Daily archives: September 9, 2003


Don't believe the hype

The latest cartoon over at the Inquirer show the perils of listening to hype. The test that Apple are using for their claim of “the worlds fastest personal computer” is quite interesting (in a geeky sort of way). It compares the new Power Mac G5 to a 3.0 GHz Pentium (rather than the 3.2 GHz which has been available for a while). Also the tests were compiled with Apple’s own optimised complier for the G5 and the GNU complier for the Pentium (rather than Intel’s own optimised complier). Draw your own conclusions.


Googlism

Just found this (so I apologise if this has appeared before). Googlism.com tells you what google thinks about certain sites such as Spinneyhead.

Googlism for: spinneyhead

spinneyhead is the only citation on popdex for alyson hannigan’s feet

spinneyhead is going to clear 30

spinneyhead is definitely a “hold” position

spinneyhead is the top site for this search

spinneyhead is a yank who came here for a few weeks and hasn’t

spinneyhead is so good

Googlism For JohnnytheO:

johnnytheo is finally up and running

johnnytheo is that there are far more important things in life than worrying about some comments made by an actor

johnnytheo is working on improving the interface


Heavensent- Chapter 10, Part 11

It was dark, but they were already at the outskirts of the city. Gimm still had his map and he had been marking off the red military bases as, one by one, they were bypassed or found empty.

The last camp had been deserted when they reached it. The clear up squad had reported food still cooking on the stove and paperwork unfinished. Some way along the road they had come upon a mass of abandoned and destroyed vehicles, bombed and strafed from the sky. Pathetic erratic tracks led off into the fields. Some, but not many, had made it into the trees, and may have survived. Most were terminated by a pyre or a circle of sooty ground around a disembowelled vehicle.

The tracks and softskins in the column were marked to avoid similar attacks. Even the horse drawn wagon that Jayn had secured had a large white arrow head painted on its upper surfaces.

They were moving more slowly now they were in a built up area. The few tracks that had come ashore with the landing party were at the head of the group, crawling along either side of of the road as theikr support infantry swarmed around them. Every unit was placed to dart down a side alley when defending guns opened up on them.

Bobb stood on top of the wagon, scanning all around. He dropped back into the bed before any officer could see and reprimand him. “Well?” asked Sheel.

“Nothing. Well, there are people in the houses, and they are all staring out, but none of them are armed.”

“How can you tell this?” Out of courtesy they were speaking in a language Jayn could understand.

“Enhanced senses.” Bobb admitted, “not just sight, but the others as well. Sheel, well, you have seen what Sheel can do. And Gimm has a great store of knowledge, and is storing new data all the time.”

“You are Silver Tower monks! That must be the explanation.”

“silver Tower?”

“Far in the Northern forests, from where none ever return, there is a silver tower in the centre of a perfectly circular lake. It is said that the monks of the Silver tower send out holy men and women when they feel the rest of us need guidance.

“You are not from the Silver Tower?”

“No,” Bobb looked at Gimm, who took up the explanation.

“It is possible we are seeking the Silver Tower. Several generations ago, our……. forefathers created a great technology, which they then lost. We are trying to find it so it can be used properly.”

Jayn pondered this for a while. “Several generations ago, you say?”

“A great number.”

“And only now do you come to Cora and Munss with a plan to head north?”

“Yes.”

Jayn pointed up at the sky. She was remembering the fantasy fold outs she had read as a child. “You are from…… beyond, from space. Aren’t you?”


Wing and a prayer

The Me-163 ‘Komet’ was quite an astounding beast. I alluded to a similar plane when the Wasp squadron visited Dreamland (Chapter Three, blink and you miss it). Flight Journal has a long interview with one of the Komet’s chief test pilots.

It also has to be remembered that the Germans weren’t the only ones experimenting with new and unusual aeroplane designs. The Allies’ first jet plane was the Gloster Whittle, a pre-cursor to the Meteor and test bed for jet engines.

The ‘Hiller-copter’ and Landgraf H-2 were early twin bladed helicopter designs.

America experimented with flying wings in designs such as the XP-56 and XB-35, which I’ve mentioned many times before, but there were also experiments with gliders along the same lines.

The Brits also experimented with flying wings, as well as canard and tandem wing designs.

Even the Swedes got in on the act with the Saab 21A.


Plot Thickens

You may remember the 727 that was disappeared from a runway in Angola, only to turn up a few months later with a new paint job in Guinea. By virtue of mentioning the story twice, I got this in my Inbox this morning-

Yes,

I am Joseph B. Padilla, SR.

I live in Pensacola, Florida – U.S.A.

I am the Brother of Ben Charles Padilla Jr.

He is suspected to be the Pilot of the Missing Boeing 727 Plane that left the Airport in Angola on May 25 2003.

I am tring to reach news organizations to help me locate anyone that has seen or heard anything about this missing plane or my brother.

I appeared on ABC’s , Good Morning Amercia alone with my Sister Benita Padilla-Kirkland on June 19 2003 in hopes to get the story out and to Locate my brother.

We both also appeared on CNN’s Morning show, American Morning on June 24 2003.

Can you please help me by broadcasting a story or by your website news or newspaper?

I have alot of information about the dissapearance of the plane and my brother.

You can contact me at : 850-944-9688 or either by e-mail – padilla1956@cox.net

I hope that you will give me your help in hopes that someone seeing the story will either know something about the dissappearance of the plane and my brother or know someone that does.

Here is what I have so far about the story.

As in the begining as I told ABC News on The Good Morning America Show that I appeared on in New York, I thought that the Boeing 727 Plane had been sitting there in Angola for 14 months unattended to and not maintained.

Now, I have found out that My Brother, Ben Charles Padilla, Jr. had been in Angola for 2 months overseeing a crew of aircraft mechanics re-working the plane from one end to the other.

A B-Check was done and it was found to be fine.

I talked to the owner of the plane, Mr. Maury Joseph, which is also the owner of Aerospace Sales And Leasing in South Florida.

I too live in florida, Pensacola, Fl. and my brother too was born and raised here.

Maury Joseph told me that he was there in Angola two weeks before the disappearance to see how things were going with the re-build of the 727 and also talked to my brother 2 days before the plane became missing and he had sent my brother $43,000.00 for him to pay the fees to the airport there in Angola. My brother paid the airport and faxed Maury Joseph the reciept, This is what Maury Joseph told me this past friday night during our two and a half hour phone conversation.

My brother was also incharge of the hiring of a pilot and co-pilot. He was to be the Flight Engineer for the flight out of Angola for the repossession of the Boeing 727 plane.

My brother is not licensed to fly a 727 and never has flown an aircraft this large.

He is a Licensed Aircraft Mechanic, Flight Engineer, and Pilot of smaller airplanes.

I was told that he had took the plane out to the end of the runway and ran the engines up to check to see how they performed.

I feel that when my brother was checking the engines, someone was on the plane and hijacked him.

My brother isn’t a criminal nor has never done any wrong doings.

Maury Joseph told me that he trusts my brother and doesn’t believe the reports of my brother stealing the plane.

Maury Joseph also told me that he had talked to the Airport there in Angola and had found out that the control tower had radioed the 727 and told them as they were headed out to the runway to take off, that they didn’t have clearance nor permission to take off and the tower never recieved a response from the 727.

I talked to my brother Ben Padilla, Jr. back in either Jan. or Feb. and we talked about the Sept. 11 2001 ordeal and he himself told me that if this sort of thing ever happend to him, that he would down the plane in a New York Second.

So, with that said I really believe my brother was hijacked and taken prisonier and held against his will and possibly was killed.

My mother had a heart attack on Mothers day and my brother was e-mailed about this and he responded to the e-mail he recieved from another brother of ours and told him that he would contact us as soon as he could and we haven’t heard anything from him. So, that tells me that something isn’t right since he would of contacted the family about our mother.

I have talked to the FBI and State Department in Washington, D.C. and all they are willing to tell me is that they have not found my brother nor the plane. So, I am tring to search for any information that I can get thru news organizations.

I find alot of stories on the internet and try to get any of the news organizations to run this story.

I also include a couple of pictures of my brother so incase anyone knows anything or has seen him before, to please contact me.

I am including in this e-mail 2 pictures (1, 2) of him incase you run this story inwhich I hope you do.

I would like to include my e-mail address and phone number incase some one reads or sees this that they can contact me.

My phone number is, 850-944-9688 and my e-mail address is, padilla1956@cox.net

Our family has already lost 2 siblings and can not bear to lose another one.

I would appreciate any help you can give me.

If you need any additional information, Please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Thank you so much for your time.

Joseph B. Padilla, SR.

I present it to you as received, I’ve resized the pictures to be more suited to the Internet. I’ve had too many 419 emails to be totally trusting, particularly with the spelling and grammar errors, but he’s not asking for any money and I want to know more about this whole thing as well, so I’m accepting his story until and unless a little Googling proves me wrong.