Technology and the amazing machines it brings us

that's was outrageous - heard it coming before it got here (about 10 seconds after full lift off) - bright blue sky with the rocket soaring through it - no need for binoculars - just bare eyes - able to see the flames shooting out of the back & the sun gleaming off the rocket

should have heard Max going crazy..................
:LOL:
 
couple of Navy helicopters just went overhead & out to the Atlantic - probably to locate & retrieve the first stage

now in orbit
 
might of helped - sucker was flying like a bat out of hell..........

from what I could tell it looked like it was headed in your general direction - to the north east
 
didn't know where else to put this - so this seemed like a good place...............

The U.S. Air Force First F-35 Combat Doesn’t Prove Anything

Security, Middle East
A few bombs dropped on a tunnel complex don’t offer many clues as to how the F-35 will perform in serious combat.
The U.S. Air Force First F-35 Combat Doesn’t Prove Anything

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If dropping bombs on caves and tunnels were a guarantee of a weapon’s success, the F-35 would be awesome.

On April 30, two U.S. Air Force F-35A stealth fighters attacked ISIS positions in Iraq. “The F-35As conducted the airstrike using a Joint Direct Attack Munition to strike an entrenched Daesh tunnel network and weapons cache deep in the Hamrin Mountains, a location able to threaten friendly forces,” according to the Air Force announcement.
The strike marked the first time—or at least the first public admission—that the Air Force had used the Lightning II in combat.

In September 2018, the Marine Corps became the first U.S. service to fly an F-35 combat mission, with a strike against Taliban positions in Afghanistan, followed by more than 100 F-35B sorties in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria from aircraft based on the amphibious assault ship USS Essex. First blood for the F-35 probably belongs to the Israeli Air Force, which has sent its F-35Is on missions over Syria.

The initial Marine F-35 strikes in Afghanistan, and before that, Air Force F-22s attacking Taliban drug labs, drew as much ridicule as praise. Some questioned the use of expensive aircraft (the F-35 costs around $100 million apiece, the F-22 $400 million) to take out huts and tunnels. An F-35 mission costs $35,000 per flying hour, while for the F-22, it’s $70,000.
 
Here's some old tech brought back to life.

Union Pacific Railroad has done something that everybody swore would never happen. Five years and probably millions of dollars in they've resurected the largest conventional steam locomotive ever built. The last time a Big Boy moved under it's own power was sixty years ago. Now the 4014, one of eight remaining of the original 25 built is going to be showing up at the 150th anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad. For a railfan this is the equivalent of a live T-Rex.

 
I don't know. If this thing showed up at my front door I'd probably shoot it!!

Ford wants this creepy robot to bring its autonomous deliveries to your door
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Digit looks creepy, there's no two ways around that. But it might not be that long before you see the robot -- or some kind of iteration of it -- scuttling around your neighborhood. After all, a number of US states have formally permitted the use of delivery robots on sidewalks, and numerous other companies are working on -- and have launched -- their own autonomous delivery solutions. None of them look quite like Digit, though.
 
hey these MRI machines are a remarkable tool for the medical world, heard a mathematician designed it... only problem, when i was being checked for GBS, 3 years ago in a Vermont hospital, they shoved me (size 48 chest without any sedatives and paralyzed at the arms ) into an undersized unit (ladys size); "talk bout flipping out"... thank God Albany Medical Center had a full size unit and some tranquilizers... cellfish...

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These kids 'never consented': Why Amazon is being sued over Alexa recordings
Amazon’s (AMZN) Alexa-enabled devices are illegally recording and permanently storing the voices of children without consent, according to a federal class action lawsuit filed this week in Washington state district court.

“The legal theory is very straightforward. These kids themselves never consented, if they even could. No one such as a parent ever consented on their behalf,” Travis Lenkner, one of the plaintiffs’ attorneys, told Yahoo Finance.

In the complaint filed by two law firms, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan and Keller Lenkner, on behalf of an unnamed minor and other similarly situated children, plaintiffs criticize Amazon’s methods, alleging that the company, despite having the choice to scramble or encrypt user voices, instead retains, analyzes, and uses actual voice recordings so that it can deploy them for commercial benefit.

“Amazon purports to obtain consent to record individuals who set up an Alexa-enabled device,” the complaint states. “But there is a large group of individuals who do not consent to be recorded when using an Alexa-enabled device and who use Alexa without any understanding or warning that Amazon is recording and voiceprinting them:

It's crystal clear that the [user] agreement doesn't say, ‘we're recording everybody, and you're consenting on behalf of your kids,’” Lenkner, the plaintiffs’ attorney, told Yahoo FInance

Amazon is “allowing workers around the world to listen to the voice recordings and creating voiceprints of the users, which can be used to identify them when they speak to other devices in other locations,” the lawsuit states.

“It builds voiceprints of individual users,” Lenkner said. “So if a child uses an Alexa device in California, and then uses another one in Washington, Amazon theoretically knows it’s the same person.” The device creates a unique identity for each person based on their voice, he said.

According to the plaintiffs, Amazon’s alleged violations are made more egregious by its choice to create and retain voice recordings, even though they maintain that the company does not need to do so in order for Alexa to function properly.

“[Amazon] pays millions of dollars to keep these recordings around. It's not doing that for nothing,” he said.
 
Amazing to see there number of Luddites (people opposed to new technology) out there. This letter to an auto "Dear Abbyesque" Blogger had me ROTFLMFAO this morning. Remind anyone else here of one of our regular colleagues?


New Toyota Camry can do everything except play CDs

DEAR CAR TALK: I recently bought a 2019 Toyota Camry. I knew that it did not have a CD player, nor was one available as an option. The salesperson assured me that I would be able to download all my CDs to a thumb drive and listen to them that way in the car.

Well, that was a pipe dream. I have not figured out a way to do that efficiently, and Toyota’s Entune System (and its “directions”) are mystifying.

My question is this: Is there any way to install an after-market CD player in this car? If not, is there any similar car out there that comes with a CD player? Thank you! – Janet

RAY: Wow, you really like your CDs, Janet! You’re willing to dump a brand-new Camry just so you can listen to the Doobie Brothers. I admire that. But you won’t have to dump the Camry, Janet.

First of all, we agree with you about Toyota’s “Entune” infotainment system. It’s miserably complicated, and lots of people have complained to us about how unintuitive it is. So, you’re not alone there.

And you’re not alone in wanting a CD player, although you are increasingly in the minority these days, since most people store their music on their phones.

The easiest, though not cheapest, way to get a CD player is to visit a reputable car stereo store. Look carefully at reviews and recommendations because it’s a business where quality varies a lot from store to store.

A good car stereo shop can either add a permanent CD player that they will mount somewhere for you, or they can even replace your Camry’s “head unit” (the stereo controller on your dashboard) with a whole new system that has a CD player built in. If only I could’ve replaced my brother’s “head unit.”

If you’re handy and prefer to do it yourself, go online and search for “USB CD player for 2019 Camry.” You’ll find a number of options for CD players that plug into your car stereo’s USB port.

Then, when you select USB as your “source,” your car stereo system will play whatever’s in the CD player. The player itself can go in the glove box, under the dash, or on the side of the center console, with self-adhesive patches.

But try a good stereo shop first. See what it costs to have it done professionally and cleanly. After all, it’s a brand-new car, Janet. It’s a little early to be telling your passengers to “watch the wires” when they get in.
 
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