Happy Hour

"IF A LIFETIME CAN BE LIKENED TO A DAY, THEN THIS IS HAPPY HOUR!"
BUCK PENNINGTON

Mother, Mother Ocean

Mother, Mother Ocean, I've heard you call
Wanted to sail upon your waters since I was three feet tall
You've seen it all, you've seen it all
Watched the men who rode you, switch from sails to steam
In your belly you hold the treasures, few have ever seen
Most of 'em dream, most of 'em dream
Yes, I am a pirate, two hundred year's too late
The cannons don't thunder, there's nothin' to plunder
I'm an over-forty victim of fate
Arriving too late, arriving too late

Yoda

"Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you? Hmm? Hmm. And well you should not. For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is."
―Yoda, to Luke Skywalker

Counted the Stars

Counted the stars on the 4th of July
Wishing we were rockets bursting in the sky
Talking about redemption and leaving things behind
I have these pictures and I keep these photographs
To remind me of a time
These pictures and these photographs
Let me know I'm doin' fine
We used to be so happy once upon a time
Once upon a time
But the sun sank west of the Mendocino County Line
And the sun sank west of the Mendocino County Line


""SOME SEE A GLASS AS HALF FULL, SOME SEE IT AS HALF EMPTY, I JUST WANT TO KNOW WHO’S DRINKING MY RUM."
Rumbear

Friday, June 24, 2016

Erskine-Lake Isabella Fire Updated

This fire started yesterday afternoon. The high winds have driven it fast and it has claimed two lives. We are a significant distance from it but the smoke is right over Cal City.







Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Friday, June 17, 2016

The Santa Barbara Fire

In the early dawn this morning, we noticed the sky had what we thought were high thin clouds...........
Then the sun came up and the orange-brown was vivid in the sky. We were getting smoke from the Santa Barbara Fire in the Antelope Valley. Before heading home I had to fuel my Titan at the Shoppette and then go to the Exchange. When I walked out of the Exchange, I could actually smell it. Jets taking off would be lost from sight in short order as it was heavy over Edwards AFB.
I stopped at the turnoff to California City and shot some pictures with the Trusty Nikon...and here they are for your perusal.

Cal City Boulevard looking North

The San Gabriel Mountains

Another view of the San Gabriels

The San Gabriels all but invisible in the smoke

Looking West along the 58 toward the Tehachapi

Another shot West along with the utilities service road

Another view of Cal City Boulevard


The TV stations from LA are covering the fire a lot. Here is a link from KTLA 5.

The Old Retired Petty Officer asks for prayers for the people affected by this fire.
Here is a bit from the story about the fire............
"The fire had scorched 4,000 acres and was just 5 percent contained, officials stated Friday on the U.S. Forest Service’s Inciweb fire information site.
Officials estimated the fire, which has been referred to by authorities as both the Scherpa and Sherpa Fire, would be contained sometime Wednesday afternoon, according to the site."


Thursday, June 09, 2016

Home............

Got this one yesterday. I have to post it.

For all those who were in the Sea Service...............................

Saturday, June 04, 2016

Yesterday was a long day

It actually began on Thursday. I was awake around 4-5 PM, put in a full shift and then I had to head to the Sepulveda VA ACC for two appointments. The first one was at 1040 and the second was at 1300.
It focused mostly on my neuropathy. I got an increase in the medication for it.....................that's it.
The carpal tunnel netted the doc ordering a new pair of wrist splints...........the ones I got a few months ago did not fit right and the thumb hole was too big along with the main body. They would slide down and dig into the upper base of my thumb and it hurt like hell. The bonus? The prosthetics fitter is only in two days a week and Friday ain't one of them............
By the time I got home and had something to eat and sat with my feet up it was well over a 24 hour day.
The "extra bonus" was the bloody damn traffic on the 405, 5 and 14 heading home. It was a mess all the way to Canyon Country.....................
It pretty much sucked....................
I will not go down and tell my children I didn't have the courage, the conviction, the commitment or the character to fight for this country...Don't go home and let your children down~~ LTC Allen West

Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus

‎"Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum.("Therefore, he who desires peace, let him prepare for war")" from "Epitoma Rei Militaris," by Vegetius (Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus)