For those that think ‘drones’ are a new thing…
United States Naval Photographic Center film #11473. Antiaircraft practice aboard ship. Footage of Radioplane OQ-2 target drone.
From 1945!
And in other news, the USAF is converting F-16s to QF-16 drones down at Eglin… They’ve finally run out of QF-4s to shoot at.
We snuck out for a couple of days to play golf…
In my case, it was more like flog… Sigh…
Desert courses are a breed apart, especially in Arizona and New Mexico. You need to know EXACTLY how far you hit various clubs. EXACTLY… Because some of the landing areas are literally 20 yards deep.
The courses by a large are starkly beautiful! And no, you don’t drive the golf carts off the cart path into the natural landscape…
We played a course up near Santa Fe that I REALLY want to talk to the golf course architect about… See the Cedar trees on the right of the picture? OVER them was where the fairway was… Rough??? Ya think??? Sigh
Another golf hole, pretty picture, except the wind was blowing about 20-30 mph directly crosswind!!! I aimed at the lighter green swatch on the far left side of the fairway, ended up in the dark green on the far RIGHT side of the fairway…
Five rounds of golf in three days, fun was had. Note to self, DO NOT make a desert golf trip your first shots of the year…
Final score-
Gopher hole- 2 balls, 2 different holes.
Rattlesnake- 1 ball, a 9 iron is NOT armed as far as I’m concerned… I hope he plays that ball better than I did…
Jack Rabbit- Tie. But it almost literally scared the s**t out of me. I was using that 9 iron to fish a ball out from under a Cedar tree and the Jack came out of there like a shot, right between my legs…
The rest of the story-
Palm trees eat golf balls.
Sand is alive. If it isn’t, how do you explain the way it works against you?
“Nice lag” can usually be translated to “lousy putt.” Similarly, “tough break” can usually be translated “way to miss an easy one, sucker.”
I’m going back to the shooting range… Less stress! 🙂
I thought I’d seen some good ones, but this one out of Hunan Province in China blows me away…
This is apparently from the 2013 Chinese New Year. And they are a LOT more ‘creative’ than our folks (And don’t have the safety requirements we have here either)
h/t JP
I’ve pretty much stayed out of the commentaries and everything else surrounding Sad Puppies and the Hugo, but I’ve paid my money and I will vote my one vote…
BUT, having said that and having read the vitriol coming from the left and now places like Entertainment Weekly, I can’t help but wonder what is next…
Just got back to the hotel and was perusing my normal reads when I happened across an article that struck a nerve with me, based on the last month or so…
This pull quote from Rick Wilson’s article is what set me off, so to speak…
At some point, the social-justice warrior crowd is going to incite their people into something more than Ferguson or Occupy or Internet harassment. At some point, their fanatic desire to erase God from the hearts and minds and actions of red America will cross a threshold. Someday, in some town, a Christian shopkeeper who becomes the focus of the 4chan or Reddit Rage Machine will be killed by some militant atheist or black bloc kid or some other flavor of crazy. That day, their rage won’t come from the click of a mouse, but from the barrel of a gun.
The full article is HERE from The Federalist website. While it was written about the pizza place in Indiana, how close are we to having something like this happen over something as inconsequential as a book award???
Check six folks… Just sayin…
I can’t help but wonder at the frothing and gnashing of teeth over the Indiana and Arkansas laws. These are nothing more than updating state laws to match federal laws signed by Clinton in 1993 and bring the states in line with 19 or 20 other states that already have them. The media is complicit in this with the hypotheticals and the spin they are putting on any interview they can get with unsuspecting/honest people.
Meanwhile, Kerry and the administration are giving away the house to Iran in these so called negotiations in Lausanne. So far all the US has done is blow to the Iranians and give in to almost every point of the negotiations, to the point that even the French are disgusted.
Why is this not getting more coverage? Ummm… Well Indiana and Arkansas seem to have the MSM covered up…
I can’t help but wonder if this is all on purpose. The administration sics the attack dogs on the left/LGBT/??? against these people and tells them to make as much noise as possible for X weeks. While all that is consuming the 30 sec sound bites and getting everybody in an uproar, the administration slips this POS ‘negotiation’ through… Something that really WILL change the balance of the world in 10 years (Long after BO and his cronies are gone).
Thoughts?
Marty joins the ranks of published authors!!!
Click the book for the link to Amazon
Barcus is a senior contract maintenance engineer on the doomed deep space survey ship Ventura. He’s a working stiff looking for a good paycheck. When the Ventura and its crew enter orbit for a scheduled planet survey, it activates an automated defense system protecting the planet. Although the Ventura is destroyed in the attack, Barcus alone survives the harrowing fall to the remote planet surface. He struggles to remain alive, sane, and to discover why everyone he knew and loved on the Ventura was deliberately murdered.
Swinging between despair and fury he discovers that for every answer he obtains there are more questions raised. Barcus is assisted by the Emergency Module, Em, his most useful tool. It is an Artificial Intelligence system contained in an all-terrain vehicle specifically designed to help him survive. Barcus soon finds himself in the middle of a planetary genocide of the local native population. He is unable to stand passively by as more people die. Even if they are long lost colonists who fear “The Man From Earth” like children fear the monster under their bed.
Will he ever find his way home? Will he find out who is responsible? Will his rage just burn this world down? Or will he find his soul in the eyes a starving, frightened woman?
Perfect timing, as I needed something to read on the flight! Congratulations!
He’s a good guy, and knowing the way he thinks and shoots, it’ll be a great read! His blog is HERE.
I read it on the way out, and it’s a great read! A unique approach to a SF novel, he blends advanced technology and and a regressive world very well, contrasting the two and maintaining the two story lines and their interactions in an interesting way through the use of the characters. Well worth the read! Looking forward to the continuation of the story!
And you’re in the DC area, a friend of mine and his wife have opened an Izakaya restaurant. It’s the Japanese version of a Tapas restaurant, and it is GOOD!
Sadly, it’s in DC, but you have to go where the customers are…
It’s called Nagomi Izakaya, and it’s at 1990 M. Street NW. It’s a small place, and they put the money into food and preps rather than ‘ambience’… For those that have been to Japan, you know most of the little local places are long on food and short on ambiance. 🙂
The recipes are all ‘home’ recipes, so you’re really getting home cooking!
Shrimp Tempura- I finally remembered to stop long enough to take a picture…
Deep fried shrimp Yum!!!
Pork croquettes, and there was another type, it was great too!
There was also Pork Gyoza (dumplings), yakitori, and Sushi, but I was too busy eating to take pictures…
Small orders, just enough for one or two to share. And you’re not rushed…
‘Grazing’ is acceptable, and encouraged. One thing that struck me was the fact that they’ve already got a good customer base of Japanese eating there. THAT tells me it’s authentic and reasonable!
Oh yeah, they also have fish, squid, veggies and all that other stuff too… 🙂
And Saki…
So if you’re down in the District, try them for lunch or dinner. Well worth it and good folks!
And I paid for my meal, and left a nice tip… Take that FTC…
USS Iwo Jima, 2003…
The Marines boil it down to basics…
‘Nuff said.
DO NOT CONNECT TO THE INTERNET FROM 12:01 AM GMT ON APR. 1 TO 12:01 AM GMT, APR. 2 !!
As many of you know, each year the Internet must be shut down for 24 hours in order to allow us to clean it. The cleaning process, which eliminates dead email, inactive ftp and www sites, and empty USENET groups, allows for a better working and faster Internet.
This year, the cleaning process will take place from 12:01 a.m. GMT on April 1 until 12:01 a.m. GMT on April 2 (the time least likely to interfere with ongoing work). During that 24-hour period, five powerful Internet search engines situated around the world will search the Internet and delete any data that they find.
In order to protect your valuable data from deletion we ask that you do the following:
1. Disconnect all terminals and local area networks from their Internet connections.
2. Shut down all Internet servers, or disconnect them from the Internet.
3. Disconnect all disks and hard drives from any connections to the Internet.
4. Refrain from connecting any computer to the Internet in any way.
We understand the inconvenience that this may cause some Internet users, and we apologize. However, we are certain that any inconveniences will be more than made up for by the increased speed and efficiency of the Internet, once it has been cleared of electronic flotsam and jetsam.
We thank you for your cooperation.
Kim Dereksen
Interconnected Network Maintenance staff,
Main branch,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Sysops and others: Since the last Internet cleaning, the number of Internet users has grown dramatically. Please assist us in alerting the public of the upcoming Internet cleaning by posting this message where your users will be able to read it. Please pass this message on to other sysops and Internet users as well.
Thank you.
Hey, it’s an oldie but a goody okay… Besides, I’m on the road again…