“Striking Sparks” — Page Twenty-Six
And this, ladies and gentlemen, is the real reason why we can’t have flying cars.
More below!
Bobservations
Happy Memorial Day Weekend!
If you are a U.S. resident, I mean.
If you are not, I’ll briefly explain that Memorial Day is similar to the Commonwealth’s Remembrance Day, except that we have ours in nicer weather because screw the poignancy, let’s party!
Actually, there are a lot of nice memorial services for those who gave their lives in the wars, and since there is a cemetery just a block up our street, I’m well aware of the number of flags and flowers that suddenly appear on various grave markers this day. We ourselves have a burial flag that draped the coffin of my great-great uncle Charles Herbert Forward, which we hang out on both Veteran’s Day and Memorial Day. I don’t believe Great-Great-Uncle Charles was actually killed in battle, as he lived to be 89, but it’s a really high-quality flag with only 48 stars on it, and hey, respect.
But it also means Monday off for just about everyone, and right at the beginning of summer, too. So the deep significance tends to get lost in the haze of barbecue grills and the general party atmosphere.
Also, for those of us whose Trash Day is Tuesday, there is a yearly confusion over whether or not to put the bins out. Technically they are supposed to be picked up tomorrow, but since the sanitation services also took Monday off, many times they are so swamped trying to collect Monday’s trash that they show up late in the day, or sometimes not until Wednesday. And if you put the bins out too early, scavenging animals and/or humans knock them over.
Rule of thumb is: if you put them out on Monday evening, they will not be picked up until Wednesday, and half of them will be knocked over by then. If you don’t put them out, either because you thought you’d wait until Tuesday morning or because you were too plowed from partying on Monday to remember, then the trucks will show up at 6 A.M. Tuesday morning, blasting down the street as fast as they can, collecting what few cans are out before you can react and try to get your own out to the curb. I’ve been caught that way before. You can call and complain, but they did their job — they were there and they had an easy time too, because you and half your neighbors bet on them being late. And you lost. Suck it up and enjoy the stench of two weeks worth of trash cooking in the summer sun.
Yeah, yeah, first world problems. I’m just saying. Monday holidays confuse me. At least we got the strip up, and it gave me a blog subject.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna go hang out the ancestral flag, give a silent thanks to our fallen soldiers, and then go party, because that’s what Memorial Day is all about! In fact, chances are you yourself are not reading this until Tuesday. And you probably have a hangover. High five, bro! My great-great uncle would be proud.
Don’t forget to take out the trash.
— Bob out.
See, this is what FAA regulations are for. I bet those people don’t even have their tray tables up!
Well some thing is up, its just not the tray table (she isn’t that kinda gal :p )
Flying (drunk) backseat drivers are the worst backseat drivers.
On military bases, the sanitation vehicles are running no matter what the day is (even christmas).
It seems almost contradictory, I know, but the military is ALWAYS operating.
Flying cars would be a nightmare to guard against over military installations. You’d have to have continuous flight operations and a kill zone for unauthorized vehicles.
Isn’t that what those anti-missile gatling guns on boats are for? “Fly too close, we’ll fill ya full of holes!” I mean have the in-flight system blurt out ‘WARNING no-fly zone ahead-military grade enforcement’ at least 10 kilometers away constantly, but still. That’ll teach em’ right quick.
Those are called the ‘close-in weapons system’ (CIWS) or the ‘Point Defense System’ (PDS).
The US Navy says if you get within their CIWS range (about 3 miles for the Vulcan Phalanx), you should be dead. And they’re not kidding when they warn you.
Actually, by the time actual flying ‘cars’ are in use, energy weapons powerful enough to bring them down will be as well.
right now, the ONLY restriction keeping us from deploying weapons which need no ammo is the inability to provide enough power to convert to a destructive enough emission.
Once we find a way to provide that power (or a more effective conversion of the power that is provided), the ‘ammo-free’ energy weapon is born.
Not exactly we can make the power, a Destroyer carrying a railgun and extra nuclear reactor or a Boeing 747 with a laser system that can peel the paint on your car hood have proved this. So the real problem for the weapon is the size of the power production source. The problem for any nation that wishes to use such weapons is that the Geneva Convention already has strict limitations on such weapons and how damaging they can be.
Do you truly believe the Geneva convention could prevent ANY nation from any sort of research if the leaders of the nation felt disobeying those restrictions were in their own best interests?
Remember, the Geneva convention restricts how certain weapons are used during war (i.e. 12.7 mm or .5 caliper machine guns can’t be fired at infantry), and we all know how effective THAT is.
You aren’t supposed to use a .50 cal on personnel, but you can use it on equipment. Just say you were firing at their belt buckle…
by the way, it’s not a nuclear reactor. It’s an atomic reactor. We have yet to discover a manner to contain a nuclear reaction. The difference is ‘atomic’ is splitting the atom (fission), while ‘nuclear’ is fusing the atom (fusion).
The main reason so many people think it’s nuclear is the press conference announcing the commission of the USS Nautilus (the first atomic-powered submarine). At the conference, a reporter called it a nuclear reactor and the press agent didn’t know enough to correct him.
the mistake ‘stuck’ and the US navy has since appended an “N” to ships’ nomenclature (CVN= reactor-powered aircraft carrier, CGN= reactor-powered Guided missile cruiser, FGN=reactor-power Guided missile frigate, SSN= Reactor-powered Attack submarine, etc) to designate ships powered by atomic reactors.
While I find this discussion interesting and so far everyone is being good, I’m just going to jump in here to remind everyone to continue to keep it civil, please. No flame wars — setting things on fire is my business. — Bob
My copy of volume one arrived today. Artwork is awesome! If you don’t have one, get one.
Nice! Thanks Richard!
They’re all going to die a fiery death.
So, I’d be down for flying on that helicopter 🙂
Bob, as you said, neither of us were flaming. We were having a very interesting discussion.
Not that you would ever need my permission, but you have it. If I should EVER start flaming, I’d like to know and I wouldn’t mind whatever measures you would have to take.
I admit, I am not exactly conversant in social niceties and may overstep without being aware of it. I try to be nice, but sometimes get foolish.