Weekend open thread
July 7, 2017
Lucky Strike
Storm chaser and Your Shot photographer Vanessa Neufeld captured this scene in Keyes, Oklahoma. The day before she was to fly home, she and her fellow chasers “thought we’d go for one last chase and hope for something more than just a squall line,” she remembers. “As the evening descended, so did a barrage of lightning in northwest Oklahoma. ”
Category: Open thread
First!
First!!
lol looks like a tie to me 🙂
I can go with that … we’re BOTH first!
I can live with that too…*shakes hands*
Can I buy you celebratory beverage?
I’d be honored! Diet Coke is my beverage of choice; I gave up the hard stuff about 16 years or so ago. За здоровье!
**hands you a Diet Coke and some homemade cookies**
😀
**returns the gesture with your choice of beverage – sorry, no cookies; I don’t cook**
😀
Second!
I had first last week…so intentionally deferred this week. 🙂
I so believe that….
Huh?
NO! I was watching!!
TOP FIVE AND I once again award myself Honorary First.
Top 10
I’m somewhere in the Top Ten of Tenantism, so it’s fine with me.
You have -never- been tenative.
John Giduck – the turd with a face
LTC Dave Grossman – the serial embellisher including “Pulitzer Prize nominee” (false), “Vietnam Veteran” (never served in Vietnam or any combat zone), and “Airborne Ranger” (graduate of Ranger school but never served in any Ranger Battalion)
https://thetruthaboutsocnetlies.wordpress.com/2014/08/23/giduck-pal-ltc-dave-grossman-falsely-claims-hes-a-pulitzer-prize-nominee/
Pish! Only a Pulitzer nominee? I won the Collier trophy(along with several thousand other people who worked for Boeing on the 777 project). Top that Dave.
But does he have the rare and lofty “Cottonbaler Certificate of Achievement”?
ANYONE ELSE have the coveted Expert Floor Buffer Operator Badge?
I couldn’t go the 8 seconds.
“Cottonbaler Certificate of Achievement”?
Hey, I’ve got one of those.
HHC, 3/7, 197th, 1974.
“Bull-itzer”
So, on behalf of Toasty Coastie and myself, what are the protocols for a tie for first in the WOT? Do we share the honor? Or do we settle the issue with flintlock pistols at twenty paces? Or is it something in between?
Yes
I nominate that all questions pertaining to protocols for a tie for First need to be forwarded to Daisy Cutter (who seems to have the best grasp on Robert’s Rules of Order) since 2/17 Air Cav has departed.
Do I have a second on the nomination?
I second the motion.
IIRC, the policy followed by 2/17 Air Cav was that the first visible comment in the comment queue to claim first is the true claimant. There are no ties. The reason is because although both entries might show 1:05 PM (hours, minutes), in actuality the comment database uses a more fine-grain non-visible timestamp to record entries such as 1:05:25:35 (hours, minutes, seconds, tenths-of-seconds) or whatever.
The actual TAH recording capability has been rated TS/SCI, but Jonn might tell you for a bottle of decent rum.
By that measure I am first; however, I willingly share the honor with Toasty Coastie this week.
So let it be written, so let it be done.
Abracadabra.
Dunno. We might be on the verge of a slippery slope here. If everybody is going to get a trophy, I nominate IDC SARC for best second comment on a topic not involving sweater puppies…
So, Claw, you are deflecting? Hmmm.
(OWB wanders off, muttering, hardly able to contain the disappointment in Claw for waffling on this otherwise easy decision. Maybe he is planning to change the rules and is hoping to soften the blow by acting so indecisive. Not good.)
Mutter, mumble, kicks rocks.
Deflecting? No, just providing a job opportunity for someone else.
2/17 Air Cav held down two jobs during his tenure. Keeper of the Coveted Book of Firsts and Chief Arbitrator of Who’s First Questions.
Upon his departure I stepped up and volunteered (Yeah, Yeah, I know, never volunteer for anything military related) to become the Keeper of the First Book. I have been performing that job faithfully each week.
However, with my severely diminished mental capacity and advancing years, I found myself only able to perform just one task at a time and would therefore be unable to do both tasks should the situation arise.
Also, I didn’t want to give the appearance of being a WOT hog and decided to share the wealth by giving someone else a chance to share the spotlight. Based on a survey of past comments, it appeared that Daisy Cutter is highly qualified (more so than I) for the position of Chief Arbitrator of Who’s First. Hence the nomination I put forth.
However, should you want the job of Who’s First Arbitrator, simply speak up and let the TAH dickweeds know you have assumed the mantle of responsibility and I’ll withdraw the nomination.
Not planning on changing any of the rules. Just letting everyone know up front that I can’t do both jobs now that I’m retired (been 25 years since I last wore the uniform) from active service and getting on in years.
As always, the subject is now open for discussion and “complete sarc/snark” applies to this comment.
What happened to 2/17? I missed it. I like that dude and hope he comes back.
At 12:54 pm on the June 2, 2017 WOT, 2/17 came up on the net and in so many words, said Thanks for the years of pleasure here on TAH, Bye.
He’s done it before and he always comes back.
earlier than usual lately…. great read: http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/the-story-pearl-harbor-did-not-begin-hawaii-21428
Top 10 WooHoo!
I’m here…..which is nice
/so I’ve got that going for me.
Damn, I stopped abusing my F5 key to go out and have a smoke and shit, I missed out on first again! Congrats to all ahead of me! And just to wish a hearty FUCK YOU to my pos brother who is still scamming the VA out of $3K a month for his phony PTSD disability! You will soon be put in prison where you belong, David “Doc” Shrum! Google that mother fucker!!!
Scamming VA disability is rampant. Even when they follow the law and have medical records.
Still no baby yet. Now she thinks it’ll be next week.
Good luck TOW, I can imagine the waiting is killing you…
I missed it again
Pitchin’ back into the fight after a brief distraction.
What did I miss?
(Besides any chance of being ‘first’ on the WOT today)
On July 5, 2017, Slimy, Stolen Valorist Kyle Barwan was moved from County Jail to Florida Department of Corrections, “Community Control”, for “Violation of Probation” on 3 counts. I don’t know all the particulars yet, but along with the restitution ordered with his guilty plea of April 14, 17, he has about $50.00 a month in service fees associated with this new status. Here in Florida, Community Control, usually means House Arrest, via Ankle Monitor, possibly a daily phone call to his probation officer, and that he only leave the house for work or medical care. Work? Pfffft. Silly, Barwan don’t work.
His father, Paul Barwan came to the Facebook posted video by Sheriff Grady Judd to give us his assessment of his son:
Paul Barwan. “Frankie Cee and Benner Crawford As Kyles father (who i rarely claim to be.) I agree that he needs help.he does not believe he is in the millitary, he was taught right from wrong, same as his siblings.For kyle i believe it is easier to scam for money than it is to work for and earn it! Im not gonna claim to know the source of what ails him because its not how the rest of us are.Hard work ,dedication to the ones you love and respect for your fellow man is what he was taught. I truly apologise for his actions to the people he has hurt and assure you all that on the day kyle stands face to face with me again….it will be kyle calling the police for help! I am the only thing that kyle truly fears, because i stand on the side of accountability, respect, and whats right.”
Disowned by Dad, no job. Does he have a home, or will he be playing his scam again?
He owns a couple of changes of clothes, and that is about it. He has a smart phone that he scammed away from someone. Yes, he will be scamming in some sort of way, and I am quite sure that it has already begun. He couldn’t speak the truth if it was printed on Cue Cards. He is carrying 35.2 “points”. With that many he cannot be put on conventional probation. If he gets a couple of Violations, and passes 44 points, he cannot be given less than prison time. If he does not make his monthly maintenance payments, he gets a violation. If he doesn’t take gainful employment, he gets a violation. If he pretends to be anything more than a washed out basic trainee, he gets a violation. The question is not “IF”, but “WHEN”.
Kyle Barwan is as apt to straighten up as the members of the DRG are. It ain’t gonna happen.
Thanks, as always, for the updates.
TOP SECRET!!!
EXPLODING PINTO!!!
I HEARD RUMOR that Ford was going to reintroduce the Pinto model and the ad song was going to be “Chariots of Fire” but Chevrolet already beat them to that with the Volt which didn’t even require a collision to explode or catch on fire!
The Chinese are flashing their new Aircraft Carrier, today pulling into Hong Kong:
http://gcaptain.com/chinese-aircraft-carrier-sails-hong-kong-maiden-visit/
Big deal! I’ve done that:
https://get.google.com/albumarchive/104745627018165888181/album/AF1QipMt8pxATkPemEiAvihhYo8QULJ-lSWUEBh_Nu38/AF1QipPn34io4N04mHOIp_bsjlpPqZFQwhJR8fW9JVub
https://get.google.com/albumarchive/104745627018165888181/album/AF1QipMt8pxATkPemEiAvihhYo8QULJ-lSWUEBh_Nu38/AF1QipOuwC60jZq2UuuBWQ5plz8ssFHsK9xyYJioHVeC
Of course that was an LHD. . .
Mk-48 ADCAP. ‘Nuff said.
I deployed on that ship years ago. I think the majority of ships I was on have been sinkex’d or at least decomissioned.
Same with my squadrons, all de-commed but one.
My first boat was (nearly) brand new when I reported on board.
It just got inactivated and is undergoing decom in Bremerton.
Christ, I’m old.
Boooooooooooooooooom!
As the members of the Submarine Service would say,
“There are Subs… and then, there are TARGETS!”
Or as they would also say,
“SUBMARINES ONCE! SUBMARINES TWICE!”
The rest is incredibly NSFW.
Geez, an ex-Russkie carrier that looks smaller than the container ship sailing behind it and it looks to be a diesel-powered warship as well. Did the ChiComs build it to withstand battle, or did they build it like like they do “Makee-Chinee Wal Mart Fall-apart” merchandise?
No live train video from API? (Whine.)
How about some street trackage in La Grange, KY?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NOG7zK89xC8
Cool.
What, you’re tired of watching the empty crossing at La Plata. I’m wondering if the East bound Amtrak (#4) will ever be close to on time. Always 2-4 hours late.
Oh, I’m not tired of it. A whole gaggle of Amish peeps got off the Amtrak at La Plata last night.
I guess I just like trains better than planes, that’s all.
Here’s Chesterton IN where this mainline sees 50-80 trains a day with a “dog’s breakfast” mixture of locomotives from different lines including BC Rail!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xSNYdoXOgYU
Me too. These 3 (thanks API) show some sleepy little towns that I’d like to visit. The one in La Grange right in the middle of town is wild!
Take your mouse pointer to the bottom of the screen and you’ll be able to rewind up to the past four hours!
Some things don’t change. I was a Seaboard Airline Railroad (SAL) Call Boy in 1960/61 in Jacksonville. I.e., my job was to call the crews for the trains. Story in itself.
The SAL’s crack train was the Silver Meteor N bound it left around 1600 and was #58. Here we are in 2017 and it still does that with the same number.
98 not 58.
I’m betting that ANYONE that caused even the slightest delay to that train was demanded in the Superintendent’s office for a bucket of ass-chewing! Y’all know I DID tell you how to rewind and look back, DID ANYONE find out when the white truck left?
Claw and I were on it like stink. Claw reported the exfil of the truck in virtual real time. twice. It left and came back and left again.
OBTW: thanks for causing me to piss away even more of my time. I have 4 cameras open and bride tired of hearing horns. Up side is I’m finding places in heartland Murica that I want to visit, eg., La Grange KY where the big ass trains go right down main street! A lot of them! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOG7zK89xC8&app=desktop
It’s got me wanting to road trip to LaGrange while wondering if there are any good B & B’s with a good view of the tracks!
One of my fondest childhood memories is taking the train from South Bend, Indiana to Disney World with my parents. My wife and I plan on taking the kids on the Alaska Railroad through Denali Park towards the end of this years tourist season.
Here’s a repeat from last week:
Prime number Friday 7-7-17.
Cool!
I’ve seen paintings that looked like photographs. That photograph looks like a painting!
What you’re likely seeing is an example of a photographic technique called High Dynamic Range (HDR). The general idea is to combine multiple exposures in order to maintain detail over an expanded brightness scale. In this case it’s possible to see relatively good detail in both the underside of the cloud layer (dark scale end) and the side of the farmhouse (bright scale end).
To get an idea of what I’m talking about, try taking a picture, without flash, from the inside of a room with a window. Usually what will happen is you’ll get either stuff inside the room under-exposed or things outside the room over-exposed, or both. HDR is a way to get around that problem.
Proxy provisional first, yet again!
People are sick and tired of high property taxes, lack of good paying jobs, and very poor government. – Rockford 98.5FM Country
HERE ARE THE TOP 6 STATES ILLINOIS RESIDENTS ARE MOVING TO:
Indiana gained 19,748
Florida gained 14,978
Wisconsin gained 11,448
Texas gained 10,208
Iowa gained 9,733
Missouri gained 8,520
Total: 67,073
Last year, total moving to other states was 101,183.
A budget was passed yesterday over Rauner’s veto. Not balanced, pure spendthrift. The state is $15 billion in debt and can’t pay its bills. Income tax will go up by 32%. It’s mostly to bail out Chicago, the biggest pisshole city in the Midwest.
Can’t say as I blame them.
Wisconsin fairs have draft horse pulls. Percherons, Belgians, a few Shires. Good times.
This just in: per the State Bar of California, Daniel A. Bernath IS STILL DISBARRED!
If anyone is interested, the reason why may be found here.
It also appears that yet another judge has decided to give DAB a well-deserved “kutomba wewe” shout-out – though this latter case also appears to be under appeal.
Yo, Danni-boi:
Too bad, so sad
Sucks to be you
Received your due
Courts said, “Screw You . . .
. . . and the horse you rode in on.”
(Note: linked image is possibly NSFW and also is not recommended around prudes, clergy, or children.)
Hope being a world-class jerk was all worth it, fella. Enjoy – especially that upcoming “all inclusive” yearlong vacation at that Virginia “Crossbar Hotel”. How’s that appeal coming?
And on a completely different subject: Buck Fergdahl.
The white truck is gone now.
I say again, the white truck is gone now.
Tacos are ready, out.
Hello comrades, it is I, Commissar Poodle, here to bring you an update on my latest attempted prank.
So, I submitted my retirement packet a few months ago, and didn’t think much about the process. I assumed that I’d be retired by now. So, I decided to pull a prank on my unit. This weekend is a MUTA 6, drill goes from Friday to Sunday.
My plan? To say nothing and to simply stay in bed. When I got the call as to where I was at, I simply told them, “I’m taking the weekend off!” I could barely contain my laughter, but they other side didn’t hear me laugh. When they insisted that I come in, I insisted on taking the weekend off.
They were serious, so I gave them the news. I told them that I’m in the retired reserve. They said, “No you’re not!” Turned out that my retirement packet remained on my unit administrator’s computer and didn’t get uploaded.
Needless to say, I got a “U” for this morning and can’t make it up. My bad ass argument skills, that you guys are at awe with here, did not work with them.
It appears that 10,000 jobs may be coming to Wisconsin through Foxconn, an iPhone maker.
Any guesses on why they would avoid Illinois? Anyone? Bueller? Yeah, no guesses necessary.
Uuuuhhhm, they didn’t bother going to California either!
Amazon is opening a facility in Wisconsin, too, just across the state line. Again, why not Illinois? (Snerrkk!)
G’day all,
Anyone know of any good VFW or Legion posts in North Carolina, Virginia or West Virginia?!
Im travelling through the states and promised myself I’d drop in to one for a drink before I go home!
By the way, like I told Jonn, you people have a fucking wonderful country and I wish I could stay longer. The only thing I’ve found better than America is the people who live in it.
Any advice is appreciated!
Cheers,
Steve
6th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (Motorised Infantry) OEF 2010/2013
Best wishes, amigo. Feel free to come back if/when you can.
And remember to call it quits at the VFW before you chunder. Trans-Pacific flights are hard enough without a massive hangover. (smile)
Thanks bud. No promises but I’ll try 🙂
Just because you can…
Gotta wonder if that aircraft was equipped with standard props, on all four engines 😉
And this was heard over the 10-MC
fapfapfapfapfapfapfapfapfapfapfapfapfapfap
“Gotta wonder if that aircraft was equipped with standard props, on all four engines.”
Presumably so. While the concept and execution was impressive, a C-130 wasn’t feasible for carrier ops. The Navy then developed the C-2 Greyhound for Carrier On-Board Delivery (COD) duties. This air frame morphed into the E-2 Hawkeye Early Warning (EW) bird.
http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=1100&ct=1&tid=100
http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=1100&tid=700&ct=1
Both remain in use to this day, but the C-2 Greyhound may soon be replaced by the V-22 Osprey.
Any reports of “fapping” during the C-130 carrier tests are purely anecdotal.
*grin*
On a side note, the mighty P-3 Orion lacked the Short Take-Off and Landing (STOL) capabilities of the C-130, and had to make use of the carrier’s catapults and arresting gear to launch and recover onboard.
The C-130 will be replaced by the F-35.
comment of the week!
What do I call myself? I don’t know how to describe what I did in the Army in a few words. I’m getting to do a little more media and PR for a program, and this is always a question I demur on because I don’t know what to say. There are two problems: My military service record is an inaccurate descriptor, and even if I just describe job duty I think it is a little misleading to someone without a military background. My DD-214 lists my MOS as 19K20. I left as an E-5 after 4.5 years. If you saw that DD-214 and knew military descriptors and tank platoons, you’d assume I was a Tank Gunner. That is inaccurate, because I never gunned on a tank. I briefly drove a tank in garrison, and I was a tank loader for more than a year and for about two months in Iraq before we parked our tanks in favor of humvees. Since humvees don’t have loaders, I was a ‘dismount’ and whenever we had a reason to get out of the humvees, that is what I would do. A few months later, I was promoted and began being the gunner on humvees. Then, casualties, mid-tour leave, and a few of my peers getting into a fight and being demoted had me slide into a TC role. In tank platoons, TC means “Tank Commander”, but for platoons that run humvees it is obviously “Truck Commander”. The longest sustained role I had in Iraq was as a TC until shortly before we redeployed. We got a new 2LT, who was an idiot, and I went back to the LTs truck to keep him in line. But when we stopped running combat ops and started doing battle handover, I went back to being a TC on the 3 truck and someone else took over as 1 Gunner for the humbled 2LT for the last few weeks. When we redeployed and on my final battle roster, I was slotted as 3 TC. That would make my title Tank Commander, which I am uncomfortable using… Read more »
“military service record is an inaccurate descriptor”
In the 90’s I had to correct my ERB. It had me having a secondary MOS of 92Y and I was also a sniper with a tour in Aruba. My medical records also claimed I had two different blood types. I have no idea where any of that came from, but my 1SG thought it was hilarious because at the time I was just an E4 M-60 gunner.
Excellent question.
I understand you reluctance to be called an accurate Army job description but highly misleading for a civvie.
I think that you should go with truck commander. When the clueless civvie ask you what it means, you can explain the whole potato salad.
When they ask you why you got demoted to a gunner for the new PL, you can explain to them that a 2LT automatically seats in the TC spot, and the only way to babysit a PL is from the gunner’s hatch, from where you are in a position to NOT fire that .50 cal when the PL insists the dudes over the hill are not friendlies.
It wasn’t a demotion. I believe we were running 5 trucks and consolidated crew to four so the new LT wouldn’t have a truck with only jr enlisted like the old one did. Originally the other E-5 was given the babysitting job but he didn’t have my tact so that didn’t work. Butterbar was West Point, after all, so he had to forget everything he’d learned.
Kind of a non-sequitor to the overall question. I think truck commander is most accurate but don’t think civilians know what that means.
Most folks really don’t want the long version, so you might consider abbreviating it to simply “My assignment was as a tank commander, but most of my time was as a truck commander instead of tank commander.” Something like that would satisfy most people and you can add more detail depending. Like maybe adding, “Trucks served us better where we were when the actual shooting started.”
How about “Gun Truck Commander”?
“What’s a ‘gun truck’?”
“Humvee with firepower, instead of freight.”
I just saw an interesting story on youtube.
https://youtu.be/JhqsuBxrm_A
Sorry…can’t get past her annoying speech to actually watch it. like like omg like like
FIVE INTERESTING THINGS ABOUT JARETT GIMBL THAT YOU MAY NOT KNOW
1. Jarett Gimbl was voted Most Likely To Get His Ass Beat At White Castle During A Drug Purchase by his high school classmates.
2. Jarett Gimbl named his dog Gunny to pay tribute to the Marine that handed him his discharge package.
3. Jarett Gimbl is not a big fan of White Castle hamburgers, but he will always go there when he wants a Coke.
4. If you watch the director’s cut of the 2004 comedy Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle, you can see a deleted scene of Jarett Gimbl getting his ass beat.
5. Jarett Gimbl’s favorite musical act is Smash Mouth.
Looks as though the tropics will not be getting the hurricanes predicted this year (so far). There’s too much wind shear, which butts up against the TDs and diminishes them. And the Caribbean has a dry air issue this year, also, which can deplete the moisture in the winds coming off the African coast. https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/will-new-atlantic-development-follow-former-tropical-depression-4/70002137 In May this year, the forecast was for 10 named storms, 5 of them to be hurricanes, 3 of those major hurricanes with landfalls. Hurricane season goes to November, so it could still happen, but we’re halfway through summer already and all we’re getting is high heat followed by delightfully cool spells and good quantities of rain (in my area, anyway). The Accuweather people are calling last year the deadliest hurricane season since 2012, but their hyperbole is losing its effectiveness. Hurr. Alex made landfall in the Azores in January 2016, which qualified Alex for 2016 hurricane season status. Per the NCDC/NOAA report: Hurricane Matthew became the first Category 5 hurricane since Hurricane Felix in 2007 and was the first Category 4 hurricane since Hurricane Cleo to strike Haiti. After skirting the eastern seaboard, Matthew would eventually make landfall near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina as a Category 1, continuing the decade-long streak of no major hurricanes (Category 3 or stronger) making landfall in the United States. The last major hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. was Wilma on November 24, 2005. This major hurricane drought surpassed the previous record of eight years from 1861-1868 when no major hurricane struck the coast of the United States. On average, a major hurricane makes landfall in the U.S. about once every three years. Hurr. Matthew, in fact, dwindled to a non-major status after Haiti. Most of the rest of them bounced off the eastern seaboard and went back into the Atlantic. I’m only concerning myself with the Atlantic side, because what goes on west of the Rockies only affects me if it comes down from the northwest part of the Arctic. I know the hurricane forecasts apply to the entire Caribbean and US area, but Accuweather makes… Read more »
I love it – Trump wants to collaborate with Putin on cybersecurity!
I suppose that you are an expert in the field, and feel fully qualified to advise President Trump on the matter.
OMG! You want to help Make America Great Again. That is so thoughtful of you, Joe. We need all the help we can get after the shellacking that Obama put on this country over the past 8 years.
Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.
There was once an item known as “The Cluebat of Aaaargh”. Joe, you need to meet it. Repeatedly.
The False Commander “Phony” Phil Monkress (CEO of All-Points Logistics) works balls as he avoids questions seeking clarification of his suspect Native American, Fake Navy SEAL and suspicious Law Enforcement claims.