Courtesy of Wirecutter.
RTWT over at Wired.com
In case you don't know what it is, here's an article on TOR from the Wikipedia.
Wouldn't surprise me a bit..........
Monday, August 5, 2013
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Current Solar Cycle 24 Is Weakest In 100 Years
I've been "Radio Active" since about 1961, and got much more involved about 1963 when I built my first Real Radio, a Knight-Kit "Star Roamer".
My Dad took me up to Allied Radio on 100 N. Western Ave. in Chicago, and one of my buddies at Holy Family grade school helped me get it built properly.
I missed out on Cycle 19, the Grand Daddy of all recorded solar cycles, but I've been through all the rest, if not on-the-air, then at least as a Short Wave Listener.
The next few cycles weren't as "good" as Cycle 19, at least for radio propagation, but I had fun listening anyway.
Here's a more expanded view of Cycle 23, the last one, and Cycle 24, the current one:
Cycle 24 doesn't even look like it's going to break a Smoothed Sunspot Number (SSN) of 100, which is a real bust for radio guys like me. There are daily peaks well above 100, but the smoothed numbers give you a better general overview of the state of Solar Activity, and brother, Old Sol is sleeping!
Now while its possible that even a "Quiet Sun" can cut loose with the Mother of All Solar Flares, with general Solar Activity being so low, it's highly improbable that it will do so.
Predicting this stuff ranges from the Highly Scientific, to the level of people reading chicken entrails.
I've met some Solar Cycle "experts" in my Amateur Radio travels, and these guys are laughable. They're always preaching their own pet theory that the upcoming cycle will be "Bigger Than Cycle 19!!!", and they are always wrong.
Every
Single
Time
Then they disappear back to wherever they came from, and hibernate until the next cycle is starting, and pop up at Amateur Radio club meetings and seminars pushing their Snake Oil again.
The reason I'm bringing this up, is the recent (well, over the last several years) spate of ZOMG! SOLAR FLARE!! CME!!! TEOTWAWKI!!!! and other such nonsense that appears on the TV and Web, some of it by people who should know better.
I'm not saying it's not possible for some massive CME/Flare/X-Ray Burst out of our own Sun to completely turn all electrical systems to toast, and plunge the world into a new Dark Ages, but that the probability of that happening is so small that I'm sure not going to lose any sleep over it.
There are far more nefarious forces at work among men, than to worry about Mother Nature dropping the hammer on us.
More info for those who care:
Solar Terrestrial Activity Report
Space Weather
Cycle 24 to be weakest in 100 years
NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center
SOHO Space Weather
My Dad took me up to Allied Radio on 100 N. Western Ave. in Chicago, and one of my buddies at Holy Family grade school helped me get it built properly.
I missed out on Cycle 19, the Grand Daddy of all recorded solar cycles, but I've been through all the rest, if not on-the-air, then at least as a Short Wave Listener.
The next few cycles weren't as "good" as Cycle 19, at least for radio propagation, but I had fun listening anyway.
Cycle 24 doesn't even look like it's going to break a Smoothed Sunspot Number (SSN) of 100, which is a real bust for radio guys like me. There are daily peaks well above 100, but the smoothed numbers give you a better general overview of the state of Solar Activity, and brother, Old Sol is sleeping!
Now while its possible that even a "Quiet Sun" can cut loose with the Mother of All Solar Flares, with general Solar Activity being so low, it's highly improbable that it will do so.
Predicting this stuff ranges from the Highly Scientific, to the level of people reading chicken entrails.
I've met some Solar Cycle "experts" in my Amateur Radio travels, and these guys are laughable. They're always preaching their own pet theory that the upcoming cycle will be "Bigger Than Cycle 19!!!", and they are always wrong.
Every
Single
Time
Then they disappear back to wherever they came from, and hibernate until the next cycle is starting, and pop up at Amateur Radio club meetings and seminars pushing their Snake Oil again.
The reason I'm bringing this up, is the recent (well, over the last several years) spate of ZOMG! SOLAR FLARE!! CME!!! TEOTWAWKI!!!! and other such nonsense that appears on the TV and Web, some of it by people who should know better.
I'm not saying it's not possible for some massive CME/Flare/X-Ray Burst out of our own Sun to completely turn all electrical systems to toast, and plunge the world into a new Dark Ages, but that the probability of that happening is so small that I'm sure not going to lose any sleep over it.
There are far more nefarious forces at work among men, than to worry about Mother Nature dropping the hammer on us.
More info for those who care:
Solar Terrestrial Activity Report
Space Weather
Cycle 24 to be weakest in 100 years
NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center
SOHO Space Weather
Grover Washington, Jr. **Mister magic**
heard this on the way home from Home Depot and realized I'd forgotten how good it is.
Too bad Grover passed away in 1999. He was a fabulous musician.
Everybody who played on this album was 1st class, and I think it was his best album.
Enjoy a little smoothness........
.
.
.
Too bad Grover passed away in 1999. He was a fabulous musician.
Everybody who played on this album was 1st class, and I think it was his best album.
Enjoy a little smoothness........
.
.
.
Saturday, August 3, 2013
Oh, Boy....Might Have To Send One Of The Dogs Back.......
Things seemed to be going OK with both of them, but over the last couple of days Swisher (the older one) has become very aggressive towards Pebbles (the younger one).
We first noticed it at dinner time, when Swisher would get very defensive about his food. It's gotten to the point now where we have to feed them separately because Swisher will "Evil Eye" and intimidate Pebbles until she walks away from her food.
Today we had to break up two fights, and as far as we can tell, the older dog just "went off" on the younger one without provocation.
The second time he had her down and by the throat, and she was in quite a bit of distress. I was afraid I was going to have to use something to bust them apart, but Swisher finally let go of Pebbles after I *really* yelled "NO!" at him.
We're starting to get pretty attached to both of them, and like any dog, they both have their good points and bad points, but we're worried about leaving them alone together at this point.
Swisher is well-trained to walk, obeys all the commands we give him, but has gotten this aggressive streak all of a sudden.
Pebbles is a sweetheart, but is (still) a handful to walk, and can be stubborn at times. She's getting better about walking and obeying commands, and needs more work, but she's showing great promise.
Swisher would be a great dog for a one-dog family, but we really want two dogs.
We'll make the decision tomorrow, but I think we're going to send Swisher back to the rescue organization.......
.
.
We first noticed it at dinner time, when Swisher would get very defensive about his food. It's gotten to the point now where we have to feed them separately because Swisher will "Evil Eye" and intimidate Pebbles until she walks away from her food.
Today we had to break up two fights, and as far as we can tell, the older dog just "went off" on the younger one without provocation.
The second time he had her down and by the throat, and she was in quite a bit of distress. I was afraid I was going to have to use something to bust them apart, but Swisher finally let go of Pebbles after I *really* yelled "NO!" at him.
We're starting to get pretty attached to both of them, and like any dog, they both have their good points and bad points, but we're worried about leaving them alone together at this point.
Swisher is well-trained to walk, obeys all the commands we give him, but has gotten this aggressive streak all of a sudden.
Pebbles is a sweetheart, but is (still) a handful to walk, and can be stubborn at times. She's getting better about walking and obeying commands, and needs more work, but she's showing great promise.
Swisher would be a great dog for a one-dog family, but we really want two dogs.
We'll make the decision tomorrow, but I think we're going to send Swisher back to the rescue organization.......
.
.
Thursday, August 1, 2013
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
-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!
My hat is off to these guys. They did an amazing job!
Monday, July 29, 2013
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....
Sunday, July 28, 2013
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!
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.
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.
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
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!
"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!
Saturday, July 20, 2013
Bill Whittle: "The Lynching"
Amazingly to the point, and on target!
....especially the last few seconds.......
....especially the last few seconds.......
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Yawn....just more Kabuki Theater, but interesting reading, nonetheless. Read All About It Here.....
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Every so often when I'm checking my PiAware ADSB receiver/display I'll notice an aircraft with a flight path that catches my eye. I...