Torch, you magnificent bastard, you’ve done it again. This article is a gem.

Retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Gene “Geno” Lee...

Futurama refs always get a star from me. All glory to the Hypnotoad!

“...but the breakout scandal at the 2025 Bahrain Grand Prix has got to be the revelation that 5 of the 6 pole contenders used a remote-driving system hooked up to the reanimated brain of Ayrton Senna to set their qualifying laps.”

Cool, I hadn’t heard that.

Maybe if they launched from Texas or something and landed in Florida it would be more practical, but that might be too large of a gap

Yeah, Heavy is 3 9's strapped together, but with a cross-flow system installed for all of the fuel tanks. From launch to jettison, all 27 rockets are fed from the tanks in the outer boosters. When they’re dry, the boosters can be jettisoned and landed lower in the ascent phase than they would without the cross-flow…

I was riding with my buddy Ed in his Camaro back in the late 90s. We were on a 2-lane divided road that wasn’t a highway, in the right lane. There was a state cop in the left lane. At 2 successive stoplights, there was more traffic in the left lane than in the right, meaning that we stopped 2-3 cars back from the…

a decent mid-level white collar job

·NYC REALLY Needs to Build This Gondola Between Brooklyn and Manhattan

I already have a career. I just want to fly, but all the expense and headaches that come with powered flight hold no appeal for me.

That looks very much like my idea of a good time.

Hahahahahahaha, no way! I was totally bullshitting.

Pucker factor: Mein Gott!

Thanks!

Nice, the Schulgleiter! Those were developed in Germany, between World Wars, and often flown by “gliding clubs” that, after Hitler came to power just so happened to send a large proportion of pilots to further training in the Luftwaffe, which was totally coincidental.

Right?!

No, they were called “FJs,” short for “Flying Juniors.” There’s another variant called the “CJ” (Club Junior) that I believe is geared more towards lakes/freshwater rather than ocean racing.

Shitchyeah. I got to race little open dinghies (FJs) when I took sailing lessons as a kid, it was fun as hell. Two middle schoolers who really know what they’re doing can make those little bastards fly.

I agree, this stokes my fires big-time. The strategic tradeoffs around staying a thermal and going for extra altitude (>potential energy) vs. breaking out and trading height for speed (>kinetic energy) are easy to understand. Racing fans will immediately see the parallel between this and making a decision to pit for…