[Thread] Mobile Launch Platforms are some of my favourite pieces of ground support equipment, so here's a closer look at the Saturn V MLPs with some images from the archive.

The first MLP began construction in July of 1963. The first image here is from late 1963 shows the construction areas just north of the VAB site for MLPs 1 & 2. The second image is a closer look at one of the MLPs in early 1964.

These two images from early 1964 show part of the mount mechanisms that would support the MLPs as they were constructed. Just the size of these alone starts to put things in to perspective!

As the first tower began to grow taller in May of 1964, the first Crawler Transporter (Image 3 and foreground of image 2) began to take shape.

A view of the launch platform itself as it was still being built in July of 1964. The launch platform covered an area close to half an acre.

1) A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE!🇺🇲 🇩🇪 In 1944, Fritz Vincken was a 12 year-old German boy who lived with his mother Elisabeth in a small cottage in the Ardennes Forest.

A monolith has appeared December 5th in Colombia, but unlike the others appearing around the world, this one is Gold👑 LETS GO! 😏

It was found in Chia (that means thé godess Moon🌛) Colombia, located in the North of Bogota.

I read about this country and what i have found is that before the spanish conquest of the New World, the belief of the inhabitants of Bogota formed part of the Muisca religion. 🔆

In the practice of their religion, they used a lot of gold. Ritual tools were "covered in gold" 17💧

Eldorado is the name of the tribal chef of the Muisca people. That name come from the spanish "El hombre dorado" The Golden Man🔥

In June, 1965 a monk in Vietnam hoped to convince Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to speak out for the first time against the US war in Vietnam.

So he sent a letter, and a year later in 1966 he sat with Dr. King as he spoke out against the war.

Here’s what Thich Nhat Hanh wrote...

"The self-burning of Vietnamese Buddhist monks in 1963 is somehow difficult for the Western Christian conscience to understand. The Press spoke then of suicide, but in the essence, it is not. It is not even a protest."

"What the monks said in the letters they left before burning themselves aimed only at alarming, at moving the hearts of the oppressors and at calling the attention of the world to the suffering endured then by the Vietnamese."

"To burn oneself by fire is to prove that what one is saying is of the utmost importance. There is nothing more painful than burning oneself. To say something while experiencing this kind of pain is to say it with the utmost of courage, frankness, determination and sincerity."

"During the ceremony of ordination, as practiced in the Mahayana tradition, the monk-candidate is required to burn one, or more, small spots on his body in taking the vow to observe the 250 rules of a bhikshu..."

A thread on some links between art and literature...
All available in an editable booklet >> https://t.co/QQQ5j31ekw #TeamEnglish

Sethos I Before Horus, by Unknown Artist (c.1280 BCE)

Sethos I was the father of Ramesses II (also known as Ozymandias). In the wallpainting, Sethos is receiving pharaonic regalia to emphasise his power and military success.

Link: Ozymandias, by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Mona Lisa, by Leonardo da Vinci (1503)

The smile of Mona Lisa, also known as a Lisa Gherardini, is playful and ambiguous – almost like she is hiding a secret.

Link: My Last Duchess, by Robert Browning

Landscape with the Fall of Icarus, by Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1558)

An illustration of the dangers of pride and ambition. From soaring so high, Icarus is barely noticeable after his fall and life simply carries on around him.

Link: Jekyll and Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson

Experiment with a Bird in an Air Pump, by Joseph Wright of Derby (1768)

A wild-eyed scientist, onlookers who seem both intrigued and horrified, and a strong contrast between darkness and light.

Link: Jekyll and Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson

Playing a bit of Tower of Druaga, in the Namco Museum collection. Splatterhouse is in there too, and it makes a good comparison, because you know how Splatterhouse's only draw is the hyper-detailed violence? Druaga is like that except the only draw is the hyper-obscure secrets.

But the secrets made it a huge hit in Japan in 1984. This is supposedly the game that created the Japanese arcade culture of players sharing notes, because the only path to success was approaching the game as a community.

Tower of Druaga clearly draws inspiration from Pac-Man (it's a maze chase) and Rogue (the maze isn't randomized, but everything *in it* is, plus you bump into enemies to attack them) and Wizardry/D&D (theming and upgrades).

To advance past each floor, you need to find the key and the exit, dodging monsters. You can also find a secret item on each floor. These "optional" items are crucial, some are literally required to proceed, and the processes you need to guess at to unlock them are *ridiculous*.

A sampling:
- Kill 3 slimes.
- Touch the left and right dungeon walls.
- Don't touch the outside walls for 12 seconds.
- Swing your sword while standing on the exit.
- Press 1P start.
- Kill 6 colored slimes in a specific order.
- Step on 3 unmarked tiles in a specific order.

The mysterious story of tomatoes 🍅 & cigarettes 🚬
An interesting scientific story discussed by Kenneth M. Smith (1892-1981) who is considered to be one of the pioneers of the scientific field of ‘Virology’. Long thread, Enjoy the Sunday reading 😀1/n

In his 1943 book, Smith wrote about a story of two American tobacco farmers, one of whom was much troubled by outbreaks of tobacco mosaic disease in his crops, while the other managed to keep his plants fairly clear of the trouble. 2/n

Furthermore, the first farmer noticed that the infection tended to occur in a straight line (tobacco mosaic is very infectious disease & it is not insect-transmitted). So, Smith assumed that the disease seemed to follow the movements of the farmworkers who tended the plants. 3/n

It seemed likely, therefore, that they were the transmitting agents. Closer inquiry into the personal habits of the farmworkers revealed the fact that several of them indulged in the practice of chewing tobacco, & herein, lies the clue to the mosaic infection. 4/n

The virus of tobacco mosaic is one of the most stable & resistant viruses known, & some brands of chewing tobacco are not subjected in the curing process to sufficiently high temperatures or other treatments which would destroy the virus. 5/n

THOSE WHO KNOW US
30 Dec 2020 - 11:40:11 PM

Will Understand This Thread.
Those That Don't -- Soon Will.

#WWG1WGA #TheGreatAwakening

A thread of “1984” quotes that are eerily applicable to today’s times:

Honeybee historians - track changes in the UK floral landscape over the last 65 years, showing key changes in nectar resources. New paper in @CommsBio by the Science Team @walesbotanic @Zwickynova @abigailjayne26

We analysed 441 honey samples from throughout the UK using DNA metabarcoding to find out which plants honeybees use to make honey. We compared this to a survey of honey samples carried out in 1952.

In 1952 the most important plant for honeybees was white clover (Trifolium repens). This used to be abundant in grazed pastures but increases in silage production and use of inorganic fertilisers and herbicides means that there is less flowering white clover available in 2017.

With less white clover available, honeybees most important plant in 2017 was bramble (Rubus fruticosus). Commonly found on the edges of hedgerows and woodlands and other wild spaces.

The honeybees have also made use of a new crop, oil seed rape. Oil seed rape was first grown in the 1960s and now bright yellow fields of oil seed rape are common in spring. It is now an important honeybee plant and a source of honey (which I think tastes of cabbages).

THE RISE OF KHALISTANI SLOGANS
In 1980's and early 90's, The demand of Khalistan in Punjab was at peak. B/w 1979 - 1989, 5000 civilians were killed in Punjab by Pro Khalistani Terrorists. In 1990 - 1991, more than 5,058 civilians and hundreds of police personnel were killed.

This was the worst period of voilence in Punjab, Militants and Pakistanis were claiming that Punjab had liberated zones. These zones existed in the regions of Punjab called "MAJHA", which was the worst effected district of Punjab.

On 30 September 1990, around 200 Pro Khalistani Militants attacked BALWINDER SINGH SANDHU'S house and the security provided by State Government ran out of fear. Undaunted, the Sandhu brothers and their wives fought the terrorists with their pistols and sten guns

provided by the Government. The resistance shown by the Sandhu brothers and their family members forced the terrorists to retreat.
Family has displayed courage and bravery of a high order in facing the attack of the terrorists and foiling their repeated murderous attempts.

Mr. BALWINDER SINGH SANDHU & Mr. RANJIT SINGH SANDHU along with their wives Mrs. JAGDISH KAUR & Mrs. BALRAJ KAUR was attacked around 20 times in between 1988 - 1991.

It appears that the ancient Aeolian city of Kyme will be partially (or entirely?) destroyed as the plans for a new commercial port that degrades its legal protection status as a historical site were

While focusing on such events individually is important, like most crimes against humanity's shared cultural heritage, there's also an ideological component; the Erdogan regime has successfully utilized the "progress" idea in its relentless pursuit to channel resources to its+

client base (as in clientelism) via construction projects, many of them without proven economic benefits. Anyone who dares to oppose such projects automatically becomes an enemy of progress, a remnant of the ancien regime. The success of the idea of progress, and in particular+

progress in this guise are neither new nor unique to the Erdogan regime. The Turkish Republic's ideological and material history is rich in the utilization of this idea, and I have personally witnessed its destructive tendencies in the name of progress as a kid in the 70s and 80s

The idea has been so successful because it combines the destruction of Turkey's ideologically "unacceptable" non-Turkish heritage with the idea that anything old must be replaced with the new for the benefit of the people. So the Erdogan regime is merely the latest flag bearer of

Here's some New Year fun (which I'm sure we could all do with right now). When I was getting ideas together for the book, one of the potential chapter headings I had was 'Hawkwind's Thwarted Pop Career'... Here's a "what if?" alternative singles schedule for the 1970s ;-) 1/17

‘Mirror Of Illusion’ – July 1970. At the last minute, the A & B side of Hawkwind’s debut single are swapped when John Peel tells Doug Smith that ‘Hurry On Sundown’ takes “too long to get going.” It doesn’t chart, but Peel gives it lots of spins on Top Gear

‘You Know You’re Only Dreaming’ – Oct 1970. Their profile boosted by reports of their Isle Of Wight performances, Andrew Lauder suggests a standalone single. A re-recorded version of this track from the Trident sessions is rush-released and sells strongly

‘Master Of The Universe’ – Sept 1971. By now the biggest band in the underground, Hawkwind trail the release of their second album with an edited version of this soon to be classic track. To everyone's surprise, it charts for four weeks, peaking at no. 37

‘Silver Machine’ – June 1972. Hawkwind’s next single crashes into the charts, its space age boogie loved by teenyboppers and Hells Angels alike. Pan’s People perform a ‘sexy robot’ routine to it on Top Of The Pops, and the following week, it goes to no. 1

@BrittTheBarista @Perduesenate @marcorubio You've believed the Big Lie that Democrats "will destroy America with socialism."

I understand. I believed it too.

It's time to start asking yourself whether it's true.

To find out, we only need a quick tour of history.

1/x

@Perduesenate @marcorubio We only need to start asking questions.

So let's do it.

1) Has there ever been a time when Democrats controlled American government?

2) If so, did those Democrats come close to destroying America with socialism?

The first question is easy to answer.

2/x

@Perduesenate @marcorubio We've had many Democratic Presidents in the past. To keep it relevant, let's concentrate on the past 40 years, or the lifetime of the average American.

In 1980, Ronald Reagan -- a Republican -- was elected President. For most of the next 8 years, we had a booming economy.

3/x

@Perduesenate @marcorubio So far, so good.

His Vice-President, George H W Bush, took over as President in 1988, & was President until 1992.

During Bush's term, America slipped into a recession.

Because of this, Bush's Democratic challenger, Bill Clinton, was elected President of the United States.

4/x

@Perduesenate @marcorubio This gave Democrats an opportunity to destroy America with socialism, if that's what they wanted to do.

Is that what happened? No, in fact, during Clinton's 8 years, America's economy boomed.

SO much that we were actually talking about paying off the national debt...!

5/x

How Black Americans Were Robbed of $66 Million & 14 Million Acres of Land

[History Thread]

So fascinating, how certain folks suddenly care about "historical accuracy" in fiction when the Black people show up.

I've read novels set in historical periods that featured no women, children, or elderly; none of the reviews noted this. Watched shows set in big American cities -- MY city -- that turned it into young cishet Whitelandia. Not remotely accurate! Never a peep from Team Accuracy.

I've written novels featuring amorphous continent-wrecking gods, talking statues, ninja priests killing people under the watchful eye of a gas giant -- but it's so very telling that the biggest pushback I get is over my characters' race... or mine.

What these folks aaaaaktually want is inaccuracy, of a very specific type. The same inaccuracy they've been fed their whole lives: that white people are the be-all and end-all of every time period, ever. Other kinds of people might be spoken of, but never seen.

They read this in books, see it in films and TV shows, and then try to impose it on real life. We don't do official sundown towns anymore but there are still plenty of de facto ones, where local cops stalk Black residents and local economies prey on them, 'til they leave.

@SenateGOP start of a long list of issues. First while you are seemingly secure in DC you are not across an ocean like the English King was in 1775. The Constitution provided remedies. When an independent judiciarybis no longer independent then there is another check

You are that check. You see here in America we are fed up with lockdowns, we are fed up with complacent legislatures, we are fed up with our protests being squashed with local government intervention. We have sought every avenue to have our voices heard.

Our protests were met with violence from the left, our affidavits were scorned and not given ear in the courts which are supposed to be unbiased and non partisan places for our offenses to be judged. We have protested the heavy ham handed lockdowns.

The media has turned a blind eye to our plea's instead siding with DC. Did anyone see the voting map? Little dots of blue in a sea of Red? Our forefathers who were quakers, protestants, and puritans were very patient with a King.

We are not quakers, protestants or puritans and we are fed up. The same issues facing Britain in 1776 now are present in America. You live in a city, DC that thinks the world revolves around it. It does not. You think you are insulated like a British King. You are not.