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

Monday, April 25, 2016

The Crew Chief

I did six years as an F-16 Crew Chief here at Edwards AFB.
At Red Flag 12-2, I was the oldest Crew Chief on the flight line at the age of 57.
Some of these I can neither confirm nor deny.......

Sunday, April 24, 2016

Making ‘The Blue Max’

I came across this on the Facebook. I saw it in 1967 at a drive-in theatre in Billings, Montana.
It is still one of my favorite movies. It has airplanes in it. Little did I know they were basically hand built for the production.

"Filmed 50 years ago, long before the advent of CGI, the World War I aviation epic required two air forces built from scratch and stunt pilots willing to risk it all.
Arriving at Ardmore Studios, Dublin, Ireland, in 1965 to begin work on a new 20th Century Fox World War I dogfight movie, stunt pilot Derek Piggott learned he was in for more than just zooming around the skies, popping off smoke bombs and fake bullets while cameras rolled. The script called for a biplane to fly under a bridge, and producer Christian Ferry did not intend to use remote-control models. He meant to make the greatest WWI air combat film of all time: The Blue Max."
I may have to get a copy on DVD.
A Bitz Flugzeugbau-built Fokker Dr.I heads a lineup of "D.VII-65s" warming up for takeoff in a "Blue Max" production scene.
A Bitz Flugzeugbau-built Fokker Dr.I heads a lineup of "D.VII-65s" warming up for takeoff in a "Blue Max" production scene.

Saturday, April 16, 2016

Stolen from Iconic Cool at Facebook

Helen Mirren and Judi Dench by Annie Leibovitz. Hit it.


Cool..................Classy
No further commentary is required.

Saturday, April 09, 2016

I'm just going to leave this one here

BTW, Snide Comments are appreciated...............

My Eldest Granddaughter's first prom

I guess it was bound to happen.
It's another one of those moments that tell me I'm getting old........
I have to admit that Bailee looks great.






Friday, April 08, 2016

BNSF 5402 East on a rainy day

I was in the right turn lane for California City Boulevard when I saw this train's headlight coming around the curve from Sanderson and Mojave Junction.
I pulled into the area that big rigs use to spend the night and broke out the Nikon.
Some are good and some are not that good. It was raining and the camera would focus on the traffic on CA 58 and screw me up a bit.
 It turned out to be an empty grain train. A loaded one this length would need at least two or three more locomotives.
 I would guess that he was moving at track speed which is 65 mph on the BNSF Mojave Sub.



I still love trains. One of these days, I am going to go to Barstow and shoot pictures of trains on the Needles Sub to the east of Barstow and the Cajon Sub west of Barstow going to San Bernardino.

Friday, April 01, 2016

Beer Blogging from Upstate NY

We sneaked Missus ORPO into Syracuse NY so she could surprise our eldest son on his 40th birthday. My daugher in law did a bang up job on it as well!

Missus ORPO sampling something a bit lighter than what my son, daugher in law and I like.



Mrs. ORPO having poutine, eh!

His Mom said he did a double take!


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)