You've Got Questions, I've Got Answers

Or not?

2009-12-17T09:29:00.001-08:00

Trying to accomplish anything with your own site or blog on the net is difficult apparently. This will probably just sit here forever. I'm off to PT for my hip.....

2.5 years since my last post

2009-12-16T00:33:00.000-08:00

Well, it's still here anyway. I think the old email address I was using died and went somewhere into internet oblivion, so if anyone actually asked another question in the last 2.5 years (not likely), I sincerely apologize for not answering. And well, since PilotSpeak.net failed, my marriage failed, my hip failed, and I am essentially unemployed at the moment, I thought I'd log in again....and post something. You see, I just watched Julie and Julia with my girlfriend Jannette and it made me feel like I should still be doing THIS. Which, of course, is the reason I started the blog in the first place. I'm good at it.

And now I have the time to devote to it.

So, ask away, should you stumble upon my little blog. You can see some of the questions and answers from the posts in the first few months to see how I am at answering questions.

And heck, maybe a few people will actually start reading this.....

My actual email is on the About Me on the right and is waynewatts@comcast.net We'll just use that one for now.....

Wayne

PilotSpeak vs MySpace

2007-03-04T17:14:00.000-08:00

I hate MySpace, LOL! In essence, it's nothing but an easy way to have a user page and blog with some options, most of them annoying to anyone who visits the site. Half the pages I have seen there are barely readable and you are immediately bombarded with music the user has put on there. Usually music you don't like. It has also simply become a "showcase" for the "look at me, look at me" crowd. I do like the fact that bands have taken on myspace to showcase their talents. That's one good thing about it.

Part of the reason I thought of PilotSpeak.net was the fact that, obviously, people like having their own page and connecting with people. Unfortunately, they don't always care about the look or usefulness of their page. And even though MySpace is touted as a community, it's really not. It is an anomaly in the fact that it has succeeded on a global level for a site not geared toward a certain niche.

I designed PilotSpeak with the idea of a community centered around aviation. A real community that helps each other, shares ideas and information all centered around our jobs or love of aviation. To build an internet based community, I thought we needed more than just a webpage and a blog. We needed a site where we could use nearly everything we use the internet for, all in one place. A place on the internet to be, not just visit once in a while and see your new "look at me" photos.

That being said, let's compare PilotSpeak with MySpace.

	PilotSpeak	MySpace
Features
Personal Page w/ pics	Yes	Yes
Personal Blog	Yes	Yes
Photo Gallery	Yes	Yes
Connect with Friends	Yes	Yes
Professional Looking	Yes	No
Private Messaging System	Yes	No
Online Community Calendar	Yes	No
Community Forum	Yes	No
Polls & Surveys	Yes	No
Newsfeeds	Yes	No
Links to Interesting Sites	Yes	No
Classifieds Section	Yes	No
Job Listings	Yes	No
Travel Information	Yes	No
Online Chat Program	Yes	No
Military Transition Assistance	Yes	No
Web Based Email Address	Yes	No
In Your Face Bad Music	No	Yes
Net Worth	$1.97	$1,000,000,000,000

Hmmmm. Who would I rather be? Me or the guy who owns MySpace? Well, monetarily I would much rather be him! And good for him for being successful and creating something that millions of people like to use (even though for the life of me, I don't know why!).

But who would YOU rather be? A member of MySpace, or a member of PilotSpeak, even if you weren't really associated with aviation?

So there you go people. Join www.PilotSpeak.net and tell your friends. Get off MySpace! You'll be better off and hopefully someday I'll move over to that net worth category!

Wayne

My New Website is Almost Ready!

2007-02-23T00:01:00.000-08:00

Why haven't I posted here in a while? I have been spending all my free time working on my new website, PilotSpeak.net. It's a community portal website for Pilots, Aviation Professionals and Aviation Enthusiasts. Please, please, please go there and check it out. While it is mostly for the aviation world, anyone can join and have fun there. You can have your own web based email, calendar and PIM. You can have your own web page and connect with friends, chat online with members, participate in the forums, up and download pictures, etc. It is especially useful for travelers! You can use and participate in the forum and events calendar to help you decide what to do, where to stay and where to eat on your next trip. Everything there is FREE!

I sincerely hope you all will become members of my new website and that you like it there!

Thanks, Wayne

Happy Holidays!

2006-12-21T15:49:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone who stops by my little blog once in a while has a very happy holiday season.

Wayne

Gator Bait!

2006-12-14T14:11:00.000-08:00

All I Want for my Birthday is..........

2006-12-03T17:47:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow, December 4th is my birthday. All I want is a pair of tickets to the national championship game on January 8th in Glendale, AZ. That's all.

:(

Gators are in the National Championship Game!!!!

2006-12-03T17:35:00.000-08:00

WOOHOO! The voters did the right thing!! I feel bad for Michigan and maybe the powers that be will start the process of creating a playoff system for division 1A college football.

It's Great to be a Florida Gator!!!!!

A Great Day in College Football.....Well Maybe

2006-12-03T12:31:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I sat in front of the TV, remote in hand, and watched college football all day as usual. "Championship Saturday" lived up to the hype. Almost every game was exciting and close. I even stayed up until 12:30 am and watched the Hawaii vs Oregon State game. By the time it started however, I was already tired from all the excitement of the day.

Of course I am talking about my beloved Florida Gators beating Arkansas for the SEC championship while USC got beat by UCLA, opening the door for the Gators to play Ohio State in the national chamionship game..........or will they?

I have already posted about the BCS in my blog and what a bunch of money hungry crap that is. You can read about it HERE if you like, so I won't go into why it sucks or how to fix it.

However, again this year it has failed miserably and there is no clear number 2 team out there and now the voters must decide who plays OSU. It's between Michigan and Florida.

NCAA 1A college football is the only sport professionally or collegiate that doesn't have a playoff system, and without it, there is never a true champion. It is the biggest fallacy in sports. Money and greed are still more important than sportsmanship and letting the top teams decide their fate on the field. Shame on the NCAA and the university presidents for continuing to allow this to happen.

With the current and hosed up system, here is why Florida should go to the national championship game over Michigan. Numbers wise, there really is no choice.

Florida ----------------------------------- Michigan
12-1 --------------Record---------------- 11-1
4 ------Beat # of current top 25 teams----- 2
Yes --------conference champion---------- No
#1 -------schedule difficulty rank--------- #3

Take these into consideration as well: Florida is in the SEC, the consensus most difficult league to play in. Michigan already lost to OSU in the last game of the year for both teams and they are in the same conference.

Today at 8 pm EST, the bowl selection special will air on ESPN and we'll find out if at least the most deserving team, Florida, will play for the national chamionship or not.

The BCS SUCKS, either way.

I'm Building a New Website!

2006-11-30T12:38:00.000-08:00

A month ago, I had a great idea. This idea involves a new company with a friend of mine as a partner and a web site. My idea is coming to fruition! The company is registered, the name is purchased (**********.net), a year of web site hosting purchased, logo done, design criteria done and I hired a web site company to help with building the website and handle some of the more technically difficult requirements. My goal is to have the web site up and running in two months from now. It is costing me a LOT of money and time, but I think it will be worth it in the long run.

That's all I can say for now, but stay tuned and when it's up and running, I'll post all the details here!

By the way, if you or anyone you know are a pilot or work as a professional in the aviation business, you will definitely want to know about this!

Cheers, Kila

Happy Holidays

2006-11-30T12:15:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving last week and that your holiday season is merry and bright.

I went back to Waukegan a couple of weeks ago and finally got my T-2 check ride done. I am now one of about 9 people in the world with a T-2 type rating! Yeah! Ours will now be done in January sometime, barring any further delays.

Here I am landing in it:

Flew General Chuck Yeager around again a few weeks ago and got a signed P-51 Mustang model from him to boot.

Been flying tons as usual. I now have over 4700 hours. I have to renew my flight instructor certificate in December. The only time I have to do it is on my time off over the holidays, so that's when I'll get it done.

Been practicing piano as time permits. I am doing well I think, even though I am teaching myself. 4 1/2 more years to go! LOL!

Ace is doing great. Getting bigger and starting to fill out some. He's a very spoiled dog.

Larisa is still working at the Toyota dealership and selling lots of cars. She will be the top salesperson again this month. Congratulations to her!

Just for fun, here's me at the carrier in a T-45 Goshawk just before my very first carrier landing a LONG time ago! LOL! My roomate at the time took the photo.

Bought two new games that are really great! Medieval II Total War and Neverwinter Nights 2. Both are outstanding however NWN2 has a lot of bugs and needs to be patched. Either would make a good Christmas gift for someone you know if they like computer games.

That's all for now......... Kila

California Sucks, Part 8341B

2006-11-30T12:05:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone,

So, I get a notice in the mail from the city stating that they are very sorry, but there are/have been high levels of arsenic in our water. You know, the poisonous stuff that kills people? That's right, we've been drinking it! I have had an unusually high occurance of headaches of late, and now I think I know why! Isn't that great? Oh.......and they're "working on the problem"!

This last election saw measure M approved here, even though yours truly voted against it. Yep, our sales taxes just went up so the city could pay for 15 more policemen and 15 more fireman. What a crock of S*** that is. Like the extra cops are gonna actually DO something like prevent all the thefts, burglaries and crime in my neighborhood. Right. Bet you a million-gazillion dollars not ONE thing will change and not one statistic will improve.

I previously wrote about the traffic conditions on I-205 in this series. Well, they finally approved to widen I-205, albeit 10 years too late. Yeah! OMG! WHAT? They are only widening it by ONE LANE? OMG! You have GOT to be kidding me! How inane is that? You know what? That isn't gonna do a damn thing either! What a waste. It won't shed one minute off mine or anyone else's commute time. NOT ONE MINUTE. It needs to be widened by two lanes or it's just a waste of time and money. Like about 13 BILLION dollars wasted.

God, I cannot wait to get out of this hell hole.

Insurance Companies Suck

2006-10-29T11:17:00.000-08:00

Ok, I know I've mentioned this somewhere in my blog before but I'm gonna talk about it in detail now.

Let's start with auto insurance. I don't even know where to start.......I guess by saying this; I've been paying for it for about 28 years now. About $40,000 worth. I have used it ONCE in my life! For a $3000 fender bender a long time ago. I haven't even had a speeding ticket in over 10 years. And yet, even though I'm an impeccable driver, I am still required to have the insurance and pay insane rates. What about my other $37,000 I have given them? Why can't I just use that? Why can't I get back some of that money? What about earning interest on it? Why did my insurance rates go up almost 50% when I moved to the SF Bay Area? (Let me tell you: illegal aliens who drive here legally and don't have insurance that the rest of us have to pay for! We're force to have uninsured motorist coverage here because of the high number of uninsured drivers.)

Now, you the good driver make one mistake and have an accident. You've been paying insurance for 20 years with a perfect record. And yet, the insurance company will now INCREASE your premiums, and in some cases drop you altogether for this! Totally unfair to good, honest people. They can legally do this too. Why? Because they pay off politicians, that's why. Insurance companies are some of the most corrupt businesses around.

Another thing that kills me about the auto insurance companies is their advertising. Borderline false advertising everywhere.

Geico: (Little Gecko Dude) "My job is saving you money. I love my job."

Progressive: "15 minutes could save you thousands!"

Statefarm, Wachovia, Esurance.com and a hundred others.

I get at least a dozen letters in the mail each week from various companies all claiming they can save me money. I called or contacted every one of them folks and NOT ONE could save me a penny. NOT ONE! So the little Geico Gecko simply ISN'T doing his job at all.

Then you have your house and property insurance. Been paying for that for 26 years. NEVER used that. Some places you have to have fire hazard or flooding insurance with it. Worse, they won't even insure the poor folks who live in hurricane/earthquake areas anymore (against a disaster like that). Well, shouldn't insurance cover any kind of disaster? Isn't that what it's really for? And yet they can get away with not covering the only thing likely to cause you some loss? Does this make sense to anyone?

Then you have your PMI insurance which is another required insurance for a house you buy if you cannot put at least 20% of the value of the house as a down payment. Another way for banks and insurance companies to milk you for every dime.

Then you have your health insurance. About 20% of Americans can't even afford that! Hospitals and doctor's fees and charges are so outrageous, that the insurance companies then charge too much just for the insurance. And a lot of them won't cover the cost of fighting something serious, like cancer. Again, shouldn't it cover everything? I mean, you get screwed paying so much for insurance, then you get really sick, and the insurance won't cover it, so you get doubly screwed! Nice. A lot of doctor's fees are to cover THEIR insurance to protect them against frivolous lawsuits. (Here in this one paragraph shows why doctors, lawyers and insurance companies are in the top five on my hate list).

Then you have your life insurance. What a scam that is for the most part. You have term and whole life. Neither of which is any good. And don't let any financial advisor tell you otherwise. It's mostly crap, especially the whole life. The best you can do is just get term insurance for the bare minimum your family would need to get by on, just in case you pass away. And don't get any insurance on a non-working or far less money making spouse. My wife doesn't have life insurance for example, but I do. Have you heard some of the horror stories about people trying to get their money from these companies? Unbelievable. They will look at any excuse to not pay out! The premiums go up exponentially as you get older too. Once you have enough money saved for retirement, you should drop all life insurance at that point.

Then you got your airplane insurance. Now, this doesn't affect most of you, but let me tell you that aviation insurance companies RULE the aviation world. Since 9/11, aviation insurance has more than TRIPLED. Additionally, their requirements for covering, hiring and training pilots are ridiculous. They are far more restrictive than the FAA's own requirements and have absolutely no bearing on how skilled or good a pilot is. None whatsoever.

Let me tell you about our aviation insurance for work. To cover just the corporate plane that I fly, for one year, is much higher than the average household income of a family in the United States. Yet the chances of that plane, with me flying it, having some kind of accident is so remote it's almost immeasurable. On top of this, the insurance company (and it wouldn't matter which one it was) makes me go to some kind of yearly training for the plane. That would be fine, except the 3 day course, comprised of half systems review and half simulator training cost $11,300. That's OVER $500 an hour to be taught by a guy who may never have even flown my plane and knows LESS about it than me! And that doesn't include the flight to and from the training facility, hotel room, rental car and food! My boss went with me last time, so they got over $1000 an hour. So, to save the company money, I tried to get the insurance company to let me teach and train my boss each year (I am a certified flight instructor (CFI)) and let us hire another CFI to do my yearly training. I would supply them with a syllabus equal to or better than the one where we went, and we would do the training in our airplane which would be more practical and better for my boss. It would save a TON of money, time, inconvenience and be better overall training (I proved to them that it would be). You know what they said? NO! They actually got angry that I would even suggest such a thing. They also said, in so many words, that a CFI at one of those training centers is better than any other CFI, even if they haven't flown the airplane they are teaching! In other words, only their CFI's will do. The rest of us somehow aren't trustworthy or something, even though all CFI's live by a code of moral and ethical conduct. A person who isn't even a pilot can see through this ruse. Why do you think those training centers charge lawyer type fees for the training? Because the insurance companies make us go! They do because they can. And the insurance companies are in on it too. I guarantee it.

Think about how much you and I give away to insurance companies in our life. I don't know what the percentage is but it's quite a bit. And the only thing an honest, respectable person gets out of it is..........nothing. The insurance companies just get richer and richer..........

Would you like to start an insurance company with me? I tried. I saw how much money you could make in aviation. I figured on average, for every 10 planes you insured you would get $1,000,000 minus your business expenses (many big flight departments have that many planes alone!). And if you insured safe companies, you essentially just get to keep it! (I bet you more than 95% percent of all corporate flight departments have never had a plane crash) But the old adage "it takes money to make money" is never more true than here because you have to actually HAVE the money somewhere to cover the insurance costs in case one of their planes crashes into a Walmart one day. So if you have about $10,000,000 you can start an insurance company and make another $100,000,000 a year easily.

Anyone? Hello?

Oh well.

Feel free to post your comments on Insurance. I am sure I am not the only one who feels this way.

Pictures Taken With My New K790a Phone

2006-10-13T13:02:00.000-07:00

Here are some recent photos I took with my new cell phone:

Ace

Ace in his co-pilot seat NOT being very useful! LOL!

3 images from the King Air of a full moon at sunset

Here's the cockpit in front of the pilot (me) at night. Taken without a flash.

Have a great day!

Enquiring Minds Want To Know!

2006-10-02T12:58:00.000-07:00

Well, maybe 3 or 4 of them anyway! LOL!

Ok, so it's been two months since I have updated my blog. Guess how busy I have been?

I have had a TOTAL of 5 days off at home in that time. I was in three airshows and also spent nearly a week in Waukegan, IL training in the T-2 Buckeye to get my type rating in it. Our first one will be finished in Nov. sometime. I didn't actually get it as the plane broke down on my check ride so I'll have to go again to do that with the FAA examiner. That kinda sucked.

I went to my annual Flight Safety training in Long Beach, CA for 3 days.

And I flew a ton of flights for work as well. I now have over 4634 flight hours.

Ace got neutered and is all better now. He has grown quite a bit and is nearly 6 months old. He's still cute as hell!

I got a new cell phone last week. I got a Sony Ericsson K790a and I LOVE it! It takes 3.2 megapixel pictures so I don't need a digital camera.

The Gators are doing awesome so far in college football and are undefeated. It will be tough going undefeated in the SEC however and they have the toughest schedule in the country, playing Auburn, LSU and Georgia (all top ten ranked teams) this month alone. We still have Florida State at the end of the year as well.

I had to stop my piano lessons, which sucks, but I could only make one each of the last two months while still having to pay for the whole month. I did go buy a couple of self-teaching books and will continue to practice and learn on my own as my schedule permits. I am not progressing nearly as fast as I want, or could, because of my limited practice time, but I will not give up on it. I really want to get good at it!

Well, that's all for now. I will post some pictures next time.

Cheers, Wayne

Busy, Busy, Busy!

2006-08-09T11:11:00.002-07:00

Well, for 3 weeks I am either flying or away from home every single day. Not one day off at home. Ugh. I will be flying the Mustang in the Auburn, CA airshow this Saturday, then Sunday I leave to take the King Air in for maintenance. That's now being done in North Bend, OR and I will be there that week to supervise the maintenance. Then next Friday, I come back, hop in the warbirds again and fly up to Santa Rosa, CA for their airshow. That Sunday, we leave the airshow, hop in the King Air and fly to Long Beach, CA for my annual Flight Safety training. At the end of the training on Wed, I fly back to OR, and continue with the corporate flying! Whew!

Then I have ONE DAY OFF. And then another 2 weeks of non-stop work. The schedule is just really busy right now for some reason.

I was supposed to meet up with my {BdG} friends in Los Angeles on the 19th to go shooting and have a BBQ, but the Santa Rosa airshow screwed that up. That's one bad thing about my job; I often cannot do something that I want to do because of the flight schedule.

Ace celebrated his 4 month birthday yesterday. Last week I registered him with the AKC. You should see the names of some of his grandparents/great grandparents! Some of them are really funny. His mom is from Scotland and her whole line has some unique names! Ace's "official" name is Sir Wilbur "Ace" Wingman Watts. Haha!

I got some pictures from the last CAF formation clinic I attended in May, from a photographer who got to fly with us. Here are some of them:

That's me in the Mustang starting it up!

I missed my piano lesson yesterday because of late passengers. I wasn't too happy about that. I will try to make it up on Sunday before I leave on my flight that day. Then I won't get another one for over 2 weeks. I keep practicing when I can.

Have a great day everyone! (Send in a question if you have one!! ;) )

Kila

Hello World

2006-07-22T17:02:00.000-07:00

I know it's late for another post, but man I have been swamped. Work has been crazy busy. I had 19 flights the last 6 days and was gone the whole week.

My buddy Ace is doing great! He is getting much bigger and is very well trained. He amazes everyone he meets with his demeanor and obedience. Everyone thinks I sent him to a dog trainer! LMAO! Nope! Just me spending lots of time with him. He's better behaved than half the kids I see out in public. I still can't get him to play dead though! LOL! I'll keep trying.

I have kept up the piano lessons, but work has been bad lately and I haven't been able to practice much over the last 10 days. I missed my lesson last week, but hopefully will get one next Tuesday. It's tough working around my schedule. I'll practice a few hours today to help get caught up.

My boss got the T-2C Buckeye up to Santa Rosa last week and the wings are now attached and it's sitting on its gear. Here is a photo of it:

I have scheduled training to get re-qualified in the T-2C the second weekend in September in another guy's T-2 in Wisconsin. (I have 110 hours in them from when I was in the Navy) Our plane should be ready to test fly by the end of September and after I do that, I'll train my boss in it.

I have my annual Flight Safety training coming up in August for the King Air. I will also be in the Santa Rosa air show August 18-20, the weekend after my King Air training. I will be in the Chico air show on Sep 2nd.

It's so damn hot here, it's unbearable. 112F as I sit and write this. Everywhere I flew all week was like that. My A/C can't even GET to the temperature I want it to be in my house. It just stays on and PG&E laughs all the way to the bank. Bastards. Did you know there are nuclear power plants all over California JUST SITTING THERE DOING NOTHING? This state is unreal. And then they have the gall to say there's not enough power and charge us for NOT using the power plants! Insane.

Anyway, that's all for now! Smile everyone!

Another Week.......

2006-07-09T10:36:00.000-07:00

Not much new to report friends. Ace is growing up fast and is a joy to be around. He can now do all the things I've taught him and is fully house trained. I am trying to teach him to play dead which is proving difficult at best! He'll get it though. Today he went DOWN the stairs by himself for the first time! He could go up, but not down until today. I installed a doggy door to the back yard and he goes in and out by himself to go potty.

I hope everyone had a great July 4th holiday.

Piano lessons are going well and I practice a lot.

It's been awfully hot here which I hate. I need to move. PG&E just rapes us in electric bills in CA.

Anyway, here are some more pictures of Ace. Enjoy!

Advice: Relationships

2006-06-28T10:53:00.000-07:00

Well, after all this time I finally got another question! Here it is:

"Do you think that 2 people who at one time were in a relationship, can ever be 'just friends'? With no added weirdness or lingering feelings not associated with plain old friendship?"

Liana

East Coast

Dear Liana,

Thanks for being brave and asking a great question! I have personal experience with this one, so here's your answer:

In short, the answer is yes. There are, however, things to watch out for. First of all, it will ONLY work if BOTH parties have changed their "feelings meter" and want to remain just friends. If one has lingering feelings from the relationship, it won't work because those feelings will always get in the way and that person will always be wanting more. Second, there is a chance that, while both parties were well intentioned, one may get those old feelings back in the course of the friendship. It is something to watch out for and address as soon as it may happen. Lastly, while you and your ex may very well be only friends and that's working out fine, both your new significant others (when they come along) may very well have a problem with you being friends with an ex. While that in itself is wrong, some people will disagree with me here and if you are dating this insecure person, you are going to have a hard time convincing them that you're now "just friends". I have had that problem and it totally sucks.

If you remain friends with an ex boyfriend/girlfriend (not husband/wife), my advice for you concerning your new one is to not volunteer any irrelevant information. Just say you're friends and leave it at that. Don't lie of course. If they ask, then tell them the truth. Hopefully they will be mature enough to understand it. If not, I would get rid of them right then before it gets serious (do you really want a relationship with someone who already doesn't trust you?) as you may put yourself in a tough situation later of having to choose one or the other.

I hope that answers your question Liana and thanks again!

Wayne

Medford Air Show

2006-06-23T21:26:00.000-07:00

It's Friday night and I'm in Medford, OR for the air show here. I flew the Mustang up with Ace! It was his first ride in the Mustang and the first time he had to wear his Muttmuffs! Worked out pretty well as far as I can tell. I'll be here all weekend. I am flying each day for a P-51 Flight Demo and am also entered in the "World Championship Flour Bombing Competition"! LOL! We drop sacks of flour at the target!

I also got my first rifle this week! My uncle custom made it for me. It's a

270 Custom Rifle
New Barrel
Mauser 98, VZ24 Bolt action, custom fitted to the barrel and stock
New laminate stock has 18 coats of varnish!
4-16 X40 Scope

Here's a photo of it:

After setting the sights somewhat, here's my grouping at 100 yards:

I need to practice with it more and get the scope sighted better. Then I'll get that grouping tighter! I put 50 rounds through it on Wednesday and my arm's a bit sore! LOL!

Ace has traveled with me everywhere and he is doing great! He knows sit and stay and (almost) down. He is completely leash trained. Still not completely potty trained though. He's not bad, just has accidents once in a while. He had his second vet visit on Wednesday as well and he gained 1.2 pounds in 2 weeks.

Happy Father's Day!

2006-06-18T18:37:00.000-07:00

Well, it's Sunday night, Father's Day, and I just got home from flying all day. Good thing I'm not a dad yet, or I would have had to work on MY day! LOL! Just wanted to wish all you fathers out there a Happy Father's Day!

Does having a puppy make me a father now? LOL!

Ace Says.........

2006-06-17T18:03:00.000-07:00

GO GATORS!!!!!!!!!

Article

2006-06-17T17:53:00.000-07:00

Here's the article about me winning the AVTRIP jingle contest!

Flying VIdeo

2006-06-12T12:22:00.000-07:00

Here's a link to me giving my friend Deb a ride in the T-28, complete with music sung by yours truly! Enjoy!

The Singing Pilot

BTW, Ace is doing great but he's a little slow to learn not to go potty inside! LOL! Lots of work and less sleep than normal, but overall just fine! Piano lessons are going well. I'm starting to get the "feel" of the instrument itself and am able to annunciate better. Flying every day this week through the weekend!

Meet Ace!

2006-06-08T14:45:00.000-07:00

So my new puppy's name is Ace! Mostly in homage to his fighter pilot dad and in 3 days he already has 5 carpet kills! LOL! He's learning very quickly though and is already kennel trained. Not too bad on the leash and understands sit and stay although he doesn't want to do it all the time! We had 4 flights today and ended up in Seattle for the night. He did great in his kennel and didn't whine at all. Everyone who meets him just loves him! He's going to be a very good dog!

I ordered some "muttmuffs" for him to be used in the other planes which are much louder than the King Air. On June 23rd, he will accompany me in the Mustang to the Medford air show so he'll need them by then. Hopefully they will work to prevent his ears from hurting from the noise.

I received the Sketchup book and am slowly going through it on the computer. What a cool program!

Well, I have to get some work done. Cheers everyone!

Airshow Pictures!

2006-06-06T07:51:00.000-07:00

These are from the Beale AFB Airshow that I flew in last weekend. I'm flying lead in the Mustang.

Puppy Pictures!

2006-06-06T07:48:00.000-07:00

Here's my new puppy! Name TBD.

Names?

2006-05-31T17:36:00.000-07:00

Well dear readers, seems I AM getting my puppy now. My friends Nick and Deanne beseeched me to take a puppy so I made them a deal: if it doesn't work out, then they have to take the puppy back. They agreed so on Monday, June 5th, I will pick him up! Yesterday I spent close to $300 on pet supplies preparing for his arrival.

I have not come up with a good name yet, however. How about leaving me a comment with some ideas? It's a boy and I would like to think of something fitting that is aviation related as well.

I will post pictures of the little guy sometime next week.

All is set for the air show this weekend and I will also post some pictures of that next week as well.

Last weekend, I was able to give some of my {BdG} clan buddies a ride in the T-28. One of them had come from Utah for a conference in San Francisco so 3 of us NORCALer's got to meet him. I gave each of them a ride and then we all ate dinner together. It was a great day and the smiles on their faces was priceless! I was very happy to "make their day". My friend John is writing about it in his blog here: John's Blog

It's pretty funny but he isn't done with it yet, so stay tuned.................

I bought the fourth book in the series and am well into it. Had to buy it in hard-back.

Piano lessons are coming along and I am starting to get a real "feel" for it. I play more and more difficult songs each week but am still in the beginner's music. I really enjoy it! It's very challenging.

I had some comments from my posts from the same "anonymous" person, who didn't answer my replies. I hate that. Who are you Mr. (or Miss) anonymous mocker? Justify your rants! Reply to me! LOL!

Oh....I am designing a hangar for my boss that will hold all our current and future airplanes. I decided to use a program called SketchUp to do it with. It's really cool! I ordered the book for it and will get started on the project soon. I think my assistant at work is going to help me as well, especially with 3d modeling of the aircraft. If you have any aspirations of doing any 3d work or doing something like designing a house, check this program out. It has a free version that will suffice for most projects. I'll post my designs and the final project design as they are done.

Have a great day everyone!

Pictures and Updates

2006-05-23T21:53:00.000-07:00

Here are 3 pictures from the formation clinic over the weekend. The first 2 are of me in the T-28 and the last one is of my boss in the Mustang.

In other news, I am not getting my puppy now. I'm sad but I just don't have time over the Summer to train him and take care of him properly while he is growing up as I am too busy. I need to get one in the Fall I think when I have more time. We'll see.

Got a call from General Yeager today. Seems he had surgery on his hand and in unable to use it for a 4 to 6 weeks, so now he will be in my back seat in the Mustang for the air show. I'll fly and he'll wave and smile to the crowd! LOL! The Beale AFB air show is the first weekend in June.

Finished the 3rd book, A Storm of Swords, in the series I've been reading. I have to go find book #4 tomorrow. It's called A Feast for Crows.

Still playing Oblivion when I have time during the day. I have about 130 hours into the game so far. If you play games at all, you owe it to yourself to get this one. It's that good.

Later, Kila

Formation Flying

2006-05-20T22:23:00.000-07:00

I have spent this weekend at the Commemorative Air Force (CAF) formation clinic training other pilots in the art of flying in formation. This is the 4th year I have been here. I am a qualified lead fomation pilot and as an instructor pilot, as well as my experience, I teach the new guys how to safely fly formation in their planes. With a qualified wingman patch, you can fly formation in air shows. With a qualified lead patch, you can lead a flight in formation in air shows. We finish up tomorrow (Sunday) then it's right back to work on Monday. It's been fun and exhausting. I flew both the T-28 and the P-51 Mustang today.

In 2 weeks, I will fly with General Chuck Yeager again to the Beale AFB air show all weekend. Later in June I will be flying the Mustang in the Medford, OR air show. It's a busy time of year!

It's funny.......I have three ranks now! I am a Lieutenant (Retired) in the Navy, a Captain at work and a Colonel in the CAF! I bet the mail man is completely confused at all my mail! LOL!

I'll post some pictures of the formation flying soon when I get them.

Cheers!

Iris

2006-05-14T10:31:00.000-07:00

Today is Mother's Day and I wish all you mom's out there a happy and wonderful day. You deserve it!

My friend Debbie turned me on to another band last year that I really love, yet I just now got around to ordering their CD's. The name of the band is Iris and I love them too! This type of music is called Synthpop. If you like that kind of music, then you will LOVE this band! Now I am listening to two bands! LOL!

I saw Jerry Seinfeld in Vegas Friday night and he was hilarious! We stayed at Ceasar's Palace and had dinner there as well. Everything was nice, but that place is insanely expensive. Just to give you an idea, for an appetizer we had a plate of cold shrimp prior to the dinner. I saw the bill and EACH SHRIMP COST $6.00. That's right, 1 medium sized shrimp. I could go on, but you get the idea.

Haven't been able to play Oblivion this week but I think I'll be able to get a few hours in today. Love that game.

It now costs me over $50 to fill my 15 gallon tank up with gas while the oil companies keep making more and more profit throwing out more and more excuses.

Later,

Nothing New

2006-05-09T14:13:00.000-07:00

I have been negligent in my blogging duties but there really hasn't been much to write about. I have been engrossed in Oblivion (I have over 110 hours into it already), practicing the piano and reading "A Song of Ice and Fire". I finished the second book and am on the 3rd. Great stuff. I diligently practice the piano every day, yet it seems I cannot get better. Bleh. Of course, I want to play Mozart yesterday and have high standards for myself. I know I'll eventually get better.......

I am now listening ONLY to Within Temptation. I just love them. They are from The Netherlands which is one of my favorite places I have visited. I hope they come to the USA for a concert sometime. It would be incredible seeing them live.

The last 2 weeks I flew to Pontiac, MI; Peoira, IL; Denver, CO; Phoenix and Tucson, AZ and Eugene, OR. I was gone most of that time. I'll be in Las Vegas this weekend. Will see Jerry Seinfeld with the company execs there.

That's all for now. Illegal immigrants go home...........

Fantasy

2006-04-26T05:53:00.000-07:00

Sorry for not posting lately, but I've been busy!

It's strange how things come in doses. My mom recommended a fantasy book series by George R. R. Martin called "A Song of Ice and Fire". The first book is called "A Game of Thrones". I started reading it a few weeks ago and it's fantastic! An amazing story that you just can't put down. I'm half way into the second book already.

Then, two weeks ago I bought Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion for the PC. A fantasy RPG that is quite simply the best single player computer game I have ever played. It is truly amazing. I have about 65 hours of game time invessted in it and I'm not even 1/4 of the way through. It's beautiful, huge, highly customizable to your style of game play and oh so addicting!

Finally, I discovered a new band called "Within Temptation" whose music is, in my opinion, perfect for the fantasy genre. It's labeled "gothic" but that doesn't do it justice. It is absolutely beautiful music conjuring up images of forgotten realms, knights battling the undead in epic battles and celtic lore. The lead singer (a woman) has an angelic voice perfectly suited for the band's sound. I purchased all their CD's and highly recommend you give their music a try. Listen to "Angels". It's my favorite one thus far.

So, I guess I'm into fantasy stuff all of a sudden! LOL!

I'm still hammering away at the piano and practicing every day. Someday I'll get good at it!

Let's Go To Mexico!

2006-04-24T21:35:00.000-07:00

This is from a journalist/radio talk show guy. Need I say more? Not really! LOL!

I'm about to plan a little trip with my family and extended family, and
I would like to ask you to assist me. I'm going to walk across the
border from the U.S. into Mexico, and I need to make a few arrangements.
I know you can help with this.

I plan to skip all the legal stuff like visas, passports, immigration
quotas and laws. I'm sure they handle those things the same way you do
here.

So, would you mind telling your buddy, President Vicente Fox, that I'm
on my way over? Please let him know that I will be expecting the
following:

1. Free medical care for my entire family.
2. English-speaking government bureaucrats for all services I might
need, whether I use them or not.
3. All government forms need to be printed in English.
4. I want my kids to be taught by English-speaking teachers.
5. Schools need to include classes on American culture and history.
6. I want my kids to see the American flag flying on the top of the flag
pole at their school with the Mexican flag flying lower down.
7. Please plan to feed my kids at school for both breakfast and lunch.
8. I will need a local Mexican driver's license so I can get easy access
to government services.
9. I do not plan to have any car insurance, and I won't make any effort
to learn local traffic laws.
10. In case one of the Mexican police officers does not get the memo
from Pres. Fox to leave me alone, please be sure that all police
officers speak English.
11. I plan to fly the U.S. flag from my house top, put flag decals on my
car, and have a gigantic celebration on July 4th. I do not want any
complaints or negative comments from the locals.
12. I would also like to have a nice job without paying any taxes, and
don't enforce any labor laws or tax laws.
13. Please tell all the people in the country to be extremely nice and
never say a critical word about me, or about the strain I might place on
the economy.

I know this is an easy request because you already do all these things
for all the people who come to the U.S. from Mexico. I am sure that
Pres. Fox won't mind returning the favor if you ask him nicely.

However, if he gives you any trouble, just invite him to go quail
hunting with your V.P.

Thank you so much for your kind help.

Sincerely,

David M. Bresnahan

(Sorry for the formatting, it just turns up that way.)

Immigration

2006-04-18T16:59:00.000-07:00

Here's a story of an (American) airline captain who had to live in Mexico for his job. It's what he had to go through in order to live and work there. Enjoy. I don't even need to comment further! LOL!

You remember I spent five years working in Mexico.

I worked under a tourist Visa for three months and could legally renew it for three more months. After that you were working Illegally. I was technically illegal for three weeks waiting on the FM3 approval

During that six months our Mexican and US Attorneys were working to secure a permanent work visa called a FM3. It was in addition to my US passport that I had to show each time I entered and left the country. Barbara's was the same except hers did not permit her to work.

To apply for the FM3 I needed to submit the following notarized originals (not copies) of my:

1. Birth certificate for Barbara and I.

2. Marriage certificate.

3. High school transcripts and proof of graduation.

4. College transcripts for every college I attended and proof of graduation.

5. Two letters of recommendation from supervisors I had worked for at least one year.

6. A letter from The ST. Louis Chief of Police indication I had no arrest record in the US and no outstanding warrants and was "a citizen in good standing."

7. Finally; I had to write a letter about myself that clearly stated why there was no Mexican Citizen with my skills and why my skills were important to Mexico. We called it our "I am the greatest person on Earth" letter. It was fun to write.

All of the above were in English that had to be translated into Spanish and be certified as legal translations and our signatures notarized. It produced a folder about 1.5 inches thick with English on the left side and Spanish on the right.

Once they were completed Barbara and I spent about five hours accompanied by a Mexican Attorney touring Mexican Government office locations and being photographed and fingerprinted at least three times. At each location and we remember at least four locations we instructed on Mexican tax, labor, housing, and criminal law and that we were required to obey their laws or face the consequences. We could not protest any of the Governments actions or we would be committing a felony. We paid out four thousand dollars in fees and bribes to complete the process. When this was done we could legally bring in our household goods that were held by US customs in Loredo Texas. This meant we has rented furniture in Mexico while awaiting our goods. There were extensive fees involved here that the company paid.

We could not buy a home and were required to rent at very high rates and under contract and compliance with Mexican law.

We were required to get a Mexican drivers license. This was an amazing process. The company arranged for the Licensing agency to come to our Headquarters location with their photography and finger print equipment and the laminating machine. We showed our US license, were photographed and fingerprinted again and issued the license instantly after paying out a six dollar fee. We did not take a written or driving test and never received instructions on the rules of the road. Our only instruction was never give a policeman your license if stopped and asked. We were instructed to hold it against the inside window away from his grasp. If he got his hands on it you would have to pay ransom to get it back.

We then had to pay and file Mexican income tax annually using the number of our FM3 as our ID number. The companies Mexican accountants did this for us and we just signed what they prepared. I was about twenty legal size pages annually.

The FM 3 was good for three years and renewable for two more after paying more fees.

Leaving the country meant turning in the FM# and certifying we were leaving no debts behind and no outstanding legal affairs (warrants, tickets or liens) before our household goods were released to customs.

It was a real adventure and If any of our Senators or Congressman went through it once they would have a different attitude toward Mexico.

The Mexican Government uses its vast military and police forces to keep its citizens intimidated and compliant. They never protest at their White house or government offices but do protest daily in front of the United States Embassy. The US embassy looks like a strongly reinforced fortress and during most protests the Mexican Military surround the block with their men standing shoulder to shoulder in full riot gear to protect the Embassy. These protests are never shown on US or Mexican TV. There is a large public park across the street where they do their protesting. Anything can cause a protest such as proposed law changes in California or Texas.

Please feel free to share this with everyone who thinks we are being hard on illegal immigrants.

PIano Lessons and Other Things

2006-04-09T10:58:00.000-07:00

Well, I am now into my 3rd week of learning to play the piano. It is very challenging, to say the least.

After my first lesson, Damon gave me 4 easy pieces to learn. I learned them very quickly. There was very little RH (right hand) LH (left hand) playing at the same time. It was a lot of RH, then LH. I had to change my lesson from Monday to Thursday last week due to my work schedule, so I had my second lesson 3 days ago.

Now he gave me 3 pieces to learn by tomorrow that are all RH LH simultaneously and it is infinitely more difficult! LOL! It's frustrating because I can play the RH line (top line, treble clef) perfectly with my RH, and I can play the LH line (bottom line, bass clef) perfectly with my LH. But when I try to play them TOGETHER, my "brain to fingers work together doing different things at different times" function completely fails me! It's weird! I know exactly WHAT to do, understand it, yet I can't (to this point) make my fingers work seperately like that. AAAARRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!

Frustrating, but I will never give up! In five years, I am going to be a decent jazz pianist! Hah!

In other news, I bought a new game called The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion for the PC last week and I have to tell you that it is the most amazing game ever! It is a huge, living, breathing world that you become a part of. It is mostly open ended with a myriad of options on how to play depending on what you like. The graphics and gameplay are nothing short of amazing. I have spent nearly 20 hours in the game already (I have had 3 days off in a row!) and I have barely scratched the surface. I think it'll take a year to complete it, just joining ONE guild (faction) and completing all the quests, including the main quest. And there are 4 more guilds you can play! Highly recommended, especially if you like RPGs.

Lastly, my good friends Nick and Deanne Lamb up in Eugene, OR have a couple of Cavalier King Charles Spaniels and they are having puppies any day now. They already promised me one so soon I will have a dog again! These are so cute and lovable! Here's what they look like:

Cute huh?

I'll have to re-read The Art of Raising a Puppy (a great book) so I can get prepared for doing just that.

Now to think of a good name..............hmmmmmmmm?

NCAA Champions!!!!!

2006-04-04T19:20:00.000-07:00

The Gators did it!! They crushed UCLA in the championship game. Florida's first NCAA basketball championship.

It's great to be a Florida Gator!!

Now, if only the football team can do better next year! LOL!

B for Bullshit

2006-03-30T16:53:00.000-08:00

I just got home from watching the movie "V for Vendetta" and while it was entertaining, it left me fraught with anger that the producers turned it into nothing more than a bunch of mostly political hogwash. Well, I call bullshit.

"Blowing up buildings in itself will not cause change. Enough people believing in the ideals behind the devastation, will." That is the pretext of the movie and why the "terrorist", V, does what he does in the movie. It would be impossible for anyone seeing this movie not to conjure up visions of what happened in this country on 9/11 by radical Muslims. And the movie is saying it's ok! With the fascist government in place in the movie, perhaps it is. But not here and not any country where people are free. The movie even threw in a Koran that had to be hidden by one of the characters. Sympathetic to the plight of radical, terrorist Muslims are you? Shame on you. Voicing your opinion, voting, demonstrations and things of that nature are ok for change in a free society. Nothing more. The fact that they even imply otherwise is pathetic.

Maybe it wasn't so much sympathy for their plight as it was apathy for our government. In the movie it shows the people being watched and listened to all the time by the government spying on them. It was obviously a demonstration for all of us who watch, of what is to happen here in the United States as our government tries to defeat terrorists. It should be like most things; up to a point, it's ok. But it has to be monitored so that it doesn't get out of control. "Spying" on potential terrorists or any organization that may aid them is ok by me. If you have nothing to hide, then who cares? Don't think for a minute that every cell phone call, internet blog and internet web sites aren't scanned every single day by our government looking for certain words that will catch their attention. And yet that's ok. Because we still have freedom of speech unless you plan on killing people and our government knows that. You can bad mouth the president all you want; but threaten to blow up Los Angeles and they'll come looking for you.

There should be moderation in everything people. I'm not left or right. I'm in the middle. I even call myself a moderate. I'm not republican nor democrat (although I usually vote republican as it is usually the better option). Being right is far more important than being anything else or aligning yourself to a particular side that is blind to the others ideals.

An example of this is that the movie brings up the whole gay issue too. You are led to feel sorry for them as they are persecuted in the movie. Much like Hitler's persecution of the Jews. That's how they are treated in the movie. Which of course is completely wrong, but again the movie takes it to the extreme. I have written about gays before in my blog, but I'll mention some of it again. I have nothing against gay people. I believe that how you treat other people and your character itself are what's important. I would, and have on more than one occasion called a gay person a friend. What they do in private is none of my business. But gay people getting legally married within society is something completely different. Legal union is fine as long as the people vote for it (or not). It is not up to the government to decide. Marriage is not ok, and should never be an option. If you don't know WHY, then first read my earlier posts about it and then if you still don't get it, feel free to email me and I'll explain it to you in more detail.

Anyway, that's my moderate view. It just means treat everyone respectfully regardless of race, religion or creed. If you are nice to me, you can be certain that you will be treated in kind. And that's the right way to be.

The movie just goes WAY too far with this stuff and while it's not going to sway anyone's political or moral opinions, it does take away from the entertainment I paid for and that's BULLSHIT. Use another medium to get your viewpoints across. Not a movie I pay to see.

I need to go practice on my piano now.........have a nice day.

How 'Bout Them Gators?!!

2006-03-26T16:39:00.000-08:00

Wow! The Gators have continued to win and are now in the Final Four! YEAH!! They play so well as a team with no superstars, unselfishness and great teamwork. I like them to beat George Mason next Saturday, who ousted #1 seed UConn today. 50% of the Final Four are from the SEC and if LSU and FL both win, the final could be an all SEC final.

It's great to be a Florida Gator!

The Next Phase

2006-03-22T19:59:00.000-08:00

Well, I finally did it! My whole life I have wanted to play the piano. Couldn't afford lessons growing up and then I joined the Navy and it wasn't conducive to learning with going to sea, shcools, training and moving all the time. I would like to be in a band again but my job as a pilot prevents me from doing that as well. So, I decided to learn a new instrument (I play the saxophone and clarinet already). I wanted to learn either the guitar or the piano as I can sing with either. But the lure of the piano won me over.

I made a lot of calls yesterday and ended up with a guy named Damon Clay who lives in Tracy, about 15 miles from my home. He is obviously an excellent pianist and has been teaching for 10 years. Click on his name to learn more about him. He was the only one who was willing to be a bit flexible with my schedule, so I ended up choosing him.

I then ordered my first keyboard to practice with. It's a Yamaha DGX305 and it has a ton of cool features. It's in the mail and will arrive next week. Here's a picture of it:

I will buy a piano in the near future as well.

Anyway, my first lesson is on Monday! I am SO excited. I'll keep you posted every once in a while as to my progress. My goal is to be a very good player within 5 years.

Picture: Me and the Company Plane

2006-03-16T18:25:00.000-08:00

We finally got the new stickers on the company plane. Here's a picture of it!

Here's the Jingle I Submitted........

2006-03-14T11:22:00.000-08:00

In case you were wondering what it was, here is my submission for the AVTRIP jingle contest.

It's to the tune of "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'" by Nancy Sinatra. You can listen to the song here: Select These Boots Are Made for Walkin'

The words start at the beginning of the second verse.............

These Planes Are Made For Fuelin'

You've been flyin' where you shouldn't be flyin'
You think you know it all but confess
You've been fuelin where you shouldn't be fuelin'
'Cause AVFuel FBO's they are the best
Your plane was made for fuelin', and that's just what we'll do
So let us fuel your plane and get some savings bonds for you

You've been spendin' where you shouldn't be spendin'
A smart flyboy would simply pass the test
So join AVTrip and you can start your earnin'
'Cause AVTrip's program simply is the best
Your plane was made for fuelin', and that's just what we'll do
So let us fuel your plane and get some savings bonds for you

Are you ready pilots? Start fuelin'!

(Say during the last part: Log on to and join Avtrip.com to start earning points towards savings bonds with every fuel purchase.)

I Won the Jingle Contest!

2006-03-14T11:06:00.000-08:00

I just got a call from the AVTRIP/AVFUEL people and I won the nationwide jingle contest! I won a $50 savings bond and an Ipod Nano! WOOHOO! This is the second time I have won a jingle contest. The first was in 1997 in Jacksonville, FL. There was a contest on a local radio station called The Ape for a Christmas jingle about their morning show crew. I won $100 for that one!

The Gators won the SEC basketball chamionship by beating South Carolina on Sunday! This is the second year in a row they have won. They are seeded third in the Minnesota regional bracket for March Madness. Can't wait to watch the games!!

Here is a picture I thought was really cool. It was taken at the North Pole at sunset while the moon was rising on the horizon. Amazing photo!

eBay

2006-03-09T09:55:00.000-08:00

Back when eBay first started, it was not only a good idea, but it was well implemented and used by mostly honest individuals simply buying and selling stuff. It has since become a convoluted mess, used by many dishonest people. The stuff sold is mostly by online (sometimes eBay) stores vice individuals and the claims made by the sellers are ridiculous. Here's what I'm talking about:

I'm looking for a particular cell phone which I think I may want to buy. Being a prudent shopper, I first check online via price comparison engines (like Price Grabber, etc.) and see what I can get it for retail. Then, I go to places like eBay so I can get one cheaper than that. The following is the kind of crap I see on almost all the pages for this phone:

1. If it's an individual, you usually see some kind of "excuse" as to why they are selling the item. Like this one I read about this phone I want, that said, "I am selling this because my Aunt in England sent it to me as a gift not knowing I already had a cell phone. But I was so IMPRESSED (actually capitalized and colored for effect!) with the phone that I wanted to give all of you a chance to have it!" Right. Like everyone doesn't have a cell phone and your own family is too stupid to know that you do too. Who cares anyway? We don't care why you are selling it, but don't lie about it!

2. Everyone lies or exaggerates on the "retail" price of the item. Same ad as above and the guy states that the phone is "worth" $999.99! Yet you can buy one, brand new for about $550 online. So what an honest person should really do in their ad is say something to the effect that you can buy this phone new for ~ $550 online. Then, if it's used, they should keep the reserve price far below the new price. I saw "retail price" quotes anywhere from $799 to $1099, like nobody knows what the actual manufacturers suggested retail price is in the first place. And we all know that that information is completely useless anyway. This guy was also throwing in a used digital camera "worth $350", he said. Now this is an outright lie because I looked that camera up and you can get one brand new for $179. Maybe it was worth that two years ago when the camera first came out, but not now and he knows it! (I actually wrote this guy a letter saying all this and told him to stop lying and be honest with people. He never wrote back. LOL!)

3. Some people are using obvious scams. They set up an "auction" or so it seems, list the item and then tell you to email them at such and such email address for the buy it now price and make arrangements to get it. You can still actually bid on it, but you won't get anything! This bypasses eBay and you can, and probably will get screwed. I don't know why eBay is allowing this, but I see it all the time.

4. Outrageous shipping costs. Most of the ads have them and it's simply a matter of the seller trying to screw the less observant bidder to make more money. This is just dishonest. It doesn't cost $10 to ship a CD people! But if you win a $4.00 CD and didn't notice that they said it would be $10 to ship it to you, you really just paid $11.00 for the CD and $3.00 for shipping. When I sell something on eBay, the person pays for the exact shipping cost and not a penny more. That's what is right. And I won't even bid on something where the person is trying to make more money via the shipping. And I gotta tell you, that alone severely limits what I can bid on. If there's a stated cost, it better be reasonable.

5. On a side note, have any of you noticed the grammar being used by some of these people on eBay trying to sell their stuff? It's like a 3 year old is trying to sell their parent's TV or something sometimes. I had a great example but it was removed by eBay (hmmmmm). But here's another one I just read for the phone I am shopping for (NOT edited at all):

this phone is only used a few hours not a mark this phone is absollutley flawless even have a car charger all original package like new you will never know its been opened this phone is UNLOCKED i have everything with it soft ware headphones box home charger must sell need $$$$ this is the best camera phone i ever seen good luck

Then further on he states:

You can Count that the phone is never used and i guarantee that you will never

and ever notice that it is used .

WTF? This guy is from the USA too! Can someone please tell me how on Earth someone like this graduates from 6th grade, let alone high school? I know my writing is not perfect, but this is horrible and far too common.

Lastly, it is easy to get screwed on eBay anymore, even for a knowledgable person like me. I have been screwed twice and only once did eBay/PayPal refund my money. So their stated guarantee doesn't always work either.

I still use eBay and sometimes you can get a pretty good deal. You just have to be very careful anymore and you have to put up with all the crap I listed above. Not what it used to be, that's for sure!

Ramblings, Updates

2006-03-09T07:49:00.000-08:00

Well, Keira Knightley didn't win the Oscar for Best Actress but she was mentioned as having the best dress! LOL!

The Gator's Basketball team has stuttered somewhat over the last few weeks and have tumbled to a #17 ranking. They start SEC Championship play this weekend and have a bye in the first round.

I went to pick up the plane after its maintenance was "done" on Friday and it wasn't done yet! They said Saturday. Didn't get done. They said Monday. Wasn't done. I got stuck there until Wed afternoon! That was lame and I had to live out of my emergency bag I always keep in the plane for just such cases.

USA Today did NOT print my letter to the coward and his father. Too much "in your face" truth hurts too much to print I suppose.

I wrote a jingle for AVFuel, AVTrip (Aviation Fuel Company) for a contest they are having. I could win an IPod Nano! I'll let you know if I win or not.

Later!

Recommendations

2006-03-01T13:34:00.000-08:00

Some more recommendations for you dear readers! My mom suggested an author for me to read. His name is Greg Isles. I'm on my second book already and he's very good. My mom says all his books are good as well. Highly recommended.

I just saw a great movie. Pride and Prejudice starring Keira Knightley. I'm not usually into romantic movies, but this movie is absolutely BRILLIANT. Excellent screen adaptation, beautifully filmed and the cast is perfect. Truly an amazing production. Very funny as well.

Speaking of films and actors, some months ago I filled out one of those online, "tell us about you" things and posted it here in my blog. (See Three For Thursday in October). One of the questions was "Three Celebrity Crushes". My list was Eva Green, Audrey Tautou and Uma Thurman. Uma has always been one of them for over 20 years. The other two are relative new comers, both from France, and I bet most of you never heard of either of them. Well, they are both about to hit the big time and become household names here in America as well. Eva has been cast as the new Bond Girl in the upcoming James Bond film. Audrey is playing opposite Tom Hanks in The Davinci Code coming out in May.

See! I have an eye for talent as well! HAHA! Oh, and another girl you can add to that crush list? Keira Knightley. Not only gorgeous, but a damn good actress. I've seen most of her films. She's up for an Academy Award for best actress this year for her role in Pride and Prejudice. I hope she wins!

Here's a picture of her:

{BdG} Movie

2006-02-25T12:55:00.000-08:00

One of the guys who is trying to become a member of our illustrious clan made a movie of the clan in action, complete with music! It's pretty cool! So, if you would like to watch it click below! (I am in the movie for 2 seconds or so! LOL!)

BdG Movie

Olympics

2006-02-23T10:40:00.000-08:00

You know, I really love the Olympics in general and have always looked forward to watching it. But the coverage (mainly) has gotten progressively worse and worse to the point that I can't enjoy it anymore. USA Today has had articles and write ins about it, initially pointing out that American Idol has more viewers, which is pathetic in and of itself.

Of course, most people are missing the point so here's WHY:

1. Far too many commercials and commercial breaks. The first night I watched it was like, one ice skating pairs then five commercials. For me, this is the back breaker because I hate wasting my time. I understand the need for commercials but there are so many that it is unbearably annoying.

2. Lousy, annoying, inaccurate and skewed commentary. 'Nuff said.

3. Too many interviews and back stories. We want to watch the competition! Anyone interested in the other stuff can go online. And interviewing Jerome Bettis on the Olympics coverage? What kind of crap is that?

4. They don't cover nearly enough of the sports. Like 50% of the coverage thus far has been ice skating. Even if it's boring, I want to see coverage of all the sports. At LEAST the highlights. I appreciate all the Olympians as they are all the best in the world. Show us what they do!

5. Covering too much of USA and not the other countries. Yeah, I'm proud of our countries' athletes and want to see them win, but the Olympics isn't all about us! Even if we don't medal in a sport, I want to see the ones who did.

6. Judging. Most of the time, the judging is absolutely horrendous. It's like the judges already have preconceived notions about who has a chance to win and those people automatically get the higher scores. Total BS! My wife asked me to watch the ladies' short program with her on Tue night. One of the first to skate was a girl from Turkey who no one has ever heard of and is the first ice skater from Turkey ever in the Olympics. She did great! In the short program, all the skaters have to do the same technical moves (jumps. spins, etc.). This girl was graceful, made all her required moves with no errors, and while she isn't as good as Slutskaya or Cohen (on overall presentation, speed, flowing between moves, etc.) she was FAR better than many of the other girls and deserved a much higher score than she got. At least 5 other women who fell or made a grave mistake were ahead of her! That's just insane and totally unfair. My friend Deb is an awesome ice skater and when she reads this, I hope she can post a comment about the judging in this sport. The judging in other sports is not any better.

I remember growing up and watching the Olympics with my mom and brother. My mom liked the ice skating too. It was fun. Now, it's not even worth the effort. I just read the results in the paper. Sad.

Misguided Youth

2006-02-17T11:02:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine sent this to me and I was just appalled after reading it. What has become of our children in this country? This is just sad...........

Students reject honor to 'Baa Baa Black Sheep' hero
Member of Marines not 'sort of person UW wanted to produce'

Posted: February 14, 2006
1:00 a.m. Eastern

The University of Washington's student senate rejected a memorial for alumnus Gregory "Pappy" Boyington of "Black Sheep Squadron" fame amid concerns a military hero who shot down enemy planes was not the right kind of person to represent the school.

Student senator Jill Edwards, according to minutes of the student government's meeting last week, said she "didn't believe a member of the Marine Corps was an example of the sort of person UW wanted to produce."

Ashley Miller, another senator, argued "many monuments at UW already commemorate rich white men."

Senate member Karl Smith amended the resolution to eliminate a clause that said Boyington "was credited with destroying 26 enemy aircraft, tying the record for most aircraft destroyed by a pilot in American Uniform," for which he was awarded the Navy Cross.

Smith, according to the minutes, said "the resolution should commend Colonel Boyington's service, not his killing of others."

The senate's decision was reported first by Seattle radio talk-host Kirby Wilbur of KVI, whose listeners were "absolutely incensed," according to producer Matt Haver.

Brent Ludeman, president of the university's College Republicans, told WND in an e-mail the decision "reflects poorly on the university."

"Pappy Boyington went beyond the call of duty to serve and protect this country – he simply deserves better," Ludeman said. "Just last year, the university erected a memorial to diversity. Why can't we do the same for Pappy Boyington and others who have defended our country?"

The resolution points out Boyington, a student at the UW from 1930-34, served as a combat pilot in the 1st Squadron, American Volunteer Group – the "Flying Tigers of China" – and later as a Marine Corps combat pilot in charge of Marine Fighting Squadron 214, "The Black Sheep Squadron."

Along with the Navy Cross, Boyington was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Franklin D. Roosevelt for his heroism. He was shot down and spent 20 months in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp.

The resolution says, "Be it resolved … [t]hat we consider Col. Gregory Boyington, United States Marine Corps, to be a prime example of the excellence that this university represents and strives to impart upon its students, and, That we desire for a memorial for Col. Boyington be commenced by the University of Washington by 11 January 2008, the twentieth anniversary of his death, which will be publicly displayed, so that all who come here in future years will know that the University of Washington produced one of this country's bravest men, and that we as a community hold this fact in the highest esteem."

Commenting on the decision, a blogger who says he met Boyington on numerous occasions at a museum and air show over the years noted the famous flyer "was no rich boy," having grown up in a struggling family in which he was forced to work hard to make it through school. The blogger, who hosts the website Paradosis, also pointed out Boyington was part Sioux.

Boyington was open about his marital problems and alcohol abuse, saying notably, "Just name a hero and I'll prove he's a bum."

The blogger wondered, "have our Washington youth revised history so much as this? To compare Boyington – or for that matter any of our WW2 vets – to murderers? What are these kids being taught today? They don't deserve those 20 months Pappy spent being tortured and beaten in a Japanese prison camp . they don't deserve any of what our grandfathers and grandmothers sacrificed to free Europe and the Pacific."

Boyington wrote a book in 1958 that reached the best-seller list, "Baa Baa, Black Sheep." In 1976, he sold rights to Universal, which aired a TV series for two seasons of the same name.

Boyington, who died Jan. 11, 1988, is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Visiting A Vet

2006-02-13T23:42:00.000-08:00

Here is a post from one of my friends at {BdG}. I liked it and asked if I could post it here. He is a fine example of what our clan members are like.

Hey gents:

Last week, I had the privilege to take care of a WWII vet, which I really haven't had a chance to do since finishing my fellowship (when I worked at a VA). This gent is a Pearl Harbor survivor, actually... and what a story.

He was on board the USS Maryland when the bombs started falling. As the first planes starting flying over, he looked up to see one of the lead planes - it was about 100' off the deck, he said - and could see the pilot's face clearly: his goggles were on his head, and he was looking out the port side of the canopy. I'd read about this, and know that it's a part of our motion picture and written fiction lore, but he swears that's what he saw.

"Well, that's when all hell broke loose," he said. I hope I hadn't pressed him too hard, because his eyes started to tear up. "It's OK," he told me, and went on. I feel a little bad now, as I think we tend to forget that WWII vets suffer from their experiences just as badly as vets from any other war. You all know what happened next - 2400 US personnel killed, 12 ships sunk, 164 aircraft destroyed. But it was his look, his voice, his tears that gave me an insight into the terror, the anger, the loss that was 7 December 1941: "I spent the next 14 hours pulling bodies - and body parts - out of the water."

Damn.

When I got home, I confirmed what I suspected. I knew the Maryland was a battleship, I knew from his story that it was anchored in harbor near another battleship; what I didn't know was which ship that other ship was, and he didn't - or wouldn't - say.

His story went on, of course, and over the next several days, I learned more about his years in the Navy. He served all over the South Pacific: for a brief stent on an amphib boat after the Maryland was being refit at Bremerton, then back on the Maryland for the Tarawa invasion and when it was hit by a kamakaze at Leyte.

My few minutes with him each day helped rejuvenate me. They also reminded me that we need to cherish the living histories that surround us; rather than paying our respects after they've gone, we need to pay them the respect they deserve while they're still with us.

My thanks to Chief CS for his time, his story, and most importantly, his service.

And thanks to all of your for listening to Dok's Drivel one more time.

The Mad Dok

I too have gone to Veteran's homes to visit them and a good 75% of the money I donate each year to charity goes to the Disabled American Veterans. If you have never visited a place like that, you should. It will open your eyes and help you to better appreciate the sacrifices our Vets made so that we may have a better life.

Jesus is Magic!

2006-02-13T15:36:00.000-08:00

I am SO utterly offended! Sarah Silverman is MOCKING my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in a comedy! He is not a WITCH or a MAGE who does MAGIC! He is the Son of God!!! To portray Him otherwise is a SIN against all humanity!

SOMEONE is going to PAY for this atrocity! I am going to capture this Sarah heretic, torture her and then behead her. I will then blow up EVERY damn theater that plays this crap! I WANT JUSTICE! CHRISTIANS AROUND THE WORLD ,BLOW UP EVERYTHING AND GO KILL PEOPLE!

Pretty lame huh? Yeah, I thought so.

Lingo - Some free advice for you

2006-02-12T14:24:00.000-08:00

This is to anyone who reads my blog and may be thinking about getting VOIP phone service or has it already and wants a better one. I did my homework and have used Lingo for over a year now. To sum it up, you get the most for your dollar here and I have not had one problem with it.

If you are interested, then go to Lingo.com and read about their plans. If you choose to use them, use me as a referral (or, alternatively, you can email me and I'll give them your email address as a referral) and we'll BOTH get $25 off our next bill. Essentially, more than a month for free. I have the $19.95 per month plan that includes all features (call waiting, forwarding, callback, online message recording, email notification, etc.) and you can call America, Canada, Mexico and Europe for no extra charge. In most cases, you can keep your same number that you use now! It is much better in my opion than Vonage or other similar services and at least $5 per month cheaper.

Today's free advice from your answer man! LOL! Have a great day everyone!

To All Muslims

2006-02-10T18:07:00.000-08:00

It was a damn cartoon. Get over it. You don't see Christians burning buildings and killing people when Jesus is portrayed wrongly in some way do you?

Protest, write letters, make your own cartoons if you want but for God's sake, stop the violence.

You know what REALLY gets me? I have never ONCE, anywhere in the world, seen any of you good Muslims protest against the radical Muslims who kill people including their own. I know you don't like it; I know you think it's wrong; but why don't you ever DO ANYTHING about it?

The Muslims who are using violence because of this cartoon fiasco are just using it as an excuse for more violence. When will it end?

1984

2006-02-05T10:40:00.000-08:00

At the Howard Jones concert, my friend Ralph brought a CD he had made for me of my old band, Negative Effects (~Fx). I had a bunch of songs on a tape from some practice sessions and wanted to get them onto a CD to preserve them. On the way home after the show, I listened to it and it got me thinking about the time that tape was made: 1984.

I formed the band in 1984 and we mostly played punk rock and new wave. I was the lead singer and there was 1 guitar player, 1 bass player and drums. We played in Perth, Australia, Manila, PI, Hawaii and all over the SF Bay Area.

Here is a song if you want to listen to it. It's my own arrangement of Steppin' Stone by The Monkeys. Note on the sound quality: This was in 1984, recorded in a little tape player stuck on the floor in front of the band while practicing. So basically it SUCKS. Additionally, the tape itself is now 22 years old which I finally got put onto a CD. You can at least get an idea of what the band was like.

Steppin' Stone

For this post, I thought I would dig up some old photos of that time period as well. Enjoy!

Me, in 1984 or 85:

This one is on Baker Beach in SF:

I can't even remember where this one was taken! LOL!

And here is a picture of my girlfriend at the time, Jennifer. She still lives in SF.

Ahhh........the 80's!

Gonna watch the Superbowl today with my neighbor Les and then it's off to work! I'll be in Eugene, OR tonight and then in Phoenix, AZ all week.

Cheers!

Howard Jones

2006-02-01T22:01:00.000-08:00

I saw Howard Jones last night at the Red Devil Lounge in San Francisco with Deb, her husband Brian and Ralph (my FA concert buddies). It was a great concert! The smallest venue I have ever been to. We sat at a table about 15 feet away from him on stage. It was acoustic; just him on keyboards and a guy named Robin Boult (who was also very good) on an acoustic guitar. He talked in between songs and had the crowd sing along on some of his tunes. It was very intimate, funny and thoroughly enjoyable. The music was great and he played lots of his early works along with some of his new ones.

You can check out his web site here Howard Jones and learn more about him.

This was the 2nd time I have seen him. The first? 21 years ago at Red Rocks in Boulder, CO.!!

Later,

{BdG} and Me

2006-01-30T13:49:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I was promoted to a full member of {BdG} after 7 months of being in the recruiting process. {BdG} is one of the oldest, and certainly the best WWII first person shooter, tactical clan in the world.

In case you think that this is some silly game thing, here are some of good things about it:

1. While it is mostly via the net, we are all friends who respect and share our lives with each other. When we can, we meet up and go shooting or have lunch together, when we are in the same area as other members. I have met 3 members already. Comeraderie and friendship are paramount here and we all cherish that.

2. We took up a collection and donated money to the Katrina hurricane victims.

3. Many of our members are or were active duty military. One, who is in Iraq right now, receives letters and care packages from us. Most of us chip in monetarily to do this.

4. We not only play on our server, but we play against other clans worldwide. We were also part of the Eastern Theater of Operations WWII simulator that pitted the axis and allies against one another in a worldwide league. (We won BTW!) Competition is fierce and it takes a lot of coordination to make all this happen.

5. We promote and write modifications to the games to make them as real as possible. We also enforce certain rules to ensure the game play is as close to real as possible. We are one of the leading clans in this area. Trust me, it brings a whole new dimension to "playing a game". We added a Teamspeak server so that we all can talk to each other, real time, during the game.

It's like being a part of any organization or a member of a sports team, with the same benefits. You may go bowling on a league every Friday night, while I get together with my friends and we play Call of Duty.

You can check out our website here bdgtactical

I am very proud to be a member of this organization!

Kila

Building the T-2C Buckeyes

2006-01-30T12:11:00.000-08:00

Some time ago I posted the airplanes we are currently building. 2 F4-1G Corsairs (an extra one as we are actually having to make, from scratch, many of the parts and pieces and my boss will trade one of them for something else. Possibly an F8F Bearcat), an FJ-3 Fury that is waiting in the wings, and 2 T-2C Buckeyes.

Why 2 Buckeyes? Well, my boss had almost enough parts to build the 2nd one so he decided to make one for me! That way we can go flying together in them. It'll still be his of course, but you get the idea.

The T-2 is an old Navy jet trainer that I actually flew during my training in the Navy. I have 110 hours in it. It is a twin engine, tandem seat jet trainer and is a great flying airplane.

When I can, I go to my boss' house and help him build them. I was there all day yesterday before I flew to OR last night. If you haven't built an airplane before, let me tell you that it is a long, painstaking process. Remember, these planes started out as crashed or torn up hulks rusting out in the elements. Every little piece, wire and system needs to be completely overhauled, many of them having to be built from scratch. You have to get all the blueprints, manuals etc., redesign the panels for updated avionics, re-wire everything, put in new hydraulic lines, find engines for them and have them overhauled, etc. My boss has been working on the first one for 5 years in all his spare time, the last 2 with a full time mechanic as well. It should be finished in 6 to 8 months I think. Yesterday, I put in the left engine fire warning detection system. When it is complete, I will have the honor of doing the flight testing for it! Then I will train my boss how to fly it.

My T-2 is a long way off. The wings are almost done (just the skin) and the panels too. Other than that, we have a lot more to do. My guess is 3 more years at least.

Here are some photos of the projects. Sorry about the quality in this and the last post but I took the pictures with my camera phone.

This is a J-85-4 Engine for the T-2

This is the engine bay

This is the front cockpit panel

The front of the 1st T-2

The side of the first T-2

The throttle quadrant

Behind the front cockpit panel

These are the wings for the first T-2, fuel tanks, wiring, hydraulics and gear are installed.

This is the tail section.

This is part of the hydraulic system. The resevoir is on the right.

Here is my T-2 fuselage that will someday look like the other one!

My boss wrote my name on my fuselage. Note that the last squadron who used this T-2 named the plane "Psycho"! I'm gonna have that repainted on there.

This is the engine for the F-4. 18 cylinders!

Going Back in Time

2006-01-27T09:12:00.000-08:00

Got back from my trip late last night. The last 2 days were very interesting to say the least.

We spent a day on a huge ranch near Big Springs, TX owned by a man named Connie Edwards. He's a gazillionaire at least. Used to fly for the CIA back in the day. He's in the oil and stone business now. I could write pages about all that but I wanted to list the things I remember that I saw there. It was like going back in time and was amazing. Here is just what I remember:

2 PBY Catalinas
2 Grumman Goose
1 Grumman Mallard
1 Grumman Duck
3 Grumman Albatross
1 P-51 Mustang
1 MK9 Spitfire
1 Grumman Wildcat
1 Beech Super 18T
1 Beech Bonanza
2 Super Cubs
2 Spray Tractor planes
7 Messerschmitt ME-109's
3 Piaggio D-166's

A Sherman Tank!

Tons of old WWII and other war memoribillia

6 motorcycles including a 1945 Harley Davidson and a 1944 James (I think that is the name).

Many cars including a 1964 Corvette that he bought new for $3450!

He also had tons of old airplane parts and engines. He had at least 20 Merlin engines there (they were used in many WWII fighters including the P-51 Mustang).

He also had a wine cellar in his castle and had a personal batch of scotch made for him from Aberlour, a small distillery in Scotland. He had 360 bottles, each numbered and hand-made for him with his name on each bottle. It was really good and he gave me a bottle to take home! YUM!

Anyway, we then went to 2 more places in Breckenridge, TX and Colorado Springs, CO looking for more parts. In Breckenridge I saw:

1 Sea Fury
1 Beech Staggerwing (one of the most beautiful airplanes made in my opinion)
1 F8F Bearcat
1 Grumman Wildcat
1 P-38 Lightning (being restored)
1 F-4 Corsair (being restored)
1 Thunder Mustang

Here are some pictures that I took. I should have taken more but didn't think about it until it was too late. Oh well. The one of the giant saw cutting through stone is from Connie's rock factory. His land has an endless supply of limestone that they cut out of the ground and take to this factory (also on his land) that cuts it, polishes it and makes anything you want out of it with computer controlled machines (building stone for buildings, walkways, counter-tops, signs, decor, stairs, statues, pillars, etc.) It was unbelievable.

Hope everyone has a nice weekend!

Toto, I think we're back in Kansas!

2006-01-24T15:28:00.000-08:00

Arrived in Kansas City yesterday. Staying on the Kansas side and ventured into the Missouri side this afternoon shopping for guns (I am looking to buy a .45 ACP 1911 model semi-automatic for target shooting). Pretty nice place. Very windy today and cold as well. Tomorrow I fly to two small towns in Texas and then on to Colorado Springs on Thursday. These next two days are looking for old F-4 Corsair parts that my boss needs for our restoration project.

The Gators were 17-0 until Saturday when all the undefeated teams lost. Tennessee beat them. I think they are ranked 4th now. They are still having a great season, however.

Thought you might like to see my logbook totals as of 14 January. Something interesting to look at! LOL!

Grand Totals:
Flights: 3,141 NIGHT: 461.8
Hours: 4,155.9 INSTRUMENT: 1,118.3
LANDINGS DAY: 3,462 SIMULATED INSTR...: 157.2
LANDINGS NIGHT: 733 SIMULATOR: 278.0
CROSS COUNTRY: 3,090.2
SOLO: 2,730.6 PIC: 3,455.3
SIC: 412.3 Approaches: 1,103
DUAL: 420.9
INSTRUCTOR: 218.5

Gonna try some Kansas City BBQ tonight! LOL!

Later.

Coward!

2006-01-18T11:02:00.000-08:00

Here is my letter to the editor of USA Today in reponse to a letter that was printed in today's paper (18 January):

As a 21 year veteran in the United States Navy, I was appalled by Steve Wagener's letter concerning his "stress" over his son's service in the Army.

Mr. Wagener, your son voluntarily joined the Army, and as stated in his enlistment papers, there was no guarantee that he would be allowed to leave the service at the end of his three year term. Thousands of military personnel were affected by the stop-loss program, which was necessary in order for the services to carry out their missions in a time of war.

Obviously, your son was not a conscientious objector before he joined the Army. Only after he was assigned to Iraq where he was in real danger, did he "become one". Your son is not a conscientious objector; he is a coward and a disgrace to the men and women in uniform who put their lives on the line for all of us, willingly, day after day. His kitchen duty thereafter was not punishment. Where else should his superiors have put him if he refused to carry a weapon? He worked 18 hours a day? Awwwww, my heart bleeds for him. Sailors at sea work 18 hours a day, 7 days a week all the time! Be thankful our military has been forced to be "more understanding" over the last 20 years because if he were in most other countries' armies, he would be in prison or dead right now.

Your heart attack was not caused by your self-inflicted stress. You obviously would have had one sooner or later anyway. Instead of being a good parent who is understandably worried, yet proud of their son or daughter's service, you chose to whine about it and use it as a crutch for your own problems. Worse, instead of teaching your son morals, principles and a sense of duty, and encouraging him to stay in the Army and complete his extension with honor, you chose to sit idly by and let him be a coward.

It's easy to see where your son got his cowardice from.

LT Wayne D. Watts, USN (RET)

Mama Mia!

2006-01-15T14:32:00.000-08:00

Saw the Musical Mama Mia! last night in Eugene, OR with a group of co-workers. It was very good and very funny too! Highly recommended if you get a chance to see it!

God Knows All!

2006-01-15T14:31:00.000-08:00

A Soldier, a Sailor, an Airman and a Marine got into an argument about which branch of the service was "The Best." The arguing became so heated the four servicemen failed to see an oncoming truck. They were run over and killed instantly.

Soon, the four servicemen found themselves at the Pearly gates of Heaven. There, they met Saint Peter and decided that only he could be the ultimate source of truth and honesty. So, the four servicemen asked him, "Saint Peter, which branch of the United States Armed Forces is the best?"

Saint Peter replied, "I can't answer that. However, I will ask God what He thinks the next time I see Him. Meanwhile, thank you for your service on earth and welcome to Heaven."

Some time later the four servicemen see Saint Peter and remind him of the question they had asked when first entering Heaven. The four servicemen asked Saint Peter if he was able to find the answer.

Suddenly, a sparkling white dove lands on Saint Peter's shoulder. In the dove's beak is a note glistening with gold dust. Saint Peter opens the note... trumpets blare, gold dust drifts into the air, harps play crescendos and Saint Peter begins to read the note aloud to the four servicemen:

MEMORANDUM FROM THE DESK OF THE ALMIGHTY ONE:

TO: All Former Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines
SUBJECT: Which Military Service Is the Best

1. All branches of the United States Armed Forces are honorable and noble.

2. Each serves America well and with distinction.

3. Being a serviceman in the United States military represents a great honor warranting special respect, tribute, and dedication from your fellow man.

4. Always be proud of that.

Sincerely,

GOD, USN (Ret)

LMAO!!!!!

Professional Pilot's Code

2006-01-10T21:58:00.000-08:00

PROFESSIONAL PILOT'S CODE

As a Professional pilot, I recognize my obligation:

To the public which trust its safety to my skill and judgement.
To my fellow pilots who mutually depend upon me to follow established good practice.
To my crew members who look at me to exercise my best judgement and leadership.
To my co-workers who constantly are striving for greater accomplishments and general over-all improvements in aviation.
To my organization which entrusts me, in the conduct of my flights, with moral and economic responsibilities.

To discharge these obligations, I will at all times observe the highest standards of my profession.

I will never knowingly jeopardize the safety of a flight by undertaking a risk to satisfy personal desires, nor will I fly when my mental or physical condition might lead to additional risks.

I will use all means at my disposal to assure the safety of every flight both as to my assigned duties and those of my crewmen.

I will continue to keep abreast of aviation developments so that my judgement, which largely depends on such knowledge, may be of the highest order.

My deportment, both on duty and off, reflects my respect for my profession and for my country, and it shall be such as to bring credit to both.

I pledge adherence to these principles for the advancement of aviation and to further the dignity of my profession.

And further more:

Ethics are not learned by teaching; they are inculcated by example and by experience. To a man of honor, “ethics come as naturally as good table manners.”

Naval Aviators

2006-01-10T21:55:00.000-08:00

LMAO! (Not true by the way!) ;)

My Music

2006-01-09T16:33:00.000-08:00

My BdG Clan buddies wanted a copy of my latest CD, "The Standards" so my buddy John (AKA Major Damage) set up a web page on his server so that everyone could download the songs.

Now John is a computer whiz who works for Apple and when he does something like this, he REALLY goes all out.

So, he made a background picture for the songs. Here it is:

When I saw this, I was laughing SO hard! How cool is that??

So, as a bonus, if you would like to download the songs, you can go here:

My CD

HOWEVER PLEASE NOTE: DO NOT download the songs between the hours of 9pm and 12pm PST. It bogs down the server and that's when John plays Call of Duty with the rest of us.

Take care everyone!

Happy New Year and Resolutions!

2006-01-01T12:03:00.000-08:00

Well, last night was pretty fun at the country club. Had a nice dinner, did some dancing and sang quite a bit with the band. The crowd loved it! Sang a wide variety of songs to try and please everyone. Kind of funny though as it was an older crowd (country club members and their guests) and when I start belting out a tune like "Mony, Mony" by Billy Idol, they all went crazy and were gyrating (as much as possible for baby boomers to do these days! LOL) on the dance floor and yelling out "Yeah!" at the appropriate moments. Alcohol has that affect on them and I probably sound much better to them than I actually do! ;)

Here's a shot of me with the band.

Not sure what I am going to do today as I have the day off, there are no bowl games today and the weather here in CA sucks. Floods everywhere and high winds. My trees are none too happy about that either.

Tomorrow however, there are 6 bowl games and I will park my ass on the couch all day and watch them. First up is the Outback Bowl where the Gators will hopefully destroy Iowa and embarrass them sufficiently to force them into eating more corn when they get home. They eat a lot of that up there. LOL! GO GATORS! On Tuesday there is one game and then on Wed, the national championship game. Then no more college football until September. Boo!

The Gator basketball team is now 12-0! WOOHOO! Ranked 5th in the country I believe. SEC play starts next week so the opponents will be a lot tougher here on out.

Resolutions for the new year: (I know this is completely unoriginal and 95% of the 50 million bloggers out there will be writing about the same thing. Sue me.)

1. Have more patience with incompetent people and while driving in the God-awful traffic here.
2. See many 80's band concerts. I already have tickets for 2 shows!
3. Write more in my blog and try to be original. And funny. And write better. I suck. Hello? Is anyone reading this?
4. Get the BMW motorcycle that I want! (Is that really a resolution? Hmmmmm........)
5. Make another CD. (Everyone keeps asking for it)
6. Spend a little more time with my friends Les (my billiards buddy) and Deb and Ralph (my concert buddies).

I guess that's all.

I hope everyone had a nice New Year's Eve and has a prosperous new year!

Cheers!

Christmas Time Ramblings

2005-12-19T12:46:00.000-08:00

Well, I am finally done with the Christmas time flight schedule which was brutal. I had only one day off in the last three weeks! I attended 8 company Christmas dinners and one lunch. Nice, but I think I gained 5 pounds! LOL! I am on a diet this week.

Didn't set up anything Christmasy at home this year. Just not enough time and we're not doing anything here anyway. Some of the houses in the neghborhood are really decked out and look nice. I am going to my boss' house for Christmas Eve dinner (which is now an annual event for us and it's really nice that he includes us in his family's festivities) and to my Dad's on Christmas day. Then it's back to work next week.

The Gator basketball team is 10-0 on the season and ranked in the top ten! I am excited about that and they look really good this year! The college football bowl season begins tomorrow and while I hate the BCS crap, I am looking forward to watching many of the games. The Gators are in the Outback bowl again and playing Iowa. Anyone want to wager on the game? Hehe...... Of course, the big game is USC vs Texas on Jan. 4th. I think USC will win in a close game. Experience is the difference in that one.

All I want for Christmas is:

1. A BMW K 1200 GT motorcycle
2. World Peace
3. My RcT (Recruit) removed from my BdG clan tag and become a full member of the group.

..........None of which I will likely get. Oh well, just another day I suppose.

I "celebrated" my birthday on the 4th of December and am now officially old. 43. Great. Deb's was on the 5th as well as her husband's, Brian. Yep, same day. My mom's was on the 13th. Lots of us Sagittarius' around.

I called and emailed Patty about the P-51 flights with her and Steve Perry, but she never got back to me. I guess they don't want to go or perhaps this is a case of Hollywood types forgetting about us peons. Oh well.........their loss. While it would have been really cool to meet Steve, this was for them mostly. I'll let you know if they come through or not.

I am singing again this year on New Year's Eve with a local band at a nice country club near Modesto. Free dinner and festivities included! That'll be a lot of fun. My BdG clan buddies set up a web site with my Christmas CD music on there and they all downloaded it. I am now the recipient of many jokes in the forums, all in good fun.

I hope everyone who reads this has a wonderful Christmas. God bless all of you!

Wayne

The ER Bill

2005-12-12T11:48:00.000-08:00

I requested a detailed bill from the hospital so I could see what all the charges were for. Here is the list of charges:

1. Level Charge C - $891.00 This is just for walking into the ER! Just entering!
2. Metabolic Panel - $799.00 blood work? This was done while I was there.
3. Urinalysis - $89.50 Done while I was there.
4. CBC complete BLD CNT - $119.00 more blood work? Done while I was there.
5. Abdomen Series - $773.00 Two X-rays of my stomach.
6. Doctors fee - $300. For 5 minutes of his time.

Again, I was in and out of there in 45 min to an hour. What a bunch of CRAP!

I was thinking........what if I were paid like this for being a pilot instead of being on salary? My bill, per flight (which averages 1.5 hours), would be something like this:

1. Flight planning, checking weather and filing each flight plan: $900
2. Readying the plane, pre-flight: $900
3. Loading bags, people, giving stewardess like brief: $600
4. Flight from takeoff to landing: $3951.25 (with a huge discount!)
5. Unloading people/bags, post-flight aircraft: $600.

So, each flight I would charge, on average, $6951.25. I average 650 flights per year (I fly a LOT!). That would give me a yearly salary of:

$4,518,312.50

That's MORE than 50 times what I actually make. And yet, our society and government seem to think it's ok for hospitals and doctors to charge this much money!!!!!!!! This is absolutely insane.

So my friends, what do you think? It would be interesting to see what YOU would charge for what you do based on what the doctors and hospitals charge. Think about it and write it in the comments section. Stuff like this makes me ill.

Great Concert

2005-12-06T14:10:00.000-08:00

Saw Echo and the Bunnymen last night in San Francisco. Went with Deb (her blog link is on the right), her husband, and another friend of ours from Flashbackalternatives.com, Ralph. What a great show!! I had always wanted to see them. This year I have seen three 80's bands: Peter Murphy, The Fixx and Echo and the Bunnymen.

Envious Michael???? Hehehehehe........

BCS Update

2005-12-06T13:38:00.000-08:00

Well, it happened again! Florida State DID beat Virginia Tech as I mentioned may happen in my last BCS post. So FSU with an 8-4 record is going to a BCS bowl game. BS!

AND, the BCS and bowl people then screwed Oregon who has a 10-1 record, out of a BCS bowl game and chose instead Notre Dame and Ohio State, each with 2 losses and Notre Dame even being ranked BELOW Oregon! BS!

What's worse is that none of the sportscasters or coaches or athletic administrators have the BALLS to come out and say what most of them truly THINK! And that is that the BCS is a bunch of crap, totally unfair and is all about money and greed. They are all buttering it up as they are told to do, complimenting the matchups (like between PSU and FSU because of the coaches) and what not. It's so pathetic. Nobody has the balls to do what's right, SPEAK UP and say the TRUTH, regardless of the consequences.

If you haven't done so, read my BCS post below for the solution to this mess that's screwing up my beloved sport.

That is all..........

Hospitals and Doctors Suck Too!

2005-12-06T13:28:00.000-08:00

Ok, so a month ago, I go to my doctor because I had some lower abdominal pain that persisted for 4 days and I thought I should get it checked out. She thought it might be something serious (I forget the medical name) and she sent me to the ER at a local hospital.

There was no one in the ER, so I was seen right away. They took a piss sample, blood sample and took 2 X-rays. The doctor there, came in, poked around a bit, looked at the results and said I didn't have whatever my doctor thought it was and everything was fine.

I was in and out in about 45 minutes.

I got the 2 bills the other day from the hospital. The doctor's fee was $300 for the 5 minutes he saw me. The hospital bill for the ER? Are you ready for this?

$3000.00

I'm like, WTF? There must be a mistake! Nope, no mistake. I asked them how can that even be legal? It's highway robbery and they're getting away with it! They won't discuss charges though! Of course not! They KNOW it's wrong. Totally F***in' insane!

I can't wait to see what my share of that bill is after my insurance pays its share. I may not pay it. We'll see.

Why doesn't our government step in and do something about this? I don't care what happens to me anymore, I'm not going to the hospital. SCREW THEM!

Shame

2005-11-30T15:33:00.000-08:00

I am so appalled at this, I can barely write about it. Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham pleaded guilty to accepting $2.4 million in bribes, helping to get two companies military contracts worth over $280 million.

Do you know who this guy is?

He is a retired Navy officer. Not just any officer, but a famous fighter pilot, Top Gun instructor pilot and a Vietnam "Ace" (meaning he shot down 3 enemy aircraft). He was one of the most highly decorated pilots in Vietnam. He was some kind of advisor in the "Top Gun" movie and if I remember correctly, his name is in the credits. After he retired, he started his own company and then became a congressman.

So here's a retired Naval Officer who's famous and already wealthy, who served his country with honor and he succumbs to greed! I can hardly fathom why in the world someone like this would do such a thing. All that he did is now forever marred by this current scandal. I am embarrassed, as a retired Naval Officer myself, for yet another scar upon the Navy and Naval Aviation in particular (let alone greedy and immoral politicians!).

The Navy's credo is "Honor, Courage, Commitment". You are held responsible for your actions 24 hours a day, even after your service is completed. You represent the Navy, your fellow officers and your country and you are expected to uphold that honor. This guy obviously forgot about all that. What a disgrace!

I used to have a saying that I made up: "If you can't trust a Naval Officer, who can you trust?"

Apparently, I just can't say that anymore. There are bad apples everywhere I suppose. This just makes me sick..............

Go Gators!

2005-11-27T14:47:00.000-08:00

Well, we didn't win the SEC championship this year but it was a good solid "program building" year. We won all our home games and defeated all our arch-rivals. I really like Urban Meyer (our coach) and I think the next 2 years are going to get even better. I am predicting we actually win the SEC next year.

And just beating Florida State yesterday is a nice ending to the season. I'm anxious to see what bowl game we get invited to.

It's great to be a Florida Gator!!

GO GATORS!!

BCS BS!

2005-11-27T13:55:00.000-08:00

If you're not into college football, then you probably won't be interested in this post. I am a die-hard fan however and the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) in divison 1-A is, and has been, the biggest bunch of crap ever to affect any one sport.

Division 1-A college football is the ONLY college sport that doesn't use a playoff system to determine a national champion! Why? Money and greed my friends. As usual.

Their other excuses are: It would extend the season too long for the players, affect final examinations and would cut out the other bowl games (where the cities and respective colleges make a lot of money).

This system has never worked in the past and it never will. Even this year, where there will be 2 consensus #1 and #2 teams (USC and Texas), it is not fair to the rest of the schools with great records to not have a chance at the title. In the past, there has always been a school that got screwed out of playing the ONLY game where the winner was crowned champion. Auburn got screwed last year.

Well, your answer man has a perfect solution to all of this!

The BCS uses the polls (Coaches, AP and USA Today) as well as computers to rank the teams. This is fine, but they also have automatic bids for certain conference champions, regardless of their rank! That, is not ok! For example, Florida State is going to the ACC conference championship game with 4 losses against Virginia Tech who only has 1 loss. If FSU wins, it will go to a BCS game even though it will still be ranked lower that VT! The top 4 bowl games are the BCS games and the rest are just bowl games.

So, first we need to get rid of the automatic bids and only go by rank at the end of the year. Keep all the bowl games we have now, but do not differentiate between BCS and "others": they are all bowl games and all the cities and the top (however many) teams still go to a bowl game. Additionally, they need to get rid of the "more money for a higher bowl game" plan and each game's cities and college representatives get an equal amount of money for those games.

There are currently 28 bowl games scheduled for this year. That gives you 56 teams who go to a bowl game and all the cities and colleges still get their money. However, only the top 16 winners will continue on in the playoffs. The bottom 40 can get paired however the bowls themselves decide, but the top 16 would get paired as #1 vs #16, #2 vs #15, and so on. Then, those 8 winners will continue on. The next 4 games and after could be called the BCS. Granted, this only gives 16 teams a chance at the title, but with football the way it is, we can't add too much time to the season. There will always be some moaning by #17, but that's the way it is in other sports too. You have to rank them somehow.............

So, this will add 1 more week for 8 teams, 2 more weeks for 4 teams, and 3 more weeks for the last 2 teams for the season. In order to prevent this from going much farther than 1 Jan where it ends now, we start all those bowl games immediately after the regular season ends. All the games could be easily finished and televised before Christmas. Then, at worst, the 2 final teams would end the season the middle of January and only 4 teams will go any farther than the season is already.

There is a side benefit to this as well. There will actually be 6 more games (during the final 8 team playoffs) thus creating even more revenue to the cities and colleges participating! You just rotate the cities each year.

There you go! No excuses for this plan as it solves everyone's problems and supports both schools of thought. (There are actually people out there who LIKE the system now and don't want a playoff system).

It doesn't take a genius to figure this out (obviously). So why in hell don't they do something like this? They are talking of a +1 system (one more game after the bowls) but that isn't going to solve the problem either. They keep tweaking the system and it never solves the problem. There's only one solution; a playoff system like the one I just described.

Anyone from the BCS read this? Feel free to use it, free of charge. My gift to college football and its fans everywhere! LOL!

Vacations

2005-11-27T13:12:00.000-08:00

I finally have some time to update my blog, so here's the scoop on my vacation.

We went to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and bought one of those all-inclusive packages for 10 days. The name of the hotel was the Canto Del Sol. We had originally purchased tickets and a hotel to Cancun but after the hurricane, we had to change it only a week in advance and our choices of flights and hotels were very limited. Just getting our money back from the airline to Cancun was a chore. Guess they wanted us to sleep at the airport for 10 days as our hotel was un-livable.

In general, the trip was just ok. First of all, I am not much of a beach kind of guy. I would much rather see sights like architecture, museums, art and history related things than lay out on a beach. I think from now on we will go to places like Europe, Scandinavia, Greece etc. but with the Euro rate as it is, who knows when we will be able to afford those trips. One of the things I had looked forward to in Cancun was being able to see the Mayan ruins. There's nothing like that in Puerto Vallarta.

Hotel: The room was ok, if not small, but the bed was very uncomfortable. I didn't get one good night's sleep there. It was clean. The all inclusive meant all drinks, food and tips were included. However, the food was horrible overall, the alcohol was the cheapest you could find and they had nothing that I normally drink (no scotch at all for example!), and the waiters and service personnel still expected tips, regardless. You were made to feel uncomfortable if you didn't tip! They had nightly, one hour shows that were pretty good and they had a nice pool. They had a buffet or three restaurants that you could make reservations to eat in, but the food there was worse than the buffet where you could at least find something you could eat. Hotels.com listed this place as a 3 star hotel and the reviews were mostly positive. Apparently, the price we paid was relatively cheap compared to what other people I know paid at other places. But they enjoyed their time and liked the food and had full bars. Well, what we paid deserved that too, without a doubt, and you shouldn't have to pay an exorbitant amount to have those things in Mexico.

Which leads me to the next thing; the cost of everything. I fully expected everything to be cheap there relative to the States. It wasn't at all! Everything was the same price. Most goods, restaurant food, drinks, nightclubs, etc. was all the same. I don't get it! What's the lure of going there then? On top of that, you can't go half a block, or try to buy ANYTHING without getting bothered by someone trying to get you to go to some time-share presentation. All the prices for goods and tours were horrendous........unless you went to a time-share presentation for 2 hours and then you could buy a tour or goods at a decent price. Absolutely INSANE! I refused to go on one as many people told me how horrible it was and that it was actually better to just pay the higher prices. This is what people like to do on vacation?

We rented a jet-ski for 30 minutes and went on a para-sail ride. That was a hundred bucks right there. We went on 3 tours: horseback riding, dune buggy and a canopy tour. The canopy tour was unique, but kind of boring. Dune buggy was fun to drive, but you ate the leaders dust the whole time on the dirt roads and you didn't get to really drive them and have fun. The horseback riding was nice. Those were another $300. We went out to a nightclub one night. Drinks for two of us were over $50 (I think it was 6, normal drinks).

We met a nice couple there who had been last year and they said the prices had doubled since then. Weird.

Anyway, that's that. Want some advice? If you like that kind of thing, the best place you can go is Thailand. I would recommend the island of Koh Samui. Although the airfare would be more of course, the prices there for everything are much closer to what the locals would pay. Everything is cheap if you don't go to the tourist traps. The food is great, the beaches are much nicer, tours and goods are cheap and you don't get hounded all the time from street vendors. You can actually have FUN there and enjoy your time without worrying about money at all. Last time I was there which was 5 years ago, I had an air conditioned room, on the beach, for $20 a night. Need I say more? Hawaii and Mexico pale in comparison for having a nice vacation.

Personally, Italy and/or Greece are next on my list.

Post Vacation Happy Thanksgiving!

2005-11-24T12:12:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone! I have been back from vacation for nearly a week, but I've been swamped with work and trying to catch up on stuff. I'll be updating my blog soon and will get back on track with regular posts as well.

Wanted to wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving today.

Vacation

2005-11-07T21:56:00.000-08:00

I'll be on vacation for the next 10 days! I'll write all about it when I get back. See you all then!

I Adopted a Pet!

2005-11-05T09:51:00.000-08:00

Michael did so that means I should! Gotta keep up with the Barnsdale's you know!

........and I named him Barney too! LOL! Aren't you honored Michael? You're his Godfather! ;)

Your Call Sign?

2005-10-31T13:29:00.000-08:00

My friend Michael asked a good question about call signs in the comments section of that post. That leads me to this:

If you had a call sign, what would it be and why? Think about it and come up with something good!

Cheers!

Three for Thursday

2005-10-31T13:08:00.000-08:00

Three for Thursday

I've been tagged by Deb on this chain! So, I'll play along........

Three ways that I am stereotypically female
1. I'm romantic
2. I like to cook
3. I'm caring

Three ways that I am stereotypically male
1. I feel the need for speed!
2. If you tell me a problem, I will try to solve it (See my blog name? LOL!)
3. I am never late!

Three names I go by
1. Wayne
2. "Kila"
3. Captain

Three parts of my heritage
1. German
2. English
3. Scottish

Three physical things I like about myself
1. My eye color (green)
2. My physique
3. My hands

Three physical things I don’t like about myself
1. My face
2. My fat cheeks (LOL!)
3. My receding hairline

Three things that scare me
1. Nothing scares me
2. Nothing scares me
3. Nothing scares me

Three of my everyday essentials
1. Latte!
2. Email
3. Food (LOL!)

Three LIES
1. I am a patient person.
2. I love hotels.
3. I have too many friends.

Three TRUTHS
1. I am a good friend.
2. I am a great pilot.
3. I love what I do.

Three things I want in a relationship
1. Trust
2. My own time
3. Honesty

Three physical things about men that appeal to me
1. Uhhh......Not a damn thing! LOL!

Three of my favorite hobbies
1. Flying
2. Singing
3. Video games

Three things I want to do really badly now
1. Get another motorcycle
2. Move out of CA
3. Buy Call of Duty 2!

Three careers I’ve considered
1. Military
2. Lawyer
3. Pilot

Three places I want to go on vacation
1. Italy
2. Greece
3. Ireland

Three things I want to do before I die
1. Build my own plane
2. See the countries I want see
3. Ride the Siberian Railroad

Three celebrity crushes
1. Eva Green
2. Audrey Tautou
3. Uma Thurman

Three suckers who got tagged
1. Michael (Just one!)

Happy Halloween!

2005-10-31T13:04:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone has a frightfully good time tonight! Me, I won't be doing anything as usual. Oh well!

Gas Prices, Part 3

2005-10-31T12:45:00.000-08:00

If you have read my previous posts on the ridiculous rise in gas prices, here is proof that what I said was true.

The oil companies posted RECORD PROFITS last quarter. Exxon/Mobile posted and increase of 75% profits in ONE QUARTER! The 2nd highest increase in history! Want to know how much that is?

107 MILLION DOLLARS A DAY! That's right, every single day they made that much money.

So everything I said previously is confirmed: All their excuses etc. are all BULLSHIT! As consumers, we are getting royally screwed and the government so far has yet to step in and do something about it. Write or call your congressmen/women and tell them to start doing something about it!

Call Signs

2005-10-29T19:06:00.000-07:00

Not many people know about call signs for fighter pilots, other than the fact that they have them. Everyone knows about "Maverick" and "Iceman" from Top Gun, but how do you get a call sign?

Well, the first thing you need to know is that you don't get to choose your call sign! Otherwise, we'd all have really cool ones and we can't have that now, can we? Of course not. In the military, you get your call sign from your peers, or fellow pilots, in the squadron. Usually it is a play upon your name or represents something stupid you did! Sometimes it's based on a significant feature of your looks. I knew a Marine who's call sign was "Neanderthal"! LOL! Other times it's other, more obscure things.

When I was in the Navy, my call sign was "Chief". It was based on the fact that I achieved the rank of Chief Petty Officer as an enlisted man, just before I got my commission as an officer. My classmates in flight school gave that one to me.

Now however, my call sign is "Kila". Half from "Killer" and half from "Kilo"-Watts (which is an obvious one for my name) and it was given to me by my boss, who's also a (private) pilot.

Here's a photo of me flying the T-28 (in the middle of an aileron roll) and you can see my call sign on the back of my helmet.

I sometimes give my friends call signs, just for fun, if they are really into aviation. Like my new friend Patty. She called the other day and I told her I came up with a call sign for her. Partly because of her love for aviation and partly to honor her father, who was a fighter pilot and died in the line of duty many years ago. Patty is a phenomenal camera person and director. She has an eye for the camera, "shooting" videos and movie scenes.

Say hello to Patty "Hot Shot" Jenkins! Hehe! I told her what it was and she loved it!!

So, now you know all about call signs my friends!

Cheers!

Advice: Flirting

2005-10-25T14:59:00.000-07:00

Here's a question from Wendy:

So what is your opinion/advice on flirting if you are married or in a

committed relationship? I do not see a problem but curious your take on things.

Thanks Wendy. That's a good question.

First let's take a look at the definition of flirting:

Flirting: To make playfully romantic or sexual overtures.

In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with this at all. Flirting is an adult type of exchange of communication and can be in different forms and degrees. The key here is that it's playful. And as long as it doesn't go beyond that, there is absolutely nothing wrong with it, whether you are married, single or in a committed relationship.

The problem lies when it does go beyond that, for obvious reasons. But then it's not flirting anymore. I would then call it something like seducing:

Seducing:

To lead away from duty, accepted principles, or proper conduct.
To induce to engage in sex.
1. To entice or beguile into a desired state or position.
2. To win over; attract.

But of course, that's not what you asked! I hope this answers your question Wendy and thanks for participating! And again, my apologies for not getting to this sooner.

Readers, your comments?

Famous People Who Know Me, Part 2

2005-10-23T15:45:00.000-07:00

I've been damn busy lately so forgive my lack of writing. I left FL on Friday morning after completing my insurance-required training in the P-51 Mustang. Flying home commercial SUCKED big time. It took longer to get through the lines at the airport than the flight to Atlanta did. Service on Delta was horrible. The 5 hour flight from Atlanta to Oakland did not include a meal. It included a movie, but now you have to BUY a headset in order to listen to it. When the hell did that happen? You can use your own, but I didn't have any on me. Never had to pay to use the headphones before so I didn't bring any.

You know, the airlines made many millions of dollars in the 60's, 70's and 80's with full service, meals, headphones, alcohol, nice and competent stewardesses, etc. And now, you get none of that and they're all filing for bankruptcy protection! What the hell? Mismanagement and unions I would think is the answer to that.

So anyway, I finally get home and wade through the jungle that used to be my lawn having been gone for a month. It took me an hour to go through the mail then I caught up on bills (Ugh!), had dinner, unpacked and then packed again for my trip to Edwards AFB for the air show there. The lawn and the weeds will just have to wait 3 more days. I left the next morning and flew to the base to join the festivities. Great air show! Lots of hardware here flying and on display. As I am with Gen. Chuck Yeager and his wife, I am getting the full VIP treatment as well. I'm staying in the suites normally reserved for Generals and have access to the distinguished visitors tent with food and drinks. I'm having a nice time here to say the least!

Yesterday, Mrs. Yeager (Victoria) introduced me to Patty Jenkins at the VIP tent. She is the writer and director of the movie Monster in which Charlize Theron won the academy award for best actress last year for portraying serial killer Aileen Wuornos. Now normally I would not have been that excited to meet a director. However, I rented that movie some time ago when it came out on DVD and it was so damn good that it was one of the rare times that I took the time to watch the DVD extras which included interviews with Patty and Charlize about the making of the film. I was in awe of this girl's talents! She is a perfectionist with an eye for the camera and intent on getting things right. If you have seen that movie, then perhaps you know what I am talking about.

Here is a file photo of Miss Jenkins:

So, I spent the whole rest of the day hanging out with Patty and her mom who was there as well. I took them on a tour of our planes and the planes at the show and just had a nice afternoon. One of the things I love about my job and going to airshows is being able to share my passion for planes and flying with people who normally don't know a lot about it. They just love the planes! I was able to do that yesterday but I got something in return too; a new friend and I also learned more about the film industry, which was quite interesting. Patty and her mom were very nice and Patty was nothing like I would imagine a lot of famous Hollywood types are. She was very genuine and down to earth.

We also had something in common; her father was a fighter pilot in the Air Force.

So why was Patty at the air show? Turns out she is working on her next project; a film about Gen. Chuck Yeager whom she greatly admires. Now, if she pulls that off with the same exquisite film making that she did in Monster, this could be another big hit for her. I sincerely hope she can accomplish this and I wish her the best of luck!

And guess what? You know she's going to need a talented pilot who flies P-51 Mustangs to fly the WWII scenes in which Gen. Yeager shot down 12.5 enemy aircraft. With any luck, that could very well now be yours truly! Heck, I even offered to be the actor to portray him at any stage! LOL! Yeah, that's stretching it a bit I suppose. Not that I couldn't do it, but I'm just not that famous........yet! I've ALWAYS had lofty goals and accomplished most of them. So why not add actor to the list? We'll see, but I think I have a great shot at being the pilot for the movie at least.

Wish me luck dear readers and I'll see you on the big screen!! LOL!

Flying and Training

2005-10-15T11:41:00.000-07:00

My friend John suggested that I write about flying so here is my first blog about it.

As a professional pilot you are constantly studying and going through different types of training. Insurance rules the aviation world and much of the training is required by the insurance companies. The rest is mandated by the FAA. Any aircraft that has a max gross weight of 12,500 lbs or greater requires a "Type Rating" by the FAA. This means that in order to fly the plane, you have to have had certified training in the aircraft and having successfully completed it, the type rating goes on the back of your pilot's license. This is the case with the King Air 350 that I fly for work. Additionally, insurance requires that I get yearly refresher training in it. So, every year, I go through a rigorous 3 day training course for that plane. This type of training involves knowing all the aircraft systems, weather and it's effects on flying, instrument flying, take-off, climb, enroute, approach and landing procedures, navigation, communications, and memorizing, step by step, all emergency procedures. Execution of this knowledge is also tested in either the plane or a full motion simulator with visuals. We have a C-1A that I will eventually have to get a type rating in as well.

As a Certified Flight Instructor (CFI), Certified Flight Instrument Instructor (CFII) and Multi-Engine Instructor (MEI), I have to renew these licenses biannually by taking a 2 day refresher course as well.

As a qualified lead formation pilot for air shows, I have to fly a certain amount of formation flights throughout the year and renew my formation card yearly in training. I do this with the Commemorative Air Force (CAF) of which I am a member. I also train other members in the art of formation flying.

To fly old warbirds such as the T-28 Trojan and the P-51 Mustang that my boss owns, you also have to get a (different type of) type rating from the FAA, which again involves some certified training and a check out flight in that aircraft. Insurance companies also require this to be added onto the insurance policy.

This is what I am doing right now, in Kissimmee, FL, as some of you know. I am here to train in the P-51 Mustang so that I can fly my boss' and be on the insurance policy. To get some more tail-wheel time, last week I first trained in a T-6 Texan. (T0 fly a plane that has a tail-wheel, vice a nose-wheel, requires a different license as landing and takeoffs are very different. I have this license, but not a lot of experience flying them.) The T-6 is fairly difficult to control on landing and thus is a very good trainer as a tail-wheel plane. Whenever you train in a new aircraft, you have to learn all that stuff again, for that aircraft. Systems, procedures, etc. They all handle differently as well. For example, all aerobatic maneuvers are the same for each airplane; it looks the same as viewed from the ground. However, how each plane accomplishes the maneuver, is completely different. But I like learning and it was a challenging and very fun experience. Mastering an airplane is one of the most satisfying accomplishments to me.

Here is a T-6, just like the one I flew:

So, on Monday, I start all over again with the P-51 Mustang. I am studying all the systems, procedures and emergency procedures this weekend. I will have ground school and 2 flights each day until I am finished on Friday. Now, I don't have to tell you how excited I am to fly this aircraft! Most people (especially men) would give just about anything to get a ride in one, let alone fly one. I am very fortunate to work for my boss, who is a private pilot and an aviation nut like myself. I get to fly his planes on his dime. It's actually part of my job to fly them in airshows (there is some kind of tax break you get when you do this), take care of them, ferry them for maintenance, etc. Definitely a part of my job that I love!

Here is the exact P-51 I will be flying next week. Her name is Crazy Horse.

So, you can imagine now how much studying I have to do all the time. Just keeping up with each plane is quite a chore. At any one time, I can fly many different aircraft. And we are building three more!! The next one will be a T-2 Buckeye jet and should be done in about a year. I will have to learn everything for that one, AND I get to be the test pilot for it!! That's pretty damn cool too!

Cheers everyone,

Hotel Horrors Continued

2005-10-11T15:28:00.000-07:00

So, I go to check out of the Disney Hotel and once again, the bill is wrong. They tried to charge me for the parking after they told me they wouldn't. Unbelievable. I wasn't far off on the taxes and fees in my last blog either. 4 different ones totalling about 20% of the room charge. I had 2 drinks and 6 sushi rolls for dinner. With tax and tip it was $65. I about threw up sushi all over the waitress.

I leave and go to check into the Gaylord Palms where my friend had secured a room for the low, low price of $129 a night. I guess that's a low rate for this place, which is, I have to admit REALLY nice. I'm there at 11 am and my room's not ready. So I drive to the airport and do a little hands on studying of the plane I am going to fly tomorrow and drive back. 1330 and my room still isn't ready. So, I go eat lunch there and study some more while I am waiting. When I checked in, I asked about parking there and they too wanted to charge me to park my own car! I told them I wasn't going to do that, that when you pay for a room it includes a parking spot, etc. and the guy told me ok, it would be waived. At 1500 I check again and my room is ready, BUT they are now insisting that I pay the daily parking fee!! I said, "But you already told me you would waive it!" "I'm sorry sir but we can't do that." "But you already told me you would!" Jesus Christ! Ok, fine, I'll go spend all that money elsewhere. I get my bags and leave.

I have a general rule about spending the company's money: If I wouldn't spend it myself, I don't spend it with their money either. With rare exceptions. And charging people to park in the hotel parking lot where you are paying for a room is nothing more than ripping people off. It's total BS and I just cannot bring myself to do it.

I was worried that my friend would be upset with me and my cheapness but he was cool about it. He said that they would now rent the room for $210 and rent it today anyway. Wow.

So, I drive to Kissimmee itself and got a room at the Best Western for $69 a night, free internet and of course, free parking, like 99.9% of every hotel. Plus, I am now like 5 minutes from the airport instead of 20. I just saved my company over $1000 for the 10 day stay as well. Good for me. Maybe I'll splurge on dinner tonight.

6 hotels in almost as many days. Happy Halloween!

FYI, I'm really happy the Yankees lost. So there.

Nightmare on Disney Street

2005-10-10T11:03:00.000-07:00

I need a valium..........

So, I pack up this morning and check out of the hotel. Drive 45 minutes to the Gaylord Palms Resort (near Disney) and pay the $5.50 in tolls to get there.

I check in. Seems there has been some miscommunication on THEIR part and I don't have a room today as they have me checking in tomorrow. Now, they DO have a couple rooms but they have some "powerful" company who they need to rent the rooms to instead, even though I'm there and they are not. Why? Because I got a discount rate (my friend works there) and they are paying over $200 a night. "Sorry for the inconvenience" I get again.

So, they send me over to the Swan/Dolphin hotel on Disney itself. Just for one night. I drive over here and check in. "Just for one night sir?" the hotel clerk asks. "Uh, yeah." "And will you be self parking or use valet?" I tell her I'll just park the car myself. "That'll be $7 sir, shall I charge it to your room?"

What? Excuse me? I have to pay $7 to park my own car myself? No F***ing way! I look her straight in the eye and tell her, under no circumstances am I paying to park the car myself.

When you pay for a hotel room, it includes parking in the parking lot. Period. That is the biggest bunch of crap I have seen yet.

She argues with me and I tell her I am not leaving, I am getting my room, and I am NOT paying to park the car. The manager comes out, we argue, I win.

Making a buck is one thing. Ripping people off is another.

I go to park my car and the parking lot you have to self park in is like 1/2 mile down the road. Jesus. And they want you to pay them to walk all that way too!

I go to my room, covered in sweat from my morning excerise and hook up the computer to the internet. It says my room will be charged $10.95 to use the internet for one day. !@^##@!!(!@^%$#(!!#^%( Son of a bitch! I HATE having to pay MORE for it. That too is complete BS! These days it should be included in the $129 room, plus state tax, plus resort fees, plus surcharge fees, plus phone fees, plus hotel tax, plus disney mouse tax, plus using the elevator tax, plus city tax, plus county tax and $4.00 for a bottle of water. You know, the free stuff out of the faucet.

I am NOT in a good mood. And it's not even my money. My company will pay for all of it. I just hate being ripped off and abused by crap like this, my money or not. Part of my responsibilities is to minimize the cost of travel in every way I can. I do that. Sometimes, like today, there's just not a whole lot I can do about it.

I hate Disney and Mickey can go screw himself.

My Blog Sloganizer!

2005-10-06T14:59:00.000-07:00

I love this thing. Click on it and try some "creative" words with it. Hilarious.

Customer Service or Lack Thereof

2005-10-06T14:13:00.000-07:00

Have you noticed how bad customer service is these days? It's awful and it's getting worse. The following has happened to me just in the last few days...........

So, I flew from San Antonio to Orlando and drove the rental car to my hotel. I have 4 easy requirements for my hotel: clean, bed, shower and high speed internet. That's it. I prefer that it's not too expensive either but sometimes that's unavoidable. The secretary at work knows this, told the lady at the airport who gave her a list of hotels, of which I chose the cheapest one. So, I check in and unpack everything and then try to get online. Hmmmm......no ethernet wire and no wireless. I go to the front desk and it turns out they don't have internet there. Jeez. I mean, how hard is it to ask or know these things before giving us a list of hotels that meet those requirements? So, I pack again, check out and spend the next hour and a half finding another hotel. I get settled in there.

I'm there 2 days, then I leave to visit my mom for 3 days and I come back. The next morning there's no water in my room. I call the front desk and the lady tells me that I will not have water today until 4 pm and "Sorry for the inconvenience." I'm like, ok, this is just for today, right? Nope. All week I won't have water all day on my floor. Ok, so I ask if I can change rooms to one of the floors with water. She says, "I'm sorry sir, those floors are booked." Of course. So I ask her why they didn't tell me this in advance and there's silence on the other end. Right. So I tell her, "Well, sorry for the inconvenience but please have my bill ready in 15 minutes as I am leaving."

So, I pack up again and go down to get my bill, which is too much for some reason. I look at it and they charged me $10 each day for valet parking. Huh? So, I show her my car keys and tell her I never used it and how could it be on my bill? I could hear the crickets outside. They can't even get my bill right! I get that fixed and again I am looking for yet another hotel.

An hour goes by in my search and I get hungry. I go to the drive through at Burger King and keep it simple. I order a #7 with onion rings instead of fries. I drive away........there's fries in there. F***ing idiots.

I'm starting to REALLY love Orlando at this point................

Another hour goes by and I finally find another hotel but damn far away from where I was. Orlando is pretty spread out. So far this hotel is much better.

Today, I get faxes from 2 different Raytheon Aircraft Service Centers with bills concerning maintenance that has been done recently on the company airplane that I fly. I have to approve them before the company pays them. I scrutinize them because they are not correct EVERY SINGLE TIME. Not ONCE, in 3 years, has a bill from one of those places been correct. Absolutely unbelievable. And today was no exception. Warranty items they try to charge us for, lying about how long it takes to do a particular maintenance item when I know damn well it doesn't take that long, etc. And the last phase inspection we had done, the place actually performed THE WRONG ONE! They had the log books and everything and did the wrong phase. $22,000 worth of wrong maintenance. Nice, huh? The second place is having to redo it with the right phase.

Folks, this is just this week! The word for this is incompetence. Pure and simple. It is one thing I have absolutely no patience for, whatsoever. If you're getting paid to do a job, then you better damn well do it. Because if it's me you're trying to rip off, or I get abused because of your incompetence, you too will receive the wrath of Kila. Just call Raytheon and ask them about me......I'm sure the entire company knows my name by now. I bet the lady at the counter of the Ivanhoe Plaza Hotel is still standing there with her mouth agape, in shock. Idiots.

I realize too that sometimes you get what you pay for. My boss is always reminding me that many times when you try to save a buck, you end up spending 10 more. While I understand this with products and things, I don't think it comes into play with customer service. They charge a certain amount and you expect the service to be done efficiently and correctly. Whether I am buying a burger at Burger King or Paris Hilton is choosing her 5 million dollar engagement ring, the service should be the same.

But it's not and that sucks.

Later,

Relationships: The Ex and The New Guy

2005-10-06T14:05:00.000-07:00

Here's a question from Emerald:

hey... Wayne,
...question for your blog..... maybe you will have "answers"...

what do I do when the X-boyfriend finds my blog (my fault... I told him a long time ago I had one... he snooped....) ...and he reads the ENTIRE thing and is offended by some of my stuff? And he now knows I've moved on to a new guy???
And, I STILL have feelings for HIM???
Sigh.

Hey Emerald,

Wow. Initially, I thought this would be easy but then you just HAD to throw in that you still have feelings for the ex. You women are kinda weird! LOL!

Ok, here we go. You need to ask yourself WHY you still have feelings for an ex and examine why you broke up in the first place. Then, once you've looked at that, you need to compare the ex to the new guy and figure out which one you want (I'm assuming the ex wants you back, or will take you back, as you didn't say one way or the other). You can't have both obviously......well, maybe you could.......LOL!

I will tell you that I have gotten back together with exes in the past and it never worked out. Usually, it ended for a reason. Something for you to think about.

Comments readers?

Hope that helps Emerald.

Wayne

Idiots

2005-09-30T10:32:00.000-07:00

The president of the Association of Flight Attendants, Patricia Friend, is calling for the group to boycott the movie Flightplan, starring Jodie Foster. She says, "This depiction of flight attendants is an outrage. Flight attendants........put their lives on the line day after day for the safety of passengers." Her statement says the film portrays the attendants as "rude, unhelpful and uncaring."

What an idiot!

Ok, first of all lady, while flight attendants have an important job, they do not, in any way, put their lives on the line for the safety of passengers! You are not a police officer, a fireman or a soldier who in fact do put their lives at risk. Only in the case of an accident, which is rare, are flight attendants called upon to help get the passengers off the plane is a safe and orderly fashion. Flying is 1000 times safer than driving your car. I'm a pilot, and I am not putting my life on the line for passengers either. Get real.

Secondly, it's a MOVIE for Christ's sake! A story, if you will. And in THIS particular story, that's the way the attendants are, whether they are actually rude or not. It's called fiction. That means it's NOT REAL. You seem to have a problem understanding the difference between that and reality. The rest of the world knows this is just a movie and will not judge flight attendants any differently after seeing it. Trust me. Have you ever seen the movie Airplane!? Yeah, us pilots are just like that! LMAO!

Dr. Rumack: "Can you fly this plane and land it?"

Striker: "Surely you can't be serious."

Dr. Rumack: "I am serious. And don't call me Shirley."

To the Association of Flight Attendants: You need to fire this imbecile. Send her to a loony bin.

Congratulations Patricia Friend, you're my first idiot on my soon to be world famous blog!

Later!

Pictures

2005-09-27T10:40:00.000-07:00

I was told I need more pictures in my blog! LOL! So, I'll start putting some in once in a while.........

This is me in a T-45 Goshawk.

Me flying in a formation of 4 T-28 Trojans at the Commemorative Air Force (CAF) formation clinic at Castle AFB in Merced, CA.

Another shot of me with my F/A-18 Hornet when I was in the Navy.

There! Better now? A little visual stimulation for you!

Cheers!

California Sucks Part 3, The Wrath of Kila

2005-09-25T22:08:00.000-07:00

Welcome readers to the 3rd part of California Sucks! Today we discuss all things related to automobiles..............

The roads here SUCK! I travel the country and nowhere are the roads worse than here in the Bay Area. I drive I-5 to I-205 to I-580 to work. 205 and 580 are the worst. 205 is like riding an old wooden rollercoaster the whole way......when you can actually move, that is. It's 2 lanes each way and is basically a slow moving parking lot almost every day. It's so bad, there is a web site dedicated to getting it widened. www.205now.com The roads do far more damage to your car thus wearing out your tires and suspension much quicker costing you more money. 580 isn't much better and is pot-hole heaven.

The gas tax here is supposed to go toward fixing the roads, but of course, none of it does. The voters in the past voted for a gas tax where all the proceeds would go to fix the roads. Then, the government found a way to divert those funds somewhere else.

I drive about 40 miles each way, to and from work. It takes over 1.5 hours EACH WAY. That's averaging 26 mph on the Interstate. Stop and go all the way, wearing out your brakes 10 times faster than normal. This too costs you more money, let alone the stress imposed on every driver, each day, driving in these conditions. It's crazy. And before you say move closer to work, you have to realize that I, like many other citizens here, can't afford it. I can't afford to live where I work because of the housing costs here (that's another story.......).

When I moved here, my car insurance went up 50%! Just like that! For no other reason than I drive in CA now. And I get the super duper awesome driver discount too! What, now I'm a bad driver? That's BS!

I am in San Antonio as I write this and gas here is 40 cents a gallon cheaper than in CA, where they freakin make it! This is relatively close to where Katrina hit and the gas is STILL that much cheaper. In CA, you just get ripped off everywhere. And all that gas tax doesn't go to fixing our roads. Shameful! Everywhere I go, gas is much cheaper.

They desperately need a train system, like the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system, to go all the way out to the San Juaquin valley, up to Sacramento and back to San Francisco. But they don't. BART only covers cities close to the Bay. This not only screws millions of people, forcing them to drive in the conditions I stated above, but also seriously damages the environment by forcing all those cars on the road. The air quality here sucks too and is below EPA standards many days of the year. People would use a train system if it existed.

That's all for now folks! Thanks for stopping by and tune in next week for more of California Sucks! Same bat time, same bat channel!

Famous People Who Know Me!

2005-09-20T09:06:00.000-07:00

Chuck Yeager! Yep, the living legend had the opportunity to fly with me (haha!) last year and since then, we have gotten together on two more occasions.

The guy has some amazing stories to tell.

We fly formation together. I try to help him out when I can. LOL! Here, I am on his wing and he is flying my boss' Mustang. Did you know that Chuck had 7 kills in WWII in one of these?

I will be flying with Chuck again next month in the Edwards Air Force Base air show!

And if you're a famous person who wants to know me, feel free to leave a comment! I just might get back to you! LMAO!

Later everyone!

California Sucks Part 2, The Taming of the Screw

2005-09-15T13:19:00.000-07:00

Welcome back folks to this week's exciting episode of California Sucks! We begin this episode in the state legislature where Arnold is addressing the Senate........

"The people of California have already voted on the issue of gay marriage. I will not go against the will of the people!" he says, sounding very much like Conan the Barbarian. "This bill is vetoed!" And just like that, The Governator kept his balls in tact. The senators supporting the bill then skulk out of the room, pondering their next vote producing move..........

Gee......democracy, let the people decide, vote.........funny how that all works.

But then, Arnold finally gave in to allowing driver's licenses for ILLEGAL immigrants. What the hell? Instead of getting to the root of the problem, now the state government is condoning, dare I say encouraging, people sneaking into our state illegally. Can't anyone see where this is going? OMFG!

Here are some of the arguments is favor of this:

1. They will drive anyway, so might as well make them illegal immigrants with legal driving privileges!
2. We will be able to keep track of them!
3. California's economy depends on them!
4. No LEGAL citizen would want to do the jobs they do!

Here are the problems with this line of thinking:

1. None of them, not ONE, will have insurance to drive whether they have a legal license or not. There are millions of them and other less responsible legal citizens driving without it already. You and I are forced to pay for it in OUR insurance in "uninsured motor vehicle" coverage. At the risk of stating the obvious, they are here ILLEGALLY. They have no rights here as they shouldn't! And by giving them legal driver's licences, we are giving those who may be terrorists, and who want to do us harm, legal and easy transportation, between states, to do so. Think about that one for a minute..........
2. Why on earth would we want to spend time, money and resources keeping track of them? My God! Those can be put to far better use elsewhere.
3. The economy, in California or the U.S., does NOT depend on them. It makes the people who hire them (illegally) RICHER because they don't have to pay them minimum wage, or give them benefits, etc. Period.
4. Nobody wants those jobs, whatever they are? Really? So, all those people standing in the unemployment line don't want a job? All the people on welfare don't want a job? The homeless don't want to work? Hmmmmmmm.................

Solutions to this problem:

Unfortunately, dear reader, the solution to this problem means fixing a lot of other problems as well. So, this is going to be a little longer................

First of all, let's bring home all our soldiers in Iraq, Afghanistan and anywhere else where they are not wanted or appreciated anymore. I for one am sick and tired of the rest of the world blackmailing us for help (as in places like N. Korea or Iran), or not appreciating what we do for them. Screw them. I say we divert all that money here and let the rest of the world police themselves instead of us doing it for them. This will last about 5 years when they start begging us to help them again in natural disasters and human atrocities. So, we bring them all home and we save about a billion dollars a day. We use all that money for the following:

We use the freed up soldiers and go round up everyone who is in this country illegally and deport them back to their own country.

Then, we use those soldiers to bolster our border and port security and prevent illegals from getting in anymore.

Then, we take all the people on welfare and the homeless and we offer them the newly vacated jobs, at minimum wage, and the newly vacated homes at a minimum price. If the illegals can live here just fine on it, so can they. If they do not accept these jobs, we deport them too. That would just show that they are in their current condition by choice and don't want to work. France will take them..........

Next, we have to revamp the welfare system to ensure that it is not being abused, as it is by so many today. Limit it more, track the job searching better and force people to work. They get lazy and would rather take the handout which is bad for everyone. Texas has a good system for this and it seems to work well.

There, I just solved our foreign war problem, our homeless problem, illegal immigrant problem, border security problem and welfare problem in 10 minutes. I'll be running for governor in the next election. Vote for Wayne! The bumper stickers will read, "Watts-The Power for Change!" LMAO!

Lastly, I'll just say this: These problems, like so many others, are solvable. What I wrote above makes sense, right? But, they will never be fixed because of one thing; greed.

Thanks for tuning in! You won't want to miss next week's super secret topic, dear reader! Same bat time, same bat channel!

Blog Spamming

2005-09-12T20:35:00.000-07:00

Well, here we go. I first noticed this on my friend Frocket's Blog (which you should click on my link list and read as she is an exceptional writer) and pointed it out to her stating how appalled I was about it. And now, it has reached my blog. Perhaps I should feel flattered that the spammer in question felt my blog was worth spamming in the first place, but I don't. Besides, hardly anyone reads mine and if he/she was smart, they would have spammed a well read blog.

Blog spamming is using someone's comments section in their blog to post links to your website under the guise that it has something to do with your blog, or you, or the topic therein. Yet it's nothing more than spamming to get people to go to your site which charges money for something.

So, to all future blog spammers DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, SPAM MY BLOG. If you want to link to my meager little blog site, then you can pay me for the privilege. You need to ask me first, at the very least. And be forewarned, that anyone else who does this, I guarantee that you will have immediate and difficult to fix problems on your web site.

Michael, elevate threat condition to DEFCON 3. ;)

USATODAY.com - Siblings read loved ones' names on 9/11 anniversary

2005-09-11T13:11:00.000-07:00

In rememberance of all the victims of the terrorist attacks on 9/11, four years ago.

USATODAY.com - Siblings read loved ones' names on 9/11 anniversary

California Sucks

2005-09-08T13:24:00.000-07:00

This is the first part of an exciting new reality blog series called "California Sucks"! So turn off those TV's and break out the computers folks, because you don't want to miss even one episode!

Our first topic is dictated by recent headlines about the passing of a gay marriage bill which recently passed the state senate and awaits Arnold's signature..........

Marriage is defined as being between a man and a woman, and as far as I can tell, it doesn't matter what religion or non-religious mode you choose. It's still the same and nowhere can I find it betweeen 2 men or 2 women. If the government wants to recognize them as something else, like a legal partnership or something, I have no problems with that at all. It's just not MARRIAGE and shouldn't be performed in a church. That said, if they want to give them tax breaks, that's fine with me too. HOWEVER, the government CANNOT force businesses to give their gay partner the same considerations and benefits as a married couple, otherwise you are then forcing anti-religious beliefs upon companies and the people who run them. Leave it up to the companies to decide what they do. Some will, some won't. Then, a gay person can decide where they want to work. If this doesn't make sense to everyone, then I don't know what else to say..........

And if the governator actually signs that bill passed by the state senate into law, then I am going to petition to marry my dog. There are animal psychologists in CA who claim they can understand what dogs "say" so they can help with the legalities in the wedding ceremony. "Fido says, I do." My dog should have equal rights like everyone else and get medical Vet coverage in the process. She loves me, cares for me, protects me and would forsake me with all others. It would, of course, have to be an "open" relationship as I am just not that attractive to her. F***ing ridiculous, huh?

And don't even TRY and argue the fact that I am human and my dog is, well, a dog! Because I will then ask you, "Ok what makes us humans different then?" And you'll think hmmmm.......well, we have reasoning, the capacity to love and our DNA is different. And I'll say aha! And why's that? Because God made man in his image and that's why we are different than the rest of the animal kingdom. And then we'll go all the way back to Adam and Eve (foregoing any other religious denominations) and show that God made Woman for Man. If he meant it the other way, he would have made Elton John for Adam and we'd all be really good gay singers.

So, MARRIAGE to my dog makes about as much f***ing sense as 2 men getting married. Call it a legal union if you like, but it cannot be marriage.

Even the Pagans, who believe(d) in different Gods, conducted marriage ceremonies between a man and a woman. It doesn't matter whether you are religious, agnostic, pagan, atheist, whatever.

Tune in next week for the next exciting episode! Will Arnold sacrifice his balls and sign the bill as is? Will our roads actually start getting fixed? Will we have to mortgage our houses to buy gas so we can go to work? These questions and more may actually be answered (but probably not!)

Same bat time, same bat channel!

Parenting

2005-09-04T09:18:00.000-07:00

The number one problem in this country are irresponsible parents who take no active part in their children's lives, don't teach them right from wrong, don't encourage them (force them to an extent) to do well in school and don't even provide a positive role model for children to emulate.

When you, as a parent, fail in your duties as one, your children will then most likely grow up to be failures. Not only as a productive member of society, but as a parent as well. It is a vicious cycle that is getting worse. It has produced the "Me" generation of self absorbed and generally lazy people who have no integrity or sense of responsibility.

During my Naval career, I saw the results of poor parenting as each set of new recruits would enter the military. Instead of joining to serve your country, become a better person through education and hard work, promote the ideals of democracy throughout the world, protect our country, it's citizens and our way of life, and grow as a person, it became more and more like "I don't want to work and by the way, what's the Navy gonna do for me?" Motivating and trying to better these people became far more challenging than trying to land on the carrier at night.

But that's only part of the problem. It affects our society as a whole. I am disgusted when I see parents, in public, chastise their children using foul, four-letter words that would make a sailor blush. And to a 4 year old! Parents who are so lacking in skills that they cannot even control their own children. Because from day one, their children are not their number one concern, apparently.

You must first be responsible for your own actions people. If you aren't ready for children either by age, family considerations, monetary considerations or plain selfishness THEN DON'T HAVE THEM. And if you have one that wasn't planned, then you better grow up and get ready to be a parent fast, unless you want him or her to grow up being a dirtbag.

I see all these poor people who can't afford to have a decent life yet (but who, if they choose to, can still make something of themselves) just bury themselves deeper into their current situation by having children......and more children. No responsibility at all. Then, ALL those children grow up with those parents who most likely will not give a shit about their upbringing leaving them to fail out of school, be defenseless against gangs and drugs and all the rest of it. And they will grow up and do the same damn thing.

And I see wealthy people have children who grow up with nannies, have all the finer things in life and go to the finest schools but who grow up without a parent's love or devotion. And when THAT child tries to have a healthy relationship later in life, it is doomed to fail because he or she doesn't know HOW to do it. They don't know how to cope with life's problems. And when they have a kid, they won't know what to do then either.

You see, you make your own destiny and choices people. We are not all dealt the same cards in life when we are born. But you make the best out of it as best you can. If you're poor, you don't freaking get pregnant (or get someone pregnant) until you can get a little ahead in life. It DOES NOT MATTER how much money you make when it comes to being a good parent, however. It means nothing at all really. What matters is that YOU CARE about your children's upbringing and that it's your number one priority. But, if you're strapped for money, then for God's sake, don't make it any harder than it already is!

Caring means that you take an active part in your child's DAILY life. You must nurture, love, teach, support, discipline and help them in every aspect. You must give them the most important thing of all; YOUR TIME. You must instill in them responsibility and integrity in all that they do. Give them the willpower and understanding to resist bad things, bad people and peer pressure. Teach them what is important in life. Discipline them from day one to mind you without yelling, using foul language or hitting them in any way. You talk to them, TEACH them and punish them in other ways as neccessary. You must be patient with them. You must take an active part as to what they watch on TV, what they do on the internet and the video games they play. You must also set a personal example for your kids. You should be a role model for them. Be what you want them to become! If you don't want them to smoke, you better not do it yourself. Same goes with using foul language, speaking proper english, how you dress, how you deal with others, your work habits, etc. Everything you do affects how your child grows up.

And if you're one of the millions of people who grew up without parents like this, take a moment and think about who you are right now and who you want to be. You can change yourself and not become your parents. It's not easy mind you, but possible. It all depends on how bad you want to change and become better than they were.

God, my writing sucks and I sincerely apologize. I wish I could write better. If you want good writing, you'll have to read other people's blogs like Frocket's whose link is on the right. Now that girl can write! Mine's not horrible mind you and I at least can get my points across. I just wish I was better with the words and structure.

Later all.