From time to time I like to answer the email from fans around the globe. Here's our first one...
Dear Dirk,Thanks for the question Brad.... But before I answer, I have to ask you to please refrain from cussing in the future. Thanks a bunch.
SO where the [censored] did Dirk L'Orange come from?
Brad Webb
Why would the military develop a 700 ton bomb that they had no way of delivering???
The answer lies within the linked article, if one thinks and reads a little between the lines.
First:
The Pentagon for several years has sought funding for research into the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator (RNEP)Second:
Congress, however, has repeatedly refused to grant funding for a study on a nuclear bunker buster, instead directing money toward conventional alternatives.Three:
The test is aimed at determining how well a massive conventional bomb would perform against fortified underground targets.So, the military has been researching a nuclear bunker buster, the congress won't fund the research, and now the military is testing a conventional bomb so big, it can never be delivered....
The only logical explanation is that they are going to detonate this weapon to find out what effect the explosive force will have and then take that data and perform calculations to figure out what size of nuclear weapon will be needed to produce the same or similar explosive force.
The Washington Post reported on March 31, that the Pentagon plans to test a conventional bomb in Nevada on June 2:
A huge mushroom cloud of dust is expected to rise over Nevada's desert in June when the Pentagon plans to detonate a gigantic 700-ton explosive -- the biggest open-air chemical blast ever at the Nevada Test Site -- as part of the research into developing weapons that can destroy deeply buried military targets, officials said yesterday.
Air Force C-5 Galaxy, General CharacteristicsNow, here's the question. How would the military deliver a bomb that outweighs the maximum payload of our largest cargo transport by 565 tons?
. . .
Maximum Cargo: 270,000 pounds (135 Tons)
. . .
source: http://www.af.mil/
I'll have my theory later, first, I want to hear from you.
Last night (Thursday) my wife requested that I join her to try out a new place. A piano bar called the Bent Tree Grill. She wanted to go because she likes piano bars and this place came with a very high recommendation of a co-worker. This co-worker of Mrs. PoS told her that this place really gets " hoppin' " by about 9:30 or 10pm.
I learned a number of things on this night. First, the term " hoppin' " is relative. Second, there are still places in this world that employ mid-1970's decor. The former, upon finding out that my lovely bride's co-worker is in his mid-50's told me quite a bit. But lastly, and perhaps most importantly, I now know, if there is a hell, what my personal hell will be.... An eternity of damnation in the Bent Tree Grill.
Mrs. PoS and I walked into the club and I immediately noticed every head at the bar turn to "check out" Mrs. PoS' "goods"... when I noticed that every one of these guys was over the age of 60. Now upon entering the establishment, as we waded through the cigarette smoke and scent of overly perfumed women in their late early 60's, I observed the dimly lit establishment, with it's decor and aged clientele, reminded me of a VFW. I felt like asking the waitress how much it would be to rent the "party room" for the First Sergeant's retirement luncheon. If that analogy doesn't give you a picture, imagine a bowling alley circa 1975, where they still use the overhead projector and grease pencils to keep score. Now picture that bowling alley's bar.
Now, the entertainment was misleading. I clearly read, on the outside of the establishment, the words "Piano Bar". The lack of a piano was the first indication that we had been duped. Instead we had to listen to a guy singing mostly country songs on a guitar, accompanied by a drum machine and synthesizer. I immediately went into powerdown mode but my spirits lifted a little when he decided it was time for a break after two songs... It was about this time that was until he started playing music from his iTunes library on the laptop he had that was connected to his synthesizer. As the sounds of Hank Williams eminated from the giant speakers we were sitting next to, my powerdown continued... As that song segued into some Destiny's Child, I thought to myself, "self, he must have chosen the party shuffle" option in iTunes. Then, Destiny's Child gave 'way to Garth Brooks and I thought, "I wonder if my cordless drill is in the trunk of the car?" Sadly, it wasn't.
After awhile, we got used to it and enjoyed riffing on the general scene and the patrons of the bar, all the while seeing this scene punctuated by things like the 60-year-old man seated near us start dancing with a woman quite possibly was old enough to be Barbera Bush's mother. Eventually, the entertainment, started to sing again, this time a couple of Toby Keith tunes (only relializing this because our friends are big toby keith fans and would say, "Hey this is toby keith."), when again, the singer shut it down after about 3 songs to take another break. Oh boy, more iTunes!!!
I wanted to take this opportunity to describe our waitress. She was easily in her mid-40's, and had the appearance and sound of a woman who smokes a couple of packs a day. She was nice enough and offered good service, but was disturbed by something that happened when we were presented with our bill. She left a little tiny keychain sized flashlight in order for us to better see our bill in the dimly lit establishment. I started playing with said flashlight, shining it in my friend's eye's to test his pupil dialation. Our friends seemed to find what I was doing funny, or so I thought, right up until the waitress came back to collect our credit card slip and put the flashlight back from whence it came, between her ample bosom. I immediately excused myself to the hardware store down the street to buy some sandpaper to rub the skin off my hands.
We still had our drinks to finish and Mrs. PoS wanted to hear the singer (who finally started singing again) play Whiskey River, by Willie Nelson. She walked up to him and asked, "Do you know Whiskey River?" To which he replied, "Yes. I'll play that next." My wife came back and waited for her requested song to start as she sipped on a rum and coke and felt satisfied when it's first bars started to play. I didn't mind this, because despite my aversion to all things Country and Western, I kinda dig Willie Nelson. I'm not quite sure if it's because he unapologetically smokes pot or because he's just cool, but I like him nonetheless. As the lyrics began I thought to myself, this guy sounds a lot like Willie Nelson. So I turned around to face him and saw that he was not there. It turns out he decided to use Mrs. PoS' song request as a brake and was playing the actual Willie Nelson version from iTunes. With that, it was time to leave and enjoy the rest of the evening elsewhere.
Next time on Dirk L'Orange is Writing... Mrs. PoS' Personal Hell.
Poolofsick is gone... actually, you can see the archive if you want, but for all intents and purposes, this is the new webpage that I'm sharing with The Observer. I will try to create content that is entraining and provocative, but we'll see.
I do promise to not ever put up posts that discuss the dietary habits of any of my loved ones. <sarcasm>I realize that subject matter like that is both interesting and relevant to a wide audience, but I'm willing to risk it.</sarcasm>
The new site does need some work... the archive pages look crappy (not as clean as the main page), but Observer and I should be able to work that out over time.
Check this out:VW in da haus...
Another wasted day at work...I haven't really worked in six months. My workstation is hosed and the IT guy is going to take till at least tomorrow sometime to get it "fixed" (although he did the hosing - it worked just fine before).
Blah.