Nobody Asked Me...

DC Area Blog Shoot...

2012-01-27T17:58:00.001-05:00

Marty over at The Miller is getting together folks for a DC area blog shoot at NRA HQ 18 Feb at 0730 (gotta get there early to get a lane), if you're interested, go HERE and let him know you're coming...

Also, the NRA Museum is upstairs and is well worth seeing if you've never seen it, or haven't been in the last couple of years (they rotate the exhibits on a regular basis).

Sadly, I'm on the road, so I won't make it...

Y'all shoot one or two for me!

"New: Defense Budget Priorities...

2012-01-26T23:39:00.000-05:00

This one came over the transom a couple of hours ago... and it's NOT pretty...

This was a continuation of the effort begun in 2010, which identified more than $150 billion in savings over five years allocated among the three military departments, the defense agencies, combatant commands, and the Secretary's staff. This left less room for additional reductions to meet the new target of $259 billion over FY13-‐17. Nonetheless, we did find about $60 billion in new projected savings over FY13-‐17. Examples include:

More skillful contracting practices to increase competition, reduce costs, and increase buying power (But workforce is being cut)

Better use of information technology (currently at least 2 years behind on the upgrades)

Better use of business and enterprise systems (not working real well)

Streamlined staff (less people doing the work)

Limitations on official travel (for those who actually DO the work)

Better inventory management (yeah, right)

Reductions in contract services (even fewer people to do the work)

Deferral of some military construction to align our facilities more closely with the size and posture of our future force (Can you say BRAC- again!)

Reductions in planned civilian pay raises (Yeah, like THAT is going to bring the best and brightest into Government...)

Other excerpts...

To ensure sufficient resources to protect these strategic priorities, we will reduce the number of ships by slowing the pace of building new ships and by accelerating the retirement of some existing ships. These include:
Retiring 7 cruisers early .. 6 did not have ballistic missile defense (BMD) capability, and the seventh with BMD capability is in need of costly hull repairs. (but we're already short handed to meet commitments; so plan on even longer deployments)

Slipping a large deck amphibious ship (LHA) by 1 year (Plan on even longer deployments)

Slipping 1 new Virginia class submarine outside the FYDP (Plan on even longer deployments)

Reducing Littoral Combat Ships by 2 ships in the FYDP (Plan on even longer deployments)

Reducing Joint High Speed Vessels by 8 in the FYDP (Plan on even longer deployments and slower transits)

Retiring 2 smaller amphibious ships (LSD) early and moving their replacement outside the FYDP (Plan on even longer deployments)

With respect to tactical air forces, we concluded that DoD could, at minimal risk, disestablish six Air Force tactical--air fighter squadrons (out of 60) and one training squadron. As we reduce air force structure, we are protecting aircraft with multi--role capabilities versus niche capabilities. The resultant force will be capable of handling our most demanding contingency plans including homeland defense. (But they will get to spend billions on a new bomber)

Now 'here' is where it gets good...

We will continue to invest in our responsibilities to the NATO alliance. We will adjust the posture of land forces in Europe in concert with overall Army transformation including eliminating two heavy brigades forward--]stationed there. DoD will nevertheless maintain NATO Article 5 commitments and ensure interoperability with allied forces by allocating a U.S. based brigade to the NATO Response Force and by rotating U.S. based units to Europe for training and exercises. We will also forward station ballistic missile defense ships in Rota, Spain. (Plan on even longer deployments, and we have to re-open that base)

Another one...

Under the new strategic guidance, we will maintain a safe, secure, and effective nuclear deterrent. This budget protects all three legs of the Triad .. bombers that provide both conventional and nuclear deterrence, intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM), and ballistic
missile submarines. To this end, we are committed to the procurement of a new bomber.

Bold/underline are mine... Gonna buy new bombers, but push the new SSBN out even further, qualifies as a below average on headwork... It takes 20 years to get a new submarine or large ship through development/design/build; and we "cannot" extend SSBNs beyond their hard life stops due to safety concerns...

However, we will delay the new Ohio submarine replacement by two years without undermining our partnership with the UK. While this delay will create challenges in maintaining current at--sea presence requirements in the 2030s, we believe this risk can be managed. An ongoing White House review of nuclear deterrence will address the potential for maintaining our deterrent with a different nuclear force.

Now remember how we are going to 'maintain' all our NATO committments, etc. above, right???

In this budget, we plan to reduce the size of the active Army from a post-‐9/11 peak of about 570,000 in 2010 to 490,000 and the active
Marine Corps from a peak of about 202,000 to 182,000. The Army plans to remove at least eight Brigade Combat Teams from its existing structure; however, the future organizing construct of the Army is under review. Even with these reductions, the Army and Marine Corps will be larger than they were in 2001.

While the U.S. does not anticipate engaging in prolonged, large-‐scale stability operations requiring a large rotation force in the near-‐ to mid-‐term, we cannot rule out the possibility.

(But there is a major shift to Asia/Pacific/China/N. Korea in a major response posture)

If such a campaign were to occur, we would respond by mobilizing the Reserve Component and, over time, regenerating Active Component end strength. Additionally, even as troop strength draws down, the Army, Marine Corps, and U.S. Special Operations Command will preserve expertise in security force assistance and counterinsurgency training.

Yeah, hey NG and Reserves, don't get to comfortable at home, you're gonna be living on the road...

And lastly... One more hit...

Military Pay. Instead of reducing military pay, we created sufficient room to allow full pay raises in 2013 and 2014 to keep pace with increases in private sector pay. We will achieve some cost savings by providing more limited pay raises beginning in 2015. This will give troops and their families fair notice and lead time before these proposed changes take effect. We will, therefore, achieve some savings in the later years to invest in force structure and modernization. Despite this change, military personnel will see their pay check increase every year across the FYDP.

Health Care. Military health care has seen rapid growth relative to the rest of the defense budget. Most of the changes made in this budget will not affect active duty personnel or their families. We are also exempting medically retired and survivors of those who died on active duty from all health care changes. Those most affected will be working-‐age retirees under the age of 65 still likely to be employed in the civilian sector. These proposed changes include:
Further increasing and adding new enrollment fees for retirees under age 65 in the TRICARE program, using a tiered approach based on retired pay that requires senior-‐ grade retirees to pay more and junior-‐grade retirees less; the resulting fees remain below comparable civilian equivalents

Establishing a new enrollment fee for the TRICARE-‐for-‐Life program for retirees 65 and older, again using a tiered approach; the resulting fees will be well below comparable civilian equivalents

Implementing additional increases in pharmacy co-‐pays in a manner that increases incentives for use of generics and mail order

Retirement. We will ask the Congress to establish a commission with BRAC-‐like authority to conduct a comprehensive review of military retirement in the context of total military compensation. The goal of the commission would be to recommend changes in order to meet the personnel needs of the DoD in a cost effective manner. DoD strongly supports protecting the retirement benefits of those who currently serve by grandfathering their benefits. Any reforms should only affect future recruits.

I will now stop bitching and go back to my corner, but I'd like to leave you with this thought...

Have we heard the first thing about cuts in Entitlement Programs???

Friendship...

2012-01-26T08:14:00.002-05:00

Met a few 'old' friends for dinner last night, and the subject of 'real' friendship came up... Most of us have known each other at least thirty years, all of us were military and most of us were stationed together at least once in our careers...

Dinner and an entire bottle of 25 year old The Macallan later we came up with these; they are what we kinda figure are the stone cold truth of great friendship...

Mainly because we (collectively) have done every one of these at least once or twice...

When you are sad ~ I will help you get drunk and plot revenge against the sorry bastard who made you sad.
When you are blue ~ I will try to dislodge whatever is choking you.
When you smile ~ I will know you are thinking of something that I would probably want to be involved in.
When you are scared ~ I will rag on you about it every chance I get until you're NOT.
When you are worried~ I will tell you horrible stories about how much worse it could be until you quit whining.
When you are confused ~ I will try to use only little words.
When you are sick~ Stay the hell away from me until you are well again. I don't want whatever you have.
When you fall ~ I will laugh at your clumsy ass, but I'll help you up.

This is my oath .....I pledge it to the end. 'Why?' you may ask ~ because you are my friend. And if you call at 0300, I WILL answer the phone, and if you need me, I will be on the next airplane...

Politics...

2012-01-24T18:49:00.000-05:00

I think these ALL qualify as truisms...

* I think it's about time we voted for senators with breasts. After all, we've been voting for boobs long enough. ~Clarie Sargent, Arizona senatorial candidate

* The problem with political jokes is they get elected. ~Henry Cate, VII

* We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office. ~Aesop

* If we got one-tenth of what was promised to us in these acceptance speeches there wouldn't be any inducement to go to heaven. ~Will Rogers

* Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber. ~Plato

* Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build a bridge even where there is no river. ~Nikita Khrushchev

* When I was a boy I was told that anybody could become President; I'm beginning to believe it. ~Clarence Darrow

* Why pay money to have your family tree traced; go into politics and your opponents will do it for you. ~Author Unknown

* If God wanted us to vote, he would have given us candidates. ~Jay Leno

* Politicians are people who, when they see light at the end of the tunnel, go out and buy some more tunnel. ~John Quinton

* Politics is the gentle art of getting votes from the poor and campaign funds from the rich, by promising to protect each from the other. ~Oscar Ameringer

* The Democrats are the party that says government will make you smarter, taller, richer, and remove the crabgrass on your lawn. The Republicans are the party that says government doesn't work and then they get elected and prove it. ~P.J. O'Rourke

* I offer my opponents a bargain: if they will stop telling lies about us, I will stop telling the truth about them. ~Adlai Stevenson, campaign speech, 1952

* A politician is a fellow who will lay down your life for his country. ~Texas Guinan

* Any American who is prepared to run for president should automatically, by definition, be disqualified from ever doing so. ~Gore Vidal

* I have come to the conclusion that politics is too serious a matter to be left to the politicians. ~Charles de Gaulle

* Instead of giving a politician the keys to the city, it might be better to change the locks. ~Doug Larson

* Don't vote, it only encourages them. ~Author Unknown

* There ought to be one day - just one - when there is open season on senators. ~Will Rogers

I was going to put up a comment about tonight's state of the union, but hell, we ALL know it's going to be nothing more than a campaign speech...

Sooo....

I just want to let you know that "Understanding Women" is now out in paperback...

Personally, I think I'll wait for the movie... (ducking and running for cover)...

Seriously though, I can't embed the video, but THIS is worth watching... A community pays it back...

Gotta love the Seabees...

2012-01-23T19:59:00.001-05:00

This one just says it all...

Seen on a Seabee Message Board:

Piss on a Crucifix, and they call you an "Artist"

Piss on the American Flag, and they'll call you a Freedom of Speech "Constitutionalist"

Piss on a police car, and they'll call you and Occupy Wall Street "Freedom lovin' 99 percenter"

Piss on a Taliban POS that just tried to kill you and your fellow Marines, and they'll call you a "Villian"

Sure is a ****ed-up administration we have running this great country!!!!!

Be sure to vote them ALL GONE in November!!!!

Nuff said...

Trigger Time...

2012-01-22T20:38:00.000-05:00

Met up with Murph at noon, and we went to a new range near his place in WV. He's already posted on it HERE; but I want to add one of the reasons I wanted to go today was to work with various sets of gloves in cold temps. It was 28 degrees and occasional snow (see his pics), We had his M-60E and AR, my SCAR 17, and pistols.

As various other folks have noted, shooting in the cold is good training, because you never really know when the bad guys are going to pop out...

The main thing I worked on today was shooting with various sets of gloves, and how that impacted my accuracy and 'feel' for the trigger. I have one set of gloves that are going to Goodwill tomorrow... sigh... Too thick, too clumsy, NO trigger control at all (couldn't even FEEL the trigger). The other two worked well, so those stay in the rotation :-)

The other thing of note is how quickly your manual dexterity deteriorates with cold when you don't have ANY gloves on (trying to load mags was a LOT of fun)...

Anyhoo... A good day, good time at the range, good food and good company :-)

And none of my pics came out... dammit...

Reckless...

2012-01-22T09:51:00.000-05:00

Not what you might think...

Heroes come in all shapes and sizes, and this one is definitely one for the books...

In the Navy, Brit Style...

2012-01-21T10:51:00.001-05:00

Got this one from a friend in Britian who is a retire Group Commander, somehow I don't think he's 'impressed' with the latest changes in the British Navy...

The Royal Navy is proud of its new fleet of Type 45 destroyers. Having initially named the first two ships HMS Daring and HMS Dauntless, the Naming Committee has, after intensive pressure from Brussels , renamed them HMS Cautious and HMS Prudence. The next five ships are to be named HMS Empathy, HMS Circumspect, HMS Nervous, HMS Timorous and HMS Apologist.

Costing £850 million each, they meet the needs of the 21st century and comply with the very latest employment, equality, health & safety and human rights laws.

The new user-friendly crow's nest comes equipped with wheelchair access.   Live ammunition has been replaced with paintballs to reduce the risk of anyone getting hurt and to cut down on the number of compensation claims. Stress counsellors and lawyers will be on duty 24hrs a day and each ship will have
its on-board industrial tribunal.

The crew will be 50/50 men and women, and balanced in accordance with the latest Home Office directives on race, gender, sexuality and disability. Sailors will only have to work a maximum of 37hrs per week in line with Brussels Health & Safety rules, even in wartime! All the vessels will come equipped with a maternity ward and nursery, situated on the same deck as the Gay Disco. Tobacco will be banned throughout the ship, but cannabis will be allowed in the wardroom and messes. The Royal Navy is eager to shed its traditional reputation for "rum, sodomy and the lash" so out has gone the occasional rum ration which is replaced by sparkling water.

Although sodomy remains, it has now been extended to include all ratings under 18. The lash will still be available but only on request. Condoms can be obtained from the Bosun in a variety of flavours, except Capstan Full Strength.

Saluting officers has been abolished because it is deemed elitist and is to be replaced by the more informal, "Hello Sailor". All information on notices boards will be printed in 37 different languages and Braille.   Crew members will now no longer be required to ask permission to grow beards or moustaches - this applies equally to female crew members.

The MoD is working on a new "non-specific" flag because the White Ensign is considered to be offensive to minorities. The Union Flag had already been discarded.

The newly re-named HMS Cautious is due to be commissioned soon in a ceremony conducted by Captain Hook from the Finsbury Park Mosque who will break a petrol bomb over the hull. She will gently slide into the water as the Royal Marines Band plays "In the Navy" by the Village People. Her first deployment will be to escort boat loads of illegal immigrants across the channel to ports on England 's south coast.

The Prime Minister said, "While these ships reflect the very latest in modern thinking, they are also capable of being up-graded to comply with any new legislation coming out of Brussels .."

His final words were, "Britannia waives the rules."

Matter of fact, I think he's pissed... (mad not drunk)... or maybe a bit of both...

The Wall...

2012-01-20T18:37:00.000-05:00

Another one that came in via the mil email net... Worth thinking about.

These facts are very interesting for those of us who were in Vietnam as opposed to the lying politicians who continue to claim they were there.

A little history most people will never know.

Interesting Veterans Statistics off the Vietnam Memorial Wall "Carved on these walls is the story of America, of a continuing quest to preserve both Democracy and decency, and to protect a national treasure that we call the American dream." ~President George Bush

SOMETHING to think about - Most of the parents of these men are now deceased.

There are 58,267 names now listed on that polished black wall, including those added in 2010.

The names are arranged in the order in which they were taken from us by date and within each date the names are alphabetized. It is hard to believe it is 36 years since the last casualties.

And people STILL visit the wall every day...

Beginning at the apex on panel 1E and going out to the end of the East wall, appearing to recede into the earth (numbered 70E - May 25, 1968), then resuming at the end of the West wall, as the wall emerges from the earth (numbered 70W - continuing May 25, 1968) and ending with a date in 1975. Thus the war's beginning and end meet. The war is complete, coming full circle, yet broken by the earth that bounds the angle's open side and contained within the earth itself.

The first known casualty was Richard B. Fitzgibbon, of North Weymouth , Mass. Listed by the U.S. Department of Defense as having been killed on June 8, 1956. His name is listed on the Wall with that of his son, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Richard B. Fitzgibbon III, who was killed on Sept. 7, 1965.

There are three sets of fathers and sons on the Wall.

39,996 on the Wall were just 22 or younger.

8,283 were just 19 years old.

The largest age group, 33,103 were 18 years old.

12 soldiers on the Wall were 17 years old.

5 soldiers on the Wall were 16 years old.

One soldier, PFC Dan Bullock was 15 years old.

997 soldiers were killed on their first day in Vietnam .

1,448 soldiers were killed on their last day in Vietnam .

31 sets of brothers are on the Wall.

Thirty one sets of parents lost two of their sons.

54 soldiers on the Wall attended Thomas Edison High School in Philadelphia . I wonder why so many from one school.

8 Women are on the Wall. Nursing the wounded.

244 soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War; 153 of them are on the Wall.

Beallsville , Ohio with a population of 475 lost 6 of her sons.

West Virginia had the highest casualty rate per capita in the nation. There are 711 West Virginians on the Wall.

The Marines of Morenci - They led some of the scrappiest high school football and basketball teams that the little Arizona copper town of Morenci (pop. 5,058) had ever known and cheered. They enjoyed roaring beer busts. In quieter moments, they rode horses along the Coronado Trail, stalked deer in the Apache National Forest . And in the patriotic camaraderie typical of Morenci's mining families, the nine graduates of Morenci High enlisted as a group in the Marine Corps. Their service began on Independence Day, 1966. Only 3 returned home.

The Buddies of Midvale - LeRoy Tafoya, Jimmy Martinez, Tom Gonzales were all boyhood friends and lived on three consecutive streets in Midvale, Utah on Fifth, Sixth and Seventh avenues. They lived only a few yards apart. They played ball at the adjacent sandlot ball field. And they all went to Vietnam . In a span of 16 dark days in late 1967, all three would be killed. LeRoy was killed on Wednesday, Nov. 22, the fourth anniversary of John F. Kennedy's assassination. Jimmy died less than 24 hours later on Thanksgiving Day. Tom was shot dead assaulting the enemy on Dec. 7, Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.

The most casualty deaths for a single day was on January 31, 1968 ~ 245 deaths.

The most casualty deaths for a single month was May 1968 - 2,415 casualties were incurred.

For most Americans who read this they will only see the numbers that the Vietnam War created. To those of us who survived the war, and to the families of those who did not, we see the faces, we feel the pain that these numbers created. We are, until we too pass away, haunted with these numbers, because they were our friends, fathers, husbands, wives, sons and daughters. There are no noble wars, just noble warriors.

This is Lee Teter's iconic painting called Vietnam Reflections, which, to me, is the portrait of a survivor who keeps coming back to the wall to try to understand why he survived and the others died...

If you ever get to DC, it is worth seeing...

Nuff said.

Heads Up...

2012-01-19T19:27:00.000-05:00

You may or may not have heard about the "nationwide" wireless Lightsquared is trying to put up... Problem is, it interferes with GPS since it uses the SAME frequency band...

In 2011, LightSquared's attempts at creating a nationwide wireless broadband system have put GPS technology as we know it in jeopardy. Among others working to stop this crap is Save Our GPS Coalition http://saveourgps.org to raise awareness about the effect this issue would have on GPS for unmanned systems.

On 12 Jan., the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) sent a letter to the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), stating, "...this proposal raises significant interference concerns..." and that "...it is incumbent on the FCC to deal with the resulting interference issues before any interference occurs." The NTIA is the executive branch agency, located within the Department of Commerce, principally responsible for advising the president on telecommunications and information policy issues. The NTIA consulted with the departments of Defense, Transportation and Homeland Security before releasing its statement. LightSquared continues to lobby the FCC to grant its request to create a nationwide network of ground transmitters that could drown out GPS signals.

Despite repeated negative testing, LightSquared pushes on in an attempt to create a nationwide broadband network that would cripple GPS as we know it. Just this week http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/another-test-finds-lightsquareds-satellite-service-interferes-with-military-aviation-operations/2012/01/17/gIQAcXZo6P_story.html?wpisrc=nl_headline, federal regulators released a report saying the problems with LightSquared's plan were not fixable, and LightSquared responded with a press release calling the system "rigged," instead of taking steps to actually fix the problem and save our GPS.

So if you 'value' that little GPS system in your car or airplane, you might want to pay attention this...

It may come back to bite us all in the butt!!!

Webstrike...

2012-01-17T19:16:00.000-05:00

Stop Online Privacy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA) under consideration in, respectively, Congress and the Senate. Supposedly, Congress has shelved further consideration of SOPA - The Senate is scheduled to bring PIPA to a cloture vote on January 24th.

The webstrike on, with approximately 7000 websites saying they will not be online/posting tomorrow. I will join them by not posting or commenting at all tomorrow... You can go HERE and see the strike website and video.

Join us please, and lets show our disapproval...

PSA...

2012-01-17T18:53:00.000-05:00

Got this at work, and it's worth a look if you travel for either business or pleasure...

We have been seeing incidents with rental car companies that appear questionable to us and I wanted to give you a heads-up on some of the issues that travelers have been dealing with.

Some travelers have been charged for damages that may or may not have occurred while the car was in their possession. Dings, cracks, flat tires, fender damage etc. You may want to pay a little extra attention when the car is inspected prior to signing anything.

Also, one of the rental companies has stated that they offer other options to the traveler at check-in. You might select a car that is presented to you which is actually an upgrade. One term that is used is 'Intermediate', which is equivalent to the rental agency's 'Mid-sized' cars. Other terms used by the rental companies are 'Standard and Full', both of which are upgrades.

We have also had incidents of travelers declining the insurances, but they have been added to the bill anyway. You may see it listed as PAE / ESP / SLI CHG.

Personal Accidents and Effects - PAE

Emergency Sickness Plan -ESP

Supplemental Liability Insurance - SLI

With this in mind, take an extra minute at the counter to check the estimated charges to ensure that you are not being overcharged.

I am sending this out to all since this information may be helpful both for professional as well as private travel.

You've Got to EARN the Right...

2012-01-16T23:42:00.000-05:00

Doing some 'spring cleaning' today, e.g. looking for my damn gloves in the closet, I ran across my old flight jacket hanging in the back of the closet, and thought y'all might get a laugh out of this trip down memory lane...

This is the front of the jacket I wore, less the TACCO patch on the right sleeve...

And the back of the jacket...

In the early 80's when I went through AOCS to become an NFO, we had to attend ground school at VT-10 in Pensacola. Most of the instructors were young Lieutenants just off their first squadron tours, and had maybe 5-6 years in the Navy.

We had this one particular LT who'd been in a West Coast A-6 squadron who liked to wear his flight jacket when he instructed...

One day one of the young Ensigns asked him a question about one of his patches. He went into a detailed description of the patch and how he'd 'earned' it, and on and on... He finally closed with the comment that, "You've got to EARN the right to wear a flight jacket with patches on it, and not a one of you in here has EARNED that right."

The WO and I looked at each other, and the ex-Coastie sitting behind us said, "THAT is a bunch of BS."

After class, we adjourned to the club for a libation or three, and it turned out we all had our "Fleet" flight jackets with us. Now at this point, I had 11 years in, 9 years in the Fleet; the WO had 19 years in, 14 years in the Fleet; and the Coastie had 11 years in and 9 years for flying as a SAR crewman and C-130 crewman in places like Kodiak.

Looking at the schedule, we found we would have this particular LT again two days later right after lunch, so we decided we'd all bring our "Fleet" flight jackets and wear them to his class...

So... Two days later, we meet in the parking lot, change to our "Fleet" jackets and hustle into the class room well ahead of the rest of the students and staff...

Since we sat near the back of the class, only a couple of folks noticed what we were wearing and that ALL three of us had more patches than the LT did; and I saw a few smiles as some folks figured out what we were up to.

The LT came in and started his lecture and for the first 15 minutes or so didn't notice anything. Then he saw the WO's jacket and literally stopped in mid-sentence, walked back to where we were sitting and asked us whatinthehell did we think we were doing.

I said something to the effect of, we were just wearing what we'd EARNED, just like him; and he went off! He told us that we weren't allowed to wear 'those' jackets, we were disruptive, and we were to go see the Ops O right now...

So, off we went to Ops, and into the Ops O's office. He looked up and asked what we'd done now, weren't we supposed to be in class?

So I explained what had gone on, with concurrences from the WO, and the Coastie...

OBTW, both the WO and I had known the Ops O for about 8 years, having flown with him in a previous squadron :-)

He just started laughing, looked at us, shook his head, and said, "You assholes know better than to screw with the instructors and you know this school is NOT set up to deal with people like you!"

So he took us back to class, and called the LT out in the hall and had a 'chat' with him about the fact that there were people in classes than HAD been in the Fleet, and probably much longer than he had, and he'd better watch his comments before they come back and bite him in the butt...

Needless to say, we were 'closely' watched after that, and our class tended to get the senior instructors!

In spite of all the BS, we all made it through, and ended up with successful careers as officers :-)

A Response to Joan Peterson...

2012-01-16T11:57:00.000-05:00

I'd been working on a post to respond to Joan, as I'm really sick and tired of the 'games' being played with the victims of ALL violence...

However, in taking a break I went over and read a few blogs this morning and was stunned by the cogent response Minuteman has written.

Go HERE and take a few minutes to read his post. He said everything I wanted to say, and did it much better than I ever could.

We, the concealed carry community, chose NOT to be victims, and we are willing to help anyone who wants the ability to fight back.

Two Wolves...

2012-01-14T20:59:00.000-05:00

Pretty good one and worth thinking about...

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.

He said, "My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all.

"One is Evil - It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

"The other is Good - It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: "Which wolf wins?"

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

Doesn't get much simpler than that...

Back off the road finally, looking forward to actually sleeping in my OWN bed :-)

Night all....zzzzzz

Dilberts, in real life...

2012-01-12T23:00:00.000-05:00

A magazine recently ran a 'Dilbert Quotes' contest. They were looking for people to submit quotes from their real-life Dilbert-type managers.

These were voted the top ten quotes in corporate America:

   'As of tomorrow, employees will only be able to access the building using individual security cards with photo ID. Pictures will be taken next Wednesday, and employees will receive their cards in two weeks.'(This was the winning quote from Fred Dales, Microsoft Corp in Redmond WA )

   'What I need is an exact list of specific unknown problems we might encounter.' (Lykes Lines Shipping)

   'E-mail is not to be used to pass on information or data. It should be used only for company business.' (Accounting manager, Electric Boat Company)

   'This project is so important we can't let things that are more important interfere with it.' (Advertising/ Marketing manager, United Parcel Service)

   'Doing it right is no excuse for not meeting the schedule.'(Plant Manager, Delco Corporation)

   'No one will believe you solved this problem in one day! We've been working on it for months. Now go act busy for a few weeks and I'll let you know when it's time to tell them.' (R&D supervisor,
Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing/ 3M Corp)

   Quote from the Boss: 'Teamwork is a lot of people doing what I say.' (Marketing executive, Citrix Corporation)

   My sister passed away and her funeral was scheduled for Monday. When I told my Boss, he said she died on purpose so that I would have to miss work on the busiest day of the year. He then asked if we  could change her burial to Friday. He said,'That would be better for me.' (Shipping executive, FTD Florists)

   'We know that communication is a problem, but the company is not going to discuss it with the employees.' (Switching supervisor, AT&T Long Lines Division)

One can only wonder how these people every GOT to a position of power... Or is this the Peter Principal in action???

In the Travel is Fun category...

2012-01-11T01:10:00.000-05:00

Up at 0600, van at 0700, two hour ride to a meeting, 1 1/2 hour meeting, 2 hour ride to the airport, 4 1/2 hours sitting in the airport, 8 hour flight, land at 0700L, clear customs (appx 1 hour), get bag, go to local gym, SSS, clean clothes and go to another meeting at 0900...

I 'really' don't understand how people think this crap is fun...

sigh...

I truly envy y'all that have a stable life, home every night, sleeping in your own beds...

I'll quit bitching now, because I DO have a job, and at my age, I can be happy that I do...

I got an email asking why I hadn't posted on the politics or anything else, and honestly it's because I'm just so damn tired of the BS...

Y'all have a good evening, or morning as the case may be!

Go. Read...

2012-01-09T23:24:00.001-05:00

A Girl and a Gun has a post up that is absolutely stunning... Go. Read. HERE

Military 'Thinking"...

2012-01-09T03:26:00.002-05:00

Another one that came over the transom from a mil email thread...

This is part of an ongoing discussion I have been having with friends from all the services about the gulf that has existed between the military and civilian population. We are worried because, while it existed in my time, the gulf is growing exponentially and this note provides one of the reasons. I encourage you to read it.

It is forwarded (below) unedited.

To the vets from all the wars -- those of us who saw combat know what it cost. THANKS!

To those who have not had the honor to serve, here is something to think about the next time you hear some ultra-liberal say that people who are actively trying to kill us are really "peaceful" or when one of the Republican candidates for President says that 9/11 was the fault of the United States, or when people say that people captured on the battlefield should be arrested and tried in US criminal courts rather than being treated as an enemy combatant, or when the man sitting in the White House occupying a chair he is clearly not qualified to fill then proceeds to apologize for America.

Remember ours is the only nation on earth that has established itself as the clear super power capable of totally conquering the world (post WW II) -- and then disbanded their military asking as they departed the rescued nations only enough ground to bury the men and women who died giving them a chance at freedom while protecting our Nation, our People, and our Constitution.

Remember that while men and women were and are standing on the wall protecting the Constitution, we had politicians, abetted by citizens and the judiciary, who were at the same time willfully destroying that document AND STILL ARE.

-------------- as received --------------

I remember the day I found out I got into West Point.

My mom actually showed up in the hallway of my high school and waited for me to get out of class.   She was bawling her eyes out and apologizing that she had opened up my admission letter.   She wasn't crying because it had been her dream for me to go there.   She was crying because she knew how hard I'd worked to get in, how much I wanted to attend, and how much I wanted to be an infantry officer.   I was going to get that opportunity.

That same day two of my teachers took me aside and essentially told me the following:   Nick, you're a smart guy.   You don't have to join the military.   You should go to college, instead.

I could easily write a tome defending West Point and the military as I did that day, explaining that USMA is an elite institution, that separate from that it is actually statistically much harder to enlist in the military than it is to get admitted to college, that serving the nation is a challenge that all able-bodied men should at least consider for a host of reasons, but I won't.

What I will say is that when a 16 year-old kid is being told that attending West Point is going to be bad for his future then there is a dangerous disconnect in America, and entirely too many Americans have no idea what kind of burdens our military is bearing.

  In World War II, 11.2% of the nation served in four years.
  In Vietnam, 4.3% served in 12 years.
  Since 2001, only 0.45% of our population has served in the Global War on Terror.

Over time, fewer and fewer people have shouldered more and more of the burden and it is only getting worse.   Our troops were sent to war in Iraq by a Congress consisting of 10% veterans with only one person having a child in the military.

Taxes did not increase to pay for the war.
War bonds were not sold.
Gas was not regulated.
In fact, the average citizen was asked to sacrifice nothing, and has sacrificed nothing unless they have chosen to out of the goodness of their hearts.

The only people who have sacrificed are the veterans and their families. The volunteers.   The people who swore an oath to defend this nation. You.

You stand there, deployment after deployment and fight on.   You've lost relationships, spent years of your lives in extreme conditions, years apart from kids you'll never get back, and beaten your body in a way that even professional athletes don't understand.

Then you come home to a nation that doesn't understand.
They don't understand suffering.
They don't understand sacrifice.
They don't understand that bad people exist

They look at you like you're a machine - like something is wrong with you. Like you are the misguided one - not them.

When you get out, you sit in the college classrooms with political science teachers that discount your opinions on Iraq and Afghanistan because YOU WERE THERE and can't understand the macro issues they gathered from books, with your bias.

You watch TV shows where every vet has PTSD and the violent strain at that.

Your Congress is debating your benefits, your retirement, and your pay, while they ask you to do more.

But the amazing thing about you is that you all know this.   You know your country will never pay back what you've given up.

You know that the populace at large will never truly understand or appreciate what you have done for them.

Hell, you know that in some circles, you will be thought as less than normal for having worn the uniform.   But you do it anyway.   You do what the greatest men and women of this country have done since 1775 - YOU SERVED.

Just that decision alone makes you part of an elite group.

Not really politically correct (not that I really give a shit), but pretty much on point as far as the sentiment and the bottom line...

And all we are currently hearing is more cut the military language coming from the administration even Obama showing up at the Pentagon, but have you noticed you have not heard the FIRST word about cutting any entitlements in this round of 'budget' cuts???

I sure as hell haven't...

But the more interesting part is how the Pentagon brief is being 'spun', and how the "senior military leadership" was on stage with the president and 'strongly' behind his steps... Yeah, right...

They were there because they were told to be by Paneta, who has NO agenda for how to manage the hollow force other than 'hope' that requirements are lessened... Fat Chance...

China, North Korea, Iran??? And not enough troops NOW to fight two limited conflicts and we're going to cut even more? And get rid of 20% of the contractor support? And what 'real' programs are going to get cut?

h/t JP

Random Travel #789...

2012-01-07T20:04:00.000-05:00

You "know" you're in trouble when you check in and get a piece of paper with your key that says:

"Please to be adviced that you may experience momentary changes in water temperature and water pressure in the course of your abolutions."

When you are the 'last' (literally) faucet on the pipe and furthest from the boiler and water line, EVERY @#^* room ahead of you DOES impact you... And those momentary changes?

Try full hot to full cold in about a millisecond... sigh... Talk about doing the St. Vitus dance in the shower!

So.... I get up at 0400 to do my 'thing', and wonder out to the smoke pit about 0430, only to find I'm not the only insomniac smoker...

There is a 50ish lady, in bathrobe and I kid you not, PINK bunny slippers with ears; a young couple in their 20's (obviously newly married), a little (maybe 5'5") old man with some OLD Navy tattoos and myself.

As usual, people started chatting, turns out the 50ish lady finished the housing pack out yesterday, and she and hubby are heading to Tucson after a 31 year career in the Navy, to a house they've never seen! They 'traded' houses with an Air Force Colonel about 4 years ago, who was renting their house in San Diego and liked it... Apparently neither of them have ever been to Tucson, but figured it wouldn't be a bad place to retire :-)

She did offer a couple of pieces of advice to the young lady, and those were shave your legs, and let him cuddle... LOL

The young couple (early 20's) were just transferring in from Stateside, and are both active duty, he's going to a ship, and she's going to a shore command locally. And at the shaving comment, they both looked at each other and blushed... :-) They were grade school friends, and 'found' each other again in boot camp, and married in Norfolk where they were stationed before. Both of them want to make the Navy a career, and it turns out both are E-5s and pretty much on fast tracks to get their education and advancement.

The old man turns out to be 92 grew up in Texas (and retired back there), retired Navy Master Chief in the early 70's, ex-Destroyerman (EM Mate), and over here to see his grand-daughter. He said he was stationed here in 46-47, and plans to show his daughter his old stomping grounds IF he can find them again... He said his wife passed two years ago, and he's pretty much bored so decided to go see friends while they were still alive, and decided to come see his grand-daughter since he was 'heading' West. He was a veteran of TF 38, aboard USS Hickox, and retired out of San Diego as the Master Chief of DESRON Five. He also said he hadn't been on a ship since he retired, so he was going to get his daughter to five him a tour :-)

Flash forward to 0800, he and I are standing out in the smoke pit, chatting and smoking when I hear, "Grandpa!" and see a little blonde coming running up and hug him. Turns out his grand-daughter is early 30's and a Chief herself! Something tells me those two are going to have fun!

Gonna go wash clothes and watch the games... Y'all have a good weekend!

Inanimate Objects with Personalities...

2012-01-06T18:07:00.000-05:00

Peter put up a post HERE about robots, and another HERE in response to Raven Prometheus, who put up a post on robots HERE. Now if I haven't confused you enough...

Stepping back 38 years we had a P-3 Orion C/S YD-10 that was an alright bird, flew well, no real quirks; until...

In 1973 it had a mid-air with a C-130 off Guam during a search and rescue flight (Both acft made it back to Guam successfully). It was determined that there was 'minimal' damage (only 8 feet of the left wing missing), so a trim, lap patch, draining tank 4 and bringing in a test crew would allow the aircraft to be ferried back to Alameda for repairs...

I know the pilot who flew the ferry flights (Guam to Hawaii, Hawaii to Alameda) fairly well, and many years later he admitted he STILL has nightmares about those two flights (more on that later)...

So in late 1974 we get the airplane back, new wing tip, and a four foot wide, ten foot long bandaid painted on the underside of the wing. Now this airplane hasn't flown an operational flight in almost two years, and equipment needs to be upgraded, and there are acceptance flights, etc. (e.g. a LOT of work to get the bird back up to ASW capable). So the squadron check pilot gathers a min crew to go fly the acceptance, and off they go; only to return with smoke/fumes in the tube in the middle of takeoff roll after a 'shudder' in the airframe...

Nothing found, out they go again, get in the air and everything works fine, so the in check is good...

Our crew draws YD-10 as an ASW trainer/ASW acceptance flight a few days later, and off we go, no problems on take-off, climb out, transit, descent to onsta. Down at altitude we power up all the equipment and the airplane literally shudders like a dog shaking off water...

Declare an emergency, climb out, run for base with everybody in parachutes just in case. Smoke and fumes in the tube, activated the fire bill, land safely, nothing found...

Turn back around, go back out, and lose the pitot static system on takeoff (e.g. no airspeed, VSI, important instruments)... Come back around and land, nothing found again...

Jump forward a month, another crew takes the airplane and again it shudders like a dog, the crew comes off station and 15 minutes out of base, the aileron power pack in the service center explodes...

Crew makes it back and lands safely, again no proximate cause found to a one in a million failure...

We take the airplane on deployment to SE Asia in 1975, fly the hell out of it (at one point the acft is never shut down for four days), and no problems. Another crew takes YD-10 for a MAP track off Vietnam, three hours out the airplane shudders and the crew tries to turn around and finds the rudder is locked up... They used differential power to turn the airplane around and fly back to Cubi, only to find the rudder is fine on the descent and landing...

Nothing found...

Lastly, we took off for a similar MAP track, descended onstation (200 feet off the water, 200kts). As we burned off fuel, we would shut down engines to conserve fuel, started to do that, and the airplane shuddered again... Pilots kicked off the autopilot and were hand flying the airplane as #1 was shut down, and we got a prop failed to feather, prop overspeed...

NOT a good situation, as the prop continues to rotate albiet much slower than the other props, and is now disconnected from the engine, and is putting one hellva lot of drag on the airframe. Not to mention the massive amounts of vibration caused by said prop...

Which popped circuit breakers throughout the airplane, cutting comms with homeplate...

We never got high enough to bail out (1000 feet), and never got more than 5kts above stall speed, but the pilots managed to hand fly the bird all the way back to Cubi and land it successfully...

(Note: another crew in another squadron had a similar situation, which ended up with them crashing and loss of 5 personnel)

So yes, inanimate objects CAN have a personality... I'm firmly convinced YD-10 'knew' when things were going to happen, and warned the crew with that shudder...

And the pilot who flew it back to Alameda? He told me in 1998 he STILL has nightmares about looking out the side window and not seeing a wingtip, knowing he was going to crash and all of them would die. He also told me the airplane did shudder occasionally on both flights, for no apparent reason, and the airplane actually flew 'normally' with that much wing missing and no aileron on that side...

And no we didn't name her...

A Girl and Her Gun Giveaway...

2012-01-05T23:39:00.000-05:00

Over at a Girl and a Gun, she's giving $300 toward a female getting gun training... Link HERE

For any of you females who wonder by, this is well worth it for protection of yourselves, and your loved ones...

A few of us are ponying up ammo and other stuff to help out, and want whomever wins to get good training at minimal cost out of pocket.

On the Road (again)... Part 243

2012-01-05T16:59:00.000-05:00

On the road, yet again, so light blogging for the next week or so... As it worked out, house sitter (buddy having plumbing work done on his place) needed a place to crash for a week or so, and his wife was going to visit family, so he's sitting at my place, watching TV and building out another .45 for his collection. I told him if he used any of mine, he had to do the paperwork AND clean the damn things... :-)

As others have noted, and as is all over the news, guns ARE being used to defend folks, and the cops are 15-20 minutes away... sigh...

At least I'll get some good sushi this trip :-) Y'all take care and go read the folks on the sidebar!

Another YGTBSM Moment...

2012-01-03T18:20:00.000-05:00

A new law in Illinois now requires you to show photo ID and have your name, address and DOB recorded to buy drain cleaners, and other caustic chemicals...

"Buying a bottle of Drano won’t be the same in Illinois beginning Sunday.
A new state law requires customers purchasing products containing sodium hydroxide, or lye, and other corrosive chemicals to show a legitimate photo ID and to write their name, address and date of birth. And the store clerk will log the time and date of purchase.
Intrusive? Illinois lawmakers said Friday they agree that regulating drain cleaners and other products is needed to protect the public from those who may use them to harm."

Entire article is HERE.

And HERE is a link to one of the sponsors with a rather interesting statement in it...

An acid attack victim who underwent 17 skin grafts, after burns disfigured 25 percent of her body "led us to this bill," Mendoza said.

Chicago resident Esperanza Medina, who lobbied on behalf of the bill, was injured in an attack orchestrated by her lover's wife. The woman who organized the attack was sent to prison for 44 years.

Edit- Bold/underline is mine.

Um... so her lover's wife got even, went to jail for it, and they STILL voted this in??? I cannot find any statistics as to the actual number of occurances, but still...

Now we CAN'T require people to actually have a valid photo ID to vote, so what's going to happen when these same people want to buy a can of Drano?

Is the ACLU going to jump in and sue the state for disfranchisement of their poor people who can't buy their Drano???

What about just prosecuting the perps to the limit of the law, like the lady that got 44 years???

I mean really, where does this crap end???

In Meager Contrast...

2012-01-03T14:43:00.000-05:00

While my previous post was all about the positive, THIS article at National Review sadly presents the other side of the spectrum we are seeing today.

Hanson is a long time resident of the San Joaquin Valley, and this is almost painful to read...

No question California is on it's last legs, but the points he raises in this article are worth thinking about regardless of where you live...

Read it and weep, unless you're a liberal... They will be rejoicing...

Old Aviators and Old Airplanes...

2012-01-02T08:59:00.001-05:00

This is a good little story about a vivid memory of a P-51 and its pilot, by a fellow who was 12 years old in Canada in 1967.

The Mustang was sitting on the ramp, they said it had flown in during the night from some U.S. Airport because the pilot had been tired.

I marveled at the size of the plane, dwarfing the Pipers and Canucks tied down by her. It was much larger than in the movies. She glistened in the sun like a bulwark of security from days gone by.

The pilot arrived by cab, paid the driver, and then stepped into the pilot's lounge. He was an older man, his wavy hair was gray and tossed. It looked liked it might have been combed, say, around the turn of the century. His flight jacket was checked, creased and worn- it smelled old and genuine. Old Glory was prominently sewn to it's shoulder. He projected a quiet air of proficiency and pride devoid of arrogance. He filed a quick flight plan to Montreal (Expo-67 Air Show) then waled across the tarmac.

After taking several minutes to perform his walk-around check, the pilot returned to the flight lounge to ask if anyone would be available to stand by with fire extinguishers while he "flashed the old bird up, just to be safe." Thought only 12 at the time, I was allowed to stand by with an extinguisher after brief instruction on its use- "If you see a fire, point, then pull this lever. I later became a firefighter, but that's another story.

The air around the exhaust manifolds shimmered like a mirror from fuel fumes as the huge prop started to rotate. One manifold, then another, and yet another barked- I stepped back with the others. In moments the Packard-built Merlin engine came to life with a thunderous roar, blue flames knifed from her manifolds. I looked at the others' faces, there was no concern. I lowered the bell of my extinguisher. One of the guys signaled to walk back to the lounge. We did.

Several minutes later we could hear the pilot doing his pre flight run-up. He'd taxied to the end of runway 10 out of sight. All went quiet for several seconds; we raced from the lounge to the second story deck to see if we could catch a glimpse of the P-51 as she started down the runway. We could not. There we stood, evels fixed to a spot half way down 19. Then a roar ripped across the field, much louder than before, like a furious hell spawn set loose- something mighty this way was coming. "Listen to that thing!" said the controller.

In seconds the Mustang burst into our line of sight. Its tail was already off and it was moving faster than anything I'd ever seen by that point on 19. Two-thirds the way down 19 the Mustang was airborne with her gear going up. The prop tips were supersonic; we clasped our ears as the Mustang climbed hellish fast into the circuit to be eaten up by the dog-day haze.

We stood for a few moments in stunned silence trying to digest what we'd just seen. The radio controller rushed by me to the radio. "Kingston tower calling Mustang?" He looked back to us as he waited for an acknowledgement.

The radio crackled, "Go ahead Kingston."

"Roger Mustang, Kingston tower would like to advise the circuit is clear for a low level pass." I stood in shock because the controller had, more or less, just asked the pilot to return for an impromptu air show! The controller looked at us, "What?" He asked. "I can't let that guy go without asking, I couldn't forgive myself."

The radio crackled once again, "Kingston, do I have permission for a low level east to west across the field?" "Roger Mustang, the circuit is clear for an east to west pass."

"Roger Kingston, I'm coming out of 3000 feet, stand by."

We rushed back onto the second-story deck, eyes fixed toward the eastern haze. The sound was subtle at first, a high-pitched whine, a muffled screech, a distant scream.

Moments later the P-51 burst through the haze. Her airframe straining against positive Gs and gravity, wing tips spilling contrails of condensed air, prop-tips again supersonic as the burnished bird blasted across the eastern margin of the field shredding and tearing the air.

At about 500mph and 150 yards from where we stood she passed with the old American pilot saluting. Imagine. A salute! I felt like laughing, I felt like crying, she glistened, she screamed, the building shook, my heart pounded.

Then the old pilot pulled her up and rolled, and rolled, and rolled out of sight into the broken clouds and indelibly into my memory. I've never wanted to be an American more than on that day. It was a time when many nations in the world looked to America as their big brother, a steady and even-handed beacon of security who navigated the difficult political water with grace and style; not unlike the pilot who'd just flown into my memory. He was proud, not arrogant, humble, not a braggart, old and honest, projecting an aura of America at it's best. That America will return one day, I know it will. Until that time, I'll just send off this story; call it a reciprocal salute to the old American pilot who wove a memory for a young Canadian that's lasted a lifetime.

For those who've never heard a P-51 Mustang in full 'song', you don't know what you're missing...

Jets are loud, but jets are for kids.

The old Mustangs and their brothers are the TRUE sound of Freedom!

h/t JP

A thought for the New Year...

2012-01-01T10:06:00.000-05:00

This one is making the rounds of the mil email and was sent to me by an old Vet who got it from a WWII vet...

Nuff Said...

Thank You, and Happy New Year...

2011-12-31T14:21:00.000-05:00

If you are one of my loyal readers, one who stumbled on to me, or came over from one of my friends, just let me say THANK YOU!

I truly appreciate your stopping by and reading my scribbles. I know I'm not a big timer, excellent writer, nor can I keep on a single track (gee, why does scatterbrain come to min...er...where was I)...

I never started this as anything other that a stress reliever and maybe meet a few new folks. I never realized how many new friends this would bring, nor the breadth and depth of knowledge people are willing to share freely.

I can't promise I'll write more, or better, or anything else, but I'll try...

Anyhoo, I hope 2012 will find us all in a better place than we left in 2011 (especially after November), but that's a different rant...

Stay safe tonight, and have a Happy New Year in your location of choice, with your beverage of choice, and partner of choice.

And if you're military, thanks for taking the duty; you know what I mean.

Happy 2012 Everyone!!!

Now these are just plain funny...

2011-12-30T18:30:00.000-05:00

European adds are just BETTER than most of what we see on US TV...

And I love it even more when the 'Free Heathcare' that was promised turns out to be not so free, and bites one right in the butt (pretty much literally) AND the Huffpo has to report it HERE!

Pantano is vindicated yet again...

2011-12-30T13:11:00.000-05:00

ORPO has a post up HERE with links to the sad saga of Iraq War veteran Ilario Pantano...

But at least THIS time there is no doubt...

It's NOT just us...

2011-12-29T18:22:00.000-05:00

Laura at Insert Witty Title Here had an interesting proposal HERE about going in and buying a place like this...

Well, during the trip out West to see the kids, I caught up with my old room mate from 30 (mumble) years ago in the Bay area. Went up and spent the night with he and his wife in NORCAL (they bolted the Bay area 15+ years ago), and ended up at a dinner they were hosting for a few friends...

A couple of the folks I'd met, and shot with before, and a couple I hadn't and their wives. Miss "Vicky" made a smartass comment to me at dinner and I reminded her I had 'pictures' of her in her wild and crazy days; which then got me threatened with death, and the LEO and Lawyer looking for cover (thanks for all the support there guys). And I happened to mention (deflecting the subject as quickly as I could) Laura's idea.

It provoked a rather 'interesting' reaction... Everyone of them kinda looked at each other and "Mike" admitted they'd already done that!

They had formed a 'ski club LLC' and bought a 'ski lodge' over in Nevada for market bottom price, 10 bedroom/bath suites, other 'amenities', and 40 acres of ski trails backing on a National Forest.

They also bought two old (Mid-80's) Ford Centurion Diesel conversions from and oil firm and had them refurbished from the ground up, BUT did not fix the interiors or repaint em (so they basically look like beaters) and also had hidden disconnects put in so you can't start em anyway...

And I'm betting there are a few more things they've done, as I noticed one of "Mike's" safes is missing, and his ammo stocks are a LOT lower than they used to be, and at least one reloading set up is not there anymore. And I know he knows electronics and physical security... Just sayin...

The had apparently gotten the idea from one of the guys brothers who is involved with a similar group of 'nature conservationists' in Nebraska...

So apparently we're not totally crazy...

And THAT really scares me...

Wherever You Are (Military Wives with Gareth Malone) Official Video...

2011-12-28T18:19:00.001-05:00

Gotta give the Brits credit, they do things with class...

Nuff said...

Not too timely, but pretty cognizant set of points...

2011-12-28T16:37:00.001-05:00

Edit- Inadvertently swiped from drjim who posted this last month...

You Might Be An Occupier, If:

1. You moved to a tent in Zucotti Park because you always wanted a nicer place to live.

2. You quit your job to attend the protests, but your mother continues your allowance and now does the dishes herself.

3. You are confused that you can’t find the Wal-Mart on Wall Street.

4. You are enraged that the taxpayers had to bail out Wall Street even though you’ve
never paid taxes or know anyone who has.

5. You hate capitalism but expect a capitalist to provide you a good paying job with great
benefits.

6. You think Socialism has something to do with Facebook, and Capitalism has to do with Washington, DC.

7. You demand a job, forgetting that you were fired for not doing the one you had.

8. You despise the rich even though they pay your share of taxes.

9. You’re a little behind in your rent because your drug dealer insisted on cash.

10. You are very clear in your protest objectives:

    “Screw the USA”
    “Save the ______ (fill in the blanks) whales, spotted owls, sturgeon)”
    “Self-realization is the first step toward self-actualization”
    “Down with uh everything!”

11. You think 99 weeks of unemployment is the least the government should give you for the 3 months you put in at McDonalds.

12. You drove a Toyota to the protest, you’re plugged in to a Sony Walkman, talk over a Samsung phone, and play a Yamaha keyboard in a punk band, but you are incensed over jobs being outsourced to other countries.

13. You demand your rights, but can’t quite recall where they are enumerated.

14. You believe you have a right to every penny earned, but the rich do not, and you base your claim on equality.

15. You believe a man is greedy if he worked his way up to CEO on 16-hour days, runs a company employing thousands, and made $10 million last year, but is not greedy if he made $50 million last year for making two motion pictures or shooting a ball through a hoop.

16. You are convinced the system is holding you back from gaining wealth, status, and position. Dropping out of high school, dulling your mind with crack and MJ, a few arrests on your record, and stealing from your employer had nothing to do with it.

17. You left behind trash, feces, urine-soaked sod, discarded clothing, and used condoms after your Save the Environment protest.

18. You know you’re not a Socialist because you stick pretty much to yourself at parties.

19. You want to improve the environment and you have the tattoos and piercings to prove it.

20. You don’t pay taxes, but somehow that’s more than your fair share.

21. You hate the rich, but hope you win the lottery.

22. You haven't bathed in over a month, but demand to be taken seriously.

23. From the looks of it, "greening" the environment means starting with your teeth.

24. You know your cause is just - because Nancy Pelosi admires you.

Sigh... And THEY are the generation that we're supposed to turn over to??? I don't think so...

The dog has lost his tiny mind...

2011-12-26T17:27:00.000-05:00

Poor puppy, his 'playtoy' got put away since we got tired of getting the motorcycle tire dropped on our feet...

I'm just wondering how long it will be before he figures out how to flip it over the limb and carry it around again...

And that dog has made me 'his' chew toy again this trip, everywhere I go, he's right there with either a toy to throw, a stick, or licking me... sigh...

At least the dog loves me :-)

Merry Christmas...

2011-12-24T23:52:00.002-05:00

Rest easy, sleep well my brothers.

Know the line has held, your job is done.

Rest easy, sleep well.

Others have taken up where you fell, the line has held.

Peace, peace, and farewell.

-Anonymous

From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics. It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning, plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality which the children could remember.

-The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ

-Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments

-Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.

-Four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.

-Five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.

-Six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.

-Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit - Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership & Mercy.

-Eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.

-Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit-Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control.

-Ten lords a-leaping were the ten commandments.

-Eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.

-Twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed.

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!!!

2011-12-24T12:32:00.000-05:00

As we come to Christmas Day, I want to wish each and every one a Merry Christmas and a safe and happy holiday season with your loved ones.

Sometime tomorrow, please take a minute and give thanks for those who are defending us far from home, be it sitting on the 38th Parallel in Korea, Helmand province in Afghanistan, or at sea around the world or standing watch in any of the innumerable locations where our military serves. They won't have the comfort of family, and maybe not much of a Christmas Dinner (but the mess halls WILL try).

Remember too those LEOs, Firefighters, EMTs and those manning the hospitals who will get home a day late, but may just save your life while they are at work.

Crucis has a post up HERE about family traditions, and the impact on his life. For us, I think Christmas Eve is going to turn into a tradition of going to the range :-)

In the Spirit...

2011-12-24T00:36:00.000-05:00

Okay, it's Christmas... It's cold, the kids are running me nuts, and we're wrapping presents...

Now it's officially Christmas...

And I'm back as the official chew toy for my daughter's Rotty... dammit...

That dog can slobber like no bodies business! And I had to push him away to even get a pic that you could actually tell was a dog!

But he's TRULY a big wimp!!!

This was taken when my daughter went to clip his nails, he actually DID turn his head away and wouldn't watch!

Never Let an Engineer Fix Your Lawnmower...

2011-12-20T23:43:00.000-05:00

Especially if he works for Boeing...

OR, just put some cameras on it and fly it over the neighborhood :-)

h/t JP

Just in time for Christmas...

2011-12-20T12:37:00.000-05:00

Senator Tom Coburn from Oklahoma has just released Wastebook 2011, detailing the (at least) $6.5B in waste just this year...

The one that REALLY chaps my ass is the $35M for the conventions, whyinhell, if the parties are getting all these @#& donations, are WE having to pay for their conventions???

Examples of wasteful spending highlighted in “Wastebook 2011” include:

• $75,000 to promote awareness about the role Michigan plays in producing Christmas trees & poinsettias. (Yeah, right...)

• $15.3 million for one of the infamous Bridges to Nowhere in Alaska. (WTF?)

• $113,227 for video game preservation center in New York. (Why?)

• $550,000 for a documentary about how rock music contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union. (Yeah, right...)

• $48,700 for 2nd annual Hawaii Chocolate Festival, to promote Hawaii’s chocolate industry. (WTF?)

• $350,000 to support an International Art Exhibition in Venice, Italy. (Why?)

• $10 million for a remake of “Sesame Street” for Pakistan. (Why again?)

• $35 million allocated for political party conventions in 2012. (YGTBSM!)

• $765,828 to subsidize “pancakes for yuppies” in the nation’s capital. (Dems Pandering to the Base?)

• $764,825 to study how college students use mobile devices for social networking. (Dems Pandering to the Base?)

And in the mean time, the Super-committee fell on it's ass, so now we will see massive cuts in the military to pay for entitlements while our military and defense gets cut to the bone...

And the Obamallama and family will spend in the neighborhood of $5M on their 17 day vacation, since they traveled separately, and have changed locations, and are putting their entourages up in high end hotels (which don't have government rate rooms enough for everyone)...

My mantra for 2012 is Re-Elect = NONE

As far as I'm concerned, we need to get rid of every damn one of those congresscritters, impose term limits and start over...

It's no longer funny, we ARE becoming a second tier, if not third tier country in just a few short years; all due to partisanship on BOTH sides of the isle and congresscritters that simply don't give a shit about either the people OR the country, they ONLY care about lining their own pockets...

Just not feeling it...

2011-12-18T15:22:00.000-05:00

Just can't seem to get in the mood this year, I'm guessing it's at least partially because Christmas lights and palm trees just don't work too well...

And the 250+ lb Hawaiian serving the Kailua pig, even if he IS wearing a Hawaiian Christmas shirt and Santa hat, just ain't gettin it... And the kid surfing in the Santa suit? All I can say is I hope he doesn't fall, he'll drown in that outfit...

But I DID find a good stocking stuffer...

ONLY in Hawaii, single serving SPAM... LOL

And I was out and about WAY too early, because I kept waking up at 0600 DC time.... So, a sunrise Hawaiian style with an early arrival on final to 08 Right at Honolulu

And finally, on the way back to the airport, a double rainbow. Sorry for the lousy resolution, but it was REALLY a bright double and very visible to the naked eye!

So things ARE looking up... :-)

And for those who believe, a 'digital' Christmas story HERE

If you and yours are travelling for the holidays, I wish each and everyone a safe trip and a whole lot of patience!!!

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy (insert your greeting of choice here)!!!

Road Tripping...

2011-12-16T03:00:00.000-05:00

Road tripping (and falling) yet again... sigh...

Work all day, fly half way to location, sleep a couple of hours, get up, back to airport, fly to location, go to meetings, try to go to next meeting only to find out the car you've been rented has EXPIRED plates... Miss meeting... Sigh...

The more interesting part were two ladies, one on each flight that are worth comparing...

First flight, former supermodel (name withheld to protect the guilty). Pushed her way to the front of the boarding line, like it was her 'right'. Bitched, moaned, whined, and yapped to seatmate the ENTIRE flight. Nothing was done right, she about wore out the flight attendant call button, it was ALL about her...

Second flight, elite female athlete (Triathlete).

Lady's name is Shonny Vanlandingham, she is the XTERRA Triathlete 2011 female champion, very personable, very smart and VERY intense! If you've ever had the chance to actually talk to one of these folks, they are literally on a different plane (both mentally and athletically) than the rest of us.

She is recovering from an ACL injury, and I'm nothing short of amazed at the level of commitment, intensity, and confidence she exhibits. Also, the sheer mental and physical toughness to compete year after year at an elite level.

Also, her travel schedule and splitting time between Colorado (high altitude training), and Hawaii (base training), competing world-wide, in addition to being a late comer (29 to triathletics), just boggles the mind. Plus, she's very knowledgeable about what is going on in the world, and very loyal to her sponsors (Loyalty? What a NOVEL concept)...

And at the same time, she was very humble and considers herself 'lucky' to be able to do something she loves and actually make a living at it...

But then she IS originally from Texas, has a very nice smile (and likes to shoot too)!

Of the two, Ms. Vanlandingham is a MUCH better role model and, to my mind, the much more impressive of the two...

Random things...

2011-12-13T19:24:00.001-05:00

APHORISMS-

1. The nicest thing about the future is . . . That it always starts tomorrow.

2. Money will buy a fine dog, but only kindness will make him wag his tail.

3. If you don't have a sense of humor, you probably don't have any sense at all.

4. Seat belts are not as confining as wheelchairs.

5. A good time to keep your mouth shut is when you're in deep water.

6. How come it takes so little time for a child who is afraid of the dark to become a teenager who wants to stay out all night?

7. Business conventions are important . . . because they demonstrate how many people a company can operate without.

8. Why is it that at class reunions you feel younger than everyone else looks?

9. Scratch a cat . . . And you will have a permanent job.

10. No one has more driving ambition than the teenage boy who wants to buy a car.

11. There are no new sins; the old ones just get more publicity.

12. There are worse things than getting a call for a wrong number at 4 a.m. - like, it could be the right number.

13. No one ever says "It's only a game" when their team is winning.

14. I've reached the age where 'happy hour' is a nap.

15. Be careful about reading the fine print . . . there's no way you're going to like it.

16. The trouble with bucket seats is that not everybody has the same size bucket.

17. Do you realize that, in about 40 years, we'll have thousands of old ladies running around with tattoos? (And rap music will be the Golden Oldies!)

18. Money can't buy happiness -- but somehow it's more comfortable to cry in a Cadillac than in a Yugo.

19. After 60, if you don't wake up aching in every joint, you're probably dead.

20. Always be yourself because the people that matter don't mind . . . And the ones that mind don't matter.

21. Life isn't tied with a bow . . . But it's still a gift.

"REMEMBER....POLITICIANS AND DIAPERS SHOULD BE CHANGED OFTEN AND FOR THE SAME REASON".

And one more contrast on the Occupy crap...

Both pictures were taken on December the 7th of the respective years...

And HERE is a link to a good post by Mike McDaniel over at Gun Values Board about women, shooting and gun ownership. Mike used to be one of the writers at Confederate Yankee...

And once again, the House has passed a bill to keep the government funded and extend payroll tax cuts, and sent it to the Senate, and SFB Reid says it's DOA... At this point, I'd happily just tell them to shut the damn government down and ALL of them go home...

My mantra for 2012 is Re-Elect = NONE!!!

12 Months or 200K Miles, whichever comes first...

2011-12-12T19:20:00.000-05:00

Survived another physical... sigh...

Why is it, you spend at least TWO hours shuffling from place to place within one building and still end up wasting at least an hour and a half just sitting???

Just for S&Gs I timed how long it actually took to get everything done today...

Log in- 30 sec
Wait-10 min
Nurse (BP, Temp, Weight, Pulse)- 2 min
Wait- 15 min
EKG- 7 minutes
Wait- 22 min
X-Ray- 4 minutes
Wait- 19 min
Lab work- 3 minutes
Wait- 29 min
Doctor- 8 minutes
Check out 30 sec

Sooooo... 95 minutes of waiting for 25 minutes of actually doing the things that are required for a physical (and I was the second one in the door)...

And I REALLY wish he'd take that damn ring off BEFORE the finger wave... sigh...

Oddly enough, he had a litho hanging on the wall titled "The Day They Made The Doctors Wait"

We had a little 'discussion' over that, and he was at least apologetic about the wait, which is more than I can say for most of em... He actually knocked the price down a bit too!

So bottom line, at least according to him I'm good to go-
But I need a job with less stress...
I need to take regular breaks and move around...
He's referring me for my neck/back problems...
I need to stop drinking so much coffee...
I need to eat better...
I need to exercise more...

Sigh... At least I don't need another colonoscopy (for at least 5 years)

Seriously folks, get a physical on a regular or semi-regular basis; it might just save your life!

The REAL 1%...

2011-12-11T23:16:00.005-05:00

This came over the transom via e-mail late this evening...

I believe this is BZ's Congressman, but in any case, I'm 1000% behind what he has to say...

By Buck McKeon...

In parks and city squares across the nation, America’s youth claim that they are “the 99 percent.” That is, the 99 percent of Americans the Occupy Wall Street group believes are struggling through economic hardships and inequality.

Their villain is the 1 percent — the purveyors of power who the movement holds accountable for our fiscal woes.

As chairman of the Armed Services Committee, I support a somewhat different 1 percent. Despite ten years of war, we have been kept safe by 1 percent of Americans who have volunteered to wear the uniform, volunteered to stand a post and volunteered to keep us safe.

At a time when our nation faces such grave financial challenges and we debate vigorously over how to right our fiscal ship, we must remember that we are a nation at war, and that every day our troops leave the wire, walk long patrols across unforgiving terrain, keeping us free from harm, bearing hardships in the name of our flag and our freedom.

The deeds and actions of Occupy Wall Street boast household recognition. But how many households know Army Specialist Jesse Snow?

During a tough fight in Afghanistan, Snow crawled on his belly into withering enemy fire, dragging two of his wounded teammates back towards a friendly position using his body as a shield and giving his life to save his comrades.

How many know Capt. Ademola Fabayo, an immigrant from Nigeria who was awarded the Navy Cross for his heroic plunge into an intense firefight, in an attempt in vain to save four of his Marines?

Several months ago, I visited Fort Jackson, S.C., to watch 500 new recruits graduate from U.S. Army Basic training. They stood quietly and proudly at attention, with adoring families looking on, having volunteered to serve their nation during wartime. Eight of those young men and women were immigrants, earning their citizenship through their service. I am very proud that my granddaughter was among them.

They were among the 1 percent who volunteered to wear the uniform, so that the 99 percent can assemble and speak out free from fear of the draft.

It is instructive to consider the stark differences between these two different youth movements.

The 99 percent argues its poverty using $300 smart phones. The 1 percent endures long hours, modest pay and the harshness of combat, but demands nothing.

The 99 percent demands that the government pay back their student loans, often for expensive degrees in academic fields not adequate to compete in today’s tough employment market.

The 1 percent who wear the uniform enters into a social compact with the government, offering four years of wartime service in exchange for a GI Bill that will cover the cost of tuition at a state, not private, university. Some soldiers attend night classes after a full day of work, disrupting their education for long deployments to places like Iraq and Afghanistan.

The 99 percent insist that they be provided full benefits, retirement and health care, simply for being born a U.S. citizen.

But when Washington discussed cutting military benefits, retirement, and health care, the 1 percent in uniform sat quietly by, pressing on with their service and their sacrifices.

The 99 percent insists our enemies are internal, loudly lamenting their misfortune due the schemes of an ever-changing host of antagonists. But the 1 percent in uniform does not complain, does not lament, does not fall victim to self pity or doubt.

They quietly fight a real enemy, one that would do great harm and bring horrific violence to our fellow citizens if only afforded the opportunity.

Over the last several months, Washington has stalled over how to resolve America’s debt crisis. In this debate, some have set up a series of false choices, pretending that higher taxes and more domestic spending could make our nation prosperous again and that cuts to our military will not make us less safe.

In reality, the 1 percent in uniform have taken on an enormously tough job in an increasingly dangerous world, one they continue to perform though politicians in Washington threaten to cut their equipment and benefits dramatically.

I have made it my mission to ensure that these false choices are exposed and our obligations to those who serve — and those who have served before them — are met first.

This week, we learned that the committee formed for and charged with finding needed savings has failed to do its job, and now, unfortunately, America’s military is facing cuts that will devastate the armed forces and force us to break faith with service members. I do not accept that outcome.

Our military has already contributed nearly a half-trillion dollars to deficit reduction. Those who have given us so much, have nothing more to give.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has said he doesn’t want to be the secretary who hollows out defense. Likewise, I will not be the armed services chairman who presides over crippling our military. I will not let these sequestration cuts stand. I will be introducing legislation in the coming days to prevent cuts that will do catastrophic damage to our men and women in uniform and our national security

We should not seek to disparage legitimate concerns about the tough economic hardships plaguing our nation. But nor should we look to this protest movement as a viable exponent of recovery or revitalization.

It is the 1 percent, not the 99 percent, that will bring its integrity and its character into law, government and business and spread it to all corners of society. They are our greatest hope, and they are our way forward.

Let’s pause and remember that this special class of citizen, this 1 percent, is the model for citizenship, service and salvation from our despair and our woes.

And to those two professors that don't believe the military deserves anything, like care packages, etc... Why don't you go pound sand down a rabbit hole somewhere, or even better yet, why don't YOU go downrange and see how good you really are in that environment???

Bet both of them would be shitting their pants in the first 5 seconds of the first firefight, and be screaming for somebody to help them...

I would truly love for some returned Vets, or some older Vets, in Class As to go 'audit' these gents courses...

Just sayin...

Quick Trip...

2011-12-11T14:45:00.000-05:00

Made a quick trip out to Indy for the short notice blog meet, and was met with another @&*(#$ Chicken Pot Pie... sigh... You can read about it over at Brigid's HERE.

It was nice to meet some new folks and FINALLY meet the 'infamous' Uncle Jay (good folks, and travels 'almost' as much as I do).

It was interesting to note that it was a round table, but Tam ended up at the 'head' of the table (back to the window, sunlight masking her movements), and Roberta ended up anchoring the table at the 6 o'clock position...

Good food, good friends, good times, it just doesn't get any better!

Hey Untied...

2011-12-10T07:31:00.001-05:00

You are doin it rong...

You have a good charity that you are working with (Children's Hospice), but your execution at IAD this morning leaves a LOT to be desired...

When you close the diamond checkpoint with 10 people trying to get in and NONE of your group ready to go, that'll cause some heartburn, and the little shooing motion??? All I can say is get over it, you'd little power trip is not impressing anyone!

And in the insult to injury department, closing the far end D gate is a nice gesture for the kids, closing the ONLY smoking area in that terminal is not gong to win you any friends with either the passengers OR your co-workers...

And the gratuitous comment about our not needing to smoke, with the little supercilious sniff at the end? well lemme just say you're lucky there were kids close to us or you would have gotten a comment back that would probably have kept me from flying today!!!

As an OBTW, I do happen to be GS with y'all, and if you REALLY piss me off, I can probably take about half a million dollars a year worth of business to American...

Just sayin...

Calories...

2011-12-09T11:31:00.000-05:00

Since we’re coming up on Christmas…

Here's the guide to calorie-burning activities and the number of calories per hour they consume.

Beating around the bush. . . . . . . . .75
Jumping to conclusions . . . . . . . . ..100
Climbing the walls . . . . . . . . . . ......150
Swallowing your pride. . . . . . . ... . .50
Passing the buck . . . . . . . . . . . .......25
Throwing your weight around
(depending on your weight). . . .... . 50-300
Dragging your heels. . . . . . . . . ...... 100
Pushing your luck. . . . . . . . . . . .......250
Making mountains out of molehills. 500
Hitting the nail on the head . . . . ... .50
Wading through paperwork . . . . . 300
Bending over backwards . . . . . . . . 75
Jumping on the bandwagon . . . . . . 200
Balancing the books. . . . . . . . . . ....25
Running around in circles. . . . . . . .350
Eating crow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .225
Tooting your own horn. . . . . . . . . .25
Climbing the ladder of success . . . 750
Pulling out the stops. . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Adding fuel to the fire. . . . . . . . . . 160
Wrapping it up at the day's end. . . 12
Opening a can of worms . . . . . . . . 50
Putting your foot in your mouth. . .300
Starting the ball rolling. . . . . . . . . . 90
Going over the edge. . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Picking up the pieces after. . . . . . . 350
Counting eggs before they hatch. . .6
Calling it quits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

You may use as necessary to figure out your holiday exercise schedule... or not... :-)

Hoplophobia, it's alive and well...

2011-12-08T08:29:00.001-05:00

And living in the DC area...

I had a rather interesting little confrontation on an elevator yesterday. It was raining all day and I knew I had to visit a number of buildings, so I had on boots, an old fashioned (hell, an OLD) waterproof western duster, and a Drizabone hat. As I stepped onto the elevator in one particular building, two metrocons or metrosexuals or whatever the term is, commented on how 'retro' I looked, and the one that I 'think' was the boy (it had the deeper voice and only one earring), chirped (can't think of a better word for the way it sounded), "Oh, do you have the cowboy hat to go with that outfit?"

My answer was, "yes, and the six gun too!" with a grin...

Both of them literally got pale and moved as FAR away from me as they could (it was an elevator), and stood there trembling!!!

They got off at the first floor where the doors opened, staying as far from me as they could. And looked back at me like I was going to shoot them in the back when they left.

An older lady standing next to me just started laughing, muttered about damn kids, and said that wasn't the floor they punched in.

She then asked, in a Texas twang, if my six shooter was a Peacemaker. When I told her it was, she said she still has her Grandfather's and still shoots it occasionally.

So Hoplophobia is alive and well, and apparently a trained response of the metrocon/metrosexuals...

I'm really beginning to wonder what kind of world we'll be living in when these kids take over...

And a sidenote, MSWord thinks Hoplophobia is a mis-spelling...

And Peter has an OUTSTANDING post up HERE, that y'all need to go read. He's done the due diligence, sifted the hype, and looked in corners most people miss. I will say I concur 100% with what he's written, and this is one of the best precis of the current situation I've seen anywhere, including magazines and the MSM (such as they are)...

Pearl Harbor Day...

2011-12-06T23:56:00.000-05:00

This year is the 70th anniversary of the "Day that will live in Infamy"; and it surely has...

You can go HERE and read/listen to the whole speech by President Roosevelt.

The USS Arizona, not long after being hit by Japanese bombs.

And today... The Arizona Memorial stands as a reminder of ALL the war dead at Pearl Harbor.

This wall contains 1,177 names of the personnel who died onboard that day, there is now an adjunct list of survivors who have had their remains returned to the USS Arizona, so that they might be reunited with their shipmates.

The Pearl Harbor survivors no longer make the trip to Hawaii, as I believe even the youngest is almost 90 and they are passing at a horrendous rate...

Remember, today the flag is flown at half mast all day; in memorial to all those who died that day.

In a sad aside, the remains of MCAS Ewa (the first place actually attacked) will probably plowed under shortly; a long effort to preserve at least the bits and pieces that remain will be lost to commercial development...

RIP Shipmates, we're still trying to do the right thing.

Ye Gods and Little Fishes, version #987...

2011-12-06T17:16:00.000-05:00

In addition to not knowing where he is, (hint: Kansas and Texas are NOT the same place). He's at it again... Now it's ATMs and teh Interwebz that are responsible for job losses...

"Layoffs too often became permanent, not part of the business cycle, And these changes didn't just affect blue collar workers. If you were a bank teller or a phone operator or a travel agent, you saw many in your profession replaced by ATMs and the internet," President Obama said at a campaign even in Kansas.

HERE is the video...

And in other news-

STANTON, Mich. (The Daily News of Greenville)- The United States is fighting terrorism - one snow cone at a time.

Montcalm County recently received a $900 Arctic Blast Sno-Cone machine.

The West Michigan Shoreline Regional Development Commission (WMSRDC) is a federal- and state-designated agency responsible for managing and administrating the homeland security program in Montcalm County and 12 other counties.

The WMSRDC recently purchased and transferred homeland security equipment to these counties - including 13 snow cone machines at a total cost of $11,700.

But the county that requested the popcorn machine didn't get it... HERE is the rest of the story...

And that whole GM will buy back Volts if the customer is worried about battery safety... Um... Not so much...

General Motors attempted to clarify last week conflicting reports on whether the automaker was willing to buy back Chevy Volts from owners worried about battery safety.

Rest of the article HERE

And just for S&Gs... Jerry Brown is going DIRECT to the voters asking for a $7B tax increase.

Brown's proposal is projected to raise $7 billion per year and would expire in 2016. (Yeah, right...) Article is HERE

I'm just gonna buy more ammo, go sit in my little corner and be nice and quiet...

Range Report/Blog Shoot...

2011-12-04T16:55:00.002-05:00

This one is gonna be a combo, a range report and a report on the inaugural Eastern Panhandle Blog shoot (hey, I didn't come up with the name...)

First, the blog shoot; Murphy over at Lagniappes Lair honcho'ed this one and found us a nice place to shoot, his AAR is HERE. Peacemaker is a new range, and while we didn't get to use the new 1000 yard range (a class was there), it's a nice facility.

It was a tad short notice, but I was kinda disappointed in the turnout, as I'd expected more DC area shooters to participate. We did have visitors (Bubblehead Les from Cleveland, not a blogger, but a frequent commenter) and Keads who drove up from the Charlotte area. Locals were Murph, myself, Andy, Marty, New Jovian Thunderbolt, Proud Hillbilly, and Stretch and the other Andy ( both frequent commenters, but no blog).

We donated enough to pay the range fee and still donate over $200 to Wounded Warriors, so all in all, it was a good day.

I think the best shots of the day were Marty, at 250+ yards with his Beretta Storm Carbine actually hitting a steel plate four time with only a red dot!!!

As usual, we had soup to nuts for guns, Stretch brought out some nice old .22 pistols and also had a nice old Winchester 92 in 30-06. , we had a bunch of M-1s and Murph and Proud Hillbilly both had Arisakas that were actually fire-able and were shot. The other Andy had an old K-98 Mauser and Les brought a Sporterized 8mm Mauser we shot a few times. Keads brought pistols galore and a nice Winchester 94, and we were all sharing back and forth as always.

That 250 yard gong was just plain fun too :-) Multiple folks, shot after shot, hit after hit... And the RSO was just grinning and shaking his head (personally, I don't think he's seen that many people do it that often)!

On the pistol side, I picked up a new Ruger Mk III 22/45 and this was the first extended outing with it.

What you get is the pistol, two mags, the usual instruction books, and a little gun rug, etc. All for mid-$300 range, which is NOT a bad deal in my book.

The grip angle is a faithful reproduction of the 1911 grip angle and similarly placed controls with a button safety at the left rear, a button slide release mid frame on the left, and a mag release just aft of the trigger guard on the left frame.

Likes- It's a pretty accurate little pistol, consistent if a bit stiff trigger, and sight picture is similar if you ignore the rounded back of the slide. The grip is identical to a full size 1911, and the pistol is heavy enough to 'simulate' a 1911 very well.

I don't have any target pics, but it easily put 10 rounds into a 3 inch circle at 10 yards repeatedly.

Dislikes- That trigger is not real great, and I'm probably going to a Volquartsen trigger like Sean did, but I'm going to take his advice and just have the Smith do it...

This would get the trigger closer (actually a bit lighter) to my 1911.

I'm also going to put different front and rear sights on it to mimic my 1911.

Ammo- I shot mostly CCI Blazer through it, but tried some of the Remington Subsonics (Thanks Stretch), and was not impressed with them, they didn't eject all the time (stovepiping), and weren't nearly as accurate. This could be due to the fact that the gun is new and tight.

Overall, I'd recommend the gun to anyone looking for a good 1911 trainer/general fun pistol. The few faults are all fixable at a reasonable cost, and it's a nice little shooter for a mass produced pistol (and if I get 'really' bored, I can throw a suppressor on it)!

Today We Lost A Friend...

2011-12-03T21:22:00.000-05:00

Mamaw, the matriarch of the Farm Family died this morning, finally losing her battle with cancer...

She was, self proclaimed, a tough ol biddy; and maybe she wouldn't have fit in too well in 'polite' company, but she didn't give a rats ass. But she raised a family who worked the land, make do with what's available, and are the salt of the earth...

I knew there was something a tad bit different when the first time I met her, she handed me a knife and told me to get to work cutting the brisket. My ONLY answer was, "Yes Ma'am"...

It was hard to get her to talk, she always said she enjoyed listening to us, but if you could get her started she had some stories!

She took a bunch of folks she had never met, invited them into her home, and made us feel like family; except as she said, "Y'all discuss, y'all don't argue!" After I reminded her of how many guns had come through her back door, she allowed as how that 'might' have something to do with it...

I'm going to say a prayer for the end of her suffering, and know that she is probably arguing with St. Peter already...

She will be sorely missed, but I'm sure none of us will ever forget her!

RIP Mamaw, you done good!

A little "humor" for your Friday...

2011-12-02T08:43:00.000-05:00

This one came in over the transom from another 'old fart'...

In the line at the store, the cashier told the older woman that plastic bags weren’t good for the environment. The woman apologized to her and explained, “We didn’t have the green thing back in my day.”

That’s right, they didn’t have the green thing in her day. Back then, they returned their milk bottles, Coke bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, using the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled.

(I can remember checking the ditches on the way to and from school , hoping to find a bottle or three; lots of times I found enough to get a coke for 6 cents out of the machine)

But they didn’t have the green thing back her day.

In her day, they walked up stairs, because they didn’t have an escalator in every store and office building. They walked to the grocery store and didn’t climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time they had to go two blocks.

(And we walked to school even as elementary students (2nd grade on), probably 3/4 of a mile each way. I knew kids that walked at least 2 miles each way, rain or shine)

But she’s right. They didn’t have the green thing in her day.

Back then, they washed the baby’s diapers because they didn’t have the throw-away kind. They dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts – wind and solar power really did dry the clothes. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing.

(And the washing machine was one with a hang wringer on top, no spin cycle or anything else.)

But that old lady is right, they didn’t have the green thing back in her day.

Back then, they had one TV, or radio, in the house – not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a pizza dish, not a screen the size of the state of Montana. In the kitchen, they blended and stirred by hand because they didn’t have electric machines to do everything for you. When they packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, they used wadded up newspaper to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.

(Our first TV was in 1957 or 8, black and white, and had a 12 inch screen; no toaster oven, no microwave, just a gas stove and oven. And none of the houses I lived in growing up had air conditioning either)

Back then, they didn’t fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. They used a push mower that ran on human power. They exercised by working so they didn’t need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity.

(BTDT)

But she’s right, they didn’t have the green thing back then.

They drank from a fountain when they were thirsty, instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time they had a drink of water. They refilled pens with ink, instead of buying a new pen, and they replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull.

(They were called 'fountain pens', because occasionally they would leak a 'fountain' of ink on your brand new shirt; which you STILL had to wear, even with the ink stain. And another reason for pocket protectors you see in all the old pictures.)

But they didn’t have the green thing back then.

Back then, people took the streetcar and kids rode their bikes to school or rode the school bus, instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service. They had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And they didn’t need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint.

(Even up through junior high in the mid-60s I don't remember seeing parents driving kids to school other than one boy that was in a wheelchair. And we could get unrestricted driver's licenses at 15 back in those days...)

But they didn't have the green thing back then!

Life was not perfect by any means, but the kids didn't sit glued to the TV/boombox/video games all day; we were outside, traipsing around the neighborhoods, out in the woods (with .22s), and generally out of the house all day until dark (and you learned how to interact with other people face to face, from your peers, to adults to the elderly). And ANY parent that caught you screwing up was gonna beat your butt, then call your parents, which would get your butt beaten again...

And I never screamed child abuse, or threatened to call the cops on my parents (hell, the COPS would have joined in on the butt beating)...

I'm glad I grew up then, rather than now. At least I know how to do things, I can interact with people, I know what work ethic is, and I know about winning and losing...

A couple of things...

2011-11-30T21:33:00.000-05:00

And Filthydelphia just gets better and better... Ackerman, the fired (and bought off for $900K) former Schools Chief is now filing for unemployment... Read it and weep HERE! For my friends that live up there, all I can say is get out while you can...

And a bit of a different take. Pew Research Center Politics Test...

This is a terrific little test. And it shows results in a number of ways. It surely indicates that the majority of Americans don't know what's going on. Interesting and simple test. It's astonishing that so many people got less than half right.

These results say that 80% of the (voting) public doesn't have a clue - and that's pretty scary.

There are no tricks here - just a simple test to see if you are current on your information.

This is quite good and the results are shocking.

Test your knowledge with 13 questions, then be ready to shudder when you see how others did.

Go HERE for the test, and remember, look at the demographics after you finish...

It's 13 easy questions, or at least I though so...

A New Norm, and NOT a good one...

2011-11-29T18:38:00.000-05:00

This will be the lead article in the Navy Times for 5 Dec, and the KEY takeaway is this is BEFORE the additional $600B in cuts hit the military...

Cuts in the numbers of ships, airplanes, submarines, personnel, etc. with more to come, but NO reduction in the required 'presence' the Navy has to maintain world-wide...

For years the Navy has attempted to maintain OPTEMPO/PERSTEMPO roughly in a 50/50 balance that gives folks time off and time to perform maintenance on the equipment during at home cycles, but that will go out the window as you will read below. Mr. McMichael has done an outstanding job with this article.

The New Norm: Longer Tours

With fewer ships, high demand, 6-month deployments are history

By William H. McMichael

You could practically set a clock by it. Navy and Marine Corps overseas deployments lasted six months.

But 9/11 changed all that -- as did the greater flexibility called for in the 2003 Fleet Response Plan and a 2007 policy change that set the maximum deployment length at seven months for units with a single deployment within an FRP cycle.

A total of 10 carrier strike groups or amphibious ready groups have exceeded seven months over the past five years. The latest is the amphibious assault ship Bataan, the amphibious transport dock ship Mesa Verde and the dock landing ship Whidbey Island, which will have been gone 10½ months when their ARG returns to Norfolk in February, officials have confirmed.

That goes for the embarked 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, as well. "They're on for the whole time," confirmed Capt. Greg Wolf, a Marine spokesman.

Officials say it's an anomaly, noting that Bataan deployed three months early to provide relief to the Kearsarge, which was launching airstrikes over Libya.

Long cruises, however, seem to be becoming a habit. The destroyer Roosevelt, an independent deployer to the 5th and 6th Fleet areas of operations, returned Nov. 6 to Mayport, Fla. It spent 200 of its 213 days underway and at one point pulled 113 straight days at sea. The ship did make three port visits, the Navy said.

Meanwhile, say goodbye to the carrier Carl Vinson, Carrier Air Wing 17 and the cruiser Bunker Hill, all setting sail Nov. 30, a mere 5½ months after returning to Naval Station North Island, Calif., from a 6½-month deployment that included supporting the takedown and at-sea burial of Osama bin Laden. Vinson will violate the Navy's goal of spending at least as much time at home as spent at sea during the previous deployment.

The pressure is clearly on.

The busy pace -- atop the Navy's mounting budget pressures and a maintenance backlog -- raises the question: Are longer deployments and short turnarounds the new norm?

"No," Navy spokesman Lt. Cmdr. John Fage said. "Here's the analogy. You go into your 9-to-5 job. At 4:30, the boss comes along and says, hey, I know it's 4:30 and I hate to ask, but we're really busy today; I need you to stay a couple hours late. It's the same thing. Our sailors are going to go out there, and they're going to get the job done.

"We flex to meet emergent requirements," he said.

A Marine Corps spokesman didn't deny that longer cruises are in the cards, but said it's too early to make such a pronouncement.

"Given their capability and flexibility, it's no wonder that the demand signal for ARG-MEUs is strong," said Marine Corps media officer Capt. Greg Wolf. "But to say that longer floats are the ‘new norm' would be speculation at this point." Behind the brave faces, however, the Navy, at least, is deeply concerned.

The Navy is "desperately trying to come up with some kind of rationale that will explain … why we're going to be riding them hard and putting them away wet," said a Washington-based senior naval analyst familiar with fleet planning who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"I've heard concern about material readiness," the analyst said. "Availabilities will be missed, simply because they've got to turn ships around. Crews are going to be turned around. There are already some situations of cross-decking of people from one ship to another -- when they come back from deployment, turning around and going back out within a relatively short period of time. They just don't have the skilled and trained people in the fleet to be able to man the ships. There are some real concerns."

It's why the Navy has announced plans to forward-deploy four destroyers to Rota, Spain, is negotiating sending littoral combat ships to Singapore and is discussing the basing of additional attack submarines in Guam, the analyst said.

"It's the Navy realizing that the demand signal is still very strong, and they just don't have the resources to do it," he said.

No one in uniform is admitting that yet. The chief of naval operations, Adm. Jonathan Greenert, told Navy Times that the demand for naval forces is "unlikely" to go away. Greenert gave no indication that he's pushing back against some of those demands but said if it gets to the point where the Navy finds itself in a "continuing surge" environment, "We'll wear out the ships and people."

The commander of Fleet Forces Command agreed, but with stronger language. "We need to take care of our ships and sailors and Marines and make sure that in the future we have the force we need," Adm. John Harvey told attendees at a joint war-fighting conference earlier this year. "Perhaps that means saying no to things today so we have the wherewithal to have the forces we need tomorrow."

Fage, however, said that the Navy is "going to continue meeting current demands while still planning and posturing for whatever may happen in the future in those emergent requirements."

How the Navy will respond to those requirements, he said, "is going to be dependent on a lot of different factors, including available platforms and capabilities."

Navy ships and squadrons took on a far more nimble readiness posture with adoption of the Fleet Response Plan, which called for the ability to "surge" three carriers atop three already deployed -- along with the ships in their strike groups -- within 30 days and another within 90 days.

The Navy hasn't pulled off a full-scale surge as envisioned by FRP since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. But carrier strike groups are in heavy demand. And they're spending a lot of time at sea.

The Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group was deployed 223 days in 2008 and 2009. The Nimitz group clocked 239 days in 2009 and 2010. The Harry S. Truman group was gone 214 days in 2010. If Vinson spends only 6½ months at sea this time out, it will have been on deployment 13 out of the previous 18½ months.

Nimitz and Truman were extended because of a delay in completing repairs to the carrier Enterprise, celebrating its 50th birthday and making its final cruise in 2012. Its retirement will leave the Navy with 10 operational carriers until the Gerald R. Ford comes on line -- a 33-month gap. And if budget pressures drive the Navy to reduce that 11-carrier fleet to 10 -- high-level sources tell Navy Times the Navy might opt not to refuel the Japan-based carrier George Washington in 2016 and remove it from the fleet -- and no adjustment is made in carrier presence requirements, longer deployments will continue.

The Navy currently meets Central Command's requirement that two carrier groups be on station in the region 70 percent of the time. This "ensures the U.S. military has additional naval and air capabilities to support operational requirements, while adequately meeting other security commitments in the region," according to 5th Fleet.

Citing operational security, no one's saying whether that could change. CENTCOM is "continuously looking at requirements in the area of responsibility and analyzing the forces required to fill those needs," 5th Fleet said.

What's driving that demand is anyone's guess. Naval analyst Norman Polmar thinks it could be a signal to a potential adversary.

"Right now, there's concern for a number of areas in the world, and it's increasing -- especially in sub-Saharan Africa, and the Middle East, of course," Polmar said. "But is this somehow a signal to Iran that, hey, we may be pulling out of Afghanistan … but man, the U.S. military is still there and ready to beat your ass any day of the week?"

Or, Polmar said, combatant commanders could be driving the Navy so the Navy can make the case, in the wake of two ground-centric wars and strong sentiment to cut military spending, that it remains a vital national asset that needs proper funding.

Whatever the reason, demand remains high in the amphibious fleet as well. The numbers tell the story.

Bataan's 2009 cruise lasted 210 days -- just shy of seven months. The pace didn't let up. Thirty-four days later, Bataan and the 22nd MEU got underway to provide humanitarian assistance and disaster relief support to earthquake-stricken Haiti.

That deployment lasted 10 weeks. Four months of ship maintenance began in August 2010, followed by at-sea training -- and the current deployment, which started months ahead of schedule. While it is unclear when crew members and their families learned how long the Bataan ARG would be away, the Facebook page of the lead ship offers hints.

A June 9 post offered short-sleeve T-shirts commemorating the ship's 2011 deployment as a fundraiser for the family readiness group. On Nov. 8, a new shirt was offered for sale. It was long-sleeved, acknowledging the approach of cold weather. And the words on the front had morphed into "Deployment 2011/2012."

Kearsarge and the 26th MEU, which left a month early to provide humanitarian relief to a rain-flooded Pakistan, were gone 260 days -- the Navy's fourth-highest total since 9/11. That was a day less than Boxer logged from Sept. 13, 2006, to May 31, 2007. Two other ARGs also pulled lengthy deployments in recent years: Iwo Jima, with 214 days in 2008 and 2009, and Bonhomme Richard for 224 days in 2007.

Less than five years ago, the Navy had 12 amphibious assault ships. But it has since decommissioned three of them: Saipan, Tarawa and Nassau. With Wasp dedicated to supporting tests of the Marine Corps' joint strike fighter variant, that leaves eight to choose from.

Also, Peleliu is scheduled to go away in three years.

Meanwhile, the newest amphibious assault ship, America, won't be delivered until fiscal 2014, and won't be ready to deploy for perhaps another two years. The Corps wants the Navy to delay Peleliu's demise until America is ready.

The Navy has a goal of 33 amphibious ships but falls short through 2016, according to a 2011 Congressional Budget Office study; it currently has 28. The goal also falls well short of the Marine Corps' goal of 38 -- what the Marines and Navy say would be required to pull off a wartime amphibious assault with two Marine expeditionary brigades, according to CBO.

CBO says the Navy will have enough amphibs to meet peacetime goals for overseas presence for the next 30 years similar to the presence it provided in 2007. More important to the defense of the nation, CBO projects that the Navy's 2012 plan does not provide enough amphibs for the Corps to prepare and train for all the missions it might be called upon to perform over the next three decades.

About 30 percent of the force is deployed overseas at any given time, according to CBO. In 2007, combatant commanders requested nine amphibs, a request that could be met without strain.

By 2010, COCOMs, asked how many they would require in an unconstrained financial environment, said they'd need 18 amphibs. Meeting this request, CBO said, "would substantially increase deployment time and reduce time in ships' home ports."

For a given ship, over the typical 27-month operating cycle, deployment time would more than double -- from 26 to 62 weeks. Time in home port would fall from 57 percent to 36 percent, "well short of the Navy's goal of 50 percent," CBO said.

The Navy already comes up short in terms of meeting the Corps' shipboard training needs. According to CBO, Navy amphibs were able to meet only 57 percent of such needs in 2010. In January and February, the Navy and the Corps will conduct Bold Alligator off the Atlantic coast. It will be the first large-scale amphibious training the Corps has been able to conduct in more than 10 years, according to CBO. The goal, according to Fleet Forces Command, is to "revitalize Navy/Marine Corps amphibious expeditionary tactics, techniques and procedures" and to reinvigorate their joint training culture.

The Navy's 28 amphibs include nine amphibious assault ships, seven amphibious transport docks and 12 dock landing ships. An ARG typically includes one of each.

The demand for ARGs raises the question of whether other ships or at least fewer ships could perform the missions set by combatant commanders. That would require detailed knowledge of Bataan's activities; 5th Fleet officials said only that the group, which arrived in its area of operations Aug. 13, has been conducting the standard ARG missions: maritime security operations, theater security cooperation engagements, and standing by as U.S. Central Command's theater reserve force.

Elsewhere in the fleet, potential deployment pressure comes as the Navy ramps up the ballistic missile defense mission and boosts the number of BMD-capable AEGIS ships from 23 to 41 by end of fiscal 2016. It's not yet known whether those ships will be dedicated solely to the BMD mission or will answer other requirements as well.

In addition, the attack submarine force is slowly shrinking. But officials say sub deployments won't increase in length save for rare occasions.

The Navy's top submarine operator, Vice Adm. John Richardson, told Navy Times that submarines "very, very seldom" deploy beyond the norm. For attack submarines, that remains six months, while ballistic missile subs are on patrol for an average of 77 days, according to spokeswoman Cmdr. Monica Rousselow. About 10 percent are "sometimes extended" due to operations or maintenance requirements elsewhere, she said.

The Navy's stated goal is to maintain a fleet of 48 attack subs and should be able to do so through 2024 under its fiscal 2011 procurement plan, according to Ron O'Rourke of the Congressional Research Service.

The overall Navy fleet could easily shrink further. "It's going to get even worse," said the Washington-based senior naval analyst. "I've seen internal documents that say, OK, what can we do with a 280-ship Navy, what can we do with a 240-ship Navy? And one even said, what if we get down to 180? What's going to be left and what can we do? And the answer is, not a whole lot."

As a result, he said, "I think the new normal is a much higher personnel tempo that we've seen since the Vietnam War. … These are tough times for the Navy."

Welcome to a hollow military... and prepare for it to get worse... dammit...

Professional Athletes...

2011-11-29T08:09:00.000-05:00

In light of the latest set of scandals and the fact that once again it was admitted that college athletes are treated "differently" than the rest of us, a few quotes from those who were college athletes and went on to 'bigger and better things'...

1. Chicago Cubs outfielder Andre Dawson on being a role model:
"I wan' all dem kids to do what I do, to look up to me. I wan' all the kids to copulate me."

2. New Orleans Saint RB George Rogers when asked about the upcoming season:

"I want to rush for 1,000 or 1,500 yards, whichever comes first...”

3. And, upon hearing Joe Jacobi of the 'Skin's say:
"I'd run over my own mother to win the Super Bowl,"
Matt Millen of the Raiders said: "To win, I'd run over Joe's Mom, too."

4. Torrin Polk, University of Houston receiver, on his coach, John Jenkins:

"He treat us like mens. He let us wear earrings.."

5. Football commentator and former player Joe Theismann:
"Nobody in football should be called a genius. A genius is a guy like Norman Einstein."

6. Senior basketball player at the University of Pittsburgh:
"I'm going to graduate on time, no matter how long it takes...”
(Now that is beautiful)

7. Bill Peterson, a Florida State football coach:
"You guys line up alphabetically by height...”
And, "You guys pair up in groups of three, and then line up in a circle."

8. Boxing promoter Dan Duva on Mike Tyson going to prison:
"Why would anyone expect him to come out smarter?

He went to prison for three years, not Princeton ..."

9. Stu Grimson, Chicago Blackhawks left wing, explaining why he keeps a color photo of himself above his locker:
"That's so when I forget how to spell my name, I can still find my clothes."

10. Lou Duva, veteran boxing trainer, on the Spartan training regimen of heavyweight Andrew Golota: "He's a guy who gets up at six o'clock in the morning, regardless of what time it is."

11. Chuck Nevitt, North Carolina State basketball player, explaining to Coach Jim Valvano why he appeared nervous at practice:
"My sister's expecting a baby, and I don't know if I'm going to be an uncle or an aunt."

(I wonder if his IQ ever hit room temperature in January)

12. Frank Layden, Utah Jazz president, on a former player:
"I asked him, 'Son, what is it with you? Is it ignorance or apathy?'
He said, 'Coach, I don't know and I don't care.'"

13. Shelby Metcalf, basketball coach at Texas A&M, recounting what he told a player who received four F's and one D:
"Son, looks to me like you're spending too much time on one subject."

14. In the words of NC State great Charles Shackelford:
"I can go to my left or right, I am amphibious."

15. Former Houston Oilers coach Bum Phillips when asked by Bob Costas why he takes his wife on all the road trips.

Phillips responded: "Because she's too ugly to kiss good-bye."

And one wonders why most of them don't succeed after they finish playing their 'sport' of choice???

Back to the Salt Mine...

2011-11-27T14:14:00.000-05:00

Fun times are over, so back to the salt mines tomorrow...

And back on the diet (I swear they were trying to fatten me up for the slaughter), and I must have put on five pounds!

BUT...

It was a good four days, other than a few minor excursions...

Well, yesterday morning, I waded along the edge of a lake, escaped from wild dogs in the heavy brush, marched up and down several rocky hills, tood in a patch of poison ivy, crawled out of quicksand, and jumped away from an aggressive rattlesnake.

I'm just a LOUSY golfer...

It truly helps if you play twice a week or more vs. once in three months... sigh

And I was stupid enough to do that TWICE!!!

Got to see a good football game last night, Carolina vs. Clemson, and the officiating is REALLY bad in both the SEC and ACC this year (between the uncalled face masks, offensive 'holding' (holding hell, it was out and out tackles), and 'missed' interference calls) I was wondering if the refs had bets on the game; real problem was we didn't get back to the house until almost 0100! LEO friends were saying they'd be out all night corralling the drunks and idjits...

And I finally wangled the recipe for an outstanding Sweet Potato Casserole (hey, it IS the South, okay?)

3 cups mashed fresh cooked sweet potatoes

1 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs

1/3 stick butter (melted)

1/2 cup real milk

1 tsp vanilla

Mix well, pour into greased baking dish

Topping

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup chopped fresh pecan halves

1/3 cup plain flour

1/3 stick butter (melted)

Stir together, sprinkle on top of sweet potatoes

Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes

Get out the riot gun to control the mob...

This was the ONLY dish that was doubled up, and it was the first dish that was gone...

A Little Humor...

2011-11-26T16:08:00.000-05:00

An attractive blonde from Cork, Ireland, arrived at the casino. She seemed a little intoxicated and bet twenty thousand dollars in a single roll of the dice.

She said, "I hope you don't mind, but I feel much luckier when I'm completely nude." with that, she stripped from the neck down, rolled the dice and with an Irish brogue yelled, "Come on, baby, Mama needs new clothes!"

As the dice came to a stop, she jumped up and down and squealed... "Yes! Yes! I won, I won!"

She hugged each of the dealers, picked up her winnings and her clothes and quickly parted.

The dealers stared at each other dumbfounded. Finally, one of them asked, "What did she roll?" The other answered, "I don't know - I thought you were watching."

MORAL OF THE STORY

Not all Irish are drunks, not all blonds are dumb, ..... but all men... are men!

Global Facts About - Sex At any given moment:

FACT: 79,000,000 people are having sex - right now.
FACT: 58,000,000 are kissing.
FACT: 37,000,000 are relaxing after having sex.
FACT: 1 old person is reading emails.

You hang in there, sunshine!