Archive for January, 2006
Here’s another shot at Timmeh’s:
It’s cool, as are all Tomcat pictures, but this one is special since it includes the ROVER antenna. I noted ROVER (Remotely Operated Video Enhanced Receiver) transmits the Tomcat’s targeting display data (pictures) down to a laptop on the ground. Follow the link for more info.
Timmeh writes:
The small, bright green antenna is mounted on the closer bomb rail (follow the starred stripe down and aft and you’ll hit it). It is a huge improvement in our abilities to help the guys on the ground, and makes our older, soon-to-be-retired jet one of the most capable air support platforms in the campaign.
It must be that blue-looking thing. At least it’s blue on my monitor, and my wife agreed with me. Also, if you look closely you can see the Roosevelt in the distance underneath.
I just LOVE America!
Frank Warner notes this:
As Cuban dictator Fidel Castro began speaking to a crowd he had gathered Tuesday in front of the official U.S. mission building in Havana, the U.S. mission lit up an electronic message on the fifth floor that startled the tyrant.
Prepare to be Offended in 3…2…1…
Charlie Munn on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and the “gay issue” in the military.
Murdoc has never commented on this before, and it’s because Murdoc wants only what’s best for the military. Since Murdoc hasn’t served and doesn’t have first-hand knowledge of the effect this generally very-personal issue has on the uniformed services, I can’t really comment with any meaningful authority.
Whatever is best for our fighting men and women is what we need. My personal beliefs make me hope on a personal level that the military would truly be better off without homosexuals, but that’s just me. My personal wishes and feelings are not relevant. Political ends of any sort are not important. What’s important is our national security and the capability of our military to protect us, blow up things, and kill bad guys.
Anyone who thinks that this is an issue that needs to be resolved “fairly” or “nicely” or in any way that engenders anything except additional dead enemy personnel is sorely confused.
(Murdoc is not interested in debating this in any way, shape, or form. Comments on this post are closed. Comments about this post on other posts will be summarily deleted. I will not respond to any email regarding this topic. That is all.)
Heavy metal displayed at auto show
On Army.mil:
WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Jan. 26, 2006) Amidst the 800 shiny new cars at the 2006 Washington D.C. Auto Show, the Stryker stands out like a sturdy green oak in a flower garden.“We’re here in support of recruiting command and basically to show the taxpayers what they’re getting for their money,” said Randall R. Rankin, spokesperson for the Stryker display. “It’s big, it’s green, it’s got a gun on it, and it draws a crowd.”
This is apparently a standard infantry carrier vehicle (ICV) variant. At last year’s Chicago Auto Show, Murdoc got to check out the command vehicle variant.
And good news! After DC this 8-wheeled monster is headed to Chicago. If Murdoc can swing it, he’s going to check it out.
In the meantime, don’t miss my photos of last year’s close encounter with the Stryker in the Windy City.
This shot is from the more recent ones at Timmeh’s, who is photoblogging the Last Cruise of the Tomcats.
While hunting down hotlinkers who are stealing my bandwidth, I came across this pic of an M79 grenade launcher. It’s cool, so I snagged it:
New EMT convicted in fatal prank
Though warned, he shocked a co-worker with a defibrillator
Ridiculous and tragic:
Joshua Philip Martin was in his fourth day on the job as a rescue-squad worker in Russell County when, in a playful mood, he decided to reach into the front seat of the ambulance and zap one of his co-workers with the defibrillator paddles. The rookie’s mistake was fatal.
I meant to point this out a couple of days ago, but fortunately Michelle Malkin didn’t put it off like Murdoc did:
THE AMAZON.COM REVIEW CESSPOOL
An editor at Crown Forum books, a Conservative publisher with Random House, noted the, um, ‘creative’ reviews and uploaded images on Amazon and wrote this:
Amazon already has contracts with Liberal newspapers and magazines that are free to post bad reviews (obviously) of Conservative books. However, they offer no such contracts to Conservative media and therefore offer no way to refute what is said in the negative Liberal reviews, other than what we are allowed to put in our own ‘quotes’ section.These types of business practices by Amazon are completely unacceptable; for them not to monitor these images that anyone can put up and for them not to make any effort to support their Conservative business partners is awful.
The whole thing seems pretty ridiculous to Murdoc. I mean, who’s going to take those crappy reviews and images seriously? Doesn’t that hurt Amazon’s standing as a serious seller? I’d be curious to know if extreme Righty efforts in a similar vein are treated similarly.
FWIW, the images don’t seem to be up any longer. For more, including sample images and reader reviews, see Malkin’s post.
A couple of weeks ago I noted the M80 Stiletto low-wake landing craft.
Today, Noah at Defense Tech has a great link-filled post up on the thing, so be sure to check it out at SEAL Ship: Silent But Deadly.
To be honest, I’m not sure why I didn’t cross-post this at Defense Tech myself at the time. This is totally the sort of thing that I usually earmark for the DT treatment…
Here’s another look at the Russian slat armor on their BTR-80 APC, which I noted recently. See Strategy Page for a better look.
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