. . . dark lagers.
Thresholds crossed
Item:
New Computer Attacks Traced to Iran, Officials Say
American officials have not offered any technical evidence to back up their assertions of Iranian authorship of the latest attacks, but they describe the recent campaign as different from most attacks against American companies — particularly those from China — which quietly siphon off intellectual property for competitive purposes.
The new attacks, officials say, were devised to destroy data and manipulate the machinery that operates critical control systems, like oil pipelines. One official described them as “probes that suggest someone is looking at how to take control of these systems.”
. . .
Jeff Moss, chief security officer at the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the private body that oversees the basic design of the Internet, said: “For the last year, Iran has been focused on disrupting financial institutions’ Web sites. If they are going after energy, and opening a multiprong front, at what point does it cross from annoyance to a threshold?”
Surely we're past that point . . .
It takes a fish . . .
. . . to find a fish.
Item:
Oh all right, they were really mammals. Still . . .
The find hints at what the dolphins can actually do, or maybe could do at some point in the future. Locate mines, find robotic detection systems?The question isn't whether dolphins are as smart as humans; rather, are they smarter than unmanned underwater vehicles?
. . . to find a fish.
Item:
Two bottlenose dolphins trained by the U.S. Navy’s marine mammal program have discovered a rare 19th-century Howell torpedo off the coast of San Diego.Story.
Oh all right, they were really mammals. Still . . .
The find hints at what the dolphins can actually do, or maybe could do at some point in the future. Locate mines, find robotic detection systems?The question isn't whether dolphins are as smart as humans; rather, are they smarter than unmanned underwater vehicles?
Speaking of drones . . .
The Chinese are making a real splash lately with their own, though at least some of those images appear to be mockups.
Item:
While that looks more than a bit like the X-47B, the UAV the Chinese supposedly are ready to field looks a lot like a Predator B:
The Chinese are making a real splash lately with their own, though at least some of those images appear to be mockups.
Item:
Extremely blurry photos posted on Internet forums over the past few months may show a Chinese stealth UAV, supposedly called the Lijan or Sharp Sword, along the lines of the U.S. Navy’s X-47B.Story, more photos.
While that looks more than a bit like the X-47B, the UAV the Chinese supposedly are ready to field looks a lot like a Predator B:
What was the sincerest form of flattery again?
The future is here . . .
. . . and it may not need us. Much, anyway.
Item:
Read more: http://www.seattlepi.com/news/us/article/U-S-launches-drone-from-aircraft-carrier-4515717.php#ixzz2TItjGSPi
And if some of that reminds you a little of the plot in this book:
. . . I owe you many thanks for reading my work.
. . . and it may not need us. Much, anyway.
Item:
"This is the way of the future," Winter said. "I like to say, it's one small step for man and one significant technical leap for unmanned kind."
The X-47B is far bigger than the Predator, has three times the range and can be programmed to carry out missions with no human intervention, the Navy said.
Read more: http://www.seattlepi.com/news/us/article/U-S-launches-drone-from-aircraft-carrier-4515717.php#ixzz2TItjGSPi
And if some of that reminds you a little of the plot in this book:
. . . I owe you many thanks for reading my work.
Of Pipers, generals & readers
Speaking of World War II planes (see this post), Gus has an Aeronca Champion, a slightly later competitor of the Piper Cub around the same size. Both planes served with the military as observation aircraft and battlefield transports.
The amazing thing is how tiny these planes were; a lot of today's UAVs are larger. tiny, light and fragile - not the greatest combination if you're in a war zone. Especially if you're a general in charge of an Army corps or an entire Army group. But Omar Bradley regularly flew in them to survey the front.
And they're still flying.
Here's Gus's plane:
And Gus:
My wee Aeronca Champion is essentially the same as the Piper L-4, same engine and general design except the Champ has a normal door instead of a split door. Most laymen don't notice the difference. The only really obvious thing is that the Piper engine protrudes and the Champ's is covered. My Champ has a wood prop, no electrical system and is hand propped to start. Just about as much fun as anything I've ever flown and gently sips fuel.
And here's a Piper:
Speaking of World War II planes (see this post), Gus has an Aeronca Champion, a slightly later competitor of the Piper Cub around the same size. Both planes served with the military as observation aircraft and battlefield transports.
The amazing thing is how tiny these planes were; a lot of today's UAVs are larger. tiny, light and fragile - not the greatest combination if you're in a war zone. Especially if you're a general in charge of an Army corps or an entire Army group. But Omar Bradley regularly flew in them to survey the front.
And they're still flying.
Here's Gus's plane:
And Gus:
My wee Aeronca Champion is essentially the same as the Piper L-4, same engine and general design except the Champ has a normal door instead of a split door. Most laymen don't notice the difference. The only really obvious thing is that the Piper engine protrudes and the Champ's is covered. My Champ has a wood prop, no electrical system and is hand propped to start. Just about as much fun as anything I've ever flown and gently sips fuel.
And here's a Piper:
Omar
Since we're on the topic, the trade paperback of Omar Bradley, General at War, is now available. You can get it at your favorite bookstore, or online at Amazon here, or Barnes & Noble here. The ebook edition, which includes some small corrections to the text (thanks readers!!!), is also available on-line, both from those sites and places like Google Play.
Since we're on the topic, the trade paperback of Omar Bradley, General at War, is now available. You can get it at your favorite bookstore, or online at Amazon here, or Barnes & Noble here. The ebook edition, which includes some small corrections to the text (thanks readers!!!), is also available on-line, both from those sites and places like Google Play.
Bradley & balsa wood
I got an email a while back from a reader named Gus who'd just finished Omar Bradley: General at War. We got to talking a bit about aircraft that the general had flown in; Gus is a buff and a pilot from way back, and we've had quite a bit of fun talking about the old planes.
Most readers will probably shoot right by the section on the C-78, a plane Bradley took to cross the Channel during one of the (many) crises after D-Day. I'd noted in the book that it was a small and slow plane. Gus seconded that, and also noted that the type was re-designated as the UC-78, though as far as I can tell the two planes were essentially the same. Here's a photo; it's a later version than anything Bradley would have used or probably even seen during the war, but it'll give an idea of the aircraft's size:
What you can't get from the photo is the fact that it was made out of wood.
So to put the aircraft in perspective: The fate of the Normandy invasion and the entire European campaign rested on the pluck of spruce, a pair of Jacobs radials, and the skill of a pilot who, no matter how ballsy he was, would have been a fat target for a passing Messerschmidt.
Not that Bradley's trans-Atlantic transport would have fared much better against a flight of Me-109s or Focke-Wulfs, but at least there would have been room to grab a parachute:
I got an email a while back from a reader named Gus who'd just finished Omar Bradley: General at War. We got to talking a bit about aircraft that the general had flown in; Gus is a buff and a pilot from way back, and we've had quite a bit of fun talking about the old planes.
Most readers will probably shoot right by the section on the C-78, a plane Bradley took to cross the Channel during one of the (many) crises after D-Day. I'd noted in the book that it was a small and slow plane. Gus seconded that, and also noted that the type was re-designated as the UC-78, though as far as I can tell the two planes were essentially the same. Here's a photo; it's a later version than anything Bradley would have used or probably even seen during the war, but it'll give an idea of the aircraft's size:
What you can't get from the photo is the fact that it was made out of wood.
So to put the aircraft in perspective: The fate of the Normandy invasion and the entire European campaign rested on the pluck of spruce, a pair of Jacobs radials, and the skill of a pilot who, no matter how ballsy he was, would have been a fat target for a passing Messerschmidt.
Not that Bradley's trans-Atlantic transport would have fared much better against a flight of Me-109s or Focke-Wulfs, but at least there would have been room to grab a parachute:
The general did get balled out for flying in the slow and unescorted C-78, but as usual he shrugged it off.
Coming to an aircraft carrier near you
First "arrested" landing for the Navy's new stealth UAV. Story.
First "arrested" landing for the Navy's new stealth UAV. Story.
Yes, to the rumors - Spielberg will direct . . .
. . . American Sniper.
Item:
Story.
. . . American Sniper.
Item:
Steven Spielberg is returning to the charged terrain of real-life American events, with the “Lincoln” director announcing Thursday he'll tackle the story of U.S. sniper Chris Kyle as his next directorial project. Bradley Cooper will star as the late Navy SEAL.
Story.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
