a $59 GPS would put
you down on it.

37.736061
-75.934284
Then follow that cut southwest.


Difference is that my "secret spot" was 32 miles offshore from
Scituate, MA and there are no on-shore landmarks in sight.

I have already said if you are offshore, GPS is a godsend. Most
boaters never leave sight of land and for the guy in Ft Lauderdale
"land" was his problem. He hit it.

Boat crash in Ft. Lauderdale
 

On Fri, 3 Jan 2020 07:00:02 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 1/2/2020 7:23 PM, wrote:
On Thu, 2 Jan 2020 17:32:39 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 1/2/2020 11:34 AM, wrote:
On Thu, 2 Jan 2020 07:14:10 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 1/2/2020 1:31 AM, wrote:
On Wed, 1 Jan 2020 22:50:10 -0500 (EST), Justan Ohlphart
wrote:

Wrote in message:
On Wed, 01 Jan 2020 13:00:28 -0500, John H. wrote:On Wed, 1 Jan 2020 16:45:16 -0000 (UTC), Bill wrote:John H. wrote: On Tue, 31 Dec 2019 21:13:43 -0500, Alex wrote: Last night...
https://wsvn.com/news/local/several-injured-after-boat-crashes-into-jetty-near-fort-lauderdale/ Cocktails? Not every jetty shows up on a GPS. That happened a few times in Deale, MD, when folks would follow the GPS to get home. Midnight and speed. He was not going slow to get that far up the
rocks
ina 42’ boat.For sure speed. Same thing happens in Deale. Going fast and taking the line offered by the GPS hasbeen the problem more than once. Everyone knows I am the real Luddite here but I fear modernelectronics is taking the place of basic seamanship and the importanceof local knowledge.

Why do you fear modern ways of navigating? If you should ever
decide to expand your horizons, you might embrace some of the
newer technology available.

Did you read what John wrote? People who trust their GPS blindly, hit
things that are not in the database. The database for the bay here is
pretty much useless anyway unless you just accept "don't go there" as
an answer.
The other issue is, if your electronics fail, do you just drop anchor
and call sea tow, hoping they can triangulate your position on their
radio or something?
I know people who think their Garmin Chart Plotter is all they ever
need. They don't even have a compass and no charts on board ... if
they could read them in the first place.

If that chart plotter craps out they are screwed, particularly at
night.

OTOH I navigate at night using local landmarks (radio towers, condos,
mangrove islands I recognize) and simply knowing where I am and where
I am going.



Greg, your feelings are pretty much exactly how I felt when I first got
into ocean boating. But once I graduated to the larger boats equipped
with GPS, chart plotters and radar I realized that technology had much
to offer over the old ways.

I still had paper charts aboard and obviously a compass but found that
the only time I had to use the charts was to program way-points into
the chart plotter before getting underway in the morning. Never had
to revert to navigating by charts and compass alone.


I saw that the Navy is going back to teaching celestial navigation to
their crews so somebody must think it is important. I suppose someone
pointed out the GPS satellites might only last a couple days in a real
war.
I am not saying these new things are not handy. I am just saying
everyone is depending on technology too much and forgetting basic
skills. It is not just boating. Stand next to a broken cash register
and watch the kid try to make change. It is scary.



The Navy is teaching the basics of celestial navigation at the
Academy only to midshipmen but it's in no way intended to be a serious
navigation tool or method. Part of the reason is a public relations
thing after a Navy ship ran aground, but it had nothing to do with
failure of GPS or other electronic navigation systems.
In other words .... it was operator error.

Today, if the GPS system went down, half of our precision guided
weaponry wouldn't work either ... or be totally inaccurate.

I guess that is why that even the tertiary powers are trying to get
anti satellite capability.



To put your mind at ease: :-)


Military navigation systems (including those aboard ships) are not
necessarily dependent on GPS. The systems developed originally for
nuke subs are now part of the navigation systems aboard surface
ships, missles, etc. The system is called "Inertial Navigation System"
(INS) and can work in concert with GPS or independently without GPS.

Over the years the components and computers used for INS have been
perfected, miniaturized and are incredibly accurate even without
GPS input.

https://aerospace.honeywell.com/en/learn/products/navigation-and-radios/talin-marine-inertial-navigation-system

Yup that is pretty amazing stuff

Boat crash in Ft. Lauderdale
 

On Fri, 03 Jan 2020 09:32:12 -0500, John H.
wrote:

On Thu, 02 Jan 2020 19:34:18 -0500, wrote:

On Thu, 2 Jan 2020 17:48:30 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 1/2/2020 11:29 AM, wrote:
On Thu, 2 Jan 2020 07:05:19 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 1/1/2020 10:50 PM, Justan Ohlphart wrote:
Wrote in message:
On Wed, 01 Jan 2020 13:00:28 -0500, John H. wrote:On Wed, 1 Jan 2020 16:45:16 -0000 (UTC), Bill wrote:John H. wrote: On Tue, 31 Dec 2019 21:13:43 -0500, Alex wrote: Last night...
https://wsvn.com/news/local/several-injured-after-boat-crashes-into-jetty-near-fort-lauderdale/ Cocktails? Not every jetty shows up on a GPS. That happened a few times in Deale, MD, when folks would follow the GPS to get home. Midnight and speed. He was not going slow to get that far up the rocks
ina 42’ boat.For sure speed. Same thing happens in Deale. Going fast and taking the line offered by the GPS hasbeen the problem more than once. Everyone knows I am the real Luddite here but I fear modernelectronics is taking the place of basic seamanship and the importanceof local knowledge.


Why do you fear modern ways of navigating? If you should ever
decide to expand your horizons, you might embrace some of the
newer technology available.



I think that the advent of GPS, chart plotters and radar (if understood
and used properly) have made boating (and aviation) much safer than in
the days of compasses and paper charts.

That still doesn't mean you can avoid learning the basics of
seamanship and navigation. For a river and bay boater like me, that is
all overkill anyway. If I was trying to find a small Caribbean island
in a big ocean, I see the need but just trying to avoid a jetty or
oyster bar that may not be in the database in the first place is just
giving a false sense of security.


Don't think we were talking "seamanship". That's a wide ranging subject.

Boating with "local knowledge" really isn't celestial navigation either.

I think very few of us .... with the exception of Wayne ... really needs
to know how to navigate by the stars. Even local boating for me
was primarily local knowledge. Even on fishing trips, 30-40 miles off
shore didn't require any great navigation skills. In fact, without
GPS, it would be almost impossible to find our "secret spot" for
cod. Without GPS, I would probably be up to a half mile away.
With GPS, I could find the rise on the ocean bottom in 260 feet
of water that was our "secret spot" within a couple of yards.

If the GPS crapped out, all I really had to do is follow the
compass west. Eventually, I'd hit land.

Back in the olden days (79-80) my buddy could find his secret spot in
the Chesapeake bay just using landmarks onshore and a depth
"scratcher".
It was a 33 mile run down there from the marina.
Now it is trivial to see using google earth and a $59 GPS would put
you down on it.

37.736061-75.934284
Then follow that cut southwest.

Add an 'N' and a 'W' or you may end up in China.

Why so far south. I'd always be able to limit out on stripers just outside Deale.

This was for trout and croakers. Rockfish were rare and illegal to
take in those days. I never saw one. They were around in the 50s but
we caught them all. In the 70s there were no limits on the fish you
could take, you just could not take a rockfish if you caught one. I
also never even heard of DNR stopping anyone. With no limits, no
license required and no drug running, I am not sure what they would be
stopping you for. They were all up in the north bay, South River going
after people catching small crabs and water skiing to close to docks
or other boaters.

Boat crash in Ft. Lauderdale
 

On Fri, 03 Jan 2020 11:12:10 -0500,
wrote:

On Thu, 2 Jan 2020 17:48:30 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

Don't think we were talking "seamanship". That's a wide ranging subject.

Boating with "local knowledge" really isn't celestial navigation either.

I think very few of us .... with the exception of Wayne ... really needs
to know how to navigate by the stars.

===

I studied celestial navigation back in the early 80s when it was still
required for ocean navigation. I own an inexpensive sextant and have
taken a few sights with it but don't carry it on the boat since we
have multiple, redundant GPS units. Back in the day we used to sail
offshore from the Cape Cod Canal up to Maine using paper charts,
compass and dead reckoning. Making landfall in Maine on a foggy,
windy morning had an element of uncertainty and excitement but always
ended up within a mile or so of where we expected. I could still
navigate by compass, charts and dead reckoning if the entire GPS
system went out but it would take a while to get used to the
uncertainty factor. There are tricks of the trade for dealing with
positional uncertainty but they are rapidly becoming a lost art.

There seem to be a lot of "lost arts" in this age of technology. We
always assume the technology will just be there.

Boat crash in Ft. Lauderdale
 

On Fri, 03 Jan 2020 13:43:01 -0500, wrote:

On Fri, 03 Jan 2020 11:12:10 -0500,
wrote:

On Thu, 2 Jan 2020 17:48:30 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

Don't think we were talking "seamanship". That's a wide ranging subject.

Boating with "local knowledge" really isn't celestial navigation either.

I think very few of us .... with the exception of Wayne ... really needs
to know how to navigate by the stars.

===

I studied celestial navigation back in the early 80s when it was still
required for ocean navigation. I own an inexpensive sextant and have
taken a few sights with it but don't carry it on the boat since we
have multiple, redundant GPS units. Back in the day we used to sail
offshore from the Cape Cod Canal up to Maine using paper charts,
compass and dead reckoning. Making landfall in Maine on a foggy,
windy morning had an element of uncertainty and excitement but always
ended up within a mile or so of where we expected. I could still
navigate by compass, charts and dead reckoning if the entire GPS
system went out but it would take a while to get used to the
uncertainty factor. There are tricks of the trade for dealing with
positional uncertainty but they are rapidly becoming a lost art.

There seem to be a lot of "lost arts" in this age of technology. We
always assume the technology will just be there.

As long as we have our cell phones, we can always give you a call! :)

Boat crash in Ft. Lauderdale
 

- show quoted text -
I saw that the Navy is going back to teaching celestial navigation to
their crews so somebody must think it is important. I suppose someone
pointed out the GPS satellites might only last a couple days in a real
war.
..........
I’d heard Morse code is coming back too. Even for military pilots. I’d think it’s a good deal

Boat crash in Ft. Lauderdale
 

On Fri, 03 Jan 2020 13:31:42 -0500, wrote:

On Fri, 3 Jan 2020 07:00:02 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 1/2/2020 7:23 PM, wrote:
On Thu, 2 Jan 2020 17:32:39 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 1/2/2020 11:34 AM, wrote:
On Thu, 2 Jan 2020 07:14:10 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 1/2/2020 1:31 AM, wrote:
On Wed, 1 Jan 2020 22:50:10 -0500 (EST), Justan Ohlphart
wrote:

Wrote in message:
On Wed, 01 Jan 2020 13:00:28 -0500, John H. wrote:On Wed, 1 Jan 2020 16:45:16 -0000 (UTC), Bill wrote:John H. wrote: On Tue, 31 Dec 2019 21:13:43 -0500, Alex wrote: Last night...
https://wsvn.com/news/local/several-injured-after-boat-crashes-into-jetty-near-fort-lauderdale/ Cocktails? Not every jetty shows up on a GPS. That happened a few times in Deale, MD, when folks would follow the GPS to get home. Midnight and speed. He was not going slow to get that far up the
rocks
ina 42’ boat.For sure speed. Same thing happens in Deale. Going fast and taking the line offered by the GPS hasbeen the problem more than once. Everyone knows I am the real Luddite here but I fear modernelectronics is taking the place of basic seamanship and the importanceof local knowledge.

Why do you fear modern ways of navigating? If you should ever
decide to expand your horizons, you might embrace some of the
newer technology available.

Did you read what John wrote? People who trust their GPS blindly, hit
things that are not in the database. The database for the bay here is
pretty much useless anyway unless you just accept "don't go there" as
an answer.
The other issue is, if your electronics fail, do you just drop anchor
and call sea tow, hoping they can triangulate your position on their
radio or something?
I know people who think their Garmin Chart Plotter is all they ever
need. They don't even have a compass and no charts on board ... if
they could read them in the first place.

If that chart plotter craps out they are screwed, particularly at
night.

OTOH I navigate at night using local landmarks (radio towers, condos,
mangrove islands I recognize) and simply knowing where I am and where
I am going.



Greg, your feelings are pretty much exactly how I felt when I first got
into ocean boating. But once I graduated to the larger boats equipped
with GPS, chart plotters and radar I realized that technology had much
to offer over the old ways.

I still had paper charts aboard and obviously a compass but found that
the only time I had to use the charts was to program way-points into
the chart plotter before getting underway in the morning. Never had
to revert to navigating by charts and compass alone.


I saw that the Navy is going back to teaching celestial navigation to
their crews so somebody must think it is important. I suppose someone
pointed out the GPS satellites might only last a couple days in a real
war.
I am not saying these new things are not handy. I am just saying
everyone is depending on technology too much and forgetting basic
skills. It is not just boating. Stand next to a broken cash register
and watch the kid try to make change. It is scary.



The Navy is teaching the basics of celestial navigation at the
Academy only to midshipmen but it's in no way intended to be a serious
navigation tool or method. Part of the reason is a public relations
thing after a Navy ship ran aground, but it had nothing to do with
failure of GPS or other electronic navigation systems.
In other words .... it was operator error.

Today, if the GPS system went down, half of our precision guided
weaponry wouldn't work either ... or be totally inaccurate.

I guess that is why that even the tertiary powers are trying to get
anti satellite capability.



To put your mind at ease: :-)


Military navigation systems (including those aboard ships) are not
necessarily dependent on GPS. The systems developed originally for
nuke subs are now part of the navigation systems aboard surface
ships, missles, etc. The system is called "Inertial Navigation System"
(INS) and can work in concert with GPS or independently without GPS.

Over the years the components and computers used for INS have been
perfected, miniaturized and are incredibly accurate even without
GPS input.

https://aerospace.honeywell.com/en/learn/products/navigation-and-radios/talin-marine-inertial-navigation-system

Yup that is pretty amazing stuff

===

It certainly is. One of the things that really amazes me is
electronic "gyroscopes". All of the older IN systems used mechanical
gyros but nowadays the whole thing is on a microchip that senses
motion by comparing the phase difference of light beams going in
opposite directions.