Oil Tanker train derails and burns in WV.

Dramatic photos on Drudge.  They mention that all the tank cars involved were brand new, built to tougher standards than the cars built up until 2010.  They do not mention the state of the track.  Nor do they mention how fast the train was going.  There is plenty of track in this country so old and rotten as to be unsafe at any speed.  Around here a lot of ties are so rotted out that you can pick the spikes out of the track by hand.  And Amtrak was running passengers over that track.   I wonder what shape the track was in WV. 

I wonder what their constituents think

The Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netenyahu, has been invited to address the US House of Representatives.  Recently certain democratic Congressmen have announced that they will not attend the Prime Minister's remarks, probably because Obama detests Mr. Netenyahu, and has asked his democratic supporters to snub him. 
   Many Americans, both Jewish and Gentile,  have great respect, admiration, even love, for  Israel.  They admire the Israeli's courage,  resource, and dedication in the face of implacable Arab hatred. 
   Speaking for myself, a Gentile, I would be offended if my Congressional representatives were to snub the leader of a smaller, friendly, allied, and threatened country.  I wonder  how many voters share my thinking on this. 

Beware Computer Fixer Upper Programs

You must have seen the ads (PCMatic for example)  The ad promises to increase your computer's speed by "cleaning" the Registry, the hard drive, and other less mentionable parts of your computer. 
   Beware.  Most, if not all,  of these programs are malware, especially the free ones.  Before downloading any such program, Google for reviews of then program's name.  See what the rest of the Internet thinks of them.  Usually you will hit some reviews that call the program a virus.  I don't run freebie programs of any kind unless I find solid and unanimous good words on the net about them.
   Plus, you can do it yourself, which is safer.  Running a little known program on your faithful computer is hazardous to its health. 
    Keep things clean.  Your computer came from the store with a bunch of games and craplets that you never use.  Zap them.  Do "settings" then "Control Panel" and then "Add and Remove Programs".  Remove anything you know you don't use.  Be careful about things you don't know about, programs with important sounding names that you don't recognize.  Some of them are vital parts of Windows.  Some of them might be virii.  Google these programs, but interpret the answers with care.  There are a bunch of websites out there that will respond with a means nothing answer to any program name, and then attempt to sell you on their Computer Fixer Upper program.  Ignore those.  Look for answers that come from people, not programs. 
Make a list of the questionable programs, and keep it to hand.
   Run Task Manager.  It comes with Windows, and pops up when you hit control-alt-delete.   Look at "applications".   That's programs that are running and showing a window on your desktop.  You should recognize all of them.  Any application that you don't recognize is very suspicious. 
  Check the "Process" window.  Processes are all running programs, most of which don't show windows on your desktop.  Programs in the Applications window will also show up in the Process window.  Any live virus on your machine will show up in the process window, probably under an assumed name.  Processes claiming unusual amounts of RAM or CPU time are suspicious.  It's usual to have 30 odd processes running, but  much more than that is suspicious. 
   Questionable programs from the Add and Remove programs applet that DO show in the Process window are more likely to be a necessary part of Windows.  Questionable programs that DO NOT show in the process window are more likely to be junk you don't need. 
   Once you are sure you have identified something as virus or just plain junk, get rid of it.  Start house cleaning with Add & Remove programs.  If that works, it usually does a better job than anything else, it can remove the programs Registry entries and it's disc files.  If Add and Remove programs doesn't work, go after the offensive program's disc files with Windows explorer.  And then go after the program's Registry entries with Regedit.  Delete all registry keys containing the offensive program's name. 
   Secret.  The name the program shows in Task Manager may not be the program's disc file name.  In which case, a search of the Registry with Regedit, looking for the offending name in Task Manager, will often turn up a key that gives the program's disc file name.
  Be careful.  It's is quite easy to zap a necessary part of Windows which is a catastrophe.   
  Good luck.

So how hot is the F-35 today?

Not very hot.  It's pricey, but not too hot.  Top speed is a sluggish Mach 1.2.  The poor old F-102 of 50 years ago was that fast.  Max altitude is 40,000 feet, again, not much.  the U-2s of the 1950's could do 70,000 feet.  Peak maneuver load is limited to 5.6 G.  The long obsolete F-106 could pull 8 G back in the 1960's.  Figures come from Aviation Week.  Oh yeah, and the internal gun won't work until the next software upgrade, sometime in the future. And it can only handle two air to air missiles.  The old F-106 carried five. 
   The F-35 people claim these restrictions will go away after the next software upgrade.  They are currently flying software block 2B.  Block 3F, promised sometime in the future, will at least make the gun work.  The G limitation is caused by weakness in the engines.  Pull more than 5.6 G and the engine flexes under the G load enough to let the compressor blades rub on the engine casing, with disastrous results, like engine fires.
   And, to add insult to injury, the Russians have developed a new radar said to pick up F-35's despite the stealth design of the aircraft. 
   From the sounds of it, we might do better going back to the old Viet Nam war F-4 Phantom.

Is this what killed top 40 radio?

According to this, the labels rammed thru a law that prohibits playing anything later than 1972 without paying copyright.  If true, that accounts for hearing nothing but goldie oldies on the radio.
   Which is why the CD business is going to pot.  Used to be, air play drove record sales.  The labels used to bribe DJ's to spin their singles.  Payola it was called.  Now that we have no airplay, we have no CD sales. 
  The entire music business would be better off going back to the old system, radio stations can play any thing over the air copy right free. 
   Sounds like the kinda idea a buncha suits would have. 

Legacy Weapons Systems

The Economist, at the end of a piece commenting upon Ashton Carter as new US defense secretary, said this.  "To fund new weapons and technology Mr. Carter will need to axe legacy weapons systems (such as the A10 tankbusting aircraft). "
The A10 is old enough to be bought and paid for.  It works.  Should we desire to push the Russian tanks out of Ukraine, a couple of squadrons of A10's could do the job handily.  Keeping the A10 flying is a bargain compared to the pricey, new, not-paid-for  F35.  The Air Force, run by a fighter pilot mafia, wants to dump the A10, largely because it is no match for a real jet fighter.  They see themselves at the stick of an A10, and helpless against a MIG.  The answer, is to create US air superiority over the battle field, and make sure the A10 squadrons have fighter escort.   To be a good ground attack aircraft, the A10 has to fly low and slow so the pilot can see his targets and get close enough to hit them.  You cannot fly between the trees and under power lines at Mach 2. 
  Plenty of potential US enemies have lots of tanks.  Few of them have jet fighters that compete with ours.

Cannon Mt Ski Weather. 8 Below this morning

Mountain is is fine shape.  We got a sprinkling of new snow yesterday.  Sun is out this morning, and it's COLD.  Snow is forecast for the weekend.