I Hate Dealing With the DMV

I really, really, really hate this, with an enduring passion.

Make it Stop!!!

Hillary Clinton will be launching a political organization shortly.

Can you say 2020?

Once again I feel compelled to murder the genius of Dr. Seuss for political commentary.  (After the break)

"Hillary Rodham Clinton will you please go now!
The time has come.
The time has come.
The time is now.
Just go.
Go.
Go!
I don't care how.
You can go by foot.
You can go by cow.
Hillary Rodham Clinton will you please go now!
You can go on skates.
You can go on skis.
You can go in a hat.
But
Please go.
Please!
I don't care.
You can go
By bike.
You can go
On a Zike-Bike
If you like.
If you like
You can go
In an old blue shoe.
Just go, go, GO!
Please do, do, do, DO!
Hillary Rodham Clinton
I don't care how.
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Will you please
GO NOW!
You can go on stilts.
You can go by fish.
You can go in a Crunk-Car
If you wish.
If you wish
You may go
By lion's tale.
Or stamp yourself
And go by mail.
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Don't you know
The time has come
To go, go, GO!
Get on your way!
Please Hillary C.!
You might like going in a Zumble-Zay.
You can go by balloon . . .
Or broomstick.
Or
You can go by camel
In a bureau drawer.
You can go by bumble-boat
. . . or jet.
I don't care how you go.
Just get!
Hillary Rodham Clinton!
I don't care how.
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Will you please
GO NOW!
I said
GO
And
GO
I meant . . .
The time had come
So . . .
Hillary WENT."

Let's Talk About the Backstory Here

When Dassault won the medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) contract, it wanted to partner with Reliance Industries, but the Indian Government insisted on local co-production be conducted by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), the company that took over 30 years to deliver the massively under-performing Tejas fighter aircraft.

When Dassault saw the level of technical competence at HAL, they refused to work with them, figuring that it would be a complete horror show, and they would be on the hook for this, so now we have India signing a deal for 36 French made fighters:

India has concluded a deal to acquire 36 Dassault Rafale fighters, with a contract signed in New Delhi by the nation’s defence minister, Manohar Parrikar, and his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian on 23 September.

The deal is worth €7.75 billion ($8.69 billion) for the French-built aircraft along with associated weapons and a support package.

Finalisation of the contract brings to a close a long-running acquisition process to equip the Indian air force with the Rafale, which was selected as the winner of its medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) tender in 2012, defeating the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and Eurofighter Typhoon. Other previous candidates for the deal included the Lockheed Martin F-16, RAC MiG-35 and Saab Gripen.

The air force was originally slated to acquire 126 aircraft via the programme, but the original deal ran aground over cost concerns. [Cost concerns my ass. Dassault found HAL incapable of executing a co-production deal] It was revived by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to France in 2105, when he declared that 36 aircraft would be acquired in “fly-away” condition from Dassault. This was keeping in view the “critical operational necessity” of the service, he said at the time.

This was the Rafale's first foreign sale, and it was a very big deal for Dassault, but they could not get co-production to work, but the fact that they had this order made it a viable choice on other foreign markets, which is why there are sales to Egypt and Qatar as well, so the deal, even if much diminished was a lifesaver for the Rafale production line.

The ineptitude of the Indian defense establishment in developing new systems (see the Tejas, the Arjun tank, the INSAS rifle system, etc.) remains staggering.

I Gotta Find Another Metaphor, This Is the 3Rd Time in as Many Days That I Am Referring To, "A Bagfull of Cats"

This time, I am referring to Ted Cruz, who is making noises about reentering the primary race:

Ever since Ted Cruz dropped out of the Republican presidential race last week, Glenn Beck and his co-hosts have been holding on to a sliver of hope that if Cruz could still somehow manage to win today's Republican primary in Nebraska, that would convince the Texas senator to unsuspend his campaign and re-enter the race.

Today, Cruz called into Beck's radio program and Beck's co-host Pat Gray directly asked Cruz about this possibility.

"If Nebraska were to somehow miraculously choose you tonight," Gray asked, "if that happened, would you consider getting back in the race?"

Cruz responded that he would certainly be open to that admittedly slight possibility.

Please.

Make.

Ir,

Stop.

H/t Charlie Pierce.

Ear Worms

I have had the Beatles song "Norwegian Wood" going through my head for about 3 hours.

I'm about ready to burn the whole country down.

Posted via mobile.

Please for the Love of God, Make It Stop

For the past week and a half, I have been unable to get a song out of my head:  Paul McCartney's Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey.

While it is among my favorite works of his post Beatles, after a week and a half I am willing to drive an ice pick into my skull.

GAH!!!!

https://youtu.be/XsWufNDJl4M

Posted via mobile.

My Wife Refuses to Appreciate My Beautiful Mind

I was talking to my Sharon^* and noted that she would never guess the latest place where the consequences of fracking.

She declined to guess, and I told her that it was Oklahoma, where they are freaking out over a 300 fold increase in the number of earthquakes brought on by rejecting waste water into deep wells.

This generated a blank look from my wife, and I said that pumping the water deep under ground causes earthquakes.

I got another blank look, and I explained how the water, when injected deep underground, lubricates between faults, and that the lubrication translates into more motion, Kind of Like Sex.

I got a "what the f%$# are you talking about?" look from her, so I further explained that proper lubrication allows for more motion.

And then I got That look from her.

If you have ever been married, you know the look that I'm talking about, the one that has you worrying about her sharp knives ……… and then you start to worry about her dull knives.

^*Love of my life, light of the cosmos, she who must be obeyed, my wife.

F#$@ Autocorrect

I am sending a text to She Who Must be Obeyed about getting a dorm fridge to our daughter, and future Tony Award winning actress, Natalie.

She wanted to get it here, and then schlep it up.

I thought that we could find something cheaper in the greater New York City area, so while commuting, I did a web search, and found something quite competitive less than a mile from her school.

What's more, the have free delivery.

It seemed like a winner to me, but when I attempted to text her that there was a better alternative in Manhattan, what I actually sent said, "Found cheaper fridges in lesbianism."

Lesbianism?!?  Seriously?!?

I am SO ready for Babel Fish enabled cell phones.

Posted via mobile.

If Anyone Out There Knows How to Make Link2SD work on a Kyocera Torque, Help Would Be Appreciated

Once again, reality has conspired to make me the family's tech support, in this case for both kids.

Curse You, Guardians of the Galaxy!!!

According to many sources, it's a decent movie.
That's all well and good, but in means that [it's everywhere], because it is the Summer blockbuster of the moment, as is its '70s soundtrack.
So, I have had Hooked on a Feeling stuck in my head all day, and I hate that fershlugginer song!!!
Gah!

Posted via mobile.

Gaaaahhhh!!!!!

My daughter's phone has stopped working.

The display and touch screen are dead, but the rest of the phone, an LG Mach LS 860, still works.

I've been trying to figure out a way to get the already MyPhoneExplorer synching software to run with no access to the screen.

Why do I do this sh%$?

What P.Z. Meyers Said

He wrote a post complaining about business as usual at the Democratic Party titled, "Democrats: You suck.

His experience is that, following making a small donation to a Democratic candidate for office, he has been bludgeoned into something approaching PTSD from their repeated fund raising requests:

………

……… At least I think that’s what they’re doing; I now look at the incoming source, and if it’s the Democrats, I don’t bother to pick up. And here I am, entirely sympathetic to that party (if dissatisfied with their conservatism), and I have a conditioned aversion now.

I’ve had enough. I can learn. And the moral I have learned is to never donate to the Democratic party.

Who’s the idiot behind this campaign? Is it actually working for them?

Do Republicans do the same thing to their donors, or do they just scam them with things like gold coins and quack cures?

Make it Stop!!!!

Crap. Monica Lewinsky is back, and Dick Cheney's wife is suggesting that it's some sort of Clinton plot.

Kill me.

Just kill me.

Gaah!!!!

I just spent the better part of three f#@&ing hours fixing an esoteric server problem with the Verizon SMTP servers that read bedeviling my wife's email program (Eudora).

We are talking in the weeds bulsh#@ port numbers and authentication settings.

I knew that one would work, but the permutations are a mind f#@$.

My gears us that someone retaken the thing because of Heartbleed.

FWIW, it was an SMTP server of smtp.verizon.net, authentication on, SSL/TLS on, port 465.

Shoot me now.

Posted via mobile.

What I Really Hate About United Airlines

On Hold for Hours

If you read of my recent travel problems, I should note that they were all weather related, and everyone at United was polite, and efficient, energetic, and quite competent.

I really mean that.

But, because of the inevitable consequences of the snowtastrophe, it meant that I spent hours on hold.

And United has licensed George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue as its theme, and so it is their on hold music.

So I heard it for hours ……… and hours ……… and hours  ……… AND HOURS ………

It's a musical masterpiece, and I can no longer listen to it.

UAL, drop Rhapsody in Blue as your hold music, please.

I Am a Whore, Not a Slut, Act Accordingly

After I wrote a post about the abuse of the IP process and price gouging for a potential HIV prophylaxis treatment, I got an email from a PR person with a link to a promotional graphic for the product, and a request that I post it.

No offer of payment.

Not even an offer of swag.

I realize that my readership numbers probably don't rate a T-shirt, but I wasn't even offered a f%$#ing key fob.

Seriously, if you are not going to read my article, and know that I condemned what your employers are doing, at least have the decency of offering some form of remuneration.

It's a matter of pride.

To quote fellow engineer Montgomery Scott, "This was a matter of pride."

F@#&. F@#&ity, F@#&, F@#&, F@#&!!!

Now out is weather in Chicago that has our flight canceled!

Shoot me now!!!

Posted via mobile.

F%$# Me Rae Bradbury

Some context for the title

Flight is cancelled, and I have f%$#ing been on f%$#ing hold for 2 f%$#ing hours.

I'm thinking that it would be faster to drive to BWI (We just got our road plowed^*), and a round trip should be less time than I have spent on hold.

^*Additionally, I am feeling the need to get a bit plowed myself.

What the Russian Revealed About the T-50 at the MAKS Airshow

RAM on the engine.


They have what appears to be a working head mounted display


The Kh-58UShE ARM (1,400-lb., Mach 4, range of 130 nm) fits in the weapons bay


The internal weapons bay is huge because of the widely spaced engines

Some are interesting as they relate to the aircraft, but there are also some details that might say a lot about potential Russian anti-stealth techniques. (Paid Subscription Required)

The ordinary:

• They are developing an improved performance engine for the aircraft.
• They will be applying radar absorbent material to the spinner and inlet guide vanes. (see pic)
• They are integrating a helmet mounted display early in the process. The dual visor approach, where there is an inner visor for the display, and an outer one for glare and environmental protection.
• They are looking at using thrust vectoring, counteracted by the aerodynamic controls, to reduce the rear aspect radar signature of the engine.

The more interesting:

• The internal weapons bay can accommodate very large weapons, including ultra long range air to air and anti-radar missiles.

This is a statement of where they think that future war is going:

Also likely to be carried internally by the T-50 is the RVV-BD (long-range air-to-air missile), a modernized version of the Vympel R-37 that was designed for the MiG-31M Foxhound-B but never put into production. Its total external dimensions are within centimeters of the Kh-58UShE with wings folded. It seems likely that the T-50 forward bay has been designed around the minimum-risk RVV-BD, with the Kh-58 being modified to fit the same envelope.

Both weapons are long-range types. The Kh-58UShE is a 1,400-lb., Mach 4 weapon with a range up to 130 nm from a 65,000-ft. launch altitude, and the RVV-BD has a claimed maximum range of 110 nm against a head-on target. This indicates a different operational philosophy from U.S. stealth aircraft, for which a key principle has been to use stealth to permit the use of short-range, low-cost weapons.

Later in the article, they discuss updates to the radar suite (radar suits, actually) for the S-400 Triumph (SA-21 Growler), which incorporates multi-frequency band radars:

The 55Zh6ME comprises three truck-mounted radar “modules,” operating in metric (VHF), decametric (L) and centimetric (S) bands, all with active, electronically scanned array (AESA) radars. The VHF unit has an antenna area of 235 sq. meters (2,530 sq. ft.), carrying 168 VHF transmit-receive modules, and is claimed to be able to detect a target with a radar cross-section of 1 sq. meter at 510 km range and 30,000 meters altitude in jamming conditions. The radars can be deployed in 15 min., NNIIRT says.

The new 55Zh6UME has a smaller VHF array (with a 430-km range under the same conditions) with an L-band AESA trailer-mounted on the same structure, facing the opposite direction.

I think that the Russians believe that increasing processing power allowing for the fusion of disparate sensors to reduce the effectiveness of stealth.

It's likely that they are right.

4th F%$#ing Shirt This F%$#ing Years

Yes, I put a pen in my pocket without putting the cap on, and ruined yet another shirt.

I'm thinking that I may have to start wearing a pocket protector, which would make my transition to poster child for sex without partners complete.

Damn!