Cool!

This is just about the only GOOD thing that ever came out of Earth Day...



Explanation:

NASA has released a 3.2 gigapixel "Global Selfie", comprising 36,422 individual images stitched into a mosaic representation of the Earth.

The agency explains: "On Earth Day this year (22 April), NASA asked people all around the world a simple question – 'Where are you on Earth Right Now?'" We asked people to answer the question on social media, with a selfie. The goal was to use each picture as a pixel in the creation of a 'Global Selfie' – a mosaic image that would look like Earth appeared from space on Earth Day."

Well, Dang.  I didn't know this was happening, which is the story of my life: a day late and a dollar short.

Today's Happy Hour Soundtrack: Drop Out

Cracker...

Well I'm not paranoid, there is no conspiracy
But I swear big brothers watching me
Turn on, tune in, drop out, give up, with me

So you're serving aperitifs to the local survivalist militia
In camouflage you're fine but the locals still call you Morticia

Well find a little meadow
high up in the Cascades

Baby we wont ever come down
Turn on, tune in, drop out, give up, with me

Buy a little cabin in the Adirondacks
Baby they'll never find us
Turn on, tune in, drop out, give up, with me

Hand stitch our tepee
Windy East Mojave
Watching for black helicopters

Heh.  I just LOVE the lyrics to this song.  Love 'em!  I've always looked at the Preppers and other strains of the survivalist movement with a mixture of amusement and disdain; Cracker seems to be on the same page as I am.  There are certain aspects of that thinking that ring some bells with me, none the less.  I can't help but think "what if they're RIGHT?"  The optimist in me always prevails, though.  I hope I'm not wrong...

I heard this new-to-me tune in the car yesterday but I was basically "off the grid" at that time (read as: all day), which is why I'm posting this today.

Until They're Not There Any Longer

From the Usual USAF Source...

A-10s Back in Europe

Five U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft pilots taxi on the flightline at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, May 16, 2014. While in Germany, the aircraft will support the ground troops of 15 nations participating in force-on-force maneuver training during Exercise Combined Resolve II. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Gustavo Castillo/Released)

Approximately 100 Air National Guardsmen from the 124th Fighter Wing out of Gowen Field, Idaho, accompanied A-10 Thunderbolt IIs to Spangdahlem AB, Germany, to support the Combined Resolve II training exercise. The US Army Europe-directed multinational exercise is conducted in partnership with 15 NATO and European partners, including Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Georgia, Hungary, Kosovo, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Solvenia, and the US. It will be May 15 to June 30, according to a May 20 release. "This is an interoperability exercise working on partnership tasks, because this is the way we are going to fight in the future," said Christian Marquardt, Joint Multinational Training Command spokesman. The "A-10s will support ground troops participating in force-on-force maneuver training at the US Army's Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany," states the release.  The mission "is the same mission that we do back home. We provide close air support for friendlies on the ground when they are receiving effective fire from the enemy," said 1st Lt. Kristen Daigle, officer in charge of intelligence. "The A-10s will roll in and try to get the enemy off their back."

I think it was just last month that the A-10s that USED to be permanently based in Germany rotated back to the US.  And now they're back... until USAF retires the whole fleet, of course.  While it's not probable that NATO will go to war against the Rooshians, it sure would be nice to have the A-10s flying against massed armor columns if the balloon DID go up.  That's what the aircraft was designed for, after all.

There Must Be Sumthin' Wrong With Me

I say that coz I really like all these Shoebox rejects.  Like this one:

Hell, I'd buy a BOX of those things.

(Yeah, we're still goin' through the overnight mail.)

Spring On the Plains

You see stuff like this every Spring here in the Great Wide Open...



Beautiful and scary.

A Time To Reap

From the Usual USAF Source...

Air Frame: An MQ-9 Reaper sits on the flight line at Hurlburt Field, Fla., on April 24, 2014. This was the first year the MQ-9 participated in Emerald Warrior, a U.S. Special Operations Command-sponsored tactical exercise designed to provide realistic military training in an urban setting. (Air Force photo SSgt. John Bainter)

We have a few of these out at Cannon Airplane Patch.  I dunno why, but these things always give me the creeps when I see 'em buzzing around.

Speaking of Cannon... The big airshow is coming this weekend, mebbe.  And why do I say "mebbe?"  The weather.

None of us here on The High Plains o' New Mexico complain about rain.  Never, ever.  That said, the timing could be a wee bit better.

The Sunday Re-Run

This was a fun post... to do, but not necessarily to read.  From almost six years ago:

Thursday, May 22, 2008

MeMe

I was tagged by Lin to do this here meme the day I went for my slicing/dicing. Now that I'm up to speed (sorta), I'm checking the box.

In Lin's words: “Soo ... the idea is to answer these questions with only a photo or other graphic, NO words allowed. Here goes then (but I reserve the right to complete and childish asininity).”

Me, too.

1. What is your current relationship status?

2. What is your current mood?

3. What is your favorite band/singer?

and

4. What is your favorite movie?

5. What kind of pets do you have?

6. Where do you live?

7. Where do you work?

8. Who do you look like?

9. What do you drive?

10. What did you do on Saturday?

11. What did you do on Sunday?

12. What is your favorite network TV Show?

13. Describe Yourself.

14. What is your favorite candy?

I'm supposed to tag some folks, coz that's the way these things work. Consider yourself tagged, if ya wanna be. There's a lot of image googling involved. But Hey! That's fun, innit?

Blog-Bud Lin no longer blogs, but her archives are alive and well (and her posts are ALL great reads).  As for YrHmblScrb?  Not much has changed in my world during the last six years, other than the fact I don't live in El Casa Móvil De Pennington any longer, gave up riding mo'sickles, and replaced The Green Hornet with something a lil big bigger and a lot more comfortable.  Wait.  I suppose that IS a lot o' change, innit?

Saturday: In My Next Life...

... I wanna be Jay Leno.



Didja see that green '61 Bel Air hardtop?  Among other things...

Today's Happy Hour Soundtrack: An Oddity

So, there we were, out on the verandah and this tune comes on.  "WTF?" thinks I, "that sure sounds like Rod Stewart but that ain't the lyrics we know and love."  Well, there's an explanation for that... but first, the tune:

I don't need to tell ya
That you look like a fella
But I'll kick your head in one of these days

The tune is billed as a demo version of "Maggie May" and yeah, a re-write was definitely in order here.  I searched... in vain... for the lyrics to this version and came up empty (the bits quoted above are from memory).  The instrumentation on this early version... aside from the inclusion of the extended mandolin solo... is essentially the same as the final version, and that's a good thing (Hello, Ronnie Wood!).  But the lyrics?  They're just bad, bad, bad.  I can't believe I've gone all this time without hearing the demo version but I suppose stranger things have happened.  OTOH, I can go just as long without hearing this again.  Once is just enough.

It Took Me a Minute

Well, about 30 seconds, actually... and then I literally laughed out loud.

H/t: Shoebox.  Who else?

Mouseketeers?

"Hey, there! Hi, there! Ho there! You're as welcome as can be...  M-I-C-K-E-Y..."

♪♫ If I Were a Rich Man, Ya-Ta-Dadda-Dadda-Dadda-Da... ♫♪

So said Tevye and so sez me, meaning I wish I had an extra 200K bucks layin' around to spend on this:

Oh, MY.  Back in the day when I bought my '67 Chevelle SS396 there was this guy in town who had a '67 Nova SS with the 350hp/327 small block in it.  I raced him on two or three occasions and the boy cleaned my clock every single time... by about two or three car lengths... the races were never close.  I've not-so-secretly wanted one of those cars ever since.  There are a lot of pics of this car here and they'll make yer mouth water if you're any kind of a gear-head.

Today's Happy Hour Soundtrack

Another two-fer, where we have the Stones leading off with a cover of one of the Temptations' signature songs...

That's the cover, here's the original:

Well I heard a cryin' man is half a man
With no sense of pride
If I have to cry to keep you I don't mind weepin'
If weepin' gonna keep you by my side

Ain't too proud to beg, sweet darlin'
Please don't leave me, don't you go
Ain't too proud to plead, baby, baby
Please don't leave me, don't you go

Well, that's just WRONG and it never, ever works.  I say that with the benefit of hindsight and most specifically the knowledge that I (a) own one of these tee shirts and (b) it was absolutely, positively the wrong thing to do.  The appropriate response, once we determined the relationship was beyond salvation, would have been "OK, then.  Get the fuck OUT!"  The only saving grace about my exercise of extreme self-degradation was the fact that very, very few people witnessed it.  It was pathetic, believe me, and it's one of the very few things in life I would change, given the chance.

But, Hey!  "Love makes fools of us all, big and little."  Truer words ne'er spoken.

Wat Rong Khun

Say what?  This...

This spectacular white building is called Wat Rong Khun or The White Temple. It’s a Buddhist temple located in Northern Thailand just outside the city of Chiang Rai. Designed by Thai visual artist Chalermchai Kositpipat in 1997, The White Temple is an awesome blend of traditional Thai architecture and both beautiful and grotesque surreal elements. It’s as much a work of art as it is a building devoted to learning and meditation.

Via High Fructose mag, where there are more images of The White Temple.  Most amazing, eh?

O, My Aching Ass

Yup.  Just what every Zuckerberg wannabe needs, at a Zuckerberg price.

Broadening, Yadda, Yadda... Episode LXXXI

Here we are, almost at the end of heavy heavier beer season here at El Casa Inmóvil De Pennington and wouldn't ya know it?  A new favorite in the Porter category arrives on the scene.  That would be this:

Impressive.  And I'm not the only one who thinks so.  Here's what my go-to guys have to say about Cutthroat:

Taste: Impressively smooth mouth feel with a medium to full body. Rich roasted flavour going borderline astringent. Hops tingle all throughout the mouth with a vague bitterness that gets clouded by more everlasting lingering roasted malt with caramel undertones though still leaves a trail of earthy minty flavour to the finish. Roasted flavours are not over bearing but at a perfect level of balance with hints of light charcoal and over caramelized sugar.

Notes: Profound in character, Odell’s was aiming for the middle ground between Porters and Stouts … good stab at it. A more than decent Porter it is, I’m quite fond of this palatable brew.

That's part of a 99-rated review, the rating being as high a score as I've ever seen at BA even though the language might be a little bit flowery and over-the-top.  Odell is quickly becoming my favorite beer out of Fort Collins; I've yet to meet a beer of theirs I haven't liked.  Them's some strong words, given that New Belgium and I have been sweethearts since the mid-90s.  But yanno what?  Competition is a good thing!  All that said, a sixer o' Cutthroat will prolly remain resident in the fridge long after our daytime temps stay in the 90s, mainly coz it's a very easy-drinking sorta brew.  Mebbe even TOO easy.

And now it's time to head out to the verandah... in a sweater.

I said heavier beer season was almost over, didn't I?

Tolerance

Intolerant?  That would be me, too... in this particular case.  I really don't give two hoots in Hell about who sleeps with whom, just don't be in my face with it.  THAT'S the message to the woman in Mr. Kelley's 'toon.

Today's Happy Hour Soundtrack

2Cellos...



I really like these guys and kudos to Pandora for including them in the mix on several of the classical music stations I listen to*.  We heard this particular composition a couple o' few minutes ago while listening to Pandora's Mozart station but I've heard other tunes by 2Cellos at various times on other classical stations.  And who knew Coldplay would ever make it anywhere near the classical world?  Not me.

*Yeah, I know:  that's grammatically incorrect.  I should have said "... classical music stations to which I listen."  But there's this: which of the two constructions rolls off the tongue easier?  Got it?  So, sit down and STFU.

Everything Old Is New Again

Well, that's true as far as EIP goes today.  Shorter: it's a re-run for you, Sparky.

Friday, July 10, 2009

Irresponsible...

... and proud of it. Here's what triggered the post title... something Kris left in comments to a previous post, to wit:

Wine in bottles. Bottles are glass. Glass is recyclable. We do recycling in our town.
Consumption of good quality wine = being environmentally conscious.
Al Gore will finally return my calls! ;-)

Ummm... we don't do recycling here in P-Ville. We are, apparently, unreconstructed Neanderthals in that all our waste... bottles, cans, kitchen garbage, cardboard boxes (large and small), what-have-you... goes into the dumpsters here at Beautiful La Hacienda Trailer Park and from there off to the landfill. I contrast this to previous lives, wherein we saved all our bottles and cans and hauled them off to the local grocery store on a monthly or bi-monthly basis for to redeem the nickel or dime deposits (depending on whether we were in Michigan or New York) we paid when purchasing our beer and soft drinks. There are no such deposits here in unreconstructed New Mexico, and I'm glad for it. I frickin' HATED saving all those damned cans and bottles and hauling them off every so often. But I hated the thought of losing that money even more... so I played the game. No more. I cheerfully toss all my bottles and cans into the garbage with nary a thought and most certainly without regret.

It wasn't always so and it most definitely used to be worse: I could still be living in Berkeley, where I had to sort my trash into (a) kitchen waste, (b) paper... bundled and tied according to specific instructions issued by the Powers That Be, (c) green glass, (d) brown glass and (e) clear glass... there being separate and discrete receptacles for all the aforementioned categories of refuse located in the trash area of my apartment complex (actually a four-plex of apartments) in said City of Berkeley. Failure to comply with the city's recycling requirements guaranteed you a visit from the Berkeley Trash Police... I shit thee NOT. And this was nearly ten years ago... in the Year of Our Lord 2000.

Things got better when I left Berkeley and moved out to San Ramon, where the City Fathers were less environmentally conscious... or had access to bigger landfills. Recycling in those parts of the Bay Area remained a matter of personal choice... and it might please those of you Gentle Readers who take this sort of thing seriously that I did separate my glass from the rest of the trash and put it in the conveniently-provided recycle bins.

But no more. I never even give this sort of thing a passing thought, except for when the subject rears its less-than-comely head... such as it did when Kris broached the subject. I cheerfully throw my cans and bottles away with a nary a guilt-twinge and am supremely glad for the opportunity to do so. Thank you, P-Ville and New Mexico. I love you.

Yep. Al Gore would hate me if he knew. So be it. We're known both by the company we keep and the quality of our enemies, right? If that's truly the case then I have the best of all possible enemies.

That's as true today as it was almost five years ago.  The only difference is it's a much shorter walk to the dumpster today.

In other news... we replaced our coffee pot with a Keurig machine and the manufacturer is awfully damned proud of their product.  I could have bought three Mr. Coffee machines for the price of that Keurig.  But then again, I HAVE bought three Mr. Coffee machines over the course of the last three years or so.  I guess it all works out.

Today's Happy Hour Soundtrack

In keeping with the post immediately below:



That said, the mess has been cleaned up and the drill found.  So, Beer me!  I earned it today.