The eDodo Rumor Mill

Re: is recognition really this early?

Author: stract
Forum: The Rumor Mill
Date: 2010-03-14

I do know that later classes, after 97 or 98 I think, no longer got credit for SERE out of the Academy.

Not true. We got credit for SV-80, but had to go to Fairchild for a week of Top Off.

Things you wanted to post on Facebook, but you chickened out

Author: Enrique
Forum: The Rumor Mill
Date: 2010-03-14

I wish my mother-in-law wouldn't eat so many collard greens... especially right before she visits.

Each and every one of you who send me Farmville requests can fuck off.

Who here thinks my boss looks like a cross between Alfalfa and Alfred E. Neumann?

Re: "The Internet? Bah!"

Author: Enrique
Forum: The Rumor Mill
Date: 2010-03-14

Math, engineering, literature, foreign language?? Give me a classroom and a teacher please.

I see the internet improving higher education tremendously, but not elementary school or really even high school. At that point, you're still learning how to learn, and just trying to build a baseline of knowledge. I don't really see most people running out of information to learn. But an online library with access to tons of published articles? I almost want to stay enrolled at my grad school just to keep access to the library! The internet changes higher education completely - especially who can acquire it.

What 'Switch said.

The InternetWebThingie doesn't necessarily supplant brick and mortar learning, but it does widen the scope of what and how much you can learn. Otherwise, major academic institutions wouldn't be trying to catch up to University of Phoenix with more and more degree offerings.

Your Humble Enrique is currently studying for a Masters degree in one of the engineering disciplines, from the 3rd-best ranked university in that discipline. It also happens to be 1500 miles away from Albuquerque. Lectures are recorded and delivered to a server within 2 hours, but otherwise every one of the students - whether they attend class in person on on the couch from 2 time zones away - give and receive all course materials and assignments via InternetWebThingie. That infernal Alexander Graham Bell contraption and e-mail fill in the gaps just as well as standing in line at the professor's office during the 2 hours per week he's actually there.

The only downside I can come up with: inability to gawk at 20-something coeds sitting nearby. But since I live in another college town, it's pretty easy to get Duke and 90 Guy over to Kelly's when we really need our fix.

Re: Northrop dropping out of tanker bidding

Author: Doug Masters
Forum: The Rumor Mill
Date: 2010-03-13

The AF would have been SO MUCH SMARTER 10 years ago to compete for a completely new airframe, but the DOD said "no, it has to be based upon a commercially produced aircraft."
Be careful what you wish for...

If the AF had a new tanker built from the ground up, they'd be buying the KQ-45 UAT, with a big RIF for pilots and boomers. There might still be windows up front, but it would be an observation deck for the pax.

Re: Northrop dropping out of tanker bidding

Author: comicus_01
Forum: The Rumor Mill
Date: 2010-03-13

Oh you couldn't resurrect the KC line...I'm not even sure that Boeing has the dies/jigs.

Pretty sure those ended up in a scrap yard 25+ years ago. (just a guess, but a very good one)

Wiki says the 707 stopped production in 1979, so right after I was born. That's what I meant by the line being long gone, since the aircraft were so similar.

Since the AF still gets spare parts from somewhere, obviously some stuff is still made. But that's probably less than half of what comprises an aircraft.

The Army Giveth, The Army Taketh Away

Author: TBlue92
Forum: The Rumor Mill
Date: 2010-03-13

I remember reading the public version of the attack on the Wanat outpost and it seemed like a pretty f'd up scenario. Can some of our beret wearing brethren (or someone closely associated) chime in on what I'm reading here.

http://afghanistan.blogs.cnn.com/2010/0 ... reprimand/

Re: Northrop dropping out of tanker bidding

Author: flieger83
Forum: The Rumor Mill
Date: 2010-03-13

if they got a 767 freighter line going, that's quite good enough. Hell, that's probably closer to what the AF wants anyway. But to try and resurrect something that hasn't existed in 40 years???
Oh you couldn't resurrect the KC line...I'm not even sure that Boeing has the dies/jigs.

The smartest thing they could have done, about 15 years ago, was use the 707-320C line and convert them and install CFM56s. THAT would have been a nice jet.

Oh well...opportunities lost. Back in the late 1980's we toyed with the idea of winglets for fuel conservation (4% savings over time)...and instead we got the FSAS (2.5% IF used for a cruise/climb profile). FAIL.

Oh well...

Re: Northrop dropping out of tanker bidding

Author: comicus_01
Forum: The Rumor Mill
Date: 2010-03-13

if they got a 767 freighter line going, that's quite good enough. Hell, that's probably closer to what the AF wants anyway. But to try and resurrect something that hasn't existed in 40 years???

Re: MLB baseball 2010

Author: comicus_01
Forum: Sports
Date: 2010-03-13

In recognition of their 10,000th loss, SI ran this story a few years ago: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/ ... ?eref=sisf

great memories I'm sure

Re: MLB baseball 2010

Author: RockOn
Forum: Sports
Date: 2010-03-13

You also forgot to add their historic Phillie Phade from the early 60's when they played themselves out of a playoff spot in a manner not duplicated since.

Re: Northrop dropping out of tanker bidding

Author: flieger83
Forum: The Rumor Mill
Date: 2010-03-13

GreenS...

I wholly understand what you're saying...I'm still in the KC world, after...wait for it: 26 years this July! Started in "A", went to "R", did the "Q" a few times, then the "E" and now back to the "R."

And I agree, the jets are being flown TOO hard and are failing badly...they're tired, no doubt about it. I'm sure you've pulled enough of your life already at the Deid...the jets there are a mess. There was one a year or so ago that had the CP's window duct taped shut with a note: DO NOT OPEN! Hmm said the CP...that's my escape route! What do I do? MX says: "DO NOT OPEN IT AS WE CAN"T PUT IT BACK!"

Crew rejected the jet...and you KNOW what trouble THAT caused! (We AFRC types have our standards... )

We do need something better, newer, more capable; I wholly agree. I just think that the 767 is the wrong jet. The AF would have been SO MUCH SMARTER 10 years ago to compete for a completely new airframe, but the DOD said "no, it has to be based upon a commercially produced aircraft."

Oh well...

And there is no 767 tanker line right now...for the other poster. There are some jets being pulled from the freighter line and redone...but that's all. The ONLY 767 being built right now is the freighter line, according to Boeing. They killed their commercial airliner with the 737-800.

Fun stuff!

Re: Northrop dropping out of tanker bidding

Author: comicus_01
Forum: The Rumor Mill
Date: 2010-03-13

The general consensus I've found in this community is that if they just re-opened the 135 line and built new ones,
What line? I don't think it's existed since before you were born.

pretty sure it's just cheaper to therefore buy from a line that's currently in use.

Re: MLB baseball 2010

Author: comicus_01
Forum: Sports
Date: 2010-03-13

Considering they have lost more games than any other professional team in the history of American sports... I don't think that's too much to hope for.

Re: Northrop dropping out of tanker bidding

Author: GreenSwitch
Forum: The Rumor Mill
Date: 2010-03-13

Flieger, I don't think you're going to get too passionate an argument from the 135 bunch. The general consensus I've found in this community is that if they just re-opened the 135 line and built new ones, maybe with the avionics integrated a little better and a ground heating/cooling system, it would be just dandy. But congress just can't get their brains wrapped around that, sadly. It needs to be NEW BETTER IMPROVED BIGGER!

The airframes we have now are holding up ... sort of. They are starting to run down, and there are plenty of fly-to-fail parts original to the airframe that are beginning to fail. When the airframes deploy we ride them hard and put them away wet. Every time. But more importantly, we basically fly a 1955 Chevy with a Windows-based navigation system stuck into it. The technology integration is a problem. Wires are stuck places wires should not be, or should not be together. There are things that fail frequently that are put in places difficult for mx to get to, because that's the only place it fit. No pre-flight happens where you don't have to turn something off and then back on again to get it to work. A lot of times, it just doesn't work so you go without. Structurally, they are OK. But from the operating perspective, they are a complete mess. Every single pre-flight requires a truck full of specialists waiting to jump out and help you with your problem. What an incredible waste of manpower! But we would have like a 10% on time takeoff rate without it.

Re: Laptop for 1K or less?

Author: BlingBling
Forum: Internet / Software / Computer Hardware
Date: 2010-03-13

Yeah, why aren't they running a series of ads with some dumb bastard who admits "Windows Vista was my idea"?

Windows 7 is pretty damned solid. Windows Media Center is particularly nice, especially if you own an Xbox 360 as an extender and get a $60 Avermedia Duet dual over the air HDTV tuner and a decent sized hard drive. Still, the fact remains that this really should be called Windows 6.1 rather than Windows 7. Microsoft just wants the incremental revenue and is unwilling to admit that Windows 7 is just a big service patch for Windows Vista.

All in all, Windows7 is a solid choice and a decent reason to upgrade from an old Windows XP box for a price far lower than a Mac. Now if you want to talk about an operating system from Microsoft that actually is laudible, look at Windows Home Server. The second generation product, code-named Vail, looks like it is shaping up to be an excellent solution for home media storage, multiple machine back up, and small business server needs. The price for the software isn't as good as Ubuntu or Linux Mint, but it might be the best OS that Microsoft has released since Windows XP. Sometimes you gotta give the devil his due.

Hugo Chavez up to No Good

Author: BlingBling
Forum: The Rumor Mill
Date: 2010-03-13

Looks like Chavez's Venezuala isn't just supporting the FARC in Colombia, it also provides refuge to Basque terrorists as well.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/14/world/americas/14venez.html?hp=&pagewanted=all

Just thought anyone with a passing interest in Latin Amererican security issues might want to know about this.

Re: Another Wireless Question

Author: 90 Guy
Forum: Internet / Software / Computer Hardware
Date: 2010-03-13

I don't think MAC filtering is the issue.

I apologize in advance for the format of my questions...

Is your wifi AP a router?

Is this router attached directly to the cable modem, or whatever you are using?

Is your wifi router setup for DHCP?

Now your laptops.

Go to the network properties of your wifi connectionnetprop3.jpg

Check the TCP/IP properties.

Are your laptops configured to 'automatically acquire network'? netprop2.jpg

I think both of your laptops have the same IP address...so they are booting each other off the network.

It's weird....I took it to Bestbuy for the Geek Squad to take a look at it...It connected right away. Went across the street to a wifi hotspot, free and public, and it connected to the network, but not to the internet. The wireless icon had the little yellow triangle with an exclamation point in it.

Oh yeah, this laptop has Windows 7 on it, so I wasn't able to follow your screenshots.

Re: Laptop for 1K or less?

Author: gonzo
Forum: Internet / Software / Computer Hardware
Date: 2010-03-13

...7 is what Vista shoulda been...

For the record, I agree with gonzo--for the most part. 7 could have been even better, imho, but for the idiots on the commercials all having their lame input--so that they could claim ownership too.
It is MS...so it can always be better. But at least 7 is not the abortion that ME or Vista were.

Re: Northrop dropping out of tanker bidding

Author: flieger83
Forum: The Rumor Mill
Date: 2010-03-13

The 767 gives us NOTHING over the KC-135R.

Except being able to air refuel also (minus the eight KC-135RT's at McConnell), has built in SADL/Link-16 connectivity (ROBE), is either boom and drogue capable like the KC-10, has a normal autopilot & auto throttles, increased cargo capacity (you can actually hold 10,000lbs on a pallet as opposed to the 6,000lbs max limit on the -135), advance air refueling system (RARO II) that has Independent Disconnect System and Automated Load Elevation System for the boom, no hydraulic/de-ice/anit-ice fluid I have to squint through to refuel, and I could go on.

But you're right, the 767 gives us NOTHING over the KC-135R. I'm PCSing to Altus this summer, maybe I *might* see the new tanker at the end of my tour.

/wishful thinking
Ahh, Sli...you poor thing...make certain your depth perception is UBER sharp before your student makes their first attempt to put their initials outside the receptacle!

Let's see...your comments:

a. A/R capable. Yeah, so? Now you're like the KC-10, can take and give...so what, really? It's not a great force multiplier for this jet due to size and speed of offload issues. Oh, it'll make the jet a great "onsite orbital receptacle" and that's a GOOD thing I suppose.

b. ROBE...coming to the KC near you; just about the same timing too if the A3 guys at AMC aren't BS'ing us.

c. Drogue...THIS IS THE BEST THING I THINK, except...wait for it...the current plans call for its drogue system to be...wait...MPRS! AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH! I PRAY they contract out and buy either the UK or Israeli ones.

d. A/P w/AThrottles...a nice toy for pilots but is it that big a deal, worthy of the price tag...I don't think so. But then again, I'm an old crusty pilot that's flown with and without them. They're NICE...

e. RARO II....EXCELLENT! THIS IS A GREAT THING! No arguments or disagreements there.

But you missed, I think, the meaning of my "it gives us nothing over the current KC..." comment.

In terms of a force unit, multiplier, it really doesn't bring anything "better" to the A/R fight. It can refuel the same number of aircraft, at the same speed, and over the same distance as the KC. It carries no more fuel, has no great offload, etc. IF you want it to be the force multiplier by using its A/R ability, then you require ANOTHER tanker to refuel IT and you just lessened the force capacity.

No...I'd have MUCH preferred the A330....

But, as I said, it's a bias I have.

As for your seeing one at Altooose during your tour...perhaps if you homestead there you MIGHT see a TDY jet come by, but that's about it. The last briefing I got at AMC showed where the 179 jets were going and none were KLTS bound. Think your present locale, and two others. BUT...as delayed as this program is now...according to the guys at AF FLT TEST at Edwards (they come to KRIV for training) they're "hoping" to see the first test bird around 2015.
<<sigh>>

The AF is gonna take it in the shorts, regardless of which jet they buy...it has taken TOO LONG!

Re: Healthcare law without a vote. Possible? Maybe so.

Author: winki
Forum: Politics
Date: 2010-03-13

I don't think the House and Senate ever pass the same bill, except for trivial ceremonial ones honoring National Asparagus Farmers' Day or some such. After each has passed its version a Conference Committe composed of both the House and Senate meets and resolves the differences--

Not entirely correct.
The House and Senate resolve the differences in their respective bills and then that bill is voted each on by each chamber.
Therefore, each chamber must vote on exactly the same bill for it to be law.

This tactic is going to consider the Senate health care bill "passed" WITHOUT a roll call vote, and then the house will vote on a slate of patches to it. Basically patching a law that legally speaking does not exist.