2/01/2003

Shuttle crash... It's not likely to be terrorism. At 200K feet (about 38 miles), and at a velocity of 12,500 mph, there are few missiles that could hit it. The ones that could are huge and require some serious technology. The reports of the insulation striking the wing are not good -- the leading edge of the wing handles a lot of heat, and if a tile failed due to impact, it could lead to the wing getting effectivley burned off as the hot plasma from re-entry vaporizes the structure of the ship. The resulting tumble would cause the resultant loss of the ship. You can't tell much from the videos, but it looks like the ship broke up. If it lost the wing and tumbles, the top tiles wouldn't be able to handle the re-entry heat -- they aren't designed to handle it. Say a prayer for the families of the crew.
Loss of the Columbia Foxnews CNN MSNBC ABC CBS UPDATE: AP Newswire via Washington Post God rest their souls.

1/31/2003

Well, SOG me, Mr. President. Recent revalations about American SOGs (Special Operations Groups) functioning within Iraq raise the question -- Why?? The obvious explanation is pre-battle preparations -- intel operations, a little work towards raising a popular insurrection, etc., the usual pre-war stuff you do to ensure that you win. I have a possible alternate explanation... What if the SOGs, or at least a few of them, are working to seize at least a few chemical, biological, or nuclear agents to show to the world what Hussein's been hiding? It would be an amazing coup if Colin Powell walked into the UN and showed them a vial of anthrax spores (carefully handled, at the very least). France and Germany would have to fold. Popular reactioon would be pretty solid, I think. Some would scream about violating Iraq's sovereign territory prior to war, but most folks would be impressed and consider the War to be instantly justified. Some of the inspectors might complain, but we could simply point to slothy response from the UN inspection teams from prior information handed to them. Some in the UN would be pissed, but mostly because they'd been outfoxed by dumb ol' George W - again. I really hope that this is what's happening. It would cement the war in the public eye and thrash the anti-US/anti-War crowd in one magnificent gesture. Of course, the bombs would need to begin falling almost immediately on the tail of the announcement, but that can be arranged. Oh, I hope, I hope, I hope....

1/29/2003

I was wrong about the Fench... The Fench are not like a little child. They are more like Grandpa Simpson. We're Homer and Marge, trying to get him into a home so he'll be well taken care of, but he's protesting "But I don't wanna go to the home!" Well, Mr. Chirac, get your wrinkly old country into the home and let us take care of business. Enjoy your retirement. J

1/28/2003

Are the French our enemies now? Go forth and read this.

1/27/2003

Superbowl XXXVII Superbowl XXXVII (37 henceforth) has come and gone. Woo-hoo! I can't wait for next season! The Superbowl is a love-hate thing for me. I love the excitement of the championship, and the hoopla that goes with it, but I hate seeing the season end. High points of the game -- The last second interception for a TD. The only drawback was that the DB should have taken a slower walk into the end zone to eat those last two seconds. It would have saved Oakland the humiliation of having to take the field after that cherry in the whipped cream ending for the Bucs. The blocked punt. Oakland did a terrific, heads up job on this play. It almost turned the game around, but TB's D was simply too strong for Oakland to overcome. My top 3 Superbowl Ads -- 1. The Referee -- The Clydesdales waiting for the review was priceless. 2. Office Linebacker -- We need one here at work sometimes. 3. Baboons & Polar Bears -- Reasonably clever, well executed. That's a wrap! UPDATE: BTW, the Dixie Chicks singing the National Anthem was the best rendition I've ever heard. Stirring, technically precise, and not overloaded with frills. The harmonization was beautiful. This should be an object lesson for any potential Anthemizer -- the song works for itself. Keep the vocal fireworks in check and you'll get a great performance.

1/26/2003

Adolescent France France has recently turned against us, turned tail, and allied itself with the freakazoid Chancellor Schroeder (does he play the piano? Is his wife named Lucy? Inquiring minds and all). Big Freaking Surprise. France has always been an ally of convenience. France has only placed itself with us to be against someone else, since the beginning of time. Initially, way back in the 1750s. France was an enemy, because we were in effect their enemy. We were English, and if there is one thing the French hate, it's the English. Ever since Agincourt, when the flower of French Nobility was left to rot in the sun and the mud, France has hated England and the English. St. Joan drove the English from France, but never French sensibility has never recovered from Agincourt. How could the 'superior' French army be bested, the asked themselves? Because they suck, answered the English. It was onlt when we rose agianst the English that the French suddenly became our friends -- because they hated the English. Once they saw we could fight the English better than the French could, the French joined the party, trying to squeeze in a little English bashing of their own, and trying to end up on the winning side for once. Well, we won, and the French hangers-on celebrated whilst dangling from our coattails. Not that the French weren't helpful. They were. They provided arms and men. We provided the guts and generalship. I suspect we would have won without the French, although this is not by any means certain. They provided tremendous aid. But they couldn't beat the British on their own just 25 years prior, so the value of their aid is hard to measure. After the Revolution, the French hung tough with us becasue it still behooved them to do so -- since they had a common economic, and later military enemy, once again the British. We fought the British off in 1812-1814, again, without French help, but Britain was still the big dog, and France needed us as an ally against them, although more economically rather than militarily. Time rolled on, and the British contemplated aiding the Confederacy, while the French hung with the United States as we devolved into Civil War. The South couldn't do enough to garner the support of the British, so we never had to call on teh French. But still they remained, since we were not on the friendliest terms with the British, and that benefitted France. Eventually, the Germans united under Kaiser Wilhelm and brought the French and English to war. We remained allied with the French, and the improved relations that had come together over the last half century united us with the British. WE all fought the Hun, and eventually won. The French were now closer to being allied with teh British, but the presence of the Germans kept the French a little scared, and the wanted to stay on our side. The Nazis came along and brought war back to Europe. We liberated France, and eliminated the German threat. The French no longer feared an incursion from the Germans, but the Soviet Threat loomed large and kept them on our side. Forty some odd years later, and the Soviets collapsed. The French were left confused. They had no enemy to fear, no reason to hide behind our skirts. It's taken about ten years, but now they think they can cross the street themselves. To the French, there are no enemies -- the Arabs can be dealt with, the British are part of the EU, the Germans are now their allies, and the world is safe as far as they are concenred. Sure, there are some terrorists, but the ones in France are isolated and, well, they only pick on the Jews, so like the bully picking on the hairy geek instead of them, they really aren't a threat to France. France is entering a political adolescence. They want to strike out on their own as a world power again, but are impotent to do so. No military to speak of, an ignored diplomatic corps, and the contempt of the greatest power on earth. Like an adolescent, they do the only thing they can do -- scream bloody murder and cry in their room at night. "But Mom! I don't want to go to war!" "But Dad! I don't want to eat your broccoli!" "Mom! Germany's picking on me! And after we drag them along for the ride to Iraq, and we win, and they discover that they enjoyed it... well, like a child, they'll talk about how tough they were to ride the big Mighty Mouse Roller Coaster, how brave they were on the Tilt-a-Whirl, and how mommy and daddy let them go on the big slide all by themselves. They'll think they've done something special, when all they've done is what mommy and daddy wanted them to do.