09:23 – It’s still chilly and to get more so over the next few days. It was 51.8F (11C) when I took Colin out at 0700 this morning, sunny and windy. The high today is to be 70F (21C), but after that it’s to cool down noticeably, with highs in the 60’s tomorrow and then in the 50’s for the next few days.
Barbara is at the gym this morning. This afternoon and for the next several days we’ll be working on kit stuff. We have bottles to fill, chemical bags to make up, and so on. Kit sales remain steady at or above the usual numbers for this time of year. As of this morning, we’re roughly 7% through the month, with kit revenues at about 13% of last May’s total.
UPS showed up yesterday morning with a bunch of hand sanitizer from Costco, about 6.25 liters worth in a dozen 12-ounce pump bottles and one 2-liter pump bottle. With what we already had, we’re in good shape on hand sanitizer, especially given that I have a couple gallons (7.5 liters) of 91% IPA to stretch it with if necessary.
Not long after, FedEx showed up with my Amazon order, a case of 80 rolls of G-P toilet paper. I told her I wanted to try it, and if she hated it she was welcome to keep using the Costco TP and I’d use this stuff. Her only remark was to ask if it was two-ply. I assured her it was, and pulled out a test roll. She rolled some between her fingers and said it was fine with her.
I like to keep plenty on hand. I’m old enough to remember the Great Toilet Paper Panic back in the 70’s, when an innocent comment by Johnny Carson caused a nationwide run on toilet paper that lasted for weeks, if not months. There was actually a black market in toilet paper, with people paying five or ten times the normal price for it. Hell, brides were putting toilet paper in their wedding registries. I am not making this up.
FedEx is due again tomorrow with my latest Walmart order. I noticed when Barbara made fried rice the other night that we were low on sesame oil, so I ordered a couple of 12.5 ounce bottles of it. We also use a lot of vanilla extract, which Costco was out of when Barbara tried to buy some last week and said it might be some time before they were back in stock. So I ordered one 8-ounce (237 mL) bottle of McCormick artificial vanilla extract to try. My guess is we won’t detect much difference between it and the real stuff. The artificial stuff is much, much cheaper. An 8-ounce bottle was $0.98 at Walmart, versus eight or ten times that much for the genuine stuff. And the only difference is that the genuine stuff is made from actual vanilla beans while the artificial stuff is 100% synthetic chemicals. Yum.
RBT, how well do you find that your sesame oil stores? It’s basically a condiment, rather than an ingredient (like walnut, grape, almond, pumpkin-seed, hazelnut and most other fine vegetable oils), and I find I don’t use a great deal of it, which makes me reluctant to keep much on hand. I usually have peanut, rapeseed and olive oils on hand for use as cooking fat, along with some kind of hard fat/shortening for deep frying.
I’m curious about your taste testing of the vanilla. I believe I can taste the difference between genuine vanilla extract and artificial vanilla flavouring, but maybe I’m just flattering myself. I probably ought to do a blind tasting to be sure.
I particularly don’t like the pre-flavoured “vanilla sugar” for baking, so I make my own by burying vanilla pods in a big jar of caster sugar. When they get too old and wrinkly looking (which is basically never, but I replace them occasionally nevertheless) I take the pods out and boil them in milk for making egg-based custards.
I’ve never done any real-world shelf-life testing on sesame oil. We also use it exclusively as a condiment, namely for flavoring fried rice at a couple tablespoons (30 mL or one fluid ounce) per batch. I know sesame oil has a reputation for short shelf-life, and Barbara keeps it refrigerated for just that reason. But I doubt LTS will be any more problematic for it than for any other edible oil.
Wikipedia has this to say:
Sealed bottles typically have a best-by date a year or so out, which in real terms means they should be fine on the shelf for probably two years without any noticeable change and probably five years or more. I ordered only two 12.5 ounce bottles just to make sure we like the brand. If we do, I’ll probably order half a dozen more to stick in our LTS pantry.
As to real versus artificial vanilla extract, I did compare them decades ago and didn’t notice any significant difference. There was a slight difference in taste, yes, but I couldn’t say that one tasted better than the other. They both tasted overwhelmingly like vanilla.
Just ask anybody in Venezuela, the beginning of the “end”. 😉
I like to keep plenty on hand. I’m old enough to remember the Great Toilet Paper Panic back in the 70’s, when an innocent comment by Johnny Carson caused a nationwide run on toilet paper that lasted for weeks, if not months.
I remember the power Johnny Carson wielded from that 11:30 slot even when NBC was in serious trouble in the 70s. Fortunately, after the toilet paper shortage, Carson and his writers were very careful with the monologue.
I doubt that Bill Clinton would have been elected President in 1992 if Johnny Carson hadn’t retired. I recall Clinton’s poll numbers were barely in the teens until the week after Carson’s last show.
In the mid-80s, an ad agency buyer told me that Carson and Letterman were directly or indirectly responsible for more than half of NBC ad revenue, even more valuable than Cosby at his peak of popularity.
Yesterday I checked out some 3-year past date Canola Oil in plastic containers, stored in the house in the dark and steady temperature and humidity. All the bottles seemed to be very soft, even sticky, and had lost a lot of sturdiness when compared to newer bottles (all same brand, Crisco). The oil had a definite “off” and rancid smell. Heated some in a pan with some rice and the result was a lot of nasty smell. I am going to blame the plastic bottles, no matter the plastic they all allow two-way flow of air and product. The oil is going into glass.
Yesterday I checked out some 3-year past date Canola Oil in plastic containers, stored in the house in the dark and steady temperature and humidity. All the bottles seemed to be very soft, even sticky, and had lost a lot of sturdiness when compared to newer bottles (all same brand, Crisco). The oil had a definite “off” and rancid smell. Heated some in a pan with some rice and the result was a lot of nasty smell. I am going to blame the plastic bottles, no matter the plastic they all allow two-way flow of air and product. The oil is going into glass.
I pulled some old Boy Scout fundraiser microwave popcorn from the back of the pantry a few weeks ago, and the oils had permeated through the wax bag and plastic wrapper. Into the garbage. I think the bags were only four years old, but, like most of our stuff, the popcorn spent two weeks sitting in a moving truck in the New Mexico desert in Summer after we escaped -er- moved out of Portlandia on a holiday weekend (4th of July).
“I am going to blame the plastic bottles, no matter the plastic they all allow two-way flow of air and product. The oil is going into glass.”
You don’t need to use glass. All plastics are not equal. When it comes to oxygen and moisture permeability, PET (soft drink bottles) thickness for thickness is literally a tenth as permeable as the PE and PP that are commonly used for packaging foods. You can also repackage oil in the 1-gallon foil-laminate bags sold by LDS online.
Which reminds me that I have a 3-gallon jug of peanut oil down in the deep pantry that we need to get transferred to 2-liter bottles.
“rapeseed”
In North America, it’s considered rude to refer to canola oil as “rapeseed oil” because rapeseed is widely known to be toxic.
In an analytical chemistry class I had to identify unknown materials. In one of the first labs the sample I was given would be one of 20 chemicals that had been posted on a sheet on the wall. I opened my vial, sniffed, and thought “vanilla”. I went to the sheet and sure enough one compound listed was vanillin. Lab done. I did do all the testing leg work to confirm my nose, of course. Later labs were a lot more challenging but my nose always worked to help me narrow down some of the testing.
BTW you can buy a kilo of powdered food grade vanillin for ~$60. I don’t know how much that would translate into “liquid extract equivalent” but I bet it would be a lot. Long term stable, too.
I’ve always heard that blamed that on Perot. Perot took a lot of the Republican vote. Had the vote not been split three ways that election then you would have re-elected Bush 41. (I say “you” instead of “we” because I was 16 when that election went down.) 🙂
Also, it starts with the word “rape” which is sort of a marketing nightmare.
I was gonna mention the oil softening the bottles but ya beat me to it.
As I’ve mentioned previously, lots of newer plastic coated stuff fails way too early because the plastic softens in the presence of hand/body oils or other oils.
Avoid items with soft plastic overmolds for multi year storage.
WRT oil, I almost exclusively use peanut oil which has vitamin E added to prolong shelf life. I do have a couple of glass bottles of the avocado oil costco sells to use as a salad oil since I have a mild allergy to olives.
The tiny bottles of sesame oil that I have as a specialty ingredient for asian cooking always seem sticky, even the glass bottles.
n
“BTW you can buy a kilo of powdered food grade vanillin for ~$60. I don’t know much that would translate into “liquid extract equivalent” but I bet it would be a lot. Long term stable, too.”
Hey, I could store that with my five kilos each of acetoin, acetylpropionyl, and diacetyl.
Been playing with maps and online city info all morning.
Got some development happening in the AO, and most of the info from the HOA is FUD.
So I go looking. Houston has incredible online mapping and GIS tools. Of course, all replatting and permitting is public record, and in Houston is also available online.
In about a half hour I found the info I wanted. Then I fell down the rabbit hole looking at maps, land use, design guidelines, planned expansions, and a host of other stuff.
LOTS of good maps, esp wrt infrastructure. . .
n
I think I’m being triggered.
Either Puerto Rico’s bankruptcy, AirItalia’s, or sabre rattling wrt NORK….
what’s gonna trigger the collapse?
n
I’ve always heard that blamed that on Perot. Perot took a lot of the Republican vote. Had the vote not been split three ways that election then you would have re-elected Bush 41. (I say “you” instead of “we” because I was 16 when that election went down.)
George Bush Sr. was done by July-August of 92. The economic numbers had started to turn around, but it took another year for people to see the changes. Once the Boomers and younger media people realized that electing one of their own to the White House was within their grasp, I think the election was decided.
“what’s gonna trigger the collapse?”
Financial house of cards
Successful attack on the Grid
Someone lights off a nuke somewhere
In that order of probability IMHO
But I could be wrong. Never happened before, but I could be.
A new Windows Surface for a grand???
I don’t think so.
OFD will dedicate a grand to 50% food and wotta storage and 50% to ammo and more training.
@OFD
Wow. I wish I were as good as you are. I’m wrong at least two or three times a month. Sometimes more.
WRT Microsoft Surface…
It’s not the Surface Tablet, which would have been welcome.
It’s not the Surface Book, which would have been welcome.
Instead, it’s Yet Another UltraBook. Which is not welcome.
They had a great idea & great execution with the Surface & Surface Book. Had they simply refreshed the existing hardware, I would have jumped all over them. I think they’re that good. But the ultrabook? Others already do it better.
Either Puerto Rico’s bankruptcy, AirItalia’s, or sabre rattling wrt NORK….
what’s gonna trigger the collapse?
I doubt Puerto Rico will have much of an affect short term beyond FL goes Democrat with the next election cycle covering the Governor’s Mansion and one Senate seat.
Back in 2015, we sold our FL property to a Puerto Rican family prepping for the diaspora. They built what is essentially a barn filling most of the land except for an extremely large driveway for all the cars.
The island’s bankruptcy has been anticipated for several years if not a decade.
“In North America, it’s considered rude to refer to canola oil as “rapeseed oil” because rapeseed is widely known to be toxic.”
I rather suspect that “canola” is a made-up word invented by people who wanted to market rapeseed oil without causing a “rape” microaggression to those ignorant of Latin.
Just back from the shooting range, which was in the middle of an unannounced inspection by the federal police when I got there. Interesting, but somewhat tense.
“…an unannounced inspection by the federal police when I got there. Interesting, but somewhat tense.”
“Federal police?”
What kinda cops are them? Feebies? IRS Geheimstatzpolizei? Border Patrol? TSA? (Transportation Sexual Assaulters)
Tense? In what way? Surely no cause for tension; them guys is just doin’ they job. If you ain’t done nuthin’ wrong, you ain’t got nuthin’ to worry about, amirite?
It’s not just terminology. Rapeseed oil is in fact poisonous, so what you’re consuming is actually Canola, which is a bio-engineered version of rape, originally by selective breeding back around the time I was an undergrad and more recently further modified via genetic engineering. Canola oil (as in CANada oil) was developed by Canadian agricultural scientists to greatly reduce or eliminate the presence of toxic erucic acid.
“What kinda cops are them? Feebies? IRS Geheimstatzpolizei? Border Patrol? TSA? (Transportation Sexual Assaulters)”
IIRC, @Denis lives in Belgium.
Had they simply refreshed the existing hardware, I would have jumped all over them
I was hoping for a Surface Pro 5 so that I could replace my Surface Pro 3.
It does appear that Microsoft is committed to the Surface Docking station as the same dock will work with all the current devices. It is actually a nice addition as it provides four USB, Network, Sound, and two monitor outputs. I have seen a surface happily running three screens, two external and the Surface itself.
Microsoft should have upgraded the processor and video. Then added USB C while keeping the single regular USB port. Other than that there is not much I would change from the Surface 3 (with the Surface 4 keyboard and Surface 4 pen) that I have. I find it a really nice computer to take on the road.
Wikipedia says “In the 1970s, the Rapeseed Association of Canada chose the name “canola” to represent “Can” for Canada, and “ola” for oil.”
I don’t care for the stuff. It tastes funny.
Short Stop is a small burger chain in the Austin area. Not expensive and very good. Around ’92 or so the Cedar Park location had a sign in front saying “our fries now proudly fried in canola oil”. Which seemed odd to me. Who cares?
Their fries are not the same anymore. The burgers were still good a couple of years ago. The fries went to the chickens.
I gave up on fast-food fries when McDonalds changed to vegetable oil from lard.
I’m not a huge fan of french fries or potato chips; a small handful will do me, but restaurants pile them on. Like they do with lettuce in salads; a pound of lettuce with one cherry tomato on top. I make my own salads at home; chef’s-type salads and good luck finding the lettuce, lol.
One of the stories concerning the new Winblows Surface was that it had been one of the few things causing Patriots Coach Belichick to show any emotion. I saw him live when he tossed it and it had to have been damaged. Brady says he’s never seen him lose his temper; he normally “just gives you a disgusted look” and you know you’re in the shit.
Just a little sportsball anecdote for those benighted foolz like me who still watch it.
Overcast w/showers expected and more rain well into next week. Fine by me.
“Hulu Launches $40 ‘Live TV’ Service”
http://www.pcmag.com/news/353464/hulu-launches-40-live-tv-service
Interesting. I am paying DirecTV $150/month for two DVRs and a couple of hundred channels. I have to get Houston Texan and Texas A&M football though.
“I have to get Houston Texan and Texas A&M football though.”
No you don’t…
Federal Police – indeed, I meant the *Belgian* Federal Police. Odd, but a country about the size of Maryland, USA has several distinct police forces, including a federal one.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Police_(Belgium)
The officers were quite pleasant, though numerous – eight burly plainclothesmen in a vestibule about 15 feet on a side, along with the range safety officer, manager, myself, seven or eight shooters and two big safes.
The officers checked that everybody present at the range had been correctly entered into the daily register, and that the shooters had the appropriate licences with them for the guns they were using. Then they did a random spot-check of the rental and club guns in the safes, making sure that the pieces on hand were those listed in the stock registers and all properly accounted for.
After the recent terrorist shenanigans here, the police are making a big point of diligently exercising their supervisory powers over firearms. It’s pure security theatre, since not one of the terrorists was a licensed shooter using a licensed gun. Of course, it’s harder for the police to try to supervise the baddies than us LAFOs (law-abiding firearms owners), and rather more dangerous too.
It’s pure security theatre
Yeh, like the TSA.
My brother is a pilot for American Airlines. He had knee replacement surgery several months ago and just returned to the job yesterday (mandatory retirement at 65) so he does not have many months left.
Pilots have to go through TSA security like everyone else. Apparently his knee joint set off the metal detectors and he was given a mandatory groping by the TSA. Why is beyond me. As the pilot of the aircraft if he wants to take out the plane, he can. He does not need knives or a weapon. Just ask the German Airways pilot. So what were they expecting to find? Nail clippers beyond a regulation length?
I myself have been through a detailed inspection at the main Norway airport. Selected and told to go to a private area. I was required to strip to my underwear for a detail inspection of my clothing and a full swabbing of my clothes for explosive residue. I was not given a rectal exam although I fully expected to have to bend over and spread my cheeks. What was really stupid is that I handed my wife my carry-on before I left for the inspection, in full view of the security. If I was carrying anything she now had the items. I guess they were checking for something I may have been hiding. Maybe even looking for concealed contraband such as drugs. They never said why me or what they were looking for.
“They never said why me or what they were looking for.”
I can only surmise that was natural retribution for the fact that I get that TSA “special treatment” code on every boarding pass every time I fly in the US. It’s a real nuisance.
Re toilet paper: One of the most useful tips I received in college was about the second day in a dorm as a freshman. The RA had a mandatory all hands on deck meeting, and one thing he said was scrounge a roll of personal toilet paper. He advised filching one from an on-campus building, or buying a small package at a store. His reasoning: At some point we’d run out in the dorm bathrooms. Murphy’s law would dictate that it would happen on a Friday morning, while he was at class. He wouldn’t get the message until late Friday afternoon, at best, and the message to the physical plant folks wouldn’t get to them until at least Monday afternoon. Tuesday, at best, we’d have resupply, and the interim would be unpleasant. He was exactly correct. 🙂
Re the 1992 US election: Yes, the macro-economy was turning around. But you would have never heard a whit of that from the mainstream media. They were, shockingly, in the tank for a Democratic candidate, and therefore did everything they could to hammer George HW Bush. And let’s not forget that President Bush infuriated a large section of his own base by betraying his pledge not to raise taxes. There might be a lesson in that for any and all actual Republicans who are in the US House & Senate, but they are very few in number and don’t seem particularly zealous about building a wall, replacing Obamacare, et cetera.
Back in 2015, we sold our FL property to a Puerto Rican family prepping for the diaspora. They built what is essentially a barn filling most of the land except for an extremely large driveway for all the cars.
Sounds like smart people in more ways than one.
I visited a barndominium 20 miles south of here outside Rosharon about 7 years ago. First he built a mound of dirt about 12 ft high since he is on the bank of the Brazos river which has been known to get three foot deep in Rosharon occasionally. He built himself a 6,000 ft2 metal barn with a 3,000 ft2 single story house inside one half and 3,000 ft2 workshop in the other half.
http://www.wdmb.com/
Re the 1992 US election: Yes, the macro-economy was turning around. But you would have never heard a whit of that from the mainstream media. They were, shockingly, in the tank for a Democratic candidate, and therefore did everything they could to hammer George HW Bush.
I remember that it seemed like Bush didn’t have the fire for another term. Once he reestablished the dominance of the Country Club Republicans over Conservatism in DC, it was “Mission Accomplished” in his book, and he really didn’t have much of an agenda.
Went to the store for my wife, and picked up the tortilla mix. 40 pounds for $4. Got a couple of other things too. Receipt says Spent $18, Saved $49. I LOVE saving money on food.
n
“Puerto Rico Declares a Form of Bankruptcy”
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/03/business/dealbook/puerto-rico-debt.html?_r=0
The proposed budget has a bailout for them. I hope that Trump refuses to sign it but Rush was making the point today that Trump is not a conservative nor an ideologue.
So who is going to bailout the USA when we go down ?
Sounds like smart people in more ways than one.
Dunno on that score. Most of the homes in the area are HOA with active duty and retired military personalites from the freak show commands at Mac Dill. The family needed a place where they could stash large quantities of relatives and cars without the Nazi wannabes breathing down their necks, but, since the barn/driveway went in, they haven’t kept up with property taxes.
I’m tempted to buy the tax certificate. They’ve solved the water problem on the property which made building unaffordable for us.
The family needed a place where they could stash large quantities relatives and cars without the Nazi wannabes breathing down their necks
Huh ? Are you talking about HOAs ?
Huh ? Are you talking about HOAs ?
By “Nazi wannabes” I meant HOA officers.
HOAs in Florida are much tougher than Texas. It is partially due to the laws but mostly due to the personality types involved.
Florida has experienced many booms and busts in real estate over the years, but everyone wants to believe that “this time it really will be different”.
The $1.1 trillion spending bill passes The House with more Dumbo’s than Redumbi’s. More than enough to veto proof it. I wouldn’t be surprised if it goes through The Senate with 99 votes (Paul -1).
There it is.
https://westernrifleshooters.wordpress.com/2017/05/03/lind-the-end-of-the-trump-administration/
Like Limburger said, we sent them there to drain the swamp and instead they’re wallowing in it like overfed dizzy hawgs.
Mr. DadCooks is right again; there is no getting over this, short of a complete flushing and reboot of the entire system, minus the imperial trappings.
And over in old Europe:
https://westernrifleshooters.wordpress.com/2017/05/03/angie-you-minx-ive-seen-those-photos-from-that-night-at-the-young-pioneers-summer-camp/
Merekel, Soros, Macron, May, what a bunch of loser commie tools. Wrecking the continent and the UK as fast as they can. Betraying their own people. And Soros is a definite war criminal.
Mr. DadCooks is right again; there is no getting over this, short of a complete flushing and reboot of the entire system, minus the imperial trappings.
I still think that a Balanced Budget Amendment and a Presidential Line Item Veto would work. But, the time of no return is rapidly approaching.
http://www.americanyawp.com/text/23-the-great-depression/
If it comes, we will hear the following statement over and over, “but no one told us !”.
I get that TSA “special treatment” code on every boarding pass every time I fly in the US. It’s a real nuisance
I do to, more often than not. Don’t understand why. I have a frequent flyer number, use a credit card, purchase sometimes months in advance, have made several international flights. I wonder if my name matches someone on the problem list, you know, the list you cannot see nor get your name off the list.
Either that or OFD has been a snitchin’ on me.
BC, inter species tension
http://www.gocomics.com/bc/2017/05/03
Hah !
“Either that or OFD has been a snitchin’ on me.”
Nope, ain’t no snitch. I also find it very odd that they’re picking on you repeatedly; unless it’s your AF vet status and your prior specialties or some combination of whatever that lights up their boards somehow. I wonder if there is any way to find out or they just give us the standard-issue boilerplate that it’s all just random, blah, blah, blah.
“BC, inter species tension”
I predict that it will be ants, corvids, rats, and maybe coyotes. Human beans will have eradicated ourselves on this planet but IAW the wishes of one Sir Stephen Hawking, a bunch of others will be in transit to some Earth-like planet in some other part of the galaxy. Probably three or four generations of them, before “landfall.”
And that’s only if the ship is not running Windows Vista.
Nope, ain’t no snitch.
It was a fleeting thought anyway.
I also find it very odd that they’re picking on you repeatedly;
I do too. The wife thinks it is hilarious, I don’t. Having all your stuff rifled through, swabbed and tested, having your junk groped, is annoying. Even happens overseas. Has happened on three of my six trips. A much higher incidence than one would think of being random.
I do remember about the 1970 time frame when they would “profile” people for extra scrutiny. I was leaving from Baltimore, in a USAF uniform, and got pulled aside. After it was over I asked why I was picked. They said I fit the profile but would not tell me what the profile was that I fit. Perhaps it was slobbering and knuckle dragging but that was just due to the Playboy I had just been reading.
I can understand my camera case being subject to extra screening. Lots of wires, batteries, and things that may look suspicious. Of that I really don’t care. It is the personal attention that is annoying.
It will be interesting to see what happens on this upcoming trip to Norway and Scotland this June.
My favourite hash browns went from being cooked in lard to being cooked in some sort of healthy oil. At the time I thought that was a good thing but I soon gave up on them when I didn’t like the taste.
“I was leaving from Baltimore, in a USAF uniform, and got pulled aside.”
Oh well, see, that’s yer problem right there, the AF uniform from back then. What was it, the 1505’s? Or the dress blue pants and light blue shirt? Any fruit salad on the shirt? Very suspicious. The other guys in my vets group have a running joke which they think is fuckin’ hilarious, of how they still can’t figure out which branch of the Armed Forces the Air Force is, ho, ho, ho. Bunch of dogface ground-pounding bitches. I point out to them that more than likely, either them, or other dogface bitches got their asses saved by USAF aircrews on countless occasions, and I like to also point them to a Tube vid of a crusty NCO near a pile of sandbags in the desert over there in the Suck who was overjoyed to see the AF rolling in overhead, and he yelled “Mike it riiiiine!!!” several times. Which they did, and all the chit ceased immediately.
“My favourite hash browns went from being cooked in lard…”
Thanks for the reminder; another item to stock up on. Stuff cooked in lard cain’t be beat. And if it was OK with the late Julia Child, it’s A-OK with OFD.
” to being cooked in some sort of healthy oil.”
Um, nope. Some sort of CHEAPER oil….
n
The other guys in my vets group have a running joke which they think is fuckin’ hilarious, of how they still can’t figure out which branch of the Armed Forces the Air Force is, ho, ho, ho.
The Army Air Force, of course.
I wonder if any Dumbocrats will want Cankles to endorse them after her FUSA apology tour. Apology meaning all the people that should apologize to her for fucking her over. lol!
“The Army Air Force…”
Oh yeah. The Brown Shoe Air Force. I stacked time with veterans of that era during my time with Uncle. They were real pissers, too.
“I wonder if any Dumbocrats will want Cankles to endorse them after her FUSA apology tour.”
One wonders, cynically perhaps, what motivation this fugly bag of toxic waste has for waddling and stumbling around FUSA and running her septic gob with her usual “I’m ENTITLED to that job!” rag. She can’t be seriously thinking of a run for it in ’20 so it must be a setup for Princess Chelsea. You know, Web’s daughter, who’s been writing books and getting all kinds of awards lately?
She needs money and that’s the only way she knows to get it.
n
What was it, the 1505’s?
Had to travel in class A uniforms to get the 50% discount on air fare to get you a standby seat. Thus was wearing the blue uniform. 1505’s went out about a year later.
A friend of mine in the USAF and I researched the manual on dress code. We found out shorts (1505) were still allowed in 1970. We were stationed at Langley AFB. Acquired the knee high black socks, the shorts and the other necessary items. We were set to go.
We went out and were quickly stopped by some colonel (full bird) that said we were out of uniform. We tried to explain to the colonel that the uniform was still allowed. He quickly shut us up ripping us a new one in the process. Actually had the MP’s come to try and arrest us. We showed the MP’s the regulation showing that we were correct. That was one pissed off colonel as he had been had by a couple of enlisted people.
When we got to the office the colonel had already informed our supervisors and we were told we could no longer wear the uniforms. We explained that we were following regulations and neither our boss or the colonel could make up regulations, or remove regulations, on their own. Thus we were in the right and would continue wearing the shorts.
So we wore the uniform a couple more days. And we were hassled a few more times by people of all ranks. It just became not worth the hassle. Walking to the mess hall or back to the dorm was an adventure as we were sure to get stopped and jacked up by someone. 1st louies were the worst as they thought they knew everything and saw a chance to make their name known.
I was really glad they got rid of the 1505’s. They were still wearable but were no longer sold. Just the blue stuff. Attrition got rid of them.
What I really hated were the winter uniforms. Wool. Ugh. And the wearing of such was based on the time of the year. On this date, even it was 95 degrees, you had to start wearing winter uniforms. It was idiotic.
“She needs money and that’s the only way she knows to get it.”
How is that even possible? She and Larry have stolen tens of millions since their days chiseling via used underwear as tax deductions in Arkansas, and the Foundation must have even more hundreds of millions piled up by now.
“Acquired the knee high black socks, the shorts and the other necessary items. We were set to go.”
I believe we have now solved the mystery of why Mr. Ray is on the TSA’s shit-list.
Travel with a child. It’s the only thing that keeps me from getting the rubber glove pat down.
n
Yeah, but Mr. Ray and I are grandpappies and our kids are gone away and we is known as empty nesters or somethin.’ We ain’t got a child to haul along.
They probably consider us a threat because being this old means we is on to they bullshit tricks so they on they own power trip and like to bully us around. In other words, they know that we know that they know, and they can get away with it. For now.
I rarely go anywhere outside this AO anyway, and that last haul through Newark a couple of summers ago sucked bad enough that I’m in no hurry to take a plane anywhere again. At least not the commercial flights.
You could use a kitten! Just go to the pound and adopt one before you fly. When you get back, ship it to Mr. DadCooks. He loves kittens!
My dad & I had a retired USAF E-7 who worked for us for many years. His first duty station, after basic & tech schools, was 1950 postwar Germany. By the time he retired, he would occasionally get stopped by butterbars who asked about his Occupation of Krautland medal. He would explain that back before they were born, there was a thing called World War II, and that while it was very bad America won. 🙂 He also talked about getting hassled by the APs, because his boots were bloused. But he was allowed to do so, as otherwise they could be a snag hazard while moving freight in & out of planes. And a buddy joined the Army right out of high school, becoming a helicopter mechanic. Those guys always had torn up uniforms, from sharp edges & confined spaces, etc. No one cared, and they always had a presentable set of class A if need be. But before his discharge, his top sergeant was mad at him for something, and made him go buy all new gear lest he be seen in raggedy clothes. As for me, I’m just a 4-F draft dodger, if we actually had a draft, and have the x-rays to prove it.
They need to get all the white males as we are a minority of travelers. Then they don’t have to pat down the ones who would take offense and sue or raise a stink claiming discrimination, and they can still say they do enhanced screening on 30% of travelers.
or something.
The last few trips with the kids have been glove free, if I was shepherding the wee one. The trip to the USVI (sans kids) got me a good long sit down (so I’d regret my decision not to just go thru the naked scanner) and then a thorough body massage. So yeah, I get it every single time, because I won’t go thru the scanner. Before that, I got it most times, “just ‘cuz”. And prior to 9-11 I rarely got the extra attention, because no one did. If I’m at a terminal without the scanner, I still get the extra attention. The magnetometer beeps, even though I KNOW I’m not carrying metal, and they say “oh, it’s just random.” NO IT’S NOT. It’s not random if it happens most or all the time.
/rantoff
n
It’s all just bullshit security theater. The real terrorist hazard is the cargo holds, which are just about impossible, in terms of manpower and time logistics to search. So they do this dog-and-pony show to make us all believe they take security seriously, but by now we’re all onto the game and they just fuck us around whenever they feel like it, little costumed thugs on a power trip which is backed up by their superiors and the government higher-ups, obviously.
A lot of people really don’t need to fly all the time and just that percentage stopping it could make the airlines squeal. But others like Mrs. OFD and Mr. and Mrs. Atoz DO gotta fly all the time for their jobs. But by now they’ve got the TSA Pre-Check thing and whatever frequent flier dispensation the airlines have today, which could change at the drop of a hat.
“He also talked about getting hassled by the APs…”
Yeah, the Air Police, which is what I was at first, before they changed the name to “Security Police.” Which was divided into Law Enforcement Specialists and Security Specialists. He probably got hassled by the law enforcement guys on the bases; us security guys were out on the flight lines and perimeters protecting Air Force resources, etc., etc. So the law dawgs had the white gloves and white hats and did the usual cop thing on bases, esp. where there was dependent housing. We had OD green fatigues stateside and woodland cammies in SEA. With bloused trousers. We also had the AF’s small arms arsenal, which included M16s, M60 machine guns, shotguns, various grenade launchers, and the 90mm recoilless rifle. The heavy weapons squadrons and flights in SEA had armored vehicles, including the rubber duck, which could allegedly go completely underwater without leaking. And APCs, and at one base, tanks, not sure which model, though, or I forgot. Never got in one and never will. They gave the M60s to us tall bastids and I got to like mine a lot. Wish I had one now. Maybe I’ll get one again. I could hit targets 1,000 meters out with that thing. And do one shot at a time. And fire it from my shoulder.
Ah, the grand adventurous days of yoot…
Pax vobiscum, fratres, et semper paratus; tempus fugit irreperabile…
Ray wrote:
“Perhaps it was slobbering and knuckle dragging but that was just due to the Playboy I had just been reading.”
But you only read it for the articles, didn’t you?
Oh, I get it. It was an article on man-sheep love… 🙂 (Hi SteveF.)
Only had time to skim today – lots of interesting stuff about USAF, but no time to read it just now.
One comment for the beginning of the thread:
We recently tried making our own vanilla extract. Take a bottle of flavourless vodka. Add 10-15 vanilla beans, which you have slit open. Let sit for a month, shaking occasionally. The result isn’t as dark as the commercial stuff, but the taste is at least as good. As long as the bottle is protected from light, I suppose you can keep it forever.
“Take a bottle of flavourless vodka. Add 10-15 vanilla beans, which you have slit open. Let sit for a month, shaking occasionally.”
I must try that, thanks. I like to preserve the fruit of our cherry-plum tree in alcohol with sugar. I usually add a vanilla pod to the jars for extra flavor. Vanilla pods also go well when preserving sloes, chokeberries or blueberries by the same method.
I believe we have now solved the mystery of why Mr. Ray is on the TSA’s shit-list
I guess being weird is the issue. I suppose I should stop wearing panty hose when I fly.
Mr. Ray and I are grandpappies
Not me. Only child and his wife have no plans to have any youngen’s.
It’s not random if it happens most or all the time
Pretty much my assessment. I get singled out on almost every flight, even with TSA pre-check. I always use my passport card for ID when flying in the US. Had one agent ask if I had a driver’s license instead. I said “I do and no you cannot see it”. I had to explain that a passport card is a federally issued photo ID and is valid for identification. He had to get a supervisor. Do they not train these people?
Yeah, the Air Police, which is what I was at first
When I worked in Hawaii I worked on the computers for the passenger and cargo manifesting computers. Office was in the cargo terminal. Got me good seats on space-a when flying back and forth to the states.
Anyway one time when I had a seat I was going to get on a C-5 early. Went from my office straight to the plane and stepped over the rope (it was on the ground, not raised as it should have been) around the plane. SP came over (I knew him) and said I should not have done that and he was going to have to call it in. I said OK as I knew he had to do his job. I figured I would just get chewed out as I knew most of SP’s from their guarding jobs around the cargo terminal.
Not what happened. Three vehicles came charging towards the plane with three or four guys each. They all jumped out, threw me to the ground, and pointed a couple of M-16’s at my head while a couple of others stood on my legs. Stayed this way for a couple of minutes until some captain showed up. I was then able to explain who I was and that I had just made a mistake. The captain did not buy it and required my boss along with his boss to come over and explain who I was. I got severely chewed out by the captain. (Also my boss and his boss when I got back from my trip). Made me stand at attention while screaming in my face and telling me I was lucky I was not shot. Seemed odd as I had access to the planes as part of my job when I was on duty.
After everyone left the first SP apologized to me. I told him it was not his fault as he was doing what he had to do. No need for him to get in trouble over my error. He also thought the response was extreme. Explained that the captain had only been on the job about three days and was probably looking for excitement or a promotion.
Just a little story….
Seems WWII ended in 1945 (or so most people think). In truth, it didn’t end until ’89 or ’90, when the occupation of Berlin ended. So members of the Berlin Brigade were technically WWII vets, and were eligible to join the VFW. Seemed like a technicality to me, so I never bothered. But then Desert Storm came along and some Berlin Brigaders (ETS’d already, and in the reserves) actually did become real combat vets.
I still haven’t joined the VFW. Never put on the uniform, either.
I’m a member of the VFW due to my tours in the ROK. Just so I could say that. I’ve never gone to meeting, party, whatever.
“SP came over (I knew him) and said I should not have done that and he was going to have to call it in.”
Sounds like a “jobsworth” move to me. Were you out of his sight and/or onto the aircraft in such a way as you might have constituted a threat to it?
What ever happened to being required to exercise individual judgement and initiative, or is that taboo in the military…?
Were you out of his sight and/or onto the aircraft in such a way as you might have constituted a threat to it
Nope. In plain view. He was at the front port side of the plane, I stepped over at the port rear of the plane.
What ever happened to being required to exercise individual judgement and initiative, or is that taboo in the military
Based on the response from his captain I suspect he was given no latitude to make decisions.
Assuming there was no high-priority highly classified material or people on that aircraft, that response to Mr. Ray was way over the top. And if the aircraft did contain such stuff, there would have been much tighter security around it in the first place. For example, when we had U-2’s land at our base in northeast Thailand one time, there were SPs with rifles and machine guns about every ten feet around it and the base was on high alert. A C5 or C130 carrying normal cargo and/or passengers only got the usual basic flightline security, you know, the entry control points, the security alert teams (which is what responded to Mr. Ray back then), and some guys out on the flight line itself.
@MrAtoz said:
Only if they fly First Class 😉
@lynn said:
There you go thinking again, that is not allowed. Your comment has less than a snowball’s chance in Hell.
Once again @OFD, thanks for agreeing with me. Now if I could just get my Wife to agree with me as often 😉
Temperature hit 85 yesterday and today (Thursday) it is to be in the 90s. Our irrigation water is still off. We usually get it by April 15. This is the latest it has ever been. Problem is there are still some open canals and there were way more breaks than usual as they filled them this year. Flooded out some expensive homes. I do not feel sorry for them, build below an irrigation canal and you takes your chances.
Problem is there are still some open canals and there were way more breaks than usual as they filled them this year. Flooded out some expensive homes. I do not feel sorry for them, build below an irrigation canal and you takes your chances.
My house was flooded in Carollton (northwest Dallas area) in 1989. And in 1990. Turned out my 1965 house was built in an old creek bed. Nowadays they would make that a park area due to federal regulations about green areas. So, I have a rule about buying houses with storm sewer entrances in front of the house. The city ended up putting a water retention pond under the street in front of that house. I know, crazy.
I also have a rule about buying houses lower than the street. Some of my friends have a house about a foot below the street in an exclusive neighborhood with 1 or 2 acre lots. They got six inches of water in their house last year. Did $100K of damage to their hard wood floors. I like houses three foot higher than the street now.
I still think that a Balanced Budget Amendment and a Presidential Line Item Veto would work.
There you go thinking again, that is not allowed. Your comment has less than a snowball’s chance in Hell.
I know. But a fellow can dream, right ?
that response to Mr. Ray was way over the top
That is what everyone else except the captain that showed up thought. At that time a C-5 was classified as a weapons systems, I forget what level. Thus the rope around the plane (some of it on the ground) and the single guard. I also had access to the plane as part of my job. My mistake was not going through the guard entry point. Should have just been a verbal chewing out rather than an armed response. I suspect the captain was new, was looking to make an impression, was an idiot, or just an asshole. There were two large tanks in the belly of the plane and maybe that was the issue.
One time a plane came in with some cargo and there was some type of container unloaded. It had it’s own batteries and could operate whatever was inside for a period of time without shore power. It was placed in the security cage and a civilian guard was posted 24 hours a day. The item was in the cage for two days and I only saw the one guard who never spoke to anyone. I have no idea what was in the container.
Lyndon Johnson was making a visit to the island and before his visit a plane arrived with his car. They used aluminum loading ramps to unload the vehicle. Those ramps were also kept in the security cage and were guarded by what I am guessing secret service chaps.
Also saw a huge vacuum tube for a large radar installation on one of the remote Pacific Islands. Tube was about 6 feet tall and 2 feet across. It was massive and I can only guess was involved in the final output stage of the radar as that thing was built to handle significant wattage. That was also in the security cage but there was no guard.
Another time some general’s household items were being flown to the states. I guess they get their stuff moved by plane rather than boat like the rest of the rest of us peons. He continually called to find out where his stuff was apparently not happy that coffins had absolute priority over all shipments. This being during Viet Nam we had a lot of those. So captain Yagich got pissed off at the general. Had his stuff quarantined. Sat in the middle of the warehouse surrounded by a strip of some type of insecticide granules to prevent insects escaping for two months. The general was pissed and made a trip to inspect his stuff and try and expedite delivery of course making the trip on his personal use military jet at great expense. He was not allowed to touch any of his stuff and went home empty handed. Captain Yagich apparently got the support of big wigs on the island and was unscathed as far as I know for that event.
What got Yagich removed from his post was when a couple of tanks were delivered. Apparently he thought he could operate a tank and promptly drove one off the loading dock and trapped the vehicle. Had to get a very large crane to lift the tank. Day after that event he was gone without a word.
Interesting times indeed.