March 12, 2009
Owch! Owch! Owch!
It burnnnnsss!!!!!!!!!!
Via Ace
Via Ace
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12:54 AM
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March 11, 2009
Aerospace Projects Review
A few months ago I rather furtively purchased an item from Aerospace Projects Review. The item was on the stillborn project Meteor, a 1950's proposal for an orbital space station I mentioned in passing here.
I immediately bit the bullet and subscribed.
It is worth every frigging penny.
Lowther is an aerospace engineer and has meticulously researched and obtained information on all manner of historical projects, both those that were built and those that weren't.
Mr. Lowther is also an accomplished draftsman and he provides superb artwork both by himself and people like Damon Moran to complement the existing schematics and his in depth analysis...
PLUTO art by Damon Moran
There is a lot of crap on the internet concerning projects that were never built...much of it utter bilge. Lowther's site is NOT one of those.
I cannot recommend this site highly enough. The prices are nominal and the information on various aerospace projects is amongst the most detailed available.
Anyway....plug.
I immediately bit the bullet and subscribed.
It is worth every frigging penny.
Lowther is an aerospace engineer and has meticulously researched and obtained information on all manner of historical projects, both those that were built and those that weren't.
Mr. Lowther is also an accomplished draftsman and he provides superb artwork both by himself and people like Damon Moran to complement the existing schematics and his in depth analysis...
There is a lot of crap on the internet concerning projects that were never built...much of it utter bilge. Lowther's site is NOT one of those.
I cannot recommend this site highly enough. The prices are nominal and the information on various aerospace projects is amongst the most detailed available.
Anyway....plug.
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Mirror Eyes
For the first time ever, a vertebrate has been discovered that uses mirrors in addition to lenses to focus light in its eyes.
image via BBC
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09:40 PM
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Banality of Terror
more...
more...
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07:36 PM
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March 10, 2009
Capitolism
Yes Brickmuppeteers, a new word is born.
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09:37 PM
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March 08, 2009
OK This Crap Needs to End NOW
As anyone who has perused this blog at any length is aware, as a citizen I am NOT an advocate, fan or booster for the current President.
However....
He IS the President and he is damned well due the respect, even in disagreement, that Americans who are not hyperpartisan douchebag putzes accord a holder of that august office. (Just as Bush was.)
I was going to do a normal below the fold politics post on the cacophony of fail currently emanating from the oval office when I discovered that this piece of excrement had arrived in my inbox.
However....
He IS the President and he is damned well due the respect, even in disagreement, that Americans who are not hyperpartisan douchebag putzes accord a holder of that august office. (Just as Bush was.)
I was going to do a normal below the fold politics post on the cacophony of fail currently emanating from the oval office when I discovered that this piece of excrement had arrived in my inbox.
The video is short (2:28 ) and purports to show the different level of regard the USMC has for the previous and current Commander in chief.
Two points:
One....It is quite probable that these were cherry picked speeches. No indication is given of what sort of ceremony the two speeches were for, they may have had different solemnity levels and the different commands may have had different standing orders for their troops.
Two...The United States Armed Forces, while in uniform, do NOT, must NOT play politics. That leads down a trail which ends in blood. Happily, we have a pretty damned professional officer corps whose oath is to uphold the constitution, not any party, so I don't actually see this happening short of an actual suspension of the constitution.
While it is perfectly OK (and IHMO right now necessary) to criticize our President. This video manages at a stroke to disrespect the office, disrespect a man who has taken the weight of the world on his shoulders on our behalf AND dishonor the Marines of Camp Lejune by painting them as disloyal.
This line of attack is libelous, seditious crap and Brickmuppet Blog unequivocally and without reservation condemns it.
UPDATE: I sent this to several Milbloggers a few others.Sent it to some of the Volokh conspirators because I wonder if the video would constitute a violation of the Hatch Act.
UPDATE 2: I'm behind the curve on this one, Greyhawk comments
UPDATE 3: I am off base, this doesn't even come close to a Hatch Act violation. To clarify, I wasn't concerned that the Marines in the vid were violating the Hatch act in any way, but I failed to make that clear. I thought that the vid might have been produced by a servicemember, but even if it was it is merely in poor taste, not any violation of the Hatch Act. Thanks to all those who responded and set me straight.
My opinion of the merits of the video still stands.
One....It is quite probable that these were cherry picked speeches. No indication is given of what sort of ceremony the two speeches were for, they may have had different solemnity levels and the different commands may have had different standing orders for their troops.
Two...The United States Armed Forces, while in uniform, do NOT, must NOT play politics. That leads down a trail which ends in blood. Happily, we have a pretty damned professional officer corps whose oath is to uphold the constitution, not any party, so I don't actually see this happening short of an actual suspension of the constitution.
While it is perfectly OK (and IHMO right now necessary) to criticize our President. This video manages at a stroke to disrespect the office, disrespect a man who has taken the weight of the world on his shoulders on our behalf AND dishonor the Marines of Camp Lejune by painting them as disloyal.
This line of attack is libelous, seditious crap and Brickmuppet Blog unequivocally and without reservation condemns it.
UPDATE: I sent this to several Milbloggers a few others.Sent it to some of the Volokh conspirators because I wonder if the video would constitute a violation of the Hatch Act.
UPDATE 2: I'm behind the curve on this one, Greyhawk comments
UPDATE 3: I am off base, this doesn't even come close to a Hatch Act violation. To clarify, I wasn't concerned that the Marines in the vid were violating the Hatch act in any way, but I failed to make that clear. I thought that the vid might have been produced by a servicemember, but even if it was it is merely in poor taste, not any violation of the Hatch Act. Thanks to all those who responded and set me straight.
My opinion of the merits of the video still stands.
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March 07, 2009
Warrior Queen Boudica and the Lost Art
Colleen Doran laments the disappearance into the publishers aether of the last of the "Big Books" the Big Book of Wild Women which would have featured a story illustrated by Ms. Doran about the warrior queen of the Celts. In fact she laments its disappearance so much that she went ahead and published her story as part of a long, informative post concerning the historical Boudica.
Anyway, read the whole thing.
Anyway, read the whole thing.
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11:31 PM
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Refined Cultural References For the Erudite Geek
Wonderduck has started a conversation about what sort of geekery geeks should grok.
I'm not one to really ask about this as video games are a big part of the geek culture that long since passed me by and...well...I don't play many video games. I can count the ones I have played over the last 5 years on 1 hand.
Avatar however, has picked up the baton and run with it.
I'm not one to really ask about this as video games are a big part of the geek culture that long since passed me by and...well...I don't play many video games. I can count the ones I have played over the last 5 years on 1 hand.
Avatar however, has picked up the baton and run with it.
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11:14 PM
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Interesting Find
Amongst the 37 songs I've thus far hunted down and put in the Blogradio rotation is one I blundered into quite unexpectedly: The radio edit of Hoshi no DejaVu, the OP song from Southern Cross.
I've been told that the song, (rather unlike the show) was fairly popular in Japan, topping the charts in 1984 at one point. It's an oddball find and it sort of blends with the other stuff too...
Amongst the 37 songs I've thus far hunted down and put in the Blogradio rotation is one I blundered into quite unexpectedly: The radio edit of Hoshi no DejaVu, the OP song from Southern Cross. I've been told that the song, (rather unlike the show) was fairly popular in Japan, topping the charts in 1984 at one point. It's an oddball find and it sort of blends with the other stuff too...
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08:05 PM
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Columbiad of the Atom Age
We`ve talked about launch techniques including space cannons before, and we`ve talked about pulse nuclear drive as well. Now in this post Mr. Wang brings these two indescribably cool things together with a touch of Jules Verne. He proposes a cannon powered by underground atomic bombs using underground nuclear testing testing technology. This is akin to Project Plowshare...but rather more sane as the radioactivity can be kept underground. Of course it is unworkable in the current political climate and a failure of the vessel would, of course, be....bad.
It is probably best suited for a lunar site but it is an interesting proposal nonetheless.
Rand Simberg has a response here. And Mr. Wang continues his proposal here and here.
We`ve talked about launch techniques including space cannons before, and we`ve talked about pulse nuclear drive as well. Now in this post Mr. Wang brings these two indescribably cool things together with a touch of Jules Verne. He proposes a cannon powered by underground atomic bombs using underground nuclear testing testing technology. This is akin to Project Plowshare...but rather more sane as the radioactivity can be kept underground. Of course it is unworkable in the current political climate and a failure of the vessel would, of course, be....bad.It is probably best suited for a lunar site but it is an interesting proposal nonetheless.
Rand Simberg has a response here. And Mr. Wang continues his proposal here and here.
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07:07 PM
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It's OFFICIAL!
I've now been formally accepted into the College of Oceanography!
more...
Woodcut by Alphonse de
Neuville
Yay!
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04:08 PM
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Perfect
It was perfect.
It was perfect.
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March 04, 2009
Exams Upon Me
Posting has been light due to 17 credits worth of midterms and papers. Tomorrow is a cram day. The rest of the week is exams. Light posting will continue, so here is a pic of Yuki Nagato as compensation.
Pic is by Toshihide Sano
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March 03, 2009
Lumberjack Lass Keeps Us From Hitting Bottom....
Of all the stupid stories to have been reported lately, few hit as close to home as this one about certain extreme greens advocacy of...
reuseable
toilette
wipes
Oh...MY...Gawd.
In related news, one reason Colleen Doran is a professional writer is that while one result of this is that I am without words... she is not. So go and see as she responds to this affront to all that is decent with her rapier like pen...and her chainsaw.
toilette
wipes
Oh...MY...Gawd.
In related news, one reason Colleen Doran is a professional writer is that while one result of this is that I am without words... she is not. So go and see as she responds to this affront to all that is decent with her rapier like pen...and her chainsaw.
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11:15 PM
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