Overnight Open Thread (1-2-2013)

The Last Words of Pilots

As transcribed from recovered cockpit voice recorders by the NTSB.

As you'd expect most are of surprise and confusion and a good amount of cursing but some (mostly foreign) seem rather fatalistic. I'm pretty sure mine would be some variant of "Fuuuuu###k!".

The Top Baby Names of 2012

Biblical names are down and Fifty Shades of Grey names are in.

Agonies of the Left Continued

These tweets are not satire.

The Gun Stats That Liberals Don't Want You to See

Well for one thing the US is barely more murderous than most of Europe is - despite having FAR more guns.

The Man Who Stopped a School Shooting

Over 46 years ago when there weren't SWAT teams to respond to them.

Until the 2007 massacre at Virginia Tech, the deadliest school shooting in American history occurred at the University of Texas in 1966.  Charles Whitman, an architecture student at the university (and a Marine Corps veteran) climbed the landmark, 28-story clock tower on the UT campus with a high-powered rifle, then opened fire.  Sixteen people died before a small group of Austin police officers, accompanied by armed citizens put an end to the rampage.

Now, one of the heroes of that deadly day has died.  Former Austin policeman Houston McCoy passed away Thursday at the age of 72, following a long illness.

McCoy, then a young patrol officer, was among the first members of the Austin police department to arrive at the scene after Whitman began shooting.  They found death and horror across a wide stretch of the campus surrounding the sniper's perch.  Dozens lay dead or wounded while Whitman continued firing.  When a police sharpshooter in a small plane circling the tower was unable to draw a bead on the shooter, McCoy and other officers made their way to the  tower and began moving towards the observation deck, where Whitman was partially obstructed by the structure.

The Austin American-Statesman describes how McCoy, armed with a 12-gauge shotgun, ended 99 minutes of chaos.

Read the rest to find out how McCoy, Martinez, and Crum (a deputized civilian) finally took down Whitman.

Roman Socks

From 300AD when not everyone had evolved five toes yet. :-)

The Gingeress: Part XXII

Be able to recognize the forms and know their ways - your soul may depend on it.

Teh Tweet!

Yahoo group. That is all.

Tonight's post brought to you by the Ho 229 from 1945 - the earliest stealth jet fighter:

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posted by Maetenloch at 09:27 PM

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