That picture was taken nearly a year ago, in March. We had snow and the Christmas cactus was in full bloom. Which it seems to do on its own schedule. You can see the snow outside, something we haven't seen much of so far this winter. Which does and does not bother me.
Bothers me because it seems unnatural to go this far into winter and only see a couple of snow storms which pretty much dropped maybe at most three inches here in Little Rhody. Yes, yay, I don't have to shovel it, but it doesn't feel right. I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. Just when you think winter is going to cut you some slack. BOOM!
It has been cold this winter, in the 20s for a big chunk of December and bits of January. The past week has been mild (and freaking wet) with temps in the mid-40s.
I was off from work, yesterday as you read, today as I type, and the weather was brisk. Sunny and in the mid-30s. Around 1700 though the bottom started to fall out, right now it's 1930 and the thermometer says 22, the "feel like" (due to wind) is 6°. Yeah, downright chilly.
As I am rambling on about the weather, you've probably already said to yourself, "Hhmm, Sarge has got nothing, he's "weather blogging."
Well, yeah, I was lazy today. Other than fixing a couple of door pistons (which had gotten all bent out of shape in last week's big wind - gusts to 60 mph which hit just as I got home from work and opened the door, which promptly was ripped out of my hand and slammed into the side of the house, bending the Hell out of the rods inside the pistons) I did not do much. I did create a few more headers (which you'll see soon) and now have about 52 of 'em. One per each week of the year.
I'll probably swap in a new one every Monday. Or not. We shall see. I don't want y'all clicking on a link, getting here and saying "What the hey! This ain't The Chant! Or is it?" Well, I think you'll catch on quickly, now me, it would take a few minutes...
Anyhoo, before I show you the new headers, strap in and hold onto your hats, here's a nice Blue Angels video from last year in Seattle. (And Buck, if you're watching from somewhere, there ain't no cheesy music, I did that for you. 😉)
Need I say it? Go full screen...
Awesome, neh?
Oh yeah, here's those new headers. I need some WWI airplanes, I'll get to that eventually. The B-2 is there because one of the coolest things I've ever seen is a B-2 flying at low level down the parade route here in Sargeville at the start of our world famous Independence Day parade.
Remember, click to embiggen.
Enjoy your day...
The outside thermometer says 15.1 here in Philly at 0625, and that is cold for us.
ReplyDeleteThe snowthrower is still hibernating in the shed and that's OK.
Sometimes home jobs spin off into bigger jobs. I did some kitchen faucet work at the inlaw's home and afterwards I decided to make some sort of support board that would stick into the cabinet under the sink, and allow me to lay flat and not crunch my neck and back. (I took my inspiration from a car creeper)
My first thoughts were for a piece of plywood, and some 2x4 scraps under the plywood.
And then I went a bit over the top, and decided to make it with adjustable height legs.
That led into metal lathe work, and welding.
The back board project gave me a light bulb moment of how military weapons systems get overly complicated.
Say, nice headers. And a big thumbs up on "no cheesy music..."
Saw the pictures, it's very nice!
DeleteYesterday's high and low....14 and minus 12 at 2PM and 7AM respectively with 41 inches of the white stuff, 3 inches above average. At least it got above zero yesterday unlike the day before. Second John's music comment, don't need a tune to detract from the flight. New headers are Northland approved Sarge!
ReplyDelete41 inches of snow, in Massachusetts that's Snowmageddon, in Minnesota it's called "Wednesday."
DeleteOur high was near 60 this week, and the lows have been in the mid 30's. For us that is WINTER at night, and spring during the day. The first wildflowers are showing and they are purple, like a carpet.
ReplyDeleteI was driving by the Lubbock Intergalactic Space Port in the 74 Olds when I saw a Corsair running up on the taxiway. I pulled over, and walked across Hwy 87. As I was leaning on the bobwire fence and listening to the music of that round engine, a guy walked up and we just stood there and let it wash all over us. His takeoff roll was short and his throttle setting for climb out made the run up sound weak. We talked for a bit, he offered to take me up in his 172, and we parted ways. Never took him up on the ride.
And that Hurricane is sweet. I always liked them. More like a truck than a sports car. (Tuck's Luck)
Coolest thing I saw was an F-117 flying into Roswell with 2 T-38's as chase planes. (one on each wing). I rolled the window down as it approached and when it flew over, it had the loudest, screechy sounding engine. Man it was harsh to listen to. But it rates right up there with getting smoked off the road on the south end of Reese AFB when the Thunderbirds flashed over in their F-4's.... I was in heaven that day.
I think you mean F-16s? The last year the Thunderbirds used F-4Es was 1973.
DeleteSTxAR - Ah, my one regret, never seeing an F-117 in flight.
DeleteLarry - Might be he's referring to two separate instances in time?
DeleteIt's possible I missed the time frame. Memories are fickle things. I remember the F-4s distinctly at Reese. If they quit those in 74, I was a bit too young to drive, so it was me and mom that were there. I also remember getting fogged off the road in the Olds. So I guess I collapsed those two memories into one. Weird. I had the Olds in 1982. Might have been the Fury in '81 now that I'm thinking about it. Yup, no doubt, memory merge. Thanks Larry! OAFS nailed it.
DeleteFan-folded memories take up less room I guess.
Sometimes the brain will mash things together like that. At least mine does!
DeleteI topped your “Lazy Friday.”
ReplyDeleteThe post I started before noon is only about half finished.
I saw some snow about 250 miles north of here.
Spring may have already arrived, sans rain.
Starting a post before noon?
DeleteOh wait, that's right, you're retired. (I don't need to drive that far to see snow, winter isn't that far to the north of us.)
I don't need to drive that far, either.
DeleteWe were on the road again, which is my excuse for a lack of posts... finally got one up today.
On the road again...
DeleteReminds me of a song.
Wind can be nasty. I have reached my father's opinion level that when the wind is howling, the day officially sucks. Seems he and I both were/are intolerant to rapid pressure changes. Well, actually, we both tolerate/tolerated pressure changes by becoming grouchy heat-biting-off trolls.
ReplyDeleteWind powerful enough to yank a door like that? Truly sucks. Maybe making a vestibule or snow-shed cover (basically a windbreak with a roof and two sides, outside wall missing, is in your retirement future. How bad can your carpentry skills be? But, seriously, that would give you a covered and walled 'porch' in front of your door, which would make it easier to get in and out in inclement weather (rain, snow, llamas mass-spitting at an angle, etc.
Udder dan dat, nice Hurricane picture. Amazing what you can do with wood.
Wind of that velocity is a rarity, too rare to justify adding new stuff to the house.
DeleteThe Hurricane was also a durable cuss.
Growing up in Lubbock, the wind is always there, like a close friend. I think the average wind speed was 12mph. All the trees lean to the northeast. I get homesick when it's windy...
DeleteI remember seeing more than a kid should at church, the store, and school. The wind would whip skirts and dresses up around ladies heads all the time. Especially near the door. All us kids were undergarment experts out there. You could guess the age by the undercarriage accessories, since you couldn't see their face anyway.
I gotta go find some memory wash.....
Ok, so those last 2 sentences rated a keyboard alert!! Mind bleach...on sale now cheap!!! hehehehehe
DeleteSTxAR - I've been in two places where the wind never seems to stop. Cheyenne, Wyoming, damned near all the time. And Little Rhody where I work. The Wright brothers could've used my company's parking lot for their flight testing!
DeleteSuz - Hahaha!
DeleteI have also been two places (at least two) where the wind blows all of the time:
DeleteTreasure Island (in the middle of San Francisco Bay), where I went to Radar School, and North Island NAS.
The east end of Oahu, on the Molokai Channel, ranks up high on the wind list, too.
All on the ocean, well San Francisco Bay is close.
Delete(Don McCollor) Spring in North Dakota...where the gentle breeze does blow...30 miles an hour...at 25 below...
DeleteAh, North Dakota visited there once. Minot AFB, seemed rather bleak.
DeleteI really do like your wife's Christmas cactus. It is very pretty.
ReplyDeleteAnd my first thought on watching that video is that those gentlemen should not have coffee before getting into those planes!! Ya definitely would not want to have the shakes while up there!!
Yup, you need a steady hand flying in tight formations like that!
DeleteNah, you need quick, sure hands to make the very tiny corrections so that the formation looks rock solid from the ground. The video showed all the very tiny bobbles which are actually those corrections. I did have a "now that's cool" moment when they did the rejoin at the top of the loop (the very last maneuver in the vid). That takes a lot of power and skill. Oh...and....Practice!
DeleteAs STxAR said. It's February in Texas. 78 one day 20 the next. Cedar pollen is god-awful high, going through Kleenex like there's no tomorrow. But, March will be lovely, I'm sure.
Had never thought of it that way, but yeah, quick and sure hands.
DeleteMakes my watching of carrier landings clearer, lots of little adjustments as the deck approaches. (But I'm anticipating tomorrow's post...)
Music not required, Sarge!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed listening to those big ol' turbofans spooling up and down.
Same here. A lot of times the music chosen reflects more on the poster's taste than it has anything to do with the video.
DeleteNice looking AC-130. You can see the 105mm Howitzer hanging out the left paratroop door. However, how about a good old Trash-Hauler version?
ReplyDeleteI’m not positive, but I think it likely i have more hours in (the back end of) a C-130 than I do in any other aircraft. Except possibly a C-141.
DeleteBillB - Spectre not good enough? Alright, I'll talk to the foreman, see what he can do.
DeleteAh, you're in luck, seems we have one in stock.
😉
juvat - I have flown in the back of a C-130 multiple times in PACAF: between Okinawa and Korea and between Korea and the Philippines. But I did ride the Starlifter more than once, including Travis to Hickam. A long flight but at least it had the comfy seats installed.
DeleteThe Herky-Bird was webbing all the way.
How about an F100?
ReplyDeleteThe Hun!
DeleteCool yes! Fun to watch all the lifties and draggies and thrusties and gravitons pushing those jets around.
ReplyDeleteOne of the joys of climate on this planet is its variability. Gets all the Chicken Littles spooled up and gives one the opportunity to use the "why back in ought-twenty" line.
The Hurricane looks like such a scrapper!
Variability tends to confuse we ape-lizards. We should know better by now.
Delete