Mendel
Senior Member.
New theory:
the Air Force found out that Russia has inflatable fighter jets, and that's why they're conducting missile tests against balloons now. It pays to be prepared!
Edit:
You can buy these life-sized for 4000€ on Alibaba https://www.alibaba.com/product-det...-Decoy-Plane-Model-Fighter-1600151559601.html
Does this prove that China supplies weapons to Russia?
Last edited:
Gary C
Senior Member.
New theory:
the Air Force found out that Russia has inflatable fighter jets, and that's why they're conducting missile tests against balloons now. It pays to be prepared!
Edit:
You can buy these life-sized for 4000€ on Alibaba https://www.alibaba.com/product-det...-Decoy-Plane-Model-Fighter-1600151559601.html
View attachment 84153
Does this prove that China supplies weapons to Russia?
The heaters positioned to simulate the post-flight cool down of hot engines is a nice touch.
NorCal Dave
Senior Member.
Cute, bit I'm calling CGI on this one. No cat would jump like that with it's rear paws almost in front of its front ones. I think one can see the transition just as the cat gets ready to jump. It suddenly gets much darker, then lightens up again as it walks away. As it's a GIF I can't scrub frame by frame, but it sure looks like the camera movement, as related to the door frame, stops as the cat is leaping through the screen, then resumes as it walks off. Nice try.
Calter
Senior Member.
It looks pretty real to me, there's even a whole compilation of the same cat crossing that door similarly
Source: https://www.facebook.com/reel/781998360734919
Source: https://www.facebook.com/reel/781998360734919
Mendel
Senior Member.
I thought it planned to land on the vertical, but was foiled when it gave way.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzPv0_SHS10
JMartJr
Senior Member.
Hey , I'm impressed we lasted 93 pages before the ol' "wait, is that TRUE..." instincts kicked in!
deirdre
Senior Member
i thought he just didnt want to step on the mat (texture issues) but a magnetic bottom makes sense too!
deirdre
Senior Member
JMartJr
Senior Member.
Speaking of cats and stepping on textures... I have previously referenced Mr. Trouble, the elderly one eyed black cat with a heart murmur and kidney issues who can neither sleep through the night nor keep quiet about how awake he is and how much he'd appreciate a little company, which we inherited from my late mother-in-law. Among the other things he does that are "differently charming," he found a place that seemed to him a fine place to empty the ol' bladder, an opinion which I did not share. So, having cleaned it up, I put down a good layer of aluminum foil, which cats are supposed to avoid stepping on. (Over) confident that the problem was solved, I went on my way
Mr. Trouble did not get the memo about not stepping on foil, I guess, as he is willing to step on it en route to the geometric center of the field of foil, which was apparently an even better peeing spot. Then, because he is a polite and cultured old gentleman, he did his best to bury his "leavings," clawing the foil to shreds and allowing the contents to pass through to the rug. The noise that made brought me running...
So I cleaned it up again, and surrendered -- I put a new litter box there, and we all seem to be back on the side of right and good.
Fortunately, he has turned into just a sweet loving ol' boy in his sunset years (he was as mean as a basket of hungover snakes for much of his life) and so we love him and put up with his trifling ways... but I wish somebody had explained about the foil to him...
Mendel
Senior Member.
NorCal Dave
Senior Member.
This one's for you my long suffering friend. Not only is this a great parody of Home Improvement shows, which I as a contractor watched a fair bit of a while back, it also includes the mother-in-law's 27 year old cat with kidney problems:
Source: https://youtu.be/d1Z4mYxNGC0?si=-TBL1juNCGKnF2tl
NoParty
Senior Member.
My favorite is a song by the Swedish progressive rock band Blå Tåget, dealing with the so called "submarine affair" in the 1980s, when Russian submarines were said to roam the Swedish shores.
My favorite lines are:
"To capture pictures where nothing is seen
No camera lens is that keen.
But the headlines were thankful and bold—
Cry wolf, and the story is sold."
Here's the whole song, translated from Swedish:
"The Overture was an Eighties Wet Dream
First in the paper, a depth-charged boat
That lay in silence, without a leak,
And sold extra papers week after week.
But maybe what was really required
Was a sub-affair to get Carl Bildt inspired?
Death fish, "hard facts"
Gave nothing much to react.
But as a nightmare, the sub remained—
Perhaps a threat, but clearly well-gained.
In '81 it ran aground itself,
In Karlskrona, a golden wealth.
It crashed in Gåsefjärden,
And made headlines the world over:
"Here we have a spying sub—
Captain Gusjtjin, red as a grub."
And where else was he to go,
With no underwater hideout to show?
So the voyage home ended fast,
As a spy boat with nuclear stash.
In '82 the reports grew more,
Of what submarines supposedly bore.
Surely some were serious,
And gave the Supreme Commander a fuss.
Sweden was violated, like by a swarm,
So he gathered it all into a form:
Pure eyewitness testimony—
To consider slowly, carefully.
Beneath the water, a full invasion,
But on land, just irritation.
Soon after, in Horsfjärden, they saw—
A man from Norrland, one from Skåne's shore.
What looked like a periscope glinted,
As they stood there, fishing, unstinted.
A chopper with depth charges came quick,
Journalists too, their pens to lick.
Now blood was about to flow,
Ingvar Carlsson made sure we'd know.
These were glorious days of strife,
Over Mysingen's waters, sharp as a knife.
So disappointed the sub got away,
Carl Bildt nearly cried that day.
He had already published his book,
Where he had them caught on the hook.
In the commission he played his part,
Sweden's east coast was violated at heart.
There were tape recordings that seemed shady,
And "only Russians" could be so crazy.
Many waltzes can turn to a song—
Was the explanation: mini-subs all along?
Yes, Sven Andersson had to agree,
They'd even been seen in Stockholm's sea!
Olof Palme was surprised,
The whole story seemed improvised.
It was hard to grasp any real threat,
Lennart Bodström refused to let.
But they all had to sign at last,
On the sub commission's past.
The main point: Swedish unity—
Olof Palme swore on that with certainty.
To capture pictures where nothing is seen
No camera lens is that keen.
But the headlines were thankful and bold—
Cry wolf, and the story is sold.
Look for ghosts and you'll find a troll,
Though our signals intel found nothing at all.
So there were divers at Lerakär,
And Karlskrona a total snare.
Various frogmen and paddlers slipped,
How they transformed, no one equipped.
It became a postmodern intrigue,
Where fiction itself was the thing to believe.
Just like tabloid sensationalism,
Feeding a hungry readership's prism.
But when readiness takes its toll,
The alternative is bomb and control.
Then war propaganda takes the stand,
And there's nowhere safe to land.
What is certain, what counts as true?
Perhaps Carl Bildt's not the one to ask you."
My favorite lines are:
"To capture pictures where nothing is seen
No camera lens is that keen.
But the headlines were thankful and bold—
Cry wolf, and the story is sold."
Here's the whole song, translated from Swedish:
"The Overture was an Eighties Wet Dream
First in the paper, a depth-charged boat
That lay in silence, without a leak,
And sold extra papers week after week.
But maybe what was really required
Was a sub-affair to get Carl Bildt inspired?
Death fish, "hard facts"
Gave nothing much to react.
But as a nightmare, the sub remained—
Perhaps a threat, but clearly well-gained.
In '81 it ran aground itself,
In Karlskrona, a golden wealth.
It crashed in Gåsefjärden,
And made headlines the world over:
"Here we have a spying sub—
Captain Gusjtjin, red as a grub."
And where else was he to go,
With no underwater hideout to show?
So the voyage home ended fast,
As a spy boat with nuclear stash.
In '82 the reports grew more,
Of what submarines supposedly bore.
Surely some were serious,
And gave the Supreme Commander a fuss.
Sweden was violated, like by a swarm,
So he gathered it all into a form:
Pure eyewitness testimony—
To consider slowly, carefully.
Beneath the water, a full invasion,
But on land, just irritation.
Soon after, in Horsfjärden, they saw—
A man from Norrland, one from Skåne's shore.
What looked like a periscope glinted,
As they stood there, fishing, unstinted.
A chopper with depth charges came quick,
Journalists too, their pens to lick.
Now blood was about to flow,
Ingvar Carlsson made sure we'd know.
These were glorious days of strife,
Over Mysingen's waters, sharp as a knife.
So disappointed the sub got away,
Carl Bildt nearly cried that day.
He had already published his book,
Where he had them caught on the hook.
In the commission he played his part,
Sweden's east coast was violated at heart.
There were tape recordings that seemed shady,
And "only Russians" could be so crazy.
Many waltzes can turn to a song—
Was the explanation: mini-subs all along?
Yes, Sven Andersson had to agree,
They'd even been seen in Stockholm's sea!
Olof Palme was surprised,
The whole story seemed improvised.
It was hard to grasp any real threat,
Lennart Bodström refused to let.
But they all had to sign at last,
On the sub commission's past.
The main point: Swedish unity—
Olof Palme swore on that with certainty.
To capture pictures where nothing is seen
No camera lens is that keen.
But the headlines were thankful and bold—
Cry wolf, and the story is sold.
Look for ghosts and you'll find a troll,
Though our signals intel found nothing at all.
So there were divers at Lerakär,
And Karlskrona a total snare.
Various frogmen and paddlers slipped,
How they transformed, no one equipped.
It became a postmodern intrigue,
Where fiction itself was the thing to believe.
Just like tabloid sensationalism,
Feeding a hungry readership's prism.
But when readiness takes its toll,
The alternative is bomb and control.
Then war propaganda takes the stand,
And there's nowhere safe to land.
What is certain, what counts as true?
Perhaps Carl Bildt's not the one to ask you."
FatPhil
Senior Member.
I'm not sure why you need the "said to roam" softening to there being territorial incursions - I'm old enough to remember this incident, where you got on the boat, and took the captain off the boat - and from where I'm sitting, I'm pretty sure that counts as pretty good evidence there was a boat in your protected waters:
-- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_submarine_S-363External Quote:
FatPhil
Senior Member.
Oi! Stop recycling my jokes!
https://www.metabunk.org/threads/the-1933-hugh-gray-loch-ness-monster-photo.14400/page-2#post-350591
https://www.metabunk.org/threads/the-1933-hugh-gray-loch-ness-monster-photo.14400/page-2#post-350591
Ann K
Senior Member.
They have extended their range recently, and can now be found hovering over Scandinavian airports.
JMartJr
Senior Member.
I find myself utterly charmed by Bagpuss. And I almost never use the term "I find myself utterly charmed..."
PS: Jokes are not recycled, they are stolen. Without the constant stealing of jokes, humor as we know it would come to an end...
Was driving south from Orange County yesterday evening when we saw this saucer-shaped thing over the ocean heading out and I knew it was going to get some attention and sure enough the local subreddit posted on it.
When I checked on it at a rest stop on I-5, Flightradar24 showed it as a Goodyear blimp making 48kts, I guess coming here for the 5:40 Padres game because the Miramar Air Show had been over for a couple of hours.
When I checked on it at a rest stop on I-5, Flightradar24 showed it as a Goodyear blimp making 48kts, I guess coming here for the 5:40 Padres game because the Miramar Air Show had been over for a couple of hours.
Ann K
Senior Member.
Goodyear replaced all its blimps with dirigibles, and they are all proportionately longer and thinner than the blimps. That makes them more "UFO-shaped".
Unfortunately, the engines don't make the same sound, and I can no longer tell when one is passing over my house. 
FatPhil
Senior Member.
That was really new when I went to Oxford in the late 80s. You might think it would hold some kind of mystique for new students, and everyone would trapse out of town to go see it, but, in reality, because it was so close to the London Road (which all the coaches from the south east entered via), and so clearly visible therefrom, most of the new students had already seen it in passing on their way into town already. It's still kinda cool though, and I am very glad that it persists.
FatPhil
Senior Member.
JMartJr
Senior Member.
Big Vampire is behind the whole chemtrail thing -- the trails are, in fact, likely just clouds, but Big Vampire is manipulating plane designs to cause more, and more persistent, trails, because, you know, vampires and sunlight thing...
(And no, I am not, at all, in the employ of "Big Comma.")
(And no, I am not, at all, in the employ of "Big Comma.")
Gary C
Senior Member.
That's confusing because professional cloud seeding services use (or did use) silver iodide which can cause allergic reactions in sensitive vampires.
deirdre
Senior Member
thats just a very modern thing a few writers stole from werewolves.
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