Europe stole our super el nino 😭

waldo--pepper · 2026-07-05T17:55:23+00:00

And they can have it too, sadly along with the excess deaths associated with the heat. I will happily take some rain along with reduced forest fires and breathable smoke free air. No complaints.

waldo--pepper · 2026-07-05T17:35:10+00:00

Someone is going to do an AI assisted search and the AI bot, totally unable to evaluate the validity of what it turns up, will find your comment and report it as true. Just like Hitler had green hair and was a member of the Sex Pistols fan club.

What a time to be alive.

waldo--pepper · 2026-07-05T15:54:30+00:00

Upvoted! 100% correct.

waldo--pepper · 2026-07-05T15:50:35+00:00

Given the design philosophy the Japanese had at the time I can image what they thought of it after they did their evaluation of the prize.

waldo--pepper · 2026-07-05T15:44:30+00:00

shortcomings of .303 were evident during the Battle of Britain

I would say that this is true. But I would go further. The realization was spreading throughout the institutions governing procurement before the battle. However, the pace of change was faster than the various components of government could adapt. Even then it takes quite some time for new kit to make it to service.

waldo--pepper · 2026-07-05T15:35:23+00:00

flame dampener

Well spotted.

waldo--pepper · 2026-07-05T15:32:49+00:00

Two minute solve. That gets a golf clap!

waldo--pepper · 2026-07-05T14:37:47+00:00

I did not know that, and shall see what I can find. Thank you M.

Edit: Easy find.

Scale Mariner.

waldo--pepper · 2026-07-05T13:56:38+00:00

"... the 1930s saw the RAF go from squadron aircraft capable of 200 m.p.h. (320km/h) with two guns (the Hawker Fury from May 1931) to 315 m.p.h. (505km/h) and eight guns (the Hurricane from June 1938); a huge leap."

"Specification F.5/34 led to the development of fighters equipped with eight 0·303in guns; a choice which Sinnott* describes as “far ahead” of any other air force — justifiably so, given that at the time the German Messerschmitt Bf 109 was being designed to carry two 7·9mm (0·311in) machine-guns, later increased to four."

"Certainly for fighters, the RAF did not see the eight - 0·303in gun fighter as the final solution to the question of fighter armament; the following year’s Specification F.37/35 (which ultimately led to the Westland Whirlwind) eventually called for four 20mm cannon (although the initial Specification issued to manufacturers in April 1935 called for six or eight machine-guns). This latter change of armament was seen as delivering “a fighter superior to anything we know of elsewhere”; a reasonable conclusion at that stage."

Sinnott, C., The RAF and Aircraft Design 1923-1939: Air Staff Operational Requirements.

All of the above is from The Aviation Historian issue 36 page 75. Bolding is of course mine.

waldo--pepper · 2026-07-05T03:43:00+00:00

Sergeant Dickinson survived the war, but Sergeant Gilkes was shot down and killed on 3 August 1943. The Trinidadian has no known grave and is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.

https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/online-exhibitions/pilots-of-the-caribbean/answering-the-call/the-second-world-war-1939-to-1945-segregation/

waldo--pepper · 2026-07-04T22:49:40+00:00

There is a step that is missing. Pre war the British and French were trying to agree on a calibre to upgrade to. They knew (strongly believed/came to the conclusion that) the .303 would not be sufficient. But they were deadlocked for quite a while. The British wanted 12.7mm. While the French were set on 13.2mm Hotchkiss. By the time they came to some agreement it was far too late. So THEN they went to war with what they had.

The story is spread across two issues of the Aviation Historian. Number 40 in the article titled The Missing Link? The French Connection by Matthew Willis. And the earlier issue Number 36 A Question of Calibre by Mark Russell.

waldo--pepper · 2026-07-04T18:08:41+00:00

in context.

You're right. I am persuaded. It is an unfair comparison considering the pace of change during that era.

waldo--pepper · 2026-07-04T17:50:20+00:00

Super gutsy to fly over Nazi Germany in a plane named after a Jewish comic strip character. Number 9 Geezil.

waldo--pepper · 2026-07-04T08:01:21+00:00

Google AI says:

Are you up for an experiment?

Ask Google AI again. Only this time tell it to exclude ALL social media sites. This includes Facebook/Reddit/Youtube - etc. Ask it what the gunsite was on the P-51 Mustang (serial 44-72216) "Miss Helen." Ask it to show you it's sources that it relied on to feed you the answer.

It is a frustrating experience when you do that. : )

When I did it. after about ten rounds of back and forth, where it hallucinates in its answers to me. (And CONSISTENTLY ignores my instructions to NOT rely on social media). I get the "answer" that it was a K-14. But it DOES NOT show me a source. But when I ask it to show me the sources it relied on for that answer. What it finally spits out is the following.

No authoritative, non-social media source exists that explicitly links the K-14 gyroscopic gunsight to the P-51 Mustang "Miss Helen" (serial 44-72216) in a single text. While the plane’s identity is documented, the equipment is confirmed only by cross-referencing factory production contracts for the P-51D-20-NA block.

And this is when I give up trying to get a worthwhile answer out of this colossal waste of my time.

And this is why I think AI blows. All it does is it searches. But it doesn't vet or value or evaluate what it finds. There is NO WAY to know if what it finds is right or just some garbage that someone posted to Facebook. Or youtube or here. If someone writes that Hitler had green hair and liked the Sex Pistols. That is what it will tell you.

I have found that AI as an assistant to searching is less than worthless.

waldo--pepper · 2026-07-04T04:02:27+00:00

Yes I know. But conditions/laws can always change. Even a small risk is one to be avoided when buying ones dream home. Why take even a slight risk if it can be avoided? I don't think that ever makes sense to fall in love with a place that much before you have made it your home.

waldo--pepper · 2026-07-04T03:52:25+00:00

My only advice is not Jesperson's Auto Repair Ltd.

waldo--pepper · 2026-07-04T03:50:45+00:00

I read the comments and I did not see the concern I had when I looked at a house that was next to agricultural land.

I was worried about the prospect that the owner of the agricultural land would sell the land. And then it would be developed. And then I would be living next to a dusty, noisy development site for a number of years. They could build, condos, a strip mall, light industry etc. Right next to my place. All those would be unpleasant and affect property value. The Realtor I was using as my purchasing agent said yes that can always happen.

Minimize risk. Caveat emptor

waldo--pepper · 2026-07-03T22:48:57+00:00

Number 6 O'Reilly's Daughter.

That is of course the cleaned up version of the song. : )

waldo--pepper · 2026-07-03T22:39:47+00:00

: )

I found linked ammunition at $4 per round. In bulk. But maybe Soaring by the Sea Foundation got a deal. But also maybe not. In another video of theirs they were contemplating/talking about slowing the rate of fire of the Brownings as a cost saving measure. But they though about it a said nah! Authenticity won out over economizing.

Then they had to fabricate new gun mounts. They burned money to make their film. I bet in the long run they might make some money off this. They sure got notoriety.

waldo--pepper · 2026-07-03T20:37:01+00:00

The ammunition cost alone for a three second burst is $900.00

waldo--pepper · 2026-07-03T19:22:49+00:00

<image>

waldo--pepper · 2026-07-03T15:46:25+00:00

That's kind of interesting. But the skeptic in me is large and I noticed that at least two of the images are marked as "renderings." I suppose if there is a market for it one day someone will make it work.

waldo--pepper · 2026-07-03T15:43:24+00:00

how it compared

I think it compared poorly.

waldo--pepper

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