Inane ramblings to avoid thread jacking

[INFIDEL]

So this dude on a shiny new CBR100RR rolls up next to me and Lili this morning on the way to work.

"That thing torqey?" He asks.  "Yep" I says.

"That thing quick off the line?" he asks?  "Not like that thing" I says and "Who's he calling a thing?" asked Lili.

He revs it up.  Making a fairly impressive "Wheee, wheee, wheee" noise.  I kinda blip Lili for a few low growls.

Lili's in gear.  I'm just waiting for the light to change . . . it does, he pops it in gear and I nail the horn (you remember the horn right Amber?) he startles and stalls it.  We growl away at a nice normal take off.  [moto]

[scott_araujo]

  You're mean!

[INFIDEL]

Me?  It's Lili.  She's a bad influence . . . 

[Buckethead]

You're mean!

HOLY BALLS! 

Someone on the interwebs knows the difference between "your" and "you're"!?!?!?!

Thank you, Scott. I needed that.

Also:

Me?  It's Lili.  She's a bad influence . . . 

Nicely done.

[scott_araujo]

HOLY BALLS! 

Someone on the interwebs knows the difference between "your" and "you're"!?!?!?!

Thank you, Scott. I needed that.

Your welcome

[INFIDEL]

I was gonna make a snide comment about education, grammar, etc. in a geographical context to the North East.  Then remembered we're outnumbered 

[krolik]

[morilla] I don't get it? [/morilla]

[duc_fan]

Hey Dan, is that your company in Willamette Week this week?

Yeah... but holy crap, that author didn't have the foggiest idea what he was babbling on about.    Almost as bad as the protesters when Christine Gregiore came to visit... I kid you not, one was holding a sign that said "Insitu kills babies!" 

Reality check: It's a camera with wings, folks.

I mean, seriously... it started off with the guts from a Sony Handycam mounted to an R/C airplane with a rudimentary autopilot.  It carries no weapons.

The real kicker was the implication that somehow Insitu is bad for selling stuff to the DoD.  Tad McGeer is STILL running on DoD funding... makes me wonder how much the author twisted Tad's words and point of view.

The author also tries to make it sound like we're averse to civilian applications... far from it, we'd LOVE to have more civilian applications, and the muck-e-mucks are working their butts off on that front.  Protesters: go berate the FAA for not updating their rules so we can fly in the national air space!  As soon as we're allowed to do that, our product can be used for crop monitoring, atmospheric research, search & rescue, law enforcement, wildlife research (we were used to count seals in Alaska last year), and wildfire management (especially spotting fire boundaries/flares/hotspots when weather or smoke is too foul for helos).  We do some of these things already, but on a VERY limited basis, solely because of FAA rules. 

BTW: Tad's new toy, mentioned in the article, will fall under the same FAA restrictions that currently keep ScanEagle sidelined here Stateside.  He'll have the same problems operating here that we do.  Until the civilian airspace rules change, his most promising customer is still the DoD.

Oh... Insitu is not part of the so-called "drone assassinations". That would be Predator and Reaper... much larger, armed UAVs.

Another thing the author neglects: ScanEagle video in Iraq and Afghanistan has saved numerous women and children and other noncombatants from the fate of "collateral damage."  ScanEagle is often the only set of eyes that is in position with a good enough view to know whether there are noncombatants present.  There have been strikes called off because ScanEagle spotted civilians that were not otherwise seen.  We can't rattle off specific missions/places/etc because that's all classified... but it happens, and our field operators can attest to it.  So, far from the cry, "Insitu kills babies," we actually SAVE them.

Oh yeah... you can check out the comments section on that article on their website.  "Dan" is a coworker of mine.  "DW" is me.  Someone made a comment asking how can we possibly sleep at night... my reply is that I have seen examples of and firmly believe that ScanEagle saves lives **on both sides**.  We provide a net benefit to humanity.  I'm quite proud of that.  Integrator will expand on that legacy.

Sorry about the soapbox.  This was a hot topic at work last week.  Blergh... I'm not a fan of Willamette Week.    They seem to like writing half-informed hit pieces (they've done it to some friends of mine, too).  Even the Oregonian, with its obvious bias, is more balanced than WW.

[ryandalling]

Dan - It's the same argument of guns killing people versus people killing people... but with a greater divide... I see no way that you could infer than an unmanned aircraft is killing babies. Regardless of onboard weapons, you can really strap a bomb to anything. Should we start protesting the makers of 151, cause their rum makes for really good molotov cocktails... and they explode and hurt people?  Or the cows to blame as the methane nitrates can be harnessed for bombs as well...

I agree that objects themselves are harmless, it all comes down to how idiots view them or use them.

[duc_fan]

And now for some humor:

Three Reported Missing After Animal Rights Activists Take "War on Leather" to Motorcycle Gang Rally.
Sunday, 3 January 2010

Johnstown, PA: Local and state police scoured the hills outside rural Johnstown, Pennsylvania, after reports of three animal rights activists going missing after attempting to protest the wearing of leather at a large motorcycle gang rally this weekend. Two others, previously reported missing, were discovered by fast food workers "duct taped inside several fast food restaurant dumpsters," according to police officials.

"Something just went wrong," said a still visibly shaken organizer of the protest. "Something just went horribly, horribly, wrong."

The organizer said a group of concerned animal rights activist groups, "growing tired of throwing fake blood and shouting profanities at older women wearing leather or fur coats," decided to protest the annual motorcycle club event "in a hope to show them our outrage at their wanton use of leather in their clothing and motor bike seats." "In fact," said the organizer. "Motorcycle gangs are one of the biggest abusers of wearing leather, and we decided it was high time that we let them know that we disagree with them using it... Ergo, they should stop."

According to witnesses, protesters arrived at the event in a vintage 1960's era Volkswagen van
and began to pelt the gang members with balloons filled with red colored water, simulating blood, and shouting "you're murderers" to passers by. This, evidently, is when the brouhaha began.

"They peed on me!!!" charged one activist. "They grabbed me, said I looked like I was French, started calling me 'La Trene', and duct taped me to a tree so they could pee on me all day!"

"I... I was trying to show my outrage at a man with a heavy leather jacket. And, he... he didn't even care. I called him a murderer, and all he said was, 'You can't prove that.' Next thing I know is he forced me to ride on the back of his motorcycle all day, and not left me off, because his girl friend was out of town and I was almost a woman."

Still others claimed they were forced to eat hamburgers and hot dogs under duress. Those who resisted were allegedly held down while several bikers "farted on their heads."

Police officials declined comments on any leads or arrests due to the ongoing nature of the investigation, however, organizers for the motorcycle club rally expressed "surprise" at the allegations.

"That's pderbyerous," said on high ranking member of the biker organizing committee. "We were having a party, and these people showed up and were very rude to us. They threw things at us, called us names, and tried to ruin the entire event. So, what did we do? We invited them to the party! What could be more friendly than that? You know, just because we are all members of motorcycle clubs does not mean we do not care about inclusiveness. Personally, I think it shows a lack of character for them to be saying such nasty things about us after we bent over backwards to make them feel welcome."

When confronted with the allegations of force feeding the activists meat, using them as ad hoc latrines, leaving them incapacitated in fast food restaurant dumpsters, and 'farting on their heads,' the organizer declined to comment in detail. "That's just our secret handshake," assured the organizer.

(This is a spoof... linky: http://www.thespoof.com/news/spoof.cfm?headline=s2i66233)

My dad and I would laugh every time we say a news snippet about the protesters in front of the fur store... we think they should take their grievances to the front steps of Langlitz Leathers, instead of harassing little old ladies. 

[scott_araujo]

I've seen people wearing leather jackets protesting fur.  I think the argument is that cows are killed somewhat humanely and we use the whole animal.  Fur comes from tiny creatures left languishing in traps for long periods and only their skin is used.  I don't really get the distinction but it's a free country.

Scott

[GAAN]

PMR will crap their pants if the FFA would clear a UAV for use in this area

how does maintenance cost vs flight hours compare to say a Bell 206 or similar light

[krolik]

I hadn't actually read the article until yesterday. I thought it was a bit biased, but then Sliwa didn't comment for the article, so you did kind of have a one sided pov. I don't have any problems with UAVs, armed or unarmed, there will always be protesters against defense manufacturers. Dupont was the big target during Viet Nam. Personally, I think UAVs will be the wave of the future in such applications. I wouldn't be surprised if the F 35 was the last manned fighter we produce, unless there is a fighter jockey revolt at the idea.

[bnbmike]

The CTU flies them over New York.  I saw it on the news, no wait, it was 24.  That Jack Bauer . . .

[ryandalling]

My horoscope says "Beware of slacking off" and my 5 am meeting lasted 5 minutes. Now my boss just cancelled our meeting for today. Wednesdays I work from home. So, I am sitting here, looking at a pile of work to get done... and I have an XBOX360 controller sitting next to me... and a PS3 with in grasp...

I must not slack off... I must do a full day of work... no games for me... 

I hope I have the will power.

Thank God those controllers don't have little bewbies on them... or I would be in big trouble.