Monday, August 31, 2015
Ouch
A B-29 landed safely after one of its propellers broke during flight and carved a good-sized hole in the adjacent fuselage. The pilot successfully made an emergency landing. The B-29 was a sturdy design with tolerances calculated to allow flight even with two engines gone and, in case of an even more dire emergency, with three engines out of order. While this hole appears catastrophic, the fuselage was well prepared to absorb such damage.
Perhaps a bit of overkill
Plus, imagine what would happen if he went over a speed bump and there was a propeller ground strike.
A British ‘Bristol’ and a German ‘Fokker’ colide in mid-air during a dogfight, World War I.
An incredibly well timed photograph
Interesting
This dramatic example of Kelvin-Helmholtz clouds was taken near the Galapagos Islands last week. The shark-fin-like clouds are the result of two air layers moving past one another. The velocity difference at their interface creates an unstable shear layer that quickly breaks down. The resemblance of the clouds to breaking ocean waves is no coincidence – the wind moving over the ocean’s surface generates waves via the same Kelvin-Helmholtz instability. In the case of the clouds above, the lower layer of air was moist enough to condense, which is why the pattern is visible. Clouds like these don’t tend to last for long because the disturbances that drive the instability grow exponentially quickly, leading to turbulence. (Image credit: C. Miller; via Washington Post
BLM protesters: 325. All Lives Matter march: 20,000
Saturday, in Minneapolis, Reuters reported:
Several hundred protesters from the Black Lives Matter movement marched to the Minnesota State Fair on Saturday to bring attention to race issues ranging from policing to underrepresentation of minorities at one of the nation’s biggest state fairs.Minnesota media reported the number of marchers at 325.
The mixed-race crowd, including senior citizens and children, chanted slogans along the 1-1/2 mile route and briefly lay down on a bridge south of the fairgrounds
A few hundred miles to the south, a throng of 20,000, led by Glenn Beck, marched in Birmingham, Alabama, along the same route marched by Martin Luther King. They were there to declare that “All Lives Matter.”
Guess which march received national media attention and which one didn’t.
Sunday, August 30, 2015
Saturday, August 29, 2015
Great, great grandfather to the lion killing dentist.
Hunting Puffins in the Faroe Islands. Smoked puffin breast is a traditional North Atlantic delicacy and puffins are harvested in the summer months. Photo c. 1900.
Tight fit
Anybody know what bird this is? I'd wager those are the Sierra Nevada, east side, dead ahead.
Big bird battles in the Pacific Theater.
Early on in the American Solomon Islands campaign during WW2, there were several instances of American and Japanese long range patrol aircraft encountering each other over vast expanses of the Pacific ocean. The Japanese H6K flying boat proved to be inadequate against the more heavily armored and armed American B-17′s and B-24′s. During these encounters, “dogfights” would ensue between the bombers, with gun positions designed for defense firing at each other while the pilots tried to maneuver their cumbersome aircraft.
This encounter doesn't seem to be going too well for the big Japanese flying boat.
Friday, August 28, 2015
Mesmerizing gaze
One day when I was out riding, I met a very beautiful girl accompanied by an elderly lady. Our eyes met and she made such an impression on me that I reined in my horse to gaze at her as she walked on. Every day I went riding on the same road, at the same hour, hoping to meet the lovely stranger again. I waited in vain and then wended my say way home. But one afternoon the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess Alexander called on us accompanied by their daughter, the Princess Irina. To my surprise and delight I recognised the girl I had met on my ride. This time I had plenty of time to admire the wondrous beauty of the girl who was eventually to become my wife and lifelong companion. She had beautiful features, clear-cut as a cameo, and looked very like her father.
Prince Felix Yusupov: Lost Splendour
The Black Prince's ruby
There it right in front of the Crown of England. It has quite the story.
The Black Prince's Ruby enters the "stage of history" in middle of the 14th century as the possession of Abū Sa'īd, the Moorish Prince of Granada. At that time, the rule of Castile was being centralized to Seville and the Moorish Kingdom of Granada was being systematically attacked and reverted to Castilian rule as a part of the Christian Reconquest of the Iberian peninsula. Abū Sa'īd in particular was confronted by the belligerency of nascent Castile under the rule of Peter of Castile, also known to history as Don Pedro the Cruel. According to historical accounts, Abū Sa'īd wished to surrender to Don Pedro, but the conditions he offered were unclear. What is clear is that Don Pedro welcomed his coming to Seville. It is recorded that he greatly desired Abū Sa'īd's wealth. When Abū Sa'īd met with Don Pedro, the don had Abū Saī'd's servants killed and may have personally stabbed Sa'īd to death himself. Upon searching Sa'īd's corpse, the spinel was found and added to Don Pedro's possessions.
In 1366, Don Pedro's illegitimate brother, Henry of Trastámara, led a revolt against Don Pedro. Lacking the power to put down the revolt unaided, Don Pedro made an alliance with the Black Prince, the son of Edward III of England. The revolt was successfully put down and the Black Prince demanded the ruby in exchange for the services he had rendered. While historians speculate that this was contrary to Don Pedro's desires, he had just suffered a costly civil war and was in no position to decline. It can be assumed that The Black Prince took the Ruby back to England, although it is absent from historical records until 1415.
Edward of Woodstock KG (15 June 1330 – 8 June 1376), called the Black Prince, was the eldest son of King Edward III and Philippa of Hainault, and the father of King Richard II of England. He was the first Duke of Cornwall (from 1337), the Prince of Wales (from 1343) and the Prince of Aquitaine (1362–72).
He was called "Edward of Woodstock" in his early life, after his birthplace, and since the 16th century has been popularly known as the Black Prince. He was an exceptional military leader, and his victories over the French at the Battles of Crécy and Poitiers made him very popular during his lifetime. In 1348 he became the first Knight of the Garter, of whose order he was one of the founders.
During his campaign in France, Henry V of England wore a gem-encrusted helmet that included the Black Prince's Ruby. In the Battle of Agincourt on October 25, 1415, the French Duke of Alençon struck Henry on the head with a battleaxe, and Henry nearly lost the helmet, along with his life. However, the Battle of Agincourt was won by Henry's forces, Henry did not die, and the helmet was preserved along with the Black Prince's Ruby. Richard III is reported to have also worn the Black Prince's Ruby in his helmet at the Battle of Bosworth Field where he died.
James I had the Black Prince's Ruby set into the state crown near the turn of the 17th century, where it remained until the time of Oliver Cromwell. With the exception of The Coronation Chair, and several other minor items, Cromwell had the principal symbols of the king's power within the Crown Jewels disassembled and sold, having the metal melted down and made into coins. A British jeweller bought the Black Prince's Ruby in the days of the Commonwealth, but sold it back to the crown (Charles II) when the monarchy was restored in 1660. At the Coronation of Queen Victoria in 1838 she was crowned with a new Imperial State Crown made for her by the Crown Jewellers Rundell and Bridge, with 3093 gems, including the ruby at the front. This was then remade in 1937 into the current, lighter, crown.
And there is sits to this day.
Somewhere, a fast jet sits idling on a runway, ready to whisk Hillary! away to an undisclosed location...
Because shit just got real.
"An FBI "A-team" is leading the "extremely serious" investigation into Hillary Clinton's server and the focus includes a provision of the law pertaining to "gathering, transmitting or losing defense information," an intelligence source told Fox News."
"The section of the Espionage Act is known as 18 US Code 793."
Remember how this has been presented by the press:
Press: phony 'scandal!'
FBI: we're investigating
Press: not a criminal investigation
FBI: this is a criminal investigation
Press: Its a minor crime
FBI: Looking into Espionage charges
The biggest stooges in this whole Hillary! drama are the institutions and governments who paid the Clinton Foundation huge sums for Bill/Hill to speak at some lackluster event in an attempt to buy influence and favor with these grifters.
Now it looks like it's all coming down in a crash for them - money wasted - because Hill will never be president.
I know no one thinks she will ever be prosecuted or convicted, and I understand why that's a widespread opinion, but consider this:
The intel community in government has to be aghast at the security breach that Hill's private server represents, and they are likely furious.
Further, the FBI has never been treated well by the Clinton's, and has no reason not to take the investigation wherever it might lead.
Finally, remember that Hillary is extremely rude and arrogant in private, and can only influence such things through threats and intimidation, and has on multiple occasions.
Anyone inside government knows this, and those people are not likely to cut her any slack.
The only way she can get them is if she is elected, hence a solid effort is called for to make sure that never happens.
Wild card: How does Obama see this, and how much dirt does Hillary! have on him that she can use to exert leverage?
Press: phony 'scandal!'
FBI: we're investigating
Press: not a criminal investigation
FBI: this is a criminal investigation
Press: Its a minor crime
FBI: Looking into Espionage charges
The biggest stooges in this whole Hillary! drama are the institutions and governments who paid the Clinton Foundation huge sums for Bill/Hill to speak at some lackluster event in an attempt to buy influence and favor with these grifters.
Now it looks like it's all coming down in a crash for them - money wasted - because Hill will never be president.
I know no one thinks she will ever be prosecuted or convicted, and I understand why that's a widespread opinion, but consider this:
The intel community in government has to be aghast at the security breach that Hill's private server represents, and they are likely furious.
Further, the FBI has never been treated well by the Clinton's, and has no reason not to take the investigation wherever it might lead.
Finally, remember that Hillary is extremely rude and arrogant in private, and can only influence such things through threats and intimidation, and has on multiple occasions.
Anyone inside government knows this, and those people are not likely to cut her any slack.
The only way she can get them is if she is elected, hence a solid effort is called for to make sure that never happens.
Wild card: How does Obama see this, and how much dirt does Hillary! have on him that she can use to exert leverage?
