Airborne Laser Destroys Ballistic Missile in Test

This is freaking awesome:

This is a test tracking, yesterday the real deal shot down an actual ballistic missile in the boost phase. I’m guessing it looked similar to the above test, but with a big explosion at the end. Can’t wait to see that one.

More here.

“Futuristic airborne energy weapons have officially arrived, so mark your calendars. The U.S. Missile Defense Agency said that its airborne laser weapon successfully shot down a ballistic missile during a test late last night, according to Reuters.

The lethal intercept followed up on a demo last August that showed how the airborne laser could paint a target missile in-flight. We showcased the video of the earlier test that showed the laser from the modified 747 jumbo jet tracking the dummy rocket, which took place near San Nicolas Island off the California coast. Yesterday’s shoot-down occurred at Point Mugu’s Naval Air Warfare Center-Weapons Division Sea Range off Ventura in central California.”

No word yet on the photon torpedoes.

Best Science Write-up Ever: The Untold Story of Apollo 11

Popular Mechanics has outdone themselves with these dovetailed interviews of all involved in the Apollo 11 moon landing. I was riveted and stayed up way past my bed time.

Part 1: Launch Day.

Part 2: To the Moon.

Part 3: Landing Day.

Part 4: Lunar Exploration.

Part 5: The Trip Home.

Part 6: Re-entry and Splashdown.

And, of course, this post wouldn’t be complete without… wait for it… here it comes… extensive coverage of the event by The Onion.

Russian Scientist: UFO Self-Sacrificed to Save Earth at Tunguska

Courtesy of MINA (You’ve never heard of MINA? The Macedonian International News Agency?), comes the umpteenth story about the 1908 Tunguska Event and a possible UFO.

Get a load of this.

“Aliens downed Tunguska meteorite to protect our planet from devastation, stated Russian scientist Yuriy Lavbin about the 100 year old mystery surrounding the massive Siberian explosion. He showed 10 quartz crystals that he found at the place of the meteorite’s crash. Several of the crystals have holes in between, so they can be united in a chain.

– What could this chain serve for? Besides, some crystals have strange drawings on them. We don’t have any technologies that can print such kind of drawings on crystals. We also found ferrum silicate that can not be produced anywhere, except in space”, – the scientist stated.”

OoooooooooooKay. I’m sure aliens with technology so superior to ours that it’s indistinguishable from magic to us… wouldn’t have any higher tech material than quartz to make a control panel from.

Personally, I prefer this highly logical and scientific explanation.

Artist's Conception of 1908 Tunguska Blast

What Would Falling Into a Black Hole Look Like?

Well, it would look like this. The dial on the lower left is your trajectory into the black hole, while elapsed time is displayed on the clock on the lower right. Note that there is a “real” time and the “warped” time as you experience it: What’s on your watch and what’s in your brain. The multi-colored photons-in-orbit effect is the point at which you pass the event horizon. Pretty freakin’ cool!

The entire article is here, with additional links to even more video variations on this theme.

Hat-tip to Johnah Goldberg at The Corner.

Celebrate Human Achievement Hour! (Al Gore UPDATE!)

To correspond with, “Earth Hour” The Competitive Enterprise Institute has organized Human Achievement Hour. So, when the leftards are turning off all their lights – an hour from now – I’m going to boot up all four computers in the house, connect them all to my AirPort Extreme Base Station, have one monitoring my eMail, one downloading pr0n, one streaming audio, and I’ll surf on the remaining one (The PowerMac G5 2.3 GHz Dual Core/23″ Cinema HD Display model that draws about 250-300 watts of electricity), while watching TV in a window to the right.

Simultaneously, I’m going to turn on every light in the house, turn the thermostat up to 78 degrees, and open every door to the outside so I’m heating the entire neighborhood. Then, I’ll fire up the gas grill in the back yard and grill a couple of steaks.

I HOPE I’m setting a good example for CHANGE.

UPDATE: Evidentally, Al Gore, that champion of Teh Earth, followed my lead and left his tree-illuminating flood lights on during Teh Earth Hour.

“The kicker, though, were the dozen or so floodlights grandly highlighting several trees and illuminating the driveway entrance of Gore’s mansion.

I [kid] [shit – Beef] you not, my friends, the savior of the environment couldn’t be bothered to turn off the gaudy lights that show off his goofy trees.”

I’m only shamed by the fact that Al used more electricity and emitted more carbon than I did during Teh Earth Hour.

McCain’s Perfect Choice for a Running Mate: Governor Sarah Palin

While most of the pedantic, two-dimensional, inside-the-box-thinking, conservative political hacks are touting Tom Ridge for the slot (Not a bad guy, but…), David Freddoso notes a far superior choice has been proposed: The Republican Governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin.

I believe this is a truly inspired idea. Gov. Palin ran as an anti-corruption outsider, and handily defeated a corrupt and entrenched Republican political machine. Plus, at 44, she would almost totally wipe the “age issue” McCain has off the slate, and since Obama is only two years her senior, there is no way they could attack her for her youth and inexperience: She has much more executive experience than Senator Obama has.

Not to mention the fact that, she’s a gorgeous woman who exudes mass quantities of charisma…

and has a super-solid family life.

Dibs on the eldest daughter! LOL!

This inspired choice would allow McCain to actually capitalize on his “maverick” persona, as Gov. Palin shook Alaska politics to the core: She’s a charming, charismatic woman, but she can also play with the big boys and kick ass.

What say ye?

UPDATE: Things are looking optimistic!

UPDATE II: Welcome to all 4500 8000 40,000 in the past few hours (so far!) people visiting us from Google. We’re a fairly opinionated right-wing blog, and you might like to take a look at our “About” page. You might also be interested in our other coverage of Sarah Palin and whether she becomes a prospective Vice President of the United States. You can find this coverage here and here. Personally, I hope she does, but you can feel free to debate the idea in comments below. All first comments are moderated, but unless you either insult or use severe profanity (and I mean severe by my standards, which generally only means the C U Next Tuesday word or the implication that someone has had a rather enjoyable erotic experience with someone who has borne a child), however if you come up with a new one, I may simply delete your comment. I, and all other contributors to this blog are more than fair in what we permit.

UPDATE III: Nayr Drahcir, don’t bother even trying. You will not be published.

UPDATE IV: A lot of people must like Palin.

UPDATE V: More coverage of Governor Sarah Palin and a theme song here.

UPDATE VI: Funniest observation on the announcement yet: “Put Obama and Palin on a basketball court one on one. Winner takes all!”

UPDATE VII: [spot_the_dog] No, we do not have any pictures of “Sarah Palin + Naked,” nor do we have any of “Sarah Palin + Swimsuit.” In the past 24 hours, there have been 157 separate searches on this site for “Sarah Palin Swimsuit,” and 161 separate searches for “Sarah Palin Naked.” I repeat, we have no bathing suit, swim suit, bikini, or naked pictures of Sarah Palin. What kind of people do you think we are, anyway? 😉

UPDATE VIIa: [spot_the_dog] Ace has noticed a similar search phenomenon on his blog and has a theory…

UPDATE VIII: A well-rounded view of the selection of Sarah Palin for the Vice President Nomination can be found here.

UPDATE IX:  We got it!  YES!  Nude photo of Sarah Palin right here!  (C’mon.  You know you want to click.)

UPDATE X: Feel free to visit our main page and read the latest posts we’ve written.

Challenge Issued

This is the scene over Melbourne several weeks ago.

I don’t suppose any of you are game enough to interpret the photograph from a feminist chauvinist post-modern traditionalist perspective?

‘Bout time somebody did…

Japan is planning to spend $9 billion on a massive space elevator to lift people and objects into orbit.

UPDATE

Of the many challenges, one of largest is finding a cable that can support the carriage, which must be “180 times stronger than steel”, according to Yoshio Aoki, director of the Japan Space Elevator Association.

While it still feels a bit farfetched, Japan is a fine place to attempt the project. As the Times points out, Japan is “a global leader in the precision engineering and high-quality material production without which the idea could never be possible.”

– National Post

A tough challenge, for sure, but one surely worth attempting.

NASA Spacecraft Confirms Martian Water, Mission Extended

Since Al, launched his child, how long before we see, Gore on Mars? Soon, I hope. Science Daily

We are doooooomed!!

Mutant cockroaches from outer space.

Sounds like the title of a SciFi movie.