I dunno who this is, but that stare is awesome
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
whirring saw blades of death
Man, this looks like a disaster waiting to happen, but I suppose with a level headed operator, it's ok. If that saw ever tangled with a wire or power line due to a sudden gust of wind - Katie bar the door!
Political photobomb
A colorful mailer touting New York mayoral candidate Bill Thompson appears to have made a flub–including what would be the lovely image of Mr. Thompson greeting a smiling little girl–were it not for the guy who seems to be giving the finger to the photographer.
Here's a close up of the offender. Does that look anything like Irish?
Probably the guy is tired of all the political hullabaloo and just snapped.
Yosemite smoke
It's surprisingly smoky up in Yosemite today. Must be some forest fires burning down south.
Everything's a drone when you're paranoid
India's army reportedly spent six months watching "Chinese spy drones" violating its air space, only to find out they were actually Jupiter and Venus.
Can you imagine the phone call where the scientist broke the news to the army? "You idiots," said in your best Indian Gandhi voice, "those are planets!!"
"It quotes military sources as saying the objects violated the LAC 155 times. So, the army called the Indian Institute of Astrophysics to identify the objects. "Our task was to determine whether these unidentified objects were celestial or terrestrial," astronomer Tushar Prabhu told the paper. Only once the objects' movements were noted in relation to the stars were they identified as planets. The Telegraph suggests the sentry ought to be forgiven, with planets appearing brighter as a result of the different atmosphere at altitude and the increased use of surveillance drones."
Now if the Turks would just stop arresting birds as Israeli spies, perhaps we could all get along.
Can you imagine the phone call where the scientist broke the news to the army? "You idiots," said in your best Indian Gandhi voice, "those are planets!!"
"It quotes military sources as saying the objects violated the LAC 155 times. So, the army called the Indian Institute of Astrophysics to identify the objects. "Our task was to determine whether these unidentified objects were celestial or terrestrial," astronomer Tushar Prabhu told the paper. Only once the objects' movements were noted in relation to the stars were they identified as planets. The Telegraph suggests the sentry ought to be forgiven, with planets appearing brighter as a result of the different atmosphere at altitude and the increased use of surveillance drones."
Now if the Turks would just stop arresting birds as Israeli spies, perhaps we could all get along.
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Fun with fire and darkness
Thanks to LL and Lou, the youngest daughter and I waited patiently for everyone else to go to bed, then we found the rubbing alcohol, a plastic bottle, and matches, and proceeded to make Fire baby!!
Beautiful blue dangerous fire! Full screen for maximum effect.
Loving it! Thanks guys.
LIving in an Obama world
The IRS now has more agents than the German army has soldiers. Preparing for a non shooting war, Mr. Obama, a war on our bank accounts and pocket books?
If having some money represents freedom and power in the hands of the people, then the government is going to have to do something about that, isn't it?
If having some money represents freedom and power in the hands of the people, then the government is going to have to do something about that, isn't it?
Sasquatch just out having his morning coffee.
Via The Feral Irishman, a video of Bigfoot up in British Columbia.
Back in the day, when I was younger and hairy, and I did a lot of backwoods camping and tramping, I'm sure I inadvertently sponsored a few "Bigfoot" sightings like this. Probably lucky I didn't get shot for a bear.
Back in the day, when I was younger and hairy, and I did a lot of backwoods camping and tramping, I'm sure I inadvertently sponsored a few "Bigfoot" sightings like this. Probably lucky I didn't get shot for a bear.
The real "Mr. Natural."
How come nobody lets it fly like this anymore. It's been a solid 25 years since I've seen a 'fro that outta sight.
Monday, July 29, 2013
Looks like Zimmerman is at it again....
"While out for a stroll on Sunday evening, Zimmerman spotted Joseph Kony, the rebel leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) that has terrorized the citizens of Uganda for more than 25 years. The group garnered national attention when a bunch of white college students called for Kony’s arrest by volunteering the U.S. military for the job through a sweet film with chill music.
“Look, I don’t go looking for trouble,” Zimmerman explained. “But there were some people walking around the village who looked suspicious. I was forced to take a stand.”
When Special Forces arrived, Zimmerman was calmly standing over Kony’s lifeless body. Asked what had happened, Zimmerman said, “Look every action I took was in direct compliance with Uganda’s ‘Stand Your Ground Laws’. I calmly pulled my sidearm, and after putting Kony on his knees. I shot him in the head. I was well within my rights.”
Back at the White House, President Obama reflected on the tragedy.
“You know, had I grown up in Kenya instead of Hawaii, which is totally where I grew up by the way, this could have been me,” Obama said. “35 years ago, I could have been kidnapped by Joseph Kony — or I could have been Joseph Kony, kidnapping children.”
Somehow this sounds vaguely familiar.
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Medieval pet names, like "Nosewise, or Holdfast." Heh.
"In England we find dogs that were named Sturdy, Whitefoot, Hardy, Jakke, Bo and Terri. Anne Boleyn, one of the wives of King Henry VIII, had a dog named Purkoy, who got its name from the French ‘pourquoi’ because it was very inquisitive.
Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Nun’s Priest Tale has a line where they name three dogs: Colle, Talbot and Gerland. Meanwhile, in the early fifteenth-century, Edward, Duke of York, wrote The Master of Game, which explains how dogs are to be used in hunting and taken care of. He also included a list of 1100 names that he thought would be appropriate for hunting dogs. They include Troy, Nosewise, Amiable, Nameles, Clenche, Bragge, Ringwood and Holdfast."
Your point and laugh of the day
I've been hit by many paintballs in my career, but never that close, and never in the "manly tackle."
Ouch.
Wow. Life in Obama'a America. Well said indeed.
The Diplomad puts it on the money. Go thee there and read.
"We wait. The One has the word. The Greatest Leader Ever to Bless our Benighted Land will speak. His kindly face fills our TV screens daily. He will tell us what we need to know: when a scandal is worthy and when it is not; when we can be against gay marriage and when we can be for it; when we can be outraged and when it is just "phony"; when a criminal is an innocent child and when an innocent man is a criminal; who is black, who is white and who is Native American; how to deal with the growing terror of white violence against black men; how Ho Chi Minh was a devotee of Jefferson; when we can support raising the debt limit and when it is unpatriotic to do so; when a coup is a coup and when it is not; when to blame Bush, well, in fact, we must always blame Bush for he is our Leon Trotsky, our Emmanuel Goldstein; the loss of jobs is really a gain of jobs; we must spend to reduce the deficit; a crazed Muslim terrorist with a gun is really just a sad example of workplace violence . . . The One will tell us, there is no need to worry, He knows The Way, He will not let His eye off the ball . . . He will protect us and feed us and care for us when we are sick; He will watch over our communications to make sure we do not fall into bad company. We are blessed by The One.
He will lead us to the Outer Limits."
"We wait. The One has the word. The Greatest Leader Ever to Bless our Benighted Land will speak. His kindly face fills our TV screens daily. He will tell us what we need to know: when a scandal is worthy and when it is not; when we can be against gay marriage and when we can be for it; when we can be outraged and when it is just "phony"; when a criminal is an innocent child and when an innocent man is a criminal; who is black, who is white and who is Native American; how to deal with the growing terror of white violence against black men; how Ho Chi Minh was a devotee of Jefferson; when we can support raising the debt limit and when it is unpatriotic to do so; when a coup is a coup and when it is not; when to blame Bush, well, in fact, we must always blame Bush for he is our Leon Trotsky, our Emmanuel Goldstein; the loss of jobs is really a gain of jobs; we must spend to reduce the deficit; a crazed Muslim terrorist with a gun is really just a sad example of workplace violence . . . The One will tell us, there is no need to worry, He knows The Way, He will not let His eye off the ball . . . He will protect us and feed us and care for us when we are sick; He will watch over our communications to make sure we do not fall into bad company. We are blessed by The One.
He will lead us to the Outer Limits."
Squids gotta have their fun too.
Nothing like having your fun driving a high speed boat powered by two oversized ceiling fans into the bowels of some humongous ship!
Oh yeah!
07/17/2013 - U.S. Sailors and Marines conduct well deck operations July 17, 2013, during a combat rubber reconnaissance craft and landing craft, air cushion joint force exercise aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) while underway in the Coral Sea for Talisman Saber 2013. Talisman Saber is a combined biennial exercise between the U.S. and Australian militaries designed to enhance both nations’ ability to respond to regional contingencies. (DoD photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Andrew B. Church, U.S. Navy/Released)
A ray of hope
Via Virtual Reality, this point, which is both quite true and predictive of perhaps a better future, if only our "leadership" would get out of the way and let the people prosper.
"The US may soon become the world's largest gas and oil producer. Food exports are booming as never before. American brands from iPhones and Starbucks to Google and Twitter flood the world. The US is poised on the brink of a national economic recovery but it won't happen while the Utopian Socialist is in the White House. It goes against the grain of Barack Obama to see the US in the front of the line."
It's been truthfully said that a capitalist economy can easily support a welfare state, but a welfare state cannot support itself. If only that were understood by our "leaders."
An example: In California, where I live, the state has vast oil and gas reserves, but the state government does not allow anything close to full exploitation, for purely political reasons. We could easily be as prosperous as Texas, but instead have chosen poverty. Insane, but that's our reality. We are a welfare state learning the sad lesson set forth above. God forbid that this mental disease spreads to the rest of the country.
"The US may soon become the world's largest gas and oil producer. Food exports are booming as never before. American brands from iPhones and Starbucks to Google and Twitter flood the world. The US is poised on the brink of a national economic recovery but it won't happen while the Utopian Socialist is in the White House. It goes against the grain of Barack Obama to see the US in the front of the line."
It's been truthfully said that a capitalist economy can easily support a welfare state, but a welfare state cannot support itself. If only that were understood by our "leaders."
An example: In California, where I live, the state has vast oil and gas reserves, but the state government does not allow anything close to full exploitation, for purely political reasons. We could easily be as prosperous as Texas, but instead have chosen poverty. Insane, but that's our reality. We are a welfare state learning the sad lesson set forth above. God forbid that this mental disease spreads to the rest of the country.
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Sorry Mr. Franklin, we couldn't keep it.
Via A Trainwreck in Maxwell, there is this story about a government bureaucracy calling for electronic means of allowing all cars to "talk to each other," the idea being to avoid accidents.
This seems to connect to the earlier call by our government to legally require a "black box" in every car so that your every movement can be tracked. This is from 2011, but as the article states, even then almost every new car already has the equivalent of a black box already installed by the manufacturer.
Given how other government institutions like the IRS have been politicized, can it be very long before the government can determine in real time, and store forever, every where your car goes, and what it does, and then use it against you if it wants?
In reality, this is just one more way to exert control over all of us, the peons, by our overlords in bureaucracies everywhere.
They will simply mail you your traffic ticket if you speed or don't make a full stop. No traffic cameras needed. Imagine all the money the government can extract from our pockets! Go to someplace you shouldn't, and they will have a record. If the voters elect a purely corrupt government, kinda like the one we have now, then what is to stop the authorities from simply creating evidence against you using this?
Couple this with the monitoring of all of our electronic correspondence, monitoring our mail, our telephone calls, the demand for private, encrypted passwords, and watching us in our backyards with drones, and there isn't very much that we can do without a government employee knowing about it, and making a determination of whether something should be done about us. It's a new world out there, and not a very good one.
A government that can't trust it's own people is a government that can't be trusted with power. Let's hope that somewhere, somehow this trend can be stopped, although I think that it is very likely too late for us.
Update: Via USA Today, and with a hat tip to Glen Reynolds, there is this:
National security officials have tried to make it sound as if their intrusions are modest, testifying they used the authority to “query” particular phone numbers just 300 times last year from a database of tens of millions. But for each number queried, analysts may go out two or three “hops.” This means an analyst will look at everyone a target has called (the first hop), then at everyone those contacts have called (the second hop) and then at all the numbers called by those contacts. With all this hopping, the National Security Agency has likely looked at the communication patterns of millions of people, the ACLU’s Jameel Jaffer testified last week. This bears closer scrutiny.
The administration has overplayed the effectiveness of its approach, initially testifying that the phone program and another that involves international e-mails had helped disrupt “potential terrorist events over 50 times since 9/11.” When pressed, however, it turned out that the e-mail program has been most successful in thwarting terrorism; the phone database “contributed” to understanding 12 events and not necessarily to preventing them.
The administration and its allies have underscored the oversight provided by congressional intelligence committees and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. But lawmakers on the committees are muzzled by their oaths of confidentiality. And the court operates in secrecy, hearing only the government’s side.
This seems to connect to the earlier call by our government to legally require a "black box" in every car so that your every movement can be tracked. This is from 2011, but as the article states, even then almost every new car already has the equivalent of a black box already installed by the manufacturer.
"The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Friday proposed long-delayed regulations requiring auto manufacturers to include event data recorders - better known as "black boxes" - in all new cars and light trucks beginning Sept. 1, 2014. But the agency is behind the curve. Automakers have been quietly tucking the devices, which automatically record the actions of drivers and the responses of their vehicles in a continuous information loop, into most new cars for years.
NHTSA estimates that 96 percent of all 2013 model year cars already have event data recorders as standard equipment.
When a car is involved in a crash or when its airbags deploy, inputs from the vehicle's sensors during the 5 to 10 seconds before impact are automatically preserved. That is usually enough to record things like how fast the car was traveling and whether the driver applied the brake, was steering erratically or had a seat belt on."
Given how other government institutions like the IRS have been politicized, can it be very long before the government can determine in real time, and store forever, every where your car goes, and what it does, and then use it against you if it wants?
In reality, this is just one more way to exert control over all of us, the peons, by our overlords in bureaucracies everywhere.
They will simply mail you your traffic ticket if you speed or don't make a full stop. No traffic cameras needed. Imagine all the money the government can extract from our pockets! Go to someplace you shouldn't, and they will have a record. If the voters elect a purely corrupt government, kinda like the one we have now, then what is to stop the authorities from simply creating evidence against you using this?
Couple this with the monitoring of all of our electronic correspondence, monitoring our mail, our telephone calls, the demand for private, encrypted passwords, and watching us in our backyards with drones, and there isn't very much that we can do without a government employee knowing about it, and making a determination of whether something should be done about us. It's a new world out there, and not a very good one.
A government that can't trust it's own people is a government that can't be trusted with power. Let's hope that somewhere, somehow this trend can be stopped, although I think that it is very likely too late for us.
Update: Via USA Today, and with a hat tip to Glen Reynolds, there is this:
This is grossly excessive, and Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., hinted this week that there is more still that has not been disclosed.
A month ago, just a handful of senators was warning that the security programs had gone too far. With more than 200 House members joining the chorus, the program might finally get the intensive public review that it so badly needs.
When did we the citizens of this country vote to allow the government to intrude into every communication we make, and watch every single thing that we do? Never, and don't say we did when we ask the government to keep us secure from terrorism. That job can be accomplished far more efficiently by watching people prone to terrorism, not every one of us.
No, throughout history, it has proven to be the case that those in authority seek to gather more and more power to themselves, at the expense of everyone else, until there is tyranny. Our nation was founded in as way to try to stop that, and leave the power with the people. To accomplish this, the founders stipulated to the necessity of keeping government small, indeed as small as possible, and that the electorate must be educated enough in their plan to keep it that way. Both seem to have fallen by the wayside over the last 80 years or so, and now we are perhaps beyond the point where we can call ourselves free; where the government belongs to us, and not the other way around.
Friday, July 26, 2013
Get a load of this!
Why have I never heard of this before? What a beautiful machine!
The Hughes H-1 was a racing aircraft built by Hughes Aircraft in 1935. It set a world airspeed record and a transcontinental speed record across the United States. The H-1 Racer was the last aircraft built by a private individual to set the world speed record; every aircraft to hold the honor since has been a military design.The H-1 first flew in 1935 and promptly broke the world landplane speed record with Hughes at the controls, clocking 352 mph (566 km/h) averaged over four timed passes. Hughes apparently ran the aircraft out of fuel and managed to crash-land without serious damage to either himself or the H-1. As soon as Hughes exited the H-1 when he crashed it in a beet field south of Santa Ana, Calif., his only comment was: "We can fix her, she'll go faster". At the time, the world seaplane speed record was 440 mph (709 km/h), set by a Macchi M.C.72 in October 1934
The Sarge has the Friday Flyby up.
Don't miss it. Any post with a bunch of P-38's shouldn't be overlooked. And how many machine guns did they cram into the nose of that plane, anyhow?
Friday open road
This Scout's for you, Lou.
This one below really brings back memories. My Uncle Charles had a rig similar to that, and he and my cousin and I would drive all over the back roads of central Idaho in it, looking for elk sign, back in the old days. Good times.
Broadside.
My dad used to tell me that in WWII, while in the navy, that the concussion from the big battleship guns would cause pencils to jump of a table six inches, and that's on another boat sailing nearby.
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Fun in Oakland
Went down to Oakland last Friday to pick up the youngest daughter, who was finishing up a summer school course in photography at the California College of the Arts. It's in the family - lots of artists on her mother's side, and photographers on both.
While Oakland has a bad reputation internationally, up in the hills where the school was it's still pretty upper class, although very leftist. She had lots of fun hanging out with some interesting people (her roommate was from Turkey, of all places), but the wife and I are glad to have her back.
Below is her work on display. It's the big picture on the left, then the next eight in two rows of four.
While there her brother the 17 year old practiced his street photography, an odd art in itself. I like these two best.
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And it wouldn't be the Bay Area without at least one hippie van. Naturally, we came across one right there on the street. Beautiful. I can just imagine Cheece and Chong behind the wheel in a cloud of fragrant smoke.
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