I *believe* that this is Wally Schirra testing out the height of spaceplane test pilot fashion.
Apr 112020
Apr 102020
Months of pain for Fingers ended this morning. Her dental issues turned out to be the result of an aggressive cancer, something that the vet could not offer any hope of fixing, only prolonging. So the decision was made to send Fingers on her way.
It would please me to think that Fingers is now wherever Raedthinn is. She had been missing him for nearly two years now; once he died, she never again purred quite as loudly or seemed quite as happy. It would be nice if that situation was now rectified.
Goddamnitsomuch.
Apr 102020
Via Local Commie Underlings, Beijing Officially Disapproves
The Chinese consulate general in Australia was annoyed that the Daily Telegraph newspaper made mention of the Chinese Communist’s responsibilities for the current crisis. Rather shockingly for modern Western media, the newspaper actually called out Commie bullcrap and told the ChiComs to shove it.
And for the polar opposite:
Nature magazine apologises for reports linking Covid-19 with China
The Kung Flu is not just a problem, it’s an opportunity. In fact, a whole bunch of opportunities. A major opportunity is to withdraw industry and trade from China. Dunk them into a generations-long depression and restore western industrial might… a win-win. Another opportunity is to clean house locally. Editorial boards who knuckle under to Commies can now be easily seen, and should be invited to explore new career opportunities in the food service or hoboing professions.
Apr 092020
… or hear: removing rust with a high power laser.
Fargin’ things sound like ray guns.
And this last one is on basically a souped-up steadicam to make it easier to heft the presumably heavy laser head. Tell ya what, though… I’m thinking power armor and US Colonial Marines.
Apr 092020
A mid-1960’s magazine ad, selling Sikorsky’s experience at developing stowed-rotor technology. The design used was a concept for a CARA (Combat Aircrew Recovery Aircraft), intended to dash at high speed over the jungles of Viet Nam, hover like a helicopter and winch up a downed pilot, then dash back to base. To do this the aircraft used a rotor that was spun up not by a mechanical drive system, but by tapping off the exhaust of the turbojet engines and routing it through ducts to the rotor tips. Doubtless it would have worked… and doubtless the transition phase would have been interesting and exciting.
Apr 082020
Bernie Sanders took a good, hard look at the Wuhan Flu and realized that since it is doing a fantastic job of trashing the US economy *and* in sowing misery and death, his campaign for the Presidency was redundant. Instead he can simply sit back and watch the disease from Communist China do the job his policies would have done.
Bernie Sanders drops out of the 2020 race, clearing Joe Biden’s path to the Democratic nomination
While it’s good to shuffle this old Marxist off the stage, the fact that he got as close as he did points out how badly the US educational system has fallen down on the job in the last generation or two. History and civics classes should do a better job of pointing out to the kiddies that socialism and fascism are barely discernible ideologies on most metrics, and that the Holocaust and the Holodomor are less opposite side of the same coin than they are the same side of the same coin.
Apr 072020
A NASA-Langley presentation from 1973 on Shuttle carrier aircraft concepts included this “low technology” design, similar to the Conroy “Virtus.”
Apr 072020
Schumer’s Sad Attempt to Wear a Face Mask Goes Viral
Photos Show Congressional Democrats Can’t Figure Out How to Put on Their Own Face Masks
Bonus round:
Governor Blackface aka Virginia’s Democrat Governor Ralph Northam strikes again. pic.twitter.com/SKnbtv9Mq8
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) April 6, 2020
Apr 072020
Obviously it’s actually *old* footage, but…
CNN has a copy of their Challenger launch broadcast footage. It’s available on CNN’s own YouTube channel, and it understandably has millions of views. CNN’s upload is a 360p video whose content is similar to what you see here — with three major differences: (1) this version is of substantially higher quality, (2) this version doesn’t have any CNN branding, and (3) this version continues NASA’s feed longer than CNN showed on air.
This is a direct copy of NASA’s broadcast feed. It was saved by NASA, and at some point a copy was transferred to the United States Geological Survey on a VHS tape. This video is a digitization of that tape; as far as I know, this is the first time it is being shown publicly.
It’s by no means high def, but it does looks substantially better – and goes on longer – than what I’ve seen before.
WARNING: if you’re of sufficient age, you might find that your room suddenly gets rather dusty when you watch this and think back to that day.
Apr 072020
Back in 2017, season three of Rick and Morty didn’t much impress me. Coupled with show co-creator Dan Harmon coming out as a democidal sociopath, I decided that Season Four of R&M was not at the top of my list. And so when it came out late last year I gave it a pass.
Decision Vindicated:
Rick and Morty Writer Siobhan Thompson: UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson “Deserves Every Blunt Needle He’ll Get”
More Rick & Morty? Nah, I’m good. I don’t plan on supporting hateful fascists.