Category: Photographs

Jon Stewart Convinced Me………

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Release the f%$#ing photos

All the arguments about the bin Laden death photo are a part of the bigger picture, which is that essentially nothing resembling accurate and impartial photojournalism is ever allowed in our “war on terror”, and this is intentional.

A more accurate picture of the forever war we are involved in would inevitably result in a substantial erosion in the support for it, which would mean that Blackwater Xe would not be able to support John Ashcroft in the manner to which he is accustomed.

Went to Colonial Williamsburg Today

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This was a posed shot, but it is rather more true than I would like to think.


The House of Burgesses


The black smith shop


Halberds in the Armory, I thought that they would be pre 1700s, but it appears that I was wrong

So, we went to colonial Williamsburg today.

Even my studiously blase teen (13) daughter enjoyed herself, though she was on her mobile constantly updating her Facebook page.

A good time was had by all.

We are hoping to hit Busch Gardens tomorrow before heading home.

OK, It Looks Like I Was Wrong …… Again

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The trailing edge of the wing implies that stealth is not a high priority


The tail arrangement resembles MiG’s Project 1.44

It appears that the Chinese stealthy aircraft is the real deal.

The insignia, which I noted earlier when I called hoax, appears to be correct at the higher resolutions.

As Bill Sweetman notes, the fact that the the planform appears to be a fairly conventional clipped delta, which, “Has some signature implications, with what looks like an almost unswept trailing edge, because edges scatter forward and backwards.”

The size of the aircraft is still not yet clear, though it appears to be at least as large as the F-22.

At that size, it is likely to be intended either as a strike aircraft, or as an interceptor, or (more likely, it will be expensive, and expensive single taskers are bad) both, rather than the sort of “air dominance fighter” that the F-22, and (probably) the PAK-FA are.

The bottom picture of the abortive MiG 1.44 project shows that the arrangement at the back is very similar to that project, and it should be noted that this project did not have stealth as a priority.

Please note that anything that I say here come from a perspective of rather profound ignorance though.

It’s the Fuzzy Aircraft Photo Home Game

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Note the Insignia


Note the lack of insignia


A ¾ rear view


A frac34; front view


PLAAF (Chinese) Insignia


Soviet Era Insignia


Current Russian Insignia

So, the late Ted Stevens’ “Series of Tubes” is abuzz with what purports to be fuzzy photographs of a Chinese stealth aircraft.

I don’t think that these are raw photos, and that some photo-shopping has been done, most notably the oversize tail insignia, which is most assuredly NOT a PLAAF symbol, as Stephen Trimble observes.

Some other oddities, to my (very) untrained eye:

  • The wing has anhedral, and the canard dihedral, which would be a no-no in stealth design, you would want the surfaces more or less parallel.
  • The same goes for the drooping wing tips, which are absent on the front view but present in the rear view.
  • Pictures 1 and 3 of the aircraft appear to be with the power and the hydraulics unpowered, but there is no gravity caused droop in what are supposed to be axisymmetric thrust vectoring nozzles.  (They pretty much have to be with the small tail size).
  • On the top picture, it appears that the observers in the rear are about 1½ feet taller than the ones around the front of the aircraft.

While I think that it is clear that the Chinese are looking at developing some sort of stealthy fighter or attack aircraft, I really don’t think that it has gotten to the point where a 70 foot long demonstrator of some sort is flying.

It’s possible that the pictures are real, though there appears to be at least a bit of  digital wizardry involved.

Trick or Treating

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The Rubikuitous Charlie


The most Sanguine Natalie


For that thoughtful look with: her glasses on

We went trick or treating tonight.

Natalie tried to go upscale on her fangs for her vampire costume, and go with ones that just fit on her eye-teeth, as opposed to the mouth guard type ones, and it didn’t work, so she improvised using some sugary blood syrup that she got at the SCA event on Saturday.

Charlie’s costume, a Rubik’s Cube, however worked out very well, and he got a lot of compliments, though he did experience, as I had warned him, issues with comfort and mobility.

Still, they had fun, and took in a decent haul of hysteria inducing sugar, so they both considered their outing a success.

We had to return home at one point, because they needed gloves.

Neither of their costumes were amenable to the use of pockets to warm one’s hands.

I remember trick or treating when I was a kid, with my Dad watching, and now I am watching as my kids trick or treat.

It’s the whole “circle of life” thing, I guess.

911, 9 Years on

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I don’t think that I can really say anthing about the 9th anniversary of the 911 attacks, beyond the humor and sociology in this picture:

I find this really, Really funny.

I think that I would have always found this funny, but it’s not an amusement that I would have felt comfortable sharing until very recently, and now, it’s the sort of thing that I would email to friends.

I’m not sure what it all means, but then again, I rarely am sure.

H/t Dc at the by invitation only Stellar Parthenon BBS.