Memorial Day

Remember them.

LT John Finn, USN (Ret)

"For extraordinary heroism, distinguished service, and devotion above and beyond the call of duty. During the first attack by Japanese airplanes on the Naval Air Station, Kaneohe Bay, on 7 December 1941, Lt. Finn promptly secured and manned a .50-caliber machinegun mounted on an instruction stand in a completely exposed section of the parking ramp, which was under heavy enemy machinegun strafing fire.

Although painfully wounded many times, he continued to man this gun and to return the enemy's fire vigorously and with telling effect throughout the enemy strafing and bombing attacks and with complete disregard for his own personal safety. It was only by specific orders that he was persuaded to leave his post to seek medical attention.

Following first aid treatment, although obviously suffering much pain and moving with great difficulty, he returned to the squadron area and actively supervised the rearming of returning planes. His extraordinary heroism and conduct in this action were in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service."

July 23, 1909 - May 27, 2010

Exactly

From commenter David Gillies at AoSHQ:

"What most people don't realize is the chasm over which most of the world's economies are poised. You can mug the productive cohort of your society for 30%, 40% tops to pay for your elderly and your indolent and your sick but as soon as you get beyond that they go on strike, and since welfare states are Ponzi schemes, the train hits the buffers a lot sooner than pseudo-intellectuals like Paul Krugman are willing to admit. If no one paid tax on Friday, social security would be bust on Monday. There is no lock-box. It's not social insurance: it's holding up Peter at knife-point in an alley to get a fix from Paul. And the cops are on the take."

But politicians like to call it a "pay as you go" system so they don't have to utter the dreaded (and completely correct) phrase "Ponzi scheme." Of course, they still insist that paying income tax is voluntary as well.

Democrat Dictionary

Disgraced former Congressman Eric Massa seems to have some problems with words he is using. I do not think they mean what he thinks they mean.

Said Massa: "General David Petraeus, a commander with soldiers deployed in two theaters of war, has had multiple meetings with Dick Cheney, the former vice-president of the United States, to discuss Petraeus's candidacy for the Republican nomination for the presidency. And in fact, that's more than a constitutional crisis. That's treason."

I don't know what's worse, that this jackass doesn't know the definition of treason, that he doesn't know what constitutes a constitutional crisis, or that he was ever allowed to be a Congresscritter.

I'm no lawyer, but it doesn't look like anything even illegal was taking place here. Maybe I'm using the wrong dictionary.

HT: Ace

Little Damn Replica

Coming soon to a lucky blogger near you!

Get yours here, from these guys.

Shiny!

(Of course, if you have the coin, you could get one of these instead.)

Support Network

I've gotten some calls in the last week or so from folks that I haven't heard from in a while. Nothing serious, you understand, just life getting in the way. Among the callers were my two sisters who are both RNs.

The callers wanted to offer well wishes and support for the wife. I don't know if they all read my scratchings here (I know at least one checks in from time to time), but I can't help but wonder if a recent posting prompted some of the calls.

At any rate, I do what I have to do. Thanks for the encouraging words, it means more than you know.

ER Blues

Tuesday the wife had another biopsy, the results of this one will be used to more closely tailor a treatment routine. It's finally happening, it just needs to happen quicker. She hasn't had a treatment in over 2 months.

(To start the day off right, I pulled the latch to check the oil in the car and the cable broke. One more thing to fix on TDP (That Damn Pontiac).)

Wednesday we went to the ER, same issues with the nausea and vomiting. The day shift staff there was not much help, the doctor locked on like a laser beam to the fact that she was short of breath (pain will do that to you) and decided he needed to determine that the biopsy had caused blood clots in the lungs which was causing the shortness of breath.

I tried to tell him that the problem was nausea, meaning she couldn't keep her pain meds down, which means she was in pain and couldn't catch her breath. Obviously since he was so much smarter than me he ignored everything I said. We left against medical advice, not that it was doing any good anyway.

(Note to people holding PhD's in medicine: you might be the greatest physician since Hippocrates, but if you have no bedside manner you aren't a doctor. God gave you two ears and one mouth for a reason. Also, people not in pain are much more reasonable than people in pain.)

Tonight she's back in the ER, but the night shift understands what the basic problem is (having seen her several times for the same thing). She's resting comfortably now with an IV to replace fluids and meds for the nausea and pain. Next week we go back to Rocky Mount, and hopefully a plan of treatment.

I just wish they could do something for the frequent bouts of nausea.

Hail To The Chief

This is why you should regularly check out Monster Hunter Nation on the sidebar.

Nero Fiddles

Today I asked my co-workers, "Did anyone know that Nashville is flooded?"

They didn't.

FEMA slow to respond, Bush blamed...

Temporary Bouts of Sanity

This morning I was discussing the work schedule with one of my co-workers and I mentioned that I won't be at work Monday night because Tuesday we have to go to Rocky Mount to have the mass removed from her chest wall.

He asked me how it was that I wasn't insane. I replied, "How do you know that I am?"

I wasn't joking. It's like a nightmare I can't wake up from.

1	The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2	He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3	He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4	Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5	Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6	Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Celebutards

Someone please tell Tonya Harding that no, a train cannot stop for a truck on the railroad crossing. It can't even slow down so that you would notice. It's called physics, and it's the reason there are laws against vehicles stopping across the railroad tracks, and none saying the train has to yield the right-of-way.

In fact, that path that the rails follow? Yeah, it's called a right-of-way, and it always belongs to a train. Funny thing about it is, the right-of-way doesn't move. That means you always know where it is, so you can always stay out of it.

I know, it's just a dumb-ass show, but part of the humor is with these celebutards showing just how moronic the people in the videos are. It's not as funny when the celebutards are just as stupid as the subjects. It just somehow detracts from the whole experience.

Karma

Last year Eldest Daughter got put through the legal wringer when a drop she made after hours at the bank came up missing.

After the dust had cleared, so was she. The investigation was bungled from the start, the authorities were not called in until three weeks after the event at which time the bank's tapes had been recorded over and the "investigators" were more interested in wrangling a confession from her than they were in finding out what had happened.

My thoughts are that there was some sort of clerical error (the money got credited to the wrong account, for instance) but later I found out that one of the bank managers had disappeared under mysterious circumstances (no foul play, but one day they were just gone). This was not the first time the company had had problems with this bank, either, but for some reason they stay there.

At the insistence of one of the managers her employment was terminated, so she took that time to go back to school. Like so many in this economy she hasn't been able to find another job, and had to put out money to the courts to get her good name cleared.

Last week that manager was taken into Federal custody for embezzlement and faces state charges for larceny for stealing lottery tickets and cash from her employer. The same employer, by the way. Her actions were all captured on hidden cameras, so there is no doubt.

Mama tried to raise me right and told me not take pleasure at the misfortunes of others, but I can't help but find a great deal of humor in this particular ironic case.

The Hits Keep Rolling

I'm over 10,000 hits now, and they are coming from such interesting places as the National Center for Atmospheric Research and the Bureau of Land Management in Utah.

I'm not quite sure what to think about that. It's not just one hit from either, and going by the Sitemeter stats it wasn't some sort of web search that lead either of them here.

I have quite a few that seemingly check in on their own and a lot of hits from various web searches with the term "last refuge of a scoundrel" in them. Occasionally someone will even leave a comment. (Feel free to do so, but keep in mind the comments are moderated. Spam and jackassery will not be approved.)

Anyway, welcome to my little corner of the net to all who enter here, take a look around and come back if you like what you see.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to Moms everywhere.

With Bells On

I have been riding (legally) since I was fourteen and have owned the Harley for over twenty years now, but I had never heard this story.

One of my co-workers bought himself a V-Rod as a divorce present (incidentally, that's how I got my FXRS-Sp) and one of his friends bought him a bell to go on it.

The legend of the bell has it that evil road spirits (we in the aviation world call them "gremlins") cannot abide the sound of bells, get caught in the hallow (the bell-shaped part) where the constant ringing drives them crazy, fall out and cause potholes.

To maximize the effect, the bell must be given to you. If you buy your own, the magic is much diminished and may not work at all.

Here's a link to Crazy Eddie's where you can find the entire story.

And Then There Were Three

The third SEAL has now been found not guilty.

Humble Pie

On one of the email lists that I am on we have a guy that will get his head wrapped around a single issue, or sometimes a detail about a single issue, and worry it to death.

I got rather short with one of my replies to him and then found out that he suffers from Autistic Spectrum Disorder which is why he focuses on single things like he does.

Of course this made me feel like a heel and prompted an apology, which he seemed to take without any problems. Sometimes a recalibration to the patience setting is needed, and I guess that was a pretty effective way of letting me know it was due.

It doesn't let anyone off the hook that suffers from simple stupidity, however, and the world is full of them.

Chain Mail

Perhaps you have seen this email, or one like it:

"Courage.
You're a 19 year old kid.
You're critically wounded and dying in the jungle somewhere in the Central Highlands of Viet Nam.
It's November 11, 1967.
LZ (landing zone) X-ray.
Your unit is outnumbered 8-1 and the enemy fire is so intense, from 100 yards away, that your CO (commanding officer) has ordered the MedEvac helicopters to stop coming in.
You're lying there, listening to the enemy machine guns and you know you're not getting out.
Your family is half way around the world, 12,000 miles away, and you'll never see them again.
As the world starts to fade in and out, you know this is the day.
Then - over the machine gun noise - you faintly hear that sound of a helicopter.
You look up to see a Huey coming in. But ... It doesn't seem real because no MedEvac markings are on it.
Captain Ed Freeman is coming in for you.
He's not MedEvac so it's not his job, but he heard the radio call and decided he's flying his Huey down into the machine gun fire anyway.
Even after the MedEvacs were ordered not to come. He's coming anyway.
And he drops it in and sits there in the machine gun fire, as they load 3 of you at a time on board.
Then he flies you up and out through the gunfire to the doctors and nurses and safety.
And, he kept coming back!! 13 more times!!
Until all the wounded were out. No one knew until the mission was over that the Captain had been hit 4 times in the legs and left arm.
He took 29 of you and your buddies out that day. Some would not have made it without the Captain and his Huey.
Medal of Honor Recipient, Captain Ed Freeman, United States Air Force,
died last Wednesday at the age of 70, in Boise, Idaho ..
May God Bless and Rest His Soul.
I bet you didn't hear about this
hero's passing, but we've sure seen a whole bunch about Michael
Jackson and Tiger Woods.
Medal of Honor Winner Captain Ed Freeman
Shame on the American media !!!
Now ... YOU pass this along to YOUR
mailing list. Honor this real American.
Please."

The problem with this is that MAJOR Ed Freeman, US Army (not Air Force, the USAF disdains helicopters) died in August 2008, long before Jocko Jackson died or Tiger Woods crashed his car.

Major Bruce Crandall and his wingman Captain Ed Freeman flew into that man-made hellhole not 13 times, but at least 21. They brought in ammunition and supplies, and not 29 but more than 70 wounded flew out on Captain Freeman's bird, many who may not have survived otherwise.

Fourteen of those missions, and 30 of those wounded, were flown after MedEvac helos refused to fly. (This is the source of the numbers in the email meme.) He was awarded the Medal of Honor by President George W. Bush in July 2001 for his heroic actions. The post office in his hometown of McLain, MS is named in his honor.

His story was told in the book "We Were Soldiers Once...and Young" by Joe Galloway and LtGen Harold Moore, and captured on film in the movie "We Were Soldiers" starring Mel Gibson as Harold Moore and Greg Kinnear as Major Bruce Crandall.

This email meme serves to downgrade the Major's accomplishments and at the same time uses his death in a manner that does not honor his memory. This one dies with me, it will not be forwarded (not that I forward many of them anyway).

If you see it, let it die with you as well.

Is It Is, Or Is It Ain't?

Last Saturday, May the first, someone built a device into a Pathfinder and parked it next to the Viacom building in New York, right off of Times Square.

Beltway Bob says it's an act of terror, but AG Holder refuses to call it terrorism.

Home Again, Home Again

Back just in time to go back to work.

The Mighty Rampage did well on it's outing, the intake vacuum problem seems to finally be fixed since the carburetor is no longer dripping at idle. It still needs to be adjusted, I haven't had the time to do that, so I still get a bit of bucking just before the transition (between single barrel and double barrel operation).

300+ dollars in parts ordered for the Pontiac. Eldest Son will be tearing it down and putting it back together over the weekend, hopefully it will be ready to go next Wednesday. It will be getting the head gasket, timing chain, and a lift motor in the passenger window replaced. That should take care of all of it's quirks (until the next one shows up). The quarterly bonus got paid out this payday, so it's going towards car repairs (the Rampage needs back tires as well).

The PET scan is complete and we met with the surgeon who is supposed to be taking care of the liver. He said something that interested me, he seems to be of the mind that if he is going in he might as well get everything, liver and lungs. I didn't know that was possible.

We are waiting for him to give us a call after he studies the PET scan results, and he was indicating that next week he will be ready to perform the procedure. He wants time to meet with the oncologist as well so they can get a plan worked up.

All in all it looks like this trip was fruitful and something will finally get moving with her treatments.