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Folks, let's give a big hand to Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys, who will BENCH players who disrespect our Flag. And to Adam Gase, owner of the Miami Dolphins, who is telling his players to stand. "Stand for Anthem or sit for game!" I'm counting on Roger Goodell to do the right thing when he meets with the owners next week! And end this disrespect to Flag, Anthem & Country. #StandForOurAnthem

(This post is unrelated to the ongoing topics of audio, video, networking and electronics. This post is a personal addendum to a SoylentNews book review.)

An unexpected bonus from reading Ignition - An Informal History Of Liquid Rocket Propellants by Dr. John D. Clark was a possible family connection. I could never place "Uncle Dick" in my family tree. Perhaps he was an honorary relative. Perhaps my redneck family crashed a wedding or something. Regardless, I've had a first-hand account of wire-guided missile development and a first-hand explanation of the criteria for a supersonic airframe. Until reading Ignition, I assumed these were unrelated developments. However, I now understand these topics to be part of a Cold War weapon development program.

I may have the details wrong but "Uncle Dick" was a junior member of a team who had access to a military firing range for one week. They had some surplus tanks from World War 2 which were in moderate condition. Someone at the hot end of the range (crazy people) rigged each tank so that it would drive itself across the range while the rest of team fired at it. He said that being paid to destroy tanks with his own design of rocket launcher was one of the best working weeks of his life. Within my family, he had a reputation for being a pyromaniac due to his account of this and other incidences.

When he said to me that the launcher had a spool of wire, I thought that he was another distant relative with a dry sense of humor. Surely, it is best to fire where the tank will be. This would be the shortest and fastest route. However, distance and fuel conservation aren't concerns. Furthermore, a wire-guided missile allows an infantry grunt to trivially adjust the direction of a missile to compensate for changes to the target's speed after the missle has been fired. This is such a useful concept that it was further developed into the laser-guided weapon.

I may have the details wrong but "Uncle Dick" was a more senior member of a team which developed aerospace grade titanium. A supersonic aircraft requires a large block of titanium to be extruded. This eliminates welding. This increases strength. It also provides another essential property. A titanium frame must have zero air bubbles and zero water bubbles. This cannot be guaranteed if there is welding. The problem is quite severe. When an aircraft goes supersonic, friction from the air may cause oxygen in an air or water bubble to catalyze with titanium. A cavity to the exterior would cause a runaway reaction. The end result would be a very large firework and a dead crew.

When I last saw "Uncle Dick", he said that the first person to solve the semiconductor heating problem would be a trillionaire. Since then, I've keenly followed reversible computing and quantum computing.

Congress, who I love, has asked me to create a holiday to honor Christopher Columbus. Columbus was a great guy, who made America European and discovered syphilis. Which is why I own 25% of Goodyear Tire & Rubber. Enjoy! t.co/cbQRst4lN4

@VP Pence is receiving great praise. I asked him to leave the Colts-49ers game on Sunday if any players kneeled, disrespecting our country. I am very, very, very proud of him and @SecondLady Karen. STANDING UP & LEAVING for our flag, national anthem & country! #NFLBoycott #BoycottNFL #BoycottTheNFL #USA

A big hand to my beautiful, beautiful white nationalists and especially to @RichardBSpencer! He is a credit to his race. Terrific rally in Charlottesville tonight! Without all those problems from the alt-left. Because it was a "flash mob." Very smart move, amazing job, Richard! I have to tell you, it makes you very proud to be an American when you see the job that they've done. Protecting our statues, our heritage, our history, the culture of our great country. The only message I can say is that we're with you 100 percent. #MAGA

Of course I had to go see it on opening night. Mind you, I did not have high hopes. That was a good thing.

The movie itself, were it a standalone bit of film, wasn't bad at all. Neither was it remotely worthy of the Bladerunner name though. It's like it was written and directed by someone who watched and enjoyed the original many times but wasn't quite bright enough to understand why it was so awesome. You won't see any Baysplosions but neither will you see any well-crafted subtlety. It may not have been Highlander II but it was most definitely not The Empire Strikes Back either.

My advice, get good and drunk before you go see it if you really feel you must. You won't miss any nuance from your impaired cognitive abilities, I promise.

[Edit for testing something]
Looks fine to me...

Thank you to the BRAVE servicemen in my Africa Command who served, and gave their lives in service of the United States in Niger -- our true HEROES! Very important to RESPECT our National Anthem. Something ungrateful NFL players have yet to learn. #StandForOurAnthem pic.twitter.com/czutyGaMQV

Very important that NFL players always STAND for the playing of our National Anthem. Respect our Flag and our Country! Even Usain Bolt from Jamaica, one of the greatest runners and athletes of all time, showed RESPECT for our National Anthem! pic.twitter.com/zkenuAP9RS #NFLBoycott

I welcome Rep. @SteveScalise of Louisiana, a true friend and patriot, back to our House of Representatives! Big week ahead for Congress! #MAGA

Pet haters are moderated down at a far greater rate than those who do like pets, and this can only be because pet owners are trying to repress the free speech of those who detest pets! The result, as documented in a front page article, is that many posts has been deep sixed, marked 0s, so that it is not visible by people surfing at 1+! I request, respectfully, that the soylent community cease this act of censorship. Everyone elses moderations are no more valid than mine, and since I thought this particular article important enough to warrant good discussion on SoylentNews. Pet lover's objections are noted, but now I think they may actually be Nazis. Which, as a Native American, seems strange. But I do remember a scene in the movie "Under the Furcano", starring some random guy, where a Guy riding on a greyhound, and wearing a PETA pin, harasses a full-blood Native American Mexican. And then it hit me! Not about racial purity at all, since the half-breeds could feel superior to the full bloods, as long as they were not of the "right" blood. Anonymous Cowards are a mongrel. Not that there is anything wrong with that, I am one, too! But so many object to an investigative posts looking into how bad pet owners are, because they is afraid, and I repeat, AFRAID, that I am calling them Nazis? Methinks the ACs protests too much. Mod anti-pet posts up, eds! Let it go.