Marilyn's Photos - June 8 2025 - The New Top Dog Pilots

 

Have you read or heard about this?  The new pilots in the Russian-Ukraine War are gamers who are using those skills to pilot drones.   These are young men, gaming hobbyists/enthusiasts, who have volunteered for Ukraine in the war.  They are generally 18 to mid 20s, and from countries around the world.  They are trained in drone camps in the Ukraine.  The Brent Branbury news item yesterday said that the recruitment method was to post ads on social media - eg.Reddit.  So I checked it out. "Can y'all give me an honest assessment of how realistic/feasible/difficult it is to get into drone piloting as work? "I have no experience piloting drones (unless being a gamer counts), I'm just a gymnastics coach and construction worker in his mid-30's looking for a way to pay my bills that isn't so hard on my body. What little research I've done so far looks like the necessary certifications are fairly cheap (even if the drones themselves aren't), and it sounds like something that I could enjoy enough not to get too burnt out on. "Do the jobs exist? Do they require years of training? Do they pay enough that I'd be able to support myself (I'm in Maryland, if that makes a difference). Are there other questions I'm not asking, but should?" There are lots of these sorts of questions on Reddit - some more specific about Ukraine and some inviting gamers to become pilots in the Ukraine. The MSN article HERE uses the language of the wild west and top gun to dramatize the military transformation.  They highlight celebrities as part of the team - "former techno music DJ Artem Timofeev, former Ukrainian tennis player Alexander Dolgoopolov.  Others are anonymous and the training school trainers have anonymous names as well.      We're heading into Rose Season.  My Rosa Rugosa, one of the strongest scented roses is blooming.  It is also known as the beach rose.  Here's a description: "This particular flower has a sweet and spicy aroma that is both feminine and sophisticated. The fragrance note of Rosa rugosa is often described as being rich and full-bodied, with hints of citrus and spice. The scent is both delicate and powerful, making it a popular choice for perfumers looking to create a luxurious and elegant fragrance."

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Dec 18 2024 - Drones in the news at Christmas

 

Drones are in the news in the US.  The drone show in Mansfield Texas has set a Guinnes World Record with the largest aerial display of a gingerbread village made out of drones.  The show used 4,981 drones.   Who owns this many drones?  A drone company named Sky Elements Drones. That show isHERE.  Here's one of the amazing scenes in the sky.

There's a drone story of he opposite sort.  The story comes from the east coast in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania with hundreds of drones flying the skies at night.  Concern and confusion with calls for military intervention. This all started around November 18th - so a month of drones would be very wearying.   Military intervention is not so easy, is it?  Remember the big white balloon floating over North America?  Shooting down aircraft is a felony and a security threat. And who owns the security of the skies?  It isn't the local police, but federal authorities.  Who can fly a drone?  A licensed pilot only - not the public.  How many can a pilot maneuver at once?  Somewhere between 30 and 100 drones at once.   Everyone is involved - the military, the FBI, the state governors demanding action. Local police do not have any sky authority, so not allowed to do anything.  More than 5,000 reported drone sightings have come in.  They are now installing advanced detection technology and have sent trained visual observers. Especially not knowing a motivation.  And some aren't small - sedan-sized. Most of us can't imagine a "prank' going on this long and being this costly.  I don't know how Santa is going to navigate over that airspace. This ice image is from a few years ago - nothing so far in the freezing rain category.  Maybe today - we're supposed to get rain/snow.

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