Quote:The Admiral and the UFO

Back in the day, we were sitting around talking about UFOs, Area 51, and all the other lunatic alien legends.  We were laughing about the accounts of people claiming they had been abducted by aliens who then proceeded to fiddle or tamper with them.  The Admiral suddenly pronounced, “I chased a UFO once.”  We sat in rapt silence waiting for the punch line.  His story went like this:

Steve and his fighter squadron were patrolling the skies during the Korean conflict when they saw a silver object at three o’clock moving at a high rate of speed.  Steve radioed for permission to pursue the unidentified flying object.  He and a few other members gave chase for ten minutes.  When they finally got near enough to see more clearly, the object started shimmering in the bright morning sunlight.  It appeared to be picking up speed while simultaneously sending an urgent transmission.

The young aviators were fixing to blow this sucker out of the sky, when Lt. Commander Morrison, who had arrived on the scene first, discovered that the UFO was an escaped shiny metallic weather balloon.

*****

The Admiral was a specialist in electronic warfare. One of his projects was to put the first ever Navy spy satellite into orbit around the earth.  He kept a replica of the hand-sized metal sphere which had five “My Favorite Martian” antennae protruding from its center.  “Back then, that’s all we could throw up there”, the Admiral would say, “and there are still things about the project I am not allowed to discuss.”  He was true blue when it came to the rules.  “Suffer the consequences if you violate the rules.”  He was not a lenient man nor was he harsh in his application of discipline with his children and the men under his command.

Yet there was another side to him.  While the family was driving across the country on one of their many trips connected to tours of duty, the Admiral said, “The rules were made to be broken intelligently.”  I believe there is a part of him that understood that many people cannot function in a gray society or strict environment.  In that belief system, you must challenge the boundaries, but not head on.  In other words, “You must do what you want without appearing to have broken the rules.”  In essence, “Don’t get caught.  If you do get caught, you should not receive special treatment and must be punished under the full penalty of the law.”

REMEMBERING: ADMIRAL GEORGE STEPHEN MORRISON

Quote:Ultraviolet Irradiation of Blood: “The Cure That Time Forgot”?

Ultraviolet blood irradiation (UBI) was extensively used in the 1940s and 1950s to treat many diseases including septicemia, pneumonia, tuberculosis, arthritis, asthma and even poliomyelitis. The early studies were carried out by several physicians in USA and published in the American Journal of Surgery. However with the development of antibiotics, UBI use declined and it has now been called “the cure that time forgot”. Later studies were mostly performed by Russian workers and in other Eastern countries and the modern view in Western countries is that UBI remains highly controversial.

This chapter discusses the potential of UBI as an alternative approach to current methods used to treat infections, as an immune-modulating therapy and as a method for normalizing blood parameters. No resistance of microorganisms to UV irradiation has been reported, and multi- antibiotic resistant strains are as susceptible as their wild-type counterparts. Low and mild doses of UV kill microorganisms by damaging the DNA, while any DNA damage in host cells can be rapidly repaired by DNA repair enzymes.

UV irradiation of blood was hailed as a miracle therapy for treating serious infections in the 1940s and 1950s. In an ironic quirk of fate, this historical time period coincided with the widespread introduction of penicillin antibiotics, which were rapidly found to be an even bigger medical miracle therapy. Moreover another major success of UBI, which was becoming increasingly used to treat polio, was also eclipsed by the introduction of the Salk polio vaccine in 1955 [91]. UBI had originally been an American discovery, but then was transitioned to being more studied in Russia and other eastern countries, which had long concentrated on physical therapies for many diseases, which were more usually treated with drugs in the West.

Quote:

This Friday falls on the 110th Anniversary of ANZAC Day. In honor of our Australian and New Zealand friends and allies, I wanted to take a moment to recognize just one part of their origin story.

Why today?

Well, April 25th, 1915, was the day Commonwealth forces came ashore at Gallipoli.

From their live stream at dawn in Australia:



It is a much more sober holiday than many American holidays. Here’s a sample of how it is reported locally.



Think Memorial Day…but extra…and with a lot more controversy from their left than you find in the USA toward our Memorial Day.

Interest and support for ANZAC Day has waxed and waned with the rise of the Anglospheric self-loathing left, but from what I have been able to tell, that has changed and support is moving back to where it should be.

Australians and New Zealanders have fought and died in other people’s wars out of obligation and friendship over the last century + from the Boer Wars through Afghanistan.

They are not large nations. At ~27 million souls, Australia is a few million people smaller than Texas 30 million. At a bit over 5 million souls, New Zealand is close in population to Alabama.

Why was the Battle of Gallipoli such a moment in time for the people of Australia and New Zealand? That would take a stack of books to discuss, and is best discussed in detail by Australians.

I’ll give you a bit of a perspective, or try. The picture of the top of the post? That is from the Turkish trenches looking towards the Australian trenches in the Battle of the Nek of the Gallipoli campaign.

Below is from Episode 5 of the 2015 miniseries on Gallipoli, from the perspective of the Australian trenches.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRKNfN4tpcw

Quote:After Naval News got a first look at a new airborne laser prototype at Sea Air Space 2025 earlier this month, General Atomics has confirmed the existence of a joint program within the Department of Defense that is looking to deliver airborne laser weapons to the MQ-9 fleet currently fielded in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Marine Corps.

Naval News received confirmation from a General Atomics spokesperson familiar with the matter. The spokesperson confirmed the existence of a program that is looking to add a new air-to-air laser weapon to the MQ-9 family; part of a joint program that is looking to deliver an airborne laser to provide a persistent counter-unmanned aerial vehicle (C-UAS) presence to the battlespace.


According to General Atomics, core components of the future laser pod have already been tested on airborne platforms. A full test with a flying laser has not been completed but all components have been tested on the ground. General Atomics did not mention when airborne testing would begin.

The spokesperson also confirmed the power level of the laser at 25 kilowatts. The overhead technology used in development of the laser is scalable to 300 kilowatts (kW) but the size constraints imposed by the MQ-9 restrict it to a smaller power level. Battery packs on either wing can power the laser for long durations and act as the buffer between onboard power and the laser itself.

According to General Atomics, the MQ-9, when equipped with the airborne laser pod, could provide 24/7 intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) while simultaneously performing C-UAS missions against targets of interest. General Atomics highlighted an example of a mission set like this in the first island chain at its booth at Sea Air Space 2025.

General Atomics Confirms Drone-Killing Air-to-Air Laser is in Development

1.     Average White Band – "Pick Up the Pieces"
   
2.     Chicago – "Saturday in the Park"
   
3.     The Carpenters – "Top of the World"
   
4.     Grand Funk Railroad – "We're an American Band"
   
5.     Starland Vocal Band – "Afternoon Delight"
   
6.     Love Unlimited Orchestra – "Love's Theme"
   
7.     Maria Muldaur – "Midnight at the Oasis"
   
8.     The Hues Corporation – "Rock the Boat"
   
9.     Peter Tosh – "Legalize It"
   
10.     Blue Öyster Cult – "(Don't Fear) The Reaper"
    
11.     Walter Murphy – "A Fifth of Beethoven"
    
12.     Bachman–Turner Overdrive – "Takin' Care of Business"
    
13.     Van McCoy – "The Hustle"
    
14.     Peter Frampton – "Do You Feel Like We Do"
    
15.     Sweet – "Fox on the Run"
    
16.     Eli's Second Coming – "Love Chant"
    
17.     Carl Douglas – "Kung Fu Fighting"
    
18.     Wild Cherry – "Play That Funky Music"
    
19.     Rick Derringer – "Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo"
    
20.     Vicki Sue Robinson – "Turn the Beat Around"
    
21.     Disco-Tex and the Sex-O-Lettes – "Get Dancin'"
    
22.     Edgar Winter Group – "Frankenstein"
    
23.     The Sylvers – "Boogie Fever"
    
24.     The Trammps – "Disco Inferno"
    
25.     Bay City Rollers – "Saturday Night"
    
26.     Redd Kross – "1976"
    
27.     The Dickies – "Spirit of '76"
    

Quote:This is to showcase British and NATO maritime power and prestige. Led by the aircraft carrier HMS PRINCE OF WALES, and escorted by British, Canadian and Norwegian warships, this is the highest profile Royal Navy deployment in years – but is it actually worth the effort to show the RN as a truly global force, or is it a Potemkin operation by a failing navy desperate to recall its now long gone glory days?

The goal of the Carrier Strike Group (CSG) deployment is to send a task group, that is intentionally international by design and construct, to carry out a global deployment to work with partner nations and deepen defence relationships.

The last CSG was in 2021, led by HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH and deployed out to the Pacific. This was, candidly, a bit of an odd deployment, in a world gripped by the madness of Covid lockdowns, most port visits were cancelled, and crews unable to go ashore. There were plenty of impressive exercises, but the whole thing was perhaps less impactful than planners had hoped, due to events entirely out of their control. The deployment was notable in that it too was international by design, incorporating US and Netherlands escort ships, and also embarkation of 10 USMC F35s as part of the combined airwing.

The presence of HMS ASTUTE will allow for joint SSN operations with Australia and potentially test the ability of Fremantle to support SSN operations as part of future plans to see an RN SSN near permanently based in the region as part of AUKUS. When added to the opportunities for wider exchanges, particularly with FPDA allies and other partners, there is huge scope here for a lot of good work that will be useful for years to come.

.....

The final big challenge is whether this is the right focus for the UK at a time when NATO is occupying the bulk of MOD interests. It is clear that deterring Russia is a vital mission for the armed forces – there is an argument that could be made that the CSG is a task group that is ideal for the world of 2010, not 2025. In a world where the UK’s security horizon has had to inevitably close in to focus on the near threat, is operating abroad necessary?

To the author, the answer is an unmitigated yes, yes it is. Russia under Putin will not be a threat forever – times change, as do regimes. The nations we aspire to work, trade and engage with globally are open to working with different partners for different reasons. As one player departs, another emerges to fill the vacuum – if the UK does not step up to fill the gaps in western leadership that seem to be rapidly emerging, then other nations more hostile to our interests will seek to fill them in areas critical to our national interests. It is vital that we take a long term perspective, and build relationships now that will last throughout the complex decades to come.

High Hopes for Op HIGHMAST? by Sir Humphrey,Former MOD, former Reservist Officer.

Quote:The "official" number of fatalities involved in building Hoover Dam is 96. These were men who died at the dam site (classified as "industrial fatalities") from such causes as drowning, blasting, falling rocks or slides, falls from the canyon walls, being struck by heavy equipment, truck accidents, etc. Industrial fatalities do not include deaths from heat, pneumonia, heart trouble, etc.

The record regarding the number of fatalities that occurred at Hoover Dam during its construction is just not that clear. However, the following information comes from the Hoover Dam Project History, volumes 1 through 5, 1931 to 1935, and provides the best information Reclamation has available on this subject.
Fatalities at Hoover Dam

Quote:One of the highlights for many of the people who visit Hoover Dam each year is the artwork they find. While most people are impressed by these works, they often ask the question, "What do they mean?"

Much of the sculpture is the work of Norwegian-born, naturalized American Oskar J.W. Hansen. Mr. Hansen fielded many questions about his work while it was being installed at the dam. In response to those questions, he later wrote about his interpretation of his sculptures.

Hoover Dam, said Hansen, represented for him the building genius of America, "a monument to collective genius exerting itself in community efforts around a common need or ideal." He compared the dam to such works as the great pyramids of Egypt, and said that, when viewing these man-made structures, the viewer often asks of their builders, "What manner of men were these?"

The sculptor, according to Hansen, tries to answer this question objectively, by "interpreting man to other men in the terms of the man himself." "In each of these monuments," he said, "can be read the characteristics of these men, and on a larger scale, the community of which they are part. Thus, mankind itself is the subject of the sculptures at Hoover Dam."

Hansen's principal work at Hoover Dam is the monument of dedication on the Nevada side of the dam. Here, rising from a black, polished base, is a 142-foot flagpole flanked by two winged figures, which Hansen calls the Winged Figures of the Republic. They express "the immutable calm of intellectual resolution, and the enormous power of trained physical strength, equally enthroned in placid triumph of scientific accomplishment."

"The building of Hoover Dam belongs to the sagas of the daring. The winged bronzes which guard the flag, therefore, wear the look of eagles. To them also was given the vital upward thrust of an aspirational gesture; to symbolize the readiness for defense of our institutions and keeping of our spiritual eagles ever ready to be on the wing."

The winged figures are 30 feet high. Their shells are 5/8-inch thick, and contain more than 4 tons of statuary bronze. The figures were formed from sand molds weighing 492 tons. The bronze that forms the shells was heated to 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit, and poured into the molds in one continuous, molten stream.

The figures rest on a base of black diorite, an igneous rock. In order to place the blocks without marring their highly polished finish, they were centered on blocks of ice, and guided precisely into place as the ice melted. After the blocks were in place, the flagpole was dropped through a hole in the center block into a predrilled hole in the mountain.

Surrounding the base is a terrazzo floor, inlaid with a star chart, or celestial map. The chart preserves for future generations the date on which President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated Hoover Dam, September 30, 1935.

The apparent magnitudes of stars on the chart are shown as they would appear to the naked eye at a distance of about 190 trillion miles from earth. In reality, the distance to most of the stars is more than 950 trillion miles.

In this celestial map, the bodies of the solar system are placed so exactly that those versed in astronomy could calculate the precession (progressively earlier occurrence) of the Pole Star for approximately the next 14,000 years. Conversely, future generations could look upon this monument and determine, if no other means were available, the exact date on which Hoover Dam was dedicated.

Near the figures and elevated above the floor is a compass, framed by the signs of the zodiac.

Hansen also designed the plaque commemorating the 96 men who officially died during the construction of Hoover Dam, as well as the bas-relief series on both the Nevada and Arizona elevator towers. The plaque, originally set into the canyon wall on the Arizona side of the dam, is now located near the winged figures. It reads:

"They died to make the desert bloom. The United States of America will continue to remember that many who toiled here found their final rest while engaged in the building of this dam. The United States of America will continue to remember the services of all who labored to clothe with substance the plans of those who first visioned the building of this dam."

The Story of Hoover Dam

Quote:Scientists Are Building a "Black Box" to Record the End of Civilization

If — or when — human civilization collapses, what will remain? Maybe parts of some cities. Or the Statue of Liberty, a la "Planet of the Apes." Overall, though, there might not be a lot of evidence left behind about what humanity accomplished — or what resulted in its downfall.

One team of researchers wants to change that. Their solution? A massive, indestructible box that’ll record scientific data to give future civilizations insight on how exactly humanity fell.

The project, dubbed Earth’s Black Box, will be an immense steel monolith installed in a remote location in Tasmania. It’s akin to the black boxes that are designed to survive airplane crashes and provide investigators valuable data on what led to the disaster — except on a planetary scale.

Indestructible Recorder

The project is a collaboration between researchers at the University of Tasmania, marketing agency Clemenger BBDO, and creative agency The Glue Society.

The team is designing the box to record climate data such as atmospheric CO2 levels, sea temperatures, and energy consumption levels. It’ll also gather contextual information like news headlines and social media posts.

"The idea is if the Earth does crash as a result of climate change, this indestructible recording device will be there for whoever's left to learn from that," Jim Curtis, the executive creative director at Clemenger BBDO, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

Outlive Humanity

The box itself will be made from three-inch-thick steel and cantilevered off granite. Inside will be a system of Internet-connected storage drives powered by solar panels on the box’s roof.

"It’s built to outlive us all," Jonathan Kneebone, cofounder of the Glue Society, told ABC. "If the worst does happen, just because the power grids go down, this thing will still be there."

The biggest issue for the team now is how to help future civilizations access the information it contains. After all, they’ll just find a mysterious monolith out in the middle of nowhere — and we know how that worked out for us already.

Quote:...
NOVEL ENTERTAINMENT

But I am tired talking about mines. I saw a man hanged the other day. John Melanie, of France. He was the first man ever hanged in this city (or country either), where the first twenty six graves in the cemetery were those of men who died by shots and stabs.

I never had witnessed an execution before, and did not believe I could be present at this one without turning away my head at the last moment. But I did not know what fascination there was about the thing, then. I only went because I thought I ought to have a lesson, and because I believed that if ever it would be possible to see a man hanged, and derive satisfaction from the spectacle, this was the time. For John Melanie was no common murderer -- else he would have gone free. He was a heartless assassin. A year ago, he secreted himself under the house of a woman of the town who lived alone, and in the dead watches of the night, he entered her room, knocked her senseless with a billet of wood as she slept, and then strangled her with his fingers. He carried off all her money, her watches, and every article of her wearing apparel, and the next day, with quiet effrontery, put some crepe on his arm and walked in her funeral procession.

LETTER FROM MARK TWAIN