Exile in Portales

In Today's Mail

2012-01-29T09:31:00.000-07:00

This, from SN1:

Hey dad…

Just a quick story for you that goes with this pic:

Apparently this shirt isn't allowed to be worn by the forensics team now…

It seems one of the mothers on the team was shocked when she saw the back…she thought it said: fornicate.

So…because one woman can't read and has a dirty mind (not that that's a bad thing!), the kids can't wear what I think is a really cool shirt that Sean says is extremely comfortable.

Don't you just hate it when that happens?

Thought you'd appreciate this...

Isn't that SPECIAL?

Update: Frickin' Blogger. You'd THINK Blogger and g-mail, both bein' horses from the same stable, would be able to talk to each other. But noooo...

300 Channels and Nothing On

2012-01-29T01:48:00.000-07:00

WTF?

How Thick Is Your Bubble?

2012-01-28T00:00:00.000-07:00

A nifty lil quiz via a tweet from Taranto... "How Thick Is Your Bubble?"

This quiz is inspired by American Enterprise Institute scholar Charles Murray's new book, "Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960-2010," which explores the unprecedented, class-based cultural gap in America. How culturally isolated are you? Answer these 20 questions to find out.

Taranto scored 7, I scored 13. And 13 means...

On a scale from 0 to 20 points, where 20 signifies full engagement with mainstream American culture and 0 signifies deep cultural isolation within the new upper class bubble, you scored between 13 and 16.

In other words, you don't even have a bubble.

Well, that's nice to know. I think. And I did it without having seen a movie (in a theatre) in the last year, not having gone fishing or hunting in the past five years, and bein' unable to ID a pictured NASCAR hero. They must give bonus points for bein' in the military.

How did you do, Gentle Reader?

Today's Happy Hour Soundtrack

2012-01-27T15:30:00.000-07:00

Faces...

Oh Cindy ain't you noticed
that several of your friends have moved on
And the street outside is just a little too quiet
And your local paper's run out of news
I'm not persuading you or disengaging you
But Cindy you and me we've got to move

Faces weren't a band of any great significance but they WERE one of the best party bands, evah. Loose, mebbe much too loose, but as I said: one for the Good Times. I think Rod Stewart's gigs with Faces were his finest hour (outside of "Every Picture Tells a Story")... they beat the shit outta that "Great American Songbook" krep. IMHO.

And yeah... we've run outta news. Didja notice?

One Thing I Meant to Post but Didn't

2012-01-26T14:43:00.000-07:00

Joe Queenan in this past Saturday's WSJ:

Devotees insist that yoga would help me deal with the herniated discs in my neck, would ease pressure on my spine, would lower my blood pressure. They say—thereby providing false hope to my family—that yoga would make me more mellow, more accepting, perhaps even induce me to stop and smell the roses.

But I do not want to stop and smell the roses. I don't even want to smell the roses if it were possible to smell them without stopping. For years, I have told those of the yoga ilk: I can't practice yoga or tai chi or therapeutic jujitsu or dien bien phu because I'm too working class, I'm from Philly, it's just not my style. If my hard-drinking, heavily tattooed Dad ever caught me doing yoga he would come back from the dead and strangle me. Then my neck would really hurt.

Joe... he speaks for me. The rest of the piece... "Assuming the Pose of 'Guy Saying No'" is worth your time (subscription may be required). And when it comes to yoga there's this and we NEVER pass up an opportunity to be self-promoting.

Actually, there's a plethora of New Age crap that should be rejected out of hand. Like crystals (what's so mystical about a clear rock?), "organic-fucking-anything/everything" (I was raised before "organic" took over whole aisles of our food stores and I seem to have turned out alright), feminism (of the strident sort - real men have ALWAYS respected women and women have always known their worth), and left-wing politics (you really need a parenthetical expansionary comment?). Among other things.

~~Yamaste~~. (My Bad. I meant Namaste. Thanks, Skip.).

Things I Wish I Hadn't Seen

2012-01-26T10:42:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I watched it. No, I have no comment... other than "blah, blah, blah." Wait. I do have a couple o' things. His "spilled milk" joke was stupid. And his references to the military were simply bizarre and just a LITTLE bit offensive to me, speaking as a military kinda guy. I should have said this yesterday, I know. But that's life here at EIP: a day late and a dollar short. Always.

―:☺:―

Except for hockey, where we're never a day late. Some quotes about last night's game:

“We realize the scope of what we’re up against tonight. This is the best team in the NHL right now and they’re definitely playing like it. They’re a group of veterans that all play very intelligently. They control the puck a lot of the time and they really make you fight for possession. We’re going to have to be at our best and try to push our style of game.

“We have to be ready to go for 60 or 65 minutes if need be to come out of this with two points. We’ll have all the time we need to rest up after tonight, but right now we need to set our sights on winning this game.”--Montreal Canadiens assistant captain Josh Gorges. (as quoted at the Usual Hockey Source)

And...

Wings' Babcock: “I'm not going to look at the video of this at all, I'm going to go out and drink, actually, is what I'm going to do.'' --A tweet by AnsarKhanMLive

"I thought because we were playing in such a great building in such a great environment that it was going to be a no-brainer," Babcock said. "But we just were awful." -- Mike Babcock, quoted in The Freep

Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall reacts after Detroit yields another goal during the 7-2 loss Wednesday in Montreal.
Jean-Yves Ahern/U.S. PRESSWIRE

Montreal 7, Detroit 2. Worst game of the year... even worse than the 7-1 loss to the Caps and that 5-1 debacle on the Island. I almost turned it off.

Twilight Landing...

2012-01-25T11:16:00.000-07:00

... in El-Eh.

While watching this vid it occurred to me that about the ONLY thang I miss about air travel... which I did a lot of back in Former Happy Days... is the spectacular nighttime city views one gets during a night landing. My favorite night landing was always Dee-troit but that was more a function of coming home than the view itself. The view was pretty good, however, given that Dee-troit is essentially flatter than flat and spread out over a VERY large area, compared to other cities. And then there's Noo Yawk, of course, and London, and a plethora of other cities. They are all spectacular from the air on a clear night.

But the most amazing night landing I ever experienced was at the old Kai Tak airport in Hong Kong (at right)... and it was ALL about the terror, mainly because one gets the feeling your pilot is setting you down on some boulevard rather than an actual airport. You could actually SEE people walking around inside their high-rise apartments as you were on final into Kai Tak. THAT, Gentle Reader, is a most unnerving feeling. I can only imagine how the residents of those apartments felt about having a 747 whistle... or roar... by their windows every two minutes or so. I'm thinkin' those people were sure glad when Kai Tak shut down. Me? I was glad to have survived the landing, which was a close encounter of the disconcerting sort.

Today's Happy Hour Soundtrack

2012-01-24T16:39:00.000-07:00

I will be your father figure (Oh baby)
Put your tiny hand in mine (I'd love to)
I will be your preacher teacher (Be your daddy)
Anything you have in mind (It would make me)
I will be your father figure (Very happy)
I have had enough of crime (Please let me)
I will be the one who loves you
till the end of time

Is all.

I Think I'll Pass

2012-01-24T13:56:00.000-07:00

I saw this on the Shoebox blog...

A whole bunch of artists are doing brand new, totally different renditions of Bob Dylan songs. Kind of like Dylan does every time he plays them.

And then I trotted off to investigate. The first few paragraphs of the review... and it IS a review... had me thinkin' "no frickin' way." No way in HELL, to be frank. I detest hip-hop or rap or Urban Whatever and the very thought of one of those asshat "artists" desecrating what is dear to me makes my skin crawl. Then I had a "waitaminnit" moment as I read on. A couple of 'em, actually... like these:

The savviest musicians here flip Dylan's messages for their own aims, just as Dylan reappropriated protest songs by civil rights heroes. Celtic-rock stalwarts Flogging Molly take on ''The Times They Are A-Changin' '' -- which itself was inspired by Irish drinking songs -- and reclaim it for Dublin. Sinéad O'Connor recasts 1981's born-again ''Property of Jesus'' as a fiery church-reform anthem. And Carly Simon smartly plays ''Just Like a Woman'' as a feminist ballad. When she sings ''You break just like a little girl,'' it sounds like she's telling Dylan to man up.

[...]

By contrast, Kronos Quartet and Philip Glass sound almost revolutionary on their gorgeous, avant-classical ''Don't Think Twice, It's All Right,'' the only song that appears twice here. It takes major innovation (and some musical-saw interludes) to create a wholly original take on an artist who reinvents his own songs every time he plays live.

Interesting... yet those artists still ain't enough to make me pay the freight. There's simply too much possibility for too much disappointment. Make MY Dylan Dylan, please... straight up, no ice, no mixer.

Interesting

2012-01-24T12:24:00.000-07:00

This 'toon is obviously aimed at the Geriatric Set...

I'm not sure if anyone but us geezers geddit, mainly coz we're talkin' about a cultural reference from 1953. 1953! But I could be wrong.

On sort of the same note... Ann Coulter was on Red Eye last night and she lost it a couple o' times on the subject of Newt. I always thought that woman was a bit of a nut case... now I'm convinced she's nuts. I understand being supportive of your candidate (she's a Romney fan) but bein' batshit crazy, to the point of shrieking, yelling, and constantly interrupting someone who might not think the way you do, is over the top. Which is the problem with zealots, on the left or on the right. Neither flavor works for me.

Coulter really worked Fox a lot yesterday. I looked for the Red Eye clip and couldn't find it... but this is close:

Nutcase.

I'm Gonna Sue

2012-01-24T10:59:00.000-07:00

I open up the mailbox this morning and see this item from NatGeo... the one that's checked near the bottom:

So I'm thinkin' "Cool! This is RIGHT up my alley!" The actual copy:

Texas Showgirls

One photographer is on a mission to photograph as many animal species as possible. Browse his gallery of beautiful creatures, including these Silkie showgirl chickens at the Fort Worth Zoo in Texas.

Photos: Butterflies >

How to Build a Dog >

The Chimp Incident >

Life on the Serengeti >

It's just WRONG to get a man's hopes up like that first thang in the morning. Time to call The Hammer!

Heh.

Today's Happy Hour Soundtrack (And Some Miscellaneous Ramblings)

2012-01-23T16:29:00.000-07:00

The musical equivalent o' Comfort Food (The Wiki, she has EVERYthang)...

Take it easy, take it easy
Don't let the sound of your own wheels
Drive you crazy
Lighten up while you still can
Don't even try to understand
Just find a place to take your stand
and take it easy

Comfort Food...which is easy to eat and it makes ya feel good.... and I suppose it's the same with Comfort Music. I actually heard the Eagles version o' this tune earlier but I much prefer Mr. Browne's original version, seein' as how I'm one of those Sensitive Seventies Kinda Guys (the comments to that post are pretty interesting, btw). Or I used to be, at any rate. Not so much, today.

But. Comfort Music are the sorta tunes where ya know ALL the words and ya have this tendency to sing along, which we did, of course. And the Eagles version of the tune ain't half bad, all things considered. Ya pays yore money and ya makes yore choice. I LOVE this tune, as it seems to remain relevant after all these years. Time was when I really had "seven women on my mind" but that's not quite the case any longer. But I've found a place to make my stand and I'm definitely takin' it easy these days. More so than I prolly should, actually.

―:☺:―

A few Random Notes... We spent the better part of our day cleaning house before adjourning to the verandah for Happy Hour this afternoon. Which was mainly because we were graced with a three and a half hour visit yesterday with Isabel, the two-year old daughter of our neighbor. And her babysitter, of course. Our living space is not quite child-proof, which necessitated extreme vigilance on my and the babysitter's part(s) lest Young Isabel cause damage to herself on the many sharp glass-and-chrome edges that abound in El Casa Inmóvil de Pennington, and there are many. Said glass and chrome is also very susceptible to lil fingerprints and other such tarnishing, and that was what we spent some time cleaning up today. It must also be said that Young Isabel, despite all our attentiveness, managed to whack herself on the noggin by spinning one of my bar stools on its axis and not QUITE getting out o' the way when the bar stool was in close proximity to her head... which resulted in a fairly large bump on the young girl's head and much wailing and crying. But no serious damage was done and I managed to make it better with a kiss or two. Imagine that, if you will.

I think I've acquired a surrogate grand-daughter. Imagine that, yet again. Imagine also that her mom might come along. Yeah... there's a fantasy I can live with!

―:☺:―

So... I noticed Miller Lite has a new ad they're running and it begins with words to the effect of "there's a place for strong dark beer but on the other six days when you want sumthin' lighter..." Wrong. I can sorta relate, from a cigar perspective, coz there ARE days when I want sumthin' other than a full-flavored, robust maduro or the like. But BEER? Frickin' NEVER. I'd rather drink Perrier than Miller Lite or its bros-in-arms. As a s'matter o' fact I'd be hard-pressed to tell the difference between Perrier and "light" beers with the possible exception of Blue Light, but there's an exception to every rule. Miller makes some pretty cool ads, but this ain't one of 'em.

NOT Racist

2012-01-23T12:22:00.000-07:00

But most definitely sport-ist:

If you saw this pic standing alone (and you ARE, Gentle Reader), you'd be forgiven for thinkin' it came from the pages o' NatGeo in some sorta article about South African ritual dances. But no, it's from a CBS News slideshow titled "The NFL's Most Rabid Fans." Or sumthin' like that. My first thought was rabid is rabid and there isn't such a thang as "most rabid." You just shoot 'em... those poor animals so afflicted... period, end o' report.

My second thought? You RARELY see these sorts o' thangs at hockey games. Yeah, there IS some occasional weirdness, but it's weirdness I can really get behind. Or in front of, as the case might be. Example:

I rest my case.

Cannon In the News

2012-01-23T10:34:00.000-07:00

From the Usual USAF Source:

Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Installations, Environment, and Logistics Terry Yonkers, New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez and State Land Commissioner Ray Powell were among many Air Force, State of New Mexico and county officials at the lease signing ceremony on Jan. 18, 2012, in Santa Fe. (U.S. Air Force photo by Armando Perez)

Air Force Receives Land Grant to Expand Melrose Range: The Air Force accepted a land grant of 11,000 acres from the State of New Mexico that will allow Air Force Special Operations Command to expand live-fire ranges and desert and urban warfare training on the Melrose Air Force Range adjacent to Cannon Air Force Base. "It's an honor for me to be here today to accept this very gracious gift," said Terry Yonkers, the Air Force's assistant secretary for installations, environment, and logistics, during the Jan. 18 land-transfer ceremony in Santa Fe. He added, "Ranges and airspace are the lifeblood of our ability to train and be ready to fight those conflicts the nation asks of us." The land gift is valued at approximately $3.2 million. It is the result of a June 2008 memorandum of understanding between the Air Force and New Mexico. New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez (R) was one of the dignitaries at the event. (Washington, D.C., release)

Cool. More s'plosions in the night!

Humor From the Humidor

2012-01-22T14:54:00.000-07:00

I was gonna make this post another in our "Broadening" series but we've pretty much reserved that title for beer. Yeah, cigars ARE included in those posts from time to time, but we're mostly on about the beer here (or there). Today we're drinking more of the same...which this week is sumthin' from those oh-so-delicious Sammy Adams Winter Seasonal 12-packs... but we're smokin' sumthin' quite different. One o' these:

That would be a Kinky Friedman Texas Jewboy. No, really. Look:

It's a damned fine cigar when ya get right down to it... and I'm about one-third of the way down to it (the end of it). There's jes one small lil drawback, however. From the linked review:

Overall: For a cigar that started as a gimmick and a prop for my sense of humor it turned out to be a pretty good cigar. The only thing that bothers me is the price. At 10.00 a stick it is a lot of gelt (Yiddish for money) to be handing over for a cigar. At that price point there are other cigars I rather smoke, but it was nice to have Kinky over for the holiday and he won’t be a stranger to my humidor.

Yeah, what he said. I don't think I'll buying Kinkys by the box anytime soon, but I will keep my eye out for samplers that include one of his cigars... which is how I came by this one.

The Usual, Customary, and Reasonable Lament

2012-01-22T12:02:00.000-07:00

Which is to say the freakin' wind. WeatherUnderground sez it's clear or "mostly cloudy" outside but it is NOT; the blowing dust has reduced visibility to the point where I cannot see 18th Street across the vacant lot outside my window at times. It's simply fugly outside. I don't think we'll be goin' anywhere today.

At least it's not snowing.

Public Service

2012-01-22T00:00:00.000-07:00

I may have piqued your interest in hockey, what with all my scribblings, rants, moans, groans, and magnificent videos of beautiful goals and bloody fights over the past six and a half years. If I have stimulated your curiosity... and if you're not interested in following the Beloved Wings (you twisted, misguided, and wholly uninformed soul, you)... then here's just the thing for you: a handy flowchart titled "Which NHL team should I root for?"

Click to embiggen

"Because we always win!" Heh. (Note: Purists and other pickers o' nits will note this flowchart is out o' date, what with the inclusion of the Atlanta Thrashers now Winnipeg Jets. But the attached legend is close enough.)

h/t: A tweet by JessicaRedfield ("I'm determined to make everyone an NHL fan," sez she), re-tweeted by GeorgeMalik.

The Day the LOLcats Died

2012-01-21T10:52:00.002-07:00

Pretty clever. And true.

Keystone

2012-01-21T10:02:00.000-07:00

Creating hundreds of thousands of new Reagan Democrats, one would hope.

Your Usual, Customary, and Reasonable Hockey Post

2012-01-20T12:06:00.000-07:00

I got a link to this lil blurb in the mail today from NHL.com:

They are celebrated as the Original Six -- the half-dozen NHL clubs that pre-date the 1967 expansion and hearken back to a different era. But not since the early days of expansion have the Original Six been on track to be as dominant as they've been this season.

Entering this weekend, four of the top five teams in the NHL standings are members of the Original Six. Detroit, a 3-2 shootout winner at Phoenix on Thursday, is first with 63 points, one ahead of a group of three teams that includes the New York Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks, and two points in front of the Boston Bruins -- who have played only 44 games, fewer than any team in the NHL. Only the St. Louis Blues, the other team in the three-way tie with 62 points, breaks up the Original Six party.

How unusual is it to have the Original Six so heavily represented among the NHL's elite? Very.

It may be unusual but it's also very cool. Yeah, I'm one of THOSE fans... the few, the proud, the snobs who think the Original Six play the best hockey. Well, except for the major suckage that is the Habs and the Leafs, although the Leafs are better than usual this year. I can cut the Habs a sprout because of their history and by that I mean the most championships in any major sport, except for those Yankees (that would be 27 World Series wins to Montreal's 24 Stanley Cups). Ya gotta give the Habs credit for that, even in this "what have ya done for me lately" world.

Speakin' of "what have ya done for me lately"... here's Big Bert with the game winner last night:

The Wings are undefeated in the shoot-out this year (4-0) and have won too many games that way, to my way o' thinkin'. It's BEST when you totally dominate your opponents, but two points is two points... much better than one, or none.

Wherein I Play the Proud Grandpa

2012-01-20T00:00:00.000-07:00

Grandson Sean in his first public performance... at his high school's talent show:

As captioned by SN1 on The Tube O' You:

Jack, Caitlyn and Sean play Norwegian Wood...Starts out kinda rough, but gets better after they start singing. Focus is restored quickly. First video...let me know what you think!

Sean is sitting, on guitar and vocals. The performance took place on the evening of 1/19/2012.

Today's Happy Hour Soundtrack

2012-01-19T17:31:00.000-07:00

We were in a country sorta mood, so here are two songs from Mile Marker 383...

Telephone Road is ten miles long
Fifty car lots and a hundred honky-tonks
Jukebox blastin' and the beer bottles ring
Jimmy banging on a pinball machine

Come on come on come on let's go
This ain't Louisiana
Your Mama won't know
Come on come on come on let's go
Everybody's rockin' out on Telephone Road

and...

I got sixteen days
one for every time I've gone away
one for every time I should have stayed
you should have worn my wedding ring
I got sixteen days
fifteen of those are nights
can't sleep when the bed sheet fights
its way back to your side

the ghost has got me running
the ghost has got me running
away from you, away from you, away from you.

I've got both of these tee shirts... bein' as how I spent a couple o' few weeks in Houston in the way-back and then there's that "16 Days" thang, about which: yeah. Several times.

We had such a brilliant day here on The High Plains o' New Mexico today, a rare day in which I could open all the windows AND the door without the fear of bein' invaded by 1,267 flies, and that's because the cold winter nights have killed off all those pesky critters. Which also allowed me to listen to my own record collection, which was a Great Good Thang. I mean... Pandora is great and I love it to death, but there are times when ya wanna hear exactly what ya wanna hear. No?

Slow Day

2012-01-19T14:24:00.000-07:00

Slow, but beautiful:

I really, rilly enjoy all y'all's company but the Great Outdoors is calling and I see an extended Happy Hour in my future. Right after I mail off that Thank-You card to al-Gore.

Yup

2012-01-19T12:11:00.000-07:00

Lotsa good stuff at the Usual Source today... but I liked Ramirez best.

I think Ramirez is the best political cartoonist working today. He's always spot-on.

How Pretty Is THAT?

2012-01-18T14:38:00.000-07:00

The pic is the result of today's restock. Last week we mentioned we bought our fourth or fifth installment o' Sammy Adams' Winter Seasonal 12-packs and also had minor regrets about not buying more. Well, we fixed that:

I got lucky... those were the last two 12-packs on the shelf. Which are now in my fridge.

Beer me!

Thanks, Wales... Ya Twit

2012-01-18T10:53:00.000-07:00

OK, my consciousness has been raised, but no more than it already was. SOPA is dead (well, tabled) and PIPA should be, soon. This is one place where I agree with Obama: neither bill, in their current forms, adequately address the issue of copyright infringement and both pose disastrous potential consequences for the inter-tubes as a whole. Hollywood and a moribund music industry are doin' their worst to kill a vibrant internet. Fuck 'em.

Still, a day without The Wiki is pretty damned painful. I've already missed it three times and the day's barely begun.

Hey, Norman!

2012-01-18T08:56:00.000-07:00

Why not? It's only an 11 hour drive; if I leave NOW...

Speaking of... last night's win in Dallas puts the Beloved Wings at the top of the Western Conference by a single point and just one point behind Noo Yawk for the league lead.

LGRW!

"Dee-troit, Dee-troit... gotta helluva hockey team*..."

*Paul Simon's original not available on The Tube O' You.

Today's Happy Hour Soundtrack

2012-01-17T16:00:00.000-07:00

We haven't done this for a while...

And I've dropped out, I've burned up, I've fought my way back from the dead.
I've tuned in, turned on, remembered the things that you said
I'll be your crying shoulder,
I'll be love's suicide
I'll be better when I'm older,
I'll be the greatest fan of your life.

This is one of the better "one hit wonders" in my lifetime. The Deity At Hand knows there are hundreds... if not thousands... of these one-hit artists out there but this tune resonates me with me. Powerfully.

Yet More Thievery

2012-01-17T10:29:00.000-07:00

From a link at the Shoebox Blog...

Them Fanbois... they don't remember what happened AFTER Snow White bit the Apple.

Update, 1100 hrs: There are a TON of similar images out there.

Miscellanea

2012-01-17T10:10:00.000-07:00

The 1099s are beginning to roll in; I've received two from My Favorite Uncle (the USAF one and the Social InSecurity one) already. Private industry, which is supposed to be SO much more efficient and timely than the gub'mint, hasn't seen fit to send me their 1099s as yet... but they have until the end o' this month, right? And I'm thinkin' they'll use every last day of the available time, too.

I'm also thinkin' I MIGHT do my taxes before the very last minute this year, on the off-chance I may get some money back. That's because this is my year to take the one remaining child exemption I share with The Second Mrs. Pennington, which usually results in a modest refund rather than me writing a check to the Infernal Revenoo Service. "Service?" My ass...

―:☺:―

Did that sound bitchy? I didn't mean to sound that way, if so. Wait. Mebbe I DID. But, as long as we're bein' bitchy, there's this: I don't like Blogger's new default comment form, which takes ya to the bottom of the comments page. Which means ya have to scroll back up to read previous comments (which I always do, so's I don't repeat what someone else said and look stoopid or redundant or both) and then scroll back DOWN to make your Astute Observation™. Unless you're the first to comment, which is almost never the case for me, given that I lay around in bed until the crack o' noon. Or thereabouts. On most days, anyhoo.

WHY do coders feel compelled to fix shit that ain't broke? That's one o' life's small yet enduring mysteries.

―:☺:―

This is interesting...

Air Force photo by A1C Ericka Engblom
F-15E Reaches 10,000 Flight Hours: An F-15E operating from Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, became the first Air Force F-15 of any type to reach 10,000 flying hours, according to airmen at Bagram. The Strike Eagle, No. 89-0487, achieved the milestone on Jan. 13. A crew from Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C., flew the aircraft on the historic mission. The F-15E, assigned to Seymour Johnson's 335th Fighter Squadron, has been flying for more than 21 years and is a veteran of combat going back to Operation Desert Storm. "It has taken more than 21 years of qualified maintenance technicians performing more than one million hours of inspections and repairs in all types of environments . . . to ensure aircraft #89-0487 was available," said CMSgt. John Parrott, superintendent of Bagram's 335th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Unit. He also credited all the other airmen, like weapons loaders, involved in keeping the aircraft operating. (Bagram report by TSgt. Vernon Cunningham)

That's from the Usual USAF Source, of course. I wonder about the veracity of that claim, though. I suppose it's true when one only considers the F-15, but I'm pretty damned sure each and every B-52 has at least 10,000 flight hours on the airframe, given the fact the BUFF has been in service for-frickin'-evah (read as: since 1954, the newest BUFF bein' procured in FY62). The same could be said for the KC-135, the C-130, and god-only-knows how many other front-line airframes. They're gonna be around a LOT longer, too, from the looks o' the budget situation.

We Concluded Our Experiment

2012-01-16T15:07:00.000-07:00

"What experiment," you may ask? This (from an old post):

Speaking of... I bought myself a box of Deep Dishes for Christmas and that box remains largely untouched, as I'm engaged in a lil experiment. I read somewhere that aging a cigar has much the same effect as aging fine wine... as in "the older, the better." That presupposes you keep the cigars properly humidified, of course, which I'm doing. So, we pulled one of the now three-month old Deep Dishes out of the humidor yesterday, fired it up, and I couldn't tell if it was any better or not. There may be two things in play here: (1) I haven't given the cigars enough time to age properly or (2) I just don't have an educated palate. As far as (1) goes... I'm not sure if I have the will power to let the cigars age for a year or more. And there ain't no fixin' (2). It is what it is.

I published that about four months into the experiment. I'm happy to report that (a) not only did we HAVE the willpower to see this thang through (there bein' three aged cigars left in the stash, as of yesterday) and (b) I got a second opinion from SN1 yesterday about the project. His verdict? Hard to tell, but the stick seemed more mellow... which meshes with my opinion, as well. The only way to really tell is to smoke two sticks back-to-back, one fresh outta the box and one aged. My bottom line is the project wasn't entirely without merit but it's also highly unlikely I'll ever repeat it. My palate just isn't that refined to notice any differences.

I'm surprised that I let those cigars age for well over a year. Why? Simply because I'm not known for my will power... now or evah.

Mi Corazón...

2012-01-16T13:24:00.000-07:00

... is HEALTHY. Or it should be, at any rate.

2. A Stronger Heart
A 2011 analysis of 16 earlier studies involving more than 200,000 people, conducted by researchers at Italy’s Fondazion di Ricerca e Cura, found a 31 percent reduced risk of heart disease in those who quaffed about a pint of beer daily, while risk surged in those who guzzled higher amounts of alcohol, whether beer, wine, or spirits.

More than 100 studies also show that moderate drinking trims risk of heart attacks and dying from cardiovascular disease by 25 to 40 percent, Harvard reports. A beer or two a day can help raise levels of HDL, the “good” cholesterol that helps keep arteries from getting clogged.

That's from "10 Surprising Health Benefits of Beer," which might be surprising to some but not to us beer drinkers, who've known it all along. I mean... how could something so GOOD fail to be good FOR YOU? Other beer-bennies include protection from Alzheimer's, stroke, diabetes, and a longer life. It must be said the key is moderation, of course, as immoderate intake just makes ya a drunk and those guys have an unfortunate tendency to die alone in alleyways. Or worse.

Cheers!

Better Late

2012-01-16T12:21:00.000-07:00

This was Saturday...

The SEALS look a lot better at 50 than I did. Hell, the SEALS look a lot better than I EVAH did!

―:☺:―

The wind continues to howl here on The High Plains o' New Mexico. SN1 and I managed an outdoor Happy Hour yesterday and did the UCR HH thangs, which included burning a couple o' cigars. The wind wasn't all that bad at the time and Weather Underground sez it's about the same today as far as speed goes. But I think the direction must have changed, or sumthin', because my lawn chairs were next door when I woke up this morning and it certainly SEEMS worse than yesterday. The Bottom Line is... no al fresco Happy Hour TODAY, Gentle Reader. Which is a shame, coz it's still in the mid-60s.

I'm an Idiot

2012-01-15T11:47:00.000-07:00

Sooo... Hockey Night In Portales didn't happen last evening, mainly because the Beloved Wings played an afternoon game yesterday... beginning at 1230 EST, which was a solid hour before I rolled outta bed (the first time). The weird thing is neither SN1 nor I checked the schedule and we BOTH missed the early start time... a classic case of dysfunctional synchronicity. But that was alright; we went out and had prime rib and made a night out o' that. But watching the game together would've been better; I can't recall the last time we did that and neither can Buck.

―:☺:―

In the "Confession is good for the soul" department (it IS Sunday)... I watched this last night:

I'm gonna have to quit sayin' I'm not a movie guy, coz I find myself watching at least two or three of the damned things a week now. What's doubly embarrassing is a couple o' few of the movies I've watched are Chick Flicks... there's no OTHER way to describe them. "It's Complicated" really rattled me, though, because of the similarities in timing and circumstance... chiefly because of the fact the protagonists had a 20-year marriage, were ten years divorced, and it all ended in 1999. That's just freakin' eerie because MY little passion-play had those exact same circumstances but it wasn't as beautiful nor as funny as this movie. Ms. Streep (I HAVE to see her in "The Iron Lady") and company held me from the beginning to the end and there were many, many "I can relate" moments in the movie. The moral of the story... you can never go home again, in so many words... is something I should take to heart.

―:☺:―

This is good...

Except for the freakin' wind, which is gusting to 37 mph. We may or may not sit outside on the verandah this afternoon, because that wind has the potential to ruin what would otherwise be a VERY nice day.

Sometimes It Bees That Way

2012-01-14T13:52:00.000-07:00

Kinda-sorta like this, but different

SN1 & Co. are in town to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr's birthday with me (well... me and other members of the fam'bly) and we got off to a great start last evening. Or rather, early this morning, to be precise. The drive down from Leavenworth takes a lil bit o' time and the fam'bly pulled into town in the wee smalls... with Buck and Grandson Sean dropping in to El Casa Inmóvil de Pennington shortly after 0100 for a nightcap. One nightcap turned into four and just by sheer coinkydink they departed the prem around 0415 this morning. I finished the remains of my barley pop and retired around 0500.

So... it was another rather long night followed by yet another late start, but this one was much more pleasurable than most. The world may not know it but a lot of what ails it got fixed last evening, with more fixing to follow tonight during Hockey Night In Portales.

Sometimes it bees that way.

Just Hockey

2012-01-13T13:41:00.000-07:00

Tough Guys can score too... as the title sez:

Number Two, Bay-bee... Numbah TWO. That's Darren McCarty scoring the game winning goal that gave the Beloved Wings their first Stanley Cup in 41 years. It's also my personal all-time favorite goal. Apropos o' not much... my only Red Wings jersey has 25 on the back, and that's an indication of just how much I like McCarty.

h/t: The Usual Hockey Source.

The Deity At Hand

2012-01-12T15:36:00.001-07:00

Longtime readers here at EIP know the post title is my way of referring to the Supreme Being, whose existence I acknowledge with the express caveat that I'm not sure what his or her name is. I'm also fond o' sayin' that I hope the Supreme Being is a goddess and her name is Phoebe or Athena or something like that. And I'm only half-joking... I'm pretty partial to the old gods and goddesses. Thor would be in the running, too, for that matter.

But we digress. I'm adding another candidate to the Deity Pool... this guy:

The 'toon came to me by way of a "special edition" of Cigar Journal that was bundled along with this month's cigar re-supply. Ya gotta like this deity's style.

Mixed Emotions

2012-01-12T13:44:00.000-07:00

The NHL announced the All-Star game roster today, about which, this:

Added to the roster Thursday were five goaltenders, among them the Red Wings' Jimmy Howard, who leads the League in wins, and the Blues' Brian Elliott, who is second in the League in goals-against average and save percentage.

I mentioned the fact that Howard wasn't even on the All-Star ballot some time ago and expressed my outrage in a suitable manner. That oversight's been rectified but I still have some outrage left: Nick Lidstrom is NOT on the All-Star roster and that is unforgivable. How the league justifies omitting a six-time Norris Trophy winner, currently ranked #14 among the NHL's 274 active defensemen, is beyond me. Yeah, I know: I'm a Homer. But, seriously? Dustin Byfuglien (-8 on the season, so far) gets in and Nick doesn't? WTF?

Well, at least Pavel made the cut. I suppose I should be grateful. (/sarcasm)

Yup

2012-01-12T13:20:00.000-07:00

There's lotsa good stuff at the Usual Source today and I was hard-pressed to select just one 'toon from the many candidates. But this one was the winnah:

Mr. Ariail ain't the ONLY guy who's thinkin' like this; the right side o' the blogosphere is just brimming with WTF? sorta screeds in this space. There are lotsa thangs to take Romney to task for (some o' which, like flip-flopping, are noted above), but his performance at Bain Capital AIN'T one of 'em. Shame.

I Shoulda Known...

2012-01-12T10:38:00.000-07:00

Remember last week when I said I wrote my congresscritters about the FDA and cigars? Well, today I got a response... the only response, so far... from Senator Tom Udall. Here it is, in its entirety:

January 12, 2012
Dear Mr. Pennington,
Thank you for contacting me regarding S. 1461, the Traditional Cigar Manufacturing and Small Business Jobs Preservation Act of 2011. I appreciate hearing from you on this important issue.
Smoking remains the leading preventable cause of death in the United States, yet every day thousands of children have their first cigarette. Because of this and other statistics on the health risks, health costs and addictive nature of smoking, in June 2009 the Senate passed with my support S. 982, the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (FSPTCA), by a vote of 79-17. The House version of this bill passed on April 2, 2009 and President Barack Obama signed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act into law on June 22, 2009.
This law gave the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) new authority to regulate the manufacturing, distribution, advertising, promotion, sale, and use of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, and other tobacco products, subject to clarification by future guidance. The FDA subsequently issued strict restrictions on cigarette and smokeless tobacco sale, distribution, product labeling, marketing and advertising towards minors.
In July 2011, the FDA indicated its intent to issue a proposed rule that would deem cigars, dissolvable tobacco, and e-cigarettes subject to the FSPTCA and the FDA's jurisdiction. The FDA has not yet issued this rule, but expects to publish a notice of proposed rulemaking this fall. Following publication of the proposed rulemaking, the FDA plans to accept and review public comments before issuing its final rulemaking.
In response to this, on August 1, 2011, Senator Bill Nelson (FL) introduced S. 1461, to exempt traditional large and premium cigars from regulation by the FDA and from user fees assessed on tobacco products by the FDA. Upon introduction, S. 1461 was referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, where no further action has occurred. I will be sure to keep your comments in mind should S. 1461 or any related legislation come before the Senate for a vote.
Thank you again for sharing your thoughts with me. Please feel free to contact me with your concerns regarding any federal issue by visiting my website at www.tomudall.senate.gov. For more information, you may also visit my Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Senator-Tom-Udall/106433512869 and receive up to the minute updates through my Twitter page at http://twitter.com/senatortomudall.
Very truly yours,

Tom Udall
United States Senator

Oh, my aching ass. Thanks, Nanny. I'm beginning to wonder about the wisdom of my decision to become a New Mexican, as my representative and both of my senators were solid, right-thinking Republicans when I was a Texan. Now? They're all frickin' Democrats. I suppose that's incentive for me to get out and vote (which I ALWAYS do) but my county is decidedly RED, as are most rural constituencies in these United States. It doesn't help my attitude to find out that S.1461 is languishing in committee, where bills go to die. Today ain't off to a great start.

What's For Lunch, Buck?

2012-01-11T13:05:00.000-07:00

Oh, just the usual...

I like it. It's been over 15 years since I was last in Scotland, but this brew meshes quite well with my memory of Scottish Heavy. I don't think we'll do two of 'em, though, even if we are so very tempted. This is a tasty beer. Strong, too.

That fat stick o' incense to the left o' the beer is looks a lot like a Gurkha Status Natural in the torpedo size. You might think that's a cigar, but who are ya gonna believe? Me or your lyin' eyes?

Zut, Alors!

2012-01-11T12:08:00.000-07:00

It made ME laugh. Wait... I really mean Il m'a fait rire.

And Then There's This...

2012-01-11T11:03:00.000-07:00

First... from yesterday's Shoebox blog:

Heh.

―:☺:―

I might be overdoing the indoor humidification program.

It was a lot worse than this (as in the whole window was obscured by condensation) when I first got up this morning but I'm not seein' any mold anywhere, though. Speaking o' indoor humidification... I found whole cloves at the commissary yesterday and McCormick is quite proud of their product, to the tune o' $2.07 for a .62 ounce package. We paid the freight.

Much Ado About Not Much

2012-01-10T14:56:00.000-07:00

We're back from running the day's errands... picked up our monthly meds, got our quarterly shearing, bought beer, and made a medium-to-large commissary run. And picked up that certified letter, which was nothing more than a reminder from my (former) RV club that my mail service would be terminated if I didn't renew my membership. Why they sent the notice via certified mail shall forever remain a mystery but that was a load off o' my mind. I was expecting some sorta legal notice but we shan't go into detail about THAT.

I picked up a four-pack of Sammy Adams Wee Heavy which won't be cool enough by the time Happy Hour rolls around... mere minutes from now... as we just now put the beer in the fridge. This won't be a session beer when I get around to drinkin' it, given the ABV is a whopping 10%. "Normal" Scottish Heavy ain't NEAR that strong and was my brew o' choice back in the day when I ventured up to Scotland from London. I'm looking forward to it, though.

The Class VI store also had 12-packs of Sammy Adams Winter Seasonal brews and I bought my fourth or fifth installment of same. I really shoulda bought three 12-packs... beer keeps (for a while)... but I didn't. I really, rilly like the Chocolate Bock and the Black and Brew that comes in those 12-packs and wish I could find those beers in something other than the 12-pack. Alas... not HERE.

About that shearing... the Ol' Gal that cut my hair kept up a running commentary about how nice my hair was throughout the 15 minutes I was in the chair. Words to the effect of "sooo thick!" and "you have beautiful natural highlights... wimmen pay BIG money to get that!" and so on and so forth. Twenty years ago I mighta thought she was hittin' on me but these days I recognize that stuff for what it is: a ploy to increase the size o' the tip. It worked, too. I'm SO easy, if not more than a lil bit vain.

And now... Beer me! On the verandah!

Placeholder

2012-01-10T11:07:00.000-07:00

I gots nuthin' this morning, other than a feelin' o' dread. There's nuthin' o' note from the Usual USAF Source and the Usual Source o' political cartoons and conservative screeds I never read looks pretty lame today, too. I have just begun making the blog rounds (my lil version o' back fence gossip) and I don't see anything there... so far... that tickles my fancy or feeds the Muse.

But I DO have a feelin' o' dread. There was a lil "sorry we missed you" slip o' paper in the mailbox yesterday informing me that a uniformed agent o' the Federal Gub'mint had attempted to deliver a certified letter yesterday morning, with the "return receipt" box checked. That cannot be good, NUTHIN' good ever comes by certified mail with the return receipt box checked. NOT. A. THANG... unless some long-lost relative died and read me into their will. I sincerely doubt that happened, but ya never know.

But... dread. Now I have to get cleaned up and run down to the post office and then out to Cannon Airplane Patch to pick up this month's meds and more beer. I may or may not buy some single malt, too. Depending.

Why? Because I CAN

2012-01-09T15:25:00.000-07:00

And there was JOY in P-Ville last night. Leavenworth, too.

On a completely different (yet same, when it comes to joy) note...

Didja catch the Queen Wave at the end? Perfect.

Fanboi Cat?

2012-01-09T14:34:00.000-07:00

Yup. They're freakin' EVERYwhere and even manage to cross the species line. Jobs would be proud.

And then there's this, which I saw last week but neglected to post:

Yeah, I DO so wanna see where you can put your leg. Really. I do. And I'm here to help, too.

Yup

2012-01-09T12:41:00.000-07:00

From the Usual Source.

We Did NOT Keep the Sabbath

2012-01-08T15:33:00.000-07:00

Not EVEN me

Today was a major house cleaning day, whereupon we vacuumed, mopped, dusted, Windexed ALL the mirrors (and the chrome and glass furniture), cleaned the sinks and showers, did laundry, and otherwise cleaned everythang that was in need o' cleaning. In short: everythang except change the sheets. About which... we hit the wall when it came time to do that. We also figgered that particular chore can wait for another day, mainly coz there's no one about to appreciate or confer the bennies of clean sheets upon me.

But we're done now and are enjoying the fruits o' our labors and a cold Turbodog or two. Why izzit that Happy Hour seems better when the house is spotless?

Here's a word to the wise: do NOT go looking for images of male maids with "safe search" off. Just sayin'.

Of Limited Interest

2012-01-08T10:43:00.000-07:00

"Limited interest" unless you smoke cigars, at which time there's this excerpt from an e-mail I received from cigar.com...

By now, nothing should surprise us with the way the government views our hobby. The last few years were some of the most important and influential in the long history of the cigar industry. Between taxes, smoking bans, and regulations, the government keeps trying everything in their power to regulate the cigar industry into oblivion. As enthusiasts, we carry the torch of defiance through these troubling times and we hold firm in our beliefs of our beloved hobby. But the fight is not over...

Currently, the FDA is trying to insert itself into our hobby; they proposed a bill that would dramatically alter the way we all enjoy premium cigars. Some of the regulations include banning walk-in humidors at your local tobacconist, banning any non face-to-face tobacco sales (which means mail order and internet sales), banning color advertisements for cigars, banning the words "cigar" or "tobacco" from advertisements and store fronts, and forcing manufacturers to submit blends for "testing." That's a lot of bans, huh? So what does this all mean for you? You'll have to go to "speakeasies" to pick up cigars, which you won't be allowed to view with your own eyes, only to find out the new blend you wanted isn't available yet - it's still going through "testing" with the FDA.

In short, this is a call to arms. A bill filed under the name Traditional Cigar Manufacturing and Small Business Jobs Preservation Act (H.R. 1639 and Senate Bill 1461) is now being proposed to protect all of us. Please use the link below to contact your local congressman and urge them to support this act. In these turbulent, economic times, the government seems more concerned with regulating your hobbies and leisure activities than getting the economy in order and balancing the budget. It's your time to speak up and get your voice heard! Use the link below and let freedom ring: Fight to Stop the FDA Click Here

There's more at the link, including a nifty little app that will send an editable message to your Congresscritters. Which I did, of course.

―:☺:―

Back to Firefox... I noticed some weirdness between IE9 and Blogger over the last few days and my initial reaction was to think it was just Blogger bein' Blogger, where the occasional episode of weirdness and petulant dysfunction isn't exactly unknown. First it was the "quote" button's apparent non-function... I fixed that by editing the HTML, inserting the "blockquote" command and "end blockquote" command in the appropriate places. Then I tried to put up a post with video from yesterday's Bruins-Canucks game and Blogger simply REFUSED to accept video from either the NHL or The Tube O' You. I posted a couple o' drafts and wound up deleting both, mainly coz the missing video was the point of the whole post. Today it was Blogger refusing to include the image you see above, cut and pasted from an e-mail I received from cigar.com. IE9 also wouldn't import the link in the final quoted paragraph. So that famous lil lightbulb went on over my head and we opened up FF, cut 'n' pasted the quoted bits above and everythang was cool. How weird, eh?

Oh. Mr. Gates? You're fired.

―:☺:―

Here's that video I tried to post yesterday:

The fight in the vid above is one of the longest hockey fights I've ever seen. The linesmen didn't intervene, mainly coz they were tied up refereeing three OTHER fights. While it wasn't an old-fashioned bench clearing brawl it was the next best thing and there were 48 minutes in penalties handed out for that lil scrum, including a game misconduct. That was an excellent hockey game... fisticuffs aside... featuring world-class goaltending, a penalty shot, and an outcome that was in doubt until the final horn sounded. It was also the best game I watched yesterday, given the Beloved Wings lost a close one in Toronto. But we don't wanna talk about THAT.

No Purée Today

2012-01-06T14:47:00.000-07:00

We'll raise our first beer today in honor of New Mexico's centennial. New Mexico was the 47th state admitted to the union... which happened on this day back in 1912. So, we're (ahem) 100 years young... today! I shall drink a Santa Fe Nut Brown Ale (or two), which only seems right and proper, no?

Fun fact: did you know the lowest point in New Mexico is 2817 feet (859 m) above sea level? S' true, that. I do believe we're the only state in the union that's officially bi-lingual, too. More fun NM stuff here.

―:☺:―

Note the highlighted bits above. Apparently the NHL LIES, coz I trundled off to take the survey and was told "nevermind, Geezers may NOT respond" after the survey asked me my age and gender. Or words to that effect. Well, F*ck you too, NHL.

―:☺:―

Beer me! On the verandah!

Defense Strategy

2012-01-06T12:14:00.002-07:00

The President of the Air Force Association weighs in...

AFA members, Congressional staff members, civic leaders, DOCA members, yesterday the President, Secretary of Defense, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (then later the Deputy Secretary of Defense, Under Secretary of Defense Policy, and Vice Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff) rolled out the new defense strategy. You can find it at: http://www.defense.gov/news/Defense_Strategic_Guidance.pdf

I listened to the presentations and read the piece carefully. Initially, I was critical of the work. First it is not a “strategy” in the classic sense of the word (ends, ways, and means). You cannot have a strategy without detailing the resources and none were listed. Secondly it seemed to be just a compendium of thoughts on the strategic environment and a listing of missions of the armed forces. The latter seemed to be in priority order, but that is an assumption on my part and was not overtly stated. There was a lot of talk about process vice the tough choices. And finally, there were lots of words on what the Armed Forces will do and few words on what the Armed Forces won’t be doing – given a $450B budget cut. Like others, I could be critical about what was “not included.”

However, as I read the piece for the second time (and understanding that this is a public document … not a classified one which would be at the SECRET or higher level), I found much in it to commend it to you.

First, it recognizes the nation is at a turning point after a decade at war. We have a broader range of challenges than just the focus on the past wars. The force of the future will be smaller and leaner, but will be agile, flexible, ready, and technologically advanced. The department will avoid a “hollow force.” DOD will reorient the force towards the Asia-Pacific region. This puts a premium on Air, Space, and naval forces. As I was quoted recently [see: http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/01/planes-cut/] – 100% of the Pacific is covered by air and space.

In the primary mission of US Armed Forces section, I was pleased to see that the mission to project power despite anti-access/area denial challenges was listed. Despite the fact that the authors did not mention one of the most important elements of power projection [Air Superiority], the idea that the Pentagon should look to the future shoots holes in the concept of “next-war-itis” and is long overdue. I found the concept of deterring and defeating aggression to be refreshing:
“Even when US forces are committed to a large-scale operation in one region, they will be capable of denying the objectives of – or imposing unacceptable cost on – an opportunistic aggressor in a second region.”

This puts a premium on those forces that can rapidly shift from one theater to another – predominantly Airpower.

I found the articulation of the concept of conducting long term occupation and stability operations to take into account the realities of what we have seen over the past ten years – where we projected vulnerability – with over 46,000 wounded and more than 6,200 dead. The piece says: “ … US forces will no longer be sized to conduct large-scale, prolonged stability operations.” In my words, we should take advantage of the inherent strengths of Airpower – speed, range, flexibility, technology – and limit the exposure of our forces to our enemies.

I liked the focus on the Guard and Reserves – both of which have carried a heavy load over the past decade.

And I thought the focus on science, technology, innovation, and the industrial base to be important to discuss in any strategy document. I also thought the concept mentioned in the paper about “reversibility” to be an important one in dealing with risk. We have not, in recent history, done well in predicting who, where, and when we will fight.

I might differ on the margins about things like the listing of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, while leaving out Hamas (and others); talking about operating “effectively” in Cyberspace and Space [these are mediums in which we should dominate]; and suggesting that we can achieve our nuclear deterrence goals with a smaller nuclear force [depends on what the goals are]. But on balance, the document is welcomed relief to the past and recognition that the US has broad, enduring, and overarching goals … and challenges.

Finally, I have to back away and comment on the totality of the challenge facing the Department of Defense. Yes … we’re in a budget crisis. And … yes we need to cut government spending. However, during the Kennedy Administration this nation spent 50% of the federal budget on defense. It’s less than 20% today. Then we spent 9.5% of our GDP on Defense; today it’s 3.4% and getting lower. The question we must ask is: Should we balance the budget on the back of defense spending? We have proven over time that a weak America invites aggression. I’m reminded of the famous quote from President Reagan: “Of the four wars in my lifetime, none came about because the U.S. was too strong.”

Last comment: Documents like these don’t always drive resource decisions. Many times, the Services are given dollar bogeys in a “salami-slice” fashion … without regard for the strategy. We should all watch the budget rollout to see if the resources match the “strategy.”

Let me ask you to read the document and tell me what you think.

For your consideration.

Mike
Michael M. Dunn
President/CEO
Air Force Association

“The only thing more expensive than a first-rate Air Force is … a second-rate Air Force.” -- Senate staff member

I know that was long but there was no way to link it, given the message arrived as an e-mail and not as an article in the Usual USAF Source. Speaking of the Usual Source... there are three discrete blurbs on this subject in today's report (01-06-2012), all with links to official statements on the subject of the new strategy.

Poor Purée

2012-01-05T15:28:00.000-07:00

This title thang can't go on much longer, as there are very few options in this space and I may have exhausted the two available. I'm open to suggestions, should you have any.

It's official: I am now an IE9 kinda guy, totally. Dude. I was running IE on the desktop and Firefox on the laptop, but FF has this annoying habit of locking up from time to time for no apparent reason and nothing... repeat, NOTHING... seems to cure that, even a full system reboot. So, we've shown the fiery lil fox the door. Welcome home, Mr. Gates.

One thang that does annoy me about IE, though: no built-in spell checker. I'm in the running for Typo King and I'll miss FF's squiggly red underline when my fingers miss the correct key. OTOH, there may be add-ins available for IE. We will look when motivation gets high enough.

―:☺:―

I've taken to leaving a large pot o' water simmering on the stove of late for to increase the relative humidity indoors; that works and works well. I also "season" the simmering water with powdered cloves, which gives the house a nice fresh smell and serves to hide other odors that MIGHT tend to incriminate me should the landlord or his designated representative pop in. The downside is the pot is devilishly difficult to clean, given powdered cloves leave one hellaciously tenacious residue in the pot. It took me 20 minutes and one half of an SOS pad to get that job done this morning. There's a price for everythang in this life, I suppose.

―:☺:―

No outdoor Happy Hour today. It's warm enough but the wind she is howling. Literally. I documented said howls here, if'n you don't believe me or have forgotten. It's not a pleasant experience to sit on the verandah in that sorta wind.

So... it looks like our pot is poured. It's a slow day at El Casa Inmóvil de Pennington.

Not to Flog Dead Draft Animals...

2012-01-05T12:17:00.000-07:00

... but there's this, from the Usual Source:

And there's more than a lil bit o' truth there, too.

Po Poury

2012-01-04T14:54:00.000-07:00

We're just in from runnin' the day's errands and I almost put the top down for today's journey about town. Almost, but not quite. It was 57 degrees outside when I set out and my threshold for al fresco motoring is 65 degrees. Close, but no cigar...

―:☺:―

Part o' the day's errands was to stop by the Super-Save for to re-stock the larder. I noticed the in-house tortilla factory was in full swing when I arrived and politely inquired of the tortilla ladies if I might could snap their picture? "Why certainly!" was the reply, after a semi-suspicious inquiry as to what I was gonna do with the photos. I told the ladies they were gonna be blog fodder and then had to explain exactly what a blog is. (sigh) The Younger Generation is supposed to be "with it," except when they're not. But... herewith the Tortilla Girls:

It turned out that one photo wasn't enough, the young lady on the left insisted I take another pic of her and her co-worker... so, bein' the cooperative sort I AM... I obliged. They wanted to see the results and exclaimed "¡Oh! ¡Qué bonita!"

Verdad.

―:☺:―

I've never served on a jury. But that doesn't mean I haven't been summoned to serve and I received another such summons from the Good People of Polk County, Texas in yesterday's mail. I made a phone call this morning to the county clerk to politely inform her I was no longer a resident of her fair county but before I could get the words out of my mouth she said to just ignore the summons seein' as how I was an Escapee. Which is par for the course. I've received three such summons during the past ten years and was always excused, given the fact that Escapees (the name of my RV club, headquartered in Livingston, Texas) are almost always somewhere other than Livingston. I was somewhat wistful during our conversation when I realized this particular phone call was prolly the last item on my relocation agenda and the last remaining tie to the RV life. Once again: sigh.

―:☺:―

And now I think it's time to crack a beer, head out to the verandah, and finish the cigar I lit when I set out on my errands. It might have been too cold for top-down motoring but it ain't too cold for beer drinkin' on the verandah. In proper attire, of course.

I'm Glad THAT'S Over...

2012-01-04T10:41:00.000-07:00

... but not as glad as Iowans. I have an ol' AF buddy who lives in Iowa; he e-mailed yesterday and said he unplugged his land-line because of all the robocalls. It ain't really over, we're just changing venues with barely a week's respite until we do it again. But at least Red Eye is on tonight.

I'm almost resigned to Romney, btw. Santorum is as flaky as Gingrich but without the brains.

And Now For Sumthin' Completely Different

2012-01-03T14:37:00.000-07:00

Heh. Yeah... what DID happen to The History Channel?

Fireworks

2012-01-03T13:55:00.000-07:00

If you like fireworks you should LOVE this... it's SPECTACULAR in full screen, 1080p HD!

It's a funny-strange thang, but I don't recall fireworks on New Year's Eve... at least on this scale... when I lived in Ol' Blighty. The Beeb usually put their cameras in Trafalgar Square to capture the crazies cavorting in the fountains. The Second Mrs. Pennington and I talked about goin' down there (T-Square) on New Year's Eve and joining in but we never did pull THAT trigger. Good sense prevailed, thank The Deity at Hand.

It's Still 2012

2012-01-02T09:15:00.001-07:00

And speaking of the New Year... the Beeb has a short slide show of New Year's Eve pics from all over the world, these bein' my two faves:

The clocks make the photos, don't they? I have serious trouble believing the Rooshians partied in Red Square sans wodka. But then again, I heard alcohol was banned in Times Square,too. What's this world comin' to?

―:☺:―

The holidays have been hell on blog traffic here at EIP. Note:

Paradoxically, December was our best month ever...

I dunno what happened but we came within a tick of doubling our visits and page views compared to December 2010. And I thank you for your patronage!

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

Happy New Year, Indeed

2011-12-31T11:49:00.000-07:00

I'm just in from running the day's errands and it's a pretty nice day outside...

December 31st? A 70 degree forecast? I'll take it... along with an outdoor Happy Hour.

I Love This Stuff

2011-12-31T00:00:00.000-07:00

Ten minutes that make ya pause, think, and marvel...

I remember the historical events in the first part of this video, at least the stuff that begins about the time Sputnik was launched. I also remember somewhat more vividly the mystique and aura surrounding our satellite reconnaissance capabilities during the '70s and the '80s, mainly because I worked on the technical side... on the periphery... of the spy business during that time. The surveillance satellites discussed in the video played a VERY large part in putting me out of a job, actually, given the fact the ground-based monitoring systems I worked on did the same sort of work at a much higher cost and produced significantly inferior results.

The thing that REALLY blows me away, however, is the fact these satellites and their supporting infrastructure were designed and deployed in the 1950s and 1960s, without the benefits of either internet or massive computing capabilities. Ain't that SUMTHIN'?

h/t: This article in The Atlantic.

Potpourri

2011-12-30T16:37:00.000-07:00

I threw out the remains of Christmas dinner today (see: left), which was about half of a three and a half pound brisket. There wouldn't have been NEAR that much left under normal circumstances but I overcooked the damned thang to the point where it was tougher than a dog's chew toy. My dinner guest, to her everlasting credit, said "it's fine" when I complained/apologized for the quality of the meat and she even went back for seconds. The cook really appreciates that sorta thang, yanno? Even if we know in our heart o' hearts the girl was stretching the truth a wee bit.

So... the brisket went, after one episode of reheated leftovers and one episode of homemade Reuben sammiches, the latter which weren't TOO bad, given I shredded the slices of brisket to near baby food consistency. The veggie remnants (the best part o' that meal) were consumed in their entirety on Boxing Day. With great relish.

―:☺:―

I've noticed there are at least two ads currently running on the Fox News Channel for devices that prevent snoring. What I want to know is why ALL the testimonials come from MEN. Seriously... BOTH ads feature perky women complaining about their husbands keeping them up at night until such time as they purchased the product bein' flogged, with one particularly egregious example showing the Snoring Husband bein' banished to the couch. I suppose wimmen don't snore in teevee land, but I'm here to tell ya that ain't true in the Real World. I've shared a bed with a couple o' wimmen in the past that would give a Weyerhaeuser mill serious competition in the noise department... so much so that I went and slept on their couch. Willingly. Out o' necessity.

―:☺:―

And then there's this in the "Not Your Father's Air Force" department:

Bod Pod Battle: The 50th Space Wing at Schriever AFB, Colo., has introduced a new twist to the age-old New Year's resolution of losing weight and getting in better shape. The wing's "Bod Pod" competition will pit squadrons against each other in a battle to cut body fat. Beginning on Jan. 1, participants will have two weeks to step into the Bod Pod at the base's health and wellness center to get their body fat measured. The machine, which resembles a giant egg from the outside, uses air displacement to calculate body density and body fat. Once measured, airmen will have until late March to tone up before entering the Bod Pod once again for final measurements to determine the winners. "We really want to encourage airmen to start the New Year on the right foot by learning exactly where their body fat numbers are," said Christopher Woodruff, Schriever's HAWC health promotions educator. He added, "Body fat, when in reference to health, plays a big roll." (Schriever report by SSgt. Patrice Clarke)

Two thangs: First and foremost, you don't need a freakin' Bod Pod (I love THAT term) to know if you're fat or if you need to get in shape; what a tremendous waste o' money that is. Second, it's ROLE, dammit. Don't make me come down there...

A Miserable Excuse for a Post

2011-12-30T14:57:00.000-07:00

Well, OK. Only because Sunny ain't got any new stuff.

And there's this...

Coz it's that time o' year.

Pretty Cool

2011-12-29T00:00:00.000-07:00

"Our Way of Life"

Well... yeah. There's one very brief overhead view of an arena in this vid where 20,000 people rise to their feet as one, arms in the air, cheering, after a goal is scored. I've been there and seen... done... that and there's damned few sights in life that compare to that spontaneous spectacle. There are times when I sure do miss Detroit and The Joe.

h/t: The Usual Hockey Source.

More From the In-Box

2011-12-28T13:45:00.000-07:00

Lotsa stuff in there this "morning," most of it delete-key fodder. Like this:

I've never had a subscription to the NYT, unless you count the four month Sunday-edition Christmas gift subscription I got from a buddy back in '96 or '97. The NYT must really be hurtin' if they're sendin' stuff like this out.

And then there's this:

I've never bought anything from Amazon's herbs, spices, and seasonings department but I DID click on a link to 25 Tahitian Vanilla Beans in an old post by Blog-Bud Andy. Amazon NEVER forgets... that's pretty scary, sometimes.

From my daily Townhall newsletter... there are new political cartoons at the Usual Source, this among them:

You might wanna watch Monday's video again.

The Usual USAF Source reminds me where I should be at 1430 hrs today:

Go Falcons!: The Air Force Academy Falcons host the University of Toledo Rockets Wednesday in the Military Bowl at RFK Stadium in the nation's capital. ESPN will air the football game nationally at 4:30 p.m. East Coast time. "The game is all about the men and women of our military and raising support and awareness for the USO, so having a military academy represented in the Air Force Academy versus an exciting, high-scoring Toledo Rockets team is great for our game," said Steve Beck, Military Bowl president and executive director, in a release. The Falcons, members of the Mountain West Conference, finished their regular season with a winning 7-5 record. They are making a bowl appearance for the fifth consecutive year, a school record. The Rockets, from the Mid-American Conference, finished their season with eight wins and four losses. This marks the two teams' first meeting. (See also the academy's game notes; caution, large-sized file.)

OK, it ain't a BCS bowl. So?

The Air Force game is only an hour from now; I just poured my second cup and haven't even begun to make the blog-rounds. I'm upside down again, sleep-wise, and to further complicate things it's a nice day outside (55 degrees!) and there are errands to be run. I don't see how I'm gonna get everythang I wanna do done... sumthin's gonna have to give and it might be the football game.

Update, 1430 hrs: This:

I deleted that, too.

Another Update

2011-12-27T12:31:00.000-07:00

I KNOW all y'all are just dying to know how the election turned out, right? I mean I've been inundated with off-line communications asking just that question. Well, sorta. Well, not at ALL. But that's beside the point, coz I'm gonna tell ya anyhoo. Here it is:

With Sunday liquor sales approved by voters on Dec. 13, businesses serving alcoholic beverages are already in the process of turning in their applications for Sunday liquor licenses, according to Portales City Clerk Joan Martinez-Terry.

[...]

Cattle Baron Manager Richard Chambers said he believes Portales has more to offer people and this is one way of bringing more to the community.

He said the Sunday liquor sales will also bring more jobs to the community.

“Vines will be open on Sundays now, so that’s going to be a whole other day they weren’t open before and they are going to have to hire new people and I’ll have to hire new people as well,” Chambers said. “I think it’s great for Portales that people won’t be driving to Clovis to eat and have a glass of wine or beer. There aren’t a lot of eating options here, so it will be good for the community.”

That last bit is oh-so-true... we don't have a lot o' dining options. One other thang you should know: the vote was 311-278 in favor of Sunday alcohol sales. It was a near run thang, but P-Ville has been dragged... kicking and screaming... into the 21st century. Well, sorta. You still can't buy beer on Sundays at Wally-World or anywhere else (except at Cannon Airplane Patch), for that matter. One small step...

Slow

2011-12-27T10:47:00.000-07:00

An update... Last week I posted a lil blurb and a photo about the last military flight out of Iraq and there was some discussion in comments about the troops on that aircraft... like "did they make it home for Christmas?" Well, one of the guys or gals on that plane dropped by EIP last evening and left this comment:

said...

You will be happy to know, though we were delayed in Kuwait for a couple days, everyone on that last flight made it safely home for Christmas. Thank you all and I hope you had a very Merry Christmas.

Welcome home, Sir or Madam... and thank you.

―:☺:―

It sure is a slow week... the Usual USAF Source is taking the week off, there aren't any new political cartoons at Townhall today, the Guardian didn't publish their favorite vids last Friday, and blog traffic is down. But there's this, which you've prolly already seen since there were over a million Facebook shares and it was on Red Eye:

I think the ending is cool... poetic justice if there ever was such a thang.

Cue Up Tevye

2011-12-26T10:55:00.000-07:00

As in... Tradition! Blogging tradition, that is. This year we'll just post a link to our UCR Boxing Day post. If you've read it, you've read it and if you haven't? Well, do what ya think is right. Here's a pic from the sometimes-revised story to whet yer appetite:

To quote myself: "That's SN1, The Lovely Miz Lynch, and YrHmblScrb at a world-famous pile o' rocks, the pic which just might have been taken 20 21 years ago today." That's not entirely true, it would be more like 21 years ago the day after tomorrow. I spent Boxing Day of 1990 partying in London.

―:☺:―

We wound up with a White Christmas after all. It snowed lightly ALL day yesterday but the temp stayed stuck at 32 degrees or just slightly above until nightfall. The upshot was we got about a one inch accumulation after sunset, with wet streets and patches of snow prior to that. We were completely white when I got up this morning but it's melting off rapidly on its way to 40-something degrees. Still and even: prettier than it sounds.

―:☺:―

I saw this Christmas Eve but didn't wanna ruin Christmas by posting political shit. After all, Christmas IS a time of peace on earth and good will toward men, and that would include Young President Barry. But this is pretty good...

Yeah... I've used the theme from Masterpiece Theatre to play the pompous ass myself. Perfect!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T00:00:00.002-07:00

M E R R Y C H R I S T M A S

God Bless Us, Every One!

Santa Update II

2011-12-24T16:18:00.000-07:00

Santa's biggest challenge in Amsterdam might be understated. Or flat out wrong... keeping Rudolph away from those other red lights might be right up there on the challenge list, too. I found that to be true. But I DID enjoy the architecture; that's why I went. That and other cultural opportunities.

My server at The Bulldog, c. 1999.

Santa Update

2011-12-24T11:38:00.000-07:00

I'm surprised the PLA Air Force didn't shoot him down. Or detain and accuse him of bein' a Runnin' Dog Capitalist spy. I guess New Capitalism does mellow ya. Somewhat.

Don't Forget!

2011-12-23T22:32:00.000-07:00

I'm getting excited! We ALWAYS track Santa here at EIP; it's in our blood.

Back when I was in the radar biz we used to do this sort of thing locally for the families of the guys at the radar sites where I was stationed. Back in the day every USAF long-range aircraft control and warning (AC&W) radar site had a video mapping device that fed programmed exercise video to Operations; the normal output from the video mapper was "canned" and consisted of video blips simulating actual aircraft. The video mapper was used to train ground-control intercept controllers and technicians during the course of “normal” business, but we put that video mapper to a much different use at Christmas. On Christmas Eve we'd load up a special video overlay and route it to the intercept control scopes in Operations. While "exercise" video consisted of fake bogeys (simple blips) and tracks to train intercept controllers and technicians, the special Santa video showed a sleigh and reindeer on the scopes, and of course the sleigh moved…traversing our radar coverage area. Not nearly real, but real enough for the kids that saw it! (And for the adults, too…those willing to “suspend disbelief,” as it were.)

The kids always got a big thrill out of the radar displays. Doing the Santa video was one of the most fun things I ever did while I was a radar guy.
My first Santa tracking experience was at Lompoc Air Force Station during Christmas of 1964. A lot o' water has passed under the bridge since then, but I still get a kick out of tracking Santa.

I always put this up on Christmas Eve (or close to it).

I SAID It Was Seasonal, Right?

2011-12-23T16:16:00.000-07:00

Those of us here on The High Plains o' New Mexico are getting our White Christmas ya-ya's out today. Which is a case o' gettin' while the gettin' is good, coz we're gonna be in the low to mid-50s on Christmas Day.

It's dark enough to cause my flash to fire.

The usual, customary, etc., snowbirds

I'm really glad the snow is light, not that I have anywhere to go or stuff to do, which I don't. But I KNOW there are folks traveling as we speak... and they don't need no steenkin' blizzards.

Surveillance

2011-12-23T14:21:00.000-07:00

First... this, from the Usual Source:

Heh. Santa did drones before drones were cool.

Second... Another sort o' surveillance. I'd been up almost exactly four minutes when there was a knock on my door and it was my neighbor, who dropped by to gift me with a bottle o' wine for Christmas. So there I was, still half-asleep, coffee pot not even lit off yet, and with bed-hair. Tryin' to be sociable. I didn't even MENTION the fact I just got up (at sumthin' like 1310 hrs and we have appearances to keep up, or secrets to hide, whichever), I just toughed it out. I think I did a pretty good job of it, too... as she invited me down to her place to take a look at her new furniture. The woman has good taste. She may not think the same about me, given my appearance this "morning."

Third... It sure does look Christmas-y/Seasonal outdoors: it's in the mid-20s with the occasional snow flurry blowing by my window. That's almost enough to overcome my usual, customary, and not-unreasonable humbuggery, but not quite. Mainly coz it's dark and gray (requiring indoor lighting; that kind o' "dark") and I'm not fully caffeinated yet. But we're working on the latter: I just poured my second cup.

Ho-ho-ho.

I'm Fallin' Down On the Job

2011-12-22T15:01:00.000-07:00

Sunny's had a new video out for three days and I just now watched it.

I blame the winter blahs for my oversight. I promise to do better in future.

From the In-Box

2011-12-22T12:52:00.000-07:00

My Good Buddy Ed In Florida sends along the following photo essay...

Heh. I wouldn't wanna be that 104 pilot. Coal. Lotsa coal.

Surprise!

2011-12-22T00:00:00.000-07:00

So, there I was...eating dinner around 1715 hrs and there's a knock on the door. I open the door and there's my friendly UPS guy, asking me to sign for my spiffy new hard drive. About which:

That lil blue thang is the new drive, which has two and a half times the capacity of the old drive (500 GB vs. 200 GB) at half the cost, in a package that is literally a fraction of the old drive's size. It's USB powered, too, so there will be one less unsightly power cord hangin' off the box once I retire the old drive. Granted, the old drive is over four years old and the techies NEVER stand still. Still and even: impressive. I technology.

Things We Like to See

2011-12-21T16:26:00.000-07:00

One of which is this, from ESPN's Scott Burnside:

There are lots of interesting names to kick around when it comes to handicapping the Vezina Trophy race as we hit the end of the calendar year -- some familiar, some not. Here’s a look at our top five plus some honorable mentions.

1. Jimmy Howard, Detroit Red Wings

A couple of things stand out for us when it comes to the likable Detroit netminder. First, he leads the NHL in the one stat that trumps all others: wins. But beyond his 20 victories, Howard has been one of the busiest goalies in the league, ranking third in minutes played and 10th in shots against. In short, Howard has been a rock for the Wings, especially when they were struggling to find their offensive game, holding the fort with a 1.91 GAA fifth-best in the league.

“He’s been our best player for sure,” Detroit head coach Mike Babcock told ESPN.com during the Wings’ pre-Christmas western road trip.

The Wings, 12-3-0 in their past 15 games, are three points back of Chicago for the Central Division and Western Conference leads, and the rapidly maturing Howard is a big part of the team’s success.

“We’re playing him a lot. We’re riding him, but he’s young,” said Babcock, joking that Howard, 27, has plenty of time to rest later.

Goaltending has always been an issue in Detroit, real or imagined, and Red Wings goaltenders don't get no respect, in general. Case in point: Howard leads the league in wins and is among the best in other goalie metrics, like save percentage. Yet he wasn't included in the All-Star game balloting. The NHL nominated 18 freakin' goalies, several of whom who have been... ahem... decidedly pedestrian in their performance this year, but didn't see fit to include Howard? No respect.

But that's OK. Jimmy sez the exclusion from All-Star balloting doesn't bother him and his performance tends to back that up. It'll be interesting to watch how the remainder of the season unfolds but it looks like the NHL has egg all OVER its face at this particular point in time.

Broadening Our Horizons XXXIX

2011-12-21T15:30:00.000-07:00

The errands are done and I was most gratified to see the local likker locker expanded their selection of Abita beers to include Purple Haze and Turbodog, the latter of which comes highly recommended by Occasional Reader Anon. Or one of the Anons, anyhoo. So ya know what we did...

MMMmmm! Malty! Caramel-y! The Bros rate this beer as "exceptional," and I wholeheartedly agree. Good stuff, Maynard... and Turbodog will become a fixture in these parts. It's a new fave.

Bonus: Tonight's dessert managed to sneak into the picture. I wonder how that happened? Yeah, it's a bought-punkin-pie, not homemade. Don't gimmee no grief, mmm-kay? OTOH, you could gimmee pie. Homemade pie.

Held Hostage

2011-12-21T13:54:00.000-07:00

That would be me, to The Brown Truck o' Happiness, as in: awaiting its arrival. I knew exactly when... give or take 15 minutes... TBToH would arrive in Beautiful La Hacienda Trailer Park and the operators of said trucks rarely let me down. I was disappointed on occasion, but that was always when my Usual Driver was on vacation. I've yet to figger out what the schedule is here in the new neighborhood, but I suppose that will come with time.

Nonetheless, I have errands to run, likker lockers to visit, and sustenance to purchase. It galls me that I can't get these thangs done while the WX is relatively nice, read as: I won't freeze my old ass off in the doing. I suppose I could go sit out on the verandah and wait for TBToH but the WX ain't THAT nice (it's the wind, it's almost ALWAYS the wind). That and the fact the usual, customary, and reasonable verandah activities would tend to render me (technically) unable to drive, at least in the eyes and breathylizers of the local gendarmerie. We don't push the edges of that particular envelope now that we are older and somewhat wiser.

Oh. We're waiting on a spiffy new external hard drive, a device with two and a half times the capacity of the old external drive. Which capacity is needed, and all that. Merry Christmas to me.

Update, four minutes later: Well, shit.

I guess we'll go run our errands now.

Kinda Sorta Like New Year's Eve

2011-12-21T12:28:00.000-07:00

That would be this year's winter solstice, which happens at 2230 hrs MST tonight. I'll be sure to have a drink to celebrate and think winter thoughts when that time rolls around this evening. Actually, that's not quite right... what I'll really be celebrating is the fact the days will get incrementally longer after today, and that's a Good Thing. We always celebrate the solstice in these parts; here's what we said (in part) a couple o' years ago:

Celebrating the Solstice

The sun, nearing winter solstice, travels low across the sky in a multiple-exposure picture made in Maine in 2002. (photo: NatGeo)

Cool pic, eh? So, yesterday was the Winter Solstice and it's official: we're all in winter now. Yays, and all that. I suppose most people in the eastern half of the country don't need an announcement to confirm winter's arrived... all that white stuff piled up in your driveways and beside the road should be enough, eh?

So... we gave some thought Sunday about an impromptu trip to Stonehenge to celebrate the solstice, knowing as we do it's a right good time and big party occasion. The Second Mrs. Pennington and I DID think about driving down that way on the solstice (both winter and summer) when we lived in Ol' Blighty but we somehow never got around to it... and we were MUCH closer then than I am now. And then there's the somewhat inconvenient fact my passport expired five years ago. So: the trip was a non-starter from the git-go. There are home-grown alternatives to the original, like Carhenge up in Nebraska or the Cadillac Ranch... a mere two hours from where I sit. I don't think either locations are big party sites, what with being a lil short on Druids and/or other types of pantheists, and I wasn't all that fired up for a drive... even one of only two hours duration... so we threw those alternatives to the wayside as well.

Yeah, I'll stay at home today/tonight as well. And just for the record: my passport expired seven or mebbe even eight years ago. We strive for accuracy in reporting here at EIP.

I Love This Ad

2011-12-20T19:33:00.000-07:00

Yeah, there could be a home for that chair Chez Buck. But what boggles my mind is the fact someone/anyone on God's green earth would buy Blues paraphernalia. I'm surprised that stuff is even manufactured, let alone sold.

I'm watching the 'hawks - Flightless Birds as we speak. Are you sitting down? I'm rooting for Pittsburgh; it's a matter of enlightened self-interest. The Blackhawks lead the Central (and Dee-troit) by three points, ergo they need to lose a game or four. But here they are... coming back from a 3-0 deficit in the third to make it a 3-2 game. This has been a pretty entertaining contest.

I'm Not Gonna Go There

2011-12-20T12:34:00.000-07:00

Or mebbe I will. Those of us "of a certain age" are entirely capable of being "just friends" with the opposite sex, and the great majority of my friends are women... speakin' on a personal and therefore purely anecdotal basis. That said, those of us "of a certain age" are much more likely to recognize and honor moral boundaries, such as marriage or other serious commitments (read between the lines here). Further, I'm tryin' to think of a single example of a current woman friend that isn't in some sorta relationship and no one comes to mind. We're not counting casual acquaintances, like one of my single female neighbors whom I'd do in a heartbeat, as if THAT would ever happen. I could tell ya a funny story in this space, but that well and truly would be TMI (aside to SN1: no comments, please).

There was a point in time... before I hit that "certain age"... when I slept with most of my female friends (those that were willing, anyhoo) and I don't think I was all that unusual in that regard. I'd further submit the young guys in this video are seriously missing the point. I mean after all... what are friends FOR?

♪♫ Someone to Watch Over Me ♫♪

2011-12-20T10:20:00.000-07:00

From the Usual USAF Source:

Here (top), Lt. Col. Joseph Paguiligan, mission commander aboard the JSTARS aircraft, monitors operations during the historic mission. At bottom, Maj. Steve Eadie lands his U-2 at an undisclosed air base in Southwest Asia after completing the final manned ISR flight over Iraq on that same day. Air Force photos by TSgt. DeNoris A. Mickle and SSgt. J.G. Buzanowski

Overhead Vigilance Helped Keep Final Iraq Convoy Safe: A lone U-2 Dragon Lady and an E-8C JSTARS were among the aircraft that flew the final intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance sorties over Iraq to guard the last US convoy as it drove into Kuwait to complete the US military pullout. "We were able to cover and support, from the air, the last boots on the ground going across the border, bringing a close to a nearly nine-year war in Iraq," said Lt. Col. Curtis Bass, commander of the 7th Expeditionary Airborne Command and Control Squadron, a JSTARS unit, of the Dec. 18 mission. "It's a good feeling to watch those last [vehicles] roll out; it's a historic occasion," he added. "The best part about it was it was quiet," said Maj. Steve Eadie, a U-2 pilot with the 99th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron. "There were no issues as they were leaving. . . . I'm proud to have been a part of it," he noted. Also providing overwatch for the historic final convoy were Predator remotely piloted aircraft and F-16s, Air Force officials have said. (Air Forces Central report by SrA. Sara Csurilla) (380th AEW report SSgt. J.G. Buzanowski)

I'm glad our guys made it out without "incidents" along the way. It's also good to know USAF had our troops' back during the final days of the pull-out.

The post title? This...

Ella's always appropriate.

―:☺:―

In other news... So I watched (as instructed by the NWS in ABQ) for that winter storm all day yesterday and into the wee smalls of this morning. Total snow accumulation? Zero. Zip. Nada. That's not to say we didn't get ANY snow; it really did come down at times, almost obscuring the view of 18th Street from my window on occasion, but our temps were just too warm for any of the icky white stuff to stay on the ground. Yet another case of someone watching over me.

Cool!

2011-12-19T13:58:00.000-07:00

Seen this yet (from Time)?

Google, maker of such hit Easter eggs as “Do a Barrel Roll” and “Tilt,” has apparently gotten into the holiday spirit: Open up Google (it’s a search engine, very popular with the kids these days) and enter “Let it snow” into the search box.

Soon you’ll be privy to gentle snowfall filling up your browser along with links to Rat Pack renditions of “Let it Snow” on YouTube. Wait long enough and your screen will completely frost over.

You can even write your name in the snow (with your mouse, sicko).

A couple o' screen-shots from my desktop:

Written with my mouse, of course. Pervert.

Update: More here, including the fact this Easter Egg won't work for everyone. To wit:

Just don't try to use it on older browsers, such as the popular Internet Explorer 6, 7, or 8 -- or old versions of Safari of Firefox, for that matter.

"Let it snow" works only in browsers that support "Canvas," part of the relatively new HTML 5 code that many developers use to create new webpages, a spokeswoman said (including the newest version of Microsoft's browser, IE 9).

Yet another argument for upgrading.

In Which I Bring Teh Cute

2011-12-19T13:00:00.000-07:00

Yeah, it's all sweetness and light until they pee all over every-freakin'-thang and chew a hole in the arm of your couch. Go ahead... ask me how I know.

That said, I still miss my puppehs.

h/t: The Shoebox blog.

Oh, Goodie

2011-12-19T12:49:00.000-07:00

I'm glad I'm stocked up coz it looks a lot like I'm gonna be housebound for the next couple o' few:

It's all gray and windy outside at the moment with off and on drizzle and it looks like this is the sorta day when it's ALL downhill from here. I notice that areas slightly to the north of us are under blizzard warnings, so I suppose thangs could be worse. This is bad enough for me, thankyaverymuch.

We're Out

2011-12-19T10:55:00.000-07:00

The occasion was all over the news yesterday and today... Hell, Fox News even sent Geraldo to Kuwait to cover the withdrawal, an event I took a pass on. I can't think of one single, solitary reason to lend my eyes to anything featuring that guy. Period. That said, I did see several smaller pieces here and there, one o' them being this one from the Usual USAF Source:

Sixty-two airmen and 55 soldiers flew aboard a C-17 from Imam Ali Base in southern Iraq to Kuwait, Dec. 17, 2011. This was the final US military flight from Iraq as part of the phased pullout of US troops, which concluded on the following day. Here, the airmen and soldiers aboard the C-17 prior to its takeoff. Air Force photo by MSgt. Cecilio Ricardo
Last US Military Flight Leaves Iraq: Iraqi-Kuwaiti theater—Sixty-two airmen and 55 soldiers assigned to Camp Adder, known to the Iraqis as the Imam Ali Base, on the outskirts of Nasiriyah in southern Iraq, boarded a C-17 from Travis AFB, Calif., on Dec. 17 for a flight back to Kuwait. It was the last flight from the last US military base on the last night of Operation New Dawn, said Maj. Gen. Anthony Rock, 321st Air Expeditionary Wing commander, who flew from Kuwait back to Iraq to thank the troops for their service and make the historic flight back with them. The Daily Report was aboard for both legs. "This is a very historic night. I encourage all of you to look at the airmen to your left and to your right and shake their hands," said Maj. Gen. Russell Handy, the senior Air Force leader in Iraq, who also made the flight back to greet the troops. Handy told the airmen to remember the hundreds of thousands who served before them and the 4,500 Americans who gave their lives in Iraq. "We buy a lot of equipment in the Air Force, but it's really all about the people. If there was ever an operation that was about the people, it's what we did here in Iraq. Thanks for your service and everything you've done," he said. Camp Adder transitioned back to the Iraqis on Dec. 16.
—Amy McCullough

Thanks for your service, indeed. There are NO words to express the debt o' gratitude we owe these fine young people. The old ones, too.

Digital Pack Rat

2011-12-18T11:13:00.000-07:00

Which is why we have hard drives measured in terabytes now.

I got off the dime ~~yesterday~~ last night and turned up the new desktop which, predictably, did not go off without a hitch. The first issue? My backup software... Norton Save & Restore... doesn't run on Win7, it runs on XP and Vista. Only. I could read the handwriting on THAT wall, yet I still contacted Norton's support center in Bangalore for an interesting yet time consuming chat. After a 15 minute wait for "the next available technician" Prajeep informed me he couldn't help (coz he wasn't trained on N-S&R) and transferred me to Rudhpo, who confirmed my suspicions: S&R V2.0 doesn't run on Win7 and is no longer a supported product. After another half-hour and 55 Yankee Dollars we had Norton Ghost 15 downloaded, installed, and were ready to begin recovering our considerable archives.

Which, one more stroke on the dead horse's back: the software appears to be IDENTICAL to N-S&R v2.0. Same interface, same colors, same menus, same every-damned-thang, except it runs on Win7. There are no added features that I could see, save its ability to access my checking account, which benefits NORTON but not ME. I would have told Norton to fuck off but I was a hostage... pay the ransom if you want your data back. So I did. But I didn't LIKE it.

We began the file and folder restore process around 2100 hrs and completed it shortly after 0300 hrs this morning... or after about approximately 73,000 files had been restored to the new box. You have to babysit the restore process to prevent file duplication and also to avoid overwriting existing files on the new box with bad data from your archived image... specifically in the case of "ini" files. I'm quite certain Win7's ini files are different than Vista's. We installed other bits and pieces of software whilst babysitting and attempted to get rid of all the crap HP loads on a peesee... stuff you neither want nor will ever use. Why vendors do that particular trick is beyond me, as well. But they all do it. And we digress.

So. I have a few minor thangs left to do today (Firefox, again? or stay with IE9 which seems to be pretty fast?) before we're done but the majority of the work is complete. The good news is all those files seem to have made it through to the new box OK and I can continue being a digital pack rat. We all need stuff like photos of old co-workers from 1998 that we can no longer name, right? That, and other stuff.

Today's Happy Hour Soundtrack

2011-12-17T16:28:00.000-07:00

Just because we haven't shared our soundtrack of late doesn't mean we've been without one. Oh, no... there's always music in our life, even if it's only in our head. This tune was part o' today's abbreviated outdoor Happy Hour, abbreviated because (a) we got a late start and (b) it was three clicks to the right o' "chilly." But... here's what we were listening to:

That's the Ann Peebles version of a song Etta James does best, and it was Etta we were listening to today. Alas, the Tube o' You doesn't have a suitable version of Etta doin' the tune, only a couple o' poorly-recorded live versions. But Miz Peebles does an entirely credible version of the song, as you may have noticed.

I've been privileged to see Etta James on a number of occasions, the most memorable o' which was in a small pub in Camden Town (in London) back in the day, which is to say sometime during 1980 - 1983. When I say "small," I mean SMALL... as in "could mebbe seat 100 people, with another 50 standing." The Second Mrs. Pennington and I arrived at said pub about two hours before show time in order to secure seats before Etta's performance, knowing full well how small it was from previous experience with that venue. The end result was we were both very well-oiled by the time Etta took the stage (and I use the term "stage" loosely) but that did NOT diminish the experience in the least. Miz James did two sets that night, if memory serves, and that evening was one of my very best musical experiences... which included the opportunity to say "hi" and thank her personally for her performance. It don't get no better than that, Gentle Reader.

Oh So Briefly

2011-12-17T12:47:00.000-07:00

I just now poured my first cup and I really, rilly hate it when I do stuff like this. Half the day: gone. It's a matter of guilt and the vestiges of Type-A behavior that refuse to go away completely, I suppose... no matter that I didn't go to bed until 0500 this morning. But it is what it is.

I spent a great deal o' time yesterday, measured in hours and hours, reading Christopher Hitchens obituaries and there are MANY. The most interesting thang, to me, was that it seemed like everyone had a favorite Hitch story to relate, no matter if the person writing the obituary was American, British, Irish, or some other nationality. It didn't seem to matter if the obit writer agreed with Hitch's many, and often contradicting, views on political or philosophical matters. The man was genuinely liked and respected by a wide range of people great and small. There were also a few stories about the way Hitchens handled the death sentence that is cancer and the dignity he maintained in his final days. I hope I have the same sort of intestinal fortitude when my time comes.

And now it's off to make the rounds. BTW... The image above? It's a button, and I just might buy one.

Broadening Our Horizons XXXVIII

2011-12-16T14:46:00.000-07:00

This could be BOH XXXVII, Part Two... seein' as how we went back to the well today for yet another seasonal installment from that lil ol' brewery in Bawston. Well, let's make it that Big-Ass brewery in Bawston, just for accuracy's sake.

Today we're indulging in my favorite selection from the 12-pack, the Black and Brew:

This is some seriously tasty beer despite the terminally-cute name, which is an all too obvious reference to this beer's main taste components: coffee and malt. How could one NOT like this combination? I mean... it's caffeine and alcohol together, two of the four major food groups (the other two bein' nicotine and sugar). The only thang that's missing is sex.

And now we shall adjourn to the verandah for our second outdoor Happy Hour in as many days. It's warm enough today that we don't need our flea jacket... just a sweater, a cigar, and that beer I just poured. Life is good.

RIP, Christopher Hitchens

2011-12-16T12:11:00.000-07:00

I just now learned one of my heroes passed yesterday... Christopher Hitchens, dead at 62. From the link:

But if one needed any proof of Hitchens’ impact and far-reaching respect, the Atlantic’s Nicholas Jackson has it: The New York Times changed its front page well into the night to put Hitchens’ obituary on it.

“That is, the most influential newspaper in the world has put its work and printing process on hold to make room on the front page for the obituary of a single man. If that isn't a testament to his work, I don't know what is.”

I'll remember Mr. Hitchens for the innumerable times I was thankful to the man for his immaculate prose that both entertained and enlightened. I have way too many favorite pieces of his to name just one, but this will do as an example. From "Hitch 22," his recent memoir:

“Care to meet the new Leader?” Who could refuse?

Within moments, Margaret Thatcher and I were face to face. Within moments, too, I had turned away and was showing her my buttocks. I suppose that I must give some sort of explanation for this. Almost as soon as we shook hands on immediate introduction, I felt that she knew my name and had perhaps connected it to the socialist weekly that had recently called her rather sexy. While she struggled adorably with this moment of pretty confusion, I felt obliged to seek controversy and picked a fight with her on a detail of Rhodesia/Zimbabwe policy.

She took me up on it. I was (as it chances) right on the small point of fact, and she was wrong. But she maintained her wrongness with such adamantine strength that I eventually conceded the point and even bowed slightly to emphasize my acknowledgment.

“No,” she said. “Bow lower!” Smiling agreeably, I bent forward a bit farther. “No, no,” she trilled. “Much lower!” By this time, a little group of interested bystanders was gathering. I again bent forward, this time much more self-consciously. Stepping around behind me, she unmasked her batteries and smote me on the rear with the parliamentary order-paper that she had been rolling into a cylinder behind her back. I regained the vertical with some awkwardness. As she walked away, she looked back over her shoulder and gave an almost imperceptibly slight roll of the hip while mouthing the words: “Naughty boy!”

I had and have eyewitnesses to this. At the time, though, I hardly believed it myself. It is only from a later perspective, looking back on the manner in which she slaughtered and cowed all the former male leadership of her party and replaced them with pliant tools, that I appreciate the premonitory glimpse—of what someone in another context once called “the smack of firm government”—that I had been afforded.

Even at the time, as I left that party, I knew I had met someone rather impressive. And the worst of “Thatcherism,” as I was beginning by degrees to discover, was the rodent slowly stirring in my viscera: the uneasy but unbanishable feeling that on some essential matters she might be right.

RIP, Hitch. Thank you.

Didja Watch It?

2011-12-16T10:47:00.000-07:00

I have no stomach for the "debates," or the soundbite parade, or the "lookin' for the gotcha moment," or whatever you want to call what these gotdamned sideshows have evolved into this year. It's all I can do to read reasonable commentary about the event... actually watching the thangs would be a bridge waaay too far, as even the day-after soundbites irritate the piss outta me.

No mention of the debates would be complete without my UCR rant against Fox: NO Red Eye last night, just a re-run of the sideshow. I hate-hate-HATE them for that.

I MIGHT Have Learned Sumthin' Today

2011-12-15T16:13:00.000-07:00

My Inner Eight-Year-Old was insistent with his nagging today and we blew off configuring the new box in favor of a rare outdoor Happy Hour. Rare... for this time o' year... I should add. So I shot the video below... since v-logging is all the rage these days, or so I've read in other places. And who am I to disregard the trendy and the topical?

We had some issues with this vid. First of all, there was no sound when I viewed the vid locally. At first I thought that was coz I also had Pandora goin' on my phone and the phone mutes Pandora when you switch to the video camera. So I naturally thought ALL audio was muted... but NO! The Tube o' You picked up the audio just fine. And then there was the video orientation... I shot in portrait mode but the vid came out in landscape, which means I look like I'm layin' on my side. But the Tube o' You came to the rescue yet again, with their editing tools that let you flip the vid 90 degrees. This ain't technology... it's MAJIK.

So the net-net is I get a letter-box video. NEXT time we shall shoot phone vids in landscape and won't have these issues. I don't wanna hear stuff about fanboi phones and how they get this stuff right without intervention or external processing. Coz it's a case of "Fanboi phones? FANBOI PHONES? We don't NEED no steenkin' fanboi phones!"

Oh, Betty!

2011-12-15T13:12:00.000-07:00

Another one from the in-box:

The cougar is my favorite big cat, but I'm not so sure Betty is my favorite cougar. The vid is here, if'n you're curious.

Wonders Never Cease

2011-12-15T12:41:00.000-07:00

What HP said they'd do, on 12/06/2011:

What they actually did (about 15 minutes ago):

Good on 'em, eh? I think I know how I'm gonna spend the rest o' my day. Mebbe. I say "mebbe" coz I'm dreading the restore process, having acquired one of those tee shirts about a year ago. This chore may or may not be performed immediately... and there's also the fact that I just now poured my second cup. It ain't smart to do stuff like this when one isn't fully caffeinated.

And He Uses It, Too

2011-12-15T12:04:00.000-07:00

From the Usual Source.

Mah Girl, Doin' What She Does Best

2011-12-14T12:25:00.000-07:00

"I will let them eat cake." You GO, Sunny. Marie's got nuthin' on you!