This really sucks

Yesterday morning about 1100, the Missus took a freaky fall at the building that is our line shack here at Red Flag. The wrist is broken in three places..................
Air Force Ambulance ride. About five hours or so in the E/R and Radiology............Pain killers.........that were not that good. A splint that basically sucked.......
Today was the initial with the Ortho Doc.....Great guy, Major USAF. The corpsman was a really shit hot SSGT.........Yes Buck, I said that! The ambulance crew the day before was outstanding as well.
We go back tomorrow for the pre op stuff.............labs, xrays and such. Surgery is going to happen on Thursday, time to be determined.......
Been an interesting trip to say the least......................................

FROM A CANADIAN HOUSEWIFE

This was at Stormbringer. It is a good read. I am going to send it to my congress critters, two of  which are known traitors to the Republic, Babbling Babs and Dumb Ass Diane. The Rep is Kevin McCarthy(R)  Bakersfield and most of  Kern County. I live in Kern County. He listens.


This letter to the editor surfaced in the STORMBRINGER mailbag. Apparently written by a Canadian woman, it also applies to the USA, UK and Australia. Written by a housewife in New Brunswick, Canada to her local newspaper - this is one ticked off lady . . . S.L.


"Are we fighting a war on terror or aren't we? Was it or was it not, started by Islamic people who brought it to our shores on September 11, 2001 and have continually threatened to do so since? 


Were people from all over the world, not brutally murdered that day, in downtown Manhattan, across the Potomac from the capitol of the USA and in a field in Pennsylvania? 

Did nearly three thousand men, women and children die a horrible, burning or crushing death that day, or didn't they? 



Do you think I care about four U.S. Marines urinating on some dead Taliban insurgents?


And I'm supposed to care that a few Taliban were claiming to be tortured by a justice system of a nation they are fighting against in a brutal Insurgency.


I'll care about the Koran when the fanatics in the Middle East, start caring about the Holy Bible, the mere belief of which, is a crime punishable by beheading in Afghanistan. 


I'll care when these thugs tell the world they are sorry for hacking off Nick Berg's head, while Berg screamed through his gurgling slashed throat. 


I'll care when the cowardly so-called insurgents in Afghanistan, come out and fight like men, instead of disrespecting their own religion by hiding in Mosques and behind women and children. 


I'll care when the mindless zealots who blow themselves up in search of Nirvana, care about the innocent children within range of their suicide Bombs. 


I'll care when the Canadian media stops pretending that their freedom of Speech on stories, is more important than the lives of the soldiers on the ground or their families waiting at home, to hear about them when something happens. 


In the meantime, when I hear a story about a CANADIAN soldier roughing up an Insurgent terrorist to obtain information, know this: 

I don't care.

When I see a wounded terrorist get shot in the head when he is told not to move because he might be booby-trapped, you can take it to the bank: 

I don't care. Shoot him again.

When I hear that a prisoner, who was issued a Koran and a prayer mat, and fed 'special' food, that is paid for by my tax dollars, is complaining that his holy book is being 'mishandled,' you can absolutely believe, in your heart of hearts: 

I don't care.

And oh, by the way, I've noticed that sometimes it's spelled 'Koran' and other times 'Quran.' Well, Jimmy Crack Corn you guessed it. 

I don't care!!

If you agree with this viewpoint, pass this on to all your E-mail Friends. Sooner or later, it'll get to the people responsible for this ridiculous behavior! 


If you don't agree, then by all means hit the delete button. Should you choose the latter, then please don't complain when more atrocities committed by radical Muslims happen here in our great Country! And may I add: 


Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering, if during their life on earth, they made a difference in the world. But, the Soldiers don't have that problem. 


I have another quote that I would like to share AND...I hope you forward All this. 


One last thought for the day: 


Only five defining forces have ever offered to die for you: 

1. Jesus Christ

2. The British Soldier.

3. The Canadian Soldier.

4. The US Soldier, and

5. The Australian Soldier

One died for your soul, the other four, for you and your children's Freedom.

YOU MIGHT WANT TO PASS THIS ON, AS MANY SEEM TO FORGET! 

A Basic Mistake That Trashed a JSTARS

This was the link at Bring the Heat, Bring the Stupid.
This J-STARS is no longer a flyable aircraft.
Tool Control System had a failure. That is not a good thing.
There is a ton of pictures at the link.
http://defensetech.org/2012/01/27/a-basic-mistake-that-trashed-a-jstars/#more-16157

Giant Fireball at LAX Part of Training Exercise

From KTLA 5 in LA.
Seems the good guys at LA County FD were getting some serious training.
Good story from Lynette Romero.
http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-lax-fire-drill,0,226623.story

I am tired

It has been a rather hectic start to our adventure at Nellis.
Things have not gone our way, ya might say.
It was lights out before 2200 last night..........................just woke up a while ago.
Breakfast is at 0600 and off to the flight line at about 0700. Back at it again.
Waiting for the weekend.......but that could turn out a bit different than one would expect.
Yeah.

Milestone: 100K

Sometime today while at the big briefing for Red Flag, I hit the One Hundred Thousand Page View mark.
Thanks again to all who have made that happen. I do appreciate it!

Gabrielle Giffords to Resign from Congress; Update: Arizona Governor to Set Special Election

From Michelle Malkin today.
I wish Congresswoman Giffords all the best and definitely for a full recovery. Perhaps the scum she has to share the Democratic Party with will finally shut up about that horrible day. Leave the fine lady and her family in peace. Just saying ya know.
http://michellemalkin.com/2012/01/22/gabrielle-giffords-to-resign-from-congress/

Navy Biofuel Contract: Another Solyndra?

..........At a time when the military budget is under attack and is being cut, the Department of Agriculture and Department of the Navy announced earlier this month (December, 2011) that the Navy bought 450,000 gallons of biofuel at $26 per gallon, $16 per gallon if the biofuel is mixed with regular jet fuel. That is up to nine times the cost of regular jet fuel. In August, 2011, the Obama administration announced their intentions to spend $510 million during the next three years to buy advanced “drop-in” biofuel for military transportation. The purchase is part of the Obama administration’s “We Can’t Wait” initiative, which involves bypassing Congress when possible. And all of this comes as Obama cancels the Keystone XL oil pipeline that would facilitate access to the estimated 1.7 trillion barrels of oil in North America.............


"We Can't Wait" OK. So the rush to bypass the Congress and do business via "executive order" is starting to show some serious problems. 
$26 a gallon? So the forces will simply have to stay at home now due to the extreme cost of operating in what is for them a normal manner? I knew the Sand Crawler In Chief hated us but he has taken that to a completely new level................
The rest is at the link.

http://conservativedailynews.com/2012/01/navy-biofuel-contract-another-solyndra/

A day off

Today is a federal holiday. Yours truly gets a days pay today........yep.

That being said, tomorrow I have to start the prep for my little trip to Las Vegas. Going to Red Flag. 

I get to play war...................or more correctly.................practice for war with the guys who will go and have been there, recently.

I am going to be "shown off" I think. I will always be on a flyer with my buddy on the other one. Our young "hot shot" Work Leader will have the spare. My boss is going to be plugging me to the rest of the units there. I will more than likely be the oldest crew chief at this event and at 57, that is a good bet.

So, with some luck, I may get some shots for later posting. Seems the kids at Nellis are a bit sensitive about things.

Last night, My Beloved Canadiens did win over the Rangers 4 to 1.

The local boys split up north of the 49th. The Kings lost in Edmonton 2-1 in overtime and the Ducks did a good job on Vancouver 4-2. 

A cartoon for the day.

Do not freak out on this one, folks. Take it for what it is. Nothing is implied by me, the blog owner.

Click to make big so it will be easier to read, should it be necessary to do so. I got this from a nice lady at Google +. She happens to be a very devout Catholic and she thought it was funny.
Why am I rationalizing this? My French-Flemish Catholic Grandmother and my Norwegian Lutheran Grandmother will be paying me a visit if I do not give a civilized explanation.
I just think it is funny.

Why on earth would a pretty girl like you go and do something like that? What happened when Héloïse Goodley swapped her designer heels for Army boots

Héloïse Goodley thought she had a dream job when she started work as a City banker. But at the age of just 27, she traded it in for four-minute meals, ironing her own bed and singing in Nepalese – all part of Army officer training at Sandhurst. Here, the first woman to write about life at the world-famous military academy reveals some of the bizarre practices she encountered there . . .

Before

After

The rest of the article is at the link. I like this young lady. Left the reservation as it were.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2086655/H-lo-se-Goodley-swapped-designer-heels-Army-boots-training-Sandhurst.html#ixzz1jXN7AhUT

Desert Crud. Something like the Whidbey Crud

It started on Tuesday night with the ear aches and sore throat. Wednesday was hard down, horizontal except for trips to the john and fluid intake. Went to work on Thursday and Friday. Yesterday did a "just because we are taking the jet to Red Flag wash." The afternoon spiraled after that. Lunch was at about 1345 then the meeting for Red Flag. Then doing the online business with my travel card stuff. I finally got the left overs from my trip to Utah all done.
The Missus and I went to one of our local eateries for a bit for dinner. Came home and it was time to get up close and personal with Ms. Nyquil.
Tried to do some OT this morning.............didn't quite work out as I lasted all of an hour and a half.
Head is stuffed like there is a basketball inside of it. Drainage. Fever and chills. OJ in the Fridge. The possibility of some hot toddies later is there. Hate to use Maker's Mark but it is what I have. Maybe I will slide to the Rite Aid and grab a bottle of a decent Canadian Blend for Medicinal Purposes.
I feel like I have been pulled through a knot hole, over a bad set of rail road tracks and tossed in the infamous drainage canal at Subic Bay(aka......Shit River)

Indictment: St. Joseph was hub of nationwide immigration scheme

This was on Google + this evening. I wonder how McCaskill is going to spin this one. Curious as to what the citizens of  Buchanan County are thinking about it right now. Interesting.
Got some old buds there from the Herzog days. Gonna ask.
http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/news/2012/01/11/indictment-st-joseph-was-hub-of.html

F-35 Lightning II News

U.S. Navy and U.K. Royal Navy F-35 unable to get aboard ship.

We have the F-16C and D blocks 52 and 60 in production but those are for other countries. We are not buying any Fighting Falcons for the US Air Force.

The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18E & F are in full rate production for the Navy and soon the Marine Corps and will fit the bill nicely in the multi role capacity. It is constantly being improved to be more competitive in the world market.......But perhaps we should think about it for our Forces. The F-16s in service have been through multiple overhauls and some almost complete rebuilds. It was initially designed as a light weight fighter for air to air only and it was to be, essentially, a throw away airplane.

Gonna be interesting to say the least.

http://www.f-16.net/news_article4494.html

Dressed to frill! Mila Kunis steps out in flirty and feminine plunging purple dress as she attends children’s hospital gala

This was mentioned by the one and only Theo Spark of Last Of The Few at American Power.
She is really good looking ain't she. Younger than all my kids as well.


The rest are at the link with a few other rather lovely ladies!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2083748/Mila-Kunis-steps-flirty-feminine-plunging-purple-dress-attends-children-s-hospital-gala.html

From Buck: Another great post

"Limited interest" unless you smoke cigars, at which time there's this excerpt from an e-mail I received from cigar.com...




http://exileinportales.blogspot.com/2012/01/of-limited-interest.html

Go. Read. Be. Enlightened.

theBRIGADE: Photos of the Week

http://thebrigade.thechive.com/2012/01/06/thebrigade-photos-of-the-week-4/

Not sure if this is a TRUE letter but it speaks volumes for the American People

I saw this at Google+ this morning. Pretty good one. As it says in the title, it may or may not be true. I can see it being partially so as we are talking about a politician here.


Alan Simpson, Senator from Wyoming , Co-Chair of Obama's deficit commission, calls senior citizens the Greediest Generation as he compared "Social Security" to a Milk Cow with 310 million teats. 

Here's a response in a letter from PATTY MYERS in Wyoming ... I think she is a little ticked off! She also tells it like it is! 
"Hey Alan, let's get a few things straight.. 
1. As a career politician, you have been on the public dole for FIFTY YEARS. 
2. I have been paying Social Security taxes for 48 YEARS (since I was 15 years old. I am now 63).
3 My Social Security payments, and those of millions of other Americans, were safely tucked away in an interest bearing account for decades until you political pukes decided to raid the account and give OUR money to a bunch of zero ambition losers in return for votes, thus bankrupting the system and turning Social Security into a Ponzi scheme that would have made Bernie Madoff proud.. 
4. Recently, just like Lucy & Charlie Brown, you and your ilk pulled the proverbial football away from millions of American seniors nearing retirement and moved the goalposts for full retirement from age 65 to age 67. NOW, you and your shill commission is proposing to move the goalposts YET AGAIN. 
5. I, and millions of other Americans, have been paying into Medicare from Day One, and now you morons propose to change the rules of the game. Why? Because you idiots mismanaged other parts of the economy to such an extent that you need to steal money from Medicare to pay the bills. 
6. I, and millions of other Americans, have been paying income taxes our entire lives, and now you propose to increase our taxes yet again. Why? Because you incompetent bastards spent our money so profligately that you just kept on spending even after you ran out of money. Now, you come to the American taxpayers and say you need more to pay off YOUR debt. 
To add insult to injury, you label us "greedy" for calling "bullshit" on your incompetence. Well, Captain Bullshit, I have a few questions for YOU. 
1. How much money have you earned from the American taxpayers during your pathetic 50-year political career? 
2. At what age did you retire from your pathetic political career, and how much are you receiving in annual retirement benefits from the American taxpayers? 
3. How much do you pay for YOUR government provided health insurance? 
4. What cuts in YOUR retirement and healthcare benefits are you proposing in your disgusting deficit reduction proposal, or, as usual, have you exempted yourself and your political cronies? 
It is you, Captain Bullshit, and your political co-conspirators called Congress who are the "greedy" ones. It is you and your fellow nutcases who have bankrupted America and stolen the American dream from millions of loyal, patriotic taxpayers. And for what? Votes. That's right, sir. You and yours have bankrupted America for the sole purpose of advancing your pathetic political careers. You know it, we know it, and you know that we know it. 
And you can take that to the bank, you miserable son of a bitch . 
If you like the way things are in America delete this. If you agree with what a fellow Wyoming citizen Patty Myers says, PASS IT 
ON!!! .

Longtime TV anchor Kim Setty dies at age 47

This was in the Wichita Eagle.
Kim Setty was the Noon News on KWCH. I watched it a lot when I was working other than normal shifts. Sad news indeed.
http://www.kansas.com/2012/01/05/2163703/longtime-tv-anchor-kim-setty-dies.html

3666 dropping small diameter bombs

I got this from the EPAF program manager who is a Retired Lt. Col maintenance type. Margaret Fleming, I am also her crew chief as this is the lead ship in the program.
Pretty cool shot!

Christine!

The nickname is from the movie with the 57 Plymouth that was so evil.............The Norwegians called this jet by that name for a while....................
For a really good look open in a new window!

Google May Come To The Rescue Of Historic 'Hangar One'

This was up at AirPigz today.
This is the biggest hangar that I know of. It should be preserved as a National Historic Treasure at least. But if the rich boys at Google keep it going, that is all right by me. A lot of Patrol Squadron guys know that place.


http://airpigz.com/blog/2012/1/4/google-may-come-to-the-rescue-of-historic-hangar-one.html
 Hangar One was built in the 1930's and once housed the USS Macon, the 784 foot long US Navy airship built by the Goodyear-Zeppelin company. Moffett Field is also home to the awesome Farmers Insurance Zeppelin NT airship.

Boeing To Close Wichita Facility By The End Of 2013

From Aeronews.net.

Defense Budget Reductions, Limited Opportunities For New Work And Competitive Cost Structure Driving Need To Close Facility.

http://www.aero-news.net/ANNTicker.cfm?do=main.textpost&id=c3e5a231-ca1f-4aab-b7f5-f24fc83ab655

This one is from The Wichita Eagle.

http://www.kansas.com/2012/01/04/2162092/boeing-to-close-wichita-plant.html

Wichita facility’s closing will affect 2,160 Boeing workers

This place has been open for a long time. And by the end of 2013 it will be closed. It does mostly defense work.

Another aircraft company laying off as a result of serious stupid on the part of the current administration and the former speaker and majority leader.

"We didn't have this green thing back in my earlier days."

Kim Harkins is a Facebook friend of mine. She had this beauty up today.

Checking out at the grocery store recently, the young cashier suggested I should bring my own grocery bags because plastic bags weren't good for the environment. I apologized and explained, "We didn't have this green thing back in my earlier days." 

The clerk responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment for future generations."

She was right about one thing -- our generation didn't have the green thing in “Our” day. So what did we have back then…? After some reflection and soul-searching on "Our" day here's what I remembered we did have....

Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles repeatedly. So they really were recycled. But we didn't have the green thing back in our day.

We walked up stairs, because we didn't have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks. But she was right. We didn't have the green thing in our day. 

Back then, we washed the baby's diapers because we didn't have the throw-away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts -- wind and solar power really did dry our clothes back in our early days. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. But that young lady is right. We didn't have the green thing back in our day.

Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house -- not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of the state of Montana. In the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn't have electric machines to do everything for us. When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used wadded up old newspapers to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap. Back then, we didn't fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power. We exercised by working so we didn't need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity. But she's right. We didn't have the green thing back then.

We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water. We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull. But we didn't have the green thing back then. 

Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus, and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service. We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn't need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint. But isn't it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn't have the green thing back then?

Pilot Report: Boeing 737 vs. McDonnell-Douglas MD-80

New one I found at Wordpress. A commercial pilot. Good stuff!
Jet Head!!!!!!!!!!!
http://jethead.wordpress.com/2011/12/17/pilot-report-boeing-737-vs-mcdonnell-douglas-md-80/
It is on the blogroll!

Translations of Common Euphemisms

Here is why conservatives and liberals don't get along. They speak a different language. And all this time I thought they both spoke English.

Translations of Common Euphemisms

DEMOCRAT- REPUBLICAN
Arsenal of Weapons- Gun Collection
Delicate Wetlands-Swamp
Undocumented Worker- Illegal Alien
Cruelty-Free Material -Synthetic Fiber
Assault and Battery- Attitude Adjustment
Heavily Armed- Well protected
Narrow-minded -Righteous
Taxes or Your Fair Share- Coerced Theft
Common Sense Gun Control- Gun Confiscation Plot
Illegal Hazardous Explosives- Fireworks or Stump Removal
Non-viable Tissue Mass- Unborn Baby
Equal Access to Opportunity- Socialism
Multicultural Community- High Crime Area
Fairness or Social Progress- Marxism
Upper Class or "The Rich "- Self-Employed
Progressive, -Change Big Government Scheme
Sniper Rifle- Scoped Deer Rifle
Investment For the Future- Higher Taxes
Healthcare Reform- Socialized Medicine
Extremist, Judgmental, or Hater- Conservative
Truants- Homeschoolers
High Capacity Magazine- Standard Capacity Magazine
Religious Zealot- Church-going
Reintroduced Wolves- Sheep and Elk Killers
Fair Trade Coffee -Overpriced Yuppie Coffee
Exploiters or "The Rich"- Employed or Land Owner
The Gun Lobby -NRA Members
Assault Weapon- Semi-Auto (Grandpa's M1 Carbine)
Fiscal Stimulus- New Taxes and Higher Taxes
Same Sex Marriage- Legalized Perversion
Mandated Eco-Friendly Lighting- Chinese Mercury-Laden Light Bulbs
Accepted Facts- Horse Shit


This was at Facebook by my friend Joan. 

My Friend Eleanor from Seattle sings Ave Maria

We are in the same club.......sort of. Eleanor has survived Lymphoma. My go around with Renal Cell is almost pedestrian in comparison.
She is a wonderful sounding board for a crusty old sea dog, such as myself and I will always treasure her friendship.
So enjoy this most amazing voice.................I do.

Bid for Ark Royal dive site boosted

From a friend of mine at Facebook. It was in the Shropshire Star.
Does the MoD need some cash? Just wondering ya know, after all we bought all the Brits Harriers didn't we?
http://www.shropshirestar.com/uk/uk-news/2012/01/01/bid-for-ark-royal-dive-site-boosted/

HMS Ark Royal was launched in 1981