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geebsSo I just saw images of the new Audi S5 coming out. Its supposed to compete with BMW's M3. But I thought that was what Audi's RS4 did? Of course, I think the RS4 price is more akin to the M5. So is Audi just expanding its line by creating the 5 and 7 series. Or will they be discontinuting the 4, 6, and 8 and just getting their naming convention in line with BMW's?
Military procurement rant of the day: No, this isn't about Dragon Skin, even though I still think its criminal that are soldiers aren't getting the best protection possible. This is about the recent decision by the military to not adopt the HK 416. (well, not their decision itself, but their reasoning behind the decision, but more on that later) Yeah, it would cost a lot to replace our rifle inventories, but since its mainly just the upper receiver that differs from an M4, I believe the 416 has at least 40% parts commonality with our M4s in stock. I mean, basically, it takes the superior platform of the M4, and changes its gas system offering reliability on par with the AK-47. Its the best of both worlds.
What's the big deal? Well, given that'll we're stuck fighting in a desert environment (and will be for the forseeable future) the improvements HK made to the design make the weapon more reliable in that kind of environment. The M4 works like a charm, if its kept clean. But where we're fighting now, sand gets frickin' everywhere, making it close to impossible to keep the weapons clean. Again, its ridiculous! Our soldiers are in a war without popular support. They don't have the best protection available (seriously, dragon skin protects from AUTOMATIC RIFLE fire! No other system in the world can do that and stay so flexible and thus not hamper their movement as much!) and they're using weapons that don't work reliably when a suitable replacement is readily available.
The mentality is, they don't want to pay the money purchasing these weapons, because they don't represent a significant enough technological leap! Okay, I can understand that in planes and tanks and other things with fancy electronic gizmos! But frankly, I think we've reached the pinnacle of gun design. There is no next step, at least in actual mechnical design. Well, I guess there's trying out an electrothermal firing mechanism, but that's just sci-fi fantasy. The actual mechanisms haven't really changed in the past century. All a gun does is have a pin stirke a bullet, creating a chemical reaction, sending the projectile down a barrel which imparts a certain amount of spin. Its a simple design, there's nothing more you can change there.
Well, you can try and perfect the materials and caliber size, but weapons today are so modular that you can easily get what works now and be able to find a drop in replacement years from now. But there really is no next generation like there are for fighter planes and tanks and all that jazz. I mean, they're still spending money on perfecting the XM29 (the rifle portion of which is just a modified HK G36!) with its airbursting grenade technology! They still haven't perfected the weight issues and get it to a cost-effective point. But as I said, since weapons today are so modular, particularly with everything having picatinny rails up the wazoo, why not work on a air-bursting grenade launcher design that can be mounted onto a rifle via the rails, as opposed to a propietary weapons system?!
All in all, I can accept them saying they just don't have the money, but don't try to sugar coat it by saying you want to save the money for "the next generation" of weapons systems. Why does that even matter anyways? I know we shouldn't rest on our laurels, but the West has no real competition in terms of weapons technology! The people we're likely to fight now and in the forseeable future aren't high tech, so we don't need to be so fancy. Sure, some people will say, what about the Chinese? They just steal all their tech from us anyways, so its not like there's a real arms race anymore! We're not racing against anyone, because none of our enemies are developing new technologies, they're just reverse engineering ours and putting their own spin on it!
Yes, I realize the a great portion of people reading what's under the cut would have no idear (or care) what the frick I'm talking about, but I figured cars and guns are a change of pace from the teen drama and sitcom posts I've been making as of late.
Oh, I forgot to mention, one of the commercials during the OC is for Adam Brody's new movie, "In the Land of Women". So is the chick from the Panic Room supposed to be his love interest in that? He's more than a decade older than her. Weird! Of course, when I say that chick from the Panic Room, I mean Kristen Stewart of Zathura and Catch That Kid fame, not Jodie Foster. (Speaking of, I was unsure who was more horrible tonight, Joy on My Name is Earl with her "do me on the pinball machine like Jodie Foster in that one porno", or any of Sarah Silverman's scenes playing "mother" to her "daughter". Heh, she can be so effed up!)
Military procurement rant of the day: No, this isn't about Dragon Skin, even though I still think its criminal that are soldiers aren't getting the best protection possible. This is about the recent decision by the military to not adopt the HK 416. (well, not their decision itself, but their reasoning behind the decision, but more on that later) Yeah, it would cost a lot to replace our rifle inventories, but since its mainly just the upper receiver that differs from an M4, I believe the 416 has at least 40% parts commonality with our M4s in stock. I mean, basically, it takes the superior platform of the M4, and changes its gas system offering reliability on par with the AK-47. Its the best of both worlds.
What's the big deal? Well, given that'll we're stuck fighting in a desert environment (and will be for the forseeable future) the improvements HK made to the design make the weapon more reliable in that kind of environment. The M4 works like a charm, if its kept clean. But where we're fighting now, sand gets frickin' everywhere, making it close to impossible to keep the weapons clean. Again, its ridiculous! Our soldiers are in a war without popular support. They don't have the best protection available (seriously, dragon skin protects from AUTOMATIC RIFLE fire! No other system in the world can do that and stay so flexible and thus not hamper their movement as much!) and they're using weapons that don't work reliably when a suitable replacement is readily available.
The mentality is, they don't want to pay the money purchasing these weapons, because they don't represent a significant enough technological leap! Okay, I can understand that in planes and tanks and other things with fancy electronic gizmos! But frankly, I think we've reached the pinnacle of gun design. There is no next step, at least in actual mechnical design. Well, I guess there's trying out an electrothermal firing mechanism, but that's just sci-fi fantasy. The actual mechanisms haven't really changed in the past century. All a gun does is have a pin stirke a bullet, creating a chemical reaction, sending the projectile down a barrel which imparts a certain amount of spin. Its a simple design, there's nothing more you can change there.
Well, you can try and perfect the materials and caliber size, but weapons today are so modular that you can easily get what works now and be able to find a drop in replacement years from now. But there really is no next generation like there are for fighter planes and tanks and all that jazz. I mean, they're still spending money on perfecting the XM29 (the rifle portion of which is just a modified HK G36!) with its airbursting grenade technology! They still haven't perfected the weight issues and get it to a cost-effective point. But as I said, since weapons today are so modular, particularly with everything having picatinny rails up the wazoo, why not work on a air-bursting grenade launcher design that can be mounted onto a rifle via the rails, as opposed to a propietary weapons system?!
All in all, I can accept them saying they just don't have the money, but don't try to sugar coat it by saying you want to save the money for "the next generation" of weapons systems. Why does that even matter anyways? I know we shouldn't rest on our laurels, but the West has no real competition in terms of weapons technology! The people we're likely to fight now and in the forseeable future aren't high tech, so we don't need to be so fancy. Sure, some people will say, what about the Chinese? They just steal all their tech from us anyways, so its not like there's a real arms race anymore! We're not racing against anyone, because none of our enemies are developing new technologies, they're just reverse engineering ours and putting their own spin on it!
Yes, I realize the a great portion of people reading what's under the cut would have no idear (or care) what the frick I'm talking about, but I figured cars and guns are a change of pace from the teen drama and sitcom posts I've been making as of late.
Oh, I forgot to mention, one of the commercials during the OC is for Adam Brody's new movie, "In the Land of Women". So is the chick from the Panic Room supposed to be his love interest in that? He's more than a decade older than her. Weird! Of course, when I say that chick from the Panic Room, I mean Kristen Stewart of Zathura and Catch That Kid fame, not Jodie Foster. (Speaking of, I was unsure who was more horrible tonight, Joy on My Name is Earl with her "do me on the pinball machine like Jodie Foster in that one porno", or any of Sarah Silverman's scenes playing "mother" to her "daughter". Heh, she can be so effed up!)
