You Get What You Pay For

Time of T-50 / PAK FA (Время Т-50 / ПАК ФА)

Since YouTube is a free service it shouldn't come as any surprise that someone else decides which videos you can watch and where you can watch them. I came across a video of the new Russian T-50 jet fighter doing some things that I wouldn't have thought possible (at the 2:40 mark it gets very interesting for about 10 or 15 seconds), and so I put together a little post and embedded the clip. Then I found out it wouldn't play because UMG said so. I did a little digging and found this story on ars-technica from a couple of years ago about how UMG has some kind of secret agreement with YouTube.
I suppose I should be glad that the great and glorious Google is looking out for me (Google owns YouTube last I heard), but somehow I don't see it that way. Makes me want to start my own video sharing service. Yeah, that's what I'll do, right after I take my nap. Oh, wait, I think I hear a donut calling my name...

P.S. I took a screenshot of the message and pasted it here. I wanted some evidence that this happened in case UMG later decides to change their mind about this video. The original image appeared to have a solid black background, and when I pulled it up in Picasa, it still showed as solid black. It wasn't until I inserted it here that it changed to the mottled gray and black snow-ish pattern. Looking back at the original embedded video it looks like dim, active "snow".

P.P.S. All this makes me wonder what UMG has against Google. I mean, I found the video on another site. You know, if I was paranoid, or a narcissist, I might think UMG had something against me personally. That would be cool.

Update September 2017. Restriction has lapsed, so I added the video.

Eastern Cross

Eastern Cross

I got to wondering about the relative latitude of Tokyo and Peking, so I went to Google maps and found that Peking is slightly farther North, but more interestingly, Seoul is almost exactly halfway between the two. If you look at the North-South line we find that Vladivostok, Seoul, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) and Kuala Lumpur are almost in a straight line. Here ends today's geography lesson.

Update February 2021 replaced missing map. Update inspired by this video.

Toyota Tacoma Rusty Frame Problem

Toyota Tacomas are ultra-reliable trucks, but one serious issue that has plagued them is rusty frames.   When I say 'rusty' I mean rusty, with frames literally falling apart and collapsing.

Corrosion is a funny business. I had an an early 1950's Chevrolet pickup truck with rust problems. Okay, it had a lot or problems, but the rust is the only one relevant to this story. The entire floor of the cab was rusted to bits. Now that I think about it I don't understand how it could have happened. None of the rest of body showed any evidence of rust. The floor of the bed was shot, but it was made of wood, so that was not too surprising. The frame was rusty, but it was still plenty strong. I think it must have been parked floorboard-deep in a swamp for a few years.

   Lancia, a maker of fine Italian sports car, had a serious rust problem with their cars some years ago. It became a standard joke on Top Gear. 

   When I was a kid in Ohio, rust was a constant feature of the automotive world. If a car lasted ten years before it became too ugly to drive it was a miracle. Exhaust systems had to be replaced weekly. You could see the ground going by through the holes in the floor of half of the cars I rode in.

    So with all this experience with rust and all our hard won knowledge of corrosion prevention, I would have thought problems like this would cease. Looks like I was wrong again.

    What's even weirder is that Dana, an American company, built the failing frames for Toyota and had to refund $25 million dollars to make up for it. I bet things got ugly at Dana when that happened.

    Toyota seems to have stepped up and taken responsibility for the problem. They bought some trucks back, and replaced entire frames on others. I would like to see what that procedure looks like. I mean you have to completely disassemble the truck to get the frame out. Everything, I mean everthing, is bolted to it. Not something you would want to tackle at home.

Via Michigan Mike.

YouTube video of frame replacement. I guess it's not such a big deal, it only takes this crew four minutes.

B-58 Hustler

Maj. Fitzhugh "Fitz" Fulton sits in a cockpit of a test aircraft. On Sept. 8, 1962, Major Fulton piloted a B-58, carrying an 11,023-pound payload to an altitude of 85,360 feet -- a record for this category that still stands. He was a long-time test pilot at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., first for the Air Force, and later for NASA, for a total of 35 years. (Courtesy photo)

Dior in Shanghai

November 14, 2013 - Dior in Shanghai - Photo by Robert Nethery

Bama fan goes crazy on OU student

This isn't my usual fair, but I just woke up and found this in my inbox, and it's pretty spectacular. From Posthip Scott.

Hainan Island, China

There is a mystery island off the Southwest coast of Hainan Island, Red China. Now you see a pair of small islands:

View Larger Map

Now you only see one:

View Larger Map
Google Maps used to have an error reporting method right on the map, but I can't find it. You know, with the brouhaha over all the disputed islands in the region, you'd think people would do a better job of keeping track of where they are, or aren't.
I got started on this by looking at a map of China's smog, and I noticed this big ol' island hanging off the bottom of China. I have a hard time keeping Eastern Asian geography straight, probably because I never had to draw a map of it in elementary school. Even now I cannot tell you whether Tokyo or
 Peking is farther North.
Hainan is the name of the island and the province. The province composes some 200 islands. The big island is over 12,000 square miles. All the other islands put together add up to only 400 square miles, so if one of the small islands disappears for a while it's not going to have a big disturbance down at the bureau of important statistics. I didn't find anything else about the island that was particularly special (besides the nuclear submarine base), except for the annual fog:

From January to February, the island of Hainan is affected by thick fog, particularly in coastal areas and the northern part of the island. This is caused by cold winter air from the north coming into contact with the warmer sea, causing the moisture that evaporates from the sea to be condensed into fog. The fog remains from day to night, and is evenly distributed. Visibility may be reduced to 50 metres for days at a time. During this period, residents normally keep windows shut. The moisture in the air is so extreme that the walls in homes weep, and floors often accumulate a layer of water several millimetres deep.

Somehow that doesn't make it sound particularly attractive. Inspired by Comrade Misfit.

Bonus: Women training to be bodyguards here.

Update August 2020 replaced dead link.