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Off Topic The "That's interesting"/geek thread

Discussion in 'Queens Park Rangers' started by UTRs, May 25, 2018.

  1. kiwiqpr

    kiwiqpr Barnsie Mod

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    US Navy admits it has top secret video from infamous 'Tic Tac' UFO encounter

    The US Navy has admitted it has top secret video and slides from an infamous UFO incident - but it won't release them as they could cause "grave damage" to national security.

    Researcher Christian Lambright submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the US Navy’s Office of Naval Intelligence for records relating to the USS Nimitz's so-called "Tic Tac" encounter in 2004.

    US Navy Commander David Fravor was one of two pilots from the USS Nimitz on a routine training mission over the Pacific when he spotted an object "shaped like a 40ft Tic Tac sweet".

    They were about 100 miles out to sea when their F/A–18 fighter planes were diverted to check out an aircraft spotted on radar from another ship, the cruiser USS Princeton.

    The UFO first appeared at 80,000ft, then hurtled towards the sea, stopping at 20,000 feet and hovering before dropping out of radar.

    When Commander Fravor arrived he saw a white aircraft hovering 50 feet above a disturbance in the ocean.

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    © Provided by Mirror A US Navy pilot recorded the moment when he encountered a UFO in 2004
    Video of the encounter was revealed to public in 2017 and the Navy finally admitted the videos were real last November.

    But another video exists along with other "top secret" records and slides.

    In October last year, long-time researcher Lambright, of Austin, Texas, fired off a Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA)request for data on the incident which happened almost 16 years ago.

    Mr Lambright asked the Navy for all records and reports relating to the investigation and detection of "Anomalous Aerial Vehciles" by personnel involved with the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group operations, off the western coast of the US between 10-16 November, 2004.

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    © Getty Images/Stocktrek Images Commander David Fravor returned to Aircraft carrier USS Nimitz after the 'unidentifed aerial phenomena'
    In his request, he stated: "Information supportive of my request comes from a former pilot and now writer who has publicly stated he was allowed to see an exhaustive classified Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) report on these events prior to an article he published in 2015.

    "Other supportive information comes from a contractor/analyst who has stated that an investigation had been conducted by a 'GS-15' with the Office of Naval Intelligence."

    Lambright even offers to pay the US Navy a maximum of $50 over and above the '2 hours' research time and first 100 pages free’ provisions of the FOIA for costs associated with his request.

    Less than two months later, on December 9, 2019, the ONI’s FOIA/PA Coordinator, Camille V’Estres, sent Lambright an astonishing reply admitting the Navy had further footage but it was classified secret.

    Her letter states: “This is a final response to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request of October 28, 2019, addressed to the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI).

    "Your request was assigned the above referenced Department of Navy FOIA number.

    "You request all releasable portions of records and reports related to investigation of the detection of and encounter(s) with Anomalous Aerial Vehicles (AAVs) by personnel involved with the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group (CSG) operations off the western coast of the United States during the period of approximately 10-16 November, 2004.

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    © Provided by Mirror The pilot had the contact with the UFO just off Ensenada in Mexico
    "Our review of our records and systems reveal that ONI has no releasable records related to your request. ONI has searched our records for responsive documents.

    "We have discovered certain briefing slides that are classified TOP SECRET. A review of these materials indicates that are currently and appropriate Marked and Classified TOP SECRET under Executive Order 13526, and the Original Classification Authority has determined that the release of these materials would cause exceptionally grave damage to the National Security of the United States.

    "Specifically, under Section 1.4, the materials would trigger protections under subcategory c), the Intelligence Activities of the United States, as well as the Sources and Methods that are being used to gather information in support of the National Security of the United States.

    "In addition, the materials would trigger protections under subcategory e), Scientific and Technological Matters related to the National Security of the United States. For this reason, the materials are exempt from release under the (b) (1) Exemption for Classified Matters of National Defense. As a result these records may not be released and are being withheld.

    "We have also determined that ONI possesses a video classified SECRET that ONI is not the Original Classification Authority for. ONI has forwarded your request to Naval Air Systems Command to make a determination on releasability."

    Former cop Gary Heseltine, of Scholes, West Yorkshire, who now runs the UFO Truth ezine, said: "I am aware of these developments and they clearly paint a very serious picture of the way the Tic-Tac case is viewed by the US Navy.

    "They have admitted that the 3 FLIR videos to date are real and DO depict unknown aerial vehicles moving in US airspace. To admit that they have 'slides' that are classified as 'Top Secret' is hugely significant.

    "Recently the pilot who actually filmed the famous tic-tac video Chad Underwood admitted that he had left his FLIR camera on throughout the encounter and that there was originally a longer video sequence in the region of 10 mins plus with a much higher video resolution.

    "The US Navy are now saying that the longer versions were 'destroyed'. Really? The Nimitz incident is fast becoming one of the best cases on record as many of the radar and technicians on the carrier group are coming forward with more information.

    "I think much more detail will emerge over the next 12 months."
     
    #441
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  2. kiwiqpr

    kiwiqpr Barnsie Mod

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    oldhams ground looks like its in a massive warehouse
    number 58
     
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  3. QPRski

    QPRski Well-Known Member

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    #443
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  4. UTRs

    UTRs Senile Member

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  5. QPRski

    QPRski Well-Known Member

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    #445
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  6. UTRs

    UTRs Senile Member

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    #446
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  7. Steelmonkey

    Steelmonkey Well-Known Member

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    The media are starting to get a bit panicky!
     
    #447
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  8. sb_73

    sb_73 Well-Known Member

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    I’m on a transatlantic flight on Sunday, my company has banned travel to and from China on business until the end of February, but can’t stop people flying on their own account and our research labs are packed out with Chinese scientists who will have been home for Chinese New Year. I’ll be pissed off if I catch something, but at the same time I reckon you are only at serious risk if you are already ill or vulnerable.
     
    #448
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  9. Steelmonkey

    Steelmonkey Well-Known Member

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    Space cookies: First food baked in space by astronauts
    • 24 January 2020
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    Image copyrightNASA
    Image captionTests are being carried out to determine whether the cookies are safe to eat
    Chocolate chip cookies have become the first food to be baked in space in a first-of-its-kind experiment.

    Astronauts baked the cookies in a special zero-gravity oven at the International Space Station (ISS) last month.

    Sealed in individual baking pouches, three of the cookies returned to Earth on the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft on 7 January.

    The aim of the experiment was to study cooking options for long-haul trips.

    The results of the experiment, carried out by astronauts Luca Parmitano and Christina Koch, were revealed this week.

    The question is: how do they taste? The answer: nobody knows, yet.

    A spokesman for Double Tree, the company that supplied the dough, told the BBC the cookies would "soon undergo additional testing by food science professionals to determine the final results of the experiment".

    These tests will establish whether the cookies are safe to eat.

    For the experiment, five cookies were baked over several days to determine the ideal cooking temperature and time.

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    Image copyrightPA MEDIA
    Image captionFive cookies were baked as part of the experiment
    On Earth, it takes about 20 minutes to bake cookies at a temperature of around 150C (300F). The astronauts found that, in space, it takes far longer.

    The first cookie - baked for 25 minutes - was undercooked, but the second - baked for 75 minutes - released a fresh scent in the ISS.

    The fourth and fifth cookies - one baked for 120 minutes and left to cool for 25 minutes, and the other baked for 130 minutes and left to cool for 10 minutes - were deemed to be the most successful.

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    Image copyrightPA MEDIA
    Image captionThe aim of the experiment was to test cooking options for long-haul space trips
    As the cookies were baking, Mr Parmitano, an Italian astronaut for the European Space Agency, kept mission control abreast of their progress.

    Tweeting from space in December, Ms Koch, a Nasa astronaut, wrote about making the cookies in space:

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    Image Copyright @Astro_Christina@ASTRO_CHRISTINA

    Report
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    They were baked in a prototype oven built by NanoRacks and Zero G Kitchen, which create appliances for microgravity use in long-duration space flights.

    A cargo craft containing the oven and baking ingredients took off from the US state of Virginia in November last year.

    Zero G Kitchen describes the oven as "a cylindrical-shaped insulated container designed to hold and bake food samples in the microgravity environment".

    The oven heats food through electric heating elements, similar to those found in a toaster oven, the company says.

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    You may also be interested in:


    Media captionSee how Nasa is training its astronauts for a possible human mission to Mars
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    "While we have initial visual and scent feedback from the crew aboard the ISS, we're excited to dive into fully understanding the baking results," said Mary Murphy, senior internal payloads manager at NanoRacks.

    DoubleTree said it planned to preserve the cookies where visitors could view them and learn more about the experiment.

    The results will help experts with future efforts to make long-duration space travel more hospitable, the company said.
     
    #449
  10. QPRski

    QPRski Well-Known Member

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    #450
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  11. Steelmonkey

    Steelmonkey Well-Known Member

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    Salt 'n' sauce - Scotland's culinary divide

    It's the condiment that divides a nation.

    Salt 'n' sauce is part of the chip shop tradition in and around Edinburgh, but salt and vinegar still reigns supreme across the rest of Scotland.

    Inspired by a question from reader Iain Simpson, we tried to find out why Scotland is split over what you should put on your chips - and see if it was possible to define the boundaries of chippy sauce country

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-scotland-51193539/salt-n-sauce-scotland-s-culinary-divide
     
    #451
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  12. QPRski

    QPRski Well-Known Member

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    #452
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  13. QPRski

    QPRski Well-Known Member

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    #453
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  14. kiwiqpr

    kiwiqpr Barnsie Mod

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    #PalindromeDay: Geeks around the world celebrate 02/02/2020
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    Image copyrightEPA
    Image caption This palindrome day coincides with another key event - Groundhog Day in the US
    Maths geeks around the world are celebrating a day so rare that - unless they're very, very young - it's certain to happen only once in their lifetimes.

    This is, of course, palindrome day, when the date - in this case 02/02/2020 - reads the same way back to front.

    But while palindrome days come and go - 20/02/2002 is another example - this one is special.

    Unlike the date in 2002, this one reads the same in the US, where dates are written as month-day-year instead of day-month-year as in much of the rest of the world.

    It also works for China and a handful of other countries which put the year first.


    The last time a palindrome like this happened was 11 November 1111. (Which is really beside the point, because no-one was using Arabic numerals in North America then.)

    In that year:

    • Crusaders led by Baldwin I of Jerusalem were fighting the Turks in what is now northern Syria
    • Henry I, fourth son of William the Conqueror, was king of England
    • Afonso I, founder of the kingdom of Portugal, was born
    We don't have to wait quite so long for the next international palindrome day, though - it's 12 December 2121. Who knows? Some of us may even live to see it.

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    Image Copyright @harrybakerpoet@harrybakerpoet

    Those who are super-engaged with dates and numbers will have pointed out another anomaly.

    Sunday 2 February is number 33 in days of the year - 33 being another palindrome. And as this is a leap year, it's also 333 days from the end of the year - a third palindrome.

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    Image Copyright @inkyelbows@inkyelbows

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    Meanwhile, many social media users have been pointing out that this palindrome day coincides with another major event in the North American calendar.

    As the dawn came up over the US state of Pennsylvania, the world's most famous groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, predicted an early spring.

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    Image Copyright @WeavervilleWeb@WeavervilleWeb

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    International palindrome dates:
    • 01/01/1010
    • 11/11/1111
    • 02/02/2020
    • 12/12/2121
    • 03/03/3030
    • 04/04/4040
    • 05/05/5050
     
    #454
    Last edited: Feb 2, 2020
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  15. Steelmonkey

    Steelmonkey Well-Known Member

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    That's the way to build your infrastructure! 1000 bed hospital built in 10 days!!!

     
    #455
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  16. sb_73

    sb_73 Well-Known Member

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    Impressive, but there are some downsides attached to having a government able to demand that something like this happens.
     
    #456
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  17. Stroller

    Stroller Well-Known Member

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    A man, a plan, a canal. Panama.
     
    #457
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  18. QPRski

    QPRski Well-Known Member

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    #458
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  19. UTRs

    UTRs Senile Member

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    This is what happens when you offer any big cat a p!ss poor vegan alternative selection on the menu...<whistle>

     
    #459
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  20. UTRs

    UTRs Senile Member

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