MiG-29

Polish Air Force MiG-29s by Krzysztof Kocierz

Found this image on Defence Blog. I am not sure whether it is a painting or a photograph. Krzysztof is a photographer, but the shadows and the rainbow are fantastic.

Clock Gears made using JavaScript

I'm making some progress with JavaScript and SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics).

Cuba Cars

An old American car passes by the capitol building in Havana, Cuba, on May 3, 2021. (YAMIL LAGE/AFP via Getty Images)

Saw this on Wretchard.com. I used to think it was cool that they had all these old cars in Cuba. Then I got the inside story from my daughter. They are 70 year old cars that have been beaten within an inch of their lives and they are only running because of the extraordinary lengths people go to to keep them running because they are the only cars they have.

When taxation is defenestration

Walled Up Windows

Title and photo stolen from Brian Micklethwait's New Blog.

From Daylight Robbery:

The Window Tax was a property tax based on the number of windows in a house, introduced in England and Wales in 1696 under King William III. It was eventually repealed in 1851. What happened, inevitably, was that homeowners bricked up their windows to avoid paying the tax - and disproportionately so in the case of rented accommodation, where the landlords themselves wouldn't be affected but their wretched tenants would be deprived of light and fresh air.

Thought I would take a look using Google Maps. It wasn't hard to find. Albert Street is only three blocks long. You can see the street sign in the above photo.

Northest corner of Delancey & Albert Streets, London England
Okay, not all the windows are bricked up.

I've been hearing all kinds of minor horror stories about England ever since the Bat-flu thing came on the scene, but this takes the cake. I guess that even though England has always been held up as a model of Western Civilization, it's also has always been kind of fucked up. Might have something to do with why America even exists.

Now With More Cow Bell!

Chambers Brothers - Time Has Come Today (live)
nokewan
From A NIGHT AT THE FILLMORE 20th Anniversary 1986 Concert. You may need to turn up the volume, this recording is a little weak.

Title stolen from Bustednuckles. You remember "more cowbell" don't you?

New Car

I'm thinking about a new car. It wouldn't be a new, new car, just a new to me new car. Younger son has gotten tired of his beat-to-death monster truck and is looking for something that can get him around town. Family thinks I should sell him my car since I am having trouble getting in and out of it. My wife thinks we can get by by sharing her SUV. Her car would be better for me because it's easier to get in and out of. I suspect that will work for about a week. We're too old, too set in our ways, once she finds that I have taken the car when she wants to go somewhere, we're going to be going car shopping. 

I'm thinking I should have kept my Dakota. It needed a new transmission and there was a dent in the fender, and it was probably going to need a new engine, and while all that would cost around $10K, it's still a far cry from the $25K they want for a new one. Well, they would if they still made them. They don't but other makes do make mid-sized pickup trucks. Of course, these days you might have trouble finding anything. IAman was at the Toyota dealer the other day and they did not have ANY cars.

Since then I have discovered that Dr. Linda might be right about my back. Doing a dozen situps a day seems to help, so maybe I don't need an SUV, maybe I could just get a car. But if I'm going to buy a car, I want something with style. I started looking around at the cars on the road and while I sort of knew that they were all repulsive looking blob-mobiles, when I started looking it really hit me. Gawd, they are just hideous.

2015 Jaguar F-Type R Coupe

So what do I get? Well, a classic from the 50's or 60's might be kind of cool, especially if it had flame paint on the fenders and lakes pipes along the sides. My wife would hate it, but it would force her to get her garage sale merchandise out of the garage so the car could be hidden from the neighbors. A F-type Jag might be a possibility. I like they way they look, they aren't too expensive. Okay, a used one costs as much as a new full-size pickup truck. It would be a stretch, but it's not out of reach. Maybe when I get the new house project completed. Maintenance on a Jaguar is liable to be expensive and annoying, but it's not like I have to go somewhere every freaking day.

Robot Air Tanker

MQ-25 Stringray refueling an F-18 Super Hornet

The Navy ran a test and the gizmo seems to work. First flight was over a year ago. I wonder how long it will be before we have robot jet fighters. Probably a couple of weeks at least. Even if they aren't as good as manned fighters, and they won't be at first, they will be cheaper and if they get shot down it's not like you are losing a pilot.

War is a funny business. Afghan has managed to stay rooted in the 14th century in spite of the British, the Russians and us (the Americans). Meanwhile China is enlarging their nuclear arsenal.

Boeing has a webpage about this craft, as does Wikipedia