… and help the old lady:
NOTE: watch this and you may find that your room has gotten rather dusty.
May 212013
May 202013
An illustration of Grumman’s 619 Space Shuttle – the final competitor for the competition that North American Rockwell won – lifting off. This design from 1972 was laid out pretty much as the final Space Transportation System was, but with some notable differences:
1) Stabilizing fins on the external tank
2) A “humped” back
3) four turbojet engines could be stored in the rear of the cargo bay, used for landing range extension, go-around capability and self-ferrying
4) Smaller OMS pods
5) Separate reaction control pods on the wingtips
May 202013
Oklahoma is currently getting trashed by very, very large tornadoes (two miles wide). It’s an ongoing disaster, so if you are in the area, find a hole, dive in and pull it in after you.
Most of the time, reporters covering such stories are entirely too gleeful over the mayhem they get to cover. But sometimes not. A few minutes ago, CNN was carrying the feed from the local KFOR station, with reporter Lance West reporting over the phone. The Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, OK, has been flattened; there was thought that the school might not have had any kids in it at the time. But Mr. West was reporting from the scene, and said that there were at least 75 kids in the school when it got hit, an that the school ha collapse upon them, rescue operations underway. And then he lost it. The anchors back at the station took over, but Mr. Wests anguish managed to come through.
It’s not good. And yet it’s oddly refreshing, or at least cathartic, when a reporter loses his cool at a scene that would make most regular people lose it.
If anyone finds that clip on Youtube, clue me in.
UPDATE:
embedded by Embedded Video
YouTube Direkt
embedded by Embedded Video
YouTube Direkt
A human emoting can bring a distant disaster close to home. Herbert Morrisons reporting on the Hindenberg disaster will be heartbreaking for as long as there are people who speak English.
embedded by Embedded Video
YouTube Direkt
May 192013
One pre-Shuttle idea for a space logistics vehicle was the “Big Gemini.” This would have used portions of the Gemini re-entry capsule as the nucleus around which a much large conical capsule would be built. The adapter section would be done away with and replaced with a conical section (with a geometry matching and extending the Gemini capsules) to house a variable number of passengers. A large number of “Big G” configurations were put forward; generally these were to be launched atop the Saturn Ib, but Saturn V and Titan IIIc options were also studied.
May 182013
Researchers suggest Victorian-era people more intelligent than modern-day counterparts
In short: duh.
The metric used was a test of reaction time to visual stimuli. From 1884 to 2004, the reaction time for men rose from 183 milliseconds to 253 milliseconds; for women, 188 milliseconds to 261 milliseconds.
To me this would seem to be a pretty fast change via evolution, but then, the Victorian era was more or less the beginning of the era of both modern medicine and the nanny state. Both of those will lead to the dumbing down of mankind by the simple expedient of protecting people from their own stupidity. I shudder to imagine what the future holds when the effects of Internet addiction and the like are added in.
May 182013
Regardless of your views on gay marriage, ya gotta admit that George Takei has a good sense of humor, and knows how to take on people who disagree with him.
George Takei Responds To “Traditional” Marriage Fans
One set among several:
May 182013
Marvin is still cruising along. Oddly, her ears are going bald. Buh?
If you were a Marvin donator, a bunch of new photos were uploaded to Dropbox for you in the “individual Marvin photos” folder.
May 172013
An interesting geological phenomenon east of Ogden, Utah. Photographed a week or so ago on my way home. What you’re seeing is the result of land that has been uplifted in such a way that previously horizontal terrain has been tipped about 90 degrees; horizontal layers are now vertical. The layers are of differing hardness; two hard layers sandwich a softer layer, which has been scooped out via erosion. The result is a pair of walls or tracks that form what would be just about the most uncomfortable and un-fun kids slide imaginable.
The Utah Department of Transportation put a viewing area on the opposite side of the road, allowing pretty good views of the thing. But someone also strung phone lines right in front of it, planting a utility pole right next to it. Gah.
May 172013
OK, now this is funny stuff right here…
The 17 Creepiest Cats You Meet On OkCupid
Example:
13. The overly confident show off.
May 172013
Fingers and Buttons keeping an eye on the birds…
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