The Drive just published an article about a briefly-studied concept during the development of the Lockheed Skunk Works A-12 (predecessor to the SR-71):
To illustrate the article they commissioned some all-new renderings:
This is, of course, illustrated in my book on the development of the SR-71:
The “song” below has been used so often in the various “Biblically accurate angels” vids people put out that it is now almost like it’s understood that a visit from an angel would be accompanied by this. I dunno if that’s the case, but it’s durned odd. Appealing in a way, but I’m not really sure that this is what you’d want to hear when suddenly confronted with a glowing interdimensional being of unfathomable power and intent. I don’t think it would enhance your calm.
Example:
Well, not *that* Moscow, it’s at the bottom of the sea. And not quite *that* Moscow, but the city of Tver, a few miles to the north west. It’s *probably* not related to Ukrainian sabotage, but… who knows? It’d be a dandy target and a propaganda coup if this fire was started by some Ukrainian Doolitle raider.
Reportedly this facility develops missiles of kinds used in Ukraine, and space weapons. The claim is that the fire is due to old wiring, and looking at that ancient building, I can believe it. But that’s not a whole lot better of an explanation for losing a “space weapon” laboratory than enemy action, any more than “it just caught fire” was a better, more comforting explanation than “It caught a couple anti-ship missiles.” If their work was related to weapon systems currently being expended, perhaps they had ramped-up work hours and an increased demand on the power and other systems.
Two of the three pieces of vintage original aerospace concept art I recently bought on ebay have arrived, and they’re spectacular. They are from Bell Aerospace, one from the 70’s (depicting a four-turbojet C-130 demonstrator for the AMST program), one from the 80’s (depicting a hovercraft takeoff sled for an F-15 to allow liftoff from damaged runways), both actual paint on an actual board, no computer graphics. I managed to scan both of them on my flatbed scanner at 600 dpi; even at that high resolution, at full magnification they look awesome. Neither, however, is signed. If anyone knows who the artists were, drop a comment.
One more art to come, hopefully early-ish next week.
I have framed these two and will hang them on my wall… but they will eventually be donated somewhere relevant and appropriate, *probably* the Smithsonian (if nothing else, that’ll be in my will), but I’m open to suggestions. The NMUSAF is another option.
If’n you want max-rez scans of these two (and the forthcoming third, plus some backup PDF documentation on the programs these illustrate)… $25.
Procuring these was not cheap, but now they are saved for posterity.
If you would like to help fund the acquisition and preservation of such things, along with getting high quality scans for yourself, please consider signing on either for the APR Patreon or the APR Monthly Historical Documents Program. Back issues are available for purchase by patrons and subscribers.
Well, here is where we are. While the Florida state senate voted on whether or not to strip Disney of their special tax district status, a number of people in attendance – I *assume* visitors, not actual state senators, but these days who knows – shrieked like maniacs. That as much as anything shows the importance of standing up to these bullying groomers. With luck those who threw this little tantrum were caught on video somewhere clear enough for facial recognition to figure out who they were so that they can be put under psychiatric evaluation, and to keep them away from children. I won’t be at all shocked to find that at least some of them are teachers of small children. And if so, hopefully soon to be *former* teachers of small children.
One of the more creepifyin’ of the political class seems to have a case of the shakes, assuming that this isn’t a result of some digital trickery. Assuming it’s legit, I wonder at the cause. Could it be barely repressed rage at being called out on her massive policy failures? Is the demonic posession starting to shake loose? Time will tell.
A security camera caught a string of events. First, a security guard gets out of his vehicle. Another person walks up behind him and shoots the security guard in the head. A witness in the background watches this and does not react. The shooter then bends over, steals the guards pistol and something else, then wanders off, going past the witness. Neither react to the other. Witness gets up, walks past guards body, continues nonchalantly on his way. Then three more people happen upon the guards body; one bends down and rifles through his pockets and takes something; the other two stand there for a bit and seem to look at the loot, then they all wander off, unconcerned.
Where did this spectacular display of inhumanity take place? Mogadishu? Iran? North Korea? Cartel-occupied Mexico? Nope.
Atlanta.
One murderous dirtbag? Well, these things happen, in a sense. But a whole collection of people seemingly utterly unconcerned with concepts of “justice” and “right & wrong?” These were not, so far as is known, a group of hardened criminals who all planned to gather there; they were apparently a random selection. That they were *all* this awful says a lot about the local culture, and none of what is says is good or complimentary.
A rare bit of good news here on Twenty-Twenty Part Two: This Time It’s Personal.
It's #WhiskerWednesday, and Buddy says – toy is life! #saveeverybuddy pic.twitter.com/SObpbsl8NF
— Pennsylvania SPCA (@PSPCA) April 20, 2022
Little feller seems to be happy and healthy, if a bit patchy. I have high hopes that the two animals responsible for the attack on him never again feel a moment anywhere near as joyful as this little guy right here is having. Sadly, I fully expect they’ll be released to wreak havoc upon society again and again.
This view of Phobos crossing the face of the sun has been brought to you by western civilization, engineering rigor and a determination to place objective facts over feelings. No other system ever dreamed up by Man could have come anywhere close to letting us see this. or, indeed, even imagining it: Phobos would ahve been forever unknown to mankind if not for western civilization.
The Smithsonian kindly provided a convenient fact sheet to help you make your culture capable of this sort of thing.
It’s a fundamental principle of American jurisprudence that the courts cannot try you twice for the same crime if you have been acquitted. The feds have of course found ways around that, by charging, say, cops who killed someone in the line of duty and been acquitted of using excessive force with federal “hate crimes” charges. Sure, you were found not guilty of murder. But did you use harsh language? Guilty! It’s a shameful practice. but at least in in the US, “double jeopardy” is *usually* the standard. The feds playing tricks is normally reserved for a tiny number of politically explosive cases, where the goal is to have a show trial in order to placate unthinking violent mobs.
Britain, though, seems to not even have that thin and perforated veneer of civilization. If you are charged and acquitted, the courts can appear and charge you again, it seems.
Short form: a man made a cardboard “model” of a building and burned it on a bonfire. That’s it. That’s the crime. He didn’t burn the building itself; the cardboard was his, the bonfire was his, the bonfire was legal and there were no laws against burning cardboard. He was charged with being, essentially, rude, because the building in question was “Grenfell Tower,” a massively badly made high rise building that had recently caught fire and killed a bunch of people. It would be akin to someone in, say, November of 2001 burning a cardboard model of the World Trade Center. Offensive? sure. Criminal? Ummm…. *how?* So not only are actions which harm no one and damage nothing illegal in Britain, the courts can go after you time and again until they get what they want.