From NOAA

A stunning graphic of tsunami wave-heights from last night's Japanese earthquake, as captioned at NOAA's web site:

Tsunami Wave Height Model Shows Pacific-Wide Impact

Model runs from the Center for Tsunami Research at the NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory show the expected wave heights of the tsunami as it travels across the Pacific basin. The largest wave heights are expected near the earthquake epicenter, off Japan. The wave will decrease in height as it travels across the deep Pacific but grow taller as it nears coastal areas. In general, as the energy of the wave decreases with distance, the near shore heights will also decrease (e.g., coastal Hawaii will not expect heights of that encountered in coastal Japan).The second image shows the depth of the Pacific Ocean floor. Notice the similarity between areas of low wave height and deeper areas of the ocean.An animated view can be seen here.

The legend only goes to 240cm, which is roughly seven and three-quarters feet.  We KNOW the tsunami that wrecked the coast at Sendai and beyond was much higher than that.

Disaster

I'm up at this hour and watching coverage of the horrendous news from Japan.  It looks like the Tokyo area hasn't been hit hard by the earthquake, variously reported as either an 8.9 (CNN) or 8.4 (NHK).  I have CNN on my teeve and NHK World streaming video on my PC.  The tsunami damage in Sendai is extensive, with the airport completely engulfed and a lot of farmland completely inundated.  The live video coverage has been extensive and quite good, as far as production values go.  I've never seen live footage of a tsunami before and the effect of the wave is mind-boggling.  The damage is going to run into the billions of dollars, the human toll is largely unknown at this point.

I watched the Japanese prime minister's brief comments a short while ago, and the good news is there is no damage or incidents at Japan's many nuclear power plants.

Well, damn.  NHK's stream just went down; I imagine their servers are getting hammered or perhaps they've lost power.

My best wishes go out to the Japanese people.

Today's Happy Hour Soundtrack

Variations on a theme of "Stand"...  first up is the inimitable Ben E. King, from my high school days:

Fast-forward to the 1980s and the Clash:

And we'll end with Tammy.  I wanted to embed the Lyle Lovett version of this tune but embedding is disabled, the curse of bloggers everywhere.  That said... if you like the tune you should chase this link.  Lyle's version of the tune eclipses Tammy's even though she OWNS the song, for all practical (and legal) purposes.  But that said... here's Ms. Wynette:

And here we stand.  Or sit, as the case may be.  Heh.

Apropos o' Not Much...

Ye Olde Ancestral Home...

Haunted, even!  This by way of Occasional Correspondent Lin who never ceases to amaze me with her finds.  We had a brief conversation after I viewed the above video, pieces o' which included...

Me:  re: the vid.   How interesting!  Ye Olde Ancestral Home makes the big-time!  I'm 99.94% sure there's no relation here but it was cool to watch...

She:  Au contraire, cher, the chances of you not being related to every other Pennington or de Pennington are slim to none.  Manorial names were not commonly adopted outside the manor-holding families.  Chances of being genetically related to another Smith, Turner or Chandler are slim, given the number of unrelated trades people who assumed trade names after the Norman invasion. 

Heh.  All y'all will have to keep an eye on me as I might start putting on airs and stuff.  "To the manor born" and all that.

Apropos o' Yesterday's Post...

...where I said "No one talks about it much, but after the Columbia disaster I'm thinkin' we ALL hold our collective breath when the shuttle comes home."

 I scare myself sometimes.    

(from the usual source)

Discovery Is Home

Space shuttle discovery rolls to its final landing at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. (photo as captioned at FNC's web site)

Safe and sound.   No one talks about it much, but after the Columbia disaster I'm thinkin' we ALL hold our collective breath when the shuttle comes home.

So now Discovery is off to the Smithsonian, a sad but fitting end to an illustrious career.

Wishful Thinking

Which is all the thought of Spring is at the moment here on The High Plains of New Mexico.  Our grass is still dun colored and there isn't even the HINT of buds, blooms, or blossoms.  Well, that's not entirely true... the tulips have put up two-inch green shoots, so there's that... and the weather has warmed considerably, as well.  Spring is springing elsewhere in these United States, tho, and I read the First Post of Spring... with photos!... over at Blog-Bud Dan's place this morning.  Dan posted some beautiful photos of his blooming daffodils, which speak to me of Spring like nothing else.

Daffodils... whether in photos or in real life... also fire off memories.  Herewith one such:

Spring

Photo Credit: Anita Martinz from Klagenfurt, Austria (via Wikipedia)

It won't be long until we see tulips, daffodils, and other Spring bulbs bursting from the ground, what with today being the first day of Spring. The crocuses have already come and gone in some places...I've seen them bloom in the snow oftentimes in other parts of the world where I've lived... but for most of us the glories of Spring are just now arriving.

My all-time favorite memory of Spring flowers involves rounding a bend and swooping down a stone-walled lane into a tiny Cotswold village not far from where I lived in High Wycombe, England back in the early '80s. It was on a chilly Sunday morning in early Spring and I was out for a morning ride, alone. This village couldn't have been home to more than 500 souls, but there were literally thousands of bright yellow daffodils in full-bloom lining both sides of the lane leading into and out of the village. It was a breath-taking sight, and that is understatement of the highest order.

I immediately headed back for home after trundling through the village, parked the bike outside the house upon arrival (leaving it running), and burst into my living room, surprising the living HELL out of The Second Mrs. Pennington. I simply said "Grab your helmet, put on your jacket, and come with me! Now!", my outburst being more order than request. She complied... albeit in a somewhat perplexed manner... asking where we were going. I only replied "You'll see."

And see we did. I retraced the exact same route I had taken about a half hour earlier, except this time I approached the village just a little slower while reaching back and tapping TSMP's leg just as we entered the village. I could hear her "Ooooh!" exclamation over the noise of the bike's motor and rush of wind as I slowed to a veritable crawl. We pulled over to the side of the lane, parked the bike and spent about a half-hour walking the lane, drinking in the beauty of the flowers and the tiny thatched-roof houses in the village. And there wasn't a soul to be be seen anywhere, strangely enough. Just the two of us, amid a riot of daffodils on a quiet Sunday Spring morning in Britain.

It doesn't get much better than that, Gentle Reader.

―:☺:―

Today's Pic: Our mount on that glorious Spring morning... my old RD350LC, on the day I sold her... the week before I left Ol' Blighty. Notice my pallor. That comes from living in a country where I might have seen full sun on perhaps seven occasions over the course of three years. OK... I exaggerate... but not by a whole helluva lot.

Spring is just around the corner.  I wish I could sweep around a corner in the crisp Spring air and into a daffodil-festooned Cotswold village one more time.  Just ONCE more.

Well... OK. If You Say So.

I never quite thought about it in this way but yeah... this makes sense (from the AFA's 03/09/2011 Daily Report):

A Working Dog's Workout: Air Force military working dogs at several bases are testing a new fitness regime to improve their readiness for deployment. "The program ensures we send the most physically fit dogs to a combat zone," said SSgt. Rick Laird of the 460th Security Forces Squadron at Buckley AFB, Colo., one of the trial bases. Focused on building both strength and endurance, the regimen includes muscular exercises such as "power fetch," obstacle training, and weight pull. There are also cardiovascular exercises that transition between brisk walks, jogs, and full-out runs. Security forces dog handlers run with their four-legged partners four times per week, including trots on the treadmill. "I love the fact that I am able to PT with our K-9s. When we are down and do not feel like running, they are always up for it," said SSgt. David Duritsky, a 460th SFS dog handler. (Buckley report by A1C Marcy Glass)

We've all seen fat puppies and anyone who's ever had a dog understands the importance of exercise for the health and longevity of our best friends.  But I never considered the ins and outs of getting military working dogs in shape for combat.  I'm glad someone thinks about these things.

Here's the caption that accompanied the above pic:

Buckley Air Force Base, Colo.- Staff Sergeant David Duritsky and Pier, 460th Security Forces squadron, enjoy their time physically training together at the fitness center Mar 2, 2011. Buckley is one of few bases instituting this new program to keep the military working dogs physically fit and deployment ready. ( U.S. Air Force Photo by Airman 1st Class Marcy Glass ) 

Click the pic for larger, of course.

The Passing of Time

I awoke this morning to the usual, customary, and quite reasonable bits of e-mail... the AFA Daily Report (which I read in its entirety), the daily Townhall missive (which I largely ignore, save for the political cartoons), overnight comments on EIP posts, and the odd communication from friends and relatives (which is odd in the "once in a while" sense and is not a comment on the content).  The latter which inspired a brief communication between YrHmblScrb and a long-time acquaintance, who noted today is the 43rd anniversary of his discharge from Uncle Sam's Air Force, which led to a brief communication wherein we exchanged views on aging and other such mundane things, the both of us bein' fully retired and lovin' it, for the most part.

My friend and I are sorta the same although very different.  He, on the one hand, did one tour with the Air Force and embarked on a career in The Academy, albeit a career less involved with academics and more involved with research in the field of physics, which career we suspect was highly rewarding... in every sense of the word.  I, as you know, Gentle Reader, chose a different path... in that I screwed around with a USAF career that mostly involved a lot o' beer and other mind-altering substances whilst traipsing around the world at a time when we were confronting an existential threat to our very way of life, or so we 're led to believe.  Then I married well, got serious, and made my bones in a brief but exciting 16-year foray into the Info Technology world after that Air Force thang was done.  All that is water under (or over) the dam, as it were.

But here we are, the both of us, reflecting on the past and thinkin' about gettin' old.  But I paused and reflected on one interesting thing.  My friend brought up the 43rd anniversary of his discharge and I, in turn, remarked that the first of this month marked the 26th anniversary of my retirement from the USAF.  Which is middling strange.  We, as a species, tend to mark the passing of time in increments of five...as in our fifth, tenth, or twentieth  wedding anniversary and such.  Rarely do we ever remark upon the passing of time in single-year increments, which I find passing strange.  Why is that, I wonder?

―:☺:―

Today was an interesting blog-day.  It seems like all my Daily Reads got prolific overnight, so much so that we divided our normal blog-reading into two sittings vice the UCR one, there being THAT much to read and comment upon.  Just to cite one example... Blog-Bud Daphne asked a provocative question today, to wit: 

I doubt I’m the only one feeling a low-level of anxiety about our economy, national debt, unbalanced budget, the Fed’s shenanigans, unemployment, rising prices on basic commodities, incompetent politicians, etc.

[...]

I rarely ask personal questions, but I’m intensely curious about this right now. I really want to know what you’re thinking and experiencing. Are you anxious, worried, at the end of your financial tether or feeling that everything is fine and this bit of government trouble will all blow over soon?

What suggestions or advice do you have to share?

To which I replied...

Are you worried? What kind of preparations are you making if the country goes the way of Greece?

Worried? Slightly, the biggest worry being a Weimar-republic or 1970s South America bout of hyperinflation. Total collapse? Not so much. It could happen in an “anything is possible” way but I think the probability is quite low.

Preparations? Zero debt beyond monthly expenses. I AM considering turning a part of my 401k into gold… of the real, tangible, “hold it your hand” Krugerrand sort… as an inflationary hedge. Nothing much beyond that, though, aside from reading the end-o’-days whack jobs, who I find enormously entertaining. ;-)

About those whack jobs... I'm seein' a whole helluva lot of that "end o' days" rhetoric of late, which includes tales predicting an impending Mad-Max sorta fate for us all.  I don't see any of that stuff happening, whether it's because I lived through the Carter presidency with its double-digit inflation, the "we're all gonna die" backyard bomb-shelter building epidemic of the Eisenhower years, and all that other stuff.  Or mebbe I'm just overly optimistic about things in general.  What's your take, Gentle Reader?  Is the apocalypse at hand?  Or is this just more bid'niz as usual?  Enquiring Minds™ wanna know.

About That Window...

The window I'm talking about is in my post about the PBS Troubadours show.  As for the toon... it's from last week and is also from the usual source.  Unlike my peer in the toon I don't envy today's younger generation at all, given there's so much lethal stuff out there.  I still have most of my hair, too.

How Strange

This:

That would be EIP translated into Turkish.  We had a visitor from Istanbul earlier today and said visitor was interested enough in our scribblings that he or she (a) spent a lil over 32 minutes with us and (b) took the time to translate EIP into Turkish.  Proof:

Once again: ain't technology grand?  Can you imagine being able to project our everyman thoughts two continents away as recently as ten years ago?  I can't and am thus amazed.  I'm no less amazed that someone in far-away Istanbul... a city I greatly admire and one in which I had some hella good times... would take the trouble to read me.  Small world, indeed.   

Hoşgeldiniz, benim Türk arkadaşım ... ve do geri gelecek. 

Nostalgic. Again.

Bein' of a certain age (are ya tired o' that line yet, Gentle Reader?)... I made sure to catch "Troubadours" on PBS' American Masters last week.  About which: a damned good show, mebbe even a great show.  Here's a blurb from the PBS web site:

The narrative begins in the ’60s, when Carole King and Gerry Goffin were writing their now-iconic songs at Manhattan’s 1650 Broadway hit factory, and James Taylor was emerging as a folksinger/songwriter. The location then shifts westward to L.A.’s Laurel Canyon, the breeding ground for the burgeoning singer-songwriter community, and to Doug Weston’s Troubadour, where the King/Taylor partnership begins to blossom and a close-knit crew of future legends — including Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, Joni Mitchell, Eagles, and Elton John—performs on the small stage and holds court in the bar, the epicenter of the action.

The story is told through archival footage, much of it never before seen, which is intercut with the vivid recollections and incisive reflections of a wide cast of characters. Along with King and Taylor, contributors include David Crosby, Roger McGuinn, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, Chris Darrow, Kris Kristofferson, J.D. Souther, and Elton John; Taylor’s former manager and producer, music impresario Peter Asher; the one-time head of Ode Records and producer of King’s Tapestry, Lou Adler; musicians Russ Kunkel, Leland Sklar, Craig Doerge and Danny “Kootch” Kortchmar (Taylor’s childhood friend and King’s bandmate in The City); songwriters Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil and (King collaborator) Toni Stern; rock critics Robert Hilburn (who covered the scene as Los Angeles Times’ pop music critic); Barney Hoskyns (author of the So Cal music histories Waiting for the Sun and Hotel California) and Robert Christgau; Troubadour denizens Cheech & Chong and Steve Martin; photographer/musician Henry Diltz; and King’s daughter Sherry Goffin Kondor.

All of the above listed artists contributed to my life's soundtrack during my salad days, otherwise known as the best bits.  Let's be a little more precise:  I'm talking about a roughly ten year time frame, between 1966 and 1976... or when I was 21 to 31.  There are a multitude of reasons why that era was arguably best... both SN1 and SN2 were born in that time, I went through my second childhood (a premature mid-life crisis, to use another hackneyed phrase), met The Second Mrs. Pennington and fell in love, ran around the Pacific Rim for an extended period of time, and enjoyed all the things a married young man who metastasized into a footloose nutcase could possibly enjoy, including quite a few things I shouldn't have enjoyed if I'd been in my right mind.  But it sure as hell was the best of times... not just for me, but for pretty much an entire generation of Americans.

Speaking of the "best of times," there was one short anecdote... mebbe a minute total, prolly less... where David Crosby was describing life in the Laurel Canyon set.  He said something to the effect of...

"And the sex.  There was a LOT of that.  There was also this small window of time (he holds his hands about a foot apart to illustrate) between The Pill and AIDS when it was all fun and games, and it was good.  (He pauses for about three beats here and looks directly into the camera)  I need to emphasize that.  It was GOOD."

You had to be there when that window was open, Gentle Reader, to appreciate exactly what Crosby is on about.  And I thank my lucky stars I was.  There.  But that was only part of it, of course, even though it was a very LARGE part.  See: footloose nutcase, above.  And here, too.

The show runs again tomorrow night on my PBS station (and prolly yours, too) and I plan to watch it again.  You can also watch it in its entirety on-line, if'n you have a mind to do that.  The music and the story are both excellent, especially if you happened to be there at the time.  Recommended.

―:☺:―

In news of the trivial and mundane... we reduced the size of our Amazon wish list by a lil bit this morning by ordering a Ray LaMontagne CD ("Till the Sun Turns Black"), a Johnny Winter CD ("Progressive Blues Experiment"), and that Gregg Allman album we've talked about recently ("Low Country Blues").  I also ordered a spiffy lil tool for my key ring so I'll never ever, ever again get caught away from home without a beer bottle opener.  That happened to me during our recent cold weather exile to the Holiday Inn Express, and even though the front desk had an opener I could borrow they might not o' had.  Just a lil sumthin' I'll never worry about again.

Hey!  I told ya it was trivial and mundane, dint I?

Plane Pr0n and No Protest

The Air Force Association's Daily Report newsletter recently introduced a new feature called "Air Frame" which showcases the work of USAF photographers (and others, I presume).  Here's another offering in the occasional series:

Air Frame: Two F-15E Strike Eagles sit on the flight line at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, Dec. 6, 2010. (Air Force photo by SrA. Debbie Lockhart) (click for larger)

―:☺:―

In other USAF news... this is a good thing:

No Tanker Protest: EADS North America has announced that it won't protest the Air Force's award of the KC-X tanker contract to Boeing. The Air Force ran an "extremely professional" and "scrupulous" competition, Ralph Crosby, EADS North America chairman, told reporters during a press conference March 4 in Washington, D.C., to discuss the company's decision. USAF officials did "everything they said they would" during the source-selection process," leaving "nothing to hang a protest on," he said. "The Air Force looks forward to the long-awaited recapitalization of its air refueling fleet," service spokesman Lt. Col. Todd Vician said in a statement released following the company's announcement. Boeing's tanker spokesman Bill Barksdale, in a statement issued after EADS' event, said: "We understand the importance of this effort to our customer and the country and stand ready, along with our nationwide team of suppliers, to go to work on the new KC-46A program." Continue to Cleared for Takeoff. (See also our initial coverage)

I'm surprised EADS isn't filing a protest, given the long and tortuous ten-year history of the tanker war.  I'm SO very glad they aren't gonna go down that road.

Long-time readers know I obtain a huge amount of blog-fodder  from the AFA's Daily Report.  If you find this sorta stuff interesting there's a link to the Daily Report in my sidebar... clicking that link takes you directly to the current report (published Monday-Friday) and an extensive archive of past reports.  It's good stuff for us ol' blue-suiters and aviation folks in general.

Despicable

I dunno about you, Gentle Reader, but I find this abomination fits the definition of the word "despicable" precisely:

(click for full-screen image)

I suppose it had to happen sooner or later: some low-life, money-grubbing, motherless SOB would figure out a way to make a buck off the nation's darkest day since Pearl Harbor.  This both saddens and outrages me at the same time... and you wouldn't want to be in the same room with me when the teevee ads for this crap come on.  The air turns blue and it's a wonder my teevee still lives, given my apoplectic reaction to this brand of greed and opportunism.

I don't see how any American who was alive and in possession of their mental faculties on that black September day could EVER forget.  The appropriate way to commemorate and remember 9/11?  Observe a moment of silence when the day rolls around in September.  Make a pilgrimage and join in the solemn ceremonies that will be held at Ground Zero, the Pentagon, or the site of the Flight 93 Shanksville Memorial.  Do anything other than buy this bullshit.  Anything.

Disagree?  I'd like to hear your rationale in comments... but ya better make it good.

OK, Back to Business As Usual

The best thing I read today:

Jokes, he argues, were a vital communication tool for President Reagan "because he could illustrate points with them." Mr. Johnson adopts a remarkable vocal impression of America's 40th president and delivers an example: "You know, he said, 'I'm not too worried about the deficit. It's big enough to take care of itself.'" Recovering from his own laughter, he adds: "Of course, that's an excellent one-liner, but it's also a perfectly valid economic point." Then his expression grows serious again and he concludes: "You don't get that from Obama. He talks in paragraphs."

Well.  I don't think Mr. Reagan would say the same thing about our current deficit, which is big enough to destroy us.  It might do just that, despite Mr. Obama's paragraphs on the subject.

The post title of "back to bid'niz as usual" refers to my Obama the Brewmaster post which just MIGHT be the only time time I've said something nice about our sitting president.  But... about the above passage... here's a lil bit of the back-story:

His concern with the human dimension of history is reflected as well in his attitude toward humor, the subject of another recent book, "Humorists." "The older I get," he tells me, "the more important I think it is to stress jokes." Which is another reason he loves America. "One of the great contributions that America has made to civilization," he deadpans, "is the one-liner." The one-liner, he says, was "invented, or at any rate brought to the forefront, by Benjamin Franklin." Mark Twain's were the "greatest of all." 

And then there was Ronald Reagan. "Mr. Reagan had thousands of one-liners." Here a grin spreads across Mr. Johnson's face: "That's what made him a great president." 

This is from a WSJ interview with British historian Paul Johnson.  There's much to like in that interview and it's a fairly quick read, as well.  Recommended.

The hat tip goes to Occasional Reader Rob, who sent the link via e-mail. 

Wherein I Say Something Good About Obama

Yeah, you read that right.  Check this out:

That would be the president holding a bottle of beer... but that's a bottle of 312 beer, brewed in Chicago (312 is the metro Chicago area code -- how clever) and gifted to David Cameron last summer.  That's not necessarily a noteworthy thing as people give other people beer all the time... even presidents and prime ministers.  Nope, what got MY attention is the fact Obama is brewing his own beer.  Supposedly.  He's doing it in the White House and will serve the fruits of his labors at White House dinners in future.   From NPR's web site:

During this year's Super Bowl, President Obama created a stir by offering guests at the White House beer that he'd brewed himself. And now the president reportedly plans to have another batch of his homebrew on hand March 17 — that's right, for St. Patrick's Day.

According to the Irish Central website, when Obama announced that this March is Irish American Heritage Month, he also pledged to serve his own White House Honey Ale — made with honey from the White House garden beehive — to help celebrate St. Patrick's Day.

Well, hell, that's no small beer.  Good on The One.  While the fact that the President brews his own beer is pretty cool (actually there's a Beer Czar in the White House kitchen that does it for him)... it's also unlikely to change my mind about Obama the president or Obama the politician.  That said, I wouldn't mind sampling a bottle of White House Honey Ale.  OTOH... "Gub'mint Beer."  The very thought makes me snicker.

I'll remind you that even a stopped clock is right twice a day, Gentle Reader.  Indications are Obama's clock stopped at Happy Hour, and that would be the best case.

―:☺:―

In other beer news.... Fox News has a good piece up on the craft beer explosion.  A few excerpts: 

In fact, while beers sales fell as a whole by almost 3 percent nationally, the sale of craft beer -- which is any beer made by breweries producing less than two million barrels a year -- has gone up.
 
In the first half of 2010, the sales of craft beer went up 9 percent by volume and 12 percent in dollars, according to the Brewers Association, a national non-profit association representing the majority of  U.S. breweries. 

While craft beers are still a small percentage of total beer sales, the totals are staggering and sobering: nine million barrels, more than $7 billion in sales, helping to fuel an estimated 100,000 full- and part-time jobs coast to coast.

Julia Herz, spokeswoman for the Brewers Association, says that breweries are on the rise in U.S. neighborhoods, with more than 1,600 breweries registered and another 500 in the planning stages.

It's no great secret that Americans' taste in beer is improving, what IS news is the proliferation of small local breweries.  The linked article claims that most Americans live within ten miles of a brewery and that is very good news.  Beer should be local, unless it isn't.  By that I mean there ain't no such thing as the Portales Brewery or "Big(ger) City Beer."  The nearest brewery to me is in Santa Fe... as far as I know... and they put out crap, unfortunately.  So we'll hang with beer from Fort Collins, CO; Shiner, TX; and Boston, among others. 

For My Yankee Friends...

... who prolly never heard of Brother Dave Gardner.  Which is one of those curses that comes with livin' north o' the Mason-Dixon Line.  But... be ignorant no more because ignorance is a curse in and of itself, almost as bad as bein' born a Yankee.  I'll forgive one... which is an accident of birth... but not the other, which is a willful choice.  Well, sometimes both of those things are willful choices but let us not moralize, let's just get to the funny.

You may wonder why I'm posting an obscure Suthin' Comic, and you're prolly justified in your wonderin'.  The briefest of explanations: Brother Dave happened to come up in conversation at Blog-Bud Andy's place.  Then there's the fact that Brother Dave is talkin' about some mo'sickle riders I've known in the past; that's no small matter amongst the biker fraternity.  So... 2+2= 5, as it sometimes turns out to be.  Fate and the minds of semi-senile Old Men work in mysterious ways.

Secret note to Andy:  We're STILL waiting for our "Brother Dave" award.  Patience is NOT infinite, yanno?

In This Morning's Mail

My latest love note from Amazon...

My very first thought was this, bein' as how I'm of a certain age:

Heh.  I was around seven or eight years old when the first 3-D craze hit and it reeled me in, hook, line, and sinker.  I saw numerous 3-D movies and saved those cheap-ass cardboard glasses.  I bought 3-D comic books, too,  so given my history I was intrigued enough to read about the Panasonic 3-D video camera.  I found out ya still need those cheesy glasses to watch your home movies in 3-D, tho*:

A TV that is capable of side-by-side method 3D playback, 3D Eyewear, and HDMI cable connection are required to play the recorded 3D images.

Not to mention a pricey 3-D teevee, which run from $1,100.00 to $5,000.00,  the cheapest ones bein' in the thousand dollar-plus range.  I think I'll pass, thank ya.  Rumor has it there is now at least one 3-D teevee line that functions without the need for glasses but Toshiba is right proud of 'em, to the tune of $1,400.00 or so for a 20-inch model, assuming they're even available.   More:

Pretty intriguing, innit?  I can see a time in about a couple o' years when this sorta thing will catch on and there will be 3-D programming on your garden variety cable or satellite system.  As for me... I'll most definitely wait until I can watch the Beloved Wings in 3-D.  Just imagine a 3-D goal cam and seein' a 95 mph slap-shot come at ya through the screen.  THAT would be sumthin'!

* You don't need 3-D glasses to view output from the Fujifilm FinePix still camera, tho.  This is pretty intriguing technology and it's affordable, as well.

It's Always SUMTHIN', Part VIII (Failing Body Parts Division)

We're just back from spending some quality time with our optometrist in The Big(ger) City™ and he confirmed what I suspected: I need cataract surgery.  In both eyes.  This doesn't come as any great shock to the system as I was told I had cataracts at my last eye appointment a year and a half ago.  But I had noticed my vision was deteriorating, so we made today's appointment to get our confirmation.

So... we go in for our preliminary workups on the 21st, with surgery to follow at some point in the future.  Yet another adventure in growing old... which ain't for sissies, as we all know.

Just in passing: the return trip from Clovis was semi-exciting.  You know how your eyes get all blurry for a couple o' hours after you've had them dilated for your exam?  Well, it's worse when you have cataracts.  But we made it home and we're enjoyin' the last of the Sammy Adams variety pack.  It's quite nice outdoors, too... but my eyes can't take the sunlight right now.  It's always SUMTHIN'.

No Fly Zone?

There's been much comment and discussion in the press and on my teevee about the US or some sort of multinational force (heh, as if) setting up a No-Fly Zone (NFZ) over Libya to prevent the batshit crazy Qaddafi from murdering his own people.  I saw Secretary Gates' remarks before a congressional committee on the subject and he was pretty lukewarm on the ideer.  This morning I got an e-mail from Michael Dunn, the president of the Air Force Association, on the same subject.  Here are some of Mr. Dunn's salient points: 

The central issue, in my mind, with a no-fly zone (NFZ) is a policy one.  What do you want to do?  It is too facile to say:  Stop aircraft from killing people and destroying things ... as it begs the question of:  “Soooooo, are you OK with ground forces killing people and destroying things?”  If the latter is answered in the negative, then the air piece is only one part of a larger answer.  [I worry this option is being considered just to be seen as “Doing Something.”]

A second, but lesser important question is:  How long do you want to do this.  If the answer is:  We don't know ... but plan for a month or so.  Then we'll need a couple hundred aircraft for 24/7 ops ... and either 3-4 carriers plus land-based support or bases in nearby nations or both.  Italy is the best choice ... and to get its OK, we'll need either a NATO sign off, a UN Security Council Resolution, or just plain leaning on a good friend with a weak government.  Other basing options are a bit unsavory.  Egypt probably won't help ... neither will Tunisia.  Algeria has its own terrorist problems.  Israel won't want to be seen in an active role.  Other African choices are pretty far away with little infrastructure.

[...]

A subset of the first issue -- more in the tactical realm -- is you would want to take out some of the air defenses no matter what systems you use ... and that means killing Libyan troops ... with all the unintended consequences of such actions.  Secondly, what do you do about helicopters?  They are hard to kill ... especially if they know you are coming.  What if they just set down on the top of a building?  You can't get them with an air-to-air missile; you'd need bombs [or as some of our members have pointed out – bullets] ... and that may mean civilian casualties ... especially if you don't hit that which you are aiming.  Also, you don't generally configure fighters for both air-to-air missions and air-to-ground ones at the same time.  Thus the need for more aircraft.

[...]

Finally, the Navy is not configured for round the clock operations, except in a short-term surge mode and has to keep a bit of its airpower to defend the fleet. This means less for NFZ ops.  The good news is that you would not have to establish a NFZ over the entire country -- probably just the major cities and perhaps a few key air bases.

Bottom line:  creating a NFZ over the country is “do-able” – but not simple  … and I would want to get the policy pieces answered before we embarked on this option.

All of that essentially mirrors what Secretary Gates said to Congress yesterday.  Military operations are expensive propositions, not to mention the wear and tear on our already stressed military.  I appreciate the humanitarian concerns people have on this issue but we MUST consider the effect the operation would have on the United States.  That should be first and foremost... we don't have to be "Team America, World Police" any longer.  

Life Is HARD

We called Happy Hour early today, mainly because we hit the mid-70s by noon.  We waited at least a minute after the sun passed over our non-existent yardarm before we proceeded to sit our old ass outside in the sun with the usual accompaniments close at hand, those bein' book, beer, and cigar.  We're at the point in Clancy's latest where we can't turn the pages... virtually speaking... fast enough (that would be chapter 60).  We've poured our third beer, lit our second cigar and are settling in for a MOST enjoyable afternoon.

I was over at BR's place earlier today and told him I was gonna steal this for today's Happy Hour soundtrack:

Like I said at BR's place:  young Terri DO get around.  I just love the global backdrops for this video (the fact I've been in all or nearly all the places pictured in the video helps a LOT), not to mention the distinct eye-appeal this goddess brings to the table.  But it's the sentiment embedded in the tune that speaks the loudest.  The first round's on me, Gentle Reader, and we have a couple o' empty chairs on the verandah.  C'mon down!

Update, 1500 hrs.  We're done with the country and it didn't last all that long, truth be told.  This is more like it, "it" bein' in keepin' with our day:

I remember the stupid things, the mood rings
The bracelets and the beads
Nickels and dimes, yours and mine, did you cash in all your dreams?
You don't dream for me, no, you don't dream for me, no
(Goodbye, goodbye)
But I still feel your pulse like sonar from the days in the waves

That girl is like a sunburn
I would like to say
The girl is like a sunburn
I would like to say
She's like a sunburn
(She's like a sunburn)
She's like a sunburn

Heh.  The analogy couldn't be MORE perfect.  Pass the aloe vera, please.

In This Morning's Mail

Is Amazon reading EIP?  I only say this because of yesterday's last post, wherein we said our Happy Hour soundtrack was gonna be country blues... and not 12 hours later this note appears in my in-box.  Weird.  

This is just another case of Our Brave New World at work, I suppose.  That said, I don't delete these e-mails; on the contrary: they work.  You'd be surprised at the crap I buy as a result of these things.  There are times when Amazon knows I need something and I don't.  Ain't that sumthin'?   

Badda-Da-BOOMP

I'm being checked-out at Wally-World a few minutes ago and I've got the usual load o' crap... a half dozen eggs, a pound o' bacon, loaf o' bread, bag o' salad, three limes, a couple of frozen entrees, 12-pack of Sam Adams, yadda, yadda... ya know, the usual.  Sweet Young Thang looks at me and sez... 

"You're single, aren't ya?"

"Well, yeah," sez I.  ""What gave ya the first clue?"

"You're really fuckin' ugly," sez she.

Badda-da-boomp.  She really wasn't a Sweet Young Thang, she was a fat 'n' frumpy old broad who visibly turned up her nose as she scanned my beer.  Which reminded me of that old joke...

―:☺:―

What's up with this?  Last week I got a love note from DoD... the Defense Finance and Accounting folks, to be exact... notifying me that federal withholding increased and my USAF retirement check would be lighter by 32 Yankee Dollars this month and forever, or until the next COLA kicks in.  Didn't The One tell me I should be thanking him for lowering my taxes?  Did he LIE to me?  How is that possible?

―:☺:―

Today's Happy Hour Soundtrack is gonna be mostly country blues... and we'll begin with this:

This is yet another tune that makes us go waaay back... back to when I was caught up in a dead-end love affair.  This song was the first single off the first MTB album released in 1973, which is egg-zactly when my heart was ripped out of my chest and stomped on... hard.  "That woman" really did a number on me so the song was fuel for many a late-night "cryin' in my beer" sessions.  The song stayed with me and STILL evokes some bittersweet memories of Former Happy Days, Part One.  Hell, Part Two... as well.

"Can't You See" remains one of the best country blues tunes EVER recorded.  That's my (not so) humble opinion but I realize YMMV, Gentle Reader.

Beer me!

I Technology!

So I saw this ad on teevee last night and I thought "Wow... that's pretty cool!"  I'm talking about this:

Well, I only saw the opening ski sequences on teevee... the full-monty highlight version above (from the web site) has bikini-clad, surfer girl eye-candy (yum!), some motor racing, and aerial sequences that would go over well on teevee, methinks.  But the 30-second or so ski clip on my teevee was enough to pique my curiosity and I went to the GoPro web site to check 'em out, mainly because I invested in a Mino HD camera with an "action mount" two years ago.  More about that in a moment...

So here's a screen shot of one of their less expensive products:

(click for larger)

I'm pretty impressed actually, especially since I went to Amazon to refresh my memory concerning what I paid for my Mino HD a lil over two years ago: $219.92 (the total for the camera, action mount, and cheesy tripod).  The HD Hero 960... which is $40.00 cheaper than my Mino... exceeds the Mino's capacity by an hour and a half (Mino: one hour; Hero: 2.5 hrs), comes bundled with various mounting systems (I paid extra for my "action" mount), and can shoot in 960p while the Mino only shoots 720p.  Now, all that said... keep in mind the Mino was pretty much the only game in town a couple two years ago if ya wanted a handy HD video camera that could shoot "on the go" videos.  Mino has also released its third-generation recorder since I bought mine; a 3G Mino HD has specifications and a price point that are about equal to the Hero 960.

So... if I were to start all over again I'm thinkin' I'd have me one of these Hero 960s.  And as it's said:  I technology!

Oh.  One more thing.  I've used my "action mounted" Mino HD exactly once... to record this lil excursion with the Lovely Miss Zukiko in September of 2009:

You can watch in full screen in 720p (HD) mode but it takes a while to download, even with a two Mbps connection.  Kinda cool, no?