Overnight Open Thread - 10/09/2024
[Roger Ball]

The banner picture is the flight track of NOAA42, the NOAA WP-3D, on one of several trips through the eye of hurricane HELENE on September 26th. It’s not a normal track as the typical hurricane hunter transits through the eye wall on various tracks. For example, here’s the track TEAL73, a C-130 from the 53rd Weather Recce guys at Biloxi.

What stories will come out of MILTON’s assault on Florida? We can only guess at this point, but I remember a saying that has come in handy from time to time: “Nothing is ever as good or as bad as first reported”. We can hope and pray it’s not as bad as we fear, all though I know that some folks in the North Carolina mountains would tell me to pack sand.

After seeing the devastation left by HELENE, as requested earlier in the regular posts, please continue to pray for the relief, recovery and restitution for all our countrymen and women in the paths of these historic storms. And, if it’s not too late, throw in a prayer for our Republic.

Ever wondered what it would be like to “ride the storm”?

Generally, I am relieved that we have these intrepid crews to go out there and ride the storm for us. Specifically, I am relieved to say that I never really wondered about flying a WP-3D into a hurricane, but I wonder why the crew seats are not equipped with shoulder harnesses. In fact, I’m not really a fan of moderate turbulence. I only flew on a Navy P-3C once. It has a very stiff wing, and it felt like riding in a truck with no springs or shocks. The source of the hard ride goes back to the introduction of the Lockheed Electra II in 1959 and the discovery of “whirl mode”.

Wing vibration, or flutter, is inherent in the design and is expected. In engineering terms, there are more than 100 different types of flutter, or “modes”, in which metal can vibrate. The mode that destroyed the Electra’s wing was called a whirl mode.

Whirl mode was not new, nor was it a mysterious phenomenon. Its a form of vibration inherent in rotating machinery such as oil drills, table fans and an automobile’s driveshaft.

I’m sure many of the HORDE know that the word “flutter” will make structural engineers blanche and reach for a whiskey. Airplanes and flutter simply should not be used in the same sentence.

The propellers normal plane rotation is disturbed, sending inharmonious forces back to the wing. The result, if not checked, is a wobbling effect that begins to transmit its motion to a natural outlet: the wing. The wing now begins to flex and flutter, sending discordant forces back to the engine-prop package, which in turn creates more and violent vibrations, feeding the mode new energy. It took less than 30 seconds for the energy to separate the wing.

Yeah, uh, “separate the wing” sounds bad to me. I’m generally relieved that there are people smart enough to be structural engineers. I’m specifically relieved that the Lockheed engineers found a solution to whirl mode. Unfortunately for Lockheed, the B707 and DC-8 had captured the flying public’s imagination by the time Lockheed re-engineered the wing. OTOH, the Electra airframe still enjoyed success with the proof that many are still flying while almost all civilian 707s and DC-8s are beer cans and razor blades. Anyway, here’s the long story if you’re interested.

In other news, it should be a general and specific relief that Vlad is only talking tactical nukes?

"Moscow has thus far shown incredible restraint in the face of Western aggression, but things can only go so far before Putin has to respond with something formidable to let the West know that it is not playing around....When asked if he sees a tactical nuclear strike happening soon, Markov responded in the affirmative. He revealed that many Russian experts now agree that Moscow has no choice but to take this kind of action, particularly against NATO airfields."

I was thinking he might be agreeing with the Harris/Dr Jill Junta in trying to incite global thermonuclear war or something.

How about general relief for the commercial real estate market, and specific relief for Minneapolis, eh? Tales of creative Minneapolis real estate deals were posted at the American Experiment website:

Minneapolis to convert deserted downtown offices into apartments
"...Forum buildings in downtown Minneapolis — which just sold for $10.25 per square foot, 90% less than they were bought for in 2019 — “have an occupancy rate of about 45%, as of earlier this year.”
"Under the new rules, commercial-to-residential conversion projects will not be subject to public hearings— instead, the plans will only require approval by city staff."

Of course. Communists do not worry about silly things like "public hearings". In their authoritarian way, they just do things. What makes me wonder is, once you've converted business space to residential space, where do the people work to make money to pay rent? I know, I know, it's a trick question! They DON'T WORK. These will be the new mass housing projects for the dumbmasses. And what entity on the planet is the undisputed expert for mass housing? The tenants will be wards of the state, slaves if you will. They will own nothing and be happy (or else). Fortunately, they will have plenty of time to fill out mail-in ballots. And you and I get to pay for all of it.
As I have said for the last four years, "30 million illegals have to have some place to live too.”

It used to be that “Minnesota Nice” was just nice with a distinctive accent. Now, partially thanks to the “Saint Floyd of Fentanyl” transformation, there are other connotations. Compare and contrast. Discuss among yourselves. There may be a quiz later.

Downtown Minneapolis: What to Do, See, Eat, and Stay

‘Murderapolis,’

I stream talk radio from time to time and the news breaks for one particular station are typically lit up about data centers, shootings and traffic. Generally, I am relieved to have a blue tooth headset so I can work while listening. Specifically, my wife is relieved that she doesn’t have to listen with me. Data centers have been a hot topic for years and there is often a story about those energy sucking monsters. Amazon needs more cloud storage, you see, and residents seem to resent the invasion while the rulers only see tax revenue. Here's a story from two years ago but the battle continues.

The Cloud Needs More Land in Northern Virginia
"Meanwhile, “land banking” by data center developers has pushed land values for data center parcels past $3 million an acre, up from about $500,00 as recently as 2017. “Loudoun land is the most sought-after asset for this industry,” said Rizer."

Wow. Let me check my savings account balance but I'm pretty sure I can't cover $3 million an acre. If you read the post, all the numbers seem to be millions and billions. Loudoun County is like a whole other country. Hmm…kind of like D.C. isn’t really part of the country either, eh?

STAY FROSTY!
ROGER, OUT.

posted by Open Blogger at 09:51 PM

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