kalvasflam

So, to throw gas on the fire, this is what happens when you have a republican congress and a democrat president, and they all declare a peace dividend. The sad thing is, all of this was preventable. Well, this is just another sure sign that the US is going to go the way of the Brits (like the turn of two centuries ago). I can't wait until the first time a B-2 gets shot down or crashes, that would effectively reduce the stealth bomber capability by about 5%.

http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2007/...7-problems.html hmmm, no wonder 787 is getting delayed.... reads like big design issues to me sometime ago. If it's getting aired now, they might be past it. If not, things are gonna be going downhill fast for the 787. Additional interesting tidbit, this one on A380: http://news.airwise.com/story/view/1193904154.html Guess there won't be any more lovefests on the SIA A380

No matter how you slice it, Germany was going to be the loser in WWII, and the US (but may be not Russia or England) would've been the winner. Why would I say this? Let's say Hitler manages to keep status quo and Kursk didn't come out to be such a disaster, Hitler is still economically constrained. It'll prolong the war on the Eastern front, he can't get at Russia manufacturing base, and the Russians had more manpower. So at best, we have a stalemate on the eastern front. Then Overlord happens, and the Germans are hosed, a two front land war, that's not counting the trump card that the Americans held in the form of the A-bomb. And it's doubtful if the western allies would've negotiated a settlement.

I think the biggest lesson you can get out of Heroes is that there seem to be a lot of interconnectivity between the characters, so they all ought to be aware of who they're sleeping with. After all, it might just be their second cousins, or nephews, or nieces or such. The degree of relationship is very interesting. I am curious to see if Hiro bones Kensei's girlfriend at the end, and hell, he might be his own great great granddad... if things keep progressing this way, how would that be for a kick in the head. This would be some real uncharted waters then, and it wouldn't surprise me if it turns out that Kensei is also the progenitor for some of the other heroes in the show. Especially if the one thing Hiro can do is to put Kensei on the opposite side of the planet, say in jolly old England to keep him away from the girl.

This season is still interesting enough, I really don't like Maya and Bro, and it's only Sylar that's keeping things interesting with them. I'm sure that the episode Four Months Ago will tie up a lot of loose ends, like how the hell did Sylar get to Mexico. I like HRG's crusade, although the Hiro portion is start to bore me. Somehow, Hiro's arc throughout the series hasn't tied in all that well with the other heroes, at least from what I've seen. But hopefully, they'll start getting Hiro more involved with the other characters when he gets back and find out Sulu got whacked.

There are always other factors, but we're talking about pure air superiority, which the ME262 didn't achieve. The assumption is that the future US military leaders aren't going to be as stupid as Hitler was in some cases, but that isn't right, and if they screw it up, they would need a larger number to compensate for their mistake. Quality isn't always everything and can't be always counted on, mass has it's own special meaning too. And what happens when the Russians fields the F-22 equivalent and flood those onto the market. Besides, most of the cases in WWII argued not for better quality but sheer mass. Think the Japanese vs US Navy for example, the Japanese started off with a qualitatively better fleet in just about most aspects, I don't see the JSDF defending US from Canada today though.

A point of contention, I wouldn't call procurement part of the military exactly. I know about the original purpose for the B-2. But 21 is a ridiculously low number. And any fool could've seen the evolution into a conventional role and may be not shut down the B-2. Case in point, the B-52. Still the most useful bomb truck thus far. As for the F-15 fleet, originally, the run was for 729 F-15s, but that ran went well over a thousand for just the USAF. As for the Congress, part of me wonders why they even get to make decisions on military appropriations. You have a bunch of drunks and prima donnas in that place, and they're making multi-billion dollar decisions. And where do they come down on? Entitlement for a bunch of bums sitting home doing nothing. But I think we can all agree that better to have more Raptors than less, just because the economics probably favors it anyway. The argument of why next gen fighters shouldn't be needed in such large numbers is rather silly. Think WWII, German Jet fighters (next gen) vs prop driven fighters (current gen)... who won that war. Hey, the Germans had a qualitative edge there that was unmatched. Next gen didn't fare very well there, did it?

True enough, but the implication is there. Remember, it can't be Dems vs dems because season 3 had Palmer squaring off against his opponent, so unless the Republicans went away and there are two Democrat parties, Logan is a Republican. What's unknown is whether Palmer Jr is a Republican or a Democrat, you'd think he is the same party as David, but you can't be sure. And besides, we can't have evil Democrats, that just doesn't sound right.... somehow.

I like that idea, a missionized UCAV control system... but it would be best if the B model would be more of a AWACS fighter than a true air superiority fighter... imagine one off those puppies controlling half a squad of Reapers for group strikes. On the other hand, I'm not too crazy about the Air to Ground role for F-22, the advantage is the leverage on the common platform, but the -22 would have to be like the FB design. My rationale for the number though isn't just for the sake of manufacturing efficiency, numbers carry a weight all on their own. The US may have air dominance now, but that will definitely not be the case at the present rate of development in another two decades. I do wish they managed to install more payload than two lousy LGBs on the Reapers though. But you gotta start somewhere. I think the sad part is that the procurement for the US military must be made up of a bunch of idiots. They don't bother to scale the manufacturing correctly at all, I think I said this in the previous aircraft thread, they should've made something like 100+ B-2s, not just 21. That would've scaled down the cost dramatically, I am not sure, but I'm guessing all the tooling for the B-2 are long wrecked, and there is no way to ever restart up that line. Sad....

Only if they bring back Itzn, and of course, no more Palmer boys... that line is pretty well spent. We need evil Republican Logan. ha ha... he outshone just about everyone with that Season 5. May be we'll get son of Logan

I would say that number should realistically be in the 500 range, with continued emphasis on upgrading existing units, and adding a two seater variant. Closing down the production line would be a huge mistake.

Bioware bought by EA... that alone was a disturbing thought. The real problem of course is EA's track record with MMORPG so far. Ultima online anyone? It was the first MMORPG that made money (I think), and instead of capitalizing on its dominance, EA went on to cede the title to Evercrack and Sony. Bioware might make EA better, but based on what I hear, EA is definitely going to make Bioware worse as a company. I think they might ruin KOTOR if they try to do an MMORPG out of it.

It is just a swept wing I know, but this is reminding me a little of the YF-21.... just a little http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2007/...-in-flight.html But, these kinds of tech has to start somewhere.

I new AFO to me is a waste of money. I would think that if anything, the USAF need to replace fighters rather than AFO. If they have to, smaller AFO might be worthwhile, possibly 787 variant if they ever do a -10 version. There is a whole slew of replacements that would take priority, I think AFO needs to be on the bottom of the list. Boeing has enough trouble right now with the 787, so, AFO while it might be a symbolic win, I think would be totally pointless for Boeing. And even if AFO gets to be an Airbus product, well, it's not a precedent right? Right now, I think the next Marine One is a eurocopter of some type.

look, but don't touch.... touch, but don't taste.... taste, but don't swallow.... Actually, remember what happened on Qantas with that stewardess and that actor? Take it to a logical conclusion with these types of seatings, and you could see potentially a new revenue stream for the airlines. If it happened regularly enough, might make first class less desirable for the Singapore girls. I wonder how the other A380 users would alter their first class, and what other items are in the offering.

Following up yesterday's SIA Beyond First discussion. I wonder why they didn't seal the entire cabin and left a space open on the top. It seems odd to me because in this instance, it isn't really that private if someone is tall enough. I almost think of this setup like what they have on a train, a private cabin would be what they're trying to mimic, but it doesn't take that through all the way. Looking at the video, I wasn't sure, but was there an overhead storage bin in that class? By the way, David, this is how you know people are airplane enthusiasts, they start calling the city by the airport code.

Exactly.... heh heh, but you have to admit, on an extremely long flight, this combo could be fun. Too bad they didn't put up a shower in that cabin.

Anyone see the inside shots of the A380 and SIA's beyond first class cabins? Those looked pretty incredible, but holy smoke, at $10K (or something like that... inaugural pricing I think) a seat for a trip like Sydney to Singapore, that's expensive. And the CEO says that he would not prefer to see anything racy happening in the double bed cabin... http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/10/15/business/airbus.php I guess this would make mile high club a bit easier, but I wonder if it also means that these little cabins are sound proof.

Bah, in SF, if you bash the military, that's usually a good thing. I was a little disappointed at the fleet week parade of ships though. What happened to the aircraft carrier that typically comes along? Are they stretched that thinly?

What an interesting episode... although I do have a harder time believing that fat boy's dad is evil beyond Sylar. After all, evil typically requires some cunning, judging by the way fat boy tried to find him, those smart genes obviously skipped a generation. What a stupid cop... and probably lazy too... "what room is he in?" Hello dumbass, ever hear of stakeout? Anyone think it's possible that Nathan is the one that knocked off Sulu?

well, let's check.... 0080... nope, no Haro, 0083.... hmmm, none there either, MS Igloo.... surprisingly Haro free, Wing? nope, none there either... So, Haros don't have to be in gundam shows.

Geez, whatever happened to Gundam shows without frigging Haros. Saw ep 1 so far, and it's not bad. I will reserve judgment on the premise of the show until it develops more. But hopefully they'll flush out this Celestial Being organization a little more, things like where did they come from, how are they funded, etc, not like the crap they had on SEED and the Terminal. Which essentially amounted to: "we believe in Lacus, therefore we can build asteroid bases and mobile suits, and all out of thin air."

Those were just names I had on top of my head... I understand that Boeing is far better off than those two entities. But still the public relations could use a little work, accordingly, Qantas was told about a month ago that everything was still on schedule. Not exactly the best sign.... I wonder if Boeing was trying to swing the BA 787 decision.

every company on the outside can look great, but on the inside could be an utter disaster, and every now and then, the stuff going on inside comes out.... and then we have a mess. i.e. Enron, Worldcom there is no doubt that Boeing marketing and sales are fantastic, but their leadership is highly questionable, McNerdy ruined 3M culture before Boeing, and I'm guessing he'll probably help torch Boeing too at this rate. I think Boeing should've owned up a little earlier to the delays... at least I hope they did it privately to their lead customers. If not, they could be in real trouble.

\ Saw it... reaction so far is... meh.... But certainly a fresh story line compared to beginning of Seed.