Ivy+ @ Mezzanine

My first time in an SF club didn't turn out to be the pandemonium I had hope for. The DJ was instructed to play nondanceable acid jazz, and Ivy+ Leaguers...well...just aren't that into dancing, I suppose. Met some cool people though. Shout outs to Margeret, Luis and Sondra!

Check out Geoff's newly launched site for connecting people's night lives. Have some fun, live a little.

Gah!

The Space Shuttle Atlantis landed today at 12:49PDT right out side my office window.

But I wasn't there!

Combat Foosball

I finally got video posting to work.

Words for the Young Officer

Lt Col (Retired) A. Hardee walked into the office out of the blue on Friday, and left me with these nuggets of wisdom 45 minutes later.

• The old guys should take care of the younger guys.
• Don't ever neglect your PMEs. SOS, ACSC, Air War College...do them by correspondence if you have to; in-residence is hard to get.
• Expect to fly regular jobs for a few years before you get the opportunity to even try out for special ops.
• Be a good XO. Your life will be hell for 2-3 years, you won't get credit for anything, but thereafter you'll be very valuable to a flag officer. They will protect you because you take care of the details.
  
• Work at the Pentagon if possible, even though you pilots don't like desk jobs.
  
• Watch your back, being an officer involves politics.

Anti-gravity Helicopter

The Russians figured it out first. Again.

The Perks of Being a Recruiter

• Helping young guys figure out that the AF is/isn't for him (it is, unless you're a tool, then we tell you that and send you over to Army)
  
• Being called a RAPper
• Working for an SrA = no boss
• Eating at Chilly's for 50% off
• Internet without filters
  
• Eating at Super Buffet for free (Thanks, random guy who paid for our lunch). America does love us
• When the aforementioned SrA takes leave, I own the office
  

That's Right! F-ing A.

“We cannot tolerate a two-tiered jail system where the rich and powerful receive special treatment."
Rocky Delgadillo, prosecutor of Paris Hilton

Seriously. Seriously?!

The PC Police have gone too far yet again. This time with the Olympics logo.

A swastika? Seriously?!

Not relevant:
When I sweat, I sweat a thick-browed smiley face on the front of my shirt. Some might mistake it for a swastika if I didn't work so hard to keep a low profile.
IFS is officially over for me. I'm going home to my wife today. Morale -> 95% (I'm not there yet).

We're not young forever

Start saving money now.

SWDITTBAAFP? Pt 6

It's not always about the flying, you know.

The planes are getting repa..ahem...upgraded. We are itching to get home to our former lives, but in the mean time, there's plenty of time to have fun. Foosball? Not good enough. To keep up our razor sharp SA, Combat Foosball is the game of choice. 5 balls each round, and winner only scores the difference. Freaking insane.

5 balls on the table, plenty more off it.

Bubbly Snobs and the Wannabe

Alma mater, you make me proud once again.

"Azia Kim was like any other Stanford freshman. She graduated from one of California’s most competitive high schools last June, moved into the dorms during New Student Orientation, talked about upcoming tests and spent her free time with friends.
The only problem is that Azia Kim was never a Stanford student."

Read the entire story in its, um...entirety in the Daily and here.

GASP #1: An Asian girl--or her parents--is so enamored with Stanford that she'd pull this ingenious BS. I see a future with the CIA. Or is she already...?

GASP #2: "She was kind of shy, kind of reserved, but for someone who really isn’t affiliated with Stanford, that's to be expected." Bo Zheng, I hope you live inescapably long and outwardly happy with that sunny Stanford-admissions-winning effervescence, you condescending prick.

GASP #3: "Stanford is a remarkably caring and friendly community. It is unfortunate that some may be able to take advantage of that trust for their own ends." Oh, a comparison with the present state of international affairs would just be too easy, even for me. But wait! I thought the Stanford community at large is in support of letting illegal immigrants stay???

I hope this will inspire a few more not-quite-bright-enough hippies from the streets of SF to squeeze into Columbae. There's always plenty of room for free love.

Oh, what's more, she wanted to be in the Army! I don't see a problem with this at all...WWII was fought by plenty of naive braves who lied to the recruiters about their age just so they could enlist. Azia is a national security asset. Get some makeup on her and language training, and we'll have a top level al-Qaeda insider in no time.

That's her on the right, allegedly.

Canadian Engineering

What's this insane battle armour all aboat? Check it out. Just because they can't fix DA-20 engine problems, doesn't mean they aren't crackpot engineers.

O Canada!

SWDITTBAAFP? Pt 5

Yesterday was a good day. I was only scheduled to fly once in the afternoon, but after some people failed the test in the morning, I took one of their spots and ended up flying two pretty decent sorties. Cash money. That meant I was to fly my check ride today, outprocess, get shitfaced tonight, and fly back to CA tomorrow. Fantasies of dim sum, pho, hottubbing and other extracurricular activities were finally within my reach. Morale -> 95%.
Oh no, I planned to soon.
Once again I woke up early from anxiety, but I felt pretty good this morning. I studied, I planned out my sortie, I said goodbye to some of the guys who left today. And then came the word, not more than one hour before pre-brief: two engines quit while in the pattern, and the entire fleet is grounded until further notice. Sunny California just went up in smoke. Morale -> 40%.
This is like a game we play. Plan, prepare, wait, repeat. This is the reality of our profession. Yeah, yeah, we fly expensive machines and make them do cool things. But we still don't run our lives.

Not relevant:
But I'd still take my job over yours any day.