Wirecutter....We Need You Down Here!

Coyote kills cat in Torrance.

Read the article here at the Daily Breeze.

-PT 658- The World's ONLY Restored and Functional PT Boat

What a heartwarming story.

My hat is off to these guys. They did an amazing job!

Syncom Satellite Launched 50 years ago

Found the following article at the L.A. Times website while I was perusing the local news.

How a satellite called Syncom changed the world

I remembered watching the Tokyo Olympics, and being very interested in how a satellite could stay put over one part of the earth without having a rocket motor to keep it in place. 

Years (many!) later when I was working for Hughes Aircraft I got to see some of the gentlemen mentioned in the article at company seminars and talks.

And later still when I worked for DirecTV, I got to meet Eddy Hartenstein, who was one of the principles in developing Direct-To-Home ("DTH") television broadcasting.

 The original Syncom weighed in at about 150 pounds, fueled.

The last satellite the place I work at now attempted to launch weighed in at a little under fourteen THOUSAND pounds.

 

We sure have come a long way....

 

Say Hello to Swisher and Pebbles!

Her's the two newest mebers of the family.

Swisher is on the left, and Pebbles is on your right.

Swisher is a joy to walk, and is "helping" me regain some of my stamina by walking with me after dinner.

Pebbles still has a lot to learn, so I've been "walking" her around the back yard so she'll get used to walking with me, and learn some basic commands.

Right now she could be leased out to a towing company, and probably earn her keep by pulling cars off the road!

SS Lane Victory July, 2013 Cruise

The last time I went out on the Lane Victory was in 2006, so when I got an email notice of the cruise schedule for this year, I ordered two tickets.

My wife has never been out on a ship like this, so I thought she might enjoy it, and she did.

This year's cruise are in remembrance of the Korean War Armistice, and the memeorial services were very nice.

There were two wreaths dropped over the side, one for the US Merchant Marine sailors who gave their lives during WWII, and one for all the Korean War casualties.

The Lane Victory helped evacuate people from Wonsan, where she hauled over SEVEN THOUSAND people, plus her own crew, away in one trip!

And she also evacuated 3800 troops and 1100 vehicles from Hungnam during the Battle of Chosin Resivoir.

New Dogs!

Well, we finally found a couple of dogs. We've been working with some Pit Bull rescue places, and last weekend one of the places we were working with brought two we had previously met over for a trial stay.

"Swisher" (named after the Swisher Sweets cigars) is a 3 year old male Pit Bull/Boxer mix, and "Pebbles" is a 10 month old female Pit Bull.

Swisher has had obedience training, and is a joy to walk. He stops at every intersection, looks up at you, and then sits down until you tell him to heel, and away we go. It took him a couple of walks to get used to our style of walking, but he remembered his training, and settled right in to taking our lead.

Pebbles, well....not so much!

She still has a lot of "puppy" in her, and I swear she could pull my Jeep down the street, so we still have a lot of work to do with her.

They've both been fixed, have all their shots, get along great together, and are fully house-broken.

I'll post some pix later.

It sure is nice to have wagging tails again to greet me when I get home from work!

Bill Whittle: "The Lynching"

Amazingly to the point, and on target!

....especially the last few seconds.......

"That's One Small Step....."

Apollo 11 made the first manned Moon landing today in 1969.

I watched it live.

I'll never forget it.

Why can't the USA do things like this today? Where are our next generation (I figure we're at least 3 'generations' behind by now) of Engineers and scientists going to come from?

HAARP Facility Closed Due To Lack Of Funding

Well, I guess we can all take off our tin-foil hats now!

From the ARRL website:

The High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) — a subject of fascination for many hams and the target of conspiracy theorists and anti-government activists — has closed down.

HAARP’s program manager, Dr James Keeney at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico, told ARRL that the sprawling 35-acre ionospheric research facility in remote Gakona, Alaska, has been shuttered since early May.

“Currently the site is abandoned,” he said. “It comes down to money. We don’t have any.” Keeney said no one is on site, access roads are blocked, buildings are chained and the power turned off.

HAARP’s website through the University of Alaska no longer is available; Keeney said the program can’t afford to pay for the service. “Everything is in secure mode,” he said, adding that it will stay that way at least for another 4 to 6 weeks. In the meantime a new prime contractor will be coming on board to run the government owned-contractor operated (GOCO) facility.

HAARP put the world on notice two years ago that it would be shutting down and did not submit a budget request for FY 15, Keeney said, “but no one paid any attention.” Now, he says, they’re complaining. “People came unglued,” Keeney said, noting that he’s already had inquiries from Congress. Universities that depended upon HAARP research grants also are upset, he said.

The only bright spot on HAARP’s horizon right now is that the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is expected on site as a client to finish up some research this fall and winter. DARPA has nearly $8.8 million in its FY 14 budget plan to research “physical aspects of natural phenomena such as magnetospheric sub-storms, fire, lightning and geo-physical phenomena.”

Amazing New PC Back Up Solution!

'Nough said......

Ever Wonder What's Inside A Silencer?

Well....you can go here and see!

Fascinating!