Thursday, August 14, 2008

Targets

Via memeorandum (No Quarter)… THE best Obama satirical site yet: “Best Obama Facts.” And Hoo-Boy, is it ever filled with chunky goodness! A sampling:

Best Heroic Truths About Obama

1. Every now and then, Obama opens his eyes and the world springs into existence.

2. When a tree falls in the forest, Obama hears it.

3. Obama can clap with one hand.

[…]

8. "Obama" is the very first word in the English language to be a verb, adjective, noun, pronoun, adverb, interjection, superlative and pronad. (Pronad is a new category made specifically for the word "Obama" so its power can be fully realized).

[…]

18. Obama always overpays his taxes because he believes that the government will find a better use for his money than he ever could.

19. When Obama rids the world of nuclear weapons, the red button in his office will control the thermostats in American homes.

[…]

44. Obama smokes so you don't have to.

45. Obama's cigarettes have been registered at the EPA as a renewable power source contributing 5,000 Megawatts of electricity to the national power grid every time he takes a draw.

Obama and the Downtrodden

[…]

2. Obama owns an expensive Sleep Number Bed but sleeps on an off-brand mattress in the corner in order to be down with the masses.

[…]

7. Obama once had a chance to save 10% on car insurance by switching to Geico but he said "no" because that would mean a sellout to corporate interests.

And you know there’s more… including some fine Photoshop work!

―:☺:―

Now this is way-cool: Laser Gunship Fires; 'Deniable' Strikes Ahead? Excerpt:

Boeing announced today the first ever test firing of a real-life ray gun that could become US special forces' way to carry out covert strikes with "plausible deniability."

In tests earlier this month at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, Boeing's Advanced Tactical Laser -- a modified C-130H aircraft -- "fired its high-energy chemical laser through its beam control system. The beam control system acquired a ground target and guided the laser beam to the target, as directed by ATL's battle management system."

[…]

The Advanced Tactical Laser, weighing twelve thousand pounds and mounted in a Hercules transport plane, is intended to give Special Forces Command "ultra-precision strike capability" against a wide range of ground targets. Its power is somewhere in the hundred-kilowatt range.

According to the developers, the accuracy of this weapon is little short of supernatural. They claim that the pinpoint precision can make it lethal or non-lethal at will. For example, they say it can either destroy a vehicle completely, or just damage the tires to immobilize it.

Much more at the link… including Boeing’s claim that the new laser would allow Special Operators to conduct strikes with “plausible deniability.” About which, the author of the linked article seems to think is a bad thing. Not me… I love plausible deniability, coz it has definite advantages. I can see Dana Perino (or her replacement, sometime next year) at the podium saying “It wasn’t US, ya know. It musta been someone else. We weren’t anywhere NEAR the place where that limousine carrying Putin blew up. Next question?”

―:☺:―

That article on the advanced tactical laser brings to mind an old joke…

Q: What’s the difference between mechanical engineers and civil engineers?

A: Mechanical engineers build weapons; civil engineers build targets.

Badda-da-boomp!

11 comments:

  1. Thanks for the example of "plausible deniability"! When you put it that way, I like it too :)

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  2. I thought about using I'maDinnerJacket to illustrate the concept, Jess, but Putin was much more topical. And I'm glad we're on the same page!

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  3. What does an engineer use for birth control?

    His personality!

    Oish...need more sleep.

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  4. Obama can clap with one hand.

    I'm not really sure that I know what that means, but it tickled me.

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  5. So THAT's what the C130s in odd formation and courses were doing. I thought maybe they had something to do with the new Terminator movie they're filming on Mesa del Sol. Or maybe both are related. Too weird. Well, opsec was successful. 'Til now anyway.

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  6. Becky sez: What does an engineer use for birth control?

    His personality!


    I've known some female engineers that joke would apply to, as well. ;-)

    Amy: You never heard that "sound of one hand clapping" thing? It's a famous Zen saying... Well, "famous" amongst us Buddhists, anyway. ;-)

    Bob: I saw a blurb on the filming of T4 on the ABQ news last night... and had NO idea Albuquerque was such a movie hot-spot. Until last evening, anyway. As for the C-130s... I'd have LOVED to see that laser in action!! Not as much sturm und drang as the 105mm howitzer the "normal" AC-130s carry, but impressive in quite another way...

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  7. Buck sez, "...NO idea Albuquerque was such a movie hot-spot."

    Oh yeah, long time-- not just Albuquerque, but New Mexico as a whole. Even moreso recently with major tax incentives (Democrats Richardson and Chavez actually DO understand how that works-- money talks). My atlas "Roads of New Mexico" has an odd section listing movies done in the state.

    See "Lonely are the Brave" for Mike Douglas, Walter Matthau (sp?) and an unfortunate Carrol O'Connor (his character I mean) galavanting around my home haunts. You might get a kick out of the Air Force lingo.

    See Victoria Principal in "Sparks" for a cheesy movie filmed on UNM just as I got out of the Nav' and was trying to go to school. "Red Dawn" was filmed just up the road in Las Vegas. The recent movie "Wild Hogs" was filmed up and down NM 14 between Albuquerque and Santa Fe.

    Perusing the list for stuff I've seen:

    Billy Jack
    Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
    Convoy
    The Cowboys
    Easy Rider
    Every Which Way but Loose
    Lost in America
    Milagro Beanfield War
    Muppet Movie (balloon scenes)
    Outrageous Fortune
    Red Sky at Morning

    "2010" and "Contact" both used the Very Large Array (now known as the National Radio Astronomy Laboratory I believe) near Magdalena as key locations. I love the VLA. Studied there a bit. You as a radar guy would probably really enjoy visiting it. ROAD TRIP!

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  8. Bob: Thanks for the movie list! You left out "Stand By Me," which was filmed in P-Ville and Clovis. ;-)

    I've been to the VLA, and spent a whole afternoon there. You're right: it was amazing as all get out, especially for an ol' radar guy! (I dropped more than a few bucks in the gift shop, too.)

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  9. Buck sez: "You left out 'Stand By Me,' which was filmed in P-Ville and Clovis." Oh yeah?

    Not on this list, but a great movie. Big fan of Olmos, me. Especially since the DVD releases of BSG remake. Had no idea "Stand by Me" was filmed on the nearby plains.

    Now that you mention it, I think you've mentioned the VLA before. Working... Working... Working...

    Yep, sure enough, on 9/10/07, a mere 11 months ago, you posted a VLP of VLA from April '04.

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  10. Ahem... "Stand by Me." "Stand and Deliver." Sorry. Embarassing mixup. Too much trivia in this head makes even more trivial.

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  11. Bob: I wish Blogger could have handled that Very Large Picture better. It looks pretty cool when it fills up your entire monitor.

    As for "Stand and Deliver" vs. "Stand By Me"... you could have left your comment "as is," where I'm concerned. Not being a movie guy, I don't know the difference.

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