RIP, Harry Patch

The last English survivor of the trench warfare of World War I, Harry Patch, died a few days ago. His funeral was held today.

According to the Daily Mail:

All 1,400 seats in Wells Cathedral were filled while thousands more gathered in the rainy precincts and streets outside to say farewell to the last soldier of the Great War, the 'last fighting Tommy', the last man who had known the smell of the trenches and the horrors that lay beyond them.




The plumber from Combe Down had always rejected suggestions of a state funeral for the last of the last. But this was not far off. The governments and armies of four nations - including Germany - had sent delegations to salute the 111-year-old.

. . .

England's smallest city had been filling up from breakfast time as people from all over Britain came to pay their respects to an entire epoch. Crowds of all ages lined the streets to the city centre from Fletcher House, Mr Patch's care home for the last 12 years of his life.

As the hearse proceeded at walking speed, it was followed by six pall-bearers from the 1st Battalion The Rifles (five of whom have recently returned from fighting in Afghanistan). Mr Patch had specifically asked that his pall-bearers should be roughly the same age as he was - 19 - when he was wounded at the Battle of Passchendaele in Ypres in 1917.

He had also requested that his funeral should be a statement of peace and reconciliation, with invitations extended to allies and old foes alike. So, the coffin was also escorted by two soldiers from, respectively, Belgium, France and Germany.




'We really appreciate the generous gesture,' said Dr Eckhard Lubkemeier, charge d'affaires at the German Embassy. He had been invited to read one of the lessons at the service.

. . .

In keeping with the multinational flavour of the occasion, it was the Belgian charge d'affaires, Marie-France Andre, who delivered an extract from Mr Patch's autobiography, The Last Fighting Tommy.

She read out his recollection of the moment when a horribly wounded comrade had begged Harry to shoot him.

'He was beyond all human help and before we could draw a revolver he was dead. And the final word he uttered was "Mother!",' Mr Patch had written.

'I'm positive that when he left this world, wherever he went, his mother was there, and from that day I've always remembered that cry, and that death is not the end.'

Mr Patch's friend, Jim Ross, spoke of the way in which Harry had 'imprisoned' the 'demon' of his war memories for 80 years before speaking about the horror of Ypres.

'He didn't go public to become our oldest author or meet fine people in fancy palaces,' said Mr Ross.

'He let it out so we could hear his message of peace and reconciliation. He was the plumber from Combe Down who showed us true heroism.'

Outside, thousands looked on, courtesy of a huge screen on Cathedral Green. They joined in singing Mr Patch's favourite hymns - O God Our Help In Ages Past and Dear Lord And Father Of Mankind - and they stood in solemn silence as his coffin emerged.




Before being driven away for a private burial, it paused for the Last Post after which another old friend, Nick Fear, recited the famous epitaph: 'They shall grow not old...'

Mr Fear then read out the names of the three mates Harry always thought of whenever the bugle sounded. He had always referred to the men by their nicknames - Jack, Jill and Maudy.

They were all killed on Pilkem Ridge by the same shell which wounded Mr Patch in the groin in 1917, and ended his war (after a traumatic operation without anaesthetic).

Yesterday was a tribute not just to Harry, not just to Jack, Jill and Maudy but to the millions of others, so many of whom went to their graves almost a century ago.

In his later years, Harry Patch saw it as his life's mission to make us remember them all in perpetuity.

He must be getting quite a welcome on the other side.

There's much more at the link, including many more photographs. Recommended reading.

Here's a video clip about Harry's life, including him speaking about his memories.

And here's coverage of today's funeral.

From this veteran of another war, to a departed comrade: in the words of William Shakespeare, may 'flights of angels sing thee to thy rest'. Sleep well, Sir. You've earned it. We shall remember you.

Peter

The Mona Latte???

How about the Mona Lisa - depicted in cups of coffee? The Daily Mail tells us how it was done.

This stunning recreation of the Mona Lisa has been made with a staggering 3,604 cups of coffee - and 564 pints of milk.

The different colours were created by adding varying amounts of milk to each cup of black coffee.

It measures an impressive 20ft by13ft – nearly ten times the size of Leonardo da Vinci’s original masterpiece - and took a team of eight people three hours to complete.




It was created for The Rocks Aroma Festival in Sydney, Australia, and was seen by 130,000 people who attended the one-day coffee-lovers’ event.

Elaine Kelly, from organisers the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority, was delighted with the result.

She said: ‘Each coffee cup was filled with varying amounts of milk to create the different sepia shades of the painting.

‘We wanted to create an element of surprise and a sense of fun in the way we engaged with the public.

‘Once we had the idea of creating an image out of coffee cups we searched for something iconic to reproduce - and opted for the most iconic painting in history.




‘The Mona Lisa has been reproduced so many times in so many different mediums but, as far as we know, never out of coffee.

‘The result was fantastic.

‘After much planning it was great to see if coming together so well and the 130,000 people who attended the event certainly enjoyed it.’

There's more at the link.

Here's a video of stop-motion photography showing how they did it.

Looks like a good time was had by all . . . but what did they do with all the coffee when they'd finished? Inquiring minds want to know!



Peter

On depicting the reality of war, using actors

I - like most combat veterans - have a real beef with Hollywood for its unrealistic portrayal of war and its effects. Virtually any movie one sees features explosions with gouts of rolling red flame (doesn't happen - that's gasoline, not high explosive); people getting shot and toppling over gracefully, rather than rolling around and screaming; and so on.

One of the very few exceptions to this annoyance was the HBO television miniseries Band Of Brothers, executive-produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks. It was superbly realistic in its portrayal of combat, and that made it all the more enjoyable for me. I bought it on DVD, and this series alone may be enough to make me eventually buy a Blu-Ray DVD player, so that I can buy it again in that format and enjoy it in a larger digital presentation. It's that good.

Now it seems that HBO is trying to repeat the success of Band Of Brothers with a similar series about World War II in the Pacific, titled simply, 'The Pacific'. A 'teaser' trailer for the new series has recently been released, and I watched it with great interest. There seems to be a bit more sex in this one, which isn't something I look for in a war portrayal: but, if it's in the context of the 'home front', and provided it's faithful to the way things really were back then, I guess it won't hurt.

Here's the trailer. Roll on the series!

Peter

A new treatment for nerve pain?

Ever since my disabling injury in 2004, I've suffered from neuropathic pain from a damaged nerve. It's the most debilitating thing imaginable . . . narcotics can control it to a certain extent, but never eliminate it. Can you imagine what it's like to live 24/7/365 in constant, never-ending pain? It ain't fun, I'm here to tell you! I'm not complaining: I can still walk (to a certain extent, anyway), and I'm relatively mobile, and drugs can keep the pain to a bearable level. Others have been (and are) less fortunate than I. Still, I remember with almost giddy fondness the six hours after an epidural injection, a while ago, when the anesthetic accompanying the injection had completely numbed everything below my waist. For the first time in years, I had no pain!!! It's a sad commentary when one longs for another such injection, isn't it?

Anyway, the BBC reports that coral may be the source of a new medication for such pain.

Dr Zhi-Hong Wen and colleagues at the National Sun Yat-Sen University [of Taiwan] have been testing a chemical called capnellene, which is isolated from soft coral collected at Green Island, a small volcanic island in the Pacific Ocean about 33km off the eastern coast of Taiwan.

The reef there is said to be home to more than 200 different types of coral.

Capnella Imbricata, or Kenya Tree Coral, the source of capnellene

Capnellene appears to work on the supporting cells that surround nerve cells, which are thought to be responsible for neuropathic pain in some way.

Recent research suggests inflammation plays a role, and inflammation activates supporting cells like microglia to release compounds that can excite nerves carrying pain signals.

People with neuropathic pain experience severe pain from a stimulus or touch that would normally cause only slight discomfort or stimuli that would normally induce no pain at all.

Some even get unpleasant or painful feelings even when there is no stimulus.

It is estimated that about 1 in 100 people in the UK have persistent neuropathic pain - many are people with nerve damage caused by diabetes.

Dr Wen's team tested capnellene and a second very similar compound in isolated microglia cells and in experimental models of neuropathic pain in rats, with promising results.

They say more studies are now needed to see if this could offer a new way to treat the condition.

Dr Wen said: "Today there are few pharmacological agents that can help people suffering from neuropathic pain, but we believe that these marine-derived compounds could lead to the development of a new range of drugs of great potential."

There's more at the link.

I don't have words to tell you how exciting this prospect is to me (and, I'm sure, to everyone who suffers from constant, never-ending neuropathic pain). If Dr. Wen and his team can perfect this, we'll be singing their praises for the rest of our lives!

Peter

The perfect symbol for Obamacare!

Grouchy Old Cripple has put up an image of the perfect symbol for Obamacare. I won't steal his thunder by re-posting it here, but click over there to see it for yourself - and, if you see fit, circulate it. The more we get this stuff out there, the better our chances of derailing this monstrosity!

Peter

Remembering Hiroshima

Sixty-four years ago, on August 6th, 1945, the US dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima, Japan. Approximately 70,000 Japanese were killed immediately, with many thousands to die later of radiation poisoning and radiation-induced diseases such as cancer (by some estimates, a total of between 150,000 and 200,000 deaths by 1950).

The mushroom cloud over Hiroshima, photographed from a USAAF B-29 bomber.
(Image courtesy of Wikipedia.)

The debate over whether the use of nuclear weapons against Japan was militarily and/or morally justified has raged ever since. I'm firmly on the side of those who argue that the use of two nuclear weapons against Japan saved up to a million Allied casualties, and countless millions of Japanese, which would necessarily have been incurred in an invasion of the Home Islands.

The famous ground-level photograph of the rising mushroom cloud from the Hiroshima
explosion, taken from seven kilometers away by Seizo Yamada. (Image courtesy of Wikipedia.)

Those who argue that Japan would have been starved into surrender without the need for either the use of nuclear weapons, or an invasion, ignore the fanatical determination of the militarists then in power to fight unto death, even if it meant the extinction of the nation. Indeed, so fanatical were they that they even attempted to seize the Emperor's pre-recorded broadcast accepting the terms of the Potsdam Declaration, and thereby surrendering to the Allied Powers. They were prepared to kill their own Government Ministers and members of the Imperial Household to thwart what they regarded as a disgraceful betrayal. (Many of them would commit suicide in the days to come, rather than live with the shame of surrender.)

Hiroshima after the bombing. (Image courtesy of Wikipedia.)

There's another factor, of course. Today the existence of racist sentiments is considered shocking, evil, unacceptable: but in 1945, the Japanese were regarded in the most racist way possible by most of those fighting them, and by many American civilians as well. Their 'sneak' attack on Pearl Harbor had been neither forgotten nor forgiven. Admiral Halsey's savage outburst, on learning of the attack, that by the end of the war "the Japanese language would be spoken only in Hell", had struck a resonant chord among many, and that remained the case even after three-and-a-half years of war.

St. Mary's Catholic Cathedral, also known as Urakami Cathedral, after the bomb.
The cathedral's dome was blown off by the blast, but remained intact.
(Click for a larger view. Image courtesy of Wikipedia.)

I've spoken to many veterans of World War II (including my father). To a man, they adamantly maintain that not to use the Bomb would have been a monstrous betrayal of themselves as fighting men by their leaders. Why should they have to face death and destruction in an invasion of Japan, when the means existed to render that invasion unnecessary? You can bet this factor weighed decisively in the balance when the politicians considered whether to use the Bomb. I can't blame them.

The remains of the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotional Hall,
now known as the Atomic Bomb Dome or Genbaku Dome,
left in place as a permanent memorial to those who died in the atomic bombing of the city.
(Image courtesy of Wikipedia.)

Nevertheless, let's remember that since Hiroshima and Nagasaki were destroyed, no other nuclear weapon has been used in war. Perhaps the example of their total destruction has persuaded aggressors that the cost of using such weapons isn't worth the risk of retaliation in kind. May that state of affairs forever continue!

Peter

Doofus Of The Day #252

Today's Doofus is from Massachusetts.

A conventioneer from Massachusetts is challenging a $29,512 bill for a night of entertainment and drinks at a topless dancing club in Las Vegas.

James Hackett of Andover, Mass., filed a lawsuit Friday in Las Vegas against the owner of the Club Paradise Gentlemen's Club and American Express Co., disputing the amount that was billed to his American Express card last Oct. 12.

Adam Gentile, general manager of Club Paradise, said Tuesday he was not familiar with Hackett's claims. He said it's not unusual for someone to run up a large, confirmed bill at the club and later regret it -- in which case the dispute over payment of the bill would be between the customer and the credit card company.

Hackett says he flew to Las Vegas Oct. 11 to attend the Direct Marketing Association Trade Show. After checking in to the Las Vegas Hilton, he went to a Hilton hotel bar to watch a Boston Red Sox baseball game on television and had some vodka martinis, his lawsuit says.

While watching the game, someone handed him his wallet and said Hackett had dropped it, Hackett's suit says. Nothing was missing from the wallet, but Hackett noticed his driver's license and American Express card had been switched from their usual positions.

Hackett said in his lawsuit he talked to some Red Sox fans from Phoenix, left for the hotel lobby and apparently blacked out there and can't remember anything else that may have happened that night.

. . .

... after returning to Massachusetts, Hackett said he learned of a series of charges to his American Express card by Club Paradise between 2:55 a.m. and 8:54 a.m. on Oct. 12.

These totaled $29,512 -- about $4,000 for a bar tab and more than $25,000 for "unexplained services" involving entertainers "Paulina," "Jani Lee," "Isabel," "Vanessa," "Roxanne" and "Lexi."

Hackett said in his lawsuit he has no recollection of visiting Club Paradise and that he filed police reports in Massachusetts and Las Vegas about the incident.

But the lawsuit says that after he challenged the charges, Club Paradise provided him with documents purportedly signed by Hackett in connection with the charges.

The documents said the club is not involved with prostitution or escort services, that he was not drunk or impaired and that he was not under duress when he purportedly signed the documents, the lawsuit says.

There's more at the link.

Uh-huh, Mr. Hackett. You 'blacked out' and have 'no recollection' of the evening.

Yeah. Riiiight.

What? Me? Disbelieve you? I'm just nodding my head, is all . . . Oh - and what does your wife have to say about it? Would that have anything to do with your vehement denials, and your lawsuit?



Peter

I want some of these in my garden!

I'm fascinated by a report from New Zealand of an expedition setting off for Mongolia.

Two New Zealanders will leave for Mongolia's Gobi Desert next week on an ambitious expedition to find the fabled acid-spitting and lightning-throwing Mongolian death worm.

The worm has never been documented but some Mongolians are convinced it exists. They call it Allghoi Khorkhoi, or "intestine worm" because it resembles a cow's intestine and is about 1.5m long.

They say it jumps out of the sand and kills people by spitting concentrated acid or shooting lightning from its rectum over long distances.

Auckland-based journalist David Farrier, who is organising the expedition, and Motueka-based cameraman Christie Douglas, leave on Tuesday to spend two weeks in the Gobi, trying to verify the worm's existence and making a documentary about it.

They will hire local Mongolians to help them; a guide, translator and cook.

Farrier, who works for TV3, told NZPA he had always been fascinated by cryptozoology, or the search for hidden creatures.

The expedition and documentary, which would cost him between $15,000 and $20,000, would take a serious look at the worm and what it was, Farrier said.

He said he was interested in the death worm because it was one of the most outrageous creatures that were rumoured to exist.

However, it was also one of the mythical creatures that had a better chance of being real.

Rumours could inflate the reputation of things such as the Loch Ness monster and Bigfoot, but sparsely populated Mongolia was not a place where rumours were going to propagate, Farrier said.

"If a Mongolian says they have seen a big worm-like creature out in the desert they haven't really got any reason to lie."

There's more at the link.

A one-and-a-half-yard-long worm that spits acid and farts lightning? I've got to get some for my garden! They can make the next in the series of Tremors movies right here!



Peter

None so blind as those who will not see . . .

I was irritated - no, infuriated! - by an article on Politico today.

Angry protesters shouted down Democrats at public events from Texas to Pennsylvania over the weekend, leaving the party only one real hope for getting its message out over recess: a backlash.

In Austin, Texas, Rep. Lloyd Doggett was drowned out by a group of noisy, sign-waving demonstrators who shouted, “Just say no” as he tried to talk about health care reform.

In an e-mail to POLITICO Monday, Doggett called the group a “mob, sent by the local Republican and Libertarian parties” that “came not just to be heard but to deny others the right to be heard.”

. . .

For Democrats, that’s precisely the problem: Their ability to make their case on health care at public events during the August recess is mostly in the hands of the people who turn out for the events. And if those people want to be disruptive — especially en masse — there’s not much the Democrats can do about it.

“Town halls have become town hells,” said Mark McKinnon, a former adviser to President George W. Bush. “Special interests and opponents have figured out how easy it is to disrupt town halls and get their own message out. The days of the truly free-form town halls may be over.”

Democratic leaders aren’t quite ready to say that yet. Doug Thornell, a spokesman for Assistant to the Speaker Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), said House leaders are urging their members to continue holding public sessions, even if it means they’ll be shouted down and have it all replayed on YouTube.

“We have encouraged our members to use everything in their arsenal to communicate with their constituents,” said Thornell. “They know what works best in their districts. More than anything, they have to stay on the offense and not get distracted by stupid Republican gimmicks.”

There's more at the link.

What infuriates me is the blithe assumption by those concerned that the protesters at these meetings must necessarily be 'planted' by the Republican Party or other opposition groups. I don't know about other areas, but around here, the opposition to Obamacare is universal. Irrespective of whether they're Democrats, Republicans or Independents, most people simply don't like what they're hearing, don't trust the politicians to do their best for them, and are profoundly suspicious of the whole imbroglio.

To write off the protests as 'stupid Republican gimmicks' is to ignore the voice of the American people as a whole. When will these professional politicians realize that you can push people just so far - and then they're going to push back? If they try to ram Obamacare through, against the wishes of their constituents, because they think they 'know better', there'll be a price to be paid at the next elections.

Peter

A bubble like you've never seen before!

A British entertainer is claiming a new world record for the largest soap bubble ever blown.

Samsam Bubbleman (real name Sam Heath) was aiming to pop the Guinness World Record set in 2005 in Minnesota, U.S., for a bubble of 105.4 cubic feet. He is not sure of the precise volume of his attempt in Finsbury Park, North London, but it stretched to 20ft by 5ft by 5ft at its biggest.

He is now waiting for official confirmation. 'I'm confident it has obliterated the former record,' he said.

Samsam, pictured with his creation, refused to reveal the recipe for his bubble mixture, saying it is the secret to his success.

'With the right stuff you can make big bubbles with anything - a coat-hanger or even just your hands,' he said.

He developed the top-secret mixture over 20 years of trial and error.

Samsam Bubbleman with his record-setting bubble. (Click to enlarge.)

To make this enormous orb he used just a piece of rope attached between two sticks.

'It's all about having the right bubble solution,' said Samsam. 'If you have the right mixture then your tools don't matter.

'Being a bubbleologist is almost as much about being a wind catcher as it is a bubble maker. You become quite sensitive to changes in direction and you have to move at the right time to keep the bubble together.'

Once confirmed the new record will add to Samson’s tally of two standing world firsts.

In November 2007 he managed to place 50 people inside one of his bubbles. A year later he earned the award for putting the most bubbles inside a bubble - 66.

Samsam first started his love affair with bubbles in 1989 and now earns a living doing what he loves best.

There's more at the link, including more photographs.

That's amazing! I've not blown soap bubbles since I was a kid, but if I could figure out how to blow one that size, I might just take it up again!

Peter

An historic retirement

On July 31st, 2009, the USAF finally retired the last of its Cessna T-37 Tweet trainer aircraft. The aircraft first flew almost fifty-five years ago.

The last of the Tweets makes a formal fly-past. (Picture courtesy of USAF. Click to enlarge.)

The final seven T-37's, formerly in service with the 80th Flying Training Wing at Sheppard AFB, Wichita Falls, Texas, serving the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training (ENJJPT) program, are headed for different destinations. Four will go into storage at AMARC in Arizona, while three will head for the Utah Test and Training Range, where I presume they'll end up as targets.

Retirement ceremony for the T-37 Tweet at Columbus AFB, Mississippi,
in April 2008. (Photograph courtesy of USAF. Click to enlarge.)

The Tweet has given sterling service over many decades, not only in its originally-designed role as a trainer, but in the further-developed A-37 Dragonfly attack aircraft, derived from the trainer, with more powerful engines, a strengthened wing, and other adaptations. It gave useful service in the Vietnam War, and is still in front-line service with some Air Forces to this day.

An A-37 Dragonfly of the Peruvian Air Force on display in 2008. (Picture courtesy of Wikipedia.)

The story of how the Tweet got its unusual name is amusing. According to Wikipedia:

The T-37A had one noticeable drawback: it was very noisy, even by the standards of a jet aircraft. The intake of air into its small turbojets emitted a high-pitched shriek that led some to describe the trainer as a "Screaming Mimi", and it was referred to as the "6,000 pound dog whistle" or "Converter" (converts fuel and air into noise and smoke). The piercing whistle quickly gave the T-37 its name: "Tweety Bird", or just "Tweet". The Air Force spent a lot of time and money sound-proofing buildings at bases where the T-37 was stationed, and ear protection remains mandatory for all personnel when near an operating aircraft.

The T-37 will be replaced by the Hawker Beechcraft T-6 Texan II.

Hawker Beechcraft T-6 Texan II of the USAF. (Photograph courtesy of Wikipedia.)

The T-6 is a turboprop aircraft, rather than a 'pure jet', but advances in technology mean that it's much more capable than the T-37's it will replace. As USAF Brigadier-General Jeffrey B. Kendall points out, "Some might think it unusual or a step backwards to replace a jet aircraft with a prop-driven one, but let me say that this is not your granddaddy's T-6. This primary flight trainer outperforms the over 50-year-old flying 'birdwhistle' in just about every area except perhaps in noise generation."

In all, 1,269 T-37 trainers were built, along with a further 577 A-37B Dragonfly variants. (Some 40 T-37's were converted to the earlier A-37A configuration.) They've served (and some continue to serve) with the Air Forces of 14 nations. That's a record of which Cessna can be justly proud.

Peter

More creative and funny advertisements

I found a series of advertisements for William Lawson Scotch whisky on YouTube. They made me laugh, and I thought you might enjoy them too. Being of Scottish descent, I love the way in which they play on the kilt, and what's (not) worn beneath it.

The first shows a 'haka', the war-dance traditionally performed by the New Zealand 'All Blacks' rugby team before a match.

I wonder if that really was Sharon Stone in the third advertisement, or whether they got a look-alike to play her? Very clever, anyway! Full marks to William Lawson's advertising agency for some highly entertaining work.



Peter

More fallout from the current economic nightmare

Powerline reports that the enormous federal deficit, run up in part by former President Bush's administration, but trebled already under President Obama, is going to be difficult to pay off, because taxes can't be raised without significantly impacting the economy.

Tim Geithner and Alan Greenspan were on ABC's This Week this morning; both talked about the need to bring down the federal deficit, which is soaring to unprecedented levels under President Obama.

. . .

Not only is "health care reform" not sufficient to bring down the deficit, the Congressional Budget Office has bluntly said that the plans now being proposed by the Democrats will raise, not lower, the deficit. That leaves higher taxes.

. . .

... a value-added tax would "add to the burdens that the average American already faces," whether unfairly or not. The alternative, presumably, is higher taxes on "the rich." But the "rich" are already paying far more than their fair share. The latest IRS figures show that the top 1 percent of taxpayers pay more in federal income taxes than the bottom 95 percent combined; click to enlarge:




That is simply ridiculous. It is questionable whether democracy can survive in a situation where a tiny minority is paying the bills for just about everyone else. This chart shows the IRS numbers in a different format; again, click to enlarge:




Top earners currently pay around double what they would pay if all income were taxed equally. The Obama administration and Congressional Democrats intend to increase those already near-confiscatory rates, but they cannot do so without both an economic and a political cost.

. . .

Moreover, as Alan Greenspan pointed out, increasing marginal income tax rates will "significantly impact the economy." But Greenspan's "least worst" alternative, a value-added tax, would hit all consumers and would be, I assume, a political non-starter.

All of which means that there are stormy days ahead for the Obama administration.

There's much more at the link. Highly recommended reading.

This highlights the incredible irresponsibility of the deficit spending in which the current administration is engaged. Their predecessors are by no means blameless, of course, but the Obama administration is spending money by the trillions of dollars - money it doesn't have, can't accrue from normal taxation, and yet will have to repay someday. What's going to happen when the bill comes due?

Those of us looking forward to a relatively comfortable retirement may be in for a very nasty surprise indeed . . .

Peter

Doofus Of The Day #251

Today's Doofus - who might be better described as a luckless Lothario - is from Wisconsin.

It seems Mr. Donessa Davis loved, not wisely, but too well. Quite apart from his wife, he had a string of lovers on the side - up to five, according to one report. Unfortunately for him, his wife found out about them. Even worse, she called them, and told them he'd been using them for sex and money. (Yes, they'd been paying the expenses of their trysts with him!) They plotted their revenge together.

One of the ladies lured him to a motel and, by promising him a massage (seemingly of the kinky variety), persuaded him to disrobe, wear a blindfold and lie on the bed, to which she tied him. She then let in the other ladies. They beat him, and used superglue to attach his manhood firmly to his stomach. They then left, taking his wallet, cellphone and car.

The women have now been charged with false imprisonment and other crimes. However, I can't help but feel sympathy for them. Down in this part of the world, if a guy carried on like that and the ladies got together to take their revenge, everyone - including the cops - would be laughing far too hard to chase them, and the general consensus would be that he got what he deserved! I can't think that a local jury would convict them of any crime.

I somehow doubt that the experience will change Mr. Davis' attitude towards women, though. If he has so little respect for them that he cheats on multiple partners simultaneously, one can only hope that he'll meet someone acquainted with - and inspired by - the Bobbitt case before too long!

Peter

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - are real???

The Austrian Times reports:

Mutant turtles are plaguing China amid a religious craze for setting them free into the wild.

Buddhist followers believe that by releasing a turtle into a stream they can increase their own chances of successful reincarnation.

But officials have been flooded with the bizarre results of the turtles breeding in China's notoriously polluted waterways, like this freakish white turtle released from one temple.




And they fear the trend will get even worse when young people join in thanks to the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle film.

Yup . . . that looks mutated to me all right!





Peter

The future of medicine - grow your own replacement parts?

Two recent reports are very interesting in the light of the current debate over health care and who'll pay for it.

The first comes from Japan, where it's reported that a team of doctors and scientists have succeeded in using stem cells to regrow teeth in mice.

Scientists have made teeth from stem cells in a world first that could make dentures a thing of the past.

They looked like normal teeth, were sensitive to pain and chewed food easily.

While the experiments were on mice, they pave the way for people to 'grow their own teeth' as required.

The technique could also be adapted to other organs, allowing hearts, lungs and kidneys to be grown inside the body to replace parts worn by age or damaged by disease.

The Japanese study focused on stem cells - 'master cells' with the ability to turn into other cell types.

The researchers from the Tokyo University of Science identified two types of stem cell, which together contain all the instructions for a fully grown tooth.

. . .

The cells used were take from mouse embryos, but the researchers believe it should be possible to make teeth from other types of cell as well.

They are now looking for suitable cells in people. Possibilities include skin cells and cells from the pulp inside teeth.

They also have to work out how to control the size of the bio-engineered teeth, as those grown in the experiments were slightly smaller than usual.

The process would also have to be speeded up if it was to be used on people as human teeth take years to form.

However, the pioneering technology could one day allow those with teeth missing to fill the gaps in their smile without having to resort to false teeth, bridges or synthetic implants.

. . .

The technology is still at a very early stage and the Japanese researchers believe it will not be widely used by dentists for at least 15 years. Despite this, British experts said it was an important landmark.

. . .

The technique of creating cell 'buds' could be applied more widely to grow other organs, such as hearts, kidneys and livers, inside the body.

Lead researcher Professor Takashi Tsuji said: 'The ultimate goal of regenerative therapy is to develop fully-functioning bioengineered organs that can replace lost or damaged organs following disease, injury or ageing.

'Our study makes a substantial contribution to the development of bio- engineering technology for future organ replacement therapy.'

There's more at the link.

The second report is from closer to home. DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, is looking for ways to use stem cells to rapidly repair battlefield wounds and injuries.

In 2006, Darpa launched an ambitious Restorative Injury Repair program, that aims to “fully repair” body parts damaged by traumatic injury.

Earlier this year, researchers funded by that program generated new human muscle that could replace damaged tissue. Now Darpa’s asking for a device that can use adult stem cells for a regenerative free-for-all, pumping out whatever needed to repair injured body parts, including nerves, bone and skin. Already, research has proven that adult stem cells can act the same way embryonic ones do - differentiating into the highly-specified cells that form complex body parts.

According to Darpa’s solicitation, 85 percent of recent wartime injuries involved damage to the extremities and facial regions. That often means multiple surgeries, rehab and permanent disability for vets. They’re hoping to eliminate the injuries, and their long-term consequences, with a system that can reproduce in vitro tissues with the same structural and mechanical properties of the real stuff. And maybe make better versions: Darpa wants implanted results that will “replace, restore or improve tissue/organ function.”

Phase II of the project will see animal testing of the most promising systems. And Darpa foresees eventual use by military and civilian populations.

Again, there's more at the link.

All very interesting, and very promising for the future. I'm probably a bit too old to take advantage of the real fruits of this research, twenty to thirty years down the road, but those now in their twenties and thirties may find their old age considerably more comfortable.

Of course, this presumes that Obamacare won't have taken over our medical institutions, so that only card-carrying Democrats who are both union members and ACORN volunteers are permitted access to these therapies . . .

Peter

Some music from my past

I was talking with an acquaintance today, and the conversation turned to modern ballads and lyrical music. We knew several artists in common, but when I mentioned Lesley Rae Dowling, she'd never heard of her.

I'm not really surprised. Lesley was very popular in South Africa during the 1980's and 1990's. I've lost touch with her music since then, but an Internet search revealed plenty of hits, and she's been publishing new music since then. I think I must pick up a couple of her later CD's to see how her style has matured.

Anyway, since most of my readers won't know her, I looked her up on YouTube to see what was available. To my disappointment, there were only two of her songs on file, one of which I don't particularly like. However, the other is one of my favorites from the 1980's, so here it is: "The Spaniard".

I hope you enjoyed hearing it as much as I did reliving the memories it brought back to me.

Peter

Doofus Of The Day #250

Today's Doofus is from New York City.

Trina Thompson gave it the old college try, but couldn't find work. Now she thinks her sheepskin wasn't worth her time, and is suing her alma mater for her money back.

The Monroe College grad wants the $70,000 she spent on tuition because she hasn't found gainful employment since earning her bachelor's degree in April, according to a suit filed in Bronx Supreme Court on July 24.

The 27-year-old alleges the business-oriented Bronx school hasn't lived up to its end of the bargain, and has not done enough to find her a job.

The information-technology student blames Monroe's Office of Career Advancement for not providing her with the leads and career advice it promised.

"They have not tried hard enough to help me," the frustrated Bronx resident wrote about the school in her lawsuit.

"She's angry," said Thompson's mother, Carol. "She's very angry at her situation. She put all her faith in them, and so did I. They're not making an effort.

"She's finally finished [with school], and I'm so proud of her. She just wants a job."

The mother and daughter live together, but are struggling to get by. Carol, a substitute teacher, has been the only breadwinner.

"This is not the way we want to live our life," the mom said. "This is not what we planned."

As if being unemployed weren't enough, Trina's student loans are coming due, saddling the family with more debt, the mom said.

"We're going to be homeless, and we'll still have a student loan to pay," Carol said.

There's more at the link.

Well, cry me a river . . . Who does this idiot think she is? I'll guarantee that her college never promised to find her a job - that would be madness. I bet it only undertook to help her find one. If jobs aren't available, or if she's too picky about what's available, that's her problem, not the college's!

Read the fine print, ducky - and grow up! Times are tough for us all. If you have to flip burgers for a while, or shine shoes, or work a cash register, do it, and face the world with a smile! Many others are doing precisely that, and getting on with the business of living, rather than throwing their toys out of the pram because they're too immature to face reality.

I'll go further. As a former manager and company director, if I were in that sort of position in any company in New York, I'd be sending a clipping or copy of that article to my personnel department, along with strict instructions that under no circumstances whatsoever should they ever hire someone so immature! I'd make sure they kept her name on file, ready for an instant, automatic 'Thanks, but no thanks' response if she ever asks for a job.

Trouble is, given today's "I'm entitled!" generation, she's probably fairly representative of a great many job-seekers . . .

Sheesh!

Peter

Opposing Obamacare

A tip o' the hat to Holly for spotting this one first.

The American Spectator has published an article giving an interesting perspective on how to oppose the President's health care proposals. It's founded solidly on fact and logic, rather than hype and emotion. A short excerpt:

It's not a crisis, but just a problem.

Barack Obama's solution is neither safe nor sensible, but reckless and risky.

Not a crisis.

Reckless and risky.

Those are the themes, the very words, that opponents of Obamacare must use throughout the August congressional recess, and as long as it takes after that, to finally kill the whole, monstrous effort.

The current U.S. health care system, or actually just a portion of it, is just a problem, just like so many problems of a far worse nature that Americans have solved before -- without panic, without drastic over-reactions, without radical, risky, reckless responses. Or, to use a medical analogy, there's no need for open heart surgery when a catheter and a stent, along with some statin drugs, can do the job just fine. Better yet, there's no need to amputate the leg and attach an experimental type of prosthesis in response to a badly sprained ankle.

. . .

The very last thing Americans need is to let bureaucrats decide who will and won't give care, especially in situations of life and death. But Obamacare so clearly threatens that scary, Soylent Green-like result that even a major Democratic state senator in New York is seriously concerned about it.

As Philip Klein has so convincingly shown on these pages, just about every claim Obama is peddling about health care is a myth. There aren't 47 million uninsured. The problems in the system aren't caused by the free market but by distortions of the free market. And so on. There really is no crisis.

. . .

Trus-s-s-st in me, says Obama, like the Disney version of Kaa the python, but Americans should know better. Pythons and bureaucrats alike have coils that can be almost impossible to escape, and it is reckless to jump into those coils in the first place.

. . .

What's worse is when recklessness risks not just health care, but freedom. When bureaucrats make all the decisions, and they refuse to pay for anti-cancer drugs but offer to pay for assisted suicide, that's not freedom. When even the current Medicare system forbids people to opt out of its benefits, that's not freedom. When the government sets up an "age rating system" and doesn't allow people to shop around for a deal that takes more relevant factors into account, that's not freedom.

There's more at the link. The whole article is recommended reading. It makes some very telling points.

Peter

Are wind farms a risk to your health?

An intriguing report in the Daily Mail suggests they are.

Living too close to wind turbines can cause heart disease, tinnitus, vertigo, panic attacks, migraines and sleep deprivation, according to new research by a leading American doctor.

Dr Nina Pierpont, a top New York paediatrician, has been studying the effects of living near wind turbines in the UK, US, Canada, Ireland and Italy for more than five years.

She has identified a new health risk - wind turbine syndrome (WTS) - causing a wide range of problems ranging from internal pulsation, quivering, nervousness, fear, chest tightness and tachycardia – increased heart rate.

Wind farm, Allegheny Front, Pennsylvania, USA (image courtesy of Wikipedia)

Turbine noise can also cause nightmares and other disorders in children as well as harm development in the young, she claims, but points out that not all people living near turbines are at a high risk of developing problems.

Dr Pierpont's studies indicate that humans are affected by low-frequency noise and vibrations from wind turbines through their ear bones, similar to fish and other amphibians.

'It has been gospel among acousticians for years that if a person can't hear a sound, it's too weak for it to be detected or registered by any other part of the body,' she said. 'But this is no longer true. Humans can hear through the bones. This is amazing. It would be heretical if it hadn't been shown in a well-conducted experiment.'

In the UK, Dr Christopher Hanning, founder of the British Sleep Society, who has also backed her research, said: 'Dr Pierpont's detailed recording of the harm caused by wind turbine noise will lay firm foundations for future research. It should be required reading for all planners considering wind farms.

Wind farm, Tehachapi Mountains, California, USA (image courtesy of Wikipedia Commons)

'Like so many earlier medical pioneers exposing the weaknesses of current orthodoxy, Dr Pierpont has been subject to much denigration and criticism and ... it is tribute to her strength of character and conviction that this important book is going to reach publication,' he added.

Until now, the Government and the wind companies have rejected any health risks associated with the powerful noises and vibrations from wind turbines. They have argued that claims by Dr Pierpont are "imaginary" and are likely to argue against her latest findings.

The American added that the wind turbine companies constantly argue that the health problems are "imaginary, psychosomatic or malingering". But she said their claims are "rubbish" and that medical evidence supports that the reported symptoms are real.

'The wind industry will try to discredit me and disparage me, but I can cope with that. she added. 'This is not unlike the tobacco industry dismissing health issues from smoking. The wind industry, however, is not composed of clinicians, nor is it made up of people suffering from wind turbines.'

Lord May, the former chief scientific adviser to the UK government, describes her research as "impressive, interesting and important".

Very interesting! The 'green' lobby has been promoting wind farms as an ecologically friendly alternative to traditional methods of power generation. Dr. Pierpont's research suggests they might not be so 'green' after all. Perhaps those refusing to tolerate new fossil-fueled power plants near their homes might now want to look a little more askance at their allegedly 'eco-friendly' alternatives!

I look forward to further research in this area.

Peter

'Misty' pilots remember their war

As aviation enthusiasts will be aware, the Experimental Aircraft Association's annual fly-in, AirVenture 2009, took place during the past week at Oshkosh, Wisconsin. For this week every year, the airport at Oshkosh becomes the world's busiest, exceeding even such behemoths as Chicago's O'Hare and Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson airports.

Among the immense number of attractions at AirVenture are seminars and talks by pilots who've 'been there and done that' in one way or another. A highlight last year was an assembly of surviving 'Misty' fast forward air controller pilots from the Vietnam war. Many will be aware of their activities from the best-selling book by Rick Newman and Don Shepperd, 'Bury Us Upside Down'. As one reviewer summarizes it:

Unarmed except for a couple of nose guns, the Misty pilots flew low and fast, daring anti-aircraft gunners to fire on them so that they could spot the trucks, ferries and missile sites defended by cannon.

Theirs was a very personal war. While the lumbering B-52 bombers rained down their explosives from six or seven miles up, the Mistys trolled at 4,500 feet (less than a mile) -- four hours at a time, six hours, even eight hours. For a closer look, they'd go down "in the weeds", 200 feet above the ground, vulnerable to a pistol shot. They came to know the North Vietnamese gunners, or thought they did: There was a gunner on a particular limestone peak, for example, the "kid on the karst", so inept that the Mistys decided to leave him in peace for fear that his replacement might be able to hit them.

When a Misty found something worth attacking, he'd call for fighter planes that each carried more ordnance than a World War II heavy bomber. Sometimes, to fix a target in place, a Misty would strafe the first and last truck in a convoy with his nose guns, to block the road and scatter the drivers. Then, when the fighter planes arrived, he'd mark the target with white phosphorous rockets. The North Vietnamese became experts at camouflage, and the Mistys became experts at finding the trucks or storage tanks beneath the foliage.

. . .

The Mistys took casualties at an appalling rate: Of 157 pilots who served in the unit from 1967 to 1970, 34 were shot down, though most were snatched to safety by equally daring helicopter crews. Seven Mistys disappeared forever in North Vietnam and Laos, and three became prisoners of war. The POW stories, well told in "Bury Us Upside Down," are excruciating to read. To take but one example: Despite the care given to Lance Sijan by the other Mistys, who took turns cradling him to share their body heat, he died of torture and starvation, a bloody heap of rags, skin and bones.

. . .

As for the book's title -- well, you had to ask, didn't you? It comes from a fighter-pilot toast that expresses a warrior's disdain for those who write the rules of engagement: "When our flying days are over / When our flying days are past / We hope they'll bury us upside down / So the world can kiss our..." You get the gist.

There's more at the link.

Anyway, at AirVenture 2008, some of the surviving Misty pilots, led by Dick Rutan, told their stories. Here's the video of their presentation. It's a little over an hour long, so if you're busy right now, you might like to come back when you have more time and watch the whole thing. It's worth it.

From this combat veteran to these combat veterans, a heartfelt "Saaaa-LUTE!" and my grateful thanks for all they accomplished for this nation.

Peter

Demolition FAIL!

A Turkish demolition contractor rigged up a building with explosives, planning to bring it down in a heap. Nice idea . . . but back in 1928, when it was built, they clearly meant their workmanship to last!

Amazing how it held together - and even more amazing that it didn't continue to roll into the (occupied) apartment block next door!

Peter

Doofus Of The Day #249

Today's title goes to all 20 UK Border Agency officers aboard a bus, returning from France to England - who didn't spot a stowaway illegal immigrant hitching a ride with them!

An illegal immigrant is on the run after smuggling himself into Britain underneath a coach full of Border Agency officers returning from France.

The immigration officers - whose job is to stop illegal immigrants entering the country - were oblivious to the stowaway hiding between the fuel tank and the chassis of the coach bringing them through the Channel Tunnel until they arrived at their depot in Folkestone.

The man then made his break for freedom, to join the estimated 725,000 other illegal immigrants living here.

The coach driver, a contractor who does not work for the government agency, gave chase but failed to catch him.

If he is caught, it could take years to deport him, largely as a result of human-rights laws.

The humiliating incident comes after repeated complaints that Labour has failed to put a stop to the vast numbers of illegal immigrants who pour across the UK's borders every year.

New figures published last week revealed that the number of migrants arrested after hiding in the backs of lorries and vans nearly doubled in the first half of this year - up to 13,715 compared to 7,760 in the same period last year.

It is the first time an illegal migrant has been known to use Border Agency transport to gain entry to Britain from Calais, where at least 2,000 people are sleeping rough, hoping to make it across the Channel.

A political row has now erupted because no action will be taken against the coach driver hired by the Border Agency - unlike hundreds of other lorry drivers who have been prosecuted for unwittingly allowing an illegal immigrant into Britain.

. . .

... the decision not to take legal action may anger other commercial drivers who have not been treated so leniently.

Some British haulage firms have been fined up to £300,000 after illegal immigrants were found hidden in their vehicles. Individual drivers have been handed mandatory £2,000 fines for each illegal migrant they carried.

Many have claimed they had no idea they were carrying unwanted passengers.

Under Carriers' Liability legislation, drivers can face fines if they fail to make adequate checks of their vehicle for stowaways - which is why the coach driver in this case is unlikely to face further action.

. . .

Tens of thousands of illegal immigrants are believed to be in Britain working in casual jobs beyond the reach of the authorities.

There's more at the link.

Uh-huh. If twenty people whose job it is to stop illegal immigrants, can't stop one hitching a ride back to England with them, how dare those same people issue fines to commercial drivers who unwittingly give stowaways a similar opportunity?

Peter

Fido need no longer fear fireworks

I'm very pleased to read of a new invention for dogs - canine ear muffs.

They are the brainchild of private pilot Michelle Macguire, who was upset when Cooper, her labrador cross, curled up in a ball shivering in fright when he joined her on short flights.

Mrs Macguire, 48, of Wisconsin in the US, said: ‘I did a test flight of 15 minutes and by the time we arrived Cooper had taken them off.

'But when we did the return flight, he kept them on – he must have realised it was a lot worse for him without them.

‘That was seven years ago, when he was one. Ever since, he’s never taken them off and flying doesn’t bother him at all.’

She said that hundreds of armed forces dogs based in Iraq and Afghanistan are also now using Mutt Muffs while on the front line – and that they have solved the problem for dog-owners of how to deal with firework night disturbance.

There's more at the link.

Now, that's a really good idea! Intrigued by the article, I investigated further, and found Ms. Macguire's Web site, where the Mutt Muffs are for sale. It's worth a look, if you have dogs. I've seen too many animals terrified by the noise of fireworks. These seem to offer a solution.




Peter

Is the USAF also going the 'low-and-slow' route?

A few days ago I wrote about a US Navy effort to field a few propeller-driven strike aircraft for use by Special Forces. Now, a number of reports suggest that the USAF is considering precisely the same thing, but on a rather larger scale.

First, we hear that the USAF may recommend the establishment of a counter-insurgency (COIN) air wing in the latest Quadrennial Defense Review, currently under preparation.

A top Pentagon official told a small group of defense reporters this morning (July 23) that the upcoming QDR will likely propose the formation of an aviation cadre devoted solely to irregular warfare.

The Pentagon's guru for special operations and low intensity conflict, the renowned Michael Vickers, told us that he believes a light strike, light reconnaissance aircraft would be useful to troops in an unconventional fight.

"That's one of the issues that this QDR is looking at about how to create these sort of irregular warfare air units -- should we do that, number one, because nothing has been decided -- then what that mix might be. But it might not reside in the special operations forces, it might reside in the general purpose forces as sort of a counterinsurgency capability," Vickers said.

Of course, this jibes with the Navy's Imminent Fury initiative and rumblings from Norty Schwartz (USAF-COS) to create an irregular air wing in the Air Force.

Vickers went on to raise an interesting point -- one that the brief I posted yesterday from the Navy's IWO hinted at in the section on Imminent Fury -- that an aircraft like that could also be an advantage to training local forces in counterinsurgency air techniques.

"One of the advantages with that kind of aircraft being adapted to the counterinsurgency battlefield is that they tend to be very inexpensive and something that a partner nation could afford. ... They're getting a look," he said.

. . .

"I'm fairly confident we'll end up with something. The question is how large a force and what capability to we put in there and whether we put it in over time. But some kind of irregular warfare something or other -- some Air Force unit, whether it's a series of squadrons or a wing or a group or whatever -- I think is an idea whose time has come."

There's more at the link.

Almost immediately, two new aircraft requirements have been 'floated' to industry by the USAF. The first is for a fleet of up to 60 light transport aircraft, suitable for use from unprepared airstrips.

Broadening its interests in the irregular warfare mission, the US Air Force has asked industry to submit ideas for aircraft that can fulfill a requirement for up to 60 "light mobility airlifters" (LiMA).

While the US Air Force and US Army are jointly buying at least 38 L-3 Communications/Alenia Aeronautica C-27Js, the LiMA requirements calls for an aircraft in an even smaller class.

Alenia C27J Spartan (image courtesy of Wikipedia)

Possible candidates in the LiMA class may include the Hawker Beechcraft King Air 350, Cessna 208 Grand Caravan and EADS CASA C-212.

Hawker Beechcraft King Air 350 of the Royal Australian Air Force (image courtesy of Wikipedia)

The USAF's requirements call for taking off with at least six passengers, or a combination of passengers and cargo weighing 1,800lbs, from "unimproved, austere landing surfaces", the RFI says. The aircraft could be single- or multi-engine, but it must be certified for single-pilot operation.

Cessna 208 Grand Caravan of the Iraqi Air Force (image courtesy of Wikipedia)

The USAF plans to reach initial operational capability with the new LiMA fleet in Fiscal 2012.

EADS CASA C-212 of the Spanish Air Force (image courtesy of Wikipedia Commons)

The LiMA requirement has emerged along several new types of aircraft expected to play different roles in the irregular warfare mission. The USAF is buying 37 MC-12 Libertys, modified King Air 350s, to serve as manned intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft.

USAF MC-12 Liberty (image courtesy of USAF)

In the upcoming quadrennial defense review, Seretary of Defense Robert Gates has revealed plans to dedicate 10% of the US military's resources to irregular warfare needs.

Again, there's more at the link.

Hot on the heels of that report comes the news that the USAF also wants up to 100 'fighters' for operations in the same field.

The US Air Force has issued a request for information to identify sources that can supply 100 new fighters to perform light attack and armed reconnaissance roles.

Air Combat Command released a request for information on July 27 that calls for first aircraft deliveries to start in Fiscal 2012 and the first operational squadron to activate a year later.

The requirements call for a two-seat turboprop capable of flying up to 30,000ft and equipped with zero-altitude/zero-airspeed ejection seats, full motion video camera, data link, infrared suppressor, radar warning receiver and armored cockpit. Weapons must include a gun, two 500-lb bombs, 2.75-inch rockets and rail-launched munitions.

The known competitors for the requirement include the Air Tractor AT-802U [about which I wrote on this blog back in June - click the link for details and photographs], Embraer Super Tucano [covered earlier this week in my article on US Navy COIN aircraft], Hawker Beechcraft AT-6B Texan II and Pilatus PC-9.

Hawker Beechcraft T-6A Texan II training aircraft of the USAF
(image courtesy of Wikipedia). A proposed armed version will be known as the AT-6B.
This aircraft is based on the Pilatus PC-9, shown below.

Pilatus PC-9 of the Slovenian Air Force (image courtesy of Wikipedia)

The light attack/armed reconnaissance fleet, if finally approved, would join a growing COIN air force within an air force.

Once again, there's more at the link.

It looks as if the light strike fighter for a COIN role is an idea whose time has come.

Peter