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"You say that it is your custom to burn widows. Very well. We also have a custom: when men burn a woman alive, we tie a rope around their necks and we hang them. Build your funeral pyre; beside it, my carpenters will build a gallows. You may follow your custom. And then we will follow ours."...

1. I was working from memory ... and, of course, probably bad translations :lol: 2,3. I actually knew that, but in the context of my earlier comment, was basically lumping the whole Stalin era together as an analogy to the situation in NK (knowing that Stalin would have envied the level of...

I've been a "black aircraft" nut all my life. I well remember the buzz around the F-117 and B-2 back in the the prehistoric, pre-internet days of the 1980s ... trying to figure out what was going on, what the real planes would actually look like if they were ever revealed, etc. I still get a...

That made me think of Lenin's famous saying that "communism is socialism plus electricity." Not a happy thought for the millions in the Ukraine who starved in 1933 for that dream, I guess. I would say that freedom is the essential missing element in the lives of the North Koreans. All the...

Congratulations! Now that he's gone EVA, how's his life support unit doing? Looks like he may be a little tired from the egress procedure -- but a happy little guy! Well done!

Although it may be difficult to perceive right now, this has actually been the consistent policy of the United States since the end of the Korean War. The only problem is that there is an addendum to this primary policy, which is that the US has expressed a policy of "taking action" when NK...

A typical older American's view of soccer: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704862404575351432670409258.html?mod=WSJ_LifeStyle_Lifestyle_11 note: this is humor.

For what it's worth, I've worked in connection with the oil and gas and hydrocarbon-fueled electric power industries my whole adult life -- 30+ years since graduating from college. And, again FWIW, old timers here will chuckle at the thought of someone accusing me of being a "liberal" or being...

Major cultural change is never completely monolithic or one-sided. It's not as if everyone in Europe woke up after the sack of Rome in 410 AD and said, "Damn! the Dark Ages have started ... what a bummer the next 1000 years will be!" Yes, most people still enjoy the fruits of science and...

There's no contradiction here. For the vast majority of people, it's SCIENCE that is the unknown. For the last 50 years, education in the West has been dominated by theories that promoted "self esteem" and "diversity" above all else -- no-one's a loser, every idea has merit. These concepts...

This shouldn't be a surprise. Forty to 50 years of steady anti-science and anti-technology cultural propaganda eventually takes its toll. Culture matters.

If you're interested in alternative history of space development, check out the documentation with the X-15 Delta addon. It posits the X-15 providing a pathway to a completely different line of development that doesn't include STS at all. IMnsHO, that would have been a MUCH more fruitful path ...

Actually, it's just barely possible that humans will be back on the moon within a decade. It just won't be any of the national space agencies that will do it. ... this possibility is one of the very few things that gets me through this dark, dark time ...

I saw a mention of Orbiter 2010 out there on the Interwebs thingie and was really pleased to see it's finally been released. I installed it with a fresh install and, mirabile dictu, it worked great from the first attempt to start it. The speed of start-up and improvements in the interface...

Stopped by for old time's sake on this important day ... and to collect on some "I told you so"-s ... Just kidding. Was that an awesome launch, or what?!?!?!?!!!!

Brilliant! War is bad! I never realized that! Wow! I'm going to have to completely rethink my whole worldview!

Since the topic has drifted toward one of my life-long obsessions, I offer a little essay I wrote a few years ago on the subject. In amongst the material discussed here is an answer to the the "why muscle cars?" question: http://gregburch.net/cars/hotrod.html

It's George Bush's fault.

Oh good! A chance to be controversial and divisive! Mass transit? Some of my thoughts on the topic from a few years ago: http://www.gregburch.net/cars/plans.html

I'm comparing specs for the 2001 base models of the 911 and vette here: http://consumerguideauto.howstuffworks.com/2001-porsche-911-3.htm http://www.nctd.com/review-final.cfm?Vehicle=2001_Chevrolet_Corvette&ReviewID=3190 As for the suspension matter, well, I shall have to beg to differ with...