First off Don't Click This!

The following "Scientific" theories were either wholly unscientific or failed to pass scientific testing. Creationism/Intelligent Design can certainly be included in this list, though the political fight rages on...

Geocentrism [link] (Earth is the center of the universe - Replaced by Copernicus, which was improved by Kepler, then Newton, then Einstein)
Lamarckism [link] (Animals pass on traits developed during lifetime - Replaced by Darwin)
Spontaneous Generation [link] (Complex life spontaneously appears - Replaced by Pasteur)
Miasma Theory of Disease [link] (Disease is caused by "bad air" - Replaced by Germ Theory of Disease)
Rutherford Atomic Model http://spcefrk.deviantart.com/journal/18262818/ Sat, 10 May 2008 19:37:29 PDT [link]
Unofficial dA Religion Forum: [link]
Unofficial dA Science Forum: [link]
dA Political Forum Club: [link]
dA Political Forum Chat: [link]
dA Political Forum Source Library: [link]
=======================================

The following "Scientific" theories were either wholly unscientific or failed to pass scientific testing. Creationism/Intelligent Design can certainly be included in this list, though the political fight rages on...

Geocentrism [link] (Earth is the center of the universe - Replaced by Copernicus, which was improved by Newton, which was improved by Einstein)
Lamarckism [link] (Animals pass on traits developed during lifetime - Replaced by Darwin)
Spontaneous Generation [link] (Complex life spontaneously appears - Replaced by Pasteur)
Miasma Theory of Disease [link] (Disease is caused by "bad air" - Replaced by Germ Theory of Disease)
Rutherford Atomic Model [link] (Impermeable nucleus with orbiting electrons - Replaced by Bohr's Model, which was replaced by Electron Cloud Model)
Expanding Earth Theory [link] (The earth is growing radially causing continents to separate - Replaced by Plate Tectonics)
Alchemy [link] (Materials of the earth can be used for spiritual abilities - Replaced by Chemistry)
Astrology [link] (Motion of heavenly bodies directly affects human life - Replaced by Astronomy)
Phrenology [link] (Personality traits are related to the geometry of the head - Replaced by Psychology and other Neurosciences)

^{DISCLAIMER: Be careful with Wikipedia Links. Always bullshit check their sources.}

Why is Creationism/ID not a science? Because it lacks the study of anything mechanical. It uses mechanical sciences to search for forensic evidence. At best it's a study of forensics which has more in common with philosophy than any hard science. The creator is very loosely defined as nothing more than the external action which created whatever is being studied.

There is no study of how the creator created it -- just evidence of a creation. That, my friends, is forensics and is not inherently science but the application of science.

Whether there was/is a creator or not is irrelevant in scientific studies. If there was a creator, then all the evidence points to him using evolution to get here. If there was not a creator, then at some point, the building blocks of life sparked spontaneously and evolved into more survivable forms.

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<sup>EPICAC:
Motherboard: Asus M3A32 MVP Deluxe (Wifi-AP Edition)
Processor: AMD 2.2Ghz Quad Core Phenom 64
Power Supply: Raidmax Volcano 630W Modular Cables
HDD 1: 500 GB, 7200 RPM, SATA 3.0GB/s Western Di... ]]> =spcefrk http://spcefrk.deviantart.com/journal/18220017/ http://spcefrk.deviantart.com/journal/18220017/ Wed, 07 May 2008 23:14:11 PDT [link]
Unofficial dA Religion Forum: [link]
Unofficial dA Science Forum: [link]
dA Political Forum Club: [link]
dA Political Forum Chat: [link]
dA Political Forum Source Library: [link]
=======================================

The AIAA (Professional organization for Aerospace Engineers [link]) Executive Director Robert Dickman (ret. Major General USAF) testified before the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation that "At a funding level of only a fraction of a percent of the annual federal budget, NASA is being systematically starved."

He went on to testify:

"NASA is being forced to eliminate or severely reduce some very important work, to the detriment of critical aerospace research and development, and more broadly to the detriment of our aerospace strength and our industrial base. The Vision for Space Exploration was an aggressive, forward-looking proposal when offered by the President and endorsed by the Congress. However, while NASA has undertaken a positive exploration agenda, funding levels have not been at all sufficient to meet those goals.

... For example, research cuts since 2003 have reduced fundamental space-related life science and physical science research programs by 85%, affecting over 1,700 scientists and nearly 3,000 students. NASA is the sole steward of this research. If NASA doesn't do it, it won't get done – at least not in this country. At the same time, China, Japan and other nations are continuing robust research in these areas, and those countries are poised to assume the scientific and technological leadership that we are letting slip away.

... In 1994 NASA’s aeronautics budget was $1.54 billion. By FY07 the aeronautics budget was cut to $594 million. The FY09 budget reflects further cuts at $447 million.

... government investment in advanced launch concepts ... has dropped to nearly zero ... Absent investment in the truly breakthrough science and technology that would lead to revolutionary changes in space transportation, ... US access to space in 2040 will not look significantly different from 2020, or 2000, or 1980.

... Without NASA, this country would be a very, very different place now.

...In 2003, there were over 1,000 research projects focusing on basic non-exploration space physical and life sciences across the United States, which supported over 1,500 scientists, and over 3,000 students. Today, only five years later, there are 85 such research projects, supporting approximately 300 students. This is a decrease of 90%.

...
- We are not doing the work we should be doing in basic aeronautical research and development ... for education ... for life sciences ... for space sciences ... for solar science.
- And we are not going to be able to succeed at the exploration program with the budget we've got."
=======================================================
AIAA 07 May 2008 Public Testimony: [link]

I know several of us have set up arguments for NASA and their appalling lack of funding, but here you have evidence of it. 90% decrease in aeronautical research, 85% decrease in life & physical science research.

Why? Because NASA is forces to redirect all nonessential funding to a white-elephant program the Bush Administration placed on NASA with a frozen budget. That was years ago. And yet once NASA's budget was unfrozen the funding still hasn't come.

NASA is synonymous with America's Technological prowess and wellbeing and neither Senator's Clinton, Obama, or McCain have any plans to revive it.

===============================================

EPICAC:
Motherboard: Asus M3A32 MVP Deluxe (Wifi-AP Edition)
Processor: AMD 2.2Ghz Quad Core Phenom 64
Power Supply: Raidmax Volcano 630W Modular Cables
HDD 1: 500 GB, 7200 RPM, SATA 3.0GB/s Western Digital
HDD 2: 500 GB, 7200 RPM, SATA 3.0GB/s Western Digital
RAM: 2 GB DDR Corsair
Video: 512 MB nVidia GeForce 7600 GS
Case: Cooler Master Ammo 533 Aluminum ATX Mid Tower
Fans: 2 variable RPM 120mm fans

My Dark Side of the Moon Series:
"Us and Them" http://spcefrk.deviantart.com/journal/18171624/ Sun, 04 May 2008 20:16:06 PDT [link]
Unofficial dA Religion Forum: [link]
Unofficial dA Science Forum: [link]
dA Political Forum Club: [link]
dA Political Forum Chat: [link]
dA Political Forum Source Library: [link]
=======================================

Jupiter Island
"Jupiter Island is full of pleasures
Glowing gardens holding hidden treasures
Luminous flowers of yellows and greens
Glittering petals that have to be seen
Here's your chance don't let it pass you by
Take my hand and we'll fly

Jupiter Island is surrounded by oceans
Majestic ballerinas with graceful motions
Magenta forests on a crimson sea
The electric clouds are as vivid as can be
Scarlet moons in a domino sky
Take my hand and we'll fly

Come on let's fly to Jupiter Island
Just take my hand and we'll fly

Jupiter Island is full of mountains
Ruby rivers and sapphire fountains
Chessboard lawns bible black and white
The pink and blue trees are incredibly bright
An orange sunset painted on the sky
Take my hand and we'll fly

Jupiter Island is full of people
But you can't see them unless you want to
Lying in the hay on a hot sunny day
Everyone's happy so no-one's gay
Laughter from the children dances way on high Take my
hand and we'll fly

Jupiter Island is full of meadows
Fertile pastures for growing rainbows
Illuminated portraits from strange orchestrations
Lost in a collage of its own creations
Never a chance to wave goodbye
Take my hand and we'll fly"

The Nostalgia Factory
"A Caterpillar crawled to me one day and said
'Oh what the hell goes on inside your swollen head?
I don't believe that you can see as much as I
Now close your eyes and tell me what do you say?'

'I watched nine cats dance on the moon
A flamingo stalked into my room
It bowed its head to me and knelt
To reveal the cards it had dealt
An ace, three jacks, two queens, four kings
Then turned them into burning rings
The flames jumped out and chased four mice
Caught by their tails they turned to ice

A cloud appeared outside my door
And through the window saw four more
And on the back of each cloud sat
Two rainbow smiles in wizard's hats
They threw five clocks down on my bed
The chimes danced out on golden threads
And turned to footprints on my wall
Sequined tears began to fall'

The caterpillar gasped at me and said
'My god if that's what's going on inside your head
You can see so much more than I
I think it's time to turn into a butterfly.'"

Space Transmission
"You must listen very carefully to what I have to say.
There isn't much time, because You Know Who
has consumed all the instruments.

For many eons now I have been trapped on this planet.
He is keeping me here against my will, and sometimes
when I press my ear up very close to the concrete
I can hear his daughters sobbing with laughter.
Either I am blind, or I have been in darkness
ever since the sun exploded fourteen centuries ago.

A few hours ago, He Who Keeps Me Here visited me saying,
'God, why do the millions worship you instead of I —
am I not more powerful, more forgiving and truly compassionate?'

A black liquid was seeping uncontrollably from my mouth
and all I could do was babble incomprehensibly
about a dream I had many moons ago.
In it, a clock ticked constantly, maddening my senses.

That was all, but it lasted for many days
until each tick seemed like fragments of glass piercing my scales.
He Who Keeps Me Here tells me that one day I will return to earth,
and then I will seek my revenge."

Radioactive Toy
"Run through forests on a hot Summer day
Trying to break down walls of numbing pain
Give me the freedom to destroy
Give me radioactive toy

Taste the water from a stream of running death
Eat the apple and cough a dying breath
Give me the freedom to destroy
Give me radioactive toy

Feel the sun burning through your black skin
Pour me into a hole, inform my next of kin
Give me the freedom to destroy
Give me radioactive toy

Run through graveyards on a dusty Winter day
Spit the dirt out an... ]]> =spcefrk http://spcefrk.deviantart.com/journal/17982396/ http://spcefrk.deviantart.com/journal/17982396/ Tue, 22 Apr 2008 19:38:18 PDT [link]
Unofficial dA Religion Forum: [link]
Unofficial dA Science Forum: [link]
dA Political Forum Club: [link]
dA Political Forum Chat: [link]
dA Political Forum Source Library: [link]
=======================================

My pictures of the DBF contest are here: [link]



=======================================

I think why I enjoy Kurt Vonnegut's books so much is that he had such a spiteful relationship with his being branded a "Science Fiction Writer." I get from his books that he felt we were reflecting on ourselves in the wrong direction. Most science fiction tends to dream of the future through technology and then imagine the social and philosophical questions associated with them. In essence most science fiction elevates mankind socially to a point greater than ourselves that we might become that greatness the writer sees in us that we might not otherwise notice.

But Vonnegut's flair was that he was always knocking mankind down a notch. He was toying with that inflation of the ego that we derive or get fed so often and making the reader realize his true limits. In Player Piano, he set us in the future -- a future built by machines (but not glorious cleanliness you might find in Asmiov or Sagan's idyllic future), but in a gritty, dirty, oily, engineer's vision of the future. And the social questions were not about what is right or wrong, what should be or should not be, and instead was about realizing the limits of what we want and what we do. He was knocking down the sort of dreamers that come up with things like imperialistic dominance so that the sort of dreamers that are going to come up with Asimov's safer future can pop their head from bunkers and start dreaming.

Vonnegut's style was such that he was to some degree a science fiction writer, but only to the lengths that it was necessary to stretch his point -- that we are the evils we portray, that we can stumble into the most severe of mistakes all too easily, that intelligence isn't a ticket to controlling the universe, that our humanity for better or worse is all we've got. And what you get out of those fables is a license to regain some lost part of our humanity -- that part we've traded to become more integrated in a society increasingly about shiny new toys -- idols of an increasingly fake Asimov future.

That part of our humanity is lost to our ego, our individualism, the wretched idea, as Sagan put it, that we have some privileged position in the universe. And it seems Vonnegut is the only person who could combat that, who could draw light on that moldy festering corner of our collective soul that drives the idea that we ought to control the universe (distinctly divorced from the idea that we can control it, and further then from the idea that we can fully quantify and understand it).

===============================================

EPICAC:
Motherboard: Asus M3A32 MVP Deluxe (Wifi-AP Edition)
Processor: AMD 2.2Ghz Quad Core Phenom 64
Power Supply: Raidmax Volcano 630W Modular Cables
HDD 1: 500 GB, 7200 RPM, SATA 3.0GB/s Western Digital
HDD 2: 500 GB, 7200 RPM, SATA 3.0GB/s Western Digital
RAM: 2 GB DDR Corsair
Video: 512 MB nVidia GeForce 7600 GS
Case: Cooler Master Ammo 533 Aluminum ATX Mid Tower
Fans: 2 variable RPM 120mm fans

My Dark Side of the Moon Series:
"Us and Them" [link]
=spcefrk http://spcefrk.deviantart.com/journal/17943541/ http://spcefrk.deviantart.com/journal/17943541/ Sun, 20 Apr 2008 12:06:17 PDT [link]
Unofficial dA Religion Forum: [link]
Unofficial dA Science Forum: [link]
dA Political Forum Club: [link]
dA Political Forum Chat: [link]
dA Political Forum Source Library: [link]
=======================================

AIAA Design/Build/Fly Competition Ended Today!
=================================

My pictures of the contest are here:
[link] [link] [link] [link] [link] [link] [link]



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"There’ll be girls across the nation that will eat this up.
Babe I know that it’s your soul but could you bottle it up.
Get down to the heart of it.
No, it’s my heart.
You’re shit out of your luck.
Don’t make me tell you again my love, love, love, love.
Love, love, love, love.

I am aiming to be somebody
this somebody trusts with her delicate soul.
I don’t claim to know much,
Except soon as you start to make room for the parts that aren’t you,
It gets harder to bloom in a garden of love, love, love, love.
Love, love, love, love.

Only thing I ever could need,
Only one good thing worth trying to be
and it’s love, love, love, love.
I do it for love, love, love, love.

We can understand the sentiment you’re saying to us.
Oh, but sensible sells so could you kindly shut up,
And get started at keeping your part of the bargain.
Aw please little darlin’,
You’re killing me sweetly with love, love, love, love.
Love, love, love, love.

Only thing I ever could need.
Only one good thing worth trying to be
and it's love, love, love, love.
I do it for love, love, love, love.

Started as a flicker meant to be a flame.
Skin has gotten thicker but it burns the same.
Still a baby in a cradle got to take my first fall.
Baby’s getting next to nowhere with a back against the wall.
You meant to make me happy, make me sad.
Want to make it better better so bad.
But save your resolutions for your never new year.
There is only one solution I can see here.

Love you’re all I ever could need.
Only one good thing worth trying to be
and it’s love, love, love, love.
I do it for love, love, love, love.
(Oh, only gonna get get what you give away,
so give love, love.
Only gonna get get what you give away.
Love.)"
-Sara Bareilles "Bottle It Up"

===============================================

News Update! EPICAC Returns
My massive, grandfather of Skynet, desktop PC has evolved literally from the smoldering remains. Lightning took it out in early September of 2007 and after many debacles of tracing the source -- a burnt power trace on the motherboard -- and testing solutions, EPICAC (Vonnegut's fictional artillery simulator from "Welcome to Monkey house" which gave it's life for love -- [link]) is reborn.

The new specs are:
Motherboard: Asus M3A32 MVP Deluxe (Wifi-AP Edition)
Processor: AMD 2.2Ghz Quad Core Phenom 64
Power Supply: Raidmax Volcano 630W Modular Cables
... ]]> =spcefrk http://spcefrk.deviantart.com/journal/17769672/ http://spcefrk.deviantart.com/journal/17769672/ Wed, 09 Apr 2008 18:57:58 PDT [link]
Unofficial dA Religion Forum: [link]
Unofficial dA Science Forum: [link]
dA Political Forum Club: [link]
dA Political Forum Chat: [link]
dA Political Forum Source Library: [link]
=======================================

Racism arises from a naive understanding of what makes people different. The naivety is such that one attaches a visual cue (like skin color) to a predisposition of some sort -- dishonesty, inferiority, intellect, strength, etc...

In other words, racism is a developmental flaw that doesn't have to be taught. When an affluent white child grows up in a society of predominantly poor black children, he will develop a naive sense that all black children grow up in poor conditions. And that naivety will remain until it is challenged (and for some people who never leave their home town, that challenge may never come and that naivety is taught to their children and their children's children).

Combating racism requires that we challenge the naiveties that cause those perceptions to start in the first place. Simply applying blame to parents doesn't solve the problem.

===============================================

News Update! EPICAC Returns
My massive, grandfather of Skynet, desktop PC has evolved literally from the smoldering remains. Lightning took it out in early September of 2007 and after many debacles of tracing the source -- a burnt power trace on the motherboard -- and testing solutions, EPICAC (Vonnegut's fictional artillery simulator from "Welcome to Monkey house" which gave it's life for love -- [link]) is reborn.

The new specs are:
Motherboard: Asus M3A32 MVP Deluxe (Wifi-AP Edition)
Processor: AMD 2.2Ghz Quad Core Phenom 64
Power Supply: Raidmax Volcano 630W Modular Cables
HDD 1: 500 GB, 7200 RPM, SATA 3.0GB/s Western Digital
HDD 2: 500 GB, 7200 RPM, SATA 3.0GB/s Western Digital
RAM: 2 GB DDR Corsair
Video: 512 MB nVidia GeForce 7600 GS
Case: Cooler Master Ammo 533 Aluminum ATX Mid Tower
Fans: 2 variable RPM 120mm fans

As a result, work on the Dark Side of the Moon Video Series has been slowly starting up again. See the currently finished parts, "Us and Them" and "Any Colour You Like" on YouTube now!

"Us and Them" [link]
"Any Colour You Like" [link] ]]> =spcefrk http://spcefrk.deviantart.com/journal/17419571/ http://spcefrk.deviantart.com/journal/17419571/ Thu, 20 Mar 2008 01:12:03 PDT John McCain</sup>
Why: Experience -- He's been involved in government affairs longer than either Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton, not to mention having unique perspectives on the military, torture, and how we should deal with international issues. He tends to take the stance of protecting the troops' investment in Iraq and Afghanistan applying the lesson of past debacles like Somalia. He offers a moderately conservative approach (particularly toward things like Guantanamo and Torture, but also Citizenship Opportunities for Illegals) which can sway a lot of people conservative pundits might pejoratively deem 'liberals.'
Why Not: Consequentialism -- He seems to take stances on issues that are approved of right now (he seems to lack a consistent overall perspective). He's got a bad habit of pandering to any demographic he thinks will help his chances -- religious fundamentalists are a good example. In short he offers the possibility of being someone else's powerful tool. His moderate nature may tend to push away people seeking a more conservative presidency, which may cause people to jump the Republican ship altogether (maybe to Hillary if she really is the fascist liberal pundits on both sides made her out to be). Also, while conservative pundits are criticizing him for being too liberal, he still opposes things even the most moderate liberals feel are necessary: Abortion Rights, Kyoto, Withdrawal from Iraq, National Civil Unions, and Universal Healthcare.

Hillary Clinton
Why: Clear Change -- While all three candidates have run on some platform of Change, Hillary represents the same sort of mindset Bill Clinton brought to government (bipartisanship being one of the biggest positives) so in some sense she offers a form of change we have some attachment to. She has a more detailed view of problem solving than Obama (evidenced by her various plans), and offers healthcare reform and international reform as major parts of her candidacy.
Why Not: Extremism -- All those pundits who made her out to be a socialist (Universal Healthcare), and those who made her out to be a fascist (wanting stiff paternalistic legislation on a number of things from guns to video games) aren't completely off-base. She does tend toward extremes on a number of issues. It's hard to make the case that she could be any more divisive than the current administration, but her stances on a number of past issues make her someone a lot of people are uneasy in completely supporting. She has also not been exceptionally forthcoming about her years during Bill's presidency so her lack of transparency has not eased any woes about her past.

Barack Obama
Why: Empowering -- Most people agree his rhetorical skills are far above Hillary Clinton and John McCain, if anything his recent speech denouncing Reverend Wright is proof of that. He's swooned many demographics (and thus states) no one thought possible (for what analysts are really worth these days), and he offers essentially the same platter of liberal programs Hillary Clinton provides: Universal Healthcare, Abortion, Civil Unions, and Withdrawal from Iraq, but without the legislative history (read: baggage) that the Clinton Campaign is struggling with (he opposed the Iraq War).
Why Not: Man Behind The Curtain Syndrome -- While he has a glittering personality and what amounts to a cult of followers, his plans are often less specific than Clinton's. And although the Clinton campaign has tactically downplayed Obama's experience, they have a point. He often criticizes Clinton for voting for the Iraq War Resolution, but he wasn't present in Congress at the time so the fact that he didn't vote for it is essentially moot (not to mention they share a lot of baggage like authorizing the Patriot Act). While he lacks a lot of Clinton's baggage, he also lacks a lot of the accountability necessary to develop any of his own. His baggage, however, is starting to mount, and for a lot of people, his association with the black extremists (particularly Rev. Wright for 20 years) will be a strong point of contention. Although he denounces Wrights p... ]]> =spcefrk http://spcefrk.deviantart.com/journal/16856803/ http://spcefrk.deviantart.com/journal/16856803/ Tue, 12 Feb 2008 23:06:50 PST [link]

Just one more piece to the dA Politics Forum (dAPF) Suite of Support Clubs:

Official dA Politics Forum: [link]
Unofficial dA Religion Forum: [link]
Unofficial dA Science Forum: [link]
dA Political Forum Club: [link]
dA Political Forum Chat: [link]
dA Political Forum Source Library: [link]

Go ahead and start posting the Science Forum as =OuroborosCobra and I start slowly (we do have lives off the internet too) adding content to the main page.

Discuss science without needing to find some political agenda in it. Get help with your science homework. Throw around science ideas no matter how outlandish. Enjoy!

(Also, hooray for CSS! Check out [link] It's the only reason I have a nice pretty journal now. I have no idea how to code it on my own yet, so if I could hazardously toss this together you can too!)

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]]> =spcefrk http://spcefrk.deviantart.com/journal/16773794/ http://spcefrk.deviantart.com/journal/16773794/ Thu, 07 Feb 2008 17:17:12 PST [link] One of those pardons went to a convicted rapist who was later charged with murder (after being let off the hook by huckabee). [link]
--And it may have been for corrupt reasons: [link]

He likes to throw around being a fiscal conservative, but:
he backed a fuel tax initiative in 1999: [link] [link]
levied a new tax on nursing homes charging $5.25 per bed per day in 2001: [link] and
his claims of cutting taxes 94 times are hugely overblown: [link]
^{"--a review of tax legislation passed while he was governor shows a net tax increase of $ 505 million, a figure adjusted for inflation and economic growth, according to the state Department of Finance and Administration." ... Former Rep. Boyd Hickinbotham, D-Salem, was chairman of the House Revenue and Taxation committee that year, and in a recent interview faulted what he called the governor’s lack of leadership in the winter legislative session devoted to education. “The governor signed all these bills and spent all this money, and when it came time to raising taxes, he was nowhere to be found,” he said. "}
In fact, he's lied several times about his tax history: [link]
Compared with Clinton (who was governor for 12 years compared to Huckabee's 10), Huckabee increased taxes MORE: [link]
He also likes to boast a balanced budget for every year as governor, but fails to mention that it's a requirement in the Arkansas constitution: [link]

Some more recent Criticisms:
Wall Street Journal: [link]
^{Some say Mr. Huckabee is the tribune of the "religious left," and that strikes us as about right. He exhibits protectionist instincts, distancing himself from Nafta and saying he would insist on penalties and barriers to countries that don't support his conception of "fair trade." He delivers populist sermons against income inequality, but in favor of farm subsidies and an expanded government role in health care. He regularly knocks Wall Street, and he borrows from the Democratic playbook with digs at "the rich." ... Mr. Huckabee nonetheless writes that "when" his reform is enacted, "it will be like waving a magic wand releasing us from pain and unfairness." That glib naivete should provide some indication of how seriously the former Governor has thought through the political and policy complications of his biggest idea -- and also explain why, until recently, Mr. Huckabee was considered an implausible candidate.}
National Review tore him to pieces: [link]
^{"If an ill-considered slogan can be used to justify a policy, he is for it. He is a protectionist, because we need to have “fair trade.” He wants to put illegal immigrants on a path to citizenship, because we nee... ]]>} =spcefrk http://spcefrk.deviantart.com/journal/16732616/ http://spcefrk.deviantart.com/journal/16732616/ Tue, 05 Feb 2008 01:26:36 PST [link]

Vote for me and anyone else who strikes your fancy!

And while you're at it, check out the dA Politics Forum Suite of Clubs:

*DAPoliticalForum ([link] -- Chat Room)
*DAPF-SOURCE-LIBRARY
*DAReligiousForum
~dapf-Science-Forum (A Work in Progress)
*DAComplaintsforum

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]]> =spcefrk http://spcefrk.deviantart.com/journal/16658914/ http://spcefrk.deviantart.com/journal/16658914/ Thu, 31 Jan 2008 13:08:25 PST
Pure Oxygen Ignition During Training - 23 Mar. 1961 - [link]
^{Valentin Vasiliyevich Bondarenko (24)}

T-38 Crash Due to Birdstrike - 31 Oct. 1964 - [link]
^{Theodore Cordy Freeman (34)}

T-38 Crash Due to Poor Weather - 28 Feb. 1966 - [link]
^{Elliot McKay See Jr. (38)
Charles Arthur Bassett II (34)}

AS-204 - Apollo 1 - 27 Jan 1967 - [link]
^{Virgil Ivan 'Gus' Grissom (36) - Commander
Edward Higgins White II (36) - Senior pilot
Roger Bruce Chaffee (31) - Pilot}

Soyuz 1 Crash Due to Failed Parachute - 24 Apr. 1967 - [link]
^{Vladimir Mikhaylovich Komarov (40) - Pilot}

T-38 Crash Due to Aileron Failure - 5 Jun. 1967 - [link]
^{Clifton Curtis 'C.C.' Williams (35) - 5 Jun 1967}

X-15-3 Crash Due to Over-G - 15 Nov. 1966 - [link]
^{Michael James Adams (37)}

F-104 Crash Due to Trainee Error - 08 Dec. 1967 - [link]
^{Robert Henry Lawrence Jr. (32) - Flight Instructor}

Soyuz 3 MiG-15 Crash During Training - 27 Mar. 1968 - [link]
^{Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin (34)}

Soyuz 11 Death Due to Space Exposure - 30 Jun. 1971 - [link]
^{Georgiy Timofeyevich Dobrovolskiy (42) - Commander
Vladislav Nikolayevich Volkov (36) - Flight Engineer
Viktor Ivanovich Patsayev (38) - Test Engineer}

Death due to X-15 Crash (1962) Injuries - 27 Apr. 1975
^{John Barron McKay (52)}

STS-51L - Challenger - 28 Jan 1986 - [link]
^{Francis Richard Scobee (46) - Commander
Michael John Smith (40) - Pilot
Judith Arlene Resnik (36) - Mission Specialist
Ellison Shoji Onizuka (39) - Mission Specialist
Ronald Ervin McNair (35) - Mission Specialist
Gregory Bruce Jarvis (41) - Payload Specialist
Sharon Christa Corrigan McCauliffe (37) - Teacher}

Commercial Flight Crash on NASA Business - 05 Apr. 1991
^{Manley Lanier Carter, Jr. (43)}

STS-107 - Columbia - 01 Feb 2003 - [link]
^{Rick Douglas Husband (45) - Commander
William Cameron McCool (41) - Pilot
David McDowell Brown (46) - Mission Specialist
Laurel Blair Salton Clark (41) - Mission Specialist
Kalpana Chawla (41) - Flight Engineer
Michael Phillip Anderson (43) - Payload Commander
Ilan Ramon (48) - Payload Specialist}

Keep Their Dream Alive

================================================


http://spcefrk.deviantart.com/journal/16545724/ Thu, 24 Jan 2008 02:30:09 PST
To say the nation was founded solely on Christian values would be horribly inaccurate, yet to say the opposite (that it was founded solely on atheistic or even deistic values) is to ignore the history of Christianity in early America -- that there were state religions for a time and that we can see many references, particularly from Jefferson but also from Franklin and Madison, that state religions are not in the best interests of freedom of religion in the new United States.

God will exist in the American Government as long as the government's people believe in him. That doesn't also intend that God is guaranteed a place in the American Government -- that he cannot be denied entry in its actions. And for the most part, the US Supreme Court has defended the existence of God in the Government where it serves a secular purpose -- defending not the religious nature of government but the secular actions that simultaneously religious people can take. In short, the existence of God in the American Government is not coexistent with control of the American Government by God and/or his followers.

================================================





=spcefrk http://spcefrk.deviantart.com/journal/16296796/ http://spcefrk.deviantart.com/journal/16296796/ Mon, 07 Jan 2008 06:33:49 PST I don't think it ought to matter either way. I wish we had a good word for the stereotypes we all love to hate -- like the black rapper/druggie or the white redneck/racist or the disease ridden immigrant.

There's no reason to label all black people as 'gangsters' or all white people as rednecks, etc... but sometimes you need to call things as they are and rather than tiptoe around PC terms for people who don't deserve them, we ought to be able to use some derogative we've all come to terms with as applying only to the bottom echelon of humanity independent of race or nationality -- stupidity and disrespect are a human affliction.

I don't' like Barack as a candidate -- I don't think he yet has the experience necessary to be a good, effective president. He's running on that as a platform! When has inexperience ever made you 'the man for the job?' I don't care how inept the person before you was, lack of experience doesn't qualify you under any circumstances. People who fit that yet-unknown-universal-derogative like to tack on his lack of ability as a function of his race. And while it would be a milestone if he were elected, does the black community really want to be able to say we finally elected a black president when his predecessor was obviously one of the worst in recent history?

There's a joke floating around that once we gave women the right to vote what did we get? The Depression I think a black man can be just as capable at the presidency as any white man or white woman for that matter, but is this specific man (who happens to be black at least in part) right for the job? I don't think so.

================================================





=spcefrk http://spcefrk.deviantart.com/journal/15898059/ http://spcefrk.deviantart.com/journal/15898059/ Wed, 12 Dec 2007 01:39:01 PST [link]

The crux of the findings is that of the statistically necessary 8 wars between 1945 and 2000, we have a maximum of 6 (which falls easily within the margin of error). He argues it's more than likely that the lower number of wars between democracies has more to do with luck, that democracies tend to be rich and have more to lose if they go to war, and cultures.

But that isn't what I want to quote. He makes a comparison between the camp of people who want to claim a world of nothing but Democracies will end war to a fictional camp of people claiming the same thing about McDonalds:

"Although there is no undisputed case of two democracies at war, the evidence certainly casts doubt on the thesis. In fact, the thesis is not nearly as strong as the statement that no two countries with a McDonald's Restaurant have ever gone to war with one another, so why do you never hear distinguished international diplomats expound on the need to sell more beef patties in the world? [n.5]

At first, this McDonald's factoid seems enormously trivial; however, when you stop and think about it, the McDonald's Peace Formula can be quite interesting. It seems to indicate that as countries are incorporated into the global economy by trans-national corporations, they stop waging war on one another (although it might be vice versa). Unfortunately, no one wants to go around saying that the best way to assure peace is to surrender your national economy to large heartless corporations. It makes a much better campaign slogan to say that democracy is the best path to peace. This is why we see so many people claiming that democracies never fight each other, and relatively few people outside of McDonald's Corporate Headquarters claiming the geopolitical virtues of burger bars.

More to the point, it should remind us that McDonald's (like democracy) is most common among rich countries, while war is most common among poor countries, so the apparent peace between democracies may stem independently from economic causes, rather than as direct cause and effect. [n.7]

The Universal Democracy Peace Formula has been around a long time -- since the days of Immanuel Kant and his 1795 essay Perpetual Peace, in fact. It dates back to an era when democracies were more often hypothetical rather than real, and political philosophers were trying to sell democracy as a path to peace by prophesying that no one really likes war, so if we granted our cannon fodder the chance to decide their fates for themselves, they'd say no, thank you. In fact, it almost sounds like that old adage spouted by monarchs, fascists and dictators for centuries -- Democracies don't have the stomach for war -- and it seems to forget that it doesn't take much to whip a mob into an angry frenzy."

Citations
<sup>[n.5]: Until the end of the 20th Century, the most commonly suggested exception to the rule was the Falklands War (2 April to 14 June, 1982). This, however, was flat out wrong. The first McDonald's did not open in Argentina until November 1986.

Unfortunately for world peace, the Big Mac Attack Rule finally broke down in 1999. On 24 March 1999, NATO began its air attack on Yugoslavia. Faced with angry nationalism, vandalism and boycotts, all the McDonalds in Yugoslavia shut their doors on 26 March. This means that for two full days, McDonaldland was wrenched asunder by its first intramural war ever. When McD finally reopened on 17 April, it was an occassion of public celebration almost matching the end of the Kosovo War itself.

P.S. (20 April 2003): I've just been informed that McDonald's opened in Panama in 1971, so the 1989 war with the US would be another, earlier exception.

Another suggested exception would be the 1995 war between Ecuador and Peru, but the McD first opened in Lima in 16 Oct. 1996, and in Ecuador (I think, but can't confirm) in 1997, so this is wrong.

While poking around, confirming these suggestions, I discovered the Kargil Exception: Pakistan's McD opened in Karachi on 19 Sept. 1998, while India's opened on 13 Oct 1996. Thus, yet again, the 1999 Kargil War is making a mockery out of all our truisms.

Anyway, as this means there are now three exceptions to the McDonald's peace formula, let's just forget I even brought this up, okay?

PPS (20 March 2004): I picked up this idea as a free-floating meme in Usenet ca. 1997, but to give (belated) credit where credit is due, The Golden Arches Theory of Conflict Prevention originated with Tom Friedman, NY Times, 1996.

[n.7]:PS (11 August 2005): Now that the Golden Arches Theory has been shot down (see Footnote 5),... ]]></sup> =spcefrk http://spcefrk.deviantart.com/journal/15841348/ http://spcefrk.deviantart.com/journal/15841348/ Fri, 07 Dec 2007 22:15:08 PST Some of my favorite quotes from Thomas Jefferson on the subject:

<sup>"Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legislative powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a wall of separation between Church and State."
-- Letter to Connecticut Baptists

"I have ever thought religion a concern purely between our God and our consciences, for which we were accountable to Him, and not to the priests."
--to Mrs. M. Harrison Smith

"I am for freedom of religion and against all maneuvers to bring about a legal ascendancy of one sect over another"

"If the freedom of religion, guaranteed to us by law in theory, can ever rise in practice under the overbearing inquisition of public opinion, then and only then will truth, prevail over fanaticism"

"I never will, by any word or act, bow to the shrine of intolerance or admit a right of inquiry into the religious opinions of others."
-- to Edward Dowse

"It is... proposed that I should recommend, not prescribe, a day of fasting and prayer. That is, that I should indirectly assume to the United States an authority over religious exercises which the Constitution has directly precluded them from. It must be meant, too, that this recommendation is to carry some authority and to be sanctioned by some penalty on those who disregard it; not indeed of fine and imprisonment, but of some degree of proscription, perhaps in public opinion. And does the change in the nature of the penalty make the recommendation less a law of conduct for those to whom it is directed?... Civil powers alone have been given to the President of the United States, and no authority to direct the religious exercises of his constituents."
-- to Samuel Miller

"Whenever... preachers, instead of a lesson in religion, put [their congregation] off with a discourse on the Copernican system, on chemical affinities, on the construction of government, or the characters or conduct of those administering it, it is a breach of contract, depriving their audience of the kind of service for which they are salaried, and giving them, instead of it, what they did not want, or, if wanted, would rather seek from better sources in that particular art of science."
-- to P. H. Wendover

"The clergy, by getting themselves established by law and ingrafted into the machine of government, have been a very formidable engine against the civil and religious rights of man."
-- to Jeremiah Moor

"In every country and in every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty. He is always in alliance with the despot, abetting his abuses in return for protection to his own."
-- to Horatio G. Spafford</sup>

Important (and some lesser) Court Cases on The Subject

1962 Engel v. Vitale:
^{Nondenominational Prayer in School-Against}

1963 PA School Dist. v. Schempp:
^{Prayer in Public Schools-Against}

1971 Lemon v. Kurtzman:
^{Lemon Test of Religious Intent}

1987 Edwards v. Aguillard:
^{Equal Time for Creationism in School-Against}

1992 Lee v. Weisman:
^{Prayer at Graduation-Against}

1994 Board of Ed. v Grumet:
^{Govt' should not prefer one religion or "religion over irreligion"}

2000 NM School Dist. v. Doe:
^{Student-Led Prayer in Sports-Against}

Van Orden vs. Perry, (2004)
^{10 Commandments on Texas Courthouse Property was deemed legal because it provided a secular purpose}

Walz v. Tax Commission of the City of New York (1970)
^{Found that the Tax Exemptions for Churches were not forcing the taxpayers to fund churches because the same tax exemption exists for all nonprofit organizations -- that they all serve a secular purpose.}

Bowen v. Kendrick (1988)
^{Federal funding for religious organizations offering counseling was deemed legal so long as they performed it within the guidelines of the AFLA and the Lemon Test (see Lemon v. Kurtzman [link] )}

Marsh v. Chambers (1983)
^{Chaplains were ruled legal because they do not invalidate the Nebraska Legislature. However, I object to the fact that the Chaplain is paid with public funds -- that is unconstitutional (pa... ]]>} =spcefrk http://spcefrk.deviantart.com/journal/15528816/ http://spcefrk.deviantart.com/journal/15528816/ Fri, 16 Nov 2007 03:02:23 PST An Inalienable Dream: [link]
^{--On the dream of manned spaceflight, what it's worth, what it costs, and to preserve it.}

Teenage Wasteland: [link]
^{--Superficially, a compilation of our teenage stupidity yet also an expose on the idiocy we find funny into our old age.}

Pink Floyd's Animals:
--Pigs On The Wing [Part 1]: [link]
--Dogs: [link] [link]
--Pigs [Three Different Ones]: [link] [link]
--Sheep: [link] [link]
--Pigs On The Wing [Part2]: [link]
^{--Note: There are two halves to Dogs, Pigs, and Sheep due to YouTube's Time Limitations. A commentary on different kinds of people, manipulation, treason, hope, failure, and revolution told in fragments.}

Pink Floyd's Dark Side of The Moon:
--Us and Them: [link]
--Any Colour You Like: [link]
^{--Note: A Work in Slow Progress. The rest of the songs will be finished when my desktop is in working order again. Keep in mind Plato's Cave throughout 'Us and Them' and whether we take our atrocities with us when we perceive the light. And 'Any Colour You Like' as the glittering distraction we use to forget it all. Brain Damage will be the madness ensuing in letting it build up in silence with finally, Eclipse: the shock of reality pulling us away...}




http://spcefrk.deviantart.com/journal/15425752/ Thu, 08 Nov 2007 19:25:50 PST With the lies they told to you
And the least they ever gave you
Was the most you ever knew

And I wonder where these dreams go
When the world gets in your way
What's the point in all this screaming
No one's listening anyway

Your voice is small and fading
And you hide in here unknown
And your mother loves your father
'Cause she's got nowhere to go

And she wonders where these dreams go
'Cause the world got in her way
What's the point in ever trying
Nothing's changing anyway

They press their lips against you
And you love the lies they say
And I tried so hard to reach you
But you're falling anyway

And you know I see right through you
'Cause the world gets in your way
What's the point in all this screamin'
You're not listening anyway"
-John Rzeznik






]]> =spcefrk http://spcefrk.deviantart.com/journal/15057089/ http://spcefrk.deviantart.com/journal/15057089/ Sun, 14 Oct 2007 11:02:46 PDT
The mother, obviously very late into a pregnancy, steps forward and immediately begins to disrobe. The daughter and the son step in line behind their mother (the son of course keeping time with his drum). The daughter pulls out several small pieces of ribbon making an elaborate dance of the otherwise quiet and somber show. Their naked mother laying with her legs spread on a makeshift delivery table presents herself for the father. He proceeds to take one more bow, turning in step with the drumroll and upon kneeling before the mother, silence falls upon the entire crowd. "

In one fluid motion of dangerous immediacy, the father draws the 9mm, in a flick of his thumb releasing the safety and firing the one bullet through the unborn, the mother, then his daughter and son."

Visibly shaken and failing to fight off feelings of terror, horror, and immutable thoughts of profit, the talent agent leans forward, "My god, what did they call themselves?"

Standing from his seat, the decrepit old man searched himself for what felt like eons. He reached up and grapsed his hat from his balding head. Staring upward with a stoic tear in one eye and holding the hat to his heart, he laughingly muttered, "The Aristocrats."





=spcefrk http://spcefrk.deviantart.com/journal/14874650/ http://spcefrk.deviantart.com/journal/14874650/ Mon, 01 Oct 2007 17:29:31 PDT
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that the nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
-Abraham Lincoln, 1863



]]> =spcefrk http://spcefrk.deviantart.com/journal/14648219/ http://spcefrk.deviantart.com/journal/14648219/ Sat, 15 Sep 2007 17:35:22 PDT Some Quick Information!
==========================================

The point of this list is to compile all the important Primary Sources which are useful to posters in the Politics Forum in the hopes that we can elevate the level of discussion toward higher intellect through education.

If you know of a source not listed here that you have found useful (pictures, papers, articles, etc...) please send me a note and I will see that it gets added. Primary Sources and Commentary on Primary Sources Only! There is to be no Punditry here, only indisputable facts and evidence.

Primary Sources and Commentary on Primary Sources Only! NOTE: No Wikipedia Articles! "The Horse's Mouth" if you will...

Also, webpages from accredited universities are allowed (as they usually hold full text versions of primary sources and often provide good abstracts to quickly explain them)

==========================================
Begin Source Information
==========================================

All information moved to: ~DAPF-SOURCE-LIBRARY where I am now moderating the sources.

==========================================
Epilogue
==========================================

Please use all sources without animosity. Cite often and cite intelligently (lest you look dumber than the one you are debunking). Always double check what you're citing. And try to use proper grammar wherever possible; it helps you appear intelligent and statistically less attractive to destructive criticism.

Be sure to check out *DAPoliticalForum The Community Behind The Politics Community. A great weekly source for humor and interesting topics found in the Politics Forum.

Also, the new official location of the Politics Forum Source Library is now: ~DAPF-SOURCE-LIBRARY You may note sources there or to me.



]]> =spcefrk http://spcefrk.deviantart.com/journal/14623666/ http://spcefrk.deviantart.com/journal/14623666/ Thu, 13 Sep 2007 21:10:54 PDT
When voter constituencies seem to waver as candidates ebb and flow at the onramp to the highway toward the white house, they simply evoke this seemingly magical chant. Since 2001, it's been used to authorize so many things -- the Patriot Act, the formation of Dept. of Homeland Security, the authority of the Vice President to classify anything he wants, Rolling troops into Afghanistan to reinstate the UN-recognized government, a years-long siege and occupation of Iraq despite obvious lacks of money to do so, a complete disregard for the sovereignty of the international community and respect for international law, Guantanamo Bay, warrantless wiretapping, authorization of torture, etc...

Evoking that day also evokes the abrupt end of 3000 lives. And it's the logic behind calling back that memory that has me most disgruntled. We seek to fight the same zealotry -- those who killed 3000 of our fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters in the name of Allah (or at least by proxy for a political agenda) and yet we do so with the same blindness. Vilifying our enemies solves no problems -- it merely makes the task of killing them easier. And we have courts for a simple reason -- that the rule of law (blind to the accused) is not dispensed from the barrel of a gun, but with logic, reason, and fairness. To attach the names of the inadvertently dead to horrible perversions of American government is at the very least unfair to the dead and their memory.

"Death makes angels of us all where we had shoulders smooth as raven's claws," eh Jim? Perhaps today death makes martyrs of us all. And that is a problem to only spiral out of control.

Let us stop doing anything for the sake of something separate. The course of history has shown that mankind's greatest follies and atrocities have been done not for the sake of doing them, but for the sake of some ulterior motive -- in the name of a god, a martyr, a hero, a villian, a saint, a sinner, for the poor, for the blacks, for the jews, for this and that and so on. Let our motives be so simplified that we do only things because they are good and right -- not because we are told this is specifically good or to act in that way is holy or righteous, but because in life there are small things that show out in which the right action is obvious.

Let us do things only in the name of accomplishment -- that such a thing be done and it being done might support in some small way that greater good. There's a profound quote from one of my favorite authors, Douglas Adams, "Anything that in happening causes itself to happen again, happens again." It's a truism. It cannot be struck down. It is infallible. In that way it defeats all of religion. But there's a deeper knowledge to it. It is a system that begins with nothing and creates everything. It's a statement from Adams that our concept of God is far gone from what is likely. This simple statement brings to light that by our definitions of God -- that he be all knowing, infallible, capable of controlling everything and allowing us the free will to choose, loving us all and at the same time striking vengeance on the wicked -- in every sense of the definition from the Cavemen to the Catholics, God is us. God is the system we make as the human society, as the international community. And in that sense alone -- not as part of any mysticism or gaiac system can I sympathize and understand the nature of a God. Human Civilization is like a subconscious God -- and in the grand tradition of modern religion (if such a thing is not an oxymoron) let us do nothing that is not in the name of that God. Let us do nothing that is not for each other.

Let us do everything for what everything is worth. Let us do anything in the name of that anything and for nothing else. Because that anything, and that everything -- the system of interactions between you and I is all the god this universe can allow. He does not play dice with the universe, because we do not. He does not destroy us all because we do not. He does not give us everything for which we ask, because simply, we do not.

There is no reason to use animosity against each other. That is not to preclude pacifism especially in the face of external aggression, but you do n... ]]> =spcefrk http://spcefrk.deviantart.com/journal/14599755/ http://spcefrk.deviantart.com/journal/14599755/ Wed, 12 Sep 2007 07:15:37 PDT was a passenger jet that hit the Pentagon.

Alright here goes:

Structural design is all about direction of stress. Stress is not how we typically think about it, in structural design stress is equal to the force applied divided by the area it's applied over -- it's kind of like a pressure except it's internal. It's the internal pressure that results from an external load. If I take a pencil for example I can apply load the long way (across the length of the pencil) or on each end (what we call an axial load because it acts directly on the axis of the material). Applying an external force the first way will cause the stress to 'flow' from the top to the bottom and cause the pencil to bend (if it's being held at the tips). If we apply external force from the tips (compressing it perhaps), the stress flows from the ends and meet at the center. Depending on the material grain, size, and properties, the material will either buckle or break at a certain force. So, there is a direction which must be accounted for when we design structures.

Civil Engineers, Mechanical Engineers, etc... do not need to worry too greatly about the direction of stress, at least not as it pertains to material efficiency. They can live with extra weight at little added cost. Aerospace Engineers (those who design 747s and such) cannot as extra weight means less payload and less money for those operating the aircraft so weight is a premium to us. When weight is important, it becomes very important to optimize where we put material and why based on expected external forces. To save weight, these structures (in aircraft) are not designed to take external forces from odd places -- hence the "No Step" signs on aircraft wings. There's typically only sheet aluminum stopping you from punching a hole in a wing with your foot.

Aircraft wings are hollowed out to save weight. They are also used to store fuel -- FARs (Federal Aviation Regulations) do not allow the storage of fuel in the fuselage within a certain distance of the passengers for safety reasons. For reasons I will get to in a minute this is also beneficial in saving structural weight. We design aircraft structures to withstand only peak forces in certain directions. They are then analyzed at "off-design" points to make sure there are no problems. Aircraft parts are typically designed with the following in mind:

Fuselage: Designed to transfer landing loads throughout the bottom of the fuselage. The forces are split at the wheel wells and designed to bend the fuselage about an axis that runs from wingtip to wingtip. So if you were to exaggerate the movement of the plane, the front and back would bend up. Drag is usually only estimated for the nose where the wind first hits the aircraft. All other drag on the fuselage comes from skin friction and suction drag behind the plane. The dominant factor in designing a fuselage is pressurization. You've got to keep the air pressure in, so the structure is designed for a ton of little forces pushing out from the inside -- not for forces applied head-on.

Wings: Designed primarily for vertical loads. The entire weight of the aircraft must be supported by the wings. An aircraft is always able to be lifted by the wings. A machine called a "wiffle tree" consisting of many pneumatic arms bend a wing until it breaks to simulate this loading. There is no reason to design a wing to withstand frontal loads other than that of "profile drag." In the most inefficient with gear and flaps down on landing, a typical L/D ratio (Lift to Drag) is around 10. This means the vertical lift force is 10 times that of the drag force. In cruise flight aircraft typically approach an L/D=20. Drag is a very small structural factor so very little structural weight is usually added to deal with it. It just so happens that a frontal impact is in the same direction as drag.

So, in the interest of saving weight, Aircraft are hardly ever designed with frontal impact in mind. The only exception to this rule is on birdstrikes which are solved with stronger windshield glass and engine blades. The result of this design effort is an optimized (for weight) aircraft structure which does not tolerate much frontal load. The fuselage is strong in this direction (compared to the rest of the aircraft) much the same way a straw is strong. We call this a "monocoque" fuselage. All the structure is provided in a circular cross-section. If you cut the straw lengthwise, it no longer has this strength.

So as soon as the fuselage impacted the pentagon, it busted through the reinforced concrete, but it too was sheared open and probably splintered lengthwise as the wings came into contact with the building. Once a split developed in the fuselage it could not punch through any further walls of the pentagon and became more of an accordion-effect. The wings, still hollow... ]]> =spcefrk http://spcefrk.deviantart.com/journal/14449590/ http://spcefrk.deviantart.com/journal/14449590/ Sun, 02 Sep 2007 01:22:04 PDT The underground is closing soon,
And in the dark deserted station,
Restless in anticipation,
A man waits in the shadows.

His restless eyes leap and scratch,
At all that they can touch or catch,
And hidden deep within his pocket,
Safe within its silent socket,
He holds a colored crayon.

Now from the tunnel's stony womb,
The carriage rides to meet the groom,
And opens wide and welcome doors,
But he hesitates, then withdraws
Deeper in the shadows.

And the train is gone suddenly
On wheels clicking silently
Like a gently tapping litany,
And he holds his crayon rosary
Tighter in his hand.

Now from his pocket quick he flashes,
The crayon on the wall he slashes,
Deep upon the advertising,
A single worded poem comprised
Of four letters.

And his heart is laughing, screaming, pounding
The poem across the tracks rebounding
Shadowed by the exit light
His legs take their ascending flight
To seek the breast of darkness and be suckled by the night. "
-Simon and Garfunkel


]]> =spcefrk http://spcefrk.deviantart.com/journal/14357658/ http://spcefrk.deviantart.com/journal/14357658/ Sun, 26 Aug 2007 23:45:46 PDT
I think the turn to athiesm or at least mistrust in religion is on the rise because there's good reason to recall our trust of religious 'officials.' The last century has seen the number of fringe religions grow by leaps and bounds. I don't think we've seen the kind of explosion in alternative religions (from bible-based churches to cults to fundamentalists to new age BS) since the reformation.

What reason do we have to put trust in religious institutions today? It's the driving force behind all war in the post-cold war world. I keep getting the feeling that secular law has to step in between fundamentalists on either side to keep them from throwing bigger and bigger punches at each other. Now we're looking at the growing possibility of a Nuclear Iran and fundamentalist Christians working their way into the US govt I personally think because they see a silver lining in a mushroom cloud over the middle east.

Religion just isn't what it used to be. It's become the central core of fanaticism and it's getting harder and harder to find people of faith who don't mind coexisting with people who don't have faith or have a different faith. Of course it was never a true bastion of togetherness and cooperation, but at least in the past the average Christian or Muslim felt that way and you could carry on enjoyable conversations with one. But now everyone is called to arms against everyone else and the game's just not fun anymore. Compassion, my friends, is a lost art as are patience, acceptance, and strength.

"God is dead."

]]> =spcefrk http://spcefrk.deviantart.com/journal/14313054/ http://spcefrk.deviantart.com/journal/14313054/ Fri, 24 Aug 2007 02:07:45 PDT Heaven from Hell,
blue skies from pain.
Can you tell a green field
from a cold steel rail?
A smile from a veil?
Do you think you can tell?

And did they get you to trade
your heroes for ghosts?
Hot ashes for trees?
Hot air for a cool breeze?
Cold comfort for change?
And did you exchange
a walk-on part in the war
for a lead role in a cage?

How I wish,
how I wish you were here.
We're just two lost souls
swimming in a fish bowl,
year after year,
Running over the same old ground.
What have you found?
The same old fears.
Wish you were here."
-Roger Waters

]]> =spcefrk