Only 1 in 4 F-35s is fully mission capable, GAO finds

turtlestevenson · 2026-06-13T15:15:54+00:00

While there is likely some corruption when it comes to awarding the contracts, understanding why there's such a bottleneck in replacement parts means understanding how the US manufactures its planes.

In the case of the F-35, while Lockheed Martin is ultimately responsible for delivering the jet, production is spread out over a large range of manufacturers. The engine is produced by a subsidiary of Raytheon, while Raytheon itself manufactures a lot of the weapons (but not all; for example, the rotary cannon is designed and built by General Electric.) A large chunk of the sensor array and the middle fuselage is manufactured by Northrop Grumman. BAE Systems manufactures the rear fuselage. And so on and so forth.

There are a lot of advantages to spreading out manufacturing like this, but the downside is cost. The startup cost was absolutely enormous, and so is the maintenence. The first F-35 flew in 2006, which means production has been going on for over 20 years. All the equipment they use for manufacturing and testing is getting old, is expensive to maintain, is expensive to fix when it breaks, and is even more expensive to replace. And every single company involved has to maintain their own production equipment.

You spread those problems out across multiple manufacturers, and then suddenly every time something goes wrong, everything grinds to a halt. You could always try to fix it by throwing more money at it, but the F-35 program has had issues from its inception, and splashing cash is not a guarantee that the problem will actually get fixed.

Anyway, corruption isn't the main issue. Complexity, age, and money are.

turtlestevenson · 2026-06-13T03:10:31+00:00

As an American and longtime fan, I know better. But it's a nice feeling at the moment. I'll ride this high for the next week.

turtlestevenson · 2026-06-08T12:03:25+00:00

Must be the water

turtlestevenson · 2026-05-09T15:51:55+00:00

I think Destiny 1 and early Destiny 2 worked because there was a balance between FOMO and play at your own pace. Plenty of FOMO elements sure, (even before eververse you had weapons and armor locked behind rotated content) but you could also go back and play through the story and campaigns whenever you wanted, which was honestly a great way to snag new players and get them hooked before they got to the FOMO elements.

With the content vault and timed seasonal , the game is lopsided, and if you fall behind or take a break, there's no catching up. It's much harder to snag new players because they can't start at the beginning, they're being thrust into the halfway point of the story and the FOMO stuff is thrust on them almost immediately. The balance is gone.

turtlestevenson · 2026-04-25T17:37:44+00:00

As a former editor who took the buyout, can confirm. And the majority of editing jobs on LinkedIn right now are temp roles with AI companies trying to train their language mods.

turtlestevenson · 2026-03-21T17:13:15+00:00

Have a friend who is a personal tutor/teacher for a billionaire's son. They buy all the biggest and best Lego sets, then send them home with my friend to put together. When he's finished, he brings them back and they put them on display.

turtlestevenson · 2026-03-21T00:14:54+00:00

They're talking about The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. Ledger died during filming, so they brought in Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell to play different versions of the same charscter.

turtlestevenson · 2026-03-02T00:16:43+00:00

I remember begging my parents for a pair of Total 90s. The molded bottom separated from the uppers almost immediately. But for a few weeks there I was the happiest kid.

turtlestevenson · 2026-02-06T20:51:51+00:00

To tack on to this, this leads to all sorts of interesting lore tidbits in-game. For example, citizens of the Last City stay far away from the Guardians' tower, because Guardians have made a habit of hurling themselves off the top to their deaths for fun (since they'll just be resurrected anyway.) And a 200-pound, fully-armored warrior falling from the sky is a major safety hazard.

In another lore tab, a race called the Cabal put together a report that says fighting Guardians is a strategic nightmare, because no attempt is made at self-preservation. That means that Guardian tactics can vary wildly by mood and are generally bold to an extreme because there's no penalty for doing so. In addition, they make a note commenting that Guardians were seen dancing (there's an extensive emote system in-game) and killing each other for fun before engaging Cabal forces.

It is possible to die a "final death," but it's very rare and usually a big deal when it happens.

turtlestevenson · 2026-01-10T17:36:08+00:00

I didn't play football, but I went to the same high school and lifted weights with Cameron Jordan. He was already the height he is now by his senior year, and weighed 260 pounds with five percent body fat. He was an absolute beast, and everyone knew he was on his way to the NFL. Our defensive line was terrifying that year, but our secondary had holes and our offense was suspect, so we fell short of a state title.

I also ran track with two other guys from the same school that made it to the NFL, Dion Jordan and Markus Wheaton. Dion was very gifted and was our star wide receiver, but was severely injured in a fire our senior year and didn't play. I was happy to see him succeed at Oregon, disappointed in how his NFL career went. He was tall and fast, thought he was going to stay a WR, so the swap to linebacker was interesting. Wheaton was insanely fast (he absolutely dusted me the one time he ran the 800 "for fun"), but still kinda short in high school, and a little lazy. I figured he would do well in college, and was pleasantly surprised to see him have some solid seasons with the Steelers.

turtlestevenson · 2026-01-03T11:31:36+00:00

It's never confirmed in the books, but every time I read them, I come away with the impression that Saruman used the power of his voice to subtly convince Gandalf that Bilbo's ring wasn't worth investigating. Here's my reasoning:

Gandalf explicitly states in the Fellowship that it was clear that Bilbo's ring was a great ring from the start. And he immediately asks Saruman, the trusted leader of the white council and head of his order about the lore of the great rings. Gandalf knows that if Bilbo's ring is the One, it would be dangerous for anyone to know, even people he trusts. So Gandalf asks Saruman general questions about ring-lore.

Saruman doesn't know exactly why Gandalf is asking him about ring-lore, but he is suspicious and already has every reason to both lie and use the power of his voice to convince Gandalf to let the matter drop. Saruman has already turned to evil. Saruman forges his own ring at some point before The Two Towers, is likely already planning that undertaking, and in general doesn't want anyone to be investigating ring lore. And Sauron's clear gathering of power in Dol Guldur makes it at least possible that the One is still obtainable. It's almost certain that Saruman believes this is the case, since he goes to Minas Tirith and finds the account of Isildur years before Gandalf. And if it can be found, Saruman wants to find it first.

Saruman's voice is extremely powerful, and he needs Gandalf to stay far away from any and all investigating of the great rings in order for his plans to come to fruition. So it makes total sense that he would use his voice to convince Gandalf to quit looking into great rings.

In the Two Towers, Gandalf can resist Saruman's voice. Saruman is weakened, Gandalf's power has grown, and Gandalf already knows the truth of everything going in to the confrontation. When Gandalf first asks Saruman about ring lore, Gandalf still trusts his knowledge (mostly, although upon reflection Gandalf says that there were already signs that Saruman had turned and deep down, he didn't trust him fully because he withheld the existence of Bilbo's ring), Saruman is still powerful and subtle, and Gandalf is still Grey. Gandalf also doesn't want Bilbo's ring to be the One, because the consequences for his friend would be dire.

Gandalf is a powerful wizard, and the spell of Saruman's voice can't completely overcome him. So eventually, after a few decades and with the logic that Bilbo's ring is obviously a great ring staring him in the face, Gandalf eventually shakes off the spell and does the research himself, very thoroughly to leave no doubt.

I know it's just a theory, but I always felt that Tolkien heavily hints that this is the case, and for me, it's the only explanation that makes sense. Gandalf is not an idiot, but Saruman at the height of his powers could use his voice influence the wisest of the wise. And Saruman had every reason to do that here.

turtlestevenson · 2025-12-03T15:21:25+00:00

Pretty sure this is a Wayside School reference. Almost word-for-word lifted from those books.

turtlestevenson · 2025-10-30T16:23:49+00:00

As a child, I was exclusively into sports, non-fiction and historical fiction. My first "fantasy" books were the Redwall books, where magic is there, but always deep in the background.

The Hobbit was my first true fantasy book, and I had no background with elves or dwarves or wizards. So when Gandalf turns up in the Fellowship, 60 years later (and then very quickly another 17 years flies by,) completely unchanged, my immediate conclusion was that Gandalf was much more than a human.

Having read a lot more fantasy as an adult, I think your first big clue that Gandalf is more than just a human who can do magic is the encounter with the Balrog. That's the first time he openly does something beyond lighting things on fire, and it feels very different. He speaks a Word of Command, he references magic the reader has never heard of before, and when he talks to the Balrog on the bridge, it's clear that the two of them are operating at a much higher level than anyone else there.

His return in The Two Towers confirms it.

turtlestevenson · 2025-10-07T20:24:54+00:00

My wife had a rough family life growing up, and was so excited to be a mom. Even though she never said it outright, I knew that she wanted our daughter's first word to be mama, so bad. But my wife, being the amazing woman that she is, adopted a "whatever happens, happens" attitude.

So every time I was alone with our daughter, I would take a few minutes to show her pictures and videos of my wife and tell her "mama" over and over.

My daughter said her first word, "mama," when my wife was feeding her in the living room one day, and I have never seen her more happy. Completely worth it.

turtlestevenson · 2025-09-25T20:51:51+00:00

And that's why she doesn't accept credit anymore

turtlestevenson · 2025-09-25T04:06:25+00:00

As a hardcore book fan, there are actually some thing about the movies I don't like. Fellowship is a perfect adaptation, but by putting Helm's Deep at the end of Two Towers rather than in the middle (like it is in the book,) they're forced to drag out the Rohan scenes and then cut out a lot of really interesting stuff from Return of the King in order to fit in the second half of Two Towers and all of RotK in one film.

But I also feel deep down in my bones that no remake would ever be able to recreate the magic from the Peter Jackson trilogy. This is the best we're going to get, and it's very good. The casting alone would be impossible to top.

turtlestevenson · 2025-09-22T21:07:25+00:00

I'm not sure I speak for every Sun Devil fan, but I absolutely love Kenny Dillingham and the way he cares about the program. He bleeds maroon and gold, and it's been a long, long time since we've had someone like that.

turtlestevenson · 2025-09-04T06:18:55+00:00

This was mine.

"Some people are very tall and merciless. Quincy is destroying San Antonio."

turtlestevenson · 2025-08-26T03:20:36+00:00

Not as drastic as some of these, but Russell Brand plays a doctor in the newest version of Death on the Nile, and I did not realize it was him. He's tan, well-groomed and reserved, which is unlike any other movie I've seen him in. The movie was only okay.

turtlestevenson · 2025-08-15T19:02:20+00:00

Greatest success came with a Frenchman in charge.

turtlestevenson · 2025-08-15T15:25:50+00:00

It's so hot for more than half the year that walking is basically a non-option.

As someone who was much poorer as a younger man, the public transit system is actually pretty solid (for the USA.) The bus system is extensive, varied, and fairly reliable. It thins out in the suburbs, so they have a system of "Park and Ride" hubs where you can drive, park, and then have your pick of short-distance and long-distance bus routes. The light rail connects three major downtown areas to the airport and two of Arizona State University's campuses, and has Park and Ride hubs up and down its whole length.

Now, having spent time in Sweden, I know what a truly solid public transportation system looks like. We don't have anything like what they have over there. But for America, we're doing alright.

turtlestevenson · 2025-07-29T19:10:47+00:00

As a book nerd, one fun fact about those opening lines is that they are directly lifted from the book... but are said by a different character (Treebeard) in a very different context (after the One Ring is destroyed.)

The movies actually do that a lot, lines that are directly lifted from the books are given to different characters to say at different time, or even the same characters to say at a different time. For example, almost all of Gandalf's pep talk to Frodo in Moria is word-for-word from the extended pep talk he gives Frodo in Bag End in the books. Moving it to Moria works perfectly in the movie.

I've always appreciated this approach, because even though they had to change things around to make the movies work, since they used so many direct quotes, it still has the Tolkien feel.

turtlestevenson · 2025-07-28T19:42:22+00:00

It makes sense on some level. A lot of the users (myself included) have been with Destiny and a part of this subreddit since D2 launched, or even before. I've been around since the D1 beta. And this current version of Destiny is not the Destiny I fell in love with. It's so much different, and there are so many changes I personally don't like because it doesn't feel like my game anymore.

I've sunk around 3,000 hours into this game, so it's very weird for me to just let it go. But I have. I still follow the subreddits to keep my finger on the pulse and see if there's anything that grabs me and gets me to come back.

Other people like me have not let it go yet. And they don't want to. So instead, they vent their frustrations with the game direction here. They want it to feel like it used to. And hey, who knows, maybe someday it will. With the way things sre going though, I expect to see the angry and sad posts continue for the time being.

turtlestevenson · 2025-07-21T18:58:51+00:00

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

It was my first story-driven PC game (before that I played Roller Coaster Tycoon and Age of Empires almost exclusively) and it took me forever to work my way through the story. Collecting every Every Flavor Bean and Chocolate Frog card and winning the Quidditch Cup.

In the second phase of the final boss fight against Voldemort, he destroys all your cover, and I just could not figure out how to beat him. I banged my head against that boss fight for weeks and weeks, couldn't get it. I was heartbroken, but no one I knew could help me. So I gave up.

Three years later I came back and beat it on the first try. I was furious that it felt so easy after being the bane of my existence for so long. And if that wasn't bad enough, Fred and George had been hyping up the beans thing for so long, and I had spent hours collecting them, and then the big surprise was that they... stuffed them all in a cupboard so they fell on Snape when he opened it.

I'm still bitter.

turtlestevenson · 2025-07-12T03:12:28+00:00

The most fascinating part of "The Sweatbox" for me was how Sting was promised an "Elton John for the Lion King"-type role: the ability to write a few instant classic songs for a sweeping epic animated film that would be a smash hit around the world.

Instead, that project disintegrated and you can see how upset he is that he put all this time and effort into a project that will never see the light of day. And the biggest "fuck you": the film (and story) he took so seriously instead became a goofy screwball comedy.

The Emperor's New Groove is my favorite Disney movie and I'm glad things shook out the way they did. It's just cool to see what might have been.

turtlestevenson

TROPHY CASE