April 13, 2013
— Open Blogger
I was in a Rockwell bunker in Downey CA as this happened...praying my boxes didn't fail. Scary and fun at the same time.
Posted by: Open Blogger at
02:22 PM
| Comments (384)
Post contains 40 words, total size 1 kb.
Posted by: hamsters of the left at April 13, 2013 02:24 PM (qPCAa)
Posted by: Herr Morgenholz at April 13, 2013 02:24 PM (4fBqP)
Posted by: Merovign, Dark Lord of the Sith[/i][/b][/s][/u] at April 13, 2013 02:24 PM (bxiXv)
Posted by: I lurk, therefore I am at April 13, 2013 02:25 PM (K+I6z)
Posted by: Merovign, Dark Lord of the Sith[/i][/b][/s][/u] at April 13, 2013 02:26 PM (bxiXv)
Posted by: steevy at April 13, 2013 02:26 PM (9XBK2)
Posted by: Alex at April 13, 2013 02:27 PM (aPAIU)
Posted by: steevy at April 13, 2013 02:27 PM (9XBK2)
Posted by: kbdabear at April 13, 2013 02:27 PM (mCvL4)
Posted by: Typical Millennial at April 13, 2013 02:28 PM (Vk2pI)
Posted by: elizabethe at April 13, 2013 02:29 PM (qPCAa)
How unutterably cool is that?? Wow, Purp, I had no idea . . . very nice video. Thanks.
Posted by: Peaches at April 13, 2013 02:29 PM (8lmkt)
Posted by: Misanthropic humanitarian fka irishacres at April 13, 2013 02:30 PM (HVff2)
Posted by: Merovign, Dark Lord of the Sith[/i][/b][/s][/u] at April 13, 2013 02:31 PM (bxiXv)
Posted by: Merovign, Dark Lord of the Sith at April 13, 2013 06:31 PM (bxiXv)
Mero, dude, this is why you start that shit in Jan/Feb. Sorry for your troubles . . .
Posted by: Peaches at April 13, 2013 02:32 PM (8lmkt)
Posted by: I lurk, therefore I am at April 13, 2013 02:32 PM (K+I6z)
How a Texas Tuner and a Technicality Took Down the WorldÂ’s Fastest Car
http://tinyurl.com/d5jhubg
While being knocked off the top of the top-speed list is a blow to Bugatti, it’s just the latest in a series of pointless, if compelling, questions surrounding what is ultimately a pointless, if compelling exercise — declaring which car is the fastest on the planet.
It's not pointless you lefty dweeb assholes, the point is if you do it because you CAN
Kind of like saying it's pointless to hold a worldwide broadcast game to see which team can move a leather ball over a goal line the most times
Posted by: kbdabear at April 13, 2013 02:34 PM (mCvL4)
Posted by: Merovign, Dark Lord of the Sith[/i][/b][/s][/u] at April 13, 2013 02:34 PM (bxiXv)
If a DEU (the thingies that controlled the cockpit displays/keypads and interfaced them to the AP 101's) shit the bed, a thousand eyeballs would have been asking me why.
The DEU's behaved that day.
Millions saw it real time, but I never got to see the launch until after it was over. Too busy watching the telemetry status downlinks
Posted by: @PurpAv at April 13, 2013 02:36 PM (/gHaE)
Posted by: Merovign, Dark Lord of the Sith at April 13, 2013 06:34 PM (bxiXv)
It usually is. Sucks, though, that you are having all this difficulty now. Can you file an extension and get back to it?
Posted by: Peaches at April 13, 2013 02:36 PM (8lmkt)
Posted by: Merovign, Dark Lord of the Sith[/i][/b][/s][/u] at April 13, 2013 02:38 PM (bxiXv)
Posted by: elizabethe at April 13, 2013 02:38 PM (qPCAa)
Posted by: and irresolute at April 13, 2013 02:38 PM (DBH1h)
Posted by: Lauren at April 13, 2013 02:38 PM (wsGWu)
Posted by: Merovign, Dark Lord of the Sith[/i][/b][/s][/u] at April 13, 2013 02:39 PM (bxiXv)
Posted by: @PurpAv at April 13, 2013 02:40 PM (/gHaE)
Posted by: mama winger at April 13, 2013 02:40 PM (P6QsQ)
Posted by: I lurk, therefore I am at April 13, 2013 06:32 PM (K+I6z)
When they flew the Endeavor around LA a couple of months ago, it was absolutely the most awesome thing ever. And for 3 days people were in the streets cheering and carrying on. We really need to take America back.
Posted by: Peaches at April 13, 2013 02:41 PM (8lmkt)
Posted by: elizabethe at April 13, 2013 02:41 PM (qPCAa)
http://tinyurl.com/cg2pbkp
Posted by: kbdabear at April 13, 2013 02:41 PM (mCvL4)
Posted by: Leonard Smalls at April 13, 2013 02:41 PM (uPbpg)
Posted by: @PurpAv at April 13, 2013 02:41 PM (/gHaE)
Posted by: Lauren at April 13, 2013 02:42 PM (wsGWu)
Or just a giant picture of Obama's face.
Posted by: Lauren at April 13, 2013 06:42 PM (wsGWu)
because the moon is small and Mooch's ass would simply not fit
Posted by: Peaches at April 13, 2013 02:42 PM (8lmkt)
Posted by: and irresolute at April 13, 2013 02:43 PM (DBH1h)
Posted by: Misanthropic humanitarian fka irishacres at April 13, 2013 02:43 PM (HVff2)
Posted by: elizabethe at April 13, 2013 02:43 PM (qPCAa)
Posted by: whatmeworry? at April 13, 2013 02:44 PM (Q3WfW)
Posted by: mama winger at April 13, 2013 02:44 PM (P6QsQ)
Posted by: I lurk, therefore I am at April 13, 2013 02:45 PM (K+I6z)
Yeah...I remember when we used to do great things like this.
Isn't Liberalism grand? ...It results in death, destruction and decay.
Posted by: wheatie at April 13, 2013 02:46 PM (Da0Xz)
Posted by: Misanthropic humanitarian fka irishacres at April 13, 2013 02:47 PM (HVff2)
Posted by: and irresolute at April 13, 2013 02:47 PM (DBH1h)
*eyes the bunk*
Posted by: boulder toilet hobo at April 13, 2013 02:47 PM (QTHTd)
Posted by: mama winger at April 13, 2013 06:40 PM (P6QsQ)
Fixed it for you.
Posted by: Gaylord Focker at April 13, 2013 02:47 PM (rm+Am)
Posted by: Dept. Of Acuracy at April 13, 2013 02:49 PM (MhA4j)
26...Millions saw it real time, but I never got to see the launch until after it was over. Too busy watching the telemetry status downlinks
I bet you felt the vibration, though...from all that massive powerful thrust?
That had to be amazing.
Very cool, Purp.
Posted by: wheatie at April 13, 2013 02:49 PM (Da0Xz)
There's a passage in the Book of Mormon that I always get a kick out of. The writer talks about how ridiculously high the tax rate of 20% was...
/sigh
Posted by: junior at April 13, 2013 02:51 PM (GQQPX)
With unemployment being probably twice what is reported , and the possibility of millions of illegals granted amnesty, I think our glory days are behind us.
Unless some changes are made.
Maybe a Math 101 seminar for our so called leaders.
Posted by: seamrog at April 13, 2013 02:51 PM (Nbt0h)
Posted by: Stu-22 at April 13, 2013 02:52 PM (k4bdL)
Posted by: BumperStickerist at April 13, 2013 02:53 PM (19AvL)
China and Russia are in a race to get to the Moon.
Whichever one of them gets there first...will probably claim it for themselves.
Nevermind that we already "Claimed it for the People of Earth" as a whole.
What are the chances that they will honor that?
Posted by: wheatie at April 13, 2013 02:53 PM (Da0Xz)
Not as scary as it sounds. That just means no RTLS (return to KSC). There were a number of other abort sites as well, and what was called a one around abort...where you'd do one orbit and come back
Posted by: @PurpAv at April 13, 2013 02:55 PM (/gHaE)
Posted by: Misanthropic humanitarian fka irishacres at April 13, 2013 02:55 PM (HVff2)
Posted by: elizabethe at April 13, 2013 02:55 PM (qPCAa)
Posted by: @PurpAv at April 13, 2013 02:56 PM (/gHaE)
We don't. In fact we are pretty much all united, left and right, that eugenics is bad.
We'll see whose vision of the future has a future.
Posted by: boulder toilet hobo at April 13, 2013 02:56 PM (QTHTd)
Posted by: Toxteth O'Grady (604) at April 13, 2013 02:56 PM (enACX)
What are the chances that they will honor that?
Depends. How many divisions did we leave?
Posted by: Methos at April 13, 2013 02:57 PM (hO9ad)
Posted by: Craig Poe at April 13, 2013 02:57 PM (BVkEs)
Posted by: Misanthropic humanitarian fka irishacres at April 13, 2013 02:57 PM (HVff2)
Well, except for the 'reckless breeders'.
Posted by: Margaret Sanger at April 13, 2013 02:58 PM (uPbpg)
Good for you, we guess.
Posted by: 50 million Americans babies slaughtered for shits and giggles at April 13, 2013 02:59 PM (hO9ad)
Posted by: Nevergiveup at April 13, 2013 02:59 PM (jE38p)
Posted by: elizabethe at April 13, 2013 03:02 PM (qPCAa)
As of yesterday, the Washington Post blogs and reports lit up to make themselves look better. Admittedly, they have covered the story a tiny bit better than other AP reports that have not mentioned this hellhole since March 19th.
Anyway, any time Gosnell has been reported in their blot or whatever, I have appeared and mocked, relentlessly, some of their regular posters.
I am happy to report three fled with their panties in a major twist today from my mocking.
Please register (fake information) and join me. They swarm like fire ants to any anti-abortion comment. Drink up and join me at Washington Post. Please note I have not done this mission since Benghazi.
Posted by: ChristyBlinky at April 13, 2013 03:03 PM (baL2B)
Posted by: GnuBreed at April 13, 2013 03:03 PM (ccXZP)
Posted by: Bitter Clinger and All That at April 13, 2013 03:05 PM (Kpn/z)
Posted by: tlc, no really at April 13, 2013 03:05 PM (sSU2k)
Posted by: Merovign, Dark Lord of the Sith[/i][/b][/s][/u] at April 13, 2013 03:05 PM (bxiXv)
Forbes (allegedly from last year, through a paywall or something, via market-ticker.org)
http://tinyurl.com/c5ah86l
There is a national crisis of federal employees engaged in the child porn industry and a related epidemic at the state level. IÂ’ve documented two states, Vermont and Maine, that appear to be running state protected child trafficking rings with evidence of cops, judges, lawyers, clergy and government employees covering for each other.
Posted by: Methos at April 13, 2013 03:05 PM (hO9ad)
Don't mean to "needle" you, but a thread for sewing and knitting could darn near put us in stitches. Sorry.
Ahem.
Posted by: seamrog at April 13, 2013 03:06 PM (Nbt0h)
Posted by: Oldsailors Poet is no longer shamelessly hawking his book Amy Lynn available on amazon. at April 13, 2013 03:06 PM (l86i3)
dammit . . . {waves panties, winks, flashes cleavage}
Posted by: Peaches at April 13, 2013 03:06 PM (8lmkt)
ALL of the code needed to process an abort and fly the thing back to one of the abort sites was contained in the AP 101 designated as the "backup" computer (BFS). BFS never touched the tape drives once BFS was loaded. Everything was contained in its memory. Everything.
The AP 101's for STS-1 had a whopping 256k of memory.
Posted by: @PurpAv at April 13, 2013 03:07 PM (/gHaE)
Posted by: The Constant Bitching On The Gaming and Chess Threads at April 13, 2013 03:07 PM (bxiXv)
80 Do we even want the gubmint to do these kind of things, as things stand right now?
You're right, GnuBreed.
That thing about 'can't be fired' has fubar'd things up.
We have to get rid of that, and stop rewarding incompetence, before we can have any hope of doing great things again...as public works.
Posted by: wheatie at April 13, 2013 03:08 PM (Da0Xz)
In some areas, yea. I think some of the urban areas still have it
Posted by: @PurpAv at April 13, 2013 03:08 PM (/gHaE)
Posted by: Merovign, Dark Lord of the Sith[/i][/b][/s][/u] at April 13, 2013 03:09 PM (bxiXv)
Posted by: Methos at April 13, 2013 03:09 PM (hO9ad)
Already on. Looking forward to Rowdy stinking up the field.
Posted by: Methos at April 13, 2013 03:10 PM (hO9ad)
Posted by: Oldsailors Poet is no longer shamelessly hawking his book Amy Lynn available on amazon. at April 13, 2013 03:10 PM (l86i3)
Posted by: Eaton Cox at April 13, 2013 03:11 PM (q177U)
Posted by: Oldsailors Poet is no longer shamelessly hawking his book Amy Lynn available on amazon. at April 13, 2013 03:11 PM (l86i3)
79...Posted by: ChristyBlinky at April 13, 2013 07:03 PM (baL2B)
I applaud you for doing that, CB.
Posted by: wheatie at April 13, 2013 03:12 PM (Da0Xz)
Recently, the remaining portion of the old Downey Rockwell Plant, which was being used as a filming location, was torn down. Scheduled to go up, a shopping center, because if there's one thing the Souther California economy needs, it's another place to buy shoes and see a movie.
Although, the other candidate to take over the location was a Telsa electrical car plant, so choose your poison.
Posted by: Laurie David's Cervix at April 13, 2013 03:12 PM (kdS6q)
Posted by: @PurpAv at April 13, 2013 03:12 PM (/gHaE)
Posted by: elizabethe at April 13, 2013 03:13 PM (qPCAa)
Lyndon Baines Johnson is second in the queue for Satan's barbed cock. Right behind Fat Teddy.
Gave us Viet Naaam (his pronunciation), gave us Medicare, gave us the War on Poverty and finally; gave us Nixon.
$&(_+&^% $$$) _(***&^^^er deserves every inch.
Posted by: Bitter Clinger and All That at April 13, 2013 03:13 PM (Kpn/z)
87...dammit . . . {waves panties, winks, flashes cleavage}
You're a brave child, Peaches, for posting something like that here.
I started to post something about how long my legs are, and chickened out.
Posted by: wheatie at April 13, 2013 03:14 PM (Da0Xz)
Maybe. Kyle got better as the track cooled yesterday (though some of that was due to choices is when to change tires) which will be more important tonight.
Posted by: Methos at April 13, 2013 03:15 PM (hO9ad)
North American used to build P-51 Mustangs at the Downey plant before it became North American Rockwell. When I was there, you could still see the remains of the old WWII runways in the parking lots.
Posted by: @PurpAv at April 13, 2013 03:15 PM (/gHaE)
Posted by: Eaton Cox at April 13, 2013 03:15 PM (q177U)
Posted by: Oldsailors Poet is no longer shamelessly hawking his book Amy Lynn available on amazon. at April 13, 2013 03:16 PM (l86i3)
--------------
Little known trivia fact. Matt Kenseth is from the same tiny Wisconsin town as Ole Evenrud, founder of Evinrude and inventor of the first outboard motor.
Posted by: mama winger at April 13, 2013 03:18 PM (P6QsQ)
@60 China and Russia are in a race to get to the Moon.
Whichever one of them gets there first...will probably claim it for themselves.
------------------------------------------
I'm pretty sure that there's already a UN Treaty in place regarding "possession" of the Moon. Given that the US has had sole access to it for decades now, that makes a certain amount of sense (as opposed to, say, if another country had sole access to it, in which case the UN wouldn't have felt any great need to take action...).
Posted by: junior at April 13, 2013 03:19 PM (GQQPX)
The income tax was never meant to tax the money one needs to eat, clothe oneself (modestly) and house oneself( again modestly).
They actually are sensible about this in Connecticut and income tax doesn't start until over and above the deduction.
Reasonable, fair, covers everyone, doesn't penalize the poor or low income worker. Everyone gets the one deduction.
Posted by: Bitter Clinger and All That at April 13, 2013 03:20 PM (Kpn/z)
Posted by: artisanal 'ette at April 13, 2013 03:20 PM (XYSwB)
Posted by: Flatbush Joe at April 13, 2013 03:21 PM (ZPrif)
83 Turbo Tax can be a little bitch, too.
I've never used Turbo Tax.
You can download all the forms and shit that you need, from the IRS website...even type in the forms and complete them on your computer.
I stopped using accountants for my tax returns years ago...when they wanted to get paid extra, to explain their work during an IRS audit.
Posted by: wheatie at April 13, 2013 03:22 PM (Da0Xz)
jk. I love Waltrip. And I know he has a family and a hot wife.
He's still super gay, though.
Posted by: Flatbush Joe at April 13, 2013 07:21 PM (ZPrif)
---
He's thuper gay. But why the pink ties?
Posted by: Craig Poe at April 13, 2013 03:23 PM (BVkEs)
Posted by: Flatbush Joe at April 13, 2013 03:23 PM (ZPrif)
And, woot! Just got our tax forms back from the accountant. Don't have to right a check this year, so there's that.
Posted by: Jane D'oh at April 13, 2013 03:24 PM (lVPtV)
112...I'm pretty sure that there's already a UN Treaty in place regarding "possession" of the Moon.
There may be...but who will enforce it?
Posted by: wheatie at April 13, 2013 03:24 PM (Da0Xz)
@60 China and Russia are in a race to get to the Moon.
Whichever one of them gets there first...will probably claim it for themselves.
------------------------------------------
I'm pretty sure that there's already a UN Treaty in place regarding "possession" of the Moon. Given that the US has had sole access to it for decades now, that makes a certain amount of sense (as opposed to, say, if another country had sole access to it, in which case the UN wouldn't have felt any great need to take action...).
Posted by: junior at April 13, 2013 07:19 PM (GQQPX)
---
Go ask Alice.....
Posted by: Craig Poe at April 13, 2013 03:24 PM (BVkEs)
Yea, we past the point of no return a while ago. Best to let it burn and start over.
Posted by: @PurpAv at April 13, 2013 03:24 PM (/gHaE)
------------
Yes that makes sense. Everyone gets a standard deduction. Tax the rest at 10%. Surely the government can get by on the same amount as requested by God.
Posted by: mama winger at April 13, 2013 03:25 PM (P6QsQ)
This and Obama would interrupt the live first step telecast to blabber about himself.
The crew would also be uber PC and the first person to set foot on the moon would be some disadvantaged autistic HIV positive illegal immigrant transgendered lesbian Palestinian single working mom. The green and anti-imperialism (unless it is communist imperialism) lobby would also expect the launch to be carbon neutral and all traces of human contact with the moon remediated upon departure. No plaques, equipment, flags, or footprints to remain.
Posted by: Blue Falcon in Boston at April 13, 2013 03:26 PM (KCvsd)
And extending the metaphor of America's decline, the Rockwell shuttle mock-up was dragged off the old plant site so the construction of the new shopping center can start.
It's currently sitting in a parking lot, missing its tail and a wing, where it can rot quietly.
http://tinyurl.com/c2n3wqd
Posted by: Laurie David's Cervix at April 13, 2013 03:27 PM (kdS6q)
Iapplaud you for doing that, CB.
Posted by: wheatie at April 13, 2013 07:12 PM (Da0Xz)
We all have to do "something" and thank you. I say this with bloodshot eyes and accomplishing nothing today with husband wondering what I am up to. I made him dinner and will tie him up in laundry room if he messes with me in a WaPo rage.
Posted by: ChristyBlinky at April 13, 2013 03:27 PM (baL2B)
Posted by: Flatbush Joe at April 13, 2013 03:27 PM (ZPrif)
Posted by: zsasz at April 13, 2013 03:28 PM (MMC8r)
Posted by: @PurpAv at April 13, 2013 03:28 PM (/gHaE)
Flag of Islam.
Posted by: Jane D'oh at April 13, 2013 03:30 PM (lVPtV)
You might want to think really hard about your answer.
Posted by: Bitter Clinger and All That at April 13, 2013 03:30 PM (Kpn/z)
Posted by: Flatbush Joe at April 13, 2013 03:31 PM (ZPrif)
Posted by: @PurpAv at April 13, 2013 03:32 PM (/gHaE)
Posted by: Blue Falcon in Boston at April 13, 2013 03:32 PM (KCvsd)
Rockwell made an absolutely beautiful plane in the B1. That thing is drop-dead gorgeous from any angle.
Posted by: Blacque Jacques Shellacque at April 13, 2013 03:32 PM (fdkkW)
Posted by: T. at April 13, 2013 03:32 PM (ms4kd)
Posted by: NASA at April 13, 2013 03:33 PM (MMC8r)
What's the point? They could easily set them up behind virtual machines and run the race on a computer. The race now is all about the driver and timing.
The only reason to hold the race in real time is . . . BLOOD.
Posted by: Bitter Clinger and All That at April 13, 2013 03:33 PM (Kpn/z)
Posted by: Oldsailors Poet is no longer shamelessly hawking his book Amy Lynn available on amazon. at April 13, 2013 03:33 PM (l86i3)
133 I'm telling you. Who really won the Cold War?
It didn't end.
It just morphed into the...Economics War. And it is a war that we are losing.
Posted by: wheatie at April 13, 2013 03:34 PM (Da0Xz)
Posted by: Bitter Clinger and All That at April 13, 2013 03:34 PM (Kpn/z)
Posted by: Flatbush Joe at April 13, 2013 03:34 PM (ZPrif)
Posted by: Oldsailors Poet is no longer shamelessly hawking his book Amy Lynn available on amazon. at April 13, 2013 03:35 PM (l86i3)
Michael Waltrip ... somehow nobody notices the giant guy with the lisp doing gay schtick running around the track with a microphone.
Admittedly, it was a bit over the top when he started to fake sing L'Trimm's The Cars That Go Boom.
Posted by: Laurie David's Cervix at April 13, 2013 03:35 PM (kdS6q)
Posted by: seamrog at April 13, 2013 03:35 PM (Nbt0h)
Which already has the moon on it. I think the combination might create a singularity.
Or a hellmouth.
Posted by: Methos at April 13, 2013 03:36 PM (hO9ad)
"Imagine the moon landing today. We'd probably put up the UN flag instead of the US."
A panel of the AIDS quilt....
Posted by: Laurie David's Cervix at April 13, 2013 03:36 PM (kdS6q)
Posted by: Flatbush Joe at April 13, 2013 03:38 PM (ZPrif)
Posted by: Blue Falcon in Boston at April 13, 2013 03:39 PM (KCvsd)
If by diversity, you mean diversity of individuals, then yes.
If you mean diversity of culture then NO.
the equality of culture taught in schools here today has lead to a balkanization of the various immigrants minds to the point where they refuse to obey US law because their culture says they don't have to.
it's AMERICAN culture that gave the world AMERICA and now that we've devalued it, we've turned into a mess.
E Pluribus Unum? Remember that? one out of many. not one divided by many.
Posted by: Bitter Clinger and All That at April 13, 2013 03:39 PM (Kpn/z)
Nascar has so many rules now...and Driving Teams...that it just isn't as fun any more.
Having teams, with more than one car in the race, just seems...wrong.
Posted by: wheatie at April 13, 2013 03:39 PM (Da0Xz)
Posted by: Jane D'oh at April 13, 2013 03:40 PM (lVPtV)
Posted by: Truck Monkey at April 13, 2013 03:40 PM (jucos)
Sacred honor forces me to say the pilot rumours are false. But thanks for the cleavage.
Posted by: tlc, no really at April 13, 2013 03:40 PM (sSU2k)
Posted by: Flatbush Joe at April 13, 2013 03:40 PM (ZPrif)
the race itself could be done on a computer.
Welcome back btw
Posted by: Bitter Clinger and All That at April 13, 2013 03:40 PM (Kpn/z)
Don't think I won't put five-time in the wall if I have to.
Posted by: Jeff G. at April 13, 2013 03:41 PM (hO9ad)
Posted by: Foghorn Leghorn at April 13, 2013 03:41 PM (NXTjJ)
Posted by: Flatbush Joe at April 13, 2013 03:42 PM (ZPrif)
Bank contacted me. Asked if I wanted to take advantage of a special offer. Tax deferred @1.9% for 5 years.
5 years, like 2018. scary shit, but it sure made me think that it was a special offer.
Things may not get better once Ogabe leaves, if ever.
Posted by: seamrog at April 13, 2013 03:44 PM (Nbt0h)
Posted by: waldo at April 13, 2013 03:45 PM (JmbIB)
153...E Pluribus Unum? Remember that? one out of many. not one divided by many.
"Celebrating Diversity" = celebrating what divides us.
How the fuck is that anything that should be celebrated?
Posted by: wheatie at April 13, 2013 03:45 PM (Da0Xz)
Correct or not?
If correct, then the entire race is all about the skill of operation by the driver and the timing of refuel, tires etc.
Correct or not?
If correct, then the damn race could be run on a computer program in a arcade somewhere.
The reason to run it real time is BLOOD.
Posted by: Bitter Clinger and All That at April 13, 2013 03:46 PM (Kpn/z)
Posted by: Cicero (@cicero) at April 13, 2013 03:46 PM (CB1zq)
Posted by: Jumbo Shrimp at April 13, 2013 03:47 PM (DGIjM)
Posted by: waldo at April 13, 2013 03:47 PM (JmbIB)
In the early 80's Rockwell had about 80,000 employees world wide, yet they managed to produce Shuttles, B1's, the early GPS NavStar sats, various industrial controls, power tools, and truck axles assemblies, as well as the electronics division in Seal Beach that made all those famous Rockwell modem chips and stuff.
I don't know who fucked up the magnificent company that gave me my first job out of college, but I hope they're well acquainted with the BCOS
Posted by: @PurpAv at April 13, 2013 03:47 PM (/gHaE)
Posted by: Flatbush Joe at April 13, 2013 03:48 PM (ZPrif)
Posted by: Truck Monkey at April 13, 2013 03:49 PM (jucos)
Posted by: Jumbo Shrimp at April 13, 2013 03:50 PM (DGIjM)
Posted by: eman at April 13, 2013 03:51 PM (71gyQ)
Well enlighten me sunshine. I asked if I was correct or not. I don't avidly follow nascar. I'm just going by what I pick up here and there so if I'm wrong tell me where I'm wrong.
Don't just say I'm wrong and walk away and expect me to change what I think just because you said to.
Put some learnin' to me Brooklyn
Posted by: Bitter Clinger and All That at April 13, 2013 03:51 PM (Kpn/z)
Posted by: Flatbush Joe at April 13, 2013 03:52 PM (ZPrif)
Posted by: Jumbo Shrimp at April 13, 2013 03:52 PM (DGIjM)
Merovign, I am getting my taxes from the accountant on Monday. I turned them in over a month ago. They have had delays and bad explanations from IRS, the program they bought to do the calculations did not work correctly, and they are about to go nuts.
Anyone who gave them their info after I did will have an automatic extension request filed.
It's miserable enough to have to do this. I think it should be against the law for the government to torment us.
Posted by: Miss Marple at April 13, 2013 03:52 PM (GoIUi)
Posted by: Bitter Clinger and All That at April 13, 2013 03:53 PM (Kpn/z)
Posted by: Sticky Wicket at April 13, 2013 03:53 PM (0IhFx)
Posted by: Flatbush Joe at April 13, 2013 07:52 PM (ZPrif)
That's troll for "I don't have the answers but I like telling you that you don't".
Posted by: Bitter Clinger and All That at April 13, 2013 03:54 PM (Kpn/z)
Posted by: Peaches at April 13, 2013 03:55 PM (8lmkt)
That's troll for "I don't have the answers but I like telling you that you don't".
Posted by: Bitter Clinger and All That at April 13, 2013 07:54 PM (Kpn/z)
Flatbush Joe is no troll.
Posted by: Peaches at April 13, 2013 03:55 PM (8lmkt)
Posted by: Ray Van Dune at April 13, 2013 03:56 PM (qIFL7)
Don't forget the Bullet Trains and the rioting "Youts".
Posted by: Bitter Clinger and All That at April 13, 2013 03:56 PM (Kpn/z)
"Not as scary as it sounds."
Yeah, maybe for you steely eyed rocket men! Couchspuds see the world differently!
Posted by: and irresolute at April 13, 2013 03:57 PM (DBH1h)
Posted by: Jumbo Shrimp at April 13, 2013 03:57 PM (DGIjM)
quacks, walk, looks
I don't think he's a troll troll. He's just being trollish by downing what I said and won't say why.
That's trollish to me.
Posted by: Bitter Clinger and All That at April 13, 2013 03:58 PM (Kpn/z)
They did have their own tech staff that worked with the vendors, and the NASA engineers I worked with were very good and stayed up everything. They understood the code and systems as well as the vendors did.
Posted by: @PurpAv at April 13, 2013 03:58 PM (/gHaE)
Don't forget the Bullet Trains and the rioting "Youts".
And urban decay! And islamification! And ruling class royalty! I'm so excited....sqeee!
Posted by: Sticky Wicket at April 13, 2013 03:58 PM (0IhFx)
Posted by: DangerGirl @deadlyestrogen at April 13, 2013 03:59 PM (GrtrJ)
Posted by: Miss Marple at April 13, 2013 07:52 PM (GoIUi)
What fun would that be?? Srsly, though, sorry for the anxiety you are experiencing. Accountants will make you want to beat someone to death (usually them).
Posted by: Peaches at April 13, 2013 04:00 PM (8lmkt)
Grew up in the 80's...
I have no idea how this shit started...
Posted by: Jumbo Shrimp
We won the Cold War.
And with the loss of that critical focus, America's attention, as it tends to do, wandered off. Until the left grabbed it and made our nation's primary goal the cult of "fairness" and "inclusion" and "acceptance".
Posted by: Laurie David's Cervix at April 13, 2013 04:03 PM (kdS6q)
Posted by: Geeky McGeekerson at April 13, 2013 08:01 PM (uPbpg)
Don't have cable.
Posted by: DangerGirl @deadlyestrogen at April 13, 2013 04:03 PM (GrtrJ)
Posted by: Flatbush Joe at April 13, 2013 04:04 PM (ZPrif)
Posted by: Brian at April 13, 2013 04:05 PM (7jupj)
I have to admit I like the crashes, but only when everyone walks away. It's my favorite sport, admittedly to your point, because the home version is so much like the real thing.
Posted by: Methos at April 13, 2013 04:05 PM (hO9ad)
Well, if you're doing an abort, it does mean you're pretty well fucked since you're into the BFS system at that point, and there's no more redundancy in the computer system flying the bird. You only got one left.
You're fucked, but not without workable options.
Lose BFS and shit gets very real very quick...
We never had a shuttle do an abort. They had SSME shutdowns, lost some main computers, etc, but were always good enough to press on and avoid the abort scenarios.
Posted by: @PurpAv at April 13, 2013 04:07 PM (/gHaE)
I admit that I don't know anything about Nascar, but with the previous comments about drivers getting lighter ( like jockeys ) and multiple team entrants ( referred to as coupling in horse racing) it seems that someone is trying to fix something that's not broken.
See the NFL banning types of collisions, etc.
"Basically change America" bastards !
Posted by: seamrog at April 13, 2013 04:09 PM (Nbt0h)
Posted by: Whatev at April 13, 2013 04:11 PM (A7Wh1)
Posted by: DangerGirl @deadlyestrogen at April 13, 2013 08:03 PM (GrtrJ)
OMG, you're the other one?? I don't and I am also kinda-sorta watching the NASCAR, too. I have no fuckin' idea why. Cool sounds, though.
Posted by: Peaches at April 13, 2013 04:11 PM (8lmkt)
And with the loss of that critical focus, America's attention, as it tends to do, wandered off. Until the left grabbed it and made our nation's primary goal the cult of "fairness" and "inclusion" and "acceptance".
Ain't that the truth!
In my delusional way I thought 9-11 would would re-focus us but that only lasted a few weeks before the lefties started back on the 'blame America first' meme.
Posted by: Retread at April 13, 2013 04:12 PM (zxitI)
Definitely. And Christina Hendricks will give you a blow job and thank you afterwards.
Posted by: Peaches at April 13, 2013 04:12 PM (8lmkt)
I see it going down to $3.20, then going back up to $3.45.
We will never see sub-$3 gas in the USA ever again.
Posted by: soothsayer at April 13, 2013 04:12 PM (bUM4g)
Posted by: rickl at April 13, 2013 04:13 PM (sdi6R)
I have cable just for Dr Who.
Well, that and pay-per-view porn, but mostly just Dr Who.
Posted by: Geeky McGeekerson at April 13, 2013 04:13 PM (uPbpg)
Posted by: ghostofhallelujah at April 13, 2013 04:15 PM (XvrTA)
The volume available on TV doesn't really do it justice.
Posted by: Methos at April 13, 2013 04:15 PM (hO9ad)
Posted by: EROWMER at April 13, 2013 04:15 PM (kxlCQ)
Posted by: Peaches at April 13, 2013 08:11 PM (8lmkt)
Yep, I'm the other one lol! No need for it. Costs waaaay too much money and I can find pretty much anything I want to watch on the internet, just usually after the fact.
Anyways, back to sewing and watching cars go in circles. Have a good night everyone!
Posted by: DangerGirl @deadlyestrogen at April 13, 2013 04:16 PM (GrtrJ)
213...We will never see sub-$3 gas in the USA ever again.
Not with Barky in the Whitehouse, no...
But removing the restrictions on building new refineries...that would be a start.
Removing the ethanol requirements...that would knock off a chunk of the cost.
In other words, we need Rick Perry in the Whitehouse.
Posted by: wheatie at April 13, 2013 04:17 PM (Da0Xz)
Let me know when there's a fight. What I see instead is an article over on hotair where the gun confiscations in NY are already underway and the sheeple are complying.
Posted by: Methos at April 13, 2013 04:18 PM (hO9ad)
I may need to do in multiple posts.
---
EDITORÂ’S INTRODUCTION TO:
THE STUDY SYNDROME
by
Jerry Pournelle
Lincoln, Nebraska doesn’t sound like much of a place for changing human destiny, even though it is said to have the highest ‘quality of life’ in the US. (I note that quality of life doesn’t include getting a drink on Sunday, or after midnight.) Otherwise it’s a nice little city with a good convention center, where, this spring, two important events took place.
One was the first face to face meeting of the Board of Directors of the L-5 Society.
Time for a commercial. If you’re concerned about space; if you think we really ought to go Out There, then one way you can help is to join the L-5 Society. It isn’t a large outfit, but it has its successes—as for example the defeat of the give-away Lunar Treaty. L-5 helped keep solar power satellites alive during the last days of the Carter administration, and has provided some inputs to the Reagan administration’s space policy planning committee. We’d do a lot more if we had more resources; which means more members.
You can join by sending $20 to L-5,1060 E. Elm, Tucson, Arizona, 85719. Dues are $20lyear, and we need every nickel (although we do have a $15 rate for students). Join now and go recruit a friend.
The other event was a five day formal report by the Department of Energy and NASA on the Solar Power Satellite (SPS) concept. That one should have changed the world.
THE STUDY SYNDROME
Jerry Pournelle
In our earlier paper, Stefan Possony and I argue that the human race will be around for 100 billion years.
Roll that number around on your tongue a bit. One hundred billion years. That is our future. Compared to it, our past is miniscule, vanishing, a tiny drop in the bucket. We are so very young, and so much lies ahead of us; our only limit is the limit to everything, our only certain doom is the end of the universe—and who knows, after a hundred billion years, perhaps we will know how to prevent that too. It may be that as a species we have no inevitable doom; certainly 100 billion years is, for those of us here and now, close enough to eternity.
But to realize anything like that potential, we must outlive our planet. We must outlive our sun. Eventually we will outlive our galaxy.
None of this is impossible. We can today conceive of interstellar ships, although it will be some time before we can build them; meanwhile, the first step is within our grasp right now. We can, if we will, make our home not Only One Earth, but in the solar system at large. In this generation, in this decade, we could put a settlement on the Moon. Not a base, or an outpost; but a settlement, a colony; a home. We know how to do this now, with todayÂ’s technology, for about what we now spend on cosmetics, less than what we spend on tobacco.
It is an idea whose time has come; and SPS gives us another reason to start now.
* * *
Solar Power Satellites are not a particularly new idea. They’ve been around in science fiction since the Golden Age, but they were first seriously proposed by Peter Glaser in 1968. “His concept is simple enough: instead of building solar power installations on Earth, where the Sun isn’t up at night, and weather and season can interfere with the sunlight received, put the solar collectors in orbit and send the power down to Earth.
The concept may be simple, but there are some tough technical problems. SPS is big, 10 kilometers long by 5 wide for the solar cells and mirrors. It has an antenna a full kilometer in diameter, employing 100,000 klystron tubes, to send the power down as microwaves. SPS requires massive construction in orbit, which means long-term life support systems, not only down low under the Van Allen Belt, but up in geosynchronous orbit as well. ItÂ’s a bold concept; is it too bold?
Concepts are easy. Finding out whether something like SPS is really practical is much more difficult—and very expensive. Although the SPS idea has been around since 1968, nobody took it seriously; but came the energy crunches and DOE decided to look at ‘exotic’ ideas. They took a first cut at SPS—and it survived. They took a second slice, and it still looked good. So finally they bit the bullet and came up with $25 million bucks; enough to take a really hard look. The report of that study was given in Lincoln last spring.
It was a thorough study. Every aspect of SPS was examined. As an example, the University of California at Davis exposed honey bees to microwaves, then studied their social behavior. There were preliminary studies of antenna sites chosen to avoid migratory bird fly ways. Arecibo was employed to squirt microwaves into the ionosphere, with Guadeloupe IslandÂ’s big dish looking to see what effects that heating might have. Bechtel Corporation (which builds large structures here on Earth) looked at support structures and wind loadings on the ground antenna site. Grumman looked at various control systems for moving around large structures in space. And so forth.
The results were pretty clear: no show stoppers. There don’t look to be insoluble problems. True, there are some unanswered questions. Some environmentalists worry about long term exposure to very low levels of microwaves. The Arecibo experiments didn’t send up as much energy as SPS would send down, and that’s got to be done full scale. Construction in orbit isn’t easy. There probably will be some adverse effects on certain commercial FM radio frequencies—the point where the power beam enters the ionosphere becomes a “radio mirror”, so taxi drivers in New York may find themselves tuned in to Los Angeles, which means reassigning some frequencies and changing some radio sets.
And so forth. But any energy system has problems, which is why DOE included comparative assessment studies in the package: and the amazing thing is that SPS looks pretty good compared to everything else. Even the dollar costs look reasonable. SPS is quite expensive to install; but there arenÂ’t any fuel costs, and itÂ’s not much more expensive per kilowatt than nuclear power. The SPS environmental costs are small compared to coal, and if you add into coal the cost of the rail transport system weÂ’ll have to build, then SPS may even be cheaper.
Furthermore, SPS development money is spent here, not shipped overseas to buy oil; and while DOE will not allow ‘fallout’ technology to be entered as benefits of SPS, we all know there will be some. The SPS program would be big. It would involve building new launch vehicles, and it would make space operations routine. Thus we’d inevitably begin space industries.
And to make it even nicer, the program phases well; of the hundred billion dollars required for SPS, a full $75 billion is investment in a fleet of new launch vehicles. All the engineering research and feasibility demonstrations are done with the first $25 billion.
So. We had a $25 million study, and no one found any show stoppers.
We know the country is in a critical energy situation that isnÂ’t going to get better by itself.
So what did the study recommend?
More studies, of course.
* * *
It sounds a reasonable principle. Study a number of competing energy systems, and when you know which is best, then and only then do you invest much in it. DonÂ’t spend money on an idea that may come a cropper, and donÂ’t spend lots of money on a system that costs too much. Get the right system first shot, and if you donÂ’t yet know which one that is, why then study until you doÂ…
It sounds reasonable, but itÂ’s insane, if you concede that the energy crisis is real.
Look: suppose that today you knew which was the ‘best’ answer to the energy crisis. It would still take years before you could produce kilowatts. Worse: there is an optimum growth for any big program. Starting with too much money can be worse than not starting at all: there are only so many good people available in any given year. Starting up with too much money means that you’re hiring anything that can walk up the steps.
So there are startup lags, and there’s a definite limit to the optimum rate of growth of a big program; any big program, whether it’s coal, or ‘heavy oils,’ or shale, or synthetic fuels, or fusion, or fast breeders…
So what should we do? Start them all?
Yes. That is, if youÂ’re really serious about the energy crisis, you ought seriously to consider starting a number of projects, with the firm intention of writing off the least promising lines when you know more.
The SPS study included one of the very few comparative assessments of energy systems. It looked at SPS, fusion, coal, synfuels, fast breeders, light water reactors, centralized ground-based solar, and exotics like ocean thermal.
But what they never assessed was the cost of doing nothing.
Yet—aren’t the economic, environmental, and public health costs of having no new energy sources quite well known? The public health costs of coal are all too predictable: some 15 to 30 thousand people a year killed by emphysema, not to mention 50 to 100 miners, people killed by train wrecks (by 1998 even with extreme conservation we will be mining and shipping at least 6 billion tons of coal each year), etc. The environmental costs are high: those sludges that come out of stack gas scrubbers take up more volume than the original coal did—where do we put them? And what of acid rains?
Doing nothing commits us to coal and oil.
In fact, if I could make one change in the assessment system, I would mandate that all studies examine the effects of doing nothing. I think youÂ’ll find itÂ’s cheaper to start a number of programs, cancel those that donÂ’t work, and eat the losses.
If they are truly losses. Robert Heinlein said years ago that good research always makes money; and that seems a demonstrable proposition. High technology exports kept the US in a favorable balance of trade for many years, and could again if we could ever catch up. At the very worst, some good R&D programs in energy and space would tempt bright young men and women into science and technology instead of accounting and lawÂ…
Doing nothing is expensive.
* * *
Instead, of course, we study the problem—if indeed we do that. A bureaucrat named N. Douglas Pewitt took great pains to declare that he had killed any follow up study of SPS. As I write this, the L-5 Society is frantically trying to get Congress to restore the SPS study funds. But DOE is very proud of the SPS ‘assessment methodology’—as if study methodology were more important than the energy crisis.
I have a better plan.
One unsettled controversy regarding SPS is just how much of it could be built with lunar materials. David Criswell, formerly Director of the Lunar and Planetary Institute at Houston, finds that about 90% of what SPS needs is found in industrial quantities on the Moon. Now true, we donÂ’t know whether solar cells can be manufactured in quantity, either on the Moon, or in orbit from lunar materials; but it looks a very fruitful field for study. Instead of building a fleet of Heavy Lift Launch Vehicles, Criswell suggests we use Shuttle to send up a lunar exploration/exploitation team. With any luck theyÂ’ll be able to use enough lunar materials to substantially lower the cost of SPS.
And for that matter, lunar materials are valuable even without SPS. How valuable wonÂ’t be known until we invest more in lunar refining technologies, but weÂ’re going to need raw materials for space industries, and weÂ’re going to need mass for constructing space industrial stations. Both could come from the Moon.
Which brings us to the bottom line.
WeÂ’re going to space someday. Why not now? France was saved from the humiliating defeat of 1870-71 by the Eiffel Tower: it may not have been a lot of use, but it was a splendid achievement and a symbol of the vigor of France. Can the United States not be saved from the humiliations of Viet Nam and Watergate by building a lunar colony?
A lunar colony would be a national goal that we could take pride in. It would aid the entire human race, move us all toward that 100 billion year future—
And it might make a potful of money, too.
Posted by: epobirs at April 13, 2013 04:18 PM (kcfmt)
Posted by: DangerGirl @deadlyestrogen at April 13, 2013 08:16 PM (GrtrJ)
DG, wait, check the threads (this one and the previous), there's some kind of place for ettes who sew and knit. I forget the name. It's not for drinkin' and cussin', so I failed to make a mental note. But, do check it out!!
Posted by: Peaches at April 13, 2013 04:18 PM (8lmkt)
Posted by: Professor Marius von Totenkopf (formerly Hoss Fuentes) at April 13, 2013 04:19 PM (aozUR)
It is amazing how eveyone and their brother are selling testosterone booster pills.
I'll tell you, though, you probably do have low testosterone.
Posted by: soothsayer at April 13, 2013 04:19 PM (bUM4g)
Posted by: Flatbush Joe at April 13, 2013 04:21 PM (ZPrif)
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at April 13, 2013 04:21 PM (29+x5)
Posted by: ghostofhallelujah at April 13, 2013 04:22 PM (XvrTA)
Posted by: Truck Monkey at April 13, 2013 04:24 PM (jucos)
So Monday I will have to get up early and do shipping, then go pick grandson up at the high school and take him to the dentist for therapy forTMJ and neuralgia due to a soccer injury, then drive to the county seat and sign the taxes so they can be electronically filed, then take the check to the post office and mail it.
The way things are going, it will probably be in pouring rain.
To quote an old comic strip: The King is a fink!!
Posted by: Miss Marple at April 13, 2013 04:24 PM (GoIUi)
Posted by: Peaches at April 13, 2013 08:19 PM (8lmkt)
Can someone explain this barrel business? Is it connected at all with the phrase "like a Viking"?
Posted by: Professor Marius von Totenkopf (formerly Hoss Fuentes) at April 13, 2013 04:24 PM (aozUR)
Back in grade school in the 70s, everybody knew what Rockwell was because we FELT every test burn Rocketdyne ran. If some other company had produced such annoyance for some stupid reason it would have caused great ire. But we knew that rumbling was rockets and thought we might be riding them someday.
Posted by: epobirs at April 13, 2013 04:25 PM (kcfmt)
Posted by: elizabethe at April 13, 2013 04:25 PM (qPCAa)
Posted by: elizabethe at April 13, 2013 04:26 PM (qPCAa)
Posted by: Peaches at April 13, 2013 08:18 PM (8lmkt)
Thanks Peaches, I'll see if I can find it!
Posted by: DangerGirl @deadlyestrogen at April 13, 2013 04:26 PM (GrtrJ)
Posted by: Whatev at April 13, 2013 04:26 PM (A7Wh1)
Posted by: Professor Marius von Totenkopf (formerly Hoss Fuentes) at April 13, 2013 04:27 PM (aozUR)
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at April 13, 2013 04:27 PM (29+x5)
Posted by: elizabethe at April 13, 2013 04:27 PM (qPCAa)
My "kill" urge came out and I could barely suppress it.
I wish my Sekrit Sterilizer Gun could have been a reality.
Posted by: Jane D'oh at April 13, 2013 04:27 PM (lVPtV)
Posted by: DangerGirl @deadlyestrogen at April 13, 2013 04:29 PM (GrtrJ)
Posted by: elizabethe at April 13, 2013 04:30 PM (qPCAa)
Ah, thanks. Knowing this lot, I'd assumed something quite a bit more deviant, possibly involving Derp.
Posted by: Professor Marius von Totenkopf (formerly Hoss Fuentes) at April 13, 2013 04:31 PM (aozUR)
Posted by: Flatbush Joe at April 13, 2013 04:33 PM (ZPrif)
Posted by: Roid at April 13, 2013 04:33 PM (sJGXz)
Posted by: elizabethe at April 13, 2013 04:34 PM (qPCAa)
They're off being de-loused. And later, Soros is throwing a BYB kegger.
Just guessing, here.
Posted by: Jane D'oh at April 13, 2013 04:34 PM (lVPtV)
Posted by: jakeman, Assault V2.0 at April 13, 2013 04:34 PM (96M6e)
Posted by: West Town at April 13, 2013 04:34 PM (V8Hba)
Posted by: Billy Bob, pseudo intellectal at April 13, 2013 04:35 PM (wR+pz)
Posted by: elizabethe at April 13, 2013 04:35 PM (qPCAa)
Posted by: elizabethe at April 13, 2013 04:37 PM (qPCAa)
They had gone all-out with a theme song and opening graphics, although it was black-an-white. I held my infant son in my arms as we watched the landing. SO exciting and we were so proud!
So thanks to anyone who worked on the Armed Forces Network then. You guys did good!
Posted by: Miss Marple at April 13, 2013 04:38 PM (GoIUi)
Remember when America did great things? [Purp]
well yes, but i also remember when we fought off socialism and communism.
" ette-quitte ?
Posted by: seamrog at April 13, 2013 08:33 PM (Nbt0h)
well we are here to class the fkn joint up, flowers, and wine. and if you're lucky sewing your trousers and darning your socks. making a blanket to keep you guyz warm.
(not me though)
peaches.
Posted by: willow at April 13, 2013 04:39 PM (nqBYe)
Posted by: willow at April 13, 2013 04:40 PM (nqBYe)
Posted by: Whatev at April 13, 2013 04:42 PM (A7Wh1)
Posted by: teej at April 13, 2013 04:43 PM (+jNI+)
So? That hasn't stopped us from digging ourselves ever deeper. For a fraction of what we spend on entitlements we can have something that actually pays back many times over. We just need to get the ball rolling to the point private enterprise will take over.
Posted by: epobirs at April 13, 2013 04:44 PM (kcfmt)
whoa easy now .
Just thought that the term " 'ette-quitte" was something that you may want to incorporate into your new group.
By the way, I do my own primative sewing repair of stuff and I'm usually anemic afterwards.
Posted by: seamrog at April 13, 2013 04:46 PM (Nbt0h)
Posted by: Flatbush Joe at April 13, 2013 04:47 PM (ZPrif)
Did have a guy from my hometown who was the HMFIC for the cargo bay arm at Houston. And my brother worked for Teknor Apex for a few years, one of the jobs he had was mixing the chemicals that eventually became space shuttle tires somewhere down the assembly line.
Posted by: Country Singer at April 13, 2013 04:47 PM (ZR3DG)
"Remember when America did great things?"
I do. Thats why it hurts when we notice the beta people and fringe freaks running the country these days. Todays youth have been, are being, robbed of the achievements and good that were completed and should have been passed on in legacy.
Thats all twisting in the wind now.
Posted by: Buckeye Abroad at April 13, 2013 04:47 PM (8PPb1)
Problem is, there is no real private enterprise anymore on a grand scale. If you get really good at something, the govt will want to regulate you or bust you up.
The "chaos capitalism" models that China and Russia are working these days have a better chance of producing a disruptive tech than we do.
Posted by: @PurpAv at April 13, 2013 04:49 PM (/gHaE)
Posted by: ExPat Patriot at April 13, 2013 04:49 PM (LPbig)
Posted by: Flatbush Joe at April 13, 2013 04:49 PM (ZPrif)
Posted by: teej at April 13, 2013 04:50 PM (+jNI+)
Posted by: elizabethe at April 13, 2013 04:51 PM (qPCAa)
Posted by: Flatbush Joe at April 13, 2013 04:51 PM (ZPrif)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtBy_ppG4hY
Guess what? The Great Society programs were already far better funded than NASA then but the whining never stopped. Somehow the poor were in their state because other people were advancing the reach of mankind. Stupid zero-sum mentality.
We can do these things if have the will.
Posted by: epobirs at April 13, 2013 04:52 PM (kcfmt)
Posted by: 98ZJUSMC Waiting for the Sun at April 13, 2013 04:53 PM (0CE3U)
Epobirs 265 241
Couldn't agree more. We need to get bad Santa out of the White House. He loves giving our hard earned money away.
Posted by: seamrog at April 13, 2013 04:53 PM (Nbt0h)
Posted by: Jane D'oh at April 13, 2013 04:55 PM (lVPtV)
IOW - it threatens the bureaucracy.
Posted by: @PurpAv at April 13, 2013 04:56 PM (/gHaE)
Without the Civil War I believe slavery would have been abolished on a state by state basis within a few decades anyway. It just wasn't compatible with industrialization of the South's primary sources of income.
Posted by: epobirs at April 13, 2013 04:56 PM (kcfmt)
Posted by: 98ZJUSMC Waiting for the Sun at April 13, 2013 04:56 PM (0CE3U)
Guy who greeted us had on flip flops, khaki shorts, a t-shirt, and a knit cap. Waiter had a two-day beard, an earring, and skinny jeans. Rest of staff was the same.
Service was good but I couldn't help but think that guys in their mid-twenties should have actual jobs. I considered it both a sign of the crappy economy and also a sign of the deterioration of the culture.
Posted by: Miss Marple at April 13, 2013 04:58 PM (GoIUi)
Posted by: 98ZJUSMC Waiting for the Sun at April 13, 2013 04:58 PM (0CE3U)
Posted by: Flatbush Joe at April 13, 2013 05:00 PM (ZPrif)
http://www.space.com/11358-nasa-space-shuttle-program-cost-30-years.html
Less than 1/4 the cost of Obama's 2009 "stimulus" (which has been the baseline for all subsequent spending)
Which produced more?
Posted by: @PurpAv at April 13, 2013 05:01 PM (/gHaE)
275 elizabethe
As a guy, I could never figure out that thimble thing, lots of unintentional finger piercings. Early moron training.
Posted by: seamrog at April 13, 2013 05:01 PM (Nbt0h)
Posted by: Flatbush Joe at April 13, 2013 05:02 PM (ZPrif)
#288 Flatbush Joe
"It sped up the abolition of slavery -- at the cost of 600k+ lives."
Mostly white men. Yawn.
Posted by: Buckeye Abroad at April 13, 2013 05:03 PM (8PPb1)
Posted by: soothsayer at April 13, 2013 05:04 PM (b8TXQ)
Had about all I can take of the whining lately. There is NO reason to be ashamed of our country--let the shame be worn by those who wish her harm.
This is yet the finest country on the planet, no matter the trials we're enduring now.
It isn't "shit", 98JUSMC--far from it--you're a MARINE, for fuck's sake, ACT LIKE IT.
Getting out from under this burden will be as difficult as anything we've yet done,but we are Americans--we WILL do it.
Done bitching for now so y'all can laugh, snark, or whatever--or you may join me in this task.
Posted by: irongrampa at April 13, 2013 05:05 PM (SAMxH)
Posted by: artisanal 'ette at April 13, 2013 05:05 PM (XYSwB)
Abe says, "Man, you must be puttin' me on"
God say, "No." Abe say, "What ?"
God say, "You can do what you want Abe, but
The next time you see me comin' you better run"
Well Abe says, "Where do you want this killin' done ?"
God says. "Out on Highway 61".
I believe we are all out on Highway 61 now. It will not end well.
Posted by: Peaches at April 13, 2013 05:06 PM (8lmkt)
Posted by: Mindy says Gravity kills! Outlaw gravity if it will save even one life! at April 13, 2013 05:07 PM (wk9P4)
Posted by: Sean Bannion at April 13, 2013 05:07 PM (3IrSf)
Posted by: Flatbush Joe at April 13, 2013 05:07 PM (ZPrif)
Posted by: Mindy says Gravity kills! Outlaw gravity if it will save even one life! at April 13, 2013 05:08 PM (wk9P4)
#294 soothsayer
"But you guys started sticking each other in there. I'm starting to wonder if y'all like it in there."
It's a fabulous place. You like the reek of sweaty jock straps, yes?
Posted by: George Michael of WHAM fame at April 13, 2013 05:08 PM (8PPb1)
usdebtclock dot org. The US National Debt is about to roll over to a nice, round, easy to remember $16.8 Trillion.
So there's that....
Posted by: Stateless Infidel at April 13, 2013 05:09 PM (AC0lD)
Posted by: Truck Monkey at April 13, 2013 05:09 PM (jucos)
Or at least offer me a cocktail. What does a girl have to do around here?
*don't answer that last question*
Posted by: Jane D'oh at April 13, 2013 05:09 PM (lVPtV)
Posted by: teej at April 13, 2013 05:10 PM (cWpCn)
Posted by: Sean Bannion at April 13, 2013 05:10 PM (3IrSf)
Posted by: Misanthropic humanitarian fka irishacres at April 13, 2013 05:11 PM (HVff2)
Posted by: WTP at April 13, 2013 05:11 PM (tGyJs)
299 But you guys started sticking each other in there. I'm starting to wonder if y'all like it in there.
If a stupid politician can fap off, junk hanging out the window at 90 mph in a car, imagine the fun a moron can have in a nice, stable Barrel.
Posted by: Stateless Infidel at April 13, 2013 05:12 PM (AC0lD)
@ irongrampa
Stockpile, organize, wait. When the time comes.. hit them quick, hard and often. The rest will take care of itself.
We've been here before.
God Bless America.
Posted by: George Michael of WHAM fame at April 13, 2013 05:12 PM (8PPb1)
Posted by: soothsayer at April 13, 2013 05:12 PM (uff2W)
Posted by: Jones in CO at April 13, 2013 05:13 PM (8sCoq)
I couldn't believe I took half an Ambien last night at 8:30, and was still wide awake at midnight watching QVC.
Posted by: Jane D'oh at April 13, 2013 05:13 PM (lVPtV)
Posted by: teej at April 13, 2013 05:13 PM (PcFsV)
It came to me today that I have let Obama have too much control over my life. Of course I cannot do anything about taxes orother mattersin which he meddles, but I am still free to remember how the country was back in the 50's and early 60's, and I am not going to let him demoralize me.
That IS what he wants. His constant efforts to poke us in the eye is an attempt to get us feeling defeated and downtrodden. I refuse.
Let him have his concerts, his travels, and his speeches. I absolutely am done with getting upset. My life, my family, and my Church are what will stand. This country will not be defeated by such as him. We will prevail.
Posted by: Miss Marple at April 13, 2013 05:14 PM (GoIUi)
Posted by: Jane D'oh at April 13, 2013 09:13 PM (lVPtV)
Ambien never worked for me, Jane. Neither did Lunesta or any of that crap. I swear by lorazepam (Atavan), take it every night, either half or whole 1 mg. And it's cheaper than dirt. Ask your doc.
Posted by: Peaches at April 13, 2013 05:15 PM (8lmkt)
=============
The triumph of victory..
Posted by: Mike Hammer at April 13, 2013 05:15 PM (aDwsi)
There was no small amount of British Imperial Navy action involved in shutting down most of the slave trading routes to the west.
Posted by: epobirs at April 13, 2013 05:16 PM (kcfmt)
Lost In Space was just on. It was the episode when Dr Smith is turned into a plant.
Posted by: soothsayer at April 13, 2013 09:12 PM (uff2W)
That's what happens to you when you piss off a giant carrot.
Posted by: Bertram Cabot Jr. at April 13, 2013 05:17 PM (D00cy)
Posted by: Jones in CO at April 13, 2013 05:17 PM (8sCoq)
Posted by: Jane D'oh at April 13, 2013 09:13 PM (lVPtV)
Ambien never worked for me, Jane. Neither did Lunesta or any of that crap. I swear by lorazepam (Atavan), take it every night, either half or whole 1 mg. And it's cheaper than dirt. Ask your doc.
Posted by: Peaches at April 13, 2013 09:15 PM
============
My biggest problem is that if I wake up during the night, I can't get back to sleep. The more critical that it is that I get a good night's sleep, the less likely it is that I WILL get back to sleep.
Posted by: Mike Hammer at April 13, 2013 05:18 PM (aDwsi)
I normally take Melatonin, but with my husband away overnight, I have trouble sleeping.
Heh. I remember when he and our boy would go off on camp outs and I was all "Yay! Have fun! Woot!" I really enjoyed my peace and quiet and Clean. House.
Now, it's just too quiet and lonely.
*grabs kitteh*
Posted by: Jane D'oh at April 13, 2013 05:18 PM (lVPtV)
It is designed to increase memory and alertness, especially in olderpeople. it DOES do that, but the most interesting thing is a side effect it has.
I have found that I have begun dreaming again, which means more REM sleep. I bet I hadn't had a dream in 15 years or so. I would sleep short hours (4-5 max) and be tired in the middle of the day.
Now I sleep 7-8, do not wake up at 3AM, have dreams, and am generally feeling more alert and energetic.
You might investigate taking this. It took about 30 days for the effects to kick in, but I am pretty pleased with it.
Posted by: Miss Marple at April 13, 2013 05:19 PM (GoIUi)
Posted by: teej at April 13, 2013 05:19 PM (K4AdI)
Posted by: Mike Hammer at April 13, 2013 09:18 PM (aDwsi
Mike, I did remember I had those Midnite tablets in my nightstand last night. They do help if you wake up in the middle of the night. But they'll give you helluva weird dreams (as does Melatonin).
Posted by: Jane D'oh at April 13, 2013 05:20 PM (lVPtV)
Posted by: Truck Monkey at April 13, 2013 05:21 PM (jucos)
Posted by: soothsayer at April 13, 2013 09:12 PM (uff2W)
That's what happens to you when you piss off a giant carrot.
Posted by: Bertram Cabot Jr. at April 13, 2013 09:17 PM
=================
I had forgotten about Dr. Smith..., kind of a grown up Eddie Haskell. I am trying to think about a Congressional equivalent. Harry Reid comes to mind, except, Smith was smarter.
Posted by: Mike Hammer at April 13, 2013 05:21 PM (aDwsi)
Posted by: Miss Marple at April 13, 2013 05:23 PM (GoIUi)
Posted by: Mike Hammer at April 13, 2013 09:21 PM (aDwsi)
And Smith was braver, and more manly.
Posted by: Stateless Infidel at April 13, 2013 05:23 PM (AC0lD)
Posted by: WTP at April 13, 2013 05:23 PM (tGyJs)
Posted by: Jones in CO at April 13, 2013 05:23 PM (8sCoq)
Question for the tax and accountant morons:
Four years ago, I was awarded some company stock as an award. It was a 'restricted stock' meaning I had to wait 3 years before becoming fully vested and allowed to sell them. On the day of vesting last July, the company released the stocks and withheld a portion of them to pay for taxes, leaving me with about two-thirds of the amount of stock awarded to me.
The remaining shares left to me, I sold about fifteen days later when they reached a value that I instructed the brokerage to hold until it was reached.
My question:
I'm trying to figure out the 'cost basis' for my Turbo Tax stuff.
Is it the number of shares left to me on the day of vesting @ the market price of that day minus the price I sold them at fifteen days later? Or is it another figure?
My eternal thanks (and wife pics) to the moron(s) that can help me out.
Posted by: EC at April 13, 2013 05:24 PM (doBIb)
I take benadryl now and then..., but generally have a little hangover the next day. I'm disinclined to try any prescription things. I do have to say that my very best sleeps (In recent years. Why was it so so easy in my younger years?) have been Xanax induced.
Posted by: Mike Hammer at April 13, 2013 05:26 PM (aDwsi)
Posted by: rickl at April 13, 2013 05:26 PM (sdi6R)
Posted by: Synova at April 13, 2013 05:26 PM (7/PU+)
Dreams generally lessen as we get older, according to what I understand. It could be that a traumatic incident also causes them to stop, but I have no information about that.
If your father quit dreaming right after the war it might be a defensive mechanism due to combat or something he saw, and perhaps dreams would not be something he would want to reappear.
Posted by: Miss Marple at April 13, 2013 05:27 PM (GoIUi)
Posted by: @PurpAv at April 13, 2013 09:25 PM
========
Can't be. Weasels are not rodents..., not vermin in the usual sense.
Posted by: Mike Hammer at April 13, 2013 05:27 PM (aDwsi)
Yeah but we kind of did it backwards. Like sailing for the New World when we hadn't gotten the hang of crossing the Channel yet.
A rational space program would have focused on access to orbit first, which would have tied in nicely with military applications, and then built up orbital infrastructure.
The way we went to the Moon was like doing a cross-country trip by living out of your car for a week instead of stopping at a motel at least one or two of the nights.
Posted by: epobirs at April 13, 2013 05:28 PM (kcfmt)
Alan Grayson.
Posted by: Bertram Cabot Jr. at April 13, 2013 05:29 PM (D00cy)
Posted by: teej at April 13, 2013 05:29 PM (AoY8i)
Posted by: Mike Hammer at April 13, 2013 05:31 PM (aDwsi)
Posted by: WTP at April 13, 2013 05:31 PM (tGyJs)
Posted by: Whatev at April 13, 2013 05:32 PM (A7Wh1)
=====
Save a couple for breakfast.
Posted by: Mike Hammer at April 13, 2013 05:33 PM (aDwsi)
Posted by: Misanthropic humanitarian fka irishacres at April 13, 2013 05:33 PM (HVff2)
Posted by: Flatbush Joe at April 13, 2013 05:34 PM (ZPrif)
Posted by: Mike Hammer at April 13, 2013 05:34 PM (aDwsi)
Posted by: Jones in CO at April 13, 2013 05:35 PM (8sCoq)
Except that Eddie Haskell was a MILF hound and Dr. Smith was more a NAMBLA charter member.
Barbara Billingsly would never say if Eddie ever gave her a supplemental pearl necklace but Florence Henderson probably would have given him a few lessons. It isn't like she was getting any from Mike Brady, even if they were the first TV couple to share a bed.
Posted by: epobirs at April 13, 2013 05:36 PM (kcfmt)
Posted by: WTP at April 13, 2013 05:38 PM (tGyJs)
Posted by: rickl at April 13, 2013 05:42 PM (sdi6R)
Posted by: rickl at April 13, 2013 05:44 PM (sdi6R)
=========
Ah. So the station has actually been boosting itself since the shuttle went away?
Posted by: Mike Hammer at April 13, 2013 05:46 PM (aDwsi)
Posted by: rickl at April 13, 2013 05:47 PM (sdi6R)
I think it varies over time depending on what is available when an orbital correction is needed.
Posted by: epobirs at April 13, 2013 05:49 PM (kcfmt)
Posted by: Yancey Ward at April 13, 2013 05:52 PM (RGR0F)
Posted by: rickl at April 13, 2013 06:17 PM (sdi6R)
But remember, apparently our conservative decoder ring says we must hate SpaceX and Tesla because, um -- Solyndra and Fisker I guess.
The fact SpaceX is fixed price -- none of the Cost Plus crap that Boeing and LockMart (and Ball Aerospace and....) stick us with -- and Tesla is actually paying back its loans ahead of time and selling cars (with positive margin unlike GM, Fisker, etc.) as fast as they can build them doesn't matter.
Elon likes Obama so he must be hated. The fact he liked Thatcher and Reagan too -- again the decoder ring says that doesn't matter.
Of course, I'm saving up for my Tesla and get up early or stay up late to watch the SpaceX launches and docking so I must be a RINO.
</rant>
Also parts of NASA TV rock -- I'm enjoying the behind the scenes stuff from the Soyuz launches. The Russians are interesting folks. Of course as I child of the cold war, watching us launch on a Soyuz is odd and I'll be happier when they're in Dragons.
Posted by: Fritz (Not Fritz) at April 13, 2013 06:19 PM (U0t2o)
Posted by: Andy in FL at April 13, 2013 06:32 PM (q72+j)
Posted by: Melodicmetal at April 13, 2013 06:55 PM (T36JG)
Posted by: sTevo at April 13, 2013 07:20 PM (VMcEw)
Posted by: rickl at April 13, 2013 07:25 PM (sdi6R)
Posted by: Ray Van Dune at April 13, 2013 07:26 PM (qIFL7)
Posted by: Corona at April 13, 2013 07:42 PM (fh2Y7)
Posted by: Chromoly Man at April 13, 2013 09:31 PM (lDYTk)
Your racist shit has no basis in reality.
Posted by: @PurpAv at April 13, 2013 11:08 PM (/gHaE)
Posted by: jix at April 14, 2013 01:56 AM (iGpXz)
Posted by: rickl at April 14, 2013 02:17 AM (sdi6R)
Posted by: snopercod at April 14, 2013 03:33 PM (LvTrc)
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Posted by: Tami[/i] at April 13, 2013 02:24 PM (X6akg)