Bogieblog

Tornado Hits in Kansas

You would think that with all the relatives that I have that are in the general vicinity of Boeing, that I would get word that Boeing and it's off-shoot Spirit got a bit of excitement from the recent tornado activity in Kansas. But no, I have to get the word from someone else.

I would post pics, but I'm not sure I'm allowed, so let's just say that from what I see, it was a good thing that Boeing and McConnel aFB sent some of it's planes to Grand Forks, North Dakota before the weather hit (that was all over the news a couple of days ago and I can't fine any mention on on Google for a link - what is up with that?). Okay, finally found mention of it, then another, on of all places, McConnells website.

In the pictures I see a 3 ton water tanker truck flipped on its side, as is a railroad car (a box car, not a flat-bed). Building siding, bay doors and roofs have been peeled up and, in some cases, torn completely off of buildings. The corner of one build looks pretty mangled, as do portions of other buildings. One picture was pretty strange and I can't really tell what it is unless it is the ferris wheel from an entertainment park a couple miles away (at first I thought it might be part of a turbine, but I don't think so).

This news report says that Spirit took a direct hit (it has a couple of pictures. Spirit has put some pictures out on Flickr. Boeing and McConnell Air Force Base also got hit (so it's a good thing they moved planes), but I can't find any pictures (not surprisingly).

I'll have to forgive my relatives for not mentioning this though, CC and HH are doing double or triple duty for the Red Cross right now, and I'm sure Wichi Dude and Dudette are helping out in some manner too (as well as working at their regular jobs).

Beating Tickets

It seems there is a theme about people beating traffic tickets going around.

First, the Weekend Pundit put up a piece about a radar technician beating a speeding ticket. I dont' know if the piece is true as it seems odd that he would be able to notice the radar registering speeds of vehicles while he, himself was stopped and having a discussion with the officer. I have never been stopped and then been able to place myself in such a position as to be able to read the read out of the radar gun. However, I don't see that well anyway, so maybe I just haven't noticed it being possible.

Then there is a piece in the news about a physicist who beat a ticket for failure to stop. I looked at his paper tried to look at his paper (link on the original, but IE 8 has decided not to show me the last 3 links I have clicked on. Maybe someone smarter than me (Stu, Cop Car) can take a look and see if it looks reasonable.

Are there any other recent entreis for ticket busting that I've missed?

Blowing Things up

This is how I originally thought that they were going to dismantle the Memorial Bridge:

 I don't know if it was because the Memorial Bridge is over a major shipping lane or what, but obviously they used more beniegn technics.

The bridge shown in the video is the old Fort Steuben Bridge, spanning the Ohio River on the West Virginia/Ohio border (according to the news story the video was taken from)

 

Missing Musher

Melanie Gould, a musher who runs the Iditarod every year is missing. Apparently she didn't make arrangements for anyone to take care of her dogs - not a typical musher move (i wouldn't think). Hope she turns out to be okay!

Sandy

It is hard to imagine what a real sandstorm is like. Sometimes I'll be reading a novel sci-fi/fantasy book and the author will describe a sandstorm. I try to imagine it, but fail to get past something like a hard driving snow storm, except with sand (which would hurt, I grant you).

A NH Guardsman took pictures while in Kuwait, and put them up on our local TV News website.

Definitely looks like something that nothing living wants to get caught in!

Flying Low

Holy Canoly, just took a look at the Top 10 Low Pass Fly By's, and I just gotta wonder how one does that in #2. Not that #1 wasn't amazing, just #2 is more surprising.

On another note, anyone know what the music is they play in the background (music is low key, so turn on the speakers to get sounds of the fly by's for extra afect).

Hat tip to Scott over at AMCGLTD

UPDATE: Just read on the second page of comments that the song is Angel by Massive Attack and can be found on the album Mezzanine.

Did I Hear This Right?

I could swear on last night's news that I heard someone say that Obama wasn't doing enough about the BP oil rig explosion. I don't know, do they want him there with a net catching oil-slicked birds? Do they want him manning a boat that places oil barriers? Just what do they want him to do? Didn't make sense to me at all.

Definition of Irony

Breaking news story on the evening news about the Toyota recall and suspension of sales for 8 of its models - followed by an ad for Toyota Tundra (on the "do not sell" list) citing its dependability.

Even more irony - doing a Google search for "Toyota breaking news", and finding a release from Toyota this morning that they expect a 6% rise in sales for 2010!

Kind of Makes me glad that I couldn't afford a Toyota and got a Jeep instead!

Just Shaking my Head

So let me get this right: They stop, or severely curtail testing for the swine flu this summer (point A).

Then, out of the blue the guestimate of swine flue cases and deathes has been tripled (point B).

How in the hell do supposed professionals get from point A to point B?

Even weather guessers use a lot of data to make their predictions and get it wrong on a regular basis. Now we have health guessers using no (or low amounts of) data to what? panic the populace that can't get the vaccine anyway? and to what availe?

Idjuts, just plain idjuts.

Labels Are Important

Geeze, this scare about Tylenol is just amazing. When I was young and took loads of Tylenol for migraines, I knew that it was bad for the liver, but I couldn't take asperin. I haven't taken Tylenol since mid-late 20's as I don't tolerate it very well any more (and, I figured out what caused my migraines, so don't have those any more).

Now, now, the rest of the populace and FDA is figuring this out? If it isn't one crisis it is another - get on the ball people, read the freakin warnings on the label and don't act like "if some are good, more must be better."

Really, as a young teenager, I knew this stuff, and I'm not really all that smart - If I could figure it out (without the Internet even), then the majority of the rest of the populace should be able to read and understand the label!