Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Pot-Poury

I might have been the only person in my small circle of blogging friends who didn't acknowledge Robin Williams' passing yesterday.  The Usual Source of political 'toons has a few items dedicated to Mr. Williams today; here's one such:
 

And from the Usual USAF Source, this:
Military Tribute to Robin Williams
—John. A. Tirpak
​The Pentagon issued a rare tribute to an entertainer on Tuesday. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, in a statement, said "the entire Defense Department community mourns the loss of Robin Williams," whom he described as "a gifted actor and comedian, but … also a true friend and supporter of our troops." Hagel noted that Williams had entertained "thousands of service men and women in war zones" and his philanthropy supported numerous causes "that helped veterans struggling with hidden wounds of war." The Twitterverse on Tuesday filled with stories from service personnel and vets on how Williams had taken the time to visit and talk with them personally, going so far as to seek out and spend time with troops who, because they were on duty, couldn't attend his front-lines performances. Many described him as a modern-day Bob Hope. Williams earned his first Oscar nomination for portraying Air Force Sgt. Adrian Cronauer, an Armed Forces Radio DJ, in the 1987 film, "Good Morning, Vietnam." The United Services Organizations, in a release, said Williams went on six USO tours between 2002 and 2013, including five overseas stints during which he visited troops in 12 foreign countries. This included three stops each in Afghanistan and Iraq.
RIP, Mr. Williams.

In other news...

I'm thinkin' UPS loves this video:



Drop-kicking the package on to the roof is a nice move, eh?

In the "Minor Bitches, Moans, and Complaints" category...  We've been living with our Keurig machine for exactly three months today and I'm not very fond of the thing for one simple reason: it takes too damned long to brew ONE cup of coffee.  The machine apparently has lost its mind, in that it has NO ideer what those three different portion-level buttons on its face are for.  To be clear: one has a choice (supposedly) of brewing either a small, medium, or large cup of coffee, depending on which button you push; MY machine brews exactly one-third of a cup of coffee no matter WHICH button you push.  So every morning we stand at the machine diligently pushing buttons and waiting for the machine to cycle THREE times before we get our first cup of coffee.  I don't think that's the way the machine is supposed to work.

It's always sumthin'.

19 comments:

  1. As regards your Keurig machine. Yes, it's broken, not supposed to do that. But I suspect you knew that.

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    1. You're right -- I did know that. What I wanna know now is how to fix it.

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    2. Well, speaking with my experience as a navy fire control officer with lots of radar techs working for me, have you considered hitting it with a hammer?

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    3. @ Curt: Heh. "Get a bigger hammer."

      In that same vein... Didja know the quickest and easiest way to change the transmitting frequency of a magnetron-powered radar (like the FPS-6) is to whack the magnetron with a hammer? I did that NUMEROUS times in the way-back and it's a skill. Whack the magnetron too hard and you'll kill it, don't whack it hard enough and nothing happens. A fine touch is required... ;-)

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    4. Dump it and get a REAL coffee pot... Those things are a POS! :-)

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    5. I know, you radar guys are extraordinary. I got requisition chits for 'calibrated hammers' from Mk 86 and NSSMS radar techs that thought I was as clueless as dust on a bunny. They all thought I was shiny and new whereas I had been steeped in evil and had spent the previous 12 months working for LDOs with CWOs and people such as yourself as my peers. That golden bar lasted two years and by the time it turned color, it had spent a good part of its first 16 months in a war zone nobody on that destroyer ever heard of.

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  2. There was no acknowledgement at my place.
    It isn't meant as a slight.
    I'm just kinda preoccupied.

    As for your coffee maker, I can offer nothing in the way of a solution.
    So you have my condolences.

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    Replies
    1. I'm just kinda preoccupied.

      Understood. Hang in there, Skip. You and GS are at the top of our thoughts.

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  3. Well.....You could use coffee filters and make as much as you want, I guess, but......

    Naahhh.

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    Replies
    1. Well.....You could use coffee filters...

      Not with THIS machine. I'd have to go buy yet another frickin' coffee pot.

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    2. Nah. What I've done for pretty much ever is use a one-cup Melitta-style cone and either #4 filters I buy in bulk for @ a penny apiece, or half-a-paper towel for even less. Coupla tablespoons of French Roast which I buy at whatever local supermarket has a grinder capable of turning out talcum powder, and I got a great cup for not much.

      And if I want another one, repeat as needed. Don't like kitchen gadgets much.

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    3. Don't like kitchen gadgets much.

      Luddite! ;-)

      Delete
  4. Never saw anyone who could just pull so much funny right out of thin air. . .

    I s'pose we got to see the 'manic' part of the manic-depressive. The other side is a bitch. . .

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    Replies
    1. Maybe Jonathan Winters...
      And the two of 'e-mail together was another whole story

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    2. @ Craig: In re: that other side. I have a dresser drawer full of those tee shirts. What you say is true.

      @ Skip: Dontcha just LOVE auto-correct?

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    3. yeah... it would be a little handy if I couldn't spell.
      But I am about through trying to post or comment on anything but a laptop or PC.

      O/T - about that 'other' thing.
      The really hard part is over as of about 2:30pm.
      I feel guilty about being relieved, but I'll get over it.

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    4. @ Skip: Once again, my condolences. As you know, I found out last night. You were in my thoughts all evening after I read your post.

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  5. Oh yeah, and Fedex WAS Fedex 'ground'... So he was putting the stuff on the ground... That's why I try to use UPS whenever I can.

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    1. I've never had a problem with FedEx, actually, or UPS, either. But DON'T get me started on the USPS!

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Just be polite... that's all I ask.