A while ago a data sheet for the General Electric M61A1 Vulcan Gatling gun was posted for sale on ebay. The photo in the auction was readable:
Oct 082021
Oct 082021
California students will have to take ethnic studies to get a diploma
The state’s ethnic studies framework, approved in March, promotes “a social consciousness” and will address “institutionalized systems of advantage” and forms of bigotry including anti-Blackness, xenophobia and anti-Semitism.
That sounds *spectacular.*
Oct 082021
Remember a few years ago when a student from Covington High was set upon by the media, the political class, celebrities, activists and so on due to libelous claims that he was a racist mocking a “native American Elder?” Remember how that initial fraudulent narrative was all over the national news for a few days until more video came out to prove that the “elder” was the actual aggressor and that the kid did nothing, absolutely nothing, wrong?
Well, Covington High and its students and their interactions with elders is back in the news. But it’s not the same Covington High. And there is actual racial violence, with actual injuries, involved. Let’s see if the national news media covers *this* story with the enthusiasm they covered the earlier Covington story:
Additional suspects arrested in Covington High Tik-Tok teacher attack
A wheelchair-bound 64-year-old teacher was injured in an attack after the bell rang…
Covington High School, LA: Student punches 64 year old teacher to the ground in unprompted attackpic.twitter.com/QOc0KELmUg
— Libs of Tik Tok (@libsoftiktok) October 7, 2021
Here is the smirking face of *this* Covington student:
How long until she gets a statue?
Oct 072021
US submarine hits underwater object in South China Sea
The Seawolf class USS Connecticut hit *something* hard enough to cause a number of injuries among the crew. Article doesn’t say at what depth this occurred; could well have happened on the surface. And given that this happened in the South China Sea, it could well have been a Chinese naval vessel.
But there are always other possibilities.
Oct 062021
Exciting new developments in the field of pre-crime:
Accidental leak reveals US government has secretly hit Google with ‘keyword warrants’ to identify ANYONE searching certain names, addresses, and phone numbers
Mostly it looks like if you do Google searches on things what go kerblam, the FBI might start taking an interest in you.
The original Forbes article on the subject focuses on a slightly more sensible – yet still creepy – use of the concept:
Exclusive: Government Secretly Orders Google To Identify Anyone Who Searched A Sexual Assault Victim’s Name, Address And Telephone Number
There are, I suppose, a *few* good reasons why you’re want to look up information on a crime victim. One, you’re a journalist covering the story. Two, you’re the defendants lawyer. Three, you’re the victim and you want to know what’s out there about you. Four, you run a “fake hate crime” database and your story sounds fishy. But beyond that, valid reasons beyond generalized curiosity get kinda thin. Still, putting someone under surveillance for doing so seems… ahem, unwarranted. Unless that someone is an actual suspect, I suppose.
Oct 062021
Yeesh. I continue to successfully get rewards out to Patrons and subscribers in a timely fashion… but I also continue to fail to publicize the fact. Last day of September, the rewards for that month were sent out. The September 2021 rewards included:
Diagram: “Early X-3 cutaway:” A large format cutaway illustration of a not-quite-final Douglas X-3 configuration
CAD Diagram: the command module of the Solem “Medusa” nuclear pulse propelled spacecraft
Document: a giant 1100+ page “Data Sheets for Ordnance Type Materiel,”1962 US Army “catalog”of pretty much all their stuff. Includes an illustration (often, though not always, including a basic diagram) and data for everything from trucks to tanks to bayonets to pistols to rockets.
Patrons should have received a notification message through Patreon linking to the rewards; subscribers should have received a notification from Dropbox linking to the rewards. If you did not, let me know.
If this sort of thing is of interest, sign up either for the APR Patreon or the APR Monthly Historical Documents Program.
Oct 062021
Also known as “sugar.” To compare with Dihydrogen Monoxide in the periodic table of Evil Chemicals That Good People Should Avoid And Protest Against.
Oct 052021
I have drawings of a proposed aircraft from 1946 that was to have an “Allison GGR engine.” This was an inline piston engine to turn a propeller, but is otherwise not described. Does an “Allison GGR” ring any bells?
Update: never mind. The drawing is poor… what I read as “GGR” appears to actually be “G6R,” a variant of the V-1710 engine.
Oct 052021
A clickbait title that turns out to be 100% accurate:
Oct 042021
Early/mid 80’s artwork depicting an X-Wing vehicle (a helicopter with very rigid rotors that could stop in flight to serve as wings). The text attributes this to Boeing-Vertol, but I could swear I’ve seen it attributed to someone else (Lockheed? Grumman?).
The X-Wing concept seemed to have great promise, but testing showed that, perhaps unsurprisingly, it had severe problems during transition. Had it worked, though, it would hve provided the high speed and long range of a conventional aircraft with the hovering efficiency of a helicopter.
