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Paul's Thing is a
Gang of Six™ Production

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Paul's bookshelf: read

A Visit from the Goon SquadSomeone Knows My NameRobopocalypseUnfamiliar FishesThereby Hangs a TailInside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know

More of Paul's books »
Book recommendations, book reviews, quotes, book clubs, book trivia, book lists
  • 001- To Rome with Love
    In this Woody Allen-directed romp through Rome, an opera director discovers a potential new star in an unexpected place, a young architect battles feelings for his girlfriend's gal-pal, and an average guy suddenly finds himself hounded by paparazzi. […]
  • 002- Arbitrage
    As billionaire Robert Miller struggles to divest his empire before his fraud is brought to light, fate takes a nasty turn. Now desperate and running out of options, Miller turns to an unlikely source for help. […]
  • 003- Now Is Good
    Knowing her days are numbered, Tessa (Dakota Fanning) struggles to make every moment count, and dives headlong through every wild, crazy act of teenage rebellion that she can dream up which includes a passionate romance with her neighbor, Adam (Jeremy Irvine). […]
  • 004- Searching for Sugar Man
    The incredible true story of Rodriguez, the greatest '70s rock icon who never was. Decades after Detroit singer-songwriter Rodriguez disappeared following the failure of his two critically praised records in the 1970s, two fans from South Africa, where Rodriguez was a huge hit, try to track down their idol. […]

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Credit


Shit hot header graphic by Paul, w/assistance from "The Thing?"

Copyright

Copyright 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 by Paul Woodford. All rights reserved.

Sunday Bag o’ Mules

Mules, local color, wannabes. [...]

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Thursday Bag o’ Godlessness

A friend visited last night and talked us into streaming a couple of episodes of Saving Grace, a cable TV series that ran from 2007 to 2010. We’d never seen it and our friend gave it rave reviews, so I found it on Amazon Prime and we settled in to watch. I loved the lead [...]

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Air-Minded: Phantom Evolution

Did you think, as I did, that the TFX/F-111 was Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara’s only joint-service aircraft project? No, there were two others: the F-4 Phantom II and the A-7 Corsair II, US Navy fighters more or less forced upon, but eventually enthusiastically adopted by, the US Air Force.

I volunteer as a walking [...]

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Air-Minded: Rotorhead Photoblogging

Fascination and fear: that sums up my relationship with helicopters. The thought of being able to take off and land vertically, and to hover at will, is entrancing: if I had the money I’d learn to fly one. And then an inner voice speaks up: “What about all those moving parts? One bolt snaps and [...]

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Friday Bag o’ Relief

You may question the relevance of today’s thumbnail photo. Go ahead, question away. I don’t mind. Are you done? Good.

These objects are, in fact, bags o’ relief; specifically, pilot relief bags (or, if you prefer military terminology: bags, relief, pilot). I’ve filled more than a few, particularly on long ocean crossings. Fighters don’t have [...]

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Friday Bag o’ Nuthin’

I feel the need to blog but my bag is empty. I notice that doesn’t stop other bloggers, though, so what the hell.

Including what’s left of today, five days remain before my first knee replacement operation. I want to get out on the motorcycle today. No plan: maybe a Barnes & Noble run, then [...]

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Air-Minded: Converting Jet Fuel into Noise

THROTTLES—IDLE RUDDER AND AILERONS—NEUTRAL STICK—ABRUPTLY FULL AFT AND HOLD RUDDER—ABRUPTLY APPLY FULL RUDDER OPPOSITE SPIN DIRECTION (OPPOSITE TURN NEEDLE) AND HOLD STICK—ABRUPTLY FULL FORWARD ONE TURN AFTER APPLYING RUDDER CONTROLS—NEUTRAL AFTER SPINNING STOPS AND RECOVER FROM DIVE

That, if you don’t recognize it, is the boldface spin recovery procedure for the T-37. Student pilots [...]

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Air-Minded: the Aluminum Overcast

After ranting about the media I need a palate cleanser. The internet equivalent of a breath mint is a LOLcat. But I’m into airplanes, so I’ll give you a LOLbomber instead.

B-36J Peacemaker, Pima Air & Space Museum (photo: Paul Woodford)

As with the B-58 Hustler I described in a previous post, even though [...]

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