How Interconnected the World Is...

I've been real lazy of late and haven't really posted anything in quite some time.  Busy time of year made busier by some some outside factors.

Regardless, this story struck me as instructive of just how interconnected our world is these days.

A plumber in Texas with deer heads on his office walls and with a decidedly redneck tone to his voice ends up getting harassing phone calls from other Americans because he left his company's logos on a Ford F250 he traded in almost exactly a year ago and said truck somehow ends up in the middle of the Syrian Civil War with an anti-aircraft cannon mounted in its bed.  Someone posts a picture of this truck on a "terrorist" Twitter feed, the phone # for his company is visible...and so the calls begin.

To me its shocking that such a truck would be found profitable to sell who knows how many times over and be found desirable enough to ship overseas.  Also given the length of time that the Syrian Civil War has been going on I'm betting it was imported to the area specifically for this purpose.  Generally Syria is a complete friggin disaster and I don't see too many common Syrian folk looking to rapidly import an American heavy duty truck and then leaving someone's English language logo on the truck to drive around downtown Damascus.  ISIS is about the only people in the MidEast not caring what negative attention they draw to themselves.  What's that mean then?  It means the truck was likely purchased at auction in the States, moved to Mexico and shipped to the MidEast with the specific intent to act as a support vehicle in the conflict.  I would wonder if there isn't a big stream of American trucks heading over there.  ISIS is flush with millions of stolen and oil derived dollars.  They are likely shut out from the typical arms markets but shipping big American trucks doesn't draw near as much attention and from the years of video we've seen of airstrikes in the Mideast we've seen if there is one thing we know they aren't short on over there its anti-aircraft guns and ammunition--so seeking to mount a bunch of these cannons that are useless against a generally non-existent air enemy is a logical move.

Just gotta make sure my Nissan doesn't end up over there!


https://autos.yahoo.com/news/texas-plumber-ford-truck-ends-terrorists-133033518.html

SpaceX Grasshopper Test Video

SpaceX continues its march forward.

While its commercial flights servicing both governmentall and private business demands via its standard launch systems it is also working hard on its Grasshopper program which will eventually (hopefully) result in a completely vertical take off and landing program designed to return the launch vehicle to its launch site autonomously upon completion of its mission.

SpaceX has been ramping this program up bit by bit with short test flights.  This most recent test took the Grasshopper up to 12 stories and then returned to its platform.  Its funny to watch as at any moment I expect the rocket to turn sideways and explode as was often the case with many Nazi and Soviet (and a few US) launch attempts when they were first starting out.  It almost seems unnatural for a rocket to not either shoot skyward or else end in disaster.  Watching it land on its gear so softly and without a fuss is an odd thing.

The ability to return to its launch facility in this manner is designed to cut costs and increase the speed at which launches can occur--a necessary step for sending large amounts of equipment, supplies and people to Mars.
SpaceX Launches Grasshopper Rocket 12 Stories High...