Independence Day (U.S.)

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

According to Jon Stewart of the Daily Show, the Chinese can control the weather.

No really! 

They are firing cannon into the air around Bejing to try to make it rain, to clear out some of the fog for the Olympics....

As Stewart put it, you know when a Country has achieved Super Power status when it has actual Super Powers....like weather control.

[goat starer]

the russians do this all the time... sometimes with devastating consequences

IN RUSSIA, SOMETIMES IT RAINS SACKS OF CEMENT

MOSCOW - Russian air force planes dropped a 25-kg sack of cement on a suburban Moscow home last week while seeding clouds to prevent rain from spoiling a holiday, Russian media said on Tuesday.

"A pack of cement used in creating ... good weather in the capital region ... failed to pulverize completely at high altitude and fell on the roof of a house, making a hole about 80-100 cm," police in Naro-Fominsk told agency RIA-Novosti.

Ahead of major public holidays the Russian Air Force often dispatches up to 12 cargo planes carrying loads of silver iodide, liquid nitrogen and cement powder to seed clouds above Moscow and empty the skies of moisture.

A spokesman for the Russian Air Force refused to comment.

June 12 was Russia Day, a patriotic holiday celebrating the country's independence after the break-up of the Soviet Union.

Weather specialists said the cement's failure to turn to powder was the first hiccup in 20 years.

The homeowner was not injured, but refused an offer of $2,100 from the air force, saying she would sue for damages and compensation for moral suffering, Interfax said.

http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/news/story.html?id=ea42fad7-2009-4079-ab31-241c7a439858


my memoirs would be of little interest to most people being mostly long lists of things i have eaten, butted, slept with and a rambling comentary on kids today. Such is the life of a goat.

[Aggie]

Hmm...  cement powder to seed clouds?  That'd be some mighty thick rain...

[pieces o nine]

A hard rain's gonna fall...

[Black Bart]

She should have taken the money they offered...she'll end up in a Gulag for sure now!

[Griffin NoName]

....or a concrete bunker....

my memoirs would be of little interest to most people being mostly long lists of things i have eaten, butted, slept with and a rambling comentary on kids today. Such is the life of a goat.

Boring the U.S. into submission?

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

Hmm...  cement powder to seed clouds?  That'd be some mighty thick rain...

Cement powder is a very, very fine particulate.

Just the thing for water droplets to cling to, and begin forming a raindrop.

And, it's cheap and readily available...

[Aggie]

....where's the 'facetious' emo-con?

I AM seriously curious about how they were bursting the bags.

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

....where's the 'facetious' emo-con?

I AM seriously curious about how they were bursting the bags.

I can guess-- since they are Russians, and automation is almost never done if a human can do it "good enough", I imagine they were scoring the bags with a knife or similar, then manually tossing them out the back of the airplane (think of one with a rear-facing cargo door-- the Russians have those).

If they got in a serious hurry, I can see how they might have missed one...

[Aggie]

Sounds about right - and it's plausible enough to miss one.

Still, I'm surprised they were using sacks rather than bulk*, but may relate back to your point on lack of automation. 



*would probably require dumping bags into a hopper anyways.

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

Well, you have to admit that the 'crude but effective' motto is very Russian. I was reading that in the late 70s early 80s they captured a Mig 25 and found that the electronics used vacuum tubes, which wasn't done so much for lack of availability of semi-conductors but because vacuum tubes are far more resistant to EMP and as a side effect, the radar was extremely powerful.

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

Well, you have to admit that the 'crude but effective' motto is very Russian. I was reading that in the late 70s early 80s they captured a Mig 25 and found that the electronics used vacuum tubes, which wasn't done so much for lack of availability of semi-conductors but because vacuum tubes are far more resistant to EMP and as a side effect, the radar was extremely powerful.

Yup.  I understand some of their 70's and 80's vintage spy satelites had vacuum tube powered final stage radars, too.  These were the now infamous "nuclear" satelites-- a small chuck of radioactive material irradiating a solar cell or similar. 

For extremely high power ratios, vacuum tubes are much, much easier to do than silicon chips.  Even in the US, vacuum tubes were the final broadcast stage for many high-wattage radio stations...

[goat starer]

OK chaps. lets move out. damn colonists dont like cold steel one bit!

[anthrobabe]

Oh what lovely do-dads you have on your horns there goat-- all nice and shiny silver. And the luverly green(is that a placemat?) just sets off your flowing white beard. What a pretty goat we are today.
(knows goats have a fondness for biscuits--- reaches into bag and removes secret biscuit stash--- goat knows real friends when he meets one--- decides to stay home today)

[goat starer]

one does ones best to look the part when going off to keep the flag flying in the empire on which the sun never sets.

nice biscuit by the way!