Cool, warming later, and clear. Please let it be clear. It was really nice yesterday, I wore shorts and a t shirt. Damp, from all the water on the ground, but a nice breeze, and sunshine is helping with that.
Mostly hung around the house. Stacked my plywood to dry. Put some holiday stuff back up in the garage attic. Found some needful things that will transfer to the BOL this trip. Went through one tray of sauces and seasonings in foil packets while getting the slow cooker dinner together. Several had failed, with little tiny holes in the envelope. Not sure if it’s some sort of corrosion, little bugs inside the packets, or bugs eating their way in, but it’s a common failure mode for the aluminized pouches and packets. I’ll do a tally later, but I lost mostly crockpot seasonings and gravy mixes. Maybe $20-40 worth, and they are several years past ‘best by’ date. Depending on the contents, they start to taste “old” at that point anyway.
Started going through some auction stuff. I’m sorting, cleaning, and testing some big items. And for some reason, I’ve been picking up sewing machines.
Everyone should have a good sewing machine and know how to use the basic functions. Having an embroidery machine, or one with a whole lot of specialized stitches is icing on the cake. I already have a good sewing/embroidery machine, and a serger, and my wife has her machine. I’ve got an old Japanese machine at the secondary location as backup. I would like to have another machine for the BOL, but I can’t decide which one to take there. The three new ones are a Husquavarna computerized modern and very nice machine, a Bernina Burnette (manual machine, solid ordinary, entry level), and a Bernina that takes a computerized embroidery accessory as well as being a computerized sewing machine.
My first impulse is to take the Burnette. It’s probably the most reliable and fixable of the bunch, and the others will bring more money on ebay. But. The Husky has a leather setting, can do bar tacks, and other very useful stitches. FWIW, web gear uses a lot of bar tacks. If I was really prepping in depth, I’d be picking up a treadle machine too. They usually go for more than I’m willing to pay (100-200 USD, much more for leather working machines) so I’ve held off so far. I’ve actually used a treadle machine, so I know I could use one successfully. My mom had one when I was a kid. It’s a statement about how far you think things are likely to degrade though, unless you’re religious.
In any case, a sewing machine is a tool, one that historically played an important role in the home economy, and one that is very useful still, even if you have no plans to make your own clothes.
Tools that let you repair and customize your gear are worth having. You need to practice with them, and have at least the rudimentary supplies to make good use of them. Think about what tools you already have, and what you might need.
Then start stacking.
nick
There is a funny story revolving around a British sign that was revised, and revised again. The words on the sign are “Children Drive Slowly”. We all know what they mean, but…
I’m not sure what finally happened to the poor sign…
Anyway, turns out there’s a whole book about this: Eats, Shoots & Leaves
I really enjoyed that one, as a sometimes word and grammar nerd. The copy I bought came with stickers to cover up the “grocer’s apostrophe” on store signs. We have all seen the signs that offer lemon’s and cuke’s, and these stickers were to be placed over those excess apostrophes.
I thought the book was entertaining and still had good information. Of course, for deep dives, there is always the Gregg Reference Manual.
A bit overcast and slightly cooler than yesterday. I hope it clears up soon. Got stuff to pick up, and then later I’m headed out of town.
The pile of stuff for the BOL is too big…
n
… let us not forget my favourite road sign:
Friends of mine have this one that I like on their property through which a public thoroughfare runs:
“Free range children and other animals. Please drive carefully!”
War? 25 Red States Rally ‘Round Texas As Battle Brews With Biden Over Border
Like I have said, and many others have said, this could get out of hand quickly.
n
“Slow Children at Play” was the sign at the end of our block… and at least one of the kids on the block was, in fact, “slow”.
n
Hope they’ve learned some lessons for next time.
I’m generally pro-death penalty, but I don’t actually trust government to do it, so I’m conflicted.
IF we allow judicial killing, then I don’t really see why it must be “humane” or “painless”. The witnesses should KNOW that what they are seeing is critically important, and should be used in extremis only. It shouldn’t be pleasant for anyone involved, as it is a serious matter.
I don’t see how they F’d this up in this case, unless the mask allowed air in.
n
I don’t get all the ways of execution. We have so many narcotics that will peacefully end a life. Just put him in a chamber and throw a cup of fentanyl in the face.
I have seen, multiple times, the killing of cattle. A single .22 to the brain. The animal drops in their tracks. One moment they are alive, the next picosecond they are dead. Instant death.
I have seen the killing of horses with a single injection. The animal just gets drowsy and drops. I have been with three of my dogs when they were put down for significant health reasons. Almost instantly they are gone.
A friend of my son committed suicide with helium. Attached his own mask and started breathing helium. Apparently painless and a person just passes out. In the case of Alabama why nitrogen rather than Helium? Cost?
I have seen film of people in Vietnam being killed with a shot to the brain. One moment the person is alive, the next moment there is a pink cloud where there once was a brain.
I fail to see why it is so difficult to find a method to kill another human. Ethics, morals, etc. it should be easy to terminate the life. That the state officials can screw up executions is a mystery and certainly speaks to their lack of competence.
Put the condemned in a small sphere. A sphere of 1″ plexiglass weighted to descend slowly. Drop that spere over the deepest part of the ocean. Supposedly when the implosion occurs it is instantaneous. On the trip down the condemned will have time to think about what they did to their victims. Anticipation should be a real rush. And no one can hear them scream.
On crypto:
I bought small amounts of various cryptos to see how an exchange works, how to securely store the block chain, and how to use crypto. I bought some different types of “cold” wallets. The one I carry in my minimal wallet is the Arculus. The BC is encrypted on the card chip with access controlled by the app. There are so many types of crypto now, that it is hard to find a cold wallet to store all of them.
I have heard that “Slow children at play” grow up to be “Slow men at work”
The RINOs in Austin aren’t going to push things that far.
This will all be wrapped up in a few weeks once any chance of a serious freeze event in Texas passes, most likely after the Lunar New Year/Lent/Valentine’s Day/President’s Day extended holiday week is over.
Florida still has Old Sparky (I’m not kidding about the name) ready to go.
If it was good enough for Ted Bundy, it should be fine for everyone else.
The execution method should be sufficiently frightening to serve as a deterrent. So Old Sparky set a few heads on fire. BFD.
Asphyxiation with an inert gas strikes me as something much weirder and dreamed up by a death fetishist.
re: death by nitrogen
Behavior inconsistent with any description of prior event or expectation by experts.
Most likely explanation: coaching by anti-death penalty crowd. The same kind of bs you get from felons that claim they can’t breathe as soon as they are touched by police.
A good autopsy should find evidence of “agony”, but a positive result would be inconclusive. After all, he’s finally come to the end of the road.
Another interesting piece of inside information which came from the relation who worked at Perkins Coie is that the law firm runs appeals on a lot death penalty cases across the country pro bono.
If the execution method is new and has a lot of unknowns, hiring a consultant to coach the condemned about their final moments to introduce doubt about whether the technique is “cruel and unusual” would pay huge dividends for the law firm down the road in the form of a class action suit on behalf of the families of the executed.
FFS. Watch the linked video. Unbelievable.
It starts with “Piss Christ” and ends with child sacrifice.
n
h/t https://wheelgunr.blogspot.com/
The execution protocol should have been to fit the mask and run normal air for 3-5 minutes before switching.
With all the breathless reporting, it’s hard to know what actually happened in the execution. Reading about industrial accidents, people hardly know when they are breathing pure nitrogen. However, this guy knew he was going to die, so he held his breath and struggled as long as he was still conscious.
I don’t think narcotics are a better alternative, really – the person has to be totally tied down, and you are poking them with needles. They are still going to fight and struggle as long as they are conscious.
In the end, there just isn’t a good way to do it. Maybe “no warning” would be better? They’ve been sentenced, they are on death row. Some day they just don’t wake up because the air in the room was switched to pure nitrogen.
I’m opposed to the death penalty. I don’t feel any government should be executing its citizens for any reason. Then, there’s the clusterf_ck that is our law enforcement and judicial systems. So, you can’t even be sure the right guy is on death row. In the last 50 years we’ve exonerated almost 200 death row inmates based on new evidence (DNA, etc.). Which begs the question, how many innocents have we executed? So, no, as a general rule we shouldn’t be executing anyone. I also recognize that if someone close to me was murdered I would want their killer to die a horrible death. However, I further recognize that this is why people in that situation probably shouldn’t be involved in that decision making process nor can they speak objectively on the topic.
Now, that said…
Why not just put them in a altitude/hypobaric chamber? Plenty of pilots who quietly lost cabin pressure have gone hypoxic and drifted peacefully off to sleep until their aircraft eventually crashes. Put them in the chamber and bring the altitude up to 30K feet, At that altitude, useful consciousness is only 1-2 minutes. Then, they’ll be loopy for a bit and then they’ll be asleep and then dead. Though, this should have all happened with nitrogen as well. I’m not an MD, but perhaps after consciousness is lost as the body is starved for oxygen it involuntarily twitches and convulses? Though, if the condemned is already unconscious due to oxygen deprivation they likely wouldn’t be feeling any of that convulsing anyway. Also, there’s the argument that they didn’t give a shit how much their victim(s) suffered, so why should we care how much they suffer?
Perhaps just stop putting them on suicide watch in the days leading up to their execution. Put a length of rope, some razor blades, and a bottle of fentanyl in their cell. Then, simply leave them unattended for hours at a time. I have no idea why we care if death row inmates commit suicide.
I suppose it can be very disturbing for witnesses in the gallery to see all that, but when they choose to attend an execution just what the f_ck do they expect? Either be emotionally prepared to see a person suffer and die or don’t go.
Uh, guys, states are MOVING TROOPS AROUND. That’s what “deploying their National Guard units” means…
https://bustednuckles.net/heh-2/
This isn’t like sending units to help after a natural disaster either. This is sending units in support after a Governor accused the FEDGOV of abdicating their responsibility (and authority). It’s moving troops around IN RESPONSE TO FEDGOV ACTIONS AND POLICIES.
This could blow up very quickly.
n
@Norm re Treesheets: Shift- scrolldid nothing but Control-scroll wheel works. My scroll wheel is erratic so I need to get a different mouse. Thanks.
Re: execution methods. It should be related to the horror determining their death sentence. If the person died quickly and then it should take less than an hour; it they died in great pain then longer, maybe even a few hours. I like the idea of cruel and and usual as a deterent: wood choppers, burning at the stake (while wearing and oxygen mask so the smoke doesn’t let them pass out, dragged in a circle over rough concrete and razor wire, etc. We could even give awards for inventive ways.
That smiling man who the shot the small boy in his mother’s car should die during the third or fourth day unable to scream any longer.
Because it violates the court order.
I like suicide as an alternative. It means less stealing from me (bureaucraps call it taxation) for their daily expenses.
A lot of Guard training takes place this time of year in the South.
Pancho’s in Nuevo Progreso will be busy this weekend.
I checked Walmart online and a 2-pack of 1lb propane bottles is now $35, or $38.50 with tax in California.
When I refilled my 100# tank last week the bulk price was $3.04/gal or about $0.81/lb with tax.
So I have ordered the FlameKing refill kit, and a couple of their DOT certified refillable bottles.
At the Bremerton WA Walmart store, online prices are $19/4pack (on sale from $29.50) for the 1 lb bottles; excluding tax. A 12-pack for $105.00 (1 lb each). All Coleman brand.
Refilling at local gas station feed stores is about $2.99 – $3.50 gallon around here (eastern Olympic Peninsula).
“Can anything save Boeing from its management?”
The lead in to an Av Week article:
https://aviationweek.com/aerospace/manufacturing-supply-chain/opinion-can-boeings-misguided-leaders-be-stopped
Ans: No, probably not.
Wow. Gutting internal R&D and hiring a female financial type as CEO heir-apparent as they circle the drain.
Look, whether you believe in the death penalty or not we can load up a syringe of fentanyl and kill anyone. The rest is barbaric. They wanted me to submit my mom to the morphine therapy as a pallative care measure years ago, Give them one last blast and be done with it.
@Rick: That is in line with what I grudgingly used to pay here in California. I think it was about six dollars a bottle last time I bought some in the fall. I only use a bottle now and then for car camping and to keep myself warm at an observing site, so the ridiculous price wasn’t a big issue, but at $18 a bottle it starts to cost as much as an overnight campsite.
Did a bunch of cleanup in the attic, put down some more floor up there, and moved stuff from the foyer to the attic. Hopefully, it will start coming down and going to auction soon.
Got my truck partly loaded, headed out to do some pickups.
n
I haven’t watched Hazbin Hotel yet, but I have watched Helluva Boss from the same creator, Vivienne Medrano. I enjoyed it. She makes good stuff. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but that’s fine. It doesn’t need to be. I do find the outdated assumption that just because something is animated it is aimed at kids to be a bit silly. That hasn’t been true for decades (Simpsons, Family Guy, Rick n Morty, Archer, and too much anime to even mention). It’s clear as day on the content warning for the Amazon Prime listing of Hazbin Hotel: “Content Warning: Violence, substance use, alcohol use, smoking, foul language, sexual content.” Amazon Prime has Parental Controls. Maybe some people need to stop clutching their pearls and just exercise their consumer choice to not watch it.
“Can anything save Boeing from its management?”
The lead in to an Av Week article:
https://aviationweek.com/aerospace/manufacturing-supply-chain/opinion-can-boeings-misguided-leaders-be-stopped
Ans: No, probably not.
Wow. Gutting internal R&D and hiring a female financial type as CEO heir-apparent as they circle the drain.
The day that an engineering company replaces it’s engineer CEO with an accountant, they are done. The accountant will glorify accountants who drive the costs to the minimum. All of the engineers will be run off as too expensive. Ford has been fighting this battle for decades. GM lost the battle in the 1970s.
Crankshaft: Is A Jerk
https://www.gocomics.com/crankshaft/2024/01/25
Crankshaft broke therapy dog !
Like “The Rings of Power”.
Mary Barra at GM was head of HR prior to becoming CEO. Catbert!
Prior to Tommy Boy, Ford had the Steelcase exec who was a bit to fond of eye makeup. The last CEO with any manufacturing background was Alan Mulally, hired from Boeing, who relieved Bill Ford before the scion could drive the company into the ground.
Pearls Before Swine: Government Spying
https://www.gocomics.com/pearlsbeforeswine/2024/01/26
Google sends me an email each month of when and where I was at. I wonder who else they send it to.
OK, we’ve got a spammer on the board today. Hammered.
“US pauses funding for UNRWA after staff accused of involvement in October 7 massacres”
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/us-pauses-funding-for-unrwa-after-staff-accused-of-involvement-in-october-7-massacres/
Every time we take a close look at one of these UN agencies, bad things show up. Why are we funding the UN again ?
“Clutching pearls” is on their Bingo card so my spidey sense was popping.
Classes start Monday morning at 10 AM.
“Biden administration export halt puts US LNG industry’s expansion plans at risk”
https://www.ogj.com/home/article/14304131/biden-administration-export-halt-puts-us-lng-industrys-export-expansion-plans-at-risk
“The future of the expansion of US LNG was put in jeopardy when the White House ordered a halt of new export authorizations while the US DOE beefs up its review process.”
A monthly check to Hunter of a million dollars or so should fix this problem.
The Geico Gecko bought a 50% stake in one of the big east coast LNG terminals at some point last year.
The Gecko loves his moats.
I check Pi-hole once in a while to see if it needs an update. Yesterday, it did. But the ‘net was down, the fiber router or whatever it’s called at the ISP that connects to their ISP broke somehow. Plus a fiber splice somewhere in the sticks east of Georgetown failed.
I could do it with my phone tethered. But it’s not a crazy fast connection. Just 2Mb down. “Just” 🙂 Compared to about 95 down.
Anyway. Yesterday Pi said there were updates. Today? No updates. I closed the browser tab. Tried again after taking Buddy The Beagle for a walk and there are updates available. So I did that.
I wonder what’s going on. Is Pi-hole being wacky? Or, my guess, Firefox’s cache is messed up.
The Geico Gecko bought a 50% stake in one of the big east coast LNG terminals at some point last year.
The Gecko loves his moats.
Those east coast LNG terminals are incoming only, not outgoing. They used to be serviced by LNG tankers coming from Russia but that is not happening anymore. There are zero USA flagged LNG tankers so we cannot ship from a Gulf Coast LNG export terminal either due to requirement that a USA port to a USA port must use a USA flagged ship. So I have no idea how those east coast LNG terminals are getting serviced other than from Trinidad or Qatar.
Lots of good ways to do this but the problem is all the good ways are “messy”. The concern is not for the suffering of the criminal being executed but for the feelings of the witnesses. A bullet to the brain is quick and effectively painless. The problem is the bloody mess it makes freaks out the witnesses, hence the search for another method that looks “peaceful” to the witnesses. Peaceful does not mean painless to the criminal being executed, so I think everyone responsible for executing the sentence have lost touch with reality. Tell the witnesses it will be quick but messy. Use a bullet. A humane ending for the criminal. Realistic for the witnesses as they need to understand at a visceral level they are seeing a life taken. It should not be trivialized by being made comfortable to watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncbEucjsNFU
I have a ‘hands-off’ policy on comment moderation. I provide the tools, but I don’t use them.
I do sometimes feel that the ‘hammer’ is sometimes used on comments that the ‘hammer-person’ doesn’t agree with. There are comments here that propose what I think are inappropriate solutions to an issue. I just down-vote them.
But – I provide the ‘engine’ here. I am not responsible for the drivers (admins or commenters). I express my opinion with the up/down votes. My ‘leaning’ is not as extreme as others here.
With the observation that most people consider themselves “basically centrist”, it’s those other people who are the extremists or outliers.
SteveF, however, has no illusions.
I have a particular fondness for that link.
“EucjsNFU”
WRT spam and trolling. Two different things.
The troll who really just can’t stay away, which says more about him than us, is semantically consistent. Also pretty technically consistent. And not too hard to identify.
Every time we give an inch he goes for a mile… so the zero tolerance policy regarding that individual is still in effect.
nick
Big River’s e-mails of “stuff you might like” is wacky. I’ve already bought “this”, I don’t need more. As an example, I bought some Pepsodent toothpaste.
HEB quit selling it a few years ago. Wal-Mart quit recently. I suppose one is not suppose to be able to buy toothpaste for 98¢ a tube and should buy some variety of Colgate for $3 and up. Anyway.
I was down to three tubes. Shopped a bit and found Pepsodent for $1.75 a tube. Best price. Yeah, a case of 24 just like what the grocery stores get. With free shipping.
Big River seems to think I need more toothpaste a couple of weeks later and $5.32 plus shipping for one tube is a good deal.
Meh. I’m going to go burn supper and feed the dogs while I wonder about the stupidity I see everyday.
Trans Swimmer Lia Thomas Challenging Ban From Elite Competitions, Including Olympics
https://legalinsurrection.com/2024/01/trans-swimmer-lia-thomas-challenging-ban-from-elite-competitions-including-olympics/
Why does the left not understand the word “banned”?
He is perfectly welcome to compete as long as he qualifies with the other biological males.
Another word the left does not understand: “fair”.
@paul
Try this one:
https://www.thedailyacorn.com/bald-eagle-found
The universe has its own values.
@tv, I agree.
@steveF, I don’t wonder if the glass is half full, or half empty, I wonder who’s been drinking from my cup.
@chad, I think the bigger issue with “pushing envelopes” is a general decline in morality and increasing ‘baseness’ in society. Even without the religious dogma, I don’t think a show about what a great and misunderstood guy the symbol for ultimate evil is, is a good thing for society.
n
Old physics joke:
What sound does a dyin’ centimeter make?
Plus, the marketplace doesn’t work with Amazon Prime streaming right now. IIRC Bezos still controls voting rights on 12% of the stock, insiders have 9%, and the institutions control 62%, with Vanguard/Blackrock/State Street holding about 15%.
I believe we’ve seen Peak Amazon, but it is still a very valuable and politically powerful company.
Even after losing a couple of billion dollars on “The Rings of Power”.
The last Amazon Prime commercial I saw in a theater on Christmas night had a lengthy shot of “Fleabag” at the end of the roll call of their “best” programming.
What sound does a dyin’ centimeter make?
–well???
n
Heading out…
n
The Gecko bought the port after Biden tightened the rules about shipping LNG by rail. Buffett must have something in the works.
I saw some specs on a new piece of AI hardware coming from a vendor this week, and all I’ll say is that the monkey trick isn’t going “green” anytime soon.
When I went to run “Financial Audit” this morning, YouTube decided that I needed to see an ad for cannabis edibles.
Geesh are their algorithms are way off with that one.
BTW, once again, “Financial Audit” is Austin in a nutshell.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgJAzmc-p6A
erg!
WRT spam and trolling. Two different things.
The troll who really just can’t stay away, which says more about him than us, is semantically consistent. Also pretty technically consistent. And not too hard to identify.
Every time we give an inch he goes for a mile… so the zero tolerance policy regarding that individual is still in effect.
nick
I know that I am too quick on the trigger. But that particular person (“The Troll”) was making weird incomprehensible remarks about the commas in the second amendment. My reading is that this crowd really does not care about where commas are placed in the text. And the poster does a particular thing that really sets me off.
And then, they used the phrase “echo chamber”. Yup, troll.
Basically, there is teasing and there is meanness. The former is just fine and welcome. The latter is just being a jerk.
@chad, I think the bigger issue with “pushing envelopes” is a general decline in morality and increasing ‘baseness’ in society. Even without the religious dogma, I don’t think a show about what a great and misunderstood guy the symbol for ultimate evil is, is a good thing for society.
I stopped watching the “Lucifer” tv show on Netflix when they had God walk away and Lucifer took the throne of Heaven. That went past the line for me.
The Gecko bought the port after Biden tightened the rules about shipping LNG by rail. Buffett must have something in the works.
I just don’t see anyone putting in long LNG pipelines, anything more than a mile. The pipe is vacuum sealed for minimal heat transfer and expensive to maintain. So, it will have to be ships. Maybe Congress is getting ready to relax the USA flagged ship requirement from USA port to USA port. I kinda doubt it though.
It’s doubtful that anyone in congress is planning much beyond stealing their next election and robbing the taxpayers blinder.
Yeah, little “c”. Because they is.
And the Brazos River at River has come up from 10 feet to 44 feet in the last couple of days.
https://water.weather.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?wfo=HGX&gage=RMOT2
I sure am glad I don’t live next to that monster anymore. All of the creeks around here are now running backwards and flooding fields and such.
I semi-apologize for my “you look weird, and your mom dresses you funny” comment. But I had an idea who I was addressing and couldn’t resist.
Made it to the BOL. Raining most of the trip, but not too bad until I got to county roads… then visibility dropped and the deer started showing up. Slowed WAY down.
Turned the water, water heater, and heat back on and to reasonable temperatures. Still waiting for the house to catch up. 56F and falling slowly outside. Still raining a bit. 67F and rising inside.
Think I’ll look for an early night. Too wet to sit out, and I’m pretty tired.
n
I semi-apologize for my “you look weird, and your mom dresses you funny” comment. But I had an idea who I was addressing and couldn’t resist.
I would not apologize. I thought your comment was a hoot. In fact, your comment triggered me to bring out the hammer for the troll.
https://www.ttgnet.com/journal/2024/01/25/thur-jan-25-2024-maybe-no-rain-today/#comment-275460
so it goes…
Lockheed SR-71
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_SR-71_Blackbird
Budget approval Feb 1960 to first flight Dec 1964 4 years 10 months. Mach 3.4 reported during testing.
Paper and slide rules.
July 1976: official speed and altitude records.
Quarterhorse Mk 0 takes first steps toward breaking SR-71 speed record
https://newatlas.com/aircraft/quarterhorse-mk-0-challenge-sr-71-speed-record/
Quarterhorse:
4 steps:
Mark 0 taxiing; Mark 1 first flight (late 2024); Mark 3 supersonic flight (no date); Mark 4 record attempt
Full funding “late” 2021;
Gigabyte computing.
https://newatlas.com/aircraft/quarterhorse-mk-0-challenge-sr-71-speed-record/
A wonderful program.
But an RPV is not in the same class as a human piloted aircraft.
The Blackbirds records will stand and they won’t need any GD footnotes.
I commend your attention to three items in the wiki Blackbird article:
Operational History: pilot Major Brian Shul reporting [no date] a speed in excess of Mach 3.5 on an operational sortie while evading a missile over Libya.[98] {Shul passed in March 2023–a true American hero]
The Blackbird was unretired after the Air Force declared it obsolete and traded it away.
5 February 1968: Lockheed ordered to destroy A-12, YF-12, and SR-71 tooling
I was fascinated with the Blackbird and built a plastic model kit when it first came out ca. 1966. A simple kit with a low part count that is still in production today, having passed through a couple manufaturers.
In the 1980’s I had a late night conversation with an ex-Air Force officer that had been told that the titanium skin-and-framed Blackbird had a hot spot that limited top speed and could not be designed out. The solution was a graft of another material, said to be recovered from a craft of unknown origin. I pointed out that CAE was advancing very rapidly, and it would soon be possible to take publicly available information and use inexpensive modeling tools to confirm or disprove the existence of such a hot spot. I had no illusion that such a claim was not already in the hands of people with more motivation and funding to investigate it, and since no additional information came out in the next few years I chalked it up to another UFO story out of the whole cloth.
Not long after I became peripherally involved in materials development for the Space Shuttle, and met a very talented gentleman who was the reducer to practice for some exotic carbon-carbon composites. Those materials were used to take the worst of the Shuttle re-entry heat.
In 2003 we lost the Columbia orbiter to impact damage to that area during takeoff from some errant foam, which NASA refused to EVA to inspect. I didn’t get a chance to ask the question until months after the fact, and the reply was that no fix would have worked, but we should have inspected, and hell yes we should have tried.
Yoda was wrong.
“I had an idea who I was addressing and couldn’t resist.”
He who whispers not the dog, nor even the horse…
>> Google sends me an email each month of when and where I was at. I wonder who else they send it to.
How many covert intelligence agencies do we have?
>>Big River seems to think I need more toothpaste a couple of weeks later and $5.32 plus shipping for one tube is a good deal.
Jeff had people working on AI before AI was a thing.
“Worldcon in the news” By Charlie Stross
http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2024/01/worldcon-in-the-news.html
“You’ve probably seen news reports that the Hugo awards handed out last year at the world science fiction convention in Chengdu were rigged. For example: Science fiction awards held in China under fire for excluding authors.”
I definitely need to read more of his books. I have two in my SBR.
>> Google sends me an email each month of when and where I was at. I wonder who else they send it to.
How many covert intelligence agencies do we have?
Legion.
Echo chamber. Internet bubble. It’s true, of course, and yet – it has always been like this.
People seek out like minded people. I am friendly with some people who hold very different world views, but I limit the time I spend with them. Otherwise, our differences would lead to unnecessary arguments.
Just as an example: I have one neighbor who is waaaay left. He has recently been promoting a video that explains why money is completely unnecessary. If everyone would just keep on doing their thing, they could just take whatever they need, and we would all live happily ever after. I just ignored him at first, but he kept pushing. So I told him that the author is naive. The ideas are great and wonderful, but not meant for humans, because real people just don’t work that way. Hopefully, we can go back to being just friendly neighbors…
Could it have been fabric from DC-3 control surfaces? Those aircraft are of legendary durability. 😉
Where Mr. Nick’s first post be at?
Hope he’s just busy…
Internet down in Crabwell Corners.
In situations like this, I find it convenient to assume that he was abducted by space aliens.
Considering that he has two teenage daughters, the question is whether he wants to be returned or if he’s happier as an experimental animal on board their ship.
Considering that he has two teenage daughters, he lives with space aliens.
I’m too far, but it should be okay for Lynn to do a 911.
Probably not a problem. Most likely Nick either forgot to write the daily post, forgot to schedule it to go up, or made a mistake, with a slight chance that a WordPress update or hosting glitch interfered with the process.
One of the non-Nick site admins or editors can go into the admin panel and see if there’s a post written but not posted, and post it if so.
I was gifted with some Rwanda Isimbi light-roast coffee, very different from my normal dark-roast, and took to the interwebz. I discovered:
A name for a technique that I have seen: uselets cupping (AKA a slurp-style tasting)
The very small Rwanda coffee farms typically have 200 trees on about 2.5 hectares (1 acre) yielding 3 lbs each of coffee cherries which are processed into ½-pound of roast coffee, for an overall yield of 100 lbs per acre.
That is a very small farm indeed.
Drinking the coffee is rather like switching from an oatmeal stout to a pilsener–very different flavor profile. I’m going to vac seal some and try it this summer. In the meantime the balance of the pot will get chilled for iced coffee (no actual ice added). Some of the best seasonal coffees are Christmas/winter dark blends, and I typically drink them year-round. I wake up easily but the higher faculties need some persuading.
AT&T gets to pick and choose who receives decent Internet in the state under the fiber deal.
The BOL is one of those places which gets Short Shrift.
Hey Ho, it’s off to work we go…
nothing sinister, I forgot to hit “schedule”. I was really tired.
Only the second or third time in 6 years of daily posts. Still, I feel bad about making anyone concerned. I appreciate that y’all have my back.
n
ADDED- SteveF’s advice was spot on. Post was there, just brainfarted…