Spring is a good time to enjoy street art…

More info.                                                                       More Banksy on streetartutopia.com.

Oh That’s Right! Spring has Sprung and It’s Time for the Young

Hey Ewe!

A pair of lambs sit in the shade of a tree among daffodils at the Hall Farm in Stratford St. Mary, eastern England.

Chris Helgren / Reuters

VIA

A ship-based laser tested by the Navy's research arm could put the heat on Somali pirates.

I know that I just posted something on this new weapon of the Navy’s yesterday, but I didn’t connect the “bobbing boat” in the test with Somali Pirates…silly me. Perhaps this weapon was designed with those rascals in mind. You never know.

No matter how you look at it, it’s Buck Rodger’s stuff to old coots like me!

Excerpt:

“The baseball-sized laser beam, though, could be used to stop small crafts from approaching naval ships. It could also target pirates.

"You can use the laser to ward off an attack, or you can dial it down to a non-lethal level where it basically becomes a very bright light so they know they are being targeted," Michael Deitchman, the director of air warfare and weapons at the Office of Naval Research, said Wednesday.

Deitchman said the laser provides two benefits not seen in other military weapons. The laser is precise, unlike bullets that can ricochet and hit unintended targets, and the laser's strength can be dialed down from a lethal level to a nuisance level.” Story Here

PHOTO: An optimistic artist's rendering of a fully operational Maritime Laser Demonstrator.Office of Naval Research

Good morning Humboldt County! Another post from ‘As It Stands’ to greet your day…

Well here we are on a wacky Wednesday where the improbable is possible, and the world continues to turn…    

From a salesman falling on his sword to ingenious and improbable products, infomercials entertain as well as shock and enlighten us.

Skip ahead to read about:

The Katsak

A presidential Chia Pet

An electric facial mask

A Collection of the Best and Historic Magazine Covers of All Time

 Esquire: December 2000: Clinton

It was said that this photo was inspired by Lincoln Memorial, but everybody interpreted it with reference to Monica Lewinsky.

           TIME: June 21, 1968:

A figure by Roy Lichtenstein, representing a hand with a pistol. This cover was released after the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy. It demanded a legislation about restricting the arms sales.

Texas Monthly: January 2007: The Dick Cheney Cover

After the famous lampoon cover (the sixth from the top in this list) the same idea was remade here, with a few modifications, of course.

This cover also became a huge success and won the Best Cover Line of the Year award from Magazine Publishers of America in 2007.

 

GO HERE TO SEE THE REST

I’m getting ready for the 2012 elections and already know who I‘m voting for…

If you think this sign is funny GO HERE and see 22 more examples of humorous signs…

Marking 150 Years since the Civil War – Let’s Get One Fact Straightened Out…

The 54th Massachusetts Regiment, featured in the film Glory, was not the first black unit to fight. That’s right. Forget what Hollywood told you.

“Black regiments from three other states -- Louisiana, South Carolina and Kansas -- have stronger claims to being the first organized. The 1st Kansas Colored Infantry, military historians seem to agree, engaged the enemy on the battlefield before any other black unit.” Story here.

No ‘rollin on the river’ this year the way things are looking

 Hey Mon! Why no Reggie in Humboldt dis year? What a   bummer. I was sipping my coffee this morning when I read this in the T-S: 

Reggae Rising falling: Ticket-holders looking for refunds

Sounds like a foregone conclusion that there won’t be a Reggie Rising in SoHum this year.

What do you think?

Recent techie news: Navy uses laser gun with success, sinks boat

Buck Rodgers would be proud. Or, would he? Things were different back in the 20s…they used their ray guns to go after that rat Merciless Ming and his minions, and didn’t waste them on helpless little boats. Leaner times and all.

Navy raygun disables boat with new high energy laser marks the first time that a high energy laser has properly functioned as a weapon on the high seas.

image source

Another Manic Monday – or, How is Your Day Going?

It’s Monday, and the start to another week that will surely bring surprises, both good and bad.

Scanning the headlines this morning I see that there were Three strong aftershocks jolt Japanese quake zone.

My Lakers looked real bad in losing their 5th straight game to the Thunder.

Here’s one headline that really got my attention: Drivers start to cut back on gas as prices rise. The article suggests it’s a puzzling decline because Americans usually curb driving only as last resort.

Photo - A portable Texas Department of Transportation sign in downtown Houston displays a message programmed by an unknown prankster who gained access to the onboard computer that controls the sign, Sunday, March 13, 2011. … Read more