Some interesting “interactive” comparisons of Webb imagery to Hubble:
Jul 172022
Jul 162022
Here they go again, making the same old claims. I’m highly dubious about trusting Bob Sput’s promises.
Jul 162022
It looks pretty doom-laden for the Tomy 1/350 scale die-cast Enterprise… with one week to go, they’re still at only 63% of their funding goal. If, as seems likely, this doesn’t come to pass, a bunch of potential buyers will be disappointed… but they won’t be too likely to be *angry*. This is not the case for *all* buyers of large scale Enterprises, however.
In December 2020 Eaglemoss announced their 27-inch long Enterprise D model. I posted about it HERE. This is a large and complex model kit, not a finished product. And Eaglemoss has an unusual way of releasing these things… instead of one big box with all the parts, you get a packet every two weeks with *some* parts. It’s a subscription service, you pay as you go. And the cost of the model stacks up… looks like over the length of time it takes to get all the packets, you’ll end up spending over $1700. Youch. But I’ve been watching some YouTubers as they’ve been getting the bits and gradually assembling the thing, and it looked promising (with some issues here and there).
*Looked.* Past tense.
Part Works publisher Eaglemoss goes out of business
It seems Eaglemoss is in a bad way. Due to Covid lockdowns in merry old England, their ability to do business was massacred and they are in a deep, deep hole… one it looks like they might not climb out of. They seem to be already out of business.
That’s bad.
It’s especially bad not only for their employees and stockholders, but those working away on the Enterprise D (and other subscription kits of similar scale and cost). Because the Enterprise D is distributed over *30* *months.* Which means if you started in January of 2021, you’d currently be about 18 months along… with 12 months to go on your kit. Twelve months worth of parts it seems unlikely you’ll get. You won’t be charged for those parts, of course… but you will have spent over a grand for sixty percent of an Enterprise, plus however much time you spent on a model you’re now unlikely to ever finish, display or sell.
This looks to be about the current state of the Enterprise. It’s… sad.
I’ve never liked getting big, expensive things via subscriptions spread out over years. This only reinforces that.
Jul 152022
A Proud Boy Challenges the Jan. 6 Committee
This makes for some interesting reading. Turns out one of the leaders of the “Proud Boys” *wants* to get hauled before the January 6 kangaroo court, because he *apparently* has the receipts showing there was no conspiracy to do anything but show up and protest peacefully.
Let’s see how this goes…
Piece above is based on this newspaper article/interview:
Third Proud Boy in Jan. 6 indictment reveals identity; newly released chats show link to Pa. members
Jul 152022
Last few days I’ve seen a number of references to “Technoblade,” which struck no chords with me. Apparently a “Minecraft” YouTube streamer… not my area of interest. Nevertheless, the references came often enough that I looked this up. It’s… something. It’s kind of “Iron Giant says ‘Superman'” in its impact.
You’re welcome.
Jul 152022
Here’s a link to H.R. 1808, a bill the Democrats are pushing that is *blatantly* unConstitutional. Anyone who signs it should be impeached, but here we are.
https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1808/text
To regulate assault weapons, to ensure that the right to keep and bear arms is not unlimited, and for other purposes.
The important bits:
“(36) The term ‘semiautomatic assault weapon’ means any of the following, regardless of country of manufacture or caliber of ammunition accepted:
“(A) A semiautomatic rifle that—
“(i) has a magazine that is not a fixed magazine; and
“(ii) does have any 1 of the following:
“(I) A pistol grip.
“(II) A forward grip.
“(III) A folding, telescoping, or detachable stock, or is otherwise foldable or adjustable in a manner that operates to reduce the length, size, or any other dimension, or otherwise enhances the concealability, of the weapon.
“(IV) A grenade launcher.
“(V) A barrel shroud.
“(VI) A threaded barrel.
So, in short, an “assault weapon” is basically any semi-automatic rifle you are likely to come across.
And what do they want to do with these “assault weapons?”
It shall be unlawful for a person to import, sell, manufacture, transfer, or possess, in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, a semiautomatic assault weapon.
They want to imprison or kill – perhaps both – tens of *millions* of Americans.
The Democrats don;t have the votes to pull this scheme off by themselves. They’ll need a few backstabbing “Republicans” to get onboard as well. Keep an eye on them.
Jul 152022
Nice.
Watching the 47m tall Shuttle External Tank slowly tumbling in space is a little bit surreal.
Captured by a hand-held camera on STS-134.https://t.co/8aPhTReIV7 pic.twitter.com/aNF0nZlDcC
— ToughSF (@ToughSf) July 15, 2022
The extended video is jam-packed full of shakeycam, but still worth a look.
Jul 152022
I’ll leave it to the student to assess which.
Pressley to Hawley: When an ectopic pregnancy ruptures what are the chances it can be carried safely to term? And you know what, just to make this clearer, I’m looking for a number between 0 and 100 pic.twitter.com/SqqGIPUw4b
— Acyn (@Acyn) July 13, 2022
Here’s a hint: the moron in this little display is in a position of political power.
An ectopic pregnancy cannot be carried to term, is not an abortion, and Pressley knows this. Planned Parenthood even admits this. pic.twitter.com/KxgJ8fPaQ9
— MrsNevermind (@Whatevermind2) July 14, 2022
Jul 142022
The bulk of the Covid that hit me a month and some ago has passed, but it has left some lingering effects. The two I’ve picked up on is a general fatigue that wasn’t there before, and a reduced ability to focus on my damn job. This is troublesome as I am now in the last chapter of Book 3; I can complain with the best of ’em, but the sort of attention span that’s required to write technical histories while constantly referring to source documents is a bit lacking. Nevertheless I’m getting through it and hope to have the text of Book 3 done soon. The text will require some going through by the editor, though… I noticed that the most recent sizable chapter seems to have been done in a different style to all the others. And I can’t promise that bits written deeper in the throes of the Pinko Pox don’t have conspiratorial ravings about the king of the potato people.
I’ve seen progress on the cover art, and it looks pretty nifty. They have, however, nixed my notion – a very good and important one – that enough space be left on the cover to splash it with “America: ᚠᚪᛣᚳ YEAH!” in big red letters. Something about it being “inappropriate.”
Jul 142022
The New York Office of Emergency management is preparing New Yorkers for the event of someone (Eric Swalwell?) dropping a nuclear device on their burg.
I suspect if you are in a major metropolis like NYC and a nuke goes off close enough that you need to worry about fallout, you’re probably kinda boned. You’ll be stuck there for two weeks… two weeks with no water or power, no food deliveries, the only people moving about being raiders. Enjoy!