09/1/23

Cardboard Goes To War

An Australian company, Sypaq, sells waxed cardboard UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles/drones) capable of transporting more than ten pounds of explosive (and other recon/camera/commo payloads) to hit targets 100 miles distant.

It’s known as the Corvo Precision Payload Delivery System and the government of Australia is providing 100 Corvos a month to the Ukrainians as part of a $20MM aid package.

The device is assembled with rubberbands and sticks, and is propelled by a battery powered motor. Looks like something Ikea would sell, no?

It has zero radar signature and costs $3,500 though it will cost much less in bulk in the future. Continue reading →

08/31/23

In The Absence Of Talent

In addition to mentoring CEOs, I often speak to promising young persons — usually sent my way by their parents — to give them wise counsel as to how to fashion their career or to find the right career.

A good many of them have an entrepreneurial bent — so they think — and a good many of them have just left the armed forces. They are all at the starting line of their career.

I always start with one bit of wisdom: Do not be in a hurry, young person; experiment and try some different things. Continue reading →

08/28/23

The Odd Kinship Between Venture Capitalists and Leftist Politicians

Took a longish road trip the other day and had an unrestrained chat with someone who had terminated our friendship back in late 2015 when I offhandedly said, “I think Donald Trump could actually win the Republican nomination and, ultimately, the presidency.”

He called me out of the blue and I laughed when I realized who it was. He did not apologize for his boorishness and I did not press him. I was staring down more than 1,000 miles, so we chatted.

Continue reading →

08/23/23

The Political Weaponization of the Central Intelligence Agency — A Fable For Our Times

The word “weaponization” is thrown around these days by both political parties, but what does it really mean?

Used by some folks it is intended to mean the use of the government, organs/departments of the government, to accomplish partisan political means.

Allow me to cite an example.

The Infamous 51 Intelligence Community Members Letter

In the lead up to the 2020 presidential election, the issue of Hunter Biden’s laptop and what it contained — driven by astonishing revelations just before the election from the NY Post about Hunter and his antics based on emails from the laptop — became a subject of media inquiry and interest and Donald Trump attempted to hang it like a pork chop around Joe Biden’s neck as he attempted to sic the lapdogs of the media on his opponent, Joe Biden. Continue reading →