More Nukes!

I am glad to see new nuclear plants getting under way. IMHO, nukes are the only way were are going to satisfy our energy needs. All the other alternatives won't work out. The 'natural' energy sources like geothermal, wind and solar are too limited. Who wants endless miles of those ugly windmills all over the place? A recent Dilbert blog entry has an interesting discussion on the subject of energy.

Israeli Air Strike on Syria

The most under-reported story in the mainstream news has to be the mysterious Israeli airstrike on Syria. The target was an alleged nuclear joint venture between Syria and North Korea. The details of this story are right out of fiction:

• A North Korean cargo ship docks in a Syrian port to unload "cement." North Koreans scientists were reportedly at the target site.


• Then, reportedly, Israeli commandos infiltrated the lab to verify that nuclear weapons research was going on.


• The Syrians have a very dense air defense network, but no invading planes were shot down (at least know to us).


• The raiders apparently escaped via Turkey, leaving a fuel tank.


• What weapons were used? If the facility was indeed underground, perhaps new bunker-busting bombs were tested out?
  

The US certainly knew about the operation but there hasn't been an official acknowledgment by any government. Why keep it so secret? Is the Bush administration worried about Syria complaining? Perhaps they don't want to upset the apple cart that is the ongoing Nork negotiations.
If this story pans out, it would certainly bolster Bush's warnings about WMD's and would give the IDF some much-needed prestige. As for the Syrians, some of their military leaders have some explaining to do how all that money they spent on Russian SAM's wasn't worth the rubles it was printed on.
I find this story fascinating and can't wait for more information to come out.

Update
Here is more information on the commandos plus some speculation similar to my own on the silence from US and Israeli governments.
More analysis (albeit not very well unattributed) on the Syrian nuke program.

Dad Of All Bombs

The Russians are testing an enormous new thermobaric weapon, dubbed the "dad of all bombs."
According to the source, the bomb will have near-nuclear power but with the added benefit of, and I quote,

Unlike a nuclear weapon, the bomb doesn't hurt the environment,

.

Fantasy Football Week 2

After two weeks my teams are exactly opposite of what I would have expected. My best two teams are 0-2. They both feature Stephen Jackson at RB so that explains alot of it. My worst team is 2-0 and is looking All-World. That squad is is led by Tony Romo and Andre Johnson but has gotten lots of help from bit players. Week 3 is huge for those 0-2 teams. If they go winless again, it is time to write the season off.

Lives of Adventure

I came across this obituary in a recent paper for Count Michael Gaszynski. My first thought was that this gentleman led an incredibly rich and exciting life. My life is pretty boring in comparison.
But after reading the article again, it dawned on me that this person's life, and countless others of those born early in the 20th century, seemed exciting due all the wars and turmoil. Mr. Gaszynski was born in Poland right before World War I, had to flee during the Russian Revolution, fled Poland before World War II. He did settle down after the war to make cheesecake which is a bit more mundane.
On second thought, I really do appreciate the unexciting life. We could all use a bit of adventure, but not the kind that involves running for your life.

Zoo Urinals

The family and I went to the Nighttime Zoo this past weekend. I always love the evening zoo hours as most of the animals are more active, especially the cats.
One thing my son and I noticed about the bathrooms is that they don't have child level urinals. This is quite puzzling since half the patrons at the zoo are kids. Even my office has low urinals and kids are never there. Most of the bathrooms look like have been refitted with the no-water units, so why didn't they make them lower then? Very strange.

Car Repair Tip #234

When you change your windshield wipers blades, place a towel or other padding on the glass. If you don't and the arm happens to snap back without a blade, it can crack the windshield.

Amateur IMINT

IMINT & Analysis.
The wonders of free overhead imagery.

Samsung Blackjack Impressions

A couple months ago I gave my archaic Nokia cellphone for a snazzy new Samsung Blackjack. I wanted something that would replace both my phone and my ancient Sony Clie Palm PDA. My choices seemed to be between the Blackjack, the Blackberry and a Treo. I didn't want to go the Blackberry route since that seemed to lock you into their network at an additional cost (according to a Cingular rep, so this could be an incorrect premise). I was a bit scared off by rumors of Palms imminent demise and they were also too darn expensive. That left the Blackjack. Here are some of my impressions of the device:

Pros

• Form-factor - the size, weight and feel are great. It is barely noticeable in my belt holster.


• Screen - the screen seems tiny at first (and it is) but it is very clear and still display enough information.


• Call quality - I have found this phone to be much better than my old Nokia.

Cons

• Keyboard - the keyboard is quite small and takes a fair amount of practice to avoid hitting the wrong key. People with large hands probably can't use it.


• Screen in daylight - in daylight, the screen is unveiwable. My old Nokia was much at this.


• PDA functionality - the Palm is a much, much better PDA platform that MS Outlook. There are tons of little things that Palm does that are missing in Outlook. For instance, having a calendar event with no time; Outlook forces a time (or rather sets it to all-day), which doesn't make sense for things like birthdays. The todo function in Outlook lacks the polish of Palm. Also, the Smartphone edition of Windows Mobile doesn't come with a list function; I had to buy and 3rd party program for this. Lastly, the sync works much smarter in Palm. The Outlook sync always makes duplicates or recreates deleted items.
  

Overall, I enjoy the Blackjack and appreciate having only one device to haul around. If you need to go with Windows, I recommend it. But if I had to do it over again, I would have splurged and got a Treo.

Under 3 Dollar Gas

I saw the local Chevron had gas for $2.99/gallon which almost 20 cents cheaper than a month ago. This seems to contradict the rising cost of crude.
Is the refining capacity picking up?
Are we using less gasoline?
Are the oil companies suppressing prices to keep us mollified?
I guess a combination of the first two.

Roomba Review

I have had my Roomba for over 6 months now which has given me enough time to give it a thorough shake down.
Overall, the machine works great. It is a great way to vacuum. It is especially nifty at getting under beds and cabinets that are difficult with a regular vacuum. We tend to use it much more than our old central vac.
There are some nits about the unit.
* It is quite loud. Not as loud as a regular vacuum, but you wouldn't want to run it if you need some peace and quiet.
* Cleaning it is a pain. All the spinning parts will have hair and pet fur wrapped around them after one or two runs. The main brush is easy to clean with a knife or a special cleaning tool, but the side brush and the center wheel are not designed to be easily removed, so they get really clogged up. In fact, the center wheel will become hard to turn, which probably reduces battery life. Also, the unit has lots of small parts that can get lost easily; so take care when disassembling it.
* Extension cords will bind it up. Since the unit can get into places you normally don't vacuum, make sure there aren't any extensions cords, yarn or other stuff that tends to hide under beds and cabinets. They will bring the robot to a screeching halt.

Since replacement parts are easy to come by, I intend to use my robot as much as possible. I have my eyes on the workshop model next.

Mean Mr. Ice Cream Man

We recently had an ice cream man starting coming around the neighborhood. He has the typically van with all the advertising stickers on it. He also has the corny music. But this ice cream also smokes like a chimney and seems to hate kids. Once my two heard him coming and, after getting permission of course, ran to get their money. The guy saw the kids hurry off but didn't bother to wait and drove off. Now maybe his compensation packages is tied to mileage instead of ice cream treats sold, but now the kids aren't really excited when he comes by anymore.

YAAQV

Yet another al Qaeda video...this one is from an American traitor. How this joker can say this crap with a straight face is unknown to me. If these losers had any guts they would stop blowing up women and children and face the U.S. on the field of battle; like real men. Go back to your hole, freak.

Shrek 3

I filled my yearly movie theater quote (which happens to be one) by seeing Shrek 3. It is definitely the worst of the three. It started out strong but the last half is pretty lame. I think the writers have run out of fairy tale creature jokes.

Casino "Cheating"

Some local people where arrested for allegedly "cheating" some casinos. Besides the bribing allegations and other insider dealings, I never really understood how this is considered cheating. Aren't they just using all the available information to improve their play; all the other players have access to this information as well. I remember reading about casinos banning card counters in blackjack. A lot of them weren't using any devices, just counting the cards in their heads. The casinos are free to let whomever they want play, but it goes to show just how much pull they have with politicians that they can make it a "crime" to get good at their games.

Chief No More

My reign as the Dorado Tribe Chief ended this past weekend with our last event at Dos Picos. I had a great time as Chief and had a great group of guys in the tribe that make things easy.

Migrant Mother story

Everyone has seen this famous photograph of a migrant worker mother and her kids. Apparently, the real story is quite different from the picture.

Vietnam Myths

Op-for has a good recap of some common Vietnam myths.
Some highlights (emphasis mine):

Isolated atrocities committed by American Soldiers produced torrents of outrage from anti-war critics and the news media while Communist atrocities were so common that they received hardly any media mention at all. The United States sought to minimize and prevent attacks on civilians while North Vietnam made attacks on civilians a centerpiece of its strategy. Americans who deliberately killed civilians received prison sentences while Communists who did so received commendations. From 1957 to 1973, the National Liberation Front assassinated 36,725 Vietnamese and abducted another 58,499. The death squads focused on leaders at the village level and on anyone who improved the lives of the peasants such as medical personnel, social workers, and school teachers. - Nixon Presidential Papers Common Myths Dispelled: Myth: Common Belief is that most Vietnam veterans were drafted. Fact: 2/3 of the men who served in Vietnam were volunteers. 2/3 of the men who served in World War II were drafted. Approximately 70% of those killed in Vietnam were volunteers.

Myth: The United States lost the war in Vietnam.
Fact: The American military was not defeated in Vietnam. The American military did not lose a battle of any consequence. From a military standpoint, it was almost an unprecedented performance. General Westmoreland quoting Douglas Pike, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley a major military defeat for the VC and NVA.

Coach

My wife got me a Coach wallet for my birthday a long time ago. Over the years, it has started to wear along the spine. The Coach site describes their lifetime warranty, so I sent it in for repair. A few weeks later, the wallet was returned untouched. The response letter said that it was unrepairable; in exchange, they gave me 40% off any item. The discount isn't bad, especially if I get something pricey, but they should have sent me a new wallet. Maybe I will get one of these, or these.

Trojan Horse

I got this bizarre email at work from our IT department:

Someone received an envelope from:

OCE'
5729 LEBANON RD
STE. 144-275
FRISCO, TX 75034

The envelope contained a plastic horse, about 2" long and 1"
high. Around the waist of the horse was an Avery label with the word
WORK on it. The envelope also contained a piece of white card stock, 5"
x 2" , with the following url:

"some url"

When my guy went to the url, ( using his laptop
computer) his screen tuned blue and he received over 150 pieces of spy
ware. The program then started collecting data.
It looks like the program collected about 40 different excel
files before he disconnected his computer from the internet.

Please let me know if you receive anything like this ASAP,
remember to try to save the envelope and toy (or whatever is in the
package) for finger printing and tell your IT guy to be on the lookout
as well.

I hadn't heard of this before. It must be a very specifically targeted attack since the senders had to know that the target had something of value on his PC. My guess is Chinese government hackers.