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smokebomb

Certifiably Surly
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Posts posted by smokebomb

  1. 1 hour ago, Horn_Spanker said:

    CNN sure did a shit job.  Missed the take-off and cut when the first stage was 10 seconds to land on the barge.

    It is very common for the live video feed to cut out when the first stage lands on the ship due to interference. SpaceX usually releases the video of the complete landing later on. 
     

    Doesn’t take away from the crappy network broadcasts. I should have watched the NASA/SpaceX stream. 

  2. From Glavin’s POV from when he was a player’s rep for the union the during the last strike:

    https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/29198196/tom-glavine-players-risk-taking-blame-baseball-season-called-off

    Quote

    Tom Glavine: Players at risk of taking blame if baseball season called off

    Former Atlanta Braves great Tom Glavine has a word of warning to baseball players expressing concern about their salaries for a potential coronavirus-affected 2020 season: You might take the blame for the sport not resuming.

    Glavine, who served as a players' union representative during the baseball strike of 1994-95, compared that situation to the current suspension of play in a story published by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Tuesday.

    "If it were to come down to an economic issue and that's the reason baseball didn't come back, you're looking at a situation similar to the strike of '94 and '95 as far as fans are concerned," Glavine said. "Even if players were 100% justified in what they were complaining about, they're still going to look bad."

    Major League Baseball and the players' union have been negotiating terms to start a shortened season amid the pandemic. Over the weekend, MLB released its return-to-play plans that address expansive COVID-19 testing as well as travel, in-stadium adjustments, on-field changes and a wide array of other issues.

    The league also reportedly told players it projects to lose $4 billion even if a season is played. Those financial figures relate to how much players will make this year. The sides had agreed in March that players would make a prorated salary based on games played, but owners voted last week to propose salaries be based on a 50-50 split of revenue.

    Glavine said this is a unique situation but that the "revenue split to the union is a scary proposition."

    Still, Glavine said players should be careful not to talk too much about their pay, comparing it to interviews he gave during the 1994-95 strike.

    "The accessibility thing was a miscalculation on my part," Glavine told the newspaper. "I just felt like if I did an interview on the radio or TV, if I had five or 10 minutes, I could make somebody understand what was going on and come to our side. That just wasn't going to happen."

    He also acknowledged the apprehension for players that comes with the possibility of spreading the virus.

    "I understand that a big part for all of us in getting back to our normal is to have sports back," he said. "But you can't dismiss a player's concern for his health or his family's health any more than you would dismiss your own concerns.

    "... If I was playing today, I wouldn't say, 'Hell no, I'm not playing.' But of course I'd have a concern that once you step out that door and you go back into that world, there's a chance you're bringing something home to your family. It's 100% fair for players, coaches, everybody to be concerned about that."

    Glavine, who said he is happy not to be a player or have union responsibilities given the crisis, noted that he is looking forward to the return of sports.

    "I probably miss NHL playoffs more than baseball, at least this time of year," Glavine told the AJC. "It's part of the routine. It's nice to do what you do all day, eat dinner and then sit down and watch some kind of game. Not having games to watch has been hard. But you know, we'll get through it."

     

  3. From the Jerusalem Post (fun read but unsubstantiated at the moment):

    https://www.jpost.com/international/china-sent-team-with-medical-experts-to-advise-on-nkoreas-kim-625831

    Quote

    Kim Jong Un in a 'vegetative state' after heart surgery - Japanese Media

    China has dispatched a team to North Korea including medical experts to advise on him, according to three people familiar with the situation.

    North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's health is reportedly in a vegetative state after undergoing a failed cardiovascular procedure earlier this month, according to the medical team treating him.

    Amid conflicting reports about Kim's health, Japanese weekly magazine Shukan Gendai reported on Friday that a Chinese medical team member on the mission to North Korea briefly explained the situation to its senior writer, Kondm Daisuke.

    The medical expert said during a visit to the countryside earlier this month, Kim clutched his chest and fell to the ground. A doctor accompanying Kim immediately carried out CPR and took him to a nearby hospital for emergency care.

    China has dispatched a team to North Korea including medical experts to advise on him, according to four people familiar with the situation.

     Reuters was unable to immediately determine what the trip by the Chinese team signaled in terms of Kim's health. However Shukan Gendai's report claims they were called to the leader's aid by his accompanying doctor after the incident.

    A delegation led by a senior member of the Chinese Communist Party's International Liaison Department left Beijing for North Korea on Thursday, two of the people said. The department is the main Chinese body dealing with neighboring North Korea.

    The sources declined to be identified given the sensitivity of the matter.

    The Liaison Department could not be reached by Reuters for comment late on Friday. China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment late on Friday.

    Daily NK, a Seoul-based website, reported earlier this week that Kim was recovering after undergoing a cardiovascular procedure on April 12. It cited one unnamed source in North Korea.

    South Korean government officials and a Chinese official with the Liaison Department challenged subsequent reports suggesting that Kim was in grave danger after surgery. South Korean officials said they had detected no signs of unusual activity in North Korea.

    On Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump also downplayed earlier reports that Kim was gravely ill. "I think the report was incorrect," Trump told reporters, but he declined to say if he had been in touch with North Korean officials.

    On Friday, a South Korean source told Reuters their intelligence was that Kim was alive and would likely make an appearance soon. The person said he did not have any comment on Kim's current condition or any Chinese involvement.

    An official familiar with U.S. intelligence said that Kim was known to have health problems but they had no reason to conclude he was seriously ill or unable eventually to reappear in public.

    A U.S. State department spokeswoman had no comment. U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, when asked about Kim's health on Fox News after Trump spoke said, "I don’t have anything I can share with you tonight, but the American people should know we're watching the situation very keenly."

    North Korea is one of the world's most isolated and secretive countries, and the health of its leaders is treated as a matter of state security. Reuters has not been able to independently confirm any details on Kim's whereabouts or condition.

    North Korea's state media last reported on Kim's whereabouts when he presided over a meeting on April 11. State media did not report that he was in attendance at an event to mark the birthday of his grandfather, Kim Il Sung, on April 15, an important anniversary in North Korea.

    Kim, believed to be 36, has disappeared from coverage in North Korean state media before. In 2014, he vanished for more than a month and North Korean state TV later showed him walking with a limp. Speculation about his health has been fanned by his heavy smoking, apparent weight gain since taking power and family history of cardiovascular problems.

    When Kim Jong Un's father, Kim Jong Il, suffered a stroke in 2008, South Korean media reported at the time that Chinese doctors were involved in his treatment along with French physicians.

    Last year, Chinese President Xi Jinping made the first state visit in 14 years by a Chinese leader to North Korea, an impoverished state that depends on Beijing for economic and diplomatic support.

    China is North Korea's chief ally and the economic lifeline for a country hard-hit by U.N. sanctions, and has a keen interest in the stability of the country with which it shares a long, porous border.

    Kim is a third-generation hereditary leader who came to power after his father Kim Jong Il died in 2011 from a heart attack. He has visited China four times since 2018.

    Trump held unprecedented summits with Kim in 2018 and 2019 as part of a bid to persuade him to give up North Korea’s nuclear arsenal.

     

  4. Interesting read on the potential mortgage crisis:

    https://www.curbed.com/2020/3/27/21197434/mortgage-coronavirus-forbearance-crisis-coronavirus-servicers

    Quote

    Coronavirus is brewing a mortgage crisis

    A mortgage forbearance directive could decimate mortgage lending infrastructure if Congress and regulators don’t act fast

    By Jeff Andrews  Updated Mar 30, 2020, 10:32am EDT

    The financial crisis of 2008 was caused by homeowners defaulting on their mortgages en mass thanks to risky loan products that were destined to fail. The bonds those mortgages were bundled into collapsed in value as a result, and it brought the entire financial system down with it.

    With the stock market tanking and unemployment skyrocketing, is the economic fallout of COVID-19 about to cause history to repeat?

    Earlier in March, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), which regulates mortgage facilitators Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, directed mortgage servicers of Fannie and Freddie mortgages to offer mortgage forbearance or reduced payments to homeowners impacted by the novel coronavirus.

    While a separate directive from the FHFA put a moratorium on foreclosures and evictions of homeowners whose mortgages are owned by Fannie or Freddie, the potential fallout in financial system has not yet been patched. Mortgage bonds are still disbursed to hedge funds, pension funds, and elsewhere.

    What happens this time when mortgage payments stop flowing into mortgage bonds?

    “I think what’s scary about it is what the last recession crisis taught us is just how intertwined so much of financial markets are,” says Patrick Boyaggi, CEO of mortgage marketplace Own Up. “You don’t just see something like this happen and there not be a ripple effect throughout the economy.”

    Homeowners are protected by the FHFA directives. Mortgage servicers—the companies that collect payments from borrowers and disbursed the payment to investors in mortgage bonds—are still on the hook to pay investors, even if borrowers stop making payments. The company that handles payments can vary: it is either the bank or lender that issued the mortgage, or a separate company that specializes in servicing mortgages. Among those banks are the biggest in the country—Citi, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo.

    If Congress and regulators don’t intervene—and fast—some mortgage servicers, banks, and lenders will have to dip into capital reserves that are insufficient to cover these payments over the long term. Some will have to shutdown entirely, at least temporarily.

    If mortgage servicers fail, there is no one to collect mortgage payments and disburse the money to investors of mortgage bonds. The entire mortgage infrastructure would collapse and investors would be holding potentially worthless mortgage bonds. Banks servicing loans and/or holding mortgage bonds would be short on the cash that they typically lend to homeowners.

    The contagion that would cause in the financial system is impossible to know—but it could potentially be devastating. Mortgage lending could come to a halt. Pension funds could take yet another hit. It could make the economic recovery after the pandemic take even longer.

    The good news is federal regulators and lawmakers are aware of the problem and working to fix it. Ginnie Mae, which deals mostly with affordable mortgages, has announced its intent to address the problem in the next two weeks. The Federal Reserve has already purchased $214 billion worth of mortgage bonds in hopes of stabilizing the market. Language to address this problem was included in theHouse draft of the relief bill that passed on Friday, but it didn’t make it into the final bill.

    The other good news is this is a fairly straight forward cash-flow problem. Mortgage servicers need cash in order to make payments to mortgage-bond investors, but they are not getting that money because of the mortgage forbearance directive from FHFA. The solution proposed in the House draft of the relief bill was for the Federal Reserve to extend a line of credit to mortgage servicers to cover their near-term cash flow problem.

    “[Regulators and lawmakers] are aware of the issue and I think there’s generally consensus about the path of least resistance on some of this, but it has to happen,” says Andrew Jakabovics, vice president of policy development at Enterprise Community Partners. “That’s where we are at the moment, waiting for that to become official, this clarity and certainty.”

    The bad news is that the economic fallout of COVID-19 has caused similar and equally catastrophic problems for practically every industry in America, and they’re all lobbying hard to get their fix written into what will no doubt be more relief packages passed by Congress. Whether the mortgage industry breaks through the chaos and gets its fix before another industry does is anybody’s guess.

    The other bad news is that the longer it takes for lawmakers and regulators to act, the worse the problem will get and the harder it will be to fix it. While the Federal Reserve setting up a line of credit to mortgage servicers sounds fairly simple, it still takes time, which is already strained because of everything else happening. A month could be too late for many servicers.

    “There’s been a hair-on-fire level of outreach to every part of the administration and Congress from not just the industry but consumer groups that realize the implications of all this,” says Jim Parrott, a nonresident fellow at the Urban Institute and owner of Falling Creek Advisors, a housing finance consultancy. “The $64,000 question is given all the other industries that are probably saying something similar, how do we prioritize which sectors of the economy that are all in need of these credit facilities?”

     

  5. Mark your calendars for January 18th:

    https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/nasa-spacex-rocket-emergency-test-falcon-9-crew-dragon-explosion-a9278196.html

     

    Quote

    NASA AND SPACEX TO BLOW UP ROCKET IN THE AIR AS PART OF EMERGENCY TEST

    Critical test will ensure astronauts can escape in case of a disaster

    Andrew Griffin

    5 hours ago 

    Nasa and SpaceX are set to destroy a rocket as part of an emergency test.

    The procedure, known as an "In-Flight Abort Test", will ensure that a new capsule meant for carrying astronauts would allow them to escape in the case of a disastrous launch.

    But it will also mean destroying one of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rockets to understand what would happen if one really exploded by accident.

    The two organisations are looking to run the test on 18 January, from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

    The demonstration of the escape system is one of the final tests required before astronauts travel in the new spacecraft, known as Crew Dragon, which will one day carry people into space.

    During the test, the Crew Dragon capsule will be attached to a Falcon 9 rocket, as it will be when it is used as part of real launch.

    But shortly after liftoff, SpaceX will trigger a launch escape that should demonstrate that the Crew Dragon is able to safely separate from the rocket and carry those inside of it back down to Earth. After it detaches from the rocket, it will use its parachutes to fall safely to the ground and be collected.

    But the rocket is expected to undergo what SpaceX refers to as "rapid unscheduled disassembly", or an explosion. It will be destroyed and SpaceX has said that it will pick the parts out of the Atlantic Ocean when the test is over.

    Nasa and SpaceX will then use the data generated as part of the test to evaluate whether the new spacecraft can be certified to carry astronauts to and from the International Space Station.

    The launch had initially been planned for earlier but Nasa announced it would be delayed to no earlier than 18 January, giving more time for "spacecraft processing", it said earlier this week.

     

     

  6. One possible theory on how Ghosn got out:

    https://www.bbc.com/news/world-50964040

    Quote

    ...

    A musical escape?

    One Lebanese TV channel - MTV - reported that Mr Ghosn had fled his court-approved residence in Tokyo with the assistance of a paramilitary group who were disguised amongst a band of musicians. 

    It said the band had performed at his house and, shortly after they had finished, the 65-year-old hid himself in a large musical instrument case which was then hurried to a local airport. If this really happened, it may have been a tight squeeze even for Mr Ghosn, whose height is reported at 5ft 6in (167cm).

    According to the MTV story, he then flew to Turkey, before arriving in Lebanon on a private jet. The broadcaster provided no proof for this theory which, unsurprisingly, spread rapidly across social media.

    But donning a spy-movie disguise is not beyond Mr Ghosn. In March, in a bid to throw journalists off his scent, he left prison disguised as a construction worker. He was quickly identified, mocked in the media, and his lawyer soon apologised for the "amateur plan".

    The newspaper, which cited a number of unidentified sources, said a team was carefully assembled to carry out the plot. The group reportedly included accomplices in Japan who transported Mr Ghosn from his house and onto a private jet bound for Istanbul. From there, he continued his journey to Beirut where he arrived in the early hours of 30 December.

    The plane tracking site FlightRadar24 showed a a Bombardier Challenger private jet arriving at Beirut-Rafic Hariri international airport shortly after 04:00 local time. Mr Ghosn then met his wife Carole, who was born in the city and was heavily involved in the operation, the Wall Street Journal says.

    Several reports have said Carole Ghosn was a major figure behind the plan for her husband to skip bail and get out of Japan. She spoke with him for more than an hour on 24 December, Mr Ghosn's Japanese lawyer said. The couple had previously been banned from meeting or communicating under Mr Ghosn's strict bail conditions.

    After her husband arrived in Lebanon, Mrs Ghosn told the Wall Street Journal that their reunion was "the best gift of my life". She has not commented on her alleged involvement in the operation.

    Earlier this year she told the BBC: "I want my husband back. I want him with me. I know he is innocent."

    Carlos Ghosn grew up in Lebanon, owns property there and is a popular figure. He even appeared on one of the country's postage stamps. 

    He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. 

    Three passports 

    Questions remain about the documents Mr Ghosn used to enter Lebanon. He holds three passports - Brazilian, French and Lebanese - but his legal team maintain that they were in possession of all of them when he left Japan. 

    It is not known whether Mr Ghosn was holding duplicate passports - as businesspeople are sometimes allowed to do. It has also been reported that he may have had a diplomatic passport issued by Lebanon although this has not been confirmed.

    While the French newspaper Le Monde said he travelled on an ID card, others have reported that he may have used a French passport or even a false identity with forged documents. Lebanon's foreign ministry has not said what passport Mr Ghosn travelled on but it has insisted that he entered the country legally. 

    The embarrassment caused by Mr Ghosn's flight soon sparked a reaction from Japan. One Japanese politician asked whether he "had the support of some country". A former governor of Tokyo was more forthright, accusing Lebanon of direct involvement.

    "The government has nothing to do with [Mr Ghosn's] decision to come," Lebanese minister Salim Jreissati was quoted as saying by the New York Times. "We don't know the circumstances of his arrival." France and Turkey have also said they were unaware of Mr Ghosn's plan. 

    There is no extradition deal between Japan and Lebanon, which means the future of Mr Ghosn's trial is now fraught with uncertainty. 

    Japan gives millions in aid to Lebanon and will likely want Mr Ghosn returned. But it will no doubt have to answer further questions about how such a high-profile suspect was able to get out of the country in the first place.

     

  7. 1 hour ago, Neonmoon said:

    I read that twice and it still sounds like magic 

    Even Einstein didn’t understand it, so don’t feel too bad:

    Quote

    Einstein later famously derided entanglement as "spukhafte Fernwirkung" or "spooky action at a distance."

    I can see the first real world application of this (probably still many moons out) in communication. Near-zero internet latency and instantaneous communication & control of spacecraft would be possibilities. 

  8. 54 minutes ago, SwanderedTalent said:

    Utah was ranked tenth in the coaches poll before the Alamo Bowl. Did A&M beat any Top Ten teams this season? 

    They lost to every ranked team they played this season except for their win over #24 Okie State last week. They also lost to eventual 4-8 UCLA. 

  9. 3 hours ago, MrPhlegm said:

    meanwhile starliner just got launched

     

    f7475b9e3750cbc2799bd994a304c33d.jpg2e8f63178c7fa285066fd13dd031b7fb.jpg5085d95a65ddb80cf482a4caa4855fa3.jpg87d0948c0e9b7bd4216a7651dddc70a3.jpg36f085f0710c527ccf7c19ea4b360bee.jpgc3d08d1284f13a1106fde1e0585c767f.jpgbe083f115cb581d47f41f251c1633b34.jpg889f3d6918edfc1e8e3f84475ec68d90.jpgd10e84e95e73c5e803c2d661decbf049.jpgb1b427c636e24f432c0cc651f3e27cf5.jpg10df0a507b51223afca502880fff3229.jpg823395996c5f2eca4f7d5444dfd016f2.jpg

     

    pics taken from my driveway

     

     

    Sort of. It didn’t reach the correct orbit & now can’t dock with the space station:

    https://www.space.com/boeing-starliner-oft-fails-to-reach-correct-orbit.html
     

    Quote

    Boeing's Starliner Won't Reach Space Station, NASA Chief Says

    By Chelsea Gohd 2 hours ago

    Updated: CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Boeing's Starliner astronaut taxi suffered an anomaly today (Dec. 20) during its flight to the International Space Station during the Orbital Flight Test (OFT) mission. 

    About 90 minutes after blastoff, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said on Twitter that the capsule will not be able to reach the space station because it burned too much fuel during the anomaly.

    The Atlas V rocket from United Launch Alliance successfully launched from Space Launch Complex 41 here at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 6:36 a.m. EST (1136 GMT) as planned. But, as of about an hour after launch, the mission team had announced an anomaly with the uncrewed capsule's orbit.

    "Starliner in stable orbit. The burn needed for a rendezvous with the ISS did not happen. Working the issue," Bridenstine tweeted,following the announcement of the anomaly.

    "We have since experienced an off-nominal insertion and the spacecraft is in a stable position," Boeing spokesperson Steve Siceloff said during a launch broadcast. "It's fully powered; mission control here in Houston is assessing all the options."

    Blastoff! Boeing's Starliner Crew Capsule Launches to Space Station

    "After launching successfully at 6:36 a.m. Eastern Time Friday on the United Launch Alliance Atlas v rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, the Boeing Starliner space vehicle experienced an off-nominal insertion," Boeing spokesperson Kelly Kaplan told reporters here at the press site. 

    "The spacecraft is currently in safe, stable configuration," Kaplan added. "Flight controllers have completed a successful initial burn and are assessing next steps. Boeing and NASA are working together to review options for the test and mission opportunities available while the Starliner remains in orbit. A joint news conference will be held at 9 a.m. Eastern on NASA TV."

    A view of the Starliner mission control room from the live webcast on NASA TV. (Image credit: NASA TV)

    The OFT was designed as a critical milestone to test Starliner for future crewed missions. Following this procedure, Boeing plans to launch a Crewed Flight Test with three astronauts onboard Starliner.

    NASA hired both Boeing and SpaceX to develop reusable vehicles capable of bringing humans safely to and from the space station. Ever since the 2011 retirement of the space shuttle, the agency has been relying on Russian Soyuz spacecraft for access to the orbiting laboratory.

    Prior to today's launch, both Boeing and SpaceX were targeting crewed test flights in 2020.

    Awesome pics though!

  10. She is no 8. 

    And apparently she hasn’t been paying her attorneys:

    https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/elizabeth-holmes-theranos-lawyers-cooley-llp-895633/

    Quote

    Elizabeth Holmes’ Lawyers Want Off Her Case

    The Theranos founder and alleged scam artist — who is facing federal fraud charges and a class-action suit — isn’t paying her legal bills, per court filings 

    By EJ DICKSON

    Elizabeth Holmes, the disgraced tech wunderkind whose blood-testing startup Theranos was revealed to be based on sham science, has often been referred to as the ultimate Silicon Valley scammer. Now, she’s been accused of scamming her lawyers as well, who are asking to be removed from her employ because she hasn’t been able to pay them for their services.

    In a recent court filing, Holmes’s lawyers, who are representing her against the plaintiffs of a class-action fraud lawsuit, are attempting to remove themselves from the case, claiming that they hadn’t been paid by Holmes in almost a year. According to the Washington Post, three lawyers at Cooley LLP, the Palo-Alto-based litigation firm representing Holmes in the suit, are trying to remove themselves from the case, claiming that the firm “has no expectation that Ms. Holmes will ever pay it for its services as her counsel.”

    Although a judge has not yet ruled on Cooley’s request to be removed from the case, the firm was hired to represent Holmes in a massive 2016 class action lawsuit filed against her, Theranos, and the drugstore chain Walgreens, which at one point had struck a deal to offer Theranos’s blood-testing services to customers. In the lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Phoenix in 2016, consumers allege that Holmes, Theranos and Walgreens knowingly participated in a “massive fraud” by offering the blood test, which was revealed by a Wall Street Journal investigation to have been ineffective and based on junk science.

    A tech entrepreneur who once topped Forbes’ list of youngest self-made female billionaires, Holmes dropped out of Stanford University when she was just 19 to found Theranos, which she told Silicon Valley investors would revolutionize the world of diagnostic testing. Journalists and investors were captivated by Holmes’ youth, beauty, and academic credentials, and she was quickly able to amass a network of high-profile backers to help fund the company, to the degree that it was at one point valued at $9 billion.

    A 2015 Wall Street Journal investigation, however, questioned the efficacy of Theranos’s blood-testing services, also shedding light on some of Holmes’ questionable management tactics and the company’s legal team’s attempts to strong-arm its critics. Facing a barrage of lawsuits, Holmes was forced to shutter Theranos in 2018, and she and her former partner Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani were indicted on federal fraud charges earlier this year.

    Holmes faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted, as well as millions of dollars in fines. Her trial is scheduled for August 2020.

     

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