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.

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!

Desert Sunrise over Palmdale

I got some pictures this morning from a scenic outlook above Palmdale on CA 14 on my way home from dropping Missus ORPO off at LAX at about 0400.
It was a definitely chilly out with the strong wind.
So please enjoy!

 

Pictures of a Desert Morning

It was a beautiful morning here in The Southeast Kern County Desert.
I remembered to take the Nikon with me in the pickup last night. I was hoping to catch a train but none were in sight.
When I hit the edge of Cal City, I stopped and took a few of town with the mountains and our welcome sign!

Essay: 100 Years of the Marine Corps Gazette

I came across this while surfing the interwebs this evening.

It is quite a good read..............
The opening paragraph follows:

"To speak of “the profession of arms” is to imply that military officers don’t just have jobs, but—like doctors, lawyers, and members of the clergy—are members of a community of learned practitioners. It follows that a good officer keeps up with the latest innovations in his field, follows a body of professional literature, and contributes to that literature as his career progresses. You wouldn’t want your heart surgeon simply applying by rote whatever he learned years ago in medical school. Technology and best practices evolve, and survival depends on how abreast the good doctor is of the state of the art. For quite similar reasons, the nation expects more than just rote performance from its infantry commanders, bomber pilots, and ships’ captains."

Essay: 100 Years of the Marine Corps Gazette

The Skylon Space Plane | Animation

Found this while surfing the net this morning.
It is a neat concept.
How practical remains the question.
If it is cost efficient, why not?
There are more animated videos at the link below.

The Skylon Space Plane | Animation

The Moon and Jupiter from Casa de Sharon y Glenn

When I got home about 0600 this am after having a go with nausea, I grabbed a few shots of the Moon and Jupiter with my smart phone.
They aren't the best but here are a couple that turned out OK, perhaps.

Jupiter is toward the upper left.

Rare insight into the Royal Navy’s Commando Helicopter Force

The reign of the scarred Sea King HC4s will end on Mar. 31

The Sea King was the back bone of many Naval Air Arms and Air Forces vertical capability for years. 

It was a tough machine. I was aboard Independence in 74 when one of HS-5's Sea Kings had to do a water landing after a transmission chip light. It was back in the air in less than a week, if memory serves me right.


After the passing of 848 NAS and its Sea King HC4s, the CHF will have three squadrons, all based at RNAS Yeovilton; 845 NAS, which is currently standing up on the Merlin; 846 NAS, which is operational on the Merlin Mk3i, having transitioned from the Sea King in 2014 (and taking on the Merlin training role); whilst 847 NAS operates the Wildcat AH1 (moving from the Lynx Mk9A) in the recce, ISTAR, fire control, FAC and light transport roles. 848 NAS was actually disbanded in 2013 as the Sea King HC4 training squadron before being reformed in May 2015 to provide Sea King ops whilst 845 NAS transitioned to the Merlin.

Pictures and the rest of the story at the link below...........................

Rare insight into the Royal Navy’s Commando Helicopter Force: The reign of the RN Sea King HC4 comes to an end They say that legends aren’t born, but made.The reputation of the Royal Navy’s Commando Helicopter Force (CHF) Sea King HC4 fleet has been forged in…

Italian Air Force Typhoons departing for Red Flag 16-2

The aircraft, belonging to the 4° Stormo, based at Grosseto, and 36° Stormo (Wing) based at Gioia del Colle – even though personnel taking part in the mission come from all the units flying the Typhoon, including the 37° Stormo based at Trapani, will join the two-seater Eurofighter that took part in the “F-35 trail,” accompanying the first Italian JSF in the type’s first transatlantic crossing.

I think the Typhoon is an awesome aircraft. The Italian Air Force is participating to a significant level in Red Flag 16-2. I was able to participate in Red Flag 12-2 with the 416 FLTS/AMU. I would love to get to Nellis to watch the Typhoons.

Here is a picture to whet everyone's appetite for Red Flag......................

Here are the photos of the Italian Eurofighter Typhoons departing for their first Red Flag exercise:

Eight Italian Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon are about to attend Exercise Red Flag 16-2. On Feb. 19, seven Italian Air Force Typhoon jets left Grosseto airbase, Italy,  for Nellis Air Force Base, NV.

Snowing on the Tehachapi

Even though the wind was a pain in the rear, the winter weather looks good......from the desert floor.