* Posts by herman

2392 publicly visible posts • joined 31 Jul 2007

SpaceX Crew Dragons swapped so ISS crew can go home early

herman Silver badge

Re: Bloody typical.

No, this is yesterday’s train. Today’s train comes tomorrow!

herman Silver badge

Re: For a given definition of "early"

Sure but there was no guarantee that the later capsule would be on time either. Later, could mean much later.

Sri Lanka goes bananas after monkey unplugs nation

herman Silver badge
Devil

Great balls of fire

Ouch. The ball of fire the guard saw, was the poor monkey.

Boeing warns SLS staff that job cuts could be on the way

herman Silver badge

The art of war

Boeing has only itself to fear: If your enemy is doing something stupid, then you should let them continue.

Musk's move fast and break things mantra won't work in US.gov

herman Silver badge
Devil

Corrupt nerves

Left wing nuts get so excited about DOGE, they clearly hit corrupt nerves. Good job!

herman Silver badge

Re: Works pretty good actually

What on earth are you saying. Anyhoo, it doesn't matter what you say/think. The USAID is shut down. The good projects will be continued by the State Department and the rubbish will stay shut down. The NGO money troughs are now officially empty and all the fat piggies will have to find real work. Oh, the horror.

herman Silver badge

Re: Works pretty good actually

The waste is not discussed at all on lefty media. No, I do not wonder why only 10% of aid gets to those in need: https://www.foxnews.com/video/6368470866112

herman Silver badge

Re: Heard it all before

So to you, paying Politico and about 6000 journalists around the world, DEI cartoons, puppet shows and operas was tax money well spent? Why don’t you donate your own money for that?

herman Silver badge

Modernists

The local church tower is inscribed with the date 1260. The previous church was a few hundred years older, but was burned down by the very nice Khan brothers.

herman Silver badge

He will get to health care eventually. I’m sure there are billions in kickbacks going on. Here is another corrupt example to cheer you up: https://dailycaller.com/2025/02/04/biden-admin-terrorist-1-3-billion-trump-foreign-aid/

herman Silver badge

Re: Elon Musk is a fucking monster

If we need a monster to expose all the corruption then so be it: https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/02/at-usaid-waste-and-abuse-runs-deep/

herman Silver badge

Re: Heard it all before

So, to you, paying millions to newspapers to write stories favourable to Dems is not corruption? https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/feb/5/trump-administration-axes-8-million-politico-subsc/

herman Silver badge

Re: Works pretty good actually

I have been around the block a few times and as Donald and Elon, do not like waste and corruption. It sure sounds like the pigs at the empty $ trough are now squealing like crazy. So be it.

herman Silver badge
Devil

And all of them suffer from severe MDS. Aspirin must have sold out.

herman Silver badge

Re: The Icon says it all...

It seems that MDS really is a thing!

herman Silver badge

Re: Works pretty good actually

I take it that the thumbs down must be from bored furloughed gov employees who love to waste other people’s money on DEI cartoons and bespoke condoms - amazing.

herman Silver badge
Devil

I would love to be half as unsuccessful as Musk.

herman Silver badge

Works pretty good actually

First they looked at what dodgy things the Treasury is paying and who is doing it, then they went to the worst offender which was USAID. Now they are identifying the useful programs and moving them to the State Department. Everything else will stay halted. That sounds about right to any sensible person.

Does DOGE have what it takes to actually tackle billions in US govt IT spending?

herman Silver badge

Re: Going after federal government tech spending ...

More green thumbs down - poor sods, I almost feel sorry for them.

herman Silver badge

Re: "Any return at all seen directly in the US, is merely a side effect."

Yup, reality is a harsh mistress.

herman Silver badge

Re: "Any return at all seen directly in the US, is merely a side effect."

I have seen the stories about aid rotting ports a few times before. The Haiti example is just the first one that came up in Google.

herman Silver badge

Re: Going after federal government tech spending ...

So, the Office of Management and Budget should be audited and reviewed.

herman Silver badge

Re: The word classified doesn’t really mean anything sinister

In the military, what civilians call unclassified data is classified Restricted. Also, ‘Need to know’ always applies. So if people don’t need to know, then they cannot read ‘unclassified’ Restricted data either. So that is why. Anyhoo, to get Confidential clearance (what you need for HR and payroll type work) really just means you need to sign a few forms to ensure you are aware of the applicable laws.

herman Silver badge

Re: Perhaps

Even left thumbers don’t like lefty press? Poor sods.

herman Silver badge
Devil

Re: "Any return at all seen directly in the US, is merely a side effect."

More thumbs down - the truth hurts!

herman Silver badge

Re: Going after federal government tech spending ...

More Federal Green Tech waste shut down - and it wasn’t even DOGE that done it: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/energy-experts-blast-failed-billion-dollar-doe-project-financial-boondoggle-disaster

herman Silver badge

Re: Classified ads

I am an ex-Army Signals officer so I know what classified information means.

herman Silver badge
Devil

Re: Head up guys

Thumb down - What, your fraudulent payments dried up?

herman Silver badge

Re: Head up guys

That judicial order is just grand standing - the Treasury already improved their operations after DOGE shamex them and pointed out the obvious.

herman Silver badge

Re: Perhaps

Thumbs down - here is the lefty CBS specially for you: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/usaid-merged-into-state-department/

herman Silver badge

Re: Going after federal government tech spending ... Contracts

Three thumbs down- What, the fraudulent payments into your bank accounts stopped?

herman Silver badge

Re: "Any return at all seen directly in the US, is merely a side effect."

All these thumbs down - people don’t like the truth: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/wbna23507559

herman Silver badge
Devil

Re: Going after federal government tech spending ...

It must be newly broke journalists hammering the thumbs down buttons.

herman Silver badge

Re: Going after federal government tech spending ...

Why the thumbs down? This is the Treasury not following its own procedures leading to billions in losses. Being publicly shamed it has now been improved already.

herman Silver badge

Re: It's all quite clear

The US military - The guys who left 80 billion worth of equipment in Afghanistan? The guys who failed every audit for the past seven years?

herman Silver badge

Re: " it built some manufacturing software that was bolted on

OK, since all the US foreign aid is worth nothing, you should send it to my bank account. I will spend it rather more wisely.

herman Silver badge

Re: Perhaps

No, that is not true. The State Dept will take over most USAID projects and the Treasury fraudulent payment issues that were identified are already being resolved, with huge savings.

herman Silver badge

Re: Going after federal government tech spending ... Contracts

No, I think your knee jerk reaction is not warranted. See this article which explains the system issues at the Treasury - mostly human problems, but the computer system can be blamed too for lack of checks: https://www.newsmax.com/politics/elon-musk-doge-fraud/2025/02/08/id/1198368/

herman Silver badge

Re: "Any return at all seen directly in the US, is merely a side effect."

Well, shipping 30000 tons of good Midwest grain to a disused port where it gets dumped and rots and feeds the rats because there is no distribution system, really, really, really is not a good idea, but that is exactly what happens in practice.

herman Silver badge

Re: Going after federal government tech spending ...

Ayup - There is so much fraud going on and the USA is so big that it adds up and becomes mind boggling. See this about the estimated $B1 per week of fraudulent payments at the Treasury, because the officials simply don’t follow the already existing procedures properly: https://www.newsmax.com/politics/elon-musk-doge-fraud/2025/02/08/id/1198368/

herman Silver badge

Re: Going after federal government tech spending ...

Exactly. Feel Good Aid projects tend to be done in isolation. The result is that once done, there is no maintenance and after a year or two, it has all gone to pieces. No matter what we are talking about, everything needs maintenance to be really useful.

herman Silver badge

Classified ads

The word Classified doesn’t really mean anything sinister. Newspapers have classified advertisements. Personnel data is classified as Confidential. You don’t need much to get that level of clearance. Targeting data is Secret. DOGE won’t bother with that.

Trump's Dept of Transport hits brakes on Biden’s EV charger build-out

herman Silver badge

There certainly are more cost effective ways to build public chargers than buying land and building all new facilities as they were doing with this US program. In Europe, chargers are springing up in the parking lots of large stores/malls.

BOFH: Engage Hollywood Protocol – because nonsense always looks legit

herman Silver badge

Re: Absolutely brilliant

Remind me again WHY I hired you? Erm, because you are my uncle?

herman Silver badge

Re: Superb plot twist

Hmm, it has to flash up a long sequence of wrong scenic geolocation pictures before finally settling on the right one, just when everyone runs out of nonsense to talk about.

You know something's wrong when Clippy fills you with nostalgia for simpler times

herman Silver badge
Devil

Re: Feh!

I once installed Bob in a VM just to see what it was about and it truly was awful.

Boeing, Boeing, burned: Over half a billion dollars by Starliner in 2024

herman Silver badge

Re: Lift us down where we belong

They need a Stairway to Heaven to get off of there.

herman Silver badge

Fool me thrice

Try and try again - then, give up. It is no use being a damn fool about it. Boeing is hell bent on being a damn fool it seems.

Boom's XB-1 jet nails supersonic flight for first time

herman Silver badge

The closest I ever got to a Concorde was when flew over slowly on a marketing trip in the 1970s. It was a beautiful plane to see flying.

A good kind of disorder: Boffins boost capacitor tech by disturbing dipoles

herman Silver badge

Re: Breakdown?

The rep of a clothes dryer once was very angry with me and insisted that I must have done something to it to make it fail under warranty. He insisted they are designed to fail 6 months after, not before. Asked him how long the new motor will last - Oh, the new one will last forever!