Gimme.
[youtube Za63ltkMGGE]
Jan 152014
Jan 152014
Just took a hot shower, in large part to gin up some steam to help sooth my achin’ lungs. But what happened instead is it started me coughing *worse.* Cough, cough, cough… until I barfed.
Spec-tacular.
Ten or so minutes and one good swig of Pepto later, everything seems to be fine.
Mrrrrph.
Jan 142014
If you knew what to look for, you could make out some of my blueprints, dark and blurry in the background. But nothing clear. Oh, well…
Jan 132014
Once again, New York leads the way:
No books, no clue at city’s worst school
It’s quite a litany of edumacational incompetence. But hey… at least the principal – who barely shows up, but when she does she does so in a BMW with a cliched fur coat – is pulling down a paltry $128,207/year salary.
Jan 122014
As I mentioned on the Space Show interview a while back, one of the events that started me working on Aerospace Projects Review was the reported destruction of the Bell Aerospace technical library. It turns out that aerospace libraries aren’t the only technical libraries to suffer that sort of fate. Behold:
This apparently is – or, more correctly,”was” – a good chunk of the Fisheries and Oceans Canada library in Mont-Joli, Quebec. Now it’s dumpster-filler. THIS STORY describes what’s going on at a number of Canadian government Department of Fisheries and Oceans libraries where vast reams of irreplaceable data is being simply chucked as a cost-savings measure. Replace “fish” with “rockets” and “oceanography” with “aerospace,” and the story is virtually identical to what has happened time and again in the US aerospace industry.It also describes why “just digitize it” is an insufficient response.
The vast bulk of the technical information generated by and kept at United Tech near San Jose, CA (former manufacturers of the Titan SRMs) was simply chucked, either into recyclers or into vast storage facilities where the information was un-indexed and irretrievable. The main technical library, fortunately, was passed on to CPIA… or at least those bits of the library that hadn’t been appropriated by managers who came in in the last days and simply walked off with stuff (something that did *not* please the chief librarian, but she couldn’t stop it).
Man, there was a *lot* of stuff there that I wish I could’ve walked off with. I’d give someone else’s left nut for their complete CPIA Motor Manuals…
Jan 122014
Another from the stash of largely-Grumman concept art, a lift-fan equipped VTOL aircraft, probably a ground support plane. The terrain is clearly Viet Nam inspired, so I’d put this in the second half of the 1960’s.
Note the complete lack of markings. This may indicate that the painting was photographed while still in a “neutral” stage, where markings could be applied aimed at specific customers. The Marines would seem an obvious choice, but in the mid 1960’s it was still a believable possibility that the Army could be equipped with aircraft such as this.
Jan 112014
A letter from my health insurance company arrived yesterday announcing a change in policy. For all I know this is standard, but it seem kinda oddly harsh to me. In short: the premium is due on the 1st of the month. If you don’t pay up by the 30th, they’ll drop you. What’s more, once dropped, the policy will not be reinstated.
Maybe standard. But being Just Announced, it makes me wonder… they *have* to pick up any bad risk who bothers to sign up now. And a policy like this might be a way to boot some of the bad risks, I dunno…
The biggest problem I have with this is the mucked-up way the signup process has gone: if, like me, you’ve signed up for automatic withdrawal, something could go wrong and you don’t get debited, don’t get informed, and 30 days later, you don’t got insurance no more.
Jan 112014
Congress Renames NASA Flight Center After Neil Armstrong
At least they didn’t rename it after a politician.
Jan 112014
Haven’t been able to access email (the netcom account) for a few hours. Earthlink admits to some trouble, but no idea on how long till resolution. So if you’ve attempted communications or bought something… might be a bit of a delay.
UPDATE: it’s starting to come together. I can access email now, but messages from the last 12 hours or so are coming in randomly, not chronologically. Weird.
Jan 112014
VIRGIN GALACTIC REACHES NEW HEIGHTS IN THIRD SUPERSONIC TEST FLIGHT
Carried to 46,000 feet, used its hybrid rocket engine for 20 seconds to attain Mach 1.4 and 71,000 feet. Note that the insides of the vertical stabilizers are shiny. I wonder how that was achieved? Possibly a reflective surface like mylar, but that would seem prone to peeling off. There are also several paint processes that produce chrome-like finishes. And of course, maybe it was actually chrome or aluminum plated, or perhaps a metal foil application. The latter would make sense (so long as peeling can be prevented) as a way to reflect radiant heat from the rocket exhaust.
Also note the “aabar” on the rear fuselage. “Headquartered in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, aabar Investments PJS (aabar)…” Spectacular.