James:

Yea – we are actually building the DDG 1001. After an anticipated build time of 6 years, the ship will go live in 2014. 100$ says the within 6 months of this tub actually making it out sea, if will be discovered that she is unsuitable for open sea activity and that the ship stabilization system is insuficient. 200$ says, that the junction between the all composite deckhouse and the steel ship will show cracks and design flaws such that within one year the ship will require extensive modification. 500$ says, that ships crew will balloon well past the projected 149 (go to at least 250)as the automated systems will prove to be inadequate. 1000$ says, that this ship will never be built.

Dfens:

Here’s some more of your tax dollars down the tube:

John Young, the Pentagon’s top weapons buyer, certified that upgrades on the newer model planes were necessary for national security reasons, staving off a possible cancellation of the overall program, said Pentagon spokesman Chris Isleib. Under the restructuring plan, the cost of the pared-down C-5 modernization program will drop to $7.7 billion from last September’s estimate of $17.5 billion for the overall program. That compares with initial estimates of $11.1 billion when the program began in November 2001, he said. ‘This is a good news story. We have saved the taxpayers $9.8 billion dollars, and we have an aggressive new plan to manage this program,’ Young said in a statement. – Reuters

Funny the way they always cut these programs in production, where the contractor makes less money, and never in development where they make the most. I wonder if anyone in this congressional review thought to ask why the C-5 cost twice to do the same thing that was done to the C-130J for less of an upgrade? Nah, they never ask a question they don’t want to know the answer to. Funny though, how it took half as much money and half the time to do the privately funded development of the C-130J. I’d be interested in knowing why it cost so much less, wouldn’t you? I mean, it’s your money.

Dfens:

Just in time for ‘Engineer’s Week’ a game show where the prize is you get a dead end job where someone else gets to take credit for your intellect and work. The real irony is, anyone stupid enough to fall for this crap is too dumb to make it through the college course work. Gotta love that.

Teams from several area high schools will compete for trophies and prizes from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday at the Orlando Science Center in honor of National Engineers Week. Lockheed Martin Corp. will present ‘Who Wants to be an Engineer,’ a science- and math-themed game show patterned after the television show Who Wants to be a Millionaire, in which student teams will compete for a donation to their school’s math and science departments. The Orlando Science Center is host for the annual event created by Lockheed Martin. The game teaches students about the effect of math, science and engineering on their daily lives. Students are asked science and math questions and given multiple choices for the answers. Just like the TV show, they can select a ’50/50′ elimination or select a friend or teacher to help them with the answer. The semifinals of the competition will be in OSC’s Cinedome, and the finals will take place in the Darden Theater. – Orlando Sentinel

Dfens:

Oh, this is perfect for ‘engineer’s week’. There is a video about a group that advises companies on how they can place ads for engineers that can’t be filled domestically. This way the company can get approval for an H-1b visa slot so they can go overseas and hire someone. Very classy. Damn, I feel more special as each day of ‘engineer’s week’ passes. Makes me proud to be a prospective member of the North American Union, eh amigos?