A Few Things

First...

We've had a few temperature swings here on The High Plains o' New Mexico this winter but nothing out of the ordinary.  It's been a pretty mild winter, all things considered... not like some other parts o' the country, which I shall not mention.  That said, it can and does get pretty danged cold here on THPoNM.  Witness:

Monday, January 31, 2011

We Otta Be a Whole Helluva Lot Smarter By Friday...

... on account o' because we're gonna be spending the next four nights in the Holiday Inn Express just across the highway.  I thought about this long and hard before I decided to abandon El Casa Móvil De Pennington for a warmer space.  My Inner Macho Man said "don't be a freakin' wuss, it's just a lil cold, is all."  Macho Man was winning until I ran into Jenny at Wally-World and she was pretty emphatic with the "do it!" thing.  Which all goes to prove that women are generally smarter than men when it comes to macho stuff.

And just how cold will it be?  This cold:

 

I can do overnight temps in the teens but below zero stuff just ain't ANY fun.  At all.

So.  We're booked.  Registering at the front desk of the HIE was sorta funny... I was asked for address, etc. and duly gave the particulars... which got weird for the lady when she said "and your ZIP code there?'  "88130," sez I.  "Hunh?  What's that all about, if I may ask?"  We explained, she understood.  And Hey!  Free breakfast for the next four days, or at least someone else is gonna do the cookin'.  Coz it ain't exactly free, yanno?

Sub-zero nights in the RV weren't any fun at ALL. 

History...

Tuskegee Airman Chief Flight Instructor Gets USPS Stamp

The chief flight instructor of the legendary Tuskegee Airmen, and the so-called "Father of Black Aviation," C. Alfred Anderson will be immortalized on a US Postal Service stamp today, in a ceremony at Bryn Mawr College, Pa., according to a March 12 release. As the 15th stamp in USPS's "Distinguished American Series," the 70-cent first class stamp recognizes Anderson's achievements in aviation in the 1920s and 1930s, when he completed the first round trip trans continental flight by a black aircraft pilot (along with physician Albert Forsythe). In 1940, after President Roosevelt established the Civilian Pilot Training Program, Anderson was named the chief flight instructor at the Tuskegee Institute's Moton Field, which served as the training pipeline for what became the 99th Pursuit Squadron, which served with distinction in the European theater of World War II. After the war, Anderson spent the following decades dedicated to aviation education. He died in Tuskegee, Ala., in 1996 at the age of 89.

That's from the Usual USAF Source, of course.  I added the Anderson and the "Tuskegee Airmen" links.

Also from the Usual USAF Source... some plane pr0n.

Air Frame: Maj. Justin Robinson flies the 56th Operations Group flagship F-16 Fighting Falcon as he escorts the first F-35 strike fighter to its new home at Luke AFB, Ariz., on March 10, 2014. The F-35 was flown by Col. Roderick Cregier, an F-35 test pilot stationed at Edwards AFB, Calif.  (Air Force photo by Jim Hazeltine)

The F-35 ain't exactly pretty, now... izzit?