Saturday Open
Here’s a Saturday afternoon open thread, while I lay in bed with a nasty cold blowing my nose every few seconds. Sounds like fun, doesn’t it?
Here’s a Saturday afternoon open thread, while I lay in bed with a nasty cold blowing my nose every few seconds. Sounds like fun, doesn’t it?
1 | 7-y (Expectation of Great Things in Due Course) Mar 7, 2015 4:33:24pm |
That’s five days of feeling like shit, followed by a month of not-quite-normal, unless you get lucky. I hope you get lucky. I didn’t.
2 | darthstar Mar 7, 2015 4:33:33pm |
Sorry you’re feeling shitty Charles. If it’s any consolation, I had a nice hike with my wife this morning followed by a very nice lunch at a french cafe next to the harbor in Sausalito.
4 | Justanotherhuman Mar 7, 2015 4:41:35pm |
Sorry you’re under the weather, Charles. Lots of fluids and rest.
Now, get better and write some more code!
5 | Romantic Heretic Mar 7, 2015 4:42:46pm |
Just got over that myself, Charles. Sending healing vibes your way.
6 | klys (maker of Silmarils) Mar 7, 2015 4:43:59pm |
I just bought Girl Scout cookies so if you find me sleeping on the floor of a crack house next week you'll know when the shame spiral began— Jennifer Williams (@jenn_ruth) March 8, 2015
7 | Justanotherhuman Mar 7, 2015 4:47:03pm |
BTW, Charles, if you have’t seen Season 3 of “House of Cards”, now might be a good time for marathon viewing in between naps if you have Netflix. : )
8 | ObserverArt Mar 7, 2015 4:48:21pm |
re: #7 Justanotherhuman
BTW, Charles, if you have’t seen Season 3 of “House of Cards”, now might be a good time for marathon viewing in between naps if you have Netflix. : )
Netflix ‘n’ Kleenex! (™ Imma trademark that one!)
9 | Targetpractice Mar 7, 2015 4:49:01pm |
My sister just informed me that there are theaters going to do a 12 movie marathon, Iron Man 1 all the way to Avengers: Age of Ultron, starting the Wednesday before the latter premieres. And all I can think is anybody attending is even crazier than those who sat through through marathons of the uncut versions of the Lord of the Rings films.
10 | psddluva4evah Mar 7, 2015 4:49:27pm |
Feel better.
ICYMI: Watch the Obamas reenact history by crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. #Selma50
Watch the Obamas reenact history by crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. #Selma50 https://t.co/vgQtQbdRq8— msnbc (@msnbc) March 7, 2015
11 | Nyet Mar 7, 2015 4:49:45pm |
Look at this asshole.
While Obama was speechifying nostalgically at Selma, Boko Haram joined Team #ISIS…which is definitely not the JV. https://t.co/QDC5FaIO0L— John Schindler (@20committee) March 8, 2015
12 | RealityBasedSteve Mar 7, 2015 4:50:08pm |
re: #8 ObserverArt
Netflix ‘n’ Kleenex! (TM Imma trademark that one!)
Nyquil and Vodka. Mixed. It’s like Jagermeister, but better.
RBS
13 | stpaulbear Mar 7, 2015 4:50:10pm |
re: #1 7-y (Expectation of Great Things in Due Course)
That’s five days of feeling like shit, followed by a month of not-quite-normal, unless you get lucky. I hope you get lucky. I didn’t.
The cold I had this winter was a full month of feeling like shit. It’s been like that for everyone I know.
14 | Nyet Mar 7, 2015 4:50:38pm |
Boko Haram has killed thousands of Africans barbarically, but that doesn't excite Obama like memories of Alabama rednecks from 50 years ago.— John Schindler (@20committee) March 8, 2015
15 | ObserverArt Mar 7, 2015 4:51:30pm |
re: #12 RealityBasedSteve
Nyquil and Vodka. Mixed. It’s like Jagermeister, but better.
RBS
Sounds like I’d never make it to the end of the movie!
17 | RealityBasedSteve Mar 7, 2015 4:51:32pm |
re: #9 Targetpractice
My sister just informed me that there are theaters going to do a 12 movie marathon, Iron Man 1 all the way to Avengers: Age of Ultron, starting the Wednesday before the latter premieres. And all I can think is anybody attending is even crazier than those who sat through through marathons of the uncut versions of the Lord of the Rings films.
I’ll be working the catheter concession for all those that just can’t stand to miss a minute.
RBS
18 | Justanotherhuman Mar 7, 2015 4:51:36pm |
19 | Targetpractice Mar 7, 2015 4:51:41pm |
re: #14 Nyet
[Embedded content]
So does this mean they want us now to send troops to Africa as well?
20 | makeitstop Mar 7, 2015 4:51:42pm |
re: #14 Nyet
Boko Haram has killed thousands of Africans barbarically, but that doesn’t excite Obama like memories of Alabama rednecks from 50 years ago.
What an asshole.
21 | jaunte Mar 7, 2015 4:52:32pm |
re: #14 Nyet
He’s also willfully missing the point that the struggle for voting rights continues in the present day.
23 | HappyWarrior Mar 7, 2015 4:52:51pm |
re: #14 Nyet
[Embedded content]
Yeah Schneider because no other president would be giving a speech on the 50th anniversary of an important historical event.
24 | Targetpractice Mar 7, 2015 4:53:26pm |
re: #17 RealityBasedSteve
I’ll be working the catheter concession for all those that just can’t stand to miss a minute.
RBS
When she first told me about it, I thought I might actually be cool with doing it. But then I stopped and did a mental count of how many films that would be, and realized I’d sooner commit myself to a mental hospital. If I wanna do a marathon like that, I’ll do it in the comfort of my own home and over the course of a week.
26 | HappyWarrior Mar 7, 2015 4:54:12pm |
re: #25 Nyet
Walking, chewing gum. Impossible!
Yeah that’s another thing. It’s not like Obama is totally ignoring Boko Haram.
27 | Blind Frog Belly White Mar 7, 2015 4:54:50pm |
re: #19 Targetpractice
So does this mean they want us now to send troops to Africa as well?
Nah. They wouldn’t support that. But it makes a handy club to attack Obama with.
28 | Nyet Mar 7, 2015 4:55:20pm |
Because his anti-racism is so relevant? By now Schindler positively stinketh.
Prominent German SPD MP & well known anti-racism activist admits guilt on child pornography charges: http://t.co/AOlgOw9Ux0— John Schindler (@20committee) March 7, 2015
29 | Belafon Mar 7, 2015 4:55:35pm |
re: #24 Targetpractice
There was an age when I could have done that, but that was a couple of decades ago.
30 | RealityBasedSteve Mar 7, 2015 4:56:38pm |
31 | CuriousLurker Mar 7, 2015 4:56:51pm |
32 | Targetpractice Mar 7, 2015 4:56:58pm |
re: #27 Blind Frog Belly White
Nah. They wouldn’t support that. But it makes a handy club to attack Obama with.
Of course. It’s like how they make noise that he’s doing nothing about Daesh, meanwhile the AUMF he sent to Congress weeks ago gathers dust.
33 | HappyWarrior Mar 7, 2015 4:57:13pm |
re: #28 Nyet
Because his anti-racism is so relevant? By now Schindler positively stinketh.
[Embedded content]
Yeah because being anti-racist conflates with child pornography. Stay classy fuckwad.
34 | Targetpractice Mar 7, 2015 4:57:16pm |
35 | HappyWarrior Mar 7, 2015 4:57:48pm |
37 | Blind Frog Belly White Mar 7, 2015 4:58:40pm |
re: #24 Targetpractice
When she first told me about it, I thought I might actually be cool with doing it. But then I stopped and did a mental count of how many films that would be, and realized I’d sooner commit myself to a mental hospital. If I wanna do a marathon like that, I’ll do it in the comfort of my own home and over the course of a week.
I said something about wanting to watch the whole Marvel Universe from the first film, and the Older Boy’s Girlfriend mentioned the marathon. Nor for me. I want to see the videos at home. Theater seats may be WAY more comfortable than they were when I was young, but it still sounds like a young person’s game.
38 | Blind Frog Belly White Mar 7, 2015 4:59:53pm |
re: #32 Targetpractice
Of course. It’s like how they make noise that he’s doing nothing about Daesh, meanwhile the AUMF he sent to Congress weeks ago gathers dust.
Apparently, 2500 bombing missions against ISIS is insufficient to convince them he’ll do anything.
How the hell do you govern in a situation like this?
40 | Targetpractice Mar 7, 2015 5:00:34pm |
re: #37 Blind Frog Belly White
I said something about wanting to watch the whole Marvel Universe from the first film, and the Older Boy’s Girlfriend mentioned the marathon. Nor for me. I want to see the videos at home. Theater seats may be WAY more comfortable than they were when I was young, but it still sounds like a young person’s game.
I’m only 30 and even I think that 12 films over two days is murder. 30-45 minute breaks in between films is not enough to get more than a cat nap.
41 | Blind Frog Belly White Mar 7, 2015 5:01:39pm |
re: #40 Targetpractice
I’m only 30 and even I think that 12 films over two days is murder. 30-45 minute breaks in between films is not enough to get more than a cat nap.
I think I could handle 3 a day. I’d probably regret it, but I’d do it.
42 | Drive By Commenter Mar 7, 2015 5:01:44pm |
February. Ah, February. Where the wind knocks the eyes right out of your head. The sky, if not snowing, is threatening snow. And then sleet. Followed by freezing rain. On top of that snow from January that is still under the foot of February’s gift from the sky. Then the temps plummet. I mean it was averaging 18 degrees for the month, but now all that has sat for two days on the snow is forever a part of it. Then you fall on ice, after 100 close calls. And that sniffle turns into a faucet. Kleenex shred on contact with your nose. Then it warms up to 34. And plummets to 23 and below the next 5 days, further locking in the grip of February into March. Now I await the inevitable rain. That will probably start as just rain, but February, magical, wonderful February, will appear once again in disguise as March and freeze that on contact. The better for that water to seek it’s own level. Which could be your basement. Ah March. Where flights of birds and the sound of geese in the night sky almost make you forget about the possibility of a St Patricks Day snowstorm. February. Ah. February.
43 | HappyWarrior Mar 7, 2015 5:03:34pm |
re: #40 Targetpractice
I’m only 30 and even I think that 12 films over two days is murder. 30-45 minute breaks in between films is not enough to get more than a cat nap.
I can’t do stuff like that anymore either. It’s hard for me to do video game maratons anymore too. I tried doing a MGS marathon in anticipation for the next game but I got sidetracked and haven’t played in a while. I must be getting old.
44 | Justanotherhuman Mar 7, 2015 5:03:43pm |
re: #38 Blind Frog Belly White
Apparently, 2500 bombing missions against ISIS is insufficient to convince them he’ll do anything.
How the hell do you govern in a situation like this?
You govern like the unflappable Barack Obama.
45 | Blind Frog Belly White Mar 7, 2015 5:04:24pm |
re: #42 nines09
February. Ah, February. Where the wind knocks the eyes right out of your head. The sky, if not snowing, is threatening snow. And then sleet. Followed by freezing rain. On top of that snow from January that is still under the foot of February’s gift from the sky. Then the temps plummet. I mean it was averaging 18 degrees for the month, but now all that has sat for two days on the snow is forever a part of it. Then you fall on ice, after 100 close calls. And that sniffle turns into a faucet. Kleenex shred on contact with your nose. Then it warms up to 34. And plummets to 23 and below the next 5 days, further locking in the grip of February into March. Now I await the inevitable rain. That will probably start as just rain, but February, magical, wonderful February, will appear once again in disguise as March and freeze that on contact. The better for that water to seek it’s own level. Which could be your basement. Ah March. Where flights of birds and the sound of geese in the night sky almost make you forget about the possibility of a St Patricks Day snowstorm. February. Ah. February.
We truly have become a polarized nation, in a number of senses. Accent on POLAR for the East Coast.
46 | HappyWarrior Mar 7, 2015 5:04:28pm |
Apparently Obama has to have his dick out wearing a flight jacket to be “tough” enough for these guys.
47 | HappyWarrior Mar 7, 2015 5:04:53pm |
re: #45 Blind Frog Belly White
We truly have become a polarized nation, in a number of senses. Accent on POLAR for the East Coast.
It’s finally going away next week or so I hope/heard.
48 | Blind Frog Belly White Mar 7, 2015 5:04:53pm |
re: #44 Justanotherhuman
You govern like the unflappable Barack Obama.
I’d be flapping like a luffing sail in a gale.
49 | Justanotherhuman Mar 7, 2015 5:06:42pm |
re: #46 HappyWarrior
Apparently Obama has to have his dick out wearing a flight jacket to be “tough” enough for these guys.
Codpiece! Codpiece!
50 | Targetpractice Mar 7, 2015 5:08:06pm |
re: #43 HappyWarrior
I can’t do stuff like that anymore either. It’s hard for me to do video game maratons anymore too. I tried doing a MGS marathon in anticipation for the next game but I got sidetracked and haven’t played in a while. I must be getting old.
Marathon gaming is more a spectator sport for me anymore.
51 | RealityBasedSteve Mar 7, 2015 5:08:58pm |
re: #49 Justanotherhuman
Codpiece! Codpiece!
Is that a mackerel in your pocket, or are you just glad to see me?
RBS
52 | Nyet Mar 7, 2015 5:09:06pm |
Will you maintain, quoth Pantagruel, that the codpiece is the chief piece of a military harness? It is a new kind of doctrine, very paradoxical; for we say, At spurs begins the arming of a man. Sir, I maintain it, answered Panurge, and not wrongfully do I maintain it. Behold how nature, having a fervent desire, after its production of plants, trees, shrubs, herbs, sponges, and plant-animals, to eternize and continue them unto all succession of ages (in their several kinds or sorts, at least, although the individuals perish) unruinable, and in an everlasting being, hath most curiously armed and fenced their buds, sprouts, shoots, and seeds, wherein the above-mentioned perpetuity consisteth, by strengthening, covering, guarding, and fortifying them with an admirable industry, with husks, cases, scurfs and swads, hulls, cods, stones, films, cartels, shells, ears, rinds, barks, skins, ridges, and prickles, which serve them instead of strong, fair, and natural codpieces. As is manifestly apparent in pease, beans, fasels, pomegranates, peaches, cottons, gourds, pumpions, melons, corn, lemons, almonds, walnuts, filberts, and chestnuts; as likewise in all plants, slips, or sets whatsoever, wherein it is plainly and evidently seen, that the sperm and semence is more closely veiled, overshadowed, corroborated, and thoroughly harnessed, than any other part, portion, or parcel of the whole.
53 | HappyWarrior Mar 7, 2015 5:09:18pm |
re: #50 Targetpractice
Marathon gaming is more a spectator sport for me anymore.
Ha I can’t even do that anymore. It’s good though. More time to take in the story.
54 | RealityBasedSteve Mar 7, 2015 5:12:00pm |
I’m in a good mood. After a bit of a dry run on Ebay with losing some auctions where the item went over my estimate of it’s value, I finally hit one where I got it for considerably under what I’d consider fair value.
Happy Dance
RBS
55 | Drive By Commenter Mar 7, 2015 5:12:52pm |
re: #45 Blind Frog Belly White
I’m all for changing February into “Punch In The Face.”
As in; Don’t forget Valentines Day Punch In The Face the 14th!
56 | 7-y (Expectation of Great Things in Due Course) Mar 7, 2015 5:15:35pm |
re: #47 HappyWarrior
It’s finally going away next week or so I hope/heard.
Yes! I tapped 20 trees today!
57 | Justanotherhuman Mar 7, 2015 5:15:46pm |
re: #55 nines09
I just wrote February off this month year. Even my birthday. : )
58 | Justanotherhuman Mar 7, 2015 5:18:14pm |
Later, Lizards! And get well soon, Charles.
Keep calm, and the tissues handy.
59 | Drive By Commenter Mar 7, 2015 5:21:09pm |
re: #57 Justanotherhuman
I just wrote February off this
monthyear. Even my birthday. : )
When I drove extensively in and through the snow belts in NY, Pa, Oh and Indy, the 6 sweetest words I could hear on the weather radio was; “The lakes are mostly ice covered”. But February, ah February was its own beast. Moisture from the south with cold in place……..Or a clipper straight from Alberta….Followed by another clipper straight from Alberta…..Tick, tick,tick….
60 | ObserverArt Mar 7, 2015 5:22:57pm |
Later Lizards. Get well Charles. Pack yourself up in blankets to get as warm as you can stand. Cook that cold out of ya’!
61 | Drive By Commenter Mar 7, 2015 5:28:52pm |
Get better Charles. Drink plenty of liquids Get some white noise on to isolate sounds and keep the room dark. And pass out as quick as you can.
62 | HappyWarrior Mar 7, 2015 5:29:13pm |
Rand Paul is claiming same sex marriage offends him. Well Rand you being a senator offends me but that doesn’t mean your senate seat should be invalidated.
63 | jaunte Mar 7, 2015 5:31:04pm |
David Letterman says “There’s so much snow in NYC—we’ve got more white flakes than the Republican Party.” pic.twitter.com/B9vmcdIgod
— Captain Clarion (@citizensrock) March 6, 2015
64 | HappyWarrior Mar 7, 2015 5:31:43pm |
65 | Nyet Mar 7, 2015 5:31:59pm |
Dadayev’s mother says he had service awards from Nurgaliyev and Kadyrov.
ntv. ru/novosti/1355377
This sort of corresponds to that 2010 news item at chechnya.gov.ru
There a certain Zaur Dadayev was awarded the Order of Courage on Putin’s orders (among other soldiers). The award was presented by Nurgaliyev, Kadyrov was present and also presented medals to other soldiers. Interesting.
66 | Eclectic Cyborg Mar 7, 2015 5:36:05pm |
re: #28 Nyet
Because his anti-racism is so relevant? By now Schindler positively stinketh.
[Embedded content]
A German court has ended the trial of a Social Democrat (SPD) politician, Sebastian Edathy, after he agreed to pay 𠫅,000 (£3,647) and admitted guilt on child pornography charges.
It was only the second day in court for Mr Edathy, who resigned last year.
Pornographic videos and pictures of children under the age of 14 were found on his government computer.
His payment will go to a child protection association and he will have no criminal record.
“Mr Edathy regrets what happened,” his lawyer Christian Noll said on Monday.
The case ignited a debate in Germany about child pornography laws, which have now been tightened, the BBC’s Jenny Hill reports from Berlin.
You think?! Not one day in jail and a measly fine for a crime like that. Are we really becoming so desensitized to it that we don’t even care anymore?
67 | Nyet Mar 7, 2015 5:40:42pm |
Kadyrov’s thugs - “Putin’s personal army”.
??????? ???????? ???????? ?? ????????, ????? ???? ?? ????????????? ??? ??????? ????????????? ??????? ?????? ????????? pic.twitter.com/ujdTeuoNDY— ??????? ??????? (@alburov) March 7, 2015
68 | freetoken Mar 7, 2015 5:42:28pm |
re: #67 Nyet
I still fear that, yet again, wars over national identity are quite possible in Europe during my lifetime.
69 | Targetpractice Mar 7, 2015 5:42:55pm |
re: #62 HappyWarrior
Rand Paul is claiming same sex marriage offends him. Well Rand you being a senator offends me but that doesn’t mean your senate seat should be invalidated.
He’s trying to play the “civil union” card, which doesn’t really surprise me.
70 | Charles Johnson Mar 7, 2015 5:49:38pm |
The multi-faceted Chuck; award-winning journalist, mega-IQ genius, secret FBI agent, and now… leet haxor. pic.twitter.com/dmrJuwToji— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) March 8, 2015
71 | Eclectic Cyborg Mar 7, 2015 5:50:43pm |
re: #70 Charles Johnson
I would love to see CCJ get busted for something.
And once again, no singular pronoun. It’s always “We” or “Us”.
73 | Charles Johnson Mar 7, 2015 5:55:58pm |
You should go right ahead and hack away, Babycakes, especially now that you've announced your intentions on Twitter. @ChuckCJohnson— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) March 8, 2015
74 | The Mother Of All Pies Mar 7, 2015 5:56:13pm |
THIS IS THE MOST HILARIOUS THING YOU WILL SEE ALL DAY==>
“I love to make people laugh” says boy behind viral bar mitzvah video http://t.co/6O2RbqTImZ pic.twitter.com/B196EUQjfa— NBC Los Angeles (@NBCLA) March 8, 2015
75 | RealityBasedSteve Mar 7, 2015 5:56:30pm |
re: #71 Eclectic Cyborg
I would love to see CCJ get busted for something.
Journalizing without a conscience? Blog and Run? Tweeting while Intoxicated?
RBS
76 | freetoken Mar 7, 2015 5:57:16pm |
If CCJ were to record a song, I think it might go something like this:
77 | Nyet Mar 7, 2015 5:58:33pm |
re: #65 Nyet
Acc. to at least 2 sources Dadayev is a deputy commander of the battalion “Sever”, which was created by Ramzan Kadyrov and is loyal to him. The commander of “Sever” is Alibek Delimkhanov.
Alibek is a brother of the Duma deputy Adam Delimkhanov, Kadyrov’s former bodyguard. Some sources call Delimkhanov Kadyrov’s personal executioner.
In 2009 Dubai accused Adam Delimkhanov of ordering the assassination of Sulim Yamadayev, one of Kadyrov’s personal enemies. (Kadyrov was also responsible for the assassination attempt on Sulim’s brother Isa Yamadayev; this was subsequently covered up by the Russian authorities, but there are still official transcripts and video of the killer’s interrogation in which he points to Kadyrov as the one who had ordered the murder.)
78 | Charles Johnson Mar 7, 2015 6:04:25pm |
Just watched Obama's Selma speech again. I hope I'm never so jaded that I lose the ability to be moved by such eloquence.— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) March 8, 2015
79 | psddluva4evah Mar 7, 2015 6:05:02pm |
After 10 long years #Katrina I've finally got a dining room table and I put it together myself pic.twitter.com/JmV9y4ipRA— Nelly B (@psddluva4evah) March 8, 2015
80 | Charles Johnson Mar 7, 2015 6:06:37pm |
I think you should offer a bounty, so the FBI knows exactly where to start looking if it happens. $50 oughtta do it. @ChuckCJohnson— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) March 8, 2015
81 | A Cranky One Mar 7, 2015 6:07:49pm |
re: #73 Charles Johnson
So CCJ is again using “we” and “us” to refer to himself. I’m beginning to think he’s including his left hand (named Breitbart) and his right hand (named Hot Asian Wife) when he uses the terms.
82 | Nyet Mar 7, 2015 6:08:57pm |
re: #77 Nyet
Umar S. Israilov (c. 1982 - January 13, 2009) was a former bodyguard of Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov who became a critic of the Chechen regime. He was shot and killed in exile in Vienna, Austria on January 13, 2009.[1]<
Israilov fought against Russian forces during the Second Chechen War, but was captured in 2003. He began serving as Ramzan Kadyrov’s bodyguard in a militia that was led by Ramzan Kadyrov’s father, then Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov.[2] Israilov claimed to have witnessed killings, torture, and other crimes by Kadyrovites including Ramzan Kadyrov and Adam Delimkhanov, who went on to serve in the Russian Parliament.[3]/blockquote>
83 | goddamnedfrank Mar 7, 2015 6:10:16pm |
BETHESDA, Md., March 3, 2015 - Lockheed Martin’s [NYSE: LMT] 30-kilowatt fiber laser weapon system successfully disabled the engine of a small truck during a recent field test, demonstrating the rapidly evolving precision capability to protect military forces and critical infrastructure.Known as ATHENA, for Advanced Test High Energy Asset, the ground-based prototype system burned through the engine manifold in a matter of seconds from more than a mile away. The truck was mounted on a test platform with its engine and drive train running to simulate an operationally-relevant test scenario.
I’m curious how they deal with the waste heat. I don’t know exactly what efficiency they’re getting out of the system but afaik the sweet spot on the input output curve for typical semi conductor lasers is around 25% efficiency. That means this system is producing 90 Kilojoules of waste energy during every second of operation. An air asset has limited options for dealing with waste heat, some of it can be dumped into the thermal mass of the fuel, but that’s an obviously diminishing resource.
This device, as powerful as it is, is also still at least three and a half times weaker than what most experts consider to be the minimum threshold for a practical, fieldable direct energy weapon. They don’t say how many “seconds” it took to burn through the engine block, but maintaining that kind of beam control from a moving platform onto another moving platform won’t be a trivial task.
I can see why the Navy is interested in going down this road for point defense for those warships that can meet the power requirements, because ballast tanks offer enormous and continuously refreshable heat dump. However the hurdles for airborne applications are still enormous. So shooting through the top of a static, tipped up truck seems like a premature and overly optimistic demonstration of the concept. It’s going to be a long, long time I think before we see stuff like this firing down from the air.
But whatever, still cool.
84 | wheat-dogghazi-mailgate Mar 7, 2015 6:10:43pm |
re: #81 A Cranky One
So CCJ is again using “we” and “us” to refer to himself. I’m beginning to think he’s including his left hand (named Breitbart) and his right hand (named Hot Asian Wife) when he uses the terms.
Except when he bragging about his achievements, like “bringing down” Bob Menendez. Then he uses “I” and “my” throughout.
85 | lawhawk Mar 7, 2015 6:11:14pm |
re: #80 Charles Johnson
Is he now offering 99 cent tips for Hillary emails too? COD?
86 | Eclectic Cyborg Mar 7, 2015 6:11:51pm |
re: #83 goddamnedfrank
Can sharks with frickin’ laser beams be far behind?
87 | A Cranky One Mar 7, 2015 6:12:40pm |
re: #84 wheat-dogghazi-bola-trality
Except when he bragging about his achievements, like “bringing down” Bob Menendez. Then he uses “I” and “my” throughout.
You’re right. I guess when he’s claiming credit it becomes “Look ma, no hands!” ;)
88 | Charles Johnson Mar 7, 2015 6:12:50pm |
Only @ChuckCJohnson could go from boasting about working with the FBI to soliciting illegal hacking in the same day.— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) March 8, 2015
89 | wheat-dogghazi-mailgate Mar 7, 2015 6:13:00pm |
re: #85 lawhawk
Is he now offering 99 cent tips for Hillary emails too? COD?
No, no, no. You pay HIM 99¢ when you send him a tip. It’s the radical new way to build a media empire.
90 | Nyet Mar 7, 2015 6:14:12pm |
An Austrian court sentenced three individuals to prison for Israilov’s murder on June 1, 2011.[5] Otto Kaltenbrunner, Suleiman Dadayev and Turpal-Ali Yesherkayev received sentences of life, 19 years, and 16 years, respectively.[5] Austrian police believe Chechen President Kadyrov ordered Israilov’s abduction, an action that later ended in murder. Lecha Bogatirov, the man suspected of firing the fatal shots, remained at large.[5]
—-
In April 2009, a court in Moscow convicted two Chechen of the assassination of [Ruslan] Yamadayev.[25] Aslanbek Dadayev, allegedly Yamadayev’s murderer, was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment, and Elimpasha Khatsuev, allegedly drove the car, was sentenced to 15 years in prison.[25]
May just be a coincidence, of course.
91 | lawhawk Mar 7, 2015 6:16:36pm |
re: #89 wheat-dogghazi-bola-trality
That’s what I meant. You have to deliver the cash on delivery of the tip to CCJ.
92 | TedStriker Mar 7, 2015 6:16:40pm |
re: #83 goddamnedfrank
I’m curious how they deal with the waste heat. I don’t know exactly what efficiency they’re getting out of the system but afaik the sweet spot on the input output curve for typical semi conductor lasers is around 25% efficiency. That means this system is producing 120 Kilojoules of waste energy during every second of operation. An air asset has limited options for dealing with waste heat, some of it can be dumped into the thermal mass of the fuel, but that’s an obviously diminishing resource.
This device, as powerful as it is, is also still at least three and a half times weaker than what most experts consider to be the minimum threshold for a practical, fieldable direct energy weapon. They don’t say how many “seconds” it took to burn through the engine block, but maintaining that kind of beam control from a moving platform onto another moving platform won’t be a trivial task.
I can see why the Navy is interested in going down this road for point defense for those warships that can meet the power requirements, because ballast tanks offer enormous and continuously refreshable heat dump. However the hurdles for airborne applications are still enormous. So shooting through the top of a static, tipped up truck seems like a premature and overly optimistic demonstration of the concept. It’s going to be a long, long time I think before we see stuff like this firing down from the air.
But whatever, still cool.
It’s Real Genius coming to life, only no Val Kilmer, no William Atherton, and much less funny.
93 | lawhawk Mar 7, 2015 6:18:27pm |
Wisconsin man killed Friday night by officer was unarmed, Madison police say. http://t.co/jGvYBbxftn— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) March 8, 2015
How many days since the last one? Sheesh…
94 | goddamnedfrank Mar 7, 2015 6:18:34pm |
re: #83 goddamnedfrank
Edited: Basic math error. Waster energy would be 90 KJ per second.
95 | wheat-dogghazi-mailgate Mar 7, 2015 6:23:01pm |
re: #91 lawhawk
That’s what I meant. You have to deliver the cash on delivery of the tip to CCJ.
I’m still puzzled how he expects to use PayPal or credit cards to receive payment. The fees would reduce the 99¢ to a pittance.
96 | Charles Johnson Mar 7, 2015 6:25:50pm |
re: #95 wheat-dogghazi-bola-trality
I’m still puzzled how he expects to use PayPal or credit cards to receive payment. The fees would reduce the 99¢ to a pittance.
I get the feeling he hasn’t really thought this through.
97 | retired cynic Mar 7, 2015 6:26:12pm |
98 | William Barnett-Lewis Mar 7, 2015 6:26:30pm |
re: #83 goddamnedfrank
It’s an interesting toy, but they’ll put railguns of various sizes (main weapons & point defense) on ships long before any laser will be a practical battlefield weapon.
99 | goddamnedfrank Mar 7, 2015 6:30:56pm |
Also, the F35 already has a problem with hot fuel.
It appears the fighter’s flaws are still not completely ironed out as this week reports emerged of a troubling general operations “shutdown” of the F-35 Lightning II test fleet due to concerns that hot jet fuel. Apparently the U.S. Air Force (USAF) is concerned that the F-35 Lightning II’s engines may malfunction if filled up with hot fuel from a truck that was sitting outside on a hot summer day.
You might think that a modern jet airplane could just use air cooling, unfortunately the air resistance at that speed produces a lot of friction, and the skin of modern fighter aircraft tends to already get a little bit roasty.
Also, unfortunately, the Marine “B” variant of the F/35 is the only modern warplane that I’ve heard seriously even considered as a platform for a solid state or semi conductor based laser. This is because if you remove the lift fan you can hook up a generator to the mechanical linkage to the jet engine. No other fighter or bomber in the inventory comes with this kind of ready built in mechanical option for drawing electrical power directly from the main engines.
100 | Romantic Heretic Mar 7, 2015 6:35:47pm |
re: #98 William Barnett-Lewis
I’ve been thinking that there might be a nanotech solution to energy weapons.
Basically bacteria sized lasers, chemical I’m thinking, held in a matrix vaguely similar in concept to a mitrailleuse. Billions of them could be held in a piece of ammo. At the right signal they fire all at once. The ammo is ejected and the next round rotated into the firing chamber.
Something like the power guns in the Hammer’s Slammers universe.
102 | goddamnedfrank Mar 7, 2015 6:37:46pm |
re: #98 William Barnett-Lewis
It’s an interesting toy, but they’ll put railguns of various sizes (main weapons & point defense) on ships long before any laser will be a practical battlefield weapon.
Lasers will eventually be fielded for point defense, littoral combat against small kamikaze boats (attack on USS Cole), drones and interdiction. Our mistake with the ABL concept was trying to make them a long range stand off option for shooting down ballistic missiles during the launch phase. The entire point of directed energy is to take the per shot cost down, the using a gigantic plane and enormous chemical laser for ABL was never, ever going to offer that.
103 | Nyet Mar 7, 2015 6:40:18pm |
Just saw a tragicomical joke about how Hero of the Russian Federation Adam Delimkhanov on the orders of Hero of the Russian Federation Ramzan Kadyrov in 2008 in Moscow killed Hero of the Russian Federation Ruslan Yamadayev and in 2009 his brother, Hero of the Russian Federation Salim Yamadayev.
104 | A Cranky One Mar 7, 2015 6:43:11pm |
re: #83 goddamnedfrank
Interesting question. It says they used a fiber laser, which is a doped optical fiber, so I don’t think the numbers for typical semiconductor lasers apply. Since the optical fibers can be coiled and can be several kilometers long, the surface area to volume ratio means much more efficient cooling. It also means the lasers can operate at continuous high power levels compared to other types of lasers because they are easier to cool. I agree that cooling would be less of an issue for naval applications.
I was also curious about how long it took the laser to burn through the truck/engine block since they didn’t mention. Since most targets won’t cooperate by staying still, significant burn through would need to be very quick, in fractions of a second.
They also don’t say (nor did Lockhead Martin) what wavelength the laser uses. For military purposes, a wavelength not visible to the human eye would be an advantage. Then there is the question of if a reflective surface can redirect significant energy or postpone burn through for long enough to get out of the laser’s path.
105 | freetoken Mar 7, 2015 6:45:33pm |
Photons as weapons will not work when there is:
- precipitations;
- fog;
- smoke.
It’s just not practical to think of fielding a army with lasers unless you’re going to do your fighting in a desert when wind is not blowing and the enemy can’t start fires to use a smoke screen.
106 | wheat-dogghazi-mailgate Mar 7, 2015 6:46:28pm |
CCJ first says this.
Obama said #Selma was the reason his parents got hitched. But he was born four years earlier… http://t.co/NzQB0UhLAg #Selma50 #SelmaIsNow
— Charles C. Johnson (@ChuckCJohnson) March 8, 2015
Then I tweet back Obama didn’t credit Selma for his parents meeting, he credits the Kennedys. Then CCJ tweets this:
Obama claimed in '07 #Selma50 speech that his “father” came from Africa on Kennedy airlift. He lied. http://t.co/NzQB0UhLAg #SelmaIsNow
— Charles C. Johnson (@ChuckCJohnson) March 8, 2015
And this:
.@icwhatudo The country isn't ready for the truth about Obama yet.
— Charles C. Johnson (@ChuckCJohnson) March 8, 2015
107 | retired cynic Mar 7, 2015 6:49:27pm |
re: #106 wheat-dogghazi-bola-trality
He is truly amazing. And yet, look at Bill O’Reilly. There is a market for this crap.
108 | Charles Johnson Mar 7, 2015 6:49:44pm |
re: #106 wheat-dogghazi-bola-trality
He's calling you “honey,” too. That's how you know you're getting to him, when the weird gender confusion comes out @liguy743 @ChuckCJohnson— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) March 8, 2015
109 | wheat-dogghazi-mailgate Mar 7, 2015 6:54:24pm |
re: #108 Charles Johnson
I called him snookums. Heh.
Also this.
@ChuckCJohnson Ask @SecretService They might be interested that you u want to know
— wheat-dogg (@liguy743) March 8, 2015
110 | goddamnedfrank Mar 7, 2015 6:56:49pm |
re: #105 freetoken
Photons as weapons will not work when there is:
- precipitations;
- fog;
- smoke.It’s just not practical to think of fielding a army with lasers unless you’re going to do your fighting in a desert when wind is not blowing and the enemy can’t start fires to use a smoke screen.
Most kinds of smoke is moderately transparent to IR. We even had to develop a special type of smoke grenade to effectively screen / blind IR sensors.
111 | Decatur Deb Mar 7, 2015 6:58:13pm |
re: #105 freetoken
Photons as weapons will not work when there is:
- precipitations;
- fog;
- smoke.It’s just not practical to think of fielding a army with lasers unless you’re going to do your fighting in a desert when wind is not blowing and the enemy can’t start fires to use a smoke screen.
Assumes you plan to fight on Earth.
112 | Great White Snark Mar 7, 2015 6:58:35pm |
re: #102 goddamnedfrank
Lasers will eventually be fielded for point defense, littoral combat against small kamikaze boats (attack on USS Cole), drones and interdiction. Our mistake with the ABL concept was trying to make them a long range stand off option for shooting down ballistic missiles during the launch phase. The entire point of directed energy is to take the per shot cost down, the using a gigantic plane and enormous chemical laser for ABL was never, ever going to offer that.
USAF has a goal of 2030.
The U.S. Air Force has released a new request for a high-powered laser weapon that could be mounted on a next-generation air dominance fighter in the post-2030 era.
“The emphasis of this effort is to identify potential laser systems that could be integrated into a platform that will provide air dominance in the 2030+ highly contested Anti-Access/Area Denial (A2/AD) environments,” the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) said in a Request for Information document posted on FEDBIZOPPS last week.
Worth pondering that at very high altitude, little stands in the way of the beam in an anti air mission. No clouds, smoke or even humidity.
113 | William Barnett-Lewis Mar 7, 2015 7:02:12pm |
re: #112 Great White Snark
Zoomies love to pretend that what they do way up high matters more than their real work of mud moving.
114 | Decatur Deb Mar 7, 2015 7:04:28pm |
re: #112 Great White Snark
USAF has a goal of 2030.
[Embedded content]
Worth pondering that at very high altitude, little stands in the way of the beam in an anti air mission.
And at higher altitude there is near nothing in your way at all.
115 | A Cranky One Mar 7, 2015 7:07:08pm |
re: #111 Decatur Deb
Assumes you plan to fight on Earth.
Ssshhh! If you mention the Mobile Orbit to Orbit Satellite Elimination system the government will show up and take you aw
116 | Decatur Deb Mar 7, 2015 7:13:37pm |
re: #115 A Cranky One
Ssshhh! If you mention the Mobile Orbit to Orbit Satellite Elimination system the government will show up and take you aw
Is no MOOSE, comrade. is EKV.
117 | RealityBasedSteve Mar 7, 2015 7:17:52pm |
Ire: #116 Decatur Deb
Is no MOOSE, comrade. is EKV.
It’s a precursor to the Low Level Autonomous Military Android project
RBS
118 | A Cranky One Mar 7, 2015 7:18:20pm |
119 | BeenHereAwhile Mar 7, 2015 7:20:17pm |
Reminded of this by some postings in previous thread:
Gene Weingarten
Today, a treatise on Doubt.
(Nov 8, 2011)
Married men fall into three categories: 1) good husbands and fathers; 2) lousy bastards who beat their wives; and, 3) men whose wives have black eyes.
That third group is an uncomfortable place to be. I know. I’m there.
[My wife’s] face met pavement, hard. She’ll be fine in a week or so, but at the moment she looks like she’s been mauled by a bear. Or something.
Have you ever Googled “wife with a black eye”? Neither had I, until yesterday, when I was searching for essays by men in my circumstance. I couldn’t find any. The very first Google hit, the most popular cultural reference on the subject, was what is supposed to be a joke:
“Q: What do you tell a wife with a black eye? A: Nothing. You’ve already told her.”[…]
[My wife’s] boss is a neighbor and a friend of both of ours; her ten-year-old pit bull was the first profile in a book I wrote about old dogs. She runs a nonprofit organization that aggressively goes after discrimination in housing. It’s staffed almost entirely by women, and they are all tough cookies, including my wife[…]
[…] the boss lady surveyed my wife’s face, winced, turned to me, smiled, and said “If you had done this, we’d get you in a back alley.”
I was grateful for her use of the past pluperfect conditional. I also did not doubt her sincerity.[…]
[…] In the last few days, when I have been out with my wife I have felt people silently making judgments; I notice a half-glance or an averted eye. I have a thick skin; as a columnist, I have come to accept that people I do not know well, or people I do not know at all, have strong opinions about me.
This is different, though, both because of its gravity and because of the insidiousness of silence.
However, the more I think about it, the more I am okay with it. I’m not HAPPY about it, but I am okay with it, because the alternative situation is worse. Before the public was quite so aware of the extent and degree of domestic abuse — before victims were encouraged to come forward - there must have been a time when the default position was denial. There must have been a time where a man’s prosperousness or prominence would have conferred benefit of the doubt. We’re in a better place now, if a more uncomfortable one.
[…] So, basically, to men who find themselves in my position: Tough[…]