Tora, Tora, Tora...

Today we remember Pearl Harbour, I just hope it does not take another one to awaken the sleeping tiger of the free world... Click on the title for an amazing read that will make you think about where the Free World is in the scheme of things...
"behind them lay a shattered fleet hidden in a pall of fire and smoke; and the vengeance of the United States" British Prime Minister Winston Churchill (after the attack).

Gone fishing...

This weekend I will be going down to Rouxville to do some quality time with the fishes, family, friends and future inlaws... This was me with the rod two years ago catching my first ever fish! Dunno what the fuss is all about but I sure am looking foreward to get out in nature again.
Yes we will make sure to watch out for sunburn and take plenty of liquids...
"Fishing, with me, has always been an excuse to drink in the daytime." Jimmy Cannon

Pot o' tea...

I can just imagine the conversation in the cockpit...
"I say old chap... will you kindly shove the teapot into the blessed hole please... we seem to be decompressing a tad..."
Tea and being able to take adversity in one's stride is so typically British but this is taking things to the extreme... I bet they made a cuppa before stuffing the pot in the hole too! The picture is from 42 Squadron's website by the way... Another intersting factoid is that the Nimrod is based on the ill fated Comet airliner. Maybe that should have told em something?
Glad they landed safely though. I thought this was most fitting...
"Red alert. Put the kettle on!" From Monty Python's Flying Circus (The Pepperpot Ladies on a Submarine)

Eh? Polonium, Balonium.

Whoever wrote up this screed over at News24 or their affiliate deserves to be fried in a nuclear reactor! I am no rocket scientist nor nuclear physicist but this Q&A is full of baloney.
Take for instance this howler...
"Q: What constitutes a dangerous dose of radiation?
A: Radiation is measured in Sieverts, named after Rolf Sievert, a Swedish physicist who worked extensively on radiation doses. Mild radiation sickness can occur with exposure to 0.5 to 1 Sieverts - as little as one-millionth of a gram - and a dose of 80 Sieverts or more is thought to result in immediate death. A dose of four to 10 Sieverts - less than a gram (0.04 ounces) - could cause death in two to four weeks."
Umm... one millionth of a gram of what precisely? Polonium? Uranium? Americium-241? which by the way is 10 times more dangerous than Polonium-210.
Once again the MSM has not done it's homework and is spouting a lot of pseudo science to make itself look important! and they say bloggers are not professional or qualified to comment on matters of current interest!
Here is another... actually the first question and it's pathetic half answer...
Q: What is radiation?
A: Radiation is the transfer of energy. There are two basic types of radiation: Ionising Radiation - in the air, water, food, soil, and in all living organisms. Most of the radiation absorbed by humans comes from natural environmental sources. People also are exposed to radiation through X-rays taken for medical reasons."
They do not even mention what the other type is but ramble on about natural radiation and x-rays...
This is what Wiki has to say on the matter...
Radiation in physics is the process of emitting energy in the form of waves or particles. Various types of radiation may be distinguished, depending on the properties of the emitted energy/matter, the type of the emission source, properties and purposes of the emission, etc. When used by the general public, the word "radiation" commonly refers to ionizing radiation.
They should just have pointed the reader to the relevant Wiki page as far as I am concerned, that would have made it clearer than the muddy puddle they presented.

Check out where Santa is flying...

yep, NORAD is on the ball and ready to trace Santa's flights this Christmas... Check it out to make sure you know when he will be dropping off your prezzie's this Christmas day.
Thanks to Steve in the UK for the link!

"Santa Claus had the right idea. Visit everyone once a year." Victor Borges

Mechanchicks...

wielding tools is not just for okes! I think Sarah Lyon's idea of publishing a calandar of girl mechanic's is brilliant. Go Girls!
I have always admired women that go out and do the thing that they really love doing and to hell with convention. This is so inspirational for other girls out there to live their dreams. I am sure some of these ladies can teach many a male mechanic about workmanship and attention to detail. Something that is very often lacking in some workshops these days...
HT to the Kneeslider once again!

"One only needs two tools in life: WD-40 to make things go, and duct tape to make them stop." G. Weilacher

Leat the brace begin...

actually it has begun and BMW and KTM are endorsing the Leat Brace by bringing out branded models of this South African developed neck brace for all motorcycle use as well as all other forms of motor racing.

I also want to congartulate Dr. Chris Leatt on his pioneering work in the developement of what I believe is an essential part of the overall safety kit required by any Motocross or Offroad rider. I hope that it becomes mandatory as soon as possible and I will be doing my bit to get it on the MSA list.

Hat Tip to the Kneeslider for pointing out this safety device.
"Racing Smarter Does Not Cost, It Pays!"

I wish I was a Punk Rocker with a four song meme.

Theater of the Soul has a music meme that I thought was worth duplicating here as well, so here goes but before you check out my list you may first want to do a popkwiz and test your pop music knowlege...
Question 1/3 - from 24 January 2005:
'I'm A Believer (Monkees) and Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon (Urge Overkill) were composed by whom?
Bob Dylan
Neil Diamond
Paul McCartney
Tim Harding
Answers in comments are acceptable:

Onward to the meme...
Four songs that you could listen to over and over:
Dream to me - Dario G
Proud Mary - CCR
Runaway - IIO, Nadia Ali
Accidentally in love - Counting Crows

Four songs that drive you up the friggin’ wall:
Do the funky chicken - Rufus Thomas
Popcorn - Crazy Frog (The original by Hot Butter is acceptable.)
The rain, the park and other things - The Cowsills
Gansta's paradise - Coolio

Four songs that you’re embarrassed (or should be)
to admit you like:
The numa numa song/SMS/Dragosteadin tei/Mayahoo or a hunderd other versions. But I like the original by O-Zone.
Bum num - Mabel.
Hooked on a feeling - Bay City Rollers.
Lucky - Britney Spears.

Four best driving songs:
Motorbiking - Chris Spedding
Alive - Celine Dion
Tears of pearls - Savage Garden
Sultans of swing - Dire Straits

Four songs that make you cry:
Wir sind wir - Paul van Dyk
A river for him - Linda Ronstad
My lovers gone - Dido
A tear in the open - DJ Tiesto, Kirsty Hawkeshaw on vocals

Four best risqué songs:
Take off your clothes - Peter Sarsted
The only thing that looks good on me is you - Bryan Adams
Lay your body down on me - Poison
Don't Cha - Pussycat Dolls

Four best kid songs:
Do, re, me - Julie Andrews from the Sound of Music
Puff the Magic Dragon - Peter, Paul and Mary
Heigh-Ho - From Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Hakuna Matata - from The Lion King

Four songs (hell, pick your own category and fill
it in) - With Angelic Voices:
Love is more - Ceoma & The Larx
Close to the edge - Solex
Deliver me - Sarah Briteman
Wonderful life - Tina Cousins (cover version of the hit by Black)

Four Songs That Make Me Smile
18 till I die - Bryan Adams
Queen of hearts - Juice Newton
All about the money - Meja
I wish I was a punk rocker - Sadi Thom (She sings about many songs I remember.)

and then I want to add two more of my own...
Four Songs that make you wanna dance:
Get the party started - Pink
Paint it black - Rolling Stones (although I prefer Vanessa Carlton's cover version.)
I turn to you - Melanie C or Mel C former Spice Girl.
Summertime Blues - Eddie Chochran

Four Fighting Songs (aka heavy metal/rock): (it's a male thing.)
Feur Frei - Rammstein
Planet Hell - Nightwish
Israel's Son - Silverchair
Tourniquet - Evanescence

I could actually carry on till the cows come home adding more catagories but before I bore you all to death I will sign off with my latest favourite from Sandi Thom - I wish I was a Punk Rocker and yeah... I was still a teen in '69!

[Chorus:]
Oh I wish I was a punk rocker with flowers in my hair
In '77 and '69 revolution was in the air
I was born too late into a world that doesn't care
Oh I wish I was a punk rocker with flowers in my hair

When the head of state didn't play guitar
Not everybody drove a car
When music really mattered and when radio was king
When accountants didn't have control
And the media couldn't buy your soul
And computers were still scary and we didn't know everything

[Chorus]

When pop stars still remained a myth
And ignorance could still be bliss
And when god saved the queen she turned a whiter shade of pale
My mom and dad were in their teens
And anarchy was still a dream
And the only way to stay in touch was a letter in the mail

[Chorus]

When record shops were still on top
And vinyl was all that they stocked
And the super info highway was still drifting out in space
Kids were wearing hand me downs
And playing games meant kick arounds
And footballers still had long hair and dirt across their face

[Chorus]

I was born too late into a world that doesn't care
Oh I wish I was a punk rocker with flowers in my hair

"From the persistence of noise comes the insistence of rage.
From the emergence of tone comes the divergence of thought.
From the enlightenment of music comes the wisdom of... silence."
Visions of Gregorian Chants

Debbie does Borat

Once again Debbie Schlussel shows her distaste for jewish sucess and when someone shows her that she is not being truthfull she goes all FULL CAPS...
"Comments
I'm not sure if all of those are from people, but if they are at least of them are not true. Last I heard, the B&B people were quoted as thinking that "Borat" was a nice fellow, just confused, and that they harbored no hard feelings. Also, the antique shop owner WAS paid back in full, although the movie implied otherwise. (this stuff was in a salon.com article I can dig up if you like)
ALL EXCEPT THE ANTIQUE SHOP EXAMPLE ARE FROM PEOPLE MAG.DEBBIE SCHLUSSEL"
Way to go doll... or is it jealousy makes you nasty? The funniest part is that she uses People Magazine as a source! Comeon Debby, don't be so lazy when researching a story, you shouold have used Mad Magazine woman! I love their Tom Cruise uptake on the site by the way...

Andreas’ Personal Flying Suit

Andeas Petzoldt has been tinkering with this rig for years by the sounds of things, I wish him luck in finding a test pilot! As Lore Sjöberg mentions on his blog;

"Of course, it's hard not to imagine the test flight. With great ebullience, Andreas soars into the heavens. He sneers at gravity with contempt, a spurned mistress, a whore who embraces all but him. But suddenly he hears a horrifying choke and shudder and a sickening vertigo creeping up from his genitalia and into his bowels as he plummets back down to the ground, strapped to over 200 pounds of highly-explosive rocket fuel and whirring metal blades."

I am slightly more optimistic after visiting the site promoting Andreas's passion project and it would be amazing to have such a machine.