That Teacher

The honorable Mr. Soyer has a post, with comments.

Biking in the Dark

The L.L. Bean hat works remarkably well for biking in the outskirts of a city/commercially zoned area.

They now even have a 3 l.e.d. version. I would link to the two styles of cap which I own, but I am not finding them quickly and it is late. I love both and thoroughly endorse them. The older style has the batteries and switch on the leather adjustable strap at the back of the cap. Very classy if you ask me.

The newer version has a type of bubble under the visor which you press to toggle the light. It works especially well in tight places and with gloves on. I have repeatedly replaced the batteries, even though they last an extraordinary lifespan. This is a testament to how often they are relied upon.

These hats are dead nuts knockouts and utilitarian winners!

Poorly stated? I don't care.

They rule, over and over when I think something will be a pain in the ass they make it less so!!!

Anyway/how/who--

I need to get a part for the track pump, it would have helped pumping the tires a little. It was low and it makes it tougher to do everything. Peddle, steer, makes you more inclined to get a flat, but all went well.

Odd the traffic you see. It must have something to do with who knows the shortcuts and the time of day, but, wow, was that a much shorter ride than I had thought it would be, and that is a good thing.

Still and all, I do not recommend speaking on the hand held cell phone while zipping along your way in the dark with a sleazy demographic of traffic making their way past you to their nefarious endevours. (I do believe that more than one of them may have said the same of me.)

The combination makes a nice recipe for road mop.

M-60 mk 43

Mike sent along this video of an improvement of the venerable m-60. Neat.

Regarding Previous Post

I mentioned Sir Paul Nurse's voice reminding me of a friend's voice.

Here is the NPR piece regarding the bird excursion of said friend (you can listen at the link):

"Bird watching might not seem the kind of hobby to attract the Indiana Jones type, but Gerry Nicholls is what you might call an extreme bird watcher. This year he and his friends set out on an international treasure hunt for a very mysterious bird.

"This is adventure," Nicholls says. "This is what happened in the 1800s."

Their subject is a bird Nicholls says no birdwatcher has ever seen. Twenty years ago a researcher found it dead and decomposing in a remote Ethiopian plain and brought back just a wing to the Natural History Museum in London.

"Halfway up the wing is a big, beige patch, so it was very distinctive," Nicholls says. "And on the basis of just one wing, it was described to science as a new species, Caprimulgus solala — solala meaning 'only a wing.'"

Nicholls, 61, grew up in England, but now lives in Connecticut, where he works as a nurse. He's been all over the world trying to get a glimpse of rare species. His fellow adventurers included Ian Sinclair, a South African author of several bird field guides, and buddies Vernon Head and Dennis Weir — whom Nicholls mostly refers to by their nicknames, Winky and Fruitcake. They knew finding the bird, which is more commonly called the Nechisar nightjar, was a long shot.

"Nobody knew if the habitat existed. Nobody knew if it had been overgrazed. Nobody knew if there might be some forces there — disputing tribes over grazing land where we wouldn't be able to get in. Nobody knew anything," Nicholls says. The mystery was what made the mission so much fun.

X Marks The Spot

First stop on their quest was the researcher who had found the wing. The scientist drew the party a map to where he had found the wing on the Nechisar Plains in southern Ethiopia.

"We called it a pirate's map," Nicholls says. "It was a line drawing with an X — X marks the spot, as far as he remembered."

The four friends flew into Addis Ababa, drove two days south to a hotel and then took a bumpy, five-hour drive into the plains. They hired a guard with a Kalashnikov for protection.

Nightjars, as their name suggests, come out at night, so the way to find them is to shine a light, look for the reflection of their eyes, and sneak up on them. Incredibly, on the first night they were there, two of them saw a bird they were sure was the Nechisar nightjar — but they didn't get the close look they were hoping for. So they went back two nights later with a net and video camera.

The video of that night is dark, just a spotlight on a patch of grass. Fruitcake, who's holding the light off-camera, can see the bird. He directs Sinclair and Winky toward it, but they can't make the bird out from the shadows.

"It's next to that big stone," Fruitcake calls.

"Where's the bird?" comes the response from Sinclair and Winky.

Suddenly there's a flutter. Sinclair's net shoots out, but misses by inches. All Sinclair and Winky catch is a glimpse of that distinctive wing pattern as the bird escapes. And it definitely was a bird, but the video's so blurry it could be a pigeon. The adventurers had found their prey, but failed to capture proof.

Adventure Needs No Proof

But Nicholls says he's not disappointed. "It is what it is, and it's part of the mystery, and I wouldn't change any of it," he says. "It would have been nice to have touched it and had a little quiet word in its ear, a little friendly chat. But the biggest thing would have been to have caught it and let it go."

The four plan to submit their findings to some of the top bird journals. Nicholls acknowledges some people may doubt they actually saw the Nechisar nightjar, but says that's missing the whole point.

"This is old, 1800s adventurism, and we did it. That's what matters." If anyone doesn't believe him, he says, they should head to Ethiopia and check it out for themselves.

Craig LeMoult reports for member station WSHU in Fairfield, Conn."

A very interesting and admirable fellow. I am fortunate to have made his acquaintance.

Update: Reading the article once more I am struck by his age. Dumbstruck really.

Obama Executes White House Jester

I do believe this is true.

I also think it is an accurate rendering of the man and his demeanor. Right down to dropping the turkey leg.

via foreign object damage

Rahm and B. Hussein

I wonder if Rahm kept his flatulence to a minimum during his son's bar mitzvah?

American Jews are Rahm's Dhimmis.

Israeli Jews?

I'm sure some tacky Chicago hall would have been glad to host his flatulence.

Maybe he can sucker or coerce Canaan as well...He surely feels that he can.

One matter is empirical, he is a p.o.s.

B. H. O. and Arlington

Should he be at Arlington?

I will cut him a break.

Who the hell wants an individual at a profound and intensely emotional ceremony when they do not want to be there themselves?

No silly objections will be taken on that matter. If he wished to be there to honor those fighting, dying, or who fought or gave all. If he wished to be next to those who may be scarred or struggling, those who have lost and are struggling. If he wished to honor, not as Barry Hussein, but as the President of the United States of America, all of the families who regard the United States of America as something greater than themselves, then he would be there.

I am glad he will not attend.

His ill regard is duly noted.

His brazen candor is appreciated.

His mating ball with the fourth estate and fifth column need not be interrupted.

Everyone I know

Everyone I know either mentioned, or laughed, or did not deride the notion that good news in the gulf was timed to allow for Obama's "press conference".

Liberal and conservative alike, no one could avoid that uncomfortable notion.

We do not have a sufficient media.

Pravda was scoured during the cold war, for in their propagandizing they were an important resource.

The Mexican Pinch Times is fairly well fessing up still. The better to claim that they had covered in full afterwards.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/28/us/28spill.html?hp:

"BP officials, who along with government officials created the impression early in the day that the strategy was working, disclosed later that they had stopped pumping the night before when engineers saw that too much of the drilling fluid was escaping along with the oil."

Everyone knew, and made jokes, and shuddered.

This is life under Pravda, the jokes are in the open.

I do believe a crest has been teetered upon, and I wonder which side the citizenry will accelerate down...

Hungry, Famished Even

Sooo thinking of food, and then...I notice this blog.

I do not care what part of your day you are in...this blog will make you salivate over food which is antipodean to the dials on your ornate clock.

Go look, and bookmark, yum, yum and NOM NOM NOM!

http://thezoeblog.blogspot.com/

Lovely photography as well!

Jimmy's Office Window

Jim has a fantastic shot of a fierce ship making it's way for the events of Fleet Week.

http://jimmy82063.blogspot.com/2010/05/fleet-week.html

Jimmy has begun his elegant craft and will be dispensing knowledge and hard earned wisdom all weekend, so checkout his main page and look for updates often.

http://jimmy82063.blogspot.com/

This blog's, (and Jimmy's, I'm sure he has no problem with me adding him to this), sincere patriotism and sheer, unabashed love for those who serve and have served is beyond question.

God Bless them all...

(No joke-regarding patriotism. And for whoever sent a joke over the bow of this blog regarding a love of the patriotism of fleetweek, a joke is sure to follow. I will see you Saturday at the latest! ;)))

Curtis Reinauer

So for some reason I thought of this tug in a couple of pics from a ways back:

and so I looked her up and here she is out there right now!

Marine Traffic is a great site.

Littorally All Wound Up

Outboards and Powerwashing

For one moment at least, let us look at the new abode.

Simple, mobile, welcoming.

Difficult to resist, that is certain.

Wait, what is that? No throwing objects? At the sea shore? Are they crazy? Dear Lord Almighty, the Nanny Fascists, right here on our very own waters.

Panquehue Cheese

I love Chile.

Chilean cheese? I bought mine with chives.

I say YUM!

Those who know me understand my predilection for cheeses, fine and otherwise.

Photos

I will have to caption when I get a moment...

Last of Beer Snaps

As the photographer I must admit that I am more than a little offended by the base and gratuitously profane manner exhibited by the subjects, whoever they are, it is a good reason to conscript honest and attractive models instead of street folk.

These three gentlemen surely look like trouble, in my book.

Still More Charity Beer Picks

I beg your charity and patience for these remaining...

Some More Charity Beer Pics

Charity Event

Well it has come upon a year now and the Terry Boyd effort for the Jesse Cammille foundation was this weekend.

You may notice the light tower with generator which is the same device upon which I wrenched the...ugh...whatever.

I will just zap up a slew of photos and see?

I mean a lot of photos...