Reasonable men of good will need not agree on everything.

Flight operations in two years? With all the issues with the catapult and arresting gear, those are going to be strictly VTOL and rotary wing... I feel really bad for the future plank-holders on that snakebit ship.

After thinking about what you said, I’m double-unimpressed. Light cart+slow launch = weak sauce. That, plus the terrible MTBF figures, plus the fact that they’re testing this technology which is clearly a long way from being deployment-ready on a carrier that’s supposed to commission soon makes me pretty sure the Ford…

I don’t know... my speed sense is calibrated by ten years of shooting and writing about drag racing. I know how hard things like, say, an Outlaw 10.5 or 275 Drag Radial car accelerate, and this catapult seems to be about that quick.

Maybe it’s just because the carts are so small, compared to carrier aircraft, but these cat shots look really unimpressive and slow compared to what I’m accustomed to. It might have something to do with the fact that the jets always have burner plugged in and are therefore helping to accelerate themselves, but still...

Am I just missing it? Why do these stories usually leave out the make and model of car?

Interesting, but wildly overproduced. I wonder about the footage they didn’t use...

Reminds me of the old GDW board game Boots & Saddles...

Ah. Couldn’t see the video at work! D’oh!

You know what would be a cool addition to this story? Some photos of the complex today, set up for launching the Delta rockets. I’d love to see how different it looks...

It would TOTALLY make my day to run into a fracas like this in a Wal-Mart, where I could calmly walk to the nearest fire extinguisher, pull the pin, and crush both of their skulls with it.

Illegal, stupid, dangerous to others... if you’re that freaked out, I guarantee you aren’t exactly making good decisions behind the wheel. But hey, pot is super cool and should totally be legal 24/7/365/420. Haven’t you heard? Stoned people drive extra slow! It’s like a total cliche joke - they get pulled over doing…

(Editor’s Note: If you think she deserved to have her life ruined on account of some weed, do us all a favor and go fuck yourself)

Awesome content as always, Tyler.

This, exactly. Russian losses on Germany’s Eastern Front were the result of intentional Soviet policy, not the unavoidable cost of war.

No. Just no.

No. Just no.

Why is it “ridiculous”? It’s not tasteless. It was in the economic best interest of both Air France and Pepsi. I’d like an explanation for why you think it’s worthy of ridicule.

Well, I guess I don’t need to watch the last 17 minutes of the TV coverage now. Thanks.

Interesting as always, Tyler! One piece of constructive criticism: