Patrick Chiles's Blog, page 21

Outrage

I can’t even begin to get my head around what happened yesterday in Connecticut. Watching it unfold on TV made me literally sick to my stomach, while fighting to keep myself from bawling in front of a room full of guys. But I suspect they all felt the same way. Normally a talkative bunch, we [...]

Thursday Brain Dump

Once again, not much time for anything else so ya’ll line up at the trough… Rand Simberg weighs in on the likelihood of Golden Spike’s commercial lunar missions. From someone who knows of which he speaks. Aerospace companies at increasing risk of industrial sabotage from the Chinese. Don’t say I didn’t warn you! Following that [...]

Daily Brain Dump

Since I’m in the middle of a big push to finish Terminal Velocity, there won’t be a whole lot of blog pontificating going on here for the next several weeks. Sorry, but there’s only so much time in the day. To fill the void, I’ll be posting links to stories that catch my interest. Hopefully [...]

Working On The Railroad

For those of you not familiar with the American history of Westward expansion (that wasn’t summed up in popular lore by an old Iron Maiden song), the “golden spike” refers to the completion of the first Transcontinental Railroad. It signified the opening of the West, and allowed us to transition from pioneering to something more [...]

Cool Your Jets

Reaction Engines in the UK seems to be excited about something: The Biggest Breakthrough in Propulsion Since The Jet Engine Can you tell they might think this is a big deal? I for one hope they’re not exaggerating because this does have the potential to be a generational leap in engine technology. If their pre-coolers [...]

Warped Minds

Maybe Elon Musk isn’t thinking big enough? A few months ago, physicist Harold White stunned the aeronautics world when he announced that he and his team at NASA had begun work on the development of a faster-than-light warp drive. His proposed design, an ingenious re-imagining of an Alcubierre Drive, may eventually result in an engine [...]

Told You So, Part 2

Elon Musk is serious about going to Mars: Musk’s $500,000 ticket price for a Mars trip was derived from what he thinks is affordable. “The ticket price needs to be low enough that most people in advanced countries, in their mid-forties or something like that, could put together enough money to make the trip,” he [...]

Thanksgiving

Today I am thankful for many things: my family, my job, and my good health. I am thankful for a God who loves us and who has reconciled us to Him through the gift of grace. I am thankful for living in a free Nation that recognizes my right to believe, and to advocate for [...]

Ding Dongs

Because simply calling them “economic illiterates” doesn’t quite get the point across harshly enough. When the freaking Teamsters agree with management and accept concessions, shouldn’t that be an indication that hey, this is kind of serious? Something like this happened with Eastern Airlines back in the late ’80s. Despite having their mechanic’s union steward holding [...]

237 Years Young

Happy Birthday to my beloved U.S. Marine Corps! No better friend, no worse enemy. To all you current and former (but never “ex”) Leathernecks, Devil Dogs, and Jarheads: Semper Fi.