"Don Quixote"

Through the woodland, through the valley
Comes a horseman wild and free
Tilting at the windmills passing
Who can the brave young horseman be
He is wild but he is mellow
He is strong but he is weak
He is cruel but he is gentle
He is wise but he is meek 
Reaching for his saddlebag
He takes a battered book into his hand
Standing like a prophet bold
He shouts across the ocean to the shore
Till he can shout no more 

I have come o'er moor and mountain
Like the hawk upon the wing
I was once a shining knight
Who was the guardian of a king
I have searched the whole world over
Looking for a place to sleep
I have seen the strong survive
And I have seen the lean grown weak 

See the children of the earth
Who wake to find the table bare
See the gentry in the country
Riding off to take the air 

Reaching for his saddlebag
He takes a rusty sword into his hand
Then striking up a knightly pose
He shouts across the ocean to the shore
Till he can shout no more 

See the jailor with his key
Who locks away all trace of sin
See the judge upon the bench
Who tries the case as best he can
See the wise and wicked ones
Who feed upon life's sacred fire
See the soldier with his gun
Who must be dead to be admired 

See the man who tips the needle
See the man who buys and sells
See the man who puts the collar
On the ones who dare not tell
See the drunkard in the tavern
Stemming gold to make ends meet
See the youth in ghetto black
Condemned to life upon the street 

Reaching for his saddlebag
He takes a tarnished cross into his hand
Then standing like a preacher now
He shouts across the ocean to the shore
Then in a blaze of tangled hooves
He gallops off across the dusty plain
In vain to search again
Where no one will hear 

Through the woodland, through the valley
Comes a horseman wild and free
Tilting at the windmills passing
Who can the brave young horseman be
He is wild but he is mellow
He is strong but he is weak
He is cruel but he is gentle
He is wise but he is meek

Lightfoot

I first heard him sing in the Autumn of 1966 on a radio station from Regina, Saskatchewan. I was 12.

The Song is Here

GREAT BIKINI PICS---Guns and Bikinis

I haven't done any Rule 5 in a while....................
I found this at a place I go to occasionally............................
Yep............................................



There is one more at the link provided below..............................
Plus a plethora of other outstanding posts....................................

http://www.gunsandbikinis.net/2-GREAT-BIKINI-PICS.html

From The Federalist: The Nonexistent Link Between Grilling And Gender

"Do you ever go out in your driveway, fire up your grill, grab yourself by your balls, and just howl at the sky, fully taken over by your own caveman essence and the general awesomeness of being a man? Well, if you’re me you don’t need the grill to make this happen, it’s just a normal part of Saturday afternoons. For Jacob Brogan in Slate, thegrill is a necessity. Of course, as he explains, this is problematic.

“At such moments, I get the sense that I’ve fallen into a societal trap, one that reaffirms gender roles I’ve spent years trying to undo. The whole business feels retrograde, a relic of some earlier, less inclusive era.”

I bet he doesn’t even grab his junk and howl at the sky. And he just keeps going. “Gathered around the coals with beers slung low, we’re all but enacting a myth of the American man, telling a story in postures and poses. No longer mere Ph.D. students, we have become bros."--------------Rich Cromwell

http://thefederalist.com/2015/07/24/the-nonexistent-link-between-grilling-and-gender/#I guess we can file this one under "current events?"Normally, I would not even think about taking this on....................But, ya know, Boys is Boys and Girls is Girls...............We do different things. Even though Missus ORPO is One Helluva BBQ Griller, so am I, on occasion.I was in Grades 5 and 6 with girls that would play tackle football on a dirt playground with us............tough they were.........................ya shoulda seen em when they grew up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I have four granddaughters and they are all girls and they do girl things. 

Astronomers Find Evidence Of Two Undiscovered Planets In Our Solar System | IFLScience

photo credit: Lexicon via wikimedia commons. The most distant of these outer solar system objects share a trait that hints at an unknown planet.

So Pluto isn't a planet and it then it is and so forth. I grew up with the knowledge that Pluto was a planet. In the mix is the new descriptive, dwarf planet.........................
All I know is this is pretty cool stuff when dealing with the outer reaches of our solar system.

Astronomers Find Evidence Of Two Undiscovered Planets In Our Solar System | IFLScience

Everybody knows this one..................................

Seems a couple of FB friends and I started playing lyric tag.........................
Then this one came up..............................
Yeah

Through early morning fog I see
Visions of the things to be
The pains that are withheld for me
I realize and I can see
That suicide is painless
It brings on many changes
I can take or leave it if I please

i try to find a way to make
all our little joys relate
without that ever present hate
but now i know that it's too late

That suicide is painless
It brings on many changes
I can take or leave it if I please
That game of life is hard to play
I'm gonna lose it anyway
The losing card of some delay
So this is all I have to say

That suicide is painless
It brings on many changes
I can take or leave it if I please
The sword of time will pierce our skin
It doesn't hurt when it begins
But as it works its way on in
The pain grows stronger, watch it grin

That suicide is painless
It brings on many changes
And I can take or leave it if I please
A brave man once requested me
To answer questions that are key
Is it to be or not to be
And I replied oh why ask me

That suicide is painless
It brings on many changes
And I can take or leave it if I...
That suicide is painless
It brings on many changes
I can take or leave it if I please
That suicide is painless
It brings on many changes
And you can do the same thing if you please

Flying Eagles Reunion, Part 2

Special Picture from the event................................Shipmates.
Three of us, Richard Taylor, Mark Errecart and I are members of a somewhat special group. We are members of The Order Of Magellan. We completed a Circumnavigation of the World, 3 January-30 June 1987 onboard The Good Ship, USS Kitty Hawk CV-63.
John Edgren was my Indoc and Ejection Seat Instructor when I first arrived at The Flying Eagles in June of 1985.

Left to Right(Tall Guys)
John Edgren, Richard Taylor, Mark Errecart
Short Guy-Me

Reunion. VA-122 Flying Eagles: Homecoming?

We are at NAS Lemoore in the Hornet Inn(Navy Gateway Inns and Suites) on Bon Homme Richard Street.
It was the Biennial VA-122 Flying Eagles Reunion. I was a FRAMP Student at 122 in 1985 for about four plus months. I was in training in the Airframes/Hydraulic Systems/Flight Controls/Landing Gear syllabus for further transfer to VA-147, The World Famous Argonauts.

It has been a long time...................................
We did a tour and presentation at the new version, VFA-122.
Erika Goodrich's picture is not on the board outside of the Ready Room yet.
The PAO was a little surprised that I did know her call sign.......................not to be mentioned at the present time.

Two of us also did the World Cruise on Kitty Hawk in 87, Me, AMH2 Errecart and AZ1 Taylor. PO2 Errecart and I were Argonauts and PO1 Taylor was Ship's Company in AIMD.

I took pictures.....................................yeah, go figure.
Here is a few of our gathering....................................

We stopped at the Memorial on Reeves Boulevard............................I knelt for a moment...............I shed more than one tear.

There were other bricks in this Memorial that are representative of my Navy Career...................

Tomorrow, Missus ORPO and I head back to the Desert...............................

I gave my Lockheed Martin Fighting Falcon Coin to the Fleet Reserve Branch 261 from the 416 AMU........................................It was the right thing to do.

Another Toy

This one is unique. The Ural Side Car rig.
The guy at Gizmodo has a full riding review on this unique machine.
A 2WD side car motorcycle would be a neat thing for where I live.
I don't care if it is slow, it's the where I would go that counts.
These machines have a certain appeal and would be fun for me now days.

"Should You Buy It?

So here’s the thing. Everything I’ve described about how limited and difficult and dangerous these things are actually adds up to what makes them such charming, unforgettable experiences. 

Do easy-to-drive, but utterly anodyne modern cars leave you cold? Do you like the sound of riding something made to do battle during WWII? Is the carrying capacity of motorcycles too limited? Do you have a dog? Does the ability to mount a machine gun to the sidecar sound like an intriguing opportunity? Do you like traveling to remote parts of the world where roads don’t go? Do you want to ride in the snow? Then yeah, you’re going to want a Ural. Just be careful!"-Wes Siler

Stock Photo

Ural Review at Gizmodo

Wired review from 2012 on the Ural

Bucket List Toy...............

OK, it is a Toy...................that I would love to park here at Casa de Sharon y Glenn in The Beautiful Southeast Kern County Desert.

Yep, a midlife crisis fixer if there ever was one!
Read more at the link below.
http://jalopnik.com/you-can-now-get-an-apollo-edition-mustang-because-the-w-1717969196

The U.S. Navy’s Rail Gun Strikes At 7 Times the Speed of Sound. 7 Times!

Boom
Really, Really, Really Fast Boom
It ain't warp speed but dayum that is FAST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mach 7 at the muzzle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kablooie at an entirely new level!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://blog.theveteranssite.com/navy-railgun/?utm_source=social&utm_medium=vetfan&utm_campaign=navy-railgun&utm_term=20150225

Cowpens' bizarre cruise

CO seldom left in-port cabin during second half of ship's deployment, report found.

This came across my FB news feed this evening. Interesting little article I must say.

I will leave any judgement to the reader.

Funny statement coming from me, isn't it.

This ship has had some checkered history of late as some of my blog followers are aware of. Captain Holly Graf does seem to jump right out there, ya know.

http://archive.navytimes.com/article/20100115/NEWS01/1150331/Cruiser-CO-relieved-8216-cruelty-

The latest makes one go hmmmmmmmmmmmm. So hit the link and have a read. 

http://archive.navytimes.com/article/20140804/NEWS/308110012/Cowpens-bizarre-cruise

The ship is headed for a modernization and upgrade to be more compatible with the newer Aegis Crusiers in the Fleet.

Friends and families gather on the pier at Naval Base San Diego for the April 17 homecoming of the cruiser Cowpens. Few were aware then of how strange the deployment had been. (MC3 Will Gaskill/Navy)

From the "Well I'll Be!" category: Pluto's features could have names like Mt. Tardis and Vader Crater - CNET

Sunday net surfing yielded this little snippet. I found the original at Yahoo Science News....
"The folks behind NASA's New Horizons released a list of the most popular suggested names for places on Pluto that shows sci-fi and fantasy fans are getting plenty of representation."
I actually think this is cool. Why not use things that are current in culture as related to the SF Space-Time Genre? 
The last paragraph was this little gem.............................
"I'm kind of hoping that NASA doesn't discover any more planets at this point because we're going to run out of decent names somewhere down the line. I dread the day when NASA announces the discovery of a new planet named Hubbard and names its largest structure Mt. Michael Bay."
Both quotes are from the author, Danny Gallagher.
The entire article with a cool CGI picture are at the link below.


Pluto's features could have names like Mt. Tardis and Vader Crater - CNET

Vought A-7 Corsair II - "Short Little Ugly Fucker"

The title says it all......................

I am proud to say that I was in an A-7 squadron, that being the Argonauts of Attack Squadron One Four Seven! We were in Carrier Air Wing Nine embarked in The Good Ship USS Kitty Hawk CV63.
The first Fleet A-7 squadron to go into action was the Argonauts in 1967 when I was 12 going on 13.

Rachel, Nevada | Rocks and Mythology in the Nevada Desert

I was informed of this blog by a friend. Pretty interesting.

One of these days...................



Abandoned mine outside of Rachel, Nevada

I think I found the mode of transportation that I would love to use to go to Rachel. It is the Ural Gear Up with the Sportsman Package......................................It ain't fast but hey, I ain't a kid anymore............

Rachel, Nevada | Rocks and Mythology in the Nevada Desert

Granddaughters at The Sedgwick County Zoo

I go these via text message from The Youngest Daughter yesterday or Tuesday.............
Amanda took Bailee(and her boyfriend, Jacob) and Piper to the Zoo on Tuesday the 7th.