Nov
6
2022

The Warp Nacelles Were Always Gonna Be Pricey

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Robby Soave bemoans: Air Force One Cost Overruns Are a Reminder of How Expensive an Imperial Presidency Can Be.

Sustaining an imperial presidency in the air isn't a cheap proposition. It's somehow managing to get more expensive.

On Thursday, airplane maker Boeing announced that the two replacement Air Force One jets it's building will be further delayed and further over budget. Securities filings first reported by the Wall Street Journal show the company expects to lose an additional $766 million on the new presidential shuttles that are also years behind schedule. That brings the company's total losses on the project to $2 billion.

Boeing has a fixed-price contract of $3.9 Billion for the planes. They're technically on the hook for the overruns, But this WSJ report notes that " the plane maker has signaled it may ask for an additional more than $500 million to account for problems related to a key supplier’s bankruptcy and delays related to the Covid-19 pandemic."

Also, a dog ate some of the plans.

Briefly noted:

  • DST is over for now, and the WSJ has advice to the bleary-eyed: Tired of Daylight-Saving Time Confusion? Just Opt Out.

    The end of daylight-saving time in the U.S. on Sunday, a week after Europe, brings the annual confusion of turning the clocks back. Some people are fed up with the whole process. A few refuse to take part in it at all.

    Stefano Pavone from Swindon, England, lives year-round on Greenwich Mean Time, the original standard time. He wears a watch on each wrist as a protest when the U.K. shifts to daylight-saving time from spring until fall. He says he has slept better since making the switch four years ago. “I just need to remember which one to look at when I have an appointment,” he says.

  • The WaPo (via Yahoo News) reports that we could have had a second-best solution: Clock runs out on efforts to make daylight saving time permanent.

    A bill to permanently "spring forward" has been stalled in Congress for more than seven months, as lawmakers trade jabs over whether the Senate should have passed the legislation at all. House officials say they've been deluged by voters with split opinions and warnings from sleep specialists who insist that adopting permanent standard time instead would be healthier, and congressional leaders admit they just don't know what to do.

    It's a second-best solution. Stefano Pavone, above, had the right idea. And so did Pun Salad, nine years ago: The Right Number of Time Zones is Zero.

  • And here's a Janis-free Arlo and Janis with a wise poetic comment:

    [Arlo on DST]

  • The Google LFOD watch brings us an international tale: “Live Free Or Die!” Learn About Solitude, The Heroine Of Guadeloupe.

    “Live free or die!” declared Solitude, “The Warrior Woman” of Guadeloupe shortly before her execution. Her crime, of course, was no crime at all. She helped lead the island’s rebellion to purge slavery and overthrow the French.

    Ackshually, she probably said "Vivre Libre ou Mourir".

  • I rarely post to Facebook, but I couldn't resist:


Last Modified 2024-01-30 7:15 AM EDT