Systems Administrator & Web Developer
One thing that give me great enjoyment is going out for a ride on my motorbike, and one of my favorite places to visit is Strathalbyn, enjoy some of these photo. I hope you enjoyed these pictures, find out how i picked my bike you can read about it here
It was developed by General Electric, the “We bring good things to life” people.
It’s one of the modern-day Gatling guns.
It shoots very big bullets. It shoots them very quickly.
Someone said, “Let’s put it in an airplane.”
Someone else said, “Better still, and let’s build an airplane around it.”
So they did. And “they” were the Fairchild-Republic airplane people.
And they had done such a good job with an airplane they developed back in WWII…
…called the P-47 Thunderbolt, they decided to call it the A10 Thunderbolt.
They made it so it was very good at flying low and slow and shooting things with that fabulous gun.
But since it did fly low and slow, they made it bulletproof, or almost so. A lot of bad guys have found you can shoot an A10 with anything from a pistol to a 23mm Soviet cannon and it just keeps on flying and shooting.
When they got through, it looked like this…
It’s not sleek and sexy like an F18 or the stealthy Raptors and such, but I think it’s such a great airplane because it does what it does better than any other plane in the world.
It kills tanks.
Not only tanks, as Sadam Hussein’s boys found out to their horror, but armored personnel carriers, radar stations, locomotives, bunkers, fuel depots…just about anything the bad guys thought was bulletproof turned out to be easy pickings for this beast.
See those engines. One of them alone will fly this puppy. The pilot sits in a very thick titanium alloy “bathtub.”
That’s typical of the design.
They were smart enough to make every part the same whether mounted on the left side or right side of the plane, like landing gear, for instance.
Because the engines are mounted so high (away from ground debris) and the landing gear uses such low pressure tires, it can operate from a damaged airport, interstate highway, plowed field, or dirt road.
Everything is redundant. They have two of almost everything. Sometimes they have three of something. Like flight controls. There’s triple redundancy of those, and even if there is a total failure of the double hydraulic system, there is a set of manual flying controls.
Capt. Kim Campbell sustained this damage over Bagdad and flew for another hour before returning to base.
But about that gun…
It’s so hard to grasp just how powerful it is.
This is the closest I could find to showing you just what this cartridge is all about. What the guy is holding is NOT the 30mm round, but a “little” .50 Browing machinegun round and the 20mm cannon round which has been around for a long time.
The 30mm is MUCH bigger.
Down at the bottom are the .50 BMG and 20×102 Vulcan the fellow was holding. At the bottom right is the bad boy we’re discussing.
Let’s get some perspective here: The .223 Rem (M16 rifle round) is fast. It shoots a 55 or so grain bullet at about 3300 feet/sec, give or take. It’s the fastest of all those rounds shown (except one). When you move up to the .30 caliber rounds, the bullets jump up in weight to 160-200 grains. Speeds run from about 2600 to 3000 fps or so.
The .338 Lapua is the king of the sniper rifles these days and shoots a 350 grain bullet at 2800 fps or so. They kill bad guys at over a mile with that one.
The .50 BMG is really big. Mike Beasley has one on his desk. Everyone who picks it up thinks it’s some sort of fake, unless they know big ammo. It’s really huge with a bullet that weighs 750 grains and goes as fast the Lapua.
I don’t have data on the Vulcan, but hang on to your hat.
The bullet for the 30×173 Avenger has an aluminum jacket around a spent uranium core and weighs 6560 grains (yes, over 100 times as heavy as the M16 bullet, and flies through the air at 3500 fps (which is faster than the M16 as well).
The gun shoots at a rate of 4200 rounds per minute. Yes, four thousand. Pilots typically shoot either one- or two-second burst which set loose 70 to 150 rounds. The system is optimized for shooting at 4,000 feet.
OK, the best for last.
You’ve got a pretty good idea of how big that cartridge is, but I’ll bet you’re like me and you don’t fully appreciate how big the GA GAU-8 Avenger really is.
Take a look…
Each of those seven barrels is 112″ long. That’s almost ten feet. The entire gun is 19-1/2 feet long.
Think how impressive it would look set up in your living room.
Oh, by the way, it doesn’t eject the empty shells but runs them back into the storage drum. There’s just so dang many flying out, they felt it might damage the aircraft.
Oh yeah, I forgot, they can hang those bomb and rocket things on ‘em too, just in case. After all, it is an “airplane”!
Like I said, this is a beautiful design.
Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being. raise your iphones up in the air with a moment of silence, we would like to thank you for all the ground breaking and world changing inventions you have given us. Your personal mission statement as well as that of apple “Changing Lives” At the young age of 56 your suffering from pancreatic cancer has ended
He died surrounded by family after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. He is being remembered as a creative genius, a visionary who changed the world and the way we live.
Health Problems: in October 2003, while performing a routine abdominal scan, doctors discovered a tumor growing in his pancreas. Usually a pancreatic cancer is quick to kill you, but not in Steve’s case. He was suffering from an islet cell neuroendocrine tumor, one that can be removed by surgery and usually leave the patient with some ten more years on earth, or more. But Steve Jobs was no ordinary patient. True to the Eastern mysticism of his youth and his strange yet deep beliefs about medicine and food, he stubbornly refused to have the surgery, sticking to a special diet that he thought would cure him from his cancer. This lasted for nine long months, while his family and Apple’s top people got increasingly concerned about him. However, observing that his situation was not improving, he reluctantly agreed to have the surgery in August 2004, at the Stanford Medical Center. It was only then that the news were made public, with Steve himself writing a letter to Apple employees from his hospital bed. He took one month off and came back as CEO in September, assuring everyone he was cured.” This first event was felt as a shock by the Apple community worldwide.
Drawing from some of the most pivotal points in his life, Steve Jobs, chief executive officer and co-founder of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, urged graduates to pursue their dreams and see the opportunities in life’s setbacks — including death itself — at the university’s 114th Commencement on June 12, 2005.
If you would like to share your thoughts, memories, and condolences, please email rememberingsteve@apple.com
For those planning to test the waters of the eBay business, whether for the fun of making some extra money or for seriously considering it as a business opportunity, there are several pointers you ought to learn and understand. There are several basics to learn once you join in the fray of eBay sellers. One of the most important of all is being constantly informed of the best thing to sell on eBay.
Of course, we will not give you particular listing on the best thing to sell on eBay. Since in eBay you can sell virtually anything! You name any product and eBay most probably has it up for sale.
This does not mean, however, that once you become a seller, you can sell anything at all. Remember that you decided to become an eBay seller in order to earn profit. Thus, master the primary secret in eBay selling – getting to know the best thing to sell on eBay. Once you have an idea of the best thing to sell on eBay, you also learn how acquire this thing and just what it takes to attract customers to buy it.
You may think that the best thing to sell on eBay would be the latest consumer products, well, think again. Selling latest consumer products is a good idea if you do not have such enormous competition like established online sellers and other big online companies that put up eBay. These companies have already taken first opportunity in flooding the online markets of latest consumer products. You will not stand a chance against them.
The best thing to sell on eBay is an item that’s already used but still in good condition. A very specialized product is another option. This kind of product is not common and chances are only a few are selling them.
Chances are many used items that have potential to be a best thing to sell on eBay are practically lying about your house, taking up space in the attic or burning a whole in your closets. Books, toys no longer cared for, outgrown clothes, equipment or gadgets already replaced like computer, DVD, radio, stereo, etc. You can even bet that your stacks of collectible items that do not interest you anymore might make a good sale on eBay. Instead of just letting them rot away or disintegrate, you can earn a handsome profit for these used items while they are still in good condition.
Finding the best thing to sell on eBay from used odds and ends in your house is a very risk-free way of getting into the eBay business. But you may also need to put up some cost. Repair, shipping and storage costs are things you need to consider.
Let’s say you don’t want to sell any of your used possessions but is still interested on entering the eBay scene. What’s the best thing to sell on eBay, then?
You can still opt for selling used items by buying them where they are sold cheap. Garage sales and flea markets are some of the sources for these items.
If you prefer selling brand-new goods, these can be bought from companies that offer closeouts, clearance sales or discount stores. The best thing to sell on eBay may just come from the overstock, non-moving and seasonal items up for discounts.
Another best thing to sell on eBay is consumables. The concept is to have customers, who buy from you on eBay, do repeat business through your own web site.
Once you run out of sources to get the best thing to sell on eBay, you can always log on to the Wholesale Buying System (WBS). This gives out tips on what products to buy and where they can be bought. It has direct access to thousands of wholesale companies, that’s why.
There are other ways of putting up the best thing to sell on eBay. Selling specialized products calls for a sales strategy. Know exactly what types of persons you’re targeting to buy your products and defining the kind of product you are going to sell.
The best thing to sell on eBay may not be the most popular, the trendiest and the classiest items. Just know what the people buy and be resourceful.
I was asked recently to take over a persons place in a 4 man team that has already been entered into this event, well this did spark a lot of thought on my part should I say yes or should I politely decline. I have been doing a lot of running lately and I have been reading a lot about marathon runners and how they train.
Why don’t you have a look at the right way to enter the westpac stair climb on Friday October 8 2010? they said to me Many folks have thought of it. Some actually followed through and did it. Most never got seriously interested in it and just drifted on to other things, basically staying the way they were. Some didn’t begin to do it simply because they had little idea of the place to start. Others were discouraged because of the big unknown factors.
Hold up a minute and let’s slow down a bit Let’s consider this. Here are 3 reasons why you should enter the westpac stair climb on Friday October 8 2010, that you should consider.
Firstly, on the positive side, let me point out that 30 floors and 135m of vertical height, this is no ordinary challenge. Run, walk or shuffle up the tallest building in Adelaide. O.K., I hear your objection, that You have never done anything like this. It’s a valid objection, I agree. However, let me bring to your attention the fact that On Friday October 8 you and your friends can start on ground level in the Westpac Building foyer and journey to the 30th floor where the view is spectacular. Every participant will be given an individual shoe tag to record their individual time.
Secondly, you truly should consider that as you make a move on your own, you will be assisting the Childhood Cancer Association. And, in addition to that, Funds raised from the Westpac Stair Climb will go towards the Family Support Programs Plus, even better, you get to support siblings, parents and grandparents of children living with cancer.
Third and finally, you’ll receive a certificate with your time recorded along with some goodies provided by the sponsors. Which will probably mean that you can be proud to display your completed time. And, in addition, on top of that, you get the feeling of satisfaction that you have completed something great!
When you glance at the reasons and evaluate them, I expect that you will have to admit that a compelling case can be made for thinking of how you can enter the westpac stair climb on Friday October 8 2010.
Just think about it. Imagine if you actually could Put on your running shoes, get together with some friends and see if you can conquer the Westpac Stair Climb?
All those point made me think long and hard and in the end I said OK, i will do it. ( Well its not it running a marathon although that might me next ) Now come the preparation an training, I have several week to get ready and I will be following the methods to boost my training to complete this event plus any other event that I have committed to such as the City to Bay fun run with this Fitness Training Manual you might want to get yourself a copy and keep checking back on my progress
