Yesteryear's Sci-Fi Is... (#2)

The obligatory link: A missile punch at bullet prices

Yes, I know, from the dateline on the article, I got to this one late. Still, it is an interesting little article. Starting from the chatroom for Constitutional Public Radio, we got on the topic of various rotary cannons last Thursday. Naturally, that got the Wiki juices flowing freely, and several clicks down the line from vulcan cannons, I ended up with this.

Essentially, the Navy is working on a railgun. To put it in easier terms, it's a gun that fires bullets using magnets instead of gunpowder. Of course, being the Navy, they're doing things big. What we're talking about here is a ship-based weapon capable, according to the article, of Tomahawk cruise missile ranges, with about two minutes faster time-to-target, for $1000 a shot (as opposed to the approximately $1000000 per shot for the Tomahawk), and approximately the same amount of destructive force.

From the article: "Garnett compared that force to hitting a target with a Ford Taurus at 380 mph. "It will take out a building," he said. Warheads aren't needed because of the massive force of impact."

Of course, they're talking about 2020 or so on this project, so we're certainly not there yet. Still, it's cool all the same.

Washington On The Citizen Military

"When we assumed the Soldier, we did not lay aside the Citizen; and we shall most sincerely rejoice with you in the happy hour when the establishment of American Liberty, upon the most firm and solid foundations shall enable us to return to our Private Stations in the bosom of a free, peacefully and happy Country." - George Washington

One For The Good News Files

The obligatory link: Afghan civilians stop terror attack at U.S. base

Honestly, I was rather surprised to happen across this while perusing news sources this morning. Pleasantly surprised, of course. After all, hardly a day goes by that there isn't a headline from some news agency of a suicide bombing killing or injuring people somewhere... So nice to see one averted, and in a spectacular manner at that.

Yesteryear's Sci-Fi Is...

The obligatory link: How things work: Electromagnetic catapults

As usual, it's exceptionally cool to watch things I've appreciated in the past as science fiction in the process of becoming science fact. Now, if we can just get the anthopomorphic robots to use with the EM catapults, we'll have something.

Meanwhile, elsewhere, we have this: Metamaterials found to work for visible light

The upshot here, amongst the many possible application of such things? Two words: Cloaking technology. C'mon, if that can't get the geek in you going, what can?

Short Shots

Unfortunately, I haven't had a lot of time today, so here are a series of shorts to tide you over:

T.O.L.1: School accuses 5-year-old of sex harrassment
A five year old, really? This is exactly the kind of ridiculous situations that "zero-tolerance" policies lead to. Which, of course, it just another way of saying "the adults don't have to utilize what little brainpower is available to them".

T.O.L.2: George S. Patton, Jr. 11 Nov. 1885--21 Dec. 1945
Third Wave Dave has an excellent post about General Patton, 61 years after his death. Good reading.

T.O.L.3: WVW student to keep Mohawk
Ladies and gentlemen, this is a story about knowing when to leave well enough alone... particularly when you have an outstanding warrant for your arrest.

Leave The Cloud Out Of It (At Least For A Day)

The obligatory link: Rumsfeld to be honored Friday at Pentagon departure ceremony

Here we have a man who has gone out of his way to be of service to his country over a period of many years. While the news writers may have this need to sneak in parting shots, this is a time where we should be thankful for what he's done for this nation. Well, at least they left him a nice headline... (Isn't it sad that that's the best that can be said of them?)

If you're so inclined, you can leave a message here.

Honoring Heroes

Over at The Radio Patriots, Andrea Shea King and Mark Vance have a great post about the story of an American soldier in Iraq. It's amazing, and I'd suggest that each and every person who reads this should go over and check it out.

Giving Thanks

A moment of silence and thanks. Silence for those who lost their lives in Pearl Harbor on this date in 1941. Thanks for those who continue to give their lives in the defense of this country. We continue to have the freedoms of this country due to their sacrifices.

God bless them, one and all.

Vets for Freedom

Vets for Freedom got a long mention on Constitutional Public Radio (3-5pm ET M-F, accessible here: http://www.askshow.com/), so I figured a quick noting of it here was in order at the very least.

http://vetsforfreedom.org/

The short description, from the "About Us" section of their website:

The Vets for Freedom Action Fund is a nonpartisan organization established by combat veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Our mission is to support policymakers from both sides of the aisle who have stood behind our great generation of American warriors on the battlefield, and who have put long-term national security before short-term partisan political gain.