Let the PANIC Begin…

Posted on by March 6, 2013
Well, here it comes, the second ‘disaster’ in a week for the DC Metro region…
Panic buying- Check (try finding toilet paper or bottled water, or bread)
Media Hype- Check (including dragging out the 1930-something Hurricane that hit NY and Conn)…
Traffic hosed- Check (including the obligatory beater packed to the gills, weaving in and out of traffic)
Obigatory sob-story interview- Check (“Me and my NINE chirruns don’t gots no power, no food, the gubbermint ain’t doin nuthin; as her cell phone rings in her Gucci handbag)
Rampant rumormongering- Check
TEOTWAWKI- Two ‘disasters’ we can’t take anymore…
They are gonna turn off power (Ocean City, MD)
They are gonna turn off water (Ocean City, MD)
The Washington Monument is gonna fall over/be blown over.
Washington is gonna flood… (not necessarily a BAD thing… Just sayin)
There gonna be BODIES in the streets (again)
The Republicans did this to hurt the Obamallama- I don’t EVEN get this one…  All he’s going do is blame it on Bush.
They’re going to confiscate guns (DC)
I can’t get FILL IN THE BLANK…
Sigh…
The “actual” forcast is for 60% chance of rain Sat starting about noon, ‘possible’ flooding of low lying areas, 70% chance of rain Sun, with winds to 28kts…
We truly ARE idiots…

Blog Challenge and other things…

Posted on by March 6, 2013
First and foremost, Ambulance Driver has a blog challenge post up to benefit Male cancer organizations, go HERE and read the post and sign up. There are some good prizes that have been donated, and they are ALL worth it.  Please take the time to sign up and participate, it IS for a good cause (it’s all about keeping our ‘bits’ working as advertised)… Just sayin…


And I’ll play along on the book meme…

Via Mostly Cajun, and a WHOLE bunch of other folks, the NPR’s Top 100 Science Fiction and Fantasy novels with the ones I have read in bold:

1. The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, by J.R.R. Tolkien

2. The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, by Douglas Adams

3. Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card- This SHOULD be required reading for everybody today! It is now on the required reading list for the Military!

4. The Dune Chronicles, by Frank Herbert Well, I read the original and that was it… Lost interest…

5. A Song Of Ice And Fire Series, by George R. R. Martin

6. 1984, by George Orwell

7. Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury

8. The Foundation Trilogy, by Isaac Asimov

9. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley

10. American Gods, by Neil Gaiman

11. The Princess Bride, by William Goldman

12. The Wheel Of Time Series, by Robert Jordan

13. Animal Farm, by George Orwell

14. Neuromancer, by William Gibson

15. Watchmen, by Alan Moore

16. I, Robot, by Isaac Asimov – THIS was one of Isaac’s best.

17. Stranger In A Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein

18. The Kingkiller Chronicles, by Patrick Rothfuss

19. Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut

20. Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley

21. Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?, by Philip K. Dick

22. The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood

23. The Dark Tower Series, by Stephen King

24. 2001: A Space Odyssey, by Arthur C. Clarke

25. The Stand, by Stephen King

26. Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson

27. The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury

28. Cat’s Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut- Another HARD read…

29. The Sandman Series, by Neil Gaiman

30. A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess

31. Starship Troopers, by Robert Heinlein

32. Watership Down, by Richard Adams

33. Dragonflight, by Anne McCaffrey

34. The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, by Robert Heinlein

35. A Canticle For Leibowitz, by Walter M. Miller

36. The Time Machine, by H.G. Wells

37. 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, by Jules Verne

38. Flowers For Algernon, by Daniel Keys

39. The War Of The Worlds, by H.G. Wells

40. The Chronicles Of Amber, by Roger Zelazny

41. The Belgariad, by David Eddings

42. The Mists Of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley

43. The Mistborn Series, by Brandon Sanderson

44. Ringworld, by Larry Niven

45. The Left Hand Of Darkness, by Ursula K. LeGuin

46. The Silmarillion, by J.R.R. Tolkien  This one was HARD to get through…

47. The Once And Future King, by T.H. White

48. Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman

49. Childhood’s End, by Arthur C. Clarke

50. Contact, by Carl Sagan

51. The Hyperion Cantos, by Dan Simmons

52. Stardust, by Neil Gaiman

53. Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson

54. World War Z, by Max Brooks

55. The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle

56. The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman

57. Small Gods, by Terry Pratchett – I will be.  I’ve actually read ALL his books…

58. The Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant, The Unbeliever, by Stephen R. Donaldson

59. The Vorkosigan Saga, by Lois McMaster Bujold

60. Going Postal, by Terry Pratchett

61. The Mote In God’s Eye, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle

62. The Sword Of Truth, by Terry Goodkind

63. The Road, by Cormac McCarthy

64. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke

65. I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson

66. The Riftwar Saga, by Raymond E. Feist

67. The Shannara Trilogy, by Terry Brooks

68. The Conan The Barbarian Series, by R.E. Howard

69. The Farseer Trilogy, by Robin Hobb

70. The Time Traveler’s Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger

71. The Way Of Kings, by Brandon Sanderson

72. A Journey To The Center Of The Earth, by Jules Verne

73. The Legend Of Drizzt Series, by R.A. Salvatore

74. Old Man’s War, by John Scalzi- Read all three of his…

75. The Diamond Age, by Neil Stephenson

76. Rendezvous With Rama, by Arthur C. Clarke

77. The Kushiel’s Legacy Series, by Jacqueline Carey

78. The Dispossessed, by Ursula K. LeGuin

79. Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury

80. Wicked, by Gregory Maguire

81. The Malazan Book Of The Fallen Series, by Steven Erikson

82. The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde

83. The Culture Series, by Iain M. Banks

84. The Crystal Cave, by Mary Stewart

85. Anathem, by Neal Stephenson

86. The Codex Alera Series, by Jim Butcher

87. The Book Of The New Sun, by Gene Wolfe

88. The Thrawn Trilogy, by Timothy Zahn

89. The Outlander Series, by Diana Gabaldan

90. The Elric Saga, by Michael Moorcock

91. The Illustrated Man, by Ray Bradbury

92. Sunshine, by Robin McKinley

93. A Fire Upon The Deep, by Vernor Vinge

94. The Caves Of Steel, by Isaac Asimov

95. The Mars Trilogy, by Kim Stanley Robinson – And after I was done, my reaction was “Meh.”

96. Lucifer’s Hammer, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle

97. Doomsday Book, by Connie Willis

98. Perdido Street Station, by China Mieville

99. The Xanth Series, by Piers Anthony

100. The Space Trilogy, by C.S. Lewis


I’ve read over half of them, after all those LOOOOOONG flights are good for something, along with a bunch of nights in hotels…


I also recommend getting an e-reader, as they DO save money, space, and are convenient as hell 🙂


But some, like Gaiman, I just can’t get into…  Others not on the list, Andre Norton, Spider Robinson, John Ringo, David Drake, and a bunch of others in the long past… 


Sadly, if you gave this list to a teen today, I’d have doubts that they would have read 10 of them…


And if you go over to Kevin’s blog Smallest Minority, he’s starting his own Top 100 list!    

I’m Awake… I’m Awake!!!

Posted on by March 6, 2013


Well, it’s pretty bad when we not only get California weather in DC, but we get the earthquakes too!!!

It was a little 5.9er felt like mostly S-waves, and probably lasted 15 seconds…


We were sitting in class (again, dammit), and about 60 miles from the epicenter when it let go.  My coffee cup started dancing, I picked it up, looked across the table at one of the other folks (TAD here from California) who was doing the same thing, and we both said Earthquake at the same time!


The instructor didn’t know what to do, so we ‘suggested’ evacuating, since the building we were in was build in 1938…


We got outside and everyone was trying to figure out if  ‘something’ big blew up (or got hit), or that was REALLY an earthquake…  I sent a quick text to my daughters to let them know no problems, and then watched as everybody tried to use their cells at the same time (and about 1 in 30 actually got through).


As typically happens, the system was overloaded in about a minute, and everybody was getting more and more frustrated.  About 15 minutes later, we go back to class, only to be booted out at 1500, since the powers that be weren’t ‘sure’ the building was safe, AND as we found out, they kicked EVERYFRIGGINBODY loose at the same time… 


Roads were a @#&* mess, it took me 1 1/2 hours to go 16 miles home… sigh…  


And the phones didn’t really come back up until about a hour after the quake happened…  Initial reports, no serious injuries, no deaths, we were shaken but not stirred.


AND I got @#^% homework now… sigh


Mudbug made this comment over a Troublesome Times and as far as I’m concerned, he wins the Interwebz today!


I always wondered what would happen if all of the Founding Fathers rolled over in their graves at once… interesting.

How Many Times…

Posted on by March 6, 2013


Do we have to ‘relearn’ this???

“The budget should  be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled,  public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and  controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be  curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt.
People must again  learn to work, instead of  living on public assistance.”

–  Cicero – 55 BC 


And a bit of humor to start the week…

Why Some Men Have a Dog And No Wife:                                  

1.   The later you are, the more excited your 
dogs are to see you.

2.      Dogs don’t notice if you call them by 
another dog’s name.

3.      Dogs like it if you leave a lot of things on 
the floor.

4.      A dog’s parents never visit.

5.      Dogs agree that you have to raise your 
voice to get your point across.

6.      Dogs find you amusing when you’re 
drunk.

7.      Dogs like to go hunting and fishing.

8.      A dog will not wake you up at night to 
ask, “If I died, would you get another dog?”

9.      If a dog has babies, you can put an ad in 
the paper and give them away.

10.  If a dog smells another dog on you, they 
don’t get mad. They just think it’s interesting.

And last but not least, If a dog leaves, it 
won’t take half of your stuff.

Random things…

Posted on by March 6, 2013
So I was working on my To Do list today…



I dropped by my favorite gun store today to buy ammo, and we got to discussing ‘pocket carry’, and I think 3/4 of the customers were carrying snubbies…



And there were THREE of us carrying old Colts 🙂  The rest, I think all but one were carrying S&W and one lady had a Taurus in her purse. The rest varied from LCR to P-3AT to one older gent with a Browning 1910!!!


So what is YOUR favorite pocket carry or carries as the case may be?


And leaving the gun store I saw a truck with the license plate RED N3K 🙂 And he had a bumper sticker on the back that said-


Paddle faster I hear BANJOS!!!  🙂


And on a more serious note, Ambulance Driver is posting a blog challenge for all of us to support Prostate Cancer and Testicular Cancer awareness in September.  There will be significant prizes for the winner (trust me on this). You can check out his lead up post HERE.  While “I” will not be wearing a kilt, I will be supporting the effort, and ask all of you to do the same when AD gets the details up.  


For those who don’t read AD, he’s a good ol’ boy from Louisiana, career Paramedic, damn sarcastic, pretty decent shot, and one of the few I call a true friend (in other words, I WOULD put up bail $$)…


I hope each and everyone can take a break from the current insanity at least for a while, and enjoy time with family, at the range, flying, or what ever your ‘passion’ is… We ALL need a bit of downtime.  

Nothing much to say…

Posted on by March 6, 2013
Looks like MORE cuts are coming for the Military…



At what point do we just turn off the lights, close the doors,  and stop being America so that MORE $$ can go to entitlements???


At what point does the Eagle become a Buzzard, picking over the carcass of this once great nation?

Self-Licking Ice Cream Cone…

Posted on by March 6, 2013


So…


I’m wasting a couple of weeks attending ‘certification’ classes in stuff I’ve been doing for 20 + years, just so I can get a check in the box, since it’s now been mandated…


So, Monday morning I go into the ‘administration’ office and ask what are the requirements to have the classes waived?  Previous qualifications, experience, recommendations???


I get the usual ‘form’ letter…


So I go back and dig out my original certification from the Navy, my last 8 years worth of job descriptions, etc.


There is a block for ‘professional associations’, ‘continuing education’, e.g. the usual BS…  


So today I go in to talk to them on a break, and guess what; I cannot be ‘grandfathered’ because I don’t meet their ‘minimum’ requirements!!!


So naturally I ask what minimum requirements?


Well, no CE credits in the last 8 years, my certification is too ‘old’, and my job descriptions are not in the ‘proper format’ and don’t list my duties by primary and secondary requirements.


Say WHAT???  


So I’m told with a straight face- Well, if I’d been a member of the ‘organization’ for the past 10 years and taken the CE credits, I’d be fine; as they would have accepted my previous designation. And if I had followed their ‘recommended’ format for job descriptions, it would all be fine.


Soooo… If I had VOLUNTARILY joined your ‘organization’ (e.g. paid you membership money for 10 years) AND paid your ‘organization’ (more money) for CE training it would be all good?


And managed to convince the people that I work for that my job descriptions HAD to be formatted in a specific way (that I had never seen and didn’t know existed),  that would be okay?


So if I want to protest the lack of grandfathering?


Well, our ‘organization’ makes those determinations…


Soooo… Since I didn’t VOLUNTARILY join an ‘organization’ that was not required, and use a format that was not required, and the ‘organization’ has determined that my previous qualification is too old, and there is no protest allowed, and you have managed to weasel your way into this being a mandatory qualification…


I have NO OPTION but to now attend your classes (so you get paid BIG$$)…


Yep, you’ve created the perfect self-licking ice cream cone…


And she wondered why I walked out of there a tad pissed.


And I’ve gotta take ANOTHER @#&* class next week!


The inmates and bean counters have TRULY taken over the asylum… 


Howinthehellhavewecometothis? What happened to actually being ‘qualified’ based on your initial training, ability to do the job, and follow the procedures you were required to use?


If you weren’t doing the job, the result was your ass was fired!


Sigh… I’m getting WAY too old for this BS…

Unfrikkinbelievable part whatever!!!

Posted on by March 6, 2013

One of however many I feel like driving my BP up with tonight…

Text:

Obama’s Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack: “Well, obviously, it’s putting people to work. Which is why we’re going to have some interesting things in the course of the forum this morning. Later this morning, we’re going have a press conference with Secretary Mavis and Secretary Chu to announce something that’s never happened in this country — something that we think is exciting in terms of job growth. I should point out, when you talk about the SNAP program or the food stamp program, you have to recognize that it’s also an economic stimulus. Every dollar of SNAP benefits generates $1.84 in the economy in terms of economic activity. If people are able to buy a little more in the grocery store, someone has to stock it, package it, shelve it, process it, ship it. All of those are jobs. It’s the most direct stimulus you can get in the economy during these tough times.”


Video HERE 

Well, I guess he has the answer:  Put more people out of work so they can go on Food Stamp and we’ll have a remarkable economic recovery.  I’m in utter awe of his intellect!!!  NOT…


And by now everybody has heard of the $1M bus for the Prez…


Except that one is none, so you know damn well they bought TWO (oh wait a minute, there are actually TWO buses in the caravan), make that FOUR buses!!!  


And Marine One plus back-up are within a specific ‘range’ of the Prez at all times, and Air Force One plus at least one C-17 is sitting somewhere close, plus the advanced parties for each location (each team is 10 plus personnel), and, and, etc…


In other words, this little “poor man’s bus tour” is probably costing we the people about $10M…   Bus video HERE


AND the Prez basically said the Republicans are ‘treasonous’ today, because they are ‘holding the US hostage, by playing politics’…


Say WHAT???  Aren’t the Democrats doing EXACTLY the same thing???


Sigh…


And now one to piss y’all off 🙂  Link HERE


I don’t understand, ‘5 years of supervised release’ for Mexican nationals (illegals)

Will it be here?… live on US teat for another 5 years for probation after release?…. or Mexico after deportation? (yea, that’s gonna work)
Luis Angel Cruz–Jimenez, 25, a Mexican national, was sentenced today to 37 months in prison for possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. Cruz–Jimenez will also be required to serve three years of supervised release. He pled guilty on May 3.

Sentenced on July 8 on related drug charges were Mexican nationals

Julio Jimenez–Morales, 30, to 108 months in prison, and Jose Penaloza–Paramo, 30, to 240 months in prison. Both men will be required to serve five years of supervised release following their prison term. Jimenez–Morales was ordered to forfeit $10,000; Penaloza-Paramo, $39,000.

Collado–Rojas was sentenced on July 18 to 151 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release.

Vega–Corona will be required to serve three years of supervised release after his prison term.




And now that your BP is up about at level of mine, a great little three minute film that gives us hope…


HERE

Remember, tomorrow is hump day, so stay away from male dogs… 🙂 

Simple Home Remedies…

Posted on by March 6, 2013


1. AVOID CUTTING YOURSELF WHEN SLICING VEGETABLES BY GETTING SOMEONE ELSE TO HOLD THE VEGETABLES WHILE YOU CHOP.

2. AVOID ARGUMENTS WITH THE FEMALES ABOUT LIFTING THE TOILET SEAT BY USING THE SINK.

3. FOR HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE SUFFERERS ~ SIMPLY CUT YOURSELF AND BLEED FOR A FEW MINUTES, THUS REDUCING THE PRESSURE ON YOUR VEINS. REMEMBER TO USE A TIMER.

4. A MOUSE TRAP PLACED ON TOP OF YOUR ALARM CLOCK WILL PREVENT YOU FROM ROLLING OVER AND GOING BACK TO SLEEP AFTER YOU HIT THE SNOOZE BUTTON.

5. IF YOU HAVE A BAD COUGH, TAKE A LARGE DOSE OF LAXATIVES. THEN YOU’LL BE AFRAID TO COUGH.

6. YOU NEED ONLY TWO TOOLS IN LIFE – WD-40 AND DUCT TAPE. IF IT DOESN’T MOVE AND SHOULD, USE THE WD-40. IF IT SHOULDN’T MOVE AND DOES, USE THE DUCT TAPE.

7. IF YOU CAN’T FIX IT WITH A HAMMER, YOU’VE GOT AN ELECTRICAL PROBLEM.

By Popular Request…

Posted on by March 6, 2013

First ya need a gun…



Oops, gun in too big to fit in any current airplane… Need new airplane…


Hello, Fairchild-Republic?  Yep, remember the P-47 Thunderbolt? Yeah, yeah, can you update that a bit?  Couple of jet engines would be good; yep, tanks and stuff like that…  Uh huh, A10 Thunderbolt works for us, kthxbi. 

NOW we’re making progress just design the damn airplane AROUND the gun…

Make it Old School, butt ugly, powerful and with a Titanium Tub for the pilot, just in case…  After all it IS going to be low, slow and shooting at things that CAN shoot back…

And just in case the bad guys get lucky, make everything at least doubly redundant (Old School- Belt AND Suspenders)… and triply redundant on flight control systems two hydraulic and one manual…


Capt. Kim Campbell sustained this damage over Baghdad and flew for another hour before returning to base. Story HERE.  And here’s one by Michael Yon.

Get the biggest damn bullet you can, 30mm 6500 grains depleted uranium penetrator and push it real fast… 


Just to put it in perspective, the .223 Rem (M16 rifle round) is fast. It shoots a 55 or so grain bullet at about 3300 feet/sec, give or take. It’s the fastest of all those rounds shown (except one). When you move up to the .30 caliber rounds, the bullets jump up in weight to 160-200 grains. Speeds run from about 2600 to 3000 fps or so. 

The .338 Lapua is the king of the sniper rifles these days and shoots a 350 grain bullet at 2800 fps or so. They kill bad guys at over a mile with that one.

The .50 BMG is really big. Ask AEpilot Jim…

Everyone who picks one up thinks it’s some sort of fake, unless they know big ammo. It’s really huge with a bullet that weighs 750 grains and goes as fast the Lapua.

The bullet for the 30×173 Avenger has an aluminum jacket around a spent uranium core and weighs 6560 grains (yes, over 100 times as heavy as the M16 bullet, and flies through the air at 3500 fps (which is faster than the M16 as well).

The gun shoots at a rate of 4200 rounds per minute. Yes, four thousand. Pilots typically shoot either one- or two-second burst which set loose 70 to 150 rounds. The system is optimized for shooting at 4,000 feet. 


I personally have seen Hog destroy a Soviet T-72 tank with ONE 2 second burst...

How big IS the gun?  Well, here is a PR photo done with an old VW Beetle…



Seven barrels, 112 inches long, total gun length? 19 1/2 feet long… 


Oh yeah, stick a few hard points on the wings too will ya, we ‘might’ want to carry ‘other’ things…

And the Air Force Generals hated it, because it was ugly, and the gear wasn’t fully retractable, and they kept trying to kill it…  


But the pilots loved it, the maintainers loved it, and they flew the hell out of them, and killed MANY things with them… And the pilots came home almost every time…


And they are STILL being used in combat, and are the ONLY true CAS asset the Air Force has…


h/t WSF