Global Hawk. A humungous unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with a take off weight of 16 tons. That's DC3 kind of weight. Will stay up all day (24 hours) and carries nothing but surveillance equipment. Exact nature is classified, but cameras, radars, IR, snooping receivers. The Air Force paid $222 million apiece for 43 of 'em. That money will buy a brand new 787 jetliner, which seems kinda pricey. At this point the Air Force wants to mothball its entire fleet of 'em. Probably cause the intel they gather doesn't help the Air Force mission much. They bought the things to help out the Army in Afghanistan. Now that Afghanistan is winding down, and budget cuts are looming, so they want to mothball the pricey beasties. The program has friends in Congress who are trying to keep it alive.
Now, the Navy wants in. They claim a world wide sea surveillance mission and they want to buy 70 of 'em. The Navy gets a slightly better price than USAF did, $189 million apiece. Of course the Navy couldn't re use the retiring Air Force birds, the Navy wants to buy new. Northrup Grumman loves that. Total program cost, $13 billion.
Friday, May 31, 2013
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Dandelions, Part Deux
The grass and the dandelions had a whole week to grow while I was away. In fact, due to the rain storm that followed me home, they got an extra day before getting mowed. Few golden blossoms popped up in the lawn, less than a dozen, and this morning I was able to pluck 'em all. The previous day's rain softened the soil and most of 'em came up by the roots. Die, dandelion, die.
Microsoft, cyber espionage enabler
The TV news has been full of stories about hostile Chinese hackers stealing plans, programming, codes, and whatever for things like the F-35 jet fighter, anti-ballistic missiles, and the rest of the advanced US weapons systems.
This would not be possible EXCEPT for Microsoft Windows. Microsoft has deliberately perforated Windows with back door loop holes that make breaking into a Windows machine child's play. For instance Autorun, a "feature" that loads and runs any program off of flashdrives. Stick a flashdrive in a USB port and that machine is totally yours. Stuxnet spread via autorun and so did the Bertlesmann - Sony rootkit of 2005. No user cares much about autorun, but the Microsofties love it and have kept modifying it and making it more powerful and more difficult to turn off.
For instance "remote job entry" which by its very name tells you it is a back door. Lord help the security minded owner who turns off "remote job entry", Windows won't reboot without it. Don't ask me how I know this.
For instance, Internet Exploder, which will download and run malicious code off websites, infecting your machine for merely visiting a hostile website. Web browsers should NEVER download or run anything off the web unless the user specifically clicks on something.
For instance allowing executable programming to be hidden inside of Office documents. And furthermore allowing Internet Exploder to pass these infected documents directly to Office to be run by just clicking on them.
There are lots more. Windows is so big, so complicated, and so flaky that no one understands the whole thing.
But as long as we run Windows, we make everything available to our enemies.
This would not be possible EXCEPT for Microsoft Windows. Microsoft has deliberately perforated Windows with back door loop holes that make breaking into a Windows machine child's play. For instance Autorun, a "feature" that loads and runs any program off of flashdrives. Stick a flashdrive in a USB port and that machine is totally yours. Stuxnet spread via autorun and so did the Bertlesmann - Sony rootkit of 2005. No user cares much about autorun, but the Microsofties love it and have kept modifying it and making it more powerful and more difficult to turn off.
For instance "remote job entry" which by its very name tells you it is a back door. Lord help the security minded owner who turns off "remote job entry", Windows won't reboot without it. Don't ask me how I know this.
For instance, Internet Exploder, which will download and run malicious code off websites, infecting your machine for merely visiting a hostile website. Web browsers should NEVER download or run anything off the web unless the user specifically clicks on something.
For instance allowing executable programming to be hidden inside of Office documents. And furthermore allowing Internet Exploder to pass these infected documents directly to Office to be run by just clicking on them.
There are lots more. Windows is so big, so complicated, and so flaky that no one understands the whole thing.
But as long as we run Windows, we make everything available to our enemies.
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
787 batteries in hand, now to fix APU overheating
APU, Auxiliary power unit, a little turbine powered generator located in the tail to furnish electrical power on the ground when the main engines are shut down. We had 'em on military transports, so we could have aircraft power for lights and electronics and cargo door motors while on the ground in remote dirt strips with no ground power. Also used for engine starting. I was surprised to learn that a civilian airliner like the 787 had an APU. 787 is intended to operate from real airports that have ground power equipment.
And, Boeing and / or Pratt & Whitney seems to have screwed up the design of the 787 APU. Shutting down the APU on the ground automatically closes the APU intake door, cutting off airflow and overheating the APU. Heat build up is so bad it warps the APU drive shaft out of true after about 20 minutes. It does eventually cool down and straighten out. But if the APU is restarted before cooldown (2 hours) bad things happen. United Airlines, a 787 operator, says "Bowed rotor shaft can cause turbine rub and significant damage". Like a new APU for God Only Knows how much money.
Adding insult to injury, Boeing says that leaving the APU in "run" will keep the air intake door open, but, this only works on ground power. The APU battery only has enough juice to hold the door open for 15 minutes, where as it takes a hour of open intake door to keep the APU from over heating. Which is weird, The APU battery is good for 30-40 ampere hours, which ought to be enough to keep a door solenoid powered for a whole day. If this is true, it means the APU battery barely has enough juice to start the APU, and any drain, say from keeping the intake door solenoid power for a couple of hours, means the APU battery won't have enough charge to start the APU. Which is a nice way of saying that the APU will fail. Bad scene.
Good luck Boeing, you are gonna need it.
And, Boeing and / or Pratt & Whitney seems to have screwed up the design of the 787 APU. Shutting down the APU on the ground automatically closes the APU intake door, cutting off airflow and overheating the APU. Heat build up is so bad it warps the APU drive shaft out of true after about 20 minutes. It does eventually cool down and straighten out. But if the APU is restarted before cooldown (2 hours) bad things happen. United Airlines, a 787 operator, says "Bowed rotor shaft can cause turbine rub and significant damage". Like a new APU for God Only Knows how much money.
Adding insult to injury, Boeing says that leaving the APU in "run" will keep the air intake door open, but, this only works on ground power. The APU battery only has enough juice to hold the door open for 15 minutes, where as it takes a hour of open intake door to keep the APU from over heating. Which is weird, The APU battery is good for 30-40 ampere hours, which ought to be enough to keep a door solenoid powered for a whole day. If this is true, it means the APU battery barely has enough juice to start the APU, and any drain, say from keeping the intake door solenoid power for a couple of hours, means the APU battery won't have enough charge to start the APU. Which is a nice way of saying that the APU will fail. Bad scene.
Good luck Boeing, you are gonna need it.
Journalist Shield Law
Heh, I blog, that makes me a journalist too. I want to get shielded.
Obama has been trying to dodge the flak from the snooping of a Fox News man's cell phone and email. So he comes out in favor of a "shield law" for journalists. Groovy. Last time they talked about shield laws, they allowed journalists to refuse to reveal their sources when called to testify in court. Right now, federal judges can compel anyone to answer questions under oath. Unless the witness takes the fifth, they have to answer. Last journalist who refused, some lady from the NYT a while ago, the judge threw her in jail, contempt of court. She spend quite a few months in the slammer.
That kind of shield law wouldn't help the Fox guy much. He was not being compelled to rat on his sources in court. Instead, the DOJ was reading his email and tapping his cell phone. Eric the Holder signed off on it.
I'm against laws that give special privileges to some individuals. America is a democracy, all men are created equal. Journalists should not have any privileges at law that you and I don't have.
Obama has been trying to dodge the flak from the snooping of a Fox News man's cell phone and email. So he comes out in favor of a "shield law" for journalists. Groovy. Last time they talked about shield laws, they allowed journalists to refuse to reveal their sources when called to testify in court. Right now, federal judges can compel anyone to answer questions under oath. Unless the witness takes the fifth, they have to answer. Last journalist who refused, some lady from the NYT a while ago, the judge threw her in jail, contempt of court. She spend quite a few months in the slammer.
That kind of shield law wouldn't help the Fox guy much. He was not being compelled to rat on his sources in court. Instead, the DOJ was reading his email and tapping his cell phone. Eric the Holder signed off on it.
I'm against laws that give special privileges to some individuals. America is a democracy, all men are created equal. Journalists should not have any privileges at law that you and I don't have.
Vacation is over.
Visited daughter in DC. Memorial day we went up to visit boyfriend's parents in Pennsylvania farm country. Not much farm left in that boy. He didn't remember the way, we had a scenic drive back and forth over the Mason-Dixon Line looking for the place. Daughter and boyfriend consulting smart phones to learn where we were and where we ought to be going. Smart phones not so smart out in farm country.
We got there. The place is impressive, old, so old as to be built of solid chestnut logs, about a foot thick. Goes back to the 1840's, which is old. It had been renovated, logs all chinked with nice white plaster. Huge lawn, duckpond, ducks, carp swimming in the pond.
Drove home Tuesday. After the chinese firedrill we had finding the place, I took the precaution of consulting old tech, an ancient paper road map, that had been in the glove compartments of the last two cars I owned. Worked perfectly. Got me onto I83 north at York PA no sweat. Maybe that is why I still don't have a smart phone. It was raining pretty hard and the low fog and heavy wheel spray made visibility bad. I finally drove out from under it, but that took hours.
Pulled off for gas in Jersey. In Jersey they don't have self service gas pumps. A conspiracy between unions and fire chiefs passed a law forbidding self service. Dangerous, customer might set fire to the gas station or something. So a scruffy looking older guy at the pump asks me "Gasoline?" What did he think I wanted? Diesel? In a big Ford Panther? At least gas is only $3.50 in Jersey. New York and Connecticut charge $4. Good reason not to live in NY or CN.
New York State is still in the running for worst roadsigns in the nation award. They hid the sign for Merritt Turnpike off the Cross Bronx Expressway (I287) That sent me circling around thru suburban yuppie land. Some random casting back and forth picked up the trace of the road and got me moving again.
Got back and found the grass was still under control. I moved it day before I left, fearing that given enough time it would be too tall to mow. That rain storm I drove out from under yesterday caught up with me and it's raining too hard to mow this morning. We had a heavy snow fall while I was away, and I came back to some very confused trees. One was broken off, another was all bent up like a pretzel.
We got there. The place is impressive, old, so old as to be built of solid chestnut logs, about a foot thick. Goes back to the 1840's, which is old. It had been renovated, logs all chinked with nice white plaster. Huge lawn, duckpond, ducks, carp swimming in the pond.
Drove home Tuesday. After the chinese firedrill we had finding the place, I took the precaution of consulting old tech, an ancient paper road map, that had been in the glove compartments of the last two cars I owned. Worked perfectly. Got me onto I83 north at York PA no sweat. Maybe that is why I still don't have a smart phone. It was raining pretty hard and the low fog and heavy wheel spray made visibility bad. I finally drove out from under it, but that took hours.
Pulled off for gas in Jersey. In Jersey they don't have self service gas pumps. A conspiracy between unions and fire chiefs passed a law forbidding self service. Dangerous, customer might set fire to the gas station or something. So a scruffy looking older guy at the pump asks me "Gasoline?" What did he think I wanted? Diesel? In a big Ford Panther? At least gas is only $3.50 in Jersey. New York and Connecticut charge $4. Good reason not to live in NY or CN.
New York State is still in the running for worst roadsigns in the nation award. They hid the sign for Merritt Turnpike off the Cross Bronx Expressway (I287) That sent me circling around thru suburban yuppie land. Some random casting back and forth picked up the trace of the road and got me moving again.
Got back and found the grass was still under control. I moved it day before I left, fearing that given enough time it would be too tall to mow. That rain storm I drove out from under yesterday caught up with me and it's raining too hard to mow this morning. We had a heavy snow fall while I was away, and I came back to some very confused trees. One was broken off, another was all bent up like a pretzel.
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Off shore tax shelters and Apple Computer
Congress was holding an Apple Roast yesterday. Apparently (at least this is what NPR thinks) Apple has an overseas subsidiary in Bermuda, to which substantial Apple income is directed, and Bermuda has little to no corporate income tax. Which is kinda slippery, but as I understand US tax law, Apple is liable for full US corporate tax should they bring the money home from Bermuda. Apple presumably doesn't need the money at home right now, things are bad and there is nothing Apple want to spend it on. This is not unusual, many US companies are sitting on their money and not investing it.
However, we ought to straighten out US tax law just to prevent more financial jiggery pokery. We ought to restrict the sort of country that US companies can set up in. Real countries such as England or France or Germany are fine, they all have reasonable national tax laws. But Bermuda isn't a real country, it's a subtropical vacation island.
We ought to forbid US companies from setting up in places too small, and/or too flaky to be reasonable. Places with a national territory less than say 25,000 square miles, or with populations less than a couple of million are not real countries, they are diplomatic fictions, like Monaco. We ought to tell US companies that setting up in such places is plain old tax fraud and IRS will audit, every year, every place. And credit all income to such a subsidery to the US parent company and tax it at 35%.
However, we ought to straighten out US tax law just to prevent more financial jiggery pokery. We ought to restrict the sort of country that US companies can set up in. Real countries such as England or France or Germany are fine, they all have reasonable national tax laws. But Bermuda isn't a real country, it's a subtropical vacation island.
We ought to forbid US companies from setting up in places too small, and/or too flaky to be reasonable. Places with a national territory less than say 25,000 square miles, or with populations less than a couple of million are not real countries, they are diplomatic fictions, like Monaco. We ought to tell US companies that setting up in such places is plain old tax fraud and IRS will audit, every year, every place. And credit all income to such a subsidery to the US parent company and tax it at 35%.
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