okay, so I had to watch it to see if I understood correctly:



If the conveyer belt and the plane are moving at the same speed, why does the plane drive forward for quite some distance before it takes off? That's not impressive at all. It honestly doesn't look like they proved shit in that video. I'm not even sure what they're proving exactly. It seems like a stupid episode to me.

hmm... I always assumed that the reason we have runways is precisely in order to force air over and under the wings of an aircraft in combination with the turbines which aid the process. Otherwise, why do we even fucking bother with runways??? Why don't we just make evey volanter VTOL-capable then? We don't need runways? That sounds fucking retarded to me. Of COURSE we need runways or we wouldn't keep spending millions of dollars making and maintaining them. That's the most retarded shit I ever heard.

Kottke liveblogs Mythbusters testing the airplane on a conveyor belt question. (Spoilers.)

The result that Adam and Jamie come up with isn't that surprising. The response in the comment thread ("they didn't do it right", etc.) is a bit so.

Trees Reviewed:

Trees. It seems like you see them everywhere these days. But are trees viable in the long-term, or just another flash-in-the-pan fad for the under-30 crowd?

Sweet, Tony, I just sent off my application for an elective in Halifax. Everything is going according to plan...

And, good to hear, Dana, that there weren't any serious injuries and that that emergency plan was up to snuff.

Yeah, my mom called me about that explosion last night. Apparently it was a steam injection unit or a vac truck (not sure which one). My brother-in-law was in town when it happened. Noone was seriously hurt, luckily, but I think it tested the towns emergency response system!

Well, I've finally sent off my application to University of King's College in Halifax. Fingers crossed!

Though I won't be hearing anything either way until the end of March, so now I get to play the waiting game...

What the crap? Blasts shake east-central Alberta town:

Three explosions at a machine shop rocked the town of Castor, Alta., on Tuesday, forcing the evacuation of some businesses, a school and a daycare.

RCMP said the blasts happened at a Terraco A & E Oilfield Services just before 10 a.m. MT on Tuesday. Const. Brett Torpe said an initial explosion was followed by other blasts as the fuel tanks of several trucks parked inside caught fire.

Three men working inside the shop were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

What gives?! Yesterday in my office it was psychotically cold! (Big drafty windows equals me wearing my down filled jacket in the office.) Now today it is psychotically hot! (I could wear my board shorts!)

Finally, an inspiring choice in the upcoming provincial election! Rhinos horn in on election:

Some Alberta Rhinos' pledges:

- Annex Saskatchewan to create more room for affordable housing;
- Push British Columbia into the sea, so Albertans can enjoy oceanfront property;
- Abolish the environment because it's too hard to clean;
- Legalize pot. "And pans. And spatulas."
- Rename the province "The People's Republic of North Montana" and make Medicine Hat its capital, since the party couldn't concoct a funnier name;
- Get drunk and throw money at more problems, not just the homelessness;
- Merge with the Tories to stop splitting the "silly vote;" and
- Above all, it promises to not keep any promises.