Grrrr Arrrghh Ackk PBTHPPBLTTTT

 AARRRGH, blather, Crazy, dumbassery, Gah., ಠ_ಠ  4 Responses »
Oct 252012
 

ಠ_ಠ

Greenbrae shooting defendant sues 90-year-old man who was shot

Short form: a burglar shot a 90 year old man in the face. The 90 year old man shot him back. So, what does the burglar do? He sues the 90 year old man for “great bodily injury, and other financial damage, including loss of Mr. Cutrufelli’s home, and also the dissolution of Mr. Cutrufelli’s marriage.”

ಠ_ಠ

Just let that sink in.

THIS is why the US needs not a “loser pays” tort reform, but a “losing lawyer pays” system. The burglar/attempted murderer of course needs to be chucked into a steel and concrete box for the next half century or so. But his *lawyer,* the guy who’s facilitating this nonsense, needs to be severely sanctioned.

 Posted by at 12:29 pm

The Navy has a robot that dances Gangnam style

 awesomeness, humor, news, science, science fiction  5 Responses »
Oct 252012
 

Virginia Tech’s CHARLI robot is reasonably impressive, enough so that the Navy is testing it. They want an evolved version called “Autonomous Shipboard Humanoid – aka ASH. (It’s unclear whether the Navy knows that a humanoid robot named Ash might be a disturbing thing to have on a ship.)

And for filing in the “WTF am I looking at” file, here’s CHARLI doing the Gangnam Style dance. Because sure, why not.

[youtube kmeJvkN4ntI]

 Posted by at 1:45 am

Another early HL-10 cockpit concept

 aircraft, history, projects  2 Responses »
Oct 252012
 

This one, based on the same crude mockup, moved the pilot lower. It is much more like the HL-10 as actually built, with no disruptions to the basic lifting body mold line. It does have a quite different window arrangement, however.

Curiously, it seems that seating for more crew than just the pilot was considered. This indicates that this planning wasn’t just for a purely research vehicle, but an orbital vehicle intended to transport a crew.

 Posted by at 12:10 am

Fingers, hiding

 cats, photography  1 Response »
Oct 242012
 

Well, perhaps not so much hiding as simply lurking on the other side of a blanket, peeking out. If she looks like she might be uncertain, about ready to run away in panic… it’s because that’s probably true. All these years living indoors have not washed away the years she spent living wild, free, sick and injured outdoors, and she still has a bit of the wildcat about her.

 Posted by at 11:58 pm

It works because it doesn’t work

 awesomeness, blather, humor, youtube  1 Response »
Oct 232012
 

The full version of the Harvey Keitel take on “Call Me Maybe:”

[youtube 0MMhzqeXhvs]

It seems to be a basic truth of human nature that something Just Plain Wrong is either going to be categorized as Horror, or as Comedy. Such as Christopher Walken playing an angel:

[youtube qfDcKP5pBQE]

Or Christopher Walken doing a reading of Lady Ga Ga:

[youtube AJDx3H_hvI8]

Or Christopher Walken reading Three Little Pigs:

[youtube saj53p9NA_8]

Or Christopher Walken dancing:

[youtube XQ7z57qrZU8]

Come to think of it, Christopher Walken doing *anything* is probably going to be either Horror or Comedy…

 Posted by at 6:56 pm

Best argument for Romney yet

 dumbassery, news, Obamazombies, politics  18 Responses »
Oct 232012
 

BBC poll: Rest of world favours Obama

And by a pretty wide margin, too:

An average of 50% favoured Mr Obama, with 9% for Mr Romney, in the survey of 21,797 people in 21 countries.

As I’ve made clear, Romney isn’t exactly a thrilling candidate. But when the rest of the world despises him so much in favor of a man who is working to reduce Americas standing, wealth and future, he must be doing something right.

 Posted by at 12:07 pm

Early HL-10 cockpit planning

 aircraft, history, projects, spacecraft  5 Responses »
Oct 232012
 

Photos circa 1963-1964 show a full-scale NASA-Langley mockup of the forward nose section of the HL-10 lifting body shape. Incorporated into this was a framework showing a potential canopy configuration. This would clearly have been for a low-speed (non-orbital) test version, much like the HL-10 that was actually built.

 Posted by at 3:02 am

California Hammerstone

 AARRRGH, blather, news, science  2 Responses »
Oct 232012
 

Last week a meteoritic fireball lit up the sky of  northern California. As it turns out, someone hit the jackpot… a rock of about 60 grams hit a house in Novato, California. Meteorites that hit manmade objects – houses, garages, cars, mailboxes, etc. – are known as “hammerstones,” and are worth a *lot* more than regular meteorites.

Meteor chunk falls on Calif. home

My stuff *never* gets hit with hammerstones…

 Posted by at 2:55 am
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