Nine years…

Posted on by May 4, 2016

That’s how long I’ve been putting my brain drippings out here…

I can’t believe y’all are still around!!! 🙂

3,211 total posts, over 44,000 total comments, and roughly 500,000 page visits in the last year, putting me at around 3,000,000 visitors since I started.

I’m very humbled by this, and I truly appreciate the readers and commenters who’ve hung with me over the years. It’s been a helluva rollercoaster, and the future doesn’t promise to get much better… Sigh…

Thanks to those who took a chance on me, and put a link on their sidebars. The other thing this brings to mind are the number of bloggers whom we’ve lost, either to frustrations, other pursuits, or passing away. Salut!

Here’s that first post, which didn’t even get a comment…LOL Matter of fact, it wasn’t until about the 5th post that I actually GOT a comment!!!

I’m new to this whole arena, but thought I’d give it a try. I guess I fall in the “silent majority” as we have been deemed, I’ve never sought publicity, sued anyone for spilling my coffee, sure as hell ain’t a movie star; well, you get the drift…

I’m mid-50’s have a decent job, two decent kids trying hard to make their own way in the world today, and a lot of frustration with what is happening to the US of A. Being from the South, I hunt, fish, and shoot guns; so that immediately makes me one of those “rabid rednecks” to quote some out there. I did have a pickup, but it’s hard to park it where I work, so I drive a Pontiac… sure do miss the truck though… sigh…

As a retired military type, it really hurts to see the crap we are putting the folks in service through today. I lived through that in Vietnam, and I take the time to thank every Soldier, Sailor, Airman or Marine for their service when I get the chance. Most of the kids (I’m Southern so I can say that) are doing the best they can with what they have. They believe in the job they and others are doing in the Sandbox, and are pretty upset by the media coverage they get.

Anyway, I’m going to try this for a while and see what happens… thanks for reading and commenting…

Old NFO

 

YGTSM!!!

Posted on by May 4, 2016

This one is probably going to lose me a few readers, but I really don’t care. I’m pissed at what I’ve seen over the last three days, and I need to get this off my chest.

I gave this oath-

I, [name], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which I am about to enter. So help me God.

That oath has no expiration date, nor does my commitment and devotion to the USA.

Having said that, I have NEVER seen the amount of vitriol, whining and bitching that is surrounding the upcoming election. After Cruz got out, things only got worse on the Pubs side, and the Dems aren’t any better with the Berns…

From the talking heads, to the dancing monkeys, to the bloggers to the book of face, people just went off the deep end, Triggleypuff style…

If you can stomach it, it looks like a bunch of SJWs (nee POS) throwing a massive hissy fit. Many are ‘threatening’ to not vote, just stay home and pout.

Does anyone understand the term abrogate???

abrogate

  • : to fail to do what is required by (something, such as a responsibility) LIKE VOTING!!!

Voting is a fundamental right and responsibility of U.S. citizens — the right to have a say in how they are governed and the responsibility to be informed about candidates and issues when they go to the polls.

I’m not going to tell you how to vote, that is between you and your deity of choice. I don’t care if you write in Joe Schmuckatelli, but I will say that if you abrogate your responsibility to vote, you are giving up on the USA. And by extension giving up any right to ‘comment’ on the outcome, as far as I’m concerned.

Hopefully people will calm down and NOT go Triggleypuff as the year winds down.

Kicking the soapbox back in the corner and looking for the scotch… sigh

 

TBT…

Posted on by May 4, 2016

Some people have commented about the family resemblance between myself and Jace…

So here ya go… Me at age 3 (mumble years ago) with my grandfather and grandmother on my mother’s side.

jimc 1954

And Jace at 2 1/2 last month…

Jace 4 26 16 2

You decide… 🙂

Posted in TBT

Too many eggs…

Posted on by May 2, 2016

And no basket, at least as far as the USAF is concerned…

First it was getting rid of the A-10 back around 2000 (nope), then it was the A-10 in 2006 (nope), then it was the F-117 in 2008 (partial, but maintain a force that could be recalled), 2013 it was the A-10 again (they REALLY hate that airplane), now with justification that they need A-10 maintenance crew to train/maintain the F-35.

Fast forward to 2016, and it’s the death knell for the F-117…

America’s F-117 stealth fighter has been in a state of limbo. In 2008, the U.S. Air Force officially retired the black, angular warplanes but they never entirely went away. For eight years, the radar-evading aircraft have rested in climate-controlled hangars at the Tonopah Test Range in Nevada.

Here’s why — when the F-117s retired, Congress required the Air Force to maintain some of the planes in case they were ever needed in a future war. The flying branch even kept flying a handful, most likely as guinea pigs for stealth-penetrating sensors … or some other mysterious hardware.

Full article HERE, from National Interest.

But the USAF STILL wants to kill the A-10… sigh…

In other news, the latest NRA Freedom spot is Charlie Daniels! I love this one!!!

 

h/t JP

Day and Night…

Posted on by April 28, 2016

The first video is from an S-3 back in the late 90’s doing Carrier Quals (CQs) off San Diego…

The same landing pattern merged to show a day trap and a night trap, flown by the same pilot in good weather!

The next video is not so pretty… It’s 16 minutes extracted from an hour long video on carrier operations in the South Pacific enroute to Australia.

At the end of the video, the comments about not doing it again are made by the Squadron CO, who kicked a lesser trained pilot out of the seat due to safety considerations. This was his last cruise, as he was turning over the squadron shortly after the video was completed.

This is why good pilots wash out of primary if they can’t land on the boat…

Aviation Art…

Posted on by April 22, 2016

13

Mist and fog swirled eerily over the Eder Lake on the night of 16/17 May 1943 as four specially modified Lancasters of 617 Squadron, under the leadership of Wing Commander Guy Gibson, circled overhead. Their target, the mighty Eder Dam, was barely visible in the valley below. Immediately following the successful breach of the Mohne Dam, Gibson had led his remaining aircraft 50 miles to the south-east to hit their second target, the Eder Dam. Surrounded by high ground with thousand feet ridges, the Eder was altogether a more testing target. The Lancaster pilots would need to dive steeply into the gorge that formed the Eder lake before undertaking a steep turn towards the Dam itself. As if this were not demanding enough in the darkness of night, they then had to fly towards the target at precisely 60ft above the lake at the exact speed of 230mph, before releasing their Barnes Wallis designed hydrostatic bouncing bombs. Pilots Shannon and Maudsley tried time and again to position their laden bombers correctly before managing to release their weapons – but the dam still held. Now success depended solely on Knight carrying the last bomb! With time and fuel now a concern, Knights first effort to position, like Shannon and Maudsley before him, failed, but his second run favoured the brave. Knight released his bomb with absolute precision, striking the wall at precisely the crucial point. With a tremendous explosion the Eder Dam collapsed before their eyes. Robert Taylor’s sensational new painting vividly shows the dramatic moment of impact. In the cockpit Knight and flight engineer Ray Grayston fight the controls to clear the dam, combining their physical strength to haul the lumbering Lancaster up and over the dam and to clear the high ground that lies ahead. Below and behind them, the second of Germany’s mighty western dams lies finally breached.

Interestingly, Taylor also got the position lights correct, they pointed straight down and were used to determine exactly 60 feet off the water.

ROTFLMAO!!!

Posted on by April 28, 2016

Thanks to Miguel for posting this on the book of face…

Talk about getting pwned…

If you’ve got an hour and a half to kill, then entire video of The Triggering is available HERE.

I do find it ironic that the POS (formerly known as SJWs) for all their spouting about microagressions, safe spaces, triggering, et al truly HATE any real, reasoned discussions.

Kudos to the UMass Young Republicans for putting this event together!

In other news, the 2016 Hugo nominations are out, and it promises to be another year of hate and discontent from the POSs… They are decrying the fact that Sad Puppies and the Rabid Puppies got a broad set of nominations again this year across all categories…

BUT, there are actually good novels and various other forms represented in every category, including Mike Glyer and File 770, which have been hating on the Puppies since day one… LOL

I’m too lazy to link to any of that crap, but if you follow Peter over at Bayou Renaissance Man, he will be following this and will have a number of posts on it! JC Carlton, at The Arts Mechanical has a collation of the screeds thus far this year HERE. Kudos to him for slogging through all the mess and pulling this together!

It’s going to be an interesting year! Hugos, a Presidential election and ???

What’s old…

Posted on by April 27, 2016

Is new again!

The flash on the left is the new (old Vietnam era) one.

5th SF flash

The 5th Special Forces Group honored its past by reverting to its Vietnam-era beret flash. That flash is black with yellow and red stripes. It replaces the black shield the unit has used in more recent years. The yellow and red stripes pay homage to the 1st and 7th Special Forces Groups, which predated the 5th Group in Vietnam.

The design also is similar to the flag used by South Vietnam forces. The ceremony at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, was attended by former members of the 5th Special Forces Group, including Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Milley. The group was based at Fort Bragg for much of its history, moving to Kentucky in 1988.

Col. Kevin C. Leahy, commander of the 5th Special Forces Group, said returning to the historical flash honors those who were lost or served in Vietnam and recognizes the nation’s first mass deployment of Special Forces troops. “Today we lose nothing but gain a little bit of our own history,” he said.

The beret flash is a symbol of the unit, worn over the left eye. Vietnam veterans delivered the new, old flash to current Special Forces soldiers, then stood in formation with them as they donned their berets. Milley, who tossed off his own camouflage cap for a Green Beret, called it an “incredible day” and said he was proud of the group that has always been “populated by heroes.”

In other news, there apparently WILL be a pizza MRE…

The advent of a Pizza Meal, Ready-to-Eat will let every day be pizza day, even in war. Close your eyes. Now, think of the most delicious food imaginable. If you’re picturing, say, a hamburger or a bowl of mom’s spaghetti, you’re wrong. It’s pizza, or, as it will soon be known in the military, Meal, Ready-to-Eat No. 37. That’s right, a U.S. Army laboratory has just successfully concocted the first ever field-ready slice. And guess what? It’s the real deal. Well, almost.

“It’s a fully assembled and baked piece of pizza in one package,” Lauren Oleksyk, a food technologist at the U.S. Army’s research, development, and engineering center in Natick, Massachusetts, told Tech Insider. But unlike a normal, civilian slice of pizza, this one is infused with something called Hurdle technology, which prevents mold from forming and allows the MRE to remain edible for three years at 80 degrees. In other words, if the Terminator were a slice of pizza, this would be it. According to Oleksysk, soldiers can expect the slice to taste like “day after pizza” or the ’za commonly found in school cafeterias across America. As true pizza fans know, those are two of the very best varieties. “We’ve actually had feedback from the warfighter for years,” Oleksysk said.

“Pizza just seems appealing to all.” Damn right it is. MRE No. 37 is scheduled to make its debut sometime in 2017, at which point deployments will get exponentially more delicious. Until then, everyone will just have to keep fighting over Chili and Macaroni.

Ummm…. No… I’ll pass. 🙂

TBT…

Posted on by May 4, 2016

Strange things one finds in attics and shoeboxes…

I cannot imagine being able to watch my own bailout sixty years later! Kudos to those brave men who flew into harms way, and the sailors who saved those they could…

Video has been removed due to autoplay… Sorry

h/t JP