Things that make you go HUH???

Posted on by March 6, 2013
This one just flat pisses me off… And I ‘know’ George Bush 41 or 43 would NOT and DID NOT do this…

On August 6, 2011, 30 US service members were killed when a CH-47 Chinook helicopter they were being transported in crashed in Wardak province, Afghanistan. It was the deadliest single loss for U.S. forces in the decade-long war in Afghanistan. 17 members of the elite Navy SEALs were killed in the crash.

Karen and Billy Vaughn, parents of Aaron Carson Vaughn, received a form letter from the President. It was signed by an electric pen….

That’s not all.  Karen Vaughn reached out to the parents of the other SEALs killed in that crash.
 Their letters were all the same. Form letters – signed by an electric pen.
 
Link HERE…

I’m sorry, but that just @#&* pathetic! It truly shows what he thinks of the military!

This one just really makes me wonder…

What are uniformed field representatives of the Department of Justice (DOJ) Community Relations Service (CRS) doing assisting Occupy/anarchist activists outside the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Tampa?

Link HERE…

And looting in NOLA… Is ANYBODY surprised???  I’m not…

Six more people were arrested in separate looting cases Wednesday in Central City, and police credit the vigilance of neighborhood residents in helping officers stop the crimes while they were still in progress.

One looting call was at a club on Martin Luther King Boulevard near South Robertson, where a man and a woman were seen breaking in by a citizen, said Lt. Frank Young of the NOPD Sixth District Investigative Unit. When police arrived, they found the couple inside, trying to steal liquor and loose change from the bar, and both were booked on looting charges, Young said.

Link HERE…

And only FOUR more hours of the student from hell!  This morning, ‘somebody’ (and no it was NOT me), left a ‘present’ for her at her place in the conference room.  It was a DVD copy of the movie “Back to School”, and the ‘card’ said, “You are the Professor!”

Apparently she’s never seen it, and didn’t catch the connotation!  Tomorrow morning “may” be interesting!!! 🙂

Apocryphal Letter…

Posted on by March 6, 2013
For anybody that thinks this is a joke, trust me, it’s NOT!!! I’ve added so many pages to mine, I now have to get a new one even though I have almost a year left on it… And even though I have a CURRENT passport, I’ve got to do all this crap over again…

sigh…

Dear Mrs. Ms. Sir or whatever you call yourselves:

I’m in the process of renewing my passport and still cannot believe this.

How is it that Radio Shack has my address and telephone number and knows that I bought a cable TV from them in 1987 (23 years ago), and yet, the Federal Government is still asking me where I was born and on what date.

For Christ sakes, do you guys do this by hand? Ever heard of computers?

My birth date you have in my social security file. It’s on EVERY income tax form I’ve filed for the past 30 years. It’s on my Medicarehealth insurance card and my driver’s license, it’s on the last eight damn passports I’ve had, it’s on every stupid customs declaration form I’ve had to fill out before being allowed off the plane for the last 30 years. And it’s on all those census forms that we have to do at election times.

Would somebody please take note, once and for all, that my mother’s name is Maryanne, my father’s name is Robert and I’m reasonably confident that neither name is likely to change between now and when I die.

Between you an’ me, I’ve had enough of this bureaucratic BS!

You send the application to my house, then you ask me for
my #*&#%*& address.

What is going on? You must have a gang of bureaucratic Neanderthalmorons working there!

Look at my damn picture. Do I look like Bin Laden? And “No,” I don’t want to dig up Yasser Arafat, for Christ sakes. I just want to go and park my ass on a sandy beach. And would someone please tell me, why would you give a damn whether I plan on visiting a farm in the next 15 days?

If I ever got the urge to do something weird to a chicken or a goat, believe you me, I’d sure as hell not want to tell anyone!

Well, I have to go now because I have to go to the other end of the city and get another #*@&#^@*@& copy of my birth certificate to the tune of $100.

Would it be so difficult to have all the services in the same area so I could get a new passport the same day? Nooooo, that would require planning and organization. And it would be too logical for the @&^*^%@% government.

You’d rather have us running all over the place like chickens with our heads cut off. Then, we have to find some asshole to confirm that it’s really me in the damn picture – you know, the one where we’re not allowed to smile… Hey, you know why we can’t smile?

We’re totally pissed off!

Signed
– An Irate Citizen.

P.S. Remember what I wrote about getting someone to confirm that the picture is me? Well, my family has been in the United States of America since 1776. I have served in the military for something over 35 years and have had security clearances up the ying yang. However, I have to get someone important to verify who I am – you know, someone like my doctor……. WHO WAS BORN AND RAISED IN INDIA!

I’m just having SO much fun this week… sigh… I’m thinking retirement is moving closer and closer.  Hell, depending on the election, I may just hang it up next year…

She’s STILL at it…

Posted on by March 6, 2013
The “lady” from yesterday has apparently determined that she IS going to disrupt our class any way she can.  Today, in EVERY discussion, she set off on these random rants, and when we were presenting our group results, she ALWAYS asked some detail oriented question that had nothing to do with the ‘genaric’ training. And the instructor cannot control her…

Sigh…

The running total this afternoon was:

Bound and gagged- 7
Thrown over the balcony- 5
Hung from the ‘statuary’ in the lobby- 4
I don’t care but just shut her up- 6
No comment- 1

In the yep, they’re tourists category, the ‘winner’ was the older couple. 

Him- Green shorts, pink shirt, black socks, black shoes, belt AND suspenders…

Her- HOT pink warmup pants, green college sweatshirt, bright ORANGE running shoes, a cane, and a purse that probably weighed 40 lbs…

And they were TOTALLY lost on the Metro… (wrong line, five stops the wrong way, and pissed they had been ticketed for drinking water on the Metro…

AND THEY HAD A MAP!!!

On a different note- Anybody else noticing a bunch of hex characters showing up in anonymous spam comments??? Seems like this all started last Friday. 

A "Different" sendoff…

Posted on by March 6, 2013
This is called a Haka, and it’s a traditional Maori dance/chat/action.  I saw one of these years ago when I was down there for the Navy, but this one is a bit different…

Here’s the quote that goes with the above video…

“Haka is used throughout New Zealand by many, not only Māori, to demonstrate their collective thoughts. There is a haka for each of the Services, as well as the Defence Force. Units with the NZ Army have their own haka. This video shows the soldiers of 2/1 RNZIR Battalion performing their Unit haka, powerfully acknowledging the lives and feats of their fallen comrades as they come onto the Unit’s parade ground. It is also an emotive farewell for they will leave via the waharoa (the carved entrance way) for the very last time.

“Haka –sometimes termed a posture dance could also be described as a chant with actions. There are various forms of haka; some with weapons some without, some have set actions others may be ‘free style.’ Haka is used by Māori (indigenous people of New Zealand) for a myriad of reasons; to challenge or express defiance or contempt, to demonstrate approval or appreciation, to encourage or to discourage, to acknowledge feats and achievements, to welcome, to farewell, as an expression of pride, happiness or sorrow. There is almost no inappropriate occasion for haka; it is an outward display of inner thoughts and emotions. Within the context of an occasion it is abundantly clear which emotion is being expressed.”

It’s obvious they are proud of their members that died in combat, and are sending them off one last time. You might need a Kleenex before it’s over…

h/t JP

Civility???

Posted on by March 6, 2013
Once again I’m in class to ‘learn’ how to do the job I’ve been doing for 9 years…  

This time it’s off site, with attendees (24) from multiple organizations/companies.  So this morning we’re supposed to go around the room and ‘quickly’ introduce ourselves, right?  All of us do except one woman, who I think gave her entire history back to kindergarten…  

Part of the training is group gropes… er… ‘team’ exercises, with ‘short’ outbriefs. The instructor cautions that no one is to take anything personal about either decisions or questions during this course.

So we do the first exercise, and one from each group gets up and gives their little (4 slide) outbrief, and then questions are allowed from the floor on the justification for their decisions…

Everything was going fine, then this woman got up as the ‘speaker’ for her group. She talked, and talked, and justified, and more justification (like about 10 slides), since they made a choice NO ONE else made.  She finally ran down and the questioning started.  An older gent from another group asked a rather pointed question as to how they had missed some ‘key’ information; her answer didn’t 
‘answer’ the question, so he asked it again.  

She got ‘offended’ that he had the temerity to ask the question again, and he jumped right back at her that ‘he’ was offended that she was offended by a simple question and had wasted so much class time!  The instructor tried to play peacemaker, but she wasn’t having any of it, and went off on (in order), men, the instructor, the class, conservatives, and “old farts” that should be sitting in rockers somewhere…

I just got up and took a break…

Came back about 15 minutes later, and leaned over to one of my female co-workers at another table and asked who won?

Her comment, “WE lost, and she’s trying to drag all of us (females) down with her.”

Sigh, some people just need to GET OVER themselves… 

In other ‘civility’ issues, we have:


On Sunday, Ellen Barkin expressed her hope that Tropical Storm Isaac would smash up the Republican National Convention in Tampa and drown all its delegates.

She retweeted the message of one of her followers that read: “C’mon #Isaac! Wash every pro-life, anti-education, anti-woman, xenophobic, gay-bashing, racist SOB right into the ocean! #RNC ” Barkin did not express any disagreement in her retweet.

Article HERE…

And is anyone commenting???  Crickets… as usual…

And this one…

Samuel L. Jackson on Monday tweeted it was “unfair” that Tropical Storm Isaac had spared the GOP convention in Tampa and appeared to be heading for New Orleans. 

Jackson said in a profanity-filled tweet that he was “not understanding God’s plan” given the fact that the storm was not disrupting the Republican gathering. 

“Unfair s—,” the Oscar-nominated actor known for his colorful language said on Twitter. 
“GOP spared by Isaac! NOLA prolly f—– again!”
Article HERE…

Comments???  Crickets… as usual… If anybody did, they’d be RACIST… sigh


And this one from the PCism run amok… 


A Nebraska school district asked a deaf preschooler to change his sign language name because they believe the hand motion he used looked like he was shooting a gun.

The family of 3-year-old Hunter Spanjer said that their deaf son’s sign gesture violates the Grand Island Public Schools weapons policy. 

“He’s deaf, and his name sign, they say, is a violation of their weapons policy,” Brian Spanjer, Hunter’s father, told Nebraska based news channel KOLN. “It’s a symbol. It’s an actual sign, a registered sign, through (Signing Exact English).”

Article HERE…


The kid is THREE !@&( YEARS OLD!  Let him ‘keep his own damn name!!!

Agirl has an excellent post up HERE on this one, with additional information from her own family!

Sigh…

An "Interesting" piece of history…

Posted on by March 6, 2013

 In 1973 an Italian submarine named Enrique Tazzoli was sold for a paltry $100,000 as scrap metal.
 
Why is this noteworthy???
 
The submarine, given to the Italian Navy in 1953, was originally the USS Barb, a veteran of World War II service with a heritage that never should have passed so unnoticed into the graveyards of the metal recyclers…
 
Medal of Honor, five Navy Crosses, Presidential Unit Citation, twenty-two Silver Stars, and twenty-two Bronze Stars… Those were the ‘main’ awards earned by the USS Barb and her crew!


The USS Barb was a pioneer, paving the way for the first submarine launched missiles and flying a battle flag unlike that of any other ship. In addition to the Medal of Honor ribbon at the top of the flag identifying the heroism of its captain, Commander Eugene “Lucky” Fluckey, the bottom border of the flag bore the image of a Japanese locomotive. The USS Barb was indeed, the submarine that “SANK A TRAIN”.


July 18, 1945 (Patience Bay, off the coast of Karafuto, Japan): It was after 4 AM. And Commander Fluckey rubbed his eyes as he peered over the map spread before him. It was the twelfth war patrol of the Barb, the fifth under Commander Fluckey. He should have turned command over to another skipper after four patrols, but had managed to strike a deal with Admiral Lockwood to make one more trip with the men he cared for like a father, should his fourth patrol be successful. Of course, no one suspected when he had struck that deal prior to his fourth and what should have been his final war patrol on the Barb, that Commander Fluckey’s success would be so great he would be awarded the Medal of Honor.

Commander Fluckey smiled as he remembered that patrol. “Lucky” Fluckey they called him. On January 8th the Barb had emerged victorious from a running two-hour night battle after sinking a large enemy ammunition ship. Two weeks later in Mamkwan Harbor he found the “mother-lode” … More than 30 enemy ships. In only 5 fathoms (30 feet) of water his crew had unleashed the sub’s forward torpedoes, then turned and fired four from the stern. As he pushed the Barb to the full limit of its speed through the dangerous waters in a daring withdrawal to the open sea, he recorded eight direct hits on six enemy ships.

What could possibly be left for the Commander to accomplish who, just three months earlier had been in Washington, DC to receive the Medal of Honor? He smiled to himself as he looked again at the map showing the rail line that ran along the enemy coastline.

Now his crew was buzzing excitedly about bagging a train!

The rail line itself wouldn’t be a problem. A shore patrol could go ashore under cover of darkness to plant the explosives … One of the sub’s 55-pound scuttling charges. But this early morning Lucky Fluckey and his officers were puzzling over how they could blow not only the rails, but also one of the frequent trains that shuttled supplies to equip the Japanese war machine. But no matter how crazy the idea might have sounded, the Barb’s skipper would not risk the lives of his men. Thus the problem …. How to detonate the charge at the moment the train passed, without endangering the life of a shore party. PROBLEM?

Solutions! If you don’t look for them, you’ll never find them. And even then, sometimes they arrive in the most unusual fashion. Cruising slowly beneath the surface to evade the enemy plane now circling overhead, the monotony was broken with an exciting new idea: Instead of having a crewman on shore to trigger explosives to blow both rail and a passing train, why not let the train BLOW ITSELF up? Billy Hatfield was excitedly explaining how he had cracked nuts on the railroad tracks as a kid, placing the nuts between two ties so the sagging of the rail under the weight of a train would break them open. “Just like cracking walnuts,” he explained. “To complete the circuit (detonating the 55-pound charge) we hook in a micro switch … Between two ties. We don’t set it off, the TRAIN does.” Not only did Hatfield have the plan, he wanted to be part of the volunteer shore party.

The solution found, there was no shortage of volunteers; all that was needed was the proper weather…a little cloud cover to darken the moon for the mission ashore. Lucky Fluckey established his own criteria for the volunteer party:

…No married men would be included, except for Hatfield,

…The party would include members from each department,

…The opportunity would be split between regular Navy and Navy Reserve sailors,

…At least half of the men had to have been Boy Scouts, experienced in how to handle themselves in medical emergencies and in the woods.

Finally, “Lucky” Fluckey would lead the saboteurs himself.

When the names of the 8 selected sailors was announced it was greeted with a mixture of excitement and disappointment. Among the disappointed was Commander Fluckey who surrendered his opportunity at the insistence of his officers that “as commander he belonged with the Barb,” coupled with the threat from one that “I swear I’ll send a message to ComSubPac if you attempt this (joining the shore party himself).” Even a Japanese POW being held on the Barb wanted to go, promising not to try to escape!

In the meantime, there would be no more harassment of Japanese shipping or shore operations by the Barb until the train mission had been accomplished. The crew would “lay low”, prepare their equipment, train, and wait for the weather.

July 22, 1945 (Patience Bay , off the coast of Karafuto, Japan) Patience Bay was wearing thin the patience of Commander Fluckey and his innovative crew. Everything was ready. In the four days the saboteurs had anxiously watched the skies for cloud cover, the inventive crew of the Barb had built their micro switch. When the need was proposed for a pick and shovel to bury the explosive charge and batteries, the Barb’s engineers had cut up steel plates in the lower flats of an engine room, then bent and welded them to create the needed tools. The only things beyond their control were the weather….and time. Only five days remained in the Barb’s patrol.

Anxiously watching the skies, Commander Fluckey noticed plumes of cirrus clouds, then white stratus capping the mountain peaks ashore. A cloud cover was building to hide the three-quarters moon. This would be the night.

MIDNIGHT, July 23, 1945

The Barb had crept within 950 yards of the shoreline. If it was somehow seen from the shore it would probably be mistaken for a schooner or Japanese patrol boat. No one would suspect an American submarine so close to shore or in such shallow water. Slowly the small boats were lowered to the water and the 8 saboteurs began paddling toward the enemy beach. Twenty-five minutes later they pulled the boats ashore and walked on the surface of the Japanese homeland.

Stumbling through noisy waist-high grasses, crossing a highway and then into a 4-foot drainage ditch, the saboteurs made their way to the railroad tracks. Three men were posted as guards, Markuson assigned to examine a nearby water tower. The Barb’s auxiliary man climbed the ladder, then stopped in shock as he realized it was an enemy lookout tower….an OCCUPIED tower. Fortunately the Japanese sentry was peacefully sleeping and Markuson was able to quietly withdraw and warn his raiding party.

The news from Markuson caused the men digging the placement for the explosive charge to continue their work more slowly and quietly. Twenty minutes later the holes had been dug and the explosives and batteries hidden beneath fresh soil.

During planning for the mission the saboteurs had been told that, with the explosives in place, all would retreat a safe distance while Hatfield made the final connection. If the sailor who had once cracked walnuts on the railroad tracks slipped during this final, dangerous procedure, his would be the only life lost On this night it was the only order the saboteurs refused to obey, all of them peering anxiously over Hatfield’s shoulder to make sure he did it right. The men had come too far to be disappointed by a switch failure.


1:32 A.M.


Watching from the deck of the Barb, Commander Fluckey allowed himself a sigh of relief as he noticed the flashlight signal from the beach announcing the departure of the shore party. He had skillfully, and daringly, guided the Barb within 600 yards of the enemy beach. There was less than 6 feet of water beneath the sub’s keel, but Fluckey wanted to be close in case trouble arose and a daring rescue of his saboteurs became necessary.

1:45 A.M.

The two boats carrying his saboteurs were only halfway back to the Barb when the sub’s machine gunner yelled, “CAPTAIN! Another train coming up the tracks!” The Commander grabbed a megaphone and yelled through the night, “Paddle like the devil!”, knowing full well that they wouldn’t reach the Barb before the train hit the micro switch.

1:47 A.M.

The darkness was shattered by brilliant light and the roar of the explosion. The boilers of the locomotive blew, shattered pieces of the engine blowing 200 feet into the air. Behind it the cars began to accordion into each other, bursting into flame and adding to the magnificent fireworks display. Five minutes later the saboteurs were lifted to the deck by their exuberant comrades as the Barb turned to slip back to safer waters. Moving at only two knots, it would be a while before the Barb was into waters deep enough to allow it to submerge. It was a moment to savor, the culmination of teamwork, ingenuity and daring by the Commander and all his crew. “Lucky” Fluckey’s voice came over the intercom. “All hands below deck not absolutely needed to maneuver the ship have permission to come topside.” He didn’t have to repeat the invitation. Hatches sprang open as the proud sailors of the Barb gathered on her decks to proudly watch the distant fireworks display. The Barb had “sunk” a Japanese TRAIN!

On August 2, 1945 the Barb arrived at Midway, her twelfth war patrol concluded. Meanwhile United States military commanders had pondered the prospect of an armed assault on the Japanese homeland. Military tacticians estimated such an invasion would cost more than a million American casualties. Instead of such a costly armed offensive to end the war, on August 6th the B-29 bomber Enola Gay dropped a single atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima, Japan. A second such bomb, unleashed 4 days later on Nagasaki, Japan, caused Japan to agree to surrender terms on August 15. On September 2, 1945, in Tokyo Harbor the documents ending the war in the Pacific were signed.

The story of the saboteurs of the USS Barb is one of those unique, little known stories of World War II. It becomes increasingly important when one realizes that the 8 sailors who blew up the train near Kashiho, Japan conducted the ONLY GROUND COMBAT OPERATION on the Japanese “homeland” of World War II. The eight saboteurs were:

Paul Saunders

William Hatfield


Francis Sever


Lawrence Newland


Edward Klinglesmith


James Richard


John Markuson


William Walker.


Footnote: Eugene Bennett Fluckey retired from the Navy as a Rear Admiral, and wore in addition to his Medal of Honor, FOUR Navy Crosses… In 1992 his own history of the U.S.S. Barb was published in the award winning book, THUNDER BELOW. The proceeds from the sale of this exciting book were used by Admiral Fluckey to provide free reunions for the men who served him aboard the Barb, and their wives. RADM Fluckey died at age 93, in 2007.
 
Just as an aside, if he was on active duty today and tried something like that in ANY of the last three conflicts, he’d probably have been Courts Martialed…
 
They truly don’t make em like him anymore!!!

Sleazy, just plain sleazy…

Posted on by March 6, 2013
This is truly hard to believe, but then again I’m really NOT surprised…

Breitbart has it HERE

Obama took to his tumblr page to offer a tribute to Neil Armstrong. The words–two sentences–are fine in a generic politician way. But, Obama being Obama, he injected himself into the tribute…….. He included a photo, not of Armstrong or the iconic step onto the lunar surface, but of himself, gazing up at the moon.

 
Narcissism….. with a capital “N”
 
And the original ‘find’ thanks to SooperMexican…
 
You can go HERE and see the Obama/Biden Tumblr site with the picture and all TWO sentences of a tribute, I’ll be damned if I’ll put it up!!!

Edit-  And Bob made a nice catch on the visual… It’s the crescent moon and a star…

And what’s that??? Go HERE!
 
And people want to re-elect him AND Biden…
 
YGTBSM!!!
 
h/t JP and Bob

You just can’t make these up…

Posted on by March 6, 2013
Because nobody would believe it…

From the Jeruselum Post–

On Friday President Barack Hussein Obama informed the US Congress that he intended to sell 125 M-1A1 Abrams Tanks to the Egyptian Military.

Say WHAT???  OF course it’s done on FRIDAY so it’ll be out of the news cycle by Monday (and ignored by the MSM anyway)…
Lindh wants group prayers–

Taliban John Walker Lindh is expected to testify in Indiana lawsuit that challenges limits placed on group prayer among Muslims.  Inmates in the unit are allowed to have group prayers once a week. Lindh says that violates his religion’s requirement that they pray together daily. 

HELLO, you’re in PRISON you don’t get everything you want… And there is a little thing called ‘security’ that is the over-riding concern, not your ‘group’ prayers…

Who shot who?  The police of course–

All nine people wounded during a dramatic confrontation between police and a gunman outside the Empire State Building were struck by bullets fired by the two officers, police said Saturday, citing ballistics evidence.

In other news, ‘apparently’ NYPD only fires about 200 rounds a YEAR for training and qualifications, and they ‘apparently’ only have to score in the 70% range to ‘qualify’…  One MORE reason NOT to visit NYC (or the whole damn state for that matter)…

TSA at Paul Ryan Event–

The latest example of this kind of activity occurred at an event organized by Mitt Romney’s GOP running mate Paul Ryan this past weekend in The Villages, Florida.

The Shark Tank blog reports that TSA officers showed up alongside Secret Service and the local Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, and proceeded to do what they do like no one else does.

When you ‘add up’ all the ‘outreach’ TSA is doing, it really starts raising a lot of questions (at least in MY mind), about what the real goal is…  And under who’s authority are they out there???
 From a teacher in the Nashville area.

“We are worried about ‘the cow’ when it is all about the ‘Ice Cream.’

The most eye-opening civics lesson I ever had was while teaching third grade this year.

The presidential election was heating up and some of the children showed an interest.  I decided that we would have an election for a class president.  We would choose our nominees. They would make a campaign speech and the class would vote.  To simplify the process, candidates were nominated by other class members.  We discussed what kinds of characteristics these students should have. 



We got many nominations and from those, Jamie and Olivia were picked to run for the top spot.  The class had done a great job in their selections. Both candidates were good kids.  I thought Jamie might have an advantage because he got lots of parental support.  I had never seen Olivia’s mother.

The day for their speeches arrived.  Jamie went first.  He had specific ideas about how to make our class a better place.  He ended by promising to do his very best.  Everyone applauded and he sat down.  Olivia’s speech was concise.  She said, “If you vote for me, I will give you ice cream.” And then she sat down. The class went wild.  “Yes! Yes! We want ice cream.”  She surely would say more.  She did not have to.

A discussion followed.  How did she plan to pay for the ice cream?  She wasn’t sure.  Would her parents buy it or would the class pay for it? She didn’t know.  The class really didn’t care.  All they were thinking about was ice cream.

Jamie was forgotten.  Olivia won by a landslide.

Every time Barack Obama opened his mouth he offered ice cream and 52 percent of the people reacted like nine year olds.  They want ice cream.  The other 48 percent know they’re going to have to feed the cow and clean up the mess.  This is the ice cream Obama promised us!

And this one from Britian…


This stuff IS coming here if we’re not careful and actually get control of our government back…
h/t JP, Les, Gary and others

That was FUN!!!

Posted on by March 6, 2013
Snuck off this morning and met up with MSgt B and Agirl (and her hubby) for a little shooty goodness…

As usual, the idjits were out on the road, it was spitting rain, not raining, raining like a cow peeing on a flat rock (lather, rinse, repeat)…  Saw a Vette moving ‘swiftly’ through traffic, with a VW Golf GTI ‘trying’ to keep up…

About 5 miles down the road, Vette and GTI are on the side, with the ass end of the Vette damaged and the front end of the GTI also damaged…  Betting the Vette finally either got tired of the “chase” or had to lay on the brakes and the GTI couldn’t…

And there was the obligatory old pickup with worldly goods in the back and the ‘rain cover’ flapping in the breeze (and not covering anything)…

And the usual idjit that decided to cut under the nose of a semi and then slam on the brakes!  Kudos to the semi driver, he managed to miss the idjit and NOT hit anybody else, but I’m glad the shoulder was empty!!!

Finally got to the range, and managed to NOT get soaked getting inside, but it was close!  Got two adjacent lanes, and we proceeded to burn some ammo!  Yea US!!!

I’m gonna tell you, do NOT piss of Agirl!!! Every gun we handed her, she shot 3-4 inch groups with at 7-10 yards!!!  She may be a ‘newer’ shooter, but she’s consistent and accurate!

Ironically, the only gun she had problems with was the old Trooper I picked up, and I think that was my fault, as I didn’t correct her aim point from what MSgt B had told her with his Ruger (they were significantly different)!  Also, she is used to a ‘bright’ front sight blade, and had some problems picking up the plain ol’ blue sight on the Trooper against a black target background.  

I keep forgetting ‘younger’ shooters never had to learn to shoot on guns that didn’t have nice bright front sights, and I ‘forget’ to caution people that they REALLY have to concentrate on that front sight.

After shooting everything, we decided on lunch, and the conversations were wide ranging, and the ‘war’ stories started since all three of us guys are retired military.  Agirl held her own pretty well, usually pointing out that she had to find out what hubby was doing from somebody else!  (Hey what can I say, our standard rule was to NOT worry the S.O. while we were on the road, even if you WERE getting shot at)… But the story of hubby getting outed by a friend he invited to dinner WAS funny!!! 

Since we all had things to do, the day ended early, and I slogged it back to the house.  We seriously need to do that more often!!!

Humor, kinda… sorta…

Posted on by March 6, 2013
Just to help y’all with these, a LOT of these have to do with recips NOT with jets…  Just sayin…

Useful Aviation Terms


AIRSPEED – Speed of an airplane. (Deduct 25% when listening to a retired fighter pilot.)

BANK – The folks who hold the lien on most pilots’ cars.

CARBURETOR ICING – A phenomenon reported to the FAA by pilots immediately after they run out of gas.

CONE OF CONFUSION – An area about the size of New Jersey located near the final approach fix at an airport.


DEAD RECKONING – You reckon correctly, or you are.


DESTINATION – Geographical location 30 minutes beyond the pilot’s bladder saturation point.

ENGINE FAILURE – A condition that occurs when all fuel tanks mysteriously become filled with low-octane air.

FIREWALL – Section of the aircraft specifically designed to funnel heat and smoke into the cockpit.

FLIGHT FOLLOWING – Formation flying.

GLIDE DISTANCE – Half the distance from an airplane to the nearest emergency landing field.

HOBBS – An instrument which creates an emergency situation should it fail during dual instruction.

HYDROPLANE – An airplane designed to land long on a short and wet runway.

LEAN MIXTURE – Nonalcoholic beer.

MINI MAG LITE – Device designed to support the AA battery industry. (that’s for DAMN sure)…

NANOSECOND – Time delay between the Low Fuel Warning light and the onset of carburetor icing.

PARASITIC DRAG – A pilot who bums a ride and complains about the service.

RICH MIXTURE – What you order at another pilot’s promotion party.

ROGER – Used when you’re not sure what else to say.

SECTIONAL CHART – Any chart that ends 25 nm short of your destination.

SERVICE CEILING – Altitude at which cabin crew can serve drinks.

SPOILERS – FAA Inspectors.

STALL – Technique used to explain to the bank why your car payment is late.

STEEP BANKS – Banks that charge pilots more than 10% interest.

TURN & BANK INDICATOR – An instrument largely ignored by pilots.

USEFUL LOAD – Volumetric capacity of the aircraft, disregarding weight.

WAC CHART – Directions to the Army female barracks.

YANKEE – Any pilot who has to ask New Orleans tower to “Say again”.


Yep, THAT is gonna leave a ‘couple’ of marks…


And I’d be buying the other guy some glasses!!! “Something” tells me he didn’t look anything like a fish…

Y’all go read the folks on the sidebar, I’m gone to the range!