Dual 1,000th 'Traps' Achieved Aboard USS Nimitz a different kind of Plane Pr0n

By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class George J. Penney III, USS Nimitz Public Affairs.

Good story about a very major milestone and joining a very unique fraternaty. 1,000 traps is just that.
I am proud that one of the Aviators is the CO of Strike Fighter Squadron One Four Seven, The Argonauts! I was an Argonaut from November 1985 to June 1987 when were Attack Squadron One Four Seven flying the Venerable and Dependable A-7E Corsair II. The Argo Pride is still there. 

GULF OF OMAN (Aug. 28, 2013) Cmdr. Robert Loughran, commanding officer of the "Argonauts" of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 147, prepares to enter an F/A-18E Super Hornet on board the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68). Loughran completed his 1000th carrier arrested landing, or "trap," on board Nimitz Aug. 28. Nimitz Strike Group is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility conducting maritime security operations, theater security cooperation efforts and support missions for Operation Enduring Freedom. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Ryan J. Mayes/Released)

Dual 1,000th 'Traps' Achieved Aboard USS Nimitz

Plane Pr0n: You'll Never Look At Airplanes The Same After This Film

I got this in a Facebook message from a Follower of The Mothership, Kanani Fong, who used to have the Blog, Kitchen Dispatch. It has some cool shots in it. Not very long but I think you all out there will enjoy it.

http://jalopnik.com/youll-never-look-at-airplanes-the-same-after-this-film-1207288053

Meanwhile, over at Marvel......................

This was on Facebook courtesy of a friend of mine. Pretty funny, I do believe. I have not paid to see a movie since the Return of The King in 2004 or so at the discount theater in Wichita. 

Morning Ride 21 August 2013

I headed out the Randsburg-Mojave Road this morning. It has some hills and actually climbs going to US 395. This is a possible long ride on a day off, I think. I have a CamelBak for hydration that holds about 3 liters or so.
The ride today was to the turnoff to the Desert Tortoise Area. It was about 8 miles out and back. Good Low Impact stuff for me. My Mountain Bike has full suspension so it is tolerable. I may get a gel pad to put on it though..............................
The BP checked at 114/66 after the ride, shower and building lunch for work.....................................

Four Young Adults Killed When Their Car and A Train Collide - KMPH FOX 26 | Central San Joaquin Valley News Source

Sad news from the Central Valley of California. This happened in Fowler.
Always remember, folks, the train is going to win.

Four Young Adults Killed When Their Car and A Train Collide - KMPH FOX 26 | Central San Joaquin Valley News Source

150 years later, Quantrill’s raid on Lawrence still stirs deep emotions – on both sides.

History Lesson! Thrilled ain't ya? Well, perhaps not......................
Interesting piece in today's Wichita Eagle.
It is still referred to as Bleedin' Kansas to this day.

 An oil painting depicts the raid on Lawrence on Aug. 21, 1863

The full story and a few more images are at the link. I love history By The Way!

150 years later, Quantrill’s raid on Lawrence still stirs deep emotions – on both sides

Image is courtesy of  The Wichita Eagle

11 Things We No Longer See on Airplanes

Thanks to Blog Bud, Jeff at Parrothead Jeff & Friends for this little ditty.
I do remember a few of these things from my first adventures on commercial airliners in the late sixties and early seventies.
Definitely a far cry from the flying cattle cars we have these days.
11 Things We No Longer See on Airplanes
I flew Western Airlines once from Great Falls to Idaho Falls and back on Easter Vacation of 1970 to see a friend.........................the Stewardesses were in really short hot pants........................I was 15!
The jet was an old 737 like this.

Furlough Update

At the of the work week, the DoD civilian furlough is over. Seems that the DoD did some stuff and instead of 11 furlough days, it was lowered to 6 days. Tomorrow, I have 5 furlough hours and will take 3 hours of sick leave to get those three hours of pay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Next week I have my RDO.............................................so the next pay check in two weeks from this coming Friday will only be missing 5 hours and not 17.
We are going to Honda-Subaru of Lancaster tomorrow/later today to test drive a Honda Civic and a Subaru Impreza. The PT took a dump of the transaxle variety.....................2200 to 3500 to fix................on a car that blue books at about 5800....................................Missus ORPO needs a new set of wheels.
I have applied at Lockheed Martin on the F-35 here at Edwards. With the way things are, I am going to stay a WG-10 for a long time. I can get thirty plus dollars per hour, have to pay union dues(closed shop) and still do better.
I also called the recruiter at my old employer, Herzog Rail Services, Inc. and pretty much begged for my old job back. The 416 CTF/FLTS/AMU is not going to be around for much longer. The F-16 is programmed to be replaced. I would hope it would last till I am 65 but I am not holding my breath.

Milestone...........................

Today is the 20th Anniversary of the commencement of my retirement leave.
This date in 1993, I detached from Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron One Four Zero on board Naval Air Station, Whidbey Island, Washington.
The trip back to my home town began. I headed up I-90 with Seattle in the rear view mirror...........I stopped at the scenic pull out on the east side of the Columbia River Gorge at Vantage......to look back for a bit. I spent 11 of those 20 years in squadrons at NAS Whidbey Island. It had been home for that long. Sharon and the kids were already in Havre, Montana in a house we had made an offer on that previous spring on the TAD/TDY that was given under the draw down.
In the following years I have become a grandfather, suffered ups and downs in employment, had a knee surgery, a broken back and a short go around with renal cell carcinoma.
Twenty years being retired from that world we all keep, those of us who take the oath, be we Soldier, Sailor, Marine or Airman..................................Damn where did the time go?

Life in The No Longer Golden State.........ie The Legislature is Industrial Grade Stupid

Legislators Need Time to Review Bills — Not Pass Them to See What’s in Them------Sound familiar? Thought it might. Reference to the former speaker in DC, one Nana Botox.............

My friend down in the Palm Desert area had this linked at FB this morning. Gives pause for thought I do believe.

http://www.capoliticalreview.com/top-stories/legislators-need-time-to-review-bills-not-pass-them-to-see-whats-in-them/

The make up is as follows......................

The Senate: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_State_Senate#Composition

The Assembly: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_State_Assembly#Composition

The leadership in each house:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_State_Senate#Leadership

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_State_Assembly#Leadership

The above should get your attention, one way or the other. Remember I live here. But it is a stacked deck for the democrats. By the way most of the democrats in the California Legislature are not democrats.............they are for the most part socialists, communists, marxists and a few tree huggers. My opinion on that, OK?

The Motto for the Assembly is as follows..............................................................

Legislatorum est justas leges condere
("It is the duty of legislators to pass just laws.")--------------Not quite accurate this day and age from my observations.

Along with Governor Moombeam and a Card Carrying Member of The American Communist Party as the Attorney General, if it ain't in the agenda, it ain't.

Rant Complete.

Adjusting the blogroll

New guy, Dan The Navy Man.
http://danthenavyman.blogspot.com/

Funny and Sad at the Same Time.

Found this one on FB this morning.
My Maternal Grandparents, Maternal Great Aunt, Paternal Grandmother and My Dad were all teachers. Mom was as well..............................
To the ones who are no longer with us, they are spinning in their graves........................................
This passes for English Grammar and Composition these days, I guess........................................
It will make you laugh and it will make go argh at the same time.

Blood Pressure SitRep @ 110/69 and a Good Day

I have been on a diuretic for my BP since I had my hernia almost three years ago. Last Thursday, I saw my Doc with readings for a six week period. I got another medication for it. Lisinopril it is called. I started taking it on Saturday. Today I was at 110/69.
I have also been getting regular exercise in the form of my Walmart Special Mountain Bike. I had to replace an inner tube on the back tire and hit the sprockets and chain with WD-40 but it works. I ride at least three days a week for up to 8 miles at a time. Low impact Aerobic type stuff. No more running for me.............
Still cleaning out from the quitting smoking in 2009 when the kidney was removed. .

Additionally I saw a news article on the Army website that said SecDef Hagel has shortened the furlough for us DoD civilian employees. I need only five more furlough hours to meet the new total. It has been cut to six days from eleven but we are on an alternate pay period so I have been losing 17 hours per two week pay period.

Good Day, I do believe.

KNOW THE SYMPTOMS! (FUNNY!)

Thank goodness there's a name for this disorder. 

AAAD. Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder.

This is how it manifests:

I decide to water my garden.
As I turn on the hose in the driveway,
I look over at my car and decide it needs washing.

As I start toward the garage,
I notice mail on the porch table that
I brought up from the mail box earlier.

I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car.

I lay my car keys on the table,
put the junk mail in the garbage can under the table,
and notice that the can is full.

So, I decide to put the bills
back on the table and take out the garbage first..

But then I think,
since I'm going to be near the mailbox
when I take out the garbage anyway,
I may as well pay the bills first.

I take my check book off the table,
and see that there is only one check left.
My extra checks are in my desk in the study,
so I go inside the house to my desk where
I find the can of Pepsi I'd been drinking.

I'm going to look for my checks,
but first I need to push the Pepsi aside
so that I don't accidentally knock it over.

The Pepsi is getting warm,
and I decide to put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold.

As I head toward the kitchen with the Pepsi,
a vase of flowers on the counter
catches my eye--they need water.

I put the Pepsi on the counter and
discover my reading glasses that
I've been searching for all morning.
I decide I better put them back on my desk,
but first I'm going to water the flowers.

I set the glasses back down on the counter,
fill a container with water and suddenly spot the TV remote. Someone left it on the kitchen table.

I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV,
I'll be looking for the remote,
but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table,
so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs,
but first I'll water the flowers.

I pour some water in the flowers,
but quite a bit of it spills on the floor.

So, I set the remote back on the table,
get some towels and wipe up the spill.

Then, I head down the hall trying to
remember what I was planning to do.

At the end of the day:
the car isn't washed
the bills aren't paid
there is a warm can of Pepsi sitting on the counter
the flowers don't have enough water,
there is still only 1 check in my check book,
I can't find the remote,
I can't find my glasses,
and I don't remember what I did with the car keys.
Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today,
I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all darn day,
and I'm really tired.