Tuesday, July 17, 2007
THE SPACE EDUCATORS' HANDBOOK
I just stumbled across a really cool site. It has tons of stuff from the archives of Space history. Especially pleasing to me was all of the cool concept sketches from the early days of the space race. What a treasure trove!!!
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
I am sooooo hungry I could eat a HIPPO!!!
I know I have said it before! But I know I didn't mean it. Appearently, this snake didn't know the serious side effects of such a meal... WOW!
This is one of those videos that makes you realize that the creatures we often don't give much thought to just might eat us if we are not careful.
This is one of those videos that makes you realize that the creatures we often don't give much thought to just might eat us if we are not careful.
Friday, June 15, 2007
The Planet Formerly Known as Pluto
When the International Astronomical Union's 2500 members voted to demote Pluto from our ninth planet to a founding member of the subclass of dwarf planets, I was initially annoyed. Over the ensuing months I have reconsidered my annoyance. While it is true that the solar system order has changed on one level of classified thinking, it is also true that this change is for the betterment of our under standing of the vast vacuum that surrounds this blue paradisaical marble in space. It pompted a discussion about the solar system with my oldest son and that is always a good thing. Hence, I too have joined the club of folks who now recognise the planet formerly known as Pluto, as a planet no more but as a dwarf indeed. Especially, in the light of new observations that show us just how lucky Lowell was when he discovered the large frozen rock of Pluto.
here is an interesting article that confirms Pluto's place as the first of the Kuiper Belt objects. Eris is actually larger than Pluto and in the coming months and years the other objects being tracked will also emerge from the blackness and who knows maybe one of them will be even bigger still.
here is an interesting article that confirms Pluto's place as the first of the Kuiper Belt objects. Eris is actually larger than Pluto and in the coming months and years the other objects being tracked will also emerge from the blackness and who knows maybe one of them will be even bigger still.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Trojan Armor System
This is the second time I have written this post today. I was 95% complete when I saved it and exited the system figuring to polish it up a bit more before posting. I was greatly surprised to find that the only version of the post that existed was missing the entire text of the post previously written. Garrr!!! So let the bell ring! Here goes round two for the Trojan Armor post.
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I discovered a cool site called technovelgy - where science meets science fiction. A quirky name but the site is chalk full of cool stories of the sci-fi world of tomorrow becoming the science world of today.
I began exploring with Armor the first section listed on the site and my there are quite a few others. One article jumped out at me; it was titled "Exoskeleton Like Halo Suit" - The subtitle gave me the clue that it was the latest from Troy Hurtubise it read, "If you can build a suit to fight with bears, you can build a military exoskeleton with some practical experience built in. " (Technovelgy, 2007) . I clicked the link and was pleased by the image of armor before my eyes. I seemed practical in and it did indeed have that MJOLINAR-esque look to it. Towards the bottom I found the link to the reference article from The Hamilton Spectator titled, From bears to bullets. I learned more and figured there had to be more so I googled "Trojan Armor System" and "Troy Hurtubise" several other combinations looking for additional information on this cool armor prototype. I found these few choice items for you my loyal readers.
First there is a good YouTube Video of a press release session by Troy. It is worth watching and has some fun antidotes concerning his inspiration and motivation for designing Trojan.
Second is another blog called Defense Tech there is some good discussion on the Trojan Armor vs Dragon Skin body armor. Several good points were made here and I would recommend the read to you all.
Third is a bit of information from the Office of the Armed Forces Medical Examiner concerning the critical holes in the existing body armor system in use by the United States Armed Forces in Afghanistan and Iraq. Which when examined in connection with this post and the Defense Tech blog's points on body armor it make Troy's commentary on the Military Brass and Politicians all the more scorching in my opinion. There are good men and women dying because they are being forced to wear substandard armor that the OAFME has clearly shown to be deficient in areas that both Dragon Skin and Trojan seem capable of defending with their armor. Why serious effort by the US Armed Forces haven't done more with these two options I have no
Take a look at the graphic below and draw your own conclusions.
OAFME Armor Analysis
Finally this next bit is a strong editorial observation. The deprivation of improved armor systems is nearly as criminal an act when committed by the Military Brass; as is the failure by political leaders to properly mobilization of the army. REMF'ers should never dictate front line policies. PERIOD!
When one sends out the Armies one is supposed to do so in accordance with Sun Tzu's most practical instruction found in The Art of War; I will paraphrase it rather simply as "Stay out of your General's hair once you engage the Army. "
Ultimately the Army has one purpose and one purpose alone, for some this will seem harsh but it is truth and truth must never be ignored. That purpose is TO BREAK THE WILL OF THE LIVING ENEMY AND TO KILL ALL ENEMIES WHO WILL NOT BE BROKEN. And the way to do that is as Patton said "No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country." If winning the war is not the reason you are sending forth these brave soldiers then it is unconscionable act, of shame and possibly even murderous treason. The soldier is to be respected especially by the politician; it is the soldier who supports the politician. There reverse should be true. Insuring that our soldiers have advanced armor is critical to this effort because it grants your troops the tactical advantage to carry out that wise observation of one of the greatest military generals of all time; 'Old Blood and Guts' himself!
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I discovered a cool site called technovelgy - where science meets science fiction. A quirky name but the site is chalk full of cool stories of the sci-fi world of tomorrow becoming the science world of today.
I began exploring with Armor the first section listed on the site and my there are quite a few others. One article jumped out at me; it was titled "Exoskeleton Like Halo Suit" - The subtitle gave me the clue that it was the latest from Troy Hurtubise it read, "If you can build a suit to fight with bears, you can build a military exoskeleton with some practical experience built in. " (Technovelgy, 2007) . I clicked the link and was pleased by the image of armor before my eyes. I seemed practical in and it did indeed have that MJOLINAR-esque look to it. Towards the bottom I found the link to the reference article from The Hamilton Spectator titled, From bears to bullets. I learned more and figured there had to be more so I googled "Trojan Armor System" and "Troy Hurtubise" several other combinations looking for additional information on this cool armor prototype. I found these few choice items for you my loyal readers.
First there is a good YouTube Video of a press release session by Troy. It is worth watching and has some fun antidotes concerning his inspiration and motivation for designing Trojan.
Second is another blog called Defense Tech there is some good discussion on the Trojan Armor vs Dragon Skin body armor. Several good points were made here and I would recommend the read to you all.
Third is a bit of information from the Office of the Armed Forces Medical Examiner concerning the critical holes in the existing body armor system in use by the United States Armed Forces in Afghanistan and Iraq. Which when examined in connection with this post and the Defense Tech blog's points on body armor it make Troy's commentary on the Military Brass and Politicians all the more scorching in my opinion. There are good men and women dying because they are being forced to wear substandard armor that the OAFME has clearly shown to be deficient in areas that both Dragon Skin and Trojan seem capable of defending with their armor. Why serious effort by the US Armed Forces haven't done more with these two options I have no
Take a look at the graphic below and draw your own conclusions.
OAFME Armor AnalysisFinally this next bit is a strong editorial observation. The deprivation of improved armor systems is nearly as criminal an act when committed by the Military Brass; as is the failure by political leaders to properly mobilization of the army. REMF'ers should never dictate front line policies. PERIOD!
When one sends out the Armies one is supposed to do so in accordance with Sun Tzu's most practical instruction found in The Art of War; I will paraphrase it rather simply as "Stay out of your General's hair once you engage the Army. "
Ultimately the Army has one purpose and one purpose alone, for some this will seem harsh but it is truth and truth must never be ignored. That purpose is TO BREAK THE WILL OF THE LIVING ENEMY AND TO KILL ALL ENEMIES WHO WILL NOT BE BROKEN. And the way to do that is as Patton said "No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country." If winning the war is not the reason you are sending forth these brave soldiers then it is unconscionable act, of shame and possibly even murderous treason. The soldier is to be respected especially by the politician; it is the soldier who supports the politician. There reverse should be true. Insuring that our soldiers have advanced armor is critical to this effort because it grants your troops the tactical advantage to carry out that wise observation of one of the greatest military generals of all time; 'Old Blood and Guts' himself!
Friday, May 25, 2007
A look at Mars Exploration, Google Style...
Google Earth is a wonderful tool for viewing the imagery collected by satellites and aerial photography. BUT did you know that there is the same option available for Mars to be viewed. It is admittedly in its BETA development phases due to the lacking nature of imagery available to Google at the moment but someday soon it will be just as useful to the planetary researchers a its Earth centric predecessor.
The following link is to a view of all the spacecraft that have either landed on Mars or crashed attempting to land on Mars. By clicking on the links on the side it will highlight the site with a text bubble and a picture. Then if you click on the picture it will take you to a page where you can read about the probe.
I learned something today that I was unaware of previously. The USSR sent three probes to Mars before the USA. All save one crashed on landing and the Mars2 only transmitted for 20 seconds after landing. This seems typical for what I have learned of the Old Soviet Era, it was ever the quest for quantity and never the heartfelt concern for quality. In sharp contrast the Viking 1 probe not only landed but also operated for 6 years; similarly Viking 2 remained operational for 3.5 years after landing.
The probes of this decade have had their own slough of failures and successes though none seem to be as unexpected as the two rovers (Spirit and Opportunity) that are still operational and sending valuable information back.
http://www.google.com/mars/#lat=2.108898&lon=-153.28125&zoom=2&q=spacecraft
The following link is to a view of all the spacecraft that have either landed on Mars or crashed attempting to land on Mars. By clicking on the links on the side it will highlight the site with a text bubble and a picture. Then if you click on the picture it will take you to a page where you can read about the probe.
I learned something today that I was unaware of previously. The USSR sent three probes to Mars before the USA. All save one crashed on landing and the Mars2 only transmitted for 20 seconds after landing. This seems typical for what I have learned of the Old Soviet Era, it was ever the quest for quantity and never the heartfelt concern for quality. In sharp contrast the Viking 1 probe not only landed but also operated for 6 years; similarly Viking 2 remained operational for 3.5 years after landing.
The probes of this decade have had their own slough of failures and successes though none seem to be as unexpected as the two rovers (Spirit and Opportunity) that are still operational and sending valuable information back.
http://www.google.com/mars/#lat=2.108898&lon=-153.28125&zoom=2&q=spacecraft
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Combat Armor Concepts
I have done considerable research on my own on suits of armor and other armor systems, for my epic sci-fi adventure story, I figured I would comment. On the latest combat armor imagery I have been exposed to as a result of the media blitz surrounding the roll out of Starcraft 2 by Blizzard.
I watched the Starcraft 2 Cinematic with the suiting up of a space marine; Tychus Findlay. I enjoyed it immensely. I love the sequence! It is unique and inventive. And I would never want the process done to me.
The whole process raises several serious concerns in my mind. First, if you ever needed to escape your armor to save your life. Being welded into it you have no where to go. Though I grant you that the sequence seems to hint that the Terran Marines are impressed criminals rather than voluntary civilians. Thus welding the convict into their armor is a way to force loyalty as it is a sort of prison cell that the commander would doubtlessly have a kill switch for emergencies. Thus it would be the commander's way or they die in the suit. It would be effective I suspect though that would explain a few issues I have always had with the Terran Space Marine.
Second, it seems highly impractical to have to have this processor anywhere you needed marines. Sure it could be done but why? It is very energy intensive and the process seems in efficient some how. I will grant you that sequence seems plausible enough.
The other oddity is the proportions of the armor. It seems to not be a good fit in this respect. Since we know from the video that the hand is inside the gauntlets and the feet are at the bottom of the boots. Take a look at this image from Blizzard's website. Once you have watched the cinematic this oddity appears. Oh it is after all just a game, a highly desired and well loved game in the end but this is one of those little details that I have always noticed. Take a look and tell me what you think.
Don't get me wrong I love the sequence. I am just noting items that seem odd to me with the this design.
Additionally, I noted with interest that there is some from of internal interface plug in bedded into the convict marine. Though I am not certain of its purpose in the whole scheme of things. Perhaps it is similar to the heart plug used by the Harkonens in Dune to control Thufer Hawat.
The gauntlet was a particularly smooth sequence. I liked the hand interface it seems simple and very practical. Kudos to the design team and the modeling team there at Blizzard.
Again I am IMPRESSED by this video and its quality. My comments are simply observations on the combat armor itself.
I'll be wandering off now... ;)
I watched the Starcraft 2 Cinematic with the suiting up of a space marine; Tychus Findlay. I enjoyed it immensely. I love the sequence! It is unique and inventive. And I would never want the process done to me.
The whole process raises several serious concerns in my mind. First, if you ever needed to escape your armor to save your life. Being welded into it you have no where to go. Though I grant you that the sequence seems to hint that the Terran Marines are impressed criminals rather than voluntary civilians. Thus welding the convict into their armor is a way to force loyalty as it is a sort of prison cell that the commander would doubtlessly have a kill switch for emergencies. Thus it would be the commander's way or they die in the suit. It would be effective I suspect though that would explain a few issues I have always had with the Terran Space Marine.
Second, it seems highly impractical to have to have this processor anywhere you needed marines. Sure it could be done but why? It is very energy intensive and the process seems in efficient some how. I will grant you that sequence seems plausible enough.
The other oddity is the proportions of the armor. It seems to not be a good fit in this respect. Since we know from the video that the hand is inside the gauntlets and the feet are at the bottom of the boots. Take a look at this image from Blizzard's website. Once you have watched the cinematic this oddity appears. Oh it is after all just a game, a highly desired and well loved game in the end but this is one of those little details that I have always noticed. Take a look and tell me what you think.
Don't get me wrong I love the sequence. I am just noting items that seem odd to me with the this design.
Additionally, I noted with interest that there is some from of internal interface plug in bedded into the convict marine. Though I am not certain of its purpose in the whole scheme of things. Perhaps it is similar to the heart plug used by the Harkonens in Dune to control Thufer Hawat.
The gauntlet was a particularly smooth sequence. I liked the hand interface it seems simple and very practical. Kudos to the design team and the modeling team there at Blizzard.
Again I am IMPRESSED by this video and its quality. My comments are simply observations on the combat armor itself.
I'll be wandering off now... ;)
Monday, May 21, 2007
StarCraft 2 website
What a cool look and feel to the www.starcraft2.com site! I look forward to playing this game. I haven't done that in nearly five years! The thing that has me even more excited is that this time I will have my seven year old to play with from time to time. I look forward to that one. My sweet wife isn't much on the video games because it is a waste of time. She is right but at least now I can waste it with my son! =D
If you don't know what I am talking about then let me just refer you to the original game's website ( http://www.blizzard.com/starcraft/ )read through its accolades and then know that it has been a full decade since the original appeared on our radars in some cases. We all loved this game and begged for years on numerous sites and forums for a second installment that continued the story we were abandoned with at the conclusion of the Brood War Expansion Pack ( http://www.blizzard.com/broodwar/ ). Now our hopes are realized and the graphics are AWESOME! WOW! I have watched it again.. Okay actually a few more times then that... and I am really looking forward to this game. Blizzard put it quite well on their website intro:
HECK YAH!!!!
I have many friends and relatives who I used to play with over Battle.net and I hope that we all will enjoy many more hours of pure enjoyment this coming holiday season... Since I am convinced that Blizzard is going for the Christmas season release on this game there by completing the ten year cycle.
If you don't know what I am talking about then let me just refer you to the original game's website ( http://www.blizzard.com/starcraft/ )read through its accolades and then know that it has been a full decade since the original appeared on our radars in some cases. We all loved this game and begged for years on numerous sites and forums for a second installment that continued the story we were abandoned with at the conclusion of the Brood War Expansion Pack ( http://www.blizzard.com/broodwar/ ). Now our hopes are realized and the graphics are AWESOME! WOW! I have watched it again.. Okay actually a few more times then that... and I am really looking forward to this game. Blizzard put it quite well on their website intro:
HECK YAH!!!!I have many friends and relatives who I used to play with over Battle.net and I hope that we all will enjoy many more hours of pure enjoyment this coming holiday season... Since I am convinced that Blizzard is going for the Christmas season release on this game there by completing the ten year cycle.
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