Tales of Interest

[Gnam]

Thread for sharing random articles.


The Mystery of Flickr's Ghost Car Dealership

Somewhere in Ohio sits an abandoned Chrysler dealership with old cars parked on the showroom floor, like a prop leftover from a nuclear bomb test. The only evidence of its existence were a set of eerie Flickr photos. Until now.

http://jalopnik.com/5632032/the-mystery-of-flickrs-ghost-car-dealership?skyline=true&s=i



How I Saved A 747 From Crashing

Former Northwest Airlines Capt. John Hansen flew the airline's Boeing 747 route from Detroit to Toyko for years. In 2002, the plane tried to kill him and 400 passengers. This is the never-before published story of how he saved them.

http://jalopnik.com/5629528/how-i-saved-a-747-from-crashing?skyline=true&s=i

[oddlycalm]

:cool::thumbup:

oc

[Andrew Longman]

East Liverpool, OH? My old next door neighbor was from there. She dated Lou Holtz in HS. I accidentally punched Lou in the nuts on an airplane once. Small world, six degree or something. :gomer:

From what she described even in the 50s it was a pretty depressing place. Her eventual (ex) husband got out and went to Harvard (she tagged along to also get out of East Liverpool) by being an undersized football lineman. He went to one practice, got his nose broken by some guy who eventually was on the House Watergate investigating committee, and never went back to another practice. But did get a degree from Harvard and never went back to E Liverpool though.

Horribly OT but not weirder than the story. Thanks for the links:thumbup:

[RaceGrrl]

Cool link. :)

[Gangrel]

East Liverpool, OH? My old next door neighbor was from there. She dated Lou Holtz in HS. I accidentally punched Lou in the nuts on an airplane once...


I don't know if I even want to ask about the circumstances of that one.... :D

[Gnam]

Geopolitics, espionage, explosions, and computer geeks...wait, what?


How Stuxnet is Scaring the Tech World Half to Death

The computer worm Stuxnet broke out of the tech underworld and into the mass media this week. It’s an amazing story: Stuxnet has infected roughly 45,000 computers. Sixty percent of these machines happen to be in Iran. Which is odd. What is odder still is that Stuxnet is designed specifically to attack a computer system using software from Siemens which controls industrial plants such as factories, oil refineries, and oh, by the way, nuclear power plants.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/how-stuxnet-scaring-tech-world-half-death

The most interesting story about computer code I've ever read.

[cameraman]

There is more to the Stuxnet story. It seems that Stuxnet also spreads by targeting files that administrators use to configure Siemens software. So once the machine gets cleaned up you use a different program to configure the machine and it reinfects the machine.

Story in English (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/09/28/stuxnet_resurrection_ability/)

Story in technobabble (http://www.symantec.com/connect/blogs/stuxnet-infection-step-7-projects)

[SteveH]

This is getting very interesting....



http://www.cnbc.com/id/39435594



Deep inside the computer worm that some specialists suspect is aimed at slowing Iran’s race for a nuclear weapon lies what could be a fleeting reference to the Book of Esther, the Old Testament tale in which the Jews pre-empt a Persian plot to destroy them.

That use of the word “Myrtus” — which can be read as an allusion to Esther — to name a file inside the code is one of several murky clues that have emerged as computer experts try to trace the origin and purpose of the rogue Stuxnet program, which seeks out a specific kind of command module for industrial equipment.

Not surprisingly, the Israelis are not saying whether Stuxnet has any connection to the secretive cyberwar unit it has built inside Israel’s intelligence service. Nor is the Obama administration, which while talking about cyberdefenses has also rapidly ramped up a broad covert program, inherited from the Bush administration, to undermine Iran’s nuclear program. In interviews in several countries, experts in both cyberwar and nuclear enrichment technology say the Stuxnet mystery may never be solved.




I've seen this movie before....

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/bb/Independence_day_movieposter.jpg

[cameraman]

It is clear that the group that created the worm had code line knowledge of Siemens control software. Not something your average hacker would have access to.

[Gnam]

Is the photo interesting? Sure.
But check the dude second from the right. :D

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/hottopics/detail?entry_id=73769&tsp=1

[dando]

Is the photo interesting? Sure.
But check the dude second from the right. :D

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/hottopics/detail?entry_id=73769&tsp=1

Any number of those peeps wouldn't have been safe if it were me hitting that shot. :gomer: Cheech Marin/Borat dude == :thumbup: :D

-Kevin

[G.]

http://i.imgur.com/9qyXA.jpg

[G.]

http://i.imgur.com/CbfFb.jpg

[dando]

OK, G. has been into the gin this time. :gomer: :rofl:

-Kevin

[Gnam]

:rofl::laugh::rofl::laugh::rofl::cry:
*can't breathe*
:laugh:

[oddlycalm]

G. :thumbup: :rofl:

oc

[chop456]

There are a bunch out there now. My favorite so far...

http://3.media.sportspickle.cvcdn.com/10/87/1751ce89687ce3cd140c6baaee188d75.jpg

:laugh:

[extramundane]

http://cdn.tauntr.com/sites/default/files/userfiles/Ali.jpg

A meme is born. :rofl:

[SteveH]

Ernie Kovacs

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_smQOcwhUB7M/SSJPExFVSqI/AAAAAAAAAZE/vrE70xuyxMM/s320/Ernie_Kovacs.jpg

[oddlycalm]

It is clear that the group that created the worm had code line knowledge of Siemens control software. Not something your average hacker would have access to.
It's so ubiquitous that it's damn near open source. The reason is to facilitate third party vendors that supply instruments and attachments. Rather than each device using it's own display and keyboard it can have a page on the primary machine controller. Convenient, but the downside would appear to be a bit of sacrifice in the area of security...:gomer:

oc

[G.]

I don't know if this fits here, therefore it probably doesn't, but this screen cap from Pirelli seems somewhat familiar...

http://i.imgur.com/xE3ei.jpg

:laugh:

[chop456]

:eek: :rofl:

[Methanolandbrats]

:rofl::rofl::rofl: I want that on a black t-shirt :D:thumbup:

[SteveH]

Cigar Guy video (http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/offbeat/2010/10/07/pkg.cigar.guy.cnn?hpt=C2) on CNN

[dando]

Cigar Guy ID'd. (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/golf/article-1319238/Cigar-guy-revealed-We-man-stood-Tiger-Woods-internet-sensation.html)

-Kevin

[TravelGal]

Hail and Farewell. Since this is the thread for stuff that doesn't fit anywhere else, I thought I'd post this:

The Netherlands Antilles ceased to exist as of October 10 when the Dutch island of Curacao became an autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Curacao and St Maarten join Aruba as autonomous countries while Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba are now autonomous special municipalities of the kingdom.

The Netherlands retains responsibility for defense and foreign policy and will also have initial oversight over Curacao's finances under a debt-relief arrangement. Curacao will now be able to keep more of its tax dollars for tourism and they will be used to develop new port facilities and hotels.

Which means, of course, follow the money. ;)

[G.]

When is a sink, not just a sink?

geeky space stuff explained, sort of. (http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/arxiv/25876/)

I've never heard of "white holes".

(if you're typing up a smartass response to that ^^^ and deciding whether to post it or not, it's probably best if you choose "not" :D)


Turn on your kitchen tap and the steady stream of water will spread out into a thin circular disc when it hits the sink. This disc has an unusual property: it is surrounded by a circular "lip", where the height of the water changes suddenly.

This so-called hydraulic jump has puzzled physicists for at least a hundred years (John Strutt, otherwise known as Lord Rayleigh, published the first mathematical description of the phenomenon in 1914). These kinds of hydrodynamic problems are notoriously difficult to tackle.

[oddlycalm]

The Netherlands Antilles ceased to exist as of October 10...
Damn, I'd always wanted to get back to the Netherlands Antilles, now that will never happen....:( :gomer:

oc

[TravelGal]

From today's agent briefing. Also on Google News.

A small plane carrying 20 people, including the British pilot, crashed on a flight from Kinshasa to a regional airport at Bandundu. There was one survivor of the crash who told what happened. Someone brought aboard a crocodile in his large carry-on bag and it managed to chew its way out. The passengers panicked when they saw the croc and fled toward the cockpit throwing the small turbo-prop out of balance causing it to crash into a small house. The croc survived the crash but was later killed with a machete by rescuers sifting through the wreckage.

[SurfaceUnits]

American Stonehenge: Monumental Instructions for the Post-Apocalypse


http://www.wired.com/images/article/magazine/1705/ff_guidestones_f.jpg


Called the Georgia Guidestones, the monument is a mystery—nobody knows exactly who commissioned it or why. The only clues to its origin are on a nearby plaque on the ground—which gives the dimensions and explains a series of intricate notches and holes that correspond to the movements of the sun and stars—and the "guides" themselves, directives carved into the rocks. These instructions appear in eight languages ranging from English to Swahili and reflect a peculiar New Age ideology. Some are vaguely eugenic (guide reproduction wisely—improving fitness and diversity); others prescribe standard-issue hippie mysticism (prize truth—beauty—love—seeking harmony with the infinite).

What's most widely agreed upon—based on the evidence available—is that the Guidestones are meant to instruct the dazed survivors of some impending apocalypse as they attempt to reconstitute civilization.


Read More http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/magazine/17-05/ff_guidestones##ixzz14T790zB5

The capstone inscription callls for a manageable earth population of 500,000,000

[Indy]

^^^ Seems reasonable. Since the inception of the IRL I am all about eugenics. :gomer:

[Gnam]

Stuxnet computer worm update

Experts dissecting the computer worm suspected of being aimed at Iran’s nuclear program have determined that it was precisely calibrated in a way that could send nuclear centrifuges wildly out of control.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/19/world/middleeast/19stuxnet.html?_r=3&pagewanted=1&hp

Wonder if it works with N. Korean centrifuges?

[chop456]

Wonder if it works with N. Korean centrifuges?

Yes, but inserting the code into their systems could be dangerous and time-consuming.

http://www.maximumpc.com/files/u69/IBM_Punch_Card.png

[datachicane]

Yes, but inserting the code into their systems could be dangerous and time-consuming.

http://www.maximumpc.com/files/u69/IBM_Punch_Card.png

"Crap, another SOC7! There goes another three days."

:gomer:

[chop456]

"Crap, another SOC7!

:laugh:

[SteveH]

And the Hollerith code makes its first appearance on Off Camber. :thumbup:

[KLang]

S0C7's were easy. The S0C1's and 4's were tough.

My, aren't some of us dating ourselves. :laugh:

[G.]

And the Hollerith code makes its first appearance on Off Camber. :thumbup:

I thought that was what the Bosses used? :p



(thankfully, I missed the cards by a year or two. :laugh:)

[cameraman]

I took a year of PASCAL on cards.

No, I don't remember a single thing other than that I took the class...

[rosawendel]

Speed Camera Lottery (http://www.autoblog.com/2010/11/28/video-vws-fun-theory-creates-a-speed-camera-lottery/)

drive over the speed limit, pay a fine. drive within the speed limit, be entered into the lottery for a cut of the fine money.

[datachicane]

S0C7's were easy. The S0C1's and 4's were tough.


I heard of such things, of course, but my own compiles were invariably clean. :tony:

I was a humanities major back in the days of cards, but I did help my girlfriend sort through them. By the time I got sucked into IT cards were extinct, and the mantra was to code quick & dirty and let the compiler find the errors. My ego wouldn't let that happen, unfortunately...

[KLang]

I had to do cards for my first program in Intro to Data Processing class. The card readers and punches were gone the next semester. Don't remember anymore which language it was.

The data center I worked in still used them for various things for a few more years. Mostly payment processing, but there were a few oddball programming tasks that hung around for a while.

[Andrew Longman]

I took a year of PASCAL on cards.

No, I don't remember a single thing other than that I took the class...

Fortran for me. I'm not sure I even remember if I spelled it right.

I do remember that the wait time to get your program run went up exponentially (like by days) at the end of the semester as the same mainframe was also processing finals, etc. for professors, next semester class registrations for the administration, and student work. Students of course came last in the cue. And of course students flunked classes because the didn't get their programs back on time or they waited days only to find there was a tiny error in their code. :mad:

[indyfan31]

I missed the cards. But I did get to use this particular leap in technology:

http://www.corbisimages.com/images/67/87013F18-0FD1-451F-B9BB-3B866D27F9C5/OW002654.jpg

[datachicane]

Heh, buncha mainframe guys here. Who knew?

[KLang]

Heh, buncha mainframe guys here. Who knew?

I was a Systems Programmer up until two years ago when the company I was with transitioned to Windows Servers. I made the change to Windows Systems Engineer but the company isn't surviving the change particularly well. The Houston location closed down in July.

Not many mainframes left in Houston, most of the data centers have moved further inland.

[Elmo T]

Fortran for me. I'm not sure I even remember if I spelled it right.


I had Fortran in high school. I don't even remember what we did with it - just the memory of waiting for the program to run. Hit the send button and wait.

[G.]

Fortran on mainframe "tubes", back when the intertubes really were tubes. :) Orange phosphor screens, metal keyboards.

Missed the cards by just a couple of semesters, I think, but that was at Univ. of Illinois at C/U, so we were cutting edge. We invented the Al Gore and the internet. And HAL9000.

[Cam]

The DEC 10 when I was at WAIT in the early 80's was nick-named "the fool on the hill" as it was down more than it was up. Proggie cards and results could take weeks to get back. :gomer:

[Indy]

I remember being given a quick training on this strange new thing called "email" on this obscure network called "the internet." Seemed pretty useless to me, just a bunch of professors with too much budget and time to kill. :laugh:

[Napoleon]

Seemed pretty useless to me, just a bunch of professors with too much budget and time to kill. :laugh:

Funny how so many technologies and ideas that change the world start with those types.

[EDwardo]

New study suggests universe has 300 sextillion stars.

300,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. That's 300 sextillion.

"We're seeing 10 or 20 times more stars than we expected," Yale University astronomer van Dokkum said. By his calculations, that triples the number of estimated stars from 100 sextillion to 300 sextillion. Van Dokkum's paper challenges the assumption of "a more orderly universe" and gives credence to "the idea that the universe is more complicated than we think," Ellis said. "It's a little alarmist." Ellis said it is too early to tell if van Dokkum is right or wrong, but it is shaking up the field "like a cat among pigeons."
Van Dokkum agreed, saying, "Frankly, it's a big pain."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40454979/ns/technology_and_science-space/

[Don Quixote]

That should make the price of the name-a-star scam go down. :gomer:

[Indy]

"Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist, but that's just peanuts to space. "

-- Douglas Adams

[Indy]

Think about this. A mole is 6.02 x 10^23 particles, about twice the number of stars in Universe. A half-mole of table salt is about 30 grams, or about the equivalent of a half-full shaker. So the number of molecules in that amount of salt, which could fit in the palm of your hand, is equal to the number of stars in the universe.

As above, below. Simply astounding.

[SurfaceUnits]

Latest Jesus Sighting: Outside a Pub in Australia

(Dec. 10) -- The first recorded miracle of Jesus was turning water into wine. But now it seems he may be more in the mood for a beer.

After all, his most recent sighting was on the facade of an Irish pub on the southeast coast of Australia.

The image appeared several weeks ago in the stripped-away paint by the front door of the Seanchai Irish Tavern. A local first pointed out that the missing paint chips formed the shape of Jesus with outstretched arms. Since then, many of the pub's regulars have agreed.

http://xml.channel.aol.com/xmlpublisher/fetch.v2.xml?option=expand_relative_urls&dataUrlNodes=uiConfig,feedConfig,entry&id=800245&pid=800244&uts=1291923625http://cdn.channel.aol.com/cs_feed_v1_6/csfeedwrapper.swfSacred Sightings?John Keohane, manager of the Seanchai Irish Tavern in Warrnambool, Victoria, Australia, looks at an image of Jesus Christ that has appeared in the painted facade of the pub.Robin Sharrock, Newspix / Rex / Rex USARobin Sharrock, Newspix / Rex / Rex USA

Manager John Keohane, an Irish Catholic, likened the image to the statue of Jesus towering above Rio de Janeiro.

These types of sightings often lead people to believe the Lord is sending some sort of message of hope. In this case, according to Keohane, the only sign it may be sending is about what's served inside.

"I would like to think it was because we are an Irish pub and maybe, just maybe, he heard about the divine pints of Guinness!" he told AOL News.

With Jesus greeting passers-by at the door, business has picked up with curiosity seekers stopping in for a drink.

"We have even had school groups and Australian bus tours coming to have a look and take photos," Keohane said.

While the Lord has reportedly been witnessed in many unusual locations, this is not his first doorway. Just over a year ago, Jesus was spotted on the entrance of an Ikea men's room in Glasgow, Scotland. The image appeared in the grain of the wood, though one shopper admitted it looked more like Gandalf from "The Lord of the Rings."

More recently, God was spotted in October by a Google Street View camera hovering over a lake in Switzerland. And in September, Jesus was seen in a growth of vines clinging to a telephone pole in Louisiana. During the same period, he was found in the worn-out threads of a sock in the U.K.

[TKGAngel]

Photos (http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/day-Niagara-Falls-ran-dry/ss/events/us/121610dryniagara) from when Niagara Falls went dry back in 1969.

When you know the full magnitude of the Falls, the fact that they were able to damn the water and completely dry it out is quite the feat.

[Andrew Longman]

Photos (http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/day-Niagara-Falls-ran-dry/ss/events/us/121610dryniagara) from when Niagara Falls went dry back in 1969.

When you know the full magnitude of the Falls, the fact that they were able to damn the water and completely dry it out is quite the feat.That brought back quite a memory. July of 69 I visited my Uncle in Buffalo and went with him up to Algonquin PP for two weeks of back country canoeing. The night before we left Buffalo, Apollo 11 landed on the moon and I watched my neighbor Buzz Aldrin walk on the moon. We stopped at the falls on our way to Ontario and I saw them for the first time. I remember that rather unexciting pile of rocks and my Dad saying they turned off the falls. "How could that be possible?" I thought. That impressed me more than the Canadian falls that remained.

Years later I went back to the falls with my kids and I was amazed, in part because I was amazed at how much more impressive it is when half of it isn't blocked off.

[G.]

not sure where this belongs, if anywhere, but Tales of Doesn'tfitelsewhere it is!

http://www.scribd.com/doc/30605092/Saturn-v-Flight-Manual

also, for fun
pic is huge, so link (http://i.imgur.com/jhhMO.jpg)

[G.]

This is pretty cool.

Click the squares and corresponding musical notes play from L to R.

http://safe.tumblr.com/safe/video/2509512839/500

[SurfaceUnits]

http://lifestyle.msn.com/relationships/staticslideshowes.aspx?cp-documentid=22506015&GT1=32023

[SurfaceUnits]

let me google that for you
http://tinyurl.com/ccgnyc

http://en.lmgtfy.com/

[extramundane]

let me google that for you
http://tinyurl.com/ccgnyc

http://en.lmgtfy.com/

I've used that several times in a professional setting. It generally does not get a pleasant response. :D

[EDwardo]

Airborne Mad Cow Disease Possible


Prions, the proteins that cause mad cow disease and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disorder, aren't just spread through contaminated food - a new animal study suggests they can also be spread through the air.
Exposure to an aerosol spray containing prions for one minute was enough to infect mice with the brain cell-destroying proteins, the study showed...Previously, scientists thought prion infections could only be spread by eating contaminated food or coming into contact with contaminated surgical instruments or blood.
The new finding suggests prions can travel into an animal's brain via the olfactory nerves in the nose, said study researchers from the University of Zurich in Switzerland.

Although the study showed it's possible for prions in an aerosol form to infect mice, it's highly unlikely in real life that a person would be exposed to prions in this way, Sim said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20110114/sc_livescience/airbornemadcowdiseasepossiblebutunlikely

[Andrew Longman]

Prions, the proteins that cause mad cow disease and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disorder, aren't just spread through contaminated food - a new animal study suggests they can also be spread through the air.

I think it is pretty clear it can be spread by certain cable news channels. Not saying anything more.:\

[Gnam]

...it's highly unlikely in real life that a person would be exposed to prions in this way...

...so that's how the zombie apocalypse starts. I always wondered what those government scientists were working on.

[datachicane]

I think it is pretty clear it can be spread by certain cable news channels. Not saying anything more.:\

:rofl:

[cameraman]

Lemme get this straight, these eminent scientists made brain slushies from CJD mice then aerosolized the soup in some mouse's face? Just to see if it works? Jesus Christ on a pogo stick, that is just plain idiotic.

[Gnam]

HB Naval Aviation, 100 years young.



One hundred years ago Tuesday, Eugene Ely, a 26-year-old automobile racer-turned-aviator, landed a fragile-looking biplane on the deck of the Navy cruiser Pennsylvania in San Francisco Bay and made flying history.

It was the first time an airplane had landed on a warship, and it marked the start of naval aviation.

www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/01/16/MNDK1H97FO.DTL#ixzz1BPK3WxYv

[Gnam]

Snow + Money + Facebook = Trouble.

(*This is not an article, or news, or anything other than internet gossip...)


Short version:
Owner of the Sunshine Village ski resort in Alberta fires his senior managers after his son is chased out of a closed avalanche area by Ski Patrol. The issue snowballs out of control leading to an employee sick-out and calls for a boycott.

long version here:http://forums.mammothmountain.com/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=9556#p164523

Someone named Tinyan hears about the problems and posts a question on the Resort's facebook page asking which runs are open. The employee left in charge of the page answers thusly:




Ski Host ‎@Tinyan. Thanks for your request for information about the terrain park. Unfortunately our Terrain Park supervisor just quit. So did our snowmaking supervisor. Just after Christmas we fired our mountain manager and we fired our lift ops... supervisor, snow safety supervisor and 3 ski patrollers.

We are trying to bullshi...t our way through this but it's really not working too well. It's clear our owner Ralph Scurfield has really ****ed things up. We all think he's an idiot. Some of us are still trying to get our job done but it's not easy when everyone is quitting.

The answer to your question is NO the upper terrain park is not open. Neither is the Dive, the West or Silver City. Things are really ****ed up and we don't expect them to improve much. In fact I'm thinking of quitting soon too. So good luck! If you bought a season pass, maybe ask for your money back?

http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/showthread.php?t=213061&page=6


:D

[SurfaceUnits]

Eerie Photographs of Detroit's Decline -

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/26/detroit-decline_n_813696.html#218521

[SurfaceUnits]

IPv4 to exhaust by 2nd Feb

According to theJournal.ie, an Internet Service Provider, Hurricane Electric, is claiming that the Internet is running out of space or in other words IP address and on February 2nd,2011 at about 4:00 am all the IP addresses will be consumed.


The current system for assigning addresses – known as Internet Protocol version 4, or more simply ‘IPv4′ – can support 4,294,967,296 different addresses, one for each individual device. Apparently, all these addresses about to be consumed by the Internet and there will be no more addresses available for devices.

http://www.tecrux.com/2011/01/23/ipv4-to-exhaust-by-2nd-feb-report/

[Methanolandbrats]

IPv4 to exhaust by 2nd Feb

According to theJournal.ie, an Internet Service Provider, Hurricane Electric, is claiming that the Internet is running out of space or in other words IP address and on February 2nd,2011 at about 4:00 am all the IP addresses will be consumed.


The current system for assigning addresses – known as Internet Protocol version 4, or more simply ‘IPv4′ – can support 4,294,967,296 different addresses, one for each individual device. Apparently, all these addresses about to be consumed by the Internet and there will be no more addresses available for devices.

http://www.tecrux.com/2011/01/23/ipv4-to-exhaust-by-2nd-feb-report/

Well arn't you a party pooper..........mR doom and gloom..:D

[G.]

Awesome story, I think.

Great fishing tale?

Wonderful parenting?

Bravery in the face of pain?

Not sure.

warning, a pic of a bloody fleshwound. (http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-world/2010/08/03/er-that-s-great-dad-but-what-about-my-arm-115875-22460157/)

[cameraman]

Wow, just wow. He takes ****wittery to new levels:shakehead

[Gnam]

To be fair, he didn't make her clean up the blood she was dripping all over the deck. :gomer:

Also, who took the photo? Mom, brother, friend?

[Indy]

Hahaha, the look on his face is priceless. :laugh::laugh::laugh:

[Elmo T]

Lots of aviation geeks here -

42 years ago - Feb. 4, 1969, the XB-70 makes its final flight to the museum at WPAFB. It looks fast on the ground - one I would have loved to see fly. Didn't make it to that part of the museum during my last visit. :(

XB-70 Fact Sheet (http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=592)

http://i51.tinypic.com/2afejcx.jpg

[nrc]

Lots of aviation geeks here -

42 years ago - Feb. 4, 1969, the XB-70 makes its final flight to the museum at WPAFB. It looks fast on the ground - one I would have loved to see fly. Didn't make it to that part of the museum during my last visit. :(

XB-70 Fact Sheet (http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=592)

An amazing aircraft. I can sympathize with the difficulty of getting all the way through the Air Force Museum but you have to make it back to the hanger with the XB-70. Not only is it a beautiful plane, but there are lots of other goodies back there including a YA-12.

[Elmo T]

I can sympathize with the difficulty of getting all the way through the Air Force Museum but you have to make it back to the hanger with the XB-70.

The buses were are all full-up by the time we decided to head over. Next trip we will be on the first bus.

[nrc]

The buses were are all full-up by the time we decided to head over. Next trip we will be on the first bus.

Wow. We haven't been there since they opened the new hanger by the main building. I wasn't aware that they have moved the XB-70 over to the R&D hanger. Kind of a pity since it looks very boxed in there.

Definitely need to plan a trip over there for this summer. Check this out:

http://www.nmusafvirtualtour.com/full/tour-std.html

[SteveH]

Wow. We haven't been there since they opened the new hanger by the main building. I wasn't aware that they have moved the XB-70 over to the R&D hanger. Kind of a pity since it looks very boxed in there.

Definitely need to plan a trip over there for this summer. Check this out:

http://www.nmusafvirtualtour.com/full/tour-std.html

Very cool website :thumbup:

How long would it take to see the entire museum? Half a day?

[Elmo T]

Very cool website :thumbup:

How long would it take to see the entire museum? Half a day?

The entire museum - probably a full day, maybe two if you read everything and want to see the Presidential and R&D hangers. Could even be three if you throw in an IMAX movie - seriously.

The aircraft are very cool - but only a small portion of the displays.

@nrc - way cool link. I can use that the next time I am trying to talk friends into taking the Ohio roadtrip with me.

[SteveH]

I did the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (http://www.nasm.si.edu/udvarhazy/)at Dulles International last summer. Soooooo much on display that it becomes a blur after a while. I suspect this would be much the same. Its on my bucket list. Would make a great summer long weekend.

[Elmo T]

Red Green would be proud - the guy even looks like an extra from the show! :rofl:

uFKRq3e90XI

[EDwardo]

There is another aircraft museum about 30 miles east of Omaha, Nebraska for all of you aircraft geeks. It is called the Strategic Air and Space Museum. It was originally associated with SAC Command at Offutt AFB but is now a privately run non profit organization. While not as big or comprehensive as W-P or the Smithsonian, they still have an amazing collection of aircraft.

The main entrance has an SR-71 Blackbird.
http://www.sasmuseum.com/images/SR-71A-Blackbird.gif

http://www.sasmuseum.com/

[Elmo T]

Another aviation story - one I never heard before.


Valentine's Day in 1991: An unusual air-to-air incident occurred when Capts. Tim Bennett and Dan Bakke of the Fourth Tactical Fighter Wing from Seymour-Johnson AFB, N.C., shot down an Iraqi helicopter with a GBU-10 laser-guided bomb dropped from their F-15E Strike Eagle.

More here (http://www.f-15e.info/joomla/stories/182-tim-bennetts-war) and also how they nearly got taken out by friendly fire after the run. :saywhat:

[Gnam]

:thumbup:

[EDwardo]

Did NPR’s ‘This American Life’ discover Coke’s secret formula?


One of the most closely guarded trade secrets in the history of commerce may be a secret no more: NPR's "This American Life" thinks it has found the exact recipe for the world's most popular soft drink in a 1979 newspaper article.

The show's staff recently stumbled across the February 8, 1979 edition of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, which published an article on page 28 about a leather-bound notebook that once belonged to Pemberton's best friend, another pharmacist in the Atlanta area named R. R. Evans. The notebook contained a number of pharmacological recipes--but the main entry, for students of commercial history, was what's believed to be the exact recipe for the soft drink: all of the ingredients listed with the exact amounts needed to whip up a batch.

The recipe:

Fluid extract of Coca: 3 drams USP
Citric acid: 3 oz
Caffeine: 1 oz
Sugar: 30 (unclear quantity)
Water: 2.5 gal
Lime juice: 2 pints, 1 quart
Vanilla: 1 oz
Caramel: 1.5 oz or more for color

The secret 7X flavor (use 2 oz of flavor to 5 gals syrup):
Alcohol: 8 oz
Orange oil: 20 drops
Lemon oil: 30 drops
Nutmeg oil: 10 drops
Coriander: 5 drops
Neroli: 10 drops
Cinnamon: 10 drops

the company has used cocaine-free coca leaves since 1904.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/did-nprs-this-american-life-discover-cokes-secret-formula;_ylt=Av7V34_r_DRk5cqnmiRwOous0NUE;_ylu=X3o DMTVjZWNqNW1iBGFzc2V0A3libG9nX3RoZWxvb2tvdXQvMjAxM TAyMTUvZGlkLW5wcnMtdGhpcy1hbWVyaWNhbi1saWZlLWRpc2N vdmVyLWNva2VzLXNlY3JldC1mb3JtdWxhBGNjb2RlA21vc3Rwb 3B1bGFyBGNwb3MDMTAEcG9zAzcEcHQDaG9tZV9jb2tlBHNlYwN 5bl9oZWFkbGluZV9saXN0BHNsawNoYXNjb2tlc3NlY3I-

Is nothing sacred?

[RaceGrrl]

The Smithsonian is developing an exhibit of "The Art of Video Games."

Vote for your favorites here: http://www.artofvideogames.org/

Space Invaders or Missile Command?

HalfLife or Halo?

Voting ends April 7. :)

[Andrew Longman]

Red Green would be proud - the guy even looks like an extra from the show! :rofl:You betchya.

Except he's a Yooper. This is from Diorite, Michigan. Marquette County in the Upper Peninsula.

I went to a strip joint in the woods near there in college. The girl (there was only one) danced on the pool table to C&W music in the jukebox. She'd exchange dollar tips with the bartender for quarters for the machine.

All part of my cultural exchange program there. Other students go to Europe. :)

And I'd move back in a second if I could.

[racer2c]

Link (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/8332535/New-photo-of-English-Nessie-hailed-as-best-yet.html)

'New photo of 'English Nessie' hailed as best yet'

:)

[TravelGal]

Two travel Tales of Interest emerged from the debris on my floor this week.

1) Travcoa is offering its Epic Journey by Private Jet from Sept 17 to Oct 7. This year's theme is Legendary Cultures. Hey, it's only $56,950 per person. If you let me book it for you, I promised to buy you tickets to the IRL, excuse me, Indy Car, race of your choice. :tony:

2) Fly International is offering a Ferrari Vacation. From $2849 pp plus as many things as they can possibly also charge you for. Are the special features special or ho hum? Could you do it on your own for half the price?

Highlights include:
- Test drive a Ferrari with the exclusive "Prova Ferrari"
- A guided visit to the Ferrari Gallery in the Maranello Ferrari Factory
- A guided visit to the Maranello Rosso Museum in San Marino featuring 25 of the most renowned Ferrari models followed by champagne refreshments
- One week car rental with unlimited mileage and all insurance and taxes, based on economy size Fiat 500 manual transmission,
- 3 nights at the Grand Hotel di San Marino in a luxurious Deluxe room
- 2 nights at the Planet Hotel in Maranello in a Junior Suite overlooking the Fiorano Race Track or Ferrari Factory
- One Welcome dinner at the Grand Hotel
- Daily buffet breakfast and complimentary access to the Grand Hotel's
- 20% discount at Messegue Beauty Spa and on any a-la-carte menu at the Grand Hotel

Oddly "only available by phone" but here's the link if anyone's interested
http://www.flyinternational.com/ferrari-vacations.cfm?c=16136

[Gnam]

Approximate location of US Carrier fleet and Amphibious Assault ships as of yesterday.

http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user5/imageroot/von%20havenstein/Naval_Update_02_23_11_800.jpg

[cameraman]

Approximate location of US Carrier fleet and Amphibious Assault ships as of yesterday.

http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user5/imageroot/von%20havenstein/Naval_Update_02_23_11_800.jpg

If I had an extra $349/year kicking around I might sign up for they site that produces that map, www.stratfor.com. If...

[SurfaceUnits]

Theorists get us closer to believing time travel is possible via the Large Hadron Collider

Hard to say if Doc Brown would give this his coveted seal of approval, but our gullible minds have already been made up: time travel is not only possible, but it\'s well within reach. A gaggle of scientists have apparently figured out a theory that could use the Large Hadron Collider to move a Higgs singlet back and forth through time. The \'catch\' is that they have yet to prove the existence of said singlet, but the upside is that nothing in theory violates any laws of physics or experimental constraints.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/19/theorists-get-us-closer-to-believing-time-travel-is-possible-via/

[Gnam]

The Japan Air Lines miracle water landing of 1968

Two months before Sully "Hero of the Hudson" Sullenberger turned 18, a JAL DC-8 made an unexpected water landing just short of the San Francisco Airport on a foggy morning in 1968.


http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/parenting/detail?entry_id=87389

[TravelGal]

As Gnam has brought up a remotely travel-related topic, I'll include this. (I would have anyway if I could have found the proper thread sooner. ;) )

Donning my tinfoil hat--are there any potential health or safety issues here??

You Might Want To Think Twice About Taking Hotel Towels And Sheets

The technology is here to help hotels track stolen sheets and towels. Three hotels, one each in Manhattan, Miami and Honolulu have sewn water-proof chips into their towels, bathrobes and sheets to track the stolen property.
The Linen Technology Tracking Company has developed a proprietary, patented technology that uses passive UHF Radio Frequency Identification with high performance SMARTtags and antennas which meet the new standard for sensitivity for read performance. The technology also has analytic capability to provide hotel management with the information to identify asset loss, manage inventory life cycles and maintain up to date inventory counts. The RFID tags help with inventory control to track the towels in hotel rooms, in the hotel laundry and at the pool. The Honolulu hotel (not identified) said it is saving more than $16,000 per month.

[cameraman]

What are they doing, busting people at checkout?
Excuse me sir, our scanners believe you to be a thief...

[TravelGal]

What are they doing, busting people at checkout?

At first I laughed but then I realized, they might be doing just that. "Would you like us bill you for the bathrobes" [in your suitcase] OR, they send you a bill after check out.

I'm thinking that there must be notices posted everywhere for legal reasons to alert guests so perhaps just knowing that "misplaced items" are being tracked has cut down on the pilferage.

$16,000 sounds enormous but @$100 each for a bathrobe, it's only 160 per month. Some hotels spend twice that on their robes. Spread over an average of 400 rooms times 30 nights, I guess it's reasonable to assume that a lot of money walks out the door "mistakenly packed" when clearing out the closets. ;)