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Secret Titanic mission

Bob Ballard has revealed that he went in search of the Titanic only after being required to find the wrecks of two Cold War nuclear submarines.

Coincidentally, I was browing wikis only yesterday about the very same subject. On spotting a Dutch submarine (Walrus) in Cork, I looked it up, which led me to other submarines, like the latest Virginia class US subs, then on to a story about the Thresher and Scorpion and theories surrounding their loss.

One of the stories relates to K-129, which is rumoured to have attempted a nuclear strike on Pearl Harbour in 1968. The story went that the Scorpion was sunk by another Russian sub in retaliation for the Swordfish sinking the K-129 before it could launch its attack.

It also led me to the interesting anecdote of the falling H-bomb in, Palomares, Spain in 1966. The fisherman, Simó Orts, who saw where the bomb dropped into the sea, claimed salvage rights.

It is customary maritime law that the person who identifies the location of a ship to be salved has the right to a salvage award if that identification leads to a successful recovery. The amount is nominal, usually 1 or 2 percent, sometimes a bit more, of the intrinsic value to the owner of the thing salved. But the thing salved off Palomares was a hydrogen bomb, the same bomb valued by no less an authority than the Secretary of Defense at $2 billion—each percent of which is, of course, $20 million.

The Air Force settled out of court for an undisclosed sum

As we say in Cork, how bad.

Going, going…

Is Oprah losing her mojo? Ratings are falling and her magazine “O” is not selling as well these days. The article contends it has something to do with a backlash after her support for Obama over Clinton.

I can’t help but think it’s because of all that new-fangled nonsense she appears to be into. It follows her cancelling her own show a few weeks ago.

Repossessing houses

The NY Times has an interesting look at the work of contractors whose job it is to clean up and repair vacated houses following foreclosure. One of the things people might leave behind: pets.

Indeed a charity, No Paws Left Behind, has been started to try and find homes for pets abandoned after foreclosure. The banks hold on to the properties, boarding them up until the market comes right I guess.

About oil

The Jed Report helpfully links to a video of John McCain using some interesting logic.

“I will have an energy policy which will eliminate our dependence on oil from the Middle East… that will then prevent us from having to send our young men and women into conflict again in the Middle East.”

But the war wasn’t about oil, was it John?

How to win the Lunar X prize

Popular Mechanics have a fascinating how-to guide on the Google sponsored prize to get private enterprise onto the moon.

They helpfully conclude:

Realistically, the odds seem to be against a prize-winning lunar mission by 2012. But take heart: Lindbergh and Rutan beat long odds. If you manage to snag a friendly billionaire and follow our how-to guide, there’s no reason you won’t be ready to join the pantheon of aerospace prizewinners.


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