#supersons is also a treasure trove

[daydreamerwonderkid]

More Damian being hilarious moments because his sense of humor speaks to me, pt. 2

pt. 1

[thepastisalreadywritten]

Elizabeth II liked to drink a Martini before meeting guests when she was flying and always requested a particular type of mint sweet during take-off, it has emerged.

The late Queen also enjoyed following the route map while travelling.

Her flying habits are revealed in a treasure trove of memorabilia kept for decades by an air hostess who worked for British Airways for 28 years from 1970.

Elizabeth Evans, from Birmingham, served many famous travellers during her long career, among them the late Queen and Prince Philip during their 1989 tour of Singapore and Malaysia.

A collection of mementoes found in Mrs Evans’ study following her death contains confidential instructions on how to look after the royal couple.

The points of etiquette reveal that the late Queen liked a bowl of sugar-free Velamints beside her on take-off and that she should be left to doze if she was sleeping prior to landing.

She also preferred to use her own pillows, with her personal dresser advising on how to make up her bed.

Any guests joining the royals for dinner would be told what time cocktails were to be served in the royal compartment and the Queen would later be asked which wine she would like served with dinner.

“Her Majesty tends to like a Martini before her guests arrive,” the notes state.

Canapes were served with cocktails before the guests took their seats and staff were reminded that the late Queen must be served first.

One section of the notes is titled “Tips for Royal Compartment,” under which is listed: “Route map – Her Majesty enjoys looking at these.”

Members of the flight crew were told not to pass through the cabin and to restrict all noise.

The memorabilia, inherited by Mrs Evans’ niece, Jo Smallwood, is expected to fetch between £400-£600 when it goes under the hammer at Hansons Auctioneers on August 20.

Charles Hanson, owner of the auctioneers, said:

“Elizabeth must have been extremely highly regarded by BA because she served some of the most important people in the world. Take that 1989 British Airways royal flight.

Her memorabilia includes confidential instructions on how to care for our late Queen and Prince Philip – right down to the sweets Her Majesty preferred on take-off.”

Velamints were launched in the US in 1977 and are said to have become president Ronald Reagan’s favourite mint.

They were dubbed “the Official Air Force 1 mint.”

Meanwhile, both the late Queen and her husband were known to be fond of a Martini, which they would typically enjoy before dinner.

In late 2021, a year before her death, it emerged that she had given up drinking on doctors’ orders.

She was said to favour a gin and Dubonnet at lunchtime, and a gin and vermouth cocktail before dinner.

Mrs Evans also crewed Concorde, the world’s first commercial supersonic airliner, which would fly at twice the speed of sound, during the 1980s and 1990s.

She kept signed menu cards and other paraphernalia relating to many of her VIP passengers, including Rod Stewart, Cliff Richard, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and the late Patrick Swayze.

Mr Hanson noted that although the late Queen had flown to Singapore and Malaysia on BA, she had closely followed Concorde’s development.

“Elizabeth’s archive sweeps us back in time to the 1970s, 80s and 90s when flying on Concorde was a luxurious privilege enjoyed by the wealthy jet-set,” he added.

“Celebrities flocked to use its services and carrying royalty was the norm. Service had to be first class.”

He said of the late Queen:

“She enjoyed her first supersonic flight in 1977 and used the aircraft for state visits.

The Queen of the Skies was seen as fitting transport for the Queen of the realm."

“In 1991, Charles and Diana, then the Prince and Princess of Wales, flew supersonic during a trip to Oman and Pakistan."

“Elizabeth gathered mementoes throughout her career. Her memorabilia captures the life and times of Concorde at its height and the detail that went into luxury travel with British Airways.

No VIP wish was too small to be accommodated. Even smoking was permitted on board back then.”

Ms Smallword, 53, a retired police officer, from Solihull, West Midlands, said:

“I was aware of some of the things Elizabeth had kept from her career with BA but nothing on this scale.

She married late in life, moving to Devon and finally Hermanus, in South Africa.

The objects were found there in her study following her death at the age of 70 in 2017.

I came across them when I travelled to South Africa to arrange the funeral.

Having found this treasure trove relating to my aunt’s career and experiences with BA, especially the fantastic trips on Concorde and serving the Queen, I found it sad that none of it had seen the light of day.

I believe this collection is a little piece of history that should be shared and enjoyed by somebody.”

Mrs Evans was awarded a certificate to commemorate the time she served the royals on British Airways flights.

She also amassed signatures from the likes of Warren Beatty, Virginia Wade and Billie Jean King, which will also be sold by Hansons.

[natethenomadallen]

Coooooncoooooooooord ✈️🌎🌠 This Aviation Museum may very well be the best in the world buuut without a doubt it's definitely the best in the entire USA ❤️🤍💙 I've been wanting to see a Concorde for the better part of two and a half decades. On this day that dream was turned into my reality! I might not ever get the chance to fly on one of these incredible machines but to look at one up close and personal like this was absolutely exquisite 🤩 I genuinely feel that aviation took a maaassive step backward when they retired this supersonic passenger plane back in 2003... You could go from New York to Paris in about 2 hours while rubbing shoulders with rockstars and royalty alike... Today there's nothing that even comes remotely close to the level of luxury or speed that this plane offered the world 💔 If I'm honest this museum was an absolute treasure trove having not only a Concord but also the Enola Gay, the Space Shuttle Discovery, the Nazi's Flying Wing, the P38 Lightning, not to mention another G.D. SR-71 Blaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaackbiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiird 🌌🚀🔥 My cousin Marsha and I spent hours enjoying all these beautiful airplanes until they shut the doors and literally kicked us out 🙈😛🤣 If you're a real aviation buff you could genuinely spend the entire day here basking in the glory of all these beautiful winged beauties and never once for a moment get bored 👌👌👌 Save this one on your map y'all 🗺️📍🧭❤️‍🔥 (at Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center) https://www.instagram.com/p/CpYvAqurFGP/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[izzoliauto]

Baby Bugatti ‘Type 52’ Replica ~ part of The Elkhart Collection which is being offered almost entirely without reserve via RM Sotheby’s at the end of the year. - For more please follow @izzoliauto - Fans of pedal cars are eagerly awaiting RM Sotherby’s forthcoming “Pedal Power” online auction (17-24 June) which has amassed an impressive car park volume of museum quality pedal cars offered entirely without reserve for enthusiasts to bid on! However for those who are patient enough to hold on until late October, there are also some stand out pedal cars hiding in The Elkhart Collection auction, which is scheduled for 23-24 October this year. This stunning Baby Bugatti ‘Type 52’ Replica being the one that particularly caught my eye. For those interested, The Elkhart Collection also has a beautiful red Morgan 3-Wheeler EVS Junior which looks to be in flawless condition as well as an absolute treasure trove of automobilia alongside some stunning motorcars and vintage motorcycles. This has to be one of the auction highlights of the year, surely… Whilst the collector’s reasons for selling are somewhat controversial (Google: “najeeb khan interlogic outsourcing”) the collection, dubbed “The Elkhart Collection” by Sotherby’s is the result of decades of judicious and targeted collecting and comprises the most exceptional marques and models in automotive history. The focus is at once broad but highly selective from sporting British and Italian cars to microcars, classics, supercars, modern sports cars, ‘50s convertibles and coachbuilt icons. By way of example, the auction lots include Fiat’s 1953 8V Supersonic, a '69 Lamborghini Miura p400 S, a '64 Aston DB5 “Vantage Specification” and even a '63 E-Type Lightweight Continuation. This is one not to be missed. - ☎️Enquires: @rmsothebys 📸Photography: @rmsothebys 📲Follow: @izzoliauto - #BabyBugattiType52Replica #BabyBugattiType52pedalcar #IZZOLIautomobilia https://www.instagram.com/p/CBQNtk5jbc8/?igshid=6xhwqeuoh13g

[otcsocialnetwork]

$SFOR Somehow we missed this significant article which I have posted below

Somehow we missed this significant article which I have posted below. It is from 12/27/2018 and discusses Gallagher Affinity’s ability to help Government contractors in light of recent China hackers. You should carefully review the article as it provides hints as to how SFOR’s technology is being packaged with the overall Gallagher Affinity Cyber Security offering. Gallagher is partnering with a few Cyber Security companies to provide a comprehensive solution. This is big-time and will bring serious money to SFOR so I’m providing the links to each page even though you can find this information yourself as well. If you click on the link and bring up the actual below article then you’ll see on the portion that says ‘has partnered with Gallagher Affinity’ it’s a link and you’ll be taken to this Gallagher Affinity’s 360 Coverage Pros website : https://www.360coveragepros.com/federal-contractor-programs If you scroll down the page to the green box “view programs” and click on the DOD link you’ll go here (although any one of three get you to SFOR’s IP) : https://www.360coveragepros.com/dod-contractors Scroll down to ‘Keystroke Encryption’ or ‘Multi-Factor Out-of-Band Authentication’ to view SFOR’s IP being provided through Secure CyberID. Here are the links to see SFOR’s Channel Partner Secure CyberID : https://fed360auth.securecyberid.com/ https://fed360encrypt.securecyberid.com/ Here is the original November Press Release : https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/secu…46468.html Here is the link that connects Strikeforce with Secure CyberID : https://globenewswire.com/news-release/2018/0…ution.html Finally, here is the article from December 27th, 2018 : https://securityboulevard.com/2018/12/chinese…ntractors/ Chinese Hackers Pose a Serious Threat to Military Contractors by Michael Peters on December 27, 2018  Chinese hackers have successfully breached contractors for the U.S. Navy, according to WSJ report. The years-long Marriott Starwood database breach was almost certainly the work of nation-state hackers sponsored by China, likely as part of a larger campaign by Chinese hackers to breach health insurers and government security clearance files, The New York Times reports. Why would foreign spies be so interested in the contents of a hotel’s guest database? Turns out “Marriott is the top hotel provider for American government and military personnel.” The Starwood database contained a treasure trove of highly detailed information about these personnel’s movements around the world. Chinese hackers didn’t stop there. According to a report published in the Wall Street Journal last week, nation-state hackers sponsored by China have successfully breached numerous third-party contractors working for the U.S. Navy on multiple occasions over the past 18 months. The data stolen included highly classified information about advanced military technology currently under development, including “secret plans to build a supersonic anti-ship missile planned for use by American submarines.” The WSJ noted that hackers specifically targeted third-party federal contractors because many are small firms that lack the financial resources to invest in robust cyber security defenses. In testimony before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, FBI counterintelligence division head E.W. “Bill” Priestap Wednesday called cyberespionage on the part of Chinese hackers the “most severe” threat to American security, citing the country’s “relentless theft of U.S. assets” in an effort to “supplant [the United States] as the world’s superpower.” Inconsistent security practices leave U.S. Ballistic Missile Defense System vulnerable to cyber attacks While the Navy has been hit particularly hard, the entire U.S. government, including all branches of the military, are under constant threats of cyber attack from Chinese hackers and other nation-state actors – and they’re ill-prepared to fend off these attacks. Around the same time the Marriott Starwood breach was disclosed, the Defense Department Office of Inspector General (OIG) released an audit report citing inconsistent security practices at DoD facilities, including facilities managed by third-party contractors, that store technical information on the nation’s ballistic missile defense system (BMDS). The report described failures to enact basic security measures, such as: *Requiring the use of multi-factor authentication to access BMDS technical information *Identifying and mitigating known network vulnerabilities *Locking server racks *Protecting and monitoring classified data stored on removable media *Encrypting BMDS technical information transmission *Implementing intrusion detection capabilities on classified networks *Requiring written justification to obtain and elevate system access for users *Consistently implementing physical security controls to limit unauthorized access to facilities that manage BMDS technical information Cyber security problems abound among DoD and other federal contractors The OIG report comes on the heels of another the office issued earlier this year, citing security problems specifically at contractor-run military facilities. The WSJ report on Chinese hackers implied that inadequate security is the norm, not the exception, at federal contractors and subcontractors, citing an intelligence official who described military subcontractors as “lagging behind in cybersecurity and frequently [suffering] breaches” that impact not just the military branch they work for, but also other branches. In theory, military contractors shouldn’t be having these problems. Most federal contractors must comply with the strict security controls outlined in NIST 800-171, and DoD contractors must comply with DFARS 800-171. DoD contractors were required to, at minimum, have a “system security plan” in place by December 31, 2017. However, many small and mid-sized organizations missed the December 31 deadline, often because they felt they did not have the resources to comply. However, continued non-compliance puts these vendors’ contracts at risk of cancellation, as well as national security at risk from Chinese hackers and other cyber criminals. It’s not too late to begin compliance efforts . If your agency starts working towards compliance now, you can demonstrate that you have a plan to comply and are making progress with it to your prime contractor, subcontractor, or DoD contracting officer. Affordable DFARS 800-171 compliance services are available for small and mid-sized federal contractors Continuum GRC’s IT Audit Machine (ITAM) greatly simplifies the compliance process and significantly cuts the time and costs involved, putting NIST 800-171 and DFARS 800-171 compliance within reach of small and mid-sized organizations. Additionally, Continuum GRChas partnered with Gallagher Affinity to offer small and mid-sized federal contractors affordable packages that combine cyber and data breach insurance coverage with NIST 800-171 and DFARS 800-171 compliance services. The cyber security experts at Continuum GRC have deep knowledge of the cyber security field, are continually monitoring the latest information security threats, and are committed to protecting your organization from security breaches. Continuum GRC offers full-service and in-house risk assessment and risk management subscriptions, and we help companies all around the world sustain proactive cyber security programs. Continuum GRC is proactive cyber security®. Call 1-888-896-6207 to discuss your organization’s cyber security needs and find out how we can help your organization protect its systems and ensure compliance. http://dlvr.it/QwTXNw

[ntrending]

Yes, UFOs exist. But they're probably not what you think.

New Post has been published on https://nexcraft.co/yes-ufos-exist-but-theyre-probably-not-what-you-think/

Yes, UFOs exist. But they're probably not what you think.

On a dark and otherwise serene night back in the 1960s, my grandpa, a doctor and recreational pilot, was ferrying two lawyers to a deposition. As they bisected the state of Washington, the airborne group encountered something surreal: An aircraft unlike anything they had ever seen before was flying straight toward them. My grandpa recalled an oblong flying machine, with blinking lights and an eerie ability to hover, that tracked his movements through the sky. When he ducked, the other object also ducked. And when he rose, it rose. While it was certainly an unidentified flying object, my grandpa never claimed he saw aliens. He seemed to believe that someday, the strange visit he’d received would be explained—in earthly terms.

This family memory was the first thing I thought of when I read the recent New York Times story about U.S. Navy pilots who say they saw an unidentified flying object near the San Diego coast in 2004. In the story, titled “2 Navy Airmen and an Object That ‘Accelerated Like Nothing I’ve Ever Seen,’” the Times described in hair-raising language the moment Cmdr. David Fravor and Lt. Cmdr. Jim Slaight saw the… thing. Unlike more common aircraft that use propulsion to move through the sky, this craft hovered. It acted almost like an anxious dog, “jumping around erratically,” but also zooming back and forth from the Navy aircraft as if it were curious about the other airplanes it had discovered. Most alarmingly, it moved fast as lightning, and seemed privy to insider knowledge. When the Navy pilots made a game-time decision to head back to their rendezvous point, the strange object somehow beat them there.

Reading this would send chills radiating up and down any normal person’s spine. The accompanying video depicting the encounter—and the alarm in the pilots’ voices—does nothing to suppress that hair-raising sensation. The first question many readers asked was, could this be an alien encounter?

While there’s a slim possibility (like, an infinitesimally small chance) that this really was some interstellar aircraft belonging to an otherworldly species, the answer to the alien question is probably no.

As the New York Times wrote in another piece published last weekend, the U.S. government has been searching for extraterrestrial life on and off for decades. While some information remains classified, so far as we know, we haven’t found anything particularly promising. A more likely explanation for the 2004 San Diego event could be that a government agency, deep within the United States military or the military of another nation, is simply working on new, mind-boggling technologies we’re not privy to yet. Though it may feel like a less exciting rationale for the weird event, there’s immense precedent. Much of the alleged alien activity of the past 80 years has ultimately been revealed as top secret government projects.

Take, for example, the hidden history of flying saucers. In the late 1950s, it seems, the U.S. Air Force really was working on Project 1794 to build a supersonic saucer. The first test of the VZ-9 Avrocar took place on Nov. 12, 1959. Hopes of a lean, mean, and circular fighting machine were high, but the prototypes never met the military’s standards. Instead of rising to an altitude of 100,000 feet, it got closer to 5,000. It never hit the right speed, either, as its shape proved pretty unstable. The top-secret project was cancelled by 1961, but visions of flying saucers have persisted.

And don’t forget the treasure trove of spooky stories emanating from the infamous Area 51. Located in the sand dunes of southwest Nevada, this top-secret site has long been believed the U.S. government’s storage unit for wayward aliens and their crash-landed ships. While much about Area 51 remains mysterious to this day, in 2013, the CIA acknowledged the site really does exist—and that it has long been used for testing spy planes, like the U-2 reconnaissance plane.

But most relevant is the “Roswell incident” of 1947. That summer, a UFO crash-landed on a ranch in Roswell, New Mexico. When the U.S. military tried to cover it up, conspiracy theories ran wild, as no one accepted the explanation offered—that the mysterious metals were just a conventional weather balloon. Today, we know from declassified documents that the myth-making machine was really a nuclear surveillance test balloon, manufactured as part of the Cold War-era surveillance operation, Project Mogul.

Some of these spooky special operations have gained name brand recognition like Area 51, but plenty of smaller, but no less profound, developments have also taken place. We’ve landed on the moon, something that would have once seemed incomprehensible (and to many moon-landing conspiracy theorists, still is). We have Harrier Jump Jets capable of vertical take-offs, a type of lift long associated with alleged alien technologies. And just this week, Boeing’s eerily-named Phantom Works division announced it had been quietly working on a Batmobile-style refueling plane. You’d be forgiven if you saw that plane on a test flight and thought it came from a galaxy far, far away.

My grandpa waited and waited to see the unveiling of a military aircraft that explained the Stranger Things moment he experienced all those years ago. However, he died in 2014 without a truly satisfactory explanation for that night. That doesn’t mean he’s wrong that the ship he saw (and others like it) were the product of human ingenuity (or human error). Even if none of these technological interpretations check out, natural phenomena, drones, and a million other non-alien blips could also be to blame. Aliens may be a fun explanation for what’s otherwise inexplicable, but sometimes, a UFO is just that: an (as yet) unidentified flying object.

Written By Eleanor Cummins