Today is National Bird Day. Parrots were popular ship mascots until 1930 when the Navy prohibited them due to concerns over the spread of psittacosis. Many sailors suspected that the true reason for the ban was that parrots were being taught to swear and insult officers. McHale's Navy. LOL!
![[Image: dOcDqQo.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/dOcDqQo.jpg)
The US Navy's first aircraft carrier housed pigeons to assist in communications, USS Langley was built with a large coop in the fantail that was maintained by the Pigeon Quartermaster. Advances in wireless ended the need for pigeons.
Container for transportation of 0.15 grams of Californium-252:
![[Image: FDbrssn.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/FDbrssn.jpg)
Possibly the most expensive synthetic element at $27 Million Per Gram. The synthetic chemical element was named after the university and the state of California.
Cf-252 has a half-life of about 2.645 years, is the most common isotope used and is produced in only 2 laboratories in the world - Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee and Research Institute of Atomic Reactors in Russia. Aside from nuclear weapons & cancer radiation therapy as a last resort, one of it's primary applications is to kick start a new nuclear reactor. Californium-252 is a very strong neutron emitter, and will seriously disrupt the formation of your red blood cells leading to death.
Niklaus Emil Wirth (15 Feb 1934 – 1 Jan 2024) was a Swiss computer scientist. He designed several programming languages, including EULER and Pascal, and pioneered several classic topics in software engineering. In 1984, he won the Turing Award, generally recognized as the highest distinction in computer science, for developing a sequence of innovative computer languages. During his Turing Award lecture, he noted that "one learns best by inventing." In 1984, he was the first and so far only person from a German-speaking country to receive the Turing Award.
![[Image: UVzAOmy.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/UVzAOmy.jpg)
In 1995, he popularized the adage now named Wirth's law, which states that software is getting slower more rapidly than hardware becomes faster. In his 1995 paper "A Plea for Lean Software" he attributes it to Martin Reiser.
Jeff Bezos demos Amazon’s website on this day in 1997.
Jan 5, 1900: George invites 4 friends to dinner. He tells them about the time machine he built and the things he had seen.
![[Image: ckGwvRy.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/ckGwvRy.jpg)
![[Image: pW5kgFD.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/pW5kgFD.jpg)
Maersk appears to have very low confidence that the US Navy can wrap up the Houthi threat within the "foreseeable future." But, but, the Biden Administration released a strongly worded statement to the Houthis!
![[Image: H1ZVe4Z.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/H1ZVe4Z.jpg)
Maersk Operations through Red Sea
US may also be playing economic wargaming strategy here as a ploy to force Egypt to accept all the Palestinian refugees since they are losing rent money from the lack of shipping trade.
Just a recap on how Maersk is driving this narrative:
On Dec 15 they suspended passage through because of the attack on Maersk Gibraltar.
On Dec 22 they added a $700/TEU surcharge from Asia-Europe.
On Dec 24, following the escort of three US-flagged Maersk Line Ltd ships, they announced the limited resumption of service through the Red Sea with about a dozen ships headed that way.
On Dec 30/31, Maersk Hangzhou was hit by a ballistic missile and attacked by four small boats.
On Jan 2, Maersk announces halts on Red Sea voyages "until further notice."
Jan 5, all Maersk vessels will be diverted.
Container costs will now skyrocket. It seems like Maersk is executing economic policy. What's next? Pirates of the Carribean?
"We buy the ship. Load it up with Anduril Industries anti-drone rockets, and we go into the Red Sea guns-blazing."
![[Image: WupPNqu.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/WupPNqu.jpg)
Need some freight hauled through the Red Sea? I gotcha ya covered...
![[Image: oFVYqOB.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/oFVYqOB.jpg)
Want to buy the U.S. Navy's autonomous drone ship?
![[Image: 5KgOCVg.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/5KgOCVg.jpg)
You can. It's for auction here: GSA Auctions
Meanwhile, the British Royal Navy is so short on sailors they are mothballing two amphibious assault ships to free up personnel to man other ships in the fleet. But this move apparently means the British Royal Navy's ability to conduct amphibious landings becomes non-existent. On the flip-side there is probably a whole other story.
![[Image: h1kNPyI.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/h1kNPyI.jpg)
The Times (archive link)
The US Navy's first aircraft carrier housed pigeons to assist in communications, USS Langley was built with a large coop in the fantail that was maintained by the Pigeon Quartermaster. Advances in wireless ended the need for pigeons.
Container for transportation of 0.15 grams of Californium-252:
Possibly the most expensive synthetic element at $27 Million Per Gram. The synthetic chemical element was named after the university and the state of California.
Cf-252 has a half-life of about 2.645 years, is the most common isotope used and is produced in only 2 laboratories in the world - Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee and Research Institute of Atomic Reactors in Russia. Aside from nuclear weapons & cancer radiation therapy as a last resort, one of it's primary applications is to kick start a new nuclear reactor. Californium-252 is a very strong neutron emitter, and will seriously disrupt the formation of your red blood cells leading to death.
Niklaus Emil Wirth (15 Feb 1934 – 1 Jan 2024) was a Swiss computer scientist. He designed several programming languages, including EULER and Pascal, and pioneered several classic topics in software engineering. In 1984, he won the Turing Award, generally recognized as the highest distinction in computer science, for developing a sequence of innovative computer languages. During his Turing Award lecture, he noted that "one learns best by inventing." In 1984, he was the first and so far only person from a German-speaking country to receive the Turing Award.
In 1995, he popularized the adage now named Wirth's law, which states that software is getting slower more rapidly than hardware becomes faster. In his 1995 paper "A Plea for Lean Software" he attributes it to Martin Reiser.
Jeff Bezos demos Amazon’s website on this day in 1997.
Jan 5, 1900: George invites 4 friends to dinner. He tells them about the time machine he built and the things he had seen.
Maersk appears to have very low confidence that the US Navy can wrap up the Houthi threat within the "foreseeable future." But, but, the Biden Administration released a strongly worded statement to the Houthis!
Maersk Operations through Red Sea
US may also be playing economic wargaming strategy here as a ploy to force Egypt to accept all the Palestinian refugees since they are losing rent money from the lack of shipping trade.
Just a recap on how Maersk is driving this narrative:
On Dec 15 they suspended passage through because of the attack on Maersk Gibraltar.
On Dec 22 they added a $700/TEU surcharge from Asia-Europe.
On Dec 24, following the escort of three US-flagged Maersk Line Ltd ships, they announced the limited resumption of service through the Red Sea with about a dozen ships headed that way.
On Dec 30/31, Maersk Hangzhou was hit by a ballistic missile and attacked by four small boats.
On Jan 2, Maersk announces halts on Red Sea voyages "until further notice."
Jan 5, all Maersk vessels will be diverted.
Container costs will now skyrocket. It seems like Maersk is executing economic policy. What's next? Pirates of the Carribean?
"We buy the ship. Load it up with Anduril Industries anti-drone rockets, and we go into the Red Sea guns-blazing."
Need some freight hauled through the Red Sea? I gotcha ya covered...
Want to buy the U.S. Navy's autonomous drone ship?
You can. It's for auction here: GSA Auctions
Meanwhile, the British Royal Navy is so short on sailors they are mothballing two amphibious assault ships to free up personnel to man other ships in the fleet. But this move apparently means the British Royal Navy's ability to conduct amphibious landings becomes non-existent. On the flip-side there is probably a whole other story.
The Times (archive link)
"It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong." – Thomas Sowell