Didja Miss Me?

Yesterday was the first day I’ve not posted since beginning this blog. That’s three and half months, not a record by any means, but still… I did feel just a lil bit guilty, ya know.

Yesterday was brilliant, weather-wise, mid-70s and—Huzzah!—no wind. After I finished the coffee I dropped the top on the Green Hornet and headed south just for the Hell of it. There’s not a lot to see between here and Roswell, just a lot of High Plains…open, flat, virtually treeless, and semi-desolate. The best time to make this drive is in early summer on a clear night. Once you get about five miles south of Portales and away from the city’s ambient light you can see more stars than you ever knew existed. It gets even better about halfway between Portales and Roswell, because there is literally nothing there. I still remember the first time I pulled to the side of the road between here and Roswell late on a warm summer’s night and stared at the stars for well over an hour, interrupted only by the very occasional car or semi. It’s very quiet out there, too, which can be either peaceful or somewhat scary, depending on your pre-disposition, I suppose. There aren’t many places in the US today where one can experience this sort of thing. Actually, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of places where one can do this. I’ve experienced nearly the same phenomenon in the Dakotas, Wyoming, the California desert, and backwoods Oregon. But there’s something different about the High Plains of New Mexico. Perhaps it’s the altitude, I dunno.

Bad news for the bad guys: the Washington Times reports the USAF is moving AC-130s into Iraq.

AN AIR BASE IN IRAQ -- The U.S. Air Force has begun moving heavily armed AC-130 airplanes -- the lethal "flying gunships" of the Vietnam War -- to a base in Iraq as commanders search for new tools to counter the Iraqi resistance.

An Associated Press reporter saw the first of the turboprop-driven aircraft after it landed at the airfield last week. Three more are expected.

The Iraq-based special forces command controlling the AC-130s, the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force, said it would have no comment on the deployment. But other Air Force officers, speaking anonymously because of the sensitivity of the subject, confirmed the plan's general outline.

I did a short stint near Hurlburt Field, home of the AC-130s, down in the Florida Panhandle a few years ago. The AC-130 guys practice on the range at nearby Eglin AFB and ever so often you could here those big 105mm cannon letting loose. I sure as Hell wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of a Spooky greeting!

Gotta go to the Big(ger) City™ today. My watch quit yesterday, so I need to find a jeweler who (a) has a battery in stock that fits my watch and (b) will install it. Not an issue in most places. But here? One never knows! I’m amazed at the batteries in watches…this one lasted a good four years. A pretty impressive bit of technology, if you ask me. You didn’t ask, I know. But that’s never stopped me before, so why should it now?