Actually, the first thing you describe is a nuclear "dirty" bomb, and would still be very effective of making an area uninhabitable for years. I think people would probably wish to be vaporized, rather than suffer with radiation sickness.

While it may not launch one, couldn't it BECOME one? Stick a camera in that bay!

Except satellites have a fixed orbit. They come overhead of certain places at certain times. They are also of fixed technology. With this, you can literally load up something that was built yesterday, and stick it in an orbit that according to intel, coincide with whatever you want to see, and view it in a spectrum…

Wouldn't they transfer the extra heat into the ship through conduction?

Vs. putting it in the plane and seeing if it works then?

They said it "looks like" him. I would wager that face on, it doesn't, but the profile does.

But to view it, you would need a mirror, and this would appear backwards in one...

Evil shenanigans!

You mean Spot/Spike(I forget what it's name was)?

The kind with the little disc that you spin the handle. [lifehacker.com]

But you need to remember that up until recently, they had no real "power". It is only recently, with the birth of the dragons and their proximity that their spells have gained power. So I would imagine that before now, they have been practicing "street magic", but no real spells, as the power hasn't been there to…

Yeah, but whoever buys it has to wipe down the walls.

Unless they can see from the ground, Hubble is still the most powerful space telescope. Also, it appears they only are more "powerful" optics wise, not in sensor/camera/other equipment, like Hubble is.

Actually, IIRC, they didn't want to be accused of not faithfully reproducing the aircraft like their leader told them to if the aircraft were closely inspected, even if they knew exactly what the piece was for, and it contributed nothing to the aircraft. This came down to things like reproducing obvious repair jobs…

[www.nbc.com]

Head wound Harry?

Hasn't Los Angeles had some earthquakes in that time? I would assume that would interrupt the power, but if the fragile neon light also survived all of those tremors, I think THAT is the real story.

Are all of those REALLY old vinyl, or round colored plastic with printed vintage record labels on them?

Even a florescent tube?

It seems like the Truth Chamber is like that anti-echo/sound deadening chamber, which drives people insane in under an hour.