Sad news…

Buck has crossed the river…

He will be missed.  The last post is HERE.

High Flight-

“Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth,
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I’ve climbed and joined the tumbling mirth of sun-split clouds –
and done a hundred things You have not dreamed of –
wheeled and soared and swung high in the sunlit silence.
Hovering there I’ve chased the shouting wind along
and flung my eager craft through footless halls of air.

“Up, up the long delirious burning blue
I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace,
where never lark, or even eagle, flew;
and, while with silent, lifting mind I’ve trod
the high untrespassed sanctity of space,
put out my hand and touched the face of God.”

RIP Buck, you done good…

Vito…

“Strikes” again…  Or maybe I should say slobbers…

I’m sitting quietly minding my own business, Jace is down for a nap, and…

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Here comes the ball, and the slobber, and the paw on the leg when I don’t throw it immediately…

These pants were clean when I put them on this morning!

Sigh…

Christmas decorations…

Pretty!!!

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Had to drop some folks off at a hotel after they cleared the boat, and I was waiting until they got checked in before heading back.

IMG_1927A closer look at the ‘starfish’ and it turns out they are REAL starfish! 🙂  Very nicely preserved, but the real deal!!!

Kinda neat, but thinking about it, this IS an island surrounded by plenty of sea life!  And it’s a neat way to ‘use’ the local environment.

I hope your Christmas tree is as pretty and the packages underneath are all real!

Another YGTBSM…

Lawyers…

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The United Seamen’s Service, sometimes abbreviated as the USS, is a non-profit, federally chartered organization founded in 1942 to promote the welfare of American seafarers and their dependents, seafarers of all nations, US government military and civilian personnel, and other persons engaged in the maritime industry.

Since its inception, the USS has provided services overseas for American and international seafarers. USS’s network of worldwide port centers offers seafarers two types of services:

  1. Building-centered services which provide recreation, communications, counseling, food, beverages and gift shop and health articles; and outreach programs which bring USS services to seafarers on shipboard, in hospital or detention. Services include repatriation, hospital visits, detention serviceshelping seafarers in prison, legal assistance and communications services, with overseas phone, fax and mail facilities at the USS centers.
  2. Ship-visiting and library services include staff visits to ships in port with information on local attractions, customs and culture and other required assistance. Fresh reading material, supplied by the USS affiliated American Merchant Marine Library Association, are brought to restock the ship’s library.

There are currently 7 port centers open: Bremerhaven, Germany; Casablanca, Morocco; Diego Garcia, B.I.O.T.; Guam, M.I.; Naha, Okinawa,Japan; Pusan, Korea; and Yokohama, Japan. Many other centers existed during the years of World War II and thereafter, including centers in Naples and Genoa, Italy; Bandar Mahshahr, Iran; Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam; Alexandria, Egypt and Manila, Philippines.

Note that Guam is now scratched out… Thanks to damn lawyers…

It appears a ‘new’ lawyer has reviewed the governing documents and has determined that Guam does NOT qualify as being overseas!!!

Granted Guam is a US Territory, and THAT is what the new lawyer is basing his ruling on…

Teh stoopid is just overflowing with this one…

If you’ve never been to one, it’s a little haven of ‘America’ far from home, and provides a place to get a decent meal at a decent price.  And beer…

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So many beers, so little time… sigh…

TBT…

And another one out of the past…

Your mothers probably used these if you wore a certain type of clothing…

BAck in the day Jeans stretcher

Continue reading

Posted in TBT

Bumpersnickers…

Seen on Military Bases…

Bumper-Stickers Seen On Military Bases:
 
“When in Doubt, Empty The Magazine”
 
“Sniper– You can run, but you’ll just die tired!”
 
“Machine Gunners – Accuracy By Volume”
 
“Except For Ending Slavery, Fascism, Nazism and Communism, WAR has Never SolvedAnything.”
 
”U.S. Marines – Certified Counselors to the 72 Virgins Dating Club.”
 
“U.S. Air Force – Travel Agents To Allah”
 
“The Marine Corps – When It Absolutely, Positively Has To Be Destroyed Overnight”
 
“Death Smiles At Everyone – Marines Smile Back”
 
“What Do I Feel When I Kill A Terrorist? A Little Recoil”
 
“Marines – Providing Enemies of America an Opportunity To Die For their Country Since 1775
 
“Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Anyone Who Threatens It”
 
“Happiness Is A Belt-Fed Weapon”
 
“It’s God’s Job to Forgive Bin Laden – It was Our Job To Arrange The Meeting”  Done!
 
“Artillery Brings Dignity to What Would Otherwise Be Just A Vulgar Brawl”
 
“One Shot, Twelve Kills – U.S. Naval Gun Fire Support “
 
“My Kid Fought In Iraq So Your Kid Can Party In College”
 
“A Dead Enemy Is A Peaceful Enemy – Blessed Be The Peacemakers”
 
“If You Can Read This, Thank A Teacher. If You Can Read It In English, Thank A Veteran”
…and finally
 
“Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But the US military doesn’t have that problem.”
 
h/t JP

We can haz…

Airplanes!!!

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Why is it there is always ‘one’ pilot that doesn’t get the message???

What does he not understand about nose IN??? Sigh…

And some ‘old’ advice…

The following ten commandments were published in the May, 1939 issue of Aviation. How many are still relevant to pilots today? 

DON’T SHOW OFF. Zooming over your girl’s house, or turning to wave good-bye to her on a take-off is an easy way to terminate your romance suddenly.

KNOW YOUR LIMITATIONS. Don’t try to perform the impossible with yourself or your ship. Don’t be afraid to take a little extra time to check yourself out on a strange ship. Especially, find out when it spins, and why, so you wont be surprised some day.

DON’T TAKE THINGS FOR GRANTED. No one will resent it if you personally check your fuel or your controls before take-off. It is the mark of a good pilot.

GET AWAY FROM HOME. You may know your own airport well enough, but making practice landings in strange airports is a good form of insurance. As soon as you are qualified, get all the cross-country you can. Learn to look for other wind indicators than a windsock.

WATCH YOUR WEATHER. Even the best of the air line pilots spend a lot of time looking at weather maps and flight conditions before every take-off. Stay on the ground when things look doubtful.

STUDY THE REGULATIONS. Become familiar with the rules that have been drafted for your safety and obey the intent as well as the letter of the law. Most accidents can be traced to violations.

CHOOSE YOUR FRIENDS, especially when it comes to listening to hangar flying stories. A lot of flying feats you hear from the old-timers never happened anyway, and besides, possibly someone may be pulling your leg.

THINK AHEAD: Take time out to consider all possible things that may happen to you and decide in advance just what you will do under all circumstances. 

SET A GOOD EXAMPLE. You may be young at this business, but remember there are those younger who look to you for guidance.

FLY HIGH – FLY FAST – KEEP YOUR NOSE DOWN ON TURNS!

Hmmm… I think ‘most’ of them are still true… 🙂

A ‘new’ element…

The heaviest element known to science was recently discovered by investigators at a major U.S. research university. The new element has been named Hillarium. The chemical symbol of Hillarium is Bs.
Hillarium has no protons or electrons and thus has an atomic number of 0. However, it does have one neutron, 125 assistant neutrons, 75 vice neutrons and 111 assistant vice neutrons, which gives it an atomic mass of 312. These 312 particles are held together by a force that involves the continuous exchange of meson-like particles called morons.
Hillarium’s mass actually increases over time, as morons randomly interact with various elements in the atmosphere and become assistant deputy neutrons within the Hillarium molecule, leading to the formation of isodopes. This characteristic of moron-promotion leads some scientists to believe that Hillarium is formed whenever morons reach a certain quantity in concentration. This hypothetical quantity is referred to as a Critical Morass. When catalyzed with money, Hillarium activates CNNadnausium and MSNBCobnoxium, elements that radiates orders of magnitude more energy, albeit as incoherent noise, since each has half as many peons but twice as many morons as Hillarium. Hillarium has also been reported in some war torn countries to inexplicably draw sniper fire out of thin air where no snipers are present, and to cause shoes to catapult across the room as a result of intense attraction to Hillarium.
Since it has no electrons, Hillarium is inert. However, it can be detected chemically as it impedes every reaction it comes in contact with. According to the discoverers, a minute amount of Hillarium causes one reaction to take over four days to complete when it would have normally occurred in less than a second. Paradoxically, in the presence of anti-morons, Hillarium is highly corrosive. The presence of Hillarium is also easily detected using Gagger Counters. When combined with the deadly slick clintonious virus it serves as a catalyst for creating stains on blue dresses. It is also known for impeding the justice process whenever involved in those reactions.
Hillarium appears to have a normal half-life which inexplicably varies between four and six years, at which time it does not decay, but instead undergoes a transmutation, appearing in a new location but displaying the same properties. In this process, assistant neutrons, vice neutrons and assistant vice neutrons exchange places. Some studies have shown that the atomic mass actually increases after each transmutation.
Research at other laboratories indicates that Hillarium occurs naturally in the atmosphere. It tends to concentrate at certain points such as government agencies, large corporations, and universities. It can usually be found in the newest, best appointed, and best maintained buildings. Heightened levels of toxicity have been detected in the presence of low information voters. A single spontaneous incidence of mass moron emission from the Hillarium element has been documented. The morons were apparently stripped away during the Obala Supernova formation event which, with subsequent isodope formation, collapsed into a particularly small dense black hole.

Scientists point out that Hillarium is known to be toxic at any level of concentration and can easily destroy any productive reaction where it is allowed to accumulate. Human mortalities have resulted from exposure to Hillarium. Hillarium threatens to become a pandemic by 2016. Infection symptoms need to be more thoroughly researched, but appear to include a loss of all logical and critical thinking abilities, extensive memory loss related to crucial issues, loss of all consideration for others, onset of paranoia and conspiracy theory predilections (commonly heard are protestations of a “vast right wing conspiracy” and a “War on Women” — in which ironically Kennedy has the first confirmed kill), and, of course, the already noted tendency towards fatalities.

Generous use of prophylactic doses of Intense Reality® as soon as possible after possible exposure to Hillarium is a prudent and wise precaution. Large doses of Fiscal and Constitutional Conservatism may be particularly useful. Encourage all your friends and family to take similar precautions, and vote for candidates in 2016 who will work to protect us from the possible scourge of a Hillarium pandemic. Some believe that Palinium, or even Cruzite, is an instant cure – but frankly that research assumed non-Gruberian Statistics. Experimental validation is currently underway in nation-wide clinical trials. Attempts are being made to determine how Hillarium can be controlled to prevent irreversible damage, but results to date are not promising.

Q: Would it be possible for you to address shelf life?

A: Research results are inclusive to date. Recent indications suggest that more significant decay may have occurred than was generally realized, so there is hope for lessened effects in the near future.

Q: Are there any know uses for Hillarium? I’ve spent quite some time looking and have yet to find any.

A: No useful or beneficial applications of Hillarium have been discovered to date, although a few researchers are determined to find some and continue trying.

h/t JP

Recalculating…

There’s lost, there’s really LOST, and wherethefukarewe…

I ‘won’ the third one last night…

Make ONE simple wrong turn in central Naha, and you can end up so far down the rat hole, there IS no light…

I swear I didn’t get two blocks before I knew I’d taken a wrong turn, but trying to get BACK to where I made the mistake just wasn’t happening…

Seemed like every turn I made took me deeper into the old residential area, and narrower and narrower streets. I swear I went by the same place at least three different times, and never got there the same way twice.

I finally just stopped on a little street and tried to figure out on the map where I was, without success (my Kanji is NOT good)…

A little old mamasan came out and asked me something in Japanese that I couldn’t puzzle out, but I mimed using a phone and said “Taxi”. She disappeared back into her house, and about 10 minutes later a taxi showed up.

He was confused as hell that I didn’t want a ride, but I finally made him understand that I needed him to lead me back to 58 (he didn’t speak engrish either). Then we haggled a bit over a ‘fee’…

I ended up paying him 1000yen and he pointed to 58 on the map and said, “Hai.” Which translates to yes, I nodded, said “Hai.” And off we went…

Three right turns (did NOT end up back at the same place, don’t ask me…), down an alley, two lefts, another alley, a couple of rights and lefts, and voila, back to an intersection with 58!

Best $10 I‘ve spent this entire trip…

And never did find the place I was looking for…

Sigh…

Soooo…

It’s apparently okay to ‘train’ US military people in ‘enhanced interrogation’ by doing the following to them in SERE school:

Abdominal slaps

Attention grasps

Cramped confinement

Dietary manipulation

Facial holds

Facial slap/insult slap

Stress positions

Sleep deprivation

Wall standing

Walling

Waterboarding

Water dousing

But it’s not okay to make them get nude…

But doing ANY of these (including nudity) to real terrorists is TORTURE???

YGTBSM…

And the ‘executive summary’ runs 500+ pages?  And the FULL report is 6000+?

But it seems a number of actual people in charge were never even questioned, and this was pushed almost exclusively by Feinstein’s committee.

I know I’m a dumb ol’ country boy, but I smell something fishy here…

And if it’s really torture, are those of us that were forced to endure this in training going to be compensated???

/crickets/

Personally, I’m about to the point that I believe this was released as a pre-emptive strike against any Pubs for 2016…