I took this photo from my office window this morning. I was never quite sure what that humongous golf ball thing was docked in Pearl Harbor.
When I talked to my aunt, she said she was worried that it was some kind of radioactive thing that could blow up.
I looked it up on the web and found this Time USA site that explained it in detail:
..."Designed to keep an eye out for rogue missiles flying toward the United States, the SBX had been scheduled to report for duty in Alaska in early 2006, but a series of structural repairs and upgrades have kept it in warmer waters. For over a year, the nine-story radar that sits atop a self-propelled Norwegian oil platform has been coming and going from Pearl Harbor for fixes and tests — a delay critics see as symptomatic of an agency under pressure to deliver a national missile defense system that is still more fiction than fact."
Sarah Palin must be happy...
ReplyDeleteFascinating post Kay.
ReplyDeleteYour last line gave me the giggles. Interesting.
ReplyDeleteOi. Nothing like a 9-story in-your-face reminder that we can all be targeted.
ReplyDeleteIt certainly does look like an oversized golf ball... I would have wondered, too. :-)
ReplyDeletethat is strange...
ReplyDeleteYes, it is an awesome sight. I heard that it can detect rogue missles as small as a baseball half way around the globe. It is just my opinion but I see little more than a coincidence between military R&D and our economic bust? Goldman Sachs could very well be the linch pin that holds this gig together. Heard it many times too...that Goldman Sachs runs the world. Lost track, but everywhere you look there is an ex-Goldman Sachs exec running the show. So may be the Occupy Wall Street got it right.
ReplyDeleteL.
Kay - Check out Cloudia's blog: comfortspiral.blogspot.com for more info. She posted about it when it came close to the yacht harbor on Waikiki, either early Sept. or early Oct.? The device certainly doesn't radiate memory enhancers for me. I think it was designed to warn us where Sarah Palin is heading. DrumMajor
ReplyDeleteInteresting...it is curious looking.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the laugh! Loved that last line!
ReplyDeleteWe had either that same one, or another just like it, here in Seattle for over a year, receiving repairs.
This is fascinating to know, I like your punch line. I read your last few blogs. You always post the most interesting things, especially like reading what has been happening in your family. Is your header near your home town? Thanks for being a good and faithful friend. Hope your week is going well.
ReplyDeleteFirst, it was Tina Fey who said you could see Russia from Alaska and I wouldn't trust her as she lives in NYC and only pretends to be intelligent.
ReplyDeleteNext, We have those Radar things all around DC. I think it is part of the ICBM deal. We have had missile silos here forever, don't know who they are aimed at these days, do you?
Also, I thought you were retired, so whatcha doing with an office?
Dianne
I does look ominous doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteMargaret Cloud: Yes, we are rather close to Pearl Harbor.
ReplyDeleteDianne: It's my combination home office/sewing area/guest room/TV room/KC's toy room. Art has a home office/guest room/work area also.
Abe: Yes, it is rather odd looking in the harbor. I imagine half the island doesn't know what it is.
Wow...You had me guessing for a moment. What a brilliant summary of it for us. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteHave you been on the battleship yet?
Great last line.
ReplyDeleteWe have those golf ball things in Denver at Buckley Field. Since I once dated a guy who worked on the software for these things, I knew what they were designed to do. They are odd looking.
I worked on Ford Island when the Sea Based X-band radar was docked where it is in your photo and it is just as an impressive sight at that close a view a stone's throw across the channel. Occasionally, the structure is seen parked off shore Waikiki. Though it is self-propelled, it has it's own transporter ship that shuttles it over longer distances. I imagine the mother ship reverses or submerges under the radar's pillars and picks it up on its deck and that's just as impressive a sight though I've only seen photos of the two together. Here. Or here's my own take
ReplyDeleteRon: Wow! That is such a cool photo, Ron! I'm always so amazed at how much you know about anything and everything.
ReplyDeleteRon: And by the way, I like your take the BEST!
ReplyDeleteMage: I've been on battleships, but not the one in Pearl Harbor. I guess I will one of these days.
no, no, I just happened to have done research earlier on the X-Band Radar. Btw, what's your policy about commenters "talking among themselves" on your blog's comment page. I personally think it's rude if a commenter answers a question that was posed directly to the blogger by an earlier commenter before enough time has passed to have given the blogger a chance to answer or reply themselves. Other than that though, what about if hypothetically someone asks "what's the best shave ice place? (because they're planning a vacation in Hawaii, so forth.) On those or similar types of questions addressed to the blogger, is it alright with you, when and if another commenter adds their recommendations. Or if a commenter addresses another commenter with something said of random nature and the cross chatter has nothing at all to do with the original subject of the post. Mind you within reasonable limits. Some bloggers might feel sorta left out of the conversation or that their personal playground is being inhumanely co-opted under their unposted proprietary rules of etiquette. And yea, the matter applies to any blogger's comment page as well.
ReplyDeleteI've seen listening posts before, so recognised it.
ReplyDeleteYou are correct about the distance to Russia, it can be seen from Alaskan soil.
Though it is a listening post, not a viewing post.
Ron: Wow! That's a good question. Actually, so long as everybody is polite and friendly, I'm very happy to have any sort of conversation... although, true... it would be nice if everybody stayed on topic.
ReplyDeleteStill... I don't know if many people come back to my post to check for replies, etc.
Very interesting!
ReplyDeleteBTW, I always come back a second time to your comments to see what has been added by you or your readers.
ReplyDeleteDina: No kidding? I rarely go back a second time just because I have such a scatter brain and can't keep up with what I'm doing. I'm having a hard time keeping up with my first time visits. Sigh...
ReplyDeleteThank you for caring, Dina.