Tales of Interest

[SurfaceUnits]

Just a warning to those who might visit and have encrypted Debbie Gibson tunes on their mp3 players

By letter of the law there is no criteria needed to show any form of intent. If you possess an encrypted file – or anything an officer of the law believes may be encrypted – then you are culpable for a violation of the law and can be prosecuted.

Rick is right that the UK law is hair-raising. Worst case scenario any police officer who decides to lean on you can easily threaten you with a fairly reasonable chance of being sent to jail for refusing to “decrypt” what is, in essence, nothing more than a corrupt file or white noise.

[SurfaceUnits]

The 2012 End of the Current Order Scenario

xm8JPlzp7Kk

[Ruok]

The 2012 End of the Current Order Scenario


I have to say that I am truly amazed that somebody somewhere actually believes that advanced beings choose to communicate with earthlings through pictograms in crops. Can you imagine that conversation? TV! No, radio! No, the Internet! I've got it, crop circles! All in favor? Aye! Aye! etc

[cameraman]

That is an impressive design.

[Methanolandbrats]

I have to say that I am truly amazed that somebody somewhere actually believes that advanced beings choose to communicate with earthlings through pictograms in crops. Can you imagine that conversation? TV! No, radio! No, the Internet! I've got it, crop circles! All in favor? Aye! Aye! etc

They are already here. :gomer:They make crop circles just to **** with us, kinda like making a cat try to run up the wall with a laser pointer.

[nrc]

Firefox will rule the world. Our secret alien progenitors have decreed it.

http://firefoxcropcircle.com/albums/firefox-crop-circle/mg_5560.sized.jpg

http://firefoxcropcircle.com/circle/

[Methanolandbrats]

http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS5BQ_s_EYloHgvRj0EtFno6HZvfIgtA WC_PxEcvY52NHhxemUDA3WX48-5hQ

[SteveH]

http://rookery.s3.amazonaws.com/898000/898116_752c_625x1000.jpg

http://whoyoucallingaskeptic.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/cropcircles-in-chest-hair.jpg

:gomer:

[Methanolandbrats]

:rofl:

[datachicane]

http://nextnature.net/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/023_crop.jpg

http://www.lamentiraestaahifuera.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/crop.jpg

[chop456]

That second one rules. :laugh:

[TKGAngel]

What about this one? Man creates heart-shaped tribute to late wife out of 6,000 oak trees. (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/13/winston-howes-heart-shaped-tribute_n_1672218.html)

[nrc]

C17 lands at small airport in Tampa. Someone's gonna need some new underpants.

http://www.wtsp.com/news/article/264803/8/Massive-military-plane-lands-at-wrong-airport-in-Tampa

[cameraman]

That just ended a couple of military careers:eek:

[TravelGal]

C17 lands at small airport in Tampa. Someone's gonna need some new underpants.

http://www.wtsp.com/news/article/264803/8/Massive-military-plane-lands-at-wrong-airport-in-Tampa

:D At least I finally know what that "other" airport is. I always wondered about it when I saw MacDill from the air on landing at TPA.

[nissan gtp]

C17 lands at small airport in Tampa. Someone's gonna need some new underpants.

http://www.wtsp.com/news/article/264803/8/Massive-military-plane-lands-at-wrong-airport-in-Tampa

oops.

[trish]

I'll call this one American Justice (http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/savannah-dietrich-twitter-sexual-assault-louisville-174732753.html).

[Don Quixote]

Not a good sign.


http://www.myfoxny.com/story/19097411/pilot-rescued-after-plane-crash-off-block-island

[Gnam]

Headlines of Interest...

O.C. CEO resigns amid sex scandal
(http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Orange-County-CEO-resigns-amid-sex-scandal-3738950.php)

;)

[Elmo T]

I get asked why we require special egress windows during basement renovations.

THIS is why.... :shakehead

USKfJ7WK7po

[G.]

I get asked why we require special egress windows during basement renovations.

THIS is why.... :shakehead

He's got one now.

[nrc]

Hrrm. Definitely worth thinking about. When we eventually renovate our basement I had assumed that we would go the glass block route that seems so popular. A least one egress window would be a good idea.

[TrueBrit]

What about this one? Man creates heart-shaped tribute to late wife out of 6,000 oak trees. (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/13/winston-howes-heart-shaped-tribute_n_1672218.html)

Friggin' over-achiever...makes the rest of us look bad...WTG ass-carrot...;)

[Elmo T]

Prison officials say ‘Onion Field’ cop killer Gregory Powell has died in a California prison (http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/prison-officials-say-onion-field-cop-killer-gregory-powell-has-died-in-a-california-prison/2012/08/13)


Wambaugh said that one of Powell’s lawyers often complained that “Powell would have been out of prison if it hadn’t been for ‘The Onion Field’ book. And I think he was right. The book kept Powell in prison. It just became so famous.”

Asked how he felt about that, Wambaugh said, “I’m not shedding any tears.”

Nor am I.

[Gnam]

Taylor Wilson

While his beanpole frame and Justin Bieber--esque haircut suggest he's just a harmless kid, his after-school activities paint a far more ominous picture. At age 10, he built his first bomb out of a pill bottle and household chemicals. At 11, he started mining for uranium and buying vials of plutonium on the Internet. At 14, he became the youngest person in the world to build a nuclear fusion reactor.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/01/living/teen-nuclear-scientist/index.html

Pretty good. Looks like we're a little bit closer to warp drive. ;)

[Napoleon]

Hrrm. Definitely worth thinking about. When we eventually renovate our basement I had assumed that we would go the glass block route that seems so popular. A least one egress window would be a good idea.

I never thought about this. A few years ago I added on to my house which eliminated a walk out door to the basement, and now I have no alternative way to get out of the basement in the event a fire blocks the stairs.

[extramundane]

This may be of interest hereabouts: http://calvinandhobbesgifs.tumblr.com/

[Elmo T]

This may be of interest hereabouts: http://calvinandhobbesgifs.tumblr.com/

:thumbup::thumbup:

[dando]

This may be of interest hereabouts: http://calvinandhobbesgifs.tumblr.com/

Some background on the GIF format, which was developed by the co. I worked for (CompuServe) until we were consumed by AOL in 1998.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphics_Interchange_Format

Interestingly, I just saw a post on FB by one of our long-time content partners on why the GIF format should RIP. :\

-Kevin

[Napoleon]

Lab Tech, Found Drunk, Partially Clothed, Surrounded By Escaped Monkeys (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/20/coley-mitchell-drunk-monkeys_n_1810998.html)

[Elmo T]

Dress code bars Oklahoma City kindergartner from wearing University of Michigan T-shirt (http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/08/23/oklahoma-city-student-5-forced-to-turn-university-michigan-t-shirt-inside-out/?intcmp=obnetwork)

[cameraman]

Dress code bars Oklahoma City kindergartner from wearing University of Michigan T-shirt (http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/08/23/oklahoma-city-student-5-forced-to-turn-university-michigan-t-shirt-inside-out/?intcmp=obnetwork)

Oh please, stfu. My son's school (public) bans all logo-wear. Everything. That little idoz alligator, nope. A Nike swoosh, hell no. The only shirts allowed are solid red, solid navy blue or solid white. No patterns, no nothing. No jeans of any kind are allowed, pants must be either khaki or solid navy blue (non-denim). Girls can wear khaki, navy blue, red or white solid colored skirts.

There are two exceptions, the school sells a school t-shirt with the logo of the elementary school and the chess club has a t-shirt. That is all.

[dando]

Dress code bars Oklahoma City kindergartner from wearing University of Michigan T-shirt (http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/08/23/oklahoma-city-student-5-forced-to-turn-university-michigan-t-shirt-inside-out/?intcmp=obnetwork)

:thumbup: :thumbup: :gomer: :D

-Kevin

[dando]

Oh please, stfu. My son's school (public) bans all logo-wear. Everything. That little idoz alligator, nope. A Nike swoosh, hell no. The only shirts allowed are solid red, solid navy blue or solid white. No patterns, no nothing. No jeans of any kind are allowed, pants must be either khaki or solid navy blue (non-denim). Girls can wear khaki, navy blue, red or white solid colored skirts.

There are two exceptions, the school sells a school t-shirt with the logo of the elementary school and the chess club has a t-shirt. That is all.

Utards. :p However, they can have multiple wives in elementary school. :D ;)

-Kevin

[Don Quixote]

:thumbup: :thumbup: :gomer: :D

-KevinThey should have expelled the little brat also. :thumbup:

[datachicane]

Oh please, stfu. My son's school (public) bans all logo-wear. Everything. That little idoz alligator, nope. A Nike swoosh, hell no. The only shirts allowed are solid red, solid navy blue or solid white. No patterns, no nothing. No jeans of any kind are allowed, pants must be either khaki or solid navy blue (non-denim). Girls can wear khaki, navy blue, red or white solid colored skirts.

There are two exceptions, the school sells a school t-shirt with the logo of the elementary school and the chess club has a t-shirt. That is all.

Similar to my daughter's elementary school here in Oregon, but sub green for red. Historically there had been a significant gang problem in the neighborhood, and it prevented the parents from dressing the kids according to their own affiliation. Laugh, but it helped considerably. I started out as a scoffer.

No such rules in middle school, though. By the time the kids are that age they've generally stopped listening to their parents anyway :tony:.

[chop456]

It makes things so much less complicated. That's why I still wear Garanimals to this day.

[emjaya]

Oh please, stfu. My son's school (public) bans all logo-wear. Everything. That little idoz alligator, nope. A Nike swoosh, hell no. The only shirts allowed are solid red, solid navy blue or solid white. No patterns, no nothing. No jeans of any kind are allowed, pants must be either khaki or solid navy blue (non-denim). Girls can wear khaki, navy blue, red or white solid colored skirts.

There are two exceptions, the school sells a school t-shirt with the logo of the elementary school and the chess club has a t-shirt. That is all.

Don't get me started on the crazy that is school uniforms in Queensland. :irked:

[dando]

They should have expelled the little brat also. :thumbup:

Went to an indoor play gym yesterday with the girls. There was one play set that was decked out with yellow and blue accessories. Girls would not play on it. "Boo Michigan!" :thumbup: :D

-Kevin

[Andrew Longman]

Went to an indoor play gym yesterday with the girls. There was one play set that was decked out with yellow and blue accessories. Girls would not play on it. "Boo Michigan!" :thumbup: :D

-KevinYet another example of the sickness among tUSUtards that makes normal people shun and hate the Ohio State. ;)

[TKGAngel]

It makes things so much less complicated. .

Word. I wore uniforms from grade school through high school. There are times that I miss the days of having my biggest wardrobe decision be a blue polo or a white polo. (I don't miss the indestructible wool-poly skirts though.)

[Elmo T]

Man trying to create bigfoot sighting killed in Montana (http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/08/27/man-trying-to-create-bigfoot-sighting-killed-in-montana/)

[Napoleon]

Man trying to create bigfoot sighting killed in Montana (http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/08/27/man-trying-to-create-bigfoot-sighting-killed-in-montana/)

" . . . alcohol may have been a factor . . ."


Really?!

Do they still give out Darwin awards yearly?

[G.]

Man trying to create bigfoot sighting killed in Montana (http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/08/27/man-trying-to-create-bigfoot-sighting-killed-in-montana/)

I feel bad for the drivers.


Tenley was struck by vehicles driven by two girls, ages 15 and 17, who were unable to stop in time, authorities said.

[Napoleon]

Russia reveals huge diamond find it has keep secret since the 1970s (http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-News/2012/0917/Russia-reveals-shiny-state-secret-It-s-awash-in-diamonds)

[RaceGrrl]

Touchdown Jesus resurrected- and he wants a hug (http://www.kypost.com/dpps/news/region_north_cincinnati/monroe/hug-me-jesus-statue-raised_7861976)

[nrc]

Not quite as cool as Buddy Jesus.

[emjaya]

Found this on another board.


https://i.chzbgr.com/completestore/12/9/19/kgVHj5sxNkSPaw5f7wpyLQ2.jpg

[Indy]

^^^ To the fans of military hardware, that is what your toys do to human beings.

[nrc]

We have about half a dozen floods in our kitchen that seem to go out a lot and are a pain to replace so I'm going to experiment with them. As they go out I'll replace them with CFLs floods. We'll see if we get all the old ones replaced before one of these "7 year" CFLs dies.

These floods don't look too bad because the swirley is hidden in the housing, but what are you supposed to do for decorative lighting in the long run?

Almost exactly a year later I've replaced 6 of the 9 incandescent floods in our kitchen with CFLs as they've failed. One of the CFLs has now failed with three incandescent floods still going. Disappointing but as long as it's just an outlier, not a big deal.

I did find a decent decorative 40 watt equivalent LED that puts out a decent 300 lumens. It still has the ugly base but that's mostly hidden in the fixture.

[nrc]

^^^ To the fans of military hardware, that is what your toys do to human beings.

Golly. I thought when those things went off people were showered with confetti and glitter.

[SurfaceUnits]

The Price of a 50-Year Myth

IN the latest volume of his acclaimed biography of Lyndon B. Johnson, Robert A. Caro repeats a long-standing but erroneous myth about the Cuban missile crisis. Drawing on early accounts of the crisis, he describes a confrontation on Oct. 24, 1962, between American destroyers and Soviet ships carrying nuclear missiles to Cuba. According to Mr. Caro, the Soviet vessels were “within a few miles” of the blockade line, but turned away at the last moment.

This was the moment when Secretary of State Dean Rusk, by his own account, uttered the most memorable line of the missile crisis: “We’re eyeball to eyeball, and I think the other fellow just blinked.”

The “eyeball to eyeball” imagery made for great drama (it features in the 2000 movie “13 Days”), but it has contributed to some of our most disastrous foreign policy decisions, from the escalation of the Vietnam War under Johnson to the invasion of Iraq under George W. Bush.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/16/opinion/the-eyeball-to-eyeball-myth-and-the-cuban-missile-crisiss-legacy.html?src=recg

[Andrew Longman]

This guy maybe more than anyone else may have averted disaster by telling JFK he was wrong to assume the soviets would not negotiate.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Llewellyn_Thompson

His lesson of "empathize with your enemy" was correct and would have been an important lesson in Vietnam and Iraq.

Given that he had actually lived with Khrushchev,he was also the one guy who both could and needed to step up.

[Napoleon]

This is a good peice on the Cuban Missle Crisis as well:

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/war_stories/2012/10/cuban_missile_crisis_50th_anniversary_what_this_co ld_war_crisis_should_teach.html

Surfaceunits. I am working my way through the Caro book now and have not gotten to that part of the book yet, but my impression was (and I think I got this from an interview he did promoting the book) that in fact LBJ was significantly more bellicose then the Kennedy people and that led them to exclude LBJ after some initial meetings because he scared the daylights out of them. That seems somewhat at odds with the opinion piece. Hopefully when I get to that part of the book I remember to update this (currently I am in the part of the book that amounts to a mini JFK bio set forth in the larger LBJ bio, just like Caro did with Sam Rayburn and Dick Russell, among others in the LBJ series – BTW, it is amazing how sickly JFK really was – in fact although Caro does not draw this conclusion it is easy for the reader to conclude that had he survived the assassination attempt, but still have been wounded, there is a decent chance he still would have died where others survived because his immune system deficiencies).

[Andrew Longman]

Mysterious double post

[Andrew Longman]

LBJ was completely convinced that Vietnam was a proxi war with the Soviets and Chinese and hence it was not a war he could walk away from. For him an exit strategy was irrelevant.

In reality it was a civil war and an extension of a long battle against what they saw as imperial aggression. In reality the Vietnamese had been fighting the Chinese for 1000 years, but no one in the LBJ administration saw that as relevant. For the Vietnamese, surrender or a negotiated peace were not relevant options.

Ironically, today Vietnam is pretty close to what the US and The North wanted all along.

[datachicane]

Between 60 and 130 crated Spitfires buried in Myanmar, apparently in good condition.

Myanmar find could flood vintage Spitfire market (http://news.yahoo.com/myanmar-could-flood-vintage-spitfire-market-011243922.html)

[nrc]

LBJ was completely convinced that Vietnam was a proxi war with the Soviets and Chinese and hence it was not a war he could walk away from. For him an exit strategy was irrelevant.

It's silly to suggest that a world power can't use a civil war as a proxy war. The two are not exclusive of one another. There's no question that both the Soviet Union and communist China used support of the communists in Vietnam for their own geopolitical agenda.

Yes, China had centuries of animosity with Vietnam but the "greater enemy" doctrine prevailed until the Americans were gone.

[cameraman]

IYes, China had centuries of animosity with Vietnam but the "greater enemy" doctrine prevailed until the Americans were gone.

It lasted about a week after the last Huey lifted off from the embassy roof...

[Andrew Longman]

It's silly to suggest that a world power can't use a civil war as a proxy war. The two are not exclusive of one another.Really? How'd that work out? Is there another example in human history when it worked out better?


Yes, China had centuries of animosity with Vietnam but the "greater enemy" doctrine prevailed until the Americans were gone.The enemy who is actually in your house will always be your greater enemy. After the US left, how much influence did China and the Soviets have on domestic affairs in Vietnam? How much do they have today? Instead, how much investment and influence do Western countries and Japan have on Vietnam today?

I think history has shown that a self determined "communist" Vietnam was almost no threat to the region and that an economic carrot based on investment and trade had much more of the desired effect than a stick brought my the US military.

[Andrew Longman]

It lasted about a week after the last Huey lifted off from the embassy roof...And until companies such as Honda wanted to build plants there. Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, and S Korea have long been huge investors in Vietnam. -- all countries we were worried about as possible falling dominoes. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3056c896-521c-11e1-a155-00144feabdc0.html#axzz29jlGJ3mQ.

[emjaya]

The family of a war hero only discovered the full weight of his bravery after his death when his cremation left behind a huge pile of shrapnel.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/world-war-two/9618342/Weighty-memento-war-veterans-secret-revealed-after-his-death.html

[Elmo T]

Everything old is new again...

Taking out a smaller, safe blimp at Hindenburg site (http://www.philly.com/philly/news/new_jersey/20121019_Taking_out_a_smaller__safe_blimp_at_Hinde nburg_site.html)


Inside the gondola of the Navy's MZ-3A, pilots Mark Kynett and Larry Chambers made the final checks, and then - with two powerful engines roaring at their back - aimed the blimp at a sharp angle into the sky and took off from Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in Burlington County.

Article includes a video with some very cool views of the giant hangers at Lakehurst.

This gives an idea of hanger sizer versus the current blimp:

http://i45.tinypic.com/1zwj8yc.jpg

[Indy]

Really? How'd that work out? Is there another example in human history when it worked out better?

The enemy who is actually in your house will always be your greater enemy. After the US left, how much influence did China and the Soviets have on domestic affairs in Vietnam? How much do they have today? Instead, how much investment and influence do Western countries and Japan have on Vietnam today?

I think history has shown that a self determined "communist" Vietnam was almost no threat to the region and that an economic carrot based on investment and trade had much more of the desired effect than a stick brought my the US military.

I couldn't have said this better. In short, denying the primitive impulse to tribalistic violence means accepting that we no longer live in that primitive world, thus we will have to engage our intellects to find better ways to solve problems.

[Indy]

BTW, Kennedy excluding LBJ and his primitive reactions shows the depth of intellect and wisdom in Kennedy. It is too bad we as a country, particularly in the South and Texas, almost 50 years after Kennedy's death, can not move beyond such idiocy. It is no wonder that after a dozen years of pointless wars the world still sees us as knuckledraggers.

[dando]

Everything old is new again...

Taking out a smaller, safe blimp at Hindenburg site (http://www.philly.com/philly/news/new_jersey/20121019_Taking_out_a_smaller__safe_blimp_at_Hinde nburg_site.html)



Article includes a video with some very cool views of the giant hangers at Lakehurst.

This gives an idea of hanger sizer versus the current blimp:

http://i45.tinypic.com/1zwj8yc.jpg

While this is :cool:, one wonders if this is the best use of helium, which becoming endangered.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/health/med-tech/why-is-there-a-helium-shortage-10031229

-Kevin

[Napoleon]

I think history has shown that a self determined "communist" Vietnam was almost no threat to the region and that an economic carrot based on investment and trade had much more of the desired effect than a stick brought my the US military.
You touch on something so many people miss. Being involved in that war was a huge mistake but just is large of a mistake was made in the missed opportunity of actually not bringing “Uncle Ho” along by engaging him right after the war (heck the US was partially funding his WWII war effort). By the way, something I never realized until the last couple of months is that Uncle Ho actually lived and worked in the US for a time.


BTW, Kennedy excluding LBJ and his primitive reactions shows the depth of intellect and wisdom in Kennedy.
Admittedly I have never been much of a fan of the Kennedys (my family were more of the HHH type Dems, the Maryanns to the Kennedy’s Ginger) but some things I have read over the last few years have softened my opinions of Robert circa his 68 campaign and JFKs abilities. I have long called BS on anyone who says JFK would have never gotten us as deep into Vietnam as LBJ but I have begun to wonder if people who make that case really are on to something. JFK was willing to come to his own conclusions and stick with them even if his view was the minority (and it wouldn’t hurt that he could sell what he thought as an actual war hero instead of a fake one like LBJ). BTW he was also way more introverted and bookish then publically portrayed, and not naturally much of speaker (though Bobby was even worse).

[Napoleon]

Article includes a video with some very cool views of the giant hangers at Lakehurst.

Are those hangers that have been there since the Hindenberg days? What are they used for?

[Elmo T]

I believe Hanger 1 is the oldest and was used for many airships.

Hangar No. One (http://www.nlhs.com/hangarno.htm)

Some very cool photos of Hindenburg in Hanger One at the bottom of the page here: Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields: Eastern New Jersey (http://www.airfields-freeman.com/NJ/Airfields_NJ_E.htm)

http://i48.tinypic.com/2iubxc5.jpg

[Indy]

Admittedly I have never been much of a fan of the Kennedys...

Nor have I. And I tended to believe that Camelot was just a brilliant marketing campaign, or maybe grief transformed to reverence. But the more I read about that era, the more I realize that Jack Kennedy was the last great president, and that Robert more than likely would have made a great president. I think that alone explains why they were killed.

[Andrew Longman]

McNamara never was comfortable with an open-ended commitment in Vietnam and Kennedy was on record wanting a draw-down in 1964. LBJ was never part of those discussions and is on tape saying he never agreed with a draw down. It simply did not fit with his view of the Cold War.

But I too have never been a huge fan of the Kennedy's. They had some serious flaws as most politicians do.

[Napoleon]

I believe Hanger 1 is the oldest and was used for many airships.

I did not realize that there was any large scale blimp hangers in the US outside of the Goodyear Airdock in Akron which seems to be similar in size other then being around 150 feet longer. By the way it has only been open to the public twice in its history and I got in the second time which was a speech by Gov. Clinton in 1992.

You can find it at 41.032055,-81.470522

http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/aviation/goo.htm

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3283/3141858111_fbfdb37ba7.jpg

[nrc]

Really? How'd that work out? Is there another example in human history when it worked out better?

How it worked out isn't really relevant to whether it's true.


The enemy who is actually in your house will always be your greater enemy. After the US left, how much influence did China and the Soviets have on domestic affairs in Vietnam? How much do they have today? Instead, how much investment and influence do Western countries and Japan have on Vietnam today?

Chinese influence ended immediately, Soviet influence continued until their collapse in '91. Western countries have much more investment in Vietnam today but I don't think that it translates to much influence.


I think history has shown that a self determined "communist" Vietnam was almost no threat to the region and that an economic carrot based on investment and trade had much more of the desired effect than a stick brought my the US military.

I think calling the Russian and Chinese backed overthrow of South Vietnam by North Vietnam self determination is a bit of a stretch.

It's fortunate that with support from communist powers waning Vietnam chose to push toward a market economy instead of becoming another North Korea. But few people in the 1960s would have anticipated that the major communist powers would collapse or capitulate to market economies before the end of the century.

Still, I don't think there's any question that the people of South Vietnam would have been better off becoming another South Korea.

Does that mean Vietnam was worth the time, money, or precious blood spent on it? No, I agree that the desire to make a stand was given too much weight for the actual strategic, political, or economic value of the place. But we're talking in hindsight with the Cold War won and the communist expansionism only a dim memory.

[stroker]

The other issue nobody has touched upon is that the US Military (on balance) decided after Viet Nam that they were going to rethink how they did things. That effort showed in Desert Storm and continued into Enduring Freedom. If you think 50K+ dead in Southeast Asia was bad, consider what might have happened had they not embraced that cultural and institutional change. It's another case of "What If" with no way to prove things, but that has been an enormous shift in non-material power in favor of the US.

On the other hand, you could argue we would have been better off having formally declared war on Iraq and Afghanistan and simply sat on them as we did with Germany and Japan.

[Andrew Longman]

How it worked out isn't really relevant to whether it's true.sorry but it does. There isn't an example of when a third party "won" their objective by fighting on behalf of one side in a civil war. That's because even if they win the battles the civil war is not over until the parties settle things politically or by politics "by other means".


Does that mean Vietnam was worth the time, money, or precious blood spent on it? No, I agree that the desire to make a stand was given too much weight for the actual strategic, political, or economic value of the place. But we're talking in hindsight with the Cold War won and the communist expansionism only a dim memory.I think you just completely agreed with my point -- excepting it wasn't entirely hindsight. Plenty of people at the time, including the SoD, did not think Vietnam was in our strategic interest or critical to the Cold War.

Boss, you don't like this stuff played out here so I'm going to leave it alone.

[SurfaceUnits]

check this video at fullscreen

Gmikl0RQP44

[Gnam]

amazing. looking down can be fun too.

FG0fTKAqZ5g

[Anteater]

Some very cool photos of Hindenburg in Hanger One at the bottom of the page here: Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields: Eastern New Jersey (http://www.airfields-freeman.com/NJ/Airfields_NJ_E.htm)

Thanks for the linky; that was cool!

There are still a couple of huge blimp hangars in Orange County, CA:
http://images.onset.freedom.com/ocregister/gallery/m06sck-b78921444z.120120229192600000gko15tfia.1.jpg
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/park-342614-county-hangar.html?pic=2

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/park-342614-county-hangar.html


Glad there are plans afoot to preserve one of them (although it's a shame they can't both be saved).

[trish]

Scientists on trial for not predicting earthquake. http://www.npr.org/2011/09/20/140650913/trial-opens-against-scientists-for-2009-italy-quake?ft=1&f=1001


That's exactly what it is.
morons. :shakehead


Remind me to on my Ps and Qs the next time I'm Italy. They tried everyone they could find for murder when Senna died. A few other questionable cases have raised my hahreumf meter.

They each get six years in prison. Visiting Italy used to be on my bucket list.

[Gnam]

They each get six years in prison. Visiting Italy used to be on my bucket list.

No one expects the Scientific Inquisition!

http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/2705/spanishinquisitionpytho.jpg

[Andrew Longman]

I did not realize that there was any large scale blimp hangers in the US outside of the Goodyear Airdock in Akron...I drove by it today. Wow,

[Napoleon]

I drove by it today. Wow,

You can fit the Statue of Liberty in it laying down, so they say. I am not sure if you could see it from that road (224) a couple of miles east of there but off to the left (to the South) would be the airdock for Goodyear Blimps.

Did you take 224 across the state? If so you passed through where I grew up, Canfield.

[nrc]

Vandals admit muffin-crystal-thingie assault at Serpent Mound

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/11/02/vandals-admit-muffin-crystal-thingie-assault-at-serpent-mounds.html

[SurfaceUnits]

Household Download Index

Based on millions of recent test results from Speedtest.net, this index compares and ranks consumer download speeds around the globe. The value is the rolling mean throughput in Mbps over the past 30 days where the mean distance between the client and the server is less than 300 miles.


Canada 35th
US 33rd
NZ 49th
Hong Kong #1

Latvia kicks your butts

http://www.netindex.com/

[cameraman]

I'm sure they have faster DSL service in Bhutan than I get in downtown SLC:flame:

[SurfaceUnits]

I'm sure they have faster DSL service in Bhutan than I get in downtown SLC:flame:

Move to Centerville #1 23.58 Mbps

Utah #26

[cameraman]

Move to Centerville #1 23.58 Mbps

Utah #26

Centerville:eek::eek::eek: Do you have any idea what you are suggesting?:eek::eek::eek:

[SurfaceUnits]

seems to be a congenial place

http://www.elocallink.tv/clients3/ut/centerville/tourplay.php?movie=ceut_qol_iwd&spon=qualityo

[cameraman]

seems to be a congenial place

http://www.elocallink.tv/clients3/ut/centerville/tourplay.php?movie=ceut_qol_iwd&spon=qualityo

Quite bluntly, if you are active LDS then it is a wonderful place to live, if you are not LDS... [[[shudder]]]

[SurfaceUnits]

AT&T CEO Calls DSL 'Obsolete'
Which is Problematic Since That's His Primary Product

by Karl Bode Tuesday 19-Jul-2011 tags: dsl · business · bandwidth · AT&T Southeast · AT&T Midwest · AT&T Southwest

Speaking at the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners summer meeting in Los Angeles, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson made a rather interesting statement for the CEO of a company that sells DSL service: he called the technology "obsolete." "We built DSL back in 1997 to chase David’s company and now that’s obsolete," Stephenson stated (and confirmed by attendees), referring to Comcast and Comcast EVP David Cohen.

Since all of AT&T's customers are still technically on some flavor of DSL (albeit VDSL for some), and somewhere around 45% of AT&T customers will be stuck on "last generation" DSL with no sign of upgrades anytime soon, Stephenson effectively argued that his own company is obsolete. That was an executive misstep Comcast was more than happy to point out on Twitter.

It's an amusing quote for those who've watched AT&T put upgrades on the back burner despite being in the broadband business. That policy has resulted in AT&T forgoing more robust fiber to the home upgrades, and settling for VDSL. While less expensive, it has left them trailing cable in terms of maximum throughput and HD capacity in upgraded markets, with an even-less competitive product everywhere else. These policies also drove the company's decision to impose 150GB to 250GB caps on said slow, distance-constrained and expensive "obsolete" DSL.

We'll assume that AT&T's hired PR firms will soon issue a statement insisting Stephenson was misquoted, though to some Stephenson's DSL observation may be the most honest thing he's said all year.

AT&T's current policy is to NEVER upgrade 55% of their wireline business

Interesting info in the coments

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/115258

[SurfaceUnits]

Here's an upgrade for you

User Impressions of Comcast's New 305 Mbps Service
$320 a month, $500 in fees, and steep initial ETF

by Karl Bode 14 hours ago tags: business · bandwidth · cable · Comcast

whfsdude is one of the first we've seen in our forums to order Comcast's new 305 Mbps downstream, 65 Mbps upstream service tier --- and is sharing his install experience in our forums.

According to the user all that speed (delivered via a Ciena 3931) is certainly coming with a steep price tag -- the user signed a three-year contract for the service which will run him around $320 a month. The user also notes that Comcast is imposing a $1,111 early termination fee if he cancels service in the first three months, though the ETF is pro-rated down the line.

There's also a $250 activation fee and a $250 installation fee. "Per megabit, it's cheaper what I can get at most co-location providers for such low commits," says the admittedly heavy user.

[Anteater]

Speaking of blimps and their hangars:
It’s not a blimp—it’s an airship (http://www.ocregister.com/articles/cargo-376922-airships-airship.html)

Interesting concepts floating around!

[SteveH]

What ever floats your boat but there is a worldwide helium shortage.

http://www.nwitimes.com/business/local/helium-shortage-worldwide-affects-local-businesses/article_b97daaf1-36e5-5054-abcd-6ed15b93d712.html

[Elmo T]

Today in 1967: Ejecting from his F-4C Phantom over North Vietnam, Capt. Lance P. Sijan successfully evaded capture for more than six weeks. Enemy forces captured him, but the severely weakened and injured Sijan managed to escape. After his recapture and torture, he contracted pneumonia and died. He received the Medal of Honor posthumously.

Learned more about this during my visits to the USAF Museum at WP.

More here (http://www.airforce-magazine.com/MagazineArchive/Pages/1986/December%201986/1286valor.aspx) from the Air Force Magazine.

[Gnam]

John McAfee: Antivirus creator, bath salts enthusiast, accused murderer


Antivirus pioneer John McAfee is on the run from murder charges, Belize police say. According to Marco Vidal, head of the national police force's Gang Suppression Unit, McAfee is a prime suspect in the murder of American expatriate Gregory Faull, who was gunned down Saturday night at his home in San Pedro Town on the island of Ambergris Caye.

http://gizmodo.com/5959812/john-mcafee-wanted-for-murder

What the hell man? :saywhat:

[dando]

What the hell man? :saywhat:

Same goes for Kevin Clash, the voice and puppeteer for Elmo.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/elmo-voice-kevin-clash-denies-sex-underage-boy/story?id=17698407#.UKFXFml27mo

:shakehead :saywhat:

-Kevin

[Gnam]

"I have Peter Pan syndrome we call it," Clash said

DANGER, Will Robinson!
http://s14.postimage.org/fx6g9iq71/Time_To_Panic.gif (http://postimage.org/)

[Napoleon]

For science and/or CSI geeks. 1971 cold murder case from Fla where they can now determine through chemical analysis of the victim’s body that the victim grew up in Greece and had moved to the states in the year prior to her murder.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/13/science/isotope-analysis-provides-clues-in-a-florida-cold-case.html?hp

[Napoleon]

Found this on another board.


https://i.chzbgr.com/completestore/12/9/19/kgVHj5sxNkSPaw5f7wpyLQ2.jpg

I just stumbled on the below but it looks like Pres. Obama personally presented him with his purple heart and used his story as part of his Veteran's Day speech yesterday.


http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/imagecache/embedded_img_full/image/image_file/potus_taylormorris.jpg

Details on White House website (http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/11/11/president-obama-honors-veterans-arlington-national-cemetery)

[Gnam]

Same goes for Kevin Clash, the voice and puppeteer for Elmo.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/elmo-voice-kevin-clash-denies-sex-underage-boy/story?id=17698407#.UKFXFml27mo

:shakehead :saywhat:

-Kevin

Accuser changes story, clears Clash of wrong doing.

http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/television/article/Man-recants-story-of-teen-sex-with-Elmo-puppeteer-4035538.php

Glad to hear it. :thumbup: