And Then There's This...

From the Usual USAF Source...

Minuteman III Test Shot from Vandy: The 30th Space Wing successfully launched a Minuteman III ICBM over the Pacific Ocean on a test shot from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., early Wednesday morning. Air Force missileers initiated the launch from a Navy E-6B Mercury Airborne Command Post aircraft instead of the more usual ground facility, proving the functionality of the Airborne Launch Control System. "Team Vandenberg and our mission partners' teamwork delivered another successful launch from America's West Coast spaceport," said Col. Brent McArthur, 30th SW vice commander in a Nov. 14 wing release. The ICBM fitted with an inert reentry vehicle blasted off from Vandenberg's Launch Facility 10 at 3:07 a.m. West Coast time. Air Force Global Strike Command personnel from the 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom AFB, Mont., and 625th Strategic Operations Squadron at Offutt supported the operational test under the supervision of Vandenberg's 576th Test Squadron.

Ah... 0307 hrs: just an early wake-up call.  Those of you Gentle Readers who have been with me for a while might remember this:

Discovery Goes Up and a War Story

Occasional Reader Rob sent along a link to this video of Thursday's Space Shuttle launch...

Pretty cool, eh?  Watching this video fired off some long-dormant synapses about other such launches I saw in the way-back.  From my reply to Rob:

Today's (very short) war story...  The video reminded me of watching missile launches at Vandenberg AFB, where I was stationed for a lil over three years.  I arrived there as a jeep two-striper back in '64 and moved into the barracks, as all young troops do.  The first week I was there I was awakened around 0200 hrs by some violent shaking, accompanied by a dull rumble-roar.  Now, I'd been in a few earthquakes as a child and recognized the feeling...  I lept out of bed and literally ran out of the barracks on to the lawn in my underwear, yelling "EARTHQUAKE" at the top of my lungs to wake up the other guys who might be sleeping through this.  And all I got for my concern was angry shouts of derision (and worse) from my fellow airmen, who were NONE too kind.

One of the guys did take pity on me as I walked back in, extremely red-faced and about to fuckin' DIE from embarrassment.  "That was a Titan," he explained.  "You won't feel the Minutemen or even hear 'em until long after they're gone, and the Atlas launches aren't nearly as bad... but yeah, a Titan launch feels just like an earthquake."  The launch pads were about three or four miles from our barracks.

I saw hundreds of launches over the course of the next three years and was also involved in a project to see if our air defense radars could pick up ballistic missile launches (they couldn't and didn't, but that was long ago and radars have changed, along with the times).  That was pretty cool because I was tied into the Vandenberg launch control center in order to start my scope camera three minutes before launch.  I then got to step outside and watch the missile go from our mountain top, which looked exactly like the shuttle launch from that airplane.  Pretty cool, in other words.

You can't possibly imagine how embarrassed I was about that "earthquake" thing, Gentle Reader.  Military guys ain't supposed to panic, for starters, and we're supposed to know every-damned-thing about our service, on top of that.  I betrayed both principles in that episode and it took me quite a while to live that down.

Discovery launch photo from the Daily Mail link, above

Yup... we were SERIOUSLY embarrassed in the way-back.  One wonders if any jeep airmen ran yelling and screaming from their barracks yesterday morning.  Prolly not, though... those Minutemen get out o' the hole QUICK.

Goofy, Indeed

Mr. Varvel has it right.  There's been a lotta loose talk about secession of late which, in my mind's eye, only reinforces the right-wing nutter stereotype.  All this secession talk is the Right's version of "I'm moving to Canada if Booosh wins," writ large.

We're better than that.

In Which We Have Good News

A couple o' few days ago we indicated we'd get the results (today) of the indignities visited upon us in Lubbock last week, and so we did.  We'll make a long story as short as possible: my biopsy was "benign," which is to say everythang is normal.  Dr. V held out his hand at the conclusion of my appointment and said "Congratulations."  As if **I** had anythang to do with it... or perhaps I did, in that we were about as positive as positive can get over the past few days.  That, and the fact that I KNOW all y'all sent your best thoughts and prayers my way.

It worked.

That said... Jack, Ginger, and Eric speak for me:



Yes, we are... and we've knocked back a couple o' beers to celebrate.

Now it's off to make the blog-rounds which we haven't done, as yet.

A Twofer: Mystery Explained, Sorta

From the Usual Source o' such thangs:

Heh.  "So moral" just about sums it up and Lord knows we wouldn't want that.

Oh, My Aching Ass

An Occasional Correspondent sends along the following...

...with the message of "File under: 'You've GOT to be kidding me.'"  To which I replied: Or "My aching ass."

Freakin' liberals... it's a gotdamned DISEASE.

I Was Thinkin' I MIGHT Buy Another RV

If I could find one like this...

Heh.  Ain't that right up my alley... err, road?

H/t to Occasional Reader and Constant Correspondent Lin.

"By the Way..." & Plane Pr0n

Heh:

Yeah... who pays for this stuff?

―:☺:―

Fourth and fifth-gen fighters, together: 

Air Frame: F-22 Raptors of the 1st Fighter Wing at JB Langley-Eustis, Va., fly in formation with F-15 Eagles of the Massachusetts Air National Guard's 104th FW in Westfield during a flyover of Arlington National Cemetery, Nov. 9, 2012. (Staff photo by Arie Church) (Click on image above to reach larger version.)

Beautiful.

My Feelings o' Inadequacy Just Shot Up

I signed a petition... one that's right dead center for us "Thanksgiving Comes First" peeps.  (Go here to sign!)  And what did I get for bein' a Good Guy and supporting the cause?  THIS:

Hell, I don't even have **17** friends, let alone 170.  Who in the Hell has 170 friends, anyway?  Anyone?  Bueller?

Bother, Indeed

Pretty dumb move for such a smart guy.  But we're all human...

―:☺:―

And now fer sumthin' completely different...  Today's the day we celebrate Veterans Day, as in a lot o' folks get the day off.  That's if you work for the various shades o' gub'mint or a bank; nearly everyone else is back in the traces today.  I found it strange that I got every Veterans Day off while I was in the Air Force... and technically not yet a veteran... but I WORKED every single Veterans Day after I retired from the AF.

I get the day off now, though.  

How Do They DO This?

Life is full o' minor mysteries and one of the latest... in my world... is this:

That's a pic of "Tomatoes On the Vine," which come five tomatoes to a package, all fruits attached to a real (formerly) live tomato vine (I've already eaten one from this package).   The fruits are also remarkably uniform in size from package to package.  The produce aisle of my grocery store always has at least 15 to 20 such packages in the tomato section and I'm obsessed with wonder about this phenomenon: how do the growers achieve this level of uniformity in an agricultural product... so much so that each package never seems to vary more than five percent in size?  Add in the fact that said growers HAVE to produce tens of thousands of such packages to reach America's produce aisles during each growing season and the mystery gets that much bigger.  How do they DO this?

Enquiring Minds™ wanna know.

The Book I Never Wrote

I was looking for a piece of Very Important Paper this past Friday and in so doing I came across this old tattered and stained page that was lurking in the voluminous Pennington archives:

Click to embiggen

Heh.  I don't remember when I wrote this... ahem... whatever-it-is... but I'm certainly glad I never wrote the book astounding, yet impressive collection of clichés.  This particular page (as in: its physical being) is prolly a transcription of a handwritten document I put together shortly after I returned from a four month TDY back in 1976 to Doi Inthanon (the tallest mountain in Thailand,  and a place I've mentioned in the pages of EIP a couple o' times), which is also quite near Chaing Mai.  Most authors write from personal experience and I believed I had sufficient "experience" with the situations, the locale, and certain potential characters described in the synopsis that I could put together a credible story.  But we were Airmen then, and young... which is also to say we were wrong about a lot o' thangs.

"Daphne DeVries."  Heh.

Veterans Day 2012

VETERANS DAY, 2012

- - - - - - -

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

Whether they fought in Salerno or Samarra, Heartbreak Ridge or Helmand, Khe Sanh or the Korengal, our veterans are part of an unbroken chain of men and women who have served our country with honor and distinction. On Veterans Day, we show them our deepest thanks. Their sacrifices have helped secure more than two centuries of American progress, and their legacy affirms that no matter what confronts us or what trials we face, there is no challenge we cannot overcome, and our best days are still ahead.

This year, we marked the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812. We began to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War. We welcomed our veterans back home from Iraq, and we continued to wind down operations in Afghanistan. These milestones remind us that, though much has changed since Americans first took up arms to advance freedom's cause, the spirit that moved our forebears is the same spirit that has defined each generation of our service members. Our men and women in uniform have taught us about strength, duty, devotion, resolve -- cornerstones of a commitment to protect and defend that has kept our country safe for over 200 years. In war and in peace, their service has been selfless and their accomplishments have been extraordinary.

Even after our veterans take off the uniform, they never stop serving. Many apply the skills and experience they developed on the battlefield to a life of service here at home. They take on roles in their communities as doctors and police officers, engineers and entrepreneurs, mothers and fathers. As a grateful Nation, it is our task to make that transition possible -- to ensure our returning heroes can share in the opportunities they have given so much to defend. The freedoms we cherish endure because of their service and sacrifice, and our country must strive to honor our veterans by fulfilling our responsibilities to them and upholding the sacred trust we share with all who have served.

On days like this, we are called to reflect on immeasurable burdens that have been borne by so few. We pay tribute to our wounded, our missing, our fallen, and their families -- men and women who have known the true costs of conflict and deserve our deepest respect, now and forever. We also remember that our commitments to those who have served are commitments we must honor not only on Veterans Day, but every day. As we do so, let us reaffirm our promise that when our troops finish their tours of duty, they come home to an America that gives them the benefits they have earned, the care they deserve, and the fullest opportunity to keep their families strong and our country moving forward.

With respect for and in recognition of the contributions our service members have made to the cause of peace and freedom around the world, the Congress has provided (5 U.S.C. 6103(a)) that November 11 of each year shall be set aside as a legal public holiday to honor our Nation's veterans.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim November 11, 2012, as Veterans Day. I encourage all Americans to recognize the valor and sacrifice of our veterans through appropriate public ceremonies and private prayers. I call upon Federal, State, and local officials to display the flag of the United States and to participate in patriotic activities in their communities. I call on all Americans, including civic and fraternal organizations, places of worship, schools, and communities to support this day with commemorative expressions and programs.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this seventh day of November, in the year of our Lord two thousand twelve, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-seventh.

BARACK OBAMA

Thank you to all who served and most especially to those still serving.

♫ ♪ Out On the Road Today... ♪ ♫

... I saw a Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac...

Click to embiggen

A very dirty Cadillac... but that's what ya get with dust and a lil bit o' rain.  That said, we gotta post this after that...

A little voice inside my head said, "Don't look back. You can never look back"
I thought I knew what love was
What did I know?
Those days are gone forever
I should just let them go but-

But nuthin'.   We let 'em go and we're better for it.  Not to digress or anythang.

Cheesy Videos XXIV

It's been over a year since we posted a Cheesy Video, so dontcha think it's time for another one, Gentle Reader?  This one is about one of the Usual Subjects, which is to say wind and dust.  Herewith:



Well, there ya have it.  It'll prolly be another year before we post a Cheesy Video.  You're welcome.

Back On Yer Heads...

The WX has been SO nice for SO long I'd almost forgotten about the curse o' livin' on The High Plains o' New Mexico.  But it's back, with a vengeance:

Note the highlighted bits... and "haze."  Haze, my ass.  That's airborne DUST, and lots of it.  I wish I woulda gone out and done my shopping yesterday, like I originally planned.  But, noooo... Procrastination Я Us.

At least it's warm.

Saturday

There's been a lot o' buzz about this...



From the Tube O' You notes:

A young, free-range chicken. A dominating, ravenous chef. A naughty tale of fowl play.

If Fifty Shades of Grey left you hungry and lusting for more (more, more!), satisfy your culinary kink with Fifty Shades of Chicken, a titillating collection of tied-and-true recipes bound to make every meal a turn-on:

Dripping Thighs, Learning to Truss You, Erect Chicken, Chicken with a Lardon, Happy Ending Chicken

Heh.

Today's Happy Hour Soundtrack

It's a Lyle sorta day... we've loaded up the CD changer with nuthin' but Lyle and are enjoyin' it to the max, this bein' one such tune:

It's a busted old town
On the plains of West Texas
The drugstore's closed down
The river's run dry
The semis roll through
Just like stainless steel stallions
Goin' hard
Goin' fast
Goin' wild
Rollin' hard
Rollin' fast
Rollin' by

{....}

And me I stand here
At the last filling station
While the wind moans a dirge
To a coyote's cry
And I'm back in my car
And I'm out on the highway
Goin' hard
Goin' fast
Goin' wild 

That's me, more often than not.  (sigh)

Another One o' Those "I Never Go There" Posts...

... except for when I do.

Finally: truth in advertising.  Did I ever mention the fact I HATE tats, the existence of which would be an immediate dis-qualifier in the "Be My Lady" sweepstakes?  (We might make an exception for sumthin' small and discreet in this space.  Wimmen over the age o' 50 who think they qualify and MIGHT like to apply for the open position o' consort are encouraged to do so.)

Why Is It...

... that my electric bill...

Dear Customer,

Your 10/30/2012 statement for your Xcel Energy account is ready. You can view the entire bill at your convenience. Here is your bill summary:

Name on Account: Norman Pennington

Account Number: (you don't need to know that)

Amount Due: $36.59 (you DO need to know that!)

Due Date: (sometime soon)

This bill is not enrolled in an auto payment program and will need to be paid manually.

Thank you for using My Account and for being a valued customer.

Sincerely,

Xcel Energy Customer Care

...is about 70% of my WATER BILL, which hasn't deviated more than 50 CENTS off of 50 YANKEE DOLLARS in the last 13 months?  As a matter o' fact, my electric bill is reasonable, never even approaching $100.00, even during peak heating/air conditioning season.  The water bill, OTOH, is way the hell outta whack, especially for a guy who lives alone (even though he showers every day).

There are some thangs in life I simply do not understand, and this is one of 'em.

Plane Pr0n

From the Usual USAF Source...

Air Frame: An A-10 Thunderbolt II takes off over the Las Vegas skyline during a Green Flag-West exercise at Nellis AFB, Nev., Oct. 30, 2012. Green Flag allows airmen and soldiers to practice close air support operations before they deploy on a combat rotation overseas. (Air Force photo by SrA. Daniel Hughes) (Click on image above to reach larger version.)

There's prolly no better place to go TDY than Nellis AFB.  Wait.  I might could be wrong about that!  

(Can I get a "Heh?")