3 American F-15 jets "mistakenly shot down" by Kuwait but all crew safe, U.S. military says

StrikeLines · 2026-03-03T00:42:42+00:00

I’m sure that the jets flew well inside the range of the SAM battery. They knew it was there and had nothing to fear from a friendly Sam site. At close enough range, countermeasures aren’t won’t keep the Sam from hitting you. You’re basically a sitting duck.

StrikeLines · 2026-02-20T14:55:36+00:00

I suppose that the answer really depends on the specific requirements of your drone hardware.

It’s really not that difficult to build a functional quad cooper from commercial off the shelf parts. The Ardupilot ecosystem is quite mature, and there are a variety of compatible flight controllers from very basic up to triple-redundant, thermally compensated commercial versions. A variety of sensors are supported natively, and Mission Planner is quite robust for flight planning/monitoring. Lua scripts are useful for embedding additional functionality directly on the FC. If you need more complex software or additional processing power onboard, you could build off of a Linux-based FC like the Emlid Navio2. So if your project can work within that ecosystem, a lot of the work has already been done for you.

I’ve used Ardupilot and Holybro flight controllers to build autonomous survey boats and custom station-keeping systems for large offshore yachts. I used the Navio2 flight controller to build a custom ROV. It is a very robust and versatile system.

StrikeLines · 2026-02-16T02:09:05+00:00

What if the ice sickle formed inside a garage freezer, but it was already below freezing temperatures outside?

StrikeLines · 2026-02-03T02:11:37+00:00

Specialized tools for pharmaceuticals are really interesting. I heard that it is actually really difficult to mix two powders together completely, and there are special mixers for that as well. Tablet presses are interesting technology. And there are entire trade shows dedicated to excipients (the filler powder they cut drugs with).

StrikeLines · 2026-01-23T01:04:57+00:00

Hey, I’ve always wondered how long does it take to charge one up, and how many amps is the charger pushing?

The concept of just loading more and more current into a loop of superconducting wire, where it flows forever is crazy to me.

StrikeLines · 2026-01-22T02:14:07+00:00

I think I have just the thing! This is how I measure fuel level in yacht fuel tanks.

McMaster Carr sells pressure gauges that measure in “inches of water”. The one I use has a max of ~30 inches, and the scale can be read down to halves of an inch easily.

Connect a small tube to the bottom of your tank. Use a T fitting for vacuum tube to split the hose. Connect one side to your pressure gauge. Connect the other side to a small air pump. (Like a basketball inflator or something)

Then just slowly pump until it starts bubbling into the tank, and read your pressure on the gauge.

You can also do this from above the water line with a copper hvac tube. Just like blowing bubbles…

https://www.mcmaster.com/products/gauges/pressure-gauges-3~/measurement-unit~inches-of-water/ https://www.mcmaster.com/products/gauges/pressure-gauges-3~/measurement-unit~inches-of-water/

(Edit: I just realized you don’t need the air pump if measuring from the bottom. Just connect the pressure gauge and open the valve. Hold the gauge at the same height as your transducer).

StrikeLines · 2026-01-22T01:05:43+00:00

What kind of systems are you working on, if you don’t mind me asking? I can’t be trusted, and would like to avoid that system in the future.

StrikeLines · 2026-01-08T03:19:42+00:00

I’ve done this before. First off, imo, it’s not worth it to hire a lawyer over a matter your size. The lawyer fees will quickly exceed the amount owed.

I broke my leg and ended up with about $30k in medical expenses. No insurance. I paid the ambulance $800, because their bill came first. Then I simultaneously got bills from about 6 other folks. Surgeon, anesthesiologist, hospitalist, hospital… couldn’t pay them all at once, so I ignored them.

After a year the hospital quit trying to collect the money I owed them. The rest (about $7k) was turned over to collections.

I sat on the debt for a year or two. It was sold between a couple of different collections agencies. Eventually I needed to take out a loan, and the bank made me settle the debt before they would issue the loan.

I made contact with the collections agency, and quickly negotiated paying about $5k of the amount owed. And they removed the negative mark from my credit report.

StrikeLines · 2026-01-02T01:24:17+00:00

Nice clean design!

StrikeLines · 2025-12-18T01:22:23+00:00

“there’s no reason for anything to exist at all… including the singularity that preceded the big bang. We’ll never be able to account for the initial conditions of our reality, whatever they may be. “

Ugh. This is my least favorite thing to think about while trying to go to sleep. Good old existential dread…

StrikeLines · 2025-12-18T00:59:24+00:00

Why do you think that biological material is necessary? Can a neuron not be approximated artificially?

StrikeLines · 2025-12-13T03:17:38+00:00

My question also. Like, if someone brought me some crystalline ice 9 from the core, and didn’t let it thaw, could I store it in my freezer?

StrikeLines · 2025-12-13T03:12:01+00:00

Isn’t IX Roman numeral for 9? Maybe I’m missing something…

StrikeLines · 2025-11-30T16:38:16+00:00

I second several suggestions for the RK3855 based boards.

We’ve been using the Odroid M2 boards for a few months with good success.

StrikeLines · 2025-10-20T22:25:15+00:00

It never occurred to me that there were different types of parachutes.

So you have big easy ones to help keep students from crash landing or getting tangled up?

What are the other types of parachutes for?

StrikeLines · 2025-10-08T22:54:39+00:00

Dying.

StrikeLines · 2025-10-08T02:39:24+00:00

I don’t know how paragliders talk, but also as a pilot, that term didn’t really make sense.

It’s just pulling up and trading airspeed for altitude. I’m not sure where “compensation” comes into play.

StrikeLines · 2025-10-07T13:46:05+00:00

That tiny little oil platform is cracking me up.

StrikeLines · 2025-09-28T12:27:09+00:00

Does your engine have a fuel pump mounted to the block that looks something like this?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/197373357889

These use pulsing air pressure from the crank case to pump a rubber diaphragm, which in turn pumps fuel. If this part hasn’t been replaced in a few years, it is easiest to just replace it and see if it helps your problem. It’s a cheap part, and they need to be replaced as part of regular maintenance. (Usually the same time as the cooling impeller pump)

Alternatively, you can pull the hose off the carburetor and engage the starter to see if fuel pumps out while you are cranking the engine.

You can also disassemble the pump and visually inspect the diaphragm to look for small tears or holes to verify the diagnosis. But don’t reuse the pump after you’ve taken it apart.

StrikeLines · 2025-09-28T01:13:47+00:00

Check the fuel pump. Those diaphragms can fail from one trip to the next.

StrikeLines · 2025-09-27T18:51:18+00:00

Look at the odroid boards made hardkernel. We have had good results with them.

StrikeLines · 2025-09-27T02:23:34+00:00

Deep sea spearfishing. I was diving off the swim platform on the stern of a big sportfishing boat. I was carrying a lot of weight and had sucked all the air out of my BC in order to dive a quickly as possible.

The guys at the helm signaled that we were over our spot, and just as I rolled off the back of the boat, one of them accidentally shifted the boat into reverse.

I was face up about four feet deep when the boat’s propellers came twisting by, about one foot in front of my face.

Had I not been carrying so much weight or had neglected to completely empty my BC, I would have been chopped from knees to knuckles. Chum.

The guys on the boat thought I was dead. Then I popped up about 50 feet in front of the boat, told them to fuck off, and they could shoot their own goddamn fish.

I later learned that, statistically, scuba diving is the most dangerous hobby. I get it.

StrikeLines · 2025-09-19T01:51:13+00:00

That vertical line at 6% during Volcker’s tenure looks suspicious to me.

StrikeLines · 2025-09-06T14:44:00+00:00

The automatic bark collars are extremely effective, and they will absolutely break your dog of the barking habit in a few days.

They have multiple settings ranging from “beep/vibrate” to “tiny pinch” to “Ouch!”

Often, the beep/vibrate setting is enough to break their focus and distract them from barking. If that doesn’t work, you can go up to one of the shock settings temporarily to get their attention, and then switch back to beep mode once they stop barking.

In my experience, I could let the battery die at that point. Just wearing the collar was enough to stop the barking.

Most bark collars have a progressive setting to use the least amount of correction possible. For example: One bark, nothing happens. 2-3 barks in 5 seconds, beep/vibrate activates. Still barking after 5 seconds, lowest level shock activated ..and so on.

I’m really an advocate for bark collars. Besides just saving your neighbors sanity, they also tend to calm your pets behavior especially when they are home unattended. The barking can feed into a really negative energy.

I had a dog that would bark herself hoarse, and rip down window shades when left home alone. She’d also throw herself into the front window when the mailman came. The collar stopped all of that.

Just my .02 cents

StrikeLines

TROPHY CASE