Hypothetically, if that sociopath didn’t try and hit the motorcycle; Wouldn’t the motorcycle rider be an asshole? The two aren’t mutually exclusive.

I’ll never understand how guys can keep their trousers around their ankles. Gotta take those shackles off!

I believe the safe word = *snoring would apply here.

You’re probably not compatible, but perhaps your stigma of “sadistic/rapey AF” doesn’t help either. There’s another person out there who seeks the exact same kink that your casual hookup is looking for. Ostracizing them doesn’t help. The world of kink runs much deeper than this.

“China/Russia/UK seem to be doing just fine with far fewer than what we got.”

You don’t seem to be familiar with term known as “Operation Availability”. There will never be a point when we can operate 10 carriers simultaneously. We wish we could have 5 carriers out simultaneously. Mid-life overhauls take years. Post-deployment availabilities take at least a year. We managed to get 6 carriers…

She’s an icebreaker in researcher’s clothing. I’ve heard many within the USCG acquisition HQ just wish for a fully realized version of her in the next iteration.

Props on icebreakers serve two purposes. One is for thrust and the other is to “chew” ice as it gets broken. This is what makes the “lane” for supply ships to travel in. The bow breaks it into giant chunks, and the props go blender mode on those chunks. VPP systems don’t handle that sort of a beating well. Regardless…

You can’t put enough backpressure on those engines to generate the pressures necessary to make a blower. You’d need effectively need another turbine engine to generate the pressures you’re talking about. Snow loads are quite heavy.

You’re correct they would. The Healy, largely considered to be a superior designed icebreaker, uses fixed pitch props and she’s been holding up great. The design studies that have been going on are supposed to flush out a lot of these details (or at least compare the options). Hopefully the design also satisfies the,…

Reduced requirements. Russia, China, and the UK don’t have legislatively required defense pacts with over 60 nations that represent 75% world’s economy.

The old ones were definitely atrocious, but a VPP on an icebreaker in general isn’t a good design choice. From what I’ve heard the USCG/Navy will make an explicit requirement that bars VPP from the next icebreaker design. And you’re absolutely right, it’s the dry docking that’s killing their budget. It means that…

Not quickly. The Canadians finished their design over a year ago, and that ship is 7th on the waiting list at that yard to be built. And honestly none of the existing designs are really a good fit for the USCG’s needs.

“gas turbine exhaust would blow the snow off the ice rather handily...”

We already have carrier gaps due to sequestration (and more gaps on the way). We don’t need more.

The problem with the Polar Class is inherent in their design. Particularly the choice of Variable Pitch Propellers (VPP). They breakdown constantly and as a result the Polar Star’s sister ship has been cannibalized to keep her afloat. She’s also had a handful of significant mechanical failures since that refit in ‘12.…

That would be incorrect. These icebreakers will be billion dollar ships. Their hulls are expensive, we don’t have any shipyards with experience building an icebreaker, and their machinery takes a massive beating (as this article touches on). The list kind of goes on, but the bottom line is these things will be pricey.

Wow. Fascinating stuff. Thanks for the info.

This brings up an interesting precedence. If someone sets up a website with said GIF, and someone with epilepsy that visits that site suffers a seizure, is the site operator liable? Obviously this was intentionally directed toward the journalist, but the scenario is interesting nonetheless. Do folks with epilepsy…

“as soon as any state has viable method of preventing a second strike reprisal the whole thing becomes a race to see who can get their reprisal in before the strike they are avenging hits.”