Jimmy Robinson’s Elements

10.4 Megatons

In Arlington National Cemetery lies Captain Jimmy Priestly Robinson of the US Air Force, Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple Heart, and Air Medal. It celebrates a pilot who flew into a hydrogen bomb’s mushroom cloud to give the world two new elements. By 1952, the world knew of 98 elements, the last six had been created at the University of California, Berkeley, mainly by chemist Glenn Seaborg, by bombarding nuclei with light ions or neutrons.

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NATO Phonetic Alphabet

Delta, Oscar, Yankee, Lima, Echo’ Sierra _ Sierra, Papa, Alpha, Charlie, Echo – Doyle’s Space

I’m on the phone at the pharmacy and people are trying to spell their names, or needed medications, and using a phonetic alphabet, basically making up a new one for each letter, like “C” CAT, “E” Elephant, or “P” Pneumonia. I thought a refresher on the proper usage would be in order.

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Rock of Gibraltar

With its pleasant sub-tropical climate and beautiful backdrop, the beaches are a perfect place to cool down on a hot day. Check out Catalan and Sandy Bay, or the Eastern/Western beaches to take a dip. Oh, and make sure to keep an eye out for the Dolphins!

The Rock of Gibraltar is a monolithic limestone promontory located in the British territory of Gibraltar, near the southwestern tip of Europe on the Iberian Peninsula, and near the entrance to the Mediterranean.

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Submarine AE1 Found

On the 104th anniversary of the loss of Australia’s first submarine HMAS AE1, a report released by the Australian National Maritime Museum today reveals new evidence which may finally solve the mystery behind its disappearance on 14 September 1914.

HMAS AE1 was an E-class submarine of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), their first submarine. AE1 was built by Vickers Limited at Barrow-in-Furness, England, having been laid down on November 14, 1911, and launched on May 22, 1913, and commissioned into the RAN on February 28, 1914.

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USS Oklahoma Unknown Marines and Sailors

DNA identification and the men of the USS Oklahoma

USS Oklahoma (BB-37) was commissioned in 1916, a Nevada-class battleship. the first class of oil-burning dreadnoughts (an “all-big-gun” armament scheme, with an unprecedented number of heavy-caliber guns, and steam turbine propulsion).

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Parachute Flares

Distress signal or UFO?

A parachute flare is a small parachute with an illuminating flare connected to it so as the flare burns it is slowly dropped to the ground. They are used to illuminate areas at night or in low light. Flare parachutes have often been used in Iraq so soldiers could illuminate various areas and see more clearly at night.

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CONPLAN 8888

Break Glass In Case Of Zombies

CONPLAN 8888 (or CONOP 8888) also known as Counter-Zombie Dominance is a U.S. Department of Defense Strategic Command CONOP document that describes a plan for defending against any zombies. The April 30, 2011 document depicts fictional scenarios of zombie attacks for training students in military planning

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9/11

Have you forgotten?

This post was originally published on 9/11/2020 and updated on 9/11/2021

Where were you on September the 11th, 1999 at 8:46 am? I was at work, D&B Software (Geac/MSA) watching on a TV, on a roll cart, that John Hilyer set-up quickly so we could all watch.

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WWII Navy Ice Cream

USS Quartz (IX-150), a contemporary of the ice cream barge, used as a “crockery” ship

To say that ice cream was popular in the Navy is an understatement. When the carrier USS Lexington was left sinking at the Battle of the Coral Sea and the captain ordered the crew to abandon ship, some of the crew went into the reefers[1] on the mess decks first and ate every drop of ice cream she had before going over the side.

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Project Excelsior

614 miles per hour fall, almost hitting the speed of sound

On August 16, 1960, US Air Force Captain Joseph W. Kittinger jumped into aviation history. Project Excelsior was a series of parachute jumps made in 1959 and 1960 from helium balloons in the stratosphere. The purpose was to test the Beaupre multi-stage parachute system[1] intended to be used by pilots ejecting from high altitude

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