January 16th, 2009 by xformed
Hurry up…you only have a few days left to submit your work to “The Office of the President Elect!”
Short on time? Try this speech writing aid!
Category: Political | Comments Off on You, Too, Can Be a Speech Writer!
January 13th, 2009 by xformed
Managed to grab my copies of both the 32 and 64 bit betas of Windows 7. Decided to put the 64-bit on the extra HD in the secondary system, which is a healthy machine in its own right.
Went on smooth as silk and left me with a dual boot option on startup of the machine.
Avira Anti-Virus (free, btw) went right on, as did Adaware 2008 (the free version, too). Looking for a free and capable firewall. Comodo looks like it went on, but the last message on the install says “Rollback Complete” and that sounds like it backed itself off at the end. Can’t find it on the programs list…so no go right now.
The screen is nice. Translucent edges on the windows frames and the desktop picture is very sharp.
More later as I play.
Category: Technology | Comments Off on Windows 7? Yep,it's running
January 13th, 2009 by xformed
The hype is now is the end of mankind is coming in 2012, based on the fact that that’s the last day listed on the Mayan calender. You know, sometimes you just have to work with finite boundaries and it means nothing more than that’s all the space you have to work on.
Things imitating art may be more of an issue than we think in reality: Apophis is coming.
Category: Astronomy | Comments Off on 2012? No…2029 is looking bad
January 4th, 2009 by xformed
I was at the “pay library” today, going though the usual stack of magazines, and the current issue of the Smithsonian’s Air & Space mag had a parody on “High Flight,” purportedly about the famed Phantom F-4 genre of aircraft:
Oh, I have slipped through swirling clouds of dust,
A few feet from the dirt,
I’ve flown the F-4 low enough,
To make my bottom hurt,
I’ve flown in the desert, hills, and valleys,
Mountains too,
Frolicked in the trees,
Where only flying squirrels flew,
Chased the Frightened cows along,
Disturbed the ram and ewe,
And done a hundred other things,
That you’d not care to do.
I’ve smacked the tiny sparrow,
Bluebird, robin, all the rest,
I’ve ingested baby eagles,
Simply sucked them from the nest.
I’ve streaked through total darkness,
Just the other guys and me,
And spent the night in terror of
Things i could not see.
I turned my eyes to heaven,
As I sweated through the flight,
Put out my hand and touched,
The Fire Warning Light.
-Poet Unknown
Air and Space Magasine
Feb/Mar 2009
Page 8 column 1
To see if I had found something original, I
dogpiled and also came across this list
of the many variants of about the same poem, as well as more twisting of “High Flight” itself:
HIGH FLIGHT parodies:
Glider Flight
Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of rope
A few feet from “The Road”.
I whip the Schweitzer ’round so fast
Exceeds the max’mum load.
I’ve slipped, I’ve stalled, I’ve spiral dived,
Spun past the sixth full turn.
“You can’t do that!” the new ones say,
They’ve got a lot to learn.
I find a thermal, turn in it
To try and gain some height.
But I must beat the towplane down
Or this is my last flight!
On 2-3 fly a crooked base
Then crank the plane around.
Or 2-9: pass the hangars then I dive straight for the ground!
But the best is 3-6 final when I know I should be higher,
Put out my hand and touch The passing telephone wire!
ATP High Flight
Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of gate times
And held rigid by impossible air traffic controllers;
Upward I’ve climbed and joined the congested skies
Of fixes, missed approaches and done hundred things
My passenger did not care for — delays, turbulence, and held
In the holding pattern low on fuel. Waiting there,
I’ve chased the schedules, and flung
Myself against management and union rules.
Up, up the long ascent in seniority list.
I’ve topped and gone to the next aircraft
Hoping that I do not get furloughed.
And, while with worried mind I’ve trod
The difficult sanctity of regulation,
Waiting for the FAA inspector who is God.
— Brian Caver, in honor of Phillip Valente, Captain American Eagle Airlines.
Low Flight (1)
Oh! I’ve slipped through the swirling clouds of dust,
a few feet from the dirt,
I’ve flown the Phantom low enough,
to make my bottom hurt.
I’ve TFO’d the deserts, hills,
valleys and mountains too,
Frolicked in the trees,
where only flying squirrels flew.
Chased the frightened cows along,
disturbed the ram and ewe,
And done a hundred other things,
that you’d not care to do.
I’ve smacked the tiny sparrow,
bluebird, robin, all the rest,
I’ve ingested baby eaglets,
simply sucked them from their nest!
I’ve streaked through total darkness,
just the other guy and me,
And spent the night in terror of
things I could not see.
I’ve turned my eyes to heaven,
as I sweated through the flight,
Put out my hand and touched,
the master caution light.
Low Flight (2)
Oh, I’ve slipped the surely bonds of earth
And hovered out of ground effect on semi-rigid blades;
Earthward I’ve auto’ed and met the rising brush of Non-paved terrain;
And done a thousand things you would never care to
Skidded and dropped and flared Low in the heat soaked roar.
Confined there, I’ve chased the earthbound traffic
And lost the race to insignificant Headwinds;
Forward and up a little in ground effect I’ve topped the General’s hedge with drooping turns
Where never Skyhawk or even Phantom flew.
Shaking and pulling collective,
I’ve lumbered The low untresspassed halls of victor airways,
Put out my hand and touched a tree.
Freightdog’s Flight
Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of instructing,
And plowed the skies on ice-laden wings.
Moonward I’ve climbed and joined the tumbling turbulence
Of lightning split clouds – and done a hundred things
The Feds have not dreamed of – scud run, busted mins,
Flown handheld, homemade approaches. Yawning there,
I’ve chased the impossible schedule, and flung
My ancient craft through convective sigmets.
Up, up the long over-loaded, over-heating climb,
I’ve topped the MVAs with red-line power,
Where bats and even owls fly,
And while with hypothermic, fatigued mind I’ve trod
The complex, congested New York airspace,
Put out my hand, and touched the de-ice switch.
— Name withheld per Freightdog’s attorney
High Flight, with FAA Supplement
Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth(1),
And danced(2) the skies on laughter silvered wings;
Sunward I’ve climbed(3) and joined the tumbling mirth(4)
Of sun-split clouds(5) and done a hundred things(6)
You have not dreamed of — Wheeled and soared and swung(7)
High in the sunlit silence(8). Hov’ring there(9)
I’ve chased the shouting wind(10) along and flung(11)
My eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, up the long delirious(12), burning blue
I’ve topped the wind-swept heights(13) with easy grace,
Where never lark, or even eagle(14) flew;
And, while with silent, lifting mind I’ve trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space(15),
Put out my hand(16), and touched the face of God.
NOTE:
1. Pilots must insure that all surly bonds have been slipped entirely before aircraft taxi or flight is attempted.
2. During periods of severe sky dancing, crew and passengers must keep seatbelts fastened. Crew should wear shoulderbelts as provided.
3. Sunward climbs must not exceed the maximum permitted aircraft ceiling.
4. Passenger aircraft are prohibited from joining the tumbling mirth.
5. Pilots flying through sun-split clouds under VFR conditions must comply with all applicable minimum clearances.
6. Do not perform these hundred things in front of Federal Aviation Administration inspectors.
7. Wheeling, soaring, and swinging will not be attempted except in aircraft rated for such activities and within utility class weight limits.
8. Be advised that sunlit silence will occur only when a major engine malfunction has occurred.
9. “Hov’ring there” will constitute a highly reliable signal that a flight emergency is imminent.
10. Forecasts of shouting winds are available from the local FSS. Encounters with unexpected shouting winds should be reported by pilots.
11. Pilots flinging eager craft through footless halls of air are reminded that they alone are responsible for maintaining separation from other eager craft.
12. Should any crewmember or passenger experience delirium while in the burning blue, submit an irregularity report upon flight termination.
13. Windswept heights will be topped by a minimum of 1,000 feet to maintain VFR minimum separations.
14. Aircraft engine ingestion of, or impact with, larks or eagles should be reported to the FAA and the appropriate aircraft maintenance facility.
15. Aircraft operating in the high untresspassed sanctity of space must remain in IFR flight regardless of meteorological conditions and visibility.
16. Pilots and passengers are reminded that opening doors or windows in order to touch the face of God may result in loss of cabin pressure.
CRUISE FLIGHT
— Rob Robinette
Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of my spouse
And danced the clubs on Kiwi-polished boots;
Moonward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of Moon-split clouds — and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of — in the Philippines
High in the domelit silence. Holding there,
I’ve scared the airsick pax, and flung their baggage through footless halls of air.
Up, up the long, delirious, burning black
I’ve topped the turbulent heights with little grace
Where never C-130, or even C-5 flew.
And, while with fuzzy, sleep deprived mind I’ve trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of controlled airspace,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of The Aircraft Commander,
who thinks he is God.
Category: Military | Comments Off on Aviation Humor
December 1st, 2008 by xformed
Sure, if I plagerize someone (or copy and paste their work)…
Your Famous Last Words Will Be: |
 “Look ma! No hands!” |
What Will Your Famous Last Words Be? Napoleon Dynamite release
Category: Humor | Comments Off on My "Famous" Last Words?
November 27th, 2008 by xformed
For all those who have supported this cause, whether from today, or in the several years of the lifetime of the effort, I thank you for those you have helped. I’m sure those men and women who received the benefit of your charity are more grateful than we can ever know as a result, also.
Category: Navy | Comments Off on Last Day for VALOUR-IT: A Time for Thanksgiving
November 26th, 2008 by xformed
Gekij? ban Bur?chi: Za Daiamondo dasuto riberion – M? hitotsu no hy?rinmaru ipod
Defenders of the Flight 93 memorial repeatedly insist that the Mecca orientation of the giant crescent HAS to be a coincidence. It is completely determined, they insist, by the landform, the path of Flight 93, and the impact point, leaving no room for intent to enter.
Of course it is crazy to think that, so long as it is just an unfortunate coincidence, there is nothing wrong with planting a giant Mecca-oriented crescent (the central feature of a mosque) on the graves of our murdered heroes. About as crazy, actually, as thinking that the Mecca-orientation of the giant crescent could really be a coincidence. First architect Paul Murdoch just innocently comes up with a half mile wide Islamic-shaped crescent to honor the victims of Islamic terrorism, then he innocently places the Sacred Ground Plaza between the tips of the giant crescent, in the position of the star on an Islamic crescent and star flag, then he innocently just happens to point this entire crescent-and-star-flag configuration at Mecca (and on and on and on).
When the nation saw the second airliner hit the Trade Towers, everyone immediately knew that the first impact was no accident. The more airplanes that Paul Murdoch flies into the Flight 93 memorial, the more the Memorial Project thinks it HAS to be an accident. Its just TOO OUTLANDISH to think that an Islamic enemy could attack us out of the blue and unawares in such a henious way. What precedent is there for thinking that such a thing could even be possible? (Knock, knock, knock.) And so the more evidence they are confronted with, the more impossible it seems, and the more they insist that Murdoch HAS to be innocent.
Okay, so they are WILLFULLY blind. Even so, they still need an excuse to hang their willful blindness on, and part of Murdoch’s evil genius is to supply these excuses. That is where this trope about the crescent design being dictated by the landscape comes from. It comes from Murdoch, and is actually one of his most brilliant deceptions.
Murdoch’ PRELIMINARY DESIGN actually can be seen as dictated by the landform, the flight-path, and the point of impact
Before any designs were submitted, the Memorial Project gave all the design contestants a site organization map that labeled the “the ridgeline,” “the bowl,” “the crash site,” and “the flight path.” Architect Paul Murdoch claims that all he did was combine these elements by having the flight path symbolically “break” the circular bowl shape, creating the giant Crescent of Embrace design. If you start a crescent at the point where the flight path crosses the ridgeline, and follow the rim of “the bowl” around the ridgeline to create a crescent that “embraces” the Sacred Ground where Flight 93 crashed, then you get the Crescent of Embrace design. Since this procedure uniquely determines the orientation of the crescent, there is no room for the orientation to be determined by anyone’s intent. If it faces Mecca, it HAS to be a coincidence.
This argument actually works, but only when applied to Paul Murdoch’s ORIGINAL Crescent of Embrace design, which did NOT point to Mecca. Take a look:
Click for larger image.
The site organization map (left), shows “the bowl,” bordered by “the ridge,” along with the flight path and the crash site. Murdoch’s preliminary Crescent of Embrace design (right), uses the point where the flight path crosses the ridge/bowl as the end point for a crescent that has the Sacred Ground centered between its crescent tips. Resulting orientation: 11.1°. clockwise from north, which is 44.1° north of Mecca.
The explanatory notes in the preliminary design are perfectly accurate when they describe the crescent as focused on the Sacred Ground:
A curving arc of maple trees along a walkway unites the ridge and forms an edge to the bowl, with a focus on the Sacred Ground.
It is also correct to say that this crescent and its orientation are uniquely determined (to within 5° or so) by the landform, the flight path and the crash site. If the crescent arc were extended much further then it would no longer point to the Sacred Ground. (The amount of curve between the end points of the crescent does not matter. Murdoch established the curve of his original crescent by smoothing the curved shape of the ridge line.)
If THIS crescent is uniquely determined by the combination of landform, flight path and crash site, then the final Crescent of Embrace design, rotated 42.3° further to the east, obviously CANNOT be determined by these factors. By extending the crescent in his final design to match the full Islamic crescent shape (covering about 2/3rds of a circle of arc), Murdoch created a crescent that no longer points to the Sacred Ground:
The bisector of the crescent in Murdoch’s final Crescent of Embrace design points approximately 1.8 ° north of Mecca (marked “qibla”). Notice that the bisector of this Mecca-oriented crescent does not even touch the Sacred Ground, but crosses through the upper portion of the Sacred Ground Plaza that sits up the flight path from the Sacred Ground.
While the crescent no longer points to the Sacred Ground, Murdoch still PRETENDS that it does. Asked last summer about the orientation of the crescent, Project Superintendent Joanne Hanley and architect Paul Murdoch both claimed that it points to the Sacred Ground:
Further, [Hanley] added, it is still unclear exactly where on the landscape the memorial will even be situated. It could move as much as 200 yards, she said, discounting the idea that it faces Mecca.”The only thing that orients the memorial is the crash site,” she said.
Mr. Murdoch reinforced that idea.
“It’s oriented toward the Sacred Ground,” he said. “It just couldn’t be clearer.”
Hanley may be honestly duped, but Murdoch knows full well that the crescent does not point to the Sacred Ground. Such an orientation would ruin his mosque design, not just because a Sacred Ground oriented crescent would no longer point to Mecca, but also because it would place the graves of the infidels in the location of the star on an Islamic flag, leaving them inside the symbolic Islamic heavens. Blasphemy!
Murdoch has a very different symbolism in mind for the star on his giant crescent and star flag. In the top third of the Sacred Ground Plaza, centered on the bisector of the giant crescent, in the exact position of the star on an Islamic flag, sits a separate upper section of Memorial Wall, inscribed with the 9/11 date. The date goes to the star on the Islamic flag. The date goes to the terrorists
.
The duping of David Beamer
At this August’s public meeting of the Memorial Project, David Beamer (father of Flight 93 hero Todd Beamer) came out to counter Tom Burnett Sr.’s protests against the crescent design.
Mr. Beamer declared that he had performed several months of due diligence investigating the warnings about the crescent design, by which he presumably meant that he had checked at least a few of our factual claims, like the Mecca orientation of the giant crescent (now called a broken circle). But instead of reporting the results of his fact-checking, Beamer changed the subject. He did not say a single word about the accuracy of any of our claims, but only reported how he had met with architect Paul Murdoch and was satisfied that Murdoch’s design properly honors his son and the other murdered heroes of Flight 93.
If he actually did any fact checking, then he is fully aware that the giant crescent DOES point within 2° of Mecca, in which case there is only one plausible explanation for Beamer declaring the design innocent. Murdoch must have convinced him that the crescent orientation is determined by the landform, the flight path and the crash site, so that its orientation on Mecca HAS to be coincidence.
If Mr. Beamer had bothered to talk to the person who has been warning of an enemy plot then Alec Rawls would have explained to him that no, these physical facts about the crash site do NOT yield a Mecca-oriented crescent. They yield a crescent that points 44° north of Mecca. It is a very strange concept of due diligence to trust the assurances of the person one is being warned is an enemy operative while refusing to talk to the person who is issuing warnings
Very strange too, to think that just because one is convinced that the Mecca orientation of the crescent is a coincidence, that somehow makes it okay to deny the Mecca orientation when speaking to the press and the public, as several Project spokesmen have now done. The fact that Beamer and Hanley and other Project Partners have been duped be Murdoch”s explanations would be of little consequence if they just let the public know what they know, so the American people can decide for themselves whether the fact that it might be a coincidence makes it okay to plant the world’s largest Mecca-direction indicator on the Flight 93 crash site.
Obviously the answer would be “NO!” and this nightmare would be over. It is the lying that is the problem. Hanley et. al. can be a bunch of dupes if they want, but they have no right to deceive the public about what they know.
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Spanglish on dvd Léon divx The Entrance trailer
Category: Political | Comments Off on Stop the Murdoch (Flt 93) Memorial Blogburst: No, the Mecca-orientation of the Crescent of Embrace is NOT a product of the landform
November 22nd, 2008 by xformed
The Attic divx from around the net (including the latest report from Michael Yon) that reflects the change from a the opening days of the invasion, to the people walking freely about Baghdad, shopping, socializing and, most importantly, living.It almost was derailed by nay-sayers on one side of the aisle and RINOs on the other, but due to the vision set on a mission, our Military, and supporter by many others, have brought a peace and stability, and a quantum leap forward in human rights to the people of Iraq.
As we say in the Navy at time such as this: “BRAVO ZULU!” (Well done!)
Lives have been lost, but the price paid has ensured freedom and safety that could be gained in no other manner, given the enemy we faced.
Want to join in? Go to Zombie’s post and grab some graphics and put it on your blog, too!
Final note: Have you seriously considered a donation to the Project VALOUR-IT fund? You know, it helps those who made this day a reality for our nation and the people of Iraq. Go here, read about the program, and consider chipping in a little for a great cause (to Team Navy…unless, of course you just have to put your money elsewhere).
Category: Political | Comments Off on 11/22/2008: Victory in Iraq Day
November 15th, 2008 by xformed
Dune release The Visual Bible: The Gospel of John move embedded by Embedded Video
Part one: it points to Mecca. Clip covers the Mecca orientation of the giant crescent, the phony redesign, and the crescent-topped minaret. Lots of unaired news video and animated graphics, bookended with the coolest spaghetti western music ever.A terror war battle that we can still win, despite a president-elect who does not want to fightRational people still want to defeat the Islamofascist enemy, but half of the electorate will now get its way in pretending that there is no Reach for the Sky move enemy. Exposing and stopping the terrorist Memorial to flight 93 is a chance for the rest of us to still achieve victory, and on multiple fronts at once. Not only can we foil an enemy plot, but we can at the same time expose the willful blindness of those peace-at-any-cost countrymen who are engaged in blatant cover-up
of the most damning facts about the crescent design.
These are the two battles we need to win. We have to expose and stop the deceptive agents of Islamic conquest, and we have to expose and stop the peacenik cover-up of every enemy threat.
We also need to stop the re-hijacking of Flight 93 for its own sake. Just listen to Mr. Burnett’s insistence on a proper memorial for his son Tom and the other heroes. Yes, the battle over the memorial is only symbolic, but as our Democrat-controlled media just proved by delivering Obama to the presidency, it is the information war that ultimately determines everything.
To those conservatives who have been staying away from the memorial controversy, please reconsider. All of our claims about the Memorial are easy to verify. This is a real attack on our country, and in the age of Obama, it is a rare battle that we are still in a position to win. The father of one of America’s greatest heroes is pleading for your help, but he is also
(To join our blogbursts, just send Trailer Park Boys: The Movie psp Noelle movies your blog’s url.)
A Veterans Day Week appeal from Flopping Aces His Musical Career movie
One of our blogburst participants, Curt at Flopping Aces, e-mails a reminder about the great work done by the VALOUR-IT program at Soldiers’ Angels, delivering computer-based help to wounded soldiers.
Category: Public Service | Comments Off on Stop the Murdoch (Flt 93) Memorial Blogburst: “We have an Islamist design here that can't go forward, please.â€
November 11th, 2008 by xformed
Good News: The US Coast Guard, after two years of begging have their own team!
Bad news (for the Coasties): Be careful what you wish for, when you ask to be “equal.” 🙂
Don’t know about VALOur-IT? A program of the most excellent Soldier’s Angels. Details of the specific program to provide technology, in the form of laptops with voice activated software to those with disabilities in the areas of sight or mobility are here.
New and improved, it is! Now, in addition to laptops, items to help provide physical therapy (Nnitendo Wiis do great), aiding in over coming Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) effects and memory loss (GPS systems for those working to be on their own) are being purchased and put in the hands of those who have come back from combat.
You can go an donate here The Little Kidnappers move
If you’re a blogger/website owner and want to join up, at the bottom of the donation page, you can add your name to a service team and get the word out, links are at the bottom of the donation page.
Team Navy is being led by Gahlran of the awesome blog Information Dissemination. Sleuth video Relentless Enemies dvdrip
Moondance Alexander ipod If you’ve not found this excellent professional naval/maritime blog, you’re missing out. Bookmark him for your reading pleasure. He also has some good basic info about the program in his opening post on the drive
.
Oh, the picture above is MEGEN. We want her back!
Category: Technology | Comments Off on VALOur-IT 2008: New and Improved!