Jul 292012
 

In order to have a proper policy discussion, one must have accurate data.  And given the *vast* cost in terms of taxpayer dollars wasted, lives lost, lives ruined and government grown, the “War On Some Drugs” is in dire desperate need of a proper and honest policy discussion. So, here’s this:

Five Scientific Conclusions About Cannabis That The Mainstream Media Doesn’t Want You To Know

In short:

1. Cannabis use is associated with lower mortality risk in patients with psychotic disorders

2. The enactment of statewide medical marijuana laws is associated with fewer incidences of suicides

3. The effects of cannabis smoke on the lungs are far less problematic than those associated with tobacco

4. Cannabis use is associated with only marginal increases in traffic accident risk

5. The schedule I classification of cannabis is a lie; the science says so

I’ve got no use for the stuff. Nor have I use for tobacco or booze. But if someone started arguing that alcohol needs to be banned because a single beer could cause your eyeballs to explode, I’d be annoyed at the dishonesty of it. Same applies to pot, coke, heroin, PCP or “bath salts.” Some drugs do nightmarish things to people. Other drugs don’t. By refusing to be honest about the effects of Drug A or Drug B, the only people who benefit are the criminals and the government enforcers.

 Posted by at 9:05 pm
Jul 292012
 

A look inside the nose and cockpit of the B-1B, taken from a B-1B system familiarization manual:

Interesting to ponder how many of those important-looking electronic boxes could be replaced with Iphones…

 Posted by at 1:35 am
Jul 282012
 

Here’s a YouTube video from a year ago, some guy flew from Bangkok to Hong Kong on an Emirates Airlines A380 and paid the rather measly sum of $550 to get a first class “suite.” And damn, they went all-out. It looks like the flight was fairly short, but for long trans-Pacific flights the ability to have a bed and a *shower* would be all kinds of awesome.

[youtube J1OqqQ8hBXk]

 Posted by at 9:23 pm
Jul 282012
 

A week ago, at 1:30 AM, I was minding my own business when I noticed a *lot* of flashing blue and red lights zipping by the house, and stopping a few thousand feet up the road. So I grabbed yon camera and went for a stroll and found a bunch of police, firefighters and paramedics dealing with a one-motorcycle accident. I took some photos (none of the injured driver, that would be at best tacky) and submitted them to the local newspaper, and lo and behold they used one for both the web and print editions.

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Motorcyclist injured

Thursday, July 26, 2012

By theleader

Courtesy/Scott Lowther

The driver of this Harley Davidson suffered a broken pelvis and a compound leg fracture after crashing into a cement barrier on SR 102, Saturday morning about 1:30 a.m.  According to Utah Highway Patrol Lt. Lee Perry, David Harris, 49, Tremonton, failed to make a curve and ended striking the barrier with enough force to move it and break the motorcycle’s rim.  He was transported to Bear River Valley Hospital in Tremonton and then moved to Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City.  Perry said alcohol and speed may have been factors in the accident.  An investigation is underway and blood tests taken at the hospital are being reviewed.  Harris was not wearing a helmet, Perry said.

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Just because, here are some of the photos I took.


 Posted by at 7:41 pm
Jul 282012
 

I recently received some more cyanotyping fluid, and have been busy cranking out prints to fill a few straggling orders, and doing test runs of prints for my next set of releases. Several from the first run have sold zero; a few sold as many as four (Oh yeah, ladies, I’m all that). So for the next set, I’d like to get an idea in advance what will be more popular, so I can make more of those.  If you see something here that really appeals to you, comment and let me know.

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A set of three NASA diagrams of the Space Shuttle showing heat shielding. This will be sold *only* as a full set of three, for $25. If this isn’t popular, then I’ll be really confused.

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Here are:

Nuclear Turbojet, XMA-1A, exploded view. Kind of a pain to produce, so this will be $12.50.

Dyna Soar Characteristics Summary. I did this one just as a test to see if it looked at all good, and I think it does. I have a whole bunch of Standard Aircraft Characteristics sheets that I think would look good… if the idea appeals, set three may have a bunch. $10.

F-82 cutaway artwork. I think it looks *fantastic.* $10.

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Ganswindt’s Weltenfahrzeug from the turn of the last century. Sort of a dynamite-powered Orion. $10.

NEXUS with gas-core nuclear upper stage engines. $10

Super-NEXUS with gas-core nuclear engines and a million pounds of *lunar* payload. $10. I have several more NEXUS-derived designs if these are popular.

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Early Dyna Soar atop clustered Minuteman booster artwork. $10.

XMA-1A nuclear turbojet illustration. $10.

Model 54 CAMAL nuclear-powered missile carrier three-view. $10.

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Bell SR-126 “bomber missile” illustrations. $10 each or $17.50 for the set.

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ICARUS illustrations. $10 each or $17.50 for the pair.

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If any of these are of interest, let me know.

 Posted by at 12:34 am
Jul 272012
 

While the December 1961 configuration of General Dynamics’ TFX proposal was quite different from what was actually built as the F-111, the April 1962 configuration was quite close, though still not final. This diagram shows both designs. The most obvious changes are for positioning of the wings further forward, and the substantial increase in size of the horizontal stabilizers.

 Posted by at 11:48 pm
Jul 272012
 

At Mach 3+, the SR-71 would get blisteringly hot. This was not due to “friction” with the air as is often claimed, but due to compression of the air. In effect, the SR-71 was a bloody great hammer smashing air molecules; since it was moving three times the speed of sound, the molecules simply could not flow out of the way and instead were compressed to many times normal density and shoved out of the way. The compression occurred quickly enough that the heat built up in the process could not radiate away, and instead was conducted to the skin of the plane.

Interestingly, the hottest part of the plane – apart from the engines – was the one part that the engineers and pilots most wanted to keep cool: the cockpit.

 Posted by at 9:50 pm