When I got over Tyson was when he praised The Martian as 'good science.'

I just have to vent about this...
@alexthechick @LawSelfDefense @monsterhunter45 @TKratman
1/

https://twitter.com/CynicalPublius/status/1860865424012763317

2/
Let us begin with the central McGuffin.

'OH, NOESIES! A 200MPH MARTIAN STORM IS GOING TO BLOW OVER OUR SPACE ROCKET SHIP!'

Okay, yeah, I can see NASA being dumb enough not to include that in their 'perfect' design. But here's the thing.

The air on Mars is really thin...

Random Army Story:

For two years I worked for a platoon sergeant who was literally Sergeant of the Army at one point. The guy was fantastic beyond belief. President's Hundred in Pistol and Rifle. Former Mortar board. Former Airborne board. Basis for Ahrmand Pahner.
1/ Being the army, all good things eventually come to an end and we got Staff Sergeant Pena as our new PS.

Staff Sergeant Pena had spent the last few years as an OSUT drill working with newbs. We were all 'old soldiers' in that we'd been in at least two years, most were E4.
2/

So, take a look at this video. And I'm gonna do another deep dive on how 'indirect fire' (artillery, mortars and rockets) tends to work.

This is going to be on the subject of 'adjustment.'

https://twitter.com/UAWeapons/status/1521490592106266624

2/
Notice in the video that the AFV, sitting near a building, is hit with a single round, out of the blue.

To people unfamiliar with artillery, the answer is 'so what?'

To people familiar with artillery, they'd tend to say 'smart round'. I'm not sure that's the answer.

This is the best clip I've seen yet of the quality and utility of the Javelin.

They were in more or less full view of the target and the range doesn't appear that far. But due to the low signature it was very hard to detect.

https://twitter.com/UAWeapons/status/1520387930858168320

Also another example of what I stressed all the way back in Gust Front.

If you're stopped, you're digging in.

If you're not, you're likely dead.

Laughing and shaking my head.

'HE'S GOING TO FIRE THE BOARD!'

1. Private companies that are individually owned don't have boards.
2. Board members are 'representatives' of the shareholders. (Ostensibly.) So when there are no more shareholders, the board goes away.
1/ Shareholder representative (board members) is one of those jobs that's perfect for a person who is 'connected' but otherwise basically useless. (See Hunter Biden.)

The job of most board members is to attend a meeting four times a year.
2/

Disclaimer. I"m a science fiction author and a big fan of SpaceX. But.

I've been having a troubling thought related to SpaceX and reentry. @elonmusk intends to have three launches a day eventually.

1/ The issue of 'stuff blows up' doesn't just relate to launches but reentry. Remember the Columbia.

Starship's tiles look steadier. And I think that SpaceX will do a great job.

The shuttle made 107 launches before a failure on reentry. The SAME failure can't occur. But...
2/

@TrentTelenko

Okay, a little thread about indirect fire rounds. Just the simple ones. I won't get into scatterable munitions or smart rounds.

Some definitions:

Trench: A narrow trench dug in the ground. Can be short or long.
MOUT: Military operations in urban terrain
1/ Bunker: a hole dug in the ground with overhead cover.
Open: Yer just out there in the open.
Fusing:
VT: Variable Time fuse. This can be either the 'cover' VT which is a proximity fuse or a fuse you set to go off after a certain time.

Time for Some Kipling:

BEYOND the path of the outmost sun through utter darkness hurled-
Farther than ever comet flared or vagrant star-dust swirled-
Live such as fought and sailed and ruled and loved and made our world.
1/ 2/
They are purged of pride because they died; they know the worth of
their bays;
They sit at wine with the Maidens Nine and the Gods of the Elder Days-
It is their will to serve or be still as fitteth Our Father's praise.

@PolitiBunny @JeffOnTheRight @ChristinaPushaw @JesseKellyDC @KurtSchlichter

This is going to be a long thread on the subject of the PRINCIPLES! Crowd and their insistence that DeSantis shouldn’t lead a charge against Disney, ‘Don’t call them groomers! That’s naughty!’ etc
1/ @PolitiBunny @JeffOnTheRight @ChristinaPushaw @JesseKellyDC @KurtSchlichter 2/
because PRINCIPLES!
And I’m going to use Dien Bien Phu as an example.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of…
At Dien Bien Phu, the French Foreign Legion was slowly surrounded by the Viet Min. The Communists slowly took high ground position after high ground position.

Okay, kiddos, story time. Not my story (like most cold warriors I don't have great stories.) The Story of how my Dad got awarded a Bronze Star in WWII.
1/ My Dad dropped out of University of Kentucky along with his best friend to join the Army ‘before the war was over.’ They were both taking engineering so the Army, in one of those rare moments of intelligence, made them engineers.
1/

A thread about the Moskva.
1/

https://twitter.com/DavidKillion4/status/1514999343216050176

'The US was slow.'

The DOD has gotten taken to the woodshed for decades by the US military for the SLIGHTEST wrong thing said. Even if the statement was as accurate as they knew at the time.
2/

To all Latinos, Blacks, Hispanics, Native Americans and/or even 'LatinX', who voted for Donald Trump, let me be the first to welcome you to the ranks of Whiteness!

Here is your white card. It's good for getting out of tickets. 1 If pulled over for 'driving while black', politely hand the officer your driver's license, registration, insurance (if necessary in that state) and your white card. Explain to them that you've been stripped of your skin color and are now white.

That should take care of it. 2