Thursday, October 26, 2006

Corona

CORONA is the name for the first operational space photo reconnaissance satellite. President Dwight David Eisenhower approved the project in Febuary 1958. The project was conceived to take pictures in space of the Soviet Bloc countries and de-orbit the photographic film for processing and exploitation.

As a result of the unexpected Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, government officials looked to reorganize the American system of intelligence so as to ensure that the country never again be surprised by the actions of a foreign power. Members of the War Department and the Office of Scientific Research and Development agreed that the establishment of a private "think tank" would help produce more efficient intelligence gathering because such an organization could bridge the gap between recent scientific research and military strategy. Formed in December 1945, Project RAND (composed of scientists, engineers, mathematicians, and psychologists) soon began offering advice on how the government could better scrutinize the actions of its potential enemies. Aware that the U.S. implemented U-2 spy plane missions over Soviet territory between 1955 and 1958 to learn more about the country's military capabilities, RAND nonetheless recommended a different type of investigation - a man-made satellite that would take photographs from space. Unnerved by the Soviet launch of their own artificial satellite Sputnik in October 1957, President Eisenhower authorized the C.I.A. to secretly develop spy satellites to protect the interests of the United States both at home and abroad.

Recent technological advances such as radar, computers, and rocket engine design, in addition to the fear that the launch of Sputnik might signal a new period of Soviet scientific supremacy over the U.S., prompted the government to act quickly in the creation of a satellite reconnaissance system. The centerpiece of the effort, CORONA, soon revolutionized the art of assembling intelligence. Between 1959 and 1972, the government launched 145 CORONA satellites aimed at uncovering the essential military secrets of the Soviet Union and other potentially hostile foreign nations. During these 13 years, the CORONA satellites took pictures of military targets and returned the exposed film back to Earth in reinforced capsules, providing American leaders with essential information otherwise unobtainable. For instance, owing to photos retrieved from CORONA, the U.S. military determined that whereas the "missile gap" proposed by American experts did in fact exist, it actually favored the United States, not the Soviet Union.

Since the first successful launch of a CORONA satellite returned more photos of the Soviet Union than the 24 combined U-2 spy missions, satellite reconnaissance rapidly occupied an essential position in the determination of U.S. foreign policy towards cold war adversaries like the Soviet Union. Rather than being forced to make vague predictions about the military strength of other nations, American leaders used the data retrieved from satellites to form specific strategy initiatives. All in all, CORONA and the subsequent satellite reconnaissance systems served as the foundation for US space policy during the Cold War. By eliminating the guesswork regarding the military arsenals of nations around the world, during an era when the threat for nuclear conflict loomed large, the American satellite program actually served as a deterrent against the outbreak of war.

President Clinton signed an Executive Order on 22 February 1995, directing the declassification of intelligence imagery acquired by the first generation of U.S. photo-reconnaissance satellites; the systems code-named CORONA, ARGON and LANYARD. The order provides for the declassification of more than 860,000 images of the Earth's surface, collected between 1960 and 1972.


Early imagery collections were driven, in part, by the need to confirm purported developments in Soviet strategic missile capabilities. Worldwide photographic coverage was also used to produce maps and charts for the Department of Defense and other U.S. Government mapping programs. A speech made on 24 February 1995 by Admiral William O. Studeman, Acting Director of Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), recounts some of the important achievements of the historical satellite imagery reconnaissance programs.


The Corona vehicle was launched by a THOR booster and used the AGENA spacecraft as the upper stage. While in orbit, Corona took photographs with a constant rotating stereo panoramic camera system and loaded the exposed photographic film into recovery vehicles. The vehicles were de-orbited and recovered by Air Force C-119 aircraft while floating to earth on a parachute.

Some of the Corona project information has appeared to have been magiclly re-classified in the past few years. The Corona program was the first spaceborne imaging system that provided stereo-optical views of the earth. A target could be photographed from space with resolution down to five feet. Thats from space folks without the aid of any digital components. This was a film based system. Pretty amazing if you ask me.

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

WE DID IT!

I was pleased to get the following e-mail today from the space food stick preservation society:



Dear (SCOTTYFERGUSON):

Great news: Space Food Sticks are back! We couldn't have done it without you're support and encouragement of the original SFS fans--so first of all we want to thank you.

Before purchasing the new products I urge you to read our FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) on http://spacefoodsticks.com/spacefood/moreinfo.html

Everything you need to know about the new SFS is there. Also, we are now exclusively selling officially-licensed t-shirts featuring vintage graphics and other memorabilia. Check out the website for vintage TV commercials and more!

Thanks,

Eric Lefcowitz/Space Food Sticks Preservation Society

www.spacefoodsticks.com

PS-Due to extraordinary demand your shipment may take a few extra days. We are operating on a first come, first serve basis. All orders are sent Priority Mail.





I never thought that signing a petition to revive space food sticks would actually work. Go figure.

Boy oh boy havent had one of those since 1975.
SPACE FOOD STICKS had the oddest texture.
It was like a gritty tootsie roll. MMMM MMMM nothing better.
If you were stupid enough to have yourself born after these went off the market I suggest you buy a case for yourselves. Get a nice patch of shag carpet and plop it on the floor in front of your TV set. Crack open a case of the Peanutbutter Sticks, plant your ass on the shag, and watch re-runs of MATCHGAME'73 while eating the entire case. Then and only then will you realize how good these damn things really are.


Here is the commercial that I remember. Note the voiceover has changed the name from SPACE FOOD STICKS to the rather dull name of FOOD STICKS. Oh but they were still called SPACE FOOD STICKS on the box yet the fact remains these things never got out of orbit. That was its downfall. If you lie about something be prepared to keep it up for your entire corporate life.
This was Space food that never got into space.

Pillsbury did have a chewy pastelike food that did make it to skylab but it was not this stick that was marketed to kiddies all over the U.S. Even the people in skylab were FORCED to eat the SPACEFOOD as a nutrition supplement every three days AND only in the event of an emergency.

THE TIE INS vs the knock offs.









The rage within me is hard to contain. I dont know what is worse...
An official BOND tie-in or a BOND-esque knock-off

Click on the title of this post to view the MOUNTAIN DEW/007 commercial

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

It doesnt mean what you think.




Stay the course means that He'll remain inconsistant in his thinking. Stay the course means he'll continue to be sub-par. Stay the course means he'll F-k it up til the bitter end.

Monday, October 23, 2006

ew

Sorry to stray from my usual bullshit but I just noticed how ugly Orlando Bloom's hands are.
He suffers from HOT DOG FINGERS.

House haunt

The house is coming together and by halloween I'll have all the effects up and lights carefully hidden.

Saturday, October 21, 2006

Its gotta be...

Funny

Friday, October 20, 2006

Who the fuck is TED CASABLANCA?


So I just watched VALLEY OF THE DOLLS. The commentary is horrible. Poor old Barbara Parkins is doing her best to offer up any bit of information about this film but her Co-commentator kept stopping her with some inane comment. TED CASABLANCA is a full blown idiot. His commentary is more speculation instead of fact. He actually uses the word FAG in the context we are familiar with in the united states. Sure he is referring to himself but... It's still an ugly word. I didn't care about anything he said. His questions to Ms Parkins were as if a three year old filled out his 3x5 cards. The DVD is great with the exception of the commentary. I've never had to turn off the commentary because I was not learning anything.

The DVD transfer is ok. A few nasty mistimes and that horrible color shift that signifies a scene change is present thru-out the film.
I enjoy this film but I don't like the fact that 20th century fox pandered this to the "GAY" audience. Ted even says that the gay community like to dress up and this film caters to that gay need. WTF? I don't NEED to dress up like a woman? WHO IS THIS TED CASABLANCA and why do I need to listen to his imagined world?

Its not much better with blueberries

Thursday, October 19, 2006

ain't nothin' like a yummy snack.


and this ain't nothing like a yummy snack

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

its no pirate ship.


The one thing I have going for me is lighting. It may look like nothing in the day but at night fog machines stobes and careful lighting make this a pretty cool little graveyard. I have a rig hidden out of sight that floats candles thru thin air across the fromt of the house. I cant seem to get a picture of them because they need to be seen at night.

Pirate ship update


The guy down the street has almost got his pirateship finished.

Amy Winehouse Theme song of the week


Thank to LB for giving me my theme song of the week!

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Minnie is not Crazy!!! Shes F*CKIN Goofy!



The Walt Disney Co. on Thursday said it took "appropriate action" against employees at its Paris theme park who were caught humping while dressed as Disney characters.

Disney would not say whether it had dismissed any of the plushied employees featured in the grainy video, which appears to have been shot with a hidden camera at a backstage dressing room at Disneyland Resort Paris.

"The behavior shown on the video is unacceptable and inexcusable," Disney said in a statement. (I thought Walt was frozen??)

"The video was taken in the backstage area not accessible to guests. Appropriate action has been taken to deal with the cast members involved."

The video shows Minnie Mouse struggling to free herself as she is mock-penatrated from behind by Goofy and then a giant snowman.

Later, Mickey Mouse tries to have it off with a male (non-costumed) castmember but settles on simulated sex with the snowman and Goofy does the same with either Chip or Dale, the chipmunks, as laughter is heard on the recording.

Emma Peel



Diana Rigg.

The sexiest woman ever to hold a gun!

Monday, October 16, 2006

And thats how the head of the KEN doll went missing

Tampa, Florida (Oct 12, 2006 18:29 EST) Lawyers representing a Bay area child are in a St. Petersburg courthouse…..taking on corporate giant Wal-Mart, and a product supplier seeking millions in damages.

The case centers around swimming pool toys known as dive sticks, supplied to Wal-Mart in the 1990's by a Clearwater based Florida Pool.

When Marcus Zunner was just three, he was hospitalized with a severe accident from a divestick.

"He slid into the pool on the slide and he landed on it and it went into his rectum," said Kimberly Zunner, Marcus' mother.



"He suffered a rectal impalement of about an inch and a half. And he had open abdominal surgery, with a cholostomy," said Justin Johnson, Marcus' attorney.

WalMart and Florida Pool, are expected to argue the dive sticks were safe, but that the family misused them, by allowing the child to jump on the sticks in a shallow, inflatable kiddie pool.

The stick's are weighted to stand perpendicular to the bottom of the pool, and when they are three to seven feet underwater, kids often dive after them in order.

But in shallow water, they may stand just inches below the surface which was apparently what happened when Marcus jumped in.

In 1999, the Consumer Product Safety Commission ordered Florida Pool to recall 9,000,000 dive sticks.

The company responded in a news release.

Florida Pool, 1999 news release: "Dive sticks are fun and enjoyable when used properly but are not to be used in shallow water." That recall came after six known injuries were reported to the CPSC, and one year before Marcus' Zunner was hurt landing on a dive stick.

"It subsequently was banned as a hazardous product," said Justin Johnson, Marcus Zummer's attorney.

Those close to Marcus worry he will need a lifetime of medical care and multiple surgeries as a result of the dive stick accident at a young age.

Marcus Zunner is now nine, and according to his lawyer, is doing as well as can be expected.

His lawyer says Marcus will be here at points during the trial, but is not expected to testify.

Saturday, October 14, 2006

Singing Pests

Thanks to Mark for hippin me to this video.

Thursday, October 12, 2006

Age appropriate.




Folks. If you are 40 dress 40 if you are 50 dress 50 if you are 17 dress 17.
Why do people insist on dressing age-inappropriate? It is terribly unattractive to see a 50 year old man in some sort of teen 'Hood costume. No matter how much you spent on the outfit or who made what...It doesn't look good.

Look if you don't know what people your age are supposed to be wearing then you are an idiot. Here is a tip. Don't dress like the people you find attractive. Its the wrong look. Try something simple like... jeans and a shirt.
HERE IS THE BIG TIP: Do not wear anything that is so tight it shows your religion.
Nobody wants to SEE what you got. Let them imagine if they want but, for the love of god, TRY not to look like your smuggling in grapes from South America.

A thought before work

Life seems to be measured by time. A birthday signifies the passing of a year. Why isn't life measured by experience and knowledge? Why is it quantity and not quality?


Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Local Haunts

OK so Down the block there is the yard that is building THE FLYING DUTCHMAN.



Then directly across the street is a Pirate Graveyard. I don't dig the BIG LOTS look but they get a smiley face for effort.

Girrrl you are not going to town in those shoes... You look like a dimestore whore!

My god...
I never put it together until tonight.

Judy Garland Died Sunday June 22nd 1969. So what big deal ...Right?
Her funeral service was on Friday 27 June 1969.

Ring a bell for anyone?

Friday 27 June 1969??? Anyone?

It was the start of the gay rights movement. The Stonewall riot. I guess she does have to work into the fabric of the lifestyle after all.
She may not have been the spoon that stirred the pot but...
she definitely was an ingredient in the soup that night.

Monday, October 09, 2006

Late Start

I know, I Know...
Its already the 10th of October and I don't have any Halloween stuff up. I got a late start this year. It usually goes up around the end of September but ...What can ya do. Yes there have been tombstones in the backyard since early august but those dont count. They are supposed to be there.

I'll be hard pressed to outspook the neighbors this year. The guy around the block is building a Pirate ship in his front yard. So with that in mind I've decided to concentrate on the inside of the house for now.

This is the first thing to go up. Fortuskellateller.





Lightning is a must...


There is always something lurking in the dark...

PLACE name HERE

President Droolcup said North Korea's action deserves "an immediate response by the United Nations Security Council."

Ok fucko why aren't you running to kill these people just like the way you ran an killed people in Iraq? LOOK A "REAL" WEAPON OF MASS DESTRUCTION! I thought you wanted to remove terrorist threat? I thought you wanted to make this a safe world for democracy. LYIN SACK OF SHIT YOU ARE! Korea has nothing but hardworking honest people and no oil. So you tell the UN to handle it? WHAT? I thought the U.S. of A was the rent-a-cops for the world. Dont we make it our business to meddle in other peoples affairs?
You aren't running into this because it wasn't orchestrated like the pretend Iraq war you manufactured. The one that was acomplished oh so many years ago. You remember that war... dont you? The one thats STILL killing people? That's your fault. You make me sick. Your nothing but a failed businessman. Daddies little president.

Saturday, October 07, 2006

Memory what?

Yes I did go and participate in the memory study at ucsd. I have not been able to return to my doctor yet to discuss the results of the tests. I do have to return at the beginning of the year to see if my memory is getting worse. I have been listening to family members speak and I'm beginning to suspect its genetic and not due to medication. Them there peoples that I a part of is wacky! Everyone of them seems to have this faulty memory. EVERY ONE OF THEM! I'm still working on it. I have a lil notepad with me whereever i go and if i feel there is info being delivered to me that i might forget i jot it down. Now here is the fun part. I have so many little notebooks going i dont know witch one i wrote the stuff in. (was it the one at home or the one at work or the one in the car or... did i not write it down?

Work is great home is great and the world is back to normal...
sort of.

Monday, October 02, 2006

Miyake sucks

Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

LACMA's recent exhibit as described by LACMA:

Breaking the Mode: Contemporary Fashion from the Permanent Collection will present designers who found traditional criteria and solutions obsolete, designers who challenged the canons of the body'’s fashionable silhouette, revolutionized methods of garment construction, rejected the formulaic use of materials and techniques, and exploited new technology in textile production.

Here is the misleading banner from the website. The pieces are there but they are diluted with so much Issey Miyake that you may miss them.


LACMA'’s recent exhibit as described by Scotty Ferguson:

Breaking the Mode: Contemporary Fashion from the Permanent Collection presents crap made by Issey Miyake. For those familiar with Miyakes work here is my short description of the exhibit.
A-POS.

I do have to say I had fun at the museum. Here are a few pictures of yesterdays adventure.