Showing posts with label Aircraft. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Aircraft. Show all posts



§ Have You Hugged Your Cat Lately?


A very familiar sight in Corpus Christi Bay by the Harbor Bridge, this museum is part of naval history: "The USS Lexington [a WWII aircraft carrier] was commissioned in February 1943 and saw extensive service through the Pacific War. For much of her service, she acted as the flagship for Admiral Marc Mitscher, and led the Fast Carrier Task Force through their battles across the Pacific. She was the recipient of 11 battle stars and the Presidential Unit Citation. Following the war, Lexington was decommissioned, but was modernized and reactivated in the early 1950s, being reclassified as an attack carrier (CVA). Later, she was reclassified as an anti-submarine carrier (CVS). In her second career, she operated both in the Atlantic/Mediterranean and the Pacific, but spent most of her time, nearly 30 years, on the east coast as a training carrier (CVT). Lexington was decommissioned in 1991, with an active service life longer than any other Essex-class ship. Following her decommissioning, she was donated for use as a museum ship in Corpus Christi, Texas. In 2003, Lexington was designated a National Historic Landmark."
...1] looking through one of Shoreline Blvd.'s many gazebos, the conning tower shows. 2] Aboard the deck, I look up toward the conning tower and the ship's Number "16". 3] From the Marina, looking toward the bridge, the Lexington's deck regales the history of its part in WWII, with the era's planes readied for take-off.
Linking to: Rubbish Tuesday



...also 'round the bay and Gulf waters--
It's a special 'season'!!  During the peak of the season, birds of many kinds often change color with their plumage or other body parts. Bold, bright, 'attractive to the opposite sex' is prevalent...seen by us birders also. Sometimes a very subtle difference, like a color change around the eyes [the egret]...or the duck's bill color changes [ruddy duck], etc.
These following six images show us the coming of the season ---breeding season:


The blue billed duck is a Male Ruddy Duck...non-breeding season the bill is dark, charcoal gray.  In the 2nd photo, the foreground is a Black Bellied Whistling Duck...but the color change I wanted to point out is the bird in the background ---the White Faced Ibis...see the white ring around the eye?  Non breeders, the eye ring is more flesh tone.


This is a White Ibis...in the non-breeding season,  the legs and long bill are much paler in tone.  During breeding season, the bill and legs become a bright, rich, vivid red.  The black tip is also quite prominent in the breeding season.

Altho white birds are oftentimes a difficult subject to photograph in bright sunlight, these egrets [great egrets] are a bit shaded with the reed grasses.  In 'normal everyday life' the eyes are a typical pale yellow/orange blending in very well with the beak ---during breeding season, the male has a very bright yellow green coloration around the eyes...almost a chartreuse color.  Very striking.





HODGEPODGE

1. Several posts and status updates recently describing end of year school field trips. Do you remember taking school field trips as a kid? Where did you go and do you recall a favorite? For any parents responding today, have you ever chaperoned a school field trip, and if so where? Yes we did take field trips. My favorites were always the last day of school and a bus trip to city parks [or other years, a trip to the rocky mountain campgrounds] for an all day picnic! Oh, and another favorite was going into the big city [Denver] to a Shakespeare Festival...it was English Lit Class and we attended an all day festival with wearing garb of the era, and seeing plays. I can still see, and oftentimes talk about it to this day!! Julius Caesar was my favorite on stage play that day. What a thrilling one. That got me really liking Shakespeare!! "Beware of the Ides of March" -- "Et tu Brute?" Gotta love it.

2. What's something you're tired of seeing online? Entertainment news. Notably the kim kardashian phase! OMG!!! [it's not only online either...magazines on the stores' shelves are plastered with her.] Everywhere I look. OMG.

3. June is the month for roses. Which of the following expressions would you say has most recently applied to your life-'everything's coming up roses', 'there's no rose without a thorn', 'came out smelling like a rose', or 'wearing rose-colored glasses'? All of the above....EXCEPT --wearing rose-colored glasses. I don't. LOL

4. When grilling outdoors do you prefer gas or charcoal? Who does the grilling at your house? What's the last thing you ate that was cooked on a grill? Gas!! Bud. Rib steaks.

5. Are you afraid of the dark? Not at all. In fact, darkness and my eyes work like a wild animal. Bud runs into walls, furniture...I on the other hand, can 'feel my way around in the dark' --I can even see shadows once my pupils adjust...quite well.

6. Share a favorite song with a number in it's title? When I was working I used to LOVE humming and singing along with this song -AND often requested it on my favorite radio show while driving home from work!!...It's a 5 o'clock world by the Vogues. [favorite line in the song --"But it's a five o'clock world when the whistle blows, no one owns a piece of my time!".] Another one from long ago, which by the way,  made me drool over Steve McQueen and Yul Brynner...from the movie Magnificent 7....and the theme song...of course! Magnificent 7.

I also enjoy classical music...very much! For instance, Frederic Chopin's Opus 64 #1 ---best known as Minute Waltz or Beethoven's 5th Symphony.  Heck, you may as well say, I enjoy music, period!

7. "Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves."(C.G. Jung). Do you agree? Why or why not?  Well, in my opinion, it could lead to both sides of the coin. You could see something in someone that annoys you and work on rectifying that in yourself to avoid. Or toss the coin and it could also be that you are irritated by others because something badgers your psyche - secretly you'd do the very same. Once again, it depends on mood; lifestyle.

8. Insert your own random thought here. So, speaking of color changes...I'm laying down on the couch and just daydreaming. A thought comes to mind about blogging and text decoration styles. I don't use the strike html often, but once in a while I do. And then, I got to wondering if there is a way to change the line through the 'striked' word[s] at all in the text area of the blog post. A few days later, I remembered to to some doodling to see if I could come up with the correct coding for this idea. I'm sure it's not a new idea and others have come up with something similar, but it's new to me and I kinda like the concept...


testing text with a strike through


then...


it's working - at least in Firefox

...AND June 4th is "Hug Your Cat Day"



Our kitty cats, Tahoe and Winston!!



§ Pelicans, poop, potty training, pictures and puns



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CAMERA CRITTERS








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WEEKEND FUNNIES

Actually, today there is no rhyme or reason...my funnies are quite eclectic this time. As insane as the "media" has been in the last decade, so too are some funny "signs" you can see. Tho, not intended to be funny in any way, they ARE if you have a mind like mine:



Found this business sign just off the freeway the other day. Now, not only is the poor lawyer sign funny---it's MORE funny to know that ol' Hootin' Anni had to pull off the freeway and drive clear round to get a PICTURE of it!!!



rank: (rangk)
adj. rank·er, rank·est
Strong and offensive in odor or flavor.
Conspicuously offensive: rank treachery. See Synonyms at flagrant.







For this one, don'tcha just LOVE the educated dummies? Houston Astros are at the bottom of the heap in their division...but not only filled with errors...so is the local newspaper coverage by-line!!

What a hoot.










And what goes better with ball games than the great American Ball Park Hot Dogs?!! One that is paper trained!! I do love my hot dogs! Especially after Spring "Training"!




[this one is NOT my photo, but a shared image in a received email]



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Two Irish nuns have just arrived in USA by boat and one says to the other, "I hear that the people in this country actually eat dogs." "Odd," her companion replies, "but if we shall live in America, we might as well do as the Americans do." Nodding emphatically, the mother superior points to a hot dog vendor and they both walk towards the cart. "Two dogs, please," says one. The vendor is only too pleased to oblige and he wraps both hot dogs in foil and hands them over the counter. Excited, the nuns hurry over to a bench and begin to unwrap their "dogs." The mother superior is first to open hers. She begins to blush and then, staring at it for a moment, leans over to the other nun and whispers cautiously: "What part did you get?"

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With a hubby that was "all Navy" to the fun and poking fun at United States Marines [we have a LOT of Marines in our family, as is our son!!] between son and father, I saw this at the air show and thought it was too good to pass on 'readjusting' the "HOT AIR" and arrows on the plane with my paint shop program and then sending it to Erik...


[best if enlarged!]

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From C-Span Press Dinner:
"Donald Trump often talks about running as a Republican, which is surprising," said the Saturday Night Live actor, entrusted with providing some of the comedy for the evening. "I just assumed he was running as a joke."



§ As time goes flies by....



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SHADOW SHOT SUNDAY





Two Navy airplane shadows on the NAS Corpus Christi Air Base tarmac during last weekend's airshow.



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SUNDAY'S SUMMARY

From the weekend last thru most of this past week, we've been going places and making trips from home in and around town. Which is nice since the cost of gas keeps going up and up. Which makes me wonder if Congressmen have to pay for their own gas and transportation...anyone know for sure? If I ran MY house like the government does, I would have had to shut down long ago! Eons ago. Okay, now that I got that out of my system, let me begin. If you were here last weekend, you would know that we attended the very shortened airshow here on the Naval Base. Even the Blue Angels, the Navy's best pilots, didn't fly because of the high winds. And I don't think it was more for their safety, it was more OUR safety. Anyway, we did go and spent most of the day there....

I took the sum total of the photos on the digital camera from last week, and made them into a You Tube video with added music and photo captions. If you'd like to view them all...here is the final result----





- - - Also, during the week, the Port of Corpus, the actual port where the ships dock held a special event to salute the Viet Nam Veterans. Even tho the Viet Nam discordance began in the mid to late 50s'...the Americans didn't really become strongly involved in a war until 1961...which would mean it's nearing the 50 year anniversary for American Troops. And if you have been here visiting occasionally, you'll also know I lost a great boy....a VERY close friend...to the war. Without hesitation, when we found out from our membership of the Veterans' Administration that the replica of the Viet Nam Memorial was coming to town, we were one of the first to arrive. Tho small in size, it still resonates the exact feelings when we visited the REAL memorial in Washington D.C. several years ago. Bud and I both knew which panel to go view. My dearly beloved friend was killed in action just weeks after his leave back to the States, where Bud first met him. A good friend and soldier in his same unit told me that "He died instantly, didn't know what hit him"....it still rattles my heart. At the beginning of this paragraph, I added a 'panoramic view' of the entire wall along the channel...it really should be enlarged to view better. But since there is so much here today on the post; in mega bytes, I was hoping to cut down a bit on loading time.



One day we drove to see if we could see some heron hatchlings from the large nest building from about a month ago. Either we were too late or they were quietly hiding out....we saw no activity. Besides, we didn't stay long. Another day we took a short trip to Luby Park [beach area] to do some walking. We walked about 3 miles and traipsed through a lot...tons!...of seaweed. The city crews have nearly been eliminated this time of year. Mainly because of the drastic cuts in budgets, so the seaweed that used to be cleaned up daily is no longer being grated out and onto the dunes....in some places it was nearly 2 feet high. But I found several sea seeds. Two of the heart beans and plenty of 'hamburger' seeds along with four sand dollars.

We also went to see the movie "The Conspirator". That movie just made me cringe again...knowing that today's crooked government isn't all that new. Even back then, the men in higher offices did despicable things. Tho, I'm sure Mary Surratt was guilty in some way or another, after reading history books, I don't think she should have been hanged. She was more or less an accomplice but never ever was physically involved in the Lincoln assassination. And this movie brought light to us Americans. The people in power ruled...or should I say 'rules'. Good movie.

We also talked of going to get a buffalo burger one day. And ended up driving to Fudruckers. That is the only place I actually know of in town that serves them. They're much less in cholesterol content. And when you're craving a burger...they really hit the spot!! The funny part of it all is, I try to keep my intake of the fatty foods to a bare minimum...it all looked so good once it was served, I had to add gobs of jalapeno cheese sauce to top it off. Figures. Oh and speaking of burgers and toppings...Bud and I have been enjoying the 1st of our garden labors...luscious, red, ripened tomatoes right off the vine.

Thursday, January 15th, 2009
5:15 A.M.


"Throw Mama From the Train"...no, how 'bout Planes, Trains and Automobiles"....Awwwww, heck, it's just a tag!!----



I've been tagged by the Social Frog! And it is a fun tag to do!!! First, the rules are simple. As follows:
    6th Picture Meme!
      1. Go to your Picture Folder on your computer or wherever you store your pictures.
      2. Go to the 6th Folder, then pick the 6th picture in that folder.
      3. Post that picture on your blog and the story that goes along with the picture.
      4. Tag 5 other peoples that you know or don’t know to do the same thing and leave a comment on their blog or an e-mail letting them know you chose them.


Well, my 6th folder for photos is entitled 'scanned photos'. Obviously it's a folder of photos I've scanned from 'real' hard copy photos from albums. The photo is of very poor quality, but hey....it is aged and faded in 'real time' too!!! And the 6th picture in that folder is one of myself and Irene to the left --me in red and Irene the little doll child....hehehehe. Along with my mother [to the far right] and my brother just to the left of mom. He is the pilot. This was his plane. [A Cessna Low Wing] We were at the tiny local airport where he tied it down when he wasn't flying....and we were getting ready to get aboard. And he was going to fly us to lunch in Colorado Springs....it was mother's day and he wanted to treat his 'favorite ladies'. After lunch at the Broadmoor in the Springs, he flew us around the Eastern Slope from there to Sterling, Colorado and then back to the airport hangar and drove us home. What a great day that was with my brother!!! Fond memories.

This is my 'middle' oldest brother who would do ANYTHING for me. [And yes, tho I wasn't licensed to fly it, I DID take controls often...shhhhhh, don't tell anyone] We were very close. He eventually died alone. So, so sad.




Normally I just post that if you'd like to do the tag, go ahead and accept the challenge....but, today, since I have time to actually set up the links and such, I will tag the required five bloggers. The lucky ones are:
    Melli
    Charlotte
    Mary
    Storyteller
    Patsy


AND...as always, with anyone who'd LIKE to grab the 'tag'...feel free to do so, and then, let me know, so I can come visit with you and view your 6th photo!!


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haiku
A Japanese poem composed of three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five syllables.
my word prompt for today "tickle"




    Misty day today
    Rain tickles the glossy leaves
    At dusk still in gloom




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Puss n Boots presented me with this special award! Thank you so much!!





Wednesday, December 31st, 2008
5:30 A.M.
My sister's 66th birthday today!



Join -Wordful Wednesday


Ten Years ago today they opened the cockpit of one of my favorite modern military planes. As a member of the Air Museum, I was invited to attend the showing. On any given normal day, the planes are sealed shut, and the windows 'white-washed'. I was chosen to have the opportunity to actually climb aboard and sit to pose for a photo op while 'piloting' the infamous super sonic jet!! I was thrilled as you can see by the expression on my face. I can't begin to tell you what it felt like to touch the instruments and the joy stick!! Naturally my pose was a 'thumbs up' stance as I readied for take off. [I wish!!] Alas, the plane was grounded. Oh well, again I must say it is a dream to fly one.

[from Wikipedia] The Lockheed SR-71 was an advanced, long-range, Mach 3 strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed from the Lockheed A-12 and YF-12A aircraft by the Lockheed Skunk Works. The SR-71 was unofficially named the Blackbird, and called the Habu by its crews. Clarence "Kelly" Johnson was responsible for many of the design's innovative concepts. A defensive feature of the aircraft was its high speed and operating altitude, whereby, if a surface-to-air missile launch were detected, standard evasive action was simply to accelerate. The SR-71 line was in service from 1964 to 1998, with 12 of the 32 aircraft being destroyed in accidents, though none were lost to enemy action






~...end Wordful Wednesday
[comment here if you'd like to skip the rest of my day's blog]





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HOME TOWN NEWS
[December 30th, 2008]

I couldn't wait to voice my opinion on this after hearing it late last night on ESPN news!! My home town [well, I consider it my home town since I lived there for over forty years!] news made me a happy camper. Bowlen finally took off the skirt of his and showed us fans that he does have a pair hanging!! [Sorry 'bout that expression, but we disgruntled fans were beginning to wonder. And I AM a fan, I needed to talk like that just this once.]

Since this last Sunday, I've been waiting with bated breath. I personally thought it was time. Time to move on and get a new coat of paint. The paint job? It would entail a bit of blue and orange. Chip away the old paint. Get the coverage that was needed, and get rid of the old paint that was beginning to fade. The old paint that was fading? Mike Shanahan!! Sure he was good. He was bright, he was fetching, he was just the coat of colors needed. Even tho, if you are a Bronco fan, you perhaps remember all the alleged 'behind the back-stabbing' Mr. Shanahan did with the head coach at the time....Dan Reeves. Shanahan and Elway were accused of insubordination and conspiring of game plays in the distant past. Behind Reeves' back while Shanahan was assistant coach. At that time, he was fired by Reeves. I am almost positive that Elway had a lot to do with getting Mr. Bowlen to then fire Reeves and hire Shanahan as head coach. This shows me that we as fans must continue to realize and remember that any football team of the professional NFL is nothing but only a franchise. A franchise. A business, and a multi-million dollar investment. I'm choking on the thought, even, of his $20 million remaining on his contract!!!

I remember my 'fanship'. It goes way back. Way back to the Broncos' since the mid 1960's!! I've followed them even when they were dubbed the worst team in the West Division history. I've followed them through two Super Bowl wins. All with the Elway/Shanahan team. I was stunned when Kubiak left. Tho, mighty happy to know that Houston hired him as their head coach. I was even more stunned this past year when I realized that one of the key players, Jason Elam, was no longer part of the team. After Elway retired, Shanahan was given complete full-reign of the firing and hiring. Which, for me and my logic, is not a good thing. That would be only ONE person's judgment and it proved me right. Not a winning team since.

Anyway, after Sunday's huge loss to San Diego Chargers, vying for a possible position to go to the divistion playoff games [by the way, the season's first match with the Chargers, Denver won...but I think it was because of a bad call by the line judges! Chargers had that game won also!]. The loss was greater than I could imagine. San Diego scored 52 points against Broncos'. That's insane.

Again if the team as a franchise, a money making investment, doesn't come through for years and years like with the Broncos, it's time to start at the top. Chip away the old paint and sand it all down nice and smooth. All to begin anew. A new coat of blue and orange trim!!!

Of course now the specualtions begin. Mr. Bowlen needs to find the right shade of Bronco Blue and Orange Crush Orange. I'm thinking Elway as the top coat of paint? Maybe even sand off some of the other smaller chips on the sideline....replace the Orange Crush Orange with ummmmmmmmm.....[my very favorite] - good ol' number 87?!!!! Offensive coach/coordinator could perhaps be ----you guessed it. McCaffery? Ya, Bowlen, go for the winning historical figures if you can get 'em. I know, I know. Anni, it's just a pipe dream. But, hey...I can dream.

Either case I think, unlike the Coloradoans, that he did a good thing. Shanahan needed to go. Now make sure you just pick out the right brand of paint and get the most professional painters that will repaint the house that Elway built!!! [Yes, I know it's now a new place --Invesco Field instead of Mile High Stadium. :o( ]

photo courtesy of Y*hoo News

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