This is…

Posted on by October 31, 2025

Odd, to put it mildly…

The U.S. Navy has replaced the admiral in charge of the Office of Naval Research with a civilian who has reportedly worked as a Department of Government Efficiency staffer, according to the service.

Rear Adm. Kurt. Rothenhaus, who has served as chief of naval research since June 2023, has been reassigned and replaced by Rachel Riley, who most recently acted as a senior adviser for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, a Navy public affairs official confirmed in an emailed statement Thursday.

Riley worked at HHS as part of DOGE, the The New York Times previously reported, a job her LinkedIn profile shows her holding since January 2025.

Full article, HERE from Navy Times.

I have to say this one makes no sense to me. I worked there for 13 years, granted for an SES and GS-15, but the leadership were a Navy Rear Admiral (usually with R&D or acquisition background), and a senior Navy Captain as the XO.

Riley has no R&D or acquisition background but apparently was a ‘team lead’ in organizational transformation and organizational design for efficiency and speed of government organizations. And apparently she also worked on Chinese issues, in addition to being fluent in Chinese… Odd…

I can’t help but wonder how she will get the clearances she needs to be involved with certain projects/programs, much less understand the details of advanced research programs.

But that’s just me, and I’m no longer there. But I have heard a few folks I knew are bailing after the news…

Sigh…

 

Gah, really???

Posted on by October 30, 2025

One more egg to the face of LA…

The Los Angeles Fire Department brass was even more clueless than we thought. Bombshell texts show that L.A. firefighters were ordered to leave the scene of the still-smoldering Lachman Fire despite protests from the team left to watch it. Days later, and as feared, predicted killer winds caused that fire to flare up. 

As one of the text exchanges between the firefighters put it later, “And the rest is history.”

The conflagration that followed killed twelve people and destroyed thousands of homes and businesses in the Pacific Palisades and Malibu.

The Los Angeles Times reported that firefighters tending the aftermath of the eight-acre Lachman Fire on January 2 were told by their commander in a text that they needed to leave. The firefighters explained that the rocks and the ground where they were watching for hot spots were still hot to the touch. 

Full article, HERE from PJ Media.

As a former VFD type who fought ‘brush’ fires back in the late 70s early 80s, the cardinal rule was a firewatch was maintained until the fire was COMPLETELY out. Yes, it was a PITA, and usually involved at least 24 hours on scene, but trust me, palmettos WILL fire back up with the slightest winds… sigh

The bad part about the LA situation is that they knew there were wind events forecast, and my bet is that the brass didn’t want to pay the overtime to set the firewatch, because OT was a big issue for them. 8 acres turned into, what, almost 20,000 acres? and 12 lives lost, and how many homes/businesses…

But it is also California, where the econazis, yes I meant to use that term, got control of California, stopping normal fire protection burns, including those by actual forest rangers who are trained to do that, and prohibiting clearing of unsafe trees, brush, etc. (see Camp Fire, big trees within FEET of homes that could not be cut).

At least out here, everybody pitches in, including farmers with plows and their own bulldozers, helicopters, etc. to fight the brush fires because the winds can drive them for MILES out here, in addition to wiping out thousands of cattle, among other things.

Humph…

Posted on by October 29, 2025

Here we go again…

As the population of U.S. veterans becomes more diverse and vets’ needs, from employment to medical treatment, continue to evolve, the demographic remains among the most difficult to survey.

A subset of the general population, veterans are most easily reached en masse through Department of Veterans Affairs rolls. But that leaves approximately half of all veterans out, according to the Pentagon-linked Rand Corporation think tank.

Full article, HERE from Navy Times.

It seems like ‘we’ get a survey every couple of months from either the VA or .gov. And from what ‘we’ can see, our answers go nowhere. Agent Orange was one of, if not the biggest one. Those surveys went back to the 90s, and we finally got the PACT Act 2022 for ‘VA health care and benefits for veterans exposed to burn pits and other toxic substances‘… italics mine. So they snuck us in under the ‘other toxic substances’…

47 years later… And we’re losing Vietnam Vets at an average of something over 500/day. And yes, Agent Orange is definitely a contributory factor for those who served in country and in Thailand.

At least the Gulf War 1 and GWOT troops are getting treatment quicker!

But the reality is a lot of Vets have just given up on both the VA and .gov for any kind of care or help. I know I managed to talk at least two Vietnam vets into going to the VA and getting checked, and now both of them have over 50% disability, and one is getting treated by community care for skin cancer from Agent Orange.

If you know a vet, PLEASE get them to give the VA another chance, they deserve to have adequate care! Yes, I waited almost 20 years before I ever tried them, but honestly, I’ve been basically happy with the treatment and care I’ve gotten.

Very not good…

Posted on by October 28, 2025

This one is truly leaving a mark, and NOT in a good way…

KINGSTON, Jamaica – Hurricane Melissa made its catastrophic landfall along the southwestern coast of Jamaica on Tuesday afternoon as a historic Category 5 storm, lashing the Caribbean island nation with destructive winds well over 100 mph, torrential rains measured in feet and life-threatening storm surge. 

Landfall occurred at 1 p.m. ET near New Hope, Jamaica, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC), with winds of 185 mph. Since landfall, Melissa’s winds have degraded, but it is still a dangerous Category 3 hurricane. 

The eye of the storm has passed over the western side of the island and has since re-emerged over the anomalously warm waters of the Caribbean, eyeing Cuba next.

Full article, HERE from Fox News.

Folks, this is truly bad. Jamaica is not a rich country, nor are the people well off. The amount of damage will be horrendous, exceeding what we saw with Katrina here in the US. In total, Jamaica is only 146 miles long and varies in width from 22 to 51 miles.

And most of those folks had nowhere to ‘escape’ to. The island is not that big, and only has ONE major highway (T-3) that crosses the island from Spanish Town to the area west of Ocho Rios. All of the other ‘highways’ are at best secondary roads.

Some estimates say up to 1.5 million have been significantly impacted by the storm. At least it didn’t hit Kingston, the main population center, but Melissa was bigger than the entire island, with 3 FEET of rain predicted, and storm surges of 13 feet or greater.

A number of US organizations are standing by to go in as soon as possible to start rescue efforts, but food, water, and shelter are going to be an issue, especially on the western end of the island. And I’m not sure if Montego Bay will survive… It was a neat little coastal town back in the 80s…

So if you have a moment, say a prayer for those folks, and the ones in Cuba, and Bermuda who are next to be hit by Melissa…

PSA!!!

Posted on by October 27, 2025

If you’re a jerky eater and shopped at Costco or Sam’s…

More than 2 million pounds of ready-to-eat Korean barbecue pork jerky product shipped to Costco and Sam’s Club stores nationwide are being recalled over fears that it may be contaminated with pieces of metal, federal health officials warned.  

South Dakota-based LSI Inc. recalled its jerky product, labeled Golden Island fire-grilled pork jerky Korean barbecue recipe, after multiple consumers reported finding wiry metal in the product, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) said in the warning notice posted on Saturday. 

The company discovered that the metal found in the products had originated from the conveyor belt used in production.

Full article and details, HERE from Fox News.

I know a lot of folks buy bulk from both Costco and Sam’s, so that’s why I’m sending this around.

Thankfully, ‘I’ haven’t bought any of that brand. Actually, my favorite jerky is Robertson’s, which is sold by Loves. But I haven’t really eaten any in 10 months, due to the pain meds and what it did to my stomach… sigh

Also, to be honest, I’m not a fan of Korean food… 🙂

Posted in PSA

A little humor…

Posted on by October 26, 2025

To start your week…

My wife and I were watching Who Wants To Be A Millionaire while we were in bed.

I turned to her and said, ‘Do you want to have Sex?’

‘No,’ she answered.

I then said, ‘Is that your final answer?’

… She didn’t even look at me this time, simply saying, ‘Yes..’

So I said, “Then I’d like to phone a friend.”

And that’s when the fight started…

________________________________

I took my wife to a restaurant. The waiter, for some reason, took my order first.

“I’ll have the rump steak, rare, please.”

He said, “Aren’t you worried about the mad cow?”

“Nah, she can order for herself.”

And that’s when the fight started…..

_____________________________

My wife and I were sitting at a table at her high school reunion, and she kept staring at a drunken man swigging his drink as he sat alone at a nearby table.

I asked her, “Do you know him?”

“Yes”, she sighed,

“He’s my old boyfriend. I understand he took to drinking right after we split up those many years ago, and I hear he hasn’t been sober since.”

“My God!” I said, “Who would think a person could go on celebrating that long?”

And then the fight started…

________________________________

My wife sat down next to me as I was flipping channels.

She asked, “What’s on TV?”

I said, “Dust.”

And then the fight started…

________________________________

Saturday morning I got up early, quietly dressed, made my lunch, and slipped quietly into the garage. I hooked up the boat up to the van and proceeded to back out into a torrential downpour. The wind was blowing 50 mph, so I pulled back into the garage, turned on the radio, and discovered that the weather would be bad all day.

I went back into the house, quietly undressed, and slipped back into bed. I cuddled up to my wife’s back; now with a different anticipation, and whispered, “The weather out there is terrible.”

My loving wife of 5 years replied, “And, can you believe my stupid husband is out fishing in that?”

And that’s how the fight started…

_______________________________

My wife was hinting about what she wanted for our upcoming anniversary. She said, “I want something shiny that goes from 0 to 150 in about 3 seconds.”

I bought her a bathroom scale.

And then the fight started……

______________________________

After retiring, I went to the Social Security office to apply for Social Security. The woman behind the counter asked me for my driver’s License to verify my age. I looked in my pockets and realized I had left my wallet at home. I told the woman that I was very sorry, but I would have to go home and come back later.

The woman said, ‘Unbutton your shirt’.

So I opened my shirt revealing my curly silver hair.

She said, ‘That silver hair on your chest is proof enough for me’ and she processed my Social Security application.

When I got home, I excitedly told my wife about my experience at the Social Security office.

She said, ‘You should have dropped your pants. You might have gotten disability too.’

And then the fight started…

Y’all have a good week!!!

Grrrr…

Posted on by October 25, 2025

Great gesture, but…

Despite the Democrats’ government shutdown, our brave troops will be receiving a paycheck, thanks to an anonymous but extremely generous billionaire.

President Donald Trump identified the mystery man only as a “friend of mine” who did not wish to receive recognition for his actions. The $130 million donation will allow our military to keep paying the bills amidst the Schumer Shutdown. Unlike the leech Democrat congressmen who will continue to be wealthy regardless of how long they drag out the shutdown, our military put everything on the line for the paychecks, which could not have come without the billionaire’s generosity.

Trump described his conversation with the anonymous donor, “He called us the other day and said, ‘I’d like to contribute any shortfall you have because of the Democrat shutdown… because I love the military and I love the country.”

Full article, HERE from PJ media.

While this is deserving of kudos to that person, sadly, it’s not that easy. The money will go to the ‘general fund’, not specifically to the military unless it is authorized by… yes… congresscritters. Dammit…

Much as I hate to say it, I don’t see this happening.

And even worse, apparently SNAP/EBT cards will be funded for November or anymore until the shutdown ends, HERE. So we ‘may’ get an answer as to how long it will take for the major cities to start rioting over food…

Sigh…

So far…

Posted on by October 24, 2025

We’ve dodged the weather bullets…

10 24

So far, the last two days, the weather has ‘split’ and gone around us. And I’m NOT complaining…

Well, other than I’m gonna have to mow again…grrrr

This has been a strange summer. Wetter than average, with lower temps. And we’re supposedly slipping into a La Nina weather pattern.

But the Farmer’s Almanac is calling for a wet/cold winter for us. The last time we had this stuff was 2015, so we’re a bit ‘off’ on the seven year cycle.

But we don’t really have a choice, do we? We just have to get through the year and the weather…

I just hope we don’t get any more tornadoes this year.

Stopping the leakage…

Posted on by October 22, 2025

Yet another step the Pentagon is taking… maybe a step too far?

Leaders at the Pentagon have significantly altered how military officials will speak with Congress after a pair of new memos issued last week.

In an Oct. 15 memo, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and his deputy, Steve Feinberg, ordered Pentagon officials — including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff — to obtain permission from the department’s main legislative affairs office before they have any communication with Capitol Hill.

Full article, HERE from Military Times.

The Pentagon is notorious for leaks… Going back further than the Pentagon Papers, but the leaks have been there. The number of classified programs that have been ‘leaked’ either intentionally or unintentionally is horrific.

Some of those leaks ‘might’ have been done to salvage other programs that sponsors didn’t want to lose, but I don’t know.

Last week the Pentagon limited the media’s ability to wonder around at will, which is a good start as far as I’m concerned. I personally saw them sniffing around areas I knew they didn’t have access to, trying to get a ‘quote’ from an ‘unnamed source’… sigh

Maybe they can also take a look at acquisition, and fix that CF while they are at it. THAT alone would save billions!!! Teaming ‘requirements’, coddling congresscritters programs, etc. etc…

But I do hope they get the military paid the end of the month. What is being done to them in unconscionable, and the blame falls squarely on the Dems for playing political games with the CR.

Done!!!

Posted on by October 21, 2025

Sixteen stories edited, approved, and rough formatting done for the benefit anthology for the Tom Burnett Library!

Yes, I’m a week late on getting it done, no excuses, but it’s over the fence to the people who are doing the cover, final formatting, and publishing!

So hopefully, it will be published by the end of October! So far, our benefit anthologies have raised a little over $4000 for the library for their kids programs, and purchase of some supplies! I’m happy as hell about that.

And many thanks to the authors who’ve donated their stories to the library!

Now I can finally get back to writing my stuff…

Oh, and I didn’t put ‘my’ story in the anthology, because the others were better than mine! LOL…