At the start, let me emphasize........
I'm NO financial planner.
(And no, I don't play one on TV either.)
There are probably several folks reading this post that know a boatload more than I do about investing.
I know just enough, maybe, to be dangerous.
But for some reason, my meager knowledge has sort of made me the "go to" guy
at my company when co-workers have questions about their retirement plans.
I titled this post "Investing 100", because what I'm about to convey is "bonehead" information, intended to incite some of you "foot draggers"
to do some homework yourself, and then ACT on it!
In 1968,
Ole Prairie Dog and I were learning to fly helicopters in Savannah, GA..
(Horrible duty, by the way.)
At the end of each flying day we'd come back to the company area to find a kindly looking retired Lt. Colonel loitering around,
chatting with our classmates.
He sold Mutual Funds from a Fund Family called "Keystone"
We were all facing a year of flying in Viet Nam,
and all I wanted to do with my money was have a good time.
Investing was pretty low on my priority list.
But he tweaked my curiosity.......
what the heck was a Mutual Fund?
How did they work?
I did some research and bought my first shares of a Mutual Fund in 1970.
I was a licensed broker and sold Mutual Funds from 1974 to '76.
When our "Big Bubba" turned 20,
I challenged him to get started investing.
With my guidance, (and his money), he put $2,000 in a
Roth IRA using Vanguard's "S&P 500 Index Fund".
(I like the Vanguard Family because of their low fees.)
He has continued to invest $2,000 per year in that Fund.
If he continues to invest at that rate,
and the stock market continues to perform as it has historically,
he'll be able to retire when he is still a VERY young man.
I'm proud of him for having the
discipline I didn't have at his age.
Let me share two interesting investing stories:
Identical twins, Uno and Dos, celebrate their 20th birthday.
Uno starts a Roth IRA.
He puts $2,000 a year in a Mutual Fund that has historically grown 8% annually.
Brother Dos says, "Nah, I want to buy a new Harley,
and next year I want a new bass boat.
I'm young, and there's plenty of time to invest later."
Uno continues to squirrel away $2,000 per year for 10 years.
At that point, Uno STOPS putting money in his IRA.
Now, at age 30, Brother Dos decides
it's time to get serious about investing.
He opens an IRA account with the same Fund as his twin.
Assuming he continues adding $2,000 per year, and the Fund continues to earn 8% annually,
at what point will his account value exceed that of his brother's?
My second illustration, similar to the first, will help answer that question.......
Find a Fund or other investment that averages 8% per year interest.
Add $50 a month to that Fund for 10 years.
At that point, stop your monthly deposit,
and start withdrawing $50 per month.
At what point will the Fund be totally depleted?
The answer to both questions?
NEVER!
In the first example, Uno's investment is earning considerably more than $2,000 per year when Dos begins to add $2,000 per year to his new IRA.
Dos can add 2-Grand a year for infinity, and he will NEVER catch up!
In the second illustration, after 10 years the Fund will be earning,
by my quick calculations, $87.63 per month in interest,
so withdrawing $50 a month will allow the principal in the Fund to continue
to grow at a pretty healthy rate.
Historical returns for the overall Stock Market
are above 8% per year.
Do your homework.
Find an investment you can be comfortable with.
Get started now!
(If you have access to a company 403(b), 401(k), or 457,
it makes NO SENSE to not AT LEAST contribute to those accounts at the minimum contribution necessary to take advantage of company matching funds........a 100% per year return on that money!!!)
And as both my illustrations show, time is critical.......
sooner is MUCH better than later!
If all this is still confusing, let me recommend the book:
"The Wealthy Barber" by David Chilton.
It's a quick, easy, enjoyable read,
and will answer most of your investing questions.
(I wish someone had shared this with me when I was 20!)
Update: 23 October
Wow, this got out of hand in a flash!
Read the comments.
My intent was to provide some VERY basic investing examples and prod some slackers into doing a little study on their own before setting cautiously off on a journey to improve their lives.
I started the post with the "I'm no expert" disclaimer.
Notice also the investment I have started my son in: An S&P 500 Fund that does virtually no stirring, and therefore has extremely low fees.
For that reason, most all of Big Bubba's money stays at work.
That's the path I will continue to take until I see a better way.
Infgtr has extraordinary credentials.
What I glean from his comments is that if you aren't gonna retire shortly,
you'd better be looking for ways to hide your money, and invest it in more complicated vehicles than I recommended.
If that is true, I'm more out of touch than I could have imagined.
I'm fearful of a scenario where you have to be an attorney to be sure you have efficiently hidden your money from Big Brother and other meanies.
Has it really come to that?
15 October 2005
12 October 2005
Bicycle Blogging
Is my experience normal?
Where I grew up, kids rode bicycles everywhere.
I had one, my sister had one.
When mine was broken, I rode (and broke) hers!
I had a paper route. The route covered about two miles.......four miles round trip.
I rode that route 7 Days a week, then used the bike to ride to play baseball, football, or basketball with friends.
My folks had agreed to buy me a new bike.
Nothing but a "Schwinn" bicycle would do........
the quality of other bikes
had been such a disappointment.
We went to the bike shop and got brochures on
the different models that were available.
A model called the "Phantom" immediately caught my eye!
This bike was called a "middleweight" at the time.
English style commuter bikes with their skinny little tires and three-speed gearshifts were being imported by this time, and the Phantom was a compromise between those and the "Balloon Tire Bombers" that had been produced up to the early 50's.
It had no gearshift........one speed. It had a "knee action" suspension on the front, and a coaster brake, (the kind where you push the pedal backwards for braking action.)
It had a horn in the tank. The horn was a pain in the butt because it needed batteries all the time. The horn got wet when it rained, and quit working in short order.
My Phantom was Candy Apple Red.
When I see pictures of the Phantom now, it reminds me a lot of Pee Wee Herman's bike in "Pee Wee's Big Adventure."
It was cool!
I remember it cost $70, which was a ton of money circa 1957.
My Dad was hesitant to spend that kind of money.
Mom was in my corner........she argued that I used the bike on my paper route, and besides, it was what I wanted and it would be nice to give me something I wanted so badly.
Dad gave in.
Fast Forward to 1981.
When I first met Sara Jean here in our little town, I rode a bike for exercise and errands. I had mapped out an 11 mile course that I rode daily, weather permitting.
By this time I was riding a bike with more speeds than I knew how to use. You shifted gears with two little levers at the center of the handlebars. I never learned to use the shifter well, but I did learn to downshift a couple gears to make it easier going uphill.
I actually got to the point where I had "runner's high" from riding every day!
When I'd miss my ride, my body didn't feel normal.
Then "Big Bubba" was born, and life got complicated with a job or two.
I quit riding.
I hung the bike from hooks in the garage, and watched as, over the years, the tires decayed and the frame rusted.
When he was old enough, I bought Big Bubba a 10-speed bike.
He rode a little, but not like his Old Man when I was his age.
I rode Big Bubba's bike now and then, and liked the feeling.
Forward again to today:
I've been studying bikes for awhile.
They're amazing.
You can easily spend $4,000 for "Lance Armstrong" bikes with frames made of exotic materials that weigh 12 pounds!
$700 buys a recumbent bicycle so you can sleep while you ride.
But something else caught my eye:
Last week, for less than $200, I bought a 21-speed
"Mountain Bike" with a front disc brake, front and rear suspension, quick-release front wheel,
and shifters on each hand grip.
(Is it possible to compare this bike to the $70 Schwinn Phantom my Dad bought in 1959?)
I'm now back to riding my 11 mile course every-other-day.
25 years ago, I could do it in 35 minutes.
Now it takes me an hour.
(Let's see.......11 miles ridden in one hour would be what......
11 m.p.h. average, right?)
I'm gonna work on getting the speed up, but not to the point where I don't enjoy the ride.
The idea is to work off the calories, and get back to the point where chicks whistle at my legs!
Gimme a little while!
Where I grew up, kids rode bicycles everywhere.
I had one, my sister had one.
When mine was broken, I rode (and broke) hers!
I had a paper route. The route covered about two miles.......four miles round trip.
I rode that route 7 Days a week, then used the bike to ride to play baseball, football, or basketball with friends.
My folks had agreed to buy me a new bike.
Nothing but a "Schwinn" bicycle would do........
the quality of other bikes
had been such a disappointment.
We went to the bike shop and got brochures on
the different models that were available.
A model called the "Phantom" immediately caught my eye!
This bike was called a "middleweight" at the time.
English style commuter bikes with their skinny little tires and three-speed gearshifts were being imported by this time, and the Phantom was a compromise between those and the "Balloon Tire Bombers" that had been produced up to the early 50's.
It had no gearshift........one speed. It had a "knee action" suspension on the front, and a coaster brake, (the kind where you push the pedal backwards for braking action.)
It had a horn in the tank. The horn was a pain in the butt because it needed batteries all the time. The horn got wet when it rained, and quit working in short order.
My Phantom was Candy Apple Red.
When I see pictures of the Phantom now, it reminds me a lot of Pee Wee Herman's bike in "Pee Wee's Big Adventure."
It was cool!
I remember it cost $70, which was a ton of money circa 1957.
My Dad was hesitant to spend that kind of money.
Mom was in my corner........she argued that I used the bike on my paper route, and besides, it was what I wanted and it would be nice to give me something I wanted so badly.
Dad gave in.
Fast Forward to 1981.
When I first met Sara Jean here in our little town, I rode a bike for exercise and errands. I had mapped out an 11 mile course that I rode daily, weather permitting.
By this time I was riding a bike with more speeds than I knew how to use. You shifted gears with two little levers at the center of the handlebars. I never learned to use the shifter well, but I did learn to downshift a couple gears to make it easier going uphill.
I actually got to the point where I had "runner's high" from riding every day!
When I'd miss my ride, my body didn't feel normal.
Then "Big Bubba" was born, and life got complicated with a job or two.
I quit riding.
I hung the bike from hooks in the garage, and watched as, over the years, the tires decayed and the frame rusted.
When he was old enough, I bought Big Bubba a 10-speed bike.
He rode a little, but not like his Old Man when I was his age.
I rode Big Bubba's bike now and then, and liked the feeling.
Forward again to today:
I've been studying bikes for awhile.
They're amazing.
You can easily spend $4,000 for "Lance Armstrong" bikes with frames made of exotic materials that weigh 12 pounds!
$700 buys a recumbent bicycle so you can sleep while you ride.
But something else caught my eye:
Last week, for less than $200, I bought a 21-speed
"Mountain Bike" with a front disc brake, front and rear suspension, quick-release front wheel,
and shifters on each hand grip.
(Is it possible to compare this bike to the $70 Schwinn Phantom my Dad bought in 1959?)
I'm now back to riding my 11 mile course every-other-day.
25 years ago, I could do it in 35 minutes.
Now it takes me an hour.
(Let's see.......11 miles ridden in one hour would be what......
11 m.p.h. average, right?)
I'm gonna work on getting the speed up, but not to the point where I don't enjoy the ride.
The idea is to work off the calories, and get back to the point where chicks whistle at my legs!
Gimme a little while!
10 October 2005
Pakistan
Just in case you needed something to fret about today:
The earthquake in Kashmir may be a watershed event.
Half of Pakistan's citizens think Osama Bin Laden is the moral opposite of William Jefferson Clinton.
That half of Pakistan has already made at least three credible attempts to help Musharraf assume ambient temperature.
I've been listening to interviews of Pakistani citizens on the BBC.
The "Beeb" is portraying Musharraf's response to these events as less than satisfactory.
He has a political nightmare on his hands........
he needs to be visible, personally directing the emergency response to this catastrophe.
But he knows he'd likely be a target at every turn.........
The U.S. attacked Iraq because we suspected they MIGHT have Weapons of Mass Destruction at their disposal.
What should be our response if the Nuclear capable Pakistani government falls into the hands of radical Islamists?
We live in "interesting" times!
The earthquake in Kashmir may be a watershed event.
Half of Pakistan's citizens think Osama Bin Laden is the moral opposite of William Jefferson Clinton.
That half of Pakistan has already made at least three credible attempts to help Musharraf assume ambient temperature.
I've been listening to interviews of Pakistani citizens on the BBC.
The "Beeb" is portraying Musharraf's response to these events as less than satisfactory.
He has a political nightmare on his hands........
he needs to be visible, personally directing the emergency response to this catastrophe.
But he knows he'd likely be a target at every turn.........
The U.S. attacked Iraq because we suspected they MIGHT have Weapons of Mass Destruction at their disposal.
What should be our response if the Nuclear capable Pakistani government falls into the hands of radical Islamists?
We live in "interesting" times!
07 October 2005
Where Eagles Fly
Over at
www.formerlyliving.blogspot.com,
Mike left a comment about flying with me over the Illinois River valley,
seeing the remarkable recovery that has been made by our Bald Eagle population.
In January and February,
breeding pairs can be spotted every 50 feet or so in trees alongside the river where there is open water.
In trees with no leaves, a three foot tall bird perched on a limb sticks out like a sore thumb!
Before my Dad passed away, my folks lived on lakefront property in Southern Indiana. High in a tree in the hills above their home, my Dad noticed a breeding pair of Eagles in a big nest, and called the Department of Natural Resources folks to insure they were aware of the birds.
The very next day, and for several days thereafter, a helicopter circled the nest.
When the pair of chicks hatched, the DNR folks came out for a closer look.
Dad accompanied them on the hike up the hill, and took pictures as they scaled the tree and lowered the eaglets to the ground.
I was surprised to learn that Eagle parents put up NO FIGHT AT ALL against this raid on their nest........
they flew off a short distance and watched quietly as the Conservationists weighed, measured, and took blood samples from their offspring!
Also surprising was how docile the hatchlings were while being stuck, poked, and prodded!
My previous perception was that our National symbol would have been pretty aggressive in protecting itself, and more so its' young!
Over the next several years, Dad and Mom took great pleasure in watching this pair of Eagles raise several families in that same nest.
I'm thrilled to watch the birds soaring over the river in January in large numbers...........
acrobatically jousting with one another.......
six foot wingspan and oh-so-obvious white head and tail on the mature birds!
It's also gratifying that some Government programs work.
The protection of our "endangered" Bald Eagle certainly has!
www.formerlyliving.blogspot.com,
Mike left a comment about flying with me over the Illinois River valley,
seeing the remarkable recovery that has been made by our Bald Eagle population.
In January and February,
breeding pairs can be spotted every 50 feet or so in trees alongside the river where there is open water.
In trees with no leaves, a three foot tall bird perched on a limb sticks out like a sore thumb!
Before my Dad passed away, my folks lived on lakefront property in Southern Indiana. High in a tree in the hills above their home, my Dad noticed a breeding pair of Eagles in a big nest, and called the Department of Natural Resources folks to insure they were aware of the birds.
The very next day, and for several days thereafter, a helicopter circled the nest.
When the pair of chicks hatched, the DNR folks came out for a closer look.
Dad accompanied them on the hike up the hill, and took pictures as they scaled the tree and lowered the eaglets to the ground.
I was surprised to learn that Eagle parents put up NO FIGHT AT ALL against this raid on their nest........
they flew off a short distance and watched quietly as the Conservationists weighed, measured, and took blood samples from their offspring!
Also surprising was how docile the hatchlings were while being stuck, poked, and prodded!
My previous perception was that our National symbol would have been pretty aggressive in protecting itself, and more so its' young!
Over the next several years, Dad and Mom took great pleasure in watching this pair of Eagles raise several families in that same nest.
I'm thrilled to watch the birds soaring over the river in January in large numbers...........
acrobatically jousting with one another.......
six foot wingspan and oh-so-obvious white head and tail on the mature birds!
It's also gratifying that some Government programs work.
The protection of our "endangered" Bald Eagle certainly has!
04 October 2005
The Chinook Cha-Cha
Different Helicopters
come with different types of Rotor Systems:
Rigid,
Semi-Rigid,
Fully Articulated,
and hybrids of the above.
As you might expect,
each of these systems has advantages and disadvantages.
The U.S. Army's big Chinook
has a fully articulated rotor system.
This rotor can be compared
to the connection of your arm to your shoulder.......
the individual rotors can move fore and aft,
up and down, all at the same time,
similar to your arms moving independently.
The fully articulated system is a complicated one,
with MANY moving parts,
but when properly balanced and tracked,
it provides a "Cadillac on the boulevard" ride.
One of the disadvantages of this system
is that if you shock it with a hard bump on landing or takeoff,
the rotor can get dramatically out of balance,
and that unbalanced condition can amplify and worsen catastrophically.
Videos
http://www.chinook-helicopter.com/video/Ground_Resonance_Rear_View.mpg
and
http://www.chinook-helicopter.com/video/Ground_Resonance_Side_View.mpg
show two views of the same helicopter experiencing
this phenomenon,
called "Ground Resonance".
I assume the fact that the helicopter is restrained on a test bed
with two detailed videos of the incident
is an indication this was an Army test.
Notice the puffs of smoke from the engines,
indicating they have been shut down
as the Ground Resonance begins to destroy the airframe.
I have no information on what this test was analyzing,
or if Ground Resonance was expected.
I'd like to know more.
come with different types of Rotor Systems:
Rigid,
Semi-Rigid,
Fully Articulated,
and hybrids of the above.
As you might expect,
each of these systems has advantages and disadvantages.
The U.S. Army's big Chinook
has a fully articulated rotor system.
This rotor can be compared
to the connection of your arm to your shoulder.......
the individual rotors can move fore and aft,
up and down, all at the same time,
similar to your arms moving independently.
The fully articulated system is a complicated one,
with MANY moving parts,
but when properly balanced and tracked,
it provides a "Cadillac on the boulevard" ride.
One of the disadvantages of this system
is that if you shock it with a hard bump on landing or takeoff,
the rotor can get dramatically out of balance,
and that unbalanced condition can amplify and worsen catastrophically.
Videos
http://www.chinook-helicopter.com/video/Ground_Resonance_Rear_View.mpg
and
http://www.chinook-helicopter.com/video/Ground_Resonance_Side_View.mpg
show two views of the same helicopter experiencing
this phenomenon,
called "Ground Resonance".
I assume the fact that the helicopter is restrained on a test bed
with two detailed videos of the incident
is an indication this was an Army test.
Notice the puffs of smoke from the engines,
indicating they have been shut down
as the Ground Resonance begins to destroy the airframe.
I have no information on what this test was analyzing,
or if Ground Resonance was expected.
I'd like to know more.
28 September 2005
Hero?
I'm proud of my service to my country.
Being eligible for the draft, and then drafted at the age of 19,
at the time of a growing conflict in Viet Nam,
put a focus on my life that young people don't experience today.
But let me make an uncomfortable confession:
I tried to avoid Viet Nam!
A week into Basic Training, I was summoned to the Orderly Room by the Company Commander.
I was a Private........lower than a snake's belly.......
Being called by, and then standing in front of that 2nd Lieutenant was a scary experience!
He pushed a paper across his desk to me, and said, "sign at the bottom".
I signed, THEN asked, "what is this?"
"Your GT (overall aptitude) scores are high enough, so you're goin' to O.C.S.!"
Oh, really!
Not, "would you like to go to O.C.S.?",
just......."sign here".
I knew I could refuse the orders later if I wanted, so I didn't complain to this man that could make life REALLY miserable for a lowly Private in the U.S. Army!
After two months in Basic Training, and two months in South Carolina learning how to be a good Infantryman, I cooled my jets for 8 months waiting for orders dispatching me to O.C.S..
I actually started Officer's school in May of '67.
Sometime during O.C.S., the U.S. and the North Vietnamese started actually talking to one another about ending the conflict.
I'm not a gung-ho warrior at heart, so the idea of having to waste my combat training at an assignment in say.........Hawaii, instead of going to Viet Nam, didn't trouble me too much!
But it took months for those involved in the talks to agree on the size and shape of the negotiating table!
Meanwhile, mid-way through O.C.S. the message went out......
"those interested in going to Flight School
should meet in the classroom at ****hours."
I was interested.
Again, I signed the forms........partly for the training, but partly in hopes that the peace negotiations would bear fruit before I had to get on the plane for that long flight across the Pacific.
While I was in Flight School, the negotiators agreed on the number and size of the flags that would be placed on the table!
I graduated Flight School, and had delayed as long as I could.
On 1 November, 1968 I got on the plane and went to do my duty as an Army Gunship pilot in Viet Nam.
You can find stories of some of my Viet Nam experiences
in the Archives of this Blog.
My tour was........."interesting".
When I meet people and they find out I flew helicopters in Viet Nam,
their attitude toward me changes. Some have referred to me and my peers as "heroes".
Personally, I'm more than a little uncomfortable with that.
It all boils down to the word "Hero", and how you define it.
Let me tell you how I define "Hero".
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At the Battle of Gettysburg,
Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain's troops had faced the worst of the fighting for over two days.
They were attrited, exhausted, and out of ammunition on "Little Round Top" when the Confederate Troops started their attack.
Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain's response?
He commanded his men:
"FIX BAYONETS.........CHARGE!"
And they did!
Heroes!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
World War II bomber crews in Europe had to complete 25 missions to be able to rotate back home.
The average lifespan of one of these crews was 8 missions!
These crews knew their chances of survival and rotation back home was virtually ZERO,
yet, by the thousands, they boarded their aircraft and took off to do their duty.
Heroes!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In Somalia, Para-Rescue troops SFC Randy Shugart and MSG Gary Gordon were aboard a helicopter circling the "Blackhawk Down" in the intersection at Mogadishu.
Knowing their mission would probably result in their deaths,
they nevertheless requested to be inserted at the site.
Their request was refused by the Commander.
Did they relax and say, "Oh well, we tried?"
Nope.
They made their request again......this time more emphatically!
And they were inserted,
And they died, protecting others.
Heroes!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
New York, September 11, 2001.
Firefighters wearing 100 pounds of protective equipment face a 30 minute uphill trek "against the flow" of traffic desperately trying to escape the building, knowing they are about to face something never experienced in history, and more dangerous than anything they could ever imagine.
Yet they climbed the stairs, providing assistance where they could to get others to safety.
Heroes!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When I think of these "Heroes", I am reduced to tears and humbled.
Yes, I'm proud of my service.
But much of my story can be summed up: "right place, right time."
Viet Nam helped me learn much about my own character.
But in comparison to these "Heroes",
my sacrifice for my country seems a pretty small thing, indeed.
How do you define "Hero"?
Being eligible for the draft, and then drafted at the age of 19,
at the time of a growing conflict in Viet Nam,
put a focus on my life that young people don't experience today.
But let me make an uncomfortable confession:
I tried to avoid Viet Nam!
A week into Basic Training, I was summoned to the Orderly Room by the Company Commander.
I was a Private........lower than a snake's belly.......
Being called by, and then standing in front of that 2nd Lieutenant was a scary experience!
He pushed a paper across his desk to me, and said, "sign at the bottom".
I signed, THEN asked, "what is this?"
"Your GT (overall aptitude) scores are high enough, so you're goin' to O.C.S.!"
Oh, really!
Not, "would you like to go to O.C.S.?",
just......."sign here".
I knew I could refuse the orders later if I wanted, so I didn't complain to this man that could make life REALLY miserable for a lowly Private in the U.S. Army!
After two months in Basic Training, and two months in South Carolina learning how to be a good Infantryman, I cooled my jets for 8 months waiting for orders dispatching me to O.C.S..
I actually started Officer's school in May of '67.
Sometime during O.C.S., the U.S. and the North Vietnamese started actually talking to one another about ending the conflict.
I'm not a gung-ho warrior at heart, so the idea of having to waste my combat training at an assignment in say.........Hawaii, instead of going to Viet Nam, didn't trouble me too much!
But it took months for those involved in the talks to agree on the size and shape of the negotiating table!
Meanwhile, mid-way through O.C.S. the message went out......
"those interested in going to Flight School
should meet in the classroom at ****hours."
I was interested.
Again, I signed the forms........partly for the training, but partly in hopes that the peace negotiations would bear fruit before I had to get on the plane for that long flight across the Pacific.
While I was in Flight School, the negotiators agreed on the number and size of the flags that would be placed on the table!
I graduated Flight School, and had delayed as long as I could.
On 1 November, 1968 I got on the plane and went to do my duty as an Army Gunship pilot in Viet Nam.
You can find stories of some of my Viet Nam experiences
in the Archives of this Blog.
My tour was........."interesting".
When I meet people and they find out I flew helicopters in Viet Nam,
their attitude toward me changes. Some have referred to me and my peers as "heroes".
Personally, I'm more than a little uncomfortable with that.
It all boils down to the word "Hero", and how you define it.
Let me tell you how I define "Hero".
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At the Battle of Gettysburg,
Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain's troops had faced the worst of the fighting for over two days.
They were attrited, exhausted, and out of ammunition on "Little Round Top" when the Confederate Troops started their attack.
Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain's response?
He commanded his men:
"FIX BAYONETS.........CHARGE!"
And they did!
Heroes!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
World War II bomber crews in Europe had to complete 25 missions to be able to rotate back home.
The average lifespan of one of these crews was 8 missions!
These crews knew their chances of survival and rotation back home was virtually ZERO,
yet, by the thousands, they boarded their aircraft and took off to do their duty.
Heroes!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In Somalia, Para-Rescue troops SFC Randy Shugart and MSG Gary Gordon were aboard a helicopter circling the "Blackhawk Down" in the intersection at Mogadishu.
Knowing their mission would probably result in their deaths,
they nevertheless requested to be inserted at the site.
Their request was refused by the Commander.
Did they relax and say, "Oh well, we tried?"
Nope.
They made their request again......this time more emphatically!
And they were inserted,
And they died, protecting others.
Heroes!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
New York, September 11, 2001.
Firefighters wearing 100 pounds of protective equipment face a 30 minute uphill trek "against the flow" of traffic desperately trying to escape the building, knowing they are about to face something never experienced in history, and more dangerous than anything they could ever imagine.
Yet they climbed the stairs, providing assistance where they could to get others to safety.
Heroes!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When I think of these "Heroes", I am reduced to tears and humbled.
Yes, I'm proud of my service.
But much of my story can be summed up: "right place, right time."
Viet Nam helped me learn much about my own character.
But in comparison to these "Heroes",
my sacrifice for my country seems a pretty small thing, indeed.
How do you define "Hero"?
25 September 2005
Run Away, Run Away!
I'm puzzled.
We've all seen the video of the evacuation of Galveston/Houston before Rita's arrival...
The slowly-moving parking lot...
It brought to mind memories of a trip we took some years ago to a family reunion in St. Petersburg, Florida.
We were traveling Southbound on Interstate 75, just South of the Florida State line. I checked the speedometer and it read 70, which I believe was 5 over the speed limit there.
And then a quick check of the rear-view mirror showed a big backwards "M" on the right side, a big reverse "K" on the left side, and a big backwards "CA" in the center!
"KCAM"
Pretty frightening!
Traffic was VERY heavy... when I tried to maintain the safe, "two second" rule... two seconds distance behind the car in front of us, someone would pass me and cut the spacing to one second or less.
A quick conversation with Sara Jean confirmed that she was as uncomfortable with the situation as was I.
It was just a matter of time until there was an accident, and then, if we were lucky enough to not be involved ourselves, we'd be prisoners on the Interstate... either motionless, or moving at 2 m.p.h. toward the next exit 10 miles away!
A quick check of our map indicated that Florida Highway 19 paralleled our course. It was just two lanes, and went through lots of little towns, but it had to be preferable to this I-75 lunacy!
We took the next exit and went West 2 miles to Hwy. 19.
NO TRAFFIC! The road was excellent, and we could actually take our eyes off the road and traffic and enjoy the scenery!
So here's my obvious question: Why didn't folks fleeing Galveston take the first farm road off the Interstate highway and get away from that congested situation on the Interstate? I've lived in Texas. I know what their farm roads are like. If you've never been there, Texas has frontage roads that are nicer than some Interstates I've driven on in Michigan, or Arkansas!
Run out of gas on one of these roads, and help is just a knock on a "neighbors" door away. Texans are friendly folk!
Encounter an accident? Drive around it!
I bet the traffic they encountered would have been less stressful than on the bigger highway too!
We've all seen the video of the evacuation of Galveston/Houston before Rita's arrival...
The slowly-moving parking lot...
It brought to mind memories of a trip we took some years ago to a family reunion in St. Petersburg, Florida.
We were traveling Southbound on Interstate 75, just South of the Florida State line. I checked the speedometer and it read 70, which I believe was 5 over the speed limit there.
And then a quick check of the rear-view mirror showed a big backwards "M" on the right side, a big reverse "K" on the left side, and a big backwards "CA" in the center!
"KCAM"
Pretty frightening!
Traffic was VERY heavy... when I tried to maintain the safe, "two second" rule... two seconds distance behind the car in front of us, someone would pass me and cut the spacing to one second or less.
A quick conversation with Sara Jean confirmed that she was as uncomfortable with the situation as was I.
It was just a matter of time until there was an accident, and then, if we were lucky enough to not be involved ourselves, we'd be prisoners on the Interstate... either motionless, or moving at 2 m.p.h. toward the next exit 10 miles away!
A quick check of our map indicated that Florida Highway 19 paralleled our course. It was just two lanes, and went through lots of little towns, but it had to be preferable to this I-75 lunacy!
We took the next exit and went West 2 miles to Hwy. 19.
NO TRAFFIC! The road was excellent, and we could actually take our eyes off the road and traffic and enjoy the scenery!
So here's my obvious question: Why didn't folks fleeing Galveston take the first farm road off the Interstate highway and get away from that congested situation on the Interstate? I've lived in Texas. I know what their farm roads are like. If you've never been there, Texas has frontage roads that are nicer than some Interstates I've driven on in Michigan, or Arkansas!
Run out of gas on one of these roads, and help is just a knock on a "neighbors" door away. Texans are friendly folk!
Encounter an accident? Drive around it!
I bet the traffic they encountered would have been less stressful than on the bigger highway too!
22 September 2005
Flying Home
The phone rings.
Dispatch tells us where to go, and the patient's complaint.
Sometimes, the flight is to my home town,
population.......less than 10,000.
I've been fortunate that I've never had to transport a close friend or family member, but I HAVE carried close acquaintances.
In flight, headed to my home hospital, I wonder what we'll encounter when we get there.
Some years ago, we were dispatched to my home hospital
to pick up a 7 year old boy that had "fallen down a flight of stairs".
Alarm Bells!
I shut the aircraft down and proceeded to the E.R. to check out the situation.
Outside the E.R. door were two clutches of people,
each containing 5-or-so folks.
One of the groups was Black,
the other White.
The tension was thick enough to slow your walking speed.
These folks weren't looking at one another.
Here's the story:
The White Mother of our patient was previously married to a Black man.
Our patient is the result of that marriage.
Now married to a White man, Grandparents and other members of the respective families constitute the two groups in the hallway outside the E.R..
A White man approaches me, obviously under a great deal of stress,
puts his index finger within a few inches of my nose
and says emphatically,
"That's my stepson you're flying. He's a REALLY special kid!
You take damn good care of him!"
Strange.......
Inappropriate.
My crew wheels the kid out........
he's that beautiful "coffee and cream" color of many mixed race kids,
with an innocent, almost pretty, face.
He's unconscious, bruised, with a terrible closed-head injury.
I followed up:
He lived a week.
StepDad was arrested an hour after accosting me.
Charged with murder after our patient's death,
tried,
convicted,
sentenced to 40 years in the Pen.
The Alarm Bells were justified.........
My gut said "GUILTY" when I suppressed the urge
to break off his finger and hand it to him!
Dispatch tells us where to go, and the patient's complaint.
Sometimes, the flight is to my home town,
population.......less than 10,000.
I've been fortunate that I've never had to transport a close friend or family member, but I HAVE carried close acquaintances.
In flight, headed to my home hospital, I wonder what we'll encounter when we get there.
Some years ago, we were dispatched to my home hospital
to pick up a 7 year old boy that had "fallen down a flight of stairs".
Alarm Bells!
I shut the aircraft down and proceeded to the E.R. to check out the situation.
Outside the E.R. door were two clutches of people,
each containing 5-or-so folks.
One of the groups was Black,
the other White.
The tension was thick enough to slow your walking speed.
These folks weren't looking at one another.
Here's the story:
The White Mother of our patient was previously married to a Black man.
Our patient is the result of that marriage.
Now married to a White man, Grandparents and other members of the respective families constitute the two groups in the hallway outside the E.R..
A White man approaches me, obviously under a great deal of stress,
puts his index finger within a few inches of my nose
and says emphatically,
"That's my stepson you're flying. He's a REALLY special kid!
You take damn good care of him!"
Strange.......
Inappropriate.
My crew wheels the kid out........
he's that beautiful "coffee and cream" color of many mixed race kids,
with an innocent, almost pretty, face.
He's unconscious, bruised, with a terrible closed-head injury.
I followed up:
He lived a week.
StepDad was arrested an hour after accosting me.
Charged with murder after our patient's death,
tried,
convicted,
sentenced to 40 years in the Pen.
The Alarm Bells were justified.........
My gut said "GUILTY" when I suppressed the urge
to break off his finger and hand it to him!
20 September 2005
Times Beach, Missouri, Volume II
Do you remember the story of Times Beach?
In a nutshell, the town was built on Old Route 66,on the bank of the Meramec River.
In a nutshell, the town was built on Old Route 66,on the bank of the Meramec River.
The Meramec flooded frequently.
I'm unsure of the exact date, but sometime in the late 70's the river overflowed it's banks and the residents were forced to evacuate their homes.
Residents were generally poor, and most didn't have flood insurance,
so there was a great clamor for the Federal Government to help people rebuild their homes and lives.
And the U.S. Government responded and spent the $$$$$.
Now, the residents of Times Beach were logical people, right?
They got the help rebuilding their homes.
But they STILL lived alongside a river that flooded frequently.
So to make sure they were never in that predicament again,
they took EVERY action possible to avoid a recurrence,
to include buying flood insurance, right?
Wrong, Bunky!
In 1982, the river rose again, and once again forced people out of their homes.
And again, there was a great cry for Federal help.
My thought was, how can these people expect the U.S. taxpayer to pull their stones outta the fire this second time?
But this time, there was a twist.........
In the early 70's, residents had hired a waste oil hauler to spray oil
on their roads to control dust.
This DIRTBAG had taken a contract to dispose of waste oil that contained high levels of Dioxin.
And where did he dispose of the Dioxin-tainted oil?
Oh, Bunky, you are quick!
Times Beach.
Now, Times Beach residents didn't need to say,
"we were flooded out again, help us".
Instead the clamor was: "we have poisons all around our homes.......help us!"
And the U.S. taxpayer responded again, buying out homes of people that didn't have the sense to buy flood insurance,
although they lived alongside the oft-flooding Meramec!
You see where I'm headed with this, right?
Flooding.......toxic waste..........flooding again.
Katrina delivered a powerful punch to New Orleans,
and now Rita may be on the way.
And what about next hurricane season, and the next.............and the next?
Is New Orleans STILL under sea level?
Yes, Bunky, I believe it is!
If we spend BILLIONS and BILLIONS and BILLIONS rebuilding and detoxing
New Orleans over the next years,
will New Orleans be under water again in the future?
Am I truly on a rant here?
Right on both counts, Bunk!
There WILL be common-sense talk about using the BILLIONS to build the city somewhere else, and allow the Mississippi to reclaim New Orleans.
Folks that take this stance will be called racists,
and worse.
I have NO DOUBT we will spend the BILLIONS this time.
But it will happen again,
just like Times Beach.
And then..........better decision making may prevail.
IN$ANE!
19 September 2005
Pirate Pitchpull!
In honor of "National Talk Like a Pirate Day",
I bring your attention to
This
When you click on my "Pirate Pitchpull" blogroll,
you find they have done it with ALL the links!
Questions:
Who?
Why?
How much work did that take?
"Unusual Attitude", Me beauties!
Shiver Me Timbers!
I bring your attention to
When you click on my "Pirate Pitchpull" blogroll,
you find they have done it with ALL the links!
Questions:
Who?
Why?
How much work did that take?
"Unusual Attitude", Me beauties!
Shiver Me Timbers!
18 September 2005
A Problem With Gas
Over at Aviatrix's blog,
Cockpit Conversation she asked why they didn't publish "maximum endurance" figures on cars the way they do for flying machines.
With gasoline being sold at $3 per gallon and higher, it's a valid question.
I posted a comment in answer to her question which I will share with you, along with some further thoughts on transportation costs today.
I used to be a "member" at National Public Radio and Public TV.
I quit contributing to NPR when they became a broadcast arm of one of our political parties, but I freeload by continuing to listen to some of my favorite programs.
As an auto enthusiast, I enjoy "Click and Clack, The Tappet Brothers".
Some time back the boys discussed the point at which a car will get the best gas mileage. This happens when the engine is turning at the slowest RPM in it's top road gear..........4th gear in a 4 speed transmission. At this point you are using the least fuel to cover the most distance. Go faster, and you incur higher wind resistance, (drag), and mileage will decrease.
This speed is easy to discover in a car with an automatic transmission......accelerate slowly and watch the tachometer (or just listen) for the transmission to make that last shift, and note the speed.
With a manual transmission you need to consider the slowest speed your car will go without bogging the engine down.
Tire pressures are also an important factor. Higher pressures mean lower rolling resistance and better mileage, but also mean a sacrifice in ride quality.......the car will ride rougher.
I've been experimenting with our car on the way to work. My trip is 35 miles, with a small town about midway where I have to make 3 stops at stop signs.
I found that our 4300 pound car with automatic transmission shifts into top (4th) gear at 40 miles per hour when I am accelerating gently.
I also found that if I tried to drive at that speed, when I encountered a hill along the way, the tranny would downshift to third to climb the hill, therefore less miles per gallon.
Adding 5 m.p.h. to the speed.........45......... precluded this from happening.
I reset the onboard computer as I drove away from home.
When I got to work, the computer indicated 32.8 miles per gallon!
Not bad for a 4300 pound car with a 253 horsepower, 3.5 liter V-6!
Of course, driving at 45 m.p.h. needs to be factored into my plans for making it to work on time, but at $3.00 per gallon, I have the incentive to take the extra time!
An electric car would be an attractive option. I could recharge at home, then plug in at work and recharge for the drive home.
There are cars that can range out as far as 35-40 miles at 50 miles per hour, so that wouldn't be a problem.
But the kits for these automobiles run about $7,000, and for that money I can buy a lot of gas, even at $3 per gallon!
I've also been looking at Diesels. They get better mileage than a comparable gasoline auto, and the old complaints about them.....noise, vibration, and smell........are less and less a factor with the newer vehicles.
But I found an interesting thing: you can run them on vegetable oil!
Many penny pinchers are now going to restaurants and offering them a win/win situation: Let me have your old deep frying oil, and instead of having to pay to have it hauled off, I'll do it for free!
But as usual, there is a catch here too:
Diesel engines won't start on the vegetable oil.
The solution is to have two fuel systems on your vehicle.
Start the engine on Diesel, then switch to the vegetable oil system.
BUT, you must remember to switch back to the Diesel system before shutting the engine down in order to be able to start the engine the next time!
Vegetable oil conversions can be purchased for less than $1,000, if you decide you'd like to cut back on costs this way.
Another viable alternative is Natural gas/Propane.
Any gasoline fueled car can be converted to burn Natural gas or Propane. Adjustments need to be made to the fuel injection and engine control computer, and the fuel storage system needs to be adapted to your individual vehicle.
Costs will vary depending on how much your vehicle needs to be modified, but the cost of using Natural gas/Propane instead of gasoline at $3 per would make the changeover worthwhile in a very short time!
Gas prices are headed back down as I write this, thank goodness!
But fuel costs are now on everyone's mind, and I suspect we'll see a change in attitude when people go to buy a new car/truck in the future.
As for me, until I'm ready to buy my next new car, I'll be driving to work at 45 miles per hour!
With gasoline being sold at $3 per gallon and higher, it's a valid question.
I posted a comment in answer to her question which I will share with you, along with some further thoughts on transportation costs today.
I used to be a "member" at National Public Radio and Public TV.
I quit contributing to NPR when they became a broadcast arm of one of our political parties, but I freeload by continuing to listen to some of my favorite programs.
As an auto enthusiast, I enjoy "Click and Clack, The Tappet Brothers".
Some time back the boys discussed the point at which a car will get the best gas mileage. This happens when the engine is turning at the slowest RPM in it's top road gear..........4th gear in a 4 speed transmission. At this point you are using the least fuel to cover the most distance. Go faster, and you incur higher wind resistance, (drag), and mileage will decrease.
This speed is easy to discover in a car with an automatic transmission......accelerate slowly and watch the tachometer (or just listen) for the transmission to make that last shift, and note the speed.
With a manual transmission you need to consider the slowest speed your car will go without bogging the engine down.
Tire pressures are also an important factor. Higher pressures mean lower rolling resistance and better mileage, but also mean a sacrifice in ride quality.......the car will ride rougher.
I've been experimenting with our car on the way to work. My trip is 35 miles, with a small town about midway where I have to make 3 stops at stop signs.
I found that our 4300 pound car with automatic transmission shifts into top (4th) gear at 40 miles per hour when I am accelerating gently.
I also found that if I tried to drive at that speed, when I encountered a hill along the way, the tranny would downshift to third to climb the hill, therefore less miles per gallon.
Adding 5 m.p.h. to the speed.........45......... precluded this from happening.
I reset the onboard computer as I drove away from home.
When I got to work, the computer indicated 32.8 miles per gallon!
Not bad for a 4300 pound car with a 253 horsepower, 3.5 liter V-6!
Of course, driving at 45 m.p.h. needs to be factored into my plans for making it to work on time, but at $3.00 per gallon, I have the incentive to take the extra time!
An electric car would be an attractive option. I could recharge at home, then plug in at work and recharge for the drive home.
There are cars that can range out as far as 35-40 miles at 50 miles per hour, so that wouldn't be a problem.
But the kits for these automobiles run about $7,000, and for that money I can buy a lot of gas, even at $3 per gallon!
I've also been looking at Diesels. They get better mileage than a comparable gasoline auto, and the old complaints about them.....noise, vibration, and smell........are less and less a factor with the newer vehicles.
But I found an interesting thing: you can run them on vegetable oil!
Many penny pinchers are now going to restaurants and offering them a win/win situation: Let me have your old deep frying oil, and instead of having to pay to have it hauled off, I'll do it for free!
But as usual, there is a catch here too:
Diesel engines won't start on the vegetable oil.
The solution is to have two fuel systems on your vehicle.
Start the engine on Diesel, then switch to the vegetable oil system.
BUT, you must remember to switch back to the Diesel system before shutting the engine down in order to be able to start the engine the next time!
Vegetable oil conversions can be purchased for less than $1,000, if you decide you'd like to cut back on costs this way.
Another viable alternative is Natural gas/Propane.
Any gasoline fueled car can be converted to burn Natural gas or Propane. Adjustments need to be made to the fuel injection and engine control computer, and the fuel storage system needs to be adapted to your individual vehicle.
Costs will vary depending on how much your vehicle needs to be modified, but the cost of using Natural gas/Propane instead of gasoline at $3 per would make the changeover worthwhile in a very short time!
Gas prices are headed back down as I write this, thank goodness!
But fuel costs are now on everyone's mind, and I suspect we'll see a change in attitude when people go to buy a new car/truck in the future.
As for me, until I'm ready to buy my next new car, I'll be driving to work at 45 miles per hour!
13 September 2005
Creatures of Habit
One of my paramedics and I were having a discussion the other day. He is working toward becoming an RN, and we were discussing a class he was taking on aging and senility.
He discussed the fact that more and more, we are learning that
"use it or lose it" is really true.....
People that do active things with their minds like reading, solving puzzles, going to museums, conversing with interesting acquaintances..........
maintain their mental acuity longer than "couch potatoes".
(Eat your heart out, Dan Quayle!)
We then got into a discussion about what creatures of habit we are, and how slight changes in our routines may help us to stay mentally sharp longer.
One of the suggestions he studied was that changing simple things, like the route you take to drive to work or home, would establish new nerve pathways and would stimulate your brain in ways that would help it stay healthy.
Any area of your life that requires you to do routine things........
tie your shoes, make coffee, write notes, etc...........
if you make minor changes in the way you pursue the task, will help to stimulate your brain and help keep it healthy longer.
(Can you write with your weak hand?)
This evening I put our discussion into action:
I noticed that when I take a shower, I do EXACTLY the same things each time! I am right-handed, so this evening I decided I would use my left hand to bathe myself, with the exception, of course, of things that are impossible to do with my left hand, like washing my left arm!
Try it yourself!
What an alien feeling, trying to use my left hand to make the wash cloth go into tiny areas of my right ear, or between my toes!
And the immediate relaxation when I returned to the comfort zone, using my right hand to wash my left arm!
Seems silly, doesn't it?
Well, you'll be surprised when you have a go at it!
But I'm surprised and enlightened by this experiment, and I'm gonna try to put little changes into my life everywhere I can!
So, readers..........all THREE of you!.........I challenge you:
Make little changes in your life too, and when you are surprised, pleased, or confused by something, share it with the rest of us!
P.S.
When I published my last three posts, I was thrilled to immediately get a comment!
When I read the comments though, they said something like,
"Your blog rocks! If others share their ideas like this, the world will certainly be a better place!"
Neat.
But then the next line..........
"come check out my blog, www.comevacationinHaiti.com"
Computer generated Spam!
So if you try to comment, you'll notice I have installed a verification process to try to eliminate spammers.
I'm sorry to make it more difficult, but I don't want my site taken over by mindless comments.
He discussed the fact that more and more, we are learning that
"use it or lose it" is really true.....
People that do active things with their minds like reading, solving puzzles, going to museums, conversing with interesting acquaintances..........
maintain their mental acuity longer than "couch potatoes".
(Eat your heart out, Dan Quayle!)
We then got into a discussion about what creatures of habit we are, and how slight changes in our routines may help us to stay mentally sharp longer.
One of the suggestions he studied was that changing simple things, like the route you take to drive to work or home, would establish new nerve pathways and would stimulate your brain in ways that would help it stay healthy.
Any area of your life that requires you to do routine things........
tie your shoes, make coffee, write notes, etc...........
if you make minor changes in the way you pursue the task, will help to stimulate your brain and help keep it healthy longer.
(Can you write with your weak hand?)
This evening I put our discussion into action:
I noticed that when I take a shower, I do EXACTLY the same things each time! I am right-handed, so this evening I decided I would use my left hand to bathe myself, with the exception, of course, of things that are impossible to do with my left hand, like washing my left arm!
Try it yourself!
What an alien feeling, trying to use my left hand to make the wash cloth go into tiny areas of my right ear, or between my toes!
And the immediate relaxation when I returned to the comfort zone, using my right hand to wash my left arm!
Seems silly, doesn't it?
Well, you'll be surprised when you have a go at it!
But I'm surprised and enlightened by this experiment, and I'm gonna try to put little changes into my life everywhere I can!
So, readers..........all THREE of you!.........I challenge you:
Make little changes in your life too, and when you are surprised, pleased, or confused by something, share it with the rest of us!
P.S.
When I published my last three posts, I was thrilled to immediately get a comment!
When I read the comments though, they said something like,
"Your blog rocks! If others share their ideas like this, the world will certainly be a better place!"
Neat.
But then the next line..........
"come check out my blog, www.comevacationinHaiti.com"
Computer generated Spam!
So if you try to comment, you'll notice I have installed a verification process to try to eliminate spammers.
I'm sorry to make it more difficult, but I don't want my site taken over by mindless comments.
11 September 2005
Where is the Rewind Button?
In an earlier post, titled "When Chihuahua's Attack!" I wrote:
Little Bubba has this same spirit. He thinks he is the meanest Mutha around, and a great hunter to boot! Rabbits easily outdistance him. Squirrels enjoy it when he gives chase, and then they turn and taunt him from halfway up the tree! When he is on one of these "quests" he is a blockhead with selective hearing... he may as well be deaf! Forget thinking you have any control over him! Of course, I've grown quite fond of having "blockhead" around... can't imagine coming home and not having him meet us ecstatically!
Friday was a beautiful day... 85 degrees, cloudless. I was puttering around, tending to honey-do's. I had replaced the thermostat on my work car... was satisfied I had the problem licked, and was in the process of putting my tools away.
Little Bubba was supervising, in addition to insuring the ferocious squirrels didn't try to come too close to me while I was working.
He was doing a great job!
One last squirrel tried to approach, and Lil' Bubba went after him. The squirrel went up, then twice around the Cottonwood, then hit the ground about 5 feet in front of Lil' Bubba. They both made a headlong run at top speed toward the road, just as the first car in 20 minutes headed Eastbound on our street. The squirrel escaped in front of the car, and I watched in hope that the car was going fast enough to clear the road before Little Bubba crossed. But he was too fast, and ran full speed into the front wheel.
I saw him thrown 3 feet in the air like a rag doll, then lie motionless, perfectly parallel to the road, on the gravel alongside our yard. He quivered a little, but there was "nobody home" in his eyes.
Mercifully, neck completely broken... He was gone.
A three year old Red Dachshund, in perfect health... slender...
a beautiful specimen.
Gone.
I'm devastated.
No sleep the first night, and for two days now, I've been lookin' for life's "rewind" button, to go back to 5 minutes before the incident and take Little Bubba in my arms.
At safety briefings while I was in the Army, they frequently showed us a chart which had the stressors of life listed. Each of the stressors had a numerical value, and Commanders and safety officers were supposed to keep an eye on their Aviators for cumulative stress in their lives. At the top of the chart was "Loss of Spouse or Child", and let's say that value was 10.
Divorce was up there too, with a value of 9 or so.
Loss of employment was high, as was serious illness and financial complications.
Managers were to use the chart as a guide... if total stresses exceeded a certain value, and it would have been in the neighborhood of 9-10, an Aviator could be grounded until his personal situation was more under control.
Loss of a beloved pet should also be high on that list. It is Sunday night as I type here, and I am starting my work shift. I'm still easily reduced to a blubbering, incoherent blob when I think about no "Little Bubba" to greet me when I get home in the morning! If I had been scheduled to work on Friday or Saturday night, I would have called in "sick".
I think I am now at the point where being at work will be therapeutic... being away from home with a task to pursue will help me to get back to a routine.
But at home... I hear sounds like his bark, I see his little head at the door, begging to come in after he has been out to "take care of business"... when I sit down I expect him to assume his normal position on my lap.
Sara Jean has not been able to force herself to clean his nose prints off our front door.
How does anyone survive the loss of a child, or a wife/husband of 60 years?
Little Bubba, (Frankie) was a bigger part of our life than we could have realized...
It's gonna take a while to recover, folks.
Little Bubba has this same spirit. He thinks he is the meanest Mutha around, and a great hunter to boot! Rabbits easily outdistance him. Squirrels enjoy it when he gives chase, and then they turn and taunt him from halfway up the tree! When he is on one of these "quests" he is a blockhead with selective hearing... he may as well be deaf! Forget thinking you have any control over him! Of course, I've grown quite fond of having "blockhead" around... can't imagine coming home and not having him meet us ecstatically!
Friday was a beautiful day... 85 degrees, cloudless. I was puttering around, tending to honey-do's. I had replaced the thermostat on my work car... was satisfied I had the problem licked, and was in the process of putting my tools away.
Little Bubba was supervising, in addition to insuring the ferocious squirrels didn't try to come too close to me while I was working.
He was doing a great job!
One last squirrel tried to approach, and Lil' Bubba went after him. The squirrel went up, then twice around the Cottonwood, then hit the ground about 5 feet in front of Lil' Bubba. They both made a headlong run at top speed toward the road, just as the first car in 20 minutes headed Eastbound on our street. The squirrel escaped in front of the car, and I watched in hope that the car was going fast enough to clear the road before Little Bubba crossed. But he was too fast, and ran full speed into the front wheel.
I saw him thrown 3 feet in the air like a rag doll, then lie motionless, perfectly parallel to the road, on the gravel alongside our yard. He quivered a little, but there was "nobody home" in his eyes.
Mercifully, neck completely broken... He was gone.
A three year old Red Dachshund, in perfect health... slender...
a beautiful specimen.
Gone.
I'm devastated.
No sleep the first night, and for two days now, I've been lookin' for life's "rewind" button, to go back to 5 minutes before the incident and take Little Bubba in my arms.
At safety briefings while I was in the Army, they frequently showed us a chart which had the stressors of life listed. Each of the stressors had a numerical value, and Commanders and safety officers were supposed to keep an eye on their Aviators for cumulative stress in their lives. At the top of the chart was "Loss of Spouse or Child", and let's say that value was 10.
Divorce was up there too, with a value of 9 or so.
Loss of employment was high, as was serious illness and financial complications.
Managers were to use the chart as a guide... if total stresses exceeded a certain value, and it would have been in the neighborhood of 9-10, an Aviator could be grounded until his personal situation was more under control.
Loss of a beloved pet should also be high on that list. It is Sunday night as I type here, and I am starting my work shift. I'm still easily reduced to a blubbering, incoherent blob when I think about no "Little Bubba" to greet me when I get home in the morning! If I had been scheduled to work on Friday or Saturday night, I would have called in "sick".
I think I am now at the point where being at work will be therapeutic... being away from home with a task to pursue will help me to get back to a routine.
But at home... I hear sounds like his bark, I see his little head at the door, begging to come in after he has been out to "take care of business"... when I sit down I expect him to assume his normal position on my lap.
Sara Jean has not been able to force herself to clean his nose prints off our front door.
How does anyone survive the loss of a child, or a wife/husband of 60 years?
Little Bubba, (Frankie) was a bigger part of our life than we could have realized...
It's gonna take a while to recover, folks.
08 September 2005
Idiot Chimp Hitler Bush!
It has been fascinating to watch/hear/read the New York Times, CNN, NPR, and the rest of the "Major Media Sources" trying their hardest to pin the brunt of the Hurricane Katrina failures on the President!
(He is not without fault, but his mistakes have been relatively minor.)
And I have an insiders knowledge of how all this vomit is gonna eventually blow back in their faces!
Let me explain.
You may remember in an earlier post, my story of first being a dogcatcher and ending up being the Assistant Coordinator of the County Health Dept. after the County Executive decided he wanted to save me from becoming an alcoholic?
Well there is more to that story:
Part of the reason he wanted me aboard was that in 1975 a mutual friend, working as a Deputy Sheriff, had bought two surplus Bell 47 helicopters for the County from the U.S. Government. By bringing me aboard as a County employee he could Deputize me, and I could also fly for the Sheriff's Department.
But going through the process of buying the helicopters, ($1.00 each at the time.....how many would you like?), he found that his Civil Defense Director was failing in his job.
My friend the County Executive was apparently impressed with my performance as the Chief Dogcatcher, and came one day with another offer:
"I need someone to take over the job of Director of Civil Defense. The present Director was supposed to have written the County's Emergency Operations Plan a year ago, and he hasn't even gotten started on it."
The Director of what is now called "Emergency Management" in the County was an older man, and writing the "E.O.P.", an all-encompassing document, was simply more than he wanted to tackle!
I felt an obligation to show my thanks for my Co. Exec. friend, so I took the job and started writing the emergency plan immediately.
And boy, is it inclusive!
Our county was bordered by two MAJOR rivers, so interestingly, flooding was our most important threat to cover, but there were other considerations..........tornados, major fires, and of course, at the time, the nuclear threat from the U.S.S.R..
To make a long story short, from that experience I knew where the ball had been dropped when I saw how many folks remained behind in New Orleans, and the fact that they were stuck there, starving and thirsty after the wind and rain had stopped and the water started to rise.
Have you seen the pictures of the Municipal and School buses underwater in New Orleans?
Have you heard the excuse the Mayor is giving as to why he didn't use them to get his population to safety?
(He didn't want them traveling in such Spartan accomodations.........he had asked Greyhound to send buses to move his constituents!)
This is criminal!
And please watch as this unfolds.........watch to see who continues to dig themselves a hole, even though they have reached bottom.
Senator Landrieu continues to dig..........she is in HUGE political trouble, as is the Mayor and the Governor, (and I'm ashamed to have to call Ms. Blanco that!)
As another buddy would say........."watch out for the assplosion"!
It's gonna be interesting!
(He is not without fault, but his mistakes have been relatively minor.)
And I have an insiders knowledge of how all this vomit is gonna eventually blow back in their faces!
Let me explain.
You may remember in an earlier post, my story of first being a dogcatcher and ending up being the Assistant Coordinator of the County Health Dept. after the County Executive decided he wanted to save me from becoming an alcoholic?
Well there is more to that story:
Part of the reason he wanted me aboard was that in 1975 a mutual friend, working as a Deputy Sheriff, had bought two surplus Bell 47 helicopters for the County from the U.S. Government. By bringing me aboard as a County employee he could Deputize me, and I could also fly for the Sheriff's Department.
But going through the process of buying the helicopters, ($1.00 each at the time.....how many would you like?), he found that his Civil Defense Director was failing in his job.
My friend the County Executive was apparently impressed with my performance as the Chief Dogcatcher, and came one day with another offer:
"I need someone to take over the job of Director of Civil Defense. The present Director was supposed to have written the County's Emergency Operations Plan a year ago, and he hasn't even gotten started on it."
The Director of what is now called "Emergency Management" in the County was an older man, and writing the "E.O.P.", an all-encompassing document, was simply more than he wanted to tackle!
I felt an obligation to show my thanks for my Co. Exec. friend, so I took the job and started writing the emergency plan immediately.
And boy, is it inclusive!
Our county was bordered by two MAJOR rivers, so interestingly, flooding was our most important threat to cover, but there were other considerations..........tornados, major fires, and of course, at the time, the nuclear threat from the U.S.S.R..
To make a long story short, from that experience I knew where the ball had been dropped when I saw how many folks remained behind in New Orleans, and the fact that they were stuck there, starving and thirsty after the wind and rain had stopped and the water started to rise.
Have you seen the pictures of the Municipal and School buses underwater in New Orleans?
Have you heard the excuse the Mayor is giving as to why he didn't use them to get his population to safety?
(He didn't want them traveling in such Spartan accomodations.........he had asked Greyhound to send buses to move his constituents!)
This is criminal!
And please watch as this unfolds.........watch to see who continues to dig themselves a hole, even though they have reached bottom.
Senator Landrieu continues to dig..........she is in HUGE political trouble, as is the Mayor and the Governor, (and I'm ashamed to have to call Ms. Blanco that!)
As another buddy would say........."watch out for the assplosion"!
It's gonna be interesting!
02 September 2005
Fable
I am a Christian, but not from the "Taliban" wing of the Church.
But a fable told by Christians is timely today, I think:
A terrible storm is coming.
Emergency personnel go out in Loudspeaker trucks to warn residents to evacuate.
Tyrone Jacobus says, "The Lord will take care of me."
The rain comes down in bucketloads, and a 4-wheel drive stops at Tyrone's door to offer escape.
Tyrone says, "The Lord will protect me."
Floods overtake Tyrone's house and in desperation he climbs to the roof. A helicopter hovers over his head, but Tyrone refuses help, saying, "The Lord will provide for me."
The water continues to rise, and Tyrone is swept away and drowns.
At the gates of heaven, Tyrone asks the gatekeeper, "Why didn't the Lord save me?"
The gatekeeper replies......."we sent warning trucks, a 4X4 vehicle, and a helicopter to save you. What more could the Lord do?"
The day Katrina hit New Orleans, Fox News' Shepherd Smith asked a guy drinking at a bar in downtown New Orleans why he was still in town.
The guy replied, "None of your F*****G business!"
I'd love to ask this Tyrone.........is it our business now?
But a fable told by Christians is timely today, I think:
A terrible storm is coming.
Emergency personnel go out in Loudspeaker trucks to warn residents to evacuate.
Tyrone Jacobus says, "The Lord will take care of me."
The rain comes down in bucketloads, and a 4-wheel drive stops at Tyrone's door to offer escape.
Tyrone says, "The Lord will protect me."
Floods overtake Tyrone's house and in desperation he climbs to the roof. A helicopter hovers over his head, but Tyrone refuses help, saying, "The Lord will provide for me."
The water continues to rise, and Tyrone is swept away and drowns.
At the gates of heaven, Tyrone asks the gatekeeper, "Why didn't the Lord save me?"
The gatekeeper replies......."we sent warning trucks, a 4X4 vehicle, and a helicopter to save you. What more could the Lord do?"
The day Katrina hit New Orleans, Fox News' Shepherd Smith asked a guy drinking at a bar in downtown New Orleans why he was still in town.
The guy replied, "None of your F*****G business!"
I'd love to ask this Tyrone.........is it our business now?
Three For Three
December, 1968
Pleiku, Viet Nam
I was happily settled into a semblance of a routine life with the 4th Infantry Division at Camp Enari, Viet Nam. Division managers began looking at the way aviators had been added to the Division and noticed that almost 20 percent of the Division's Aviator strength had been added in November of '68. This meant there would be an unacceptable loss of expertise in October of '69. The only way to resolve the problem was to "infuse" some aviators to other Divisions and bring in new replacements.
I got picked to move.
I received orders to go to the "Americal Division" at Chu Lai.
Although I hate to move, my new assignment was a blessing. My new housing overlooked the South China Sea. The unit had a deficiency of gunship pilots and welcomed me with open arms.
After going through the normal checkouts to insure I was qualified and current, I started flying missions.
One morning I was scheduled to fly with "Granddaddy" Jim Elrod.
Granddaddy was a CW4, the highest ranking Warrant Officer in the Army at the time. He was 52, our unit's oldest aviator, and had a daughter older than me.
Granddaddy liked me. When we met in operations to be briefed for the mission, Granddaddy asked if I would like to fly "right seat".........the command seat in the UH-1C gunship.......and my first chance to shoot rockets!
I jumped at the chance!
Our mission was a routine reconnaissance........OH-6 "little bird" flyin' REAL low........checking things out, with Granddaddy and I following close behind, just a little higher in altitude, to provide the little bird some protection.
We'd been searching an area with big rocks.........similar to what we used to see in Cowboy movies.......for about 15 minutes when the little bird called out........"RECEIVING FIRE!"
I pointed the nose of the Huey toward him, lined up my "infinity" rocket sight at the area he was fleeing, and pushed the rocket firing button twice.
WHOOSH, WHOOSH......two rockets with 10 pound high-explosive warheads were on their way to a rocky outcropping.
Then the world exploded. I had no sense of a big bang, but I felt a rush and had an instant of pain in my face. I was confused.
For just a moment, I was not in control of the aircraft.
I turned to Granddaddy and keyed the intercom...........said, "What the Hell was that?" But the intercom made no sound.
I tried again........"Can you hear me?" He shook his head........"NO."
Regaining my senses, I looked back to control the aircraft and saw that my infinity sight reticle was gone. Beyond that, there was a 30 calibre hole in my windshield! Granddaddy reached over and grabbed my helmet cord and held it up........shot in half!
The round had come through the windshield, through my rocket sight, then missed my face by six inches when it cut my helmet cord in two. Plexiglass from the windshield and glass from the rocket sight had blasted my face and eyes. My face was covered with tiny pinpricks of blood, and my eyes began to sting and tear.
We aborted the mission and called in another gun team.
Back at base, the Flight Surgeon spent 45 minutes picking slivers of glass and plexiglass out of my eyes and face.
In two days I was good as new.
Two months later, at a battalion awards ceremony, I received the Purple Heart.
When I see guys without arms and legs wearing the same award I received, I wonder if I should have gotten it.
But imagine my mental attitude.........
Crashed in October and destroyed the aircraft when the governor failed.
In November the "lift link" failed......a potentially fatal mechanical condition we found after almost deciding the aircraft was flyable.
And now this incident in January.
Three incidents that threatened my life........
There were 8 months left in my Viet Nam tour. I really wondered what was in store for me just around the corner!
Pleiku, Viet Nam
I was happily settled into a semblance of a routine life with the 4th Infantry Division at Camp Enari, Viet Nam. Division managers began looking at the way aviators had been added to the Division and noticed that almost 20 percent of the Division's Aviator strength had been added in November of '68. This meant there would be an unacceptable loss of expertise in October of '69. The only way to resolve the problem was to "infuse" some aviators to other Divisions and bring in new replacements.
I got picked to move.
I received orders to go to the "Americal Division" at Chu Lai.
Although I hate to move, my new assignment was a blessing. My new housing overlooked the South China Sea. The unit had a deficiency of gunship pilots and welcomed me with open arms.
After going through the normal checkouts to insure I was qualified and current, I started flying missions.
One morning I was scheduled to fly with "Granddaddy" Jim Elrod.
Granddaddy was a CW4, the highest ranking Warrant Officer in the Army at the time. He was 52, our unit's oldest aviator, and had a daughter older than me.
Granddaddy liked me. When we met in operations to be briefed for the mission, Granddaddy asked if I would like to fly "right seat".........the command seat in the UH-1C gunship.......and my first chance to shoot rockets!
I jumped at the chance!
Our mission was a routine reconnaissance........OH-6 "little bird" flyin' REAL low........checking things out, with Granddaddy and I following close behind, just a little higher in altitude, to provide the little bird some protection.
We'd been searching an area with big rocks.........similar to what we used to see in Cowboy movies.......for about 15 minutes when the little bird called out........"RECEIVING FIRE!"
I pointed the nose of the Huey toward him, lined up my "infinity" rocket sight at the area he was fleeing, and pushed the rocket firing button twice.
WHOOSH, WHOOSH......two rockets with 10 pound high-explosive warheads were on their way to a rocky outcropping.
Then the world exploded. I had no sense of a big bang, but I felt a rush and had an instant of pain in my face. I was confused.
For just a moment, I was not in control of the aircraft.
I turned to Granddaddy and keyed the intercom...........said, "What the Hell was that?" But the intercom made no sound.
I tried again........"Can you hear me?" He shook his head........"NO."
Regaining my senses, I looked back to control the aircraft and saw that my infinity sight reticle was gone. Beyond that, there was a 30 calibre hole in my windshield! Granddaddy reached over and grabbed my helmet cord and held it up........shot in half!
The round had come through the windshield, through my rocket sight, then missed my face by six inches when it cut my helmet cord in two. Plexiglass from the windshield and glass from the rocket sight had blasted my face and eyes. My face was covered with tiny pinpricks of blood, and my eyes began to sting and tear.
We aborted the mission and called in another gun team.
Back at base, the Flight Surgeon spent 45 minutes picking slivers of glass and plexiglass out of my eyes and face.
In two days I was good as new.
Two months later, at a battalion awards ceremony, I received the Purple Heart.
When I see guys without arms and legs wearing the same award I received, I wonder if I should have gotten it.
But imagine my mental attitude.........
Crashed in October and destroyed the aircraft when the governor failed.
In November the "lift link" failed......a potentially fatal mechanical condition we found after almost deciding the aircraft was flyable.
And now this incident in January.
Three incidents that threatened my life........
There were 8 months left in my Viet Nam tour. I really wondered what was in store for me just around the corner!
01 September 2005
Kids Love My Balls
Oh my! Sorry about the title, but you ARE interested, aren't you?
The Fair is in town.
10 days of carnival, horse racing, car racing, cattle showing, and judges trying to figure out if Aunt Violette's persimmon pudding is the best of the batch!
Our little town of 7000 gets invaded by the mob with all the "Dead Presidents" to spread around. It's a wonderful time!
A couple weeks ago I received a call from the public relations director of a company that owns 6 radio stations in the midwest. "Can we hire you to come to the Fair and drop Ping-Pong balls?"
It's a job I've never done, but how much skill can be involved here?
Fly over an open field while adults hold hordes of kids back..........dump out 200-or-so ping-pong balls at the proper altitude and location, right?
And that's pretty much it. The radio people had bought the balls in four colors......white, orange, pink, and lime green. Then they had added their own symbols with a magic marker. Kids were to wait until we flew over, and my new passenger/assistant, the lovely Kristin, dumped the balls. When given the okay, they could scramble to pick up the balls to redeem for prizes available at stalls corresponding to color/symbol at the opposite side of the field.
They divided the kids up into age groups: 4-7, 8-10, and 11-12. Prizes were pretty much what kids would be interested in.........toys for the really young ones, and more substantial stuff for the older kids. Not suprisingly, this radio group gave away some really nice radios to the older kids!
We turned and watched the scramble after we had made the drop. On my first pass, our altitude was too low and the balls ended up in a pretty tight area....the 4-7 year olds were on top of one another searching for the treasure!
The next two drops were better.......from 50 or so feet higher, and with the help of a 5 knot wind, the load got spread out over an area large enough that the kids weren't scrapping for the same ball.
Les Nessman and WKRP would have been proud!
All in all, a fun job, and a great promotion for the radio stations!
Helicopter flying.........something different every day!
The Fair is in town.
10 days of carnival, horse racing, car racing, cattle showing, and judges trying to figure out if Aunt Violette's persimmon pudding is the best of the batch!
Our little town of 7000 gets invaded by the mob with all the "Dead Presidents" to spread around. It's a wonderful time!
A couple weeks ago I received a call from the public relations director of a company that owns 6 radio stations in the midwest. "Can we hire you to come to the Fair and drop Ping-Pong balls?"
It's a job I've never done, but how much skill can be involved here?
Fly over an open field while adults hold hordes of kids back..........dump out 200-or-so ping-pong balls at the proper altitude and location, right?
And that's pretty much it. The radio people had bought the balls in four colors......white, orange, pink, and lime green. Then they had added their own symbols with a magic marker. Kids were to wait until we flew over, and my new passenger/assistant, the lovely Kristin, dumped the balls. When given the okay, they could scramble to pick up the balls to redeem for prizes available at stalls corresponding to color/symbol at the opposite side of the field.
They divided the kids up into age groups: 4-7, 8-10, and 11-12. Prizes were pretty much what kids would be interested in.........toys for the really young ones, and more substantial stuff for the older kids. Not suprisingly, this radio group gave away some really nice radios to the older kids!
We turned and watched the scramble after we had made the drop. On my first pass, our altitude was too low and the balls ended up in a pretty tight area....the 4-7 year olds were on top of one another searching for the treasure!
The next two drops were better.......from 50 or so feet higher, and with the help of a 5 knot wind, the load got spread out over an area large enough that the kids weren't scrapping for the same ball.
Les Nessman and WKRP would have been proud!
All in all, a fun job, and a great promotion for the radio stations!
Helicopter flying.........something different every day!
30 August 2005
Offering My Services
I am hereby offering my services to anyone that might need them.
New Orleans is filling with water. They will need helicopters and pilots there to evacuate thousands of people.
I'll be watching media and trade outlets to see if I can volunteer to help anywhere. If any readers hear of an organization looking for help I can provide, please leave a comment with that information!
GB
New Orleans is filling with water. They will need helicopters and pilots there to evacuate thousands of people.
I'll be watching media and trade outlets to see if I can volunteer to help anywhere. If any readers hear of an organization looking for help I can provide, please leave a comment with that information!
GB
29 August 2005
Katrina and the Wave
Like many of you, I've been watching reports of Hurricane Katrina and her effect on New Orleans.
Watching these reporters stand out in wind strong enough to almost take them off their feet has become a real source of amusement.
How long before we see, on live TV, a 300 year old Live Oak tree fall on one of them?
I'm sorry, but when it happens, like the big foot mashing the guy at the end of the title credits to "Monty Python's Flying Circus", I may have the perverse urge to laugh out loud!
Watching these reporters stand out in wind strong enough to almost take them off their feet has become a real source of amusement.
How long before we see, on live TV, a 300 year old Live Oak tree fall on one of them?
I'm sorry, but when it happens, like the big foot mashing the guy at the end of the title credits to "Monty Python's Flying Circus", I may have the perverse urge to laugh out loud!
23 August 2005
Another Kind of Pollution
I want to discuss energy usage and light pollution with you.
It's not uncommon for my wife to come home after sundown and find me sitting in a dark house watching TV, or reading a magazine under the only illuminated lamp in the house. It drives her crazy!
"Why is this house SO DARK?" she'll exclaim, as she begins to turn on every light she passes.
It's a divide between us that will never be closed. She was raised in Chicago in bad neighborhoods and is afraid of the dark. I was raised in a rural area where we never locked our doors, and if there was a street light in the community, I cannot remember it.
(Help me Trojans.......do you remember any?)
What I can remember is camping out in the backyard, lying on my back, looking at the sky filled with so many stars that it looked as if someone had crushed glass from horizon to horizon.
Go outside tonight and if it's clear, try to see stars. These days, you'll be lucky if you can see even the brightest of them! Ambient light pollutes our atmosphere and prevents starlight from reaching our eyes.
But I have gotten off the path I intended to take with this rant.
It's normal for me to come home, even in the day, and find every light in the house burning. Since my requests that my wife pay the electricity bill were rejected, it obviously gives me acid reflux to see this much waste.........and don't even think about trying to take the high road by reminding her that energy is in short supply and such waste is immoral.........she doesn't care.
In June our air conditioner broke down. I made some inroads during this 90+ degree weather by pointing out that the incandescent lights produce a lot of heat, and that turning them off helps to keep the house cooler. But when the A/C was fixed we slowly returned to our old "illuminated" ways.
Sara Jean wants to call our utility and have them install a street light in front our house. When I tell her I won't pay for it, she insists she'll pay for that herself!
If and when that happens, she won't have to listen to my complaints about the house lights anymore.........
I'll be moving to a place in the country where I can camp out in the back yard and look up and see a carpet of stars!
It's not uncommon for my wife to come home after sundown and find me sitting in a dark house watching TV, or reading a magazine under the only illuminated lamp in the house. It drives her crazy!
"Why is this house SO DARK?" she'll exclaim, as she begins to turn on every light she passes.
It's a divide between us that will never be closed. She was raised in Chicago in bad neighborhoods and is afraid of the dark. I was raised in a rural area where we never locked our doors, and if there was a street light in the community, I cannot remember it.
(Help me Trojans.......do you remember any?)
What I can remember is camping out in the backyard, lying on my back, looking at the sky filled with so many stars that it looked as if someone had crushed glass from horizon to horizon.
Go outside tonight and if it's clear, try to see stars. These days, you'll be lucky if you can see even the brightest of them! Ambient light pollutes our atmosphere and prevents starlight from reaching our eyes.
But I have gotten off the path I intended to take with this rant.
It's normal for me to come home, even in the day, and find every light in the house burning. Since my requests that my wife pay the electricity bill were rejected, it obviously gives me acid reflux to see this much waste.........and don't even think about trying to take the high road by reminding her that energy is in short supply and such waste is immoral.........she doesn't care.
In June our air conditioner broke down. I made some inroads during this 90+ degree weather by pointing out that the incandescent lights produce a lot of heat, and that turning them off helps to keep the house cooler. But when the A/C was fixed we slowly returned to our old "illuminated" ways.
Sara Jean wants to call our utility and have them install a street light in front our house. When I tell her I won't pay for it, she insists she'll pay for that herself!
If and when that happens, she won't have to listen to my complaints about the house lights anymore.........
I'll be moving to a place in the country where I can camp out in the back yard and look up and see a carpet of stars!
16 August 2005
I've Been Mistaken
For the last couple years I've had regular correspondence with a female relative.
She is of the "Bush lied, people died" persuasion.
No sense going into how "Bush Lied"......that leads to a dead end, even for her, because all parties were deceived by our "faulty" intelligence about WMD's going into the war.
I originally thought SEVENTEEN U.N. RESOLUTIONS were more than enough justification for liberating Iraq.
But my correspondent has inadvertently opened my eyes to how the world could be improved if we would just cease our belligerent ways in Iraq and bring our soldiers home!
The world could then begin to move down the path of righteousness provided by the guidance of our Islamic brethren:
Stupid women like my relative would have to think twice about corresponding with superior thinking men like me!
Women would no longer be in the workplace, therefore freeing up jobs for men that need to provide food for their families.
The abortion problem would go away in an instant.........women that get pregnant outside marriage will be stoned to death. (Stones not too big as to kill too quickly, and not too small as to be ineffective!)
And Cindy Sheehan? HA!
She'll be first in line for stoning!
Why has it taken so long for me to see the error in my thinking?
It's obvious that most of the problems of the world would go away if we would just get out of Iraq and take up the tenets of "Shari'a" law!
So come on men! Take up the banner and join in........it's the resolution to most of our problems!
Out of Iraq!
No more aggression against our Muslim Brothers!
Support Iran in their quest for nuclear power!
March to the Mosque! A perfect world is just around the corner!
And Hillary for President?
Obviously impossible!
What a vision!
UPDATE,17AUG:
On re-reading, seems like a pretty harsh tone, and I considered deleting.
Then I decided I'd leave the post as written.
I believe Jane Fonda and John Kerry assisted in killing our troops in Viet Nam.
Cindy Sheehan and her like are killing our troops in Iraq. What a shame.....a woman in such pain is causing more mothers to suffer the same pain.
But most of these idiots that are supporting the "Freedom Fighters" in Iraq do so simply because of their extreme hate for George Bush!
If you are an insurgent in Baghdad, you well know our history: we have no guts for war.
All you have to do is bloody our nose often enough, and we'll soon pack our bags and run for home. We won't finish the job.
But this is truly a situation where we need to be careful what we wish for......
And it is EXTRAORDINARILY important for the rights of women of the world!
She is of the "Bush lied, people died" persuasion.
No sense going into how "Bush Lied"......that leads to a dead end, even for her, because all parties were deceived by our "faulty" intelligence about WMD's going into the war.
I originally thought SEVENTEEN U.N. RESOLUTIONS were more than enough justification for liberating Iraq.
But my correspondent has inadvertently opened my eyes to how the world could be improved if we would just cease our belligerent ways in Iraq and bring our soldiers home!
The world could then begin to move down the path of righteousness provided by the guidance of our Islamic brethren:
Stupid women like my relative would have to think twice about corresponding with superior thinking men like me!
Women would no longer be in the workplace, therefore freeing up jobs for men that need to provide food for their families.
The abortion problem would go away in an instant.........women that get pregnant outside marriage will be stoned to death. (Stones not too big as to kill too quickly, and not too small as to be ineffective!)
And Cindy Sheehan? HA!
She'll be first in line for stoning!
Why has it taken so long for me to see the error in my thinking?
It's obvious that most of the problems of the world would go away if we would just get out of Iraq and take up the tenets of "Shari'a" law!
So come on men! Take up the banner and join in........it's the resolution to most of our problems!
Out of Iraq!
No more aggression against our Muslim Brothers!
Support Iran in their quest for nuclear power!
March to the Mosque! A perfect world is just around the corner!
And Hillary for President?
Obviously impossible!
What a vision!
UPDATE,17AUG:
On re-reading, seems like a pretty harsh tone, and I considered deleting.
Then I decided I'd leave the post as written.
I believe Jane Fonda and John Kerry assisted in killing our troops in Viet Nam.
Cindy Sheehan and her like are killing our troops in Iraq. What a shame.....a woman in such pain is causing more mothers to suffer the same pain.
But most of these idiots that are supporting the "Freedom Fighters" in Iraq do so simply because of their extreme hate for George Bush!
If you are an insurgent in Baghdad, you well know our history: we have no guts for war.
All you have to do is bloody our nose often enough, and we'll soon pack our bags and run for home. We won't finish the job.
But this is truly a situation where we need to be careful what we wish for......
And it is EXTRAORDINARILY important for the rights of women of the world!
12 August 2005
PFYSB
Another scene flight last night.........this one right at dusk.
A 16 year old female lost control of her car after dropping a wheel in a ditch, then rolled several times. She was ejected from the automobile, and in the process of being ejected, her left arm was de-gloved from the elbow to her wrist.
She also had a compound fracture of her left femur.
De-gloving means the skin on her left forearm was pulled from the muscle.
An interesting looking wound!
It takes a huge amount of force to break the femur!
That her femur was broken means her body was subjected to forces you and I don't even want to think about!
Considerable blood loss can accompany this injury, and of course, shock.
Now the question:
IF, she had her seatbelt fastened, how was she ejected from her car?
And the answer?
Come on now everybody..........all at once!
She DIDN'T have her belt fastened!
My title......PFYSB.......comes from a jingle that used to be played on public service ads. If you have heard them, you'll remember the music that went along with the words:
"P.F.Y.S.B.,............please fasten your seat belt...........Thank you!"
I'm continually amazed that folks don't use their seat belts today.
The most serious injuries we see in automobile accidents happen to people that are not wearing their seat belts.
Folks, you could do serious damage to the cash flow of all EMS businesses by doing these three things:
1. Fasten your seat belt.
2. Don't drive after drinking.
3. Don't smoke.
Knowing human nature, I think my job is secure for the foreseeable future.
Don't you?
A 16 year old female lost control of her car after dropping a wheel in a ditch, then rolled several times. She was ejected from the automobile, and in the process of being ejected, her left arm was de-gloved from the elbow to her wrist.
She also had a compound fracture of her left femur.
De-gloving means the skin on her left forearm was pulled from the muscle.
An interesting looking wound!
It takes a huge amount of force to break the femur!
That her femur was broken means her body was subjected to forces you and I don't even want to think about!
Considerable blood loss can accompany this injury, and of course, shock.
Now the question:
IF, she had her seatbelt fastened, how was she ejected from her car?
And the answer?
Come on now everybody..........all at once!
She DIDN'T have her belt fastened!
My title......PFYSB.......comes from a jingle that used to be played on public service ads. If you have heard them, you'll remember the music that went along with the words:
"P.F.Y.S.B.,............please fasten your seat belt...........Thank you!"
I'm continually amazed that folks don't use their seat belts today.
The most serious injuries we see in automobile accidents happen to people that are not wearing their seat belts.
Folks, you could do serious damage to the cash flow of all EMS businesses by doing these three things:
1. Fasten your seat belt.
2. Don't drive after drinking.
3. Don't smoke.
Knowing human nature, I think my job is secure for the foreseeable future.
Don't you?
11 August 2005
A Suggestion
For some reason, when I check on "Pitchpull" on some computers, the sidebar containing Links, Archives, and my profile show up all the way at the bottom of the page.
I hope you are checking in on some of the other Blogs I recommend there........especially today.
Go to:
www.varifrank.com and read "The Call".
I will wish forever that I could put my thoughts on paper like that!
I hope you are checking in on some of the other Blogs I recommend there........especially today.
Go to:
www.varifrank.com and read "The Call".
I will wish forever that I could put my thoughts on paper like that!
10 August 2005
Judge Roberts.....the more you know........
Incontrovertible evidence he's not right for the job:
The Roberts kids are no strangers to controversy. Jack Roberts, a confirmed bachelor who enjoys dancing and thinks girls are "yucky", has the I.Q. of a four year-old boy and a rap sheet a mile long. In 2003, Jack was reprimanded by a superior court judge for vandalizing the walls of a private residence with Crayola crayons. Last summer, he stole several indigenous amphibians from a natural wetland, a crime against nature for which he has yet to be held accountable. His childlike demeanor and bizarre behavior have frustrated reporters for weeks. When pressed for details on his father's opinions concerning Roe V. Wade, it's not unusual for Jack to burst into giggles and spin around in circles until he falls down.
If Jack Roberts seems to revel in media attention, then his sister, Jane, shuns it. Living a life shrouded in mystery, Jane was rumored to be dating Tom Cruise - but it's widely suspected that the girl with the pageboy haircut "plays for the other team", if you know what I mean. While John Edwards has yet to officially acknowledge her as a lesbian, Jane is rarely seen without another woman at her side. Her dowdy style of dress and lack of frequent abortions have raised more than a few eyebrows. And like brother Jack, her mental instability is a thing of record. Prone to sudden emotional outburts and crying fits over trivialities, Jane is often seen talking to small plastic replicas of human babies, and her addiction to paste has been the talk of the tabloids.
The entire expose' is here:
http://blamebush.typepad.com
Warning: Don't drink liquids while reading, lest they find an alternate route out your nostrils!
The Roberts kids are no strangers to controversy. Jack Roberts, a confirmed bachelor who enjoys dancing and thinks girls are "yucky", has the I.Q. of a four year-old boy and a rap sheet a mile long. In 2003, Jack was reprimanded by a superior court judge for vandalizing the walls of a private residence with Crayola crayons. Last summer, he stole several indigenous amphibians from a natural wetland, a crime against nature for which he has yet to be held accountable. His childlike demeanor and bizarre behavior have frustrated reporters for weeks. When pressed for details on his father's opinions concerning Roe V. Wade, it's not unusual for Jack to burst into giggles and spin around in circles until he falls down.
If Jack Roberts seems to revel in media attention, then his sister, Jane, shuns it. Living a life shrouded in mystery, Jane was rumored to be dating Tom Cruise - but it's widely suspected that the girl with the pageboy haircut "plays for the other team", if you know what I mean. While John Edwards has yet to officially acknowledge her as a lesbian, Jane is rarely seen without another woman at her side. Her dowdy style of dress and lack of frequent abortions have raised more than a few eyebrows. And like brother Jack, her mental instability is a thing of record. Prone to sudden emotional outburts and crying fits over trivialities, Jane is often seen talking to small plastic replicas of human babies, and her addiction to paste has been the talk of the tabloids.
The entire expose' is here:
http://blamebush.typepad.com
Warning: Don't drink liquids while reading, lest they find an alternate route out your nostrils!
09 August 2005
I Support Nuclear Power
But that needs some explanation...
My father worked for a power company for forty years.
One of the most contentious discussions we ever had was about nuclear power.
Before he retired, he was a strong supporter of what he thought was a "safe, clean," power supply.
He was surprised when I mentioned the amount of time nuclear waste would be hazardous to life.
Got any idea?
I listened to a nuclear power proponent on a talk radio show once, and called in to ask him how long the waste would be lethal.
He artfully avoided answering the question better than Jimmy Carter being asked about the "misery index" when he was running for re-election!
Truth is, the waste will be hazardous to humans for something like 250,000 years.
That bears re-stating:
A QUARTER OF A MILLION YEARS!!
It presents a problem for moralists that will be in charge of nuclear waste sites in the future:
The history of mankind spans what, 75,000 years?
Written history covers a fraction of that...
How do we fashion a sign that will warn people of the future that they need to avoid these areas, when they may not speak anything that resembles English?
(One of the better suggestions was a sign with a skeleton, supine on the ground, with wavy lines emanating from the ground to signify a deadly problem there.)
When Dad retired, after studying the issue, he did a 180 degree turn on his support for nuclear power.
But here's how we can all say we support nuclear power:
Solar, wind, and other "clean" power sources are all driven by the sun... a HUGE nuclear fusion reactor!
The costs of energy, to include gasoline, and the environmental costs of burning fossil fuels like coal, are approaching a threshold that will make using alternative resources more economically feasible.
Let's pressure our elected Representatives to start paying more attention to conservation, and nuclear power...
FUSION...
provided by the sun!
My father worked for a power company for forty years.
One of the most contentious discussions we ever had was about nuclear power.
Before he retired, he was a strong supporter of what he thought was a "safe, clean," power supply.
He was surprised when I mentioned the amount of time nuclear waste would be hazardous to life.
Got any idea?
I listened to a nuclear power proponent on a talk radio show once, and called in to ask him how long the waste would be lethal.
He artfully avoided answering the question better than Jimmy Carter being asked about the "misery index" when he was running for re-election!
Truth is, the waste will be hazardous to humans for something like 250,000 years.
That bears re-stating:
A QUARTER OF A MILLION YEARS!!
It presents a problem for moralists that will be in charge of nuclear waste sites in the future:
The history of mankind spans what, 75,000 years?
Written history covers a fraction of that...
How do we fashion a sign that will warn people of the future that they need to avoid these areas, when they may not speak anything that resembles English?
(One of the better suggestions was a sign with a skeleton, supine on the ground, with wavy lines emanating from the ground to signify a deadly problem there.)
When Dad retired, after studying the issue, he did a 180 degree turn on his support for nuclear power.
But here's how we can all say we support nuclear power:
Solar, wind, and other "clean" power sources are all driven by the sun... a HUGE nuclear fusion reactor!
The costs of energy, to include gasoline, and the environmental costs of burning fossil fuels like coal, are approaching a threshold that will make using alternative resources more economically feasible.
Let's pressure our elected Representatives to start paying more attention to conservation, and nuclear power...
FUSION...
provided by the sun!
07 August 2005
The Blink of An Eye
If you've been reading a while, you know I love my job.
When we are called out, I am one of the most important people in the world to the people that need my services.
Time can be more valuable than gold..........
The call came in a little after 4 A.M. on a Saturday morning.
We were dispatched on a 5 minute flight to the scene of an accident: car Vs. fuel tanker.
The car was a Station Wagon. The driver was a man with his entire family on board.........wife and 8 kids. The family was on its' way to spend the day fishing with extended family at a lake located about 3 hours away.
Papa had apparently fallen asleep and didn't see the red light and the 5000 gallon tanker in the intersection. He had driven under the tanker, and before the truck driver could bring his rig to a stop, the rear wheels of the tanker had climbed the car and had Papa trapped inside. The accident ripped a hole in the tanker, and it was leaking kerosene all over the scene, including Papa.
By chance, the scene was adjacent to a company that sold steel in huge, heavy rolls, and they had a large forklift available. As we took off, our dispatch called and said the folks on the scene were asking if we wanted the forklift operator to lift the tanker off the car. My nurse vetoed that idea.....she wanted to assess the situation to insure they didn't do further harm to the patient.
I landed in the center of six lanes of highway, about 150' from the collision, the smell of kerosene so heavy in the early morning air it burned my eyes. Flight Nurse and Paramedic gathered their gear and quickly moved to the scene while I secured the controls and got out to make sure passersby didn't walk into the tail rotor of the Bell LongRanger we were flying at the time.
My Flight Nurse stepped over fishing gear spread all over the highway and climbed into the car with Papa as the other scene workers tried to redirect a stream of kerosene away from her so she could start an Intraveinous line on him.
The weight of the tanker had collapsed the firewall and dashboard of the car on our patient.
15 minutes on the scene and he was extricated. He was crushed from his waist to his upper thighs.
We loaded him and took off on the 5 minute flight to the Trauma Center. My crew had their hands full, so I made the call to the hospital to give them our ETA and a quick overview of what we were bringing them.
I landed and assisted taking the patient out of the helicopter.
As they wheeled him to the elevator they left behind a solid trail of blood.
Then I looked at the helicopter...........
Along the left side of the aircraft we had a new, 2-inch red stripe starting at the lower right corner of the litter door, arcing up the rear of the fuselage, then horizontally along the tail cone and through the tail rotor! All this in just 5 minutes flight time!
Blood is corrosive.........I found a hose and rinsed off as much of it as I could.
We then went back twice to the hospital closest to the accident scene to pick up kids that had been ejected from the car.
And although Papa was taken directly to the Operating Room from the helipad, his injuries and blood loss were too great.........he didn't make it.
The kids were seriously injured, but survived.
I've said this before and I'll say this again many times:
Life can be short. Don't sweat the small stuff!
When we are called out, I am one of the most important people in the world to the people that need my services.
Time can be more valuable than gold..........
The call came in a little after 4 A.M. on a Saturday morning.
We were dispatched on a 5 minute flight to the scene of an accident: car Vs. fuel tanker.
The car was a Station Wagon. The driver was a man with his entire family on board.........wife and 8 kids. The family was on its' way to spend the day fishing with extended family at a lake located about 3 hours away.
Papa had apparently fallen asleep and didn't see the red light and the 5000 gallon tanker in the intersection. He had driven under the tanker, and before the truck driver could bring his rig to a stop, the rear wheels of the tanker had climbed the car and had Papa trapped inside. The accident ripped a hole in the tanker, and it was leaking kerosene all over the scene, including Papa.
By chance, the scene was adjacent to a company that sold steel in huge, heavy rolls, and they had a large forklift available. As we took off, our dispatch called and said the folks on the scene were asking if we wanted the forklift operator to lift the tanker off the car. My nurse vetoed that idea.....she wanted to assess the situation to insure they didn't do further harm to the patient.
I landed in the center of six lanes of highway, about 150' from the collision, the smell of kerosene so heavy in the early morning air it burned my eyes. Flight Nurse and Paramedic gathered their gear and quickly moved to the scene while I secured the controls and got out to make sure passersby didn't walk into the tail rotor of the Bell LongRanger we were flying at the time.
My Flight Nurse stepped over fishing gear spread all over the highway and climbed into the car with Papa as the other scene workers tried to redirect a stream of kerosene away from her so she could start an Intraveinous line on him.
The weight of the tanker had collapsed the firewall and dashboard of the car on our patient.
15 minutes on the scene and he was extricated. He was crushed from his waist to his upper thighs.
We loaded him and took off on the 5 minute flight to the Trauma Center. My crew had their hands full, so I made the call to the hospital to give them our ETA and a quick overview of what we were bringing them.
I landed and assisted taking the patient out of the helicopter.
As they wheeled him to the elevator they left behind a solid trail of blood.
Then I looked at the helicopter...........
Along the left side of the aircraft we had a new, 2-inch red stripe starting at the lower right corner of the litter door, arcing up the rear of the fuselage, then horizontally along the tail cone and through the tail rotor! All this in just 5 minutes flight time!
Blood is corrosive.........I found a hose and rinsed off as much of it as I could.
We then went back twice to the hospital closest to the accident scene to pick up kids that had been ejected from the car.
And although Papa was taken directly to the Operating Room from the helipad, his injuries and blood loss were too great.........he didn't make it.
The kids were seriously injured, but survived.
I've said this before and I'll say this again many times:
Life can be short. Don't sweat the small stuff!
03 August 2005
Now That's Corn!
When we think about the helicopter, we generally think of it as a transportation device.
People, parts, mail, etc., are all moved by helicopters.
I'll blog about the different things I've done and have heard done in helicopters sometime in the future.
A few days ago I did something that was a first for me:
Pollinating Corn!
And the only thing I had to move with the helicopter?
Air!
Here's the idea:
I was flying for a company that produces and sells seed to farmers. They were developing new hybrid seeds to sell to their customers.
To do this, they plant the female "receiver" corn in rows of four, and then plant a row of the "male" corn. When the plants grow tassels, the "female" receivers have their tassels removed. This is a labor-intensive process........done by hand by migrant workers.
So here's the picture: in the center of nine rows of corn, you have a row of plants with tassels........four rows of de-tasselled females on either side of the male row with tassels intact.
My task was to hover over the male plants and shake the pollen from the tassels onto the silks of the female plants.
We had to wait until the morning dew had dried from the plants. Dew drops preclude the pollen from sticking to the silks that extend from the end of each ear. Each individual silk is attached to the ear of corn, and if it receives a grain of pollen, will grow a corn kernel. If the silk doesn't receive a pollen grain, no kernel will form.
We were told if we did our job properly, we could increase the number of kernels formed, and therefore the total bushel-per-acre yield of the fields, by up to 30%!
Well worth the cost of the helicopter!
By the time the dew was dried, the ambient temperature was 94 degrees F. Wind was straight out of the South at 8 knots.
The wind made the temperature more bearable, but was problematic for doing the work because most of the rows were planted North-South, making the turn at the South end of the fields a downwind turn.
We found that if I flew over the "male" row just on the flying side of translational lift.....about 15 knots.......literally dragging my skids through the tassels, I was shaking all the female plants on either side of the males.
This meant those females were all getting a solid dose of pollen from the center row.
Corn fields in this area are large.......some have 7-800 acres of corn. Rows can be more than a mile long! At the speed I was traveling, moving from the start of a row to the end seemed to take forever!
Full of fuel, the downwind turn was treachery......carelessly done, the machine could easily settle into the 6 feet tall corn, downwind, and cause who-knows-what kind of damage to the tail rotor and the machine in general!
We wanted to avoid this even if it meant losing money on the job!
At the end of the day we had flown over 683 acres.
It took 6.9 hours to do this work, so we averaged pretty close to 100 acres per hour.
Terry N. was faithful as always with fuel truck and cold refreshments.
Terry just got his commercial helo license. We are trying to bring him aboard slowly with different aspects of commercial work.
So he could learn the work, he flew about 2 hours of the 6.9 hours over the corn.
I flew 4.9 hours over the corn, and 2.8 roundtrip to the worksite, for a total in my logbook of 7.7 hours for the day!
7.7 hours at 100 degrees, doing work this stressful, equals an old helicopter pilot that has to be removed from the helicopter at the end of the day with a spatula!
People, parts, mail, etc., are all moved by helicopters.
I'll blog about the different things I've done and have heard done in helicopters sometime in the future.
A few days ago I did something that was a first for me:
Pollinating Corn!
And the only thing I had to move with the helicopter?
Air!
Here's the idea:
I was flying for a company that produces and sells seed to farmers. They were developing new hybrid seeds to sell to their customers.
To do this, they plant the female "receiver" corn in rows of four, and then plant a row of the "male" corn. When the plants grow tassels, the "female" receivers have their tassels removed. This is a labor-intensive process........done by hand by migrant workers.
So here's the picture: in the center of nine rows of corn, you have a row of plants with tassels........four rows of de-tasselled females on either side of the male row with tassels intact.
My task was to hover over the male plants and shake the pollen from the tassels onto the silks of the female plants.
We had to wait until the morning dew had dried from the plants. Dew drops preclude the pollen from sticking to the silks that extend from the end of each ear. Each individual silk is attached to the ear of corn, and if it receives a grain of pollen, will grow a corn kernel. If the silk doesn't receive a pollen grain, no kernel will form.
We were told if we did our job properly, we could increase the number of kernels formed, and therefore the total bushel-per-acre yield of the fields, by up to 30%!
Well worth the cost of the helicopter!
By the time the dew was dried, the ambient temperature was 94 degrees F. Wind was straight out of the South at 8 knots.
The wind made the temperature more bearable, but was problematic for doing the work because most of the rows were planted North-South, making the turn at the South end of the fields a downwind turn.
We found that if I flew over the "male" row just on the flying side of translational lift.....about 15 knots.......literally dragging my skids through the tassels, I was shaking all the female plants on either side of the males.
This meant those females were all getting a solid dose of pollen from the center row.
Corn fields in this area are large.......some have 7-800 acres of corn. Rows can be more than a mile long! At the speed I was traveling, moving from the start of a row to the end seemed to take forever!
Full of fuel, the downwind turn was treachery......carelessly done, the machine could easily settle into the 6 feet tall corn, downwind, and cause who-knows-what kind of damage to the tail rotor and the machine in general!
We wanted to avoid this even if it meant losing money on the job!
At the end of the day we had flown over 683 acres.
It took 6.9 hours to do this work, so we averaged pretty close to 100 acres per hour.
Terry N. was faithful as always with fuel truck and cold refreshments.
Terry just got his commercial helo license. We are trying to bring him aboard slowly with different aspects of commercial work.
So he could learn the work, he flew about 2 hours of the 6.9 hours over the corn.
I flew 4.9 hours over the corn, and 2.8 roundtrip to the worksite, for a total in my logbook of 7.7 hours for the day!
7.7 hours at 100 degrees, doing work this stressful, equals an old helicopter pilot that has to be removed from the helicopter at the end of the day with a spatula!
01 August 2005
Attention Getting
Nineteen followers of Islam board airplanes and fly them into buildings, killing themselves and thousands of innocent people.
We then see videos of joyous dancing and celebrating in Palestine.
Most everyone else in the world is horrified.
Or:
A single Buddhist Monk steps into a street in front of video cameras, douses himself with gasoline and strikes a match........then meditates as he is consumed by the flames.
I can't speak about how Palestinians reacted to this, but I know the rest of the world asked, with respect, "what would cause someone to do that?"
Which attention getting method earns more total support for their cause?
I think I know the answer.
We then see videos of joyous dancing and celebrating in Palestine.
Most everyone else in the world is horrified.
Or:
A single Buddhist Monk steps into a street in front of video cameras, douses himself with gasoline and strikes a match........then meditates as he is consumed by the flames.
I can't speak about how Palestinians reacted to this, but I know the rest of the world asked, with respect, "what would cause someone to do that?"
Which attention getting method earns more total support for their cause?
I think I know the answer.
28 July 2005
72 Virgins
Ironic, isn't it?
Islamic terrorists blowing themselves up expect to be met in heaven by 72 virgins.
Seems odd, from a religion that considers women property, and in fundamentalist form only allows their women to show their eyes.
(And in an Afghani Burkha, not even that!)
I have a question that has previously been asked, but I've not seen answered:
If the murderer is an Islamic female, what awaits her in heaven?
(Maybe total isolation from Chauvinist Males?)
Click "comments" and educate me, please!
Islamic terrorists blowing themselves up expect to be met in heaven by 72 virgins.
Seems odd, from a religion that considers women property, and in fundamentalist form only allows their women to show their eyes.
(And in an Afghani Burkha, not even that!)
I have a question that has previously been asked, but I've not seen answered:
If the murderer is an Islamic female, what awaits her in heaven?
(Maybe total isolation from Chauvinist Males?)
Click "comments" and educate me, please!
27 July 2005
My Nightmare
Lately, the focus on the War on Terror has fallen on Iraq, Afghanistan, Egypt, and London.
So far, weapons used by terrorists in these places have been conventional.
Here is the scenario that causes me to lose sleep at night:
Extremists in Pakistan have made several attempts to kill President Musharraf.
Pakistan has demonstrated the ability to detonate nuclear weapons.
Extremists will continue to try to eliminate Musharraf as a moderating influence in Pakistan.
If they succeed in assassinating him, they can take control of a government with a proven nuclear arsenal, and technologists with the ability to use those weapons.
India and Pakistan have, on several occasions, come to blows in their conflict over who owns Kashmir.
Will Islamic extremists use those weapons to settle the argument with India, OR.........
Will they try to sneak those weapons into New York or Baltimore harbor?
Can we sit and wait for them to make that decision?
Comforting, huh?
So far, weapons used by terrorists in these places have been conventional.
Here is the scenario that causes me to lose sleep at night:
Extremists in Pakistan have made several attempts to kill President Musharraf.
Pakistan has demonstrated the ability to detonate nuclear weapons.
Extremists will continue to try to eliminate Musharraf as a moderating influence in Pakistan.
If they succeed in assassinating him, they can take control of a government with a proven nuclear arsenal, and technologists with the ability to use those weapons.
India and Pakistan have, on several occasions, come to blows in their conflict over who owns Kashmir.
Will Islamic extremists use those weapons to settle the argument with India, OR.........
Will they try to sneak those weapons into New York or Baltimore harbor?
Can we sit and wait for them to make that decision?
Comforting, huh?
26 July 2005
Formula One
Those of you interested in automobile racing are probably aware of the fiasco that unfolded in Indianapolis last month:
Coming out of the infield onto what would be the "short chute" between turns two and one on the Oval, (Formula One goes the opposite direction on the track from the Indy 500), the Formula One cars enter the fastest section of track on their schedule.
Michelin has had two catastrophic tire failures, both on left rear tires on this extremely fast part of the track.
Fearful one of their drivers would be injured or killed, three days before the race they petitioned their sanctioning body to allow them to bring tires from France that would better withstand the pressures the tires were being subjected to.
This is against F1 rules, and was rejected.
They then requested that a chicane be built midway in this section in order to slow the cars' top speeds and alleviate their problem.
This was viewed as exactly what it was: an admission that Bridgestone had come better prepared to face the conditions of the U.S. Grand Prix than had Michelin.
What followed may have ruined the future of F1 in the U.S. and may in fact impact Formula One as a whole in the near future:
The Michelin equipped cars gridded, were started and made the warmup lap, and then headed into the pits.........they didn't race!
Over 20 cars were supposed to participate in this race, and only 6- Bridgestone shodded cars actually started.
Fans that had spent BIG BUCKS to watch this event were rightfully disappointed and infuriated.
Some, shamefully, threw soft drink cups and other trash onto the track.
UGLY.
Michelin has a huge black eye, and is desperately trying to figure out how to overcome this PR nightmare. There is some talk they may actually purchase ALL the tickets for next years' race and find a way to allow the true enthusiasts of the race to attend free. I hope this comes to pass.......it would do a lot to make dissatisfied fans forget about the chaos this year.
I'm still undecided about F1. The cars are just unbelievable.......accelerating to 100 m.p.h. in less than 3 seconds, and stopping even faster than that! "G Forces" the drivers are subjected to can actually burst blood vessels in their eyes!
Aerodynamically, they are ahead of aircraft manufacturers in some ways!
But most tracks they race on allow very little passing.......once a driver takes the lead it is VERY difficult to pass him.
The races themselves can sometimes be boring as watching grass grow.
But if you've never watched one of these races, you might want to tune in just to get a view of the technology employed here.
Think of this:
These engines, manufactured by Honda, Toyota, Ferrari, Renault, BMW, and Mercedes, ALL turn at higher than 18,000 R.P.M.!
18,000 R.P.M. means the pistons in these engines are going up and down in the cylinder THREE HUNDRED TIMES PER SECOND!
Can you get your mind around that?
I can't!
The near future of F1 is important, and decisions made in the next year may very well determine the viability of the series.
I'd like to see it survive, and will be watching with interest.
Coming out of the infield onto what would be the "short chute" between turns two and one on the Oval, (Formula One goes the opposite direction on the track from the Indy 500), the Formula One cars enter the fastest section of track on their schedule.
Michelin has had two catastrophic tire failures, both on left rear tires on this extremely fast part of the track.
Fearful one of their drivers would be injured or killed, three days before the race they petitioned their sanctioning body to allow them to bring tires from France that would better withstand the pressures the tires were being subjected to.
This is against F1 rules, and was rejected.
They then requested that a chicane be built midway in this section in order to slow the cars' top speeds and alleviate their problem.
This was viewed as exactly what it was: an admission that Bridgestone had come better prepared to face the conditions of the U.S. Grand Prix than had Michelin.
What followed may have ruined the future of F1 in the U.S. and may in fact impact Formula One as a whole in the near future:
The Michelin equipped cars gridded, were started and made the warmup lap, and then headed into the pits.........they didn't race!
Over 20 cars were supposed to participate in this race, and only 6- Bridgestone shodded cars actually started.
Fans that had spent BIG BUCKS to watch this event were rightfully disappointed and infuriated.
Some, shamefully, threw soft drink cups and other trash onto the track.
UGLY.
Michelin has a huge black eye, and is desperately trying to figure out how to overcome this PR nightmare. There is some talk they may actually purchase ALL the tickets for next years' race and find a way to allow the true enthusiasts of the race to attend free. I hope this comes to pass.......it would do a lot to make dissatisfied fans forget about the chaos this year.
I'm still undecided about F1. The cars are just unbelievable.......accelerating to 100 m.p.h. in less than 3 seconds, and stopping even faster than that! "G Forces" the drivers are subjected to can actually burst blood vessels in their eyes!
Aerodynamically, they are ahead of aircraft manufacturers in some ways!
But most tracks they race on allow very little passing.......once a driver takes the lead it is VERY difficult to pass him.
The races themselves can sometimes be boring as watching grass grow.
But if you've never watched one of these races, you might want to tune in just to get a view of the technology employed here.
Think of this:
These engines, manufactured by Honda, Toyota, Ferrari, Renault, BMW, and Mercedes, ALL turn at higher than 18,000 R.P.M.!
18,000 R.P.M. means the pistons in these engines are going up and down in the cylinder THREE HUNDRED TIMES PER SECOND!
Can you get your mind around that?
I can't!
The near future of F1 is important, and decisions made in the next year may very well determine the viability of the series.
I'd like to see it survive, and will be watching with interest.
18 July 2005
New Helicopter Students
One of the wonderful things about helicopters is that almost everyone is fascinated by them.
Land in a helicopter, and you'll draw a crowd!
Heck, I've been around them over 37 years, and I still stand and watch with a smile when one takes to the air!
The folks that call to take lessons are almost always interesting.
Conventional wisdom is that whirlybirds are not safe, so anyone that shows up to learn to fly one is, by definition, someone willing to take a few risks with their life in order to learn something new!
(Motorcycle riders fall into the same category, and I love that crowd too!)
A new student had been referred to me by a mutual friend.
I'll call him "Don".
"Don" showed up for the lesson in a Jaguar Vanden Plas.
Car nut that I am, I took note, but said nothing. The Jag was more expensive than your everyday Chevy/Ford, but on an hour drive on the interstate, you're likely to see one. No big deal.
After I have tortured my new students for about 20 minutes trying to hover the impossible contraption, I love to take them on a "relaxation flight" around the area to include a fly-by of their property.
When we started to orbit Don's house, I noticed, outside his garage:
A mid-60's Mustang,
A late 70's Corvette,
An old Model "B" Ford,
And a couple other un-identifiable vehicles.
"Hey Don, who owns all the cars?"
"I do. I'm a collector."
"Oh? What else do you own?"
"Let's see. A 427 Cobra replica, a Ferrari Testarossa, a Viper, a Rolls Royce Silver Cloud convertible, and about 20 or so others in various states of rehab."
Wow!
Don had found a "niche" business that was poorly run, bought it cheap, then turned it into a multi-million dollar operation. He was a smart cookie, and loved to use his money to buy toys of all kinds.
At the end of the lesson I challenged him:
"I love cars. Drive something different to each lesson and let me drool over it!"
And he did. Over the next few days he brought........the Rolls, the Ferrari, (Red, of course!), and the Viper.
But then he knocked me out! Through the gate came a new,
bright LEMON YELLOW Lamborghini Countach!
$250,000 on four wheels!
And did I drool?
Rolling exotic artwork......
It was bigger than I imagined from pictures, (although the Ferrari was too).
He opened the engine compartment and I was amazed........the firing order for the 12 cylinder engine was displayed prominently on the intake manifold, and seemed to stretch from Topeka, Kansas, to Cleveland, Ohio!
And the kicker? He tossed me the keys!
"Go see what ya think!"
Terrified?
You bet!
But I wasn't gonna refuse a once-in-a-lifetime chance!
It's a big, incredibly expensive go-kart!
As you would expect......rough riding,
with terrible visibility to the rear and sides.
But that engine!
Six speeds available, and I couldn't get any higher than third gear without breaking every speed limit in the country!
It'd be a great second car!
I recommend you buy one!
(Then call me!)
I'll never forget driving it.
Thanks, Don!
UPDATE:
If you're interested in the travails of a new helicopter student,
I recommend:
Samitch Rides Again
Rubberducky is goin' through a lot of the stuff I have written about,
and you can follow and comment on his progress. Give him a look!
Land in a helicopter, and you'll draw a crowd!
Heck, I've been around them over 37 years, and I still stand and watch with a smile when one takes to the air!
The folks that call to take lessons are almost always interesting.
Conventional wisdom is that whirlybirds are not safe, so anyone that shows up to learn to fly one is, by definition, someone willing to take a few risks with their life in order to learn something new!
(Motorcycle riders fall into the same category, and I love that crowd too!)
A new student had been referred to me by a mutual friend.
I'll call him "Don".
"Don" showed up for the lesson in a Jaguar Vanden Plas.
Car nut that I am, I took note, but said nothing. The Jag was more expensive than your everyday Chevy/Ford, but on an hour drive on the interstate, you're likely to see one. No big deal.
After I have tortured my new students for about 20 minutes trying to hover the impossible contraption, I love to take them on a "relaxation flight" around the area to include a fly-by of their property.
When we started to orbit Don's house, I noticed, outside his garage:
A mid-60's Mustang,
A late 70's Corvette,
An old Model "B" Ford,
And a couple other un-identifiable vehicles.
"Hey Don, who owns all the cars?"
"I do. I'm a collector."
"Oh? What else do you own?"
"Let's see. A 427 Cobra replica, a Ferrari Testarossa, a Viper, a Rolls Royce Silver Cloud convertible, and about 20 or so others in various states of rehab."
Wow!
Don had found a "niche" business that was poorly run, bought it cheap, then turned it into a multi-million dollar operation. He was a smart cookie, and loved to use his money to buy toys of all kinds.
At the end of the lesson I challenged him:
"I love cars. Drive something different to each lesson and let me drool over it!"
And he did. Over the next few days he brought........the Rolls, the Ferrari, (Red, of course!), and the Viper.
But then he knocked me out! Through the gate came a new,
bright LEMON YELLOW Lamborghini Countach!
$250,000 on four wheels!
And did I drool?
Rolling exotic artwork......
It was bigger than I imagined from pictures, (although the Ferrari was too).
He opened the engine compartment and I was amazed........the firing order for the 12 cylinder engine was displayed prominently on the intake manifold, and seemed to stretch from Topeka, Kansas, to Cleveland, Ohio!
And the kicker? He tossed me the keys!
"Go see what ya think!"
Terrified?
You bet!
But I wasn't gonna refuse a once-in-a-lifetime chance!
It's a big, incredibly expensive go-kart!
As you would expect......rough riding,
with terrible visibility to the rear and sides.
But that engine!
Six speeds available, and I couldn't get any higher than third gear without breaking every speed limit in the country!
It'd be a great second car!
I recommend you buy one!
(Then call me!)
I'll never forget driving it.
Thanks, Don!
UPDATE:
If you're interested in the travails of a new helicopter student,
I recommend:
Rubberducky is goin' through a lot of the stuff I have written about,
and you can follow and comment on his progress. Give him a look!
Grass Seed:
In my shed, on a bag of grass seed.........
THIS SEED HAS BEEN TREATED WITH:
Metalaxyl (N-(2,6-Dimethylphenyl)-N (methoxyacetyl) Alanine Methyl Ester .75 Ounces per cwt
Uhhh.........looks like the ingredients in some of the Ice Cream I've bought in the past!
Should I be concerned?
THIS SEED HAS BEEN TREATED WITH:
Metalaxyl (N-(2,6-Dimethylphenyl)-N (methoxyacetyl) Alanine Methyl Ester .75 Ounces per cwt
Uhhh.........looks like the ingredients in some of the Ice Cream I've bought in the past!
Should I be concerned?
Sis, Post-Dennis
My sister has survived Dennis intact, Thank God!
She wrote to tell me how comforting it was that I had received email thoughts and prayers from several of you.......I'll let her say it in her own words:
I would also like to thank those who have asked about our welfare.
I have found that any acknowlegment of our trauma is soothing. Even some people who live here, but had no damage from Ivan or Dennis, have no clue what a trial it has been. They can still drive around, see the not so small remnants of damage and debris, and say the stupidest things. Most of us are changed, forever, I'm afraid, and I have trouble wrapping my brain around how people who have suffered much worse in their lives go on as well as they do.
I guess I'm pretty wimpy, and us wimps need our strokes from you caring folks.....
again....thank you.
Greybeard's MUCH younger sister.
MUCH younger, better lookin', smarter,
more compassionate.......
you know the routine!
GB
She wrote to tell me how comforting it was that I had received email thoughts and prayers from several of you.......I'll let her say it in her own words:
I would also like to thank those who have asked about our welfare.
I have found that any acknowlegment of our trauma is soothing. Even some people who live here, but had no damage from Ivan or Dennis, have no clue what a trial it has been. They can still drive around, see the not so small remnants of damage and debris, and say the stupidest things. Most of us are changed, forever, I'm afraid, and I have trouble wrapping my brain around how people who have suffered much worse in their lives go on as well as they do.
I guess I'm pretty wimpy, and us wimps need our strokes from you caring folks.....
again....thank you.
Greybeard's MUCH younger sister.
MUCH younger, better lookin', smarter,
more compassionate.......
you know the routine!
GB
13 July 2005
EMS Heroes... First Responders
On average, about 20% of our calls are to scenes........auto/motorcycle/ATV accidents, farm accidents, fires, etc..
Of course, these are interesting and exciting........you don't call the helicopter unless someone is in a life-or-death, (or loss of limb), situation.
But think what has happened by the time the phone rings to get us on the way:
The accident happens. Someone sees or hears it and calls the police, or an ambulance service.
These folks sometimes make an initial assessment of the situation over the phone and call our dispatchers to put us on standby. Dispatch calls us, and, providing the weather is flyable, tells us the location and nature of the accident.
While we are on standby, First Responders arrive on the scene.
Think of what they have to do......
People are in pain, bleeding.......possibly crying out.
Dust may still be in the air. Fuel and other fluids may make footing treacherous.
The road may be covered with other debris from the accident......
( we responded last week to an overturned pickup truck that had a bed full of construction equipment spread over 1/8th mile of two lanes of interstate highway!)
EMS needs to insure their own safety. If the accident is in the path of traffic, police need to be on scene to control approaching cars.
Of course, care providers need to wear gloves, eye protection, and other equipment as necessary as individual situations require.
How many victims and how serious? Do more ambulances/helicopters need to be called?
Our helicopters are set up to carry only one patient at a time, so if two or more people have life-threatening injuries, more helicopters will have to be launched.
Victims need to be quickly assessed for the extent of their injuries to see if the helicopter needs to be launched, or if the standby can be cancelled. They are protected from further injury. Initial care is provided.
Think of the responsibility we load on these people!
We frequently do public relations flights to meet and train EMS providers in outlying communities. We are treated like royalty when we show up at these affairs........dramatically arriving in a multi-million dollar machine, dressed in our fancy/schmancy flight suits!
I'm always a little uncomfortable at these events.......
By the time we arrive on scene, 90% of the work is done! Area secured for our landing..........obstacles identified and pointed out to us so we aren't surprised on our landing approach. Patients assessed and initial work done for us to get them on their way to the Trauma Center..........some EMS personnel even know enough to try to give us wind direction for landing!
They make it easy for us. We get the attention.......arriving in noisy, dramatic style. But I know who the true heroes are in these situations........and they don't get nearly enough credit (or compensation) for the extraordinary things they do.
Please remember these folks in your thoughts and prayers.
They truly are "Unsung Heroes"!
Of course, these are interesting and exciting........you don't call the helicopter unless someone is in a life-or-death, (or loss of limb), situation.
But think what has happened by the time the phone rings to get us on the way:
The accident happens. Someone sees or hears it and calls the police, or an ambulance service.
These folks sometimes make an initial assessment of the situation over the phone and call our dispatchers to put us on standby. Dispatch calls us, and, providing the weather is flyable, tells us the location and nature of the accident.
While we are on standby, First Responders arrive on the scene.
Think of what they have to do......
People are in pain, bleeding.......possibly crying out.
Dust may still be in the air. Fuel and other fluids may make footing treacherous.
The road may be covered with other debris from the accident......
( we responded last week to an overturned pickup truck that had a bed full of construction equipment spread over 1/8th mile of two lanes of interstate highway!)
EMS needs to insure their own safety. If the accident is in the path of traffic, police need to be on scene to control approaching cars.
Of course, care providers need to wear gloves, eye protection, and other equipment as necessary as individual situations require.
How many victims and how serious? Do more ambulances/helicopters need to be called?
Our helicopters are set up to carry only one patient at a time, so if two or more people have life-threatening injuries, more helicopters will have to be launched.
Victims need to be quickly assessed for the extent of their injuries to see if the helicopter needs to be launched, or if the standby can be cancelled. They are protected from further injury. Initial care is provided.
Think of the responsibility we load on these people!
We frequently do public relations flights to meet and train EMS providers in outlying communities. We are treated like royalty when we show up at these affairs........dramatically arriving in a multi-million dollar machine, dressed in our fancy/schmancy flight suits!
I'm always a little uncomfortable at these events.......
By the time we arrive on scene, 90% of the work is done! Area secured for our landing..........obstacles identified and pointed out to us so we aren't surprised on our landing approach. Patients assessed and initial work done for us to get them on their way to the Trauma Center..........some EMS personnel even know enough to try to give us wind direction for landing!
They make it easy for us. We get the attention.......arriving in noisy, dramatic style. But I know who the true heroes are in these situations........and they don't get nearly enough credit (or compensation) for the extraordinary things they do.
Please remember these folks in your thoughts and prayers.
They truly are "Unsung Heroes"!
Dennis Update:
Some of you have emailed to ask about my Sister's home and Mom's apartment. Thank you for caring!
Sis's home survived just fine, as did Mom's facility. Both were temporarily without power, but that is now also restored.
There are pockets in the community that suffered from winds strong enough to do serious damage. Tornadoes? It doesn't matter if it was straight line winds or tornadoes, the damage in some areas is very serious and individual families have suffered greatly. Restoration of power in those areas may take several days or even weeks.
Imagine 95 degrees and the inability to even get yourself a glass of ice water!
We are now watching the approach of Emily. Right now it looks as if she will track farther West.......putting us in the uncomfortable position of being glad someone else will suffer her consequences!
It may be a really long, hot summer!
Sis's home survived just fine, as did Mom's facility. Both were temporarily without power, but that is now also restored.
There are pockets in the community that suffered from winds strong enough to do serious damage. Tornadoes? It doesn't matter if it was straight line winds or tornadoes, the damage in some areas is very serious and individual families have suffered greatly. Restoration of power in those areas may take several days or even weeks.
Imagine 95 degrees and the inability to even get yourself a glass of ice water!
We are now watching the approach of Emily. Right now it looks as if she will track farther West.......putting us in the uncomfortable position of being glad someone else will suffer her consequences!
It may be a really long, hot summer!
12 July 2005
Jesse Jackson, My Brother
My brother Jesse Jackson was born in Greenville, South Carolina.
Jesse's skin is a very dark brown color.
I was born in Indianapolis, Indiana.
My skin is kind of beige.
(Jesse's better lookin'. I've always envied my brother in that department!)
My brother Jesse gets a leg up on government jobs because he can claim African American ancestry.
I think it's pretty dog-gone unfair that he has that advantage over me!
One of our brothers, Dr. Richard Leakey has determined Ethiopia is the "cradle of humankind".
So although brother Jesse was born in South Carolina, and I was born in Indiana, both our ancestors were born in the area of the Horn of Africa.
Yours were too!
I can sure use the extra points on the government application!
Can't you?
Jesse's skin is a very dark brown color.
I was born in Indianapolis, Indiana.
My skin is kind of beige.
(Jesse's better lookin'. I've always envied my brother in that department!)
My brother Jesse gets a leg up on government jobs because he can claim African American ancestry.
I think it's pretty dog-gone unfair that he has that advantage over me!
One of our brothers, Dr. Richard Leakey has determined Ethiopia is the "cradle of humankind".
So although brother Jesse was born in South Carolina, and I was born in Indiana, both our ancestors were born in the area of the Horn of Africa.
Yours were too!
I can sure use the extra points on the government application!
Can't you?
10 July 2005
No Iraqi 9/11 Connection! Oh, wait! Nevermind!
Remember Gilda Radner's character on Saturday Night Live, "Emily Litella"?
Those that WERE saying "There was no connection between Iraq and 9/11" are now saying, "Nevermind"!
From "The Weekly Standard":
"Indeed, more than two years after the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein was ousted, there is much we do not know about the relationship beteween Iraq and al Qaeda. We do know, however, that there was one. We know about this relationship not from Bush administration assertions but from internal Iraqi Intelligence Service (IIS) documents recovered in Iraq after the war--documents that have been authenticated by a U.S. intelligence community long hostile to the very idea that any such relationship exists."
Here's the link for the whole article:
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/005/804yqqnr.asp
Now, what about those WMD's?
Those that WERE saying "There was no connection between Iraq and 9/11" are now saying, "Nevermind"!
From "The Weekly Standard":
"Indeed, more than two years after the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein was ousted, there is much we do not know about the relationship beteween Iraq and al Qaeda. We do know, however, that there was one. We know about this relationship not from Bush administration assertions but from internal Iraqi Intelligence Service (IIS) documents recovered in Iraq after the war--documents that have been authenticated by a U.S. intelligence community long hostile to the very idea that any such relationship exists."
| |
Here's the link for the whole article:
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/005/804yqqnr.asp
Now, what about those WMD's?
Dennis the Menace
Wednesday morning the phone rang early.
The answering machine did it's thing, and then I heard,
"This is your sister and I need to talk to ya."
She sounded stressed..........
Sis lives in Pensacola.
Dennis was comin' to call.
Our Dad died two years ago.
Mother had a minor stroke about a year later. Her eyesight was adversely affected by the stroke, so living by herself became an impossibility. Since Sara Jean and I have always hoped to retire in the Florida Panhandle, Sis and I made the decision that moving Mom to Pensacola would be a great idea!
When Ivan came to call last year, the wonderful facility Mom lives in suffered only minor cosmetic damage.
But he blew the roof off Sis's home.
She and her hubby have been living in a motor home in her driveway since, supervising the workers rebuilding her home.
They were within weeks of having the work complete.
We picked up the phone.
My sister, having gotten to the end of her rope and tied a knot, began to cry.........
"I need you to come down and get Mom. I'm workin' a shift tonight, and we are loading up the camper and buggin' out tomorrow with the critters."
It's an 11 hour drive for us. We started down Thursday morning, spent the night with Mom, then headed back North Friday morning.
22 hours driving in 48 hours! Whew!
It's comforting to have Mother and her cat here. It's comforting to know my sister is safe, well East of the storm track.
Now we wait to see if Sis has a roof.......and a home.
And we are doing some re-thinking about the idea of retiring in the panhandle.
I don't want to be a target for Ivan, Dennis, and their ilk every year!
The answering machine did it's thing, and then I heard,
"This is your sister and I need to talk to ya."
She sounded stressed..........
Sis lives in Pensacola.
Dennis was comin' to call.
Our Dad died two years ago.
Mother had a minor stroke about a year later. Her eyesight was adversely affected by the stroke, so living by herself became an impossibility. Since Sara Jean and I have always hoped to retire in the Florida Panhandle, Sis and I made the decision that moving Mom to Pensacola would be a great idea!
When Ivan came to call last year, the wonderful facility Mom lives in suffered only minor cosmetic damage.
But he blew the roof off Sis's home.
She and her hubby have been living in a motor home in her driveway since, supervising the workers rebuilding her home.
They were within weeks of having the work complete.
We picked up the phone.
My sister, having gotten to the end of her rope and tied a knot, began to cry.........
"I need you to come down and get Mom. I'm workin' a shift tonight, and we are loading up the camper and buggin' out tomorrow with the critters."
It's an 11 hour drive for us. We started down Thursday morning, spent the night with Mom, then headed back North Friday morning.
22 hours driving in 48 hours! Whew!
It's comforting to have Mother and her cat here. It's comforting to know my sister is safe, well East of the storm track.
Now we wait to see if Sis has a roof.......and a home.
And we are doing some re-thinking about the idea of retiring in the panhandle.
I don't want to be a target for Ivan, Dennis, and their ilk every year!
09 July 2005
The Latest Remote Control Thing
I wonder how long it takes to get good at controlling one of these things?
(Huge file.........I don't know how well this will download on dialup!)
http://www.putfile.com/media.php?n=HydroFoam
(Huge file.........I don't know how well this will download on dialup!)
http://www.putfile.com/media.php?n=HydroFoam
06 July 2005
Lift Link
We were the lead gunship in a two gunship team, supporting a battalion of Infantry near the Michelin rubber plantation in the vicinity of Ban Me Thout, Viet Nam.
The bad guys stayed out of the rubber trees.......Michelin paid them "protection" to insure the trees were not damaged.
But they were damn close........in triple canopy jungle within site of the beautiful rows of rubber trees.
J.T. from Chicago, (the "Can Chickens Fly?") guy, was my Aircraft Commander.
I had just about gotten over my ill-fated orientation ride.
We had determined where the bad guys were in relation to the good guys, and had warned the good guys to keep their heads down, because quite honestly, we just weren't that accurate shooting the 2.75 inch FFAR, (Folding Fin Aerial Rockets) out of the old Charley model Hueys!
We started our first gun run. I laid down a good spray out of the mini-guns, then J.T. fired a couple rockets, then more mini-gun, then another pair of rockets. We started our "break" away from the enemy, when we felt the aircraft "settle" about an inch.
Odd!
I looked at J.T., and he looked at me. Neither of us said anything for a moment.
It really didn't sound like we got hit by a .30 cal. round.
No caution or warning lights.......
instruments all in the normal operating range.
But at that time J.T. did something that probably saved four lives......he VERY GINGERLY banked the old Charley away from the enemy position.
He turned to me and asked,"You felt that too?"
"I sure did. Groundfire?"
"I'm not sure."
He keyed the microphone and transmitted, "Two....", (our wing man), "we're breaking off for the firebase to take a look at this aircraft.......we may have taken a round."
The number two aircraft acknowledged, and followed us to the firebase.
We landed, and four of us........J.T., myself, the crewchief and gunner all went over the aircraft with a fine-toothed comb.
NOTHING!
No bullet holes.
Nothing out of the ordinary.
We all took another detailed look at the machine.
Again, nothing.
We had just about made the decision it was our imagination, when the crewchief said, "let me take a look up in the "Hell Hole."
The "Hell Hole" was a hole in the fuselage accessible from underneath the Huey........it granted access to the bottom of the main rotor gearbox. It was a pain to crawl under the aircraft and go up in the Hell Hole!
From the bowels of the aircraft we heard him say, "AH HA!"
When he crawled out, he had a shiny, half-moon shaped piece of metal in his hand, resembling a silver dollar cut in half, about a half inch or so thick.
"What's that?"
"Bottom half of the Lift Link attachment."
The "Lift Link" is a dog-bone shaped piece of aluminum alloy, about a foot long, with a hole in the top and a hole in the bottom. The top hole attaches to the main rotor gearbox, and the bottom hole attaches to the airframe.
Our Lift Link was broken!
The Lift Link is part of the helicopter "lifting system". When the main rotor lifts the helicopter, the Lift Link is carrying 90% of the weight of the machine.
Had J.T. not decided to abort the gun mission and turned for another gun run, when we tried to pull out of the gradual dive of the attack, the main rotor and transmission would have separated from the aircraft, giving the fuselage the aerodynamic quality of a brick!
The four of us would have had an exciting ride for a few seconds!
Investigation revealed the Lift Link had been "Murphy'ed"......
it was installed upside-down.
Installing it upside-down meant the torque values were wrong on the attachments, and the lower one, which should have been attached at the top, had been overtorqued, cracking the Link.
I had been involved in two potentially fatal incidents in two months, and was beginning to think I was cursed.........10 months to go in Viet Nam! What else was in store for me?
Obviously, I learned what to look for to determine proper installation of the Lift Link. I never took off again without checking to insure it was bolted in correctly.
I'll always believe there was Divine intervention that made J.T. fly that aircraft like he was handling eggs, and guided the crewchief to take that look in the "Hell Hole"!
The bad guys stayed out of the rubber trees.......Michelin paid them "protection" to insure the trees were not damaged.
But they were damn close........in triple canopy jungle within site of the beautiful rows of rubber trees.
J.T. from Chicago, (the "Can Chickens Fly?") guy, was my Aircraft Commander.
I had just about gotten over my ill-fated orientation ride.
We had determined where the bad guys were in relation to the good guys, and had warned the good guys to keep their heads down, because quite honestly, we just weren't that accurate shooting the 2.75 inch FFAR, (Folding Fin Aerial Rockets) out of the old Charley model Hueys!
We started our first gun run. I laid down a good spray out of the mini-guns, then J.T. fired a couple rockets, then more mini-gun, then another pair of rockets. We started our "break" away from the enemy, when we felt the aircraft "settle" about an inch.
Odd!
I looked at J.T., and he looked at me. Neither of us said anything for a moment.
It really didn't sound like we got hit by a .30 cal. round.
No caution or warning lights.......
instruments all in the normal operating range.
But at that time J.T. did something that probably saved four lives......he VERY GINGERLY banked the old Charley away from the enemy position.
He turned to me and asked,"You felt that too?"
"I sure did. Groundfire?"
"I'm not sure."
He keyed the microphone and transmitted, "Two....", (our wing man), "we're breaking off for the firebase to take a look at this aircraft.......we may have taken a round."
The number two aircraft acknowledged, and followed us to the firebase.
We landed, and four of us........J.T., myself, the crewchief and gunner all went over the aircraft with a fine-toothed comb.
NOTHING!
No bullet holes.
Nothing out of the ordinary.
We all took another detailed look at the machine.
Again, nothing.
We had just about made the decision it was our imagination, when the crewchief said, "let me take a look up in the "Hell Hole."
The "Hell Hole" was a hole in the fuselage accessible from underneath the Huey........it granted access to the bottom of the main rotor gearbox. It was a pain to crawl under the aircraft and go up in the Hell Hole!
From the bowels of the aircraft we heard him say, "AH HA!"
When he crawled out, he had a shiny, half-moon shaped piece of metal in his hand, resembling a silver dollar cut in half, about a half inch or so thick.
"What's that?"
"Bottom half of the Lift Link attachment."
The "Lift Link" is a dog-bone shaped piece of aluminum alloy, about a foot long, with a hole in the top and a hole in the bottom. The top hole attaches to the main rotor gearbox, and the bottom hole attaches to the airframe.
Our Lift Link was broken!
The Lift Link is part of the helicopter "lifting system". When the main rotor lifts the helicopter, the Lift Link is carrying 90% of the weight of the machine.
Had J.T. not decided to abort the gun mission and turned for another gun run, when we tried to pull out of the gradual dive of the attack, the main rotor and transmission would have separated from the aircraft, giving the fuselage the aerodynamic quality of a brick!
The four of us would have had an exciting ride for a few seconds!
Investigation revealed the Lift Link had been "Murphy'ed"......
it was installed upside-down.
Installing it upside-down meant the torque values were wrong on the attachments, and the lower one, which should have been attached at the top, had been overtorqued, cracking the Link.
I had been involved in two potentially fatal incidents in two months, and was beginning to think I was cursed.........10 months to go in Viet Nam! What else was in store for me?
Obviously, I learned what to look for to determine proper installation of the Lift Link. I never took off again without checking to insure it was bolted in correctly.
I'll always believe there was Divine intervention that made J.T. fly that aircraft like he was handling eggs, and guided the crewchief to take that look in the "Hell Hole"!
Meteorologists and Used Car Salesmen
I've been flying for pay since 1968.
Weather is important to anyone that aviates.
In my opinion, being a weatherman puts you in a group that is paid well for being wrong about as often as you are right!
Great improvements have been made in the way we get weather information..........just not in forecasting!
Weather forecasters are EXCELLENT in predicting weather 5 hours out. They are FAIR at predicting it 12 hours out. Beyond that, we are in "Dartboard" territory!
Last night is a good example........
At our EMS base, we have the latest weather improvement: a "Meteorologix" terminal we can go to and look at radar returns, satellite views, terminal forecasts, and current surface analysis for any airport that reports these things.
Where we used to have to call the Flight Service Station and talk with a forecaster in order to determine whether we could take a flight, we can now find the information we need right on our desktop.
Last night, forecasters were predicting marginal VFR (flyable, but not pretty), weather all night long.
I dutifully report this fact to the dispatchers, so they know if I need to do a detailed weather check each time they dispatch us.
Two hours after I told them I'd be able to take any flight, I went outside to see low scuddy clouds overhead. I went back inside to check the current conditions:
800 feet Broken, 5 miles visibility, temperature 22, dewpoint 22.
The 800 foot Broken is the problem here, followed by the 22/22 temperature-dewpoint readings. Our night limitations are 1000' ceilings for cross-country flights. We are also limited to better than 3 miles visibility, so the 5 mile reading was fine, but the 22/22 reading meant the vis. was likely to degrade as the night progressed and got cooler.
Another old aviation "saw":
"It's better to be on the ground wishing you were airborne, than to be airborne wishing you were on the ground."
I went to the phone and called dispatch.........."we are now Yellow for weather".
I went to bed at Midnight, knowing that it was unlikely I would fly the rest of the night.
E.M.S. means "Earns Money Sleeping"!
The forecasters were wrong on the forecast.
I got paid last night for checking the inside of my eyelids!
Weather is important to anyone that aviates.
In my opinion, being a weatherman puts you in a group that is paid well for being wrong about as often as you are right!
Great improvements have been made in the way we get weather information..........just not in forecasting!
Weather forecasters are EXCELLENT in predicting weather 5 hours out. They are FAIR at predicting it 12 hours out. Beyond that, we are in "Dartboard" territory!
Last night is a good example........
At our EMS base, we have the latest weather improvement: a "Meteorologix" terminal we can go to and look at radar returns, satellite views, terminal forecasts, and current surface analysis for any airport that reports these things.
Where we used to have to call the Flight Service Station and talk with a forecaster in order to determine whether we could take a flight, we can now find the information we need right on our desktop.
Last night, forecasters were predicting marginal VFR (flyable, but not pretty), weather all night long.
I dutifully report this fact to the dispatchers, so they know if I need to do a detailed weather check each time they dispatch us.
Two hours after I told them I'd be able to take any flight, I went outside to see low scuddy clouds overhead. I went back inside to check the current conditions:
800 feet Broken, 5 miles visibility, temperature 22, dewpoint 22.
The 800 foot Broken is the problem here, followed by the 22/22 temperature-dewpoint readings. Our night limitations are 1000' ceilings for cross-country flights. We are also limited to better than 3 miles visibility, so the 5 mile reading was fine, but the 22/22 reading meant the vis. was likely to degrade as the night progressed and got cooler.
Another old aviation "saw":
"It's better to be on the ground wishing you were airborne, than to be airborne wishing you were on the ground."
I went to the phone and called dispatch.........."we are now Yellow for weather".
I went to bed at Midnight, knowing that it was unlikely I would fly the rest of the night.
E.M.S. means "Earns Money Sleeping"!
The forecasters were wrong on the forecast.
I got paid last night for checking the inside of my eyelids!
04 July 2005
The Big Lie
Who's imitating Hitler now?
Via Powerline:
Via Powerline:
The Weekly Standard's Stephen Hayes shows that CNN must not have been paying attention (and that CNN is not the only one). In fact, Thomas Kean, chairman of the 9/11 Commission, stated during a press conference that "there was no question in our minds that there was a relationship between Iraq and al Qaeda." Moreover, his Commission's report detailed several "friendly contacts" between Iraq and al Qaeda, and concluded only that there was no proof of Iraqi involvement in al Qaeda terrorist attacks against American interests. Hayes goes on to detail additional connections.
How does the MSM get away with this?
Answer: A percentage of the population WANTS to believe!
You can read the whole thing,
(and access the rest of their stuff, 'cause it's bloggy good!),
here:
http://powerlineblog.com/archives/010929.php
The New Car, Part III
It's in the garage.......this new car that we initially thought we couldn't even afford!
It's BY FAR the nicest car I have ever owned........loaded with all the stuff that comes on a luxury car.
But there was an odd disappointment about it..........
When we decided we needed a new car, we really had no idea what brand or model we wanted, but the idea was exciting........a new car!
We started looking at what was available. Sara Jean would see a car she liked, and we would discuss the pros and cons of buying one like it.
Thinking about it and planning the purchase gave us something to look forward to together!
Then she saw a car she loved, and when I saw it, I also loved the look of it. But it was too expensive for our budget at the time.
So we postponed our purchase and continued saving to build up our down payment, and continued dreaming about purchasing something nicer than we had ever owned.
When the car was safely in the garage and the dream realized, the anticipation of buying it was gone. It was odd how I missed the "looking forward" to that purchase.
I thought of the rich and super-rich, and how they NEVER get to have that feeling of anticipation........the feel of having to work hard to be able to purchase something nice.......something that will make your life better.......something you can be proud of!
When Bill Gates wants to purchase a Ferrari, all he has to do is open his checkbook and write the check. There is no dream........no anticipation.
How sad.
Because oddly, for me, the fantasy of buying the car was more fun than actually owning it!
Do ya think that's weird?
It's BY FAR the nicest car I have ever owned........loaded with all the stuff that comes on a luxury car.
But there was an odd disappointment about it..........
When we decided we needed a new car, we really had no idea what brand or model we wanted, but the idea was exciting........a new car!
We started looking at what was available. Sara Jean would see a car she liked, and we would discuss the pros and cons of buying one like it.
Thinking about it and planning the purchase gave us something to look forward to together!
Then she saw a car she loved, and when I saw it, I also loved the look of it. But it was too expensive for our budget at the time.
So we postponed our purchase and continued saving to build up our down payment, and continued dreaming about purchasing something nicer than we had ever owned.
When the car was safely in the garage and the dream realized, the anticipation of buying it was gone. It was odd how I missed the "looking forward" to that purchase.
I thought of the rich and super-rich, and how they NEVER get to have that feeling of anticipation........the feel of having to work hard to be able to purchase something nice.......something that will make your life better.......something you can be proud of!
When Bill Gates wants to purchase a Ferrari, all he has to do is open his checkbook and write the check. There is no dream........no anticipation.
How sad.
Because oddly, for me, the fantasy of buying the car was more fun than actually owning it!
Do ya think that's weird?
03 July 2005
The Normal Approach
Now we'll continue our helicopter flying lesson.
Last post we were on downwind leg.........800' above the ground and hover Manifold Pressure applied.
When we can look back at a 45 degree angle at our intended point of landing, we start a descending, decelerating turn of 90 degrees......base leg.
On base leg, we hope to descend to 400 feet above the ground and slow the helicopter to 60 knots.
Continue on base leg and approach the path you took to takeoff......then make another 90 degree turn to line yourself up on your final approach course.
Now we are on final......400 feet above the ground, indicating 60 knots. When we reach a point where we can see that our angle to our intended point of landing is 10-12 degrees, (our "normal approach sight picture"), we lower the collective in order to maintain that angle to our landing spot.
From this point on, the approach is done visually, paying almost no attention to the airspeed indicator and altimeter. We maintain our angle of approach with the Collective and try to maintain "the apparent speed of a man walking briskly across the ground" with the Cyclic.
Continue to slow the helicopter as you descend, maintaining the speed of an apparent brisk walk, until the helicopter reaches five feet above the ground. At this point, bring the helicopter to a hover, maintaining hover altitude with the Collective, heading with the Pedals, and position over the ground with the Cyclic.
In my opinion, next to hovering, the normal approach is the most difficult thing to learn to do in the helicopter. To accomplish it, we must go from a relatively high power setting....cruise flight, to a relatively low power setting........descending and decelerating for landing, to the regime that requires the MOST power the helicopter uses: hovering.
Changing power settings requires coordinating the pedals, remember? So you are mighty busy during the normal approach to landing!
Students have problems with the power application/pedal coordination during the last 50 or so feet of the approach.....it takes a while to get accustomed to the big power changes that need to be made to bring the helicopter to a hover at the intended point of landing!
This is a lot to digest, I know! Oddly, hovering, which is harder to do, is easier to describe.
Students will learn to land the helicopter fairly rapidly, although at first it won't be a pretty thing to watch..........learning to make the large power changes in such a short time frame.
So there you have it........posts for learning to hover, takeoff, traffic pattern circuit, and landing.
It's a challenging task, but a satisfying one to learn.
My students almost always walk away from the first few lessons with sweaty armpits, and post-flight smiles on their faces!
Last post we were on downwind leg.........800' above the ground and hover Manifold Pressure applied.
When we can look back at a 45 degree angle at our intended point of landing, we start a descending, decelerating turn of 90 degrees......base leg.
On base leg, we hope to descend to 400 feet above the ground and slow the helicopter to 60 knots.
Continue on base leg and approach the path you took to takeoff......then make another 90 degree turn to line yourself up on your final approach course.
Now we are on final......400 feet above the ground, indicating 60 knots. When we reach a point where we can see that our angle to our intended point of landing is 10-12 degrees, (our "normal approach sight picture"), we lower the collective in order to maintain that angle to our landing spot.
From this point on, the approach is done visually, paying almost no attention to the airspeed indicator and altimeter. We maintain our angle of approach with the Collective and try to maintain "the apparent speed of a man walking briskly across the ground" with the Cyclic.
Continue to slow the helicopter as you descend, maintaining the speed of an apparent brisk walk, until the helicopter reaches five feet above the ground. At this point, bring the helicopter to a hover, maintaining hover altitude with the Collective, heading with the Pedals, and position over the ground with the Cyclic.
In my opinion, next to hovering, the normal approach is the most difficult thing to learn to do in the helicopter. To accomplish it, we must go from a relatively high power setting....cruise flight, to a relatively low power setting........descending and decelerating for landing, to the regime that requires the MOST power the helicopter uses: hovering.
Changing power settings requires coordinating the pedals, remember? So you are mighty busy during the normal approach to landing!
Students have problems with the power application/pedal coordination during the last 50 or so feet of the approach.....it takes a while to get accustomed to the big power changes that need to be made to bring the helicopter to a hover at the intended point of landing!
This is a lot to digest, I know! Oddly, hovering, which is harder to do, is easier to describe.
Students will learn to land the helicopter fairly rapidly, although at first it won't be a pretty thing to watch..........learning to make the large power changes in such a short time frame.
So there you have it........posts for learning to hover, takeoff, traffic pattern circuit, and landing.
It's a challenging task, but a satisfying one to learn.
My students almost always walk away from the first few lessons with sweaty armpits, and post-flight smiles on their faces!
02 July 2005
Professional Sports
I was raised in a Midwestern State where High School Basketball is "King".
The entire State shuts down the night of the State Championship game!
We adopted the town we live in now because in many ways, the atmosphere here is similar to where I grew up. (And the town I grew up in has changed so much, I couldn't stand to live there!)
But Pro Sports are king here, and I don't understand why.
It's normal to have someone start a conversation with you by saying, "how 'bout them "Sparrows"?
To me, the "Sparrows" are just another big business. I haven't checked their roster lately, but the last time I looked, the "Sparrows" had a Japanese pitcher, a Santa Domingan shortstop, and a catcher from Outer Slobovia!
What do I have in common with these folks, and why should I get emotionally involved with them?
Why do they play the game? Could it be the $1,500,000 average salary these fellas are being paid?
Someone may as well start the conversation with me by asking, "How 'bout that General Electric.......ain't they somethin'?"
Now, High School ball is a different story.
If you're involved, you know the players and their families from top to bottom. A kid might even be on the field because of advice, or some other form of support you gave him/her.
And he/she is on the playing field for one reason: the love of the game.
Granted, some may also hope to help defray College costs with a scholarship, or maybe even one day be paid the big bucks to play for the "Sparrows", but most kids know that's just a dream. The work they devote to the game shows loyalty to the team and the school.
When I'm asked "how 'bout them 'Sparrows'?, my answer is generally "Why should I care?"
I've never gotten a satisfactory answer to the question.
Am I missing something?
The entire State shuts down the night of the State Championship game!
We adopted the town we live in now because in many ways, the atmosphere here is similar to where I grew up. (And the town I grew up in has changed so much, I couldn't stand to live there!)
But Pro Sports are king here, and I don't understand why.
It's normal to have someone start a conversation with you by saying, "how 'bout them "Sparrows"?
To me, the "Sparrows" are just another big business. I haven't checked their roster lately, but the last time I looked, the "Sparrows" had a Japanese pitcher, a Santa Domingan shortstop, and a catcher from Outer Slobovia!
What do I have in common with these folks, and why should I get emotionally involved with them?
Why do they play the game? Could it be the $1,500,000 average salary these fellas are being paid?
Someone may as well start the conversation with me by asking, "How 'bout that General Electric.......ain't they somethin'?"
Now, High School ball is a different story.
If you're involved, you know the players and their families from top to bottom. A kid might even be on the field because of advice, or some other form of support you gave him/her.
And he/she is on the playing field for one reason: the love of the game.
Granted, some may also hope to help defray College costs with a scholarship, or maybe even one day be paid the big bucks to play for the "Sparrows", but most kids know that's just a dream. The work they devote to the game shows loyalty to the team and the school.
When I'm asked "how 'bout them 'Sparrows'?, my answer is generally "Why should I care?"
I've never gotten a satisfactory answer to the question.
Am I missing something?
01 July 2005
Paul Harvey Answer.........
I found a better bio on Paul, which includes the answer to the triva question and has an actual birthdate..........my guess of his age was spot on!
http://www.nndb.com/people/477/000022411/
http://www.nndb.com/people/477/000022411/
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