ABC News is reports that a train carrying two SRBs for the Space Shuttle has plunged into an Alabama swamp. Understand, these are the same SRBs that doomed the Columbia. SRBs are made in segments not for technical reasons but in spite of technical reasons. In a porkbarrel deal the prefered design of a single composite wound SRB was rejected in favor of the cast ring segments and infamous O-Ring design because it steered the contracts to favored manufacturers and favored transport modes (trains).
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
More Victims Of Congressional Pork
ABC News is reports that a train carrying two SRBs for the Space Shuttle has plunged into an Alabama swamp. Understand, these are the same SRBs that doomed the Columbia. SRBs are made in segments not for technical reasons but in spite of technical reasons. In a porkbarrel deal the prefered design of a single composite wound SRB was rejected in favor of the cast ring segments and infamous O-Ring design because it steered the contracts to favored manufacturers and favored transport modes (trains).
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yeah baby. take that dude!
Dammit....Dammit....Dammit
I was going for the unprecedented 3peat again. I've been foiled by Darth VaderDawg and the Dark Side.....
Dude thinks Dude has Dawg's routine figured out. Dude don't know when Dawg might pee on carpet. Bad Dawg sure but bad Dude too for thinking the Dawg can be paper trained.
Congrats Aaron....I am reduced to looser status once again.
Dawg:
Challenger.
Columbia was a different kind of stupid.
On topic (for once)
Which astronaut was it that said something along the lines of his confidence was not boosted by the knowledge he was sitting atop a million parts, all provided by the lowest cost provider?
casey's latest post has me convinced like other's here that casey went to tahoe b/c G was pissed and wanted some time w/o his lazy ass around.
Also the SIL may have said to get out for a while. I'm still not convinced he paid rent through July. I mean in Casey's world if he says something that obviously means its true."Y I'm going to tahoe and I'll be back with the money". translation. im going to figure out a way to scam some money to get her to lay off me for a little while longer. Watch...in 2 weeks another post from casey saying that the money he gave Y mysteriously disappeared. He didn't come up with $2,500 overnight. However if he did truely take it from his Corp. well then I think he's stepped even further over the line so that he has a better shot at arrest.
Don't even get me started on NASA.
There's an old joke about how, when the Americans were preparing to go into space, they had a need for a zero-gravity writing instrument. So they put it out for contract, and somebody came up with the now-famous space pen, which cost over a million dollars to design and manufacture.
The Russians used a pencil.
(Not an entirely true story, but the fact remains that NASA has always been a haven for scientists and contractors pursuing their own pet projects at the expense of the American taxpayer.)
I'll be deliberately provocative: Can you cite a law passed by Congress stating shuttle solid rocket boosters must use a particular design?
urban legend
Note that graphite fragments conduct & can get into electronics in a weightless environment.
zzzzzzt bad.
Wagga™
Doh! [dope slaps self, reaches for medicinal alcohol.]
'Scourse, them "C" shuttles. Yeah, the Columbia stupid was of the "ain't broke, don't fix" variety.
I saw the Enterprise last month. Biggest freakin' rock I've ever seen. You get jaded in the biz but then you get one of those reality checks. While I was there (Dulles Smithsonian Air&Space) I was looking at a WW-II kamakazi piloted bomb. The docent was talking to some old guy. Turns out the "old guy" was one of the soldiers who found the cache on a Pacific island that included that exact vehicle. How's that fer kewl?
There's an old joke about how, when the Americans were preparing to go into space, they had a need for a zero-gravity writing instrument. So they put it out for contract, and somebody came up with the now-famous space pen, which cost over a million dollars to design and manufacture.
The Russians used a pencil.
(Not an entirely true story, but the fact remains that NASA has always been a haven for scientists and contractors pursuing their own pet projects at the expense of the American taxpayer.)
Apocryphal. The pen wasn't paid for by taxpayer. The development was expensive but the advertising value alone paid back many times over. Same with $500 "toilet seats."
I often recall that some of the Russian cosmonauts came back from the early apollo/soyuz link ups convinced that the Soviet Union was doomed. they went up pride of the Motherland and came back defeated warriors. Why? Well the US astronauts had these pocket calculator thingies with more computational power than the Soyuz craft and the Astronauts noted that these were personal items not mission components and were essentially disposable. That's when we won the Cold War.
@ Milton's Ghost (two posts ago): Where's Benoit, there must be some limerick material
Best on short notice, I have a Looser Job™ to attend to... hehe:
Said Casey, "I need a big break
I think that I'll go to the lake!"
Using his corporation,
He took a vacation
Because he's a special snow-flake :-)
Google "morton thiokol congress SRB funding"
For instance one of hundreds:
http://tsgcserv.csr.utexas.edu/archive/general/ethics/boosters.html
Do you suppose other things besides the Vdubs windows were about to be broken, and that’s why Snowflake left town?
I don’t think he paid SIL the required rent money either, like he said he did. He probably told SIL that he’d have the money by the end of the week, SIL said great, don’t comeback until you have the cash. I think Case may finally be free from the bonds of marriage that were holding him back from success. It’s all good.
Yo Ho,
Yo Ho,
A homeless life for me!
Homelessness - 100% success rate.
Holy cow did this Timeline Guy post have me dying.
112. TimeLineGuy
May 1st, 2007 at 10:11 am I need some advidse™
I need to be bold. I need to be decisive. I need action and a plan. But before I make a bold move, I want to test it out slowly (I tend to get burned when I am distracted by shiny things™). Before I commit to living in a van, I want to make sure that it will be allright™. I spent the morning talking to my network of highly trained professionals™ to get their input on my idea. You see, it is sort of like having an executive committee that I can consult before making new and career path changing decisions. I see much value being added by stepping up™ into living in a car.
This will enhance the marketability of me and showcase my many talents and (hopefully) demonstrate my management skills™ vis-à-vis my foreclosure help website. You see, I feel blessed™ by having the vision™ to foresee not a stationary consulting business, but a mobile 24/7 action team headquarters that can instantly spring into action as duty may call.
Unfortunately, G™ doesn’t seem to see it that way.
I spent the morning looking around on craigslist and cars.com and other valuable resources (there’s my network™ again). I found a 1987 Dodge Caravan with 387,000 miles on it for $50 (sweet™! It’s in my budget). I think that if I can remove the rear seat I will have just enough room for a sleeping bag (or a blanket, as I haven’t been to REI to research virgin free-range goose down bags with alpaca/polyethylene liners and a gore-tex/100% recycled TPFE outer shell). Although the owner originally wanted $75 for the van, I was able to use my highly refined negotiating skills™ to get to the more reasonable price I obtained.
I think that the insurance cost will be significantly less, although I am somewhat concerned that the van hasn’t been registered since 1994. Should that be a problem?
I am also looking forward to no longer having a mailing address, so sorting the mail and dealing with all of those associated issues should get much easier. With my new found mobility, I hope to be able to immediately respond to homeowners in financial distress and share my wisdom and knowledge with them. I am hoping that I can build a referral network™ through these people who I help find financial salvation.
More details on my new planned living arrangements:
Kitchen – I found a great deal on a hibachi at Wal Mart for $11.87 (that’s also where I bought 11 quarts of Marvel Mystery Oil to try and quiet some of the noise coming from the engine – note to self™ I need to have a mechanic make a post-purchase inspection). Because my van has running boards, I can bolt it onto the passenger’s side (so if I am dining on the roadside I will not create a safety hazard). Also, by mounting it on the side, I will be able to save on lighter fluid buy driving around the block a couple of times a 25-30 MPH to create a draft and get the fire hot (idea guy™, remember?)
Dishwashing – Since my needs will be simple, I only need a small Tupperware container. I can get hot water from the radiator easily, since the heater core is blocked and the previous owner has plugged off the heater hoses. With a few feet of surplus garden hose I can have plenty of hot water for dishes and an occasional shower if need be.
Dish drying will follow along the lines of hibachi startup, but at higher speeds. I am still experimenting. 65 MPH seems to™ high (a plate was ejected on US 80 during the first test) but 25 MPH takes to™ long. I think maybe Watt Ave at 40 MPH would be about right.
I am hoping to get to Big Bob’s Used Carpet Emporium today to get some shag carpet (yeah baby!) to replace the 20 year old well-worn upholstery. I need it to look professional if I am to have a successful mobile consulting service. I plan to use the passenger’s seat as the reception area. Since the passenger’s seat has some spring sticking out, I am planning to remove it and instead pace the Blue Ball™ their™ to make it look more avant-garde. I don’t think it is legal to drive while sitting on a Blue Ball™ so I will have to conduct my consulting from a parked location.
Clothing/Personal effects storage seems to be problematic. Their™ I no concealed storage in the van, and I don’t want my clients to see my vast wardrobe. I was thinking about one of those roof mounted streamlined storage devises™ but they cost more than the van. Perhaps I can improvise™ something. Cardboard seems to™ flimsy, but one of my networked professionals™ has some leftover latex paint that is about the same as one of the colors on the van so it won’t look to™ mis-matched.
I am still having trouble with my new phone system so I can’t yet post any pictures. The minimum image file size is still way to™ large. Be patient.
If one of my professional sin my network™ has graphic art skills I could use it to make a handsome and professional graphic and lettering on the sides of the van. I want too™ come up with a bold logo, and paint it very large (to cover some of the rust) on the sides and hood. What about painting it in reverse on the hood so it is readable on the road, just like an ambulance.
I plan to park initially in neighborhoods that have been overbuild and where prices have run far to™ high (thanks for the marketing tip, Amy™!) for a few days to build some grass-roots marketing. I can also take some time out of my soon to be busy days to build a larger network with bird-dogging™ postal professionals™. Roger, my regular mailman has been a bitter disappointment. In nearly four months he has not yet brought a viable deal too™ the tabel™. I plan to have 35-50 postal professionals in my enhanced network™ by June 1. At that pace I should be able to bird dog™ between 2 and 89 deals a weak™.
I have to admit that I was overly optimistic in my apartment building venture. While I initially wanted $5,000 amonth™ in passive income, with my mobile web based consulting business, I think that between $1,000 and $1,500 should suit me well. Clearly it will take longer to establish my reputation as the leading mobile foreclosure consulting firm on the west coast, but the effort will be well directed. Long term I envision franchising the business model as I reach out to help those less fortunate than I. I feel blessed™ to have come up with this concept. I really did fall forward™. Stay tuned. I found some delicious organic maple cured free-range hormone free (modified vegan™?) bacon at the whole Earth Food Store that is normally $15.99 a pound for $11.99 a pound. I am going to treat myself for having made such an excellent negotiation on the van.
Somebody find out who Timeline Guy is an give him a freakin' award. He_is_good....
"However it requires some of my time for approval. To expedite the approval process I will let people “bribe me” with a PayPal donation. The bigger the donation the faster the approval time."
He now wants donations.
Note that graphite fragments conduct & can get into electronics in a weightless environment.
Then you use a crayon.
Really, it's just not that hard. And I'm sure the pen story drives NASA people crazy, and they spend considerable amounts of energy trying to shut it down--because defending its own relevancy is what NASA does best.
Apocryphal. The pen wasn't paid for by taxpayer. The development was expensive but the advertising value alone paid back many times over. Same with $500 "toilet seats."
Too bad taxpayers did pay for the Shuttle, which cost far more than a few pens or any $500 toilet seats, and which was largely unnecessary when tried-and-true rocket lift systems work even better and at a much, much lower cost. And, of course, there's the question of how many flights actually need to be manned.
But high-profile manned flights in a cool-looking spacecraft are good for publicity, and good for getting the word out about how much the space program is doing . . . and defending its own relevancy is what NASA does best.
That Timeline Guy is great.
As to the rent. Come on. He owed 2 months back ($1100) and needed two months forward ($1100) but now he's paid up through July? That's 5 months or $2650. If Dandelion really had $2650 he was insane to do this. I can see him though. Confronted with pay back plus two months his ego runs away and says smuggly; "Here's the two months back and here's the two months forward and here's another month. Wadda ya think of them apples?" Dickweed. I hope he arranged for the Wednesday trash to carried out.
Swab the all-knowing idiot has posted regarding Casey's wrap. Now remember, this is an SLC area house, although I'm not sure exactly where. Swab says:
"Real estate has slowed down in the county where this home is located, so these flippers may soon be in trouble."
Hahahahahahaha. Is this Mr. 20% increase, who has also forecast double digit gains through 2007 and 2008? Hahahahaha.
It's a very sobering feeling to be up in space and realize that one's safety factor was determined by the lowest bidder on a government contract.
-Alan Shepard
He owed 2 months. May was the 3rd month. June and July are the two months in advance.
His corporate credit came in a few days ago. That is why he was more relaxed in his latest posts. If he got the full $50,000 that he was expecting, he can pay off several of his debts and live the high life for several more months (by which time his next corporation should be producing credit).
There is no God, American Justice is a joke, and we (the honest chumps) are all Loosers.
12:45 Lurker-on what do you base your timeline that he just received his corp. credit?
casey needs a vacation to read over 1000 emails??
select All-DELETE...
thats what normal people do.
The emotions conveyed in his Mid April posts were very depressed and not having any options. By April 30th he was trolling us. He was also buying car insurance, getting his car fixed (probably including the stereo) paying thousands in rent, and going up to Tahoe (which will include eating out). Something major happened to his financial situation. Parents paying rent would not include Tahoe or car insurance. Income tax return would have required filing his taxes. I know of nothing on the horizon except his corporation that would generate his money.
@Lurker
If you browse his past posts, you will see that this is a repeating cycle.
He posts some 'progress' posts; usually describing some completely useless thing he calls work.
Then he talks about the things that happen that remind him that he's in a bad situation; and he describes how he avoids these reminders.
Then he'll talk about something that interferes with his avoidance.
He has a defensive moment, when he feels the need to flare up at the comments made by his circle of Haterz™.
Then he gets into a low phase, where he cries 'woe is me!' and whines for a while.
Then he returns with a brightened outlook, and a rosy future glistening in his eyes.
[Repeat}
Challenger, not Columbia.
Challenger blew up 70 seconds after lift off, Columbia broke apart during re-entry.
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