Tag Archives: Navy

Sports Fix
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Sports Fix

Photo courtesy of
‘Zim be nimble, Zim be quick’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

Nationals
Record: 56-75 (Last in the NL East)
Last Two Weeks: 5-8

The impossible-to-miss, off-field story involves none other than his Royal Strasburg. Late last week, the team announced that a tear in Strasburg’s pitching elbow will require reconstructive surgery of the Tommy John type. The Nats enter the last month of the season looking towards next year, but it is also safe to say that many already think even next season could be a lost cause. Still, in the “looking forward” department, there is still at least one bright spot: Bryce Harper was on the scene at Nationals Park, putting on a Nats jersey and launching bombs during batting practice.

On the field, things have been up and down. Last week, the Nationals got swept at home by the lowly Cubs, but managed to take three out of four from a Cardinals squad that is very much in contention in the Central to conclude the homestand. For a team that’s been fairly lifeless in the past month, maybe the Strasburg news is a reminder that no one man makes a club. In the next two weeks, the Nats will play the majority of their games against NL East rivals, save one trip to Pittsburgh next weekend.

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The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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So it begins…

Photo courtesy of
‘Northrop Grumman MQ-8 Fire Scout’
courtesy of ‘gpjt’

The NYT reports that on August 2, Navy personnel at Patuxent Naval Air Station lost control of an unmanned drone which promptly b-lined for DC, making its way into the restricted air space over the city before operators regained control.  The DoD blames the loss of control on the drone becoming self aware and embarking on a mission to destroy humanity a software glitch and have grounded the remainder of the fleet until they’re sure they’ve fixed the problem.  The drone, an MQ8-B Fire Scout, resembling a small helicopter, was unarmed. It managed to travel about 23 miles under its own control before it could be ordered to return to base. I, for one, welcome our new robot overlords.

<a href=’http://www.flickr.com/photos/83536366@N00/4828532171′ title=’Northrop Grumman MQ-8 Fire Scout’><img src=’http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4094/4828532171_7c77402060_m.jpg’ alt=’Photo courtesy of ‘gpjt’/></a><br/><small><a href=’http://www.flickr.com/photos/83536366@N00/4828532171′>’Northrop Grumman MQ-8 Fire Scout'</a></small><br/><small>courtesy of <a href=’http://www.flickr.com/people/83536366@N00/’>’gpjt'</a></small>
Monumental, The Mall
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Monumental: John Paul Jones

John Paul Jones

Where 17th Street dead-ends in Independence Avenue, just to the south of the World War II Memorial, stands John Paul Jones, atop a Marble Platform. The monument, built in 1912 as the first in Potomac Park, stands as the memorial to our first great Naval hero. While his remains lie in the chapel of the Naval Academy in Annapolis, this memorial to Captain Jones stands looking North toward the White House.

Jones was born John Paul, a Scotsman who emigrated to the Colonies around the start of the Revolutionary War. He served aboard British merchant ships prior to his arrival in the Colonies, and had been master and commander of the brig John, where his troubles began. By the time he arrived in Fredericksburg, he’d had to assume another name, John Paul Jones, to avoid hanging for the murder of two sailors under his command: one through flogging, one through a swordfight over wages.
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