Probably true, unless it was cold and the cat wanted a warm lap, but at least the human would share the shame instead of being humiliated by the dogs. Everyone submits to cats, they rule.
Happy Friday, Gerbil Nation!
A great big “Howdy” to Sven, and Mac!
Man, it’s been a busy day here! Back-to-back-to-back meetings, invoices that don’t make sense, teachers playing one admin off another to get the answer they want -- I’m living the dream!
I wonder why the U.S. used a Sidewinder missile, at somewhere around $600k, to blow up the balloon’s payload, rather than firing a short burst of 20mm rounds into the balloon? Did they want to make sure that no large pieces survived?
I recently read that the Canadians had fired over 1,000 rounds of 20mm at a balloon and failed to bring it down. I don’t know if this is true. I wonder how hard it would be to ignite hydrogen, if they used that, at that altitude. I don’t think just punching some holes in the bag would have much effect in the short term, and of course the bag would not set off the shells.
There’s not enough oxygen at 58,000 feet to reliably ignite hydrogen in a balloon. If you watch the video of the missile strike, the payload disintegrates first, then the balloon becomes a streamer and falls. Obviously they were able to tear enough holes in the balloon to let enough gas escape so that the balloon was no longer able to lift itself.
If a cat lived there, only the cat would be on the couch.
Good morning, GN.
Probably true, unless it was cold and the cat wanted a warm lap, but at least the human would share the shame instead of being humiliated by the dogs. Everyone submits to cats, they rule.
I wonder if it’s innate to their nature or something learned?
I think a cat would say it is by Divine Right.
Leave it to a cat to play the God and soul card.
Happy Friday, Gerbil Nation!
A great big “Howdy” to Sven, and Mac!
Man, it’s been a busy day here! Back-to-back-to-back meetings, invoices that don’t make sense, teachers playing one admin off another to get the answer they want -- I’m living the dream!
Hang in there -- you are doing it for the children, Paddy!
I wonder how much a balloon costs compared to the cost of shooting one down? If I were the chinese, I’d start floating a bunch of them this way.
I wonder why the U.S. used a Sidewinder missile, at somewhere around $600k, to blow up the balloon’s payload, rather than firing a short burst of 20mm rounds into the balloon? Did they want to make sure that no large pieces survived?
probably.
I recently read that the Canadians had fired over 1,000 rounds of 20mm at a balloon and failed to bring it down. I don’t know if this is true. I wonder how hard it would be to ignite hydrogen, if they used that, at that altitude. I don’t think just punching some holes in the bag would have much effect in the short term, and of course the bag would not set off the shells.
There’s not enough oxygen at 58,000 feet to reliably ignite hydrogen in a balloon. If you watch the video of the missile strike, the payload disintegrates first, then the balloon becomes a streamer and falls. Obviously they were able to tear enough holes in the balloon to let enough gas escape so that the balloon was no longer able to lift itself.