Random Travel #682…

Posted on by March 6, 2013
A couple of pics from the hotel…




They do belt AND suspenders security, guards (running mirrors under cars and looking in trunks etc.), fences (with pointy spikes), and state of the art video systems…

And the Souk…  Restaurants, etc. in this one little area, and there are 5-6 of these spread around the city.  Some that we are NOT welcome in, and the cops will actually stop cars with caucasians and tell them to turn around and leave an area… Sorry for the lousy spots, the wind causes dirt to stick to the windows and they can’t keep em clean…

Thai, Italian and Mexican are popular restaurants. Last night we went to the Movenpick (big Swiss Hotel chain) for the seafood buffet.  Absolutely unbelievable!  Fresh fish, shrimp, etc. cooked to your liking a variety of ways, various other dishes (seafood related), Sushi (freshly prepared), and a desert bar with probably 30 items, with wine for $51 US; and it was all you can eat!!!  


Needless to say, I shot my diet right square in the ass last night… sigh 


Interestingly, most of the hotel ’employees’ are contract workers, with Philippine, Indian, and Asians representing the majority. The ‘managers’ are all Bahraini, Saudi, etc.  Apparently, most of the contracts are one year contracts, so if you don’t perform, you don’t keep the job, so service is excellent pretty much everywhere.


And there is DEFINITELY a double standard in this part of the world. Two instances, one was in the lobby, where there is no smoking, and a ‘royal’ (wearing a keffiyeh with a gold rope) lit up in the middle of the lobby and not a word was said…  He stubbed his cigarette out with his shoe, and someone was right there to pick up the butt.

Second, driving in this morning, again a ‘royal’ driving an Aston Martin comes up in the right turn lane, honks, bulls his way into traffic, then cuts across 3 lanes to turn LEFT!  Bahraini police at the corner did NOTHING… sigh…


Oh yeah, and one last picture- The ‘spare’ palace…
They keep it fully staffed, lights, A/C etc. just in case a visiting Sheik or King shows up on short notice (or maybe long notice, I don’t know)…


And in the background is the financial district with the ‘sail’ building. It’s one of the central buildings for the financial district and home to a bunch of banks, investment firms etc.  


Oh yeah, one last thing… Beef Bacon is ‘different’, to put it mildly…

Are we there YET???

Posted on by March 6, 2013
Another day, another airplane… sigh…



Are we there yet??? Nope, Kuwait and a wait…


And somebody REALLY screwed up the reservations, cause we are in a 5 star hotel!!!  Damn!



And this isn’t even one of the high dollar rooms. They apparently start at $2000/night and go up from there!


Sure beats the hell outta where I was the last three weeks…

The Island…

Posted on by March 6, 2013

A little humor for your Friday! 🙂

2 Italian men and 1 Italian woman
2 French men and 1 French woman
2 German men and 1 German woman
2 Greek men and 1 Greek woman
2 Bulgarian men and 1 Bulgarian woman
2 Japanese men and 1 Japanese woman
2 Chinese men and 1 Chinese woman
2 American men and 1 American woman
2 Irish men and 1 Irish woman
2 English men and 1 English woman


One month later on the same island in the middle of nowhere, the following things have occurred:

One Italian man killed the other Italian man for the Italian woman.

The two French men and the French woman are living happily together in a ménage-à-trois.

The two German men have a strict weekly schedule of alternating visits with the German woman.

The two Greek men are sleeping with each other and the Greek woman is cleaning and cooking for them.

The two Bulgarian men took one long look at the endless ocean, another long look at the Bulgarian woman, and started swimming.

The two Japanese men have faxed Tokyo and are awaiting instructions.

The two Chinese men have set up a pharmacy, a liquor store, a restaurant and a laundry, and have got the woman pregnant in order to supply employees for their stores.

The two American men are contemplating suicide because the American woman keeps complaining about her body, the true nature of feminism, how she can do everything they can do, the necessity of fulfilment, the equal division of household chores, how sand and palm trees make her look fat, how her last boyfriend respected her opinion and treated her nicer than they do, how her relationship with her mother is improving and how at least the taxes are low and it isn’t raining.

The two Irish men have divided the island into North and South and have set up a distillery. They do not remember if sex is in the picture because it gets sort of foggy after the first few litres of coconut whisky but they’re satisfied because at least the English aren’t having any fun.

The two English men are waiting for someone to introduce them to the English woman.

Eastbound and down…

Posted on by March 6, 2013
By the time you read this, I’ll be somewhere over the Pacific, heading for the barn…


And for those who questioned coffee by Coke, here’s the machine!





And I have a rule of one good meal a det, and we finally got that last night, at one of my favorite places in WESTPAC.


For you old WESTPAC hands, two pics that ‘should’ tell you where we ate! 🙂



And here are a couple of pics of a real rickshaw from Hong Kong and yes they really were licensed!!!



And no, it wasn’t in the restaurant back in the day…


And one last hint for you old farts…



Yes, that IS the ceiling, and yes those are mostly dollar bills…  The ‘deal’ was if you could stick your dollar in the x ring, your meal was free! Never was able to to that one… sigh…


And the answer is-


Sam’s Anchor Inn!  


Great Teppanyaki restaurant, steaks/seafood and all the trimmings, including some just flat butt ugly ‘souvenir’ glasses.  And it cost a ‘bit’ more than the $4-5 that it used to, but it was still a great meal, and a good way to unwind after the time on the road.  


Those opening pics are the stairs and entry way, literally covered with 30+ years of business cards from all over the world.  If I dug back far enough (assuming I could remember where we stuck it), we’d find a Dragon Zap stuck up on the ceiling.


And say a prayer for all those who are in the grip/path of the storms that are moving across the country right now.  They need our help.

Military Aviator Heaven…

Posted on by March 6, 2013

For all my aviator friends…

You sort of had to have been there to understand all of this…

It is the best it could ever be.
 
Everybody’s a lieutenant, except God. He’s a General or Admiral (as the mood strikes Him!)
You only come to work when you’re going to fly.You fly three times a day, if you wish, except on Friday.
You never run out of fuel
You never run out of ammo.
Your missions are one hour long (or longer if you desire) and no briefings are ever required.
Sorties are air-to-air or air-to-ground, your choice.
You shoot the gun on every mission.
There are no check rides.
It is always VFR, and there are never any ATC delays.
You can fly out of the MOA and down to 10 feet AGL, if you want.
There are no ‘over G’s.’ 
The airplanes never break. Never any Fatals…. I mean….. you’re already there!
There are never any duty officer assignments.
You always fly overhead landing patterns with initial approach at 20 feet, then break left.
You can go cross-country anytime you desire… the further the better.
There are no ORI/UEIs.
There are no flight surgeons.
There are no Staff Jobs. 
There are no additional duties.
Friday Happy Hour is mandatory. ‘Happy Hour’ begins at 1400 hours and lasts until 0200+ hours.
The bartenders are all big bosomed and friendly.
Beer is free, but whiskey costs a nickel.
The bar serves only Chivas Regal, Jack Daniels and Beefeaters… plus 500 kinds of beer.
Country and Western music is free on the jukebox.
You never lose your room key and your buddies never leave you stranded.
The sun always shines, and you can put your hat in your pants pocket.
Flight Suits are allowed in the O Club at all times.
The BX always has every item you ask for, most being free.
There are never any crosswind landings, and the runways are always dry.
Control tower flybys for wheels-up checks can be made at 600 kts.
There are never any noise complaints.
Full afterburner climbs over your house are encouraged. 
Fitness reports always contain the statement, ‘Outstanding Officer.’
Functions requiring mess dress never occur.
All air traffic controllers are friendly and always provide priority handling.
‘ACE’ status is conferred upon all Aviators entering Heaven.
And… You Never Have To Grow Up!

h/t JP, Frito, and Cliffy

Another little quiz for y’all…

Posted on by March 6, 2013

Another one from the Mil-emails…

This is a terrific test, and it shows results in a number of ways.  It surely indicates that the majority of Americans don’t know what’s going on.

Interesting and simple test.  It’s astonishing that so many people got less than half right.

These results say that 80% of the (voting) public doesn’t have a clue – and that’s pretty scary.

There are no tricks here – just a simple test to see if you are current on your information.

This is quite good and the results are interesting.

Test your knowledge with 13 questions, then be ready to shudder when you see how others did.
     
         http://pewresearch.org/politicalquiz/quiz/index.php


I got 12 of 13 because I screwed up the unemployment rate… Hint- 15% AIN’T it… Even if it really is…

h/t JP

Cold War, my ass…

Posted on by March 6, 2013
Another one from the mil-email net!


As we used to say in Aviation, “photos affirm”…


So here are a few photos…


An ‘innocent’ little fishing trawler, right???



It’s actually one of many Russian AGIs that we used to sight world wide attempting to ‘collect’ against us.  This particular one used to hang out near Holy Loch, Scotland…


Hm… That Bow section looks a ‘bit’ weird…



Oh my, just look at that, I ‘wonder’ what those could be???


Oh, maybe a sonar dome and a torpedo tube???



Or TWO torpedo tubes…


Yep, peaceful fisherman, nothing to see here…


Cold war my ass!


And y’all wonder why we were on edge with these guys!!!

WTFO???

Posted on by March 6, 2013

From Yahoo News… HERE is the article

Penn Judge: Muslims Allowed to Attack People for Insulting Mohammad

COMMENTARY | Jonathon Turley, a law professor at George Washington University, reports on a disturbing case in which a state judge in Pennsylvania threw out an assault case involving a Muslim attacking an atheist for insulting the Prophet Muhammad.
Judge Mark Martin, an Iraq war veteran and a convert to Islam, threw the case out in what appears to be an invocation of Sharia law.
The incident occurred at the Mechanicsburg, Pa., Halloween parade where Ernie Perce, an atheist activist, marched as a zombie Muhammad. Talaag Elbayomy, a Muslim, attacked Perce, and he was arrested by police.
Judge Martin threw the case out on the grounds that Elbayomy was obligated to attack Perce because of his culture and religion. Judge Martin stated that the First Amendment of the Constitution does not permit people to provoke other people. He also called Perce, the plaintiff in the case, a “doofus.” In effect, Perce was the perpetrator of the assault, in Judge Martin’s view, and Elbayomy the innocent. The Sharia law that the Muslim attacker followed trumped the First Amendment.
Words almost fail.
The Washington Post recently reported on an appeals court decision to maintain an injunction to stop the implementation of an amendment to the Oklahoma state constitution that bans the use of Sharia law in state courts. The excuse the court gave was that there was no documented case of Sharia law being invoked in an American court. Judge Martin would seem to have provided that example, which should provide fodder for the argument as the case goes through the federal courts.
The text of the First Amendment could not be clearer. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof-” It does not say “unless somebody, especially a Muslim, is angered.” Indeed Judge Martin specifically decided to respect the establishment of a religion, in this case Islam.
That Judge Martin should be removed from the bench and severely sanctioned goes almost without saying. He clearly had no business hearing the case in the first place, since he seems to carry an emotional bias. He also needs to retake a constitutional law course. Otherwise, a real can of worms has been opened up, permitting violence against people exercising free speech.
It should be noted that another atheist, dressed as a Zombie Pope, was marching beside the Zombie Muhammad. No outraged Catholics attacked him.

Is THIS what our Country is coming to?  Has PCism gone too far?  Personally, I think it has, especially if you are a WASP (White Anglo Saxon Protestant) male… ANYTHING we say or do is now pretty much illegal, or soon will be with this administration and the judges they are putting in place.

And DHS is pretty determined to label all of us bitter clingers, and ex-military as domestic terrorists; and if we’re Christian, that’s just another nail in our coffins… 

I’m really getting scared about where we are heading, and even my daughters (early 30’s) are bitching at me about what is going on. They vote, but they are afraid most of their peers won’t, or will vote on soundbites, rather than issues…

Honest Gun Owner Meme…

Posted on by March 6, 2013
I was tagged by Nancy, over at Excels At Nothing, with a follow-on to the Honest Gun Owner Meme, with these criteria-


I will write down five things that indicate to me that a gun owner or shooter maybe is an honest one.  Then I will tag five other gun owners who are also bloggers and I hope will participate.  


So here goes…


You might be an honest gun owner if:


1. You freely admit there is always more that one way/gun/point of view and are willing to rationally discuss it without resorting to arguing or ignoring/flaming the other party.


2. You tell someone exactly what is wrong with the gun you are trying to sell (and throw in a holster too, since you have a box full).


3. You admit your shortcomings; and own up to mistakes (e.g. lucky shots or really BAD shots) you make.


4. You are willing to support other gun owners/shooters with assistance when you can, but you also are willing to admit you have no clue on certain guns, scopes, etc.


5. You admit you had to take your Ruger MK I or II or III to a gunsmith to get it re-assembled after you got it apart… sigh…


Soooo, who to tag on this one???


Obviously Tam at View from the Porch, since she is a recognized expert on the older guns, and has spent time in the business on BOTH sides of the counter…


Murphy from Lagniappe’s Lair, again a long time collector/shooter 


Jennifer from In Jennifer’s Head, for a ‘newer’ shooter perspective


LL from Virtual Mirage, since he’s got both US and International experiences with gun buyers/sellers


Julie from Jigsaw’s Thoughts, for a truly International flavor


And I have to add AOA from An Ordinary American for his former Military and LEO perspective…


IF y’all accept, you’re supposed to tag five other folks, but I’ll leave that up to you. 


Thanks for reading, and as always, comments are appreciated!

And I screamed like a little girl…

Posted on by March 6, 2013

So there we were, hanging out on the ‘balcony’ (read hiding on the top floor stair landing), getting an early smoke and cup of coffee, prior to SSS and heading in to work.


We’re chatting about the ‘stuff’ due today, and trying to get woke up to the point that we were functional.  I’d brought a spare cigarette, and had set it on the outer ledge of the landing.  I was occasionally having to reach out and grab it to keep the breeze from blowing it over the edge.


As we were talking one of the other folks pointed, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw the cigarette start moving…


I reach out yet again to grab it, and I’m holding on to it…  And it MOVED!


I glance over, and realize ‘something’ has a hold of the other end.  It’s a @#^& BAT with about a three foot wingspan!!!


Meanwhile, the old hind brain is gibbering, leggo, Leggo, LEGGO!!!


And the other half of the hind brain is going, Oh you dumbshit… You just got bit by a bat, and now you’re gonna have to get shots and be stuck on the Island, and… and… and…

And the forebrain FINALLY wakes up, and goes Huh…er…whattheohshiiIITTTT! And I screamed like a little girl and let the damn bat have the cigarette, and apparently took ONE large step across the entire landing and ended up standing against the door!!!



It may have been screaming at a higher frequency, but I sure as hell was LOUDER!


At least I didn’t spill a drop of coffee, but I will GUARANTEE you I was wide awake at that point!


And of course the others had to start giving me crap… sigh


“Are you gonna offer it a light?”  Aren’t you gonna tell it smoking is bad for it?”  etc…


Thankfully I didn’t get bit, but I’m sure as hell NOT doing that again…


Sumbitch can go buy its OWN cigarettes…


This ‘kinda’ gives you an idea of how big they are…