Tanker Wars -

Cool Picture Credit: From EADS North America Website.

The dirt is really flying in the Air Force next generation Tanker competition or KC-X. The plan is to procure 179 modern airframes from which to pass fuel to military aircraft, easier said than done.

Not the physical art of In-Flight refueling, I am talking about that rare science that is the US Military procurement process.

With EADS/Airbus firmly now in the competition the pressure on Boeing to meet all the stated requirements (which are now Pass/Fail as opposed to weighted evaluation) and at a cost that beats the larger EADS proposed aircraft the A330 (KC-45).

Rumor on the street is that EADS/Airbus will bid this program like Lockheed Martin does, Low Ball.

An analysis by the Gehrson Lehman Group explores this rumor and theory. EADS/Airbus has everything to gain by low balling this procurement. By buying in low they deprive a revenue source to their only rival in the military large airframe business. And this would be a long term revenue source if the age of the existing Refueling fleet is any indication.

And remember EADS/Airbus operates basically as a Non-For-Profit corporation and relies heavily on the partner governments for subsidies to launch new airframes, build infrastructure (such as assembly lines, hangers and expand runways at airports for Airbus operations) to balance its books.

Head to head Boeing would easily win and many analysis's agree with this, but don't bet on an even playing ground for this bid.

Consider also the most basic cost driver here, the cost of the basic airframe. In this estimate (by the Lexington Institute) there is a $50 million dollar difference between the Boeing B767 and the Airbus A330. This is more than $9 Billion dollars over the total of 179 planned aircraft buy. How could they possibly consider a loss of this kind? Well, being bailed out by the governments of the consortium that constitutes the Airbus Company is nothing new. It is getting old however.

Simply look at the Airbus military cargo aircraft that has just now started flight testing, the A400M. Building the prototype used up the initial contributions and down payment money from the European countries that have agreed to buy this aircraft (it is bigger than the C-130 but smaller than a C-17). The result, Airbus has requested and received additional monies to continue the program.

But it gets worse: The Pentagon Revolving Door rotates to the EADS/Airbus exit and who got spit out? Retired General Arthur Lichte, former commander of the Air Forces Air Mobility Command. Taking yet another page out of the Lockheed Martin business plan EADS/Airbus has hired someone that can go in and massage those who would be making the decision on which airframe to buy in this competition. But that famous Revolving Door works both ways and Boeing has many a former General in its employ as well. In fact they employ a former AMC Commander also however, this one left the service back in 2001, not LAST YEAR as General Lichte has.

It's all good folks, let's just hope the Country as a whole does not get screwed in this most ugly process.

BT: Jimmy T sends.

40 Days – Earth Day

Now what do we have to show for our 40 years of Earth Days? I can't say but have a look at this:

That's right, the air we breathe is cleaner by any stretch of the imagination. I stole that little ole chart from the good Professor Dr. Mark J. Perry over at Carpe Diem. He posted these stats back in March. I thought it would make a good Earth Day post.

He also linked to a 2008 screed by the Washington Policy Center regarding the original Earth Day and all the doom and gloom that was predicted. It make for a funny read. Here are some highlights:

• "….civilization will end within 15 or 30 years unless immediate action is taken against problems facing mankind," from Biologist George Wald, Harvard University, April 19 1970.

Hey, isn't that the school Barack Obama went to?

• Because of increased dust, cloud cover and water vapor "… the planet will cool, the water vapor will fall and freeze, and a new Ice Age will be born," Newsweek magazine, January 26, 1970

Is that not what James Hansen said too? And he jumped from that ship to the "Global Warming" ship pretty dammed quickly yet without one shred of real scientific data to back up his claims. Oh he has reams of stuff to look over, but can you trust any of it. And he still works for NASA.

• The world will be "…eleven degrees colder in the year 2000. This is about twice what it would take to put us into an Ice Age, " Kenneth Watt, speaking at Swarthmore University, April 19, 1970.
  

Wow, another high powered University Professor speaking out his Ass. This is why they had to start cooking the books and telling lies about the real temperature, it was and still is cooling. There is no "warming" just hot air from so-called scientists.

• "We are in an environmental crisis which threatens the survival of this nation, and the world as a suitable place of human habitation," Biologist Barry Commoner, University of Washington, writing in the journal Environment, April 1970.

How dire, yet since then just the US population has grown by over 100 million and the world increase has almost doubled (6.8 Billion compared with 3.7 billion in 1970).

• "It is already too late to avoid mass starvation," Earth Day organizer Denis Hayes, in The Living Wilderness, Spring 1970.

Good gods why even try if it is already too late!! And from the organizer of the original Earth Day to boot. You know, statements like that make you want to go out and burn tires just for the hell of it.

Today the great Earth Clown Al Gore uses more energy than 19 of his neighbors. And he gets the Peace Prize and an Academy Award for pushing lies and living a lifestyle You and I can only dream of. I won't believe one word of this Global Climate Change until I see its proponents actually living the truth of what they speak. Sorry Al, no carbon credits for you.

Earth Day has lost a lot of its luster for me. I don't get horney for it anymore like I did in the past.

BT: Jimmy T sends.

Earth First – Yeah Right

It's been 40 years that we in the U.S. have been "celebrating" Earth Day. Back in 1970 I was in high school and it was a time of well awkwardness for not only for Me as a young Man but for the Country, trying to shed itself of Vietnam, Civil Rights unrest and Politicians gone amok as well. My, my how things have changed – NOT. Well there is the one thing different; I am on Old Man now.

But Earth Day was upon us in the way back and for the first time ever.

I was involved at the time in a small group of students that was working to save a part of the Rio Grande river marsh water epoch. Also called a Bosque in the region. There are little packets of life that form in the bend of the Big Water, you see as the Rio passes through the central New Mexico area it passes what is normally a desert. Now with the settlement of Man in great numbers this area had been turned into farm land and these little packets of life were disappearing, mainly because the Army Corps of Engineers (COE) was in the business of straightening out the rivers. That is to say, there is lots of land lost when a river bends; if you straighten it out all those side lobes becomes usable land. In the case of the Big Water each side lobe had become a little island of lush marsh land, replete with beavers, weasels, eagles in the tall trees and lots of fish and amphibian creatures great and small. All surrounded by desert and separated by then next turn by sometimes miles. Only in the Albuquerque area did these little epochs get real close, there were 6 in the span of about 3 miles. They were slated for "re-use" by the COE who never tired at the task of moving water around. Our windmill such as it is, was stopping the Army.

The group I was involved in was merely a bunch of students drafted or otherwise volunteered into helping prepare an 'adverse' environmental impact statement (EIS). Back then impact statements were only produced if you wanted to point out to the government the error of their ways as opposed to today where if you want to break wind you have to file EIS. Back then as even today such things are an expensive proposition as you need to document to a low level what is lost by the proposed activity of the government and you have to hope it out weights the supposed public gain. It was going to be an uphill battle.

The group as I said before were two teachers and 20 to 25 students all of us either 9 or 10 graders who had nothing much to do during the mornings. You see, the high school I went to was extremely over crowded, the day it opened which was only three years before I went there it was over capacity. By the time I got there I would spend my entire 9^th grade in temporary steel classrooms, the only thing I did in the real school was go to Gym and Lunch, all of my classrooms in these modular classrooms. All made of steel and most painted blue, in the scorching New Mexico desert (it was West Mesa High School). You can only imagine how nasty it was in the afternoon out there in the 'Maze" as it was called. The little city of steel buildings. My highest numbered classroom and many of them were doubles was F35 and there were many more buildings in the Maze past 35. It was a mess.

To help with this overcrowding the school district approved a plan where they split the day into two shifts, the 11^th and 12 graders went to school from 7:00 am until 12:15 pm, the 9^th and 10^th grades went from 12:30 pm to 5:30 pm. They allowed students in the off shift to participate in classes if you could get in or to participate in extracurricular activates. That was how our little environmental group had the time to conduct all the field research, the sample collections and the species counting.

Now to be fair, I was not like some environmental thumping Winnie or anything like that, there were those aplenty (I remember fondly a Jane that actually remover her bra in my typing class and took it outside like it was radioactive and burned it, some memories never fade), there was the one or two that needed the credits to stay up with the class or who wanted to graduate early (you could gain a whole year taking extra courses). I was there for more puritanical reasons, Love.

I had the hot's for this lovely girl that lived up in the Corrales area. That was about as far from where I lived and being in a single class with her was not enough, when I heard she was going to volunteer to work on this environmental group, I was there. It was three extra days a week with her for longer time too. And the occasional Saturday as well, bonus time. She was a lovely blonde with Carmel colored eyes which I stared into whenever I got the chance. Later she would tell me that was one of the things I did that endeared her to me; I seemed to be looking into her for something more. And I was. I loved her voice the touch of her hand and how she laughed at my silliest jokes. And I was a cut up. I wrote about this Lady before, she is the one that broke my heart and moved to Oklahoma.

Dam you Oklahoma, you already had the Moon did you have to take my Girl too!!

Anyhow, we spent a lot of time on this little project. Cataloging plants, micro sized zoo life, fish, mammals and all the birds that lived therein. Mapped it all too, very crude by today's standards, but we were high school kids what did you expect. I forget how big the package was, it was close to that Health Care Bill people are only now reading.

So, Earth Day has a special meaning to me, not as altruistic by some Green-Winnie standard, but just the same. I did my part. Oh, and that little piece of heaven on the Rio. Well today all the area from Alameda to Rio Bravo in Albuquerque is today Rio Grande Nature Center and part of the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District. Sometimes tilting at windmills actually works.

BT: Jimmy T sends.

Map is from circa 1719 and picture of Rio Grande is more recent both stolen from Wikipeda

News You can Use

Because I have nothing better to do!

Tanker Wars

Yeah back ON. Boeing will NOT be getting a pass on this as EADS North America will be pitching the KC-45. And they are going to do it without a front American company. Now you gotta be saying "where is that Buy American clause", well that only applies to fasteners (screws, nuts, bolts and rivets) and electrical connectors not whole airplanes.

They were pitching a scam anyway when Northrop Grumman was on their ticket before. Despite the promise to build a facility here in CONUS (Alabama in fact), they were going to build the whole aircraft in Europe and then fly them to the U.S. for the installation of the military gear specific to USAF needs. Not a lot of work in the overall count of things but it was something. It's all about jobs and it will be interesting to see where EADS says they will have an economic impact. They already build the UH-72 Lakota utility helicopter for the US Army here in Columbus Mississippi.

So, maybe they will paint the Tanker in USAF colors there and claim a thousand or two jobs. Seeing as how the Obama administration cooks the books on jobs created or saved all the time and they are a European company, which everyone knows we want them to like us, this is a double bonus for the PresBO and his administration. Here is a link to the EADS press release thanks to the good folks at Alert 5.

And a picture of the nice new KC-45:

Picture stolen from Air-Attach.com. Great site by the way if you like airplanes.

Helo Escapades

The original replacement for the Presidential Helo or Marine One has morphed into a new program. Everyone admits that the proposed VHX was way over budget and was actually going to cost the same as the 747 the president fly's around in so it made sense to can that program. It's a new day and a supposed new program and it looks to some people that we have a helicopter Dream Team aligning to go after the work that picks up where the old VHX program stopped. Namely Sikorsky and Lockheed Martin have joined up to partner on the new VXX program. Oh yeah, that sound you hear is not the pitter-patter of rotors slapping the air, its tax money hitting the meat grinder that is Lockheed Martin.

Glamor Pic of the proposed S-92 aircraft:

Now, I don't know about anyone else but I would like to know who I am getting into bed with and if that person came to me with the stink of say, F-22 and F-35 and the now defunct VHX do you think I would happily climb into the sack and share my good name and fortunes with them? Well I guess I am more discriminating the Sikorsky.

With all that bad press there is no way I look to join up with that crew but, alas I simply hate Lockheed and I can't get past that. Oh well, and too bad for Sikorsky. I know they have partnered with them before on the mission package for the SH-60B and MH-60R/S for the Navy at their plant site in Owego, New York but that was not a pure Lockheed venture; they bought that outfit from the old IBM Defense Systems division which ran a mean and tight ship from there. My guess is that most of what went into all those H-60's were legacy product from the old IBM. I say this because Lockheed was the "Mission" integrator on the defunct VHX program, you know the one that grew and grew and grew so much that even the PresBO himself complained. I mean that is saying something when this president complains about spending tax money you really got to be throwing it down the money pit.

Speaking of:

I just love finding a way to link back to my old home state – the Land of Enchantment and apparently the U.S. Government Money Hole!!

BT: Jimmy T sends.

Forced Exile Continues

Ok, in case you noticed I am not winging my way home in a shinny B777 or A330. I am still in Prague.

For some odd reason that has not been passed to me USAir did not fly aircraft into Frankfurt yesterday for me to ride home on today. So, cancelled flight once again and my new expected return day is Monday the 26^th. That's right, you are not seeing funny objects on the screen there, that is my new date out of exile.

What can I say.

At least the surroundings here are nice, the Hotel is quite accommodating and they have retroactively put me on their own little rewards program (4 more nights and I get one free).

I have run low on supplies, Coffee, H&S shampoo, lotion, baby powder and socks. I did get some of my laundry taken care of so I have plenty of underwear, although I may send more out before the weekend.

I have been making my own coffee since you can't find typical American brew here. Mostly cappuccino or espresso, there are several Starbucks but I hate that place and won't even patronize it way over here. So I packed a pound of coarse ground coffee and a French press which has served me well over these many days. The pound of grounds I brought lasting until this morning. I have since made the walk to the local TESCO and procured some more grounds, they are a much finer grind but the press seems to be doing a good job anyway and the taste is well, good, very good indeed.

I also needed socks, the white cotton variety which I had only two pair with me: the pair I wore over this way and the pair I was going to wear going back. I do have many black pairs (5 in fact) but those are for business/work.

I have been good doing work but that is fast losing its charm. How much time can one man spend in a single Design document before he goes nuts? Two additional 'strandee's' from my company are heading here today from Vienna. They were on their way to the UAE but were held up also. One has a ride back tomorrow and the other on Saturday. A 4^th company employee who was in the UAE and got as far as Frankfurt before the mass groundings occurred made his way to Madrid and is now scheduled out on Saturday.

I have checked ALL points of exit by the US major airlines, Rome, Madrid, Amsterdam but no one has room. The earliest coach seat I saw were on Lufthansa flights out of Rome but they had to stopover in Frankfurt and switch to USAir aircraft which, well are just not in country.

I did look at Cargo/Freighter ship passage but they are as expensive as buying 1^st class airline tickets and I don't think they would get there any faster. Well, maybe they will if that dam volcano does not stop spewing.

Well back to the Design document. Until my eyes go cross.

BT: Jimmy T sends.

Winds Aloft

So what's all the fuss of Airplanes and Volcano's anyway. One can understand the idea of a big ole jet motor ingesting something big and the affects that has. It is hard to imagine that something so small as dust can do the same amount of damage. Well, it does and frankly I am kind of glad the government officials who deemed it necessary to stop all air traffic did so. Most of the aircraft that ply the trans-oceanic airways are twin engine aircraft. It's one thing to be in a B747 or an Airbus A340 and loose one or two of your motors, you have others, but if you are in a B777 or A330 you lose one motor and you have officially half screwed. And on top of that, you have to worry about the health of that other motor. Not a good think in a twin jet.

The way it works is that this material which has been described as glass-like is actually near pure carbon. And at high tempratures it bonds to surfaces which would normally be resistant to such thinks. You pass through a small cloud of the stuff and your motor especially the Rotors and Stators get a little bit of fouling. Pass through a lot of it and it builds up like a new layer or lamination on the hot parts of your average turbo fan. And trust me, there are a lot of hot parts in your average turbo fan. The best you can expect is that it reduces the performace of your engine, robbing you $$$ in fuel costs and average engine life. The worst is that the motor stops functioning altogether and your aircraft becomes a glider. That is a lot to worry about.

Then there begs the question about how did all this stuff get up and distributed so quickly and over such a large area. Simply put, it was the Jet Stream.

You see, the jet stream maneuvered into an unusual position almost two weeks ago, and that is what has brought all this Icelandic hell upon northern Europe. When I flew over here the Pilot announced shortly after takeoff that he was predicting an early arrival into Frankfurt. By more than an hour which when you are strapped into those small things they call 'seats' in Economy class that hour less is certainly welcome. The Pilot claimed it was because we would be crossing the Jet Stream an unusual 4 times as we fly east. Usually they hit is once and get a 15 or 20 minute gain (a boost of airspeed of around 100 knots). Crossing it 4 times meant a gain of more than an hour and true to his words we were almost 90 minutes early into Frankfurt.

But that same unusual pattern is what allowed that plume of ash to get distributed to completely and quickly. It turns out Volcano eruptions happen many times a year in Iceland but their plumes rarely make it to altitude and if there is no jet stream it simply disperses harmlessly.

But not this time. Note below in this capture of the NOAA jet stream forecast showing the shape of the stream as it works it way east, it goes right over Iceland. I doctored it a bit to show all the salient points.

There are several forecasting sites that show what the projected jet steam will be on various dates. I shows how the jet stream shape will change for the better during the week and by Wednesday it might open up enough to allow airliner traffic through. There will still be a cloud by it will have maneuvered away to the south and east. Here is the forecast chart for Wednesday.
I doctored it a bit to show the normal great circle route flight path that the Airliners take on their way across the north Atlantic. Remember, these are for the most part two engine aircraft and they have to say close enough to make it to an airport and that the Circle flight path is the shortest distance between two points on a sphere, you know the earth.

Ah well, its time for a Beer and some goulash. There is a place round the corner that has a "southwestern" goulash, a spicy brew with chili peppers. Closest thing to chili one is apt to see here and it's high time I went over and tried some out.

BT: Jimmy T sends.

Pictures from Praha, CZ

Pictures from my current forced-vacation. Thank you Iceland!! Enjoy.

This is the Lesser Bridge Tower. At one time the Georges river ran by here and you crossed through this tower onto a bridge and accross the river. Apperently many centries ago, the good folks of Praha decided to move the river a tad bit to the west and it left this tower with nothing to tower over. It gave them more land to buid their Old Town.
These are the famous spries in Old Town Prague. I am not sure what the name or the denomination of the church that these belong too but they go back more than 700 years. And they are lovely too. Legend has it that Walt Disney was inspired by these spires and you see that in the Magical Kingdom castles that he built.

This is the Tower that the Astronomical Clock is built into. I paid the small fortune (100 kc) to ride up in this building and then I walked up 8 more sets of stairs to get all the way up to the open area you see near the top. It was quite the view.

Here are those spires from directly accross from them at nearly the same height (my educated guess is that we are about 100 feet up)

Here is the view towards the Geroges River Bridge. That huge castle in the back is the seat of the government for all of the CZ. It is also the worlds largest castle.

Looking down into Old Town Square. There were several groups of musians plying their trade in different parts of the square. There are numerous sidewalk cafe's and restruants below and to our righ.

Here is a picture of the famous Astronomical Clock.

This think not only tells time, it does he day and month, phase of the moon, the position of several important stars, horescopes and even juliean fries and onions. Well maybe not that last part, but it is wicked cool.

I love those spires, this was taken a short walk from my hotel room approaching from behind.

Here is a detail of the stone works on the Georges Bridge. The figures are supposed to protect you from, long ears, pot bellies and I think money tails.

And a picture of the river with a tour boat. There is a channel on the right hand side, near that white building that the boats travel up. It serves the boat traffic like a lock, getting the boats up river past the falls.

Hey, What's for lunch!!

You bet I had one, couldn't pass it up!!

BT: Jimmy T sends.

Travel Hell – Kinda, Sorta

Let's say you are doing some business travel, in Europe. On your return trip from what was an exhausting 10 days of 10 to 12 hour days, you get to an intermediate stop. Let us say it is an airport from which you will take a commuter flight to a bigger airport and from their catch the big-ole Airliner back to the good ole US of A.

But its closed. No, not the airport, the skies. Yes they have stopped flying. So there you are with this big ole giant size suite case (carrying 4-bottles of wine by the way) and a laptop bag with two laptops inside along with a thick book that is boring as hell (note: Catherine Coulter sucks as an FBI thriller writer – avoid in future) and it too is weighing you down.

Since your flights have been cancelled you are basically stranded and at the mercy of the airline for your passage back home, them holding the return ticket that is.

It would look something like this:

This is an AP Photo of people stranded in the Franfurt Airport.

That would be Travel Hell. Pure and simple.

And that is where I find myself except for one thing. I am in Prague. Praha as they call it here. So it is far from Hell. I am in fact quite comfortable. My hotel is well in a fine spot, refer to picture below:

The circle and aroow show where My hotel is not far from that great square in Old Town Prague, I hesitate to call them blocks because well, nothing here is situated like one would call a block. But I am very close just the same.

The hotel my company had me booked in for the first night (Friday) did not have internet except in the lobby so I went and found the above place and it was cheaper (by $15 US), came with a breakfast buffet and internet in the room. It's not fast internet or even reliable but it is working. It is a great place to hole up. Especially because US Air says they can't get me out until Wedensday the 21st.

Not sure if my company is going to like this but, them's how the breaks break. Last time I was stranded was in February when the "snow of the century" closed down all the east coast airports from Charlotte to Boston. Frankfurt was the city that hosted me that time and it was, well let us be nice and say that there is a world of difference between Paraha and Frankfurt. Yeah a world of difference.

So, while I have some work to keep me occupied and lots to see my worry is that the cash holds out and I can find a place to do laundry. I need underwear real bad.

BT: Jimmy T sends.

Reporting Live from Slavkova

Note: I wrote this a few days ago but I did not have reliable internet service to post it until now. Enjoy.

"What is all that black stuff in the soil here, manure?" I ask. My Czech minder gives me look that tells me he does not understand what I am asking. "Do the farmers burn off their fields?" I get the same look.

We have been stopped on a small two lane road out of the village of Slavkov, I am driving us back to Brno to pick up the other two people from my company, we are all heading to the train station but I was the only one that had to go to work this day. We had been pulling long 10 and 12 hour days (and I worked through lunch each day) the other two being the Executive representatives had spent the week negotiating the terms and conditions, financing, payment schedule and work share of our contract with this small engineering company here in the heart of the Moravia. I on the other hand spent it going over design documents, both hardware and software for the many simulated military items that this company will be manufacturing.

This company's share of the contract is more than $60 million US so they not only provide me a minder to make sure I do not drive off into oblivion they send a second in a car behind us.

The road is blocked and we have plenty of time. I turn off the Skoda Combi and get out, standing there admiring the landscape.

Gentle rolling hills, most of which are covered with green something, grass or early wheat. In this area a farmer has tilled a large plot exposing rich black soil that looks odd against the surrounding green. The contrast. The air is crisp and clean, it has been cold while we have been here, cold and rainy every day. Sleet and sometimes snow. I exhale and it condenses out, it feels good. I walk to the edge of the road and kneel down. I take a hand full of this earth in one hand and I weigh it, feel it, I squeeze it in my fist to judge how wet it is and determine its organic composition. It is good soil, smells rich. I could grow anything in this dirt.

Behind me I hear my two companions talking; they speak softly between themselves, no doubt judging if I have lost my mind. It was a long week.

I stand and hold out my hand to them, the soil spilling from between my fingers.

"It is good soil here in Slavkov, we grow many crops. Many large, eh, vegetables, yes." My ride says. He shakes his hands in a motion together as if he himself were tilling the ground in parallel grooves.

"Yes, yes I am sure." I say to him.

"How much of this do you think I could take back with me." I ask. His eyebrows arch up and he smiles at me, it is a slight smile, the kind you give out of politeness when you are not sure someone is joking.

I nod my head up and down, "You think they would stop me if I shoveled a bunch of this into my bag?" I turn my back and toss the dirt into the field it came from, I dust off my hand and stand their admiring the beauty around me here in the land of Austerlitz.

"You are funny American guy." He says. I turn back and say "No really, I have a very large bag with me, it could hold a half yard easy of this dirt."

He says something to his friend, not sure if I am serious.

This is the land where the battle of the three emperors was fought, the Battle of Austerlitz. The dark almost black strain is in legend thought to be the blood spilled by the tens of thousands that died here in the way back when.

"That's ok," I say, "I brought the big back so I can take some wine home with me." They both break out into smiles.

We return to the cars as the jack-knifed truck ahead has finally been cleared. I drive the roads; make all the right turns to get on the motorway and 18 kilometers later I pull into the hotel parking lot once again. I thank the two fellow engineers for their time and hard work. I look forward to our partnership in this particular job and I am sincere in that, they are more than competent and dedicated. This long week proved that to me at least, they matched my early morning arrivals and late night departures stride for stride. Though I am many years older than they are, I kept a hectic pace wanting to instill in them that measure of devotion and willingness to do what it takes to complete the task at hand.

I am glad to be leaving so I can work my own soil back home in PA. Its planting season and I am loosing precious time in the growing season.

BT: Jimmy T sends.

Missing In Action – Sort Of

I am sorry to all the regulars that stop in here looking for new content. I am not so much "missing in action" as I am deployed with limited support.

My full time job has me back in the Czech Republic where the folks are great but their infrastructure leaves much to be desired. My hotel has lousy internet, it works best in their lobby which is a bit hard to do what with all the onlookers and all. Where I am working at has a very poor system, its wireless but chokes if too many of us are on line at a time so we take turns.

Still and away, this is a nice place to visit. I will be here till Friday where I move up to Prague for the day and fly home on Saturday.

The weather here has been poor at best. I flew into Prague which had snow on the ground when I got here. I had left PA when it was warm and sunny. I did not even bring a coat along. I had to go out and purchase one at their version of a Wallmart. Tesco they call them. I also raided the bread market they had and pigged out on some fresh whole grains that were simply indescribable.

Once again the work keeps me off the street so I have not been able to get out and about dispite having a rental car. I am the un-official dirver for this trip.

Karma being what it is, I flew in immediately ahead of PresBO who came out last week for his nuclear surrender treaty with Russia. He will be flying back this way to attend the funeral of the Polish president who was killed in a plane crash. So I will pass him going west.

Once I get my bearing again in Philly I will rant and rave as normal. I hope to have good pictures from Prague when I get up there. I hope to have nearly a full day there for sight seeing.

Thanks for stopping by,

BT: Jimmy T sends.

Beam Me Outta Here

This is a total gas!! Enjoy!

ANN April 1st Special Edition

Senior Official Admits "We May Research Ourselves Out Of A Job"

Boeing announced Thursday that, building on the success of its airborne laser program, it has made a breakthrough in another Star Trek-like technology, the transporter.

Working with DARPA, Boeing has managed to transport a block of lead about 30 feet across a laboratory. "It really, really works," said a DARPA official not authorized to speak to the media. "While it's lead, and not a person, which we admit will be a little more complicated, we have proven the concept that matter can be disassembled, converted into energy, beamed across space, and reassembled. It's a breakthrough achievement."

A senior Boeing official, under intense questioning from the media, admitted that the company was indeed working on the program. "I know it may seem like it's a little bit at cross purposes with our core mission," said Montgomery Scott, senior vice president for Advance Technology, who materialized seemingly out of nowhere to join the company last year. "But the biggest hurdle we have now with the system is that we just need more power."

"I know, Boeing's main job is to build airplanes that take people from one place to another, " Scott continued. "We may be on the verge of finally managing to put ourselves out of business."

Pilot, flight attendant, and mechanics unions have all expressed deep concer about the techonolgy. At a vocal protest outside Boeing heaquarters in Seattle, protesters chanted "What do we want? DREAMLINERS! When do we want them? NOT!" Southwest pilots carried signs with the message "Beaming should be a big smile." and "Bags WON'T Beam Free."

For its part, TSA said it would be requiring full body scans of everyone who wished to be transported from one place to another and was already working on a "do not transport" list compiled from a dozen disparate and incompatible databases.

DARPA and Boeing plan to continue the research. "Today, it's lead," said Scott. "Tomorrow, we may be able to beam a hamster or some other rodent. Eventually, we might be able to put a whale in your hold... you just don't know... or do you?"

Thanks to the Aero-News Network.

BT: Jimmy T sends.

Speak Up and Remove All Doubt

Watch this video and remember that this guy, Hank Johnson is a Congressman.


Yeah, the Honorable Hank Johnson from Georgia’s 4th Congressional District. He thinks pacific islands actually float around on the ocean and are subject to tipping over and capsizing. You see this all the time it’s just never reported by the MSM I guess.

ALL you people living in the Dekalb and Rockdale counties of Georgia (Atlanta and surrounding area) are genuinely screwed with a dope like this sitting as your representative in Congress. This guy voted for the ObamaCare Health Care Reform bill and is the kind of person who would sit on those non-existent “Death Panels” that are now being formalized with funding out of the Stimulus Bill.

There are a lot of people out there, about 50% of the general population that think the Government is the solution to all that ails our society. But the reality is that this is the kind of person that surfaces within the Government and is why nothing and I mean NOTHING the government does is on time, on budget and delivers exactly what the public needs.

Remember that when next you step into the Voting Booth. And you guys in Georgia’s 4th Congressional District, the jokes on you!!

BT: Jimmy T sends.