Quote:The sun of the African savannah highlights the sleek, innovative design of the AHRLAC Mwari aircraft as it graces the runway after a successful test flight. As South Africa’s first aircraft to be designed and manufactured since the 1980s, Mwari proves what South African engineers are capable of. The aircraft is distinguished by its modular, multirole versatility, tailored to excel in any mission, from border surveillance disaster relief to direct combat engagements. Developed to allow the two-man crew to take off from short airstrips and rough terrain with ease, it can quickly jump into action engaging targets with a 20-millimeter cannon, or precision-guided munitions. Well-equipped as it is, Mwari’s designer, Paramount Group, designed it with affordability in mind, providing developing countries access to operational capabilities that have, until recently, been restricted only to superpowers. With a low starting price of ten million dollars and blending the functions of a UAV, helicopter and surveillance aircraft, orders are starting to come in for Paramount’s aircraft. But with financial challenges and a fierce competition on the global market, will the Mwari be enough to jumpstart Africa’s first attempt at an aeronautical industry?

I notice weird stuff among the visual clutter of life.

One that jumped out the other day was how prevalent a certain type of smile is in photographs of celebrities, models, politicians, etc.

I learned a new word.  This kind of smile, in which only the upper row of teeth is visible, is called a "commissure smile".

This leads me to wonder how this kind of smile became practically the only one used in advertisements and publicity shots.  Check it out for yourself.  Very few of those kinds of photos show the row of lower teeth. Some kind of taboo there, seems weird and unnatural to me, but I'm something of a social washout anyway.

It's been a long time coming but NASA's much delayed return to the Moon is Green to go  , 4 Astronauts , 3 American one Canadian , will make a round trip to the big cheese ball early next month , weather permitting , to test out the Orion spacecraft's flight systems ready for a future landing.

Artemis II topped with the Orion spacecraft begins its 8 - 12 hour roll out to the pad in 30 minutes in preparation for Astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency to make their 10 day round trip which will make them the first crew to visit the moon in 50 years.




Good luck chaps.

I came across this video talking about the 10 banned songs from the 60s that we as a band played almost all of them except for "Eve of Destruction;" man how times have changed! 

The 60s were a time in America where crew or buzz cuts were the fashion for guys for if you had long hair you were a Greaser which was a derogatory label. This was also a time when there were 'blue laws' in many states which prevented a business from opening on a Sunday for that was a biblically commanded day of rest. The hair thing changed with the Beatles arrival along with many in the Vietnam protest movement flaunted their long  hippy locks of hair. 

I got to see and live both sides of those societal changes as I remember guys cheering when The May 4th 1970 shooting at Penn State happened and grunts even putting "US Army 4, protesters Zero" on their helmets.

If they would have ordered a Vietnam army unit to clean the cesspool of protesters out of a location all I can say is there were those who would have gladly volunteered.. It would be a different world today for sure.. 

Looking back now I am kinda surprised Hanoi Jane did not meet with a nasty accident.

When Nixon looked like he was going to get impeached a First Cavalry battalion was loaded on a train and was ready to move to Washington, D.C.  They were going to ring the White House with troops and armor just in case anyone wanted to use force to remove Nixon. The first Cav never left Ft. Hood because the Airforce said no they would not support the move.

Yah see the Airforce was pissed at McNamara and Nixon for the stupid frag order missions they were ordered to fly over N.Vietnam whereby the Army thought Nixon was the greatest thing since he allowed the Army to go into Cambodia and clean out the North Vietnamese supplies and troops there. I seem to remember Nixon won the election by a landslide as he won the biggest majority of the popular vote which did not happen again until Regan.  There will be people who will call B.S. on all this and go ahead, as it don't matter anymore; it is just some thoughts of mine today stimulated by some songs of yesteryear. 

On stage with the Fuzz-tone cranked up playing Satisfaction; what a buzz ...... Louie Louie, Gloria,  etc etc the songs of the 60s were a time and a culture all their own IMO.

Quote:In 1900, a man’s quality bespoke suit with all the trimmings would run you about $25, or one ounce of gold. In 2026, a quality suit will run you about $4,000, or one ounce of gold.

In 1960, residential electricity ran about $0.026/kWh, or $0.29 in current paper. In 2026, that 1 kWh runs about $0.18. Electricity is actually $0.10/kWh cheaper now than 65 years ago.

The US national average for a gallon of regular gasoline in 1960 was $0.31, which is about $3.40 today. Now it’s about $2.81 per gallon, according to AAA, or roughly 18% cheaper.

In 1960, the median household income in the United States was approximately $5,600 per year. That’s the midpoint where half of households earned more and half earned less. According to the most recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the median household income in 2024 was about $83,730 per year. In 1960 dollars, the median income today is $7,940, or about 40% higher.

Wait! What?

How is it that median household incomes have risen by about 40%, while adjusted prices (household expenses) have remained the same or decreased, and yet no one seems to have any money now?

If incomes have gone up, while key prices have been stable or decreased, where is all the “extra” money going (purchasing power)?

The short answer: it’s been absorbed by the “cost of living infrastructure” — housing, healthcare, and education — and, to a lesser extent, financialization.


Estimates from historical government studies (CBO & IRS data) put U.S. households’ total tax burden in 1960 at approximately ≈ 24% – 26% of pre-tax household income, including local, state and federal taxes. Current estimates (Tax Policy Center / CBO / BEA data) show total U.S. household tax burdens around ≈ 27% – 30% of median household pre-tax income.

In 1960, the median house price was roughly 2.2× median household income. Today, it’s 5×–6× median income nationally, and much higher in major metros (8×–12× in NYC or SF). Property taxes, mortgage interest, and maintenance also scale up with home value, compounding the load. Housing eats roughly 30%–35% of disposable income today, compared with 20% or less in 1960.

In 1960, healthcare spending was 5% of GDP, and an ordinary household could pay a doctor out-of-pocket. By 2025, healthcare exceeds 18% of GDP, with average premiums, co-pays, and drug prices ballooning. Even employer-provided insurance effectively comes out of wages — economists view it as “hidden income transfer”. Healthcare now consumes roughly 15%–20% of household spending, versus 4%–5% in 1960.

In 1960, public university tuition averaged $100–$300 per year (≈ $1,000–$3,000 in today’s dollars). Now, average tuition + fees run $10,000–$15,000 per year for public universities and $40,000+ for privates. Student debt exceeds $1.6 trillion, effectively a drag on lifetime disposable income for younger households. Education costs have risen roughly 6×–8× in real terms since 1960.

Since the 1980s, a growing share of the economy’s gains has gone to:

• Debt service (mortgages, credit cards, student loans, car loans);
  
• Rents, insurance, and fees (banks, telecom, software subscriptions); and
  
• Corporate profits (especially in finance, tech, and healthcare).
  

Productivity gains that once flowed into wages now flow into asset values and shareholder returns. Median workers benefit less directly; they pay higher rents and fees instead.

In 1960, after taxes, housing, and essentials, households had a relatively large discretionary share for savings, leisure, and goods. Today, even with higher real incomes, fixed costs dominate. The money left over after fixed expenses has dropped from roughly 30% in 1960, to less than 10% now.

• Policy: Post-1971 fiat era + deregulated finance → asset inflation and debt dependency.
  
• Globalization: Suppressed goods prices (cheap imports), but hollowed out wage growth.
  
• Cartelization: Healthcare, education, and housing are quasi-protected sectors with little real competition.
  
• Financial incentives: Credit expansion inflated prices of inelastic goods (land, tuition, medical care).
  

In case your eyes glazed over about half way into this mess, buying everything with credit cards and long-term borrowing for housing and mobility, plus corporate greed and globalization have eaten up our lives. It was all aided and abetted by compliant governments that favored corporations over taxpayers in fiscal policies and regulations, and it was paid for with higher taxes at every level.

The introduction of E-Z Credit and charge-a-plates in the 1920s started a vicious cycle of living on tomorrow’s income today. Consequently, the harder we work, the behinder we get, and it’s almost impossible to get out of it. If the vast majority of folks could extract themselves from this tar baby, it would completely reverse the power dynamics of our current economic morass. Governments and corporations, however, have no incentive to help us do that.

But alas! We just get more stuck.

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It’s not easy coming up with a good flick about economics and finance, without resorting to Al Capone, but I think you’ll enjoy The Big Short (2015), a dark, satirical look at who and how we are being screwed. Director Adam McKay doesn’t go all artsy on the material, and Christian Bale and Steve Carell turn in solid performances, as they dramatize the 2008 financial melt-down and the corruption behind it.

If ever there was a someone unsuited to be a cat burglar I think Andrew Pickering who has been sentenced to 12 months in prison for this burglary is that guy , Durham county police have kindly released this video to show his ineptitude and give us all a right good laugh , set to the Viennese Waltz marvel at the number of times Pickering fails and falls trying to make good his escape from the scene of his crime.


OUCH , that's gotta hurt !

Quote:Chapters: 00:00 Why the C-5 Galaxy is historically considered an Economic Disaster 02:35 How US Military spent $10 billion dollars upgrading C-5 & it is still a Disaster 03:44 Reality Check: Why C-5M Super Galaxy is still Important 05:52 Why C-5 Breaks down more often in warmer climates 07:44 NWYT's exclusive tour of the C-5 Galaxy 09:28 Why C-5 landing gear is a nightmare 11:29 What does the C-5 Galaxy has to do with AI slop epidemic? 13:55 Why the USAF lowered expectations for C-5 Galaxy

Unfortunately the author (Michael Swords) is aged and no longer updating.  But he wrote many interesting comments in it.  All about "the little people" and their interaction with the conventional world.

https://thebiggeststudy.blogspot.com/

https://thedebrief.org/u-s-officials-cla...-syndrome/

Nasty.  Be interesting to know how they got a small device to pump out that much radio frequency power.

10 tones of Coke being captured along with their freighter has got to hurt someones bottom line !
https://www.independent.co.uk/tv/news/sp...99484.html

Quote:Spanish police seize 10 tonnes of cocaine in record haul at sea
Spanish police seized almost 10 metric tonnes of cocaine in their largest-ever haul of the drug on the high seas.
Authorities intercepted a vessel carrying the drug concealed in a shipment of salt en route from Brazil to Europe, police said on Monday, 12 January.
Footage shows officers using shovels and digging with their hands to remove the drug from beneath the salt.
Thirteen people on board were arrested, and police recovered 294 bales of cocaine and a handgun.
The international effort also involved the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Brazil's Federal Police, Britain's National Crime Agency and French and Portuguese authorities.