Soon to be a made-for-SyFy movie:
Ancient Plague’s DNA Revived From A 1,500-Year-Old Tooth
They’ve dug up the Justinian Plague that killed off 50 million or so in the year 541, helping end the Roman Empire.
Yaaaaaaaaay.
Jan 292014
Jan 282014
Inboard profiles of the USAF F-111A and the USN F-111B showing the important differences between the two. The most obvious difference is of course the much shorter nose of the B-model.
Jan 282014
The model will be able to be “posed” in flight configuration. The color version gives an idea about parts breakdown.
Oh, and if you see anything missing here, any vital detail that should be but ain’t… now’s the time to speak up.
And while you wait impatiently for the model to be released… why not buy a couple copies of US Bomber Projects and/or Aerospace Projects Review?
Jan 282014
I think this will about do it.
Jan 272014
I just got a package in the mail. Nothing too unusual. The package was paid for in old-school stamps, which is a little unusual. The stamps appear to be *DECADES* old, which is very unusual. One appears to be from 1957.
Does anyone know if these stamps were worth much of anything before they were used? I can’t imagine they were worth no more than face value. How much money did the sender throw away here?
Jan 272014
Now on eBay:
JURASSIC PARK Velociraptor Cage Crate 1993 Original Screen Used Movie Prop
Perhaps you could turn it into an apartment in New York and charge $3,000 a month for it.
Jan 272014
I have an upstairs loft that overlooks the living room. Many years ago I added a long perch to it for cats to sit or lay on and look down upon the world; somewhat to my surprise, they actually use it for that from time to time. Here, for example, is Fingers, looking with disdain upon mere mortals:
Fingers is usually pretty unmoved by efforts to grab her attention (unless those efforts are coming from Raedthinn, whereupon she responds with considerably enthusiasm). However, there’s a sure-fire way to grab her attention: drugs. In particular, catnip…
Jan 262014
The last remaining bits of missingness from the Prometheus model are the numerous antennae. This is starting to be rectified. The two “radar” dishes” have been assembled. They are cruder and beefier than what’s shown on screen for the simple fact that these parts will need to be printed, molded and cast in resin, and to-scale parts would be far, far too fine to even reliably print. Note that the starboard dish is built on a ball and socket joint, and folds down into a recess for flight.
In the early stages is work on all the “rod” antennae that litter this vehicle. The actual kit parts will be a mix of resin and wire. So far I’ve cobbled together the two bundles behind the starboard “radar.” The wire components are shown in yellow. Wire placeholders are in place for all the bundles, as shown in the previous post showing the model dimensions.
Jan 262014
The Douglas X-3 has to be one of the most disappointing of the X-planes. The first to be powered by turbojets rather than rockets, the jet engines turned out to be its downfall. Like the previous X-planes, the X-3 was designed to go fast, and it looked fast sitting still. Designed to cruise at Mach 2 and to be able to achieve nearly Mach three, its engines – far less powerful than planned – only allowed it to bust Mach 1 in a dive. Max speed was only Mach 1.2 in a 30 degree dive.
Before the X-3 proved to be an underpowered pig, Douglas had plans for recon and bomber versions.
Jan 262014
It’s a bit NSFW, But THIS HERE WEBCOMIC is both funny and provides what would have been a valuable Jedi order policy change had they instituted it a few years earlier. Also, the Catholic church would have saved a whole lot of trouble had they had this policy change…