Monthly Archives: April 2008

Things I’ve Learned…

What I’ve Learned in the Past Few Days:

1. I now know why there is no such thing as Pork Chop and Pepperoni Pizza. Been there, done that, not gonna do that again.

2. Blog buddy Steakbellie moved up in the rankings — he’s now ranked 18th in the WORLD by the International Federation of Competitive Eating. Hey, if you’re gonna do something, might as well be the best at it!

3. Fixing a leaky faucet really CAN take three days.

4. My wife is incredibly strong and resilient.

5. No matter where you are in life, you’re in transition.

6. There is a guy in town here who’s at least partially Irish, goes by the name of Seamus, and hates Guinness. That just ain’t right. But then again, I’m at least partially German and I hate warm potato salad, so I guess I’ll forgive him. And I’ll drink his Guinness.

7. Not much gets done when you’re watching the clock.

8. I’m not saying that I miss playing in a band, but boy do I miss playing in a band.

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Lotsa Stuff

Dagmar Update:

Some people have been asking about Dagmar. Well, she’s still ill… She puts on a happy face and goes to work every day, but it’s difficult for her, and she’s in pain. Without going into too much detail, there are abscesses, cysts, and infections involved, and any future operation is much riskier than normal due to her medical history. She’s seen a ton of doctors and specialists, and we’re optimistic that someone will find a way to make her feel better soon. So, she’s not feeling well, but she’s going on with daily life with a smile anyway. She’s one of the strongest people I know.

Airplane Ride:

After talking about Dagmar’s problems, it feels petty for me to write this next piece, but I’m really excited about it…

I got to go on an airplane! A real, live Air Force airplane!

A leadership class I’m attending got a quick tour of the local Air National Guard unit, which switched from fighters to tankers just a few years ago. By a stroke of luck, they took our class on a refueling run. Here are some photos:

The class heading to the tanker

This is what the inside looks like.
They can haul a considerable amount of cargo,
or about 50 soldiers (if I remember right).

You know how they refuel planes… they drop a big ol’ pole (boom) out the back of the tanker and the other airplanes come up from behind… This is the Boom Operator’s control panel in the rear of the tanker.

The pilots

They let us go down next to the Boom Operator while the refueling happened. So I’m on my belly next to the Boom Operator whilst he maneuvered the boom. I’m looking through the back window of one plane into the front window of another… At somewhere around 400 miles per hour.

Here’s a photo of the refueling boom just popping out of the receptacle.

Once I got done gawking out the Boom Operator’s window, I peeked out the side window.

During the landing, they let me sit in the cockpit.
I mean, DUDE! I got to wear the headset and everything.

You can see all three gazillion photos I took HERE.

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WINTER

Dear world…

According to the Weather Channel it’s going to be 57 degrees and sunny on Saturday. I’m hereby giving you notice that emergencies and crises will NOT be allowed between the hours of noon and 6 p.m. on this coming Saturday. I have a date with my motorcycle. Anyone who wants is welcome to come along, but there shall be riding, and it will be happening Saturday.

I will gladly work 15 hours on Friday, and I will gladly work Saturday morning. I will be happy to work Saturday night once the sun goes down, and I will work on Sunday as long as it takes. But I will NOT work between noon and 6 on Saturday.

Thank you for your kind attention.

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Mark the Date

Thinking and Rethinking…

I’ve had a little time to think lately. Precious little time, and even less thought, but I might as well share it with ye.

Veggies
Lately I’ve come to like vegetables. I don’t know when this snuck up on me, but maybe it’s part of growing up. I still like me a nice big ol’ pork chop with onions and noodles and ketchup, but now I don’t mind so much if there’s maybe a little corn or peas or something with it. I ate a couple tacos the other day and didn’t bother to pick out the tomato. It’s odd. A rethink.

Booze
If you’ve followed this blog much, you know I have a weakness for tasty beers. Nothing against Miller Lite (which I also enjoy), but I really kinda like Belgian ales, or a nice Guinness… But I had a nifty glass of wine the other day. It tasted pretty good indeed! I think I found a new passion. So I’m not gonna drink beer any more. I’m going to buy a couple books on wine tasting and get me a coupla bottles of the grape. Beer sucks. Wine rules.

The Prez’dent
I caught a bit of the news last night whilst waiting for Dagmar to get home (she promised to make me some nice sautéed bean sprouts to go along with a new bottle of white I found), and happened to see a bit of President George W. Bush’s latest speech. You know, I think I may have misjudged President Bush.

Maybe he’s not the mumbling, bumbling oaf he seems — maybe his brand of genius is simply so far above me that I can’t see his grand vision. Maybe the thousands of people who boo’d him as he threw out the first pitch at a baseball game in Washington DC are all wrong too. (Is there any wonder the poor President rarely makes live appearances in front of anyone other than his most loyal supporters? Every time he steps out in public the uneducated masses voice their disapproval. Makes it hard for him to concentrate.)

Maybe allowing the economy to suffer for a while in order to enrich the oilmen of Texas and the Middle East is all part of a grand plan and we just don’t see it. The President MUST have a reason why he allows this to happen. Maybe if we simply put our noses to the grindstone and unquestioningly follow along, making financial sacrifices in the name of the Republican plan… Well, maybe things will be okay. Maybe Mr. Bush really does know what he’s doing. I know it was a lot for Mr. Bush to ask a generation of young men and women to sacrifice their youth in order to go to Iraq, but I’m sure they (at least those who survived) are happy to give up their veterans’ benefits for the betterment of Big Oil and Haliburton. I mean, the President has a plan, after all – I’m convinced of it.

Oh! And I saw in the newspaper that someone was unhappy with Iowa’s Fifth District Representative, Mr. Steve King. I’ve had time to reconsider his positions, too, and I’ve come to agree with him that people of Hispanic origin really are the same as cattle, and that those pranksters in Abu Ghraib who tortured all them brown Iraqi people really did get the wrong end of the stick. I mean, what’s so bad about pouring phosphoric acid on someone? College prank stuff, really. Oh, and what he said about Obama being unfit for presidential consideration because of his middle name — that really does make sense now that I think of it. I mean, everyone knows that Mr. Obama should have chosen a different name, after all. After further consideration, I feel that Mr. King is the best man to represent Western Iowa in Congress.

Time Warping
I see Google has found a way to retroactively send e-mails. This means that if you forgot to send an e-mail to, say, your boss, you can use g-mail’s new feature to send the e-mail back in time six hours. Genius!

Oh — I Almost Forgot
Today IS April Fool’s Day, you know.

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