Overnight Open Thread (1-2-2014)

Because Racist

Or why these pictures are somehow evidence of the latent shadow racism in the United States or some such. And make the racialist hosts at MSNBC utter inane racist stupidities.

Also the sad state of adoption in America where any cross-racial adoption is discouraged by the very people responsible for finding homes for children.

Most of the parents waiting to adopt are white; most of the children awaiting adoption are not. Parents' attitudes toward transracial adoption have become much more liberal since the 1970s, but the racial attitudes of social workers, those sometimes pitiless gatekeepers on the adoption pilgrimage, have hardened. A study published by the academic journal Child Welfare found that 43 percent of the caseworkers responsible for the longest-waiting black children in New York State expressed hostility toward transracial adoption. Federal law prohibits the use of racial criteria in adoption placement, but ethnic considerations have seeped into the system: The number of transracial adoptions executed each year remains tiny despite the willingness of the majority of couples to adopt a child of a different race. About 8 percent of all adoptions are transracial or cross-cultural - and that number includes international adoptions, commonly from Asia and South America. Professor Judy Fenster of Adelphi University finds that black social workers are particularly inimical to the prospect of cross-racial adoption. It seems that the matchmakers at the heart of the adoption system are part of the problem.

Because racist.

SNL Does the Sound of Music

Also: I Regret to Inform You That My Wedding to Captain Von Trapp Has Been Canceled and An Update On The Problem Of Maria.

What if the 21st Century is Only Starting Now in 2014

"The last two centuries (and possibly more) didn't "start" at their official point, the turning of a calendar from 00 to 01. That wasn't when they began in essence, nor when they first bent the arc of history. No. Each century effectively began in its 14th year. Think about it. The first decade of the 20th century was filled with hope and a kind of can-do optimism that was never seen again - not after the horrific events of 1914 shattered any vision that a new and better age would arrive without pain. . . . All right, that's just one data point. Is there another? Well, look at 1814, the beginning of the Congress of Vienna and the so-called Concert of Europe that made possible the continent's longest extended period of overall peace, as the great powers turned from fighting bloody wars to perfecting their colonial empires. Those two years - 1814 and 1914 -- each marked a dramatic shift in tone and theme (in the West, that is), so much so that they represented the real beginnings of the 19th and 20th centuries. Suppose the pattern holds - and remember this is just a thought experiment - what might it mean about the true 21st century?"

21 Things '80s (and 70s) Kids' Did That Were Awesome

4.  Thinking that SPF 4 was responsibly using sun block.

5.  Thinking the haze of Solarcaine I was engulfed in was a healthy way to heal the 2nd degree burns I inevitably got from using SPF 4.

9. Playing on a rusted swing set where that one leg always popped out of the ground threatening to propel into space and then came back with a thud.

13. Running into the store to buy an adult cigarettes.

18. Babysitting at 11 - In my town, once you were able to dial 911, you were considered a candidate for babysitting jobs.

Guess Who Owns This Collection in NYC?

50 Years After the Making of Zulu

More on the difference between Airbus and Boeing control systems

Chances are you have received an email similar to this from other airline pilots, but in the off case you have not:

The article you posted contains what I believe to be some oversimplifications of the A/B control system philosophy differences.

It's commonly stated that the Airbus will override the pilot and the Boeing will not.  This isn't entirely true.

A more accurate statement would be this:  All jet aircraft have override/feedback systems that will warn or resist the pilot at the edges of the aerodynamic envelope.  Airbus has a slightly larger number of these systems, and they are set to trigger slightly earlier.

Both aircraft will automatically throttle back if in an overspeed condition. Both aircraft will automatically shake the yoke, and then automatically push over, in a stall condition.

etc.

Airbus, in addition, will limit max G forces on the aircraft.  Boeing does not.

The advantage of the Airbus approach is that you can haul back on the stick as hard as you want without breaking the aircraft (and turning it into several smaller, less-airworthy aircraft).  You are limited to G forces that produce no damage to the aircraft.

The advantage of the Boeing approach is that you can generate any g forces you want.  This gives you the opportunity to fly in the region that generates enough G to bend the aircraft, but not to break it.  That extra G force may help you avoid a mountain.  Of course, you may extend into the part of the envelope that breaks the aircraft.

These differences are relatively minor, as the vast majority of crashes do not occur at the edges of the envelope, and are categorized as CFIT (Controlled Flight Into Terrain).  When within the aerodynamic envelope, Boeing and Airbus aircraft are usually under the control of the same sort interchangeable flight management computers.

Both the Asiana (Boeing) and Air France (Airbus) crashes were caused by crew that did not understand the systems of the aircraft they were flying.  Both aircraft impacted terrain under full control.

Transgender Cambridge academic seriously ill after being gored through the neck by a stag during holiday in the Highlands

A classic headline.

13 Ways to Make Hot Chocolate Even Better Than It Already Is

For an enhanced hot chocolate experience, add a spoonful of Nutella to your mug, or a tablespoon of peanut butter. If you're feeling adventurous, replace the milk you use to make the hot chocolate with coconut milk, or make it spicy by adding cayenne pepper, hot sauce, or slices of habanero pepper.

And of course, you can't really go wrong with adding alcohol to your mug of hot chocolate. Get through the rest of the winter season with a hot mug of Guinness, whiskey, and Bailey's hot chocolate.

Minxy's JWOW - Hayai

Yahoo group. That is all.

The group thingy. And the middle class.

And my Twitter spew.

Tonight's post brought to you by checkouts:

Notice: Posted by permission of AceCorp LLC. Please e-mail overnight open thread tips plus $1 for S&H to maetenloch at gmail. Otherwise send your scraps to BizarroAce. Do not taunt happy-fun ball. Death to the unbelievers.

posted by Maetenloch at 09:27 PM

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