My Definition of a Boombastic Open Thread

An American man wins the Boston Marathon for the first time since 1983.

The Blaze reports that a $28 billion Army software system for organizing intelligence on the battlefield just doesn't work very well-- and the Army is refusing officers' request to implement a much cheaper ($3 million) system developed by a private software company, a system preferred by the Marines.

The Marine Corps, Air Force and special forces, through their own procurement process, had implemented Palantir [the privately developed alternative software] as an additional war-fighting tool to be utilized with their own DCGS platform. U.S. special forces, including the Navy SEALs and other elite teams, along with the Marine Corps noted in a June 2013 U.S. Government Accountability Office report that their troops thought Palantir was “easy to use” and “effective” on their recent missions in Afghanistan.

“Users indicated it was a highly effective system for conducting intelligence information analysis and supporting operations,” the GAO report said. “The software had gained a reputation for being intuitive and easy to use, while also providing effective tools to link and visualize data.”

But for the Army ,”Palantir was like a thorn in their side — they didn’t want to cut into their own research and funding — if they added the software program to their DCGS platform, it would eliminate their ability to keep lining their own pockets,” a military intelligence analyst with knowledge of the program told TheBlaze.

When a student videotaped bullies absuing him and presented that proof to school authorities, that student was quickly charged with illegally wiretapping other people and prosecuted. He was ultimately convicted on a disorderly persons charge.

Now that charge is being vacated -- but what the hell?

I think this is an example of Your Government At Work, and government's interest is always in protecting itself and the phoney-baloney jobs of its workers. If a kid presents evidence of serious bullying, that reflects poorly on the school's discipline.

So how do you solve that problem? Well, there are two ways: One is to crack down on bullying, which may be difficult and may take a long time.

The other is to prosecute the whistleblower.

Either way, it's out of your In Box. So go with the easier one.

This is pretty neat, though I don't understand the principle behind it -- French scientists say they've created a gel embedded with nanoparticles that will close a wound as if it were glue even in soft organs like the liver and lungs.

The article explains how the nanoparticles bond with each other and with the gel they're in... but I don't understand how the gel sticks to the flesh. I mean, if the gel itself is just glue, then how is this different than plain old glue?

So I don't understand it. But it seems important. Maybe one of y'all can figure out how it works from the paper submitted on the process.

Charlie Crist announces that he hasn't changed his position on abortion -- that he's always been pro-life, by which he means pro-choice.

His statement is confusing and nonsensical, as it's meant to be.

My definition. My definition. My definition is this.

See, when he was "pro-life" he really was "pro-choice" and now that he's "pro-choice" he's really "pro-life."

He's right, he has been consistent: He's said whatever he thought was necessary to win the next election.

Since Easter's over, some of you might have some extra Peeps and eggs lying around. And you're probably wondering, "How many of them could I shoot through with a bullet from a .50 caliber Barrett rifle?"

VA Viper has that answer.

Finally, via Hot Air, noting that an analysis says that the Democrats have only a 1% chance of winning the House in November, this astonishing video of a wall-climber.

The money part comes between 20 seconds and 28 seconds. He twice tries to jump up to reach an out-of-reach handhold (which is itself pretty amazing). Failing at his jump, he attempts something that never would have occurred to me in 10,000 years of trying.

"Technique," he says (or perhaps an onlooker says) as he executes this strange and extremely dangerous upside-down maneuver. Technique indeed.

posted by Ace at 07:51 PM

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