A Confession....

On That-Forum-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named, I once confessed to this vision of a dream-date.



And here, courtesy of Glenn, we see this advice for those who believe men want princesses.

Give us Sarah Connor in a black cocktail dress pumping a shotgun any day.

Amen, Brother. Amen.

Passing Fancy.....

Its been some time since I seriously posted stuff here, and I have to admit to a summertime fling.

I am reading a book.

No. That's not right.

I am reading a novel.

A thousand page (of fairly small print) novel.

Atlas Shrugged.



As has been my habit for many years now, when I find a book I enjoy, I often make notes in the last few pages of interesting parts of the book, and I've been tempted to copy Kevin and post Quotes of the Day. Maybe I'll get caught up and organized and get this done.

Does anybody remember how many times....

...We heard Al Gore use the term "lockbox"?

I'm beginning to get the same feeling every time I hear some wonk or O-bot say "bend the curve".

Pastor Manning and...

...The Long Legged Mack Daddy.




h/t Gerard's Sidelights.

Random Thought #739....

Took a walk with my copilot this evening past the United Nations building in Manhattan, and I wondered:

How different would this world be today if one of those planes had been aimed at the U.N. building?

52% of America thought....

Joe Biden was a smarter VP pick than Sarah Palin. Amazing. They mocked her as "Caribou Barbie".

“We’re going to go bankrupt as a nation,” Biden said.

“Now, people when I say that look at me and say, ‘What are you talking about, Joe? You’re telling me we have to go spend money to keep from going bankrupt?’” Biden said. “The answer is yes, that's what I’m telling you.”

Biden is a certifiable, friggin' idiot. Zero is an even bigger idiot for picking him as his Veep. If they had any honor, the 52% of America that voted for the Zero/Biden ticket ought to be pushing for an impeachment, if for no other reason than to regain their integrity.

Told ya' so.

Don't these people know we're in economic trouble here?

I'm out on a trip and on a layover. Today, I'm downtown in Atlanta.

And what do I see as I returned from dinner?

The hotel is hosting a convention from the United Federation of Doll Clubs, Inc.

There are a number of folks here, primarily middle-aged women, who apparently have not grown out of playing with dolls.

The idea that some of these folks would come together to form a club so they can talk about and show their dolls is odd enough. But, moreover, that these clubs would feel the need to band together to form a Federation just boggles the mind.

This country is in the deepest economic trouble in decades, and these people are playing with dolls.

A Tale of Two Tails....

From ABC


h/t Ace.

Not for nothing, but Zero is doing something that every male does (and especially Sarkozy). The problem here is not that he looked at an attractive young woman, but that he got caught. ABC ought to be ashamed of the lengths they go to explain what is plainly a glance at the young woman.

Moreover, Michelle Obama gets far too much credit for her looks. The left and the media (but I repeat myself) still fawn over Jackie Kennedy, and Michelle Obama is their current incarnation of her. You would think that someone on her staff would know a way to diplomaticly ask The Most Beautiful Woman Evar if she really wanted to be in a position to be photographed wearing this ensemble....



Also, Michelle, famous as she is for her own Arms Race, appears to be putting on weight. Perhaps Zero is noticing too.

OK. So I went to a Tea Party yesterday.....

There were two Tea Parties in the Phoenix area yesterday: One, which included a half mile "protest march" at 4:30 in the afternoon in downtown Phoenix, and the other, at 8:30am on the lawn of the Municipal Building in nearby Gilbert. Guess which one I went to?

Some observations, in no particular order.....

• It's hard to tell, and I'm certainly no expert, but I'm guessing there were a couple of thousand people in attendance.
• The media were there too. Channel 3 and Channel 12 had TV trucks there, and I have to imagine the print media was there too, but I'll be damned if I can find a mention of it at azcentral.com.
  
  [Edit: At one point, I had an embeded video here from one of the local news outfits. I have removed it though, because it was one of those videos that starts on its own, and every time you opened this webpage, the damned thing would play. I've decided I hate that.]
• Some thoughts on crowd composition...... It was almost exclusively, at least to my eyes, white. This will lead the real racists of the world to again shout "Racism!", but it is really more of a racial, rather than racism point.
  
  A white crowd is both good and bad. But first, a caveat: This is the East Valley we're talking about here. The Phoenix metro area has a black population, but compared to other areas, it is relatively small. We do have a hispanic population, but neither were represented at the rally. On the all-white crowd I saw, the good: That mainstream middle-class Americans--the Silent Majority--are inspired to take to the streets is an expression of the frustration this otherwise sedentary group. The bad: Having a broader appeal is necessary. That the liberals and the Democrats have succeeded in dishing deals to their constituent groups is a problem this movement needs to address.
  
  The crowd was also largely composed of middle-aged (and older) folks. This too has a good and bad view. Older folks are more reliable voters, and the politicians know this. But it would be better to have a coalition (Hey! A Lefty word!) across the age groups.
  
  I wasn't thrilled with some of the groups that were there. The NRA had a table there, which I obviously don't mind, and there were a scattering of "Sign My Petition" tables and folks selling t-shirts, etc. But there was also a group there who are pissed off about the speed cameras (which, as I understand it, issues fines but not points), and the John Birch Society. When a fringe movement has its own fringe elements, it is easy to paint the whole thing as nutty.
• Taxes are a high interest item. Given that this was Gilbert, there was more than a little discussion of a Gilbert (sales?) tax under consideration. The politicians had better know that more taxes are going to be a difficult sell. There were many signs opposed to Cap and Trade.
  
• The message the Republican party ought to be listening to is this: The conservative segment is done watching you compromise with the liberals. The support we gave to the big government "compassionate conservatives" is over. Sen. McCain was boo-ed (no surprise there), and Rep. Flake--who is otherwise a very fiscally prudent representative--was damaged by missing the vote on Cap and Trade. By design, no elected representatives, at any level, were invited to speak.
• Lots of folks made homemade signs--there was even a table set up for you to do it there. My favorite: "Chains You Can Believe In" (I don't mean to imply this was taken at the Gilbert rally....I got if off the web.)

I never was much of a Republican. I left the party back in the 90's when George H.W. Bush reneged on his "No New Taxes" pledge and began the Assault Weapons Ban bandwagon rolling. I voted for Ross Perot, and for my sins, we ended up with Bill Clinton. I only re-entered the party last year in order to vote for Fred Thompson in the Republican primary. But I'm pretty well convinced that I'll be leaving the Republicans again. I understand that the political parties have a stranglehold on things, but I'm hopeful that a third way can find success. I'll explore the Constitution Party, but will probably re-register as a Libertarian.

Somehow you had to know this was coming.....

Mrs. Obama bringing glamor to Moscow this weekend

This Independence Day weekend, if you hadn't noticed.

Sarah Palin's Resignation....

Back when John McCain picked Sarah Palin as his running mate, I thought: "Perfect. Someone who is a real conservative--not some 'Maverick'--and who actually lives her principles." Then, when McCain suspended his campaign over the economic crisis, I thought that it was over (and I think I commented somewhere to that effect.).

[As a digression, and on later reflection, based on this very open and compelling video, maybe suspending the campaign was prudent. Note the timeline here...the run on the bank Kanjorski speaks of happened Sept. 15, and McCain suspended his campaign Sept. 24.]


Anyway, I remember thinking that when McCain pulled that stunt, prudent or not, that he was done.

Regarding Palin's future, I was really pumped when the NRA announced it was honoring Palin with a specially made .50Beowolf M4. I thought: "That's it. She's running, and she's running as an in-your-face conservative." However, after she demurred from attending, I then thought "OK. Maybe that's a smart move. Why make half of America suspicious of you?"

So anyway, today, when Palin announced her resignation, I had that same sort of feeling that I had when McCain suspended his campaign. Maybe she's just trying to put an end to these ceaseless and baseless attacks on her and her family. For that reason alone, I can understand the resignation. But as a political move, I'm not so sure. Maybe this is a totally out-of-the-box approach that she'll find that this will work for her--I certainly hope so. But she may have shot herself in the foot here too.

Exactly the healthcare we don't need.....

IBD: Where will Canada send its preemies and other critical patients when we adopt their health care system?

h/t Kevin.

Guess who?

....Neal is on his Soapbox over?

"....This man has no idea of what it means to be an American. He cares nothing for the principles which made this country what it is. He shows no respect for the sacrifices made by our servicemen in the defense of our freedoms and liberty. And he cares less than spit about the document that he swore an oath to uphold...."

OK. Its not that hard.

h/t Theo.

On The Occasional Perks of a Bad Schedule

I don't often write about my work life. If done well--or at least as I define "well"--being an airline pilot is boring and lonely. I like the work, but am tired of the travel, if that makes any sense. If I ever find myself making a call to my wife to tell her about my exciting day at work, it will be the last thing either one of us wants. And because she is my best friend, not seeing her half the month brings a sense of aloneness.

The system by which we bid our schedules was changed recently. "Change" may be too harsh a verb..."tweak" might be better. I had had my bidding strategy pretty much on "automatic pilot" month-to-month, and have gotten used to a schedule which fits my needs. I haven't put the time to understand these new tweaks well enough to make use of their strengths...maybe next month. Anyway, this new change/tweak, in combination with the regular seasonal variations of an airline schedule (summers are always busier than winters) and the industry trying to react to a declining economy has left me with lesser quality schedules than I have been used to. I'm not complaining, mind you, just noting that things aren't as good as they once were.

Anyway, this month has been especially taxing. I have a flying schedule of 16 days...which is about normal. On top of that, however, I was away for 4 days for our annual recurrent training. I spent the two days immediately preceding that recurrent in a financial seminar. (And I finally came to understand the material well enough to think that I am done going to these seminars. Now to translate that knowledge into my trading accounts!) And rather than go home after recurrent, I spend the Father's Day weekend with my ailing father for what I believe may be his last Father's Day. Immediately following that, I launched off on another trip.

All told, I have been able to be home 6 days this month. Wifeof- and Sonof- and Dau#2ofAzlib have been wonderful for me. The chores I normally take care of--the yardwork, the pool care, the ironing--have been taken care of by my family. If you're a reader who works 5 days a week and has 8 or 9 days of "weekend" a month, then 6 days may not sound like much, but my life is structured on 14-16 days off each month. Six days of down time hasn't been enough.

And because I'm not bidding well, the trips I've flown this month aren't particularly great either. By that I mean I am flying all-night trips. Some guys totally hate this type of trip, but I'm not one of them (yet). We have a "Quiet Room" where I am based, and I've found that if I can spend an hour or two in a recliner in a dark room with my earplugs in, then I can function for an all-night flight. Its not easy: That nap is crucial, and I have to drink coffee, and plan to eat and stand up to get my blood flowing in order to stay awake, but it is "do-able". I've had three of these all-night trips this month which have had me leaving my west coast base some time between 10pm and midnight and arriving in New York between 5:30am and 8am.

Anyway, last night we found ourselves watching the sun rise in the last hour of our flight. I'm not much of an astronomer, but I have flown enough at night to recognize some of the bigger constellations, as well as Venus and Mars. But last night, right before sunrise, and as we were over western New York, we were able to see what we took was the International Space Station. You can track it here.

A busy month half-full of crappy trips does have it's opportunity for a perk.

Count me as more than a.....

Little pissed off.

My congressman, Jeff Flake, missed the vote on the Waxman-Markey Cap and Trade bill.

Not that it matters, as the bill passed 219-212, so his vote would have made it 219-213.

But.....

I took the effort to call his Arizona office this morning to speak out on this issue. The woman who took my call was receptive, but as is usually the case, she didn't offer anything back.

And tonight I found out the reason: Flake was watching his daughter compete in the America's Junior Miss competition.

Don't get me wrong: I really, really like Jeff Flake. Everybody likes their congressman, but I don't just like him because he represents me. He has been one of the best guys around for quite some time.

[A personal point: Flake lives in my neighborhood. This daughter is a senior at the high school that my three kids attended. I see him at our neighborhood gym. And Flake selected a drawing my oldest daughter did when she was a high school senior for the Congressional Art Competition. Her drawing hung in Congress for a year, and it was a high honor for both her and our family.]

I'll give the guy his due....family is important, and I have no doubt that this Junior Miss is a big deal. Being there for his daughter is something any father would want to do.

But this Cap and Trade bill is important for all of us--his daughter included. It will crush our economy in a misdirected aim of saving our environment. There are too many loopholes to be effective as a environmental tool, making the whole thing a stupid exercise.

Flake is still a good guy, but he should have voted. Even given that the bill apparently has a slim chance in the Senate, he should have found a way to be there for the vote. I'm going to remember this.

"Stop spending our future"....

Ummm, Yep. Can't argue with one word.




h/t Sine Nominee, seen via Glenn, so he doesn't need my traffic.

Hard hats and tie tacs.....

I guess there are occasions where a hard hat is seen with a tie tac...an architect visiting a work site perhaps...but they usually don't have much in common.

However, on a visit through Drudge's site, I saw this story on some hard hats distributed by the AFL-CIO on Capital Hill to make some pro-union point. The problem being: the hard hats are made in China. The union tried to excuse this with....

"Obviously our policy is to only use union vendors and it was a mistake by a new staffer who ordered them and unfortunately wasn't caught before they went out."

[Hmmmm. "New staffer". That has a familiar ring.]

So how the connection to tie tacs?

As you can see from the upper left, I am an airline pilot. With that, I am also a union member....in my case, the Air Line Pilots Association.

And for an airline pilot union member, wearing a union tie tac is important to many of us. For those who don't know, in the build up to a contract, a great deal is made of solidarity among the union, and getting everyone to wear the tie tac is one of the favored methods of measuring and demonstrating that solidarity.

The ALPA tie tac comes with numbers denoting the number of years you have been a member. 5, 10, 15, 20, etc.

I may have written about this long ago....if I did, I didn't tag it, so its back in the archives somewhere. Anyway, when I went through 20 years, the union sent me a nice note with my new 20 year pin.

And here it is.....


Click the image for a larger view.

I wrote the union making the same "You've-got-to-be-kidding-me...sending-me-a-union-pin-made-in-China" complaint and got pretty much the same response--Mistakes are made.

I hope you can see why I don't--and won't--wear my union pin any longer.

Ok....here's the thing.......

Like everybody else in the world, I've got a couple of gay acquaintances, and even a distant relative who is a lesbian.

That said, I'm as straight as the day is long. Not a gay bone in my body. [Awright, awright... I'll dispense with the double entrendes.]

But if ever I was to have a man-crush, it would have to be with this guy.



And yeah, it turns out to be a pitch for somebody, and I'm real close to becoming a gold bug myself, but the rant is beautiful, man. Beautiful.

h/t Gerard.

Good Gawd.....

I had one of these as a kid.

Yep. That was one fine Christmas, I'll tell you.

At one point, I also had a toy meant to be a version of one of these.....



No wonder I'm a bit twisted (like the barrel of a rifle. I keed! I keed!)and have a gun-safe full of metal.

However, those were the days when boys did not play with dolls, so for as macho as they were, Dad didn't allow my brother and I have any G.I. Joes. They were little more than Barbies, and I think I have to agree. It is better to emulate adult life with toys than to imagine toys playing with other toys....if that makes any sense.

I guess that today's video game generation makes that point even more pointedly....what with middle and high schools using the Wii platform in their gym classes, we have accepted the idea that we can simulate doing something as well as actually doing it. I mean what's better: Handing a kid a tennis racket and a ball, or handing him a video controller so he can simulate playing tennis?

Anyhoo, this trip down memory lane is all thanks to a small item I saw at DirectorBlue having been pointed there by Gerard.

A(nother) random thought....

On my way back from grabbing my lunch today, this picture popped into mind. Lots of folks on the intertubes and the blogododecahedron were talking about it the other day. Glenn got it from Drudge. Ann ran a caption contest. Pretty much everybody spoke about it. I dunno know why it came to mind today. It just did.

Now, I'm on long record here has being less-than-impressed with Michelle Obama. She strikes me, more than anything, as an angry woman. I've felt that way all the way back to her days of "not being proud of her country", and her admonishment that "Barack Obama will require you to work." The extravagant inauguration ceremonies--which cost far more than the previous record did--and last week's "date night" to NYC strike me as things that Michelle had her hand in.



I get many of my viewers here through images searches for Michelle Obama wearing what I call her "Black Widow" dress. [The image I used stole for that purpose is now gone into the internet black hole, but you get the idea.]

I wondered then, and still wonder: Why would she wear this dress? Especially after we had previously asked: "What's So Scary About Michelle Obama?"

Anyhoo, what popped into mind today was the flash that there is a bit of history between Carla Bruni (wife of French President Nicholas Sarkozy) and Michelle Obama.

"...Carla Bruni will stay away from the summit, preferring to meet Michelle Obama in Strasbourg. The Élysée Palace told The Times that Ms Bruni would not be among the 16 spouses who will accompany their partners to London for events hosted by Sarah Brown and a reception at Buckingham Palace.

Instead the first ladies of the United States and France will meet at a European summit on Saturday, in what inevitably will be seen as a snub to London...."

Lots of readings of the meanings behind the fashion and body language here, here and here.

I'm thinking that that look--like her "not proud" comment and her belief that Barack will drive us from our cynicism,--reveals more about the inner Michelle than she would like us to know.