Top Diaries

Just sparring.

by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Tue Oct 9th, 2012 at 11:41:22 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Ouch.

... Isn't this where you say, "It only hurts when I laugh"?

The fact is that what we're experiencing right now is a top-down disaster. -Paul Krugman

by dvx (dvx.clt ät gmail dotcom) on Tue Oct 9th, 2012 at 11:56:31 AM EST
[ Parent ]

If only.

by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Tue Oct 9th, 2012 at 12:08:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread? (none / 1)

I have a purely anecdotal opinion from someone who has tried both: "Broken ribs - worse than child birth".

-----
sapere aude

by Number 6 on Tue Oct 9th, 2012 at 12:11:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread? (4.00 / 4)

Heh... must have been a man? I had one broken rib once and two broken ribs another time. And I've done child birth. I'll take the ribs. (with a little sauce.)

It hurts when you laugh most of all (for me) but also when you cough, sneeze, breathe deeply, look side to side, get up, lie down; don't even think about stretching or picking anything up.

Sorry, Colman. Hope they're better soon.

'tis strange I should be old and neither wise nor valiant. From "The Maid's Tragedy" by Beaumont & Fletcher

by Wife of Bath (kareninaustin at g mail dot com) on Tue Oct 9th, 2012 at 02:34:37 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Speaking of ribs, have you got a recipe for barbecue sauce for same?

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Tue Oct 9th, 2012 at 02:39:26 PM EST
[ Parent ]

I use this stuff, but cut it with chinese rib sauce

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Tue Oct 9th, 2012 at 02:56:30 PM EST
[ Parent ]

my mother went to Hospital once, as she thought she might be having a heart attack, It turned out that she had broken nine ribs coughing (1960's experimental asthma drugs didn't help long term with Osteoporosis)

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Tue Oct 9th, 2012 at 04:11:53 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Ouch, but at least you got kicked for your pains. My Mum broke her ribs falling over

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Tue Oct 9th, 2012 at 12:25:27 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Coleman, for the next few months I think you need to study self preservation more that self defense.

As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Tue Oct 9th, 2012 at 04:07:27 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread? (4.00 / 7)

Got another brewery call me today, so I'm off to cart stuff from A to B in a different place while beer bubbles in the background.

There's a possibility this may be a bit more than an odd day, at least for a while (filling in for a vacancy)

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Tue Oct 9th, 2012 at 12:27:34 PM EST

Re: Tuesday Open Thread? (4.00 / 3)

If anyone is interested in why available computer technology hasn't much changed since 1977 head on over and read:

for 35 pages of intellectual drivel, drool, and silliness covered by a cloud of polysyllabic obfuscatory logomachian persiflage and pseudo-mathematics.

Ever since I learnt about confirmation bias I've started seeing it everywhere

by ATinNM on Tue Oct 9th, 2012 at 12:41:37 PM EST

Re: Tuesday Open Thread? (none / 1)

Clicking on that link I get "Sorry, I can't find that", which seems quite apropos.

As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Tue Oct 9th, 2012 at 01:12:09 PM EST
[ Parent ]

National Declassification Center blog

Try this.

Ever since I learnt about confirmation bias I've started seeing it everywhere

by ATinNM on Tue Oct 9th, 2012 at 01:19:08 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread? (4.00 / 2)

That also very adequately describes the textbook to the international trade class I'm following this semester.

Except it has two hundred of them.

- Jake

If you only spend 20 minutes of the rest of your life on economics, go spend them here.

by JakeS (JangoSierra 'at' gmail 'dot' com) on Wed Oct 10th, 2012 at 03:49:00 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread? (4.00 / 3)

An extraordinary and entertaining interview between Boris Johnston and Andrew Neil on the TV today. Neil is normally on the right wing but seems to have decided that Boris is a clown who needs taking down a peg or two.

He kept asking Boris for specifics on his ideas and his record and Boris just tried his usual flim flam and jokey evasions and simply came over as clueless and uninformed.

for once, the media weren't laughing with boris, they were laughing at him. I hope this is the start of something cos Boris is dangerous and needs to be ridiculed in case the tories ever take him seriously

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Tue Oct 9th, 2012 at 12:42:56 PM EST

Re: Tuesday Open Thread? (none / 1)

The meeja decide, don't they?

Which, as we have said on multi-K pages, is a big part of the reason why we're up shit creek without a canoe.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Tue Oct 9th, 2012 at 02:07:13 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Flying saucers (4.00 / 3)

Recently declassified records from the Aeronautical Systems Division, USAF (RG 342 - Records of United States Air Force Commands, Activities, and Organizations) reveal some surprising, perhaps never-before-seen images:

The above illustration was discovered in the pages of a document titled "Project 1794, Final Development Summary Report" (d.1956) The caption reads "USAF Project 1794". However, the Air Force had contracted the work out to a Canadian company, Avro Aircraft Limited in Ontario, to construct the disk-shaped craft. According to the same report, it was designed to be a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) plane designed to reach a top speed of Mach 4, with a ceiling of over 100,000 feet, and a range of over 1,000 nautical miles.

by gk (g k quattro due due sette "at" gmail.com) on Tue Oct 9th, 2012 at 12:59:47 PM EST

Next we will find out that CIA got their hands on a couple and used them as part of their drug tests.

A vote for PES is a vote for EPP! A vote for EPP is a vote for PES! Support the coalition, vote EPP-PES in 2009!

by A swedish kind of death on Tue Oct 9th, 2012 at 01:41:14 PM EST
[ Parent ]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_Canada_VZ-9_Avrocar

well there was this

and from the text underneath

The VZ-9- AV Avrocar was a Canadian VTOL aircraft developed by Avro Aircraft as part of a secret US military project carried out in the early years of the Cold War. Two prototypes were built as "proof-of-concept" test vehicles for more advanced USAF fighter and US Army tactical combat aircraft. The Avrocar intended to exploit the Coandă effect to provide lift and thrust from a single "turborotor." Thrust from the rotor was diverted out the rim of the disk-shaped aircraft to provide anticipated VTOL-like performance. In the air, it would have resembled a flying saucer. In flight testing, the Avrocar proved to have unresolved thrust and stability problems that limited it to a degraded, low-performance flight envelope; subsequently, the project was cancelled in 1961

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Tue Oct 9th, 2012 at 04:18:35 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Fly one of these over the road on a starlight night when a single car is driving down a country road. If the car stops, grab the driver and use drugs. Document result.

It is not that much stranger then some of the things we know were going on...

A vote for PES is a vote for EPP! A vote for EPP is a vote for PES! Support the coalition, vote EPP-PES in 2009!

by A swedish kind of death on Tue Oct 9th, 2012 at 04:51:51 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Oh my. They were building them back then, they were!

Where's my fucking jetpack?

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Tue Oct 9th, 2012 at 02:09:55 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Flying saucers (4.00 / 2)

You can buy a jet pack.

You should also simultaneous purchase a grave. The things are aerodynamically unstable and have a tendenz to land the user on his/her head.

Ever since I learnt about confirmation bias I've started seeing it everywhere

by ATinNM on Tue Oct 9th, 2012 at 02:22:53 PM EST
[ Parent ]

That wasn't how they promised me it would work. In 1959.

Hey, and that was you Murkans. Full of shit as always.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Tue Oct 9th, 2012 at 02:31:15 PM EST
[ Parent ]

I blame the Jetsons

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Tue Oct 9th, 2012 at 02:51:49 PM EST
[ Parent ]

In 1959 it was still (barely) possible to think the problems could be fixed.

Ever since I learnt about confirmation bias I've started seeing it everywhere

by ATinNM on Tue Oct 9th, 2012 at 03:05:19 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Schauberger (none / 0)

Raed a strange biography of Viktor Schauberger many years ago.

Austrian forester early 20th C. Fascinated by phenomenon of fish holding stock still in strong river currents without moving a whisker. Developed heretical notions of water dynamics. Built flumes to carry logs down hill - logs didn't touch the sides. Ended up inventing some kind of hydraulic engine that could lift itself off the ground. Got grabbed by 3rd Reich, forced to work on "flying machine". Grabbed by CIA after WWII. Foundation of conspiracy theory in which US took all his work and further developed it.

Fact and/or fiction, it's an interesting story and could make a good movie.

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Tue Oct 9th, 2012 at 05:09:07 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Schauberger (none / 0)

Sounds like the experience of Townsend-Brown

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Wed Oct 10th, 2012 at 02:39:24 AM EST
[ Parent ]

ATinNM:

The things are aerodynamically unstable and have a tendenz to land the user on his/her head.

ah yes, such abrupt cranial rearrangement can do wonders for longevity.

darwin chuckles somewhere...

It's a fine line between homage, parody, and consumer opportunism. Jess Walter

by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Tue Oct 9th, 2012 at 04:48:05 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Flying saucers (4.00 / 5)

If you find this surprising, I would wager that you lack experience in the defense contracting industry. It is amazing to see the things that become "possible, with a bit of R&D" when you have a cost-plus* contract in play.

*Cost plus reasonable profit. Standard setup for DOD contracts, to protect the supplier against changing requirements. And to allow impossible projects to be funded in order to buy Congressional seats.

by asdf on Tue Oct 9th, 2012 at 03:17:56 PM EST
[ Parent ]

I can see how this can provide nice kickbacks ("consulting fees") but I don't see how you can buy Congressional seats if the work is subcontracted to Canada.

by gk (g k quattro due due sette "at" gmail.com) on Wed Oct 10th, 2012 at 02:21:29 AM EST
[ Parent ]

http://m.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/canadian-owned-firms-are-funding-us-election-campaigns/artic le547161/?service=mobile

by asdf on Wed Oct 10th, 2012 at 03:22:34 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Diving from space! (4.00 / 3)

http://www.redbullstratos.com/live/

Felix has entered the capsule and they are inflating the ballon. This guy is nuts!

by ElaineinNM on Tue Oct 9th, 2012 at 01:03:52 PM EST

But it takes over an hour to inflate, Can't he wait till it's full

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Tue Oct 9th, 2012 at 01:23:14 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Talk about a big leap!

As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Tue Oct 9th, 2012 at 01:26:24 PM EST
[ Parent ]

update (none / 0)

Mission aborted. The balloon was almost inflated when the wind blew it around and possibly damaged it. $250000 USD down the drain. They have a spare and will try again as early as Thursday, but probably Sunday.

by ElaineinNM on Tue Oct 9th, 2012 at 03:10:50 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Diving from space! (4.00 / 6)

Ever since I learnt about confirmation bias I've started seeing it everywhere

by ATinNM on Tue Oct 9th, 2012 at 01:37:40 PM EST
[ Parent ]

I can never watch this without a feeling of horror.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Tue Oct 9th, 2012 at 02:37:23 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Well, he made an impression and that impression was duly measured.

As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Tue Oct 9th, 2012 at 03:51:50 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Diving from space! (4.00 / 3)

Growing up in Whizbang, Oklahom we had a chicken coop on the far side of the garage and the total construction made it easy for 11 year old boys to climb up onto the garage roof. Upon the death of my grandmother, who had resided with up, many of my aunts, uncles and cousins arrived, mostly from Texas. My Texas cousin closest in age decided he was going to play superman and tied a sheet around his neck as a cape. The sheet was available as it was August and with the vastly increased family size most of the older children were sleeping outside on palates.

I was on the roof with him, trying to dissuade him from the attempt. I recall telling him: "If the sheet is going to work you have to hold the other corners in your hands to make a parachute!" But he jumped as Superman, with predictable results. Fortunately, those results and the resulting impression did not compare to those of Franz Reichelt.

As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Tue Oct 9th, 2012 at 04:04:47 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Diving from space! (none / 1)

Heh. Whizbang.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Tue Oct 9th, 2012 at 04:12:00 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Had a guy who did the same, leaping from an upstairs bedroom window with a sheet tied to both ankles and wrists, after watching a parachute display at a local park not the greatest mind of his generation

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Tue Oct 9th, 2012 at 04:21:48 PM EST
[ Parent ]

define insane... but endearingly so.

i was kidding around with a friend saying that it was probably a prototype for a space ejector seat, and 5 minutes later he found on the web that it actually is a consideration, lol.

It's a fine line between homage, parody, and consumer opportunism. Jess Walter

by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Tue Oct 9th, 2012 at 02:54:39 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Diving from space! (none / 1)

Launch aborted due to strong and gusty winds.

Strong and gusty winds. In New Mexico. In October.

Who Could Have Predicted?

Ever since I learnt about confirmation bias I've started seeing it everywhere

by ATinNM on Tue Oct 9th, 2012 at 03:11:58 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread? (4.00 / 2)

Hey diddle diddle
the cat and the fiddle
the cow burnt up on re-entry

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Tue Oct 9th, 2012 at 02:02:24 PM EST