An F-35C made an arrested landing on Nimitz.
I read just a few months ago that this is impossible for various reasons.
I guess it's just the engineer in me that read the various reasons as making the solution more difficult than they would otherwise be, instead of making them impossible.
Over and over in the F-35 program we're encountering things that have to be the way they are for the VTOL F-35B making the other two variations harder to get finished with.
More difficult does not mean impossible.
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04 November 2014
Voted
Got the gun vote out!
This is your most important act as a citizen. It's a right and a duty.
I am somewhat baffled by people who don't vote. By default a no-vote is a vote for whomever wins.
03 November 2014
How To Disassemble A Glock
Tam has indicated that she doesn't know how after being lectured on how to clean guns.
First you need a disassembly tool.
RCBS is preferred, but Lee will do...
Then make a disassembler insert with your disassembly tool. The manual that comes with the disassembly tool will indicate how much disassembly powder you should use.
It's full of typos, so you should use the .357 Magnum listing for .380, 9mm and .357 SIG; 10mm ACP for the .40 S&W, .41 Magnum for 10mm, and .454 Casull for .45 ACP.
Insert the disassembly insert as you would a normal round of ammunition, aim the Glock at something that can catch the bullet easily, such as a Ming Vase or Faberge Egg.
Your Glock will now take itself apart simply by pulling the trigger!
Some bruising and blood is a normal part of the disassembly procedure, but it's a sign you've performed the operation correctly.
First you need a disassembly tool.
RCBS is preferred, but Lee will do...
Then make a disassembler insert with your disassembly tool. The manual that comes with the disassembly tool will indicate how much disassembly powder you should use.
It's full of typos, so you should use the .357 Magnum listing for .380, 9mm and .357 SIG; 10mm ACP for the .40 S&W, .41 Magnum for 10mm, and .454 Casull for .45 ACP.
Insert the disassembly insert as you would a normal round of ammunition, aim the Glock at something that can catch the bullet easily, such as a Ming Vase or Faberge Egg.
Your Glock will now take itself apart simply by pulling the trigger!
Some bruising and blood is a normal part of the disassembly procedure, but it's a sign you've performed the operation correctly.
Plate
I was behind a Mazda with a DC plate today.
The motto area said, "Taxation Without Representation."
I get it, they pay taxes and their "representation" in congress is non-voting.
I wonder if they realize that most people don't know that.
The average denizen of West Pasco is going to see that as "this is what we in DC are doing to y'all."
The motto area said, "Taxation Without Representation."
I get it, they pay taxes and their "representation" in congress is non-voting.
I wonder if they realize that most people don't know that.
The average denizen of West Pasco is going to see that as "this is what we in DC are doing to y'all."
Travelling
A couple of epiphanies.
The first is my acceleration spreadsheet will also tell me how fast and how long a fall will take.
The trick to remembering what contragrav does is to remember that it nullifies the weight without affecting the mass.
Order Of Operation Matters
The TI matches the spreadsheet in both Open Office and NeoOffice (if you put it in as =6/2*(1+2))
I think my math teacher taught me to do parenthesis first, then multiplication/division left to right. That's six divided by two (three) then times three for nine.
I do recall seeing the order of operation that leads to the Casio answer, but I don't remember where I saw it or what circumstances they said it was the preferred method.
X VS Y VS Z
I don't particularly care for the M1A.
I think I've mentioned it before.
But...
Proponents of one 7.62 battle rifle or another tend to have the one we love and despise the others.
We have lists! Lists of all the things that our bestie does that the others don't.
A few of us love one because it stood us well when it mattered. Applied rather than theoretical.
A few of us hate one because it didn't work when it was needed. Applied rather than theoretical.
Some of us are flat wrong because they judge an issue weapon's capabilities based on the example set by a commercial model. Being wrong from this goes both ways.
Combat record matters to a degree, but because commercial guns are not the same as issue, it might not matter as much as some ascribe.
That my choice stood me well when it mattered, fared well for many in combat in varied environments and was widely issued matters not one whit to someone who's experience with one of the others matches mine.
In reality the M14/FAL/G3 debate is a debate about the margins. One is not particularly more reliable than the others under real conditions. One is not particularly more accurate than the others under real conditions with a typical infantryman on the trigger. They are all similarly heavy and powerful. They all have features that endear them to one individual or another. All of them can be made to fail if you abuse them enough. A system of abuse that lets one pass and the others fail can be devised for any of them.
I think I've mentioned it before.
But...
Proponents of one 7.62 battle rifle or another tend to have the one we love and despise the others.
We have lists! Lists of all the things that our bestie does that the others don't.
A few of us love one because it stood us well when it mattered. Applied rather than theoretical.
A few of us hate one because it didn't work when it was needed. Applied rather than theoretical.
Some of us are flat wrong because they judge an issue weapon's capabilities based on the example set by a commercial model. Being wrong from this goes both ways.
Combat record matters to a degree, but because commercial guns are not the same as issue, it might not matter as much as some ascribe.
That my choice stood me well when it mattered, fared well for many in combat in varied environments and was widely issued matters not one whit to someone who's experience with one of the others matches mine.
In reality the M14/FAL/G3 debate is a debate about the margins. One is not particularly more reliable than the others under real conditions. One is not particularly more accurate than the others under real conditions with a typical infantryman on the trigger. They are all similarly heavy and powerful. They all have features that endear them to one individual or another. All of them can be made to fail if you abuse them enough. A system of abuse that lets one pass and the others fail can be devised for any of them.
Missing Out
One of the things that sucks most about misophonia is not being able to listen to podcasts.
Because it's amateur radio hour, there's a lot of background noise to filter past.
Like whoever's playing with what sounds like a zip-tie the entire Squirrel Report... (It's probably a scroll wheel too close to the mic).
I can't listen to the talking because of the ziiiiiiiip, ziiiiiiiip, ziiiiiiiiip. I hate it because it's clear that there's stuff I want to listen to and it sucks that I can't.
Heavy breathing and lip smacking noises are a close second and they show up in professional broadcasts too.
There's nothing to be done about it, just needed to vent.
Because it's amateur radio hour, there's a lot of background noise to filter past.
Like whoever's playing with what sounds like a zip-tie the entire Squirrel Report... (It's probably a scroll wheel too close to the mic).
I can't listen to the talking because of the ziiiiiiiip, ziiiiiiiip, ziiiiiiiiip. I hate it because it's clear that there's stuff I want to listen to and it sucks that I can't.
Heavy breathing and lip smacking noises are a close second and they show up in professional broadcasts too.
There's nothing to be done about it, just needed to vent.
02 November 2014
Censor
The reason I'm bugged that the editing of Huckleberry Finn is we shouldn't remove controversy from children. We should teach them about it.
So that they learn context.
Manners too.
While I use the full word when I'm making a point, I would not use it to someone's face to describe them. That's rude.
But we should not shy away from using the words in question when talking about language and what's appropriate or not.
For a simple lesson just look up how arse and ass have phased in and out of being the polite phrasing of the other.
So that they learn context.
Manners too.
While I use the full word when I'm making a point, I would not use it to someone's face to describe them. That's rude.
But we should not shy away from using the words in question when talking about language and what's appropriate or not.
For a simple lesson just look up how arse and ass have phased in and out of being the polite phrasing of the other.
Forbidden Books
A near as I can tell, I've never read a banned book.
I did read Huckleberry Finn before the retcon changing CENSORED Jim to just Jim though.
Censoring is far worse than banning.
The reasoning as to why every instance of the word CENSORED (oh and we do no justice by dancing around it and saying n-word) was removed is that its very mention is so harmful that nobody should ever hear it or say it.
The people most harmed don't seem to have gotten the message, or noticed the mortal power of the word because they use it frequently in speech and song.
I will believe it does harm when the people claiming the harm stop doing the harm themselves.
The idea that people of one race are forbidden to use a word because it's a mortal insult while they are free to use it and when they do it's nothing... That's racist. If you can't see it as racism, you're probably a racist yourself.
That's the real problem, not a mere word.
I did read Huckleberry Finn before the retcon changing CENSORED Jim to just Jim though.
Censoring is far worse than banning.
The reasoning as to why every instance of the word CENSORED (oh and we do no justice by dancing around it and saying n-word) was removed is that its very mention is so harmful that nobody should ever hear it or say it.
The people most harmed don't seem to have gotten the message, or noticed the mortal power of the word because they use it frequently in speech and song.
I will believe it does harm when the people claiming the harm stop doing the harm themselves.
The idea that people of one race are forbidden to use a word because it's a mortal insult while they are free to use it and when they do it's nothing... That's racist. If you can't see it as racism, you're probably a racist yourself.
That's the real problem, not a mere word.
01 November 2014
An Out
Lieutenant, why is private Johnson dead?
Well, Sargent, he didn't want to wake up, so I told him he could sleep when he was dead. Then he shot himself.
Never give them a loophole, Sir.
Well, Sargent, he didn't want to wake up, so I told him he could sleep when he was dead. Then he shot himself.
Never give them a loophole, Sir.
Focus Focus Focus
Lasers.
Light is bound by inflexible rules.
Luckily, GURPS:Traveller is kind of miracle tech.
The standard TL10 turreted laser is 250MJ and X-Ray in frequency. The 1/2 range is listed as 17,000 miles with a max range of 51,000 miles.
Taking the mean of the frequencies (0.010 to 10 nm) a 1.5m lens gets us a 0.22m spot at 17,000 miles and a 0.67m spot at 51,000 miles.
We chose a 1.5m lens because most of the art-work shows a turret that's about 1.5m tall, so that's the largest lens we could honestly mount.
The discharge rate is one second, so our 250mJ is 250,000kW.
Our one second pulse puts 6,415.78 MW per square meter on the target at the 1/2 damage range.
That's a lot. Enough to get through 4" of steel (DR 280).
Taking it out to max range...
We only have enough energy delivered to punch DR 33. This is because we're putting the same energy over a larger area.
Oops, that's the TL10 turreted laser listed in GURPS: Traveller Starships. The TL10 laser from GURPS: Traveller (main book) is 360 megajoule. Its 1/2D range is 20,454 miles giving it a spot of 0.27m diameter. It plunks 6,381.94 MW per square meter and can punch four inches of steel in a one second pulse.
As an aside, changing the diameter of the lens to 1m changes a lot. For the 360 MJ unit that increases the spot size to 0.4m drops the beam intensity at the target to 2,836.42 MW per square meter and drops penetration to a mere 1.86" (130 DR) at maximum range the diameter of the beam is 1.21m and delivers enough power to penetrate 0.2" of DR 70 per inch steel (or DR 14). The 250MJ laser spot increases to 0.33m in diameter and drops to 2,851.6 MW per square meter and a bare 1.87" of penetration (131 DR) and less than 1/4" (14 DR) at the listed maximum range because the spot has spread to 1m diameter. Those numbers tend to line up better with the listed DR for ships and their dice (6dx50(2) for the 360MJ and 5dx50(2) for the 250MJ), the real difference is the the 360 gets 3,454 more miles.
Light is bound by inflexible rules.
Luckily, GURPS:Traveller is kind of miracle tech.
The standard TL10 turreted laser is 250MJ and X-Ray in frequency. The 1/2 range is listed as 17,000 miles with a max range of 51,000 miles.
Taking the mean of the frequencies (0.010 to 10 nm) a 1.5m lens gets us a 0.22m spot at 17,000 miles and a 0.67m spot at 51,000 miles.
We chose a 1.5m lens because most of the art-work shows a turret that's about 1.5m tall, so that's the largest lens we could honestly mount.
The discharge rate is one second, so our 250mJ is 250,000kW.
Our one second pulse puts 6,415.78 MW per square meter on the target at the 1/2 damage range.
That's a lot. Enough to get through 4" of steel (DR 280).
Taking it out to max range...
We only have enough energy delivered to punch DR 33. This is because we're putting the same energy over a larger area.
Oops, that's the TL10 turreted laser listed in GURPS: Traveller Starships. The TL10 laser from GURPS: Traveller (main book) is 360 megajoule. Its 1/2D range is 20,454 miles giving it a spot of 0.27m diameter. It plunks 6,381.94 MW per square meter and can punch four inches of steel in a one second pulse.
As an aside, changing the diameter of the lens to 1m changes a lot. For the 360 MJ unit that increases the spot size to 0.4m drops the beam intensity at the target to 2,836.42 MW per square meter and drops penetration to a mere 1.86" (130 DR) at maximum range the diameter of the beam is 1.21m and delivers enough power to penetrate 0.2" of DR 70 per inch steel (or DR 14). The 250MJ laser spot increases to 0.33m in diameter and drops to 2,851.6 MW per square meter and a bare 1.87" of penetration (131 DR) and less than 1/4" (14 DR) at the listed maximum range because the spot has spread to 1m diameter. Those numbers tend to line up better with the listed DR for ships and their dice (6dx50(2) for the 360MJ and 5dx50(2) for the 250MJ), the real difference is the the 360 gets 3,454 more miles.
Cold Snap
There's few things as amusing as listening to the snowbirds complain that they'd just left this "cold" weather.
It's right up there with the natives behaving like it's the apocalypse.
Yes, the high will be in the mid-60's. Yes, the low might get to the thirties.
Complain to someone in Iowa! Their "sympathy" might help keep you warm?
It's right up there with the natives behaving like it's the apocalypse.
Yes, the high will be in the mid-60's. Yes, the low might get to the thirties.
Complain to someone in Iowa! Their "sympathy" might help keep you warm?
31 October 2014
A Note To Manufacturers
If you want me to wear a hat or shirt with your logo, gimme one when I buy your product.
Why?
Because it's advertising. Budget it that way.
Because it's advertising, you should be the one paying, not me.
You'd have to pay me to put a billboard on my property, this is no different.
Why?
Because it's advertising. Budget it that way.
Because it's advertising, you should be the one paying, not me.
You'd have to pay me to put a billboard on my property, this is no different.
30 October 2014
Wavelength
Back on the dead horse of sensors in space.
Most of our familiar sensors are next to useless in space because they're in a frequency optimized for punching through atmosphere. Long wavelengths are less bent by it so they work at longer ranges.
Even microwave is longer wavelength than visible and IR.
In space long range sensors are going to trend towards passive and because it's much less cluttered out there and computers are getting so much better it's going to become possible to use the visible spectrum, or even ultraviolet.
Resolution is STILL going to be an issue.
For example, the 2.4m diameter optical scope in the Hubble can't resolve something the size of a Type S at Luna distances. It can't see smaller than 0.000000193 rad (1.93x10^-7) and a 36.4m long Type S is 0.0000000947 (9.47x10^-8) rad that far out using the best case wavelength of 380nm (nearly UV violet).
For the record, you need on the order of a 5m aperture to see a Type S at lunar distances in violet and 10m in red... So a 10m scope to see a Type S in the full visible spectrum at 1.28 light seconds.
Radar is our normal go-to for long range sensing here on earth. That's normally X-band or 2.5-3.75 cm for wavelength. To resolve our Type S orbiting with the moon you need a staggeringly huge 330km diameter radar dish! As is mentioned in the comments, an interferometer is a means of creating a larger aperture with smaller individual units. This is great for fixed and orbital installations, but not so great for shipboard use. Such is taken to extremes with the canon Long Baseline Observation Window.
To see it at the maximum range of our missile command laser, though, you just need a 70km array. This is why LIDAR in visible or shorter wavelengths will supplant radar in Traveller. A green LIDAR only needs a 1.5m lens. GURPS:Traveler TL10 PESA goes into UV where just a 300 cm lens can see out that far. The AESA can see three times as far, out to 240,000km so a 1m aperture is required. The TL12 sensors use higher frequencies for their extended ranges.
Most of our familiar sensors are next to useless in space because they're in a frequency optimized for punching through atmosphere. Long wavelengths are less bent by it so they work at longer ranges.
Even microwave is longer wavelength than visible and IR.
In space long range sensors are going to trend towards passive and because it's much less cluttered out there and computers are getting so much better it's going to become possible to use the visible spectrum, or even ultraviolet.
Resolution is STILL going to be an issue.
For example, the 2.4m diameter optical scope in the Hubble can't resolve something the size of a Type S at Luna distances. It can't see smaller than 0.000000193 rad (1.93x10^-7) and a 36.4m long Type S is 0.0000000947 (9.47x10^-8) rad that far out using the best case wavelength of 380nm (nearly UV violet).
For the record, you need on the order of a 5m aperture to see a Type S at lunar distances in violet and 10m in red... So a 10m scope to see a Type S in the full visible spectrum at 1.28 light seconds.
Radar is our normal go-to for long range sensing here on earth. That's normally X-band or 2.5-3.75 cm for wavelength. To resolve our Type S orbiting with the moon you need a staggeringly huge 330km diameter radar dish! As is mentioned in the comments, an interferometer is a means of creating a larger aperture with smaller individual units. This is great for fixed and orbital installations, but not so great for shipboard use. Such is taken to extremes with the canon Long Baseline Observation Window.
To see it at the maximum range of our missile command laser, though, you just need a 70km array. This is why LIDAR in visible or shorter wavelengths will supplant radar in Traveller. A green LIDAR only needs a 1.5m lens. GURPS:Traveler TL10 PESA goes into UV where just a 300 cm lens can see out that far. The AESA can see three times as far, out to 240,000km so a 1m aperture is required. The TL12 sensors use higher frequencies for their extended ranges.
Of All The Things
Trying to write a post about getting detection ranges right in space and figuring out resolutions of sensors...
What breaks my brain?
Converting between pico, nano and micro meters.
What breaks my brain?
Converting between pico, nano and micro meters.
29 October 2014
SaaaaaaLUTE
Things you just never expect to see.
Bitching Betty is a real person, Kim Crow, and she's on IMDB.
She has a sense of humor too.
For the hoary old Falcon 4.0 someone tracked her down and got her to record additional material.
"Bingo fuel" was changed to, "There was a plane that had no gas and Bingo was its name-o."
I wish I'd downloaded the sound file and waded into the hex-editing to insert it.
Bitching Betty is a real person, Kim Crow, and she's on IMDB.
She has a sense of humor too.
For the hoary old Falcon 4.0 someone tracked her down and got her to record additional material.
"Bingo fuel" was changed to, "There was a plane that had no gas and Bingo was its name-o."
I wish I'd downloaded the sound file and waded into the hex-editing to insert it.
How Is It That He Had The Gun In The First Place?
Jose Canseco, felon.
The 1968 gun control act makes it illegal for a felon to have a gun to shoot off their own finger.
Why aren't we reading about Mr Canseco's arrest for felon in possession?
The 1968 gun control act makes it illegal for a felon to have a gun to shoot off their own finger.
Why aren't we reading about Mr Canseco's arrest for felon in possession?
240!
What is three times eighty?
Three Eighty.
.380!
Get it?
I'm here all night, try the veal.
Willard suggested a .380 day.
Out came The Lovely Harvey's SIG P232, my Colt 1908 Pocket Hammerless and SIG P238. They were joined by Willard's Beretta Cheetah 85FS, Biakal IJ-70 (a .380 Makarov), and Colt Mustang Plus II.
Pics denied because someone was in a hurry to get home. GRIN.
Edit to add:
The most accurate are the super tiny sights of the Pocket Hammerless. The P232 reminded me why I sold mine, it hits the web of my thumb wrongly. Most pleasant by far to shoot is the Beretta, but it's nearly a full sized service pistol.
Three Eighty.
.380!
Get it?
I'm here all night, try the veal.
Willard suggested a .380 day.
Out came The Lovely Harvey's SIG P232, my Colt 1908 Pocket Hammerless and SIG P238. They were joined by Willard's Beretta Cheetah 85FS, Biakal IJ-70 (a .380 Makarov), and Colt Mustang Plus II.
Pics denied because someone was in a hurry to get home. GRIN.
Edit to add:
The most accurate are the super tiny sights of the Pocket Hammerless. The P232 reminded me why I sold mine, it hits the web of my thumb wrongly. Most pleasant by far to shoot is the Beretta, but it's nearly a full sized service pistol.
It's The Climate That Does It
That, and the infernal distances.
Space is big.
One can harp on the topic endlessly and still not impact any understanding on someone.
It's mind boggling.
For example:
Let's make a scale model of the Milky Way. The Sun will be the size of a grain of sand in our model.
How big is our model?
Hope you have a big back yard, because at this scale the Milky Way is the size of our Solar System!
Distance starts having a massive time component to it.
It's about eight minutes to The Sun from here at the speed of light (1 AU ≈ 8 light minutes). Jupiter is 36 to 52 light minutes from Earth (depending on the time of their years) one way. Conversations are kind of hard at this scale.
Atomic Rockets makes a lot of salient points about detection. It's damn near impossible to hide a manned ship in a solar system. They're just too damn bright-hot in several easily seen frequencies. Where Atomic Rockets goes wrong is forgetting resolution. The longer the wavelength, the larger your aperture needs to be for a given resolution. A comfortable 24˚ C is very bright in infrared against the backdrop of space, but you need a really big aperture to see more than a dot. Knowing it's there from the dot is one thing and the temperature range tells us it's likely manned. Is that enough to start shooting at it?
Atomic Rockets does a good job of explaining that you can detect a manned ship out at Jupiter's orbit readily. Remember that time component? You're detecting something 36 to 52 minutes ago. That's a long time.
A Traveller missile is only good for 50,000 miles from the launcher before it loses its command guidance. This distance is mostly dictated by the time delays of the laser commanding the missile and how stale the location information on the target is, a 1/4 second distance, which is a 1/2 second stale at maximum range which is actually a lot of delay. An M6 ship can be more than 7m from where you think it is in that time. That can be the margin of missing.
Of note is a standard TL10 missile pulls 6g for an hour. That's a "mere" 473,997.7 mph and the thing weighs 300 lb. (convert that to mass how you will). However, it will have travelled 236,998.9 miles (almost to the moon, Alice!) (1.27 light-seconds) in that hour. Based on the limitations of the laser command guidance, much of the delta-v of the missile must be for lateral movement to intercept the target rather than to merely build speed.
An autonomous missile could go a lot farther and its targeting delay gets shorter not longer as it approaches the target. The trick is the terminal stage since to get to any appreciable range in a timely manner you need a lot velocity (GURPS TL12 Traveller missiles have 55g! for a short spurt). More velocity means it's not as easy to make corrections and the staler your information is the farther off your initial vector can be.
Something that Atomic Rockets tends to get wrong is stealth and decoys. The object is not to escape detection, it's to escape the terminal phase of missile guidance.
Remember that whole aperture size and resolution thing? The same rules apply to collimating a laser. The farther you want to shoot, the larger your mirror/lens diameter has to be for a given frequency. Again, as information about the target's location gets staler, the likelihood you missed goes up. The shorter the wavelength, the smaller you can make the mirror/lens, GURPS Traveller says they're ultraviolet at TL8+ and X-Ray from TL-10+ with some frequency adjustment becoming available at TL9. Ranges are modest, a mere 17,000 mile 1/2 damage range for a standard TL10 turreted laser. These ranges have a lot more to do with how tightly you can focus a beam than how far light will travel. It's a simple equation that I forgot to write down and can't find the wonderful tutorial I learned on anymore. Perhaps FuzzyGeff with his tasty chess club brain will be along with it.
The same sort of thing is happening with particle weapons (plasma, fusion, particle beam and meson) too. Of course the details of how these weapons work is hand-wavium...
Space is big.
One can harp on the topic endlessly and still not impact any understanding on someone.
It's mind boggling.
For example:
Let's make a scale model of the Milky Way. The Sun will be the size of a grain of sand in our model.
How big is our model?
Hope you have a big back yard, because at this scale the Milky Way is the size of our Solar System!
Distance starts having a massive time component to it.
It's about eight minutes to The Sun from here at the speed of light (1 AU ≈ 8 light minutes). Jupiter is 36 to 52 light minutes from Earth (depending on the time of their years) one way. Conversations are kind of hard at this scale.
Atomic Rockets makes a lot of salient points about detection. It's damn near impossible to hide a manned ship in a solar system. They're just too damn bright-hot in several easily seen frequencies. Where Atomic Rockets goes wrong is forgetting resolution. The longer the wavelength, the larger your aperture needs to be for a given resolution. A comfortable 24˚ C is very bright in infrared against the backdrop of space, but you need a really big aperture to see more than a dot. Knowing it's there from the dot is one thing and the temperature range tells us it's likely manned. Is that enough to start shooting at it?
Atomic Rockets does a good job of explaining that you can detect a manned ship out at Jupiter's orbit readily. Remember that time component? You're detecting something 36 to 52 minutes ago. That's a long time.
A Traveller missile is only good for 50,000 miles from the launcher before it loses its command guidance. This distance is mostly dictated by the time delays of the laser commanding the missile and how stale the location information on the target is, a 1/4 second distance, which is a 1/2 second stale at maximum range which is actually a lot of delay. An M6 ship can be more than 7m from where you think it is in that time. That can be the margin of missing.
Of note is a standard TL10 missile pulls 6g for an hour. That's a "mere" 473,997.7 mph and the thing weighs 300 lb. (convert that to mass how you will). However, it will have travelled 236,998.9 miles (almost to the moon, Alice!) (1.27 light-seconds) in that hour. Based on the limitations of the laser command guidance, much of the delta-v of the missile must be for lateral movement to intercept the target rather than to merely build speed.
An autonomous missile could go a lot farther and its targeting delay gets shorter not longer as it approaches the target. The trick is the terminal stage since to get to any appreciable range in a timely manner you need a lot velocity (GURPS TL12 Traveller missiles have 55g! for a short spurt). More velocity means it's not as easy to make corrections and the staler your information is the farther off your initial vector can be.
Something that Atomic Rockets tends to get wrong is stealth and decoys. The object is not to escape detection, it's to escape the terminal phase of missile guidance.
Remember that whole aperture size and resolution thing? The same rules apply to collimating a laser. The farther you want to shoot, the larger your mirror/lens diameter has to be for a given frequency. Again, as information about the target's location gets staler, the likelihood you missed goes up. The shorter the wavelength, the smaller you can make the mirror/lens, GURPS Traveller says they're ultraviolet at TL8+ and X-Ray from TL-10+ with some frequency adjustment becoming available at TL9. Ranges are modest, a mere 17,000 mile 1/2 damage range for a standard TL10 turreted laser. These ranges have a lot more to do with how tightly you can focus a beam than how far light will travel. It's a simple equation that I forgot to write down and can't find the wonderful tutorial I learned on anymore. Perhaps FuzzyGeff with his tasty chess club brain will be along with it.
The same sort of thing is happening with particle weapons (plasma, fusion, particle beam and meson) too. Of course the details of how these weapons work is hand-wavium...
No Strings
Perhaps the best thing about Disney buying Marvel is that they can include "No Strings" running disjointed in the background of the trailer. It's super appropriate and would be impossible for, say, Universal to do.
PLUS! The look on Thor's face when Rogers shifts the Mjölnir slightly.
And a geek-out moment for this Champions player who specialized in characters who wore powered suits, Hulk-Buster (mod 14) vs Hulk!
28 October 2014
Pupdate
Talk about fast recovery! The sore on his face has closed!
Happy dance!
One more week of antibiotics and we should be done for good.
I Am Disappoint
X Wing and TIE Fighter identify the throttle as the sole joystick and there's no way to change it.
If I unplug my HOTAS and leave the stick plugged in, it might work, but that's a major pain in the rear the way things are set up.
Grumble.
If I unplug my HOTAS and leave the stick plugged in, it might work, but that's a major pain in the rear the way things are set up.
Grumble.
27 October 2014
Na Na Na NERD
They will be mine, oh yes, they will be mine.
I spent many an hour being no good at this game getting raped by Anglave and friends via LAN.
All things considered, I preferred the more maneuverable TIE over the Rebel ships.
I spent many an hour being no good at this game getting raped by Anglave and friends via LAN.
All things considered, I preferred the more maneuverable TIE over the Rebel ships.
26 October 2014
Feline Induced Typos
When you have an unweaned kitten clinging to your chest, it affects your typing accuracy.
Damaging My Brain So You Don't Have To
For some stupid reason, probably brain damage, I clicked on a link for "The 12 Dumbest [Dancing Monkeys]"
The basis for judging them stupid is based on a single quote given at each picture of the dancing monkey in question in a slide show format, 3 clicks per monkey.
If saying one stupid thing makes you dumb, we're all fucking morons.
The related links included a "12 Smartest [Dancing Monkeys]" list.
Same basis for smart, a single quote. But what makes a dancing monkey smart is repeating some liberal talking point.
The basis for judging them stupid is based on a single quote given at each picture of the dancing monkey in question in a slide show format, 3 clicks per monkey.
If saying one stupid thing makes you dumb, we're all fucking morons.
The related links included a "12 Smartest [Dancing Monkeys]" list.
Same basis for smart, a single quote. But what makes a dancing monkey smart is repeating some liberal talking point.
Creation
Oh, Hillary, you silly creature.
Let's cover this again.
Jobs are a side effect of business. Business is a side effect of commerce.
Commerce causes businesses to be created.
Businesses hire people.
So, yes, businesses create jobs. But only successful and profitable businesses. Businesses that have grown past the point where a sole proprietor can do everything that needs done.
A basic example is a hot-dog stand. At some point there will be too much business to both run the register and cook the food or accept that some customers will not be served. If the owner decides to run the register and hires someone to cook, that's a created job!
The government can't really create such jobs. The best they can do is to keep out of the way so that our business owner can afford to hire someone when they get so busy that they need someone to cook while they take orders.
The government can easily destroy jobs by adding taxes, fees, regulations and compliances that eat time and money that would otherwise go towards paying employees and keeping the business profitable. Government can even destroy jobs thru such additions to the things a business needs.
In the hot-dog stand example, a government mandate to use a given amount of alcohol made from corn as a vehicle fuel will cause the price of the meat used in the hot dogs to rise from increased feed costs, and that will, in turn, force our business owner to raise prices or cut costs (including reducing profits). If the good being sold is particularly inelastic in the price the customers are willing to pay, then the increase in meat costs must come from reductions in other costs. Such as extra employees. Inelasticity will cause customers to stop buying when prices go up, reducing revenue and once again forcing the owner to cut costs...
It's a fascinating topic.
In commerce, it's very rarely a zero sum game were the seller gets something and the buyer doesn't. In nearly every transaction, both the buyer and the seller walk away with something they wanted.
Government, on the other hand, is almost always such a game. Government adds costs and creates restrictions that prevent one party or another from getting what they want.
Let's cover this again.
Jobs are a side effect of business. Business is a side effect of commerce.
Commerce causes businesses to be created.
Businesses hire people.
So, yes, businesses create jobs. But only successful and profitable businesses. Businesses that have grown past the point where a sole proprietor can do everything that needs done.
A basic example is a hot-dog stand. At some point there will be too much business to both run the register and cook the food or accept that some customers will not be served. If the owner decides to run the register and hires someone to cook, that's a created job!
The government can't really create such jobs. The best they can do is to keep out of the way so that our business owner can afford to hire someone when they get so busy that they need someone to cook while they take orders.
The government can easily destroy jobs by adding taxes, fees, regulations and compliances that eat time and money that would otherwise go towards paying employees and keeping the business profitable. Government can even destroy jobs thru such additions to the things a business needs.
In the hot-dog stand example, a government mandate to use a given amount of alcohol made from corn as a vehicle fuel will cause the price of the meat used in the hot dogs to rise from increased feed costs, and that will, in turn, force our business owner to raise prices or cut costs (including reducing profits). If the good being sold is particularly inelastic in the price the customers are willing to pay, then the increase in meat costs must come from reductions in other costs. Such as extra employees. Inelasticity will cause customers to stop buying when prices go up, reducing revenue and once again forcing the owner to cut costs...
It's a fascinating topic.
In commerce, it's very rarely a zero sum game were the seller gets something and the buyer doesn't. In nearly every transaction, both the buyer and the seller walk away with something they wanted.
Government, on the other hand, is almost always such a game. Government adds costs and creates restrictions that prevent one party or another from getting what they want.
25 October 2014
PC
It's so rare in film...
Matthew Quigley is a player character.
Sticks to the longest range, highest damage weapon. Has nearly all of his points in Guns/TL5 (Rifle) plus associated gun advantages and talents (thanks Siege) but also a fair number into skills he very rarely needs or uses.
He gathers up all the guns laying around to confront Major Ashley-Pitt.
Plus he engages at the maximum possible range to minimize the danger of return fire.
Definitely a Player Character.
Matthew Quigley is a player character.
Sticks to the longest range, highest damage weapon. Has nearly all of his points in Guns/TL5 (Rifle) plus associated gun advantages and talents (thanks Siege) but also a fair number into skills he very rarely needs or uses.
He gathers up all the guns laying around to confront Major Ashley-Pitt.
Plus he engages at the maximum possible range to minimize the danger of return fire.
Definitely a Player Character.
24 October 2014
Oh Really Now?
From Wikipedia: "[T]he Jaguar M had suffered handling problems when being flown on a single engine and a poor throttle response time that made landing back on a carrier after an engine failure difficult."
So landing it when one of two engines failed was "difficult"?
As opposed to the easy task of landing a single engine plane the same number of engines out?
Something Odd
The Aimpoint was zeroed on Kaylee with a 14.5" barrel. It still is without changes.
That's odd enough.
Also without changing anything, it's aligned correctly with the irons on Dottie.
It's cool that I can swap the scope between them without messing with the adjusters though.
That's odd enough.
Also without changing anything, it's aligned correctly with the irons on Dottie.
It's cool that I can swap the scope between them without messing with the adjusters though.
Qapla!
I managed to take FuzzyGeff's AR to the range to zero the scope without breaking anything!
Kaylee and Sabrina are likewise zeroed after their barrel swap. I am really pleased with how Kaylee handles with the 11.5" barrel. Sabrina feels much the same as before, except there's barrel out there instead of an over-long flash-hider.
Since all three rifles are 1:9 twist, zeroing was done with Double-Tap brand 62gr SS109 FMJ-BT with an advertised velocity of 3,205 fps from a 22" barrel. Who knows what the actual velocities were from 20", 14.5" and 11.5"... I don't have a chrono and the range wouldn't let you place one down range anyways.
 |
| Boresighted, really. FuzzyGeff will have to confirm the zero next time he visits. |
Since all three rifles are 1:9 twist, zeroing was done with Double-Tap brand 62gr SS109 FMJ-BT with an advertised velocity of 3,205 fps from a 22" barrel. Who knows what the actual velocities were from 20", 14.5" and 11.5"... I don't have a chrono and the range wouldn't let you place one down range anyways.
Rekindled
For a long time I've wanted to own a Luger. Tam's recent posts have rekindled the urge.
Never mind that the couple of times I've actually shot a Luger were pretty disappointing.
The first was a stainless Stoeger in 9mm that flat refused to run on any brand of ammo that Jacobson's sold.
The second was a super pristine 9mm that liked "124 gr NATO" loads for reliability but would hit 5" high and right with it. 115gr Winchester White Box hit dead center but would choke every other round or so. The "NATO" ammo was also very, um, stout on the recoil side of things making the owner wonder how long it would remain pristine if he kept shooting it. He was not mollified at all by my saying that it wasn't going to remain pristine if he kept shooting anything at all.
To me the grip angle seems perfect, until you actually go and shoot, then it's just all wrong in how it feels during recoil and putting the sights back on target. Since a Ruger Standard doesn't bug me, I think it's just how it's directing the impulse with the toggle that's making the wrongness. Perhaps if I had one that ran that we were willing to shoot a lot I'd get used to it.
There's the rub.
Lugers are freaking expensive!
The cheapest one I saw at the gun show where I bought FuzzyGeff's scope was still over a grand. I noted the prices because I keep needling Marv that everyone should own a Luger at least once in their life, so I pointed out EVERY Luger for sale to him.
Thanks to the Hi Power and G17 I stock 9mm now, so a Luger wouldn't add to the accounting problem. Assuming that it likes the ammo I stock...
I have to admit that the original 7.65x21mm has more appeal; but one must be pragmatic when dabbling at the bottom rungs of such a competitive collector's market.
I think I will continue to watch Luger from the sidelines. Off the top of my head there's at least ten things I'd rather spend $1,000 on and nine of them aren't guns.
Never mind that the couple of times I've actually shot a Luger were pretty disappointing.
The first was a stainless Stoeger in 9mm that flat refused to run on any brand of ammo that Jacobson's sold.
The second was a super pristine 9mm that liked "124 gr NATO" loads for reliability but would hit 5" high and right with it. 115gr Winchester White Box hit dead center but would choke every other round or so. The "NATO" ammo was also very, um, stout on the recoil side of things making the owner wonder how long it would remain pristine if he kept shooting it. He was not mollified at all by my saying that it wasn't going to remain pristine if he kept shooting anything at all.
To me the grip angle seems perfect, until you actually go and shoot, then it's just all wrong in how it feels during recoil and putting the sights back on target. Since a Ruger Standard doesn't bug me, I think it's just how it's directing the impulse with the toggle that's making the wrongness. Perhaps if I had one that ran that we were willing to shoot a lot I'd get used to it.
There's the rub.
Lugers are freaking expensive!
The cheapest one I saw at the gun show where I bought FuzzyGeff's scope was still over a grand. I noted the prices because I keep needling Marv that everyone should own a Luger at least once in their life, so I pointed out EVERY Luger for sale to him.
Thanks to the Hi Power and G17 I stock 9mm now, so a Luger wouldn't add to the accounting problem. Assuming that it likes the ammo I stock...
I have to admit that the original 7.65x21mm has more appeal; but one must be pragmatic when dabbling at the bottom rungs of such a competitive collector's market.
I think I will continue to watch Luger from the sidelines. Off the top of my head there's at least ten things I'd rather spend $1,000 on and nine of them aren't guns.
23 October 2014
Recovery
Shi Shu is returned from his surgery.
He's a little tuckered out still. Post-op, antibiotics and an anti-inflammatory.
You can tell the pain is over just by how he's laying. He's actually resting on the bad side.
Thanks to everyone who contributed funds to his surgery!
He's a little tuckered out still. Post-op, antibiotics and an anti-inflammatory.
Once they got in there they discovered the cause of the abscess. He'd managed to fracture both the pre-molars that got removed. The left one had abscessed and the right one was poised to.
They're concerned that his canines are worn down like they are, but he's got some time before it's a real problem.
 |
| Does the tooth fairy visit dogs? |
Thanks to everyone who contributed funds to his surgery!
The Eighties
I blame Tam, yes, let's all blame Tam.
She got me to tune in Magnum PI where I am watching a gun battle where an overturned couch is stopping a fusillade from an Uzi at about three yards.
I watched Magnum because Miami Vice doesn't play on Encore.
I shake my nostalgic fist at she!
She got me to tune in Magnum PI where I am watching a gun battle where an overturned couch is stopping a fusillade from an Uzi at about three yards.
I watched Magnum because Miami Vice doesn't play on Encore.
I shake my nostalgic fist at she!
22 October 2014
Do You Know Where It Is
All these prepper sites.
Not one article on the importance of having a towel.
Not ONE.
Not one article on the importance of having a towel.
Not ONE.
21 October 2014
Very Pretty For A Demon
Cuban missile crisis gone hot scenario.
I got three, wingy got one.
The Demon is a tubby pig, but it can turn well.
Oh, and OK Three-Wire.
ISISAF
So what!
Someone will be along to dig up how successful the NVAF was.
Two huge things about that. Stupid rules of engagement and the poor performance of the missiles with all our eggs in the single "use missiles" basket.
The third thing is the poor tactical thinking that came from acting as if the missiles behaved liked the sales brochure rather than as they behaved.
Most Sparrows dropped off the plane and fell to the earth when fired over Vietnam. Hardly any lit and few of those guided and even fewer scored a hit.
But when you compare the AIM-7E to the AIM-7E-2 you see a marked contrast in performance.
The AIM-9B Sidewinder is about useless against MiG-17F and MiG-21F. But the AIM-9D actually started doing what the manufacturer claimed the B could do...
And in the past 40 years we've not sat on our hands in weapons development.
The AIM-7E-2 Sparrow, despite being far FAR better than the AIM-7D and AIM-7E it supplanted was still called "the great white hope". A fire and pray missile.
The AIM-7M is greatly improved, and it's not much carried any more when they're serious.
The AIM-120 AMRAAM is the present "medium" range radar guide. It's known as "Fido" to the pilots, as in "sic 'em Fido!" From ranges that nothing ISIS has access to can reply.
If things get to where they can shoot, the AIM-9X shoots farther than many of their semi-active radar guided missiles, and that assumes they lay hands on a MiG-23 or two.
Their best hope is to lay hands on a MiG-29 which has excellent missiles, but it also has a far more western maintenance requirement... You know extensive, intensive and knowledgeable.
The couple of pictures I've seen of their "air force" have been in L-39 Albatros', a trainer that can carry a light load of air to ground munitions. They might have some MiG-21s, but those are getting very long in the tooth to take on a first world opponent.
People might bring up our air-to-air record over the Balkans. It's noteworthy that we flew with ordnance we were "getting rid of". Older Sparrows and Sidewinders.
And there's always Israel to compare with concerning how things go for Russian gear supplied to iron age heathens...
Another thing to remember about modern Russian aircraft is they have always been willing to accept many fewer hours between overhauls than we were. It makes their engines give a bit more thrust per mass, but it also means you need more engines and have a lower mean times between replacements and failures. This is also very true of their electronics. They've also not yet internalized the "make things easy to access" lesson we learned the hard way so they often end up taking an entire plane apart to get at a module that has failed.
Someone will be along to dig up how successful the NVAF was.
Two huge things about that. Stupid rules of engagement and the poor performance of the missiles with all our eggs in the single "use missiles" basket.
The third thing is the poor tactical thinking that came from acting as if the missiles behaved liked the sales brochure rather than as they behaved.
Most Sparrows dropped off the plane and fell to the earth when fired over Vietnam. Hardly any lit and few of those guided and even fewer scored a hit.
But when you compare the AIM-7E to the AIM-7E-2 you see a marked contrast in performance.
The AIM-9B Sidewinder is about useless against MiG-17F and MiG-21F. But the AIM-9D actually started doing what the manufacturer claimed the B could do...
And in the past 40 years we've not sat on our hands in weapons development.
The AIM-7E-2 Sparrow, despite being far FAR better than the AIM-7D and AIM-7E it supplanted was still called "the great white hope". A fire and pray missile.
The AIM-7M is greatly improved, and it's not much carried any more when they're serious.
The AIM-120 AMRAAM is the present "medium" range radar guide. It's known as "Fido" to the pilots, as in "sic 'em Fido!" From ranges that nothing ISIS has access to can reply.
If things get to where they can shoot, the AIM-9X shoots farther than many of their semi-active radar guided missiles, and that assumes they lay hands on a MiG-23 or two.
Their best hope is to lay hands on a MiG-29 which has excellent missiles, but it also has a far more western maintenance requirement... You know extensive, intensive and knowledgeable.
The couple of pictures I've seen of their "air force" have been in L-39 Albatros', a trainer that can carry a light load of air to ground munitions. They might have some MiG-21s, but those are getting very long in the tooth to take on a first world opponent.
People might bring up our air-to-air record over the Balkans. It's noteworthy that we flew with ordnance we were "getting rid of". Older Sparrows and Sidewinders.
And there's always Israel to compare with concerning how things go for Russian gear supplied to iron age heathens...
Another thing to remember about modern Russian aircraft is they have always been willing to accept many fewer hours between overhauls than we were. It makes their engines give a bit more thrust per mass, but it also means you need more engines and have a lower mean times between replacements and failures. This is also very true of their electronics. They've also not yet internalized the "make things easy to access" lesson we learned the hard way so they often end up taking an entire plane apart to get at a module that has failed.
Ducks In A Row
Doing things in the proper order is the right way to do it.
That's why the dog's vet is paid.
That's why FuzzyGeff's scope is replaced.
That is why I don't have a MAS 49/56 in 7.5mm.
In order of obligation rather than desire.
I feel like such an adult!
Oh and pay the bills every month!
That's why the dog's vet is paid.
That's why FuzzyGeff's scope is replaced.
That is why I don't have a MAS 49/56 in 7.5mm.
In order of obligation rather than desire.
I feel like such an adult!
Oh and pay the bills every month!
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