New...

... box o' cigars, in today's mail.  Like this:

That's a pic o' my favorite cigar... the Drew Estate Cafe con Leche... of which we are now in possession of 21 examples o' such.  We've already lit one off for today's Happy Hour and are most pleased.  (That's an old pic, but the packaging doesn't change.)

And a new hat...

That's a new pic (but it's the same ol' me) and features one of my FAVORITE tee shirts.  Back to hats, though, and we're decidedly short on suitable USAF chapeaux, what with our inventory of hats we wore during our career bein' shabby and not suitable for public appearances, given they're over 25 years old.  So today we happened to encounter a gentleman who was selling LOTS of military ball caps in the promenade o' the Cannon Airplane Patch BX.  There's a short story behind the hat and it goes like this... Said gentleman stopping me in the promenade and sayin'...

Gentleman:  Sir?  Wait a moment... Oh, that must be a different USS Mason.  The original MASON had an all-black crew, the first such in the Navy.

Me:  (Wearing my USS Mason ball cap) Yessir, I know.  This MASON was my son's first Department Head ride, which is where I got the hat.  And I'm aware of the history behind the name, there bein' a tribute to the original MASON in the ward room.  (And because I've done my homework)

G:  Your son is Navy... career Navy, still serving?

Me:  Yessir, on both counts.

G:  Annapolis?

Me:  No sir, Rot-Cee, Mustang.  He's also an embarrassment to the fam'bly, seein' as how he's a Squid and his grandfather, father, and older brother before him were ALL Air Force.

G:  Be careful now, I'm a Squid.

Followed by laughter all around.  So we bought the hat... I mean, how could we not?  The crest on the hat is the old Air Force Communications Command (AFCC)'s emblem, which is where I spent the final five years of my career.  I spent a total of seven years with AFCC, which is about a third of my career. I spent more time with Air Defense Command... like 12 years, and three years with USAF Security Service... but AFCC gave me the foundation for my civilian career, to which I owe them a tremendous debt and my enduring loyalty.

So.  We're now able to fly an appropriate flag when we go out in public.

Last Night In NYC

Mitt Romney, showing his better and VERY humorous side:



There are almost too many zingers to count, but I particularly liked "Big Bird never saw it coming."

The h/t goes to Occasional Reader Rob in the SFO Bay Area SSR.

I'm Not a Bezbol Fan, But...

HOW 'BOUT THEM TIGERS?

Yeah, Baby... Dee-troit!

That's a Big-Ass Hangar

From the Usual USAF Source...

Air Frame: An F-22A Raptor, F-16 Fighting Falcon, and a B-52H Stratofortress rest inside an aircraft hangar at Andersen AFB, Guam, before the arrival of a storm, Oct. 5, 2012. (Air Force photo by SSgt. Alexnadre Montes) (Click on image above to reach larger version.)

Just putting a BUFF in a hangar is sumthin'... putting a Raptor and a Lawn Dart in there too is sumthin' else.

Inside One o' Google's Data Centers

Techies will find this mesmerizing... a street-view tour of one o' Google's data centers, this one bein' in North Carolina (which explains the NASCAR motif found throughout).  From an LA Times article:

Google also expanded its StreetView feature to give a tour inside its North Carolina data center. The tour includes a look at Google employees' awesome lounge area, the various parts of the facility and even some Star Wars characters, as one user on Google+ found.

Here's a screen shot:

Click for full-screen

Hell, even non-techies should find the tour supremely interesting and it's pretty easy to kill an hour or two playing with this.  I know **I** killed a lot o' time there but your mileage may vary.  I'll say one thing:  Google's data center is head and shoulders above the EDS data centers I saw back in the day.  But that was a long, long time ago.

More Potpourri

I finally got off the dime and sent Mitt some money today.

I gave a lot more to McCain in the last election but I was a lot fatter then.  Or at least I felt that way.  Sorry, Mitt... but you're right: times are tough.

―:☺:―

I overslept again today... not arising until 1050 hrs... and it was just after 1100 when I fired up the peesee and noticed a note from SN1... sent at 1045 hrs... announcing he wanted to spend some quality time with me via Skype.  And so we did, about a half-hour's worth.  Thangs are fine in the desert, except for GO #1, about which both SN1 and I ranted and raved for some time... for entirely different reasons.  I was on about the alcohol prohibition, SN1 was on about the Air Force prohibiting quarters visits between members of the opposite sex (among other thangs).  I can see his point, as there are three female squadron commanders in his organization and it's good to talk with your peers, share knowledge, yadda, yadda.  Not Your Father's Air Force can be REAL stoopid at times, but we both agreed: It is what it is, and ya gotta grin and bear it.

 ―:☺:―

About the oversleeping, sorta.   I always play this game with myself to test my internal clock.  The very first thing I do upon awakening in the morning is to guess the time, followed by checking my phone for the actual time (I have no clocks in the house, other than on the range, microwave, and VCR).  My "body clock" is very well-developed and most of the time my guesstimated time is within a few minutes of the actual time.  That was the case when I woke up this morning at 0830 (I guessed 0815), which was entirely TOO early to get up.  So we go back to sleep, wake up again and guess the time as 0930 hrs.  WRONG... it was 1050.  What the Hell happened there, I wonder?

―:☺:―

Remember I told ya that I'd bought a dozen different flavors of incense this time around, broadening our horizons in another sorta way?  Well, I've worked my way through all of the different scents and am sorta pleased that I like ALL of 'em.  Hell, I can't even identify one or the other as "my favorite," which complicates the buying question the next time we go to re-supply.  I know: First World Problems.  We haz 'em.

The Buck Stops... Where?

There are lots of 'toons in the same vein today at the Usual Source for such things, but Ramirez' was the best... as usual.

While we're on this subject, the Benghazi mess was the one area where Romney blew it last night.  I think he looked more like a guy trying too hard to score points rather than MAKE a point... and there was a point to be made here.  And don't get me started about Ms. Crowley.  Just DON'T.

Still and even, I rate the debate as a draw.  Obama was certainly better this time around, while Romney wasn't worse... except as noted above.

How I Spent My Mornin', Or...

... it's always SUMTHIN', this time it's in the El Casa Móvil De Pennington Department.

Hookin' up

ECMdP, departing

Long story short: ECMdP won't start.  I tried everythang in my power... and in her prospective new owner's power, too... but nada.  So she's now in residence at the Ford House, where I have no doubt whatsoever that she'll soon be back in fine fettle.  I DO wonder, however, what the bill is gonna be.  No matter... what needs to be done, will be done.

Yes, I have a buyer... a retired couple who plan to use ECMdP for getaways and such.  They assured me they still want her, even if she embarrassed me by refusing to start for the test drive.

It's always SUMTHIN'.

Not Your Father's Air Force XXII

Mebbe not YOUR father's, but most certainly mine.  Here's a gallery of custom WW II USAAF A-2 jackets... and there are some beauts there.  Here's one:

"Der Grossarschnoogel Grossarschvogel?"  I think I might know what that means...  (see the comments and you'll KNOW)

The h/t goes to NaCly Dog, who dropped the link to this site in comments at The Lexicans.

Today's Happy Hour Soundtrack... One-Hit Wonders

This is prolly the ne-plus-ultra in the one-hit genre...

Jenny, Jenny who can I turn to?
You give me something I can hold on to
I know you'll think I'm like the others before
Who saw your name and number on the wall

Jenny, I've got your number
I need to make you mine
Jenny don't change your number

The song... aside from bein' one helluva rocker... generated a lot of Unintended Consequences, to wit:

The song, released in late 1981, initially gained west-coast popularity in January 1982; many who had the number soon abandoned it due to unwanted calls.

"When we'd first get calls at 2 or 3 in the morning, my husband would answer the phone. He can't hear too well. They'd ask for Jenny and he'd say 'Jimmy doesn't live here any more.'... Tommy Tutone was the one who had the record. I'd like to get hold of his neck and choke him."

—Mrs. Lorene Burns, random Alabama householder formerly at +1-205-867-5309, disconnected in 1982.^[7]

In some cases, the number was picked up by commercial businesses or acquired for use in radio promotions.

• In 2003, Southwest Junior High School had to change the school phone number due to repetitive calls asking for Jenny. This was in area code 704.
• Brown University, which in 2002 owned the number in the 401 area code, transferred the number to Gem Plumbing & Heating,^[8] a local business in Lincoln, Rhode Island. Gem began using the number in advertising campaigns both in Rhode Island and in eastern Massachusetts (area code 617). Gem trademarked the number in 2005.
• In 2004, Weehawken, New Jersey resident Spencer Potter picked up the number for free after discovering to his surprise that it was available in the 201 area code, hoping it would improve his DJ business. Unable to handle the overwhelming volume of calls, he sought to sell the number on eBay in February 2009. Although bids reached $1 million, his inability to confirm the identity of the bidders led him to sell it privately to Retro Fitness, a gym franchise with a location in Secaucus, New Jersey that felt the 1980s origin of the number tied in perfectly with their business's retro theme.^[4]
• In 2006, Benjamin Franklin Franchising, a large national plumbing franchise, began using a toll-free version of the number (+1-866-867-5309). In 2007, Gem brought suit against Clockwork Home Services, the parent company of Benjamin Franklin Franchising, alleging a violation of its trademark. Clockwork contended that Gem's trademark was invalid. Effective in May 2007, Clockwork was ordered by a court to stop using the number in New England. Currently (as of July 1, 2011), +1-866-867-5309 is back in the hands of Benjamin Franklin Franchising and is considered a valid method of reaching BFF customer support.^[9][10]
• In July 2009, a Pennsylvania company had the number assigned to a Vonage phone line in the name of a small business, and then listed the entire business for sale on eBay.^[11] Whereas telephone numbers are the legal property of the wireline carrier, so the logic behind this company and several others was that Vonage, as a VOIP provider did not own the numbers, making them open for sale, with eBay being the typical medium.^[12][13]

A study on the security of numerical passwords in 2012 revealed that 8675309 is the fourth most common 7-digit password, speculating that it is easy to remember because of the popularity of this song, despite being fairly random (as opposed to the #1 most common 7-digit password: 1234567).^[14]

That's from The Wiki... and I killed a lot o' extraneous links in that quote. The runner-up in the one-hit-wonder category is this (it's a TIE, actually, a dead heat):

You're whispering in my ear
Tell me all the things that I wanna hear
'Cause that's true
That's what I like about you

What I like about you
You really know how to dance
When you go up, down, jump around
Think about true romance, yeah

Yeah... there's that and ya dance like you... umm, well, you KNOW.  Heh.

An Update...

... to yesterday's "Another Milestone" post:

Retired United States Air Force Brig. Gen. Charles E. "Chuck" Yeager poses for photographers after returning from his 65th anniversary of breaking the sound barrier flight aboard a 65th Aggressor Squadron F-15D Eagle piloted by Capt. David Vincent, 65th AGRS, at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., Oct. 14, 2012. Yeager became the first man to break the sound barrier Oct. 14, 1947, over Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. (U.S. Air Force photo by Lawrence Crespo)

Col. Peter Ford, Adversary Tactics Group commander; retired United States Air Force Brig. Gen. Charles E. "Chuck" Yeager; and Capt. David Vincent, 65th Aggressor Squadron pilot, talk after Yeager's 65th anniversary commemoration flight landed at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., Oct. 14, 2012. Yeager flew in a 65th AGRS F-15D Eagle to mark his historic flight in the Bell X-1 rocket research plane. (U.S.Air Force photo by Lawrence Crespo)

Breaking it Again at 89: Retired Brig. Gen. Chuck Yeager, the first man to officially break the sound barrier in level flight, on Oct. 14 recreated the moment exactly 65 years later to the minute—this time in an F-15 fighter. It was on Oct. 14, 1947, when then 24-year-old Yeager piloted the rocket-propelled Bell X-1 through the sound barrier over the Mojave Desert, achieving the feat at 10:24 a.m. Fast forward 65 years and Yeager again surpassed the speed of sound while flying at 45,000 feet in altitude above the southern California desert in the back seat of an F-15D that took off from Nellis AFB, Nev. "It was a smooth flight today," said Yeager of the anniversary flight. "I'm very familiar with the area and got a good view," he added. Capt. David Vincent, a 65th Aggressor Squadron pilot at Nellis, took Yeager up in the F-15. (Nellis report by SrA. Jack Sanders)

There are 24 hi-res photos of the event at the Nellis report link, including the two you see above.  If I live to be 89 I hope to Hell I look as good then as Gen. Yeager does today.

Tonight's After Dinner Whiskey Hour Soundtrack

Pete Townshend with an acoustic version of "Behind Blue Eyes," a tune from Who's Next...

But my dreams they aren't as empty 
As my conscience seems to be 
I have hours, only lonely 
My love is vengeance that's never free

I like the acoustic, stand-alone version of this tune better than the rocker on "Who's Next."  That said, both versions are worthy... and my vengeance will never be free, until it's done.

 

Another Milestone

It was 65 years ago today... on October 14, 1947... that Brig. Gen. Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier.  Just last year Gen. Yeager returned to Edwards AFB to help celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Air Force Flight Test Center... and we noted the occasion (this is part of a post):

A Milestone and Schooling

From the Usual USAF Source...

Retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Charles E. “Chuck” Yeager and Brig. Gen. Robert C. Nolan II, Air Force Flight Test Center commander, get ready to fly faster than the speed of sound in an F-16 during a morning flight over the Mojave Desert, Oct. 14, 2011. Yeager visited Edwards, where he broke the sound barrier in 1947, to help celebrate the 60th anniversary of the AFFTC. (U.S. Air Force photo/Rob Densmore)

Chuck Yeager in front of the X-1 he christened Glamorous Glennis (Wikipedia)

Sixty Years into the Unknown: A single F-16D accelerated through the sound barrier, celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Air Force Flight Test Center pushing the edge of the envelope at Edwards AFB, Calif. With retired Brig Gen. Chuck Yeager in the cockpit, together with AFFTC Commander Brig. Gen. Robert Nolan, the F-16's sonic wave reverberated, echoing Yeager's first supersonic flight in 1947. "When the Air Force Flight Test Center was established in 1951, Edwards Air Force Base had already become well known as the place where aviation history was being written," said Nolan, speaking at the celebration. Since then, the center "has been on the cutting edge of every major development that has transformed the field of flight—the turbo jet engine, supersonic and hypersonic flight," among many others, he added, addressing the hundreds gathered to mark the anniversary on Oct. 14 among test aircraft in Edward's hanger 1600. (Edwards report by Kate Blais)

Gen. Yeager is one of my heroes and it's good to see him still flying faster than the speed o' sound, even if he isn't the one at the controls.  I spent some time on Edwards AFB in the wayback, living in crappy base housing that was prolly built around the time Gen. Yeager first broke the sound barrier.  Blog-Bud Glenn is still there, working as a crew chief on a Lawn Dart, which is a kinda strange turn of affairs for a Squid, eh?

One wonders if AFFTC marked today's anniversary with some sorta celebration.  I sure hope so.

Twelve Years

That would be how old The Green Hornet is... and today is her birthday.  I dunno how many times I've posted this photo... I'd say ten, conservatively... but here she is on the day I bought her:

And recently (March o' this year):

This is prolly the last time I'll put up a birthday post for the Ol' Girl.  One thang is for SURE... at 12 years she'll hold my personal all-time automotive longevity award... the previous record holder bein' my '83 Baby Beemer, at ten years.  If I hold on to The Tart as long as I've had The Green Hornet I'll be 79 years old on her 12th birthday... I don't think THAT is gonna happen.  

(But I kinda hope it does.) 

Saturday, Or...

... why I'd NEVER buy a fucking Toyota.



Everythang is wrong about that ad.  EVERY-freakin'-THANG.

Surfing Lessons From the Geese

Or, how to mix yer metaphors...  From the Usual USAF Source:

California Surfing Automated-Style: In a recent series of trials at Edwards AFB, Calif., two C-17s probed the fuel-savings potential of long-distance formation flying using automated control software to maintain position. This Air Force Research Lab-sponsored project is known as Surfing Aircraft Vortices for Energy, or $AVE, states an Oct. 11 AFRL release. It "involves two or more aircraft flying together for a reduced drag effect like what you see with a flock of geese," explained Donald Erbschloe, Air Mobility Command's chief scientist, in an Oct. 10 command release. The software allow pilots to "surf" the vortex of a lead airplane for long distances, thereby conserving energy, according to AFRL. "The autopilot held the position extremely well, even close to the vortex," noted test pilot Capt. Zachary Schaffer. The tests ran from Sept. 6 to Oct. 2. Analysis of initial data indicates that the trailing C-17 cut fuel burn by almost 10 percent while flying no closer than 4,000 feet from the lead aircraft, according to Edwards officials. This type of formation flying holds the promise of reducing fuel consumption by "millions of gallons" annually, according to AFRL.

"$AVE."  That's cute, innit?  I like the concept, though.  The reference to geese reminded me of one of the first of those tiresome management homilies I ever saw was force-fed... "Lessons From the Geese," Item Number One bein' this:

Lesson 1 - The Importance of Achieving Goals
As each goose flaps its wings it creates an UPLIFT for the birds that follow. By flying in a 'V' formation the whole flock adds 71 percent extra to the flying range.

Outcome
When we have a sense of community and focus, we create trust and can help each other to achieve our goals. 

The rest is here... if you can stand it.

Aside:  I was tempted to make this a "Not Your Father's Air Force" post, but the ideer is good and there ain't no irony in it at all.  Disqualified.

Happy Birthday Sean!

Sixteen today... driver's license to follow.

Opening Night... Not.

Hockey season should have started this evening, but it won't... due to yet another NHL lockout.  And you, Gentle Reader, couldn't possibly care less, unless your name is Andy, or Buck (that would be SN1... and he cares less than usual coz he's in the desert and won't see much hockey anyway), or perhaps Small-Tee.  (ed: Sarge, too.  My Bad.)  The lockout is already a month old with little or no movement in the negotiations; it looks very much like we're gonna have another lost season like we did back in 2004-2005 and that will suck mightily, epically.  So what's a boy to do?  This, in part (you should read the whole thing for a great overview of the lockout and its principals and coz it's just good writing, too):

Your mileage may vary, but my own solution is just to take the whole thing in, in its messy and horrible glory, like the moment when you're on a super-delayed airplane and you just give up and secretly enjoy the spectacle of everyone freaking out around you.¹⁰ Bask in what are sure to be monumental moments of idiocy and/or awkwardness. Revel in everyone's tendencies to blow each and every development, good or bad, completely out of proportion. Remember that this time last year, the same thing was happening with the NBA and that the situation looked so dire at one point in early October that my boss bought L.A. Kings season tickets. Make side bets. Watch more college hockey than you ever have before and feel creepy the first time you scream at some little sophomore. (Then feel creepier in four years when you're saying things like, "Dude, I watched him back when he was at Merrimack — kid's a horse!")

[...]

Go to minor league hockey: Stateside, the AHL will feature some pretty killer combinations of the league's young guys, from Sean Couturier and Brayden Schenn on the Adirondack Phantoms to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jordan Eberle, and Justin Schultz on the Oklahoma City Barons. (For a fun diversion, check out some of the AHL rosters from the last lockout.) Loiter at your local rinks more than usual: Players without immediate plans have been renting ice time and existing in the purgatory of what the Minnesota Wild's Matt Cullen called a "glorified beer league — without the beer." (He was one of a number of Wild players to be shooed off the ice at a local rink the other day by a "no-nonsense, red-headed figure-skating instructor" named "Coach Marla" who wanted the ice for a private lesson with an 8-year-old.)

The lockout sucks. It sucks a lot. But at some point, it will end. You will be mad, and you will be right to be mad. You will feel that things have irrevocably changed. But a few years from now — hell, maybe even a few months — your team will come back from a shitty first half of a season to squeeze into the playoffs on the very last day, or they'll draft a bright young star who will grow into the face of the franchise, or someone will score three times in 10 seconds (or make three big saves in that span) or they'll win a big Game 7 or a Stanley Cup or a Stanley Cup in Game 7 … and whenever this finally happens, you won't be mad anymore.

That last paragraph is prolly true for die-hard fans like myself.  But, yeah... it STILL sucks.   On another note... now's the time I kinda-sorta wish I still lived in Ra-cha-cha, which is the home of a very successful AHL franchise.  There IS a minor league team near me... if you consider a two-hour drive, one way... "near."  I've actually attended a hockey game in Amarillo (back when the Gorillas were the home squad) but that was back in the day when the girlfriend served as my designated driver after a few beers.  We don't have that luxury now.

So we'll just sit here tonight and bemoan the fact that one of the few reasons I have left for living has gone AWOL.  Again.

Just One More and Then We'll Go...

Heh.

(Dead) Plane Pr0n

From the Usual USAF Source...

Air Frame: Retired C-5 Galaxies and other out-of-service military aircraft sit in the Air Force's aircraft boneyard in the Arizona desert as the sun sets, Sept. 26, 2012. The boneyard, run by the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group, is on the grounds of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base near Tucson. (Air Force photo by Val Gempis) (Click on image above to reach larger version.)

Kinda sad, innit?  If you look closely at the larger version o' the photo you'll see a gaggle o' (what I think are) Lawn Darts and a couple o' Bones way in the back.

Doom and Gloom

That's the title of the new Stones song...



An occasional reader who's Anonymous tipped me off to the song in the comments to the post below.  There were only 301 views when I grabbed the embed code a couple o' minutes ago, so this is really new... released only yesterday, according to the Stones' web site.  The graphics in the vid are mesmerizing, no?  Disturbing, too.

Ommm... Part Deux

We normally only burn incense in the evening as part of our daily devotions.  But like a lot o' thangs... we tend to go to excess when we're fat.  That's the case with the latest shipment o' incense; we have so gotdamned much of the stuff that we'll be burnin' a lot of it in the foreseeable future for lil or no reason.

That's three sticks o' "Romance," which I think is aptly named.  The aroma reminds me o' nothing less than love-sweet-love on a balmy Fall afternoon... right straight out of the shower, squeaky clean and fragrant.  Yet another aspect o' Romance: I love watching the interplay of smoke and light while burnin' incense.  I'm gettin' that today, in spades... even if we're a lil short on romance.  (Sigh)  Well, ya can't have everythang, nu?

The Once-Golden State

Taxes might have sumthin' to do with the outflow, too.

Ommm... Ommm...

We didn't mention this in our earlier post but part and parcel of that package the Brown Truck O' Happiness left us was this...

That's an even dozen packages of incense in various flavours.  It was time to resupply the incense stock and we normally... which is to say for the last six or seven years... go with the traditional Indian Nag Champa incense.  The last time we re-supplied we bought "Midnight" and REALLY liked it.  So, it came to pass that we discovered Amazon offered a Satya variety pack and that's what we bought this time around.

We're burning three sticks of  "Jasmine Blossom" for this evening's devotions and the aroma makes me wanna go out and get some Chinese take-away.  But we like it... yes, we DO.    

I'll prolly wanna go out and score some pot the first time we burn the Patchouli Forest.  Coz you know how us ol' hippies are... or can be.  Heh.

Today's Happy Hour Soundtrack...

... is all new music.  The Brown Truck O' Happiness left me a package early this afternoon while I was spending some quality time with my doctor... more about THAT in a moment.  So we're listening to Ray LaMontagne's "Gossip In the Grain," Van Morrison's "Born to Sing: No Plan B," and Lyle Lovett's "Release Me."  Lyle and Van fall into the "buy everything they release" category and Mr. LaMontagne is rapidly approaching that status, this bein' the third album of his that I've bought.  So today's Happy Hour Soundtrack should be a most pleasing experience.  Here's a cut off the Van album...



Tasty, eh?

―:☺:―

About that doctor visit...  we got a bit of a scare yesterday when Dr. Garcia's nurse called me up and said "We got your lab test results back and the doctor would like to see you."  "Uh-oh," thinks I, as we set up an appointment for today.  Why "uh-oh?"  This: the Good Doctor informed me that she wouldn't see me again for another month unless they found sumthin' in my lab tests... and they obviously did "find sumthin'."  Ergo: Uh-oh.

So, fast-forward to earlier this afternoon... it turns out my PSA levels are elevated, meaning they're at seven.  From WebMD:

Most men have PSA levels under four (ng/mL) and this has traditionally been used as the cutoff for concern about the risk of prostate cancer. Men with prostate cancer often have PSA levels higher than four, although cancer is a possibility at any PSA level. According to published reports, men who have a prostate gland that feels normal on examination and a PSA less than four have a 15% chance of having prostate cancer. Those with a PSA between four and 10 have a 25% chance of having prostate cancer and if the PSA is higher than 10, the risk increases to 67%.

Dr. Garcia told me there's no cause to be alarmed at this point, but that she DID want to schedule a follow-on appointment with a urologist.  And that shall be done; we're awaiting scheduling information from the RGH Clinic.

It's always sumthin'.

Plane Pr0n

From the Usual USAF Source...

The world’s only existing P-38G Lightning fighter sits on vigilant watch over JBER as a subarctic dawn rapidly approaches, Wednesday. The World War II fighter was recovered in 1998 from Attu Island. (U.S. Air Force photo/Justin Connaher)

Elmendorf's Lightning: A restored P-38G Lightning fighter from World War II now sits on permanent display near the 3rd Wing headquarters building at JB Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, announced base officials. This airframe is "the world's last example of a P-38G Lightning," according to their Oct. 3 release. The airplane, which went on display in July, was assigned to the 54th Fighter Squadron at Elmendorf Field during the latter stages of the war. In January 1945 during a training mission, 2nd Lt. Robert Nesmith was forced to make a wheels-up landing with it in a snow-covered valley on Attu Island in the Aleutian chain. While maintenance crews stripped the airplane of parts, the airframe was otherwise unrecoverable at the time, so it sat abandoned for the more than 50 years until 1998 when a team from Elmendorf set off to recover it, according to the release. In March of 2000, the 3rd Wing let the contract for construction of the memorial site at which the airplane now rests. (Elmendorf report by SSgt. Robert Barnett)

There's more detail at the "Elmendorf report" link, which is where the photo came from.

Google Sleuthing

I received a note from my sister Jo in California yesterday morning which included this, in part:

In the garage was a trunk from Dad's military days.  It was full of scrapbooks and turkish cookbooks.  Unfortunately the entire bottom of the trunk along with 2/3 of the contents were completely rotted out, bug eaten and disintegrated.  I saved some of the books and the top of the trunk.  A picture of the top is attached.  I wondered if you are interested in having these items, or perhaps Bucky or Sam.  Even if you don't want the stuff, just the picture of the trunk is nostalgic.  Too bad there is not a date on it.

Here's the picture...

That's the top of an Air Force issue footlocker, which was part of a hold baggage shipment back in the day.  From my reply...

I most certainly would want the contents of the box and I'm sure Buck and Sam feel the same way.  The trunk IS dated... you just don't know the code.  ;-)  This footlocker was part of Dad's "hold baggage" when we were transferred from Paris To Ankara, Turkey in 1956.  A quick google search reveals this:

APO 163 was located at Seine Area Command at 2 Rue de la Faisanderie. It sorted mail there for APO 163 and APO 230 which was at Rue Marbeuf. 

Going to Google Maps, I found the location and a street view which leads me to believe this was where Dad worked.  I don't believe I ever went to his office but I DO know from old war stories that he worked in an unmarked USAF facility not far from the Étoile.   As for the rest of it... AO 861760 was Dad's serial number and Det 20 was the support organization in Ankara.  My family was in Ankara from late 1956 until early 1958.  You can't believe how many old, long dormant synapses you've managed to fire off with one picture... 

So then we set off to Google Maps at the link above and captured the following street views...

My Dad's office is annotated, the  Étoile is at "A."

Close to the Étoile on Avenue Foch

Further down Avenue Foch

My Dad's office would have been in the stone building at left.

Ain't technology GRAND?  It's been well over 50 years since I was in that part of the world as a child and we spent more than a few hours walking back the memories yesterday.  For some of the back story of Ma Vie En France... see One of My Boyhood Homes and When I Was Eight, Part III.

I went back to Paris on numerous occasions while I was stationed in London during the '80s, taking The Second Mrs. Pennington to the old boyhood home, among other places... like this:

Sur La Seine près de Notre-Dame (click to embiggen)

Ah, Former Happy Days.

Heh

From the Shoebox blog...

Stereotypes, anyone? 

Birdshot

This week's tempest in the teapot...

This is one of the places (and there are more than a few) where most conservatives and I part company, in that I support federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB).  First and foremost, the amount of federal money going to PBS and NPR is a drop in the bucket at $450 million.  Second, a lot of rural PBS stations would go under if not for the subsidy.  From DecaturDaily.com:

Federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting totals $450 million this year, accounting for about 15 percent of the CPB's budget, she said. Federal money supplements the budgets of PBS' 179 stations nationally. For some of the smaller stations in rural areas, this subsidy accounts for more than half of their yearly budget, so many can't operate without it.

I live in one of those rural areas and I'm a BIG fan of PBS... losing our PBS station would hurt our community badly.  Would anyone die?  No.  Would our quality of life be diminished?  Most certainly.  I'm pretty sure Congress could find other, fatter targets for budget cuts than the CPB.  They could begin with the $1.5 BILLION the Feds give Amtrak every year, or work to end the estimated $60 BILLION a year in Medicare fraud... just two of many larger boondoggles.

The thing that pisses me off about this issue is the fact the Left is portraying it as yet another case of Romney's "heartlessness."  Bullshit.  Romney CAN'T eliminate the subsidy, to begin with... the federal budget is totally within Congress's purview until such time as the president gets a line-item veto.  But Lefties will be Lefties and they WILL lie, distort, and misrepresent anything to gain advantage.

That said... Leave Big Bird alone, Mitt, and stay on Obama's ass.  We'll all be better off.

Today's Happy Hour Soundtrack

A blast from the distant past...



Would you believe this is from 19-sixty-freakin' three?  It is...  This tune brought a lotta stuff to mind, first and foremost bein' the fact that I'm the quintessential White Boy and I can NOT dance.  That never stopped me, though, as I've been known to get up on the floor and make a fool o' myself, albeit not lately.  

The second thang that came to mind is Norman Mailer's famous quote... "Tough guys don't dance," which I availed myself of a LOT in the way-back.  The third and final thang I remembered is what The Second Mrs. Pennington told me early on in our relationship: "People dance like they fuck."  Or mebbe it was the reverse... "People fuck like they dance"... time has dimmed the actual wording of said quote.  The intent is most certainly clear and it makes me wonder, in retrospect, because I sure as Hell couldn't dance.  Yet the fact remains the girl hung with me for 23 years, in spite of what she thought about the subject.  Was she wrong?  Was she right?  Whatevah... my dancin' was apparently sufficient for all intents and purposes.  Until it wasn't.  Heh.

On another subject... We wound up doin' an outdoor Happy Hour this afternoon and it was quite pleasant, as long as one was sitting in full sun and I most certainly WAS.  Today was one of those days that brought back memories of those halcyon autumnal days when I lived in the Northern Tier... those days when we put a sweater on and got out in it... because we knew winter was comin' on.  Yeah, like that.

Wait. Stop. Not Yet!

No outdoor Happy Hour today...

... and our first freeze tonight.  The good news is the freeze will go a long ways toward killing off the flies, the better news is we'll be back to normal tomorrow.  I turned off the AC about seven or eight days ago and I have yet to fire up the furnace... but I sure was tempted on that furnace thang this morning.