Elvis~SPARTA~

And now the Russians have cranked out a second prototype of theirs. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQmdqVD9tX0&feature=player_embedded Really nice that we've cut the F-22.

There are two others left in the UK. Last US Civil War vet died in 1956 fyi. Spanish/american War was not long ago, 1995 or 2002, I can't remember. Wonder if I'll make it long enough to see the last WWII vet. That would be weird.

The Germans have engineered this very stealthy U-boat. France rapidly tries to complete Maginot line.... http://edition.cnn.com/2011/TECH/innovation/02/22/hybrid.submarine/index.html?hpt=C2

Holy crap, they came too close for my comfort to burning that thing up. Look at those flames at ignition. That's hydrogen that's leaked from the tanks. The red foam insulation on the side gets singed to black, and some of it keeps on burning. That's really not supposed to happen. I don't know if that's the flawed design of the Vandenberg launch complex or what, but I can't imagine they're too happy with that.

Oh, by the way, they just rolled out the prototype. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/01/06/3107222.htm

Happy new year!

I'm crushed. One of my favorite games was Sub Battle simulator on the Mac. It ran from a floppy. Crash Dive!

http://dillyeo.com/logitech-clearchat-gaming-stereo-headset-w-boom-microphone-and-volume-control OK, so it's not the highest specification set ever, but it's $6, shipped.

True. Things I've seen at a launch ramp: Fistfight over who is next to launch Failure to insert boat plug resulting in sinking of boat Failure to insert boat plug resulting in sinking of jet ski Failure to vent the bilge resulting in explosion and fire Battery explosion Failure to put vehicle in park resulting in vehicle going in lake Failure to operate boat like a thinking indivudual resulting in boat ramming back of towing vehicle Prop cuts All that is money in the bank there Cy. No need to chase the ambulance when it delivers to your door.

Mammoth Mountain is a favorite ski area of mine. They're forecast to get something near 10 feet of new snow from the current storm. It's loads of fun watching the webcams http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist9/cctv/ http://www.sierravisionsstock.com/cams.html in the area. The highway cams show the southern california people attempting to install or remove tyre chains, and the other cams in the area show oodles of snow. Mammoth is fun as the area is on a huge volcanic caldera. Go take a dip in Hot Creek. Enjoy an occasional earthquake swarm. Climb inside the fault escarpment. And they get an absolute ton of of snow. The only thing more fun than watching people installing chains is watching families launch their boats at a boat ramp. If I was a divorce lawyer, I would hang out there.

I met a man a few years ago that served on the ship in the dry dock. He was 94 and kept a similar photo in his wallet. He hung out at a convenience store much of the day playing the lottery. On 12/7/41 he was on the ship watching the planes come in. He asked his buddy "who the hell is flying this low?" Then a bomb exploded, and another plane flew very close by so he could see it. He said "It's the goddamned Japs." My dad was on the Astoria a few hundred miles from Pearl Harbor. They ended up returning to Pearl afterwards. Months later they were at Guadalcanal where their ship was lost and he spent a few hours in the water waiting for rescue watching the sharks circle. There are tens of millions of stories of sorrow, pain and suffering due to the imperial ambitions of some, the greed of others, and the ignorance of others still.

Both are paid for by your tax dollars. One the owner financed with unending payments, the other comes fully paid for.

And we'll see what China's answer to the F-22 is, a whole lot sooner than anyone expected: http://www.east-asia-intel.com/eai/index.asp

I'll PM you with the answer.

Zeno is right. F22's greater stealth capability vs. manoeverability of the Russkies. If you're playing offense, take stealth, as new anti aircraft missles are even more advanced than these aircraft. F-15s and the like are rather useless against them. The bad news is that having only 100 of them isn't enough. Oh, and stealth is really expensive when boo boos happen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZCp5h1gK2Q

A freaking noob toob?

Very nice. Don't drive through standing water, meaning that if it is touching your engine or chassis, you're doing it wrong. If you're really into cold weather, the engine block heater is a wonderful device (approaching -15C tomorrow at the Rancho de Elvis) In the Sierra Nevada we always used to raise our windshield wipers prior to a snowstorm to prevent them from sticking to the windows. This isn't necessary with Utah snow as is is quite dry, and doesn't generally freeze them to the glass. Your snow may vary.... Oh, and tyres... always apply a liberal coating of oil to your tyres to help prevent water adhesion. This is especially important when driving in the rain. To avoid hydroplaning, make sure you keep up your speed, and if you see deep water, head through it as fast as you can with your oiled up tyres. I'm not personally sure of this, but I heard some guy on the radio say this.

10.1.102.64 and the bottom one. Recommend that those without the current version of flash download Secunia PSI. Secunia scans your computer to identify whether you have old versions that may be vulnerable to security threats. Like windows update, but more complete and often more up to date than windows update.

Wow, technology has brought us all so close together... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJ9tgSgx3PY&feature=related

Woo hoo. Not quite up to the thrills of farming simulator: or the first person tossing thrills of championship darts: Or the rush of fishing simulators: Makes you almost feel that a trout is considering taking the bait, doesn't it?

I may come out of semi retirement for this one. Great news.

We don't have a nearby Vredestein dealer. Good luck. PS family doing well, twins now 2 and very active.

Haven't had time to play much of anything. Moved from Maryland back to Georgia, took the family for a 5 week trip to Utah, now starting a new job. Once in a rare while play COD waw for a few minutes at a time.

Happy Birthday.

The tyres that Zeno recommends, or these: http://www.bridgestone.com/products/passenger_tires/blizzak/index.html I was driving in snow at the cabin last week.