You hate to see it…

 Crazy, dumbassery, Gah., Hmm..., politics, weapons, youtube, ಠ_ಠ  No Responses »
Aug 062022
 

… or not.

In this case, an ATF agent goes to someone’s door and demands to see such-and-such firearm; the homeowner does the smart thing  and calls the cops and tells them some sketchy weirdo is going for her guns. Police show up, tell the ATF agent to comply… and he doesn’t, getting tased for his troubles. This happened a few years ago, and *of* *course* he’s suing the police for excessive force. It’s interesting to see how this Federal agent believes that his status sets him above the law. And politicians want to empower these types even *more.* It’s worth noting that this “lawman” was arrested for shoplifting back in 2015. He seems well acquainted with the practice of taking stuff that’s not his.

Police officer starts giving you lawful orders… you say “yes sir” and *obey.* Even if you think you’re in the right, you’re not going to win by resisting a guy with a taser, a sidearm and backup.

Full bodycam vids:

 Posted by at 11:57 pm

This kid’s awesome

 Uncategorized  No Responses »
Aug 052022
 

CORN!!!!

He seems like the kind of kid who’ll grow up to be a scientist who’ll figure out how to grow corn on the Moon or in the Sahara. Turns corn into a *good* biofuel, or develops a breed of corn with edible kernels, but the cobb can be melted down into a mix of polyethylene and polystyrene making plastics a carbon *negative* industry. Corn that can be hooked directly into the power grid, because it’s a 50% efficient PV array now.

Or, as sadly seems more likely these days, he’ll be ruthlessly mocked until he becomes a corn-themed supervillain.

Kinda hoping for the former.

 

I get kind of an Aspie vibe from him. Let’s hope that, assuming this is his basic ongoing nature, that he has a loving and understanding family.

 Posted by at 11:38 pm

Well there’s something you don’t see every day

 art, awesomeness, dumbassery, Forward!, humor, news, politics, ಠ_ಠ  No Responses »
Aug 052022
 

If you live in a city that has been run sufficiently poorly, it’s quite possible that you *do* see robberies of stores on a daily basis. But the store employee/owner shanking the hell out of one of the robbers? Kinda innovative.

People dressed like Antifa getting what’s coming to people who act like Antifa? I’m not remotely upset about it.

 

UPDATE: video enlongered:

FAFO.

The store owners response to “Please don’t let me die, this wasn’t my idea” is comedy GOLD.

 Posted by at 6:40 pm

And the HL-10 lithograph

 aircraft, art, eBay, history, Hmm..., projects, spacecraft  No Responses »
Aug 052022
 

The same seller trying to sell the Martin X-23 lithograph is also selling a lithograph of an orbital HL-10.

Turns out that these two lithographs are, at least based on stains on the X-23 matting, the same two lithographs sold just a few months ago. I’m dubious of turning around two lithographs that sold for $384 together for a grand or more each. The seller has a *lot* of high-value items… celebrity autographs and such, so he’s presumably doing well, but normally a lithograph like this would sell for well under $100.

Shrug.

Anyway, the art depicts an HL-10 coming in for a landing. The configuration includes a raised cockpit and reaction control thrusters at the tail; the white paint seems burned off along the underside. This would indicate an orbital craft after re-entry. Given the lack of an apparent hatch in the rear, this would not seem to be an operational orbital HL-10 (depicted hereabouts many times in the past) but instead a slightly smaller test vehicle, probably with a single pilot, possible lobbed on a once-around flight.

 Posted by at 11:02 am

Roof Koreans

 awesomeness, Crazy, Gah., history, Hmm..., politics, weapons, youtube  No Responses »
Aug 052022
 

A brief documentary about some of the very best of America: immigrants and the children of immigrants using their wits and their rights to defend themselves and their livelihoods from some of the worst of America. They were the very definition of a “well regulated militia.”

There are important lessons here that should have been learned better. Had the riots and looters of 2020 been met with more gunfire, 2020 would have been less bloody, and much more of the blood that had been shed would have been that of people who, well, we don’t need.

 Posted by at 8:55 am

X-23 artwork

 aircraft, art, eBay, history, projects, rockets, spacecraft  No Responses »
Aug 042022
 

Currently on ebay is a lithograph of the Martin X-23 PRIME (Precision Reentry Including Maneuvering reEntry) subscale lifting body, a mid-1960’s program to build small test vehicles for the full-scale X-24A lifting body. This depiction shows it without the “bump” on the forward fuselage simulating the contours of the cockpit canopy. The seller is rather optimistic with a $1875 Buy-It-Now price, although he will consider offers.

Another copy of the same lithograph, along with a lithograph of an orbital HL-10, sold a few months ago for less than $400. That was too rich for my blood for two lithographs, never mind nearly two grand for one. Shrug.  But at least the listing provides a fairly decent photo of the art. I *believe* I’ve only seen it reproduced in B&W.

 Posted by at 5:18 pm

Dumb controversy for today

 Crazy, dumbassery, Gah., Meh., science fiction, weapons  No Responses »
Aug 032022
 

Disney slammed for ‘Andor’ trailer featuring an AK-47: ‘Pissed me off’

“5 seconds into the trailer and you’ve already pissed me off,” one fan raged. “The guy has got a f–king AK-47! IN A STAR WARS SHOW! YOU’RE SO LAZY! You couldn’t be bothered to design a space gun. I’m so tired. So very tired.”

Oy. The guns in Star Wars were almost entirely based on real-life firearms, dressed up to one degree or another with added details to make them look like “space guns.” Han Solo carried a modified Mauser C96 “Broomhandle” pistol. The Stormtroopers were armed with Sterling submachine guns and MG34 machine guns and Lewis machine guns, all with minor to modest cosmetic alterations. That there would be something that looks a whole lot like an AK-47 in that universe – a galaxy with billions of inhabited worlds – should hardly be surprising.

 Posted by at 9:20 am

Clones from stem cells

 critters, Hmm..., news, science, science fiction  No Responses »
Aug 022022
 

Using only skin cells, Israeli lab makes synthetic mouse embryos with beating hearts

“Synthetic embryo” is an odd turn of phrase. They got them to grow for eight days outside of a uterus, getting to the point of having brains and beating hearts.

They are similar to regular embryos, but are not viable for implantation.

He foresees a day when sick patients may give skin or blood cells for the growth of artificial embryo-like structures, which could in turn yield the cells needed to grow organs.

I saw that movie… had Boromir, Black Widow and Obi Wan.

In any event, if this line of research continues successfully, the implications could be remarkable. never mind growing organs: this will allow people to clone themselves. This also involves “incubators” that are effectively artificial wombs, allowing people to have babies without the bother of carrying babies… no need to put the mother life, health, comfort at risk. No need, in fact, for a mother at all: this sort of thing will allow a man to grow a clone of himself.

How long before the *ability* to grow clones becomes the *expectation* to grow clones? As in… when this technology is made practical, how long before “non-traditional” people start demanding that insurance companies and the government pay for this so they can have babies that nature would not otherwise allow?

 Posted by at 10:08 pm
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